Maeve/Xavier

[Queen of Hearts]

Maeve: Alice
Xavier: Ra


Maeve:

“Miss? Miss are you alright?”

Maeve blinked back, pulling her head away from the hand waving in front of her face, looking up in consternation at the person accosting her until she realized that it was a police officer. She opened her mouth to explain to him, at the last minute realizing what she had been about to say and nodded. “Yes, Officer,” she replied in her musical voice. “I, um, had a fight with my boyfriend today, I’m sorry.” He gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder and some garbage about how it will be better tomorrow and wandered off, duty well satisfied, whistling happily. She watched him go before looking back at the tree, for that was what had captured her attention so thoroughly. The tree in front of her park bench had been glowing green with golden moving swirls.

Now it was just an ordinary tree but it really had been. At least that cat wasn’t around. The cat was the reason for the fight with the boyfriend. He thought she was on drugs or something. But there WAS a fucking cat. A completely normal every day cat. Except for the purple sheen to it’s black fur, which could be explained. And the fact that it understood her. Some cats could be trained to do things, right? She could invent things and reason for all of it, except for the singular fact that no one else could see the damn thing. She wondered if that was how you started losing your mind, and she had a sudden horrific picture of herself as a crazy muttering bum in some alley in some anonymously big city somewhere. Well, her parents would likely commit her, and she imagined being stuck in a straightjacket in a cell somewhere.

With the cat. Who was back. She looked at it, then deliberately turned herself upon the park bench so that she could not see it, and saw it out of the corner of her eye pad over and once again sit directly in her line of vision. “You do not exist,” she told it pointedly. It just looked at her. She. Somehow, she got the feeling that it was a female and it was irritated with her. Maeve sighed and glanced around to see if anyone was in ear shot and then leaned in and whispered, “Look, go away, please! I have a really good life and I don’t want to be crazy!” It--SHE just looked at Maeve, who tried to stare the feline down. Unfazed, the female cat hopped down off the bench and walked two paces forward then glanced back over her shoulder at the girl on the bench. “I am not following a purple cat the doesn’t exist,” she told it.

A few moments later the cat led her to another bench and hopped up and sat down on it. After a moment of bewildered looking around, and idle curiosity why this bench was preferable to the previous one, Maeve took a seat next to the cat and waited for..something. The silence was broken by some feet shuffling up the path and a little old man wandered by, then suddenly his aspect changed and he was this massive ugly -thing- and she gasped in horror and recoiled involuntarily. Hearing the tiny sound, the old man/troll looked her way and giving her a once over, tipped his hat in what seemed like respect and then he turned and walked on. She couldn’t take her eyes from him and so she watched him walk up to a door (in the sky!) and pull it open disappearing through.

She sat there a long time staring at that door, which was still hanging in the sky. There was something almost addictively compelling about that door and yet she was terrified of it. “That door changes everything,” she said out loud, turning to the feline who seemed to give her a sympathetic look. Somehow she got the impression that she had a choice. She could, at this juncture, turn her back on the door and the cat, and all the other crazinesses but it would not be offered again. Reaching her hand out for the first time, she gently touched the lady cat, who felt just as alive and vibrant as any other cat she had ever touched. The cat began to purr, which Maeve could hear and she shook her head, feeling a new sympathy for all the people who had ever been committed for ‘seeing things.’

“Alright,” she said outloud, “I’m ready.” Gently scooping up the cat into the cradle of her arm, she stood and turned towards the door, taking a step forwards as it opened. A yellow glow came from it as it opened and she felt warmed as it fell upon her and she paused, suddenly having second thoughts, but the glamour would not be denied. It covered her and filled her and she became aware.

Xavier:

What was there to say about these things anymore? Nothing could be done to make them stop. Doctors throughout his life at the beckoning of his parents had poked and jabbed, tested and scanned every inch of his body to the point the was amazed he did not glow green.

~”it’s a form of schizophrenia”~

The words of the doctor rang clear in his head as though he were standing in front of him and his colleagues at that moment. That had been the defining moment of his life, at least when you are a kid and your parents can’t seem to get past the interesting pass time you have of talking to grandmother in the pantry. Of course Xander never once told anyone that it was Grandma, she had told him they just wouldn’t understand and that he should learn what he could and be proud of the gift he had inherited from her.

Xander stood up from the table in a seedy little back route diner. Tossing a twenty to the top of the well worn surface before turning to wander towards and out the door. The rain had started to come finally after threatening for weeks to drench the city with a teasing spit or spatter. His boots tromped through the wet side street as the waters began to puddle and hover into the dips and crevasse where the street was in need of repair. Again the doctors voice was popping into his mind clear as day.

~”Recommend theory, as well we also think he should stay at the hospital for a while”~

Parents seemed more then eager for that to happen, they had left him there much to the doctors shock only turning long enough to say they would send his things. His parents had never come back for him after that day, never came to visit or even bothered to write letters. That was how it had been for almost 5 years when out of the blue a woman appeared. Xander eyed her with a blank stare through the haze of drugs he was hopped up on.

