by Daisy Banks
The door below opened and Keri called, “The snow’s worse than I thought. I don’t think we’ll be going anywhere. It seems like the snow team haven’t got as far as our road.”
Today is a day to stay indoors and be cozy. If the girls stay home it will give me a good chance of finding out what happened last night and taking more steps to put things right.
“Oh, I didn’t think it would be this bad,” Lucy said and sighed.
Poppy wriggled into her gown and checked Cedar, who remained asleep.
“Keri, Luce, Claudia has just sent a text. The office won’t open until ten thirty today, if at all. The snow’s caused gridlock. There’s nothing moving in Worcester today. Even Claudia isn’t going to attempt the journey in until later. She said she’ll text back at nine thirty to tell us if the office is closed for the day.” Bal joined them in the porch.
“I don’t understand this country, six inches of snow and everything grinds to a halt,” Lucy said.
Bal shivered on the doorstep. “Whatever, let’s get inside before we freeze. This will either turn to rain or it will stick.”
Keri gave a laugh. “I think you could say it’s stuck already.”
Poppy headed under the lintel of the door before they could close it and cautiously followed them inside. Now I’ll find out what happened last night to Keri and Lucy.
“More coffee anyone?” Lucy called through from the kitchen.
“Please,” Bal said. “You know what? I think this will ruin my date with Surjan this evening. I think perhaps he and I should simply give it up and say it’s not meant to be.”
Keri shook her head. “Oh, don’t say that. The snow might clear. I bet he phones you anyway.”
“Maybe, so tell me how did it go last night?” Bal asked with a smile.
Poppy nodded agreement, she so wanted to know. She settled down to listen.
Keri smiled and said, “Fine, we found out we dance well together.”
“So, are you seeing Jez again?” Bal asked.
“Yes, tomorrow.”
“Good, and you’re both okay about what happened the other night at the party. I still go cold thinking about it?”
“Yes, we did talk about it a little, but I think like me, Jez wants to forget the whole thing.” Keri patted her hand. “Let’s simply say it was one of those crazy nights I don’t think any of us will be able to ever explain. Try not to feel too bad and your mom will never know.”
Bal nodded. “Surjan was so embarrassed about it all. I felt sorry for him.”
“Coffee, girls.” Lucy came in with a tray. “Hey, turn the fire up, it’s freezing in here.”
Keri bent to the fire, turned the big black knob so flames flickered blue and yellow in the hearth. “Thanks.” She picked up a steaming mug from the tray. “Is all rosy in the garden with you and James?”
Lucy beamed. “Oh, yes. We’re going to go away for a weekend at the end of the month. Somewhere like Bath or the Cotswold’s. To be honest, I can’t wait. I hope the snow clears by then. I think he might be building up to a proposal.”
A sigh of relief left Poppy and she relaxed against the back of the sofa. This all sounds very hopeful. Whatever damage I caused between James and Lucy is obviously over.
“Great, Luce, I’m so pleased it’s all turned out well,” Keri said.
The buzzing sound made Bal scramble through her bag. “Hello,” she said into the phone. Surjan she mouthed to the others and went into the kitchen.
Poppy glanced after Bal, torn between following her or staying and listening to Keri and Lucy. She stayed.
“And you and Jez, what about you?” Lucy asked.
“Too early to say, Luce, but yes I like him, I like him a lot,” Keri said quietly.
Lucy nodded as she wrapped her hands around her coffee cup. “Good, he’s a nice guy.”
“Yes, very. I’m seeing him tomorrow night.” Keri sipped coffee, her eyes bright.
“Well?” Lucy asked with one eyebrow arched at Bal, who walked back in and put the phone down.
“Surjan says he’s still coming round at half seven and we are going out. I think he’s trying to impress after the other night. He said the four-by-four has no problem with the snow and it will give him chance to drive in bad weather again,” Bal explained.
