Fairy Gifts: A Between the Worlds Anthology

by Morgan Daimler

  Bleidd moved quickly and grabbed the Alpluchra by his ankles, lifting him, and turning to carry him out. That visual was too much for Allie who had swung from a sort of atavistic aversion at the sight of the sickly colored flesh to an uncontrollable amusement at the completely inappropriate bawdiness of the scene. She started shaking as she struggled not to laugh, watching Bleidd carry the unconscious fairy out the door into the snow.

  Jason had already gotten paper towels and bleach, and he gave her a sharp look as he started vigorously cleaning the stove, “Are you laughing?”

  “I’m sorry,” Allie gasped, wanting to explain the completely inappropriate response, but unsure where to start. Then the stench of bleach hit her and she knew she was going to be sick. She turned without a word and ran for the bathroom, Luath – thankfully- dodging out of her way as she raced down the hall.

  She sat on the floor in the dark bathroom for a minute when she was done, glad she hadn’t eaten anything that day so there wasn’t really anything to come up. After a minute she could hear Jason and then Bleidd but she couldn’t make out the words. Then Bleidd’s voice was in her mind, oozing annoyance “Allie for the love of all that’s holy tell your hound to let us pass!”

  She blinked in surprise, not sure what he meant and then remembered that she’d ordered Luath not to let anyone out of the doorway until she told her to. Blushing in the darkness she called out “Luath! It’s okay, your job is done, you can relax.”

  Okay, maybe not the most technical command Allie thought to herself leaning back against the bathroom cabinet but it worked. She listened as Luath walked down the hall and turned into the living room, probably planning to nap in her favorite spot next to the fireplace. A moment later Bleidd joined her in the bathroom looking less annoyed and more concerned, “Are you alright?”

  “I’m fine,” she said, climbing to her feet to prove her point. “It was just the smell of the bleach.”

  She wasn’t sure he entirely believed her, but he didn’t press her either. “Why don’t you go up with Jess and try to rest?”

  “It’s Thanksgiving,” she said stepping up to him and wrapping her arms around his torso. “I was thinking we could watch a movie while Jason does whatever he’s doing in the kitchen.”

  “I would like that,” he said softly, running his fingers through her hair. “But I have to go and get more carrots for him now to replace the others.”

  “I’ll go with you,” she quickly volunteered.

  “Allie-“

  “I could use the fresh air,” she said. “Honestly. And I don’t want to take a nap this early or be stuck with super stressed out Jason. I know this is his favorite holiday and he feels like he’s the rock star of the day because of the food and everything, but he always makes me crazy all morning with how tense and freaked out he gets until the cooking is done.”

  Bleidd pulled back until he could meet her eyes, his expression genuinely thoughtful, “Is that why you always jump at any excuse to run an errand or leave during the day on this holiday?”

  Allie smiled, tucking her head back in against his chest, her fingers tracing the scar on the right side under his shirt. “You caught me. Guilty as charged. Please don’t tell him though I don’t want to hurt his feelings.”

  “Certainly,” he agreed, holding her closer so that she could let his feelings fill her. “You are right that he would feel bad knowing that his emotions while he is cooking today are so upsetting to you.”

  “Well, usually I find ways to distract myself,” she said. “And usually there isn’t quite this much drama going on aggravating things.”

  For a moment they stood like that before he pulled away, saying, “Then if you are sure, let’s go get some fresh produce to help ease his stress.”

  “I’m sure,” Allie said holding his hand and stepping out ahead of him, so that she was leading him down the hall. “Besides I know which farm stands are open today and you don’t.”

  “Ah, but you could tell me if I insisted that you stay home,” he said, his emotions light and happy.

  “Ah, but would I tell you if you made me stay behind?” she shot back, smiling over her shoulder.

  “You are a wicked woman,” he said, laughing lightly.

  “You love me,” she replied, suddenly feeling as if the day were turning around for the better as they put their coats on and she prepared to head out for the second time that morning to get replacement food.

