Final

Sorry everyone! I thought I had submitted the whole story, but this final chapter was in drafts. Oops!

*****

FABLE

Fable hoped Auntie Viktoria didn't want her to try on more clothes. Fable had so many now, and belts, shoes, bracelets, hats, scarves, and socks. She liked the really tall socks. The shadow snake slithered into one, turned around somehow, and now wore a striped sock from its tail to its neck. Auntie Viktoria had made piles of stuff so big Fable couldn't see over them. Then Auntie Viktoria had bought mirrors, big ones for walls and little ones for purses.

"Why do we need so many mirrors?" her mother asked. "We just need one."

"No, darling. You need at least two so you can practice walking away."

"From what?"

"From Norrix, of course."

"Why would I want to do that?"

"He's a vampire. It's in their nature to chase, and nothing will want to make him come after you more than you looking confident as you walk away without looking back. Don't make it easy for him. It's more fun when he catches you that way."

Fable didn't understand that and it sounded boring. Her shadow animals chased her when she ran, and she didn't have to practice anything. Auntie Viktoria led her mother into a store full of things with lace and shiny material. It seemed like broken clothes. They wouldn't cover anything, but Auntie Viktoria was wearing a dress missing the back and part of the skirt, so maybe she liked broken clothes.

Auntie Ember had taken her to eat ice cream, churros, and candy. And she bought a balloon! Fable liked the shiny balloon, but it scared the dragon, and she made it pop with her tail. When Fable laughed Auntie Ember bought all the balloons so the dragon could pop them.

Her mother and Auntie Viktoria found them they went to more stores to buy beds, sheets, rugs, desks, lamps, toys, pillows, bubble bath, laptops, art supplies, blankets, chairs, couches, curtains, perfumes, movies and jewelry. Fable hadn't known there was so much stuff to buy and she wanted to go home.

Auntie Ember dug her cell phone out of her pocket and checked her new message. Aunties Ember and Viktoria had bought Fable one of those too, but Fable didn't know how to use it. They said Fable could talk to them any time she wanted to, but Sora already helped her do that. Fable gave her phone to the crow. He carried it in one of his feet and pushed buttons with his beak to make it beep.

"We have one more stop to make before we can go home." Auntie Ember smiled.

Fable and her mother groaned. Even her shadow animals were tired and they didn't even have to walk. Aunties Ember and Viktoria had made Fable and her mom walk all over so many stores. Everything but a bookstore. This new place had so much stuff, but no stores for books. Even Aztlan had books, even if she wasn't allowed to touch them. Auntie Ember said movies were like books, but Fable didn't believe her.

"We've filled four enormous trucks full of stuff. What else could we possibly need?" Myth asked.

"Darlings, we need to build up your stamina."

Auntie Ember swept Fable up to carry her. "Come on cel mic. I'll carry you to the car. We have to drive to the next place."

"Is it far?"

"No, not too far."

When they got out of the car fifteen minutes later Fable's heart leapt. This looked like a place that sold books! There were lots of shelves inside the store.

"Wait here a second." Auntie Ember left them and went to the back of the store.

The space was huge, but there was nothing to buy. Empty floor to ceiling bookshelves lined the walls and shorter bookcases stood in rows across the floor. There was a place upstairs with some chairs, and a downstairs at the back led to a place with tables, more chairs and some glass cases the same as the ones that sold treats at the other place.

Disappointment made Fable feel even more tired. She sagged to the floor, let her shadow animals run free, and tried not to cry. Her Aunties tried so hard to make sure she had everything, she didn't want to make them feel bad. She had stories in her head no matter what. Even when Iqiohr took her voice he couldn't take her stories away. But she thought in a place where everyone was free there would be books and stories.

"What is this place?" her mother asked.

"It's yours." Norrix walked out from the back of the store, holding Auntie Ember's arm so he could walk in the sun. He hugged her mom with his free arm and frowned when he saw Fable on the floor.

Auntie Viktoria waved her arm and a shadow went across the windows at the front of the store. Norrix let go of Ember and walked over to scoop Fable up. "It's not finished yet, but it's yours."

"This place is for my mom and me?"

Norrix nodded. "You know how I know that?"

"How?"

He crossed the room to a wide rectangle on the wall covered by a sheet and tugged the covering off to reveal a hand-carved wooden sign that looked like an open book. The page on the left read "Fable's" and the page on the right read "& Myth's."

