While I recover from my barbecue induced haze….

be sure to read the new Twirl…

read about our fabulous creative woman Marie from A Year From Oak Cottage…

and check to see if you won an award and a fun meme I did!

And now, while I devour another rib, let’s read the newest Gift.

For those who don’t know, the Gift is the story of Samantha, a grad student who discovered a strange gift while staying with her friends at her parent’s vacation cabin over winter break.  After traveling to her old friend’s bar to try to determine the origin of the strange necklace she received, she suddenly found herself in the enchanted forests of Ireland being pursued by a secret admirer.  Can her friends and loser boyfriend Jeremy save her before she gets trapped in a real-life fairy tale?  Read on…

To read previous issues of The Gift, look under the Never Ending Stories Tab…

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Samantha stared at the silver bracelet in Brogan’s hand.  Her eyes met his and she gulped.  His expression was cold, his eyes harsh and unrelenting.

Biting her lip, she glanced at the trees as if they held an answer.  If only the tree fairy was here…she locked her jaw together, trying to keep the tears from coming.  The fairy had promised she’d help.  She had promised Samantha that she wouldn’t have to go through with this.

And as much as she hated to admit it, even to herself, Samantha had hoped Rouge was the one in the Forrest.  She had hoped he had heard her screams, that the fairy had found him.  Even though she hadn’t talked to him in years, he had always been there in the back of her heart.  Whenever something good happened, his face would flash into her mind as the first person to tell.  Whenever something bad happened, her fingers automatically dialed his number.

But he wasn’t here.  No one was.  The only person that could save her was herself.  Blinking back stinging tears, she took the bracelet.  With a grim smile, she slid it on her wrist.

This time, the change was immediate.  It was like being thrown in a pool of pond water.  After a flash of black, she blinked at the new world around her, trying to take in everything.   She was back in the crystal castle, sitting at a long obsidian table.  The plate in front of her was gold edged with jade, the accompanying goblet carved from a thick-ruby colored stone and filled with a dark liquid.  Every other thick white stone chair was empty.  Glancing from one end of the table from the other, she tried to stand.  The chair wouldn’t move.  Shoving against it, she grunted as she tried to rise.

“Going so soon?”  The smooth voice jarred her into plopping down.  He was perched at the end of the table, his golden hair glinting in the pale light.  Even from her chair, she could see the one-sided smile stretched across his face.

“I can’t get up,” she stated, color flushing across her cheeks.  Anxiety curled in her belly as he laughed.

“Why would you want to?” he asked.  “Dinner hasn’t even been served.”  He clapped his hands, and a elf wearing silver robes scurried into the room.  He was carrying a obsidian tray carved out of the same material as the table.  Bowing, he set the tray on the table and hurried away.  Samantha leaned forward.

“Wait.”  The Prince leaped down from his chair, walking around the side of the table.  “Guess what it is.”

Samantha’s stomach rumbled and her mouth watered.  It was all she could do not to tear the tray apart and devour what was inside.  Her stomach screamed with hunger and tears threatened to course down her cheeks.  She had never been so hungry in her life.

“I don’t want to guess,” she replied, reaching for the tray.  “I haven’t eaten in days.”

Her fingers touched the dark surface of the tray and she recoiled, crying out at the burning pain on her finger tips.

“Guess,” the Prince repeated, his eyebrow raised.  “Guess what it is.”

Licking the tips of her fingers and waving them in the air, Samantha shook her head.  “Popcorn?” she threw out, not caring if it was right.  “Hamburgers?  Fried chicken?  Chinese food?”

“Guess again,” the prince repeated, nearly jumping up and down.

Samantha shrugged, leaning her head against the stone chair.  She was too hungry to guess.  “Tomato soup and a grilled cheese.”

The Prince shook his head.  Leaning across the table, he took her palm in hers.  His hands felt like ice and she forced herself not to draw away.

“Do you love me?” he whispered.

Samantha stared at him.  “I don’t know you.”

“But you will,” he murmured, pressing her hand against his icy cheek.  “In time, you will.  But love comes first.  Do you love me?”

