Finding Firebird

Hello! (Read This First)

2009-12-31T20:14:00.000-08:00

This is the beginning of my online novel for NaNoWriMo.

Finding Firebird is a story about Phoenix, a teenage girl who lost her mother at a young age. When her father doesn't allow her to invite her mother's parents, who she hasn't seen since she turned 2, to her eighteenth birthday party, she goes in search of answers.

With the help of a young man named Kayde, Phoenix find her grandparents and finds why her father has such a problem with them, and now, she has to make a choice.

If you are starting the book for the first time, look at the scene list box to the right. Click on the first week (Nov 1-Nov 8). This will drop down a list of Chapters and Scenes.

Chapter 6, Scene 3

2009-11-22T21:28:00.001-08:00

My bed grew softer and softer until I felt as if I was laying on nothing but puffs of cotton. I begin to sink lower and lower until the cotton cloud envelopes me. I can breathe and know that I am not in danger but that knowledge does not stop my fear. Then, as if all at once, I begin to float downward. It is slow at first and then faster, I'm no longer floating, I'm falling. I see scenes passing me, or I pass scenes of a girl’s life. I see her growing from a young child to a teenager.

I remember none of these scenes of youth, but recognize people, places and events as if I were there. Am I this girl? Am I the star of all these small movies? I continue falling, and though I have no idea how fast I am moving, I know that I am going quicker than I would like. But I am not afraid. It is as if I will never land, as if I am flying purposefully, but without knowledge of where I am going. And then, for the first time yet, I wonder... Where AM I going? I'm falling and falling fast, and now, only now, I am afraid. I panic, I cry and I scream. Not for the fall, or the landing, but I know I am asleep, which means I will have to wake up, and that is what is scaring me. When I wake up, where will I go?

Suddenly, I land. It is neither fast and jarring, nor slow, soft and easy, I am just on the ground. As if all I had done was jump up and land on my feet. I open my eyes, which I hadn't noticed were closed and I see someone. Or something. As my eyes focus, they, it, disappears and a tree is in their place. 'But it could not have been a tree.' I think to myself. 'There was hair, a curved waist.' I was sure of it. I thought. Even if what I had seen was a tree, the curves were different.

I walk up to the tree and feel it pulling me. I step under its branches and look up and down it's trunk. It couldn't have been whatever or whoever I thought I had seen, they were gone. I feel the tree pulling to me, or more accurately, I feel the tree pulling me to it. As I step closer, for just a moment, I see a woman I recognize standing in front of the tree, opening her arms to me for a hug. My arms open and wrap around the tree and I feel its warmth pulse around me, as it pulls me into it.

It is hot and dark in this tree, and as I stand taking in the warmth and the sweet sappy smell, the wind begins to blow. It is fierce and chilling and everything is telling me that I should get out of this wind before it becomes a storm, but I don't. Goose bumps rise on my arm and my teeth begin to chatter, but I still am not cold enough to escape this wind. It's blowing all my fears and worries off of my body, it seems. Taking away I deal with through the day. All of my stresses. I hear a voice on the wind, but cannot make out the words. It is so familiar, like the obscure song you hear in a movie, but don't really listen to until you hear it 3 weeks later on the radio
I follow the voice to a lake not far off. The wind has brought rain and now, I do wish for shelter from this storm. I am scared and cold and wish that I could just go home. I don't know how to get home from here. A cave maybe? My tree, where is my tree that shared its love and warmth with me? Why can't I just go home? Thoughts of home turned to thoughts of work. I don't remember what I do at work, or where I work, only that I don't know why I still work there. Quickly, my thoughts become dark and sour, and the fear of not knowing where I am going return. I sit on the cold wet earth and cry. This cry feels different. I feel as if each tear is washing away a tiny bit of fear and cleansing me. My heavy heart weighs less with each sob until it is so light I feel love radiating from the top of my head, pouring forth to everything around me.

The clouds blow away and the rain lightens, then ceases and I am left on the wet ground with the lake. I couldn't see it in the rain, but as I look ahead of me, I see how vast the lake is, as if it stretches on for miles. I stand up to survey the area around me, and don't even mange to turn around. The water is bight and clear. I see each pebble, rock and shell in the bottom of the lake. As the small waves settle, a shape begins to form.

Curves and hair like I thought I saw when I stopped falling. She is the same woman that wanted me to hug the tree as well. Now she is in the water? It makes no sense. I reach out to touch the water, to feel her, to know that she really is there and not just my imagination, but as soon as the tip of my finger touches the water, a single ray of light hits the water above her and she vanishes again. I look up to see the most amazing sunrise I've ever seen. The sky is filled with reds and pinks and oranges that I've never seen before. As I feel the warmth, I look around me and see that it is all vanishing, just as the woman did.

Chapter 6, Scene 2 NSFW

2009-11-22T21:25:00.003-08:00

Kayde went into the bathroom to get ready for bed while I stayed in the bedroom. I stripped out of my dress, panties and bra to start getting ready for bed. First, I brushed my long orange hair and pulled it into a braid that I let Lay to the side of my head and over my shoulder. I pulled out my makeup bag, opened it up and began to search for my make up remover and a few cotton balls. I put a small amount of my oil free eye make up remover on a cotton ball and swiped it over my eye lids a couple of times until my eye make up was mostly gone, then I added a bit more to a second, cleaner cotton ball and went over my eye lids again, just to make sure it was gone. I pressed my mouth to the back of my hand to check for any lipstick that might have made it through the hectic night and was pleased to find out that there wasn’t anything left. I picked my dress up and hung it on a hanger that I found in the closet and then hung it on the closet door. After everything seemed nice and organized, I opened up my two suitcases and pulled my pillow out and put in on the bed and walked back over to my suitcases and leaned over them. As I was pillaging through them, looking for pajamas, Kayde opened the door and walked in before I could cover myself up.

“Oh, I’m sorry babe; I didn’t know you weren’t ready yet.” He said, sounding shy.

I can’t believe we’ve had sex twice and he’s still shy about seeing me naked. I thought to myself. “Its ok babe, I mean, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before.” I assured him, somewhat turned on by the way he was looking at me.

“Yea, but it’s different when I walk in on you facing away from me and bent over like that.” He answered.

I chuckled to myself softly as I realized that Kayde was slowly growing a bulge behind the thin pants he had on. I smiled at him and walked towards him slowly.

“I don’t think you’re quite as embarrassed as you would like for me to believe.” I told him, standing in front of him.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

For an answer, I reached down in front of him and slid my hand into his pants, lightly rubbing my finger tips along his quickly growing cock.

Kayde smiled at me and laughed softly. “I guess you’ve figured me out, haven’t you? It’s true; I was incredibly turned on by the sight of you bent over bearing all like that.” Kayde said to me as he slid one hand around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

I turned us so that he was between me and the bed and began walking towards the bed pressing against him. When we got to the bed I push him down on to it so that he was sitting on the edge and kneeled down in front of him. I had wanted him in my mouth for quite awhile, but until now, it had not happened, and I planned to change that.

I pulled his cock out from under the pants and pulled them down slightly, allowing his cock to move more freely. I had seen his dick before, obviously, but not from this angle. I leaned forward and pressed my lips against the head of his cock, allowing them to part slightly. I flicked the tip of my tongue against the small bit of flesh between my lips and heard a tiny gasp escape his lips.

I opened my mouth a bit more and took the entire head of his cock into my mouth and sucked on it lightly as I swirled my tongue around it. Kayde began to moan softly and ran his fingers through my hair. He grabbed the back of my head and pushed himself in my mouth almost making me choke. I pulled away fro a minute to take a breath and then tried again to take his whole cock in my mouth. I felt him pressing against the back of my throat and gagged a bit. I adjusted my position quickly and began bobbing my head back and forth taking in the whole length of his cock. Kayde’s hips rocked back and forth as I devoured his cock. He watched me through half closed eyes and lightly thrusts in and out of my mouth as he was moaning softly.

Suddenly I began to feel hints of him throbbing in my mouth against my tongue. I grabbed his hips with my hands and pulled him to me as the head of his cock began to swell lightly, pulsing against the back of my throat. I began trying to swallow, massaging him with my throat and tongue. After just a few seconds, Kayde grabbed the back of my head and pulled my face against him, burying his entire cock in my mouth as he began squirting cum down my throat. I swallowed as much as I could but still a bit leaked out of my mouth onto my chin and corner of my mouth.

After Kayde had cum, he pulled my head away from him and lifted me up. “It’s your turn now beautiful.” He said to me as he pulled me into his lap. Kayde slid me down his still hard cock and started fucking himself into me. I was so horny from sucking him off that I started moaning immediately. Each time Kayde’s cock slid up into me, I felt him throb. Kayde lay back onto the bed and pulled me forward with him so that I was lying on top of him while he fucked me. He fucked me soft and slowly, hitting my g-spot perfectly each time he pushed in or pulled out of me. It wasn’t long that I began rocking myself back onto his cock more vigorously, wanting him to pound me until I came.

Kayde lifted his head and began sucking on my nipple as he slid one hand down my back and slipped a finger into my ass. He fucked me faster as he fingered my ass and sucked my nipple making me moan loudly. I felt my body tense up and moaned loudly. My eyes began to well up with tears, not out of any negative emotion, just from an over abundance of pleasure.

“Oh Kayde, I can’t take it. Give me a sec.” I pleaded with him trying to get him to slow down or give me a small break.

Instead of slowing down, or stopping, Kayde began fucking me harder and slipped a second finger into my ass and began pounding me.

“Cum for me baby girl. Squeeze my fat cock baby.” Kayde gasped as he slammed his cock up into me.

I began moaning loudly as the tears flowed down my cheeks. My hands found their way to Kayde’s head and I grasped handfuls of his hair as my pussy began to tighten.

“That’s right baby, give it to me. I want you to cum all over that hard dick.” Kayde said before he moved his mouth back to my nipple and nibbled on it slightly.

I felt my clit and pussy began to throb and plastered my mouth to his in an attempt to keep my self from screaming. I felt my pussy juice gushing from me as Kayde began filling me with his cum. My whole body throbbed with pleasure as I floated through the best orgasm I had ever experienced.

I’m not sure how long I lay on the bed next to him, but it was long enough to make me doze off. Kayde lifted me up and covered me with the sheet, soft white fleece blanket and comforter and then lay next to me. His chest was pressed up against my back and he wrapped an arm around my waist and we both drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 6, Scene 1

2009-11-22T21:25:00.001-08:00

When I woke up, we were parked in a parking garage and Kayde was saying my name softly. Everything was dark and I was incredibly tired, annoyed, and just plain grumpy.

“Where are we?” I asked, although, hissed might be a more appropriate word.

“We’re just parking here, there’s a direct link, so to speak, to their house” Said Kayde. “Don’t worry, you’re just grumpy because you’re tired.”

I glared up at Kayde as we got out of the car.

“Ooh, you’re cute when you’re grumpy.” He said laughing.

We walked around to the back of the car and Kayde opened it up. Kayde pulled out his suitcase and laughed.

“Yep, you’re definitely a girl…” He said quietly as I began pulling my back pack out of the trunk.

Kayde leaned forward and pulled out my two suitcases for me. He handed the smaller of the two to me and carried his and my larger one. We followed Flora and Syle to an elevator and waited for it to arrive. Either the elevator took about 10 minutes to show up, or I was so immensely tired that it felt like it had taken 10 minutes to show up, because by the time it got to us, I was leaning against Kayde and close to falling asleep. I stood up, slightly embarrassed at my inability to make it more than a few minutes without passing out.

Kayde handed me my things and the four of us loaded into the elevator car. When I got inside, I was shocked at the buttons, which instead of numbers, for levels, they had words. For a moment, it didn’t connect with me, until I realized that the button my grandfather had pressed was Rose. So it wasn’t words on the buttons, it was names.

I wonder why they’ve got names instead of numbers or words, or fruits, like at the mall or something. I wondered to myself. My question was answered when the doors opened around a minute or two and we were right at my grandparent’s front door.

My grandfather opened the door and held it open for Kayde and I and then went into the kitchen.

Once my grandfather had left the room, my grandmother turned to us.

“This is a sensitive subject for Syle, since, even though you’re an adult and have come into your powers, he still sees you as his grandbaby.” She explained. “The two of you have two choices while you’re here and those choices are to either share Raven’s room, share the living room, or Kayde staying in the living room while Phee sleeps in Raven’s bedroom.

“Of course, I’m going to leave the decision up to the two of you, who am I to get involved in your sleeping arrangements?” My grandmother finished up and then walked into the kitchen with Syle.

Kayde and I walked over to the couch and sat down next to each other. For a few minutes, Kayde and I sat next to each other in silence. What will he think if I tell him he can stay in the room with me? I don’t want him to think I’m eager to move in with him or anything. I thought to myself. But what if I tell him I’d rather for him to sleep in the living room? Then he’ll think I don’t want him in the bedroom with me, and oh boy do I want him in that room with me.

At the same time, Kayde and I turned to each other.

“You can sleep in the room if you want to.” I said.

“I wouldn’t mind if you wanted me to sleep in the living room.” Kayde said to me at the exact same time.

“I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” He finished.

“I would just hate for you to feel uncomfortable though.” I told him.

We laughed together and Kayde wrapped an arm around me and looked at me. “I would love to stay in the bedroom with you, unless it would make you feel uncomfortable.” He said right before he kissed me.

“Yes, I want you in the bedroom with me.” I answered for him.

Kayde and I stood up to take our things in the bedroom just as Flora was coming out of the kitchen.

“Now that you two have things settled, why don’t you go ahead and take your things to the bedroom while I finish up this pot of tea?”

“Go ahead and rest, love” Said Kayde to me “I’ll take our things in the room.”

He took the suitcase and back pack from me and carried our things into the bedroom.

While I was waiting for him to come back, my grandmother and grandfather came in with a pot of tea and four tea cups and saucers on a tray.

“This is a special blend of herbs to help with restful sleep” Flora explained “It’s sweetened with Stevia leaves so that you don’t use sugar or honey, which contains natural sugars.”

Kayde walked back in the living room from putting our things in the bedroom. He sat down next to me and leaned forward to pour a cup of tea for himself and for me as well as he listened to my grandmother explain the tea a bit more.

“The reason I wanted to make this is because it helps the imbiber to sleep deeply, which will help keep you from having dreams that may cause your power to act up. It’s been drank in the Faery community for decades to help Fae who are just coming into their powers sleep well and not have to worry about power hiccups.”

Kayde and I lifted our glasses and each took a sip of the tea, which it seemed we both found delicious. The four of us sat around talking, or more accurately, Kayde and I sat on the couch listening to funny stories about Fae who thought they could handle not having to drink the tea when they were coming into their power.

My favorite was a story of Flora’s niece, my second cousin, Alva. She had a baby boy, named Caleb, who was born an animal Faery. Alva was worried about the impact of the tea on infant’s health, so she decided not to give him the tea. One night she woke up and heard Caleb crying. When she went into the nursery to check on him his bedroom had filled with animals that had crawled through the window.

After we had finished a second cup of tea, Kayde and I decided to head off to bed. I hugged my grandmother and grandfather and thanked them for their hospitality and Kayde and I walked toward the bedroom.

Chapter 5, Scene 6

2009-11-22T21:24:00.001-08:00

We drove to my father’s home in silence, save for a few coughs, sneezes and sighs. I wasn’t really ready to talk about the whole moving thing, and even though I didn’t say that, it seemed as though my grandmother understood that.

By the time we got there, I was so tired of everything that I had decided not to try to talk to my dad about the situation and to just let him go ahead and listen to the message and call me when he was ready. My grandmother and I got out of the car and walked up the pathway to the front door. I pulled the keys out of my purse and opened the front door and walked in.

I decided to get my laptop first since it was down stairs. I turned the living room light on by flipping the switch next to the front door and saw that the entire living room was in shambles.

There were books and DVD cases all over the floor and the coffee table was on its side. One of our antique wooden chairs was knocked over and missing a leg, which, after a quick scan of the living room, was found in front of the broken TV. The only things that seemed not to be out of place or broken were my CDs, my laptop, and the couch, that my father was sleeping on. I went and gathered up my laptop and CDs and began to head up to my bedroom.

Once I was in my room, I was shocked to find that nothing had been touched, except for a picture that had been sitting on my dresser of me when I was born in my mother’s arms and my father next to us kissing mom on the cheek.

Since that photo was gone, I grabbed the next best one, me, my mom and my dad at the park having a picnic. I placed my things on my bed and opened the closet and pulled two of my suitcases out of the back.

In the larger one, I laid my pillow on the bottom and then set my laptop, the photo, and my CDs on top of it. I pulled out 5 t-shirts and a couple of tank tops and piled them into my suitcase. I then grabbed a few bras and underwear and tossed them on the top. As I was filling the next suitcase with pants and shorts, Flora zipped up the large suitcase and carried it downstairs for me. I grabbed a book and my makeup bag and stuck them in my backpack and zipped both up and carried them down the stairs.

As I was headed out the door, I put my suitcase and back pack down on the floor and walked into the living room. I kissed my dad on the forehead and covered him up.

“I’m going to miss you, Daddy” I whispered as I pulled away from him “I love you.”

“Love you too, Firebird” My father mumbled, obviously still mostly asleep.

I turned toward my grandmother will my eyes full of tears and walked back towards my suitcase and backpack and picked them up. I locked the door and closed it behind us.

“Let’s get out of here, before I freak out, or somebody sees me.”
“No problem cupcake.” My grandmother responded softly.

We put my things in the car and before I knew it, we were back at Kayde’s, and he was packing his things into the trunk and sliding into the back seat next to me. He pulled me against him and held me, with his hand rubbing over my hair softly.

Chapter 5, Scene 5

2009-11-22T21:23:00.003-08:00

“Who is it?” He shouted through the door.

“Open the door silly boy!” I heard my grandfather shout from outside. “We can see your glow from under the door.” He taunted.

Kayde opened the door and let my grandparents in the house.

“We heard you needed some help, hm?” Said Flora. “And by the looks of it, I can see why you didn’t just go to Phee’s house to ask for Al’s help.”

“My boy, you’re positively glowing. Do you know your power yet?” Asked my grandfather.

“Oh, we know it alright.” I answered. “It’s a positive kick in the pants. Once he masters it, he’s taking me to the casino.”

“Oh my…” Said Flora.

“You mean he’s…” Said Syle, not finishing his sentence.

“Yes, I am.” Said Kayde; at first, I was confused with his answer to their unasked questions, but then I realized he must be reading their minds.

“Well Syle, it looks as though we are going to have our hands full with these two.” Said my grandmother as she walked over to the couch I was sitting on and sat next to me.

