“Isn't it?” Trix said, astonished. “I'm sorry, I didn't know. I’ve been alone for ages. I can't even remember the last time I even talked to anyone. I always ran away when I saw other people. They throw things at me, you see.” She held out her arms to display a series of scars and bruises. “I’ve been hit with rocks so many times that I learned to stay hidden whenever somebody appeared.”
We all regarded Trix in a more sympathetic light following her frank description of her life. Fancy being treated like that and have people throw stones at you every time you showed yourself! A stray dog had a better life.
Tracey cleared her throat. “Well, I know how to fix one thing,” she commented. “There's a thermal pool not far from here. Let's go and get you clean.”
“If you say so,” Trix amiably agreed. “I don't want to cause any problems.”
We packed up what remained of the picnic and set off. After a brief walk, Tracey shepherded us to a small rocky pool, with hot vapors visible on the surface.
“This is it,” she unnecessarily announced.
“It looks fairly inviting,” Nix remarked, eyeing the pool. “I might have a quick dip as well.”
“Me, too,” Thorn enthused.
“Not before me, you don't,” Tracey proclaimed. “What about you, Stephen?”
“It does look like fun,” I asserted, “but we didn't bring any swimsuits.”
“Swimsuits?” Tracey asked in puzzlement.
“You know, swimsuits,” I explained. “Clothes to go swimming in.”
“You humans put on clothes to have a bath?” queried a confused Tracey. “Why would you do such an odd thing?”
“No, no,” I explained, patiently. “We don't put on clothes to have a bath. We use a swimming costume to have a swim.”
“What's the difference?” asked Tracey, a baffled look on her face. “A swim is the same as a bath, isn't it?”
“It's totally different,” I maintained, beginning to be lost in the illogical manifestations of my argument.
“No, it isn't,” Nix argued. “You're getting wet in both cases. Honestly, Stephen, I’m starting to worry about you.”
“Enough!” Thorn declared. “I don't want to stand about all day. Who's coming?”
Everybody, except me, began undressing. I didn't know the social protocols of what to do, so I vacillated between staring rudely and looking away in embarrassment. Obviously, nudity was an accepted norm here because no one else hesitated for a second in their disrobing efforts. I felt partially scandalised and partially titillated by the sight of a progressively naked Thorn and Tracey. I tried not to stare, but hey, I was only human after all, even if I presently happened to be a fairy!
Goodness me, the sight of those two set the pulses racing! They were both irrefutably females. Amazingly so. Unfortunately, I was a male – embarrassingly so, and I had to look away to prevent any physical manifestations occurring which might have undisputedly proven it. Not that closing off my vision ended up being much better because tantalising images persistently floated before my eyes in the darkness.
I still had my eyelids firmly shut when I heard the splashing of water and the accompanying giggles. Rationalising that it would be fairly safe to resume looking again, I peered at the pool. Tracey and Thorn were neck deep in water and merrily splashing each other, with Nix and Trix as grinning spectators. I had a sudden urge to join in, but my bashfulness prevented it. Damn my prudery!
So I spent the next frustrating and teasing half hour sitting down and watching my companions having fun. When everyone decided that they’d had enough, they all waded out of the pool, offering me even further provoking images before I turned away. Afterwards, when everyone had dressed themselves, we sat down to decide what to do next.
“Where will you go now, Trix?” I wanted to know.
She shrugged. “Nowhere, I suppose,” she answered, dispiritedly. “I'll just wander around as usual, stealing food. What else can I do?”
“You could go home with Thorn and Tracey,” I offered.
“What!” Thorn exclaimed. “Please say that you're joking!”
“Not at all,” I said, calmly. “Trix is homeless and it’d be heartless to send her back into the wilderness to starve. Come on, Thorn, where's your compassion?” I slyly smiled at her. “After all, she's obviously a One.”
“She is not!” Thorn disputed, incensed. “For one thing, where are her wings? All Ones have wings.”
