I have the first couple of chapters for this story written and I'll post them as I finish proofreading. I'd love to hear your feedback while I figure out where I'm taking this whole thing.
I do not own the characters; they are the property of Charlaine Harris.
A Fairy Tale - Chapter 2
I wake up the next morning to the sound of my phone ringing. I grab it from my night table and see that it's Mr. Cataliades and it's already 11:00. I finally fell asleep last night around one, but it was not a peaceful sleep. I keep waking up either from nightmares starring Dermot or dreams starring Aiden. I give myself a shake and try to clear the sleep from my voice before answering, "Hello, Mr. Cataliades."
"Good morning, Sookie. How are you?" He responds.
"Pretty good, thanks for returning my call so quickly."
"I assume you are calling about your inheritance from your great-grandfather?" he asks.
I go on to tell him about the letter Niall left me and ask what I'm supposed to do from here, and he tells me I will need to come to New Orleans. Great, I have so many wonderful memories of that city, I think bitterly.
"Would you be able to get some time off this weekend to come meet me? I could send a car for you on Friday, we can get everything squared away on Saturday, and you can be on your way back to Bon Temps by Sunday morning," he asks, seeming to pick up on my reluctance to spend much time in New Orleans.
I agree and he tells me a car will be here on Friday by 10 am. We say our good byes and hang up. Now I need to fill Sam in and get time off for the weekend. I find Sam's number in my phone and give him a call. He answers pleasantly, "Good morning, Sookie! What's up?"
"Hi, Sam." I cut right to the chase saying, "I hate to ask but I need to go to New Orleans this weekend and was wondering if I could switch some shifts around."
"New Orleans? What's this about, Sook? Your not getting yourself dragged into some Vamp bullshit are you?" Sam's a great friend, and he does always look out for me, but I'm starting to get sick of him constantly judging what I do. And besides, I still haven't heard a word from any of my vampires...
"No, no, nothing like that. It has to do with the letter I got from Niall." I fill Sam in on the contents of the letter, even telling him about Aiden and our meeting scheduled for this afternoon. He questions me a bit about meeting with Aiden on my own, but I reassure him that it will be fine.
"Well, lets see," I can hear him moving through the bar making his way to his office. "You're on the schedule for lunch Friday and dinner Saturday, but if you double up the next two days and take Holly and Maddie's shifts, I'm sure they'd cover for you."
"Oh thanks Sam, I'll call them right now and see if it's ok." I don't think Maddie and Holly will have a problem with switching. I've covered for Holly quite a few times over the past months; since my social life hasn't exactly been demanding it was never an issue for me. And as the new girl, I can't imagine Maddie giving me a hard time either.
"You be careful today, and call me if you need anything, ok?" Sam says.
"I will, Sam, thanks. See you tomorrow."
I call Maddie and Holly and get everything straightened out. As expected they were totally fine with it. Now that that's all taken care of, I hop out of bed and head for the shower to get ready for my day with Aiden. After much contemplation of what would be appropriate attire, I settle on a pair of low-rise jeans that hug my curves nicely and a pink, v-neck, t-shirt that shows off my assets without looking slutty. Ever since my kidnapping I can't bring myself to show much skin. I can barely see the scars anymore for the most part, but I knew they're there, especially on my legs. I cringe as I think about the pieces of flesh the fairies filleted from my legs. I pull myself together though and blow-dry my hair straight, apply a bit of makeup, and give myself a satisfied once-over, then head for the kitchen to get lunch ready for Aiden's arrival.
I find Amelia in the kitchen who informs me that she has prepared chicken salad sandwiches and a bowl a fruit for me and Aiden.
"Thanks, Amelia, you're the best!" I say. "I got a hold of Mr. Catalaides this morning and I'm going to New Orleans on Friday to meet with him."
Amelia absorbs that, and then tentatively asks, "Sookie, would you mind if I tag along? I haven't been to the city to check on my house in a while and I'd really like to see how things are going."
"Of course you can come! It would be nice to have the company. Mr. Catalaides is sending a car to pick me up at 10 on Friday morning and we'll be back sometime on Sunday."
A big smile stretches across Amelia' face and she beams, "Oh thanks Sookie! Hey, maybe we can even get out on the town a bit while we're there, have a little fun!" I haven't seen Amelia excited about anything other than her new vacuum in months, so I'm really happy about the idea of her going with me. I vow to myself that I'll forget about my worries of any bad things to come and try to make it a fun weekend with my friend. God knows we could both use something to cheer us up.