Poppy grinned. I’ll go ahead with the wish for Bal later today and everything will be as it should have been. Excitement running through her in a warm wave, she snuck into the kitchen, planning to go through the window but when she landed on the ledge, the window was shut. One of the girls must have shut it because of the cold.
There has to be another way to get outside. I have to get back to the nest. She flew back into the sitting room and while the girls chatted over their coffee, she managed to squeeze through the tiny gap in the doorway into the hall. Only the letterbox might be a possible way out, but when she tried to lift the flap, the metal wouldn’t budge—it was far too heavy. She could have used magic but didn’t want to deplete the energy she had. She wanted all of it for tonight’s wish. If only someone would ring the doorbell, one of the girls will open the door and I could fly out. Hopefully Cedar still slept and wouldn’t notice how long she’d been gone. She hovered around the top of the door and stared through the skylight out to the porch. The edge of the nest peeked out from the crack in the wall, but she couldn’t tell if Cedar had woken or not. There was nothing to be done but to wait.
The insistent blare of the doorbell meant she almost slipped down from where she’d perched at the top of the door. Keri hurried through the hall and opened the door.
Poppy shot into the chill of the snowy morning. Though no one appeared to be there, she had a good guess who’d rung the bell in such a way.
“Odd, maybe the battery’s going,” Keri said and closed the door.
“I thought so. What were yer doing inside?” Cedar asked, leaning against the wall close by the bell push.
“I went in to see if everything is all right. I think it is, I think from what they’ve said everything will work out fine.” She grasped his hand.
“And what about me? Did yer not think of me? I woke up and yer weren’t there. I was worried yer might have got took by a cat.” He arched an eyebrow at her as he slipped an arm around her waist.
“Well, I’m fine.” She shivered in his embrace.
“Come on; let’s go get warm, ’tis too cold today for flitting about. Ye can explain this plan yer had when we’re warm.”
“There wasn’t a plan. I went inside that’s all.”
“Ah, impulsive to the last, my little flower,” he murmured as he kissed her cheek.
“No, I’m not impulsive. I’m used to being alone, doing what I want, when I want to. I’m not used to having someone else here, and I want to talk to yer about it.”
He wrapped the cloak around them both when they sat in the nest, his gaze shone in the gloom. “Well then, I’m listening.”
She swallowed hard not sure how to begin. Her tongue seemed to have the old twisty sensation back when he held her gaze and waited for her answer. “’Tis the idea of it,” she murmured.
“The idea of what?”
He settled his arm around her, and she longed for it to stay there.
“Going back to the court.” She shook her head.
Can he understand how I feel? She pressed her hands together and worried at her lip, before she breathed deep, grasped her courage tight, and tried to explain.
“I don’t want to go back, Cedar, I honestly don’t. I was never very happy there. I’m not like them. I never fitted in with them all, or the fashions. I was always doing things wrong. Don’t yer remember when I turned Yew blue? When I broke the box of unbreakable goblets? What about the night I cleared my table in the great hall before everyone had even eaten? I bet you laughed at me just like all the others. I was the one who made a right muddle of everything.” The words came out in a rush and a lump formed at the base of her throat.
“Is that all
?” he asked, and pressed his warm lips on her cheek.
“No, it’s not just I’m hopeless at wishes, Cedar. ’Tis the idea of a babe, I don’t think it’s right. A baby shouldn’t be a fashion. A baby should be something very special.” She couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze and tiny shivers ran over her as she waited for what he would say. He’ll leave, go back to the court and find another fairy who knows all the things he does, and I’ll miss him so.
“Ah, I see, so yer think our babe wouldn’t be special?”
His gaze fixed on hers the moment she peeked up, and his tender smile gave her a little hope. The lump in her throat eased, and she unlocked her knuckles to reach for his hand.