The lady said she was his Aunt Molly on his fathers side of the family and that his grandmother had realized what happened to him and that she was so sorry that it took so long to have someone come fetch him. The woman had guardianship papers, hell the woman had a law degree, but that didn’t explain the thought that came to be verbalized as he looked up at her that day.

~Grandma’s dead lady who are you?~

He didn’t know it at the moment but that woman turned out to be a God send for him.

Coming to the corner where the side met the main Xander turned onto the dull dreary looking walk way. People were still out, then again it was day time and as always it was a mad rush of blurry bodies to concerned in their own affairs to even politely say excuse me or sorry for bumping into you. The walk lead past a few bodies that didn’t move, a few eyes that watched only to smile to him. They were the good ones, the ones you don’t mind running into even in the dark. The others… oh the mere thought sent chills down his spine and set the hair on the back of his neck to stand up.

Shaking the thought off only to glance at his watch he realized he was running late himself. Short cut through the park seemed to be the way to go. Molly was waiting for him after all, something about meeting someone and signing papers as well as her lawyer needed to talk to them together. Xander might only be in his twenties but he knew exactly what that meant. Wills, trust funds, care takers and documents all lodged neatly into folders with special markings.

Molly had been preparing him for this for about two years now, telling him that she was getting up there in age. He knew that, after all she had been in her forties when she came to get him and he had only been 15 at the time. Five years in the loonie bin and 9 years with parents telling you that you were not right and shouldn’t be doing this and that but never understanding why. He would be turning 25 in a week, 11 years after passing by while living with Molly. She doted on him, got him tutors and specialists in everything he needed so that he could understand who and what he was without being ashamed. In 11 years he had done what most kids take twenty five to do.

Across the street and into the park the trees were full and flowing. The leaves catching raindrops and holding them like it was a game to see which tree could get a person the wettest as they pass by. Xander didn’t much mind the rain, the ends of his hair were wet and curling up again but other then that the water ran off the rest of him. Have you ever watched rain on black leather as it beads up and then starts to trail, its like almost looking into a silver sheen.

The down pour was coming harder now, faster without mercy. Jetting across the park he sought a place in a gazebo where he shook off his hat and jacket only to take out his phone and make a call to Molly to tell her he was kind of stuck there a moment till he could walk without drowning again.

Maeve:

Gradually, Maeve became aware of the rain dripping down in front of her, and she blinked a few times in consternation. How long had she been standing there, bathed in the glow of her knowledge? Long enough for her to be completely soaked, and she looked down at herself a long moment. The odd mundanity of wet clothing was at a stark contrast to her esoteric awakening, and she was frozen in indecision. She had so much to process, who and what she really was, the ages old rivalry, the magic and glamour, that she couldn’t even fathom what she would have done previous to this afternoon. It wasn’t until she felt a pinprick in her leg, that she glanced down and frowned a moment. The cat, it was still there. And it was clawing her leg.

Twitching, she picked up the unsodden cat and looked at it. It mrrowed at her and she shook her head in amusement. Now realizing that she needed to get herself out of the downpour, she cradled the cat in her arms where he purred happily, giving her a little warmth. For she suddenly felt cold and she shivered softly, “I should have brought a coat,” she spoke softly to the invisible purple cat she was holding. He looked at her with a touch of scorn and she giggled a bit. “Well, we just don’t. Not everyone can choose what form they are born in you know.” The knowledge swam across her mind that she could in fact give herself fur is she so desired and she frowned, not sure if it was from her own mind or the cat’s. “We’ve got to figure out a better way to communicate,” she told the warm an dry feline, coiled within her arms, and then the dark eyes lifted from the invisible bundle in her arms to look around, catching sight of something that looked like a building off to her right.
<br>Not a building, an open pavilion of some sort, but at least it had a cover on it to block out the rain. She curled into a corner of it, eschewing the benches to seat herself on the floor. She shivered a little and closed her eyes to try and sort through the new things that were stuffed into her head. It felt like her mind was roiling, but the one thing that she was joyfully certain of, was that she was not insane. She just wasn’t human was all, no longer cursed with their blindness. Eve thought she was wet, she felt a curious sort of contentment, and even smiled softly when the cat hopped off of her and padded around the little sheltered gazebo. He stopped and sat right in the middle of the entrance ways, as if he was watching the rain, which made her giggle a bit.

The suddenly someone came bursting into the little area, walking -right through- her cat and flung his water droplets every where before pulling out a phone. Maeve flinched back a bit and then noticed that the cat had disappeared. She looked around frantically, then stood up from her position, stlking over to him and pointing a finger in his face. “You walked right through my cat!” she said to him accusingly, then turned her back and looked around only to see the cat curled in the position she had just vacated. “Oh, there you are,” she said soothingly and crouched down to pet him. Carefully pulling him into her arms, she checked him over, but he was unhurt.

