The Forest Fae

by Donna and Abs

After Dr. Shepherd dropped Gideon off at Katherine’s lovely farmhouse, they got him settled into a room of his own. The trip out from town had exhausted him completely. Katherine got him to eat a little soup, and then he took a nap while Connor rode out to all the other farms, warning everyone to not go into town until they had the sickness under control. 

When the Highlander finished his rounds of the farms, he rode back to his own farm and after putting up his horse, went into the house.  He found everyone in Gideon’s room. Katherine was sitting up on the bed, reading to him with Gideon’s head resting on her slightly rounded stomach. “The baby is kicking me!” he said with a big grin as Connor walked in. Johnny was sitting cross legged on the foot of the bed, watching everything with intense interest. 

“Hee hee,” Connor chuckled, sitting down on the bed on the other side of where Gideon lay. “What is she reading to you, Gideon?” he asked, peaking over Katherine’s shoulder at the book. They had found a whole trunk full of books up in the attic of the house, along with quite a few other useful items. 

“The Jungle Book!” Gideon said with a grin. He then quoted verbatim from memory the poem about the law of the pack. “I like it! Johnny is making all the animals sounds. It makes it fun.” Johnny chuckled, his laugh a carbon copy of Connor’s and then imitated a wolf’s howl. 

Connor grinned as he snuggled close to Katherine as she picked up the book and started to read again.  The next several days went by fairly well, but it was soon apparent that although Gideon was showing no signs of catching the disease running rampart in Edan, his cancer was once more causing him to fade fast. A capped IV had been left in Gideon’s arm to make blood tests and transfusions easier on him, so all Katherine had to do was to get one into Connor’s arm. The effect was almost immediate, as usual. The infuse of the immortal’s blood usually stabilized him for a week or more. But it was not a cure. His cancer was taking over his body completely, and the transfusions were the only thing keeping him alive. 

The next morning, Gideon woke, happy and feeling good. After a good breakfast, he announced he was going to go say hello to all the animals. Katherine made sure his IV was securely taped down and helped him slid a light jacket over his shirt. He wandered around the farm, visiting them one after the other. His horse, Shorty, greeted him with a happy whinny and Gideon spent some time petting him and talking to him. It was then that a tiny roe deer wandered along the edge of the farm next to the thick grove of trees, catching Gideon’s eye.  Following the little deer into the forest, Gideon looked around, smiling at a little family of rabbits nibbling on the clover nearby. Over his head in a tree, a squirrel ran down the branch chattering excitedly at him. "Hello," he told them all. "It is a beautiful day. I feel good now." He walked a little bit further, and then to his surprise, saw a tiny thatched cottage almost completely hidden in a thick overgrowth of flowering vines. 

Cocking his head, he studied it. It looked unoccupied, but he had the strangest feeling that someone was there. He walked to it, and sat down on a log bench that he found outside to catch his breath. Almost immediately, all sorts of little animals started to inch their way towards him.   

Around their heads, flew a bright little ball of light.  Gideon had seen that before, and he smiled at it.  There were fae in the forest, too!  

"Hello," he said pleasantly. "My name is Gideon. What is your name?" There was a sound like the tinkling of little bells and he smiled. As usual, he could hear what they said inside of his head. "Glad to meet you, Xylia. Do you live here?"  

The ball of light twinkled as she answered.  Then it evolved into the form of a red-haired woman, her body covered with an animal skin similar to what John Clayton wore. 

There was another tinkling sound from the thick ivy like foliage that had overgrown the cottage. Gideon cocked his head again and smiled. "She wants to come out and play too," he chuckled. He had been right. There was someone living there. Not in the cottage itself, but in the vines covering it. 

"That's Ivy," said Xylia.  "And this," she showed him another ball of light, "Is Jasmine."  She fluttered around his face, startling him as she darted about for a moment, before flying off quickly. 

“She’s pretty! But where is she going?” he asked, looking in the direction in which she had flown. 

"She's a bit freer than the rest of us.  Found in the Jasmine flower, but not really rooted."  She said it like it was the most natural thing in the world to *be* rooted.  She might be going to fetch Shannon." 

He smiled, taking out a little piece of wood and began whittling a little on it, trying to put the finishing touches on the carving of a beautiful butterfly. "This is what Vanessa looked like," he said. "She was pretty. She flies free too." 