"I read it somewhere. You and your mom can choose any kind of books you want to sell here. And I thought upstairs you could have a story club, so you can share your stories and learn new ones from other kids. Downstairs you can turn into a coffee shop. A long time ago humans and Other World beings used to share stories in taverns and inns on their travels. Some of them still prefer the old ways. Karov owns apartments and Ciaran has a hotel nearby, but this could be a place their guests and residents come to talk. I chose the name Fable's & Myth's, but Xenos can carve you a new sign if you want to change it. What do you think? Do you like it?"

"Yes, I like it!" Fable hugged his neck. Norrix was giving her a way to learn more stories! She had everything now. A home. Her mom. Aunties and uncles. Clothes. Shadow animals. Sora and magic. She was just missing one thing, but Auntie Selene had whispered in her ear how to get it. "In the stories..."

"What about them?"

"Sometimes in the stories a girl gets a new father and he lets her call him Papa. Is that a story that comes true?"

"I will try to make all your stories come true. But that one is easy. I would like it very much if you called me Papa."

*****

Fable was supposed to be sleeping, but she wasn't tired. Her mother and new Papa kissed her goodnight and she tried shutting her eyes. As soon as the door closed though, her eyes popped open.

Everything changed overnight. Yesterday she wasn't allowed to talk and lived alone in a dark cell. Today she had a big room with so much stuff and could say whatever she wanted. She had her mother back, a man she could call Papa, three aunts and lots of uncles. She had to remind herself all the time this was real, not a story.

You're awake! Do you want to play?

And a magic house named Sora that talked in her head. "Play what?"

We can play whatever we want.

Silver magic formed the shape of a girl even smaller then Fable.

"Do you know where my mom is?"

Sora laughed. "Of course I do. I know where everyone in the house is and what they are doing."

"Where's my mom? What's she doing?"

"She is in the next room with Norrix. They are adulting."

"Oh." Adulting sounded boring.

"Do you want to have some fun?"

Fable nodded.

"Get dressed. I'll show you some fun things!"

"Are you like me?" Fable slid out of her bed and opened her closet. Auntie Viktoria had bought her so many clothes Fable didn't know what to wear. She wrinkled her nose at all the dresses. Skipping all the bright clothes, she picked some black pants and a black shirt with long sleeves and a hood. Auntie Viktoria made her shadow animals black. Maybe black would help her be a shadow too.

"Sometimes. But one day you're going to be like me."

Fable picked a pair of black boots like Auntie Ember's and sat in a chair. Pulling one boot onto her foot she propped it on the edge of the chair to focus on tying the laces. Why did shoelaces have to be so long? "I'm going to be a magic house?"

Sora laughed. "No. You will be Strygoi."

Fable managed a bow and pulled her other boot on. "Can we get something to eat?"

"Of course we can."

Fable stood up. "Where are we going?"

Her bedroom door opened. "Let's race!"

Fable giggled and ran as fast as she could, turned a corner and crashed into someone's legs.

"Ooof!" She rebounded and tripped over her feet, but hands caught her and lifted her into the air before she fell down. Pushing her hair out of her face, her eyes widened and she clapped her hands over her mouth to stop any sound coming out.

A giant man with white hair! She wasn't where she was supposed to be! She'd been talking and making noise! Sometimes the boys with white hair let her out of her cell so they could scare her and chase her back in. She had to follow the rules or they would hurt her mom. Fable kicked and flailed but he was too strong. Her lungs felt too small and she couldn't breathe. Her heart beat so fast she thought it would pop like her balloon.

Sora, help me!

Fable's eyes filled with tears. She didn't want to talk in her head anymore. She liked saying words, but she couldn't talk in front of this man. He would make her mom hurt and it would be all her fault. Where were her shadow animals? They were supposed to protect her. Were they scared of the giant man too?

"It's okay cel mic! Melchior won't hurt you. Don't be scared!"

Fable tried to calm down, but now her lungs felt too big and she couldn't fill them up. Her body stopped fighting and she went limp.

The giant man hugged her and rocked her as he walked. He talked in a soft voice. "It's all right. No one here is going to hurt you."

"Melchior looks scary but he's only just big. He can reach the really high snacks in the kitchen! The ones Ciaran hides from Alaric."

Hands over her mouth, Fable stared at the giant. He wasn't saying mean things. His hands didn't hurt.

"I won't let anyone hurt you cel mic. I've known Melchior since he was a baby, younger than you. He will be your friend."