“You are lucky that he’s not hurt,” she said over her shoulder, then turned back to let the cat, Enoch, go. Blinking, she stared at the cat. “You’re an eunuch?” she asked. Enoch as in the -prophet- girl, which is who I was at one incarnation, a hissy kind of voice echoed in her head and then the cat jumped into the air and disappeared in a flash of light that cause her to wince a bit. “I didn’t mean to upset you,” she said to the air. Sighing, she rocked back on her heels and plopped her tush back down on the floor, settling into and Indian style pose, supporting her chin with her fists and settling her albows on top of her knees and stared at the air. Suddenly she remembered the male who had been here and she swiftly pulled herself into a standing pose.

Drawing on the newly remembered lifetime of experience and nobility, she affected a regal posture and lifted her chin a bit to look at the other. “What is it you want?” she said with all the hauteur and arrogance of a queen at court, not a dripping wet girl who had been talking to the air. She crossed her arms and studied him over, a little bit disdainfully. She was of the High Court after all and wherever she was, she would from now on, always be nobility. “Why are you here to see me?”

Xavier:

Standing there without notice to anything else around him he listened to Molly a moment longer nodding his head to what she said.

“ Yes, I know and I’ll be there as soon as I can, but if I start off again in this down pour I’ll catch my death.“

The woman on the phone sighed softly knowing he was right, told him to give it no more then ten minutes and then catch a taxi to the house. All he could do was agree as he hung up and slipped it back into the pocket he had taken it from. Taking a deep breath only to jump at the voice from behind him making Xander turn around on the heel of one boot.

Cat? What cat? He had not seen a cat when he came up the steps. Those deep soulfully melodic browns drifted up to the lady who was not impressed with him in the least. He walked through, had he heard her right? Laying his hat to the bench a moment he watched her as she talked to a haze in her arms. Only a few times he had seen this before, it always seemed to coincide with someone he never met only to be followed with shock treatments from the doctors.

Hands swept up to pull the hair from his face and drop it back over his shoulders before eyeing the woman one more time in her soaked clothes.

“ Are you okay lady? This is a public park, I have the right to be here just like anyone else. “

He stepped closer to her and looked down a little to her eye level trying to make sure she wasn’t just another mist on the winds so to speak. Nope, this one was real. Real and seemingly clueless. Xander chuckled a little and shook his head. Turning he hopped up and sat on the table top of the picnic table with a slight smirk to his lips. Ignoring the pompus attitude the woman was now portraying he tried to figure this out.

“ okay, lets start from the top here. I came into the park on my way to my home, the rain came heavier so I came into the gazebo to have a roof over my head till the rain slows down a little. I did not come to see you, and there is nothing I want of you. Though I am suspecting you have no clue where you are or what you are doing. “

The deep voice slowed to a stop as he looked out over the park again, rain still coming down in droves patting and plopping where it wished, washing away the dryness, the dirt of a city, the sins of a land corrupted by human hands. The man didn’t turn to look at her when he started speaking again, there was no want to stare at her with this attitude she was pulling.

“ You my dear are in the United States of America. This park is located in the City of Salem as are you at this moment. Now to your cat. All I see is a soft purple hue, or rather all I saw was the soft purple hue. You can walk through them, sit on them, and do all sorts of things to them and they will not get hurt here no matter what, because this is the land of the living mortal man and woman, not the spirit side of life, though at times I have to wonder about that. “

He didn’t elaborate on the part about having to wonder, honestly who would believe that everywhere you turn there is a larger ghost or spirit population to the city then there are humans these days. This city had more ghosts then many others, it was hard not to notice. If you came here you could at least feel the sadness and anger that lay beneath much of the land. Oh they say it was all in the name of God and such, but truly would god, any god for that matter tell you to kill their children. That had been a debate so many had tried to conquest with arguments for all sides, sadly over centuries none have managed to find anything to support or not support the whole of it. However the burning of witches is not the topic at hand here is it. At least not in today’s society that is.

“ Where was I, oh yes. This is the land of the living person, animal and whatever else lives and grows, like trees and flowers and grass so on and so forth. Pardon me a moment “

He had to be sure of this. Leaning over his hand came out and softly caressed her arm before he nodded and settled back.

“ Sorry I had to make sure I wasn’t talking to dead things, they tend to lock you up in padded rooms for that. “

It came with a sudden realization that he had not even offered up his name to the woman, though he wasn’t exactly sure he wanted to.

“ You not only look lost, but cold “

Standing up he slipped his jacket off and moved towards her only to slip the jacket behind her and over the small frame of her shoulders and arms.

“ Its leather, keeps the wet out. I’m Xander, and no I won’t hurt you or do anything else that would make you scream… at least in a bad way. “

Pulling out the cell phone from his pants pocket he dialed a number and stood there waiting for someone to pick up on the other end. He wasn’t much to look at, at least not with his hair down. Molly always said that he would look so much more handsome if he’d cut the mop off his head and dressed a little better rather then wearing leathers and beat up jeans with shirts that were never tucked in or done up more then past the belly button. His voice rattled off a location and then the phone was hung up and replaced into his pocket.

