Fairies of Light

by J. E Hanson

  We tilt our heads down. The veil and train are off, so I won’t trip. We take our stances, and the crowd knows what they’re in for next. My new mother sits in the front row along with my grandmother. I want to make sure she watches us dance live together. The first sound starts, and the crowd blows up. We choreographed every single movement with perfection. I can keep up with my husband. The fairies are whistling, and cheering us on. They also notice that I’m expecting his baby. There’s no way to hide the blinking yellow light. We dance together, and we don’t miss a single step. I lift my leg in the air, and he catches it on cue. He drags me across the floor. He’s the only dance partner I’ve yearned for, and for all these years. The hip-hop blares across the stereo. We make our dance last twenty minutes. Of course, it has overly sexual parts in it. We end our routine, with Joey dropping to the floor as he places his head on my stomach.

  The crowd goes ballistic, and now everyone anticipates the birth of our baby.

  “If our baby never dances like us; he or she will never hear any complaints from me. I want our children to always be happy with whatever they decide to do.”

  ~~~***~~~

  We exchange bites of cake, and the flavor of our cake is strawberry cream. We also exchange glasses of alcohol. But, I took a very small sip. After our wine glass exchange, I kiss my husband wildly, “I love you so much, Joey.”

  A familiar voice rings out from behind us, “Oh, you’re so gorgeous! I’m so happy that he married you!”

  I wheel around, and I notice that MJ made it to our wedding. She grins at me, and I hug her tightly, “I’m so happy that you’re here!”

  MJ pats his arm, “I had to make sure he actually did it. I wasn’t going to miss this wedding for the fucking world. This is the biggest highlight of my existence. I want to make sure that Joey will no longer hold these stupid ‘dance for a wife,’ competitions. Even though he married the most beautiful, and gorgeous wife I’ve ever laid eyes on. I can’t wait to see, who your wee little one looks like.”

  He softly kisses my cheek, “I never expected Rosalie to show up, and even if she was a terrible dancer, I still would have moved for her.”

  MJ remembers our dance off, “I realize that you would have, but when she placed her leg on you, I ultimately knew you were done for. I remember vividly that look of shock on your face, when you realized that someone could dance just as dirty, and provocative as you. I even glowed for Rosalie, which is hard to do, since I never glowed for you. You finally met your match, but you must admit that she’s a way better dancer than you.”

  Joey covers my ears, and MJ laughs at him. I pull his hands off, and I peer at him strangely.

  “What did you just say?”

  MJ winks at me, “I think that would have been an interesting live broadcast. I would have gladly watched your wife, but I definitely wouldn’t have cared, what kind of function you have Joey. To me, your anatomy really grosses me out.”

  “I will make sure to put you in charge of all my male strip clubs now.”

  “There’s nothing I like better, than managing a bunch of cocks. I love you too Joey.”

  MJ left us to talk to a few more fairies. It is odd to see her in a green fairy outfit. I left my sexy husband for just a minute.

  I search for Ember, when someone seizes me from behind. I kick and scream to try to fight off whoever grabs me. This is not my husband.

  Chapter 16

  I hear a snap, and now I’m sitting inside a large house. There’s someone with a scarlet Mohawk sitting in a chair in a living room. I’m trying to snap back to my reception, but an auburn fairy grabs my wrists. The man with the scarlet Mohawk has more tattoos than Joey. He even has more piercings than my husband does. I notice right away that they’re both wearing royal blue loincloth shorts.

  The man squats down, and he lifts my face to his, “There you are, Rosalie. I want to introduce myself to you. I’m your uncle, and I’m your dad's identical twin brother, Phoenix Lake Ocean.”

  I make the man drop my hands, “Where the fuck have you been for the last eighteen years?”

  “Ah, so you know who I am?”

  “You are the fairy, who murdered another fairy!”

  “First of all, I need to say that I love you too. Secondly, I swear to you that I didn’t kill any fairy! I know you don’t believe me right now, but I’m telling you the fucking truth! I also had no idea that you were even alive until they announced your last name on national television. Your dad would have been pissed, if he knew you had McCloud attached to his last name! You are HIS child, and not the McClouds! Attaching the name McCloud is like twisting a knife into the soul of your dad.”

