Midsummer Magic - An Elf Verse Story - 2/4
Title: Midsummer Magic
Author: Moonfirefic
Beta: Milady_dragon
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Andy, Doctor (10th), Alice, Sarah Jane, others
Synopsis: Jack and Ianto are invited to celebrate the Summer Solstice with Mother Nature (Sarah Jane) in the Grove of the Ancients. Meanwhile Alice makes her theatrical debut, and it's up to Andy and Doc to save her from the nefarious plans of Mab and her associates.
A/N: Part of the Elf!Ianto verse starring Team Icicle, the Holiday Assurance elves. Sorry this took so long as I mean to have it up before fall. Next part this weekend.
Chapter Two
Grove of the Ancients - Land of Mist and Time
As the swirling mists of the portal receded, the tree-lined path to the Grove of the Ancients came into view. Paper lanterns danced from the trees to light the way, and dryads skipped merrily from branch to branch, laughing in delight as they made their way toward the rune-covered stone arch marking the entrance.
“Alright?” Ianto asked, watching as Jack’s gaze swept over his surroundings.
Jack grinned and Ianto returned it, entwining their fingers as they joined hands and started up the earthen path, watching out for the gnomes and wood sprites underfoot as they went. Half way to the entrance, a mighty roar filled the air and Jack stopped with his mouth open and eyes turned skyward as he saw its origin. High above them, a ruby-scaled dragon flew past and began its descent; his sinuous body curving and twisting in an aerial dance as he drifted down on massive wings. The other revelers stepped aside as he landed soundlessly on the path, his gem-like tail glittering in the lantern light as he dipped beneath the arch and slipped inside.
“Wow,” Jack breathed, watching him go.
“Come on,” Ianto answered, squeezing his hand in reassurance. Jack gave him a nervous grin and they continued on their way; laughing as a pooka with a rather large contingent of brownies clutching his mane sauntered past, shaking head and whinnying with laughter as several of them fell off and immediately ran to climb his tail and hop back on.
By the time they reached the stone arch and stepped inside the grove itself, nearly all of the guests had arrived. Fireflies danced among the flower garlands hanging from the branches overhead, and a wellspring nestled inside the roots of a mighty oak held sweet honey wine. The assembled guests gathered it up in golden goblets, each raising theirs in turn to toast the glory of summer before drinking their fill.
Stone tables were scattered here and there, each laden with fruits, nuts, and berries; bounty of the rich crops prevalent in the summer season. Using the full moon overhead to light their way, Ianto led Jack through the assorted throng of magic and mythical creatures toward the small stone cottage at the far end of the grove, hoping to find their hostess.
“Ianto!” someone called out and Jack turned to see a mermaid with a shining silver tail and coffee hued skin waving at them.
“I supposed it’s best to get this over with,” Ianto muttered as he made his way to the edge of the grove where the river that wound its way through the trees ebbed into a shallow pool, providing ample space for the assortment of mermaids, water nymphs, kelpies, and other water fey reclining on the rocks along its bank. Many of them smiled in greeting at his approach, and one or two even seemed to bow before quickly straightening up as Ianto shook his head.
“There are no formalities here,” he advised them and the kelpie neighed in reply before stepping out of the pool, shaking the water from his hair as he morphed back into man.
“Cian,” Ianto greeted the other man with a grin.
“Good to see you lad,” the kelpie answered, clasping him by the forearm in greeting. “I’d stay and chat, but the siren song of wine waits for no man.” With a wink and a nod of acknowledgement to Jack he gathered up the small tunic he had worn as a saddle and, tying it around his waist, went on his way.
“No manners, kelpies,” the mermaid said with disdain as he left. “In fact it’s rare that any fey men have manners,” she added smiling prettily as she combed her long black hair. “You haven’t been home in ages,” she pouted, lowering her comb and leaning forward. “I saw your mother last moon and she misses you terribly.” Lowering her lashes she looked up through them with longing in her eyes. “And so do I.”
“I’m sure she does,” Ianto replied, ignoring her not so subtle attempts at flirting. “But she is well aware of the reasons for my absence,” he replied looking at Jack with a smile.
The mermaid followed his gaze and noticed the other man’s presence.
“You brought a human with you?” she asked wrinkling her nose as if she smelled something foul.
“I brought Jack with me,” Ianto replied with a frown, reaching to take his hand once more.
“I see,” she replied unimpressed. “And what does this, Jack was it? Know of our ways or the laws of the fey?” she asked dismissively.
“Jack is a friend of the fey and was invited here by Mother Nature herself,” Ianto replied icily. "And since my affairs do not concern you, I suggest that you kindly keep your opinions on my escort to yourself.”
“Of course,” she said, smirking as she bowed her head. “Besides, a match with a mere human such as this Jack of yours will come to nothing. Someone of your standing requires a mate with old magic in their veins.”
Ianto’s eyes glittered in anger. “You go too far,” he said through gritted teeth.
Shrugging a shoulder and rolling her eyes, she went back to combing the tangles out of her hair. “As if you could do anything about it,” she laughed.
Ianto’s eyebrow raised and his jaw clenched in anger. Jack had only seen that look on his face once before, when he and Alice had been threatened at Easter, but he knew it meant trouble. Before he could decipher what Ianto was going to do, the mermaid suddenly slipped off her rock and fell into the water with an undignified splash. She tried to scramble back onto her perch, but the rock was now covered in an icy film that caused her to slip back under repeatedly until she gave up and with a flick of her long hair dove down into the depths and swam out of sight.
