Chapter 7: Page 5

“Applenut?” Fidgen looked down at her, his brows lifted and a smile flickering on his lips. “Applenut?”

“It’s a family name from her side. She insisted since I wasn’t a Trillnote.” She dropped her head against Fidgen’s chest. “We’ll continue to ignore it.”

“Go, pick it up. I’ll make the popcorn.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Meria, you pick up this phone. I know you’re there. That’s it! I’m coming to take you home. It’s obvious you can’t live on your own. A rock musician of all things. How can you do this to me?”

“It’ll be okay,” he kissed her forehead.

Meria jumped down from the table, picked up the phone and went into the other room. Her stomach was starting to hurt from the knots twisting and tightening. “This isn’t about you, Mother! It’s my life and if I want to date a rock musician I will. And if I want to fuck him and do all sorts of kinky things, I’ll do that too. Actually, I plan on it.”

“Oh no you don’t. You will not do this. You will not throw your life away on a rock musician, let alone some Elf!”

The answering machine was still on, allowing Fidgen to hear the conversation. He thought it was no wonder his Meria was so shy. He looked towards the room, wondering if he should have listened to Meria and just ignored the call. Scratching the back of his head, he looked away, but found himself staring at a picture stuck to the fridge with a colorful magnet of a bunch of kids. The kids were in three rows, ranging from tallest to shortest, and standing next to the children was…

He squinted and realized that it was Meria before the hair cut and new clothes. His girl, he still would have wanted her. He went back to making the popcorn, but went still when…

“I love Fidgen and he loves me.” At least she hoped he loved her. “He’s a good man, unlike that bastard you keep forcing on me.”

“Teven is from a fine family and he’s still willing to be your mate despite your attack upon him.”

“It’ll be a cold day in the Pit before I mate with him. I’m going to be with Fidgen.” She should hang up, Meria knew it in her knotted, twisting stomach—she should just hang up.

“Since you won’t come to your senses, I’m forced to come there. Two days and you better be packed.” Fernia hung up the phone with an audible click.

Meria flung the phone and screamed. It felt good to let the emotion out, but it wasn’t enough, it was never enough; her stomach felt like someone was jabbing multiple nails into it. She sat on the floor, her knees drawn against her chest as panic overwhelmed her. Her mother was going to be arriving in two days and she had yelled at her. She had never yelled at her before. Sure, she had thrown her out of her apartment, but she hadn’t yelled at her.

“Meria?” Fidgen, with popcorn bowl in his hands, found Meria in a tiny room off the kitchen. He hated seeing her so upset, but he couldn’t stop the little smile at the corner of his lips. His pretty bird loved him.

“It’s always about her. Daddy used to be able to keep her ego in check, but after he died… Even before he died, it was still about her. How it made her look. How it made her feel. Sometimes I think she had me as an accessory, for publicity, to keep Daddy tied to her, not because she wanted a child. That I’m a Chirptrue and not a Trillnote has ever been her bane in life. And because I was a Chirptrue, she wouldn’t have anymore children with Daddy, she wouldn’t risk it; she would have Trillnotes or nothing.”

“It’s okay, pretty bird.” Fidgen came into the room and sat next to his girl, bowl at his side as he pulled her onto his lap.

“I don’t think that she ever loved Daddy. It was an arranged mating, and sometimes I think Daddy died just to escape her. Sometimes…sometimes I hate him for leaving me alone. I know he wouldn’t have if he could help it, but…”

“Meria, it’s okay.” He kissed her temple.

“She’s going to be here in two days and she’ll probably bring that bastard Teven with her.”

“I won’t let him have you.” He tilted her chin up and kissed her hard. “He can’t have you, you’re my pretty bird. I’ll pluck him if I have to.”

“He’s a Cavetwitter.”

“I don’t care who he is, he can’t have you.” He kissed her again and again. He laid her down on the floor and covered her body with his. “All mine.”

Meria wrapped her arms around his neck. “And you’re all mine.”

“Yes, we belong to each other.” Another hard kiss. “I want to go through the Bonding Rites with you. You’re my mate, pretty bird. I’ve known it since you dumped that drink over my head.”

“Fidgen…”

“There could have been a hundred Tree Nymphs pollinating and I still would have seen only you, wanted only you. That’s how it is for us Elves. Once we meet the one, there is no one else in the room, just our mate.”

“Oh Fidgen… Can we do it in two days?”

Fidgen laughed. “If we were Fairies, but Elves have a stupid three day waiting period. Not to mention my mother would kill me if I went through the Rites without her being present, and it’ll take her at least those three days to get here; she’s never been to Oak’s Holm before so can’t just pop over.”

“But…didn’t she want you to go through the Rites with Aphenia?”

“If she did, she never said anything to me about it. My mother would want me to be happy. You make me happy.”

Meria pulled Fidgen’s head down and kissed him. “Popcorn.”

Fidgen laughed. “Popcorn.”

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