Chapter 27; Playtime in Ban Fior Glade

She blinked, looking around herself disoriented. One moment she had been seated at the table and then the next she had been brought to a location she had not been to before. It was up on a hill that had a lovely view of the forest; it was much larger than she had thought. She had wrongly assumed the gate to fairy world was located at the beginning of the woods, but rather, from up here she could see that its location was situated inside of a clearing more than halfway into the forest. They had walked for such a long time that she had assumed that they had started at the beginning. The forest was enormous; even from her great vantage point, she could not see where the forest began.

She hugged Timmy close as the boy latched onto her; as bewildered by the sudden change in their location and frightened by Gunter's abrupt and hostile arrival. She took a glance at his wrist. Fortunately, the Stigmata hadn't been affected by his run in with Gunter. Fortunately, with his mind de-aged, Timmy wouldn't remember the brute nor the emotional wounds he had inflicted.

"Well, that was an unwanted interruption. Are you alright, my dear?" Nova asked, approaching with the Heart-Soul in hand. Behind him were some of the Fey who had their Kinders at the gathering. She did not blame them for wanting to take the children away from such a dangerous man; the way he had thrown a blast at Jorgen even though she and Timmy had been in his vicinity showed he had no qualms about taking the risk of having a child become collateral damage

"I hate when Gunter shows up! He's so scary!" A little girl, whose head was entirely covered with flowers, complained, puffing out her overly rosy cheeks. Her skin had a greenish hue and real emerald embedded into her skin formed leaves and vines.

"Marina, don't you worry about him. That mean old Gunter won't lay a finger on you; Queen Mab would kill him if he did." A fey with pale pink hair and dark eyes comforted the girl.

"Well, he did not seem all that concerned about Timmy or even his Heart-Soul!" Wanda retorted. "If you hadn't made that shield, they both could have got caught up in that attack!"

"Lion man is scary." Timmy hugged her tighter.

"I know." A look of fury crossed over Nova's features. "I swear, that savage brute loses whatever little head he has whenever he sees his son."

"Is Jorgen going to be ok….?" She ventured to ask; the Fey exchanged looks, their expressions saying that they really did not care if he was or not. She swallowed down nervously; while she would not call Jorgen a friend, she definitely did not want him hurt or….worse….

"Don't waste your kindness on the likes of him. He cares as little for children as Gunter does; for Jorgen, strict adherence to the rules matters more than a child's life does." Nova dismissed with a gaze so cold it could give someone frostbite. She recalled the fury on her father-in-law's face when he mentioned his former godchild, Julia. She did not know the story, but she could still relate to the regret of leaving a child too early. Leaving their lives before she could make a difference….and in the case of Denzel Crocker, even ruining their life.

Timmy may had been the one to mess it up when he had gone into the past to stop Crocker from loosing his fairies, but in the original time line it was Cosmo who just carelessly blurted out his identity of a fairy out in front of the entire town. How had it been fair to punish Denzel for that? If Jorgen had shown leniency, then that poor boy wouldn't have grown up to be the insane Mr. Crocker. It ruined his entire life. So many of her godkids had lost them due to Cosmo's failings rather than their own. There ought to be an amendment to the rule that if others found out, but it was due to the fairies' own fault, the child shouldn't be made to lose their godparent. She had suggested it before, but Jorgen just spouted that he was the one who decided the rules. She could share Nova's sense of frustration towards him. Then again, she couldn't be too angry with Jorgen. After all, he had shown a great mercy to Timmy that time Mr. and Mrs. Turner had discovered them. He had completely bent the rules for Timmy that one time, even although Jorgen was always referring to her godson as being a pain in his 'muscle-bound heinie'.

"Don't worry, Gunter won't kill him." One of the Fey, Elowynsong, if she remembered right, reassured. She had remembered the name of this woman, despite all the unfamiliar names and faces thrown at her during the get together, as well as the name of her husband Alderwing, due to the surprise she felt upon seeing a child Fey with them. She probably shouldn't of been so shocked that Fey world had not banned babies like fairy world had. The Fey child was running around hand in hand with a Kinder, who unsettlingly looked very much like a porcelain doll.

"Gunter may hate his son, but he would hate having his bloodline die out even more." Alderwind added. "He especially wouldn't want Jorgen to be the last fruit to grow on his branch of the family tree."

