A Faerie's Love story

A Faerie's Love Story

Prologue

A very long time ago, in Eyre, a place known for its mystical and magical aspects in ancient lore, Deidre, an Irish faerie, fell in love with handsome Scottish chieftain, Llewellyn MacDougall. Even though it grieved him to admit it, and seeing how desperate his daughter was to be with the chieftain, the Faerie King felt that he had no choice but to let his daughter become mortal so that she could wed MacDougall. Yet, the only why she could continue her mortal existence was if Llewellyn and her could produce a faerie human child within one year. Sadly, no matter how hard they tried, she could not conceive. Thus after their one year of marital bliss, Deidre went before her father to plead with him to let her stay with her beloved husband.

Although it caused him much grief, to see his beloved daughter with such sorrow in her heart, the Faerie King, having already set the plan in motion, was unable to relent and he reluctantly told her that she had to return to her people. He did however make an agreement to let her return again to the mortal world after due time. After three sets of new heirs past, and when the fourth Llewellyn MacDougall would reach the age of thirty-four in the new land of Eyre, Deidre then would have a chance to return to him, win his heart within a day and a half, and awaken his long lost memory of her. In proof of this, he must remember her name without her prompting him; only by his deep awakened and renewed love of her would this be possible. If she succeeded in that quest, she could stay and live as a mortal for the rest of her life; with the man that she loved....

The Present

Llewellyn MacDougall walked on the beach next to his Scottish home in Wester Ross. He felt anxious for something to happen, but unsure of what. He was the last of the male heirs of the MacDougall family and had been named after his great, great, great grandfather. He couldn't really believe how quickly time had past, as a young lad he had wholeheartedly enjoyed life, while running happily on the beach; chasing the waves as they came in from the tide. Yet, now, he had celebrated his thirty-fourth birthday occasion, and his Aunt Dorieann had taken it upon herself to remind him that he was not getting any younger. Her constant arrangements with women, that she felt would be appropriate and produce him an heir, was annoying to no end. No matter how much he tried to avoid his wretched aunt, she found very persistent ways to not only nag him about his age, but that he needed a wife.

Llewellyn couldn't help being under the impression that his aunt was an old pitiful spinster, that spent most of her time causing problems for her family members. His sister said that Aunt Dorieann meant well enough and was just bored; she needed some entertainment. The problem with this, was that he was the one that she had chosen to seek out her entertainment; antagonizing him to no end. He couldn't understand why, she couldn't set herself upon the other members of his family.

As he walked down the beach, that the bay window from his upstairs bedroom oversaw, he came to his favorite hiding place: a forbidden cave that he had explored as a child. His parents had explicitly told him not to go near it, since they feared there might be some wild animals living inside, but Llewellyn, being a disobedient lad, had heed little of what his parents told him; he had explored deep inside this cavernous cave. In the beginning it had seemed like a terrifying foreboding place, yet soon it became his own special hiding place; a secret place where nobody could find him. It was unique, unlike any other cave he had ever been in. It had a clear sparkling pool that sometimes appeared to have a magical cast upon it, with glistening diamonds lying far below. The ceiling of the cave was enormous with cone stalligtites and stalligmites jutting out along the surface floor; in certain places, the ceiling and floor came together to form elegant pillars of mock supports. What made this special place even more spectacular was there was a natural rock bench that Llewellyn had, since he was a young lad, sat upon, to think his private thoughts and gain a sense of serenity.

As a child, Llewellyn's grandmother had told him many of the old myths concerning the local caves, and how they were the passages into the faerie’s world. The stories had intrigued and enchanted him back then; he was more apt to believing them. Yet, now, that he was a man, he didn't believe in the faerie fables. He looked at them simply as entertaining myths to tell the occasional tourist.

