Chapter 82
Feeling a tug on his trouser leg, Roger instinctively reached down and gathered up his tiny companion who curled up into his arms as he straightened up again.
Dena snuggled against him and said, "Ah want tae tak' a bath afore Freya gits back!"
Roger chuckled as the curvy little wood elf snuggled against him, "And I suppose you want me to join you?"
Dena giggled and purred, "An' yoo'd be supposin' reit!"
Roger sighed and carried her back into the big house.
Ten minutes later he was sitting in the gigantic bath tub filled with hot water and gently shampooing Dena's fine, golden hair as she perched on a little stool between his legs, her pipsqueak of a voice happily singing songs in a nearly forgotten language.
Finishing with her hair, she stood up and Roger gently scrubbed her tiny back side, pert little fanny and pretty legs.
When he was done scrubbing her elfin backside, Dena turned around and smiled at him, she was utterly without shame in her glorious nudity.
"Thenk ye, 'at felt verra guid!" She squeaked just before she hopped into the waist deep on her, water and splashed around to rinse off.
Then it was his turn, he sat patiently while she scrubbed his broad back and shoulders as best she could.
Dena was surprisingly strong for her size and she gave him a pretty thorough scrubbing.
She had nearly finished scrubbing him when Freya came into the master bathroom.
Without batting a lash, Freya commented, "Mak' room fur me, Ah need a bath too." and began stripping.
Roger and Dena scooted to one end of the giant sized tub and soon, Freya's nearly 8 foot tall, 13 year old frame was lowering itself into the hot water with her back to them.
Dutifully, Roger began lathering up his young companion's back and shoulders while she undid her thick, red-gold braids.
Taking up the shampoo, Roger began washing and scrubbing her luxurious red-gold tresses, all 3 feet of them.
Freya sighed and said, "We had a pretty guid game gang at th' rec center. Some college girls joined us an' they waur guid, Ah loched playin' against them, they challenged me."
When Roger was finished with her hair, she leaned back against him and scrubbed her front side while Dena made her way to her feet and began scrubbing her feet causing Freya to giggle while Dena cheerfully said, "Ah used tae dae thes aw th' time wi' Induna an' she'd giggle too."
Between Roger and Dena scrubbing her quite thoroughly, Freya was soon squeaky clean and they all exited the huge bath tub together.
While they were toweling off, Anita stuck her head in the door and said brightly, "So this is where you guys went! It was so quiet I got to wondering..."
She grinned and said merrily, "I wish you'da let me know you were all taking a bath together, I'd've loved to join you all."
Roger muttered, "It wasn't planned, it just looks that way. Besides, I don't think your mom would be too crazy about you taking a bath with an adult like me."
Anita grinned and retorted, "It wouldn't be just the two of us, it would be all of us!"
Roger just rolled his eyes and left to get dressed.
Half an hour later, Roger was outside with Ildico doing warm up stretches prior to their run.
Like always, Ildico was cheerfully egging him on to stretch a little farther and to kick a little higher.
And like always Sasha joined in, this time she was accompanied by her enormous mate Golden eyes.
Upon seeing the dark furred giant wolf, Ildico squealed in delight and just had to put hands on him."I didn't get a really good look at him yesterday. He's beautiful and his fur is sooo soft!"
She looked at Roger with shining eyes and asked, "How long will he be here?"
"He's here for life, wolves mate for life, you'll be seeing him for many years to come."
"Any puppies in the future?"
"Very likely, unfortunately they're already pretty much accounted for. Once the pups are fully weaned, we'll be sending them up north to their waiting families."
"Awww, one their pups would be awesome to raise...Hint, hint."
Roger chuckled and replied, "Nice try Ildi, but the pups are already claimed...Sorry."
Ildico pouted briefly then said, "Oh well, raising a wolf cub is probably quite an undertaking anyway. Raising one of these is probably...Wow!"
Soon the four of them were running through the quiet neighborhood, that is when they weren't being interrupted by chatty neighbors who wanted to meet Golden eyes and introduce him to their own dogs and small children.
The run took far longer than anticipated and when they finally got back to the house, Ildico teasingly remarked,"We'll try this again in the A.M. Maybe we'll actually work up a sweat!"
Roger shrugged and replied,"We'll see, I think once all the neighbors have met Golden eyes, we'll be able to get in some actual running time."
Ildico grinned and remarked, "See you at six!"
