CHAPTER-1:
Merry, My Love
Ziffy was making it hard for Tom to get dressed as she grabbed at his clothing as to strip him naked, once again. She even snatched up his shirt, and made him chase her to get it back.
"C'mon, Ziffy," he scolded her, playfully, "give it!"
"I'm a nymph... we're mischievous... it's what we do," she told him, as she surrendered the garment, and shot him a seductive smile.
He so wanted to spend the night with her, but dark was approaching, it would be getting cold soon, and he was not prepared to go camping—as it were. Perhaps he would go into town, tomorrow, and get a tent, sleeping-bag, and so forth, so he could spend the night with Ziffy whenever he felt like doing so. And as he pulled up his pants, he informed her of his plans to purchase the those items, asking her if she wanted anything... like clothes, he thought.
"Most fae don't wear clothes," she informed him, as he remembered that she could read his mind, "Besides, you don't have to go to that trouble just for me," she admitted, humbly.
"Gee, I could spend all day with my fellow-fogies, or by myself,
or
," he over-enunciated, pausing for dramatic effect, "I could come out here and spend time, make-love to, a beautiful, sexy, magical girl...
hmmm...
decisions-decisions..."
Ziffy giggled, and blushed, at his sideways compliment, and then made an unexpected admission, "You should look under your cottage. There's a hidden trap-door in your bedroom, under the wardrobe. You might find some surprises down there!"
"What are you talking about," he asked, suddenly stopping, and wondering how many secrets the old Roslov Estate actually held.
"Yuri had your cottage especially built for his butler, Francis Macy—one of the few he shared his secrets with," she began, "and... someone else..."
"Who," he started to ask, but was cut-off by Ziffy placing a finger over his lips.
"Hush, Thomas," she said, gently, "Enough questions. We have to get you home, now."
The nymph led him back to the edge of the forest as he followed her, all the while, admiring her naked form as they progressed. And, honestly, he couldn't wait to find out what (or whom) was beneath his cottage. But he was getting very hungry, the pangs were becoming pronounced. Perhaps he'd have dinner first, or maybe just a snack, before trying to muscle that wardrobe out of the way.
"Oh, you don't have to 'muscle' it," she turned, and told him, as he just started to see Cascadia Home through the trees, "All you have to do is knock on the door, twice, and say, 'Merry, my love.'" And a half-hour later, after a microwaved pot-pie, and had a glass of wine, he did so, and it worked.
The wardrobe slid silently to the side, not even making a scraping sound as it moved over the hardwood floor, revealing the trap-door Ziffy had promised. He opened it. A warm, orange, flickering glow, as if from a kerosene lantern, lit the set of stairs leading beneath the cottage. However, Tom stood in place, unsure of taking that first step. After all, the day had been crazy enough, already! And he couldn't even begin to imagine what was on the other side of that staircase. But the mystery of it all overcame his fear and apprehension, and he took that first step.
***
At the bottom of the stairs, Tom found himself in what looked like a very comfortable parlor, or sitting-room. It was very old fashioned in its appointments, with a lounge, a couple of armchairs, a large bookshelf laden with antique hardbacks that reminded him of a lawyer's office, and a beverage service in the center of the room. The beverage service had an ornate decanter (of what was obviously crystal, and not just glass), filled with a brown-colored liquor, and several (likewise, crystal) tumblers surrounding it. And as he suspected, the room with lit with kerosene lanterns, but set in gilded sconces on the walls, rather than the more common type that were meant set on table-tops.
"You are welcome to pour yourself a bourbon," a tiny voice invited him, from the shadows of a dark corner of the room, "It's from a distiller that only works in small batches... very smooth, like silk," the voice informed him, "It comes on with a lot of charred-oak, but finishes with hints of hazelnut and clove..."
The voice was feminine, most definitely, he thought. And when he tracked the source, he saw the silhouette of a female form, sunk into the shadows in that corner of the room, that had to be fully matured judging by the swell and curves, yet no more than four-feet-tall. The height was hardly that of an eight-year-old! A "little" person, he pondered, like that guy on that fantasy TV show?..
"Ziffy told me you might be showing up, tonight," the squeaky, little voice persisted, "we have a... well.. 'connection,' you might call it," the shadowed form admitted to him. And there was a pause, a moment of deafening silence that seemed to go on far longer than it actually did, before it spoke again, "Please, pour yourself a drink, have a seat, and let us talk for a bit. Ziffy tells me you're really a nice person!"
"Is she talking to you, now," Tom queried, his voice unsteady, and unsure—as if today could get any more bizarre, he mused to himself.
"Yes," the voice responded, flatly, "She's hiding at the edge of the forest, right now, looking at the cottage. And she says to you, 'I guess that depends on what you define as
bizarre...
'"
Tom chuckled at the nymph's retort, and moved to the beverage-service to pour himself a couple of fingers of the bourbon. He then took a seat in an armchair opposite the shadowy form, and introduced himself, "I'm Tom, Thomas Alden, and you are?.."