After sitting down on the cave's bench, Llewellyn stared into the pool and let his thoughts wander. Putting his face in his hands, he stared off into the cavernous tunnels as he contemplated his cave's quiet, ageless, beauty. His family's constant worry over him finding a suitable wife, had him now distressed over his predicament; if he didn't marry soon they were going to drive him away with their constant nagging. He would have avoided them now, if it wasn't for this deep seated loneliness that got worse at night when he was alone in his empty mansion. Yet, as excruciatingly lonely as he was, he couldn't just marry any woman, the woman he married had to be truly extraordinary; as vain as it was to say, he wanted a certain woman. His family felt that he was just being conceited, and maybe in some ways they were right. All he knew was that when this woman finally did entered his life, he would know that she was meant for him.

Sighing he looked back down into the clean clear pool, and was startled to see a young woman’s reflection standing behind his in the glasslike surface. She appeared seemly with long flowing dark maroon hair. Somewhat startled by her presence, he quickly turned around to confront her. Yet, to his amazement, there was nobody there; looking back down into the pool, he saw only his own reflection. After rubbing his eyes, Llewellyn couldn't help being convinced that, since the image had been very vague, that it was a slight glint of light reflecting off of the cone stalligtites and stalligmite; he was almost positive that his over-strained imagination had concocted an image of a woman. Perplexedly glanced down at his watch, he noticed then how late it was getting. As much as it pained him, he realized he had better start back home for dinner; a lonely dinner at that, since he would be the only one to partake in it. Yet, he knew that his mansion was but a few miles from this cave and if he started the journey back now he might be able to reach it before nightfall.

As he stood up, he felt the painful strain in his muscles from sitting too long; this was the consequence of getting older. Now not only did he have the constant nagging of his family to worry about, but he was feeling pain in muscles that had never ailed him before; stretching, he headed toward the entrance of the cave. When he was just at the mouth of the cave, where he could feel the last rays of sunlight touch his skin, Llewellyn thought he heard the lilt of singing over his shoulder. He hesitated slightly, before turning around, and heading back in. As he neared his bench, he was amazed to find none other than the woman he had seen a reflection of; he couldn't help being drawn to her, she was more beautiful than any woman he had ever laid eyes upon. Her hair had an unnatural shimmer, which he was positive was the result from the light streaming in from the entrance and the slight cracks in the roof of the cave.

As he continued to watch the way her hair flowed around her, he thought he saw stars cascading from her long lengths. Her skin was the smoothest complexion of cloud white: flawless like a spring day. When she turned to look at him, he noticed then her glistening red lips and azure eyes. Getting up from the rock bench, she began to slowly walk towards him; almost as if in a trance. Blinking his eyes and finally giving his head a little shake, he was half believing that she would disappear with his intense stare. When he finally did find his voice, he asked, a little shakily, “Who are ye?”

Only then did the woman look at him, as if awakening from a dream. “Ye can see me?” she looked at him quizzically.

“Aye, my beautiful lass, I can.” he took a step towards her.

She was instantly weary of him, and taking a step backward, he noticed, at that moment, that the rays from the late afternoon were filtering into the cave, outlining her body perfectly; she wore a light silver gown, that shimmered as she moved. Its pure sheerness allowed him to enjoy more of her pale skin, which had his arousal coming alive with need; he was lustful for the mere touch and taste of her beautiful skin. As his intense gaze continued to skim over her, he saw that she had full, round milky white breasts; she was lithely, but curvy.

What finally brought him out of his trance, was her shivering. “It's cold in here...” she wrapped her arms protectively around herself, trying to get some warmth.

“Aye...it is.” He came closer to her and taking his coat off, he gently wrapped it around her. “Ye will catch cold, dressed like that. Where have ye come from?”

With wide-eyes, she looked up at him, not at all embarrassed nor ashamed by her near nakedness. Instead she stood on her tiptoes and leaning towards him she gently touched his face to get a better look at him, she could see that he was indeed her Llewellyn. She had dreamt of him so often, his dark blond hair, his strong muscular arms and thighs, his lean but solid build, and those starry gray eyes of his had been her undoing. He had a slight crooked nose that had been broken in battle against the MacDonalds. Yet, to her, he was the most handsome man that she had ever seen. That first night together, she had lured him away from his men and they had made love in this very cave. She had wanted him to see her that first time, and when he had laid eyes upon her, like now, there was nothing but unadulterated passion in those beautiful silver eyes of his.