She'd want to question why he wouldn't be able to have another child if he was so concerned about his bloodline; the Fey obviously had no bans on babies, and age also meant nothing to them, but even before the words formed in her brain, she knew that was both a sensitive and private matter she had no business sticking her nose into.

She'd just quietly hope that they were right and that Gunter would not make any attempts on his son's life. She hated to not try to help, but she knew that she'd be powerless to be of any help to Jorgen. If anything, she'd be a distraction. Worse case, she'd be obliterated into fairy dust the moment she tried to intervene. It might be cold of her, but…Jorgen wasn't someone she'd be willing to leaving behind her two sons and husband for.

"Wanda, my dear, let's move our focus onto something more pleasant." Nova's smile was a little forced as he tried to get her to stop worrying about her superior; he really seemed to despise Jorgen immensely. She honestly did not know who he hated more, father or son. "We actually had a little outing planned for Timmy that we figured would be amusing for him; may I suggest we return him to his proper age? The surprise will be more effective that way, plus it will allow us to see the Stigmata's true state."

She had been so pleased by how faint it had become, that the reminder that, the moment he returned to being 12 and regained his memories and the stress that accompanied them, that pale mark would most probably darken.

The tiny two year old gazed up at her with big innocent eyes; understanding they were speaking about doing something to him, but not understanding what it was. She smiled to relax him and wiggled his nose playfully to make him laugh.

"How'd you like to try being a bigger boy for a while, sweetie?"

"Mmmm…." The toddler tilted his head as he thought about it, frowning. "Do I still hugs?"

"Of course you still get hugs." She cuddled him, and while he was in her arms, she suppressed a sigh and gently tapped his back with her wand. She'd definitely start playing the toddler game. The tiny body in her arms began to steadily grow, and she heard a pitiful whimper as his former memories began flooding back into him, along with the pain they brought. She knew she had to return him to his original age at some point, but it made her feel as if she had just done something cruel to that poor little toddler.

She released him as he was restored to his former age; he stood there with a confused expression for a few moments as his thoughts and memories settled and then his face turned beat red and he shyly placed a hand over his eyes, bowing his head slightly as he made a groan as he mumbled something.

"Aw, what are you looking so embarrassed for, sport?" She questioned, although she knew perfectly well why he was probably feeling a little shy. He groaned in response, and she reassuringly patted his head as she checked the Stigmata on his wrist. It had darkened, but it was about the color it had been during their special brunch, so it was far better than it had been after Gunter's emotional attack on him.

"Oh, Timmy, come on, sport. Stop hiding your face." She chided him.

"….I was so cringe…." Mortified, he removed his hands from his face, little tears in the corner of his eyes.

"Oh, you were not!" She couldn't help but laugh, patting him on the back. He glanced down at the outfit he was wearing; the same yellow overalls and pink shirt, except bigger, and rose a brow at her.

"Oh, fine…." She changed his clothes back to his normal every day; though next time she got him shrunk down, she was definitely playing matchy-matchy again.

"Timmy, how are you faring, my dear lad?" Nova spoke tenderly, patting the boy's arm.

"Better…." Timmy was still blushing. "The…the baby playtime helped calm my emotions down…I can think clearer now…."

"Excellent, the treatment proved to be highly effective, my dear Wanda. Your decision to employ such a tactic was truly brilliant!"

"Oh, well…I know my boy." She gave Timmy's cherry-red cheek a pinch. "And he was so cute as a two year old!"

"…Ah…I took a tantrum over earmuffs and hid behind the curtains, I pouted over not getting toys, and I….oh my god…I told Piper….ugh…..she's going to call me an antechinus again!" His humiliation took a brief pause as he furrowed his brows. "I'm going to have to read about what those things are…"

"Oh, please don't." She put a hand over her mouth, snickering. Though, she was hit with a wave of guilt to be here, laughing while Jorgen might be fighting for his life….or worse.

"You also called me grandpa." Nova added, nudging him. "You can do it at this age to, come on, let me hear it."

"Um…grandpa Nova?"

Her father-in-law looked perky; he obviously felt no guilt about carrying on cheerful whilst Jorgen was in danger. She watched Timmy, but he did not seem to be concerned about Jorgen either—though there was a very good chance that his mind was still very muddled and the very brief memory of Gunter's arrival, for they had fled fairly quickly, had probably not registered yet. She hoped it remained that way, for if Timmy knew that brute was nearby, he'd be afraid. Plus, her boy was the courageous but reckless type; he'd insist on rushing to aid Jorgen.