“Well, she was pleasant,” Jack said with a frown, watching her go.
“Nyssa has had a crush on me for ages,” Ianto answered, giving a snickering Nix on a nearby rock a wink before nodding his head to the rest of the water creatures in dismissal and resuming their trek to the cottage. “She’s under the impression that I am playing hard to get,” he added with a wry grin.
“She’s pretty enough,” Jack said, failing to keep the worry from his voice. “And seems to think that there are some who would prefer you were with her instead of me.”
“Frankly she’s a bit too scaly for me. All that silver reflecting in the sunlight,” Ianto shuddered. “Trust me Jack,” he added, stopping in front of the cottage to bring Jack’s hands to his lips. “My heart already belongs to you; there’s no room in it for social climbing sea maidens who have little more than a misguided sense of importance to recommend them.”
Jack smiled.
“I see you two made it,” said a laughing voice beside them.
Jack and Ianto turned to see Mother Nature leaving the door to the cottage with Mr. Smith in tow. Adorned in a gown of palest green, she made her way over to them. As she approached her gown shimmered into different shades as she moved; first blue, then pink, then lavender, always reflecting the flora and fauna surrounding her. A crown of fragrant blooms encircled her hair, and Mr. Smith had a crown of his own set at a jaunty angle over his ears.
“How handsome you both look,” she observed as she reached them. “But something is missing," she said with a small frown. "Oh Persimmon!” she called out clapping her hands.
A small garden faerie appeared at her shoulder.
“You called My Lady,” she said with a curtsy.
“Persimmon dear, could you please see that these two are properly adorned for the ceremony?” she asked with a smile. The little faerie curtsied again before flittering off and returning a few moments later with another faerie in tow and two wreaths of ivory and forest blooms in their hands. Once they were settled on Ianto and Jack’s heads, Sarah Jane dismissed them and turned back to the two men.
“Isn’t this fun?” she asked, clasping her hands in girlish glee. “Make sure you have a bit of the wine, Mr. Smith spent a great deal of time getting his recipe just right.”
They turned to the silver dog in question, and to his surprise, Jack saw the unflappable assistant rather red cheeked from partaking of his own vintage.
“But then again, he’s been a fabulous companion, so I can’t complain,” she added, leaning down to kiss his cheek.
Mr. Smith blushed harder and Sarah Jane laughed merrily.
“I’m glad the wine pleases you Mistress,” he replied, pushing the frames of his red glasses back up onto his nose.
Sarah Jane smiled back at him and then excused herself as she had a few last minute preparations to make before the ceremony.
Jack and Ianto soon found themselves near the wellspring, sipping goblets of Mr. Smith’s delicious honey wine while they waited for the ceremony to begin. Cian raised his glass in their direction before returning his attention to the pair of dryads hanging on his arm.
“So this ceremony,” Jack asked watching in amusement as two rather inebriated gnomes took off their pointed caps and compared whose was larger. “I’ve seen a solstice celebration before, but somehow I think this is going to be a bit more interesting.”
“You could say that,” Ianto answered with a mischievous grin. “They choose someone to represent each element and welcome the turn of the year.”
“And after that?” Jack asked grinning over the brim of his goblet.
“After that the real fun begins,” Ianto replied huskily leaning in to capture his wine-wet lips.
~~~~~~~~
Seren Glen Primary School -7PM
“Budge over,” whispered Doc as he pushed Andy to the side. From their perch in the rafters high above, the two elves watched with excitement as the children performed Cinderella on the stage below. After Ianto mentioned Jack’s letter talking about her theatrical debut as Cinderella’s fairy godmother, the two elves had hatched a plan to attend Alice’s final performance. Doc was missing the little girl terribly, and Andy, seeing this as a terrific opportunity to cheer his friend up, ‘borrowed’ Tosh’s Wreath-a-Port, and used the same settings she had used to send Ianto through to get them to Seren Glen. Once the two elves located Alice’s school, Operation Godmother was on. With Ianto and Jack off celebrating the solstice, their ad hoc plan had gone perfectly, and now all they had to do was sit back, sip a thermos of cocoa, and watch the show.
“She looks pretty,” Andy whispered as Alice came onstage. Doc set down the marmalade cookie he was munching and took out his binoculars to get a better look.
“Reminds me a bit of that nymph you danced with on St. Patrick’s Day,” Doc remarked as her glitter covered wings twinkled in the stage lights.
“Yeah,” Andy signed dreamily suddenly lost in memories.
“What?” Doc suddenly exclaimed as he saw a garden faerie flit through the air towards them.
“What are you two rascals up to?” she asked, crossing her arms as she hovered before them. “I have orders from Captain Harkness to make sure that Miss Alice is looked after. I won’t have random hobs like you making mischief on my watch,” she added looking down her nose at them in disdain.
“Hobs? Us?” replied Doc in horror. “I’ll have you know that Nog and I happen to be Holiday Assurance Elves of the first order,” he clarified puffing out his chest. “Not some random riff-raff hobgoblin scouring up bits and bobs to make a nest in the school gym!”
“Shhh!” Andy warned as Doc’s voice turned shrill. “We’re supposed to be watching the play!”
Doc and the faerie glared at each other before turning back to watch Alice finish her scene below.
“It’s not quite the same without the flying bit is it, Tansy?” observed a velvety voice above them.
