Almost a year after this idea got into my head, I finally got the last chapter out! does a little dance

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The Child of Change

By Litwolf689

/Titania's POV/

I watched with sadness as the humans in the room started to shout to one another that Annabelle was dead. I caught a glimpse of her child being carried out of the room, probably to a mother who could nurse him, but I kept my full gaze upon Annabelle's still body.

I was not surprised when a sudden glow surrounded the half-fairy's body. The glow then shot into the air and floated around her body. I knew it was Annabelle's soul and that it would not find peace unless the proper words were said.

I closed my eyes and lowered my head. "Don't worry, Annabelle," I whispered. "I promise that I will care, teach, and protect your son. Now to let you find peace:

Go you safe,

And keep you safe,

And come safe home to me."

As I spoke the words, I opened my eyes and looked up. A tear slipped down my cheek as, above me, Annabelle's soul shot away from her body and flew up, disappearing from view beyond the roof.

I turned my gaze to Annabelle. She had a peaceful look upon her face and I hoped that she would rest in peace for all of eternity. I wiped the tear from my cheek, knowing there would be time later to mourn her death.

I stayed in the room, watching Annabelle until a doctor came forward. He drew up the blanket and covered her face. He gave a sad shake of his head before he turned and walked out of the room.

A second later, I turned and followed him. There was nothing more I could do for my half-blood friend. The humans would give her a proper burial. They would mourn her, as would I and the other fairies. Right now I had more important things to think about. Such as Annabelle's son.

I found him in a room down the hall. The doctors had given him to a woman who was willing to nurse him. Now they stood nearby, talking about what they would do with him. I did not listen; it did not matter what they would decide, for I would take the child during the night.

For the rest of the day, I stayed in the village, watching over the tiny baby. He slept, he ate, he laughed, he watched. He even saw me. Once he had finished his feeding, he turned his head and met me eye-to-eye. I smiled at him and he returned it, laughing and pointing at me. The woman who was watching him cast a glance in my direction. Because she could not see me, she shrugged it off and turned her attention to the baby.

When night came, the doctors took the baby and placed him in a crib in the nursery. I followed them there, not willing to let the child out of my sight for even a moment. A guard was left to watch the babies over night, but once the doctors left, a simple sleeping spell took care of him.

I walked up to the crib and looked in. The boy was sound asleep but when I looked over at him, he opened his eyes. When he saw me, he laughed and held up his hands, wanting to be held.

I slowly lifted him out of the crib and into my arms. He was so tiny and fragile, I held him as if he were glass. I felt a need to protect this child and protect him I will. With the newborn sleeping in my arms, I slipped out of the nursery.

At the edge of the woods, I turned and murmured a memory spell. I erased the boy from everyone's mind, so they would not come looking for him. That done, I turned and walked back into the woods.

As soon as I had passed back into the perimeter of the forest, I was instantly surrounded by fairies. All of them were shouting questions, wanting to know how Annabelle and the baby were doing. I drew the sleeping baby boy closer to me to hide him from the other fairies view. I let them talk for a few moments before saying, "Silence."

My ears were met with an instant quiet. I allowed the silence to extend for a few seconds before saying, "I know you all have questions. I will answer all of them but Marigold gets the first one."

I could tell that Marigold was slightly taken aback but she straightened and asked, "How is the baby doing?"

I was glad she had asked that question first. I smiled as I answered, "The baby boy is fine and healthy." Sighs of relief echoed against the trees. Someone else shouted from the back, "How is Annabelle feeling?"

I looked down so the others would not see the look of sadness that passed through my face. "Annabelle did not survive the delivery."

There was more dead silence as the fairies let that sink in, a look of shock on all their faces. Marigold whispered, "W-what?"

"Annabelle did not have the strength to make it through the delivery. She passed away a few hours ago."