  “I was left with no other fucking choice! You were in prison, and I was a scared little girl! I made the choice, and chose them to finish raising me! I would have never made that decision had you never been in prison for murder!”

  Phoenix snaps on the lights. He appears identical to my dad, and he seems extremely upset.

  “I’m telling you the truth, Rosalie! I DID NOT KILL THAT WOMAN! I may have been a drunkard, but not a killer! I know it all doesn’t make any sense right now, but I believe someone else set me up.”

  “Who would have motive to frame you?”

  “I have my suspicions. I remained at Meropis Prison for the last nineteen years, and I was released on good behavior.”

  “My husband is waiting for me, and I need to return to him right now. Please don’t ruin my wedding day by scaring him. We are expecting our first baby together.”

  Phoenix scratches his face, and he snaps his fingers. He brings out old pictures from the past in the air. He keeps flipping through pages until he reveals a picture of my dad, and my husband in the air. Phoenix remembers, and he smiles oddly, “Now my memory is returning to me. You married my brother's best friend. Maybe it’s a good thing that Blaze is dead after all. He probably would have killed Joe. Blaze was extremely overprotective of your mom. He never liked to leave his wife alone with any man, but he allowed Joe to stop by a few times. He always laughed, when your mom and Joe came close to throwing knives at each other. Humph… come to think of it, maybe your mom would have killed Joe instead.”

  “Can we please return to my reception before you worry my husband?”

  “I want you to know that your parents loved you very much. I know my brother very well. It amuses me that you’re not freaking out over my appearance.”

  I tilt his head, “My husband has just as many piercings and tattoos. We had to work on it. After kissing him that did it for me. I’m sorry if my reaction disappoints you. Now can I please return to him?”

  He shakes an index finger, and he walks over to a desk. He takes out a couple of items from the top drawer, and he walks over to hand me a set of rings, “These wedding rings belonged to your parents, and I saved them over the years. They gave them to me, while I was in prison after they notified me about their deaths. I kept them for the memories. Now that I know you exist, I feel that you should have them instead.”

  I study their rings, and I start to cry. Phoenix hugs me tightly, “I’m so sorry, Rosalie. I should have never drank that night. I was always with my brother. Had I been with him, maybe they would still be here on your special day. I want to add something, but I will wait until after your wedding passes. I want you to enjoy your honeymoon.”

  He takes off his shades and we have the same identical eyes. The tears stream down my face after seeing his, because he’s identical to my daddy.

  Uncle Phoenix hugs me, “Once again, I’m so sorry, Rosalie. If I had never chose to drink, they would still be here today on your wedding day. I blame myself for their deaths every single day. I want you to know that I didn’t kill that fairy, Rosalie. I’m a man of many names, but a murderer is not one of them. Please believe me, and I hope that you don’t hate me.”

  I touch his face, and I hug him again, “I believe you, and I don’t hate you either. This was not your fault, Uncle Phoenix. I don’t believe ther
e was anything you could do. What’s done is done. Right now, I have a couple of questions that has remained on my mind all day.”

  He glances at me with tears in his eyes, “What would you like to know, Rosalie?”

  I take a deep breath, before I ask him, “What would my daddy say to me, if he were still here today? What would he have done?”

  Phoenix pulls me back to his chest, and holds me in his arms. He never misses a single beat, “Your daddy would say that you’re gorgeous, and that he’s extremely proud of you. He would also have been annoyed with Joseph as your spouse, but he trusted him more than the other fairies from Avalon. He would have hugged Joseph, and told him to take care of his baby. I know this for sure, because I’m his identical twin brother. Your mom would have hated Joseph as your husband, but she would have laughed at the dance off you recently won against him. She would have loved to rub it in his face. That for once, someone finally beat him at his own cocky game. Shall I continue, or do you want to be reunited with your husband?”

