Hello, Invisible Friends.  Bear here.

And I’ve decided it’s all about me.

In fact, not only is it all about me, but tomorrow, I’m going to reveal some of my greatest secrets.  Some of my funniest habits.  And of course, a few charming memories.

Because for once, it’s all about me.

(Snorting in disbelief) That’s what he thinks.  Keep dreaming, pal.  Everyone knows that here in the Pond…

It’s always about me, Queen Bitty.

Wuffle.

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.

Now, an Elf Prince has decided to make her his bride–whether she wants to or not.  As she struggles to escape, her childhood love Rouge and friends must fight to rescue her…as soon as they get out of the dungeon.  And the wedding is at sunset…

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…

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For what seemed like a thousand years but was only a few seconds, Samantha and Rouge stood in the clearing, frozen by the screams coming from the castle.

Frustrated, Rouge pounded his fist into his side.  “How did you get to the castle?” he asked suddenly.

“Aine,” Samantha replied.  “How did you get there?”

“Aine,” he affirmed with a sigh.  “Brogan told me no human could make it there without magic…”

“…And even if we try, by the time we get there they could be…gone,” Samantha trailed off, her face pale.  “So what are we going to do?”

Rouge cursed under his breath.  “I had a clover fairy help me earlier, but she’s back by the car.  Plus, I already owe her six weeks of honey cakes.”

“Aine was all the help I had,” Samantha added, her face drooping.  “So I guess we’re stuck.  Maybe we should go back to the clover fairy.”

“But how could she get us to the castle?” Rouge asked.  “Her talent, she said, was in telling the future through dew drops.  Otherwise, a few more honey cakes and she would have probably sent me to you.  And I don’t have anything to barter with,” he added, raising his hands.  “Aine took my family ring.  It was the only thing that would have helped us.”

“True.”  Samantha’s face fell.  “And all my jewelry turned to dust.  So that brings us back to the original question of what do to do now.”

Both collapsed into a glum silence.

“I could be of assistance,” a voice purred, piercing the quiet air with a smug chuckle.

Weary, Samantha and Rouge grabbed hands, placing their backs against each other as their eyes darted around.

“Who are you, good stranger?” Rouge asked, gripping Samantha’s arm.

“Why, you don’t remember me?”  the voice replied, shocked.  A green hand with stubby fingers shot from the base of a stump, waving wildly.  “I’m Mel!  I helped Aine earlier, remember?”

“No,” Samantha replied, wrinkling her nose at the green mottled skin flapping at her.

“I remember,” Rouge interjected quickly as the creature beneath the stump began to howl.  “You’re the one who took the necklace from Samantha so the Prince couldn’t get her.”

“Yes,” the creature purred, the stump rattling above it.  “And we never did discuss payment.  Aine shorted me, which I am not happy about at all.” His green fist  slammed into the mossy ground.  “Ow,” he muttered as the green hand shook.  “I hurt myself.”

“How can you help us?” Samantha asked, losing patience with the magical whining stump.

“And how can we repay you?” Rouge asked quickly, cutting off another howl.  He elbowed Samantha and she rolled her eyes.

“I can do better than send you to the castle,” the creature cooed.  “I can bring your friends here.”

“How?” Samantha asked, dubious.  “As far as I can tell, you never leave the stump.”

“And why would I?” Mel scoffed.  “I’ve got everything I need here.  Except for one thing….”  The green hand waved, and he continued.  “This stump is the hub of the tree fairies’ underground world.  I can touch every root, every kernel of dirt, every lump of clay under the earth from here.  Far beneath these roots lies the world of the dwarfs and their magnificent system of caves and tunnels.  Say the word, and your friends will be flying through those tunnels and shooting up through the top of this stump like a volcano erupting.”

“Would the dwarfs do that?” Rouge asked.

“And for what price?” Samantha added quickly.

The green hand lifted up in a shrugging motion.  “They owe me a favor, just as you owe me a payment.  And there’s only one thing I want….”

———————————————————————————————

“Husband,” one of the brides breathed, her gray eyes flashing with a glint of life.  “We’ve missed you.”

Surrounded by the ghost brides, the wild-eyed Prince shook his head frantically.  Whipping out his sword with a metallic shriek, he thrust it out, turning in circles.  “Brides, I command you!  Return to your suite.  I’ll visit you each later tonight, in your dreams.”

“In his dreams,” Ashley muttered to Cleo, who snorted with laughter.  Aine poked her head out of her handbag.  “When I say the word, all run into that closet,” she muttered, pointing.  “Cleo, put your protection charm on the door.”

“Why?” Ashley asked.

“You’ll see,” Aine replied, diving back into the bag.  Ashley looked up at Brogan, who shrugged. His role was done.

“But why should your brides wait?” Elisa cried, her green eyes sparkling as she waded through the crowd of gray dresses and white faces.  “They’ve been waiting an awfully long time.”

“It’s true,” the brides cried out, every voice twisted into one loud sorrowful howl.  “We’ve been waiting!  We’ve been waiting forever!”

