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“But I want Daddy to tell me a story,” Brianna whined as she flopped down on the bed, her wet hair leaving damp streaks on the pillow. “He’s been reading me Mary Poppins.”
“Well, Daddy isn’t home from Professor Dickinson’s dinner party yet,” Claire reasoned. “Now lie still so I can put the Calamine on and whatever you do, don’t scratch.”
Brianna groaned in annoyance but submitted to her mother’s ministrations.
Obviously, Claire wasn’t pleased with the fact that her daughter had caught chicken pox, but she wasn’t upset that it had coincided with the dinner party she’d been dreading.
“I know Mary Poppins is your book with Daddy,” Claire said calmly as she dabbed the ointment on the rash of spots across Brianna’s forearm. “But we can start our own book for nights when Daddy can’t read with you. What about The Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland?”
“No!” Brianna was adamant. “Daddy and I have a list. We haven’t gotten to those yet.”
Claire turned to screw the cap back on the lotion and set it on the bedside table so Brianna wouldn’t see her roll her eyes. “Well then, how about I tell you a fairy story,” she suggested.
Brianna’s eyes narrowed. She hadn’t had a story that wasn’t from one of the books on her shelf in… she couldn’t remember how long. Daddy didn’t like them - nonsense, he’d called it the last time he’d heard Mama telling about the hills where the fairies gathered to dance.
“Not this nonsense again,” to be specific.
“As opposed to the children’s novels you read her?” Mama had challenged.
“Literature,” Daddy had insisted with a wink to Brianna. Mama’s face hadn’t been happy - but it wasn’t entirely angry either. Brianna wasn’t quite sure what it was in that look Mama had given Daddy but there were tears in her eyes as she turned to kiss Brianna’s forehead and wished her goodnight, turning out the light and closing the door without finishing the story.
“Can… can you tell me the one about the woman… the one who went to the hill with the rocks?” Brianna asked quietly, as though she were afraid of someone else overhearing.
“The fairy hill you mean?” Claire swallowed anxiously. Brianna had been obsessed with fairies since they’d taken her to the cinema to see Peter Pan a few weeks earlier - though Frank was always quick to point out that Tinkerbell was actually a pixie. She should have been more careful with how she’d phrased her question. “Wouldn’t you rather hear about Cinderella or Snow White or another fairy tale?”
“No, I… I don’t remember how the fairy hill ends. I remember the woman climbing to see the rocks-”
“Stones. They were stones and they stood in a circle. From a distance it looked as though the hill wore a crown,” Claire began softly, hesitantly.
Brianna relaxed as Claire continued. “There were beautiful blue flowers at the base of the stones and when the woman bent to pluck one, she steadied herself, pressing a hand to the stone.”
Claire chose her words carefully - she didn’t want to give Brianna - or herself - nightmares; talking of the stones was sure to bring vivid dreams to her sleep that night, a prospect that sent a thrill through her even as her chest constricted and tears pooled behind her eyes ready to pour forth if necessary.
“When the woman left the hill with her flowers in hand, she found that everything had changed and soon knew the fairies had tricked her - that their circle of stones was a time trap. The trees were shorter and there were more of them; grass covered the place where the road should be; and there were people watching her whom she didn’t recognize and who scoffed at her hair and clothes.”
Brianna smiled. “Like the Emperor with his new clothes.”
“Something like. They took the woman with them - brought her home to a castle where they could keep an eye on her and protect her from something worse than the mischievous fairies.”
“Who?”
“A demon.” Claire’s voice was hard and flat. She saw Brianna’s eyes widen with fear and hastened to calm her. “But there was a man - a strong and special man - who loved the woman and promised to protect her from the demon and anyone else who might want to hurt her.”
“And did he?”
“He did,” Claire nodded. “He brought the woman back to the fairy hill so she could ask the fairies to send her back where she would be safe.”
“And was she?”
“She didn’t go. The woman loved him and didn’t want to leave him. So she stayed.”
“And they lived happily ever after?”
Oh how Claire wished she could say yes. But before she could lie, Brianna saw the truth.
“They didn’t, did they? What happened to the woman?”
“They were happy for a while - so very happy. But trouble came - a trouble they couldn’t stop and that he couldn’t protect her from.”
“The demon?”
“Actually, yes,” Claire blinked with mild surprise. “Yes, the demon returned but he wasn’t alone. The man brought his love to the fairy hill once more and begged her to go where she would be safe.”
“But she loved him,” Brianna objected. “She couldn’t leave him.”
“She had to. There was someone else who needed protecting too. Their child.”
“So the woman came back through the stones?”
“Yes. She and the child came back. You see, when the fairies pull people through the stones, they have to come back sometime.”
“But why couldn’t the man come with her? Why couldn’t he go through the stones too?”
“Because… because the fairies wouldn’t let him,” Claire said with a tearful shrug. “They have their rules and the ones who pass through the stones always come back, eventually.”
“So the woman… she never saw the man she loved again?” There was a sad tone to Brianna’s question.
“No, she saw him again,” Claire assured Brianna with a smile. “She saw him every time she looked at their child.” She reached over and ran her finger down the line of Brianna’s nose, tapping the tip to make Brianna smile.