“Yes dear, we certainly will.” My grandfather answered.

“Well, first thing’s first.” My grandmother said looking from Kayde to myself. “We need to get the two of you out of town. I think between Syle and I, we can manage to cover the two of you with our glamour until we can get you out of town. Once we’re on the freeway, it should be sweet sailing, so to speak. Kayde, we can put you in a sweat shirt with a hood, Phee, it will be dark enough that unless someone shines a flashlight on you, they won’t be able to know that you look like a cherry.”

“Wait a minute” Said Kayde “What exactly are you planning to do with my nifty new radioactive glow?”

“Anyone who passes us and notices your skin will just assume it’s a flashlight or lantern in the back seat.” Answered my grandfather. “For a few days, the two of you can stay at our house…”

“Wait, what do you mean?” I said, cutting off my grandfather. “Why only for a few days?”

“Let him finish babe, I think you’ll like the idea.” Said Kayde, sitting down next to me.

“As I was saying, for a few days, the two of you can stay at our house while we wait for the committee to finish your home in the forest.” My grandfather began to explain “Of course, you don’t have to live there permanently, the way your grandmother and I do, it can be a vacation home, so to speak. It will be a great place for the two of you to work on your powers, and a great place to set up shop when you need to not be in the real world.”

“How are we to know that this committee will even let us live there, I mean, we’re only half Fae.” I asked, not wanting to allow myself to get too excited.

“Because they have already approved it, dear one.” My grandmother said, hugging me. “That’s where we went after we had to leave the restaurant. We knew right away that you were the cause of the candles and the fire in the kitchen. We couldn’t let you go home with your father, especially after the situation at the restaurant.

“The differences we have with your father aren’t important. We knew it would kill you if you hurt him, and couldn’t let something like that happen to you.”

I turned toward my grandmother, surprised that they knew me so well. “What about my birthday party? Dad’s worked so hard on it, and we only have a week!” I asked, more worried about hurting my father’s feelings than about not having an eighteenth birthday party.

My grandfather, who as usual, had been pretty quiet, spoke up. “We’re pretty sure that we’ve got that figured out. You probably won’t know your glamour by then, though with hard work, it’s possible to get a hold on your powers. So, why not change it to a costume party?”

“That’s fine with me,” I answered “But what about Kayde? What’s he going to be? A light bulb?”

“I can cover myself in make up.” He answered. “Or body paint. Believe me, I can come up with something.”

After that, I had no qualms about the party so I called my father. Not surprisingly, he didn’t answer either phone, so I left him a message. “Hi Daddy, it’s me. I’m at Kayde’s, everything is fine. Kayde and I are going to go to grandma and grandpa’s for awhile and try to get a handle on things before the party.

“I know you’re worried, but try not to be, I’m still your Firebird, just, a little bit more so, I suppose. I love you.”

I hung up the phone and looked at my grandmother and grandfather and sighed.

“We’re going to have to run by the house and pick up some clothes for you” My grandmother said as she rubbed my shoulder “Why don’t we head to the house and do that while Kayde gets some of his things together?”

I nodded and leaned forward to lightly kiss Kayde on the cheek.

“Don’t forget your paints love.” I reminded him, knowing that this would be difficult for him and that painting would help him feel better.

“Don’t forget your music and laptop.” He told me, kissing my cheek as well.

My grandmother and I stood up and walked toward the door.

“Wait, babe, put this on, it’s cold out there.” Kayde said, jumping up and handing me his sweatshirt. “It’ll help with the whole red thing too.”

Chapter 5, Scene 4

2009-11-22T21:23:00.001-08:00

“Now, we just wait to see if it works.” Said Kayde, looking at me with a smile, “We should maybe put some clothes on, unless you’re interested in a rather awkward visit. How are you feeling?”

“Good” I answered “I’m a bit dizzy though. That was pretty intense.”

“Ok, let’s ground you. We can’t leave you holding onto all of that energy.”

Kayde took my hand and led me outside to his garden, which was very luckily fenced in with tall wooden boards.

“Kneel on the ground” He instructed me, almost formally “Good, now lean forward with your hands on the ground and get your body as close to the earth as you can.”

I did as he said and immediately began feeling better.

“Imagine your body glowing with a pure, golden light.” He said softly, giving me a few moments to visualize “Ok, now imagine all that light draining out of your body and down into the earth.”

I did as he had instructed and after a minute or two, I felt amazing! My body felt light, I felt almost high, like I was on some kind of happy pill. I was calmer and happier and less worried about everything. As I was lying against the earth, a breeze rolled across my skin and I realized I was still bare naked, and it was kind of cold. I stood up and looked at Kayde.

“Um, babe, I’m freezing, can we go back in the house?” I asked. “I’m kind of cold… And naked.”

Kayde took my hand and we walked back in the house.

“Are you feeling any better, love?” He asked

“Yes, much, in fact, I feel better than I did even before all of the drama tonight.” I told him.

“Magick will do that to you” He told me “It’s almost like you get high on it.”

We walked back in the door and through the house. The colors in the house all seemed brighter, more vivid some how. When we got into the living room, there was a knock on the door.

Who could that be? I thought to myself. Kayde began to walk towards the door and motioned for me to start getting dressed.

Chapter 5, Scene 3 NSFW

2009-11-22T21:22:00.001-08:00

Kayde’s hands pushed and prodded at my legs until they were no longer crossed and pulled me into his lap as we kissed. When I realized I was in his lap, I wrapped my legs back around him. His lips against mine felt almost the way it feels when you press your tongue against a nine volt battery. They buzzed against each other, but in a much more pleasant way. His hands were under my ass, holding me to him. I could tell that he had no plans to stop touching me anytime soon. Even if he was, I wouldn’t have given him the choice. The light electricity I felt in my body was growing, and there seemed to be no way to get rid of it other than being pressed against him.

Kayde leaned forward until I was lying on the soft blanket on the floor. He reached under my dress and pulled my thong down my thighs and down my legs. He seemed to be in such a hurry to get between my legs that he didn’t even bother taking them all the way off. He lay on his stomach between my legs and hooked my knees over his shoulders, my thong dangling off my left ankle, and pressed his lips against my pussy.

With much more fury than last night, he slid his tongue up my slit and sucked on my clit while he pressed his fingers into me. His tongue swirled around my clit in circles and figure eights as he slid his fingers in and out of me quickly.

I reached up and grabbed the back of his head, pulling him closer to me, wanting more than he was giving me. My hips rocked back and forth as he pulled his fingers out of me and moved his hand from my clit down to my pussy. He began thrusting his tongue in and out of my pussy and used his thumb to rub my clit quickly.

“Oh god babe, you’re going to make me cum.” I shouted “Don’t stop baby, please, make me cum!”

Much to my surprise and dismay, when I said that, Kayde pulled away from me, leaving me hanging on the brink of orgasm as he took his shirt, pants, and boxers off. Once he was completely naked, he wrapped his arms around me and lifted me to a sitting position. He grabbed the hem of my dress and pulled it up over my head. He then reached around me and unfastened my bra and pulled it off.

He laid me back down on the blanket and slowly slid himself into me. I don’t know if it was the strange electric current running through my body, or the fact that I was so close to orgasm, or if it was just because I knew what to expect, but his size didn’t seem to hurt quite as much as it did the night before.

Instead of starting slow, as he did last night, he began sliding into me deep and fast. The slight pain I felt each time he slammed into me was immediately over taken by a wonderful feeling of pleasure. I moaned loudly, knowing how close I was to orgasm, knowing that the minute Kayde began to cum, it was going to set me off into a mind blowing orgasm.

Kayde stopped for a minute with his cock still in me, and lifted my legs up over his shoulders, and went back to sliding in and out of me. This new angle actually kind of hurt, but the pain was overshadowed by the pleasure. I felt myself begin to tighten around Kayde’s cock and began to feel him throbbing inside of me.

“Kayde, harder” I begged “You’re going to make me cum.”

He began to slam his pelvis into me faster as my moans turned to screams. I loved how hard he was fucking me. I loved how amazing it felt to have every inch of him inside of me. I even loved the pain because it contrasted the pleasure so beautifully.

My hips began to arch up towards him as my breath caught in my throat. I heard Kayde grunt lightly and before I knew it my whole body had started to spasm with waves of pleasure and I could feel Kayde releasing hot cum into me.

After a few seconds, Kayde lowered my legs and leaned forward to kiss me. He stood up and then took my hands, standing me up as well.

Kayde held our arms in the air, our hands pressed palm to palm. ”All thanks and blessings be,” He said “To those of air, earth, fire, and sea. Please, send Flora and Syle to this home, communicate to them that we need their help.”

He turned toward the north and blew out the green candle, and moved counter clockwise around the blanket to each candle, blowing them out.

Chapter 5, Scene 2

2009-11-22T21:21:00.001-08:00

In his hands, slug over his shoulder was what looked like a blanket filled with, well, stuff that I had no clue what it was. As he got to the bottom of the stairs, he set his pack down on the ground and moved the coffee table up against the wall in the hall. He picked his pack back up and set it where the table had been and opened it up. He spread the blanket out on the floor so that it was flat. He took out what looked like a compass and set it down next to his pile of supplies as I stood up and came over next to him.

Next to the edge of the blanket, where the compass was pointing north, he set a green candle on a small saucer. Next, he went to the eastern edge of the blanket and set a yellow candle on a saucer as well. He repeated the process with a red candle on the southern edge and a blue one on the west.

He picked up a large blood red colored leather covered, seemingly hand bound book with the letter C embossed in the center. I assumed this was the Book of Shadows that he had been talking about earlier. It was a beautiful book and I wondered how long his family had owned it.

Kayde opened the book up and read over what was written on the page and then set the book down on the couch. He took my hand and pulled me to the center of the blanket.

“It says for us to send welcoming energy out to the Faeries, but I’m pretty sure it’s obvious that we’re pretty welcoming at the moment.” He told me laughing as he handed me 4 small quartz crystals. “I want you to kiss each of these and set it down next on the saucer, opposite the blanket, starting with the yellow candle in the east.”

I did as he asked, working my way from yellow, to red, to blue, and then to green.

“Each candle represents a different element” He told me, pointing to each candle. “Yellow for air, red for fire, blue for water and green for earth.

He sat down in the middle of the blanket and lightly pulled me down to sit in front of him as well.

“Oh spirits of plants and earth and trees, oh elemental ones of every form, show yourselves to me, I ask. From us shall come no harm. Join us in friendship and in love.” Said Kayde “Rejoice with me in this magick old, for together with the ancient gods we can recreate all things in gold. Guardian spirits, watchers fair, our lives are joined. All things we share.”

He stood up and walked toward the yellow candle and motioned for me to follow. He had me light the candle and then sprinkle a spoonful of powdered ginger over the quartz crystal.

“All you Air spirits and faeries hear my call. Enter this magick circle. Welcome All.” He said.

Again, I lit the red candle and sprinkled the ginger over the crystal.

”All you spirits of the sunbeams, hear my call. Enter this magick circle. Welcome All.” Said Kayde.

I walked to the blue candle and lit it and sprinkled more ginger.

“All you nymphs and water sprites, hear my call. Enter this magick circle. Welcome All.” He said again.

For the last time, I walked to the Green candle and lit it and once again sprinkled the ginger.

”All you little ones of the moonbeams, hear my call. Enter this magick circle. Welcome All.” He repeated a fourth and final time.

As Kayde pulled me back toward the floor and the blanket, I felt strangely electric. My body felt as if it were buzzing, filled with energy. As Kayde and I sat down across from each other I felt an incredible desire to touch him. The urge grew and grew until without even a conscious decision to do so, I had leaned forward, my hands on each side of his head and pulled his face towards me and kissed him.

Chapter 5, Scene 1

2009-11-22T21:20:00.003-08:00

“Oh Kayde!” I exclaimed “What on earth am I going to do? I can’t very well go around setting things on fire out in public every time someone pisses me off!”

Kayde moved closer to me and put his arm around me, obviously not sure what to say or do. He was sweet though and put his hand on to the back of my head and pulled my head to his shoulder when he saw my eyes fill with tears.

I was both pleasantly surprised and incredibly unhappy with myself at that point. Even though I wasn’t able to stop myself from starting the fire, I was able to set the log on fire by keeping my eyes on it and nothing else while I was upset. But what if… What if I was arguing with someone? I thought to myself. What if my father and I got into another argument about my grandparents? What if I couldn’t stop myself and he ends up being what I am looking at? I couldn’t stand the possibility of that.

“Phee, look at me sweetie.” Kayde said to me, putting his hand on my chin and lifting it, not giving me much of a choice to avoid looking at him. “Syle and Flora will figure something out. They both know how dangerous it is for both you and your father to stay there with them. Just because they disagree on some things, they have no plans to let you have a chance to hurt your father in any way, shape, or form.”

It was almost as if he had read my mind. He was already incredibly intuitive. What if he ended up being some kind of mind reader Faery? Did that happen? It wasn’t very natural. Was it possible to have a power, a specialty that didn’t focus on some aspect of nature? It sounded like a stretch to me, but I didn’t see why it would be impossible. Nothing was impossible; at least that was what I always liked to believe.

“I don’t think it’s impossible at all, babe.” Kayde answered the questions I hadn’t really asked. “In fact, I think it’s completely possible.”

I looked up at Kayde, both shocked and surprised, and even still, a bit confused. I didn’t think he had changed his color at all, but as I looked up, I saw his skin was glowing, almost as brightly as the moon, and his normally dark hair had turned an amazing, light shade of lavender.

“Oh Kayde! What on earth are we going to do?” I asked, trying to find out how to fix this, how to get in touch with my grandparents. “We need to get back to my house; my father would know what to do.”

“No, we can’t go to your father’s.” He answered “First of all, it’s not safe for either of you, and secondly, I look like a damn fog light, if that doesn’t bring attention to us, I don’t know what the hell will.”

I knew he was right and I was incredibly annoyed with it.

“Calm down babe.” He said as he put his hand on my shoulder. “We have to stay calm, remember?”

I took a few deep breaths and leaned back against the couch with my eyes closed so that I could try to figure out some kind of solution.

“Phee, remember when I told you about sex magick?” Kayde asked softly.

“Yes, of course I remember.” I told him. It was right after the most amazing sex I had ever had, why wouldn’t I remember it?

“Well, I knew about it because my parents were pagans. My mother was Wiccan, a Witch, and my father was a Shaman. Although now I understand their magick a bit more clearly.

“My parents were the one’s who taught me about sex magick, well, all magick really. I have their Book of Shadows up there. I like to browse through it sometimes for holidays and such. I remember seeing a spell for summoning Faeries. I’m pretty sure I have everything we’d need, if you’d like to give it a try.”

“Well, why not?” I answered “It’s not just our best bet right now; it’s kind of our only bet as well.”

“Ok, I’ll run upstairs and grab the Book of Shadows and the supplies from up there; will you go in the kitchen at the end of the hall and grab the powdered sugar and a sugar spoon?” Kayde asked.

“Sure babe” I told him “I’ve just got a quick question. What’s a sugar spoon?”

“Um… You know the tiny little spoons that you see people use with sugar bowls?” He explained

“Oh, ok, got it. Powdered ginger and sugar spoon.” I said again, more for myself than for him.

Kayde turned and headed up the stairs and I walked down the hallway, admiring the art as I headed towards the kitchen. I opened each cabinet, finding lovely dishes in most of them. The last few were full of non-perishable food, and then the very last one was full of tons of small jars each full of some kind of herb or spice. They were labeled and organized alphabetically, so it was fairly easy to find the powdered ginger.

Next I started opening drawers looking for the sugar spoon. It was found easily, three drawers into my search. I walked back into the living room and sat on the floor next to the warmth of the fire as I waited for Kayde to get back down stairs. Only a few minutes later Kayde was walking back down the stairs somewhat resembling Santa Clause.

Chapter 4, Scene 9

2009-11-22T21:20:00.001-08:00

We drove to Kayde’s home in silence, I could tell he wished I would talk to him, but didn’t want to bother me, or force me to talk before I was ready. His hand never left mine, and every chance he got to glance at me, he would. It was obvious that he was worried about me, and curious about what happened. I knew I’d talk to him about it once we got to his house, but I really wasn’t quite ready to delve into my feelings, both at the time of the incident and after the incident as well.

When we finally got to his house and pulled up to the curb, I was so deep in thought that didn’t even realize that the car had even stopped. I didn’t realize Kayde had gotten out of the car until he was on my side of the car and had opened the door. I looked up at him in a daze and wondered what he was standing there for.

“We’re here, let’s get inside, ok Phee?” He prompted me, gently.

I reached to my left and unbuckled the seat belt and leaned over to grab my purse. Kayde took my hand and helped me out of the car and we walked to the front of his house with his arm around my waist in such a way that I wasn’t sure if he was guiding me, holding me up, or if he just wanted to have his arms around me. Either way, it didn’t matter to me. I just wanted to get inside and warm.

Kayde opened the front door and reached in, flicking a light switch next to the door and then letting me walk in. I walked through the door into a beautifully decorated house. The majority of it seemed to be Native American art, with some Asian accents. He also had some lovely art that I couldn’t quite figure out where in the world it would have originated, but was absolutely breathtaking.

“Kayde, your home is absolutely beautiful.” I said so softly that it was more to myself than to my boyfriend.

“Thank you, love.” He answered, his hearing better than expected. “Are you warm enough? I’m sure I have a sweatshirt or something. I mean, it may be big, but if you’re cold…”

“No, thank you, but I’m fine. It’s plenty warm in here.” I answered. “Where did you get all of this art?” I asked him as I wandered through the hallway looking at some of the paintings.

“Well, most of them came from my mother. My parent’s left everything to me in their will when they passed away.” He told me.

“There is one that I’d like you to see though.” He said as he pulled me towards the back of the hallway. “This one, I painted a few months ago.” He said as he opened the door to a room at the end of the hallway.

Behind the door was a small room that had been converted to an art studio. In the middle of the studio was an easel with a canvas that was covered in reds, oranges and yellows. It took minute for my eyes to get accustomed to the darkness, but when they did, what I saw on the canvas, in its full detail, absolutely amazed me. I saw myself, naked, sitting atop a flaming bird that could only be called a phoenix. My skin was red, with a light hint of orange flames behind it, or maybe a better word was under it. My hair was flowing behind me, bright orange. I looked at Phil shocked that he could paint something so intricately detailed and beautiful.

“I told you, I’ve been dreaming about you for months.” He said, sheepishly “This is how you look when I see you in those dreams. Ever since Flora and Syle mentioned that there was no way to know what your specialty was, I knew that this was it.