All three of them turned as another faerie, this one pale with bone-white hair, dark beady eyes, and jet black wings leapt off her perch to land directly across from them. Andy glanced nervously down to where Cinderella was quickly changing behind a pumpkin-shaped screen as Alice danced across the stage, gathering up other children dressed as mice, frogs, and a hound dog and fitting them with livery to give her enough time.
“Back off, Morag,” Tansy warned, watching the other faerie warily.
“But it would be so easy to make it right,” she silkily. “These foolish humans would never know the difference and Alice would get the applause she deserves.”
Andy and Doc exchanged a look of surprise at Morag’s blatant disregard of fey law.
The ancient laws of the fey stated that children were sacred, and as humanity’s last link to the old ways were meant to be protected and cherished, never coerced. Even the Mara, fierce elementals who made it their mission to protect children from an unhappy existence, always let the child they chose to protect make the decision to join them. But judging by the smug look on Morag’s face, she saw no need to follow such edicts.
“Alice is a good girl,” said Tansy, glaring at Morag as her tawny wings turned red in anger. “Don’t you touch her! You know the rules. She has done nothing to warrant Mab’s attention.”
Doc paled in fear. Mab was a powerful fey with little use for humans, who took great delight in sending Morag and her fellow gwillion, evil mountain faeries disguised as ravens, to snatch up and capture humans she deemed a threat to fey-kind. Most turned a blind eye to her antics as the humans she chose were usually the nastiest sort imaginable. Murderers, monsters, and molesters; the type of person who no one would miss were spirited away to live out their existence as slaves in Mab’s underground court. But baiting an innocent was not something they had dared - before now.
“Come, come, Tansy,” Morag reproached, lifting a pouch from beneath the folds of her feathered dress, to reveal the pixie dust within. “What would it hurt to give them a little show?”
Doc and Andy exchanged a look as each of them silently reached for one of the sparkle bombs they always kept on their belt while the two women argued.
The noise was loud enough that Alice looked up in concern.
“Doc? Andy?” she whispered in surprise as she stood to the side and Cinderella said her lines.
“Oh so she knows the two of you as well?” Morag said, with an evil grin. “Wouldn’t it be funny if she exposed your secret?” she asked watching with glee as Tansy paled in fear. “Surely breaking her oath to keep the fey secret would be enough to warrant Mab’s notice.”
Before they could stop her she tossed the dust over Alice and the rest of the children on stage. The two elves and the garden faerie watched in horror as all of them began to float up towards the rafters, while their teacher Miss Rose, and several other parents clutched at their ankles to try and keep them close to the ground.
“Alice! What did you do?” the girl playing Cinderella cried as she clung to the side of the castle at the back of the stage.
“It’s not me!” Alice answered, looking up at Doc and Andy silently asking for help.
“What are they?” one of the other children asked, following Alice’s gaze and pushing back his mouse ears to get a better look at what appeared to be elves in the rafters.
The rest of the parents and children followed suit and Andy and Doc could do little more than wave back at them before inching back into the shadows.
“Oh she’s done it now!” Morag cackled from where she remained safely concealed behind a stray bit of curtain.
Tansy burst into tears.
Andy, who had had just about enough of the gwillion’s antics, tossed a sparkle bomb at her head, causing her to shift back into raven form and fall to the stage in a heap.
“Now what?” he asked Doc as the children started to float back down as Morag’s spell was broken. “That black feathered twit is going to run straight to Morag as soon as she wakes. We need a plan.”
“I’ve got a bit of fresh chamomile and some valerian if that helps?” Tansy sniffed, holding up her gathering pouch.
Doc looked at Tansy, and then down to where Alice stood below them holding a birdcage she had found backstage with Morag sleeping inside.
A slow grin crept across his face as a plan began to form and Andy raised a nervous eyebrow, unsure if another harebrained idea of Doc’s was going to be enough to keep Mab at bay when so many had seen them.
“Andy, hand me your other sparkle bomb and make sure no one leaves without going to the reception after. Tansy, I need you to give me those herbs and make sure Morag doesn’t get loose before they finish the play,” Doc ordered, running over the rafters toward the exits.
“What about you?” Andy asked tossing him the sparkle as he followed him to the exit.
“I’m going to be making the best batch of sparkle punch you have ever seen!” Doc said, tossing the ornament full of sparkle into the air and catching it with a grin. “Everyone ready? Allonsy!” he cried out and ran towards the cafeteria.
Andy shook his head and went about his task, hoping that Doc knew what he was doing.
~~~~~
School Cafeteria a few minutes later...
Eyeing the empty punchbowl from its perch atop the highest shelf in the kitchen, Doc quickly nibbled a sugarplum to increase his size. He was so busy skittering back and forth from the refreshment table to the kitchen and back again, that didn’t register the presence of Miss Rose until she began tapping her shoe and cleared her throat in irritation.
“Mind telling me what you’re up to?” she asked, as Doc turned around and shoved his cap back in a vain attempt to conceal his ears.
“Mixing refreshments?” he answered innocently, hiding the empty ornaments behind his back.
“Do I look stupid to you?” Rose answered, as she stepped closer. “I know you and one of your elf pals were hanging about my play, making a ruckus and causing trouble, and don’t you try and deny it Doctor Smith!” she said, poking him in the chest.
“You know about that?” he squeaked in answer.
Rose rolled her eyes. “Doc, I’ve lived in the house behind the tinker shop since I was six. Of course I know.”
“Then you don’t mind that I’m…” he trailed off moving his hands to indicate his normal size.
“I always thought elves were rather sexy,” Rose answered, reaching up to flick the tip of his ear.