“So, she belongs to a different branch of the family,” I reasoned. “But just look at her! There’s the same build, the identical eyes and the duplicated pointed ears. She’s a One, sure enough.”
“Stephen’s right,” Nix observed, sardonically, “and no indignant spluttering on your part, my dear Thorn, is going to change that. Accept it. She is related to you and there's nothing you can do about it.” Thorn's face was red with frustration, but finally she bowed to the inevitable.
“Even if I did accept the ridiculous theory of related race branches,” Thorn claimed, “we're still totally different in behaviour. We don't go around stealing everything in sight.”
“Well, what do you expect?” Trix accused, speaking up for the first time. “You chase us off whenever you see us. We’re hounded down like animals. How are we going to grow food, or to settle anywhere, with you harassing us day and night? We live in fear of our lives every single minute. How are we supposed to act? And how are we supposed to survive? We do what we have to, and that includes stealing, I'm sorry to say. But it's that or die.”
Chapter 7
Thorn and Tracey were astounded at Trix’s intensity and hung their heads in shame.
“Maybe our race is at fault,” Tracey murmured, regretfully. “We don't appear to have treated the cogdommina as they deserved.” She looked at Thorn. “Shall we invite her to our home?” Trix’s widening eyes held a faint hope as she waited breathlessly for Thorn's answer.
“My ingrained prejudices are saying ‘no’,” Thorn replied slowly, “but my inner self is saying the opposite.” She stared in a stern manner at Trix. “I want your word, or whatever it is you cogdommina swear by, that you’ll respect our property and to do everything you're told. Do you swear?”
“I swear,” Trix solemnly proclaimed. “I promise not to do anything you don't approve of.”
“Excellent!” I said. “I'm happy all this has worked out.”
“Once again, Stephen, you've managed to turn everything upside down,” Nix observed wryly. “How do you do these things?”
“I haven't done anything,” I protested. “Things just work out by themselves, thanks to everybody. I'm simply a visitor here, remember.”
“Yes,” Nix smiled. “A visitor who reconciled the borgulessa and the Ones, and has now taken the cogdommina into the fold. I wonder who else could have done all that.”
“You're forgetting everybody else's part in all of this,” I said, flustered. “I’m just part of a team.”
“A team that you formed,” Tracey murmured seductively. Thorn sent her a warning frown, but before Tracey could reply, Trix’s hand flashed under her coat, emerging with a small knife which she flung at Tracey. So quickly had Trix acted that Tracey's mouth had barely began to open in shock when the knife sped by her ear and impaled itself in the neck of a large sand-colored snake which had appeared unnoticed beside her. The reptile thrashed and hissed for a few seconds and then fell over, lifeless.
Trix skipped over to Tracey and pulled her knife out of the snake’s body. “I didn't have time to warn you,” she apologised. “I looked up and saw that it was about to strike. Are you all right?”
“I'm fine,” Tracey gulped, her face pale, “thanks to you. I didn't even see it.” We all gathered around to examine the dead reptile.
“It's a parchini,” Thorn said with authority. “It's deadly. Traculimna, you’re so lucky!”
“And Trix killed it,” Nix praised. He looked at her inquisitively. “I barely saw your hand move with that knife,” he sa
id. “Where did you learn to be such an expert?”
“Here and there,” Trix shrugged, modestly. “To survive out here, you have to learn a few skills.”
“Thank heavens you did,” Tracey told her, her voice shaking. “I owe you my life! You’re definitely coming home with us.” She hesitated. “Only if you want to, that is.”
Trix’s eyes filled with sudden tears. “Do I want to?” she whispered, emotionally. “It'd be a dream come true! To live in a real house and not have to fight for survival all the time is something I never thought would ever happen to me. Thank you. Thank you a million times. I hope I won't disappoint you.”
“I don't think you’re likely to do that,” Tracey said softly, holding out her arms. Trix hesitantly entered Tracey’s embrace, but after a few seconds of being hugged, she began to sob. “I think you have been alone for far too long, pet,” Tracey murmured gently as she tenderly stroked Trix’s hair, “Welcome to my family.” This caused Trix to cry even harder as Tracey rocked her as gently as a baby.