They hugged briefly and she trotted off to her home.
Roger smiled to himself as he watched her run home.
She had such nice legs he couldn't help admiring them.
With a start he realized that all the women currently in his life had nice legs, from Dena on up to Freya, they all had nice legs.
Chuckling to himself he entered the house and found Anita and Freya busily preparing dinner, Silky was nowhere to be seen.
He asked, "Is Silky alright?"
Freya shrugged and replied,"She didnae respond when Ah knocked oan 'er door."
With that remark lingering in his mind, Roger went downstairs and gently rapped on her door. "Silky? Are you okay?...I'm coming in."
Gingerly, he opened the door and found her sitting on her bed with her suitcase sitting in front of her.
A pall of gloom seemed to be draped over her slim shoulders as she sat with downcast eyes in utter silence.
He said very softly, "Silky? Is there something I can do for you, is there a way I can help?"
Silky slowly raised her eyes, gone were the usual lavender colored eyes he knew.
In their place were the haunted, hollowed out eyes of a grieving banshee.
Her cheeks were stained with the dark traces of bitter tears.
Her mouth opened and an eerie, keening wail began.
Softly at first, she wailed and slowly her long silent voice awakened until her full throated banshee wail filled the small room and spread throughout the house.
It was all Roger could to keep from fleeing before the force of that wail, the sound coming in waves that washed over his body and nearly shattered his ears.
Instinctively, he clapped his hands over his ears in the face of her sonic power, it was that, or go deaf.
Silky was now in full banshee mode, her head was tilted back, her eyes closed and her incredible voice at full power.
Her delicate hands clawed and tore at the lavender silk fabric covering her modest bosom as she sought to rend and claw at her breasts.
Opening his mouth to equalize the pressure, Roger knelt in front of Silky and grabbed her hands to restrain her from clawing at herself.
Silky was far stronger than she appeared and he struggled valiantly to keep her from hurting herself.
Her wailing seemed to only intensify as he fought to protect her from herself.
Roger quickly realized he was losing the battle, her strength was more than he had bargained for.
The torrent of cold water drenching both of them was quite unexpected and Silky's wail stopped in mid screech.
Freya's voice cried dimly to his deafened ears, "Whit is wi' aw th' wailin'? Whit's got ye sae upset 'at yoo're raisin' sooch a fuss?"
Roger quickly looked around and saw Freya standing just outside the room with an empty bucket in her hands, she had thrown the water over them as they struggled.
Silky blinked at him several times and with each succeeding blink, her eyes slowly returned to their normal hue and her tears diminished to where she was merely sniveling as Roger continued to kneel before her, his hands still holding hers.
Silky began crying again and Roger instinctively took her into his arms and simply held her as she sobbed.
Freya said gently,"Hae yerself a guid cry, jist dornt start wi' th' wailin' agin else Ah'll fill me bucket agin."
Anita loudly cleared her throat and announced, "We have a visitor here to see Silky."
Roger and Silky separated and turned to see Anita standing outside the room with the spriggan himself beside her.
As always, he glowered and 'Harrumphed!' before entering the small room.
Both Roger and Silky were drenched and there was water everywhere.
The spriggan took all this in without comment and Silky attempted to make herself more presentable while Roger simply got out of her way.
"Ah hae received yer letter an' am ready tae escort ye back under th' brae, if 'at is whit ye wish tae dae."
Declared the spriggan in a voice little different than a growl.
Roger looked at Silky and said gently, "Is that what this is all about? You're leaving us?
"Is this all because I told you that we loved you? Don't you think this is all a little too dramatic?"
Silky's eyes welled up with tears and she began to cry again.
Roger sat beside her and went to put his arms around her when the spriggan growled, "Dinnae tooch 'er! Silkies arenae tae be tooched nur appreciated by wuid ur deed, 'at is uir tradition!"
Roger snapped back, "Hang your traditions, man! This is our home and here we show our appreciation and our affection!
"By your traditions, Silky should have left the day after she arrived when Freya and I planted two rose bushes called 'silver ladies' in her honor.
"Hell, she shouldn't have stayed because I fixed up this room for her to live in and installed her very own mailbox, so she can send and receive letters from home!"
The spriggan recoiled from the vehemence of his retort and was about to reply when Anita broke in with, "Um...Guys? Some lady just came downstairs and she's got this guy with antlers and hooves with her."
