Fateful (22 page)

“Very well, at least take my hand.”

She may have grasped his offered hand a
little more desperately than she should have; her muscles had begun
to complain about moving after an hour-long car ride. And because
of it, Ethan eyed her with an expression of unease.

“Do I need to worry about bears or snakes or
spiders in here?” she asked, hoping to distract him from thoughts
of lugging her through the woods.

“There are no bears here, but you needn’t
worry about anything while you’re with me. I’m easily the most
deadly thing out here.”

“Oh, right.” That might have been true, but
she was still more scared of big spiders that, she was certain,
called this place home.

“I promise I’ll squash any nasty beasts if
they pose a threat to you. Fair enough?”

“More than fair,” she replied.

They hiked for over an hour, gradually going
uphill. Ethan took hold of her waist and lifted her over fallen
trees or large rocks as they crossed them, and he made sure she
drank from the canteen occasionally. Her muscles fought more and
more the further they went, but she remained determined to stick it
out.

She realized Ethan walked behind her to match
his pace to hers or he could have left her behind a long time ago.
She glanced back at him to find that he was staring at her, at her
backside to be more precise. “Ethan, are you staring at my cargo
pockets?” she alleged.

His eyes flashed to hers with a wicked grin
dancing there. “Well, you have nice cargo pockets,” he said trying
to sound innocent, widening his grin.

How could she be angry with that? Giggling,
she kept going, thinking at least he liked what he saw. Her Mr.
Darcy may be from eighteen fifty-four, but he was clearly still a
“guy.”

It seemed like they were going on and on with
no end. Danielle began to wonder how long this would actually take.
She was breathing heavily, nearly wheezing, and knew every time
Ethan looked at her, he was growing anxious about how she was
doing. Danielle tried to reassure him with a smile, fearing her
eyes told him more than she intended.

After they’d trudged upward and then through
a rocky ravine for another hour, her legs began to shake under the
strain. She was feeling so weak she plopped down on a fallen tree.
“Ethan, how much longer?” she gasped.

“Well, at the pace we’re going, probably
another two hours.” Her jaw dropped, he continued, “I was hoping we
could have gone faster, and done the entire hike in just a couple
of hours.”

“I’m sorry. I guess I’m really paying the
price for that sparring match…. Can’t you run with me like you did
the other night?” she asked hopefully.

“Sorry, I can only do that at night.” He
walked to her and lifted her into his arms anyway. “But, I can walk
with you now. I may be able to pick up the pace a bit.”

“Thank you,” she said weakly. “I’m sorry I’m
a burden.”

“Don’t be silly.” He kissed her forehead. “I
want to show you this.”

He began walking through the uneven terrain
at an incredible pace. She wished he’d been carrying her earlier,
and that she hadn’t turned him down in the beginning.

It wasn’t long before he said, “We’re almost
there.”

He pressed on until they got to a part
of the forest where the trees were thicker than before. The ground
was covered with soft, feathery grass, and little white flowers.
Danielle noticed red, spotted mushrooms popping up all over the
place, and butterflies darting here and there. Now this
did
look like the kind of place
where fairies dwelled.

“Look at the trees, Danielle,” Ethan
whispered.

She began studying them as they passed
through and inhaled sharply with her eyes growing wider. She could
see what looked like tiny tree houses attached to the trees. Some
trees had several of them going up along the bark. They had
mushroom and pinecone roofs, and little windows with window boxes
full of tiny flowers and moss growing out of them.

Then as they continued, she noticed colorful
globes of light floating down from the trees. As they drew closer
she realized they were fairies, and they were gliding toward
them!

Ethan set her down in a small clearing. He
kept his eyes on her face, as if to gauge her reaction to what she
saw.

Danielle marveled as one fairy flew up close
to Ethan’s face and greeted him by name. “Welcome back, Ethan. Why
has it been so long?” she said abruptly.

She was beautiful with long blond hair, and
the glow coming from her was lavender. She had a thin delicate
body, a wreath of tiny flowers on her head, sparkly transparent
wings and she was dressed in flower petals and leaves.