Tracey's maternal instincts surprised me. I had originally supposed her to be shallow and superficial, but her actions now forced me to reconsider. She had hidden depths. Everyone else appeared to have the same idea because I noticed a softening in their gaze as they regarded Tracey.
“Hush now, little one,” Tracey crooned. “Everything will be fine, you'll see. You can stay with us for as long as you want.”
After that touching scene had run its course, we headed back to the settlement. Trix was understandably nervous and timid, darting fearful glances to left and right as we entered the town proper. Tracey held Trix’s hand firmly as we walked along. Our new companion attracted numerous curious stares, many of them openly censorious, and this made Trix huddle closer to Tracey's side for protection. Tracey met these disapproving glares with one of her own, defying anyone to comment, and we arrived at Thorn and Tracey's house without confrontation. Trix was bundled inside and given the grand tour. Her eyes were wide with admiration at the basic comforts she found, producing a sense of pity for someone who’d never experienced even the most rudimentary level of comfort.
Once our guest had settled in, I was forced to use take my leave, because I had to return to my body back in the human world. I said goodbye to Nix and Trix, commenting, with a grin, on their rhyming names. Nix made a rude noise and told me to depart before he physically threw me out the door. I laughed and turned my attention to the lovely Thorn and Tracey. They each took one of my hands and looked poignantly into my eyes.
“Goodbye, Stephen,” Tracey murmured. “Come back soon. I'll be waiting.”
“I'll be waiting, too,” Thorn informed me, with an irritated glance at her sister.
“Don't start this again,” I sighed. “I'll miss you both. Hopefully, I'll be back in a week. I have some work to do in my world, so take care of Trix in the meantime. She won't be used to living among people and you'll have to keep an eye on her for the first little bit.”
“We'll look after her,” Tracey promised, pulling me into her arms. “Just make sure that you look after yourself and come back to us as soon as you can.”
“Don't worry about that,” I grinned. “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.” Tracey kissed me, followed by Thorn who performed a similar delightful action. My head spun. Being smooched by two gorgeous fairy women almost overloaded my emotional system. As per cartoons, I'm sure I had steam coming out of my ears.
Chapter 8
Phil did the honors once more, and I awoke in my real body, back in my humdrum world of overacted reality television shows and bad-news newspapers. I stretched languidly and went to the kitchen to have something to eat. I wondered how Trix would adapt to society. She had been solitary for so long that there could be adjustment problems. I hoped that everything would turn out for her. She deserved the chance, and Tracey seemed taken with her. Trix may be childlike in size, but I had a suspicion that she was older than she looked. Her attitude and actions were certainly those of an adult, especially her knife throwing abilities, and perhaps living rough in the wilderness had forced maturity on her faster than normal. I couldn't wait to get back to see, but unfortunately, I had to earn a living in the meantime.
A week went by as I worked at my job as a computer technician, but my mind continually wandered off by itself as if it was a separate entity. The images of Thorn and Tracey splashing merrily in the pool continued to plague me. More than once I had to mentally slap myself to prevent a plunge into sordid erotic daydreams about the both of them. They were definitely getting under my skin and worming their way into my psyche. Something would have to be resolved soon before I went around the bend with frustration. They were both so dazzling and sexy! In different ways, of course. Tracey was undeniably magnificent, physically speaking, and had lately shown, by her attitude to Trix, that she had the capability of deep emotion. Thorn, on the other hand, while beautiful to a lesser extent, had fire and passion on her side. Was I being presumptuous in assuming these two goddesses would even be attracted to me? Their actions suggested it, but could I take that as gospel? Maybe my desires had inflated the significance of their words. Who knows? Doesn't this whole love thing drive you crazy? Whoever invented it must have been out of their mind, or deliberately teasing us all.
Phil arrived in due time, and prepared to set me back to my other world.