Right then, she had known that she was his, and she had pleaded with her father to let her stay with Llewellyn. He had relented with the condition, that she make him a grandfather within the year or return to the faerie people. Regretfully, though, she had been unable to bear any children. Their last night together, her and Llewellyn spent making love in the same cave that they had met in. Then, while he slept, she had left him and returned to the faeries. In her painful loneliness, she had invisibly watched him as he languished away for her. Finally, after several years had past, he had agreed to marry a woman who gave him two sons and a daughter; at least his new wife could give him, what she couldn't. Oftentimes, though, she had watched him staring off into the night; as he remembered her and the love that bound them together for eternity.

She was instantly pulled back from her painful reminiscing, when she started caressing Llewellyn's face; she smiled while tracing the bridge of his crooked nose. After gently feeling the fullness of his lips, she looped her arms around his neck and embraced him. Resting her head on his chest, she listened to the exciting, realistic sound of his heartbeat.

Llewellyn couldn't help the smile that crept across his face, and pulling her closer to him, he immediately felt this surprised familiarity toward her; it was like he knew her, but he was almost positive they had never met. He was pleasantly startled by how comfortable it felt holding her in his arms; any sense of impropriety slipped away from his consciousness as he held her. These feelings felt so right, that when he finally pulled away from her, to stare down into her face, letting the silky strands of her hair slip through his fingers, he instantly felt protective of her. As he traced her lips, with his fingertips, he thought about how vulnerable she looked; everything about her was so tempting. After locking his gaze with her hypnotic stare, he felt himself falling more and more for her. “It's getting late...,” he whispered softly to her, “I better be getting back. Ye can't stay out here alone; it's not safe. Do ye have anywhere to go? Where have ye come from anyways?”

When she didn't answer, and only sheepishly looked down at her feet, he said, “Ye, will come with me then.” clasping her by the hand, he guided her outside of the cave; afraid to let go of her, even for a minute, lest she just might disappear.

Dusk had settled in as the sun set, but there was still a little light left as a full moon peeked up above the horizon and lit a path for them to follow. After they left the cave, and stepped upon the cool beach sand, Llewellyn realized, then, that his mystery woman's feet were bare. Picking her up, he carried her all of the way back to his mansion. The whole walk back was definitely an excruciating one, not that she was heavy; she actually weighed very little. It was because everything about her distracted his senses. He could smell the slight aroma of fresh blossoms radiating from her skin, and he envisioned a rainstorm when he smelled her hair. As she snuggled against his neck and planted soft kisses everywhere she could reach, he stumbled a few times. At that moment, he was positive that he wouldn't make it, unless he took her right then and there on the beach. It took all of his concentration, walking and climbing up the path towards the lit windows of his mansion for him not to give into his lust.

When they finally reached his mansion, and were safety inside, he took her upstairs to his bedroom and into the bathroom. After leaving her, standing on the bathroom floor, he went to his parents' old bedroom where he found one of his mother's light blue nightgowns. Once back in his bedroom, he contently listened outside the close door of his bathroom. After not hearing the tell tale signs of water running, he gently rapped on the door, when he didn't get any response from inside, he gingerly wiggling the door handle; he was somewhat surprised to find it unlocked. As he peered inside the bathroom, he could see that his enchanted guest still stood where he had left her; fully clothed. Letting his gaze quickly wander over her, he couldn't help noticing the expression on her face; it was one of curiously and bewilderment. After coming the rest of the way into the bathroom and sitting the nightgown down on the side of the sink, he frowned at her. If he hadn't known any better, he would have sworn she didn't know how to turn the water on in the bathtub; she looked at the facets with this apparent confusion written on her lovely face.

After a few minutes of just observing her, he went over to the tub to turn on the facets. Out of the corner of his eye he could see how perplex she became when she saw the rush of warm water come running out into the tub. Adding some bath salts and bubble bath, he looked back at her still curious face; she watched him with intrigue written in her eyes. It then dawned on him that she probably had never seen a bathtub. Yet, he didn't know how that was possible; considering how wonderful she smelled and her appearance. As he stood to his full height, he asked, “Don't ye want to take a nice warm bath?”