"Timmy, allow me to make some introductions." Nova, with his arm still on Timmy's shoulder, gestured towards the Fey and the Kinders as he went about introducing them.

"Allow me to introduce Bliss and her Kinder, Rachel. Melika and her Kinder, Kieran. Mist and his Kinder Kasumi. This fellow here is Thistledust and his Kinder Walter, Our lady Dewdrop and her Kinder Marina, and this dear family unit consisting of Alderwind, his wife Elowynsong, their daughter Ariafern, and their cherished Kinder, Lilybeth."

She desperately scrambled to try to remember the names of all of them, but it was hard to remember faces and the names accompanying them when so many were thrown at you at once. Timmy especially could not do that, and she wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't able to place a single name to a face if he were to be quizzed on it right now.

All the Kinders rushed over to him, excitedly talking all at once. The boy, Kieran, was especially enthusiastic, and was already rambling about all of his favorite Timmy stories he had heard. Lilybeth, the Kinder who looked like she was a porcelain doll, latched on to Timmy's arm, rubbing her bouncy ringlets against him—that hairstyle never failed to make her recall Maryanne…to think such a sweet looking little girl would start World War 1.

"Your sooo cute!" She gushed, batting her long lashes at him. Timmy blushed a bit, but she could tell from his stiff movements that this girl, as cute as she was, wasn't exactly his type—perhaps because her skin looked like it was made of glass, she wondered if it felt that way too….

"You poor thing, going through that painful treatment." Marina pitied, standing right in front of him as she swayed back and forth on her feet. "I went through it too, but after the fourth time, I just couldn't take it anymore and I begged uncle Nova for a fruit, which he gave me."

"Of course, my dear; a child only needs to ask and I'll make sure the fruit of their choice is delivered." Nova spoke as if he had done her a great kindness, likely he believed he did. The poor girl looked like a living flower vase…

"Same thing with me!" A girl that was completely translucent twirled around, laughing. "I couldn't take it after just one! Too painful! But you—! You're going to be an angel! Me, my bond was low—you see, I had only been with my godmother for a few days before I got hurt, so even if I went through the treatment, I'd be all ugly and messed up in the head. I'm so happy to be this way, and Mist, he's the best daddy in the entire world! He never gets drunk or yells, or anything like that! He even gave me a new name to match his!"

"We've heard so many stories about angels and how special they are." Rachel, the little girl who came here last before Timmy, looked at him with shining eyes. "Mommy Bliss was saying we'd probably never be blessed with one again, but here you are! Everyone is so happy!"

Timmy looked almost star-struck; it had been a long time since he had the company of a group of peers that were friendly towards him, let alone praising him. As much as she'd want to be happy about it; she had already heard several statements that indicated that these children would be making attempts to convince him to become one of them; a Kinder.

As Jorgen said, everything in Fey world was a trap, and Fey would take advantage of any and all weaknesses. Her poor Timmy had many vulnerabilities that they could leverage against him.

She would need to watch out and protect him, all whilst pretending to be oblivious to the trap, so that the Fey did not resort to more overt methods. Keeping Nova satisfied and with enough hope that he did not switch tactics to more forceful ones was a tightrope she'd have to walk in order to keep Timmy safe. However, she'd also have to make sure sweet words and gestures did not lead that Timmy astray, and that he did not give in the temptations they would no doubt present him with.

She loved Timmy very much, but she knew resisting temptation was a weakness of his that could be exploited with ease.

— Timmy's POV—

"There's a cave back here! Be careful not to slip, ok?" Ariafern, the Fey child, called out to him and the Kinders as they maneuvered around a giant waterfall. The spray hitting him with water that was pleasantly cool under the hot sun.

When was the last time he ran around and played with other kids? He really couldn't recall. It was before entering middle school, anyway. He used to play with Chester and AJ so much, though he would accept fault for their playtime decreasing. He had become far more focused on his god family, especially after Poof's birth. Even so, he did make time for both of them, and they were as close as ever during squirrelly scouts.

He had never expected that they would turn their backs on him. Grow apart, maybe, but…for them to actively turn against him….never.

Even Elmer and Sanjay treated him like the plague; avoiding him as if speaking more than two words to him would bring their low popularity down to rock bottom.

…But here, these kids weren't just playing with him, they were treating him as if he were some kind of celebrity.

