Part 3 (2/2)

”What do you want me to say? What will make it all right? You are what you are, Pallo. I can't change that, can I?”

He looked at the ground. ”No, you cannot change that. Nothing can change what I am.”

I took a step towards him, but he backed away. I found myself getting angry with him. ”You have some nerve, you know!” He looked up, a little shocked by my tone. ”You get defensive for me stating the obvious, and immediately a.s.sume that I can't see past it. Hey, thanks for thinking the best of me!” I poked his chest. ”You used your little vampire tricks on me and got me to fall head over heels in lo--” I stopped just short of the word love.

He perked up. ”I have used no tricks on you Gwyneth.”

I could tell that he was being honest with me. ”So, what does that mean?”

”It means that you do not see me as I see myself.” He bent and stopped just short of brus.h.i.+ng his lips past me.

I could feel my desire to be close to him growing. I could vividly picture the kiss we had shared in my dream. I didn't want to miss out on what could be the greatest thing in my life. I bent forward and planted my full lips onto his. He stumbled backwards and lost his footing. My hand came to my mouth as a little ”Oh” escaped my lips. I looked down at him in amazement.

He started laughing. ”Only you.... Only you!” he said, rising in an effortless motion.

My eyes widened. I couldn't believe my kissing him caught him so off guard that I knocked him flat on his a.s.s. I giggled. Pallo laughed as well, and the sound of his voice made me melt. This time he pulled me close to him, and brought his lips down onto mine. I felt his tongue makes its way into my mouth. It was cool and tasted sweet. I let my tongue circle his for a moment, drawing small sounds of pleasure from him as he wrapped his arms tighter around my body. Our heads dipped back and forth as our tongues dove in and out of each other's mouths, each exploring the other. I could find no traces of fangs anywhere. His mouth was as kissable as the next guy's--probably more so.

Pallo pulled slowly away. A tiny sound of disappointment escaped from my lips and he chuckled. ”Come, I have something for you.”

I looked at him as he took hold of my hand. He was so gentle with me. I knew that he had to be making every effort to be that way. From all the reading I had done on vamps, they possessed enormous strength. He could have crushed my hand in an instant if he had wanted to. I looked at him as he pulled me down the twisting stone path, deeper into the Enchanted Forest.

”What do you have for me?”

”Ah, I will show you, but first you must tell me what the one thing you want most in the world is.”

It was such a strange request that it caught me by surprise. I shrugged and said, ”A repeat performance?”

He laughed and pulled me into his body, lifted me from the ground, and spun me in a circle. ”You may have as many of those as you would like, but try to be serious for a moment. What is the one wish that you have always had?”

I thought about what he had asked. My mind raced, and then it hit me. ”To meet others like me.”

Pallo's eyes lit up. He extended his hand and brushed back a large tree limb to expose another sign. ”Welcome to the land of Faerie” was spelled out in gold lettering. I froze. He touched my arm, sliding behind me slowly, moving my hair aside to expose my neck to him. Kissing my neck, he whispered, ”This is for you.”

”But how?”

”Shhh. Do not question it, Gwyneth, just trust in me when I tell you that I created this for you.”

I believed. d.a.m.n it, I believed every word he said, and I knew why. It was because I had fallen for him. I didn't question how he created this before he even knew me, I didn't question anything. He had me now, and I'm sure he knew it. He eased my body forward and we crossed the threshold to Faerie Land. The sun beat down on us. I screamed and tried to push Pallo back out. He only laughed and stood his ground. He didn't burst into flames. That was a huge relief.

”It is not earthly sunlight. It will not harm me.”

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. ”I thought, I thought....”

”I was slightly concerned that you would want to see me turn to ashes.”

I gave him a stern look. ”That isn't funny and you know it.”

His laugh bellowed forth at me and was contagious. I laughed along with him until my ribs hurt. ”Oh, my silly Pallo, whatever shall I do with you?”

Pallo stopped laughing and looked at me. I didn't think the man could get any paler, but he managed it somehow. His eyes widened. ”What did you just say?”

I shrugged. ”What?”

He walked around me, staring at me from every angle. I turned to follow his gaze. ”Okay, this is just creepy.”

”Yes, Gwyneth, even I will agree with you on that one.”

”Pallo?”

He shook his head and reached for my hand. ”Some habits cannot be broken by even the worst of circ.u.mstances.”