“ I assume you have no place to stay, no one you know other then a cat that no one can actually see… well some might but not many. Come on, I know a place. Once a long time ago a Lady rescued me from hell and took care of me, she does that for a lot of people like me. I’m not normal as far as society sees me. “
Again he left it at that and moved gathering up his hair and wrapping a tie around it to keep it back. Looking at the rain again he sighed and took up his hat and placed it on her head to at least keep her from getting wetter then she already was. His hand was offered up to her.

“ Dry place, warm, with food, dry clothing and a place to sleep till you figure things out. No strings attached“

He smiled softly at her and just stood there with his hand out to her.

Maeve:

At first, she stared at him a slow dull blink. Absorbing what he had said took her a moment, and then she excitedly grabbed his arm, the coat , along with her shirt strap, sliding off her right shoulder, and she gripped his forearm tightly, “You saw him?!” Her eyes were lit with a fierce intensity, then suddenly they blanked out, back to normal everyday eyes and she released her hand, tugging the clothing back into place to once again conceal the bared flesh. “I’m not dead,” she told him imperiously, “I’m a Lady of the Fae Realm.” Then she frowned, “But you’re not supposed to know that. “ The expression brightened again, “Of course you saw Enoch so it must be alright.” With a sage nod, she smiled at him like he was a dear friend instead of a complete stranger. Considering his offer a moment, she nodded graciously, “I would love to visit you at home, Xander.”

As she settled the coat over her shoulders carefully, just as a queen adjusting her stole, she saw the cat licking his paw on the edge of the gazebo’s window. “Come, Enoch,” she said gently, “We have a social engagement.” He leapt from the sill to her shoulder where he perched for all the world like a parrot on a pirate ‘s shoulder. She turned and took a step towards the gazebo exit way, when a low murmur from Enoch stopped her and she nodded, “But of course. I should have thought of that.” She smiled gently at her companion, “Just a moment and I will do something about the rain. “ She paused and closed her eyes, standing stock still for a few moments, then nodded to another noise from the feline.

“The rain should be lessening very soon,” she told Xander calmly, “But of course, you likely knew that.” She winked at him and then paused again, her head tilting and one hand reaching to brush lightly at the sodden locks tangling about his shoulders. “You’d look a lot better if you’d tame that mane of yours.” She looked over his face a moment in silence, before turning on her heel, when had she lost her shoes?, and preceding him out of the entranceway, stepping upon the sidewalk and to the side, waiting for him to come up beside her that she might tuck her arm through his.

Glancing suddenly to the left as they began their journey, the sun broke through the clouds and a rainbow spread across the sky. Tilting her head, listening to the invisible cat on her shoulder, she nodded, “I agree.” Turning her bright smile to her walking companion, she repeated the cat’s comment. “Enoch says that this is a good omen for the beginning of our partnership.” She nodded a bit, her own unkempt locks tumbling forwards. Shaking them back, she glanced curiously at him, “Which House are you from?” Then quickly she spoke again, “NO, never mind, it is not safe to talk here.” She nodded to a little old hunchbacked man, who bowed to her, “He’s a spy for the Eiluned, you know,” she nodded sagely.

“Oh,” she said softly under her breath, “You should know, thought, that I have only just Awakened this afternoon, so I am not at full power.” She frowned and sighed a bit, “I -do- hope that this will not shake your confidence in me. I am certain I can fulfill whatever mission that the Lady has sent.” She nodded once, tilting a serious look up at him, as if to show him of her certainty. Then the serious was broken by a bright, sunny, almost childlike smile and she quieted, content now to follow his lead until they had reached the place of safety he was taking her to.

Her bare feet splashed in the puddles as the rain began to lessen and she took a gleeful delight in looking around at everything with her new sight. The things that she hadn’t known! How could the mortals miss so wholly the amazing things underneath their noses. She laughed delightedly, a little tinkling laugh as a tall man who was really a troll ducked into a small automobile and she winked at the creature, the smile staying on her face for the rest of the trip.

[Queen of Hearts]

Xander:

That face remained smooth and consistent in look, no crease or wrinkle to anything she said. Those eyes were still with a softness near to the smooth surface of a well set chocolate pudding, only darker, deeper as though to hide mysteries in the recess of the man himself, secrets he may not even know about. The eyes spoke volumes if anyone wished to look hard enough. They told tales of old souls and lifetimes unknown to this mind, of legends and paths walked that saw not one but two moons in the sky over head. He was only mortal, merely a man of 25 and yet, like a gift wrapped in the most sweetest of fabrics he was an unknown.

Her sudden movements didn’t phase him and he hid well the inner weakness to the right of her clothing slipping down from her. Sweet satin skin was all he saw, white satin set with a sea of umber hair and blushing petals to make up those lips. Xander snapped out of that thought as he saw the purple move through the air. He did not bother to correct her about seeing the cat because really he did not see it, just a purple haze.

