By
Donna and Abs
The soft breeze brushed lightly through
the trees surrounding Gideon's cottage. He was feeling stronger every day, and
starting to want to return to his everyday routine. But the doctors still wanted
him isolated for another week or two, just to be on the safe side. He was
sitting on a bench outside of his home, carving a tiny replica of a rabbit like
creature that was nibbling on the grass at his feet. A squirrel was on the back
of the bench, chittering softly as he appeared to watch the whittling with
interest. Suddenly, a smile crossed Gideon's face. He knew someone was standing
quietly behind him without even looking around. "Hello. My name is Gideon.
Who are you?"
"They call me the Old One,"
said the stranger. "Are you
well, Gideon?"
"I don't know for sure. I feel well
though," he said, looking up from his carving with a welcoming smile.
"Are you the father of Shannon and the others?" He glanced out at the
ivy covering his cottage. One of his friends was trying to hide there so she
could listen in.
"You might call me their
father," he said. "They
call each other sisters." He
took a seat beside him and said, "Is Shannon your favorite of my
girls?"
"I like Shannon. She is nice,"
he said. "They are all nice. They don't let me feel lonely."
"They like you. Very much." He
looked around. The forest had eyes.
They were all listening. "Men,
such as yourself, and myself, are rare with our species.
But needed, you understand."
"I like being needed," Gideon
said simply.
"Everyone likes being needed,"
said the Old One. “And we all
like being liked." He felt
them asking and he smiled. "So,"
he tried not to laugh, "You have no favorite of my daughters? One who makes you happier than the others?"
Gideon looked confused. "I don't
understand. They are all my friends. Why should I like one better than the
others?" There was a distinct giggle from the nearby stream.
"We all have favorites. They are all my children, but some make me smile more than the others. It's only natural." As he asked the question, he pressed with his mind just a little bit, trying to get past the broken connections in Gideon's mind to the truth that lay beneath the surface.
Gideon fidgeted in his seat, and stood
up. "I like them all," he said stubbornly. "They are all pretty
and friendly, and tell me funny stories. Shannon stays with me at night and
reads to me until I go to sleep."
That was the second time he'd mentioned
Shannon, but that was understandable. She
was the strongest of the girls in this little section. It was like noticing Fae most in the garden.
That did not tell him what he really wanted to know, however.
A little angry with himself, Old One
probed more deeply. He might have
to do some repair before his plans were complete, or he would not know how to
proceed.
He found that Gideon was indeed very
special. He had gifts that very few humans ever have and a child-like innocence
not unlike that of the Old One’s children. As the Old One probed, he got a
glimpse of the man Gideon would have been if his mind had been whole. At the
very least, he would have been a healer of broken spirits and minds himself, and
at the best, a healer of rifts between large groups of people. The latter was
out of the question with his mental limitations, but the Old One could since
that Gideon was still capable of helping people on a one to one basis.
The problem was, he was so childlike,
whatever mature drives he might have had were so confusing they were totally
repressed. He had to bring them out
without shocking the poor man so horribly he would scare him.
From his probing, he had been able to
narrow down the field at least. He was close to Shannon, yes, but he had close
ties with Xylia because of his magical way with animals. He also seemed to
remember Vanessa and Hydra with extra fondness.
Sensing this affection for Hydra made the
Old One smile. She was one of his
favorites. But she had also set her
heart on someone, and he had reasons for wanting that to proceed.
His choice of Vanessa was interesting, though.
Even though he hadn't voiced his
thoughts, Gideon answered him. "She was a butterfly. Very pretty. I like
butterflies. I did a carving of her. Would you like to see it?"
"Very much!" As he spoke, he sent out a tiny burst of energy, directed at
the garden.
Gideon led the Old One into the cottage,
where they found some tea and cookies waiting for them. "Thank you,
Ivy," Gideon said politely, knowing she would hear him, even though he
couldn't see her. Walking over to his little dresser, he picked up a delicate
carving and handed it to the Old One. It was a butterfly, yes, but the body of
it was that of a beautiful young woman. "She will always be a butterfly to
me," he said.
"Then you will be pleased,"
said the Old One. For, through the
window at that moment, came the butterfly that was Vanessa's essence.
She could not turn back into that form without help, so he had supplied
it.
"Hello Vanessa," Gideon said
with a happy smile, holding out his hand. The butterfly landed on it, making a
tinkling bell-like sound. Gideon laughed. "I've missed you too. All of
you."
The butterfly fluttered a little, making
her tinkling sound, and Gideon kept laughing.