The young fairy shook her head. "How can that be?" she asked. "She said she would come back, she said she'd be alright." Her words were swallowed by the loud sob that escaped her lips. With tears rolling down her cheeks, she disappeared, having transported herself to another part of the forest. Lily turned and disappeared herself as she went to search for her sister. Sobs broke out among the fairies. I shared their pain and wished I could cry with them, but the weight in my arms reminded me that I had to take care of the child's needs first.

"It is time I returned to my home, to my own forest," I announced. The fairies looked up in surprise. "I know I said I would stay longer, but Annabelle asked me to care for her baby boy and she asked that he be taken away from this forest."

It was then everyone noticed the tiny baby in my arms. They all gathered close to look at the sleeping child. "That's Annabelle's child?"

"Yes," I answered. "But now it is time for me to go. It has been a great pleasure to see and meet you all. I hope we will see each other again someday." I turned to leave, but another voice called out, asking, "What is the child's name?"

I stopped at this, looking at the orphaned child. I thought for a moment before answering, "This child shall not have a name, but will forever be known as the Changeling Child, for all the changes he and his mother brought to the kingdom of the fairies. Now I shall take my leave." I continued walking out towards the edge of the forest. I felt my attendants and the other fairies follow behind me but I paid no attention to them, just kept walking.

At the edge of the forest, where a mountain separated this forest from the next, I turned and said my goodbyes. The fairies of this forest were sad to see me go but knew I had to. Besides wanting to keep my promise to Annabelle, I knew Oberon would be angry that I had stayed so long. But I did not care what he thought.

As we traveled up the mountain side, a sudden thought entered my mind: how would Oberon react to the Changeling Child. I looked down at him, still fast asleep, a perfect picture of innocence and I knew at that moment that I did not care what he thought. I would keep my promise to Annabelle, no matter what.

As we continued our descent down the other side of the mountain, the Changeling Child woke. We took care of his needs, entertaining him and feeding him, as we traveled. We traveled for several days, stopping only at night to sleep. I sent my attendants out and they were able to find some goat's milk to feed the child.

When we finally reached the Forest of the Royals, as it was called by the fairies, I saw a familiar shape sitting in a tree at the forests edge. I sighed; annoyed that Oberon had posted him to keep a watch out for our arrival. I did the best I could to hide the child from view as we approached the figure in the tree.

Seeing us, Puck jumped down from his perch in the tree. He landed on his feet and bowed before us. "It is nice to see you have returned safely from your journey, Lady Titania," he said as he stood upright once more. "Lord Oberon was growing worried."

"You can tell him that there is no need from him to be worried," I replied. When I had first met him, Puck had been a joy to know, for he always made me laugh. Now, however, that he had grown so close to Oberon, I knew that every time I saw him, he was there only on Oberon's wishes.

"But he always worries for your saf-"Puck stopped in mid sentence as his eyes spotted the Changeling Child. He said nothing more as the child woke, yawning. Puck's eyes suddenly widened with delight as he jumped back, laughing. "Oh this is so touching!" he cried. "That you would bring this child as a gift to apologize to your husband, the King. He will be so happy. I must go tell him this instant." With that, Puck turned and bounded into the woods.

I silently cursed Oberon's most trustful servant as me and my attendants slipped into the forest. Mustardseed slipped up to my side. "What will you do if Oberon tries to take the child?" she asked, her eyes filled with worry.

I smiled down at her as I said, "I won't let him take the Changeling Child."

We walked deeper into the forest. Fairies came out to greet us from all sides. They stared wide eyed at the Changeling Child but said nothing. The tiny boy looked around, his eyes quickly moving from plant to fairy to animal as he took in his new surroundings with a smile on his face.

As we stepped into a clearing, Oberon appeared from the other side, with Puck standing just behind him. My attendants and the fairies around us dropped to their knees as my husband approached. He smiled at me and his eyes darted down to look at the baby in my arms. The boy was silent as Oberon slowly walked closer, as if not sure what to make of the Fairy King.

Oberon stopped right in front of me. "I have been worried about you," he said, his deep voice echoing through the clearing.

