Chapter Eighty Seven

As Elenie did her homework she turned her meeting with Ieaun over and over in her mind.  What had he meant about having dreams about her?  Would he come back again and if he did, how would she keep Nik from finding out?

As she went on to do her chores, other thoughts occurred to her, what if he wasn't what he seemed?  What did he really want from her?    All these thoughts kept chasing each other around her mind until she decided to try and just wait and see.  If he turned up again then she'd be able to get to know him, and if he didn't then she had enough to worry about already.

She need not have worried however, the next time her mother and Nik were out of the house, Ieaun turned up again, and they spent time together talking and getting to know each other.  

Her fears as to his motives were eased when she realised that Taliesen had no objections to his presence and even more so when Ieaun admitted that Coryn had been helping out by texting him whenever Nik and Dory left the house.

Eventually, Elenie trusted Ieaun enough to tell him what she knew about her birth, what had happened to her father, and how Nik had come to take such control of her family's lives.

When she had finished, Ieaun was silent for a while 

"I believe your stepfather is one of the Gwyllon, the evil fae.  I don't know what he is doing here, but when their sort turn up in mortal realms then it always means trouble and the fact he has stayed here for so long makes me suspect there is something within your family he wants.  Mam's already told me she thinks his presence here is to do with you and that he wants you for some reason...  

"She says I need to get you away from this house and we've come up with a plan.  This weekend it's the Spring Ball at school and the festival will be open over on the beach all day, Coryn's agreed to get your mam and his dad over there the afternoon of the ball and he's going to find some way of keeping them there as late into the evening as possible.  If you'll agree, I'll bring some clothes over which Mam's been making, and we'll go to the ball together.  Mam says she can cast a spell to make people believe we've got a family friend my age from the old country staying with us, to help around the house as Mam's pregnant again.  When it comes to the ball we'll pretend that's who you are so no-one knows who you really are and then Taliesen will meet us outside the school afterwards and take you to this place I found - it's a secret hidden place and no-one will be able to find you there."

After some thought, Elenie tentatively agreed to Ieaun's plan.

All the pets in the family knew about the plan, and Jewel cornered Miralys in her room to warn her about it.  Although Mira couldn't understand the cats in words, they had developed the ability to communicate via mental pictures.

Mira was worried at first, having mental images that Ieaun would turn out to be as much of a monster as Nik was, but Jewel managed to reassure her - beaming mental images of Taliesen blessing Ieaun and his plan.

The weekend dawned fine and bright and Coryn pestered his parents until they agreed to take him down to the spring festival for a family day out.

The festival was all set out but not many people were there, and no-one was manning the kissing booths.  Still, it was a glorious day and the family were determined to enjoy themselves (even if Nik did regret the lack of people to torment with pranks).

There were lots of eggs scattered about the beach in celebration of Spring and Coryn declared excitedly that he was going to try and find all of them.

While Coryn ran around the festival looking for eggs, Dory persuaded Nik to have a go on the love machine, and then the two of them enjoyed themselves on the dance floor which had been placed in the middle of the lot - they danced so well they were crowned Spring King & Queen!

While his parents were dancing, Coryn broke off from his egg hunt to get some special festival food from the stall set up in one corner.

As he finished his snack, he noticed a small tent advertising face painting and decided to get himself painted with a rainbow before going back to collecting the remaining eggs.

Back at home, Elenie was getting nervous about the plan for this evening.  What would happen if Coryn wasn't able to keep Nik away until late evening?  Or if he did, what if Nik guessed that was what he'd been up to afterwards?

She went out to find Taliesen and, hugging his neck poured her worries out to him.

"Don't worry about your brother, I'll protect him and your evil stepfather has no idea what I am so has no defences against me.  You go to the ball, enjoy yourself and I'll see you at the end to get you away to safety."

With those words, Taliesen lowered his horn and Elenie saw it shine with glowing lights which then shot out to surround her, leaving her feeling calm and happy.

The afternoon seemed to drag on, although she kept busy with chores (not wanting to leave any more clues that she had left than she could possibly help) but eventually Ieaun turned up at the door.

"Bore da, are you ready for the ball cariad?  I've got both our clothes here to change into.  The most important thing about your outfit is the mask - Mam's put all sorts of magic into it to disguise who you are - no-one but us will be able to see your wings and they'll all beleive you're our family friend from back in Cymru.  It'll also stop the gwyllon stepfather of yours from tracking you (or his nasty little goblin for that matter)."

After some reassurances asked and given, and a last goodbye to the cats, Elenie and Ieaun got changed and headed out to the ball...

