I am back again.
I hope you like it.
3 years later
"Your servants do not seem to like me very much," Olympia said as she lifted the teacup to her mouth.
"Sometimes I wonder if they like me," Wendy said and mirrored her friend.
"Do not be so blue." The dark-skinned woman said and looked with longing eyes towards the children.
Mary, Adaline, and Eva were chasing each other around in a circle, while Brian was sitting up against a tree whittling.
Wendy smiled. Arthur had taught him how to whittle the last time he had visited before he left for the barracks. "Trust me, I'm far from blue. The children are keeping my spirits up."
"Look at them," Olympia said with a soft smile, and slowly put her cup down on the saucer. "They could be elven children out of a fairy tale."
Wendy looked at her friend with empathy. "How are your children?"
"Good." She said and then smiled longingly. "They're all growing up so fast."
"How many do you have now?" Wendy said with a smile as Olympia pulled out photographs from her coat. "Nine. I did ask Alexander if we should stop, but he loves little kids. And he spoils them rotten."
Wendy looked over the photographs of smiling children of different ages - and a big, strong man she had only known through photographs.
"Do not try to fool me, Pia, you are spoiling them just as much every time you see them." She said and bit into a cookie.
The other woman's eyes got a yellow tint to them, but it faded just as quickly as it came. "I suppose you're right. They are also understanding for the most part. I suppose I can thank Alexander for that. Though I wish I could see more of them."
"Have you ever thought of telling The Giant the truth?" Wendy said and stirred absent-mindedly in her teacup.
The Giant Olympia's father had come to the estate a few times over the years. He was still big and gruff and spoke to her in demanding ways. He wanted to talk to fairies, and he was convinced that Wendy was the one who could get him in contact with them.
Her eyes glided over to where the three girls were lying in the grass. Strangely enough, neither the Giant nor Olympia seemed to notice that one little girl had ears, that were slightly longer, or that she had never aged in years.
"Many times. But at this point, there is no way out. If he finds out the truth, I fear what he will do." Olympia's tone grew somber.
"Could you just not run away?" Wendy asked.
When Olympia looked up at her, her brown eyes were strangely clear.
The dark-skinned woman's eyes were always so expressive, which always left Wendy questioning whether the woman really was a human or some kind of fairy creature herself.
"The same reason you do not run away with your painter, I cannot run from my father," Pia said in a low voice. As for the children not to overhear.
Wendy stopped stirring the cup and lifted it to her mouth instead.
Elias was coming to paint another portrait of them soon. Eric liked to have a family portrait made every summer.
"There are more and more arguments as time goes on." Wendy sat from behind the teacup. "He goes around praising Brian for his ability to hunt with a bow and arrow and Adaline's musical abilities and does not mind the publicity about my legend living on in my children. But you should hear how he talks to me behind closed doors. Then it is a problem that Brian, Adeline, and Mary talk about elvens and playing in the forest. Last night he told me that I was not raising trolls, I was raising nobility."
"Yes, if we could go back, we would probably have made many different choices," Olympia said and emptied her cup. "But I wonder if I would have met my husband if I had not followed my father when I was young."
Wendy smiled and looked towards the playing children. She was happy that she could give them a small respite like this until they had to return to their busy schedules. "We will probably never know. All we do know is that we are stuck here for the moment."
One month later
"Stand still, my dearest." Wendy scolded Mary lightly as the little girl kept fidgeting.
"It is quite all right, Madam," Elias noted from behind the canvas. "I have already edged every beautiful little feature into my mind, you can move around as you please."
Except for a beard on his chin, Elias did not look like he had aged a day in the last few years.
Mary and Adaline were convinced that he had made some kind of deal with The Elven Queen and was remaining young forever.
Wendy smiled at the thought.
When Mary started moving around again, Adaline scolded her.
"Elias said that I could do it." Mary snickered back.
"Mary!" Eric scolded her. "That is very unbecoming of you to refer to a worker by their given name!"
Mary frowned and looked down at her feet.
"It is quite alright, Sir," Elias said. "If it pleases you more, I can pack up my things and you can get on with your day. I can finish the portrait by myself."
Wendy smiled.
Mary had very little interest in etiquette and the finer things of high society. Instead, she preferred to wander around barefoot and sing at the top of her lungs. Yet she somehow always managed to get most people wrapped around her finger anyway.
"If it is all the same to you, Mr. Angelico, I would prefer this be finished here," Eric said.
An hour later there was a knock at the door.
"Sir and Madam?" Abraham greeted from behind the door. "My apologies, but the Duke of Fife came early."