“Well, I must say. That is well, what I mean is…” he stuttered in reply.
Rose laughed. “I think that’s the first time I have ever heard you at a loss for words,” she said with a grin, which the Doctor quickly answered with one of his own.
“Rose Tyler!” he exclaimed clapping his hands together. “Teacher extraordinaire and friend of elves well, this elf anyway. How are you at making punch?” he asked suddenly coming to a stop and looking at her expectantly.
“Punch?” Rose asked incredulously. “What’s punch got to do with anything?”
“Alice is in danger,” he explained. “If people don’t forget about what they saw this evening, a nasty fey named Mab is going to try and take her away for exposing us to humans. People tend to find excuses for things and ignore what they can’t explain. I’m making a spot of punch to help them decide it was something else: wires maybe, bad curry, a hoax…”
“One of your crazy contraptions…,” Rose added fondly as she went to the kitchen to grab an ingredient of her own.
Doc paused and turned to face her with a manic grin. “Oh that’s brilliant!” he exclaimed. “That’s bloody brilliant!” he added stirring the last dash of chamomile into the punch with vigor. “We give them a quick explanation that I came to visit and help with the show and it was just a bit of wires and string, no magic involved, they sip a little bit of sparkle punch, go home and sleep on it, and wake up the next morning deciding that it must have been wires and their eyes were playing tricks on them, and voila! Alice is safe!”
“I'm not so keen on drugging the kids, but if it will keep them safe,” Rose shrugged coming back from the kitchen holding a cup of sugar, “but you might want to sweeten it up a bit, punch that tastes like herbs is not going to go over well.”
Doc looked up and noticed she had a bit of her tongue slipping between her teeth as she concentrated on pouring the sugar into the punch in a neat circle.
“There, all done,” she said with satisfaction and looking up to where he was still staring down at her.
“What’s the matter?” she asked suddenly nervous, “something on my face?”
“No, I just never noticed how pretty you are,” the Doctor replied with a lopsided grin.
“Well, you’re rather handsome yourself,” Rose answered trying not to blush.
They held each other’s gaze and started to lean closer when the moment was broken by someone crashing through the cafeteria doors.
“Cake! I mean Doc!” Andy called out as he skidded to a stop in front of them.
“Oh, Hi there Miss Rose,” he said as Rose smiled back at him.
“What is it Andy?” Doc asked, trying to regain his composure as he turned away from Rose to face him.
“I managed to block the doors so that everyone has to come through the cafeteria first,” Andy answered in a rush. “But we have a problem. Tansy had to help me with the ropes to force the doors closed, and while she was gone, Morag escaped.”
The Doctor closed his eyes and sighed in frustration.
“Where’s Alice now?” he asked fearing the worst.
“On stage, they’re almost done,” Andy answered.
“Alright Andy, find Tansy and guard Alice, but stay out of sight,” he warned.
“On it boss!” Andy replied with a salute. “What about you?”
He and Rose exchanged a glance.
“Miss Rose and I are going to try and convince the audience that the flying was all special effects from some contraption I made especially for the play,” he replied as she nodded in agreement.
Andy grinned. “Sounds like someone wants extra credit,” he teased.
“Watch it you!” Rose chastised shaking her empty measuring cup at him.
“Careful Fruitcake! This one’s armed!” Andy laughed as he pushed through the doors and ran back down the hall.
“Well Miss Tyler, shall we?” The Doctor asked holding out his arm.
“But of course Fruitcake,” she replied with a cheeky grin as she looped her arm inside his. “There’s just one thing I want to know though before you flit back off to wherever you disappear to when this is all done.”
“What’s that?” he asked warily.
“Do elves ears really turn pink when they kiss?” she asked watching as Doc’s eyes went wide.
“I honestly don’t know,” he whispered in reply. “Never really been properly snogged me.
“Never?” she answered and Doc stared as her tongue pressed up against her teeth once more.
“Not really, no,” he answered before carefully keeping his eyes forward as they walked down the hall.
“Something we’ll have to remedy then, that is if you truly do save the day,” she replied. “Can’t be snogging under false pretenses; wouldn’t be right.”
He turned to look at her and she reached up on her toes to kiss his cheek.
“For luck,” she whispered as the two of them stepped onto the stage behind the children as they took their bow.
If anyone asked him later, Doc would swear that his ears only looked red due to the heat of the stage lights.
~~~~~~~~
Far away, in a cavern deep inside the Black Mountains, Morag pointed out the child she had chosen for her mistress.
“This is her?” Mab asked as she gazed into the scrying bowl at the little dark haired child wearing homemade faerie wings.
Morag nodded.
“And you saw no sign of her being protected?” she pressed.
Morag smiled. Long had Mab longed for a human child to grace her court, and now that she had placed one within her grasp, her mistress was sure to reward her for her trouble. Precious gems perhaps, an army of her own to command, or maybe even a human pet of her own? With Mab beholden to her, no boon was beyond Morag’s grasp.
“None that could not be dealt with,” she replied, dismissing the two elves and the lone garden faerie as insignificant. If they hadn’t been strong enough to keep her, they would be no match for her mistress.
“Excellent,” Mab replied as a satisfied smile graced her ruby lips. “As most of the high ranking fey are at the solstice celebration, I will make my intentions known this evening and by dawn, she will be mine.”
Morag smiled to herself, eyeing the ring of the mountain winds on Mab’s hand, deciding that by the morrow it would be hers.