  I hug him again, and I take his arm. He pays the other fairy money to disappear. Uncle Phoenix snaps us back to the wedding reception together. I take his hand, and I drug him over to a very worried husband, who is frantically searching for me. I tap my husband on the shoulder.

  He turns around, “Rosalie, where have you been?”

  I point at my Uncle Phoenix, and his mouth curves into a smile, “Where in the fuck have you been Phoenix?”

  There are loud gasps in the crowd, as Uncle Phoenix hugs his new nephew.

  He informs my husband, “I have been serving time in Meropis Prison. Apparently, drinking and fairies don’t mix. I’m sorry for scaring you, but I wanted to clear the air with my niece first.”

  “You won’t kill me for marrying her?”

  “Actually, I’m so thankful that she married you instead of the other pricks she could have married. I know you’re a great man. I hate to bring this up right now, but we need to discuss something in private, and I don’t want to upset Rosalie on her wedding day.”

  Joey kisses my cheek, “I will be right back, and please stay with Gabriel. I believe that I have a pretty good idea, what he wants to talk to me about.”

  I hug my new uncle and kiss his cheek. Gabriel takes over for my husband, by holding his hand out to me. We move to the middle of the dance floor.

  I have a question that’s been building up inside of me, “Are you in love with Ember?”

  Gabriel gawks at me incredulously, “Of course, I’m in love with her. Why would you even ask me that?”

  “Ember thinks that your mom hates her, and she feels that she’s nothing compared to your ex. I hope she’s not having problems dealing with the new marriage and pregnancy.”

  “My mom has been a bitch lately, and so I moved her to our new house. We chose to elope, because my mom has a ton of issues. And plus, it was Ember’s idea to elope in the first place.”

  “I always thought she wanted a big wedding, and I had no idea that she chose to elope.”

  “She told me that she never wanted a big wedding. She told me that she wanted to elope. I asked her on several occasions, if she wanted a big wedding, or if she still wanted to elope. She wanted to elope.”

  “Do you think that she’s taking this pregnancy hard? Pregnant women tend to become hormonal, and have a hard time adjusting to the baby.”

  “Ember is okay and she’s worrying over nothing. My job as her husband is to keep her happy. But, if she keeps thinking negative thoughts, she will become depressed. That would be bad for her, because it could lead to the evil side, if she’s not careful with her thoughts. I will lose her, if she keeps thinking these negative thoughts. I’m trying my best to keep her from thinking these thoughts, but she shows signs of depression. For angels, depression is bad, because you can turn to the dark quickly. If she increases in depression, then she will fall and reach a place that even I can’t save her. Please, Rosalie. Help me, by keeping her mind thinking positive thoughts. I desperately need your help. My mom can also be a real bitch, so I moved her away from that problem. I have no reason to lie to you about Ember. I promised to love her for all eternity. If she falls, that will crush me. She isn’t even aware, but she will affect the both of us. Our baby will be left with nobody to take care of him—or her.”

  “Thanks for explaining that to me. I will keep her mind focused on college and the baby.”

  Gabriel kisses my cheeks, “Thanks, Rosalie. That’s exactly the reason why I enrolled her at Meropis University. I feel that if she studies for her degrees, she will have something to do. It will preoccupy her mind.”

  I hug him, and inform him that I will help him with Ember. That’s the real reason why Joey and Gabriel bought mansions next to each other. I can cross over to her side, and she can cross over to mine. The moves will make it easier for us to see, and talk to each other.

  Ember joins us, and I hand Gabriel to her. Joey returns an hour later, and he holds me close to him, “I love you, baby.”

  He starts to worry me, when he keeps searching the crowd, “Have you seen Everest anywhere?”

  I shake a quick no.

  He apologizes, “I need to do a few things real quick. I will be right back, but your Uncle Phoenix wants a dance with you.”

  Uncle Phoenix trades with Joey, as he hands me over to my new uncle.

  Uncle Phoenix snaps his fingers, “I may not be your daddy, but I will work on being a better uncle to you. I’m so sorry that I missed out so much. Please allow me to continue to be in your existence now.”

