Fairy Tales - Part Eight

Jacoby’s breath caught as he saw the doorknob turn, his heart beating like a wood pecker drumming on a tree.  A smile broke over his face as his saw the familiar purple hair and white wings appear in the Bond Guard’s doorway.  Shock registered in Fin’s—his mate’s—eyes, but as Jac took a step toward him, Fin backed up shaking his head.

“No,” he heard the younger fairy whisper, making Jac’s smile fade.  “No,” Fin said louder.  “No! No! No!”

And then Fin launched into the air, flying away like a swarm of hornets was after him, leaving Jac’s heart to break where he stood, and his feet frozen to the branch in devastation.

“Oh no,” a feminine voice said from somewhere near him.  “Nyx!”

Jac could only stare at the sky where Fin had disappeared.  He didn’t see the two fairies who’d come to join him, but he felt warm hands on his arms and back, and heard voices encouraging him to come with them.

He shook his head, his gaze still upward.  “He…left,” he murmured.  “I have to go after him.  I have to….”

“Come inside and calm down,” Lady Caly told him.

He shook his head again and stepped out of the two fairies’ grasp.  “No, I’m going to find him.”

With that, determination poured into his wings and he took off after his mate. 

*****

Hours later, Jac’s determination had devolved into defeat.  He couldn’t find Fin, and he’d searched everywhere he could think of—Fin’s parents’ house, Lady Lorelei’s, every tree and pond and mudhole he knew of in this part of the fairy forest in which they’d grown up.

Exhausted, he stood staring at the sky, pink from the setting sun, and then turned away.  His wings felt heavy, but his broken heart wouldn’t let him stay here.  For the past year and a half, since shortly after his own meeting with the Bond Guard, Jac had been living an hour’s fly away in Apple Hollow, a fairy community lush with fruits and flowers in its warm season.  Living there had greatly expanded his skills as a Nature Nurturer, and had reintroduced him to the fairy who had become his best friend, Crill.  Now, next to wishing he could find Fin, Jac just wanted to return to the home and friendships he’d made in Apple Hollow.

Night had fully set by the time he arrived, but at the last minute he discovered he couldn’t go in the house he had built.  Standing in front of it, he thought of the months spent constructing and decorating, hoping to make it a home for Fin when their time came.  Now, he didn’t know if he’d ever get to share this space with his mate—a mate who didn’t want him.

The knowledge of that felt like a stomp on his heart every time he thought of Fin flying away.  He could still hear the No’s being uttered from the younger fairy’s lips.

The pain hit Jac again, and his knees buckled as tears began to roll down his cheeks.  He couldn’t stop them, so he gave in, wrapped his arms around his legs and sobbed.

For him, time stood still, and he was unaware of anything but the grief filling his spirit.  Eventually, when his tears ran out, he became conscious of his face buried in a friendly shoulder and his arms wound tightly around a familiar torso.

“Cr…Crill?” he hiccupped.

“Hey, buddy.  It’s me.”

Jac lifted a hand to wipe at his eyes, pulling slightly out of Crill’s embrace in the process.  “It’s night.  You should...be in bed,” he rasped.

“So should you,” Crill stated.  “With your mate.  But I can see things didn’t go as planned.”  He pulled Jac back into a tight hug.  “Let’s go inside.  I’ll make sweet milk and you can tell me what happened.”

Jac shook his head.  “I can’t go inside.  Not without Fin.  He’s supposed to be with me.  It’s our home,” he whimpered.

“Ok,” Crill agreed easily.  “Then come home with me.”

With a loud sniff, Jac nodded, but leaned heavily against his friend for a moment before standing up and flying slowly to the other fairy’s house.

Crill got him settled on a soft petal and bunny-fur couch, and covered him with a chinchilla-fuzz blanket.  Jac cocooned himself in the velvety material until Crill joined him a few minutes later with the sweet milk he promised. 

“What happened, Jac?” he asked quietly so as not to disturb his mate, Sera, who was sleeping in their bedroom.

“He…doesn’t want…me,” Jac hiccupped through his residual tears and as he took the warm drink.  “He ran away!”