  10 A.M.

  “Jason’s going to be furious,” Allie said as they pulled up in front of the house several hours later.

  “I doubt that,” Bleidd said, giving her a lopsided grin from the driver’s seat.

  She rolled her eyes at him, opening her door and grabbing the bag of carrots. “You wouldn’t care if he was.”

  Bleidd’s smile widened. “There’s no harm done just because we were delayed slightly. Carrots are quick enough to cook.”

  They crunched their way up to the house through the snow which had accumulated to more than an inch before finally stopping. She swung the bag of carrots as she walked. “He’s going to wonder why it took us this long.”

  At that Bleidd stopped and turned on the walkway, pulling her into a loose embrace. “And should I tell him?”

  Allie blushed furiously, “No.”

  He laughed at her outrage. “He might understand.”

  For a moment she sputtered, unable to get a word out, “He will not understand. Good Gods, he’s already stressed about everything going wrong this morning and we ran out for an errand that should have taken at most an hour and it’s been, what, over two now.”

  Bleidd smiled, that Cheshire cat grin that she knew meant he was seriously thinking about doing what he’d said. She groaned, “Please Bleidd, don’t tell him.”

  “Tell him what?” he said innocently, still smiling, “That we-“

  “Yes, that!” she tried to cut him off but he wouldn’t be deterred.

  “- stopped on the way to have sex in my car?”

  She groaned again leaning her head into his chest. “Please don’t tell him? I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  “I’m telling you he may understand. He knows how much you struggle with your empathy and that sometimes you need me or Jess to help you-“

  “He has no idea what I really am,” she said bluntly. “Or that when I’m really thrown off or low on energy I can recharge myself with -“

  “- sex.”

  “Will you stop saying that word!” she snapped, pulling away from him.

  He laughed, and tried to pull her back, but she slipped out of his hands. “Relax Allie I am only teasing you.”

  She had turned away, intending to stay out of his grip for a minute before giving in, but looking towards the road something unexpected got her attention, “Bleidd why is there a second Guard vehicle here?”

  He came up next to her, his mood turning instantly serious as he looked at the second dark green Elven Guard car parked at the far end of the line of cars in front of the house, near the one that Jess usually drove. They hadn’t seen it when they pulled up because the other vehicles blocked the view.

  “I don’t know,” he said, frowning, clearly unhappy.

  “Come on, let’s go in and find out what’s going on,” Allie said, uneasy now and all worry about explaining their tardiness to Jason forgotten.

  Allie jogged up the front steps of the house, Bleidd behind her, his hand on her back. Normally she might have been annoyed by his closeness, which was too much like clinginess to suit her current mood, but she was distracted by her worry about the extra vehicle. What is going on? she thought, turning the doorknob and pushing with her shoulder since her other hand was full and the door was sticking again, why would anyone from the Guard be here? Jess isn’t working today – the whole reason he worked so late last night, well into this morning really, was so that he wouldn’t have to go in today, so he could be home with us even though elves don’t give a crap about American Thanksgiving�
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  They walked into the entryway and Allie was struck by two things simultaneously as she took off her coat and hung it up without paying attention to what she was doing. In the kitchen Jason was radiating hysteria so badly it made everything this morning look like minor annoyances; at the same time she could hear voices in the living room, Jess quite obviously, as well as two other male voices and a female voice. She recognized one of the male voices almost immediately as Jess’s brother Zarethyn, who was a Captain in the Elven Guard which explained the extra car. The female voice though, she wasn’t entirely sure, but she had a sneaking, terrifying suspicion she did recognize it. No Allie thought starting to step towards the living room doorway. It can’t be.

  Jason came barreling down the hall projecting desperation so badly that Allie flinched back, stepping away and into Bleidd, who pulled her against his chest reflexively. Jason took the carrots out of her hands absently, grabbing her shoulder with his other hand, “Help, this is terrible. I don’t know what we’re going to do. I think we’re actually cursed. Is that possible? Can someone curse a holiday?”