Xylia smiled.  "You met our Vanessa!  I miss her."  She took a deep breath and said, "Yes, she is free but not as free as she wants to be."  Then she stopped sniffed the air, and said, "Jasmine comes with Shannon." 

The tiny babbling brook at their feet rippled, and as a very pretty dark-haired girl strolled up its bank, the ripple grew until a stunning redhead rose from its shallow depts.  She had thick, full, curly red hair, pale skin, and an innocent face.  The other, on the bank, was exotically dark.   

"Where's Ivy?" she asked. 

Xylia waved toward the foliage.  "Putting on coverings," she said, indicating Gideon.  Shannon, the brook fae, had on a white robe that was sheer from the water. Jasmine wore a white robe that fluttered in the wind.  

Gideon grinned as the fairy in question made her way out from the thick overgrowth covering the cottage. Ivy was tall and thin, with long brown hair that was straight and highlighted with many other shades.  She had a friendly smile and was clothed in leaves, like the Biblical image of Eve.

Gideon looked down at the carving, then looked up again as he suddenly remembering he hadn’t answered Xylia’s question. "Oh yes, Xylia. I know Vanessa. I know all the fairies in the garden. Faith and I were staying with them in the garden, but I can’t do that right now. The doctors don't want me to be in town for a while."

"Why not?" asked Shannon as she came toward him.  "Do they not like you?" 

"They like me," he said. "But I have leukemia, and there is a bad sickness in the air of the town. They did not want me to get sick with that too. They are trying to make my cancer go away." He shrugged, almost as he didn't really believe that he could be cured.  

"So you were sent out here," said Shannon, saying it like a statement, not a question.  "We will keep you safe."  She stopped and turned toward a Willow tree nearby.  The leaves were bending toward Gideon, seemingly trying to caress him, and the redhead moved out of the way so this could be done.  "Willow feels your pain.  She would like to take your sadness." 

He reached up with his hand, letting the leaves caress his fingers. “Hello, Willow,” he said. “Are you going to come out too?” 

The tree seemed to bend, and the long branches and leaves, which were caressing him, turned into blond tresses.  The woman left standing in place of the tree was as willowy as her name, but there was a sadness in her almost shockingly big blue eyes that was startling. 

Taking his hand in hers, she pressed her palm against his, telling him that she wanted him to stay with them, and not leave. He looked back at her and nodded with a sad smile on his face. "I don't want to leave now. I have friends. I am happy here in this place. No one has a pain in their ass when I am around them." He sighed softly. He had accepted the fact he was going to die, and soon, but now they were telling him that they might be able to make him better. It was confusing to him. Looking back up, he smiled once more. "Does anyone live here?" he asked, pointing to the little cottage. "My friend Katherine lives on the farm on the other side of the trees so they would be close by to help me when I get tired. When I get better, I can ride my horse Shorty into town to take care of the horses there. That’s my job."  He smiled proudly.

Shannon nodded.  "If she says it is okay," she said, sounding like an adult who is telling a child to get permission from their parents, "we will clear a space for Shorty.  Xylia is good with animals." 

"I like animals, and they like me too," Gideon said with a grin. “Katherine is going to have a baby. It’s a little girl. I haven’t told her though. It’s a secret. I’m good at keeping secrets. Melissa is going to have a baby too. I saw her at the dance.” 

“Her baby will be a girl too,” Shannon said. “We always have girls, unless the Old One gifts us with a boy. There aren’t many male among us, and they are very special and much loved. Like you.” She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on his cheek. 

Gideon ducked his head and blushed happily as he pursed his lips back. Then he cocked his head as if listening to something far away. “Katherine is looking for me,” he said. “It’s almost lunch time. I have lunch at one.” Then they all heard it. Of in the distance, a female voice was calling his name.  

"I must go now. I get tired easy and they worry if they can't find me." He shrugged and smiled. The fairies all gathered around him and hugged and kissed him goodbye on his cheek, telling him to come back soon. He frowned for a moment, and made a kissing motion with. Somehow it didn't seem the same as when they kissed him. "Goodbye." He got up slowly from the log and made his way towards the voice.  