"It's okay if you want to talk." The giant's voice sounded rumbley but not mad.

She lowered her hands. "You... You won't hurt my mom?"

Melchior laughed. "No, little one. If I even thought about hurting you or your mom Norrix would kick my a— uh, ankle."

Fable scowled. He was making fun of her.

"I'm much taller than him, and he's a lot older than me. It's hard for old people to kick higher than that."

Fable giggled. Maybe Sora was right.

"Of course I'm right."

"And if anyone tried to hurt you, I would hurt them first. You are safe here, and you can talk here. Where are your mom and Norrix?"

"Sora said they are adulting."

Melchior made a face like he smelled something bad. "I see. So you decided to explore this huge place on your own?"

"No. Sora is with me. We were racing, but I crashed into you."

"And where were you racing to?"

"The kitchen. I'm hungry. Sora said there's lots of kinds of food in there and you can reach the high snacks Ciaran hides from Alaric."

"That is true. Alaric doesn't need to eat food, but he is always stealing things from the kitchen. It drives Ciaran crazy."

"Then I want to play with the shadow animals outside. They want to be big for a little while."

"I was going to visit Selene, but I think she will let me see her a bit later so I can show you around."

"Why were you going to see her?"

"Selene is my mom. I visit her a lot."

Fable lifted her head to stare at Melchior. "Are you Uncle Stryx's brother? But you aren't scowly-growly. And you don't..."

"Look like him? No. I was abandoned when I was a baby, probably because of my white hair. But that was a long time ago. Selene and Riordan found me and took care of me, so I think of them as my parents. Often stronger bonds are with the people we choose. The vampires and strygoi are my family."

"Can I be family now too?"

"You are family now too." He nodded. "It would be nice to know what happened to my birth family. I wonder about it, but it's been too long and no one kept records back then. I wouldn't know where to start looking for them."

Fable hugged his neck and kissed his cheek. "Once upon a time, you will find your family."

"Thank you little one. Now that you've said it, maybe I will." Melchior reached the top of the stairs and went into the kitchen. He set her down next to a long table full of books. "Ciaran, we have a hungry girl here. What do we have for her to eat?"

A man with black skin closed a cabinet and turned to face them. He pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at the screen. "Hmmm. I'm not sure. It's after midnight. I'm pretty sure there's a rule about feeding strygoi after midnight."

"Ciaran is silly."

"Sora says you're silly."

Ciaran laughed. "Well, I suppose you're not strygoi yet, so let's see. Do you like grilled cheese?"

"I don't know. I never had grilled cheese."

"Why don't you have a seat at the table and I'll make us some sandwiches."

"Can I touch the books? Please? I won't hurt them." Her fingers itched to open all the books just because she could.

"Of course." Melchior picked up a book and studied the cover. He flipped through some pages and put it back. "I'm not sure they'd be very interesting for you though."

"Oh." Fable's shoulders dropped as her hopes crashed. "Are these books only for boys? In Aztlan they told me witches don't need to know how to read."

"No, of course not." Melchior pushed a pile of books to her. "These are boring books. I'm not sure why Ciaran needs to read so much about shifting."

Ciaran snorted as he set a plate in front of her and glass of milk in front of her. "You wouldn't understand. You've never been stuck as only part of what you're meant to be." He dug out a small book and pen from somewhere in the big stacks. "So we'll have to teach you to read." Flipping the book open he wrote on a page and turned it towards her. "Can you read that?"

She took a bite of her grilled cheese and nodded. "That's my name. Papa had a sign at our new bookstore with my name and my mom's name." Grilled cheese was her favorite food. She took a bigger bite.

Melchior held out his hand and wrote something when Ciaran passed him the notebook. "How about this?"

It started with M like her mom's but it was hard to read the rest. Fable squinted at the letters.

"He wrote his name," Sora said. "Tell him his handwriting has not improved."

Fable giggled. "Sora says your handwriting has not improved."

Ciaran laughed and smacked Melchior on the back. "Weren't you a healer at some point?"

"Sora sounds an awful lot like Selene." Melchior took the paper back and wrote something else. "How about now? It's my name and where I'm from." He moved his finger over the letters. "Mel-chi-or and Pat-a-gon. Patagon means 'Land of Giants'."

"You're really a giant!" Moving her fingers over the letters Fable practiced the sounds. "Now you." She pushed the pad to Ciaran.