Clearly shocked, Crill had nothing to say for several long moments, but then he hugged Jac again.  “That can’t be the full story.”

Jac took a long drink of the sweetened milk, and then tried to bring Crill up to speed.  “I waited outside for him, just like I’ve been planning for months.  The Bond Guard said I couldn’t reveal myself to him until Fin had his meeting as well.”

Crill nodded.  “I know.  That’s why you didn’t go back to visit very often while you waited for Fin’s birthday.”

“Uh-huh.  But today he was to know.  Only, when he saw me, he looked…devastated.”  Jac whispered that last word.  “He kept saying ‘No!’, and then,” Jac’s voice broke with a sob.  “He flew away!  He just...disappeared!  He doesn’t want me!”

The tears took over again, and Jac cried against his friend’s shoulder.  Crill hugged him tighter, but didn’t say anything until the tears quieted and became mournful sniffles.

“Oh my friend, I know it hurts.  I can’t imagine….”  He sighed sadly.  “I don’t know Fin, so I don’t know what he was thinking in that moment; but, do you remember your thoughts the first few weeks after your meeting with the Bond Guard?”

Jac wiped at his cheeks and thought back.  That time felt so long ago now. 

When he didn’t answer after a couple minutes, Crill gently explained his memory of those weeks.  “There had been a fire on the outskirts of Apple Hollow, and I sent out a message for help to other Nature Nurturers.  You responded even though we’d only met once before, and I still sing praises for your assistance during that time.  But you were a very confused fairy back then.  Remember why?”

Jac nodded slowly.  “I wasn’t sure I liked what the Bond Guard had told me,” he admitted in a whisper.

“Right,” Crill agreed.  “Tell me what you remember thinking back then.”

Jac took a shaky breath, but did as his friend asked.  “I thought…that Fin and I didn’t have anything in common, and that he’d always been kind of annoying.”  A few more tears leaked out and he shook his head.  “But I don’t think that anymore!  I want to be with him!”

“I know,” Crill assured.  “But it took you some time to adjust to the idea of being with him, and start to see what the Bond Guard understood about the two of you, how you would be good for each other.  Maybe Fin needs that time too.”

“But I didn’t run away from him!”

“You kind of did, Jac.  You’ve been living here in Apple Hollow for over a year.”

“That wasn’t running away!”

“Maybe not fully, because I know it was partly so you wouldn’t say more to him than you should at the time, but when you responded to my seeking for help, I’m thinking part of you was relieved to put some distance between you and Fin.”

It took several minutes of silence, with Jac thinking about Crill’s statement, before admitting wordlessly to himself that his best friend was right.  He had taken the escape that had been available at the time.

“What do I do now?” he finally asked.

“Well, part of it will probably involve waiting until he comes around to understanding the Bond Guard’s guidance.  The rest of it might be you showing him how much you care for him and want to be accepted as his match.”

“How do I do that?”

“I’m…not sure,” Crill admitted.  “Sera could probably help with that.  We can talk to her in the morning if you want.”

Jac nodded, although his head felt heavy as he moved it.  Sera was almost as good a friend as Crill, and he trusted whatever she would tell him.  “I’d like to know what she thinks.”

“Then we’ll start there, okay?”

“Yeah.”

Crill rubbed a hand up and down Jac’s arm.  “Want to sleep here tonight?  This couch is very comfortable.”

Jac knew it was.  He’d fallen asleep on it more than once, and the chinchilla-fuzz blanket still wrapped around him was incredibly soft and comforting.  “Would Sera mind if I stayed?”

“You know she wouldn’t.  Now, try to sleep some.  We’ll figure out some solutions in the morning.”

“Okay,” Jac agreed.  He was still feeling sad and teary, but was so emotionally tired and physically exhausted that he’d probably fall asleep as soon as his eyes closed.  Which is exactly what happened.

*****

That same night, hidden in a hollow log where he’d been for hours, Fin kept a vigil out for Luna to appear at their rock.  The beautiful little fairy was there soon after the sun set, and he raced to her side the moment he saw her, startling his friend in the process.  She very nearly took to flight before realizing it was him.