Chapter Three
This entry was originally posted at http://moonfirefic.dreamwidth.org/40196.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Author: Moonfirefic
Beta: Milady_dragon
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Andy, Doctor (10th), Alice, Sarah Jane, others
Synopsis: Jack and Ianto are invited to celebrate the Summer Solstice with Mother Nature (Sarah Jane) in the Grove of the Ancients. Meanwhile Alice makes her theatrical debut, and it's up to Andy and Doc to save her from the nefarious plans of Mab and her associates.
A/N: Part of the Elf!Ianto verse starring Team Icicle, the Holiday Assurance elves. Sorry this took so long as I mean to have it up before fall. Next part this weekend.
Chapter Two
Grove of the Ancients - Land of Mist and Time
As the swirling mists of the portal receded, the tree-lined path to the Grove of the Ancients came into view. Paper lanterns danced from the trees to light the way, and dryads skipped merrily from branch to branch, laughing in delight as they made their way toward the rune-covered stone arch marking the entrance.
“Alright?” Ianto asked, watching as Jack’s gaze swept over his surroundings.
Jack grinned and Ianto returned it, entwining their fingers as they joined hands and started up the earthen path, watching out for the gnomes and wood sprites underfoot as they went. Half way to the entrance, a mighty roar filled the air and Jack stopped with his mouth open and eyes turned skyward as he saw its origin. High above them, a ruby-scaled dragon flew past and began its descent; his sinuous body curving and twisting in an aerial dance as he drifted down on massive wings. The other revelers stepped aside as he landed soundlessly on the path, his gem-like tail glittering in the lantern light as he dipped beneath the arch and slipped inside.
“Wow,” Jack breathed, watching him go.
“Come on,” Ianto answered, squeezing his hand in reassurance. Jack gave him a nervous grin and they continued on their way; laughing as a pooka with a rather large contingent of brownies clutching his mane sauntered past, shaking head and whinnying with laughter as several of them fell off and immediately ran to climb his tail and hop back on.
By the time they reached the stone arch and stepped inside the grove itself, nearly all of the guests had arrived. Fireflies danced among the flower garlands hanging from the branches overhead, and a wellspring nestled inside the roots of a mighty oak held sweet honey wine. The assembled guests gathered it up in golden goblets, each raising theirs in turn to toast the glory of summer before drinking their fill.
Stone tables were scattered here and there, each laden with fruits, nuts, and berries; bounty of the rich crops prevalent in the summer season. Using the full moon overhead to light their way, Ianto led Jack through the assorted throng of magic and mythical creatures toward the small stone cottage at the far end of the grove, hoping to find their hostess.
“Ianto!” someone called out and Jack turned to see a mermaid with a shining silver tail and coffee hued skin waving at them.
“I supposed it’s best to get this over with,” Ianto muttered as he made his way to the edge of the grove where the river that wound its way through the trees ebbed into a shallow pool, providing ample space for the assortment of mermaids, water nymphs, kelpies, and other water fey reclining on the rocks along its bank. Many of them smiled in greeting at his approach, and one or two even seemed to bow before quickly straightening up as Ianto shook his head.
“There are no formalities here,” he advised them and the kelpie neighed in reply before stepping out of the pool, shaking the water from his hair as he morphed back into man.
“Cian,” Ianto greeted the other man with a grin.
“Good to see you lad,” the kelpie answered, clasping him by the forearm in greeting. “I’d stay and chat, but the siren song of wine waits for no man.” With a wink and a nod of acknowledgement to Jack he gathered up the small tunic he had worn as a saddle and, tying it around his waist, went on his way.
“No manners, kelpies,” the mermaid said with disdain as he left. “In fact it’s rare that any fey men have manners,” she added smiling prettily as she combed her long black hair. “You haven’t been home in ages,” she pouted, lowering her comb and leaning forward. “I saw your mother last moon and she misses you terribly.” Lowering her lashes she looked up through them with longing in her eyes. “And so do I.”
“I’m sure she does,” Ianto replied, ignoring her not so subtle attempts at flirting. “But she is well aware of the reasons for my absence,” he replied looking at Jack with a smile.
The mermaid followed his gaze and noticed the other man’s presence.
“You brought a human with you?” she asked wrinkling her nose as if she smelled something foul.
“I brought Jack with me,” Ianto replied with a frown, reaching to take his hand once more.
“I see,” she replied unimpressed. “And what does this, Jack was it? Know of our ways or the laws of the fey?” she asked dismissively.
“Jack is a friend of the fey and was invited here by Mother Nature herself,” Ianto replied icily. "And since my affairs do not concern you, I suggest that you kindly keep your opinions on my escort to yourself.”
“Of course,” she said, smirking as she bowed her head. “Besides, a match with a mere human such as this Jack of yours will come to nothing. Someone of your standing requires a mate with old magic in their veins.”
Ianto’s eyes glittered in anger. “You go too far,” he said through gritted teeth.
Shrugging a shoulder and rolling her eyes, she went back to combing the tangles out of her hair. “As if you could do anything about it,” she laughed.
Ianto’s eyebrow raised and his jaw clenched in anger. Jack had only seen that look on his face once before, when he and Alice had been threatened at Easter, but he knew it meant trouble. Before he could decipher what Ianto was going to do, the mermaid suddenly slipped off her rock and fell into the water with an undignified splash. She tried to scramble back onto her perch, but the rock was now covered in an icy film that caused her to slip back under repeatedly until she gave up and with a flick of her long hair dove down into the depths and swam out of sight.