She looked back down at the tub, and just as quickly as it had been there, the apprehension left her face; loosening her gown, she let it puddle at her feet. Llewellyn could barely contain himself, she was so enticing standing there! The restraint he had, toward taking her in that cave and on the beach, finally snapped, he couldn't stand it any more, he needed to have her; pulling her into his arms, he kissed her passionately. While delving his tongue between her beautiful lips, he felt this overwhelming passion come alive in his loins. As he shed his clothes and made love to her in the warm tub's water, he then carried his beautiful guest to his bed and took her, again, with this unabated passion that seem to erupt from every inch of his being.

Finally exhausted, he lay with her in his arms, and as he drifted off to sleep he felt an unusual state of contentedness that he had never felt before. He had commonly felt somewhat anxious after sex, but, with her, he was relaxed and enjoyed how her delicate fingers traced little circles on his hard muscular chest. “I'll show ye the land tomorrow, it's very beautiful during the day.” Llewellyn didn't know why he had said that, but he found that he wanted to share everything with her. “And the next day, we’ll go where ever ye want to go...”

Mournfully, Deidre looked up at him, “Nay, I will not be here the day after tomorrow.”

Fully awake, Llewellyn bolted up. “What do ye mean? Ye are welcome to stay... I don't want ye to leave.” she locked her gaze on her hands. When she didn't look up at him, he lifted her chin up to look into her beautiful azure eyes. “Where are ye going?” he felt a wave of panic suddenly as he considered that he would be losing his enchanted guest so soon.

Deidre, staring directly into Llewellyn's starry gray eyes, said sorrowfully, “I made a promise to my father that if I could not get ye to fall in love with me in a night and a day, then I was to return home. Along with that pledge of love, ye also have to remember who I am...” she paused. “ye must remember my name.”

“Who are ye?” when she didn't answer him, he asked quizzically, “How can I know ye name, if ye do not tell me?”

Shaking her head adamantly, she replied, “Nay, I'm sorry. I cannot tell ye.”

“Why not?”

“Because, I agreed to what my father said that I must do. It is part of the bargain that I did make with him.”

“And if I can't remember who ye are, but if I fall in love with ye; ye still won't stay?!”

“I'm sorry...I want to...”

“Then stay!” Llewellyn growled. “Who cares what ye father says...! Ye are a grown woman!” he pulled her into his arms. “I don't know how, but I have fallen madly in love with thee already!”

Deidre holding onto him, started sobbing. “I want to! Ye don't know how painful it is to know I'll lose ye again!” she could feel her heart breaking as she looked up into his distressed eyes. “I do love ye too, Llewellyn...I want to stay with ye, but I can't...not unless ye remember who I am.”

He searched her face in bewilderment. He knew he would have remembered meeting her before; what strange demands was she placing upon him? How could this young woman think he had ever encountered her; had he past her in some field and not even seen her? Burying her face in his chest, Llewellyn couldn't help feeling conflicted.

After awhile, her crying grew slumberous and he realized that she had cried herself to sleep. As he watched her sleep, while gently stroking her long silky hair, he found himself becoming even more enchanted by her. At that moment, he was determined to search his memory for any inkling of who she might be; cautiously, so not to wake her, he got up from his bed and went to his window to watch the sunrise. He took in the orange glow of the early morning light and thought how glorious this day would be. Right then, he decided that he wanted to share this moment with his sleeping companion and going over to the bed he gently woke her.

It was the soft brush of Llewellyn's fingers that instantly awoke Deidre. As she opened her eyes and stared lovingly into her lost husband's face, she felt this overwhelming desire to be with him forever or for how ever long forever was. Immediately her gaze went to his outstretched hand, grabbing hold of it, she felt this jolt of familiarity that came from his hand touching hers. Since leaving him, she had always missed the mere caress of his skin against hers and the way he could touch her; so softly, yet with such an electrical stroke that she felt it through out her whole body.

