Chapter Eighty Six

A few days after Nik's confrontation with Mira and Elenie, the dishwasher broke and it was left to Elenie to attempt to fix it.  Unfortunately, she soon discovered that reading about how to fix machines and actually doing so successfully were two very different things.

As the electrical charge threw her back from the dishwasher, she heard a horsey laugh in her mind followed by Taliesen's mental voice pointing out that as a faerie she could fix it far better in her other form.  Shrinking down, Elenie was amazed to realise that she could fly right into the dishwasher and manipulate the broken parts until they fitted together again.

While Elenie was learning how to fix things using faerie magic, Nik and Dory took Coryn over to the winter festival on the beach.  

Coryn insisted that they start off by learning to skate on the ice rink which had been set up and his parents obliged him. It was hard at first, and Dory nearly fell over several times.

Soon however they were all flying around the rink at speed and Coryn even ventured to try a few twirls on the ice.Once Coryn grew bored of skating, the family headed over to have a photograph taken together.

When they were done, Coryn made some snow angels while his parents began to build an igloo.

He soon decided that this looked like more fun than snow angels and joined in the building process.

As dusk fell, they built lots of snowmen and Nik persuaded Dory to see if anyone wanted to take part in a pie eating contest while he had a little chat with Coryn."Now, son, I've noticed that you've been spending a lot of time with the girl we've got to help round the house.  I know the two of us aren't always around and you don't have any brothers or sisters, but she's only a servant and it's really not appropriate for you to be so friendly with her.  You'll be meeting plenty of people more suitable for you to spend time with now you're at school so I don't want to see you playing with her any more.""Obviously if you need some help with your homework or something to eat and we're not available then that's different, but even then, you shouldn't be friendly with the servants - make sure she knows her place."When he had finished his lecture, and the last snowman had been built, Nik allowed Coryn to run over to where Dory was waiting and take part in the pie eating contest - where he took great delight in beating his mother!

Back at the house, Elenie had been surprised to hear the doorbell ringing.  At first she ignored it, knowing she'd probably get in trouble for attempting to speak to a stranger, but when it kept ringing and no-one answered she plucked up the courage to answer it.

Waiting patiently outside on the porch was a handsome lad of about her age.   Opening the door Elenie apologised that no-one was home to see him and asked if he would like to come back later or perhaps the next day as the family were out at the festival.  

"Ah, but you're at home aren't you?  And it was you I came to see..."

Elenie stared at him for a few moments, speechless.  She finally gathered herself together enough to stammer "But, why are you here to see me?  How did you know about me?"

"Well, that's quite a long story, do you think we could go inside, preferably somewhere where that goblin your family keeps around won't notice us?"

Elenie thought for a while and then led her visitor round to the barn.  It was reasonably warm in there and she knew the cats would warn her in time for him to hide if anyone was heading that way.

Once there, the two teens stood awkwardly for a while looking at each other.  Elenie eventually broke the silence "So, um, I guess now would be a good point for you to tell me what you're doing here?"

"Yes, I suppose it would..."  He bit his lip nervously "where to begin?"  Although she thought he was probably thinking aloud, Elenie answered with "well, your name would be a good start, you seem to know who I am, but in case you don't know, my name's Elenie, but no-one's allowed to call me that anymore"

"My name's Ieaun, Ieaun Glyndwr, and the reason I know who you are is that I've been dreaming about you.  I know that will sound odd, but I'm from a family of witches.  I'm still learning how to use my abilities, one of which is the sight, which I've inherited from my parents.  I can't direct it yet, but when I told my parents about my dreams they were able to identify where you lived and they told me it was important that I got to know you."

After spending some time talking to Elenie, Ieaun slipped away, and shortly after that her family returned from the festival.  Coryn went up to his room alone to think and Nik flew up to his secret tower to make his report.

"Majesty, I have made progress in my plan.  My son is now a child and I have spoken with him about the proper way to behave towards servants.  I will ensure that he is now properly distant from her and I believe that by allowing her that attachment to him and then having him reject her, her spirit will be broken more from the loss than it would have been by now allowing the attachment to develop in the first place."

"Good, I have been watching you and I must say I was impressed with the way you handled her and the grandmother.  I especially enjoyed how afraid she was of you.  Keep that sort of work up and I won't have to punish you..."

Coryn had gone upstairs to his nursery to think about his father's words, something in them had felt wrong to him and he turned the lecture over and over in his head as he played at being a prince.  

Eventually, he went in search of Elenie and, assuming what he thought was a very princely manner, summonsed her upstairs to assist with his homework.

Being careful, even when the two of them were alone in his room, to issue orders rather than ask questions, he started off with his maths homework and demanded to know how to solve the simple equations.  When he got to his Simlish homework though he pointed out a passage in his book and told Elenie that he needed to answer certain questions about it.  

Leaning over to look she quickly realised that below the passage was a pencilled note addressed to her...

"'Leni, Dad has told me I'm not allowed to be friendly to you 'cos you're just a servant and it's not appropriate.  He was lying when he said that and he lied again, telling me I didn't have any brothers or sisters.  I'm going to pretend to do what he told me, cos I think he'll do something bad if he realises I'm disobeying you, but I want to stay your friend in secret until we're old enough to get away.  I know he's my dad, but he's evil and I don't trust him."

Elenie finished reading the note and looked at her little brother silently.  Coryn winked at her and hastily rubbed his note out, at which point Elenie took a pencil from her pocket and wrote underneath "I understand and I'm sorry to say he would do something bad, I don't know how you knew he was lying about you being an only child, but I'm really your half-sister.  He married my mother and convinced her I was a changeling.  Don't ever let him find out you know."

 

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