The other forest fae gathered around Willow and hugged her, trying to make her feel happy. It was not easy to feel another’s pain so readily and Gideon’s illness was affecting her the most. Then they heard Gideon's voice off the distance, coming closer. "It's over here. It's really pretty. It can be my own little home. I like it."  

The girls dissipated into the foliage and Shannon got back into the brook which, though barely up to a person's ankle, was suddenly deep enough to hide her. 

Gideon came into the clearing, leading a petite young looking woman by the hand. She was wearing a loose fitting dress that fell over a gently rounded belly. Despite her apparent youth, the fairies got  the impression she had actually lived for centuries. When saw the cottage, Kat stopped short and smiled. "You are right, it is lovely, Gideon. Not only the cottage, but everything around here. It's like a magical fairie glen. I can see why you would want to stay in a place like this. I most certainly would!" 

Gideon chuckled. "Do you believe in fairies, Miss Kat?" 

Katherine nodded. "Oh yes, Gideon, I do. I used to play with them when I was a little girl in Scotland. My father and I traveled a lot, and I had no friends. But somehow, I could always count on the wee folk to come around and keep me company."  

As she finished speaking, Shannon appeared in the center of the brook.  The others were still hiding until she told them it was all right; every collection of fae sisters had one that seemed to lead the others, and despite Shannon's innocent appearance, she was much stronger than the others in this glen. 

Katherine stiffened, as if sensing another presence without even seeing her. Looking at Gideon, she raised her eyebrow. "You play with the wee folk too, don't you Gideon?"  

He laughed, shuffling his feet in a happy manner. "Yes Kat, I do. But it is a secret!"  

Then they both sensed Shannon's presence, and turned to see her smiling at them.  "Welcome, Lady," said the redhead.  "You will not be harmed here; your soul is pure, though not as pure as our love Gideon." 

Katherine put her hand over her mouth in surprise, then broke out in happy laughter. She hugged Gideon and laughed some more, holding her belly. "Leave it to you, my friend, to find the wee folk!" She turned to Shannon and dropped a deep curtsey, and reverting back to her native Gaelic, she thanked her for the welcome, and for befriending Gideon.  

"No thanks are needed," said Shannon with a little Irish lilt.  "He is special, pure, a friend to us.  We shall need him here.  He has been a help to our sisters in Edan." 

She raised her eyebrows again. "You, dear heart, have been a busy little man, haven't you?" She stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad he was the one who found you all then. There is not a better one on this world to have done so."  

"Aye," said Shannon.  "We agree."  Willow whispered in her sister spokes-fae's ear, and Shannon frowned.  "Is he very ill, then?  Can we not help him?" 

Gideon had left them, wandered over to the cottage, trying the door. He wanted to see inside. But Katherine had hung back to talk to the fairies. When it became obvious they knew he was very ill, she had to tell them the truth. "He is dying from his illness," she said sadly. "But there is a chance the doctors might be able to cure the cancer that is destroying his blood. There is a man here who is physically identical to Gideon, but he is an immortal, like myself.  We have both lived for over four centuries. The doctors are going to transplant some of Connor's blood producing marrow into Gideon, and we are hopeful that it will take over. He will need to isolated though afterwards. This place might be ideal! Especially if you are here to help."  

"We will do what we can," said the fae, though she did not understand the technical talk.  Willow looked up with sad, haunted eyes and said nothing. 

Near the cottage and Gideon, both Xylia and Ivy were showing him the plants and the animals. He was grinning from ear to ear, enjoying the attention. Katherine and the rest of the fae joined them to look inside. The cottage was warm and dry. It had a nice, comfortable bed in one corner of the room. There was even a working toilet, a claw foot tub and running water. "I like it, Gideon," Katherine said. "I can bring you your meals until you are better, then you can come eat with us. When I’m not here, your faerie friends can keep you company. It will be good for you to have your own place. But if you ever get lonely, you can always come back and stay with us. You will always be welcome in my home." She hugged him tight. 

Xylia stood at the doorway, a doe at her hip.  "He will not be alone," she said, and Katherine knew she didn't just mean the faeries. 

Gideon was wandering around, touching everything. "I like it," he announced. "I have my very own home now."  He sat down on the bed, and then with a soft sigh, curled up on his side and went to sleep.