Vlad looked just as dismayed. “This really isn’t working, is it?”
His once-elegant ruffled shirt was now a mangled mess, much like the machine I’d hoped would solve my problem. I couldn’t understand why he’d decided it would be a good idea to wear it. Perhaps he hadn’t. His sisters lavished him with affection, which sadly meant that they got to pick his garments.
“You’re quite a master at stating the obvious today,” I pointed out sarcastically. Knowing I shouldn’t take my anger out on the count, I added, “I’m running out of options, Vlad. I don’t know what to do anymore.”
I’d tried everything. After Dineiro and Kirril had returned to Avalon, I’d focused on trying to come up with a way to bring Larue to my size. None of my efforts had paid off, and it didn’t help at all that at night, I continued to transform into a cat.
For the first time in my life, I had to admit I was well and truly stumped. I’d even enlisted Vlad to assist me. While he wasn’t a scientist, his age—which he had never actually mentioned but I knew to be quite impressive—guaranteed that he had insight on numerous matters. Sadly, our combined efforts had failed, and the message I’d sent to my parents remained unanswered.
As I fumed over this, my mate flew into the room, looking concerned. “What was that noise? Are you all right?”
I nodded, my heart clenching with affection for him. “Just a little setback, that’s all.”
Larue grimaced, and the sight of his disbelief hurt. He quickly pushed it back and forced a more neutral expression on his face, and that was even more painful. I wanted to tell him to never hide his emotions from me. He was like a bright light in the sterile existence I’d built for myself, his honesty and openness keeping me going. If he took that away from me…I could withstand anything, but not that.
Before I could tell him that, Vlad intervened. “Where’s Vesper?” he asked.
“I believe he’s with your sisters, Count Dracula,” Larue replied politely. “They were looking for some books that could help us figure out a solution for Vlad and me.”
Vlad cursed. “My sisters? Did he lose his mind or what?”
Grumbling, he stalked out of the room, presumably heading to the library. I couldn’t help but smile fondly. I had known Vlad for a long, long time, ever since I’d moved into this castle, and I considered him a friend. If he liked Vesper, I was happy for them.
Now that Vlad had wisely left us alone, though, I needed to address my own issue. Turning toward Larue, I frowned at him. “Don’t ever pretend in front of me, lovely. I know you’re disappointed and anxious. I am, too. You don’t have to hide it.”
Larue winced. “I didn’t mean to hide. It’s just…I guess I didn’t think it would be this way.”
He flew to my side and landed on my shoulder. I desperately wished we could really touch, not just like this, but until I succeeded to come up with an invention that would actually work, we were both stuck.
“We won’t give up,” I told him, finding strength in his proximity. “I might not have found the answer today, but I’m getting there.”
The truth was that if we wanted to be together, we’d have to change the very essence of Larue’s pixie nature, which meant that we couldn’t rush things. Even if I did invent something with potential, I’d have to test it for years before I could deem it safe enough to use on Larue. The thought of what could happen if something went wrong kept me up at night, and in my darkest moments, I actually considered abandoning the project. At least this way we had each other, in a platonic sense. We could continue being friends. I had to admit I wanted more, but as long as he was safe, I could hold back.
I hadn’t dared to tell Larue about this, already knowing he’d be furious with me. Besides, we only had a couple of weeks working on this. It was far too early to give up the battle. I just needed time and focus, and I had to believe things would work out.
As if guessing my thoughts, Larue patted my head and whispered, “I know. I trust you.”
His words meant the world to me. In the couple of weeks we’d spent together, I’d grown very fond of him. No, more than fond. The emotion bubbling inside me was far too intense to be just that. I was falling in love with him, something very dangerous under current circumstances.
That didn’t mean I wanted to change those feelings. No, it was the frustrating situation that needed to disappear. With that in mind, I scanned the incipient device which I’d considered as a scanner of sorts. I’d intended to map the specifics of pixie nature in a noninvasive procedure, so that I’d have more information to work with. It was a concept I’d dabbled with before, but had never quite succeeded pining down.