The spriggan spluttered, his retort forgotten in his haste to drop to one knee and lay his stone tipped spear beside him.
Silky also dropped to one knee with her eyes downcast and to Anita's amazement, so did Freya.
When Roger did likewise she whispered hoarsely, "What's going on here, who is she?"
The woman of unearthly beauty smiled at the puzzled teenager and said in a melodious voice, "Have you forgotten me so soon? I gave you the gift of sight, don't you remember?"
Anita stared at her for a moment, then her memory of that day came back to her and she flushed nearly scarlet and hastily dropped to one knee as she stammered, "F...Forgive me your highness...I cannot believe I had forgotten you and your husband, the prince."
At his mention, the fellow with the antlers and the deerlike hooves came closer with a big smile on his face as his deerlike ears waggled merrily, he wanted to play!
The queen held up her hand and said imperiously, "Not now husband dear, we are here on business for we have heard the cry of one of our children."
Moments later she said, "Arise to your feet once more, we prefer to talk face to face."
Having gotten back to his feet, Roger smiled at the queen and said, "Your highness, this is quite the surprise, to what do we owe this great honor?
"Would you like a cup of tea while we chat in more suitable surroundings?"
At his remarks, Silky left the small room in a faint rustling of silken garments and rushed upstairs to the kitchen.
Queen Titania smiled at him and said, "Tea would be lovely, yes please. We came to see what had upset our dear Silky so that we heard her cries, even under the hill."
Titania's husband, Prince Oberon was clearly admiring Anita's delicate form, he was smiling at her and obviously flirting with her, his deerlike ears waggling.
Meanwhile, Anita was blushing quite the lovely shade of embarrassed pink.
This went on until Titania sharply tugged on Oberon's nearest appendage, his deerlike ear.
He winced and Titania said mildly,"She is not one of the little wood nymphs you are so fond of chasing. Now, come to what little senses you do have."
With Roger leading the way, they went upstairs to the formal dining room.
The spriggan clearly disapproving of how civilized the house was.
Roger, with tongue firmly lodged in cheek said pleasantly,"Had we known you were coming, we would have scattered some soil and leaves upon our carpeting to make the house seem less civilized."
The spriggan clearly recalled Roger's earlier jest and flushed darkly while Titania merely smiled in amusement.
To give Silky a little more time in preparing the tea, Roger led the royal couple on a brief tour of the house, describing its features and amenities as he went.
The tour ended at the formal dining room, where Silky with Dena's help had quickly laid out a formal tea setting complete with nibblies.
As befitting her royal status, Titania sat at the head of the table while Oberon sat at the opposite end.
When everyone was seated, including Silky who flushed as she took her seat at the master's table.
The tea was excellent and the nibblies were most welcome.
Taking up a tiny silver spoon, Titania gently rapped it against the tea cup for attention.
"We are here for two reasons. One is to see what sort of a house our dear Silky is living in and two, is to find out why she would want to leave such a marvelous house."
Titania glanced at the spriggan who laid out the letter he had received most recently from Silky.
He cleared his throat somewhat noisily and read it aloud for all to hear.
When he had finished he sat down and resumed his glowering.
Poor Silky looked very uncomfortable and clearly wanted to hide.
Shy and retiring by nature, the attention she was getting was making her squirm.
Titania, after some thought remarked,"Tradition says a silky does not accept gifts or other tokens of appreciation from the family she serves.
"This family is not truly a family in the traditional sense. They are not bonded by marriage or blood, rather they are a family bonded by spirit and a sense of belonging.
"We have living together a human man and a Jotun lass who share their home with a wood wife, a pair of guardian wolves and a human lass.
"In addition, a goodly number of 'neighbors' live in and around this house. Being here is almost like being under the hills."
She looked around at everyone and asked, "Anyone wish to comment?"
The spriggan harrumphed as always and growled, "'Tis nae a traditional family 'ats true. Dae we turn uir backs oan uir traditions in thes case? Ah say nay, uir traditions guide us in time ay trooble."
Dena chimed in with her piccolo voice, "Ah witnessed Silky kissin' Roger an' thooght it war a sign ay affection atween th' twa ay them. Ah saw naethin' wrang with it meself as Ah've kissed heem mony times meself."
She smiled and said wistfully, "Ah meself sleep with heem quite often an' enjoy stealin' kisses frae heem. Wuid wives arenae supposed tae loove human men, yet Ah dae loove thes man. He is a guid cheil an' easy tae loove an' sleep with."
