Clueless, p.9
Clueless, page 9
The guard looked relieved and dashed back to his post at the dormitory.
Grey turned and saw his brothers headed his way.
“Grey, what’s up? You look stunned,” Kai said.
“The humans are refusing to come out of the dormitory until they’ve had breakfast and fresh clothes,” Grey explained.
“That seems simple enough,” Erin said. He waved his hand and knew the food was now ready for them in the dormitory and that fresh clothes in their appropriate sizes had appeared on their beds. “We’ll have to remember to do that every day,” Erin said.
“Zephyr told me that two of the ladies they brought back last night were a bit older than the others,” Kai said.
“That’s fine. We can still have them in the market with the other humans and just send them home again in a few days. They’ll probably enjoy the break from their mundane lives that we’re giving them,” Erin said with a smile.
Kai laughed, but Grey wasn’t so sure. He could feel more problems headed their way.
“Hey, do you smell that?” Penny asked. “It smells like food.” He dashed off, following the smell and found a refectory with the tables covered with food. “Hey, everyone, there’s food in here,” he yelled out.
He heard everyone walking down to join him and then heard a few gasps when they saw the food — brightly coloured food that looked nothing like anything they had back home.
Everyone walked in and headed for the tables. Grace had taken charge of the little boys and was placing some of the strange looking food on their plates.
Molly came in last and said, “We have clean clothes on our beds, as well.”
“Okay, we’ll all eat, get washed and dressed, and then head outside and see how we can get home,” Thane said.
Everyone agreed, and after some trepidation over the colourful strange food, dug into their breakfasts. Considering no one knew what they were eating, it tasted nice.
CHAPTER 22
Merlyn woke the next morning wrapped in Florian’s arms. He looked at Florian, and when he saw his mate was awake and staring at him, he smiled.
“Morning, Florry,” he said, leaning forward and kissing him.
“Morning, Merl,” Florian said, pulling away slightly and rubbing his nose against Merlyn’s. “How are you feeling today?”
“Perfect. You?”
“Fantastic,” Florian said with a grin. “If all matings are like that, I can see why fairies want to find their mates.”
Merlyn laughed. “I’m not sure all fairy matings will be the same. I’m a wolf, so I had to bite you to make you mine,” he said, stroking the silver scar of the bite mark he’d left on Florian’s shoulder.
Florian smiled. “No. We don’t bite.”
“But you did cover us with super-cool fairy dust, and I got to see your amazing rainbow wings.”
“So true. They are amazing, aren’t they?” Florian said, smiling.
“And they match your hair so well.”
“Yep. All fairies’ hair matches their wings,” Florian explained.
“So cool,” Merlyn said. “I thought they might feel rough, but they were so soft.”
“And let’s not forget strong.” he said. “But to bring us both back down to earth for a moment, have you decided to go to work today or do you want to come with me to the fairy realm?”
Merlyn sighed. “I’m scared my family will find me, but I ran once before, and I can’t run now.” He smiled. “I have friends now who will be able to help me.”
“I can help, as well,” Florian said.
“I know you can, but I want you safe,” Merlyn said.
“I’ll be safe, Merl. I have my fairy magic that can help,” Florian assured him. “Plus, while you’re at work, I can pop back and see the big guy and find out a way you can get to the fairy realm quickly if I’m not around.”
“Okay, Florry.” He knew Florian was worried about his safety, and if he and the king of the fairies could come up with a quick way of Merlyn getting safely to the fairy realm, he was all for it.
Florian smiled. “Perfect. Now, how long do you have before you have to get up?”
Merlyn glanced over his shoulder at his clock. “Twenty minutes. You?”
“The same,” Florian replied.
“Just enough time for this then,” Merlyn said, leaning in and giving Florian a kiss. Florian groaned and rolled onto his back with Merlyn lying on top of him.
Breakfast had been eaten and everyone washed and dressed, and they were now all ready to brave the outside. Thane pushed open the main door, and they all headed out.