Taking a deep breath, I gripped my wrench and stepped to the device again. It was a wreck, but I could fix it. I would not fail Larue.
Before I could go through with my plan, Igor burst into my laboratory. “What is it, Igor?” I asked with a tired sigh.
“Your parents and your brother are here. They’re walking through the castle gates as we speak.”
The wrench fell from my hand and hit the floor with a loud clatter. When I’d send them the m-mail, I’d had no idea if they’d even manage to find a way to get back to me. My parents traveled a lot, having foregone their old quiet life in favor of searching the whole of Avalon for whoever had cursed us. They’d explored both dimensions of our world, without having much luck. I hadn’t seen them, or Philippe in years. What could have determined them to come here?
Larue clapped his hands together and released a sound of excitement. “Oh! I can’t wait to meet them.”
“Well, you’ll get your wish. Just make sure you keep your distance from my brother, at least for now.”
“Why?” Larue asked, puzzled. “Oh, wait. You said he shifts during the day.”
I nodded. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only reason. Since the curse had manifested within us, Philippe and I simply couldn’t get along. I didn’t want the hostility to hurt Larue.
In any case, I needed to change and wash up a little. I couldn’t just greet my family looking like this. Not that I was ashamed of working with my hands, but my mother was a lady, and she always worried about me when she saw me messy.
“Igor, make sure they’re comfortable. I’ll be right there.”
Before he could say anything else, I fled, heading toward my quarters. Unexpectedly, my shape-shifting nature had granted me some abilities I wouldn’t have had otherwise, so I reached my destination in no time.
As I ran, Larue flew off my shoulder and did a little twirl in the air. “Should I change, too?” he inquired, sounding a little self-conscious.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I replied, already hastening into the bathroom. “You always look beautiful.”
I splashed water on my face, making a mental note to review the castle’s plumbing like Dineiro and Kirril had suggested. A few quick motions had the soot and dirt off my face and torso. When I thought I wouldn’t scare my mother with my appearance, I returned to the bedroom, only to freeze in my tracks. Apparently, my mate had decided to change after all. He’d brought clothes here a week or so ago, and he was now in the process of pulling a new tunic on.
Unfortunately, his idea gave me a very good sight of what he looked like naked. Of course, he was small everywhere—how could he not be?—but he was also well proportioned and my analytic mind easily provided an image of how he’d look like if he was my size.
As quickly as I could, I turned on my heel, shying away from the far too beautiful sight. “Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t realize you were changing.”
“It’s all right. If everything goes as planned, you’ll see me naked anyway.”
He was teasing me now, and I laughed breathlessly, glad that things had returned to normal a little. As he blew pixie dust over me, I waved him off and started to rummage through my wardrobe in search of a decent outfit.
In the end, it took us far too long to get ready, and by the time I left my room, I was glowing with pixie dust li
ke I’d suddenly changed species. At this point, my mate wasn’t even doing it on purpose. His excitement and anxiousness just made him blow the substance all over the place. Fortunately, I’d grown accustomed to it and found it quite endearing.
We rushed downstairs, with me holding Larue in my palm so that he wouldn’t have to strain his little wings. As we reached the living room, the sound of voices drifted to my ears.
“…and that’s how we ended up half living here, helping Doctor Frankenstein with his predicament.”
Much to my dismay, I recognized the words as belonging to Vesper. This automatically meant that Vlad and his sisters were also there. I wasn’t sure what kind of reaction they’d draw out of my family. My mother and father tended to be very jealous, and Vlad’s siblings, Mina and Catherine in particular, were terrible flirts. The other two, Veronica and Monica, had a fondness for anything with fur, which automatically meant my somewhat more dangerous brother would be a target.