Titania giggled at the audacity of Dena's remarks and said merrily, "I see you are not one to let tradition get in your way...Sleeping with a man so much larger than you must be quite the experience!"
The two giggled at the gist of her comments while Roger became quite flustered at Titania's implication.
"We're not like that," he muttered. "Yes, Dena sleeps with me, so does Freya on occasion but we're not like that, not like that at all!"
Titania smiled and said pleasantly, "Your bed must be quite comfortable if you have both a wood wife and a Jotun lass wanting to share it with you."
She glanced at Anita who had sat quietly observing the discussion.
"And what about you? Are you also sleeping with Roger?"
Anita immediately blushed scarlet and spluttered, "G...Good heavens no! Mom would flip and I'm not ready...Not yet."
Recovering her composure she commented, "I know that Freya and Dena will bathe and sleep with Roger, sometimes they're both in bed with him. I also know that they are not having sex, it is more of an affection thing."
Anita glanced at Roger who had given up all hope of retaining even a shred of his dignity and said frankly, "Would I sleep with him if I had the chance? While I like him very much and feel comfortable enough around him to walk by him in the nude, I don't think I would actually sleep with him.
"Maybe if there was a really big storm with lots of thunder and lightning and scary noises outside, I'd crawl under the covers with him."
Roger groaned and muttered, "Thank you for your vote of confidence..."
He looked around and said, "I think we were gathered here to address Silky's concerns. Not to discuss who is sleeping with whom. Can we get back to that...Please?"
He looked at Silky and said earnestly, "Silky, if I caused you any distress I apologize. It was never my intention to make you uncomfortable by showing my appreciation of your hard work."
Silky smiled slightly and lowered her marvelous eyes while Roger continued.
"My father died in prison, I never did know why he was sent there. My mother gave me up to my elderly grandfather and took off. After he died, I entered the foster care system and grew up whereever I could land. My own mother had vanished and could be dead for all I know. My two attempts at marriage ended in divorces and I had given up on the idea of ever having a family.
"Then I met Freya...The next thing I knew, I was living with a young girl and not just any girl, a girl who would become a very important part of my life."
He smiled and said wistfully, "Since then my family has grown, maybe we're not related by blood or marriage. Still, we're related by spirit, all of us and that includes you, Silky dear. I consider you to be a part of my odd little family that includes frost giants and other mythical beings."
He gestured at Titania, Oberon and the spriggan, "How many homes can boast of having fae royalty come to call just to see how you are doing? Silky, you have given us far more than any attempts at showing our gratitude could redress. I can only speak for myself when I say...Please don't go, I will miss you terribly. You have a home here and a place in my heart, for always."
Freya who had remained silent spoke up, "Ah hink Roger has speart fur aw ay us when he asked ye nae tae leave. Ye keep uir haem safe when we ur away, ye an' th' twa wolvies wull guard th' hoose whilst we ur oot an' aboot. If nae one else appreciates 'at Ah dae."
Anita smiled at Silky and said quietly, "I'll miss the tea and buttered scones you make for me when I'm writing."
She grinned and said gaily," Right now this is like being in a fantasy novel. I'm in a room with fae royalty, a spriggan, a wood wife, a frost giant and a silky. Somehow I'm going to put this moment into a story, even if my readers will think of it as a fantasy tale, we will know it is the truth."
Dena got up on the table, strode over to Silky and looked down at the shy house spirit.
"Ye hae becam me mukker, Ah enjoy yoor company an' yoor presence e'en if ye ne'er speak. Ah dornt wish tae be th' only fae abidin' in thes stoatin hoose...Please abide haur with me, with aw ay us."
Silky looked up at Dena, her marvelous eyes welling up with unshed tears as her delicate lips parted.
Dena gently placed a hand over Silky's small, neat mouth and murmured, "Dinnae cry nane, we aw loove ye an' want ye tae abide haur."
Before Silky could react, Dena took Silky's lovely face in her tiny hands and planted a doll sized, lingering kiss right on her delicate lips.
Silky froze until their lips parted and Dena said tenderly, "Ye may hae kissed uir Roger, but Ah hae kissed ye too!"
Leaving the stunned Silky sitting in her seat, Dena returned to her place and hopped off the table to resume standing in her chair.
Wordlessly, Freya stood up, looming over all of them at nearly 8 feet tall.
