"Uh, Simon? He said, *Bear*." Henri stated firmly. "No, he distinctly said, *Blair*. And it's a perfect name." Simon added, a bit testily. Joel walked over to Simon's side, his hand stroking the soft baby hair, his face wearing a soft smile....."I like it. Blair. It fits." And he bent and kissed the silky cheek, and the baby said, "Bwair", again. Simon nodded firmly, "His name is now Blair. *Our* Blair."   ~~~~~@~~~~~~@~~~~~~@   For the Kingdom of Cascadia, life went on. A little duller perhaps, a little sadder, but business was business, and life had to be lived. For the Queen, no day went by that she didn't imagine her life with her baby. How she'd show him that butterfly, or let him crawl around on the soft, fragrant meadow just outside the castle gates, or the joy of taking him on her rounds, or of hearing him say, "mama" for the first time....and every day ended the same.....with Naomi sitting in the nursery, holding his baby blanket to her face, tears streaming down her cheeks. But she had a kingdom to rule. Laws to make and judgements to render. She had cases to be heard, decisions to be made. And if she smiled rarely, if her subjects no longer heard her laugh, who could blame her?   ~~~~@~~~~~~@~~~~~~~@ In Vancouverle, a young Prince grew, and a sweet memory faded.......   ~~~~@~~~~~~@~~~~~~~@   And in the dark tower, miles from Cascadia, the evil sorcerer searched. He used his evil minions, his crystal ball, he used all the magic he possessed. And still, Prince Jacob remained elusive. And Malash's anger grew....... Five years after the Prince's disappearance, Malash went to his secret room, high atop his castle. Once there, he stood before an altar, his staff held high...... "Oh, Prince of Darkness, show me my future, my love, my other half.....let me see him full grown, give power to my staff, so that Jacob may stand before me, his glory to me known." The altar seemed to take on a eerie glow, the light grew, and a face appeared. It gazed at the crystal atop Malash's staff and two lightening bolts shot out from the empty eyes, piercing the round clear glass. Energy crackled, and the room darkened, until the only light was a few feet from Malash. The light was pale blue, the color of cornflowers and slowly, a figure appeared......... A man. Young, maybe eighteen. Smiling, laughing, full of energy and life. Malash zeroed in on the face, noting the strong chin, the lush, thick lips and he could imagine those lips, how they would feel on *him*, and his hands shook, the figure wavered, and Malash took a centering breath and continued his appraisal of his mate to be...... Hair worn fashionably long, but with soft curls falling about a sculptured, strong face. Blue eyes, framed by thick, dark lashes and equally thick, expressive eyebrows. High cheekbones and a broad forehead completed the picture. He was all that Malash desired. All he could have dreamed. And he *would* be his. Malash would not fail. This man belonged to him.   ~~~~@~~~~~@~~~~~~@ The small bird was just out of reach....it's blue wings dipping, flapping, the bird wavering, zooming in, then up again......and the small, five year old hand reached, and reached again.... "please, please land.....just here, on my finger....." and the voice enticed the bird, who swept back, dipped a final time, and landed on the outstretched finger. Blair grinned and gently ran his other finger down the soft feathers, bringing the bird close to his face, and blowing softly into it's feathers. The bird chittered and preened, gave a sweet warble and soon the forest was full of the sight and the sound of flapping wings and chittering birds. Blair's eyes grew round as he delightedly took in the blue cloud now swimming over head. With the tiny bird still perched on his finger, the boy sat, crosslegged in the meadow, and invited the rest of the birds to lite.....which they did - on his shoulders, his head, his legs, his arms...... And this was the picture that greeted his Uncles as they broke through the forest into the beautiful glade. All three men stopped dead, wonder evident on their faces. These were men of the world, men of great deeds, of great magic. And yet, never in the real world had they seen such magic. Simon moved forward slowly, not wanting to disturb the birds or frighten them away. Blair turned and spotted his Uncles and gave them each a huge wave. Simon sat down next to his charge, and with amazement, noted that several birds drifted over to him. Obviously any friend of Blair's..... "Blair, you ran off again. And forgot to tell one of us where you were going......we've been terribly worried." The five year old hung his head in shame, but Simon was getting quite good at reading this boy, and he didn't miss the beginings of a squelched grin. "i'm sorry, unca. really, i am. but the birds, they wanted to play, see?" "So it's the birds fault?" A curly, bird infested head nodded wildly....."all the birds fault. bad birds, bad." "I shall have to impart a very stern lecture to these birds. They must learn as well....the forest is our friend, Blair, but it can be dangerous." "i know. but he protects