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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Pet Spam

Chapter Eighty Five

Queen Morgana was furious, pacing up and down the room as she ranted at Nik."What in all the unseelie courts do you think you're playing at there?  I told you to break that girl, and you've let her befriend your own son! She is supposed to be alone and friendless by the time I implement the next part of my plan you moron!  If you're trying to undermine me you will regret it!"

"Please your majesty,  I'm not trying to undermine you and I am fully aware of your orders.  Neither have I missed noticing this happening.  I assure you that I will break the girl, and indeed I have allowed this to happen as part of that plan.  I swear my queen, I have calculated this as a way of breaking her spirit further."

Morgana glared at her knight through the mirror, barely appeased by his grovelling explanation.  "See that your plan works, because if you fail then I will make your punishment such that no other shall dare to fail me ever again"

Downstairs in the barn, Elenie slept unaware of the plots being woven around her future.  Jewel had curled up on the floor next to her.

Once Elenie awoke, her first actions were to feed the cats and tend to Taliesen, brushing his coat and cleaning his hoofs.  She knew soon enough she would have to go over to the house and begin her chores but the company of the animals early in the morning soothed her spirit and bolstered her for the day ahead.  As she finished, she heard Taliesen whisper in her mind.

"Now you are older, your faerie powers will begin to emerge.  I will teach you how to use them as long as you only do so for good."

His first lesson was how to project an aura which would soothe those around her, and as Elenie began to cook breakfast for the household she practised doing so.  It was hard work though, and she couldn't hold it for long, especially when she began to concentrate on other things.

Breakfast made, she headed upstairs to begin her next new chore - now that she was a teen Nik had decreed that she was old enough to use a washing machine as well as the oven.

The next full moon was Coryn's birthday and Nik encouraged Dory to invite her relatives around for a party (at least the ones living on the isle).  The guests congregated in the living room to begin with and Mira decided to carefully try feeling out her youngest son to see what he thought of her son-in-law.  Alas, she soon discovered that Nik had done his work well and Dyan's "reassuring" responses told her that he wasn't even hearing what she said to him correctly.  Worse still, he seemed to think she had gone senile.

After a short time mingling, Dory called the household and guests through to the kitchen to eat some delicious baked salmon and chat around the dinner table settled down to normal small talk about homes and jobs. 

Once everyone had finished eating (save for Nik who had had to rush off somewhere - he wouldn't say where or what for), Dory brought out the birthday cake and fetched Coryn from the living room where he'd been playing.  Leaning over the cake with him she "helped" him blow the candles out before placing him down on the floor.

As soon as Dory had stepped back the birthday sparkles enveloped Coryn and he jumped up into the air as his extended family cheered and blew horns to encourage him. 

He landed back on the floor and the sparkles dissipated, leaving behind a smart, disciplined child dressed very smartly in his party best! 

Then came the best bit of the party as everyone adjourned back to the living room where a huge pile of gifts had been set up.  There were Snowflake Day gifts for everyone as well as some extra birthday presents for Coryn. 

Everyone took their turn in opening the gifts which included a snowy stuffed toy for Coryn, a new easel for Mira and, bizarrely enough, a pink lawn flamingo!

Eventually the gifts were all gone and everyone said goodnight.   

As the guests left, Coryn went upstairs to his bedroom which had been magically transformed from a toddlers nursery to a little boy's dream.

The next morning, as Elenie cooked breakfast, Mira discovered that her conversation with Dyan the night before had not gone unnoticed.  Nik railed angrily at her for some time, accusing her of a complete lack of manners and of attempting to spoil her grandson's birthday party.  It was his last sentence though which chilled her blood.

"I warned you what would happen if you dared try to interfere with my decisions in this household..."

Turning his back on Mira he stalked over to where Elenie was cooking, Mira followed him, dreading what he would do next.  As he approached, Elenie put the frying pan down and cringed away from him. 

"You useless pile of rubbish!  I've been kind enough to allow you to stay here and work for a living when I could have thrown you out to starve.  You are worthless and now that stupid old bat over there has tried to go against me.  Well, guess what brat, you get to take the punishment for her!"

With that, he drew back his hand and slapped Elenie around the face as hard as he could while Mira stared at him in shock. 

He then turned back to her and ranted at her again while both of them cowered away, fearful of what he would do should they provoke him again. 

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Out-take

For some reason, at one point when I directed Elenie to sleep in her sleeping bag she decided to go to sleep out in the yard buried in snow!  I was very tempted to include it in the story, but it didn't quite flow right.