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. If we did have a babe, I’d want it not because it might be a fashion, but because it meant something important to us both.” She let his hand go and scrunched a piece of her skirt between her fingers. “Besides, yer’d want a clever babe, wouldn’t yer? Chances are, if ’twere mine, the poor wee thing might not be so clever. I’d bet it would make a real muddle of granting wishes.” She gave a huge sigh and wanting to enjoy the last sense of his closeness, laid her head on his shoulder while she wiped a tear away.
Cedar roared with laughter, and he didn’t stop even after she sat up and pushed hard at his chest. He caught her in his embrace and held her tight. Long minutes passed before his chuckles stopped rumbling against her. The tears made her throat ache but she didn’t shed them. Locked in his arms, she watched the snowflakes fall faster now beyond the edge of the porch. She pinched her lips tight together and didn’t say anything while his body still moved with his now silent amusement.
Cedar finally stopped laughing, but she continued to stare away toward the wedge of grey sky beyond the edge of the nest.
“Poppy?”
She ignored him. Only when he began to tease kisses over her cheek did she answer with a sniff, “I don’t like it when yer laugh at me.”
“Then yer shouldn’t say such funny things, should ye?” He smoothed her hair back from her face and used his thumbs to brush away the two tears she hadn’t manage to still. She fixed her gaze on his and the love in his eyes dissolved her need to pout.
How I love him. The world is a sweeter place with him in it. She couldn’t stop her lip trembling.
“My sweet, the choice about a babe is yer own, always. Ye know it, I hope.”
“Aye,” she said.
“If yer wish to stay away from the court then I’m happy to stay with ye. Believe me?”
A quivery little sigh escaped her. The way his lips curved as he smiled lured her thoughts from anything else.
“And as for babies, I shouldn’t even have mentioned it. ’Twas such a surprise though, to find the thought of one with ye appealed. I’d not thought on it ever before, not seriously. I’m sorry and I didn’t mean to worry ye. Yer much younger than I, had less experience of the world and of magic.” He caressed her face, bent and placed a kiss where she knew the freckle spoiled her complexion. “I’m happy to wait with ye, Poppy. I’ll wait until yer decide ’twould be a good idea for us to have a little Poppy of our own.” He slid a hand round the back of her neck to pull her head down until she rested her cheek on his shoulder again.
“Yer would wait for me to decide?” Her heart swelled at the very thought and the words came out all crackly.
“I’ve said I love yer, haven’t I? I’d do a lot more than wait for yer to make a decision. For me to see yer smile and know yer happy and love me is all I need.” He stroked through her hair, twined his fingers in it and bent his head to press a kiss to her lips.
“I thought, ’twas all about the lovin’, you know, the flyin’ and such,” she murmured, while heat flamed to her face.
“Aye, but there’s more to lovin’, so much more, my flower. We have an age to be together, if yer want it.” He wrapped his arms tight around her and his kiss followed slow and sweet.
“And yer truly don’t mind if the wishes I make get muddled?” she asked when he let her mouth go. He’s such a clever fairy, he’s bound to mind, and no matter what I do, things don’t seem to go right.
“Now, yer being silly again, my flower, because ’twas only one wish that went wrong. True ’twas a very big wish but ’twas an accident like yer said, and lots of accidents happen. I agree more than most seem to happen to ye. Perhaps yer what is called accident-prone. But the rest of the wishes ye’ve sent since have worked, haven’t they?” He gave her an encouraging smile.
She thought for a moment and nodded. “Aye, I suppose they have, and some of the ones in the house before the party.”
“And later today, yer can send another one to the last mortal couple and all will be well.”
She couldn’t answer him right then, because he whispered gentle kisses on her throat, and his lips turned her body to a needy mass so she ached and longed for more of his touch.
“Cedar,” she murmured when he helped pull the gown over her head.
“Tell me later, my flower, we’ve the whole of this cold day to spend together.” When he yanked off his clothes and lay down beside her, she entwined her legs around him, found the sweet hollow of his throat to kiss, and stroked over the faint shimmer that began to gleam through his flesh.