I took his hand and looked at him, puzzled. I wanted to ask him about that statement but he directed us down a small path. Little cottages lined a cobblestone walkway. Each cottage's chimney had smoke bellowing out of it, giving it that cozy appearance. Along the pathway, older faerie men and women were in the process of conducting their daily lives. All of the fairies I saw looked nothing like me. The tallest was maybe four foot high. Some women were sitting together working on a quilt, and others were knitting. Two older faerie men pa.s.sed us riding in a wagon being pulled by two brown Kelpies. I had only ever seen Kelpies in a book before, so I reached my hand out to touch one. They looked very similar to a domestic horse, and probably had could have pa.s.sed for one unless someone noticed their eyes. Their eyes were bright green and had a wondrous glow-in-the-dark quality to them. When my hand brushed the soft coat of the Kelpie, its color went from brown to gray. I drew my hand back quickly, unsure if I had caused that. The smaller of the two men on the wagon chuckled.

”Don't you worry none 'bout him, he does that when he likes someone.” His voice was lower than I would have expected from someone his size. I saw that he had a small amount of facial hair. I looked to Pallo and let my mind ponder the fact that I had always been told that fairies were tall, slim, had long hair, and no facial hair. Pallo, being the champ-vamp that he was, answered me before I could ask the question.

”There are many forms of fairies here.” He looked so pleased with himself for bringing me here. He knew that I would enjoy this. He took my hand and led me further down the path. We came upon a small stone bridge with a small stream running below it.

”I suppose you even managed to hire a few trolls to jump out from under the bridge at park guests?” I looked up and noticed the wind moving his brown semi-curls from his chiseled face.

He gave me a mischievous grin. ”Not all the creatures in the park are employees.” I could hear the truth to his words, but couldn't make sense of them.

”My dear Gwyneth, for reasons unto myself I created a portal here to the faerie realm. I offer them safe pa.s.sage and in return, they allow guests to walk among them.” He held my hand tighter as he told me this.

The cool touch of his skin comforted me. I stared at him a minute and knew that this place was as close to daylight as he would ever be able to get with me. I wanted this moment to last forever. As silly as it sounds, I envisioned the two of us growing old and raising a family together. Nothing like just meeting a guy, and instantly hooking a ball and chain around his leg--great, now I was clinging and desperate for a husband.

I was. .h.i.t with another vision. This one did not feel like it had ever taken place. It felt like I was bearing witness to someone's deepest desire. Not just any someone, but me. I pictured Pallo placing his hand on my lower stomach. It was big and round. My s.h.i.+rt was pulled high, exposing it to him. His face slid down and he rubbed his cheek against my swelling belly. He kissed it, and I knew that this life in me was ours. I was so in love with him and with the idea of starting our family. I was giddy.

I stopped for a moment and raised up, giving him a surprise peck on the cheek. I felt the vision slide from my head and into his. I tried mentally blocking it from going, but it was too late. He pulled back from me quickly. A look of shock ripped through his devilish good looks. Before he was able to respond to me, Caradoc appeared out of thin air beside us.

”Master, your services are needed immediately.”

Pallo nodded. ”Thank you. And Caradoc, there is no need to call me master.”

”Sorry,” he said, stepping back, giving Pallo and me more privacy.

I was so embarra.s.sed I wanted to crawl under a rock and die. ”I'm sorry. That was too much, I know. I bet you're going to find this hard to believe, but I'm not trying to snag a husband and--”

He put a finger to my lips. ”You've done nothing wrong. I must see to this minor detail. Would you like me to have Caradoc stay with you?” He motioned to Caradoc and he stepped forward. Caradoc looked a little uneasy about being volunteered to baby-sit me. Who could blame the guy? I had already d.a.m.n near staked him once tonight.

”No, I'm fine. Go ahead. I can find my way back to the main house.” I felt something sink in the pit of my stomach. He took my hand to his lips.

”I shall be thinking of you, Gwyneth,” he said.

I watched them head toward the entrance of the Faerie Land. The irony of two studs walking in a place called Faerie Land struck me. I let out a laugh. It echoed and came back to me louder. I turned around. Bushes lined the stone path on the other side of the bridge. I was almost positive that laughter was coming from there. I stopped and listened hard for a moment. Then I heard it again. It was my voice echoing back at me. I started across the bridge to investigate.

Something seized my right ankle and pulled me off of my feet. My shoulders. .h.i.t the ground first, then the back of my head. Something big and hairy grew close. My eyes widened as I made out the faint shape of pointy green ears under the piles upon piles of ratty long hair that covered the beast like a sheepdog. The dark greenish creature reeked of stagnant water and started to pull me towards it. I caught a glimpse of its beady yellow eyes under a veil of hair and realized I was staring into the face of a troll. It snarled at me and s.n.a.t.c.hed at my neck. I did what any normal girl would do. I kicked that thing as hard as I could. My foot struck its upper arm, bounding off like I'd kicked a steel wall. Pain shot up my leg. I was pretty sure I'd just broken my toes, but at that moment I had bigger issues to worry about.

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