"Not worried enough though if you did not some to find me yourself," I replied.

Oberon laughed. "With your stubborn attitude, I knew you would just avoid me." I said nothing. Now he turned his attention to the Changeling Child in my arms. "And what is this? A present for me?"

I stepped back. "You will not touch a hair on this child's head, Oberon. This child is not for you."

"Well, Puck tells me otherwise," The King replied as he looked back at his friend, who laughed with delight.

"Puck was wrong," I answered back, ignoring his laughter. "I swore to his mother that I would protect him. I did not bring him here so he could be your servant!"

Oberon just smiled coolly as he replied, "Well, pray tell, why do you have this child? Just where is his mother?"

"She died during the birth," I said simply.

Oberon's face turned to show false sorrow. "That's a shame. I hope her soul finds peace. Now let me see the boy." He held his arms out.

I took another step back and said firmly, "I told you before that I will not allow you to touch this child."

Though his mask on his face never slipped, I could tell from his eyes that Oberon was starting to lose his patience. I gave a small sigh. I had not wanted to push him to this point, but he left me no choice.

"You will give me the child," he said, his slowly rising anger showing in his voice.

"I will do no such thing."

Around the clearing, the fairies held their breath, waiting for Oberon's temper to snap. Behind him, Puck watched eagerly, enjoying the mischief he had helped to cause.

Oberon dropped his arms and said, "As King, I command you to give me the boy." At his words, the very air around us grew cold and a breeze blew around us, blowing my hair into my face.

"And as Queen, I decline your command," I said, reminding him that, as his wife, I was also his equal.

"DAMN IT, TITANIA, JUST GIVE ME THE BOY!" The wind picked grew, whistling in the branches of the trees. Within seconds, it felt like a tornado was in our forest. Fairies shrieked at the sudden wind and grabbed trees, bushes, and each other to stop from blowing away. Only Oberon and I were unaffected by the wind. The Changeling Child also started to cry, scared of the wind and of Oberon's shout. As the wind started to calm, I took my attention off of my husband and turned it towards the crying child. I murmured softly to him then turned and handed him to Moth, who kept a tight hold on him.

I then looked back at my husband, my eyes daring him to say something, which, of course, he did. "Why won't you just give him to me?"

"I told you before, I made a promise to this child's mother that I would take care of him," I answered.

"Who cares what you promised to whom?" Oberon said as he rolled his eyes. "She's dead, you don't need to keep a promise to a stupid dead woman, especially some half-blood bitch."

In a flash, I stepped forward and slapped him across the face. The sound echoed through the clearing. "Don't you dare talk that way about Annabelle," I said, my voice full of venom and anger. I took a step back and announced, "I will be leaving again, for I don't not wish to keep company with the King at this time."

Oberon, who had finally recovered from the shock of being slapped, shouted, "I don't not wish to keep company with some one who shows such disrespect for her king. So, Titania, I wish you a long trip and a slow return. But know this, when you return, I will get what is mine." That said, Oberon turned and left the clearing with Puck just behind him.

I watched him leave with relief in my heart. I turned to Moth and took the Changeling Child, now silent once more, from her. The boy, his eyes red and puffy from crying, smiled up at me. I returned his smile and turned and walked out of the clearing.

As my party and I left the line of trees, I heard a voice call out to me. "Though the King may not wish it, My Lady," Puck shouted from the shadows of the forest. "But I, myself, hope you return soon, for I know there will be great fun when you get back."

"Then your wish will not be fulfilled," I answered. "For I intend to make my trip a long one and have some fun of my own while I am away." With Puck's laughter ringing in my ears and the Changeling Child also laughing in my arms, I walked away.

And you know the rest from there! That's where I will end my story. For those of you who do not know what happens next, either read or watch a version of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Thanks to all you have read/will read my story. If you have time, I would really appreciate a review. Thanks for everything!

PS – I still don't own A Midsummer Night's Dream and the parting prayer Titiania said came from a book I read by Elizabeth Kerner,

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