Xander stood there wondering what he had just walked into without realizing it. Lady from the fairy realm, this would be interesting to try and explain to Molly. That was when the woman looked at him, moved his hair back and commented on his looks. There was no way to stop it as the laugh slipped his lips and actually made him smile a little.

“ Why is it that every woman who sees me wants me to cut my hair off. I thought chicks loved long hair. “

Xander watched the world change once more as everything seemed to brighten. Rain stopped, at least for now, he hoped it would come back at some point this day even if it was this night instead. Letting her ramble without a seconds thought to it as she took up his arm and they sauntered slowly through the gathered puddles and pathways to where he had called the cab to be. She the whole time pointing out people to him only to then tell him that she wasn’t at full capacity.

“ No, I don’t think that changes my thoughts about you at all my dear, no not in the least “

House I’m from, okay this lady is nuttier then a rum coated fruit cake at Christmas, maybe Molly would be able to figure out what to do with her, or at least how to help her get the help she needs. The black sedan was where it should have been, the taxi more of a private driving service cause Molly could no longer drive herself and with Xander seeing things all over the place it just wasn’t safe to stick him behind a wheel.

There was something about the woman on his arm, the way she took more pleasure in splashing her tiny feet through the puddles and looking all around or talking to a dead cat, that just did not seem to be found in many people anymore. The large hand moved to the car door in the rear of the sedan and opened it for the lady, waiting till she was seated and all inside he shut the door walking around the back of the vehicle to the other side where he slid into the back as well.

The driver looked back only he seemed to stop dead in his movement upon looking at the woman. Xanders eyes passed glance from him to her and back to him again. Never before had he seen a look like that on this mans face.

“ Ed, my Aunt Molly’s please, she is expecting me and I am dreadfully late. “

Ed never responded at first then without needing to be told again seemed to shake off the stare and turn back to the front.

“ Yes Xander, not a problem and I know a short cut “

The ride was fast and the shortcut proved better then any he had ever known of. They passed through back streets and nearly drove past the road they needed to turn only. The houses seemed to start looking older and more elegant in their arrangement compared to the newer suburbs of the city. The pulled in front of a house and Ed lifted a remote pressing one button and a three digit code before the large black iron gates opened up and he drove through. Once the last of the car was through the sensor sounded off for five seconds then the doors closed again.

Before them were well taken care of lawns and trees, willows and rowan, flowers of all kinds and even small glass balls wrapped with copper wire that were nestled within a circle of lily white stones in the center of the front lawn. The fairy circle, he had totally forgot that it was there. No matter since they drove up the side and turned to the front of the home. Large set stairs coiled up and onto a porch which had chairs made of wicker and even a porch swing hanging down from the top of the roofs hang over. The panes of glass all had a design within them done in stained glass. The house was painted in a beautiful pale blue and accented with a light oak wood color right up to the front door.

Xander would escort her into the house, which by any standard for a house was huge. There was the entrance way, then a sitting room, a living room, a dining room, a library/study room, the kitchen with its own breakfast nook and a fireplace. It really was one of the oldest homes still standing in all of Salem. Sometimes Xander had wondered to himself, that if he set to pull various bricks from the fireplaces in the house, would he find hidden things from back in the witch times. The thought was always there, just never acted on.

Maeve:

As oblivious to the layers of lifetimes that littered his eyes and to his inherent maleness as she once was to the fae realm, she was as comfortable with him as she had ever been. An almost child like giggle burst forth from her rosebud lips at the rueful tone to his hypothetical, the attention swiftly caught by another wonder then back to nod seriously at his statement of faith. All was well and she was reassured. A slight tug of her features toward a grimace as the conveyance was the dismal ebony, a stray mischievous thought impishly wished to brighten it up , the thought chased away by the ogre who lay beneath the driver’s skin. He stared and she stared and the moment seemed to stretch as they both wondered about each, the spell broken all unknowing by the still slightly sodden rescuer, and the looks on their face, Ed and Maeve, matched as their surprise was quickly hidden by the recrudescence of normality.

An odd sense of disquiet crept upon her at the iron gates, a sudden tightening of the throat, a feeling of trapped, and then they were through, and the emotion relaxed its grip and she brushed it away after one more subdued glance at the sinister looking apparatus. Eyes which to normal humans would appear hazel, in actuality a rich earthy green with tiny swirls of gold, scanned the premises now that the cold iron was in the past, filling with delight at the wonders within. Oh the rowan! And there were the dropping graceful limbs of the willow. She wanted to rush and make the acquaintance of all of them. And then she saw the circle. The blaze literally blazed with light to her other sight and she could feel the place beckoning to her. All to swiftly the view of it faded and she became aware of her nose pressed to the glass window as if any gawking child.

