Tales From the Fae – Part IV: Songsmith

Chapter 3 – Jane

Ananha smiled at me across the room while Marly made some final adjustments to my bow tie. I was dressed in what was supposed to be appropriate formal wear for a tea, indicative of my high position. I felt like a cross between a butler and a bean burrito. I don’t do suits, much less neo-victorian ensembles.

“The shoes are perfect,” said the faerie beaming.

The nearly spotless, high-gloss black shoes had been her main contribution to the ensemble, and she was obviously very proud of them. I was more impressed that she was able to fit my feet so well.

“Who did you say these belonged to,” I asked, trying to stand still while Marly placed and adjusted a somewhat frantic looking hat on my head. It looked very 18th century. Something she called a “Bowler”.

“I didn’t,” she responded, suddenly very interested in some small spot on the floor. I frowned. I wasn’t going to get anything out of these two, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to be comfortable, no matter how properly loose the garments were designed to be. It just wasn’t me. Oh well. Sometimes you just have to roll with it, you know? I sighed and let them primp and polish me until I was nearly ready to scream. And suddenly, they both stepped back and smiled.

Marly was checking me out with a very approving glare and a smile as wide as a dolphin’s.

“Uh hmm, uh hmm…” she was mumbling, while Ananha nodded in agreement. “Oh yeah. You look great in a tux, Mark. You should wear them more often.”

“I’ll do that… provided I SURVIVE the next twenty-four hours!”

“Please don’t say that, Mark, please!” The faerie had immediately dashed back over to my side and was intreating me with her eyes. What can you do?

“Okay, okay. Just no more ‘adjustments’. I’m nervous enough about this meeting. The last thing I need to think about is whether my hat is on correctly, or if my cumber bund is straight.”

Ananha’s hand moved sensuously down my stomach and then over the aforementioned article of clothing. I gulped as she leaned into me and whispered in my ear.

“When you get back… And you WILL come back lover… I’m going to show you the real virtues of wearing so much clothing. What would Christmas be without the unwrapping?”

Marly noticed my eyes go wide, and giggled. I’m sure she had her own fantasies to share, but it was late. To prove my point, the girls suddenly spun towards the door and assumed defensive postures. I was too befuddled to pay proper attention to the paths of time right then, so it was a complete surprise when a pixie passed through the wall and zoomed right up to my face.

“Master Mark! Master Mark! I TRIED to stop her but she opened the door and I have no idea how and she was VERY powerful with a really strange aura but Brista and Rachael told her you were running a few minutes late but it didn’t do any good and ohmygosh ohmygosh… SHE’S COMING!”

“What..? WHO is coming?”

As if to answer my question, there was a sudden booming crash against my door. The pixie squeaked and vanished just as a second boom echoed. I saw that the door frame was starting to give, which caused me pause. That door was protected by a shit-load of magic. A rhinoceros could hit it at full charge and bounce off like a cotton ball. Whatever was on the other side of that door had to be BIG.

“Mark! Get behind us,” roared Marly as she and Ananha prepared to repel the attacker if it broke through. Her voice was almost lost in the earthquake-level rumbling that was building on the other side. Seconds later, the frame split and fragments of pulverized wood rained over us like a sudden blast in a snowstorm.

I have to hand it to my lovely protectors, they were brave. They stood to face whatever monstrosity had just broken through my best magic, without the slightest hesitation or thoughts for themselves. That job was left for me, and I was indeed greatly concerned for their fair flesh. As the dust settled, I coughed a few times and started wondering why I wasn’t hearing the sounds of battle. I fully expected Marly and Ananha to be blasting away at the intruder, and when I finally got a look at what was stepping into the room, I found myself just as awestruck.

It was a girl. Okay, a teen. She was dressed in what amounted to a black men’s suit and a chauffeur’s cap, and was scowling as though having to break down an impenetrable door was such a bothersome nuisance. Scanning the room, her eyes met mine and I saw a spark of recognition. If anyone was going to do something, now was the time.

She started to walk towards me.

“HALT!” Screamed Marly in a magically enhanced voice that made the very walls of the house shake. To my amazement, the girl paused and turned to face my lover. I saw her start to raise her hand, and when I remembered to view the scene in the magical spectrum, I gasped. The “girl” was nearly obscured by various interconnected glyphs and temporal constructions, such that her defensive perimeter nearly filled the room. The paths of energy that were quickly collecting in around her hand reminded me of those close-up shots of the engine nozzles at the base of a Space Shuttle just before launch.

“Oh, shit…” I mumbled. To my surprise, Marly was erecting quite the defense herself (even if it was about to be blown apart like a house of cards), and I finally got it through my skull that this chick with the funny cap was here for ME. We were all so busy protecting my “royal” hide, that no one had bothered to ask her what she wanted. Diplomacy. Gran would be disappointed.

“Excuse me,” I said in a normal tone of voice. The air was literally crackling with charged ions, and I wasn’t sure that either female could hear me, but I really didn’t want to raise my voice and spoil the whole point of appearing calm amid chaos. The girl turned her attention back to me, and I saw that Marly (and Ananha for that matter) was about to take advantage of it.