Indeed, as I entered the room, the first thing I saw was Vlad holding a shape-shifted Vesper in his arms, with Veronica next to him, petting the bunny. Monica had knelt on the floor and seemed to be playing with my brother’s tail. I suppressed the urge to burst into laughter, as I’d never seen Philippe so dismayed while in panther form. Mina and Catherine, on the other hand, had parked on the couch, next to my mother and father, and were fussing over both of them. They didn’t discriminate over gender where beautiful people were concerned.
“Victor!” my mother cried out as she saw him. Somehow, she managed to extract herself from Mina’s half embrace and lunged at me. “Oh, my baby. Look at you. I couldn’t believe it when we got your message.”
She hugged me tightly, not even noticing Larue whom I was forced to release. Naturally, I hugged her back. I had missed her, as she reminded me of a childhood when things had been so much easier.
“Let the child breathe, Belle,” my father said as he got up, too, his voice somehow both elegant and gruff. I’d never quite managed to master that technique. “I’m sure he has many things to tell us.”
My mother sighed and freed me. Pixie dust stubbornly clung to her dress as she moved away, and she glanced at the now shining material in confusion. “What’s going on, Victor? Where is your mate?”
“Right here,” Larue replied from above her.
She looked up, and her eyes widened when she took in Larue’s appearance. “Oh…” she said eloquently. “Oh.”
I didn’t know if they were disappointed or just surprised, but I wouldn’t allow anyone to slight Larue because of his size.
At the same time, I couldn’t say I was shocked when my brother chose to speak first, “Well, I can certainly see why you have a problem.”
His voice sounded rough, not like my father’s, but truly growly. He’d always teased me that he’d gotten to change in a powerful black panther, while I’d become a mere house cat. Unfortunately, his strength didn’t come without a price. Unlike me, who had no trouble maintaining a human behavior even while in animal form, he had inherited beastly impulses. Last time I’d checked, he was often forced to eat raw meat and tended to get violent, something which I disliked.
Ignoring him, I decided to make the introduction, “Everyone, this is my mate, Larue. Larue, meet my family, my mother Belle, my father, Abelard, and my brother, Philippe.”
“It’s an honor,” Larue said in his soft, tinkling voice. “I’ve heard so many lovely things about all of you.”
“Oh, isn’t he just darling?” my mother exclaimed. In spite of once falling in love with a beast, she had a weakness for cute things, too. “You’re a pixie?”
“I am.” Larue nodded. As my mother extended her hand, he obediently landed on it. “I must say, my people tell stories about your family. I’ve always found it very sweet and romantic.”
“Did you hear that, Abelard?” She smiled smugly. “Victor’s mate finds us romantic.”
My father chuckled lightly. “That’s good news. Victor needed someone with a warmer heart in his life.”
“You say that as if I’m horribly cold,” I mumbled morosely.
“Not horribly,” my mother replied in a pacifying tone. “You just tend to get lost in your science projects and forget about your own well-being.”
I was used to tuning her out, even if I knew she had a point. However, I couldn’t do that now, since she had Larue, and my focus was always on him. “I know, I know,” I told her. “It’s just the way I am.”
My mother looked like she wanted to say something else, but Larue stopped her. “Being driven is not necessarily a bad thing,” he pointed out as he flew to me once more and took position on my shoulder. “It’s a quality.”
Larue’s defense of me seemed to please my mother. “Indeed, and now that you’re here to take care of my son, I can safely say he will be able to pursue all his interests without any risk coming to him.”
“On that note, son, you’ll be happy to learn that we have found someone who might be able to help us,” my father said. “We haven’t actually spoken to him, but we think he might have the key to this strange enchantment on our family. As I understand it, he is very powerful, and if what we heard of him is true, he could help you with your mate’s…small problem, too.”
His voice choked a little around the word small, which made my mate tense and his wings flutter in a clear sign of displeasure. In the process, he emanated more pixie dust, which made my mother sneeze.
My brother started chuckling at that, which in his form, sounded like a strange purr. Still focused on him, Monica let out a gleeful sound and pounced on my unsuspecting sibling. It seemed her sense of self-preservation wasn’t very well developed.