"That sounds great!" I say. "I'm just meeting with Mr. Cataliades on Saturday afternoon so we should definitely have some free time to get out and about."
"Great, well, I'm gonna run. Your beau should be here soon, right?" she asks with a wink.
I shake my head at her insinuation and say, "Yeah, he said he'd be here around 12:30. Thanks again for making lunch for us!" And with that we say goodbye and Amelia's off.
Not too long after she leaves, I hear Aiden's car crunching down my driveway. He's driving some sort of black SUV, which he parks in the front of the house, so I step out on the front porch to greet him. I'm once again stunned at how good-looking he is. He's dressed simply in a pair of jeans and a blue- grey t-shirt, which I notice matches his eyes perfectly. Before I get caught up in his appearance again, I reign in my thoughts and smile in greeting.
"Hi Aiden, no problem finding the place I guess?"
He smiles in return and climbs up the steps of the front porch, "Hey Sookie, nope no problem finding it. This is a great home you have here." He gives my house a long appraising glance as he approaches.
"Thanks," I say in return. "Come on in." I lead Aiden into the house through the family room and into the kitchen. I tell him to have a seat and pour us both some sweet tea. He begins asking me about myself, how long I've lived here, about my family, that sort of thing. I fill him in on my family - losing my parents and being raised by my Gran. I tell him a bit about Jason (not the werepanther part).
"So you don't have much family left in the area then?" I notice his voice has a sort of sad tone, but really I've never had much family to speak of so I try not to get too caught up in it.
"Well I don't have much family left period. Jason's really all I've got now that Niall and my cousin, Claude, are gone." I purposely leave Claudine out; talking about her would not help me keep my upbeat tone. I figure its best to turn the conversation to him, so I ask, "how about you? Tell me about your family and where you're from."
"I was born in Ireland but moved to the US when I was 8. My parents died when I was 2 and my Aunt Fina and Uncle Gavin raised me. They never had any children of their own, so my Aunt and Uncle are the only family I've ever really known. I have some relatives in Ireland still, but I haven't seen any of them since we moved," he tells me. I find that a little curious. Why would they leave their home and never return, not even a visit?
"You've never gone back to visit?" I ask.
"No, Aunt Fina didn't think it was safe for me in Ireland, so we never went back." Aiden seems to hesitate for a moment, and then goes on, "I should really start from the beginning I guess so you understand. My mother, Caera, was part fae. I don't really know how much because she never spoke of it to my Aunt Fina – she's my father's sister – and she didn't have any family that my Aunt and Uncle knew of. When I was 2, Aunt Fina was watching me one night while my parents were out. They were killed that night in a sudden landslide. It's not unheard of to have landslides in Ireland, especially in the East where we lived, but it was unusual for the time of year, so Aunt Fina went to the site the next day to do her own investigating. She's a powerful Celtic witch and when she got to the area she picked up on some strong fae magic. She knew then that the landslide wasn't a natural event and had been caused by the fae."
I couldn't believe what he was telling me. Aiden's parents were killed by fairies just like mine. I wonder if his parents' deaths were the result of Baendon's people too, if they spent their time taking out all of the part-fae families they could find? I didn't know the truth about how my parents died until Thing One and Thing Two were reminiscing about it during my kidnapping; I had always assumed it was just an accident. Based on what Aiden is saying, I wouldn't be surprised if there were more families out there who were torn apart by the fairies hatred of part-humans.
"Do you know who was responsible?" I ask.
"No, we never found out, but after that Aunt Fina was worried about the fae coming after me as well. When I got a little older and my telepathy was getting more noticeable to outsiders, she thought it best for us to leave in case they ever came back for me. That's why we moved to California. I never even met another fairy until I met your great-grandfather. My Aunt knew about them, they are prominent in Irish mythology and have a history in that area, so she figured we were less likely to be discovered if we moved to the US. So that's where I spent the rest of my life: on a beautiful ranch outside of Monterey."
"I just found out recently the truth about my parents' deaths," I explain. "We always thought it was an accident, a flash flood that their car got stuck in. But about five months ago, a group of fairies kidnapped me, and I overheard the two that had me talking about how they had killed my parents. They were water-fae and had the ability to control the river with they're magic." I shudder remembering the time of my kidnapping.
Aiden seems to notice my unease and he reaches across the table and places a hand over mine saying, "I'm so sorry about what happened to you. Niall told me what those two did; I can't even imagine the courage it must have taken you to get out of there alive. I can't change the past, but I can help you learn how to protect yourself so nothing like that will ever happen to you again," he says sincerely. The feel of his warm hand against mine is comforting, and sends little butterflies dancing around my stomach.