Once out of bed, she giggled as he quickly drew her into his warm embrace. Wrapping her arms securely around his waist, he escorted her over to the window, where she happily watched as the sun rose over the mountains; outlining everything in it's beautiful morning splendor. What made the morning even more fantastic, was the feel of Llewellyn's fingers upon her skin; she relished the feel of his touch on her bare shoulders as she lulled her head back upon his chest. This was truly what happiness felt like, being with the man she loved and spending the rest of her life in his arms; she wanted this wonderful feeling to last, but she knew that the ever present danger of never seeing him again was still looming perilously close.

As he took in the beautiful sunrise with his enchanting guest, Llewellyn felt the wonderful beauty of the moment wash over him. What may it even more impressive was the company for whom he was enjoying it with. At that moment, staring down at her as she loving looked up at him, Llewellyn had decided to bar the thought of her leaving him. His mind was set on that promise he had made to her, to show her his homeland and maybe, during the course of the day, he would finally be able to remember who she was to him.

Once they were dressed, Llewellyn went about showing Deidre his home and the surrounding areas. They spent most of the time on the beach, playing in the water and building sand castles in the sun; laughing with delight as they chased each other through the waves. They only became somber as the sun began to set and the tide covered their castles' walls. Throughout the day, Llewellyn had tried to remember having known his beautiful guest before. Yet, to no avail, was he able to. The thought of losing her was painful, and he wasn't sure he could bear her departure; his thoughts kept wandering to how he was going to stop her from going. As strange as it was, them just meeting each other for the first time, she had wrapped herself around his heart. He had never known what true passion or heartache was, and, if or when she left him, he was positive he would know how truly painful both were.

When the day finally came to an end and they sat down to have dinner, Deidre had tried, unsuccessfully, to make Llewellyn smile. He had attempted, for her sake, to put up a happy front, yet, he failed miserably. He was so forlorn that his pitiful memory could not bring forth a remembrance of her name, that he had had a hard time smiling or feigning happiness.

After dinner they went upstairs to his bedroom, where he watched her as she stared longingly at his bed; she indeed took his breathe away and made commonsense practically none existent. When she finally did look over at him, he saw the same hungry look in her eyes that was in his; he couldn't stand how much he wanted her. He needed to touch her and drink every inch of her body; like a starving man, he went to her and in his desperation to be inside her, he practically ripped his and her clothes off.

Enveloping her in his arms, he lifted her up on to his bed and took her with the bent-up passion that was erupting deep inside him. As he drank from every inch of her and made her scream with ecstasy, he couldn't help trying to memorize every inch of her body. He needed to do this, so when those lonely nights without her, came upon him, he would be able to somewhat bear the unbearable torture of her not lying there in his arms.

Finally exhausted from their loving making, he enveloped her in his embrace and held her captive in his arms. As she drifted off to sleep, securely next to him, he tried once again to remember who she was, but couldn't; maybe if he stayed awake all night and just held on to her tightly, she would never be able to leave him. His resistance to the overwhelming powers of sleep, were so persistent that he wasn't sure how he ended up drifting off to sleep; it was possible that magic was involved. Either way, as much as he tried holding her tightly in his arms, desperate to never let her go, she ended up leaving him.

In the early morning hours, Llewellyn awoke with a start and felt for his beautiful guest on the other side of the bed. When he didn't feel the softness of her lithe body next to him, he, in near desperation, began searching the room for her. The thought of losing her coupled with panic of being alone was what finally unlocked his memory. As he raced through his mansion, he shouted out her name, “Deidre!!!” Yet, no matter where he looked, he still could not find her.

Devastatingly exhausting his search, he went back upstairs and mournfully going over to his bedroom window he looked outside at the predawn darkness; that's when he saw her gliding gracefully in the direction of his cave. At that moment, he realized that if he didn't hurry, he was positive he would lose her again. As he tore out of his mansion, shouting desperately for her, it finally dawned on him for her reason for returning to the cave; the cave was the passage to her home. As he ran, his body kept urging him to go faster; he knew that if he didn't stop her, he would lose her forever. In his rushed state, he hadn't even bother putting on shoes; he slipped, cut and tore his bare feet on jagged rocks, but still he ran toward the cave, all the while yelling her name, “Deidre!!!”