“When things happened the way they did tonight at the restaurant, I knew it was you.”

“Can we go sit down?” I asked him softly.

“Yes, let’s go in the living room” He answered, as we left his studio.

Kayde took my hand and closed the door behind us and we began walking back down the hallway. I admired all of the artwork in the hallway and saw that a few pieces seemed to be styled similarly to the painting I had seen in Kayde’s studio. As we got into the living room and sat down on the couch, I realized how talented Kayde truly was.

“Kayde? Did you paint some of the stuff in the hallway?” I asked him quietly.

“Yes, I’ve been painting since I was very young.” He answered “The only thing I wanted for my fifth birthday was water colors. That was when my parents decided to change the office into a studio for me.”

“They’re so beautiful.” I told him. “I mean, you could really make some great money with those, I’m sure.”

“Actually, I already do. That’s why I don’t have much hanging around here.” He told me as a slight flush rose to his cheeks.

“Phee? Earlier, in the restaurant?” Kayde asked me “Did you do that on purpose? I mean, the way the flame of the candles leapt up like that? The way the fire in the kitchen started at the same time? Why did you do that?”

“Of course I didn’t do it on purpose!” I told him “Why on earth would I do something like that on purpose? It was just because of the way my dad was ignoring me. I tried to keep myself from crying and letting him hurt my feelings, but it just made me so mad!”

I could feel myself getting upset again and instead of letting my anger rise, I looked at the detail of Kayde’s fireplace instead.

“Does he do that a lot? Hurt your feelings, I mean?” Asked Kayde, referring to my father.

“Not on purpose, he just gets so… Ugh!” I said, feeling exasperated with my father and his grudge against my grandparents. “He can just get so defensive, or offensive, or… He just acts like a complete jerk anytime my grandparents are involved in anything!”

Shockingly to both Kayde and I, the log in his fireplace burst into flames.

Chapter 4, Scene 8

2009-11-16T22:10:00.001-08:00

We began walking towards the front of the restaurant with my father, grandmother and grandfather. Everyone seemed to be in a fairly decent mood, which was a nice change from my father’s earlier sour mood with my grandparents. If I was lucky, it would stay that way through the next hour or so while we ate dinner.

I had been to Rico’s with some friends from school for the first time last month to celebrate our graduation. It was a wonderfully friendly and classy restaurant run by a sweet old Italian man and his granddaughter. What most people, myself included, loved most about Rico’s was that it wasn’t just a place where the owner was hardly ever seen. Rico was there every day from open till close. He cooked, waited, whatever needed to be done, Rico was there to do it. And he wasn’t just a helpful old man; he was as sweet as pie. When we came in June, a friend of mine didn’t get her order made right and when she asked the waiter about it, Rico himself went back to the kitchen to make it, and instead of just making the order himself, he pulled the original cook over and showed him how to make the dish correctly, never with a negative word.

My grandfather walked in and today, Rico was standing in front seating people.

“Hi there sir. How are you this evening?” He asked my grandfather.

“I’m doing well, yourself?” Replied my grandfather.

“Doing wonderful tonight. Do you have a reservation tonight?”

“Yes, we do, it’s under Rose.” Answered my grandfather.

“Wonderful, looks like you’ve got your full party with you, do you have a preference for seating?” Asked Rico.

“If possible, could you put us somewhere somewhat private?” Asked my grandfather, “We have some important things to discuss, family matters, and we would prefer not to be over heard.”

“Well certainly” responded Rico “That should be easy enough to do.”

He walked us towards the back of the restaurant near the kitchen and around the corner then, much to my surprise, seated us in a closed section of the restaurant.

“Will this work well for you tonight?” He asked my grandfather, “It’s not an open section tonight, so it should stay quiet and private for you, unless we get overly busy.” He explained.

“Yes sir, this is perfect, thank you.” Asked my father, offering to tip Rico, obviously not noticing that he was the owner of the restaurant.

“Oh, thank you sir, but please, allow me to respectfully decline.” Rico said to my grandfather “Family talk is an important and often private affair, I’m honored that you chose my restaurant for it.

“Here are your menus, I’ll be back in a few minutes to take your orders, would you like anything to drink?”

“I think we’ll do fine with waters around the table please, sir.” Answered my grandfather.

After Rico had walked away, my grandfather looked around the table from my father to me, to Kayde, and finally at my grandmother.

“Now, Albert, I know that this is an uncomfortable subject for you, but tonight, we are here to have a talk about Phee, and Kayde, coming into their powers.” My grandfather said, looking at my father. “I hope that, as her father, you have enough concern for your daughter’s future to fight through your discomfort.”

“Yes, I will, I’ve had time to prepare myself for this conversation, so I think I can handle it.” Answered my father, glaring back at my grandfather.

“Now, first things first” Started my grandfather “Albert, I know that you, as well as Flora and I, were hoping the Phee’s skin wouldn’t change to much, however, today, both Phee and Kayde have witnessed Phee’s skin changing to a red color, momentarily. As far as her power goes, we don’t know what this means, but we do know that it means that her skin will be red in color. We all know your preference to appear normal to your neighborhood, for obvious reasons. The problem is that red is rather obviously not a normal color. The fact that she is already changing in color means that it will happen very soon. I’m not sure if Raven talked to you at all about the way things would happen for Phee, but before she learns her glamour, she must learn her power.”

“So what you’re trying to say is that she’s going to be red until after she learns her power?” Asked my father.

Before Syle could answer, Rico came back to take our orders and bring us our water. Kayde and I decided to share a large appetizer platter, my father ordered spinach lasagna, my grandmother chose a ceaser salad with chicken, and my grandfather ordered mushroom garlic linguine. Rico collected our menus and left to go turn in our orders.

“To answer your question rather bluntly Albert, yes.” Said my grandfather quietly, “An even bigger problem is that as a Faery, and Kayde, I hope you’re paying attention as well, once Phoenix fully changes color, she will also be fully in her power, and in order to learn her power, she has to be outside, in a natural setting. It’s not something she can learn inside a house.”

“So you mean that when she starts trying to learn her power, she has to be outside?” Asked my father “Meaning that there’s really no way to hide this from our neighbors?”

“Well, yes and no.” Answered my grandmother, “There’s a way around everything. For instance, she could practice her power outside, late at night; problem is that if she ends up becoming a Flower specialty, like I am, she’ll be hard pressed to practice in the dark. We really won’t be able to come up with a game plan for either of them until we know more about their power.”

“Ok, well, I guess this is really a talk that we should have later on, once we know more about their power.” Said my father, looking relieved. “Is that all we have to talk about?”

“Oh, not at all,” Said my grandmother “That was just one fo two things we wanted to bring up. Another thing we wanted to talk about was more for the kids than for you though. When you come fully into your power, you need to be aware that it will be very hard to control and they will be tied closely to your emotions. When I came into my powers, I couldn’t be anywhere around plants while in a bad mood because it would kill them. I couldn’t go into public either because whenever I saw something that made me smile or made me happy, plants around me would begin to grow!”

“And when I came into my power as well, things were difficult.” Said Syle, “You’ve heard the expression, a cloud following you wherever you go? Well, I literally had to deal with a cloud following me. In a good mood, there would be soft snow fall all around me. Everything I passed would end up with a light layer of frost covering it. I couldn’t go anywhere near plants that weren’t winter hardy, because they’d always die. When I was in a bad mood though, it was the worst. The soft snowfall was virtually a snowstorm. The light layer of frost would turn so severe that I would sometime break windows.”

“So you mean to tell me, that these kids aren’t going to be able to go anywhere until they’ve mastered this, this magic?” Asked my father, his voice harboring more than a bit of annoyance.

“Honestly Albert, it’s highly possible that they’ll have a hard time out in public.” My grandmother said gently “But it’s also possible that it won’t be so difficult. Maybe Kayde will just be a thought Faery and all that will happen is that he’ll jumble or clarify people’s thoughts.

“There are a lot of different specialties out there, we just have to have time, once again to let the kid’s come fully into their powers.”

“This is ridiculous!” My father said loudly, shocking us all “How can you restrict these children this way? If you had known your place when Raven died and left my daughter alone, none of this would be happening right now. My daughter never would have slept with this guy and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

“You’re ruining my child’s life, and you expect me to just sit around and accept that?” My father finished, as he glared back and forth at my grandparents.

My breath caught in my throat and I nearly started crying. No! I thought to myself. I will not cry over this. He will not ruin my night again.

“Dad?” I said quietly.

“Just because she’s nearly eighteen doesn’t mean she’s not a child.” My father said.

“Dad?” I said again, a bit louder, breathing deeply as I tried to breathe deeply and keep myself calm.

“She doesn’t know the first thing about any of this. You know what? Fuck this! I’m leaving. I refuse to sit by idly and watch you people try to brainwash my child!” Said my father, standing up.

“DAD!” I said again, nearly shouting, as I stood up.

At that moment, four things happened. The candle centerpieces flared up almost three feet, there was a large racket in the kitchen that consisted of some yelling and what sounded like pots and pans crashing, a few second afterwards, the smoke alarm in the restaurant started buzzing loudly and the over head sprinklers came on, and then Rico came running to our table.

“I’m so sorry, but there is a fire in the kitchen, we have to evacuate the restaurant.” He informed us, giving us a few seconds to gather our belongings and then hurrying us to the emergency exit.

As we stood outside of the restaurant I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that the candles, the noise in the kitchen, it all seemed to happen when I lost my temper with my father. I looked up at my family and saw that my grandmother, my grandfather, and Kayde all seemed to be looking at me. My grandfather leaned towards Kayde and whispered something to him that I couldn’t hear.

“You’re right. I’ll take her around the back. Thank you for dinner, we’ll see you soon.” He said to my grandfather as he took my hand.

“Phee, baby, we’ve got to get you out of here.” He said to me pulling me further down the alley.

“What? What about my family? Can’t I at least say good bye to them?” I asked, confused as to why we were leaving so suddenly.

“You can call them from the car.” He told me sternly.

“What?” I asked annoyed. “Why?” I asked annoyed.

“You’ll see when you get in the car, for now, we have to go Phee, trust me.” He said to me.

We walked around the back of the building and headed to his car. He opened the door for me as always and waited for me to get myself situated before closing the door. The strange thing was that this time he seemed to be blocking me from looking outside of the car. After he had walked around to his side of the car and gotten in the car I looked at him.

“Now can you tell me why we had to leave without even giving me time to say good bye to my family?” I asked.

As an answer, Kayde reached up and flipped down the sun visor in front of me and opened the mirror. As I looked up, I saw a face staring back at me, wide eyed. Even though the face I saw was my own, it was still unfamiliar to me. The face I was used to seeing in the mirror was lightly tanned from all of my work in the garden, but the one I saw was red, and not the light red that looked almost pink that I had seen earlier in the day, but a much stronger, more vivid red, that seemed to be almost glowing. My usually long dark brown hair seemed to be turning bright orange from the roots down to the ends. I turned to Kayde with questioning eyes, worrying about whether or not I had been seen like this.

“That’s why we had to leave my dear, and why we leave the way we did.” He answered my unasked question.

Chapter 4, Scene 7

2009-11-16T01:39:00.003-08:00

As I got to the middle of the stairs, I realized that there was something strange going on. No one was talking in the living room. If nothing else, I was sure Kayde and my grandparents would at least be in the middle of some kind of unnecessary chit chat. As I rounded the corner into the living room, I could see what the problem was. It seemed my father had gotten back home from shopping around the same time as Kayde had gotten back. Instead of my father getting back a bit after Kayde and walking in on a conversation that was already taking place, they got there at the same time and neither of them knew what to start talking about.

Chuckling to myself about how shy they both are, I decided to break the silence.

“Well look at that, my two favorite guys made it back home” I said smiling as I walked over to the love seat to sit next to Kayde.

“That’s a lovely dress Phee,” Said my father “When did you get that? I’ve never seen you in it before.”

“Grandma and Grandpa gave it to me” I told him.

“It was Raven’s favorite dress when she was younger.” Said Flora to my father, “Anytime we went out, she’d wear it, if it was appropriate.”

“Well dear ones” Said my grandfather, as he began to stand up “I can’t be the only one in the house who is hungry, can I?”

“No sir.” Said Kayde, standing and offering me his hand for support.

“Ever the gentleman.” Said Flora laughing “He reminds me of you when we were at that age.” She said, looking at my grandfather.

“Does anyone mind Italian? I know that you and Kayde had French last night, right?” Syle asked looking at the rest of us.

“Italian sounds delicious.” My father said to my grandfather.

“Mr. Woodland?” Said Kayde as we were standing on the porch waiting for my father to find his keys and lock the door.

“Kayde, there’s no need to be formal, you can call me Al.” My father said with a tone so friendly that it almost made me question his motives.

“Ok then, Al. I was wondering if you had any plans to spend time with Phee tonight.” Kayde half asked. “I was hoping to take her to go see a movie, if you didn’t have any plans.”

“No sir” Answered my father “After dinner, she’s all yours. Just behave yourselves.” He said, as we all headed down the walkway to the cars, laughing at his joke that I didn’t find very funny at all.

“Thanks Al, and don’t worry, I’ll treat her with the utmost respect.” Kayde assured my father as I glance at him with a raised eyebrow.

“So in that case, Kayde, you and Phoenix can ride in your car.” Said my grandfather “Albert, I know that you’re not exactly comfortable with Flora and I, so I guess that means we’ll all drive our own car and meet up at Nico’s?”

“Sounds like a plan” Answered my father.

Once again, Kayde held his car door open for me and waited for me to get in the car and closed the door after me.

As we pulled away from the curb, a question popped into my mind that I was surprised that I hadn’t asked about before.

“Kayde?” I started off slowly, trying to decide exactly how to word the question without hurting him. “I was wondering, what were you doing out so late on a Thursday night?”

“It’s the weirdest thing.” He told me “I went to bed at eight o’clock that night; I was exhausted from working early that morning.

“I fell asleep much quicker than I had expected and I dreamt of you the whole time. You looked the way I told you, red skin, and bright orange hair. For some reason, I woke up at eleven o’clock. Wide awake, not even a bit drowsy. For some reason, I felt an urge to go for a walk.

“That was out of the ordinary, but not too much. What really threw me off was that when I started walking, I ended up turning corners that I never really walked along when I took my walks. I had never been to the block that your father’s office is on. I just kind of ended up there.” He finished up as we pulled into the parking lot of Nico’s.

“Kayde, dear, do you mind if we talk about this more after we leave?” I asked him. “It’s just, it’s pretty amazing from my end, and I’m curious about your end.”

“Of course babe.” He answered as we began to get out of the car.

Kayde leaned up against his car and pulled me in front of him and wrapped his arms around me as we waited for my father and grandparents to pull into the parking lot.

“You know, what your grandmother, what Flora said last night, about having to have strong feelings for the Half Blood you sleep with?” He said softly in my ear. “It’s true. I mean, I’m sure it was obvious to you, I just wanted to say it out loud, you know?

“I mean, I’m not in love with you or anything yet. But I’m pretty sure that that is all it is, a yet, because I can definitely see myself with you for a long time, maybe forever.” He finished as he leaned forward and kissed my cheek.

He had completely taken me by surprise. I had been thinking about the way we felt about each other and wondering if I should bring it up for hours now. I never expected him to be the first one to say something about it. It’s always rare for a guy to come out with something like that. It was obvious even before he brought up his feelings for me that Kayde wasn’t the average guy, so I’m not sure why it threw me off so much, but I was absolutely speechless for a few seconds.

As I took a couple of deep breaths, Kayde turned me around so that I was facing him. “I didn’t mean to freak you out. I just figured that since you and I knew the same information, it wouldn’t be a big deal.” He said, looking at me with worried eyes.

“Oh Kayde, it’s not that you freaked me out. I was just surprised. Most guys wouldn’t have been the one to bring something up like that, you know?” I explained to him “I mean, you’re nothing like any guy I’ve ever dated, it’s wonderful, and refreshing and, you know, I don’t think forever with you would be such a bad thing either.”

Kayde leaned forward and kissed me softly on the lips just as my father was pulling into the parking lot. “I sure hope you mean that.” He said, winking at me and pulling away as my grandparent pulled into the lot as well.

Chapter 4, Scene 6

2009-11-16T01:39:00.001-08:00

I walked through the back door and started up the stairs. I can not believe how much things have changed in the past forty eight hours. I thought to myself. I went from a single, normal almost eighteen year old girl to a half human half faery magical being with a boyfriend.

I couldn’t stop thinking about what my grandmother had said about Kayde, and how he felt about me. I’ve been with guys who cared about me, of course, but never one like Kayde. He had just met me not even two full days ago, but he was so sweet and generous and caring. I loved the way he took the time to plan out a twenty minute drive to take me to me to find my grandparents, it had blown my mind. The way he brought me a whole rose bush instead of cut flowers, because he knew I liked plants, but didn’t know if I liked cut flowers made my heart melt. The way he ate me out, determined to give me an orgasm before we even had sex, made me… Well, let’s not talk about how that particular situation made me feel.

I couldn’t stop thinking about how strange it felt to call Flora and Syle my grandmother and grandfather, knowing that physically, they look no older than I. It was easier to think of them as my grandparents, refer to them as my grandmother and grandfather while they were using their glamour, but even then, I couldn’t stop thinking about the way I had seen them the night before. The smooth, tight skin wouldn’t leave eyes. I knew that one day it would be easy and that I would be used to it, but that day certainly wasn’t today.

I couldn’t stop thinking about how my father was reacting, I kept expecting him to blow up over it, and I expected it to happen soon. My father hated anything out of the ordinary, with the exception of my mother, apparently. I knew that once I truly started changing, once my powers came, once I started acting more, well, Fae, he would hate it. I know he was keeping me from my grandparents to avoid me learning from them and becoming more like them, thinking that if he kept me from them, I would stay normal, the way he wanted me to.

My father was a rather hot tempered man, and I knew that even if it didn’t happen now, soon, he would blow up over this and try to blame someone. It was most likely that he would try to blame my grandparents and say that if they just hadn’t kept in contact with me this wouldn’t be happening. In my mind, the only person that could be blamed was my father himself. He knew my mother was a Faery, and so he knew that any child they had would be half Fae as well.

To be honest, I just couldn’t stop thinking. Thoughts were whirling through my mind one after another and before I even realized it, I noticed that I had already taken a shower and was wrapped in a towel and heading back to my room to pick out a nice outfit for dinner. I wanted to wear something sexy, since Kayde was there, but still classy, since I was going out with my father, Syle and Flora as well.