* * * *
Their snowy day passed too quickly. Only as a heavy tread crunched on the snow covered path beneath the nest did she lift the blanket from over their heads and realize the evening had arrived.
“Quick, it’s him,” she said and peeked over the edge of the nest down to where Surjan stood waiting after he rang the doorbell. Cedar snuggled close behind her.
“Patience, sweetness, wait until they are both together,” he murmured caressing her hips.
Bal answered the door, her pink hooded jacket already buttoned up tight. “Surjan, are you sure about this tonight?” Bal asked.
“Yes, I haven’t driven in snow since my visit to Canada last winter. You’ll love it. Come on.” He smiled wide as he reached for Bal’s hand.
“Now,” Cedar whispered, as the two mortals walked down the path to the large red car.
She let the power of the wish swell fast and as she let it go the wish flew bright and fast, and landed right where she’d sent it.
“And now it’s all fixed?” she said, as Surjan opened the door for Bal to get in the car.
“Aye, ’twill all be as it should have been before they drank the punch.” Cedar slid a warm palm to cup her breast another to stroke her hip.
“Good.” She turned her head to kiss him and made to rise from where she knelt.
“No, my star, don’t move yet,” Cedar whispered close into her ear. Solid, velvet warmth parted her folds and nestled at the entrance to her pussy.
“Like this?” she asked with a glance over her shoulder.
He ran his hand up along her spine and giving her the smile she adored, caught the hair at the nape of her neck. She let out a soft shuddery moan of pleasure as he slid inside and bent to her ear with a deep groan.
“Yes, Cedar. I like this!”
They moved in a swiftly building unity. The glow from him above her shone on her hands as she clutched the side of the nest. Her breathing rate snapped along. She gave tiny cries of pleasure. A fiery heat thrilled through her.
“Cedar!”
Her next shriek rang wordless.
He rolled her hips against his still buried deep and moving fast. “Again, my gem. Once more.”
Filled with the delicious and blissful glow of pleasure, she whimpered agreement and shoved back toward him with a moan. A fresh welter of sensations thundered through her at the increase in the rhythm. He took her so quickly to the edge of orgasm the evening blazed about her in a dazzle of light.
Incapable of words, she gave a shattered cry as he hit the peak with her.
She would never have believed it possible to want someone as much as she seemed to want him. Each time they loved was perfect and made her long for the next. He wi
thdrew and they collapsed down in the nest. She rolled over and wiped the sheen of sweat from his brow. He glistened like a star.
He cupped her face in his hands and bent to kiss her. Their mouths met and the energy spilled from them both to light the nest bright as if by a lamp. “My flower, I’ll never leave ye, I swear it.”
“About the baby idea?” she murmured as he laid her back in the soft springy nest.
“Ah, we’ll talk more about it in the springtime, my flower.” He traced soft over her skin with gentle fingers, and she sighed as she pulled him to her and hid the dazzling brilliance they’d made with one of her pink covers.
Chapter 12
May blossom hung white as snow on the branches, the sweet honeyed fragrance enough to delight both the bumbles and Poppy. Cedar lay beside her. He rested his hand on the small swelling beneath her gown.
“Today’s the last day then?” he murmured, his mouth close to her ear.
“Aye, I’m sad to see them go, but at least they’re all happy.”
“And are ye?” he asked.
“Aye, I love ye, yer know it.” She reached over to kiss his face.
“I love yer too, my darling little bud.” He slid his arm around her, and she breathed deep.
The chink of the glasses and the pop of a cork roused her from the lazy bliss of the blossom. Cedar seemed asleep as she turned over so she could see where her three mortals stood.
Lucy poured wine into the glasses which were already half full of orange juice.
“I’ll just have juice, thanks,” Bal said.
Lucy passed a glass to each of them. “To us all, and to love.”
“Here’s to us all,” Keri said.
“I’m going to miss you both,” Bal added as they chinked the glasses together.
Lucy laughed and then sipped. “My darlings, we’re only a phone call away and we’ll still see each other.”