“Well, she was pleasant,” Jack said with a frown, watching her go.
“Nyssa has had a crush on me for ages,” Ianto answered, giving a snickering Nix on a nearby rock a wink before nodding his head to the rest of the water creatures in dismissal and resuming their trek to the cottage. “She’s under the impression that I am playing hard to get,” he added with a wry grin.
“She’s pretty enough,” Jack said, failing to keep the worry from his voice. “And seems to think that there are some who would prefer you were with her instead of me.”
“Frankly she’s a bit too scaly for me. All that silver reflecting in the sunlight,” Ianto shuddered. “Trust me Jack,” he added, stopping in front of the cottage to bring Jack’s hands to his lips. “My heart already belongs to you; there’s no room in it for social climbing sea maidens who have little more than a misguided sense of importance to recommend them.”
Jack smiled.
“I see you two made it,” said a laughing voice beside them.
Jack and Ianto turned to see Mother Nature leaving the door to the cottage with Mr. Smith in tow. Adorned in a gown of palest green, she made her way over to them. As she approached her gown shimmered into different shades as she moved; first blue, then pink, then lavender, always reflecting the flora and fauna surrounding her. A crown of fragrant blooms encircled her hair, and Mr. Smith had a crown of his own set at a jaunty angle over his ears.
“How handsome you both look,” she observed as she reached them. “But something is missing," she said with a small frown. "Oh Persimmon!” she called out clapping her hands.
A small garden faerie appeared at her shoulder.
“You called My Lady,” she said with a curtsy.
“Persimmon dear, could you please see that these two are properly adorned for the ceremony?” she asked with a smile. The little faerie curtsied again before flittering off and returning a few moments later with another faerie in tow and two wreaths of ivory and forest blooms in their hands. Once they were settled on Ianto and Jack’s heads, Sarah Jane dismissed them and turned back to the two men.
“Isn’t this fun?” she asked, clasping her hands in girlish glee. “Make sure you have a bit of the wine, Mr. Smith spent a great deal of time getting his recipe just right.”
They turned to the silver dog in question, and to his surprise, Jack saw the unflappable assistant rather red cheeked from partaking of his own vintage.
“But then again, he’s been a fabulous companion, so I can’t complain,” she added, leaning down to kiss his cheek.
Mr. Smith blushed harder and Sarah Jane laughed merrily.
“I’m glad the wine pleases you Mistress,” he replied, pushing the frames of his red glasses back up onto his nose.
Sarah Jane smiled back at him and then excused herself as she had a few last minute preparations to make before the ceremony.
Jack and Ianto soon found themselves near the wellspring, sipping goblets of Mr. Smith’s delicious honey wine while they waited for the ceremony to begin. Cian raised his glass in their direction before returning his attention to the pair of dryads hanging on his arm.
“So this ceremony,” Jack asked watching in amusement as two rather inebriated gnomes took off their pointed caps and compared whose was larger. “I’ve seen a solstice celebration before, but somehow I think this is going to be a bit more interesting.”
“You could say that,” Ianto answered with a mischievous grin. “They choose someone to represent each element and welcome the turn of the year.”
“And after that?” Jack asked grinning over the brim of his goblet.
“After that the real fun begins,” Ianto replied huskily leaning in to capture his wine-wet lips.
~~~~~~~~
Seren Glen Primary School -7PM
“Budge over,” whispered Doc as he pushed Andy to the side. From their perch in the rafters high above, the two elves watched with excitement as the children performed Cinderella on the stage below. After Ianto mentioned Jack’s letter talking about her theatrical debut as Cinderella’s fairy godmother, the two elves had hatched a plan to attend Alice’s final performance. Doc was missing the little girl terribly, and Andy, seeing this as a terrific opportunity to cheer his friend up, ‘borrowed’ Tosh’s Wreath-a-Port, and used the same settings she had used to send Ianto through to get them to Seren Glen. Once the two elves located Alice’s school, Operation Godmother was on. With Ianto and Jack off celebrating the solstice, their ad hoc plan had gone perfectly, and now all they had to do was sit back, sip a thermos of cocoa, and watch the show.
“She looks pretty,” Andy whispered as Alice came onstage. Doc set down the marmalade cookie he was munching and took out his binoculars to get a better look.
“Reminds me a bit of that nymph you danced with on St. Patrick’s Day,” Doc remarked as her glitter covered wings twinkled in the stage lights.
“Yeah,” Andy signed dreamily suddenly lost in memories.
“What?” Doc suddenly exclaimed as he saw a garden faerie flit through the air towards them.
“What are you two rascals up to?” she asked, crossing her arms as she hovered before them. “I have orders from Captain Harkness to make sure that Miss Alice is looked after. I won’t have random hobs like you making mischief on my watch,” she added looking down her nose at them in disdain.
“Hobs? Us?” replied Doc in horror. “I’ll have you know that Nog and I happen to be Holiday Assurance Elves of the first order,” he clarified puffing out his chest. “Not some random riff-raff hobgoblin scouring up bits and bobs to make a nest in the school gym!”
“Shhh!” Andy warned as Doc’s voice turned shrill. “We’re supposed to be watching the play!”
Doc and the faerie glared at each other before turning back to watch Alice finish her scene below.
“It’s not quite the same without the flying bit is it, Tansy?” observed a velvety voice above them.