Ethan responded to the little fairy gently.
“Forgive me, Alora, I’ve been very busy.”

The fairy flittered over to Danielle so
fast she was startled and leaned backward. The fairy placed her
little fists on her hips angrily. “Is
this
what has kept you away from us?” she
spat.

Her dangerous tone made Danielle nervous, and
her eyes darted over to Ethan who looked very relaxed, but amused
by the look on her face. “No, of course not, she’s the one who has
brought me back to you,” he defended.

The fairy returned to Ethan. “Is this your
bride, Ethan?”

“This is Danielle, she’s my girlfriend,” he
replied.

“But she’s mortal!”

“I know that. I was once mortal myself.”

“But you’ll kill her! Or do you mean to bite
her?” she hissed, her chirping fairy voice sounded menacing.

Ethan raised his voice. “No! I won’t kill
her! I could never do that and I will keep her mortal.”

The fairy studied him for a moment,
deliberating on his words it seemed. “Then we dance for her!” Alora
then shouted at the top of her tiny voice. Danielle heard the other
fairies shout “hooray” in response.

With a gasp, she noticed they were now
surrounded with what seemed like hundreds of fairies. Everywhere
she looked there were tiny glowing sprites; flitting here and there
around them, and touching them. Danielle felt them tugging at her
clothes playfully and sliding their tiny fingers across her flesh
raising goose bumps. She shuddered as they released her hair from
the elastic confines. She then felt them stroke the loose strands
and tickle her cheeks with itty-bitty kisses. Danielle didn’t dare
move. They did the same to Ethan, however, and he appeared to be
accustomed to it, and enjoying it.

He smiled at her with intense rapture and
stepped toward her. Placing two fingers gently under her chin, he
closed her gaping mouth, which she hadn’t realized had fallen open.
She looked into his magical, sapphire eyes, and was smitten
immediately. He wrapped his strong arms around her to steady
her.

“Still sore?” he asked affectionately.

“Yes, but I don’t care.”

Ethan chuckled warmly, brought his hand to
her face and pressed his lips to hers. She mmm’d verbally at his
touch, a reaction which sent the fairies giggling merrily. He
smiled against her mouth when he heard their snickering.

They continued to play with her hair as Ethan
kissed her, his lips caressing hers almost hungrily, almost
devouring her. It was an exotic experience, and almost too
unbelievable. She was standing in an enchanted forest, being kissed
by a vampire, surrounded by hundreds of colorful fairies. This
never could have happened in her wildest dreams, and she thought
she was pretty creative.

When he released her from the kiss, he gently
kept her close and whispered, “Now watch.”

Enchanting music filled the air. It drifted
on the breeze as if the trees, the lush plant life, and even the
insects were the instruments—the kind of music only fairies could
make. Then the fairies danced and flew in circles around them. It
took her breath away. Fairies pranced while they played
toothpick-sized flutes, fairy couples danced and twirled, and many
fairies skipped and flitted about. It was incredibly surreal. She
was so glad she’d come even with her aching body because this was
well worth it.

Danielle didn’t know how long the fairies
danced, but it felt like a very long time to her. Weak and hungry
as she was, she was beginning to feel a little woozy. Ethan had
brought food for her in the backpack, but they hadn’t taken the
time for her to eat as they tried to get to the fairies faster. She
fisted her hands into his shirt and looked up at Ethan. His smile
was replaced with a look of concern when he saw the expression on
her face. Then his spellbinding eyes unintentionally finished her
off and she fainted.

“Danielle!” She heard his alarmed voice
through the haze, and she could feel him holding her. The fairy
music stopped abruptly, then Danielle drifted further into
unconsciousness.

When she awoke, she opened her eyes to find a
thick canopy of trees above her. She realized she was lying on a
bed, a bed in the forest. Frowning, she forgot where she was for a
moment, but then remembered when she saw fairies hovering over her,
looking down at her.

“She’s awake!” one fairy shouted in an
itty-bitty voice.

“Sprinkle more fairy dust on her,” ordered
another.