"Thank you, Aiden," I say and give him a smile, trying to pull myself back into the present. He slips his hand back to grab his glass. "About that, being able to help me, Niall said in his letter that you could teach me to use my fae magic, what sort of magic is that?" I ask.
He smiles back and stands up, "Let me show you" he says. I follow him into my family room where he stands in front of the fireplace. "You said the ones who kidnapped you were water-fae. We are all tied more strongly to one of the four natural elements: earth, wind, fire, or water. My tie is to fire," he explains with a gleam in his eye.
I watch as Aiden reaches his hands out in front of himself toward my fireplace. It's already set with logs and kindling, just waiting for the next cool day. He closes his eyes for a moment keeping his arms outstretched, and then suddenly the fire roars to life. I jump back, startled, and he turns and flashes me that crinkle-eyed smile.
"That's amazing!" I exclaim as Aiden walks back over to where I'm standing.
"I grew up around magic, and my Aunt trained me in Wicca, but I've always had an affinity toward fire. I can create fire and control it without any incantations. I imagine that is the fae in me," he explains. "Do you know which element your people are tied to?"
I think back to what Niall, Claude, and Claudine had told me in the past. "My great-grandfather said we were of the sky people. Niall means cloud and the rest of my family has sky names, too."
"Ah, then you must be tied to the air element. We'll have to do some experimenting to see what you will be able to do with that. I'll read up on it and see what I can come up with for you to try next time we get together." Aiden turns back to the fireplace holding up his hands again, and just as suddenly as it started, the fire is extinguished.
"I'll also be able to help you develop your telepathy more. Aunt Fina really embraced my ability and encouraged me to learn better control over it. I think I can help you to shield your thoughts better," he says and I blush remembering the embarrassing thoughts he overheard in Merlotte's. "Don't worry," he continues, looking in my eyes and smiling at me, "I've enjoyed everything I've heard so far."
That just makes me blush even deeper. I keep my shield in place and try to change the subject. "So, um, have you had lunch yet? Amelia made some chicken salad."
Aiden laughs and says, "That sounds great."
I lead him back into the kitchen, glad to have something to occupy myself, I start pulling out everything to put our lunch together. Aiden sits back down at the table and I say, "So tell me about your life in Monterey."
Aiden tells me that his Aunt runs a Wiccan store in Monterey, and she and his Uncle own a large ranch with horses and gardens where they grow herbs for her shop. Aiden has a house in the town and works at her shop as well, but his specialty is in crystals and gemstones.
"I always found them fascinating. So when I finished high school I went to the University of Calfornia and majored in geology. Now, I'm in charge of the crystals and gems for Aunt Fina's shop. I do the purchasing, and sometimes I travel to find specific pieces myself, and I do most of the carvings too."
When I finish getting our lunch together, I sit across from him again and we continue talking. I tell him about Bon Temps and all the local attractions, filling him in on some of the town's people and the local gossip. He tells me about his Aunt and Uncle's ranch and the beautiful seaside cliffs in Monterey. He's so easy to talk to, I feel instantly comfortable around him. Before we know it, a few hours have passed and we're still chatting when I hear Amelia's car approaching. She comes in the back door laden with bags from just about every shop in Shreveport.
"Hi, Amelia," I say jumping up to help her with her bags. "Looks like a pretty successful shopping day."
She laughs and says, "Yeah, I think I bought out half of Shreveport."
"Amelia, this is Aiden. Aiden, my roommate, Amelia," I introduce them as I stash some of the bags on the counter for her.
"Hi Aiden, it's great to meet you. I'm sorry to interrupt your afternoon," Amelia says, turning to me with an apologetic look.
"Nice to me you too, Amelia. Thanks for making us lunch, it was great," he responds politely.
"I was just going to make some tea," I say. "Why don't you sit down and join us?"
Amelia agrees so I get started setting up the kettle. Her and Aiden lapse into easy conversation which soon turns to the topic of magic. I sit and sort of half listen, feeling like they're speaking a foreign language. I start recapping my day, thinking about what a nice guy Aiden seems to be. He's so friendly and easy to talk to, and of course he's great looking. Ever since the day Bill Compton walked into Merlotte's I stopped thinking about the possibility of dating a normal human guy, but I can't help revisiting the idea after my day with Aiden. We've spent the whole day together and I haven't heard any of his thoughts. I've barely even had to think about keeping my shields up. I assume he's been blocking me like he did when we first met, so I decide to drop my shields and see if he is or not. I can hear Amelia's loud thoughts as usual; right now she's thinking about magic that I don't understand. From Aiden though, I don't hear anything. He seems to notice me trying though, and he catches my eye and gives me a quick wink. Just then, Amelia pulls me into the discussion.