“Fin? What is wrong?” she asked anxiously.

He collapsed to his knees next to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.  “Everything!  Everything is wrong!” he stated as hot tears dripped from his eyes.

“Oh no,” she murmured sadly from above, and her hand landed gently against his hair before lowering and cupping his cheek, encouraging him to look up at her.  “The Bond Guard did not have the words you wished to hear,” she stated, having drawn the conclusion quickly.

He shook his head.  “It’s not you, Luna.  It’s not you!”  His voice cracked.  “But I want it to be you!”

“I’m so sorry, Fin.”

His grasp around her tightened and his voice sounded desperate.  “Come away with me!  Even if the Bond Guard doesn’t think we should be matched, everyone is wrong sometimes, and we’re good together!  We could make a happy life with one another.”

Luna went very still, and then gently disengaged herself from Fin’s grip and sat down, silently encouraging him to mirror her position.  She wiped the tears from his cheeks when he faced her, and then lightly held one of his hands in both of hers.

“I love you, my friend…my Fin,” she said softly.  “But if the Bond Guard did not match you with me, then I am not the best mate for you.”

“But even Lady Lorelei says that no one knows the future.  The Bond Guard could be wrong,” Fin argued.

“And suppose the Bond Guard is right?  Would you risk your happiness, your true mate’s happiness, or my happiness in that case?”

“I would do everything to make you happy, Luna,” he professed.

She nodded.  “I believe you, but it still would not be what is best for everyone.  You know this, Fin.  The Bond Guard sees into our hearts and knows who would be best matched together, and you know now that it is not me.  I couldn’t make you as happy as your real mate, Fin, even as much as I would like to.”

Fin just shook his head stubbornly, and Luna sighed.  She was quiet for a very long time, alternately looking from him and the slow tears still seeping out and up to the sky as if searching for answers.  Finally, her soft voice spoke again.

“I do not wish to take you away from your true mate, Fin, for I want you to be happy and have the best life you can as well, but I know you feel a mistake may have been made.”

Fin nodded adamantly at that statement.  Luna squeezed his hand.

“Perhaps there is a way to know for sure,” she said even more quietly.

Fin’s countenance perked up at those words.  “Really?  How?”

“My visit with the Bond Guard is only a few weeks away now, and I will find out who I am best matched with.  If, perchance, a mistake was made in what you were told and we are meant to be together, then my meeting will be the opportunity to fix that.  If I am told that you are my match, I will gladly join with you.  But…” she continued before Fin could get too excited, “if I am told it is not you, then we both need to accept that, Fin.  I will choose to follow the Bond Guard’s guiding on who my mate should be, and you should do that as well.  Can you agree to this?”

Fin knew better than to give a hasty answer.  She wouldn’t trust his words if they came to fast and without thought.  He looked up at the moon, noting how close it was to the time he usually left.  Eventually, he looked her in the face and nodded.  “I agree that the Bond Guard is not likely to be wrong twice, so I’ll wait and see what you will be told at your meeting.  But Luna, I can’t just stop loving you.  I don’t want to, and I’m going to stay near you as much as I can while we wait.”

She shook her head, but Fin stopped her from disagreeing.  “I’ll sleep there at night when the time of the bats comes,” he declared, pointing to the hollow log he’d been hiding in earlier.  “I can make it comfortable enough to sleep, and I’ll work my duties during the day, but I want to be as near to you as possible.”

She seemed to read the determination in his face, but her shoulders slumped slightly.  “I do not like that,” she admitted.  “You are not as safe there as in your parents’ home.”

“I will be very careful,” Fin pledged, but didn’t change his mind. 

Luna sighed, but nodded.  “Then you need to go now.  The bats are rustling.”  She squeezed his hand.  “Be careful, Fin.”

           He leaned in to kiss her cheek before reluctantly returning to the hollow log, pausing only briefly to gather some leaves to blanket himself with while he slept.  Once inside, he popped his head out only long enough to watch Luna dart up to the sky and chase after the dreams calling to her.