Samantha could only stare at him.  An icy sensation was snaking down her arm, spreading across her chest.  Her legs felt frozen against the chair and every breath felt ice slicing her lungs.

“Do you love me?” the Prince whispered, wrapping his other hand around hers.  “I feel like you’re hiding something.  Like there’s a wall.  Don’t be afraid.  Tell me.  Tell me everything.  I want to spend the night wrapped in your arms, in a gossamer blanket of stars.  I want to cover you in jewels, drape you in the finest clothes.  You’ll be my princess, my eternity.  Tell me.  Tell me you love me.  Tell me you’re mine.”

Mine. The harsh tone and flash of his eyes burrowed in her brain. Smiling, she pulled her hand from his and slid it under the table with the other one.

“What’s under the tray?” she asked, feeling like her tongue was coated in peanut butter.  Every thought was slow, deliberate.  Lowering her eyes, she tugged on the bracelet around her wrist.

It wouldn’t come off.  Looking down, she stared at her wrist in horror.

The clasp was gone.  The silver band was woven around her wrist–forever.

And there was no tree fairy to save her.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Holding the tree fairy in question on his shoulder, Rouge rushed into the clearing.

“There!” the fairy shouted, ignoring the thumps and clomping noises Jeremy, Ashley and Cleo made as they trailed after them.  “The Twin Stones!”

Rushing over to the stones, Rouge dropped to his knees.  “What am I looking for?” he asked, patting the rock wildly.

“Some kind of pendant or box,” the fairy replied, scampering over the stones.  “It’s getting close to sunset, so he’ll have to move fast.”

Scraping his hand across the crack in the center of the stones, Rouge peered at every rocky inch.  Cursing under his breath, he got to his feet.

“Nothing,” he reported to Ashley and Cleo.  “Whatever it was, she’s got it.  They moved on.”  He looked at Aine.  “Where do we go now?”

Biting her lip, she shook her head.  “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Ashley asked, horrified.

Aine cocked her head, listening as the late afternoon breeze washed over them.  She nodded a few times, then sighed.  “No one has seen her since this spot.  She’s no where else in the forest.”

Rouge stared at the rocks.  “Where did she go?  Did he kill her?”

“No.”  Aine shook her head.  “She’s been taken to the second stage.”

“The second stage?” Cleo asked.

“I should have made her wear a leash or something,” Jeremy muttered, plopping down on the ground.  “This is ridiculous.”

Ashley and Cleo rolled their eyes.  “How do we get to the second stage?”

“The second stage is dangerous,” Aine warned.  “Very few humans survive it.  It’s the cusp of the fairy world, the edge of reality.  He’ll be playing with her thoughts, with what she sees around her.”

“How do we get there?” Rouge repeated, his voice strained.  “We’ve got to help her.  I don’t want her terrified for the rest of her life like my aunt.”

“You don’t.”

The group turned to see a tall man with gold hair and blue eyes.  Clad in all black, he stood cloaked in the shadows of a tree.

“Excuse me?” Rouge asked.

“You don’t go after her,” the man stated, his voice firm.  “He is entertaining her now.  She is no longer your concern.”

“Hey listen, buddy!” Rouge snapped.  “We’re here to rescue her!  Where is she?”

The man with golden hair shook his head, a smile spreading across his face.  “It is not wise.”

“We’re not really wise people,” Jeremy cracked, stretching out against the stump.

“Speak for yourself,” Ashley drawled.

“Listen, sir,” Rouge said to the man.  “I mean no disrespect.  But I love Samantha, and I care for her.  I’m not letting her go without a fight.”

“We’re not either,” Ashley echoed, crossing her arms and scowling.  Cleo mimicked her movements.

The man looked at Jeremy, who shrugged.  “Whatever.”

With a flash, the man pulled a sword from his side.  Pointing it at Rouge’s throat, he grinned.

“If you want a fight, then a fight you’ve got,” he growled.  “But you’ll never save her.  I’ll make sure of it.”

To be continued…

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends!  Tomorrow we have a fabulous new post and Wednesday, a brand new story!  Then we’ve got two new recipes, a new Twirl and a new creative woman!  Stay tuned!

More