“MARLY!” I snapped. She jerked as though slapped, and blinked. It took a lot to get her out of a combat funk, and I had juiced her with as much authority as I could muster. “That’s enough.” She opened her mouth and then closed it again, giving me a very rare moment of having won an argument. Of course, if I was wrong about the girl, then it would almost certainly be my last.

The female in question stepped forward and (gratefully) stopped about four feet away. With a deep, graceful bow from the waist, she acknowledged my presence. I had learned enough from Marly regarding etiquette to know that if you couldn’t properly bow according to rigorous and detailed custom, then it’s better not to try. I played it safe and nodded.

“Marcus de Danann,” she said in a smooth voice as soon as she was once again vertical. “Grand Master of Magic and Chieftain of the clan Danann… I have been sent by her Lady Gaia, with instructions to bring you to her presence no later than the fifteenth hour of the day. To this is my charge.”

It was one of the weirdest things to hear my name tied to a title like that, and it took me a few seconds to get my brain back in gear. What finally did it was the look on Marly’s face. I let my eyes slip briefly to hers and let loose the briefest of smiles before turning all serious again. With a deep breath, I addressed the girl.

“What is your name?” I asked. The girl looked startled.

“My name…? My name is not important, my Lord,” she replied, looking embarrassed while lowering her eyes.

“Your name is entirely important,” I retorted. “How am I to address you without some form of identifying symbol?”

Black Cap was silent for a moment, then replied, “You may call me by Miss, my Lord.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Marly’s brows rising.

“Miss? Just Miss”

“Yes, my Lord. It is not customary for a Lord to address a servant, even one of the Lady’s House, by her true name.”

“Perhaps,” I replied. “But right now, you are not in your Lady’s house. You are in my house, and I request that you allow me this courtesy.” I was pushing, but I had a hunch and this was the only way I could verify it. The girl’s mouth opened in protest, and I saw her thinking about something. I kept my attention locked on to her, my poker face at maximum.

“Mugany,” she said softly, lowering her eyes again as though she were committing some venerable sin.

“Mugany?” I responded, acting somewhat surprised. “Goodness… uh, what is your Christian name then, if you have one?”

The girl looked confused. “Only my Mistress calls me by my Christian name. I don’t see how…”

I interrupted her. “Miss Mugany, as I stated before, you are not in your Mistresses house. You are in Brightly House. And while I appreciate your adherence to the protocols dictated by your perceived station, I will not have any female in my presence degraded as a servant.”

“But I AM a servant, my Lord!” She spoke in desperation.

“Not within these wall, my dear. Here all are treated as cherished members of my own family, and shall be shown complete courtesy. There are only two kinds that enter here, those that are loved, and those that are killed… or at least kicked out on their respective asses. So I ask you Miss Mugany, WHICH ARE YOU?”

The young woman looked as though someone had slapped her in the face, which was bright red. Her mouth was partially open in a gasp of surprise. Slowly, she blinked and regained control of herself. “Jane,” she said in a whisper.

“Jane.” I repeated with a renewed smile and a happy lilt to my voice. “Very well, Jane. I bid you welcome and safety in my home. As you can see, I am just about ready to leave. I need only a few minutes more, and I shall meet you in the…”

“My Lord! We must leave at once. We can harbour no delay. There simply is not time…”

“My dear girl,” I interrupted, hoping that I wasn’t about to meet the same fate as my door. As I hoped, the girl wasn’t used to being cut off, and reverted to silence. “I understand your charge,” I continued. “And will do everything in my power to hasten, but I MUST HAVE TWO MINUTES.”

“But my Lady said…”

“Your Lady has invited me to tea, Jane. I was given my charge before yours, and so I will take responsibility for any tardiness that may result from my ineptitude in such matters. Please, argue no more with me now, for it will only increase our delay. Unless of course, you mean to bodily carry me from the room?”

She frowned for a moment, and studied me. I saw one side of her mouth rise in the slightest of smiles. Then she said in a smarmy tone of voice, “I was considering it,” and spun on her heals. I watched her clomp out of the room grinning myself, which I quickly clamped down to a disinterested solemnness when I noticed Marly tapping her foot.

“I’m not sure whether I want to scratch her eyes out, or yours…” she said in an icy tone.

“Relax. I think I’ve got this diplomacy thing well in hand.”

She frowned. “You keep your hands were they belong, lover.”

I moved up close and placed my hands on her hips. “You jealous, Poppins?”

“Viciously,” she said at once. “Mark, was all that just for show? Did you know she wouldn’t kill you? What in the world did you demand two minutes for?”

“No, no, and this,” I said, answering her questions in order. At the last, I leaned in and placed my mouth to hers in what quickly developed into a roaring lip frenzy of lust. It’s amazing what you can do in two minutes without taking your clothes off if you use a little creativity. Finally, Ananha cleared her throat, and we separated. Marly was blushing, the vixen! I gave a much abbreviated version of our kiss to my faerie lover and promised a full and proper one later, then I strode out of the room.