"Oh! And the alien wish! That was sooo cool! Did you really become friends with it? I would have loved to meet an alien!" Kieran prattled on, even as he took his hand to help him across the slippery rocks. He kept talking about all his blunders and mishaps, as if they were the most exciting things ever, rather than careless, stupid mistakes. He was a little shy, though, about how much Cosmo's mother had written about him to Nova. Though, he guessed that if her goal was to write about Cosmo, that mentioning the antics and chaos he got up to was inevitable.

"I wished to meet aliens once too." Rachel remarked, putting a finger on her cheek. "…Those Gigglepies were…something else."

"You encountered them too?" He gawked.

"Yup; they were so cute that I did not realize that they were taking over everything until half the earth was taken over." Rachel hopped gracefully from rock to rock, despite having hooves for feet. "My godfather, Irvine, had tried resorting to everything to snap me out of my cute-trance."

"Irving?"

Her eyes sparkled as she stopped hopping for a moment. "You….wouldn't know him, would you?"

"Yeah, I met him when I was sent to the Wishing Well. He was the godfather of this boy who feared harpoons." He remembered Molly's name, but not the name of the other boy—it started with a D, maybe…? The kid had left little impression beyond being cowardly.

….Though he was pretty sure that he had left little of an impression himself. If not for his goofy teeth, he'd probably just blend into the background unnoticed by anyone.

Rachel looked relieved and continued her hopping towards the cave entrance. "Good. He felt so bad about me that he said he was going to quit being a godfather. I'm glad he didn't."

"My godmother seemed more like she was worried Jorgen would punish her when I became a Kinder." Marina was holding tightly onto the Kinder named Walter; the boy had messy hair with various mushrooms growing out of it and his skin had a wood like texture.

"I ne'er had a godparent. My mortal parents did forsake me in the woods, bequeathing me unto the Fey for a bounteous harvest." The way Walter spoke made him believe he must've been here for a very, very long time.

"You missed out!" Kasumi was swimming in the water, rather than walking on the rocks; her translucent body looked almost as if she were part of the water, like a beautiful water spirit. "It was so much fun! And now, since I've become a Kinder, I can keep all those wonderful memories forever! I mean…sure, I'm parted from my godparent living here, but…I would have been parted from them anyway if I stayed human, and I'd been made forget them."

…..Never losing his memories…..

"All fairies come to live in Fey world eventually anyway!" Lilybeth spoke with a lithe to her voice. "Once they hit a million years old they start turning into fairy dust, so rather than die they come to live in Fey world."

…Did that mean that eventually Wanda, Cosmo and Poof would come here too, in the end?

"Oh, Lilybeth, your clumsy so you shouldn't talk, but focus on your footing—" Ariafern's warning came at the same time Lilybeth slipped and fell into the water. His body reacted on it's own and he moved to dive in after her, but Kieran held his arm.

"Your still human. The force of that waterfall would crush you, Timmy!"

"I got her!" Kasumi effortlessly hoisted the sputtering Lilybeth back onto the rocks.

"Is she ok?" He asked worriedly, heading over to her. She beamed up at her and squeezed him around the waist, her glass skin very cold and slippery to the touch, making a shiver run up his spine.

"I may look and feel like I'm made of glass, but I'm not fragile. I won't break if I fall down, silly, but it's sweet of you to worry."

"Oh, that's good…" He felt awkward as she batted her lashes at him; she reminded him of Tootie, well, ten year old Tootie, present day Tootie…was resembling Vicky more and more.

"I'm always telling you to be careful." Ariafern tsked at Lilybeth, and with a snap of her fingers, made the girl appear at her side. He was thankful for it, although Lilybeth seemed put out.

"Ban Fior Glade is truly a marvel, is it not? The Fey doth inform me that there exists no waterfall in the cosmos grander than the one discovered hither. Doth it not inspire awe?"

He followed Walter's gaze upwards. He had seen this view in the video he had watched in his room. However, the video could never capture the true essence of being there. As he stood beneath the majestic waterfall, he felt the mist gently caressing his skin, a fine layer of moisture settling on his face. The sunlight filtering through the cascading water created mesmerizing rainbows, painting the air with vibrant hues. Peering into the crystal-clear basin below, he marveled at the plethora of flora in an array of colors, some so extraordinary that he had never witnessed them before.