As the car approached the entrance way to the domicile, the young female could stylistically appreciate the design but it was the windows that caught her wondering attention once more. The colors! The designs! She was halted with the beauty and then she peered closer for she could see tiny subtle little shimmers with each whorl and helix, and she was struck with the audacity of the artisan who’d imbued each delicate work with a touch of enchantment. The fascination was total and she was slow to realize that her escort was waiting to accompany her into this marvel. Gratefully she accepted his arm once again, feeling as though they were old friends now, and she directed a dazzling, delighted smile to him as the layout of the mansion revealed itself.

Maeve delighted in each room, exclaiming over the exquisite details in each of the places he showed to her. The rocking chair in the sitting room, wrapped comfily in ages of mothers love, comforted those who rested within it’s wooden embrace. In the living room, a tiny bottle upon a shelf caught her eye. She was too short to properly see it but she could see the glow about it, almost the same glow as Enoch. Who promptly appeared upon her shoulder bearing her no discomfort in the least. Maeve whispered softly to the feline as they swept next into the dining room, showing him the wooden wand tucked into a jar, to her human sight looked merely like a stick of cinnamon on a shelf.

By now she had left Xander’s grasp and was pushing forward to discover the next thing by herself, happening to be the library and she was halted in the doorway by the amazements within. Her hand lifted as if to reach towards the ancient tomes before her, which shimmered under their illusion of encyclopaedia, then pulled back, obviously not for her perusal. Hesitantly she took a step forward as the mulberry familiar made a beeline for the fireplace, perching delicately on a brick nine from the eastern edge. She aimlessly flitted from trinket to bauble to ornament, all nestled almost haphazardly within the myriad bookcases. It was a wrench to depart the fabulous chamber but the tour must be completed, the lady desperately hoping to grab a spare moment to explore.

The kitchen in contrast was simply filled with the comfort of a thousand earth witches at their craft, no fanciness or wonder just comfort and love and food. The wafting smells caught her body’s attention even as the mind was lost within the magic and her stomach growled its impatience and amused laughter without hint of embarrassment rang forth and the eyes refocused on the male who had brought her here. “Thank you ever so much for sharing your home with me. It is a spectacular place!” Her tone was sincere, delight genuine, as was the relish in which she savored the provender unobtrusively extended by the staff within.

Xander:

Have you ever seen a child in a toy store for the first time ever? This was much the same to him as he watched the woman glee and laugh over everything in sight. How she moved and glided here and there wanting to touch but hesitant in doing so. There was not even a thought put forth when the cat ran by and Xander lifted his foot up as it passed through where his leg would have been. He turning a moment to eye the purple blur on the stone and shake his head knowing that even with all its oddity it somehow seemed to fit right in. What was even stranger still, Xander felt an odd sensation like he had always been at the woman’s side somehow. He pushed the thought away though and smirked a little as he heard the rumble of her stomach.

“ I do believe you need to eat something dear. Aunt Molly made some fresh her bread this morning and as odd as this is going to sound, I pulled the honey comb from the hive. Perhaps you’d like some bread and honey and maybe a glass of milk or cider. That way you can relax and warm up a little while I take care of the stuffy lawyer man in the office where Molly is. “

Pulling a chair out for her to settle at the large hand made oak table, Xander turned and began to putter around. Pulling a tray from one surface he settled upon it a napkin and a small circular dish with real butter in it. Then at its side he placed the clear glass jar with the wedge of honey comb still resting in it so that the honey remained in its own environment. Molly had never understood him when it came to his reasoning for this, but Xander had always been firm in the thought that if you take the comb from it then it loses something over the time it spends in the jar. Like when you buy honey, they have so much mixed into it that isn’t pure when all they really need to do was leave the honey comb in it and nothing would need adding.

A cutting board and knife was pulled out and one of the loaves that were baked was set on it. Xander cut a few slices and settled them onto a plate with care, adding it to the tray as well. A small knife for the butter and the spindle spoon for the honey. He reached up and brought a glass down from a cupboard and settled it along side the rest before lifting the whole tray and placing it on the table before her. He turned a moment and opened the fridge pulling out two containers.

“ This one is milk and the one with the blue design on its container is the cider. “

He placed them upon table as well and smiled at her.

“ It is a pleasure to have you here with us. Go ahead and enjoy this and when you are done or full go ahead and look around or curl up in a chair. I will not be too long. “

Turning out the kitchen entrance he headed down another long hall that seemed to have only one door. At the end he tapped twice and entered in shutting it behind him. Molly looked up from behind the desk to smile at him and the lawyer extended hand to him. Fifteen minutes of talking and listening Xander realized a great deal of things. Molly wasn’t related to him, she was leaving everything to him, and had the papers drawn up to have him legally adopted by her. Xander really didn’t understand it but molly said she would explain after the lawyer left. Xander signed the papers, even the adoption ones and everything was official. The estate, all legal and non legal aspects concluded. The Lawyer left through the office’s side door.