All three of them turned as another faerie, this one pale with bone-white hair, dark beady eyes, and jet black wings leapt off her perch to land directly across from them. Andy glanced nervously down to where Cinderella was quickly changing behind a pumpkin-shaped screen as Alice danced across the stage, gathering up other children dressed as mice, frogs, and a hound dog and fitting them with livery to give her enough time.
“Back off, Morag,” Tansy warned, watching the other faerie warily.
“But it would be so easy to make it right,” she silkily. “These foolish humans would never know the difference and Alice would get the applause she deserves.”
Andy and Doc exchanged a look of surprise at Morag’s blatant disregard of fey law.
The ancient laws of the fey stated that children were sacred, and as humanity’s last link to the old ways were meant to be protected and cherished, never coerced. Even the Mara, fierce elementals who made it their mission to protect children from an unhappy existence, always let the child they chose to protect make the decision to join them. But judging by the smug look on Morag’s face, she saw no need to follow such edicts.
“Alice is a good girl,” said Tansy, glaring at Morag as her tawny wings turned red in anger. “Don’t you touch her! You know the rules. She has done nothing to warrant Mab’s attention.”
Doc paled in fear. Mab was a powerful fey with little use for humans, who took great delight in sending Morag and her fellow gwillion, evil mountain faeries disguised as ravens, to snatch up and capture humans she deemed a threat to fey-kind. Most turned a blind eye to her antics as the humans she chose were usually the nastiest sort imaginable. Murderers, monsters, and molesters; the type of person who no one would miss were spirited away to live out their existence as slaves in Mab’s underground court. But baiting an innocent was not something they had dared - before now.
“Come, come, Tansy,” Morag reproached, lifting a pouch from beneath the folds of her feathered dress, to reveal the pixie dust within. “What would it hurt to give them a little show?”
Doc and Andy exchanged a look as each of them silently reached for one of the sparkle bombs they always kept on their belt while the two women argued.
The noise was loud enough that Alice looked up in concern.
“Doc? Andy?” she whispered in surprise as she stood to the side and Cinderella said her lines.
“Oh so she knows the two of you as well?” Morag said, with an evil grin. “Wouldn’t it be funny if she exposed your secret?” she asked watching with glee as Tansy paled in fear. “Surely breaking her oath to keep the fey secret would be enough to warrant Mab’s notice.”
Before they could stop her she tossed the dust over Alice and the rest of the children on stage. The two elves and the garden faerie watched in horror as all of them began to float up towards the rafters, while their teacher Miss Rose, and several other parents clutched at their ankles to try and keep them close to the ground.
“Alice! What did you do?” the girl playing Cinderella cried as she clung to the side of the castle at the back of the stage.
“It’s not me!” Alice answered, looking up at Doc and Andy silently asking for help.
“What are they?” one of the other children asked, following Alice’s gaze and pushing back his mouse ears to get a better look at what appeared to be elves in the rafters.
The rest of the parents and children followed suit and Andy and Doc could do little more than wave back at them before inching back into the shadows.
“Oh she’s done it now!” Morag cackled from where she remained safely concealed behind a stray bit of curtain.
Tansy burst into tears.
Andy, who had had just about enough of the gwillion’s antics, tossed a sparkle bomb at her head, causing her to shift back into raven form and fall to the stage in a heap.
“Now what?” he asked Doc as the children started to float back down as Morag’s spell was broken. “That black feathered twit is going to run straight to Morag as soon as she wakes. We need a plan.”
“I’ve got a bit of fresh chamomile and some valerian if that helps?” Tansy sniffed, holding up her gathering pouch.
Doc looked at Tansy, and then down to where Alice stood below them holding a birdcage she had found backstage with Morag sleeping inside.
A slow grin crept across his face as a plan began to form and Andy raised a nervous eyebrow, unsure if another harebrained idea of Doc’s was going to be enough to keep Mab at bay when so many had seen them.
“Andy, hand me your other sparkle bomb and make sure no one leaves without going to the reception after. Tansy, I need you to give me those herbs and make sure Morag doesn’t get loose before they finish the play,” Doc ordered, running over the rafters toward the exits.
“What about you?” Andy asked tossing him the sparkle as he followed him to the exit.
“I’m going to be making the best batch of sparkle punch you have ever seen!” Doc said, tossing the ornament full of sparkle into the air and catching it with a grin. “Everyone ready? Allonsy!” he cried out and ran towards the cafeteria.
Andy shook his head and went about his task, hoping that Doc knew what he was doing.
~~~~~
School Cafeteria a few minutes later...
Eyeing the empty punchbowl from its perch atop the highest shelf in the kitchen, Doc quickly nibbled a sugarplum to increase his size. He was so busy skittering back and forth from the refreshment table to the kitchen and back again, that didn’t register the presence of Miss Rose until she began tapping her shoe and cleared her throat in irritation.
“Mind telling me what you’re up to?” she asked, as Doc turned around and shoved his cap back in a vain attempt to conceal his ears.
“Mixing refreshments?” he answered innocently, hiding the empty ornaments behind his back.
“Do I look stupid to you?” Rose answered, as she stepped closer. “I know you and one of your elf pals were hanging about my play, making a ruckus and causing trouble, and don’t you try and deny it Doctor Smith!” she said, poking him in the chest.
“You know about that?” he squeaked in answer.
Rose rolled her eyes. “Doc, I’ve lived in the house behind the tinker shop since I was six. Of course I know.”
“Then you don’t mind that I’m…” he trailed off moving his hands to indicate his normal size.
“I always thought elves were rather sexy,” Rose answered, reaching up to flick the tip of his ear.