Wendy could see the children get excited, but trying not to break from where they stood. She looked up at her husband expectantly. His eyes were rather cold, but he did tell Abraham to let the Duke in.
As the smiling man came through the doors, Mary bolted into his arms.
He picked her up and swung her around.
"Uncle Wallace." She cheered.
"Hello, my smart little girl. Have you been keeping up with your studies?" He asked and leaned in so close that their noses almost touched.
"Mary, you are being really rude!" Scolded Eric.
Wendy tried to soothe him by putting a hand on his arm. "Let it be dear, she has not seen him in months - and he is the reason she is keeping up with her lessons."
"Do not continue to cuddle her, my rose," Eric said in a pleasant voice and caressed Wendy's cheek with a finger. "She is far too spoiled already." Then he turned to Mary. "Young lady, that is no way to behave to a man that is of higher status than you."
Mary pouted as Wallace sat her down on the ground.
Brian and Adeline stepped towards him as well and politely greeted him.
"Hello, my little lord and lady." He smiled down at them, then smiled up at Wendy and Eric. "They really take after the two of you."
"Sometimes I wish Mary would take a little less after Wendy," Eric said with a stiff smile.
"Oh, but then she would not be my little fairy child," Wallace said and patted the little girl's head.
Wendy saw her daughter smile slightly, before frowning when she saw her mother looking at her.
Six years later
"Oh, hello, Eric, Wendy." Marchioness Sophia Kerr greeted them but stopped as she looked down at the two children beside them. "You seem to be missing a child," she said as she looked at them again.
"Mary was feeling under the weather so she could not come tonight." Eric lied with a smile.
Wendy didn't like how he could lie like that.
Mary had become more and more rebellious as of late. She was simply bored with the tea parties and ignored the etiquette. She was much more focused on school and had dreams of becoming a nurse. Something Eric was very much against, which meant he would scold and ground her over every little thing, which only angered the young lady even more. It had resulted in her presenting a plan to go to a boarding school, that could help her get into a nursing school during afternoon tea yesterday. Eric had been furious, and Mary had thrown a teacup and smashed it.
Eric did not allow her to come out after that.
"Oh, then you must be Adaline." The Marchioness smiled and greeted their daughter. "Since your sister is not here, I expect you to enjoy yourself for her."
Adaline agreed shyly and Marchioness Sophia smiled and waved over her daughter – the beautiful young lady Catharina – who smiled as she came toward them.
"Hello, Lord and Lady Branigan, Adaline…" She greeted and when she looked at Brian, she blushed. "Brian…"
Wendy glanced over at her son and smiled when the young man's ears started turning red.
"Lady Catharina," he greeted and kissed her hand.
Adaline giggled under her breath as Brian led the young lady away.
"Those two make such an adorable couple." The Marchioness said as she fanned herself.
"Indeed, they do." Eric agreed. "We are very honored."
The other woman playfully gestured with her fan. "Do not be so formal Eric, we may be family soon."
She went to greet other guests, and Wendy sighed as Eric began mumbling about finding suitable matches for Mary and Adaline at this gathering.
"There you are girl who dances with fairies."
Wendy smiled over her shoulder at Wallace, as he stepped out onto the balcony and closed the door behind her.
"This reminds me of old times." She said and smiled into the night.
"Oh, it cannot have been that long, Wendy," Wallace said as he stood beside her.
"Brian is almost at marital age. It has almost been two decades." She hid her smile behind the gloved hand.
"Oh yes, time flies," The older man said absentmindedly. "Which reminds me, I only saw one of my goddaughters in there."
Wendy raised an eyebrow at him, knowing he already knew the answer. "Mary was grounded because of her attitude."
"I see." Wallace gave a proud nod. "I would expect nothing else from that girl. She has got spirit."
Wendy gave him a look. Mary would go visit Wallace and his family quite a lot, especially when Eric was being strict with her. They adored her and treated her like their own daughter.
"She reminds me a lot about you." The Duke sinned and nibbled at a glass of wine he had snuck out to the balcony.
"How so?" When they asked and stared into the night. "I do not remember ever making a spectacle out of myself when things do not go my way or being such a problematic child."
"Yes, because it is perfectly reasonable for small children to wander into the dark forest alone at night to find their missing father." He said in a light tone and drank deep from his glass.
Wendy looked at him, stunned, and felt the heat glow in her cheeks.
He was not wrong.
"The last few years have been difficult. For all of us." Wendy looked down at her fingers that dug into the stone railing. "First my father died, and then my father-in-law, and soon thereafter, my mother-in-law."
She felt a hand on her shoulder as she tried to keep her voice steady.