The fairy guards stepped forward to stop them going very far.
“I demand to speak to the person in charge,” Thane said.
“That would be me,” a voice said from behind the guards, who parted and allowed three men to step forward. “I am King Erin. This is my brother, Regent Grey, and this is my youngest brother, General Kai.”
“I’m DCI Thane Roberts. You’ve kidnapped all of us, and we demand you let us leave here and go home.”
“I’m sorry,” King Erin said. “At the moment, that isn’t possible.”
“Why not?” Thane asked angrily, crossing his arms over his chest.
“You are all here because you accepted something free from a fairy. This created a magical connection. As such, we used that connection to bring you here.” Erin explained.
“Why?” Thane asked again.
“Because they are sick freaks,” shouted Perry.
“No, because we are dying,” Regent Grey said softly.
“Explain,” Thane commanded.
“The fairy race is dying out. No true mates have been found for nearly five hundred years, and because of that, no children have been born,” Grey told him.
“You can’t have children?” Thane asked.
“Not without a true mate pairing,” Grey answered.
“We decided this was the only way to find our mates,” King Erin said.
“And it worked,” General Kai said, smiling.
Erin and Grey turned to look at him. “What do you mean?” Erin asked.
Kai stepped forward and stood in front of Thane. “I felt my magic flare. You are my true mate.”
Thane stood stock still for a moment, then suddenly pulled his arm back and punched Kai in the face. The fairy dropped unconscious to the ground, and Thane rubbed his hand.
“You hit him!” Grey exclaimed, bending down to tend to his brother.
“Yes, I did,” Thane said. “I don’t take kindly to being kidnapped and told I’m someone’s mate.” He looked at the fallen man, fairy, whatever. So much for being a general. He couldn’t even block a punch.
“But—” Grey started to say, but Thane cut him off.
“I don’t want to hear it. I want to know when we can all go back to our own homes, families, and jobs.”
“Not until you’ve all been brought to the market so the single fairies can come and check to see if their magic flares with anyone,” the king explained.
Before Thane could speak, Molly and Dolly stepped forward. Molly laid her hand on Thane’s arm.
“Dearie ducks,” Dolly said. “What does your mother think about all this, about you kidnapping all of us?”
“I don’t have a mother, just two fathers,” Erin replied.
“Well, what do your fathers think then?” Dolly asked.
“I’ve not told them,” Erin admitted.
Grey spun around and looked at Erin. He’d thought their parents knew of this plan but decided to hold his peace for the moment since he and Erin couldn’t very well have an argument out here in front of the humans.
“I think we need to sit down and have a chat, don’t you, dearie ducks?” Dolly said.
Erin nodded. “We can go and chat while the others go to the market.”
“No, we can go for a chat and the others can go back inside the dorm and wait for us to get back,” Molly said.
“But they need to go to the market so the other fairies can see if anyone here is their mate,” Lee said, who had just walked over to join them.
“No, they don’t, dearie ducks,” Dolly said gently. “Let them all stay here, and we can have our chat first.”
“But…” the king started to speak. However, he stopped when he heard his brother groaning.
Kai slowly woke up. His jaw was killing him. He couldn’t believe his fated mate had punched him. He slowly sat up, rubbing his jaw. Grey held his hand out to pull Kai up, so Kai took it and stood.
“Okay?” Grey enquired.
“Fine,” Kai growled out, staring at his mate.
Thane just smirked but didn’t say anything.
“Come on, dearie ducks. Let’s go somewhere for that chat,” Dolly said, walking forward and patting the king’s arm.
“Very well, follow me, and we can go back to my office,” Erin replied. He turned, took hold of Lee’s hand, and headed to the palace and his office with Molly, Dolly, Thane, and his brothers. The other humans went back into the dormitory to wait and see what the outcome of the meeting would be.
CHAPTER 23
Andrew smiled. He’d hired someone to track the runt. He had no idea how they’d done it, but they had found his phone number and passed it on to Andrew. He also had a basic location for him now.