I started rifling through my closet and pulling dresses out. I had sexy, and I had classy, and hell, I even had elegant, but sexy and classy? I couldn’t find anything. Just when I was almost to the end of my closet, there was a knock on my door. I opened my door and found a box on the floor with a folded note taped to the top.

I picked the box up and opened up the note.

Flora,

Hope not to be over stepping any boundaries, but we thought you might like to wear this. It was your mother’s favorite dress when she was your age. We hope you like it. And we hope you don’t mind us sabotaging your wardrobe.

Flora and Syle

P.S.

Don’t worry; your wardrobe will go back to normal if once you decide whether or not to wear the dress.

I opened up the large white box and in it was the most amazing dress I had ever seen. I pulled the dress out and laid it flat on my bed, admiring it. It was a short, black V Neck dress with small leaf skeletons embroidered on the bodice, inside of each leaf was a very thin white fabric that made the leaves seem gray. The skirt of the dress was made to look like it was made out of nothing but raven or crow feathers layered one upon another down to about two or three inches above my knee. The minute I saw it, I had decided to wear it to dinner. I loved the black and gray of the bodice and the blue-black color of the raven feathers.

I slid the dress over my head and it slid down my body like silk. I went to my jewelry box and put on a black pearl necklace that my mother had left for me that had a small tear drop shaped piece of onyx hanging from it. I opened the drawer that had all of my earrings in it and pulled out the pair of matching onyx earrings. I left my wrists and hands bare of jewelry. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and curled it just enough to add a soft wave to the bottom of my hair.

Now that my hair and jewelry we taken care of, I pulled out my make up and dumped it over my bed. For my eyes I chose a black eyeliner and mascara, a glittery tan base shade, which I swept over my entire eye lid up to my eyebrows, a grey shade for my eye lid and a navy blue color to add a smoky look to the corners of my eyes. To the top, I lightly brushed some loose clear glitter to give my eyes a shimmer. For my lips, I chose a soft pink color to help draw attention to my eyes and keep me from looking way too made up.

As I was adding a shimmery powder to my face, neck and chest I heard a knock at the door. Knowing that it was near six by this time, I figured it was going to be Kayde. I finished with the powder quickly and rushed down stairs.

Chapter 4, Scene 5

2009-11-14T22:42:00.001-08:00

After setting down our flats, Kayde and I walked to the shed to get some gardening tools, which for one reason or another, I seemed to collect, and so I had more than enough for the four of us. As Kayde and I came out of the shed with a trowel in each hand, Flora looked at us and laughed.

“You dear, dear children. Do you honestly expect a flower faery to use a trowel?” She asked with a twinkle in her eye “I’m the kind of woman who likes to get her hands dirty!” She said, digging into the dirt.

“I prefer to stay clean, myself” Said Syle as he grabbed one of the trowels.

Kayde and I picked one up as well and started digging on the other side of the row that Flora and Syle had started on.

“You know” said Syle “You’re at quite an advantage having your grandmother here to help with the planting.”

“Why’s that?” Asked Kayde

“Let me show you.” Replied Flora.

Once her hole was big enough she pulled a basil plant out of its pot. Holding on to the base of the plant in one hand, she held it in the air in front of her eyes and stared intently for a moment. As we watched, the roots that had been wrapped around the large clump of soil seemed to move. At first I just assumed that I was seeing things, but then the roots began to twist and unwind from the dark moist soil. Kayde and I leaned forward as we watched Flora set the plant in the ground and watched as the roots pressed themselves against the walls of soil, burying themselves in the dirt. Softly, Flora pushed the pile of dirt towards the base of the plant, filling the empty spots with the soil.

For a moment, the two of us were silent as we processed that what we had just seen was real, impossible as it may have seemed.

Finally, I asked Flora “How did you do that?”

“Well, that’s part of my specialty, but with practice, it’s something every faery can learn to do.” She answered. “I can do it without words by communicating to the plant that its roots are safer and better off unwrapped from the soil and pressed into the earth.

“Now if you, or Kayde were to learn to do that, you would have to spend everyday taking care of these plants to teach them they can trust you and talking to the plants so that they know your voice and spirit. Once you do that, when you tell them they are safer and better off, they’ll listen to what you tell them and take it into consideration.”

“What do you mean? Plants can think?” Asked Kayde

“Oh yes” Answered Syle “Every single natural thing on our earth has a spirit and can think, trust and worry the same way that we can.”

“Now, since you know the secret to talking to plants, let me show you part of what is in fact part of my specialty…” Flora said, as she began to giggle.

She stood up and walked around the garden. “First, I have to make sure that I don’t put any strain on the plant by asking them if they feel strong and healthy.” She found a portion of the garden that she liked and stood in front of it. “These ones say that they are feeling strong and healthy, but could use a bit of a boost, that’s what I’m here for.” She said to us.

She began a low hum, almost too soft for me or Kayde to hear. As her humming grew louder, she kneeled down on the dirt and leaned forward, placing her hands on the ground over her head. Kayde and I watched her, curious and silent, trying to see what she was doing.

“No sweet one, watch the plants.” Said Syle quietly.

As we looked to the plants, we both gasped. Right in front of us, my garden was growing; we watched what seemed to be a week, possibly two weeks of growth right in front of our eyes. New stems, new leaves and new flower buds began to shoot out right before our eyes. One of my basils, which had not been growing well since I planted it in early May filled out before my eyes, turning from what looked like a branch stuck in the ground to a small bush.

Kayde and I were shocked with what we had seen, leaving both of us momentarily speechless. We looked back and forth from each other to the plants to my grandmother, trying to decide whether or not we should believe what we had just seen.

“Don’t worry kids” Said my grandfather. “In a few weeks, none of this will be surprising to you in the least. Which reminds me…

“In a week or so, maybe sooner, the two of you will start looking differently. Now, Kayde, I’m not sure about you, however I do know that Albert is not much one for calling attention to himself. The problem is that soon, it seems, Phoenix will be red, and she’ll have to stay that way for at least a little while until she knows how to use her glamour.”

“Oh goodness!” I said “I didn’t think about that. Neither has dad, of course, but he’s going to hate that! Oh Flora, what on Earth will we do?”

“Oh, don’t you worry your pretty little head off one bit” My grandmother reassured me. “Syle and I will figure something out as soon as we can.”

After a few moments of silence, Kayde stopped working and looked up at Syle “Why do you think her skin’s already doing these color flashes and mine isn’t?” He asked, seeming more curious than worried.

“Well, it’s highly possible that yours has actually been doing the color flashes, as you put them, but that your color will be similar to the current color of your skin. I mean, look at me, or Raven, although we were both born with our color, could you imagine trying to catch your skin changing from its current color to mine?”

“Or my mom’s” I reminded Kayde, “My mother’s skin was exactly the same color, the only difference was that it had a shimmer to it.”

“Don’t worry Kayde” said my grandmother “The fact that your skin hasn’t had any changes in color will actually make it much easier for you not only to fit in as it happens, but to learn your glamour as well.”

“Lucky bastard” I said, jokingly.

Kayde laughed and tossed a small handful of dirt into my lap. “Watch it girly.” He said laughing.

As we started on the last flat of plants, I realized it was starting to cool off which meant it was probably around five o’clock, if not after. I looked up and saw that the sun quite a bit lower than I expected it to be.

“Kayde, do you have your phone?” I asked, hoping I still had enough time to get ready without rushing.

“Sure babe, what’s up?” He asked.

“I was wondering what time it was. We’re supposed to be leaving around six, remember?” I reminded him, realizing that just maybe, gardening was not exactly the best choice before dinner.

“Oh yea, it’s um, four thirty seven.” He told me. “I guess we’ll have to save the rest of these for tomorrow. I’ve got to go home and at least change my pants, although a shower and full change of clothes would be nice, time allowing.”
“Don’t worry son, we won’t leave without you. Go ahead and take your time.” My grandfather told him.

Kayde got up and dusted his pants off and gathered up the trowels and took them to the side of the house to rinse them off with the hose. When he was out of hearing distance I leaned toward my grandmother and asked what I had been wondering since earlier.

“Last night, what you said about how a half blood comes into their power?” I started off “You said that they have to have strong feelings for the other half blood? Does that mean that Kayde feels the same way for me that I feel for him?”

“Well dear,” My grandmother said softly “The feelings don’t actually have to be positive, it could be strong feelings of hate, but seeing the way he hangs around you and looks at you definitely says that strong hate is not the case here.”

As I stood up and turned to walk toward Kayde I saw he was already almost back to us.

“I’m going to head home now babe, I’ll be back around six o’clock, ok?” He asked me.

“Yea, that sounds good. I think I need to head upstairs and start getting myself ready as well.” I told him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

Chapter 4, Scene 4

2009-11-13T21:41:00.001-08:00

After my father had left I remembered the plants in Kayde’s back seat and all the letters and cards that my grandparents had sent talking about the different things they had planted that spring or summer and such.

“Would you guys like to help Kayde and I plant some stuff in the garden?” I asked Syle and Flora.

“Oh dear one, we’d love to! We can show you some tricks too.” Said Flora with a wink.

As the four of us walked out to the car, Kayde asked his first question about being a Half Blood.

“So, this whole ‘glamour’ thing? Is that something Phee and I will be able to do?”

“Yes”, said Syle “You will, of course, it will take practice, like everything else, your specialty will come first, and faster, the other stuff, like everything else in life, takes time.”

We got to the car and each took one flat of plants and headed to the back yard. As we were walking, Kayde stopped for a minute and just started to stare at me.

“What is it babe?” I asked him, confused.

“Nothing… I just thought I saw something.” He said, still looking confused.

“Like what?” Asked Flora.

“Nothing, it was just a trick of the light or something, I’m sure.” He answered and kept walking.

“Kayde?” I said his name somewhat softly. “What did you see?”

He looked at me with eyes that seemed to be full of worry or confusion, but I wasn’t sure which.

“Your skin. It was… Well, red.” He said, giving me a strange look. “Just for a second though, nothing to worry about, I’m sure.”

“Red skin, you said?” Asked Syle. “I know it seems impossible boy, but you saw us last night, my skin as pale as snow, Flora’s green as leaves. Phee’s red skin could give us an insight into what her specialty will be.”

“Earlier, when I was sitting on the porch, I thought I saw my skin turn red as well. I thought I was just seeing things, so I wrote it off as nothing.” I told Syle, Flora and Kayde. “You think this means my specialty will have to do with something red?” I asked.

“Not think dear one, we know.” Said Flora “For now, why don’t we go into the back yard and plant and talk.” She said, as she began walking again.

Syle, Kayde and I all followed her around the side of the house to the back yard.

Chapter 4, Scene 3

2009-11-13T21:39:00.003-08:00

Even though I had figured it would have been Kayde when I opened the door, I was pleasantly surprised to see his playful smile and mischievous eyes looking back at me.

“Phee, I’ve done something horrible.” He told me. “But now I don’t feel quite so bad, knowing that you forgot all about your roses!”

“Oh Kayde, I didn’t forget about them, I’m planning to plant them today.” I told him laughing. “I just haven’t had a chance yet since we’ve got company.”

“Oh? Should I be worried?” He asked me.

“No, not at all. At least, I don’t think so.” I answered, hoping he wasn’t still uncomfortable with my grandparents. “What exactly is this terrible thing you’ve done?

“Oh, um… come to the car with me real fast.” He said, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards his open passenger door.

“Kayde, I can’t go anywhere with you. I have no shoes on and there are people in my house trying to spend time with me.” I hissed at him.

“We’re not leaving. Just look in the back seat.” He told me.

I leaned over into the car and saw flats and flats of different herb, fruit and vegetable plants.

“Oh Kayde! Are these?” I stopped myself before asking, afraid that I would end up making an assumption that wasn’t accurate.

“Yes sweetness, they’re for you.” He answered, putting his arms around me. “You probably have some of it, but there’s nothing wrong with expanding a garden, is there?”

“No!” I exclaimed. “Not at all! Not ever!”

“Alright, I think I’ve kidnapped you long enough, shall we go back inside with your visitors? I’m sure your father is dying to meet me as well.”

Kayde draped his arms around my shoulders and we walking back to the house. As we got up onto the porch, we could hear arguing.

Oh no. Already? I thought to myself, knowing exactly what had happened, I broke into a run into the house and Kayde chased me in.

“You think that just because she’s like you, you can take her under your wing and teach her all your weird crap? I’m not letting my daughter turn into some kind of weird ass dirt worshipper!” Yelled my father. “I am not going to allow you to corrupt-”

I rushed between my father and my grandparents as Kayde stayed standing at the entrance to the living room. “I don’t know how this happened, nor do I even care, but you guys will NOT argue around me.” I said in a firm voice. “Dad, I’d like you to meet Kayde. Kayde, this is my father, Albert.”

“Nice to meet you, sir.” Said Kayde, obviously feeling a bit out of place and uncomfortable.

“You too son.” Replied my father, obviously still seething about what ever had taken place while I was outside with Kayde. “I understand my daughter is rather taken with you, so I figured I should stick around and meet you.”

Kayde moved to my grandparents and offered his hand to Syle. “It’s nice to meet-”

“Didn’t we do this part last night?” Asked my grandfather, laughing as I realized Kayde wasn’t familiar with my grandparents in their glamoured forms.

“Kayde, that’s Syle” I told him. “And that’s Flora. They used their glamour to come and visit with us today. They’d like to take us out to dinner tonight, are you free?”

“Yea, I don’t have any plans today other than seeing how long it will take of me hanging around before you kick me out.” He said, laughing at his own joke.

“I think now’s a good time for the shopping. I’ll be back by six o’clock for dinner, sound good?” Asked my dad.

“Yes, six sounds fine” Said Flora to my father kindly.

Chapter 4, Scene 2

2009-11-13T21:39:00.001-08:00

I sighed; disappointed that it would be that much longer before I got to see Kayde. I turned and headed up the stairs with a sigh. When I got to the top of the stairs I heard another knock at the door.

“Just a moment” I heard my father shout downstairs. He was probably sticking his food in the microwave or something to keep it from attracting flies. I heard muffled voices downstairs and hoped that my father wasn’t giving my new boyfriend the third degree. Or bringing up what I had told him last night.

Mortified I grabbed a pink tank top and a pair of jean shorts and pulled them on over my bra and panties. As I ran down the stair I heard a woman’s voice that sounded familiar but I just couldn’t place a name to the voice.

As soon as I got to the bottom of the stairs and turned into the living room I realized the voice. I couldn’t place it because it was a voice I hadn’t heard in almost sixteen years. It was the voice my grandmother used to use when she would come to visit. The one she used when she used her glamour.

“Phee, look who came to visit.” Said my father in a tone that sounded like clenched teeth.

“Flora! Syle!” I said, surprised and excited. “What are you two doing here?”

Flora turned to me to explain. “Well, seeing as we never really got along with your father, we thought it would be best to come and visit with the two of you before your party so that we wouldn’t have to worry about 16 years of awkwardness coming around to visit at your eighteenth birthday party.”

“So, where’s our boy Kayde?” Asked my grandfather.

“Oh, he’s going to come over later.” I told him.

“Oh, I see”, said Syle, “Do the three of you have any plans tonight?” He asked, turning to my father as I sat down in one of the chairs in our living room.

“Not that I know of, do we, Phoenix?”

“No, we don’t, I didn’t have anything planned at least.”

“Flora and I were thinking that we could all go out to lunch or dinner tonight.” He said with a smile.

“Well, I’m sure that Kayde and I would love that, Dad, would you come with us?” I answered before my father could turn down their offer.

“Of course.” He said. “It will have to be dinner tonight though; I need to do some shopping today, for the house and for the party.”

“Sounds good to me.” Said Flora, my grandmother. “While you’re shopping, I’m sure that there are things Phoenix and Kayde want to talk to us about.”

“Yes, there are! At least on my end!” I said enthusiastically. “Like, I guess it’s more of an observation then a question but what you said about a half blood coming into their power. Does that mean tha-”

“Not that this isn’t interesting” Interrupted my father. “But it all still freaks me out a little bit, could we maybe avoid the faery talk until after I’ve gone shopping?”

I laughed at my father’s weak tolerance for anything out of the ordinary and agreed. We sat in the living room for a bit and talked about things, starting with weather, and then continuing on to food, which seemed to be the topic of choice for all four of us. We talked about favorite foods and least favorite foods, even foods we loved to eat but hated to cook. For me, it was fudge. I could eat fudge every day, but hated to cook it. As we talked and laughed, there was another knock at the door and I stood up to go answer it, assuming this time, it was Kayde.

Chapter 4, Scene 1

2009-11-13T21:38:00.001-08:00

The morning sun was bright and warm, the way it should be in the middle of July. I woke up much earlier than I expected, probably because I went to sleep at midnight but to me, it felt more like two in the morning. Dad was still asleep, so I decided to get up and make some food.

I pulled my robe on and headed down stairs to the kitchen. It was incredibly warm in the house so I walked around opening the windows and then decided to open the door as well. It seemed quiet and peaceful outside so instead of breakfast, I made myself a nice pot of Mint Magic tea and sat outside on the porch swing listening to the birds. Everything seemed different today. Calmer, quieter, and happier. Even the birds seemed to be singing a different song.

I sat drinking my tea and thinking about last night. Apparently, I was a Faery. Well, I was half Faery. What my specialty was, so to speak, I didn’t yet know, but according to my grandparents, I would soon enough. And so would Kayde. I realized that seeing as I couldn’t come into my powers without the help of another Half Blood who I had strong feelings for, it was the same for Kayde, which meant he had strong feelings for me as well. It wasn’t until that thought popped in my head that I realized at some point today, Kayde would be coming over, and to the best of my knowledge, my dad would probably be home.

I looked at my watch to see what time it was and for just a moment, my skin looked as though it had a slight reddish tint to it. Inspecting my arm closely, I decided that there was no way my arm had been red. It must have been a trick of the light, or my eyes, or mind, or well, something, because I was very obviously not turning red.

I picked up my tea pot and cup and headed back into the house for breakfast. After setting the pot and cup down on the counter I opened my refrigerator and started searching for something to cook up. After a through hunt of the fridge and kitchen I decided that the most sensible dinner would probably be an omelet. I pulled 3 eggs off of the door and some pepper jack cheese off the shelf and set the two on the counter. I pulled out some mushrooms, onions and garlic and sautéed them in some butter. As they were cooking, I chopped some thyme, chives, oregano and basil in the food processor and then mixed them with the eggs. Once the mushrooms, onions and garlic were done, I poured them into a bowl and then poured the eggs into the pan. After letting the eggs thicken up a bit I sprinkled a bit of pepper jack cheese over the eggs, then poured the mushroom, onions and garlic onto half of the pan and covered them with a pile of pepper jack cheese and flipped the other half of the egg over the pile of veggies and cheese. The minute I took the omelet out of the pan and sprinkled a bit of cheese and hot sauce over the top, I heard my dad coming down the stairs.