"Yes ma'am." He wrote his name and where he was from. "My name means little dark one. Selene called me that when I first met her. It's a little tricky because the 'c' sounds like a 'k'. Keer-awn and Ku-ru-fa-ba."

"Hurry!" Sora said. "We can't be late. Tell Melchior to take you to Zeke."

"Sora wants you to take me to Zeke. She says we can't be late."

"Well, you'd better go then." Ciaran picked up her plate and offered her the last half of her sandwich. "Take this with you. It's portable."

"Thank you for the grilled cheese. It's my favorite."

Ciaran grinned. "Another sandwich convert."

*****

There was a man talking and Fable hesitated.

"It's almost time, girl. I know you've never done this before and it hurts, but it will be over soon."

"Did Sora tell you what Zeke is doing?"Melchior asked.

She shook her head. "This place smells funny." Fable whispered but her voice sounded loud.

Melchior laughed. "It's the stables. It always smells like this."

Fable edged into the aisle and peered into the stall. A golden horse with black socks lay on her side. Zeke held a wet towel and wiped sweat from the horse.

"Oh no! Is she hurt?" Fable asked.

"Well, she's not feeling her best, but she's going to be okay. This is Bolt, short for Lightning Bolt. She's about to have some babies."

"Where are you from, Zeke?"

He glanced up at her. "Albion."

"Will you write it for me, Melchior?"

A big black horse put his head over the next stall door and took her grilled cheese out of her hand. "Hey!" She laughed when the dragon smacked him with her tail. The horse blew air from his nose at the dragon. The horse was huge, taller than Melchior. He ate her sandwich in two bites and nuzzled her pockets.

"That's Thunder. It's going to take a much bigger dragon than your little one to deter him. Ignore him, he's always trying to pick pockets for snacks. He's the father."

"What kind of snacks do horses like?" Fable pet the soft skin on the Thunder's face.

"He likes apples. There are some in the room at the end of the aisle if you want to get one."

Fable retrieved an apple and Melchior cut it into slices for her. She held a slice out to Thunder. He took the treat, but tossed his head, throwing the fruit towards Bolt, who rolled her eyes.

Zeke laughed."It's natural for her to be irritated with you right now. You'll have to try harder to get back into her good graces later."

Another horse kicked its stall so hard Fable thought the stable would collapse. "That one sounds mad."

"She's not mad, she's lonely." Melchior said. "Only Drake can get close to her, and since he moved out she hasn't had much company."

"You can see if she'll let you get close, but if she starts acting up it's best to leave her alone."

"She'll let us get close," Sora said. "I'm her friend."

Fable stepped closer to the last stall trying to see inside. The horse quieted and a red glow lit up the stall. Fable peeked in between two slats. The red magic surrounded a silver horse and formed into two wings.

"Ooooh, she has wings!"

"She must really like you," Melchior said. "She hasn't shown her wings to anyone new since we moved here."

"What's her name? Will you write it in my book and where she's from?"

Melchior wrote the information down. "Her name is Sigrun and she's from Norden."

"Here you are, Sigrun." Holding the last piece of apple on her palm, Fable pushed her hand through the slats. The horse accepted her offering, nibbling the treat from her palm.

"Bolt's having the first baby now," Zeke called. "I can see the feet."

Fable patted Sigrun's nose. "I'll come back to see you soon." She hurried back to Bolt's stall and knelt by her head. The horse shuddered a few times and Zeke helped the baby. "Your baby is gold with black socks like you."

Melchior checked the baby. "She's small, but she's breathing."

"I expected them to be small. Bolt's not a typical mare, but twins still complicate things."

Thunder bent his head into the stall and nudged the baby.

The second baby was born. He was black with gold socks, and before long both babies were trying to stand up.

"Another successful continuation of your original warhorse's line. Congratulations, Zeke."

"Is that why Thunder is so big? He's supposed to fight?"

"His great-grandfather loved to fight." Zeke winked at Fable. "That's why you need a bigger dragon to scare him. It's in his genes, although he likes to be lazy."

Thunder kicked his stall.

"Zeke was a knight in Albion."

"Did you have a princess when you were a knight?"

Zeke smiled but he looked sad. "No, I had a lot of adventures, but I never met my princess."

Sora clapped her hands. "Zeke's heart is ready to beat. He will find his Draga soon."

*****

MYTH

Myth flopped face down into the sofa. "I'm exhausted."

The cushions dipped as Norrix joined her. "You can sleep for days now."