Danielle watched as glittery dust tumbled
lazily down on her. She thought it might make her sneeze but it
didn’t. Leaning up, she wondered where Ethan was. A hand landed on
her shoulder stopping her upward motion. “Slowly, Danielle.”

He was kneeling next to the bed.

“What happened?”

“You passed out. I shouldn’t have let you go
so long without eating. I’m sorry.”

Tipping her head to the side, her gaze
focused in on Alora standing on his shoulder, pinning Ethan with a
stern look. The tiny sprite stomped her wee foot on his shoulder
and ranted at him in her cricket-like voice. “Really, Ethan! I
thought you said you wouldn’t kill her?”

Ethan rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge
of his nose with thumb and forefinger. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

A fairy was disciplining a vampire right
before her eyes? Danielle couldn’t help it, and she busted out into
a fit of laughter. Her arms wrapped around her stomach because it
hurt to laugh so hard. “It’s okay. I’m okay” she said between
giggles, trying to release him from the fairy’s wrath. “Really,
don’t be mad at him. Please?”

Ethan gave her a grateful smile. “Let’s get
some food in you, then they’ll let me off.”

That sent her rolling with more laughter. It
was just so funny. Ignoring her mirth at his expense, Ethan
presented her with some bread. The sight of it shut her up. She
grabbed it greedily, realizing she was hungrier than she’d thought.
Sitting up to eat, Danielle tried to keep her manners in check.
Becoming thirsty as she finished, she looked to Ethan again.
Apparently he knew she’d need a drink because he handed her a
goblet carved from wood and filled with a purple liquid that
sparkled like the fairy dust.

Danielle sniffed at it. “What’s this?”

“That’s wild berry juice the fairies make.
You’ll like it.”

She tipped the cup to her lips and gulped
down the contents. It was sweet, somewhat tart, and very
refreshing. It felt like a magical potion going down her throat,
relieving her aches and pains. When she was finished, she looked at
Ethan in shock.

“Yes, it’s magical. It will make you feel
renewed.”

Ethan stood and sat on the bed next to her.
Several fairies suddenly flew up to Ethan, who held out his hand.
She realized they had berries for her to eat as they dropped them
into Ethan’s open palm. “You’ve never had berries like this, I can
promise you that,” he said as he offered them to her.

Danielle peered at what looked like blue
raspberries. She took two and popped them in her mouth. Her eyes
widened as the flavor burst from the fruit onto her tongue. Nope,
she’d never had anything so juicy and delicious before. Smiling
now, Danielle plucked the rest of them from his hand and finished
them off.

Wow, she thought, as she took mental note of
how she was feeling. She just might be able to walk the whole way
back by herself.

“Thank you,” she said, addressing the
fairies. “Thank you so much.”

“We like her, Ethan, you had better take
better care of her from now on!” snapped Alora.

“Yes, ma’am,” Ethan replied softly.

“We hope you come back again to visit us,”
Alora said to Danielle as she hovered by her nose and kissed the
tip.

“I’d be delighted to,” Danielle said, trying
not to giggle.

The fairies left them alone then, and
Danielle took the time to take in her surroundings more fully. She
looked at the bed she was seated on. Sized for her or Ethan, it was
made of branches and blanketed with soft moss. The pillows were
made of down goose feathers, held within a pillowcase of stitched
together flower petals. Looking closely, she touched the treads and
wondered how they did it without the delicate petals ripping.

Lifting her head she asked, “Why is this
here?”

“They have this for visitors like us. They
may stay away from society, but they love houseguests.”

“Wow,” she said, realizing it was going to be
a little hard to leave this magical world and return to
reality.

Drawing up her knees, she wrapped her arms
around them, when a thought occurred to her. “How many girls have
you brought here?” she asked hesitantly.

“None. You’re the first.”

“Really?”

“Yes, Really,” he said firmly.

“Oh.”
Did she
believe him?
she wondered, now touching the moss
bedding beneath her.

“There has never been anyone else before you,
Danielle.”

Meeting his gaze, “But haven’t you dated
other girls?”

“Well, a few dates here and there, but no
commitments.”