“Smells good down here Phee, what’s for breakfast?” He asked.

“Well”, I told him “I just made myself an omelet with mushrooms and onions and garlic.”

“And nothing for your dear old Dad, huh kid?” He asked laughing.

“Nope. Nothing. Because someone, who shall remain nameless, forgot to do the grocery shopping again.” I told him teasingly, “Someone who has been in charge of the shopping for the past sixteen years, might I add…

“By the way, here’s the list for the party. Next weekend, remember?” I told him, hoping we wouldn’t have a situation like my sweet sixteen where he had to rush out the morning of and buy food and cook all day.

As I was heading into the living room to eat, there was a knock on the door. I handed my dad the omelet and winked at him. “Just so you know, this is a bribe to buy food today…” I told him as I headed for the door. “This is probably Kayde, so be nice.” I nearly begged.

“Wait. Phee, if that’s Kayde, shouldn’t you put some clothes on?” Asked my father.

I rolled my eyes. “Did you just forget everything I said last night?” I asked him.

“No, I purposely blocked it out. Please put some clothes on before you make me remember.” He said, setting down the plate and walking to the door. “Don’t make me invoke my parental rights, kid.” He said walking past me.

Chapter 3, Scene 5

2009-11-11T23:18:00.001-08:00

“Dad, you awake?” I called, the minute I got through the door.

The house was still lit up so I assumed he was in the living room watching TV or something. I walked into the living room and saw dad spacing out on some detective show.

“Dad? I need to talk to you about something.” I said, turning off the TV.

“Oh, I’m sorry dear, what is it?” He asked, sitting up and looking at me.

“It’s about my birthday dad… And my grandparents.” I added on as an after thought.

“Oh Phoenix. Can’t we talk about this another time?” He said, sounding exasperated. “How was your date?”

“I don’t want to talk about my date, or Kayde, or planning the birthday party dad, I want to talk about Grandma Grandpa.” I told him firmly.

“Phoenix. Please. Not tonight.” He said, almost pleading.

“Fine, lets talk about Kayde and I then Dad. Let’s talk about our date.” I told him heatedly. He took me up to a hill just out of town and treated to me a French dinner. Afterwards, we ate desert and asked each other questions to get to know each other because we just met last night.”

“Phee! You know better than to go somewhere with someone you don’t kn-”

“Oh, don’t worry dad, it gets better. We sat on a tree branch and watched the sunset and then watched the city lights come on in the city. We ran around and chased each other and acted goofy. He pinned me down on the ground and ate me out for damn near half an hour and then, after wards, we had sex. Yes sir, right there on top of the hill, bare ass naked for anyone to just walk up and watch.

“Oh, and that’s not even the good part! When we came, together, might I add, a huge cone of light shot into the sky from my vagina and his penis. What do you think of that? Not to pleased, it seems. Well, it’s ok, there’s more.

“After we got dressed and got in the car, I thought he was going to bring me home, but no, we drove for twenty minutes to go to a forest. When we got there, we searched for 10 minutes trying to get in the damn gate that surrounded it. We finally found the gate, and got in and searched for at least 15 minutes for a house that SHOULD have been in the forest, according to the address, but wasn’t. By this time, it should be almost eleven, right? Ten forty five, to be accurate.

“Finally, we saw a magical arch that made people disappear when they walked through it. Oh, and in the arch, was a tunnel. So we followed the tunnel and found a door. A door with the address we were looking for. We knocked on the door and met a very nice couple, Flora and Syle, who for some insane reason were convinced that they were fairies.

“Not only were the supposedly fairies, they claimed to be my mother’s parents. Meaning they also claimed to be my grandparents. You know, the ones you never want to invite over so they don’t call attention to us? It makes sense that you would be worried about that since they seem to be in their early twenties and are green with bright yellow hair and pale with silver hair…

“Oh, and even though Kayde and I didn’t seem to get into their house until past eleven and stayed for at least an hour, here it is, eleven seventeen.” I finished and plopped myself down onto the couch and waited for an answer.

The whole time I had been talking, my father had sat there quietly, only listening to my rampage. Now he seemed to be thinking and processing everything I said.

“So, you met them, huh?” He asked. “I suppose that means you know everything? You know they didn’t want your mother to be with me?”

“Yes Daddy, I know all of that. But the important thing is that you lied to me. Kept things from me. Things about Mommy. Things about myself.” I told him softly.

“I know Phee, and I’m sorry. I wanted to protect you; I didn’t want you going to school with kids calling you a freak. I figured if I didn’t tell you, you wouldn’t try to learn how to use your powers or what the hell ever.” He told me.

“It doesn’t work that way though Daddy. If you had just talked to me, just let them talk to me, we both would have known how it works.” I hated that I had to explain this. I hated that I had to have this talk with him, but it had to be done. “In order for any half blood to come into their powers, they have to share and orgasm with another half blood. One who they have strong feelings for.”

“Half blood? Is that what they called you?” Said my father, his voice dripping with disgust.

“Yes Daddy.” I told him calmly. “It’s not a bad term, just a term, like mixed, except it’s not as easy as that, from the way they made it sound.”

“Wait, you mean that this Kayde guy is a half blood too?” My father asked, only at that point understanding what I was saying. “And what? You’ve known this guy over night and you’re in love?”

“No Daddy! We just met, how could I be in love?” I asked, shocked. “I do feel very close, drawn to him. I think one day, I might be in love with him, but not today. I feel like he’s my best friend. Like I could tell him anything.”

For a few minutes, I sat in silence waiting for my father to say something to me about the whole situation. Finally, he looked at me and sighed. “I guess this means you’ve invited them to your birthday party, doesn’t it?” He asked.

“Yes Daddy, I did.” I told him. “And they’re coming.”

“I figured.” He said with a sigh. “Look, Phee, I know this is important to you, but it sure did take a lot out of me. I’m going to get some sleep and if there’s anything else you want to talk about it, we’ll go out to breakfast and chat. Deal?” My father asked as he stood up from the recliner and began to head to the stairs.

“Deal.” I agreed.

“Oh, and Phee?” He said turning towards me at the stairway.

“Yea dad?” I asked, turning to look at him.

“I expect to meet this Kayde guy before your party next week.” He told me.

“Yea, I figured you would.” I said as I got up and headed to my room. “Good night Daddy. Love you”

“Love you too Firebird.”

Chapter 3, Scene 4

2009-11-11T23:17:00.001-08:00

“Kayde, it’s late, we should get home.” I told Kayde as Flora and I got into the living room.

I hugged Flora and Syle and thanked them both for being so hospitable and helping me understand things. They invited me to come back anytime, and even offered me their car keys incase I couldn’t find a ride back. Of course, Kayde wasn’t having any of that. He was incredibly protective of me for someone who had just met me the night before.

We walked to the car in silence and it wasn’t until he had started the car and pulled away from the gated forest that I decided to say something.

“Kayde?” I started, gently. “Why did you watch out for me so closely back there?”

“I don’t know quite how to explain it. I feel… linked to you, I suppose is the best way to say it.” He answered, sounding genuinely unsure.

“It’s not bad or anything” I said, trying to comfort him. “It’s just curious. I mean, we just met yesterday.”

“Yes, but it seems I’ve known you much longer.” He said softly. “Like I said, I’ve dreamt about you.”

“You were serious about that?”

“Yes, very. For months now, probably since Yule, I’ve been dreaming about you. But, you were different. Your hair was always the color of fire, your skin, always tinted red. Your face, your body, your voice, it was always the same, just the colors were different.

“That’s what was so unnerving about them; their skin was strange, colored, the way yours always is in my dreams.” He explained to me. “I guess that was why I was so quiet; I couldn’t get over the fact that you truly are going to be like those people.” He said, putting his hand over mine.

“Kayde, I have to tell you something,” I said to him nervously “And I probably shouldn’t, and I don’t know if you’re going to like it, and I’m worried you might freak out, so please please don’t be upset or angry, just be open minded.”

“Flora knew about the cone of light we saw earlier. She said that it happened because I was beginning to come into my powers. She told me the only way it could happen is if a half blood, like myself, shared an orgasm with another half blood that they have strong feelings for.” I said quickly, afraid that if I gave him a chance to interrupt, I’d never get a chance to finish.

I was hoping that he wouldn’t be upset, or angry with me, or Flora, or what I was saying she had told me. At first, Kayde said nothing, in fact, for five minutes straight, he was silent and I was afraid that he hadn’t heard me.

“You’re trying to tell me that my parents, they’re like them?” He said slowly.

“Well, yes, probably. I mean, no. I mean one of your parents. Although I suppose they could both be half bloods, like me, which would still make you a half blood.” I said all of this quickly and then noticed that once again, I was blabbing.

“Phee, I know that it’s important to you to find your grandparents. But I just have to ask, do you really and truly think that those people are your grandparents?” He asked me.

“I do, Kayde.” I answered, knowing that I meant it whole heartedly. “They talk like my grandparents do in letters to me. They talk so well of my mother. They knew her, they knew me, and they knew my father. Even the writing in the scrap book and the photo, Kayde, there’s no doubt about it. Flora and Syle are definitely my grandparents.”

“If you believe that they are your grandparents, and that you can trust them, I will trust and believe this story about the light earlier.” He said, looking at me as we pulled up outside of my house. “Do you want me to come in with you?

“No, I have to do this on my own.” I told him as I took a deep breath. “Thank you Kayde, this is the most amazing night I’ve ever had.”

I leaned over the center console to kiss him lightly on the cheek. He turned his head at the last minute and wove his fingers through my hair as he kissed my lips passionately.

“I’ll see you tomorrow beautiful.” He told me. “That is, if you don’t have any plans, of course.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Kayde.” I answered for him, kissing him again softly.

I turned toward the car door and let myself out of the car. My breathing was slow and deep as I summoned the courage to have the conversation with my father that was a long time coming. Hopefully it wasn’t too late and he hadn’t gone to sleep yet. I checked my phone to see exactly how late it was and was shocked to see that it was just barely past eleven o’clock. I was sure that by the time we left the hill it was at least ten. It was as if we hadn’t even visited Flora and Syle at all.

Chapter 3, Scene 3

2009-11-11T23:16:00.001-08:00

    Thousands of thoughts must have shot in and out through my mind when she said that. Above all, how could I believe someone I didn’t know to say something like that?
    “Why don’t you look like my grandparents?” I asked.
    “It’s called a glamour.” Explained Flora. “When we wish to walk among humans, we can change the way others see us. Of course, we have to see them in order for them to see us the way we wish, and it takes a lot of energy, that is why we only came to see you on special occasions.
    “It’s not that we didn’t want you to know what we were like. Your mother and father had a talk when she found out she was pregnant and decided it would be best to wait until you came into your power to know. There was no way to know that your father would not allow you to see us after your mother passed.”
    “It’s not Daddy’s fault.” I exclaimed, immediately seeing the falsehood in the statement I had just made. “He just didn’t want to confuse me, I’m sure…
    “Wait, what do you mean ‘come into your power’?” I asked, realizing her words. “What are you, exactly?”
    “Well, sweet one, we are faery.” Flora said slowly. “I am a Flower Fae, I help flowers of plants to grow. Your grandfather is a Frost Fae, every winter, he is partly responsible for the snow and ice. Your mother was a Night Fae. Her dark hair, the sky; her perlescant skin, the stars; her deep violet eyes, the ending sunset.
    “And you, dear one, I’m not quite sure what power you hold, but from the looks of things, we shall know soon enough.”
    “What do you mean, Flora?” I asked. “Should I call you grandmother Flora?”
    “Call me whatever you are comfortable with dearest.” She told me. “You know us now, I no longer plan to disguise myself as an old woman.
    “I know that this will not be easy to hear, but as a half Faery woman, there are some things that are different for you than they are for us. While we don’t age, you will, but it will slow down when you turn eighteen. Also, well, this part may be somewhat private, would you like to hear it alone, or would you like Kayde and Syle to stay?”
    Kayde stood up, “Now wait just a minute lady, I’ve been quiet until now. You may have her fooled but I’m no-”
    “Kayde please,” I said, looking to him with pleading eyes. “Just give us a few moments.”
    “Come now boy, it’s nothing to worry about.” Said Syle, as he stood and began to walk out of the room. Kayde looked at me, then turned and followed Syle out of the room.
    “Good choice dear. What I meant was that being only half Fae means you don’t come into your powers the way you would expect. Some never do come into their powers.
    “You don’t have to work towards this, or watch for it, it will happen when and if it’s meant to. When a half-blood, forgive the term, it’s truly not derogatory, shares an orgasm with another half-blood who they have strong feelings for, they begin to come into their powers.
“I was truly hoping you would want to hear this alone, because Kayde, like yourself is a half-blood, the problem is that he has no idea. You may share this with him, but he likely won’t believe you.”
    “How can you tell Flora?” I asked, shocked with this news.
    “He may not be, but I assume he could see the arch the same as you could, is that right?” She asked.
    “Yes, he could. As clear as day, just as I did.” I answered. “How could you tell we’d… Well, you know, had sex?”
    “Ah, that was easy dear.” She said, laughing. “Anytime a woman is given an orgasm, or has sex with someone she cares greatly for, her mood changes, her skin glows, the same way a pregnant woman’s does. And you, my dear sweet one, are absolutely radiant.”
“So, you’re telling me that the cone of light Kayde and I saw earlier was us coming into our… power?” I asked, amazed.
“Yes dear, it was. Come now, let’s join the men in the living room.” Said Flora standing.

Chapter 3, Scene 2

2009-11-11T11:27:00.003-08:00

For a few moments, everything was incredibly quiet as Flora poured a cup of tea for me. “Phoenix, dear. You’re here to find your mother’s family, are you not?” She asked me.

“Yes! I am! Do you know them? Are they near by?” I asked hurriedly.

“Calm down sweet one.” She said with a smile. “Yes, we know them, and they are indeed near by, but first, I want to talk to you a bit about your family. May I?”

“Oh yes! Please, ask me anything, I’ll answer whatever I can, but please, please help me find my grandparents!” I begged.

“What do you remember of your grandparents?”

“Oh, nearly nothing. I know the last time I saw them I was two. My father won’t allow them to visit me though, not even for my birthdays. That’s why I want to see them. I will be eighteen in a few weeks and I want to invite them.” I explained.

“Well then, what of your mother? Do you remember her?” She asked me.

“Oh! Mommy had the most beautiful smell. She always smelled of wood smoke and ginger bread. And she had the most beautiful long dark hair; it was as long as yours, I bet. And she was always so soft. Nothing ever upset her either. Oh! And her laugh! It would tinkle like the softest little bell, but still as soft as velvet. And she loved to”-

“Calm now sweet one. You remember your mother quite well, it seems.”

Sheepishly, I smiled. “Yes, at least, I think I do. I dream of her quite often. Father never talks about her anymore, ever since she passed, so I may just be imagining her.”

“Do you remember your mother’s name dear?”

“Of course! Raven. Raven Rose. I always thought she had the most lovely name.” I told them.

“Well, your imagination seems to be quite accurate my little love.” Said Flora. “I’m sorry to ask so many questions, I just need to make sure you are the right person before I tell you how to find your grandparents.

“Syle, love, will you go get the box?” She asked her husband.

“What’s ‘the box’?” Asked Kayde, trying to protect me, as Syle rose from the chair he had been sitting in.

“Don’t worry. It’s just a small wooden box that we use to hold important papers.” She explained, not insulted.

We sat and enjoyed our tea for a few moments as questions flew through my head. How do these strange people know my grandparents? How do they know my mother? Why did they look so odd? As the questions floated in and out of my mind, Syle came back from retrieving the box and sat back down in his chair. He pulled a small laminated card out of the box and then passed the box to his wife.

Flora rifled through the box for a few moments and then pulled out a card, similar to Syle’s and then two sheets of paper and handed me one of them. What I saw was shocking, an official sealed copy of my own birth certificate.

Kayde leaned over, reading the sheet. “How did you people get this?” He asked. “What the hell is going on here?”

“Kayde, wait, please.” I asked him with begging eyes. “I can’t lose this. You know how important it is to me.”

Protectively, Kayde draped his arm around my waist and sat quietly as Flora handed me a second piece of paper, identical to the first. Only this time, my name was nowhere to be seen, nor was my fathers. There were however three names I was familiar with. Raven Rose, Flora Rose, and Syle Rose.

“This can’t be! You two? You can’t be my grandparents! You’re not old enough. You’re not normal enough.” I shouted, standing up. “What kind of people are you? How could you do something like this to me?

“Kayde, we’re leaving. These people are frauds!” I said, turning toward the door.

“Phoenix, please wait. Just let us finish.” Said Syle, calmly. “You are a spitting image of your mother at your age, you know.” He said, smiling. “The same temperament too. She would never trust anyone unless she had known them her whole life. She didn’t even trust Albert enough to tell him what and who she really was until after she was pregnant.

“Would you like to see a picture of her on her eighteenth birthday?” He asked kindly.

“Oh Syle, you can’t show her that. She very obviously isn’t ready.” Said Flora.

“No, I’d very much like to see it, please.” I answered. “Kayde, will you come with me?”

“Come this way with me you two, Flor, you might as well come with us.” Said Syle.

We walked back into the hallway and down the hall. About halfway down there were two doors, one on each side of the hall.

“That’s the bathroom, by the way.” Said Syle, pointing to the door to our left. “And this is our stop.” He said, opening the door to our right.

Behind that door was a bedroom, which had obviously been changed into a storage room at some point.

“Please, have a seat on the bed.” Offered Flora as Syle dug through a box next to a desk.

Finding what he was searching for, he stood up and sat between Flora and I. “This used to be your mother scrap book when she was younger. When she married your father, she left it here for us.” He said, opening it to the last page.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I know that you don’t want me to be with him, but I’m in love. He’s asked me to marry him and I said yes! I’m leaving this scrap book for you so that you always remember how sweet and innocent I once was. I hope that you aren’t taking this to mean that I love Albert more than I love you, just that I finally found my soul mate, just as you two did. You’re wonderful parents, and I will come and visit as much as I can.

Love Always,

Your precious Raven

Syle turned the page back one and there she was, just as beautiful as I remembered her, her long black hair over her right shoulder, straight and shiny as silk. Her skin pearly, and although it took a moment, I saw that certain places the flash hit her skin, it seemed to glimmer.