When he finally made it to the cave, his only fear was that he was too late. As he cautiously headed inside, that's when he noticed this beautiful glow of light materializing right behind his rock bench. Before it he saw a tall, slender, strikingly handsome man with long flowing white hair and forest green eyes and there, next to him, was a beautiful woman with shimmering auburn hair and azure eyes; both woman and man had somewhat of the same bone structure as Deidre, which caused Llewellyn to believe that they were related in some way to her. He then saw Deidre as she stepped in front of them. His voice had become quite harsh and strained from shouting; in a rasping voice, he gasped, “Deidre!” he hurried the rest of the way, down the rock path and into the cave where they stood next to the glistening pool.

Hearing her name, she turned with a smile on her beautiful serene face and was all but ready to run toward him when her father put his hand firmly on her shoulder. “Do ye remember who this woman is to ye, MacDougall?” at his hesitation, Deidre's father took her by the arm to lead her into the shimmering gateway that had appeared behind them.

Finally finding his voice, Llewellyn rasped out, “She is my …wife!” when her father turned to look at him, Llewellyn pleaded, “She is my lovely Deidre!” he took a step forward. “My beautiful fairy princess...and if ye take her away from me again, I won't be able to bear it! Ye should kill me now, because I'll go mad this time without her!”

Deidre's father, felt his all too immortal heart start to break. Yet, he couldn't take his daughter away from the man that she loved, not when it involved breaking her heart again. Besides, he had an agreement with her, yet, it still surprised him on how MacDougall had remembered her; he had thought, that since the handsome chieftain was mortal, that his mind would not stretch that far back. As the Faerie King sorrowfully smiled down at his daughter, he said, “It breaks our hearts to have to let ye go, but ye is so happy with MacDougall. It made ye both so miserable when I forced ye to leave him, the last time. Is it ye choice to be mortal with him, to have a mortal existence?”

Deidre, smiling happily over at Llewellyn, replied, “Aye, it is...” looking at her father, she said, “I love him, father.”

As her father embraced her, she smiled when he swooped down and kissed her on her forehead. After she hugged and kissed both her parents goodbye, she ran into Llewellyn’s outstretched arms. He smothered her lips with kisses and held her prisoner in his arms, determined to never let her go.

Before going through the shimmering gate, Deidre's father smiled sadly at Llewellyn. “I'll miss my daughter and her mother will too. I'm happy to see, though, that she's with ye at last. Take care of her, MacDougall; make sure she has a wonderful happy life.”

After Deidre's parents turned and walked into the shimmering light, the gate closed behind them, and, just as quickly as it had materialized, it disappeared. Deidre couldn't help feeling this unbearable sadness at her parents departure, but when she stared up into Llewellyn's loving face, she right away was assured that she had made the right decision; she finally was where she was supposed to be, with her husband.

Many long happy years went by for Deidre and Llewellyn. They started a family, and she was finally able to give him four beautiful children: three girls and a boy. One night after making love and lying, utterly satisfied in each others' arms, Llewellyn stroked her silky hair and whispered, “Are ye happy with me, my Deidre?”

“Aye...I never thought I would ever get to be with ye again...” she paused. “After being taken from ye, I thought I would never get to see ye again. I thought I'd spend the rest of my immortal life without ye. Then when my father gave me a chance to be with ye again, I almost didn't take it...”

Bolting up in bed, Llewellyn asked suspiciously, “Why not?”

“I couldn't bear the possibility of losing ye again.”

Relaxing some, he pulled her towards him and enveloped her in the safety of his powerful arms. “Ye'll never lose me again, that I promise ye,” he passionately kissed her, when he finally withdrew from her tempting lips, he said, “Not even death will separate us; I'll love ye, even after I die.”

“As will I, in return, my love.”

Deidre smiled wistfully and brushing her lips tentatively against her husband's, she giggled as he pulled her close to him. After he conquered her mouth, they made love again that night and only when the sun was high up in the sky, did they fall asleep in each others' arms.

For the rest of Llewellyn and Deidre's life they continued to love each other and even in death, having entered the spirit world together, they never relinquished the passionate grasp that they had on each other.