She stepped over to Silky, knelt down to her height, took her face in her large hands and gently kissed her too. "Noo, Ah hae kissed ye too."
She said before straightening back up and resuming her seat.
Anita smiled shyly, rose from her seat and she too, kissed Silky right on her delicate lips before blushing and saying shyly, "I have kissed Roger, now I have kissed you. He got my first kiss and you got my second kiss, please treasure it!"
Anita fairly flew back to her seat and sat, blushing quite freely at her own audacity.
Roger found himself to be the center of attention and he muttered, "Didn't I do enough damage already?"
Titania smiled at him and said teasingly, " 'Tis true you were the cause of all this, but the spell needs to be completed for it to work."
Getting up from his chair Roger stood near Silky who flushed and averted her marvelous eyes.
Kneeling beside her so now she was higher than him, Roger said softly, "Thank you for everything you have done and everything you will do."
Both of them blushed as their lips met in a tender kiss and they hugged briefly before their lips parted reluctantly.
Resuming his seat, Roger felt the warmth of Silky's lips still lingering on his as they both blushed deeply.
Titania smiled at everyone and said, "Now, to complete the spell!"
She rose from her seat at the head of the table, stepped over to Silky and beckoned for her to rise.
Standing barely 5 feet tall, Silky was engulfed in the warmth of Titania's bosom and held closely.
Her slender frame wrapped in the faery queen's larger embrace.
For a long moment, no one moved.
Titania gently took Silky's pretty face in her hands and smiled at the small house spirit.
"This is your home and they are your family, take care of them and keep them in your heart, for they belong to you like you belong to them."
Titania pressed her flawless lips to Silky's for a long moment before saying softly, "The spell is now complete Silky dear, there will be no more doubts in your mind as to where you belong."
As Titania returned to her seat Oberon suddenly stood up, his deerlike ears waggling as he said gaily, "I'm next!"
In a voice like distant thunder, "No, you are not. Now sit down!" declared Titania as she sat down again.
"Awww!" whimpered Oberon as he slumped into his seat.
The spriggan hadn't stirred during all this and only occasionally 'harrumphed!' while retaining his scowl.
Clearly he was grimly determined not to enjoy any of this.
There was a long moment where everyone sat alone in their thoughts until Titania rose from her seat.
Everyone followed suit per courtly custom, one did not normally remain seated while the queen stood.
Titania smiled at everyone and said pleasantly, "It has been a lovely visit and your house is quite interesting. My sprites tell me they enjoy drinking the nectar from all the blossoms in your yard and teasing the old man raven who lives in the pine tree."
She glanced at Oberon who was still pouting over not being allowed to play with any of the girls in his presence.
"Come along husband dear, we must be off, our realm awaits!"
He smiled and waggled his deerlike ears, his disappointment quickly forgotten.
Titania seemingly flowed without effort as she led her husband by the hand towards the outside door.
The spriggan fell in behind them, his stone tipped spear at the ready and a scowl on his unhandsome face.
Somebody had to protect the royal couple of faery, and that duty fell upon his sturdy shoulders.
Heading into the night, their path was lit by tiny sprites clutching tiny baskets made of spider's webbing and filled with fireflies, their faint glimmering lighting the way.
Moments later, a glowing portal opened up, they stepped through it and the glimmering was gone.
Titania had returned to her realm of Albion, leaving them in the mundane world.
With the departure of the fae royalty, the sounds of the mundane world returned.
In the distance the faint hum of traffic could be heard and the sounds of cars coming down from the library grew louder.
The literary club meeting was over and things would settle down for the night while Sasha and Golden eyes kept watch.
The faint growling came from Anita's stomach and she cried, "Oh my God, we forgot our dinner!"
Freya laughed and declared, "Ah dinnae forget, it's oan th' stove, aw covered up."
They all trooped into the house where they quickly laid out the plates and tableware, served up the still warm food and sat down to eat.
Silky, per her custom, ate by herself.
Late that night Silky silently went all through the house checking on the outside doors and windows.
Satisfied with the house security, she retired to her room.
Having changed into her night gown, Silky thought about the day's events and got out her writing materials.
"To my dearest friend,
Thank you for coming to see me when I needed a friend. I was very troubled and your being there helped a lot.
All is well now, I know now where I truly belong and I belong here in this house, with this family.
Here I will stay as a silky, my banshee days are now in the past.
Thank You.
Your friend always,
Silky."