“Is that your mother?” Asked Kayde.

“Yes, it was.” I answered, smiling.

“She’s… she’s lovely. You truly do look just like her.” He told me, holding me close.

“Wait. This isn’t right.” I said, an epiphany forming. “This can’t be my mother. She may look like Mommy, but this girl can’t be much younger than Mom was when I turned two!” I said, confused.

“Phee, your father should have told you by now. I don’t know why he hasn’t.” Started Syle.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed that my husband and I don’t look like you, or anyone you’ve ever met.” Said Flora. “It’s because we’re not. Neither was your mother.

“I know this is going to sound completely insane, but you’ve had a strange night, so I’m just going to come out and say it. We’re not human, Raven was not human, and you, dear Phoenix, are only half human.”

Chapter 3, Scene 1

2009-11-11T11:27:00.001-08:00

Slowly, the door swung open. The moment the occupant of the strange home opened the door, Kayde gasped. The woman standing there was not much taller than I and physically, she did not look much older than I was, either. Not a single wrinkle on her skin, or a sagging bit of skin anywhere to be found. She did however have a strange, older look in her eyes. It was as though she had been alive three times as long as I had, but frozen in time for the entire duration.

Her apparent youth was not what caused Kayde to gasp, nor was it what caused me to look at her with shock in my eyes. It was the bright yellow flowing hair that reached past her waist and I was almost positive that I detected a slight green tint to her skin, which was definitely not the lighting.

“Oh dear”, she said softly. “Now this is really going to be a problem.

“Syle!” She yelled out, looking into her home. “Syle dear, get dressed, we have company.” She looked back to Kayde and me, “Please, why don’t you come in? I just started a pot of tea.” She told us, opening the door wider and standing to the side.

As we stepped into her house, there was a faint earthy smell, similar to the way the soil smelled after a heavy rain, but it was much lighter. Kayde and I walked in and the strange looking woman showed us to her living room.

Kayde and I sat down on the soft moss green colored couch.

“Hi”, I said, feeling shy and slightly nervous. “My name is Phoenix and this is my… Boyfriend, Kayde.” I told her, hesitating and watching Kayde’s reaction for my use of the word. “I really hate to bother you so late at night, but I’m in town looking for my”-

“I know dear. Quiet now, we shall talk about that in a bit.” She said, interrupting me as she began to head for her kitchen. “For now, why don’t we just enjoy each other’s company as we wait for Syle to get in here?” She finished off as she left the room.

Kayde and I looked at each other, both equally confused by the woman, as she walked to her kitchen for the pot of tea she had mentioned earlier.

“I’m sorry, how rude of me, I meant to introduce myself. My name is Flora” She said, as she came back into the living room carrying a beautiful tray holding a tea pot, four tea cups, upside down on saucers and what I assumed were cream and sugar, along with what seemed to be a small jar of honey, all the same beautiful cream color. “Oh! And this is my husband, Syle.” She said as she gazed up behind us.

“Well, it’s lovely to meet the two of you,” Said the man who was possibly even stranger than Flora. At first glance, anyone would have thought Syle to be albino, with his pale skin and white hair, but in the light, his pale skin was nearly translucent with a slight shimmer, and his white hair was not actually white, but silver, and they were highlighted with nearly clear ice blue eyes.

Syle looked at me and a look of surprise began to cross his eyes “Well aren’t you just a”-

“Syle. Come now, have a cup of tea. She doesn’t seem to know.” Flora said, interrupting her husband.

“Doesn’t know what?” I asked, desperate to find out what, if any connection the two strange looking people had to do with my family.

Chapter 2, Scene 10

2009-11-07T21:01:00.001-08:00

I twisted the small handle on the glove box in front of me and pulled out a sheet of paper that had what seemed to be directions written on them. The first few lines made sense and held names of familiar streets, but after that, I didn’t recognize anything thing.

“What’s this?” I asked him, wondering why he wanted them.

“They’re directions to the last outing of our date.” He said, vaguely enough to irritate me.

“The last outing?” I repeated his words. “Where are we going?” I asked, my irritation subsiding and being replaced with playful curiosity.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise. I was cryptic for a reason, you know…” He said, looking at me quickly as giving me a wink. “On the way home, if you still want to, we can stop at the office and you can get the address.”

“Ok then sexy. If you say so.” I said, laughing and excited. I navigated for him, telling him his rights, his lefts, and which freeways to get on. “Eventually, we got to the right neighborhood and we started looking for the streets and addresses we needed.”

It was a wonderful place, filled with more trees than our home. The houses all had large spaces between them, full of tress, bushes, and sometimes gardens. We found our street and turned left. We followed the street all the way to the end and found what seemed to be a forest behind a fence. Kayde parked the car and we got out and looked for the gate opening, a driveway, anything showing us how to get into it.

“Phee, over here! I found it!” Shouted Kayde, about a quarter of a block away.

I jogged up to where he was standing and saw that there was indeed a gate next to him, and what more, it seemed unlocked. “Well, I hope that you have a flashlight or something.” I said to him, noticing how dark it was under the trees.

“Yea, it shouldn’t be too bad of a walk though.” He said, pulling a small flashlight out of his pocket. He wrapped my hand in his and turned the flashlight on, handing it to me. He unlatched the gate and we walked in.

“Kayde, what is this?” I asked him, thinking the forest looked kind of creepy.

“A surprise, remember?” He told me. “There’s just someone I want you to meet, that’s all, don’t worry”, he told me, squeezing my hand lightly.

The longer we walked, the more confused Kayde seemed. Occasionally, he’d take a couple of pieces of paper out of his pocket and seemingly compare them. We walked for about 20 minutes, finding nothing but more trees.

“Kayde, I’m cold and tired. Please, let’s go home.” I asked, almost pleading. I wasn’t really all that tired, but it was a bit chilly out here, and the lack of light was really starting to freak me out a bit.

“I’m sorry babe. You’re right.” He said as we turned around. “I just don’t understand”, he muttered to himself. “The addresses were all the same…”

“Kayde?” I asked, gently getting his attention. “What are you talking about? Forests don’t have addresses.”

“This one did. Right in front, on the curb. It was the same address I had copied down on the directions.” He told me.

“Well, maybe you copied down the wrong address. Who did you want me to meet?” I asked, confused, curious, and slightly worried all at once. It was more the confused and curious that had me asking questions. I tried to ignore the slight worry, assuming it came from the dark forest and the sounds it was making.

“I couldn’t have copied down the wrong address.” He told me. “I was taking you to meet your grandparents.” He said, stopping me in my tracks.

“You were what? My grandparents? They live in this town? Near here?” I asked him so quickly that he didn’t have time to answer any of my questions.

“Last night I went back to the garden to put the fire out and put the cushions away and everything and I saw that you had left your grandparent’s address on the ground next to one of the cushions.” He explained. “I figured since we were going out early anyway, so that I could show you the lights and sunset and all, than afterwards, I would drive you up to see them.

“I just wasn’t expecting things to go the way they did, which got us up here a few hours later than I was pla... What are you looking at?” He asked, stopping mid-sentence.

I could do nothing but raise my arm and point. Kayde turned and followed my hand and saw the lights too. One by one, in the distance, but not to far, lights were beginning to glow. When I saw the first few, I had assumed that they were just fireflies. But as more lit, we saw that they seemed to be forming an arch.

“Kayde”, I asked him. “What is that?”

“They’re probably just fireflies.” He told me, not sounding all that sure of it himself.

“Kayde, have you ever seen fireflies in Oregon? And have they ever formed an arch???” I asked him, incredulously.

“Um. No.”

“Yea, me neither.” I said. Not being able to help myself, I grabbed Kayde’s hand and began to drag him towards the small, bright lights.

“Sweetheart, I don’t think this is a good idea.” He told me carefully.

“Don’t you want to know what it is?” I asked him.

“Well, yes, but it could be dangerous.” He told me.

“All the more reason to come with me. I’m going whether you come with me or not. But if I go by myself, and it is in fact dangerous, and I end up hurt, it would be on your conscious.” I said, dragging him behind me.

Kayde let out a sigh and conceded to my point. He took the flashlight out of my hand. “Stay behind me, if anything happens, run to the car and drive home! I mean it.”

No way! I thought to myself. “Ok.” I told him.

We walked up towards the lights, Kayde in front of me walking carefully and looking back and forth to make sure we weren’t walking into some kind of trap. Finally, we got within a few feet of the lights and saw the most amazing thing ever. In front of me was a simple archway made of vines, but every few inches along the vines were small yellowish flowers. They had a beautifully sweet smell, but the amazing thing was that the middle of each and every flower was glowing.

“Kayde, can you believe it?” I asked in shock, taking my time to examine each and every flower along the vine.

“It’s amazing.” He said, standing behind me staring at the arch.

I walked through the arch, looking for any sign of a wire frame or cords and saw nothing. The minute I walked back under it was when the trouble started.

“What the hell was that?” Kayde shouted at me.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, not understanding why he was yelling.

“I looked up and you were gone! How did you do that? What did you do?” He asked, still yelling.

“I was right here the whole time”, I told him, confused. “I never went anywhere. All I did was walk under it, see?” I told him, demonstrating. As I turned and looked at him, I could tell something was wrong. I rushed towards him, trying to make sense of what was freaking him out.

“You did it again! You walked under that thing and you were gone! I couldn’t see you! You just disappeared!” He said, no longer shouting, just bewildered.

“What are you talking about? I’m perfectly fine Kayde, I didn’t go anywhere.” I tried again to explain to him.

“No, you don’t understand. When you walked into that thing, you were just gone. You literally disappeared.” He told me. “Just watch.”

Kayde stood in front of me and walked forward under the arch. He was right. He completely disappeared.

“KAYDE!” I called out. “KAYDE, COME BACK!”

As if it were completely normal, Kayde walked back towards me from the arch.

“Phee! Why didn’t you tell me what it was like in there?” He asked excitedly.

“What do you mean? It’s just like out here”, I told him.

“No it isn’t! Come on!” He said, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the arch.

“Kayde, no, wait, this is a bad idea! Let go of me—” As he pulled me through the arch I saw what he meant.

It was a short tunnel, made of the same vines with the same glowing flowers. At the end of the tunnel, there was a small doorway. Kayde and I followed the tunnel to the door and saw that the front of it had 4 numbers etched on the front.

“Five nine eight two.” Kayde read the numbers slowly and then pulled the papers out of his pocket, handing one to me. At the bottom of the directions I had been reading to him all night were the same numbers. Five nine eight two, Eireaf Drive.

“Kayde.” I said quietly. “Do you think this is it?”

“There is really only one way to find out.” He responded. “Now’s the hour of truth Phoenix, do you want to find out?”

I nodded my head, and in a voice much to low to even be considered a whisper I said one word, hoping I wouldn’t regret it. “Yes”

Chapter 2, Scene 9

2009-11-07T19:39:00.001-08:00

“That was amazing.” Kayde said to me as we got up and began to gather our clothes. “I know this probably sounds cheesy, but I’m pretty sure you were the best I’ve ever had.”

“Thanks, and yes, it sounded cheesy.” I told him. “Um, Kayde? I have a question. It’s kind of weird and sort of insane.”

“All the good questions are.” He told me.

Well, here I go… “Sometime during the middle, I started to get really hot and then at the end, I saw there was kind of a cone light that well, went up into the sky.” I told him, hoping he wasn’t going to think I was losing my mind.

“I thought that was just me. You felt it too? Saw it? Really?” He asked, amazed that I saw and felt the same insane and impossible thing that he had felt and seen.

“I did. I thought you could tell me what happened.” I told him. At this point, he and I were both perplexed.

“This is going to sound crazy, I’m sure.” He started. “But I’ve heard of something called sex magick. It’s some kind of ritual that some pagans do. The supposed theory is that sexual arousal and orgasm carry incredibly strong energy and when released, it carries magick wished for by the two lovers.” He explained.

“You’re right.” I told him, surprised that he was into that kind of thing. “It sounds crazy. But it was a pretty crazy experience, so I suppose I have no reason to shut it down as a theory.”

We continued clearing up after our date with a deep silence. The kind of unnerving silence that only works when everyone around is in thought, or else everyone who isn’t deep in thought feels incredibly uncomfortable and worried. We picked up item after item, keeping ourselves preoccupied with thought and responsibility towards the earth to keep it clean.

After we had finished cleaning up packed everything into the trunk of his car, opened the doors and got in. We rode in quiet for awhile and then I remembered my necessary request.

“Kayde, can you drop me off at my father’s office? I have to get the address again. I seem to have lost it.” I asked him, figuring he wouldn’t mind.

“Oh! I’m glad you mentioned it. Will you grab the piece of paper out of the glove compartment for me?” He asked.

Chapter 2, Scene 8 (NSFW)

2009-11-07T19:38:00.001-08:00

We lay on the ground taking a small break, or rather, we lay on the ground as he gave me a small break. The stars were lovely and the sky was cloudless. I kissed his cheek lightly and sneakily slid my hand down his stomach into his pants. I was in no way planning to let what he had done for me go unpaid, but when I went to wrap my hand around what I expected to be soft, I instead found a rigid shaft. I was pretty sure that he hadn’t gotten hard laying on his back looking at stars, and so I assumed that he had been had the whole, or at least most of the time. Instead of fucking me, he decided to get me off first! I thought to myself, incredibly surprised.

I closed my hand around his shaft and softly rubbed it while I thought to myself. Other guys my age would never have done something like that. Although I was sure Kayde was a few years older than me, it wasn’t enough for it to make a difference to me. He was sweet and caring, which was a nice change from the high school boys I had dated.

At some point, he had unbuttoned his pants while I wasn’t paying attention, because he ended up on top of me and was once again kissing my neck.

“Can I have you?” He asked quietly.

“Maybe”, I told him. “Can I keep you?” I asked. I didn’t want to give him up, not yet at least. I was crushing on him hard core, after the dinner, the sunset; he had truly planned a perfect date.

“As long as you want me, I’m yours.” He told me, spreading my legs and pressing his hard cock against me. He lifted himself a bit and pressed the head of his dick into me. “Tell me if it’s too much” He said softly.

Yea, like I haven’t heard that before. I thought to myself. But once he was actually in me, I thought otherwise. He was rather sizable and much thicker than I expected him to be.

“Hold on.” I said quietly, it seemed as though he hadn’t heard me, because right after I said that, he pushed himself a bit deeper. “Kayde, wait. You’re hurting me.” I said, louder this time.

“I’m sorry babe. Should I stop?” He said, getting up on his knees.

“NO!” I said as I pulled him closer. “I want you to put it in faster, it’ll hurt more, but not for as long. It’ll be easier.”

“I don’t want to hurt you Phee.” He whispered as he looked away.

“I want you, Kayde. I can’t wait.” I leaned forward and kissed him and lay back down on my back, pulling him down with me.

Lightly, I bit my lip, bracing myself from the possible pain, knowing that soon after, it would be wonderful. Slowly, as if he was still worried about hurting me, he pressed the head of his dick into me until it slid in, and then almost all at once, he kept pushing until he had buried himself in me. A muffled cry escaped my lips as he was filling me with himself. Once he was in me, he took a moment to allow me to get accustomed to his size and width and took the time to kiss me. As we kissed softly at first, then harder and more fiercely, my hips began to rock back and forth a bit.

Kayde seemed to pick up on this and slowly he pulled out of me and then pushed himself back into me. He fucked me slowly at first, giving me time to get used to him, giving my pussy time to get used to his pain, and giving himself time to figure out how deep he could go before it hurt. After about ten minutes, he begin moving faster, pumping in and out of me as my quiet gasps turned into loud moans. At some point I had lifted my legs and wrapped them around his waist and he was now holding them. Each time he plunged himself into me, I would cry out, whether it was pleasure or pain that caused it, I couldn’t tell, but whatever it was, it was exquisite. He got up on his knees and held my legs up against his chest as he began slamming his cock into me. I could feel his dick throbbing inside of me and I knew that he and I were both on the way to orgasm. We were covered in sweat and for it to be so late at night, it was ridiculously hot.

“Phee, where do you want me to cum?” He asked, probably afraid of a random pregnancy.

“I’m on birth control. You can cum where ever you want babe.” I told him.

He began slamming into me harder, faster and deeper as my moans came louder and more often. I began to feel the familiar tightening in my abdomen and incredible warmth radiating upwards from my waist. As Kayde and I began to cum together, I saw what looked to me like a cone of light radiating up towards the sky. What the hell was that? I thought to myself after my orgasm had subsided and Kayde and I were once again lying side by side.