He had messaged Merlyn saying they were close to finding him when, in actual fact, he knew where Merlyn was. Not the exact location, but he now knew the city he had moved to—Winchester, the ancient capital of England and somewhere he had never visited. He went on the internet to see what he could discover about the place. It looked like his son had been smart. It was a university city with a Norman Cathedral and the round table from the legendary King Arthur, which made it a visitor hot spot. His son could easily get lost there. They would all have to go there and see if they could track him down.
He sent a message to Gareth and David, telling them to pack and be ready to leave within the next two hours. They were going ‘runt’ hunting.
Merlyn was happy, so happy he could hardly keep the smile off his face, and Florian was practically bouncing with happiness.
“Well, you two look happy,” Penny commented by way of a greeting as they all met up outside of Penny and Daniel’s apartment block.
“That would be because we are,” Florian replied.
“Oh my goodness! You mated last night, didn’t you?” Daniel asked with a smile.
“Yep, we did,” Merlyn replied, grabbing Florian’s hand and raising it to his lips to kiss.
“Congratulations,” Penny said. “How was it?”
“Perfect,” Merlyn and Florian replied at the same time.
Penny laughed, and Daniel gave a small smile.
“Congratulations to the both of you,” Daniel said. “Are you coming into work today?”
“Yep, I’m safe at work, and Florry has to go to see his king.”
“Fair enough,” Penny said as the four of them walked down the road in the direction of the coffee shop.
Once there, they all walked inside. Florian gave Merlyn a quick kiss and headed off to the staff room. Merlyn knew he was off to see his king.
Daniel was ordering muffins for the office and coffee for the three of them.
Eric boxed up the muffins, then looked at Merlyn. His eyes went wide for a moment, then he smiled. “Congratulations on your mating.”
Merlyn smiled, “Thanks.”
“Your order today is on the house,” Jack said.
Daniel laughed. “Yeah. No, I think I will pay for it, thanks.”
Eric, Leon, and Jack laughed at that.
“Well, you can’t blame us for trying, your yumminess,” Leon replied.
Daniel blushed as Penny and Merlyn laughed.
“Here you go,” Daniel said, handing over some money.
Leon rang up the purchases and gave Daniel his change back.
“Thanks,” Daniel said, picking up the box of muffins and a coffee that he passed to Penny, and then one to Merlyn before picking up his own.
“See you all tomorrow,” Daniel said, heading for the door.
“Will do,” Jack replied before turning to look at Merlyn. “Congratulations again.”
Merlyn smiled. “Thanks,” he said and followed Daniel and Penny outside.
The walk to work didn’t take long with both Penny and Daniel teasing Merlyn about being mated to a fairy.
“Mated?” Felix enquired. He was already hard at work at his desk. “Merl, you and Florian mated last night?”
Merlyn blushed and smiled. “Yep, double claimed.”
“What’s double claimed?” Jay asked, walking in with Lionel.
“Not a what, a who. Merlyn and Florian,” Felix said. “They got it on last night.”
“Congratulations”, Jay said, sitting on the edge of his desk. “We need details, my friend.”
Merlyn blushed and laughed. “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen, but I will say Florian’s wings match his hair.”
“That’s it?” Lionel asked. “That’s all we get?”
“‘Fraid so. What Florian and I shared was magical and perfect.”
Felix and Jay sighed.
“One day we can be so lucky,” Jay said.
“Yeah, one day,” Felix agreed softly.
Just then, Kendel walked in and took one look at Merlyn. Just like the others, Kendel noticed the changes in his aura, which now sparkled because of the mating fairy dust, and he smiled. “Congratulations on your mating, Merlyn.”
“Thanks, Kendel,” Merlyn replied, smiling.
“Muffins are here,” Daniel said, holding up the box. Before anyone could move, Peter was there snatching the box out of Daniel’s hand.