“ Molly, I have brought someone home with me. It was the oddest thing how we met I mean. She was there when I called you, but I didn’t see her and she accused me of stepping on her cat which really isn’t there. All that aside though I think she is either completely nuts or someone like we are who can’t uncross the lines from real to the other side. Perhaps you can help. I thought it better to bring her here rather then leave her alone in the park while it rained. “

Molly stood up slowly handing Xander the papers which he put into the safe before turning to her again. Taking her hand and wrapping it to his arm so she could walk using him as support along with the cane she walked with.

Molly wasn’t a large woman, about Maeves own height, about the same weight and look as well. Though the years had done much to her body. Freckles were slightly more prominent, as were age spots on her hands. Her hair which was once a deep smoldering earthen brown was now flowing long and soft like the snows of a new winter morn. Her eyes still danced their secrets though, the green and gold that played upon one another with harmony and knowing.

She walked as though there was nothing wrong with her, though Xander knew better. All the years of work and life had taken their tole to her old bones, but she would never admit it. Once in a while you could still catch her dancing in the rain around the front yard with the willow and rowen and all the tiny ornaments. For weeks now she had been telling him that there was a new window that was going to be needed soon. That this house told the story of her life, her family, all within the glass she had worked with her own hands. Molly had taught Xander how to do the stained glass as well and she made him promise that this one which was to be made would be completely his own design.

“ Molly, I would like to Introduce you t---”

Molly gasped a moment as she came around the table still holding the arm of the man. A hand came out to grace the cheek of the young woman with the tips of her fingers.

“ She needs no introduction Xander. This is Maeve, of Fiona House. She my dear boy is who you were meant to meet. Though I do not quite know how it was she came end up in the park when it was the ring out front that was readied for her arrival. “

Xander was staring at the two of them now not quite sure what was going on or what kind of odd joke was being played here. He seemed to be at the brunt of it though.

“ Where is he? “

Molly asked without hesitation.

Xander looked at her oddly

“ Enoch, my silly boy, the purple blur as you call him. Where is he, I know he has to be here somewhere “

She looked rather insistant on this matter and Xander shook his head trying to come to terms with the whole of this days events. He pulled out a chair and helped Molly settle then turned to fetch a glass and pour her some cider.

“ I must be in a dream “

He thought to himself though speaking outward without really meaning to. Xander was lost, Molly knew more then he thought which was really odd to him and he was just there in the background trying to come to grips with living in a nut house that was decorated pretty.

Maeve:

Cheerfully accepting the offer of bread and honey, choosing milk instead of the sweeter cider. She watched him bustle around the kitchen, admiring him with a detached eye for his inherent beauty as he provided. She shook her head softly to his statement, closer to the natural element seemed fitting to her, and she directed a gentle smile to him as he provided for her, then a sudden dizzy feeling swept over her a minute as he turned and slipped from the room. Unbidden, mumbled ancient phrases tumbled from her lips and her right hand lifted to hover in the air above each of the three provisions, her other sight flaring and she could see a fragile string of white light floating, its beginning at her heart and it hovered along the path that the boy had trodden. She knew if she followed it with end with him. Even as she watched, the words she had spoken, which she had not really understood, cause a slight flare in the line and another tiny filament of phosphorescence wrapped itself around the larger thread. “The ties that bind,” she murmured softly to herself, and then the wave of lightheadedness passed and she delicately smeared the honey on the bread, taking a small nibble, then a sip of the milk.

She polished off the snack, savoring the mingling of flavors, and had just set down the empty glass when she heard Xander and his companion enter, and she glanced up, and froze for it was clear that this was the font of glamour here, the eyes narrowed slightly as the woman interrupted him and reached to her and the touch of the woman’s fingers to her flesh brought another wave of that odd dizziness. The woman, Molly, spoke her true name and Maeve’s eyes widened as she recognized the other at some sort of deep level. She had no memories of the woman, did not know her own true name, but she <I>knew</I> her. A tiny frown creased the pale brow and she began to ask a question, it being forestalled by Molly’s next revelation, who he was supposed to meet and she nodded softly, the fact ringing true in her being. She hadn’t consciously known it until now but that was exactly why she was here. Her eyes flickered in the direction of the ring as it was mentioned, still feeling the call of it, and then she blinked back to Molly when the feline was called for.

Maeve frowned and then started to stand and retrieve the cat but then he wandered through the wall next to her and leapt to the table top, turning his face to Maeve a minute. “First you are so stubborn that the gentle lady sent to guide you to being with is needed to be replaced for she is heart sore over her failure. Then you need to be bludgeoned over the head with what you are. No one can get you to the place you need to be so we have to improvise! Even now you fight your nature!! And to top it all off, you don’t pay any attention to the obvious symbolism inherent in the three threes of bricks.” He huffed off and left the blinking girl to make his way to Molly, executing a feline bow and resting a paw on top of the old woman’s hand. “Good day, my dear.”