Chapter 2, Scene 7 (NSFW)

2009-11-07T19:35:00.001-08:00

    “Oh, you mean when you thought I was a maniacal rapist?” He said, laughing.
    “What’s to say I don’t still think you’re maniacal?” I retorted.
    “Oh, just not a rapist, huh?” He asked, laughing so hard he almost fell off the branch, out of reflex I reached forward and grabbed his arm. “And if I’m a maniac, what does that say about you?”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.
    “You just tried to save a maniacal rapist… remember?”
    “You don’t scare me.” I told him.
    “Oh no?” He said as he lunged towards me.
    I jumped out of the tree and ran around to the other side. As Kayde climbed out of the tree he tripped and heard me chuckling at him and began chasing me around.
    “Not afraid of me, huh?” He yelled “How come you’re still running?
    To busy running, laughing and feeling childlike to watch where I was going, I tripped over a small rock. I tried to get up and run away, but by the time I was almost up, Kayde had caught up to me and tackled me. We rolled around a bit, wrestling playfully until I had him pinned on the ground.
    “See? This is why I’m not afraid of you. There’s no need to be afraid of someone you can pin on the ground this easily.” I told him.
    As if it took no effort at all, he flipped over and was straddling me.
“Maybe that’s just what I wanted you to think!” He said, leaning forward and kissing me lightly. I lifted my head and felt him slide his hand under mine holding the back of my head lightly as he leaned on his arm, his other hand touching my shoulder lightly. My arms were around his neck; my own way of making sure he didn’t stop kissing me before I was ready. His tongue traced my lips and then retreated as he bit my lower lip lightly enough not to hurt, but hard enough to surprise me. He pulled his head away and kissed his way to my neck. Each time his lips touched my neck, it sent shivers down my spine. He moved from my neck along my collar bone kissing very softly and sweetly. He lowered my head and moved his hand to my blouse, taking a break from kissing me.
    “Stop me if I cross the line. Or get to close to it.” He whispered as he began to unbutton my dress.
The light wind brought a light chill and slowly, small goose bumps began to form on my skin. He unclasped my bra, pulling it open and laying the cups to my sides. He kissed his way down my chest to my breasts, taking each one into his mouth individually. He took his time kissing, sucking and sometimes biting each one, not stopping with either until the nipples were hard and erect, as if he knew just which buttons to push to turn me on.
    After he was satisfied with me stiff nipples, he moved his mouth down my stomach, biting lightly, even leaving small red marks on my belly. As he got to my panties, instead of pulling them down as I expected and hoped he would, he just spread my legs. He started by kissing my inner thighs, just above my knee. As his lips slid up my leg, he added small nibbles to the occasion kiss, usually eliciting a quiet yelp from my lips. Moving higher up my legs, closer to my pussy, he began to softly lick my inner thigh, causing me body to momentarily tighten and then relax.
Not until he had kissed, licked and nibbled his way up my thigh did he even touch my panties. As he slid one arm under my legs and took hold of my waist, he used the other hand to first rub my pussy through my panties and then pulled them to the side. Softly and lightly, he ran his tongue up my slit finally pulling a moan out of me. He pulled my underwear off of me and slipped both hands under my legs and held my waist.
    He lowered his head, once again sliding his tongue up my slit, causing my hips to lift slightly. He pulled me closer as he slid his tongue into me, I moaned loudly. He pulled his head away momentarily.
    “I take it you enjoy that, hm?” He said with a chuckle, and then returned to licking. His tongue slid inside me yet again and then moved up between my lips to my clit. He began sucking on it, lightly as he swirled his tongue around it. As he took turns alternating between sucking and licking my clit I couldn’t help but grab a handful of hair in each hand and pulling him closer. My moans became louder as I came closer to cumming.
    “Please, don’t stop.” I said between gasps.
    He slid his fingers into me and began to rhythmically slide them in and out of me as my hips rocked. His fingers began to move faster as he took my clit into his mouth and began to suck on it and flick his tongue across it. I began breathing faster, my hips began rocking faster and I could feel my pussy tightening up around his fingers. As his fingers and tongue moves faster I felt the familiar pressure building up inside of me. He pulled his head away from me and used his thumb to rub my clit as he fingered me and moved up a bit and took one of my nipples into his mouth and began lightly nibbling on it.
    My legs tensed up and I felt my lower abdomen do the same. I cried out loudly as wave upon wave of pleasure released itself from my body, pulsing through me. I could feel both my vagina and clit throbbing from my orgasm.
    I pulled Kayde down onto the ground next to me and laid my head on his arm.
    “That was amazing”, I told him between breaths.
    “I hope you don’t think I’m done with you yet.” He said mischievously. “I’m just giving you a break to catch your breath.” He warned.

Chapter 2, Scene 6

2009-11-04T23:39:00.001-08:00

We sat down on the cushions he had brought and he began naming the different dishes he had brought for us. Salade Niçoise, Paella Méditerranéen, Riz a l’Italienne, Plat de côte de Boeuf Braisé, Penne a la Monegasque. There was one more dish that he kept covered, but I had no way of knowing what on earth he was hiding. The food all looked and smelled absolutely diving, but I seemed to gravitate towards the more vegetarian dishes. The Salade Niçoise had greens, bell peppers, green beans, potatoes, black olives, anchovies, egg, tomatoes, and flaked tuna, all of which was organic, which is always a nice touch when it comes to my food; the Riz a l’Italienne was risotto with portabella mushroom, baby spinach, cream, and cheese (probably my favorite dish); I had a small bit of the Penne a la Monegasque, penne pasta with tomatoes, basil, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil, and just to taste, I had a few bites of the Paella Méditerranéen: Shrimp, calamari, mussels, clams, sausage & vegetables over saffron rice.

Dinner was calm and quiet with not much talking, I wasn’t sure about him, but I knew I was horribly nervous. I couldn’t help but stare at him sometimes, looking into his sea green eyes and wonder what was going on behind him. Sometimes he caught me looking at him, studying his eyes, his cheeks, the way his hair fell over his left eyebrow when he was looking down. Once we had finished eating he grabbed the last covered dish and placed it right between us and grabbed two forks.

“Ok, so, how much of a sweet tooth do you have?” He asked.
“Oooh, that must mean you brought dessert!” I said, incredibly excited.

“I do, but we’re going to play a game.” He explained with a mischievous grin. “For every question you answer, you get to ask a question and take a bite of whichever dessert you choose, every question you ask must be different from the one I just asked you, every time you pass on a question, I get to ask another one and I get to take your bite of dessert.”

“You know, I think I like this game.” If it weren’t for the dessert, I wasn’t sure how much I would have enjoyed the game, but my sweet tooth always got the best of me.”

Kayde uncovered the dish sitting in front of me and I saw the most delicious looking desserts I had seen in quite awhile. Crème Brûlée, Chocolate Mousse, Strawberry Tarte, a small Brie and Fruit platter, Panna Cotta, and a bowl containing Floating Islands, one of my all time favorite desserts.

“Ok, let’s do this!” I said, with a new found level of craving for sugar.

“Looks like I made a good choice. Let’s start easy. What is your favorite color?”

“Pink in the spring and fall, green in the summer and winter.” I said quickly, and taking a bite of the Floating Islands. “What’s your favorite season?” I asked him.

“Autumn.” He answered, taking a bite of the Brie.

We continued on with each others favorites until we had eaten seventy five percent of the deserts. Finally, he asked the one question I hoped he wouldn’t. Not because I didn’t want him to know the answer, but because I didn’t want to tell him. “How did your mother die?”

“She was apparently sick her whole life. She had cancer. It went into remission a few weeks before she found out she was pregnant with me. A few weeks after my first birthday, she started getting sick a lot. She went to the doctor and it turned out her cancer had come back. They tried a ton of different things, but nothing worked, they gave her 3 months. The day after my second birthday party, she passed away. Everyone said she held on a few extra months to see one last birthday.” I had managed to keep myself from crying for almost all of it. But as the last words left my mouth, I felt tears gathering in the corners of my eyes. I turned my head west and looked towards the sunset, decided to let the tears take their own course. “I’m changing the rules. I get two bites for that one.” I told him.

“Fair enough.” He said “But first,” He trailed off as he reached his hand towards me and took hold of my chin. “You don’t have to look away if you need to cry. It’s natural, and expected. Don’t be ashamed of your tears.” He told me as he turned my head to face him.

I smiled at him and took a bit of the strawberry tarte and the last bite of the chocolate mousse. “Now it’s my turn, and after that one, don’t think you’re going to get off easy.” I warned him. “What are the plans that you have later tonight that were important enough to not pick me up at eight?” I asked, staring into his eyes, trying to find out whether or not he was being honest with me.

“Pass.” He said, looking surprised. “I’ll tell you, but not right now.”

“Fine”, I said, incredibly annoyed. “What do you like so much about me?” I asked “And this time you’re not allowed to pass.”

“You sure are one for changing the rules, aren’t you?” He asked, playfully. “But it’s ok. I’ll answer. I love your playfulness, I love the way you say what comes to mind without a second thought. I love how curious you can be. But I think the thing I like the most is that you seem to have the aura circling you, showing everyone around you how easy it is to love life.” He said, looking into my eyes. “It’s not only refreshing, it’s captivating. So much so that it’s almost intoxicating.” As I watched his eyes, I could tell that he was being completely honest. “Oh, and you’re a great kisser.” He told me as he took the last bite of the Brie.

“Now”, he said. “Part of the reason I wanted to come out here at five is because I wanted you to see this.” He took my hand and together we walked over to the nearby tree. He lifted me up and sat me on one of the low horizontal limbs and then climbed up next to me. As we sat together looking to the west, we watched the sunset. As it got darker, he pointed out on the horizon. “Watch the buildings.” He told me. As we watched, lights slowly began to come on, not randomly, but seemingly in a wave. It didn’t make any sense, but then I realized it must be because of the mountains in the distance. The closer the houses are to the mountains, the less sun they get because they’re in the mountain’s shadow.

I peeked at my watch and saw it was past eight o’clock. “Kayde, it’s after eight. You’re going to miss your appointment, aren’t you?” I asked, hoping he would blow it off.

“What appointment?” He asked.

“Didn’t you have an appointment at eight tonight?” I asked, reminding him.

“No, I never had an appointment at eight; I just wanted to be here with plenty of time to see the sunset and the lights.” He explained. “Did you really think that I had a time limit on our date?”

“I had hoped not, but keep in mind I didn’t know you that well.” I told him, hoping he wasn’t offended.

Chapter 2, Scene 5

2009-11-04T00:17:00.001-08:00

“What are you doing?!?” I practically screamed at him.

“You know, I think I could ask you the same thing, with more validity.” He said, chuckling. “No, I’m sorry, that was rude. I was nervous all day and so I left early. I was going to drive around town, but my driving around town landed me here. Then when I was about to knock on the door, you turned the music up and started singing, so I thought I’d peek.” He said, sounding ashamed.

“Fine, I forgive you. But if you ever mention this again, I’ll deny it to the end. And kill you. And then deny that too.” I said decidedly. “I hope I’m dressed alright. I knew we were going out to dinner but that was all I was told.”

“Yes, you look beautiful. Oh! I have something for you.” He handed me a rather large box, tied with a pink ribbon. “I hope you like it.”

I untied the ribbon and gently lifted the lid of the box off, and found a canvas bag with thorny stems covered in leaves. “Um, thanks. I hate to say this, but um, what is it?” I asked, trying not to hurt his feelings.

“It’s a Yellow Rose Bush. I know you love plants and so I assumed that meant planting and gardening as well. I chose yellow because they’re supposed to be a symbol of joy and friendship, and I figure, even if we don’t end up a couple, I hope that we’ll at least be friends.” This time, he was the one blushing and it was absolutely adorable.

“Well, you chose a good color, because if you had chosen red, it might have been akin to the creepy dream thing.” I told him, with a light chuckle. “Don’t worry Kayde, I love gardening, and yes, we will at least be friends.” I said, giving him a light kiss on the cheek, thinking back on my bath. At least… “Not to rush things, but, I’m kind of starving. I haven’t eaten yet today.”

“Well, let’s leave the roses here and get some food in you. No offense, but you seem like the kind of person who gets cranky if you don’t eat enough times through out the day.” He said with a wink. I set the roses down to be planted when I got home and before I knew it, his arm was around my waist.

We walked to his car, and ever the gentleman, he opened my door up for me before he walked over to his side of the car. He got in the car and put on some soft classical music.

“Bach?” I asked.

“Yes. You listen to classical?” He responded, obviously surprised.

“I love classical. I love music in general. I feel it should be a much larger part of our society. Native American tribes used to gather and have regular sessions of music and dancing, the way young adults go to bars and night clubs. The difference is that the whole village attended these sessions, not just thirty percent of the village. My theory is that it was part of what made them a much stronger community.” Way to show your neediness on a first date Phee. I thought to myself.

“You know, I think you’re absolutely right. Of course there are other things, like the fact that their living areas were much more closely kept, allowing the tribe to be more closely knit. People didn’t go hungry if they weren’t able to work or hunt. There was always something they could do. Everyone contributed some how, and everyone was fed, clothed and had shelter.” He said. “There was no such thing as being homeless or starving. If you were starving, it was only because the whole village was. It’s one of the things we need to get back to in American society.”

Oh my God! I thought to myself. If it was possible to fall in love with someone you barely knew, this was it, I was in love. “So, where are we headed?

We got to the restaurant and parked. He had brought me to the most expensive French restaurant in town.

“Stay here for a minute, I’ll be right back.” He said as he hurriedly opened his door and rushed into the restaurant. Ok, what the hell is this about? I thought to myself. I tried to twist around to see what he was doing, but from the angle he had parked at, I couldn’t see anything except the tree next to the car. I’m giving him three minutes and if he’s not back by then, good riddance! One minute into my time limit, I heard the trunk unlock and then looked out the back window to see him opening the trunk, closing the trunk, and getting back in the car.

“I hope that didn’t take to long?” He half asked, half said, probably hoping he hadn’t pissed me off.

“No, it wasn’t to bad at all.” I said, still a bit peeved. I guess he was right. I do get grumpy if I don’t eat… “But are we going to go eat now?” I asked, trying to keep my voice from betraying me.

“Yep. Dinner time.” He said with a smile. As I was unbuckling my seat belt, he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

“Oh. I take it we’re not eating here then, huh?” I asked. I wasn’t angry anymore, now I was just straight confused.

“Not exactly.” He answered. We drove for about 20 minutes, up a hill and around some winding roads. Once he got to the top of the hill, he got out of the car and opened the trunk again. “Stay here”, he said again. “And don’t get grumpy this time.” He got out of the car and opened the trunk again. After a few moments, he came to the car and opened my door.

“Ok, unbutton your seat belt and close your eyes.”

I did as he said and was led out of the car and a little bit away from it. After a few seconds of walking he told me to open my eyes and in front of me I saw what must have been the most elaborate picnic I had ever seen. Tons of covered dishes, two large cushions and a small fire pot were just a few things in front of me that he had set up.

“You did all this? For me?” I asked surprised.

“Yes. I wouldn’t be lying if I said that I was trying to impress you by creating the best date you’ve ever been on” He said, smiling. I was beginning to quite enjoy that smile.

Chapter 2, Scene 4

2009-11-03T22:59:00.001-08:00

Now that it was 4 and I was all set to go, I decided to head into the living room and watch TV while I waited for Kayde.

After flipping through the channels for 10 minutes and not finding anything interesting I decided to listen to some music. I grabbed my mp3 player and connection cord and plugged it into the stereo in the living room. I set it to shuffle and hit play, wondering what song would come on. This was my secret ritual for anything big. The first song that came on was supposed to give me some insight into how the big event would turn out. My first day of school, a first date, anything. It was usually fairly accurate in some way or another. It would show me what to watch for, or work for, or one of any number of things. Some days, I would use it just for a full day, to see what my day would be like. I knew it wasn’t a science, but it was fun.

The first song to come on what Smack, by Three Doors Down, which was kind of a trip since I had actually never heard the song. I had it on an album I had downloaded months ago, but still hadn’t heard the song. I ran to the computer, which was rarely in use, since I had a laptop and Dad seemed to hate them. Soon as it was powered up, I looked up the lyrics so that I could read them while I listened to the song.

“…don't you throw your life away
Just wait until another day.
Don't you throw your life away
cause baby I can feel it.
Don't you ever compromise it.
Don't you even realize it?
Don’t you throw your life away cause baby I can feel it now…”

To me, it sounded like my music was telling me not to waste time and that I was doing the right thing by searching out my grandparents. I couldn’t compromise with my father and wait until he was ready to talk about them; I needed to find them on my time.

Now that I had my song for the night, I had other plans with my music. The next song came on and I knew it would be a good night. I crossed the living room and turned the stereo up and began dancing singing at the top of my lungs “I take these suckers down 'cause they just get in my way!” Right in the middle of an awesome spin kick thing I glanced out of the front window and saw Kayde peeking in at me. I rushed to the door and opened it.

Chapter 2, Scene 3

2009-11-03T18:16:00.001-08:00

Confused and arguing with myself I leaned forward and began to wash up. There’s no way for the water to heat up without adding heat, or hotter water. It’s impossible. I thought to myself as I drained the tub and got out. I dried off and then wrapped myself in my robe and headed back to my bedroom. I began getting ready for the day, and decided to do gold and purple eye shadow with shimmery black eyeliner and a neutral colored lipstick. I did my hair in a pony tail with a portion of it wrapped around the base of the pony tail to look like it was holding the hair and then added some spiral curls to the bottom of the pony tail. I examined my hair in the mirror and once I had approved my look I put on my clothes. The purple dress was a bit tighter in some places than I remembered, in particular, my chest. I figured that even though it was warm out, it might be a bit windy, so I grabbed a pair of nude tights and put them on under my dress.

Now that I was ready to go, I emptied my purse and then began to add all of my date essentials. First and most important was my cell phone and “Mad Money”, in case he turned into a jerk or cheap or anything, I could call a cab and get myself home. Next, I added the make-up I was wearing to my purse for emergency touch ups, along with some cotton balls and my bottle of eye make-up remover. I grabbed some tampons, in case of an unexpected visitor and then a few condoms, in case the date went REALLY well. Last but not least I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen for my visit to Dad’s office after the date.

Chapter 2, Scene 2 (Caution, NSFW)

2009-11-03T18:14:00.001-08:00

I grabbed my bubble bath and bath salts and turned the water on. I turned the hot water on and plugged the tub pouring in some herbal bath salts and some bubble bath. I slid my pants down and peeled off the tank top and dipped my toe in to test the temperature. Finding the water satisfying, I went ahead and turned off the faucet and stepped into the tub.

As I laid my head back against the back of the bath, I remembered the paper. My only option was to go back to Dad’s office and copy the info down again. Luckily, he and I hadn’t had the talk about his password yet. I suppose I could go after my date with Kayde, Dad wouldn’t suspect anything and it would give me a little something to do after the date to keep my mind off of things. Oh crap! I thought to myself. I knew we were going to dinner, but where? Maybe I’ll just wear the purple sundress. It’ll be five, so it should still be warm and it’s versatile enough for where ever we go, as long as we stay in town.

Feeling more relaxed now that I had a plan, I laid my head back and drifted in and out of my thoughts, which for some reason, kept turning towards Kayde, and our kiss last night.

As my thoughts turned towards his lips, I remembered something my friend Kylie (always one to make a shocking statement) used to say. “Those are lips I’d love to feel between my legs.” I used to hate when she would say that, but she hit the nail on the head this time. I couldn’t help but imagine what Kayde’s lips would feel like between my legs and before I thought about it, my hand was sliding down my stomach.

I moaned softly as my fingers parted my lips. I slid my middle finger between my lips, right against the opening of my slit, teasing myself. I closed my eyes and imagined his large hands instead of my small familiar ones. I pushed my finger into myself and gasped. My finger slid out, leaving just the tip. I slid my finger in and out imagining how wonderful it would feel if it was him sliding into me. I added a second finger to the first and felt myself involuntarily rocking my hips. I took my other hand and used my middle and ring fingers to slowly and softly rub my clit, as I began moaning. My back began to arch and I could feel my fingers flying over my clit back and forth quickly as the pressure built. I pulled one hand away from my vagina and kept rubbing my now swollen clit and used the other hand to pinch my nipples.

All at once I felt my body tense up and then release. Waves of pleasure filled me, radiating out from my pelvis as I shuddered. I lay there in the tub reveling in the amazing feelings of orgasm as I realized two things. One, I was really glad that my father had gone to work; and two, as impossible as it seemed, the water in the bath felt hotter than it was when I got in.