He glanced over at the expansive meadow behind him; Wanda was sitting in the flowery meadow with the Fey, but her eyes were trained on where he was, while she cradled the carrier containing his Heart-Soul on her lap. Nova had suggested that they all go to view the scenery at Ban Fior Glade. Almost as soon as they arrived, Ariafern, the Fey child, had suggested taking him and the Kinders to play, and had insisted that there was something in the cave behind the waterfall that would be very amazing to see.

"Come on, in here!" Ariafern excitedly waved for them to follow her inside the cave and he had to admit her excitement was contagious. He marvelled, expecting the cave to be dark, but there were crystals on the dark walls of the cave that glowed like stars…it felt as if he were walking through space, but this was apparently not what Ariafern had taken them in here to see.

In the back was a beautiful white deer. Even he, who was not spiritually sensitive, could feel that this was no ordinary animal. The video had referred to rare mystic deer, and this was no doubt one of them. Nestled up to the deer were two young babies.

"Oh! Baby deer!" Lilybeth made a sound that was both a shout and a whisper.

"Their so cute…." Rachel kept her voice soft.

"Mystic deer only have children every 10,000 years. To see newborns is really rare." Kasumi explained to him, unable to remove her eyes from the babies.

"Timmy is a rare newborn too, isn't he?" Kieran chuckled a little, referring to his Heart-Soul.

Twins, he thought, looking at the tiny snow-white creatures. …He had spoken about Sophia, he had sworn never to mention his great sin….Wanda had been kind and reassured him, but…

….She only knew half the story. She did not know he had been given a chance to save Sophia…but he had made the choice to wish himself back into existence.

"I want to pet them." Rachel looked longly at the baby deer, but Ariafern shook her head.

"You know you can't do that."

"I know." Rachel puffed out her cheeks. "But their so cute!"

"Such precious little babies…." Marina hunched down to try to peer at their sleeping faces. The mother seemed very calm despite how close they all were to her and her children. He hunched down too, and Kieran followed suite as he got a good look at their faces; they were really sweet looking.

"We witnessed twain rare marvels this day - a newborn spirit and a young white deer. We art most fortunate."

He spent time with the Kinder and the Fey child in the star-like cave admiring the baby deer from a respectable distance until a Fey along with Wanda poofed into the cave.

"Oh, Mommy Bliss, what is the matter?" Rachel asked curiously. His eyes met Wanda's which were owlish, and her face was pale. Bliss was in better condition but still appeared to be rattled.

"Wanda?" He asked, worried. She floated down to his level and gave him a squeeze.

"Timmy, it'll be fine. Just…be polite and don't do or say anything unnecessary."

"In a surprising turn of events, our Queen Mab has made a surprise visit and it now right outside waiting to meet with Timmy." Bliss explained, nibbling on her bottom lip.

The Kinder all reacted as if they had just been told Santa Claus was outside; but at the same time, their demeanor reflected a sense of reverence bordering on worship. This wasn't shared by Ariafern who, while not showing any disrespect, did not harbour the same enthusiasm that bordered on fanaticism that the Kinder were displaying.

Queen Mab….the Fey Queen wanted to meet with him? She was right outside, right now? He….he couldn't even give a simple class presentation without becoming a laughingstock! How was he going to get through a meeting with royalty without blundering it? Royalty that had a man like Gunter Von Strangle as their guard? What if he offended her? Would she curse him once he became 18, like Gunter had threatened? What if he messed up really badly? She could even order Wanda's execution as retaliation, couldn't she?

"Don't worry…I'm going to be right there with you, ok?" Wanda spoke soothingly.

"There's no need to be too nervous." Bliss looked over at them with a slightly frail smile. "Queen Mab is much more laid back than Gunter, and does not take offense too easily. She loves and adores children…." the Fey seemed to hesitate for a moment. "…If there is anything that would upset her…it's not receiving the same affection back."

"Bliss, I won't tell mommy, but you shouldn't say such things." Ariafern frowned, but seemed more sympathetic than angry, as she cast a sullen look at Lilybeth, whose face was aglow with the same feverish adoration as all the other Kinders.

He exchanged an uneasy look with Wanda; if the unnatural devotion being displayed by the Kinders right now was what Bliss meant by 'receiving the same affection she gave back', then….

Wanda squeezed his hand tightly; a silent promise to protect him from being enthralled by the same blind devotion that had taken hold of the Kinders. He did not know what kind of woman Queen Mab was, but he somehow knew that if he were to slip up even slightly in this meeting, the repercussion of that mistake would remain with him for the rest of his life.