"I also heard about your brother," Wallace said.
Wendy felt like she was swallowing a stone. "The children loved him. He was the fun uncle. He died as a soldier." When Wallace didn't interject, she continued. "It was told that if there had been better medical help, Arthur could have made it. I am guessing that is why Mary wants to be a nurse."
"Having the courage to risk it all. That is just like you." Wallace gave her a warm smile.
"Really?" Wendy asked with a playful smile. "It feels more like something you would do."
Wallace raised a knowing eyebrow at her. "Perhaps we are kindred spirits." He said and looked out into the night. "Back then I felt suffocated by the responsibility my father wanted to put on my shoulders. It all seemed too hard, too much for me to handle. So the best solution for me was to run away." He looked at Wendy with an endearing smile. "But then I met a brave little girl, who gave me the courage to face my fears. She always faced her problems head-on, Even today, nothing seems to break her."
Wendy reached into her handbag and pulled out the silver coin Wallace had given her so many years ago.
"Perhaps, your daughter needs some encouragement that everything will be fine, and her troubles can be faced as well." What was said and emptied his glass. "The air is getting chilly. We should step back inside. People might think we are having a secret rendezvous."
Later that evening
"Mary?" She whispered as she pushed the door open.
The young girl was lying in her bed with a book. She looked up at her mother with a deadpan stare.
Wendy smiled as she stepped into the bedroom. "We just got home."
"Yes, I can see that," Mary spoke in an emotionless voice as she looked back down at her book.
The tone made Wendy pause.
"I am sorry I did not say anything to your father. I know how much you are looking forward to the first ball of the season." Mary watched her cautiously, as she continued to speak. "I guess... there have just been so many things and I did not know how to deal with it, so I just let your father take the reins. I'm sorry."
Mary closed her book. "So you are disappointed because I want to be a nurse?"
Wendy smiled warmly and walked over to her daughter's bed. She sat down. "Of course, I am not, my dearest." She caressed the young face that suddenly seemed very grown up. "I think it is very admirable, but you want to help others. Your father … he has to think of the family first, so the way we behave ourselves is very important to him…"
"Have you ever thought of leaving him?" Mary crawled out from under the covers and sat right next to her mother.
Wendy was stunned at her daughter's words and how frankly she spoke them.
She breathed. "No."
"Why not?" Her daughter asked. "Uncle Wallace said, that you were once this wild girl who danced around barefoot and hunted through the forest. Don't you miss that freedom?"
Wendy smiled and took her daughter's face in her hands. "Sometimes I do, my sweet little one. But I have you and Brian and Adaline to look after now. That is even more precious to me."
Mary frowned as was clearly not the answer she was expecting.
"I do sometimes feel restricted, dear," Wendy reassured her. "When I first got here, the rules and etiquette were all too much for me, and I could not see a reason for them. But with time, I learned that they were necessary to get along with the people around me, and by learning them I could also help your father a great deal." She caressed her girl's hair. "You know even your uncle Wallace went through a phase like yours…"
Mary looked up with glittering eyes at the mention of her godfather's name. "He did?"
"He never told you? The first time I met your godfather, he was running away because he did not want to be a Duke." Wendy explained with a smile.
"But he is a Duke now," Mary interjected.
"He is." Wendy agreed and continued. "He said that he did not think that he could bear the responsibilities of being a Duke and therefore he ran away. But when he saw me, he changed his mind."
"How did you change his mind?" Mary asked.
"That night my father hadn't come home from hunting, So I went out into the forest to look for him, despite being told not to go. He said that that bravery inspired him to face his problems with his father."
"You really went down to the forest alone?" Her daughter asked dumbfounded.
"My brother David snuck out with me, but yes." Wendy did not know where to look. "It was not a wise decision. I was a very small child. But at that moment, I knew my father was in danger and I wanted to help."
"You are really amazing Mommy," Mary said breathlessly.
"Your godfather thought so too. He gave me this coin." Wendy pulled the silver coin out from the pocket. "if I recall correctly, he told me it would help me in the future. Maybe it will help you too." She placed the coin in Mary's hands.
"You're giving this to me?" The girl said, confused.
"Yes. It has been with me through tough times and now I'm sure it will help you through tough times too. You can give it back to me when the storm clouds over your head have disappeared." She whispered the last part against her daughter's hair and kissed her on the forehead.
There is not so long to go before I am done with this fanfic.
It was only supposed to be like 10-20 chapters and be finished rather quickly, so I could move on to the next one, but I just had so many things in Wendy's story I wanted to explore. Now I just want to finish it.
Anyway, Hope you enjoy it.