me....." Simon frowned, "He? Who's he?" One hand slowly pointed to the darkest edge of where the forest ran up against the meadow....and just barely there, Simon could discern two dark eyes staring back at him. "Uh, Blair......" "it's a dog. just a dog. big, brown and white. likes to cuddle." A dog. Malash? God, no. But even as Simon was thinking that horrible thought, the bushes stirred and a wolf crawled out from under and made it's way slowly to Blair's side. A wolf. With blue eyes. Henri and Joel joined Simon, both with eyes glued to the animal. "Simon?" Joel asked. "I don't know. But as a friend once said, there is more in heaven and earth than one can know." The wolf seemed to agree, because he sat down and rested his head on Blair's small shoulder. None of the birds left, they simply rearranged themselves. "he has a playmate too. but i don't see him much.....a cat. big and black." Okaaaaay, this was a bit much. A wolf, a black cat......playmates. "Blair, we should be getting back. It will be dark soon, okay?" The curly head nodded again, and he stood, shook himself a bit and watched, laughing, as the birds took off, and flew over head. The wolf stood as well, gave Blair's hand a lick, then bounded back into the forest. Simon took the small, trusting hand and together, all four walked back home.   ~~~~@~~~~~~@~~~~~~@ "James, you must never, ever tell anyone of this, do you hear me? They will think you are daft and not even I, their King, could save you." The fifteen year old Prince James looked stubbornly up at his father and shook his head. "I'm not ashamed. I can hear farther and see further than anyone alive. This is a good thing, Dad. It is." "And I don't necessarily disagree, but for now, we keep it a secret. You must do this for me, James. I'm older and wiser in the ways of the world and not even a Prince can be saved by gossip and fear. Please, heed me." The Prince nodded, but he was very unhappy. Just think of what he could do......he could win every archery contest, could listen in on private conversations......okay, he did *that* already....but still. The young man walked stiffly back to his classroom, where his tutor, Brackett, awaited him. Um, maybe he could overhear some nice tidbit about Brackett and Mistress Veronica? Nah, that was old castle news......he needed something new.   ~~~~~@~~~~~~@~~~~~~~@   Naomi opened the letter and with a small smile on her face, she read.....  //Dearest Naomi,  I look forward to our next visit. The emissary from Seattlite says they are eager to renew trade agreements between our three kingdoms, and while the meetings themselves will bore me to tears, the prospect of seeing you again, makes them worthwhile.  I pray for a future that includes our sons, and I pray for a day when my heart may say the words we both need to hear.....  With fondest wishes,  King William//   She folded the letter and tucked it inside her dress, close to her heart, and as she did, her hand brushed the locket she wore night and day. She pulled it out, snapped it open, and there, a painted picture of her five year old son. She kissed the painting, tucked the locket back into her bosom, and prepared to meet her subjects. Only sixteen more years.   ~~~~~~~@~~~~~~~~~@  For Simon, Joel and Henri, the years flew by. They watched in delight as Blair enchanted every creature in their forest, as he traveled the length and breadth of their forest, adventuring, learning, observing. Many a night, the three men would collapse, exhausted, into their beds, only to be awakened by their charge who had a new question. And Simon would receive stern looks from his partners.....after all, he was the one who'd given Blair his sense of adventure and discovery. It was all *his* fault.  As Blair neared his thirteenth birthday, they prepared themselves to instruct Blair in the ways of the soldier. He needed to learn to protect himself, to wield a sword and dagger, to ride, and to harness the bow and arrow.  Their task was daunting. Blair insisted on practising on them!  "God.....I'm sore. I can barely move - again."  Joel fell down onto the wooden bench, just outside their cottage and for at least the hundredth time, wished he still had his magic. Life would be so much easier.  Henri joined him, his bones creaking as he sat. On his arm, was a large bruise, a gift from their Blair.  "He's getting quite good, don't you think? Maybe it's time to stop these lessons? Before we are killed?" Henri asked Simon hopefully.  "No, Henri. You know better," but then Simon smiled proudly, "He is good, isn't he?"  Both men nodded, groaning, and moaning.  And in the barn, the *not even tired yet* young Prince unsaddled his horse, whistling, and eager for more lessons.   ~~~~~~@~~~~~~~~@  May 24th dawned cool and clear. It was Blair's twenty-first birthday today and the young man bounded out of bed, eager for whatever the day might bring.  In the room next to his, three men woke, looked over at each other, their faces grim. Today was special, but so much could still go wrong.....but they only had to keep him safe until sundown. Sundown.  