  “I accept your apology, and yes, you’re more than welcome to stay in my existence.”

  He places a father daughter song on. My head leans on his chest as he holds me. It feels like my daddy is still here with me. And momma takes pictures of us dancing together. The other fairies aren’t happy, when they notice that Phoenix is here. Their body language shows their disapproval, and they’re turning their noses up at him. I won’t judge him for what he did in the past. What’s done is done. Joey returns once the song ends, and I hug Uncle Phoenix once more.

  “I want you to enjoy your honeymoon, and I will see you two again soon. Be cool, kids.” He disappears right after he hugs both Joey and me.

  Joey holds me in his arms once again, “I love you, Rosalie Summer Cirrus.”

  “I love you more, Joseph Pike Cirrus.”

  My husband caresses my cheek, and I lean my head into his hand. My new mother-in-law taps me on the shoulder, “May I please have a dance with my baby?”

  I gracefully hand my husband over to my now official mom, “You can dance with him anytime you want.”

  I softly kiss her cheek, and she gushes, “Thanks Rosalie, and I’m so thankful that my son chose you to be his wife. Thanks for bringing him home to me.”

  As I walk off the dance floor, I run into Everest. “May I have a dance with my beautiful niece?” Uncle Everest asks.

  I take Everest's hand, and he leads me back to the dance floor. I notice that my husband is watching us intently with a worried expression on his face.

  Everest smiles at me, “I remember the night that your mom danced with you, before she died.”

  “What did you just say to me?”

  Everest closes his mouth quickly, “I meant to say that your mom would dance with you here in Avalon.”

  “I never returned to Avalon. How do you know that she danced with me before she died?”

  “Oberon knew about you, and he left you there. Oh! I’m so sorry, and I need to leave now.” Everest snaps his fingers, and he disappears.

  I run over to Uncle Oberon ready to kill him. Oberon seems confused as I take a swing at him, “What are you doing, Rosalie?”

  Joey grabs my hand, “You knew where I was, and yet you left me there! What did you want? Did you want to be the conquering hero? You left me alone in their fucking closet!” I accused.

  “Rosalie, I never knew you were born! I never knew where your parents went, when th
ey left Avalon! Rosebud was just flashing her pregnancy with you!”

  “Explain my locket!”

  “Mom realized that she made a mistake, and she gave your mom the locket with a note attached to it. Apparently, Rosebud never received the note for some weird reason. Mom placed both the gold key and locket in Rosebud’s old pink blanket in her backpack. I have no idea, what happened to her note! I swear to you, Rosalie! I had no knowledge about your birth until after! Never put me down like that, Rosalie! I would never have left you in that closet! Had I known where you were, we would have been there! Everest was the one, who told us where you were after your parents were murdered! He knew about their deaths, before everyone else!”

  Joey frowns with disappointment, “How would Everest know that Blaze and Rosebud were dead? The only way that he could have known about their deaths is if he walked in to see their bodies. Nevertheless, even with fairies he had to have been right there to claim their deaths. A body of a fairy disintegrates in less than an hour. He almost had to have been right there when it happened,” Joey points it out.

  Oberon's face changes to horror, “That asshole! Where the fuck is he?”

  Joey surveys our reception, “I think he said too much to Rosalie, and he disappeared.”

  The rest of the FOL are incensed with this latest revelation, but they’re not the only ones. All of them stand up.

  Oberon peers at Joey, “Surely he wouldn’t have done that to our sister! Please, Joey! This will crush my parents, and this would be the worst thing that Everest has ever done. I don’t like this one bit. This doesn’t sit well with me. He has done a lot of shitty things over the years, but this would be the cruelest.”

  I stare at them with confusion. Joey shakes his head, “A very concerned uncle, who normally is with Blaze all the time is magically arrested for something he didn’t do. I believe it was a setup. I believe a fairy or two had their hands in the murders of Blaze and Rosebud.”

  My stomach hits the lowest of the low. To know that one of our own did this to my parents makes me sick.