“Share the love, Peter,” Kendel said sternly but with a twinkle in his eyes.
“But… I haven’t named them yet,” Peter said, stroking the box.
Kendel sighed and walked to Peter. “Hand it over and no one gets sacked.”
Peter’s eyes widened and he thrust the box into Kendel’s hand.
Kendel opened the box. “You can take one, but no naming them.”
Peter chuckled and grabbed one, walking over and setting it on his desk, mock scowling at Kendel.
Kendel just laughed, put the box down, and picked up two muffins. He handed one to Felix, and the other he kept for himself.
Felix noted that Kendel had handed him his favourite one. He shyly smiled at Kendel, who smiled back at him.
“Okay, people, back to work,” Kendel said. “Merlyn, if you need anything, you know where I am.”
“I do. Thanks, Kendel,” Merlyn answered him.
CHAPTER 24
King Erin took everyone to his office, and they all sat in the lounge area. Refreshments had been served, and finally, Erin was ready to talk to the humans. Just as he was about to start, the door opened and his fathers walked in.
“Dad, Papa, what are you both doing here?” Erin asked, jumping up to greet them. Grey and Kai followed.
“Sorry, son, we didn’t realise you were in a meeting,” his dad said, hugging Erin, then Grey and Kai.
“And with humans,” his papa commented, hugging his sons, as well.
“Yeah, we’re dealing with some issues,” Grey said.
“What issues? What’s wrong?” Papa asked.
“Well, dearie ducks, come and sit with us and we can fill you in,” Dolly said.
“Dad, Papa, this is Molly Lush, Dolly Dicker, and Thane Roberts,” Erin said, introducing everyone. “And this is my mate, Lee Welling. Everyone, this is our Dad Rune, and Papa Lacey.”
“Rune was the fairy king before he retired and Erin took over,” Kai explained.
Everyone said, “Hello,” with Lee getting a hug from both Rune and Lacey.
They settled back down when Lacey said, “Kai, what happened to your face?”
Kai tried not to look at Thane or blush. “I met my mate and he punched me in the face. Had me flat out.”
“Why?” Rune enquired.
“Probably because he isn’t thrilled with the fact that he’s been kidnapped and is being held here against his will,” Thane said angrily.
“What do you mean kidnapped?” Lacey asked, a hint of anger in his voice.
“I think it would be best to start at the beginning with your side of things,” Molly said, looking at the king, “and then we can tell our side.”
“We wanted to do something to help fairies find their mates. As you know, no fairy has found their true mate in five hundred years. So, we decided to open a coffee shop in the human realm,” Erin explained.
Rune groaned. “Because if you offer something for free and it’s accepted, a magical bond is formed, and you can whisk them off to this realm.”
“Exactly,” Lee said. “It was the perfect plan, and it worked. We have just under a hundred humans here already.”
“And what are you going to do with the humans?” Lacey asked.
“Bring them to the market square and have them stand there for all single fairies to come and look them over to see if their magic flares,” Erin said. “We also have a couple of young children here, and I know several fairies who are desperate to have children.”
“For God’s sake,” Thane said angrily. “Can’t you see how wrong this is?”
“What is to happen to any human who isn’t the true mate of a fairy,” Lacey asked.
“We wipe their memory and send them home,” Kai said.
Rune rubbed his hand down his face. “And what of those who find their mates?”
“They stay here and live happily with their mate,” Lee said softly.
“The hell I will,” Thane shouted. “I have a job I love, family, and friends. There is no way I will stay here.”
Kai flinched but didn’t say anything. Molly put her hand on Thane’s arm to try and calm him down.
“Can’t you see how wrong this is?” she asked gently. “You’ve taken humans from their homes, their families, friends, and jobs. If they find mates, they will stay here, and if they don’t, they are mind wiped and sent home. This is not acceptable. Now, I don’t want your race to die out, but this is not the way to go about it. You’re basically selling us in a market and then holding us captive forever.”