Chapter 2 Scene 1

2009-11-03T18:13:00.001-08:00

I awoke, still at my desk, the sun shining into my eyes. Why oh why did he give me the room that faces East? ARGH! As I stood up I realized that Dad had covered me up sometime in the night. My neck and back ached and I decided a nice hot bubble bath while I tried to figure out what to do was a great idea. I grabbed my robe from my closet and headed to the bathroom.

“Morning sleepy head. You’re usually up earlier than this, you must have had a late night.” Said my dad, as I passed his room.

“Yea, I was out pretty late I guess. Oh, I’m going out this evening. Is that cool?” I knew he would say yes just as he always did, but I thought I would ask anyway, just to be polite.

“Sure, that’s fine. Where you going?” He asked, nonchalantly.

“Well, I’ve got a date. The friend I met last night, actually. He’s taking me to dinner, at five.” I explained, conviently leaving out the fact that last night was the first time I had ever met said ‘friend’.

“Well, I expect to meet him, you know.”

“It’s just dinner, Dad! I mean really? You have to meet him?”

“Yes, not right away of course, but if it get’s serious. You know the drill kiddo.” In my goal to keep it a secret that I had just met Kayde last night, I forgot all about Dad’s long standing four week rule. If one of us dates someone regularly for four weeks, then it’s considered a relationship and the other of us has to meet and pass approval on a scale of 1-10. A one means uncomfortable, five is neutral, and ten, the big one, is somewhere along the lines of “keep this one around as long as possible.

“Oh, I know. I just don’t think it’s going to go very far really.” I said, trying to cover my tracks.

“Alright sweetheart, I’ve got to head to work, I’ll see you tonight after your date. Guess I’ll have to fend for myself for dinner, since it’s your night.”

“Is that some kind of hint, old man?” I asked, laughing as I straightened his tie.

“Why yes, yes it is. But I mean it, I’ll fend for myself.” He said, checking his tie in the mirror, he never trusted me to straighten it without screwing it up. “You just worry about having fun.”

He gave me a hug and a kiss on the forehead and headed down the stairs. I watched him leave and then turned around and headed to the bathroom.

Chapter 1 Scene 5

2009-11-02T19:34:00.001-08:00

“It isn’t that you made me uncomfortable. It’s just the opposite. I feel so comfortable with you. It’s like I can tell you anything.” I explained to him, hoping he wouldn’t take my decision to stop kissing him the wrong way.

“How about this, I’ll walk you home tonight. You can take care of business and relax at home and tomorrow night, I’ll come and pick you up and take you out to dinner and we can get to know each other?” Kayde asked.

“You mean like, on a date?” I asked, shocked. I’d been on dates before, but every guy who had asked me out was someone I knew at least a bit, usually from school. I’d never been on a date with someone I didn’t know, it was exciting.

“Yes, a date. Is that ok?” It seemed as if my shock and surprise had thrown him off a bit.

“As a matter of fact, Kayde, I would love to go out with you. How does eight o'clock sound?” I said with a smile as I began to stand on the tip of my toes and kissed him on the cheek.

“Actually, eight isn’t good for me. I was thinking a bit earlier. Like, five maybe? It’s just that I had other plans for the night.” He asked, stammering a bit.

“Yes, five is fine.” I answered with a smile. Unfortunately, the smile was only masking my thoughts. Other plans like what? I wondered. Another girl? Is Friday night his marathon date night? God I hope I’m not setting myself up for some kind of weird hook up night.

“Great, let’s get you home, it’s late.” He took my hand in his. “Jesus, you’re freezing Phee, here, wear my jacket”, he said, pulling his thick brown coat off. He held it op for me and I slipped into it. I couldn’t help but feel his warmth as I put it on.

“Exactly how late is it?” I asked, to cold to pull my phone out of my purse.

“Three o’clock.” He said as he slipped his hand into mine.

Hand in hand we began the walk to my house. We were both quiet, with the exception of the occasional question, or calling the other’s attention to something.

As we arrived at my house, he walked me up to the door, took my hand and kissed it lightly, like a true gentleman. “I’ll see you tomorrow Phee.” He said as I opened the door.

I walked in the house and saw a note from my dad on the stair banister.

“Sorry about the argument Firebird, hope you can forgive me. One day I’ll explain this all to you, but I’m just not sure if either of us is ready. Remember I love you always.

“P.S There’s a plate of veggie lasagna in the microwave for you, if you’re hungry”

I grabbed the note Dad had left for me and shoved it into my purse as I walked up the stairs. As I closed my bedroom door, I tossed my purse onto my bed and then lay on my stomach and grabbed the shoebox that held all of the birthday and holiday cards sent to me by my grandparents. Right there on the top was the stationary they had sent me for my 16^th birthday. Lightly lavender scented, I felt it was perfect for writing an invitation to my 18^th birthday party.

I grabbed my purse and stationary and sat at my desk. I rifled through my purse to find the piece of paper that had their address on it, and found only the note from my father. Frantic, I turned my purse upside down and emptied its contents onto my desk, but my grandparents address was nowhere to be found.

It was then that I remembered I had been fiddling with it in Kayde’s garden before I got up to follow the fire. I couldn’t remember exactly to get there, and I had no way to call Kayde and ask him to help me. One after another, tears began to well up in my eyes and fall down my cheeks. Defeated, I laid my head on my desk and cried myself to sleep.

Chapter 1 Scene 4

2009-11-01T21:13:00.001-08:00

“What were you doing with the keys?” He asked from behind me.
    I jumped, not knowing he was there. “Hm?”
    “When you were on the phone with your dad? Why were you trying a bunch of keys in that door?” He rephrased.
    “Oh, um, I was locking my dad’s office up.” Something told me I could trust him “My father and I got into an argument last night. He and my grandmother and grandfather on my mother’s side don’t get along. I’ll be eighteen in a few weeks and I want to invite them, but he won’t let me. I knew he had their address so I went for a late night walk and got their address off of his office computer. When I left I forgot to lock up and turned around and ran back to lock up.”
    “Which is when you and I bumped into each other, I assume?” He asked, finishing my story.
    “That’s the way of it, I suppose.”
    “Well, I’m glad you did. If you hadn’t, I don’t think we ever would have met.” He said in a low voice. “You’ve got something on your cheek”, he whispered as he lifted his hand to my face. He brushed my cheek so softly that I almost didn’t feel it. The cool air hit my cheek as he pulled his hand away. Simultaneously, I grabbed his hand and moved it to my face and tilted my head, pressing my cheek against his palm. Again, my face warmed as I began to blush, but this time it just didn’t much matter to me.
    “Your name”, I said, my voice barely making it out of my mouth.
    “Kayde… Conner”, he answered as he tilted my head up to look at him. His green eyes pierced mine as we looked at each other.
    “Kayde, I’m Phoenix.”
    “I know”, he whispered pulling my face towards his.
    “How?” I whispered.
    “You visit my dreams.” He said quietly, and then just as softly, he kissed me.
    No! I thought to myself. Bad! Stop! I knew kissing this man I barely knew was a terrible idea, but my body knew what it wanted. My arms reached up and linked together behind his neck and pulled my body closer to his. I felt as if I couldn’t get close enough.   Softly, I pinched his lower lip between my teeth and then ran my tongue over it. His arms wrapped around my waist, squeezing me closer to him. They way our bodies fit together reminded me of the jigsaw puzzles I used to do with my father. You spend forever looking for the perfect piece, but once you find it, it’s obvious that it belonged there.
    I finally pulled my face away. “This isn’t ok”, I told Kayde. “I can’t do this, not here. Not tonight. I’m sorry”
    “So am I”, he said. “I was totally out of line. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Of course the creepy dream thing probably didn’t help.”

Chapter 1 Scene 3

2009-11-01T21:12:00.001-08:00

“Great! Now, where to?” he asked.
    “Surprise me. All I care about is light and somewhere to sit.”
    “I have the perfect place. Do you like plants?”
    “I love them!” I explained, probably more excited than really necessary. None of the guys I knew in high school were into plants, which made a relationship hard since they were such a big part of my life and I wasn’t interested in much more. I mean, the sex helped, but even I couldn’t think about sex twenty-four seven, let alone let it rule my relationship.
    “Well then, let’s get going, shall we?” he asked
    “We shall. But first, you have to answer something for me.”
    “Sure, go for it.”
    “Are you a serial killer?”
    A shocked look appeared on his face. “No…”
    “Maniacal rapist?” I asked. Better cover all my bases. I thought to myself.
    “Um… No…” Now the poor guy just looked confused, and slightly amused.
    Can never be too careful… “How about a deranged kidnapper?”
    “No. And that was three questions. And if I was any of those things, do you think I would ever have answered truthfully?” He finished off with a laugh.
    What’s that, self? No, I don’t feel like a complete and utter idiot. Of course not… “Maybe you’re an HONEST maniacally deranged kidnapping serial rapist who kills his victims.” He glanced at me and began to laugh. “What? It could happen... Right?” I began to laugh with him, realizing how completely ridiculous that I must have sounded.
    We walked in silence for awhile enjoying the night air, rounding corners and crossing streets that were only slightly familiar to me. We came up on what seemed to be an empty lot behind a wooden fence.
    “Ok, ok.” He gasped. “It seems you’ve caught me. I’m an insane rapist who kidnaps teenage girls and rapes them in my garden of torture! He exclaimed with what could have only been described as a flourish as he opened the gate we had come to and waved me in.
    “This is beautiful, but there are no lights, and probably no benches.” I realized what a terrible idea this was and decided it was a good time to go home. “You know, I think now is a good time to leave. See you around.” I turned to walk away and felt his hand on my arm. No grip at all, just resting there.
    “Wait, please, just give me three more minutes. Pretend we’re not here yet. I promise you’ll love it.” The man was practically begging, making me feel horribly guilty.
    “Fine, but if you freaking rape and murder me, I swear I will haunt you until the day your great grandchildren die.” I threaten.
    “Ok, that sounds fair.” He took my hand and led me to the middle of the garden. “Just stand over here, one sec, let me grab a cushion, I’ll be right back.” He wandered off and came back with two large cushions and placed them on the ground side by side. “Ok now sit. Slowly, can’t have you fall on any of the plants. There you go. Are you comfortable?” He asked.
    “Yes, it’s nice.” I answered, surprised.
    “See? Somewhere to sit, now, light, yes?” He asked, already knowing my answer.
    “Please.” He sat next to me, a bit to close for my comfort and pulled a lighter and a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. He lit the corner of his paper and after a few moments, the smoke became strongly fragrant.
    “Sage”, he explained “I come every night to cleanse away any negative energy I’m accumulated through out the day.” He dropped the small packet onto the ground and I noticed there was a trench in front of us.
    The small hole in the ground began to glow lightly where the paper had been dropped then brightened as it became a fire. Slowly, the fire crept down the trench, which grew much longer than I saw at first. It lit up different plants, some which I recognized and some that were new to me. As I watched it grow, I gasped at the plants, all so beautifully taken care of. Some I knew, some were new to me.
    My heart began to race and it seemed that the more the fire grew, the faster my heart beat. I stood up and amazed by the intricacy that must have been required to devise something like this, I began following the snaking flames. He was absolutely right; I was utterly in love with this garden.

Chapter 1 Scene 2

2009-11-01T21:11:00.001-08:00

I was about halfway home when I realized that I hadn’t locked up. I turned around and ran at full speed to make it back to the office. It’s not an unsafe neighborhood but I would have hated to be the reason that my dad’s office got robbed. I rounded the corner and slammed into a tall figure that my eyes barely registered before my body.
    “Shit!” I gasped.
    “Hey there, where’s the fire?” asked a deep, unfamiliar voice.
    Shit shit shit! I thought to myself. Leave it to me to be the first murder of the decade in this town. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going I stammered, as I tried to walk around him.
    He turned towards me, “It’s ok”, he replied with what I was almost positive was a smile, “Most of us pay attention to where we’ve been or where we are headed. My policy is that it only matters where I’m at, and I can’t think of a better place to be right now than talking to a pretty girl, such as you.”
    Heat crept up my face as I began blushing. I could feel my cheeks fill with read and tried my hand at willing them not to do so. “Thanks, but seriously, there must be one other place you would rather be. At home in bed, maybe?” Immediately, I began to regret my words, my mouth was always getting me into trouble and now I knew he would think it was an invitation.
    “Well that depends”, he answered.
    “Oh? On what exactly?” Yep, I was right. Here it comes…
    “On whether or not you’ll be coming with me.” I knew he was going to say that. “But I’m fairly positive that you meant alone, so I think I would much rather hang out here with you.”
    “Here? On the corner? In the dark? You have got to be kidding me.” What is with this guy? I thought to myself. I really need to find a way to get to Dad’s office to lock the door. Crap! Oh! Idea! “Well, ok, but I have two conditions. One, you have to let me make a phone call so my dad doesn’t flip, and two, we walk to somewhere a bit lighter, maybe with somewhere to sit?”
    “Done”, he agreed. “Do you want some privacy for your call? I can walk a few buildings down, if you-“
    “No, let me”, I interrupted. I walked down to Dad’s office dialing the house with my right hand as I fished around for my keys in the purse with the other, as quietly as I could. Great, no answer. Guess I’ll have to leave a message. “Hi Dad, look, I know it’s a bit passed midnight, don’t freak. Stop freaking. I’m perfectly fine.” I had tried three keys in the door already without finding Dad’s office key. “I ran into a friend from school and we’re going to hang out for a while.” I tried a fourth key, which still didn’t work and was beginning to get annoyed with my father’s lack of responsibility when it came to keys. “Give me a call if you want any thing.” I finally found the right key and locked the door. I hung up the phone and slipped it and the keys back into my purse.

Chapter 1, Scene 1

2009-11-01T21:10:00.001-08:00

“I don’t understand why I can’t invite them”, I yelled at my father. “They’re my grandparents! You could at least let them see me turn eighteen! I’m the only grandchild they’ll ever have!”
    “It's just that they’re just not like us, Phoenix. They have different beliefs and, well, they’re just weird. I don’t want to call attention from the neighbors. I know how badly you want to see them, it‘s just not possible this time.”
    “You say that every time. I’m so tired of being treated like a kid. I don’t care what you say, they’re my family too, and I’m going to know them whether you say it’s ok or not!!!” I turned around and ran up the stairs to my room. He wouldn’t see me cry over this again.
    The problem with my dad was that he didn’t think my mom’s family was a good influence on me. My mom passed away when I was still very young and as a result, I haven’t seen any one from her side of them family since my second birthday. They still send me birthday and holiday cards every year, but never with a return address, at my father’s request, of course.
    But this time, it should be my choice. I’ll be 18. An adult. He simply can’t tell me who I can and can not spend time with any more. I wish I knew what the big deal was. I mean, it’s one thing if they were a group of psycho murderous rapist or something, but if they’re just a few weirdoes? And they’re not even really all that weird from what I understand, just pagan. They celebrate different holidays, big fucking deal. They prefer to see the Earth as sacred instead of some guy in the sky that no one can see. What’s wrong with that? I just don’t get it, you know?
    And that neighbor thing made me crazy. The nearest neighbors are at the end of the block and I was pretty sure one of them was a prostitute. Well, ok, maybe not an actual prostitute, maybe just a stripper. I think that’s enough to keep the “attention” off of us, right?
    I’ll bet my dad has their address somewhere in his files. I mean, he has to, otherwise, how would they know when we move if he doesn’t tell them? He wouldn’t keep in at the house though, but I’m sure it’s at his office, probably on his computer. I began thinking to myself.   If he won’t invite them for me, then I’ll just have to invite them for myself!
    I quit sulking and jumped off my bed, excited about my new plan. I opened up my cherry wood dresser and pulled out my black yoga pants and a black tank top. If I’m going to break into his office, I would do it right. I thought to myself. I slipped out of my jeans and sweatshirt and into my stealthy, and very chic (if I do say so myself) outfit and put on my lucky tennis shoes. I examined myself in the mirror. Well, if nothing else, I look way hot. Pleased with my appearance, I decided to get going.
    “Where are you planning on going at eleven o’clock at night?” Dad called from the couch. He couldn’t see me, luckily, but the man had ears like a hawk.
    “A walk. I need to chill and I can’t do it in my room. I’m sick of the house.” I wondered to myself why I didn’t just decide to sneak out. I was mad, but I didn’t want to scare him or have him worry about me or anything, I guess.
    “Do you have your cell phone?” He asked.
    “Yes, I’ll check at midnight if I’m not back.” Sometimes I hated how he made me check in, but my decision tonight made me decide not to fuss about it.
    Luckily dad’s office was just a few blocks away. The night air was dark and damp, almost misty. The sweet scent of night blooming Jasmine on the fence was amazing for my mood. This walk was new to me. The same walk I had made every day all four years of high school was completely transformed in the dark. The street lights are few and far between in this town and there are trees between the sidewalk and the street. The walls and fences to the right are often covered in vines. Ivy, night blooming Jasmine, Honeysuckle, you almost always found one of the three to your right. During the way it was an utterly mundane walk, but at night, the chain link fences, the cars, even the concrete seem to all but disappear. The stars and moon combined with the vines and trees turn the mundane into magic, bringing a warm sweet tunnel of trees into the city.
    I turned the corner and there it was. I dug through my seventeen keys (Dad has a bad habit of losing keys and locking them inside of cars and buildings, so I had copies of every one of his keys, for the house, office and car) and found my dad’s emergency office key and let myself in. The motion sensors on the lights turned the bright fluorescents on, temporarily blinding me. I forced myself to keep my eyes wide open knowing it would only be a few moments before they adjusted.
    I wandered slowly into my dad’s office and sat down at his computer desk. For a few minutes I just sat there, breathing, preparing myself for what I was going to do, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the deep green picture frame with the word Firebird (Firebird has been his nickname for me for as far back as I could remember) on the top, that I had given him in third grade for Christmas. It had a picture of me at my second birthday, sitting in my mom’s lap as I opened the present my parents had gotten me. I shook my head knowing my father’s password and thinking that maybe I should mention it in passing sometime. It would have been fairly obvious to anyone that broke into the office for computer files that Firebird should be the first guess.
    F-I-R-E-B-I-R-D. Enter. Now or never, girly. I started browsing files and found what I was looking for. ‘Personal Records and Contact Info’, it read. I opened it up and right there, virtually yelling at me from the screen, there it was. Just want I needed, ‘Pheo’s Grandparents’. Quickly I copied down all the info I needed, logged out and left. I walked out and began humming and then singing to myself. I was going to see my grandparents for the first time in 16 years soon, and I couldn’t be happier.