  “Woah Jason, slow down,” Bleidd said, reaching out to pry his fingers from Allie’s shoulder as she struggled to push his feelings away from herself. She’d always had a difficult time with Jason’s emotions, which tended to pass through her shields easily and which she perceived as stronger and more intense than other peoples. His current emotional state was overwhelming her and making it hard not to feel hysterical with him, even though she had no idea why he was upset. Bleidd knew that physical contact would make it worse and that getting Jason to stop touching her would help her collect herself. She felt a surge of gratitude as Jason’s emotions eased back and Bleidd’s emotions filled her, his torso still pressing against her from behind. He spoke calmly, “Tell us what has happened.”

  “The turkey!” he said, his eyes showing white all around. “It’s ruined. A 26 pound turkey. What do we do? What can we do? This is a disaster.”

  “Wait, what?” Allie said, starting to step forward, swimming in his panic, until Bleidd wrapped his arm around her waist and restrained her. “How? What happened?”

  “The stove!” he said, turning and charging back to the kitchen, forcing them to follow him. “The dial was on the wrong setting. I don’t know how, I know I had it on the right temperature this morning. But somehow, somehow it ended up on broil. Broil! And look!”

  He gestured at the top of the stove and they turned to see the turkey in the large cook pan, the skin crisped black. A slight hint of charcoal hung in the air and Allie shivered as a blast of cold wind hit her; turning she realized the back door was wide open.

  Bleidd realized the same thing, and let her go to rush over and close the door, his face set in an angry mask, “Are you mad? We only just drove out the Alpluchra you can’t leave the door hanging open as an invitation for it to come right back in!”

  “Well I didn’t have much choice when the whole kitchen was full of smoke,” Jason snapped. “I had to get the air cleared out somehow.”

  “And the windows are open as well!” Bleidd said, moving quickly to close the kitchen windows while Allie just stood in the middle of the room and listened to them arguing. “Why don’t you send the little bastard an engraved invitation and apology note for the trouble we caused it tossing it out earlier?”

  “Oh very funny,” Jason shot back. “Because I suppose I should have just choked to death in a room full of smoke instead?”

  They both stood for a minute glaring at each other silently. Then, without a word everyone turned and all three of them stood regarding the ruins of the turkey.

  “What do we do?” Allie said after another drawn out moment of silence punctuated only by the murmur of conversation from down the hall.

  “Do? What can we do? It’s ruined,” Jason lamented. “And you can’t have Thanksgiving without a turkey. Or at least a ham. And we don’t have either. We don’t have anything else on hand that will work.”

  “That is poor planning,” Bleidd said absently, earning a scathing look from Jason.

  “Well pardon me for not realizing we’d need a back-up turkey. I’ve never had anything like this happen before.”

  “You know,” Allie said looking thoughtfully at the stove. “I bet it was the Alpluchra, when it was trying to get away. I bet it hit the dial and reset the temperature and we just didn’t notice.”

  Bleidd was nodding in agreement but Jason put both hands over his face and groaned. “What difference does it make now? Unless one of you has a spell to go back in time so we can undo this it doesn’t matter how it happened. It’s done. And we are screwed. Thanksgiving is ruined.”

  “Okay, don’t panic,” Allie said, holding her hands up in a calming gesture. “We’ve been out twice already and there are places open. Someone has to have a turkey.”

  “This late on Thanksgiving morning?”

  “Somewhere in this town there has to be a turkey to be found. Or like you said a ham at least,” Allie said, trying to sound more confident than she really felt.

  Bleidd backed her up, “Yes, Jason, don’t despair. Keep working on what you can and we will find a turkey for you if there’s one to be found.”

  “What is going on?” Jess’s voice interrupted from behind them, in the kitchen doorway.

  “We’re having a slight food crisis,” Allie said, turning to face her other fiancé who was standing uncertainly looking between the three of them.

  “Another one,” Bleidd muttered but she ignored him.