But sundown also meant giving their *son* back to his kingdom. Back to Naomi. Their son.  Twenty-one years with Blair. The best years of their lives, and for fairies, that was saying a great deal.  "Well," Simon said.  "Yes," said Henri.  "Oh, my," said Joel.  "Simon, he's not ours anymore."  "Joel, he was never ours. But before we all get so maudlin we float away on our tears, we do have him until sundown. Let's make it the best birthday ever. Just the four of us, before we tell him and before we must leave."  They all nodded, suddenly rejuvenated.  "I'll bake him the best, biggest birthday cake in the world - sixteen layers high."  "Don't be silly, Henri, you don't know how to bake."  "Today, I do. How hard can it be?"  "And I'll make him a suit. I remember Master Armani, I'm sure I can whip up a little something.....I used to watch him create...."  "Joel, that's silly. You are not a tailor!"  "Today, I am. How hard can it be?"  Simon shook his head, but was interrupted as a laughing Blair stuck his head inside their door....  "Hey, Unc's, up and at 'em.....the day is old, I'm getting older, let's go have some fun."  The three men shook their heads in amusement, Henri threw his slipper at the boy, who deftly caught it, held it to his nose, took a whiff, and quipped, "And hit the showers first, okay?"  Their last day as a family had begun. They would strive to make it their best.  <*> <*> <*>  King William was getting quite excited. In a few short hours he would once again, be in the presence of the woman he loved. And if all went well, he'd see his son, together, with young Prince Jacob.  William prayed that nothing went wrong, because it would kill him if Naomi were hurt in any way.  James had left much earlier, wanting to be alone on his travel to Cascadia. Old memories he did not understand had begun to surface, and he'd hoped that being alone might help in bringing everything into perspective.  William's son was almost thirty. For marriage, that was considered old, but a betrothal was a betrothal and William would never have considered breaking his agreement with Naomi, even if it did mean waiting twenty-one years to bring it to fruition. Oddly enough, in all these years, James had never found anyone who tantalized him, or made his heart forget that he *was* betrothed. Well, alright, there had been Lady Carolyn, but she didn't really count. She could be categorized as a fling. And then there was Sir Earl Gaines......but he was just a flash in the pan, and had never truly captured James' heart. And of course, Michelle, the mopster's wife.....and William had not had a decent mop for his staff to do the marble floors since James had broken her heart.  But still, all in all, no one had captured James' heart, no one. His libido, yes, his heart, no.  And William's heart? It belonged to Naomi, lock, stock and barrel.  <*> <*> <*>  James entered the forest unaware of his surroundings. His mind was trying so hard to remember something......something important....and he had no clue where he was, only that tonight, he would meet his future mate. All for the sake of two kingdoms. But then he was a Prince, and it was his duty. And perhaps, this Prince Jacob would not look like a frog, like Prince Kincaid from the Kingdom of Hollywoody, and did Kincaid ever not sport one? James shook his head, allowing his steed to carry him further into the forest.......as he tried to remember.....was it a laugh? A giggle?  <*> <*> <*>  Queen Naomi was ecstatic. He was coming home. Her son. Tonight. She would have her son, by her side, once again. The castle had to be perfect. And she would ensure his happiness at any cost. And his safety.  Malash would be foiled. His spell, rendered useless. And Jacob would be safe.  Her son was coming home.  <*> <*> <*>  "We need to get him out of the house. How else might we surprise him?" Henri whined.  "You're right. BLAIR!" Simon screamed.  A curly head peeked around the post that seperated the kitchen from the main part of the cottage, "You yelled?"  "I need......"  "Yes?"  "I need.....blueberries. We need blueberries. Would you?" And Simon hastily grabbed up a bucket and handed it to Blair.  "Blueberries!? You want *me* to pick blueberries?"  Simon looked at Henri, who looked at Joel, who looked at Blair and said,"Yes, blueberries. You got a problem with picking blueberries?"  "Heck no, but um, this is Friday.....May 24th....", the young man hinted.  "We are well aware of the date, Blair. We are not senile - yet."  Blair gave a mock salute and said, "Yes, sir, Simon, sir! One twenty-*one* year old, off to pick blueberries, on this day, May *24th*....." and he took the bucket and huffed his way out the door.  With a sigh of relief the three men set about the daunting task of creating one sixteen layer chocolate and rasberry cake, and one Armani rip-off royal suit.  )()()()()()()()()()()()()()  And in a dark, brooding castle, Malash sent out his last hope.......his raven, North. If any creature could find Jacob, it was North. As the great bird flew from the tower, Malash smiled.... tonight, Jacob would be his.......or be dead.

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