Blinking after his tirade, she had the sudden realization that he was right. The first cat -had- been a female. She’d come out of the door with Enoch though. Funny how she hadn’t noticed. The green-gold eyes watched the feline, narrowing slightly as she suddenly began to wonder about the game -he- was playing, and what did he mean about the three threes. Suddenly she realized that he had spoken to Molly and she cleared her throat a minute. “He says--” She cut off as he swung his head back to her, and shrank back a teeny bit. “Oh, you can hear him.” Her cheeks flushed a bit at knowing that Molly witnessed the little feline’s diatribe and she averted her eyes, they focusing on Xander who stood to the side, completely baffled.

“Oh, Xander,” she said softly, ”It’s not a dream. Well, it is but it’s not your dream, the Dreams are the reality and your reality is just a cover.” She slipped from her place to grasp delicately at his elbow, her tone earnest. She was trying very hard to make him understand that he wasn’t crazy. She frowned a bit in thought, then shook her head in exasperation, “It’s almost impossible to explain. Just know that though your aunt and I have seemingly just met, we are two of a kind. And you and I have a destiny together.” Once again a wave of dizziness came over here and she swayed on her feet, her eyes distant. “Death cannot part them for death is but another level of dreaming, though beware of the child for she holds the earth in her grasp and will not be denied.” Then her eyes refocused, blinking once, twice up at Xander, and then blackness swallowed her and she fell to the ground.

[Queen of Hearts]

Xander:

This man stood there as though nothing more could come to pass that would phase him but the touch of her hand upon the curve of his arm as she spoke the words, he felt something happen. Her body would never touch the floor as he scooped her up the moment she began to slip. Her dress and hair, arms and legs all cradled perfectly in his hold. A sigh slipped the velvet lips as he turned to look at Molly. The old woman smiled softly up at him from where she sat, her eyes sparkled an odd color for a moment as though seeing him in a whole new way.

With a soft nod Xander turned to the door and carefully carried the lady in his arms out to the sitting room only to stop dead in his tracks at the front of the large overstuffed plush couch. Blinking he shook his head only to steady himself and look back at the arm of the couch again.

“ He isn’t a purple mush anymore is he Xander? “

Perplexed the boy gently laid the lady down upon the couch cushions, pillow under her head, only to take a blanket and pull it over her form. Eyes catching her face a moment, his head tilting slightly as though truly seeing her for the first time yet knowing her for eternity. Lost in the moment of wonderment Molly came in silent behind him.

“ I was wondering when your eyes would open child. “

Xander jumped and the cat started to laugh until he shot a look towards it.

“ Oh no, he can not only see me now but hear me too “

Enoch vanished from the couch only to appear in Molly’s lap across the room after she settled herself down. Without realizing it, Xander lifted the head of the Lady up and removed the pillow only to sit and place her head upon his lap, one hand stroking fingers through her hair idly as Molly started to speak again.

“ I guess it is time to tell you, though I suspect you know some of it already my dear one. Firstly, I am not and never have I been your mother. I am not even human my boy. I am however like the one whose head rests in your lap, as a matter of fact, I am from her very house. When I was younger, before coming over the threshold to be here, I was a Lady in Waiting so to speak, however my time would never come to pass. I had found the passage, most by accident really but passed through and fell in love with the man who is in all these photos. I returned home once more only to be eyed by one of the house and told I was pregnant but that the soul of who was within my unborn was to be great. You see, the lord of the house had passed away that winter and none had come to bare child until me, he would be reborn into the world through me. “

A fond smile slipped her lips as she waded through memories that sounded more like some long lost fairy tale. As she spoke things began to happen, almost as though time melted from her face and frame letting out a woman who looked nearly thirty years younger.

“ This is the real me Xander, the other was a guise worn so that to the mortal world I would appear as they are in every way. I was told that there was a prophecy that was to come to pass. Where a Lady of the house loved a man of the world, bore a child whose soul was the king of summer and fall who fell in a battle. The child would be born in our own realm but raised by another family in the other realm only to come back to my arms when it was time. “

Tears stated to stream the woman’s face as she sat there with an ever present glowing smile on her lips. She had brightened, her skin paled, lips blushing and eyes dancing.

“ I gave birth to a son and after three days brought him through the passage to meet his father. On the fifth day he was left upon the step of a chosen family who at the time was believed to be perfect in the ways our family in the Fae realm are. They named the child Xander. Years passed and eventually he came back to my arms. “

Xander couldn’t speak, dumbstruck in the tale of these things he was just sitting there petting the lady’s hair on his lap. It explained a lot of the dreams mind you and why it was he saw things no one else did, he was stuck between two realms. His dark eyes pooled downward to the face that rested lightly there.

“ And her, why is she here and why did she speak to me as though we were lovers of a long lost memory “

The sadness in his voice slipped as in his mind he saw a beautiful white steed with flowing hair being ridden by a young looking man in shimmering armor, only they fell and the earth became painted red. Xander closed his eyes tightly and hung his head.