“Husband, you promised me we would walk in fields of flowers with horses!” one cried, reaching out a bony hand that clawed at the Prince’s neck.

“Husband, you promised me we would dance among the stars every night!” another cried, tears streaming down her face as she scratched at his back.

“Husband, you promised me babies!” another cried, clutching her flat stomach.  “A house full of laughing children, a loving home.  And I have nothing–nothing but hours of silence and solitude!”

One by one, each bride began to scream of the Prince’s broken promises to her, the shattered dreams and forgotten hopes.  With each bride’s touch, the prince grew paler and paler.  His skin was transparent, his hair a mere shadow of gold.  It was as though an artist had tried to paint a water color portrait on newspaper, and stopped halfway through.  But with every word, the brides grew stronger.  Their eyes glowed white, their cheeks blazed red.  Their emaciated bodies now moved with strength, their frail voices now confident.

“I am the Prince Arnan!” the Prince screamed, his voice no louder than a kitten’s mew.  “I am the ruler of this kingdom, the King of  your dreams!  Be silent, brides, and return to your suites!  I will have no more of your disobedience!”

And then, the most terrible sound occurred.

A large bell sounded from the sky, as though the stars themselves were ringing a thousand hand bells.  The terrifying notes rang into the night…one…two…three.

“Now!” Aine cried, nudging Ashley and grabbing Cleo’s arm.  “Now!  Get in the closet!”

Cleo barely had time to strip the necklace off as Brogan threw the girls into the closet.  He grabbed the charm necklace from Cleo and hung it on the handle, slamming the door just as the bells sounded.

Elisa smiled at the Prince, who aimed the tip of the sword at her throat.  “You know what this means, yes?”

“That since you’re technically alive, I can kill you?” he sneered, his pale face no darker than a shadow.

“No,” Elisa purred.  “You don’t know what those bells were, do you?”

“No,” the Prince snapped.  “And why should I care?”

“Because they’re the bells of the dead,” a voice cried gleefully behind him.  “And they mean that you’re coming home.”

The Prince whirled around and saw Jeremy with the troll.  His eyes widened and his lips parted.  “No!” he cried.  “Not you too!  I killed you!  I know I did!  I heard my sword tear through your heart, saw the blood pour from your chest!”

“This sword?” Jeremy raised the sword at his side, letting it glint in the yellow light of the room.  “You mean your sword?”

The Prince looked at the sword in his hand, and then at Jeremy’s and swore.  “Give me my sword.”

“Sure.”  Jeremy sauntered toward him, swinging the sword by his side.  Suddenly, he stopped and shook his head.  “On second thought…” He spun around.  Holding the sword out handle first to Elisa, he bowed.  “My lady.  You seem to be running things.”

“Thank you,” Elisa murmured, taking the sword.  As the bells began to ring, each pounding through the air, she smiled and raised the sword over her head.

“Under a moonlit night,” she sang.

“When the stars are gone,

The dead lovers will rise

And sing their song.

For one final dance,

For one final touch.

In the shadows and cobwebs,

They dream the dreams of the heartbroken.

One last kiss,

One last word,

until death do them part,

and eternity do them not.”

On the final word, she drove the sword into the ground.  A blast of white light burst from the sword and above them, grey clouds spread like a blanket.  The troll shrieked and hid behind the door as the light spread.  As the light blasted over her, Elisa stepped back, gasping for air.  Inch by inch, she began to fade into nothing.  Her shoes and hem were disappearing, her fingertips fading into a pale light. It was as though a giant hand was erasing her, bit by bit, streaking up her limbs like they’d never been there at all.

“What’s happening?” Jeremy shouted over the steady peal of the bells, reaching for her.  “Where’s Cleo and Ashley?  What’s going on?”

Elisa smiled, her face radiant as she looked above.  “I’m going home.  I’m finally going home.  No more dreams, no more wishes.  I’m finally going home to where I belong.”  Jeremy stepped back in horror as her eyes and smile faded into the air.  “Tell them, please.  Tell them I’m going home.  Tell them I’m happy, because of them.  I’m finally free.  And thank you.”

The green eyes blinked one last time.  “You were finally the hero we all knew you could be.”  Her final words were whispered into the air, into the nothingness of what she had been.  Shaking his head, Jeremy jumped as the Prince bellowed behind him.  The bells grew louder, more insistent.

“Get away!” the Prince shrieked, batting away the brides as they marched toward him. Uselessly, he smacked them with his sword.  One bride grabbed it out of his hand and threw it across the room, where it landed with a loud thump.  “Back off!” he cried.  “I order you back to your suite!  I am the Prince!  Leave me, brides!”

Screaming, the Prince shielded his eyes as hundreds of porcelain hands extended towards him.  The ringing bells pounded into his skull.

“Come on, husband.  It’s time to dream.”

To be continued…

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends!  Tomorrow we’ve got a post all about Bear, and Wednesday a new Coconut Queen.  Thursday we’ve got a delicious new recipe, Friday a new Twirl and Saturday, a new creative woman of the Pond!  Stay tuned!