“How’s Trix getting along?” I asked, eagerly. “Has there been any problems?” Thorn and Tracey had introduced Trix to Phil soon after we had arrived back in the settlement, and Phil had also promised to keep an eye on her.
“She's fine,” he assured me.
“So there's been no problems at all?” I probed.
“I didn't say that,” Phil maintained, frowning a little. “A few became upset about having a cogdommina living in the settlement, and took their complaints to the Council of Elders.”
“What happened?” I asked, anxiously.
Phil chuckled. “Traculimna defended Trix so vigorously that the Elders were stunned. They all sided with her in the end and she took Trix back home again. I think she terrified them into submission. Anyway, you know that no one can resist her.” He gave me a sly little glance. “No one at all.”
“Very funny,” I commented. “I admit that I find her attractive. Thorn too. And that's creating something of a dilemma. Phil, what am I’m going to do?”
“If you're smart,” Phil advised, “you won't do anything for the meantime. Let it sort itself out. One wrong move from you will upset the whole structure. At least everything is balanced right now, even if the tension of the spring is tightened almost to breaking point. It'll work itself out, my boy, just you wait and see.”
“I hope you're right,” I grumbled. “This whole thing is becoming a strain on my nerves.”
“A lot of male Ones would give their right arms to have that sort of a strain,” Phil observed, with a twinkle in his eye.
“All I can say is that they'd have a lot more stamina and fortitude than I possess right now,” I dryly commented.
I awoke as a fairy, looking up at three heads staring anxiously at me. The heads resolve themselves into Tracey, Thorn and Trix.
“Hello,” I murmured. “I wasn't expecting a committee.”
“Hello yourself,” Thorn announced, grinning. “It's nice to have you back.”
“Yes,” Tracey purred. “It's lovely to see you again, Stephen.”
“Are you really a human?” Trix asked, breathlessly. “I didn't believe it when Traculimna told me. That's amazing!”
“No more amazing than you, Trix,” I told her. “Elves have been a popular theme in human stories for untold generations. I consider myself fortunate to have met one.”
Trix turned to Tracey and said, “You're right, he is a charmer.” This elicited a glare from Thorn and an innocent blank face from Tracey.
“What's been happening?” I asked, to head off any unpleasantness. “Phil told me about a confrontation with the Council of Elders.�
��
Tracey waved a derisive hand. “They tried to take Trix away from me,” she exclaimed, indignantly. “The nerve of them!” She reached over and held Trix protectively. “Luckily, they saw the light and allowed her to stay.”
“Lucky for them, you mean,” Thorn commented, ironically. “At one stage there I thought that you were going to jump over the desk and physically attack them. It was quite a show.”
“Well, they deserved it,” Tracey muttered, uncomfortably. “Trix is an angel, and she hasn't stolen a single thing.” She glanced sideways at Trix. “That I know of,” she added with a cheeky grin.
Trix blushed. “I swear I haven't stolen anything,” she sincerely pronounced.
“I know that, lovely,” Tracey comforted, patting Trix on the arm. “I was only teasing.”
Once I had found stability on my feet, we all went for a walk around the settlement. Trix’s presence elicited only a few glances, so apparently the local populace had become tolerant about her. I felt pleased about that. The faint sounds of the local choir began to intrude into our conversation and Trix eagerly asked Tracey if we could go and listen to their efforts. Tracey smiled indulgently and led the way to where the choir was practising. We sat down and listened to the intriguing harmonies being produced. We weren't the only ones keen about a musical interlude, since about twenty Ones were already scattered around the hall, listening intently. Trix appeared to be delighted. She leaned forward in her chair, absorbed in the melodies and tapping her fingers on her thigh. I enjoyed myself as well. I loved music and these fairy choirs were extraordinary. All in all, we passed an extremely pleasant half-hour or so.
What happened next surprised us all. The leader of the choir invited members of the audience to sing with them. Tracey looked at me and I looked at Thorn. Each of us gave the other a definitive shaking of the head, and then we all smiled. Trix, however, was bouncing up and down on her seat.
Trix (3) (The Underground Kingdom) Page 3