"So what kind of abilities do you think Sookie might have?" Amelia asks. I'm curious about his answer myself, so I start paying closer attention.
"I'm not really sure yet. I think her affinity is to the air element though, so I plan to have her try some things out next time I'm here. I'm thinking she might be able to move objects, that sort of thing."
"Do you think she'll be able to poof?" Amelia asks excitedly.
Hmm, that would be pretty cool. I never thought I would be able to do anything like that. I look over at Aiden and he looks pretty lost. "Poof? What do you mean by that?" he asks.
"Oh, well her fairy relatives were able to 'poof' from place to place, you know like teleport," Amelia explains.
Aiden seems to take that in and says, "I don't know, I'll definitely look into it though. Do you practice much elemental magic, Amelia?" he asks, and they're off again.
After a while, the conversation seems to slow down, and Amelia announces, "Well, I'm gonna head upstairs and get these bags put away. It was nice talking with you, Aiden."
"You too, Amelia," he responds and Amelia gathers her day's spoils and leaves the room, but not before giving me a quick eyebrow wiggle.
"Your friend is a very enthusiastic witch," Aiden says, then adds, rubbing his temples, "and quite a loud thinker."
I laugh and agree with him on both accounts. "Amelia is seriously into her magic and is one of the loudest broadcasters I've encountered; my friend Barry and I would have rated her as a 10 on our scale."
Aiden freezes with his fingers still on his temples and gives me a wide-eyed look. "You have a friend who's a telepath?" he questions.
"Yes, he's the first telepath I ever met. I found him when I was doing some work for the area vampires. He worked at the hotel where we were staying in Dallas. Since then he's gone to work for the Texas vamps full time," I explain.
Aiden looks at me a bit uneasily, and then says, "Niall told me you were involved with some vampires. In fact he said you have a lot of supernatural friends. What sort of work do you do for them?"
"Well, I use my telepathy for them. It started when my ex-boyfriend, Bill, took me to a local vampire bar..." I tell him about my first job for Eric, then about Dallas, and finally Rhodes. When I mention the summit he interrupts me.
"I heard about that. You saved a lot of lives that day. I've always kept my telepathy a secret, it was really brave of you to put yourself out there like that," he says.
"Barry was with me in Rhodes, too. We were really afraid we would get discovered, but we just had to do something to help. We found that when we were in contact, it sort of magnified our ability and we were able to zero in on people much more easily then we could have on our own," I explain. "Someone from the FBI did come looking for me though, to try and get me to work for them. They identified me from a picture and tracked me down. They weren't able to find Barry though, and I haven't heard back from them since."
Aiden seems to digest that for a second and then says, "I'd really like to see what we can do with our telepathy if we work together. I think I will be able to show you a few things, but it sounds like you will be able to teach me a thing or two as well." He smiles then goes on, "I think I'd better call it a day now, though. We can get started on our experiments next time."
"Sure, thank you so much for coming over today, and for coming all the way from California just to help me," I say.
"I'm really happy that I did," he replies. "I had a great time today. I'm glad your grandfather found me and sent me to you."
Aiden gets up and takes his mug to the sink, and I walk him back to the front of the house. Once we're out on the front porch, he leans in and places a gentle kiss on my cheek, lingering there for a moment. He steps back and looks into my eyes saying, "I had a wonderful time today, Sookie."
His lips were soft and warm against my skin, and his gaze was mesmerizing. I felt a bit dazed, as if I'd been glamoured. It was ridiculous that such a small contact could affect me so much. But it had been so long since I'd been kissed by anyone in any way, and my body was tingling from the feeling, and wanting so much more. Before I could gather my thoughts and make any intelligent reply, his lips quirked up into a smile and he said, "Call me when you have time to get together again." Then he turned and headed for his car.
My mind caught up, finally, and I manage to say, "Goodbye, Aiden" just before he gets into his car.
I force myself into motion and walk back into my house. I close the door, and then slump against it letting out a sigh. Amelia just about flies down the steps toward me, grinning from ear to ear, she says, "Ok girl, now spill!"