Naturally, Philippe reacted like any predator would, flipping around and pinning Monica against the floor, his sharp teeth against her throat. Vlad burst into action, ready to defend his sister, but sadly, he was still holding Vesper, and he seemed reluctant to let the bunny go.
To free Vlad’s arms, Vesper changed into human form and dropped out of Vlad’s arms and straight into Veronica’s. In the meantime, Vlad’s other two sisters surrounded my brother, anxious and obviously not knowing what to do.
The entire scene was so ridiculous that even my brain short-circuited. Larue, however, reacted as he always did, in a completely natural way. He started laughing, the twinkling sound sweeping over the room as his body began to glow brightly. Even my brother seemed entranced by the sight, and he released Monica, backing away from her.
“Sorry,” he told her. “You took me by surprise.”
“That’s all right.” She fluffed her black hair and grinned, exposing strikingly sharp fangs. “I don’t break easily, and you can make it up to me.”
Once more, Philippe looked quite horrified at the prospect of becoming a pet. I couldn’t help it. I started laughing, too, and so did everyone else. Even Vlad was snickering, in spite of looking a little disgruntled as he freed a very naked bunny-shifter from his sister’s embrace. But then, if there was anyone who could pull off looking upset while amused, it was definitely Vlad.
When we finally controlled our mirth, I made myself focus on what my father had said. “Who is this person you mentioned, Father?” I asked him.
“Well, we don’t know his name, but they call him the Fairy Godfather.”
As one, Vlad and his sisters groaned. “If you’re looking for him, it won’t be easy,” Mina said. “He’s harder to find and control than Lord Stiltskin.”
That didn’t sound very promising, but then, we did have an ally. The Rainbow Brick Road, also known as the Path of Fate, could be coaxed into helping us with this. After all, it—he?—had actually built a home for Dineiro and Kirril and a very beautiful one at that. Because of the road’s intervention, I’d met Larue in the first place.
I didn’t even have to ask how they’d learned of it. I had, after all, accepted their nature a long time ago. However, I had to admit I felt somewhat puzzled. Larue wasn’t exactly young—he had t
old me he would soon hit his two hundred thirtieth birthday—and I couldn’t call myself a baby either, and yet, we’d never heard of this Fairy Godfather. Or at least, I didn’t think so. Larue might have and considered it only a story. After all, he’d done that with the tale of my parents’ romance.
Confirming my thoughts, Larue suddenly said, “I heard he lives way beyond the Forgotten Steppes, so far that no one ever remembers the way.”
“That’s true,” Vlad said. “We were there once, but I barely recall anything at all.”
I shared a look with Larue. “Well, there’s someone who remembers. Come on, lovely. If there’s a chance of us finding a solution for this, I’m taking it.”
Chapter Seven:
In Which Bowie Strikes Again and Déjà-Vu is More Than a Fancy Word
The Rainbow Brick Road was, predictably, waiting for us outside the castle. Victor’s family looked surprised at seeing it, and I surmised the path hadn’t been there when they’d arrived.
“Is that what I think it is?” Victor’s father inquired, sounding shocked.
I nodded. “Just don’t—”
Before I could finish the phrase, Victor’s sibling rushed out of the courtyard and leapt onto the path next to us. “Oh, Goddess!” he exclaimed. “The Rainbow Brick Road!”
I could swear I heard a chortling as the world blurred once more. The sensation of déjà-vu that struck me was incredibly exasperating. “Oh, for crying out loud!” I screamed as soon as my head started to spin. “Don’t you know any better? You simply should not be saying that name.”
“Indeed,” a sudden voice said. “I prefer to be called Bowie.”
It was not the first time I’d heard the road’s voice, although it didn’t always speak or even show up. Bowie seemed to do whatever in the world he wanted, and I honestly couldn’t blame him. Being a road was likely very boring. And Goddess Almighty, I had not thought that. Damn it. I was losing my mind.
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