  Jason was pulling out a garbage bag, and Allie stopped him, “Wait Jason don’t throw it out. It may not be fit for us to eat it but Luath might like it, and she deserves a treat today.”

  “Oh,” Jason said, looking from the bag to the ruined turkey. “Okay. Yeah, that’s a good point, and I’ll feel a little better if someone gets to eat it at least.”

  Allie looked around expecting to see the puppy curled up in the kitchen or with Jess, and when she didn’t see her anywhere she looked at Jess, “Where’s Luath?”

  He shifted slightly, looking uncomfortable. “I shut her up in our room.”

  “What? Why would you do that?” Allie said, genuinely shocked.

  “Well, mother was a bit disturbed by her-“

  “Mother? Wait – what?” Allie sputtered. Bleidd, sensing impending doom, wisely stepped back. “Mother? Your mother? What do you mean your mother was disturbed by her? Your mother is here?”

  “Of course,” he said, now looking confused.

  “What do you mean ‘of course’?” Allie said, feeling hysterical again, this time without any help from Jason’s influence. Jess’s mother was not one of Allie’s favorite people. Allie was firmly convinced that the proud elven woman didn’t like her, despite the fact that she had supported Allie’s marriage contract with Jess to his family. “Why would your mother be here?”

  Jess looked from Allie to Bleidd then to Jason, before looking back at Allie. “You told me this holiday was a time for families to gather, did you not?”

  “Uh-oh,” Jason mumbled behind her.

  Allie frowned, trying to remember what she’d told Jess when he’d asked her about the holiday they were celebrating. Elves had a variety of holy days of their own of course but they usually centered on either commemorating sacred events in the life of a particular deity or honoring a significant turning point in the year, like Samfuinn which celebrated the end of summer and was roughly equivalent to the human witches’ Samhain. Elves did not, as a rule, have the more secular types of celebrations that humans enjoyed which acknowledged things like significant historic events or commemorated important dates to a country or famous figure in history. She had also discovered when she’d tried to tell him about Thanksgiving that the idea of a holiday to celebrate family had baffled him.

  That’s right Allie thought slowly to herself, carefully blocking Jess and Bleidd from her mind, as everyone stared at her, it’s because elven families don’t usually s
eparate; they all stay living together in clan groups pretty much forever, unless something exceptional happens. So the idea of a yearly holiday to get family together and be grateful for our blessings struck Jess as bizarre, because it’s like basically dinner every night in his family’s hall in the main city. I finally had to use him as an example and his service in the Guard and being away from his family’s main territory. Dear gods did I mention his mother? I don’t think I did. “It’s a time for immediate family to gather yes, but why would you invite your mother here?”

  Now Jess looked utterly baffled, “Because she is my immediate family, and I was under the impression that we were meant to invite our family to this.”

  “Well, yes, I mean of course she is, but that isn’t what I meant, I meant its, Thanksgiving is about…it’s a time for,” Allie floundered at a loss as to how to clarify that she had meant only to include the people already in the house, when Jason was part of their ‘family’ even though he wasn’t related by blood, obligation, nor as anybody’s lover. She didn’t mind Zarethyn who she liked well enough, but the idea of spending the day with Jess’s mother appalled her. Next to her, although out of easy reach Bleidd had covered his mouth with his hand and she turned to him and snapped, “Stop laughing, this isn’t funny!”

  He shook his head wordlessly, his eyes dancing with merriment. She glared at him, knowing that it was easy for him to find the situation funny when it didn’t directly impact him. Jason however had decided they were all focusing on the wrong crisis. “Guys! Who showed up on the guest list doesn’t fucking matter if we don’t have a turkey to serve them!”

  They all snapped around to look at Jason again, who was still standing next to the stove holding the garbage bag. Allie shook herself slightly, “Right, turkey emergency first, mother emergency second.”

  “My mother is not an emergency,” Jess said, sounding hurt. Allie winced slightly at that. not having meant to hurt his feelings but just speaking without thinking.