The Old One watched, interested. Not
many understood Fae speech. He knew
he had chosen correctly; the question was, who would be the lucky girl.
Would it be Vanessa or Shannon? Xylia
would have been his personal choice, because of the animal connection, but there
had to be more. That spark they all
had with their chosen ones. Since
all the girls loved Gideon, he needed to go with the man-boy's choice, and that
was no easy matter.
Finally, smiling, the Old One said,
"May I see my lovely girl?"
Gideon passed the butterfly over to the
Old One's hand, and then watched with awed fascination as she changed back into
her human form, a thin film of sparkling dust over her naked body.
The beautiful girl looked from one man to
the other, plainly unsure which to hug and kiss first! Smiling at Gideon, she hugged her "father" briefly,
and then turned back to the young man to give him a hug and a kiss.
He closed his eyes, pursing his lips as
always, but not attempting to return the kiss. Vanessa giggled and leaned in
again, touching her lips with his. Suddenly his little squirrel friend dashed in
through the open door, complaining loudly. Gideon laughed. "Hello Xylia.
You can come in too."
The robust red head came in with a smile.
"I was just . . ."
"Yes," laughed the Old One. "I know what you were just doing. And Shannon?"
"Waiting to be summoned."
Xylia came into the cottage, stopping to
give Gideon a hug and a kiss as well. She was dressed in a very skimpy outfit
made of fur, but Gideon did not react at all when her full breasts brushed up
against him.
The Old one watched curiously.
He would have thought those two were bound by their love of animals.
But while Gideon seemed to like her, there was no chemical reaction at
all to her.
Gideon teased Xylia about the grass in
her hair, not unlike a brother giving a sister a hard time. They were close, but
not *that* way. Sighing softly, the Old One summoned Shannon.
That was the one he did not really
understand. Shannon was one of the
more responsible fae, which was why she looked after Gideon.
But if the Old One had to choose a mate for the young man, he would not
have chosen that particular girl. She
was very studious and had a way of sometimes being too preoccupied with her
responsibilities to care one way or the other about males.
Shannon poked her head in the door, and
then when the Old One nodded, she glided in gracefully, heading straight to
Gideon. Just like the others, she gave him a big hug, which Gideon returned with
enthusiasm.
As far as The Old One could see, her hug
was maternal. He sighed, wondering
if he'd ever find the one, when suddenly he tasted something on his tongue.
Pheromones. Looking quickly,
he saw that Gideon's eyes were slightly dilated while he smiled at Shannon, his
heart beating slightly faster.
Well, well, he thought.
He watched the two of them exchange
greetings. Gideon told her that Katherine had left him a poetry book about an
Indian named Hiawatha, and he hoped she would read it to him that evening.
"You will like it too," he said to Xylia. “It has lots of animals in
it."
"That would be very nice," said
the Old One. He had to talk to the
women alone, but of course, they had to do this later, after it was polite to
leave. Until then, they made small
talk with the young man, and the Old One watched his reactions closely.
He hoped that this would work, since there did not seem a perfect match.
But he knew Shannon was good with accepting responsibility, and this was,
at least in his mind, important.
He got the chance to talk to them alone
when Gideon suddenly stood up, a big smile on his face and his arms held stiffly
in front of him, with hands clenched. "I have to go. I eat lunch at one.
Katherine is fixing chicken and dumplings today."
They all kissed him goodbye, saying they
would see him after he had eaten. When
he had gone, the Old One turned to his girls, and explained what he had in mind.
They were all in agreement, that this was an excellent idea, but the ones
he had not chosen were disappointed that they could not be the one.
Shannon, as expected, accepted it as her responsibility.
The others were slightly jealous of her, and Vanessa said, "But why
her? She doesn't even want him that
way!"
Shannon looked thoughtful. "Maybe it
is because I have always thought of him as a child, even though he is in a man's
body."
"It is your nature," The Old
One agreed. "But the only
spark he showed was for you."
"Could it be because I have been
sleeping with him at night?" she asked. "He seems to like cuddling
with me."
Xylia giggled. "You like it a lot
too, sis, otherwise, you would let one of us have a turn."
"He sees you as a sister,"
sighed the Old One. He shook his
head. "I do not understand it.
But it must be the one he is attracted to, or it will not work."
"When are you planning on doing
this?" Shannon asked. "And will this be only for one night? If so, I
want a boy child. One that has his gifts, but not his limitations."
"The solstice is tomorrow. It can be done then, when the forest will help. It will not be easy, my children, but we shall help Gideon to father a son."