“Well, I must say. That is well, what I mean is…” he stuttered in reply.
Rose laughed. “I think that’s the first time I have ever heard you at a loss for words,” she said with a grin, which the Doctor quickly answered with one of his own.
“Rose Tyler!” he exclaimed clapping his hands together. “Teacher extraordinaire and friend of elves well, this elf anyway. How are you at making punch?” he asked suddenly coming to a stop and looking at her expectantly.
“Punch?” Rose asked incredulously. “What’s punch got to do with anything?”
“Alice is in danger,” he explained. “If people don’t forget about what they saw this evening, a nasty fey named Mab is going to try and take her away for exposing us to humans. People tend to find excuses for things and ignore what they can’t explain. I’m making a spot of punch to help them decide it was something else: wires maybe, bad curry, a hoax…”
“One of your crazy contraptions…,” Rose added fondly as she went to the kitchen to grab an ingredient of her own.
Doc paused and turned to face her with a manic grin. “Oh that’s brilliant!” he exclaimed. “That’s bloody brilliant!” he added stirring the last dash of chamomile into the punch with vigor. “We give them a quick explanation that I came to visit and help with the show and it was just a bit of wires and string, no magic involved, they sip a little bit of sparkle punch, go home and sleep on it, and wake up the next morning deciding that it must have been wires and their eyes were playing tricks on them, and voila! Alice is safe!”
“I'm not so keen on drugging the kids, but if it will keep them safe,” Rose shrugged coming back from the kitchen holding a cup of sugar, “but you might want to sweeten it up a bit, punch that tastes like herbs is not going to go over well.”
Doc looked up and noticed she had a bit of her tongue slipping between her teeth as she concentrated on pouring the sugar into the punch in a neat circle.
“There, all done,” she said with satisfaction and looking up to where he was still staring down at her.
“What’s the matter?” she asked suddenly nervous, “something on my face?”
“No, I just never noticed how pretty you are,” the Doctor replied with a lopsided grin.
“Well, you’re rather handsome yourself,” Rose answered trying not to blush.
They held each other’s gaze and started to lean closer when the moment was broken by someone crashing through the cafeteria doors.
“Cake! I mean Doc!” Andy called out as he skidded to a stop in front of them.
“Oh, Hi there Miss Rose,” he said as Rose smiled back at him.
“What is it Andy?” Doc asked, trying to regain his composure as he turned away from Rose to face him.
“I managed to block the doors so that everyone has to come through the cafeteria first,” Andy answered in a rush. “But we have a problem. Tansy had to help me with the ropes to force the doors closed, and while she was gone, Morag escaped.”
The Doctor closed his eyes and sighed in frustration.
“Where’s Alice now?” he asked fearing the worst.
“On stage, they’re almost done,” Andy answered.
“Alright Andy, find Tansy and guard Alice, but stay out of sight,” he warned.
“On it boss!” Andy replied with a salute. “What about you?”
He and Rose exchanged a glance.
“Miss Rose and I are going to try and convince the audience that the flying was all special effects from some contraption I made especially for the play,” he replied as she nodded in agreement.
Andy grinned. “Sounds like someone wants extra credit,” he teased.
“Watch it you!” Rose chastised shaking her empty measuring cup at him.
“Careful Fruitcake! This one’s armed!” Andy laughed as he pushed through the doors and ran back down the hall.
“Well Miss Tyler, shall we?” The Doctor asked holding out his arm.
“But of course Fruitcake,” she replied with a cheeky grin as she looped her arm inside his. “There’s just one thing I want to know though before you flit back off to wherever you disappear to when this is all done.”
“What’s that?” he asked warily.
“Do elves ears really turn pink when they kiss?” she asked watching as Doc’s eyes went wide.
“I honestly don’t know,” he whispered in reply. “Never really been properly snogged me.
“Never?” she answered and Doc stared as her tongue pressed up against her teeth once more.
“Not really, no,” he answered before carefully keeping his eyes forward as they walked down the hall.
“Something we’ll have to remedy then, that is if you truly do save the day,” she replied. “Can’t be snogging under false pretenses; wouldn’t be right.”
He turned to look at her and she reached up on her toes to kiss his cheek.
“For luck,” she whispered as the two of them stepped onto the stage behind the children as they took their bow.
If anyone asked him later, Doc would swear that his ears only looked red due to the heat of the stage lights.
~~~~~~~~
Far away, in a cavern deep inside the Black Mountains, Morag pointed out the child she had chosen for her mistress.
“This is her?” Mab asked as she gazed into the scrying bowl at the little dark haired child wearing homemade faerie wings.
Morag nodded.
“And you saw no sign of her being protected?” she pressed.
Morag smiled. Long had Mab longed for a human child to grace her court, and now that she had placed one within her grasp, her mistress was sure to reward her for her trouble. Precious gems perhaps, an army of her own to command, or maybe even a human pet of her own? With Mab beholden to her, no boon was beyond Morag’s grasp.
“None that could not be dealt with,” she replied, dismissing the two elves and the lone garden faerie as insignificant. If they hadn’t been strong enough to keep her, they would be no match for her mistress.
“Excellent,” Mab replied as a satisfied smile graced her ruby lips. “As most of the high ranking fey are at the solstice celebration, I will make my intentions known this evening and by dawn, she will be mine.”
Morag smiled to herself, eyeing the ring of the mountain winds on Mab’s hand, deciding that by the morrow it would be hers.
Chapter Three
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