The Fairy Godmother: Part Two (complete)

Danvers has revealed her intentions and purpose to me. She has shown me her powers, combined with mine. She is able to soothe the anger of the girls in these walls, granting them wishes which are not always pretty. One would never assume young ladies would have such hatred and bile inside them. No one wants to, but in truth, they sometimes have more than anyone. It is Danvers’ job to alleviate that agony.

From that time I bear witness to her machinations. She finds the girls in the house who are most in need. Those who usually go to the attic are taken into her care. She listens to them and learns the stories that they carry. Some girls are abandoned, others are used, but all of them have a wish worth granting.

Danvers takes the children born of these girls and she brings them to her people. In return, the girls’ wishes of revenge are granted. I understand now why she never gave me her name, and I am relieved that I do not share my given one. I know who she is now and where she comes from. The fairies are cruel in their way, but still I cling to Danvers.

Stories of horrible deaths and accidents have risen all over. Men are attacked by wolves, stung to death by bees, and one is found with beetles coming out of every orifice. When news of that death is heard by the girls, one breaks down in tears of relief. 

One evening a girl comes to us in a frenzied state, and Danvers is immediately drawn to her. The girl is frightened, panicked, and incoherent, and sits babbling in the corner to herself while rocking back and forth. She bites anyone who tries to come near her. She refuses to bathe or dress her hair. She screams at everything and nothing

I never again hear from her family. They pay me for her stay and the birth of the child, but when I write to them, I receive no reply. It becomes apparent to me the woman has been abandoned here. I don’t know her name, and her family never gave it, but Danvers spends a great deal of time with this troubled young woman. She sits with her, and speaks gently to her. Eventually she can coax the young woman to sit still in a chair, and then she is able to brush her hair and give her a bath.

“How are you doing this?” I ask her.

Danvers smiles as she gently pats the young woman’s head. “I earned her trust. She’s just scared. No one understands her. They don’t want to.” She frowns deeply. “No one cares, I should say.”

The young woman gazes out the window and makes a small, soft noise. 

“Don’t worry, dearest,” Danvers coo’s to her. “I will take care of you. I am going to help you. Your wish shall be granted, I promise.” She looks back at me. “She was in a sanatorium, and her parents kept trying to pretend she didn’t exist. That is why she is with us now.”

“She’ll be with us for as long as we are here.” I shake my head. “I can’t get in touch with them. I tried.”

“Then stay she shall.” She smiles down at the young woman. “We will take care of her.” She looks at me with eyes of silver before looking back down at her hands. 

When the young woman gives birth, the baby is born almost completely white. Danvers takes the child and lets it nurse from her breast. The mother sleeps for days, all while Danvers cares for the child. “He is of my kind,” she whispers. “Whoever harmed her is of my blood, but they will pay all the same.” She bounces the pearly child who nurses and grunts at her breast.

“Are you going to keep it?” I ask. “You’ve taken all the others.”

“This wish is different, and it fulfills something I have been working on.” She gently brushes aside the thick curls on his forehead and hands the baby to me. “So I will need this one to stay with us. He will be ours.”

I hold the little one in my arms. I am of an age where I never expected to have children. Aside from Danvers, I am happy to live the life I have within the Boarding House. The baby looks at me with golden eyes and spews on my jacket.

For some reason, I am relieved by his presence. Having him near me, holding him, even when he vomits or relieves himself on me, eases the sense of dread I have always carried with me. With this baby, I am not alone.

The young woman sleeps constantly while the child grows. Danvers names him Fable, after me. Little Fable grows so rapidly that by the time he is three months old, he looks to be a child of five. He is pale, with a mop of thick white curls. He still does not speak a word, but he is highly intelligent. I like to keep him with me in my office, letting him play with his toys while I do my work. He likes to sit in my lap, and he is so quiet and still that it sometimes startles me. I find myself loving him, an affection I never expected. 

Danvers will come and feed him, as he still nurses from her breast. She says her milk is the only thing that will nourish him right now. He is of her kind, and I doubt there is anything in the human world suitable for him now. “Will he eat anything else when he grows up?” I ask out of concern.

Danvers smiles at me. “Most of our kind enjoy raw flesh.” Her smile becomes knowing as a knot forms in my stomach. “But do not worry. Eventually he will have an appetite for things outside our world.”

Danvers wakes me from my slumber one evening. She kisses me awake and signals for me to remain silent so as not to wake Fable. “Come, she’s ready.”

She leads me to the attic, where the young woman had been sleeping all this time. Months have passed and she has not woken at all. As we come into the room, she is sitting in the window completely naked, her body pressed against the cold glass.

“What happened to her?” I ask.

“Her wish was that she could be the one to take her revenge.” Danvers approaches her, and the young woman turns from the window. Her hair has grown extremely long and hangs down around her body. She looks radiant and healthy, where she had come to us sunken, ill and weak.

“Are you ready?” Danvers asks her.

The woman looks up at me, her eyes glimmering gold for a moment. Danvers holds her hand out to me, beckoning me closer. She places my finger on the young woman’s lips. The young woman bites me, drawing blood and sucking it from my fingertip greedily. She moans and pants like Danvers does, and greedily starts to tear at my clothes.

“Easy, now,” Danvers chides as she eases her away. “He is mine, remember?”

The young woman pants, gasping for breath and licking my blood from her lips. “Forgive me,” she breathes.

I have never heard her speak before. It was always a troubled babbling that came from her lips. “It’s all right.”

She looks to Danvers, who kisses her softly. “Go now,” she tells her. “Find him and come back home when you are done.”

The young woman returns to the window. She opens it and jumps out, and when she lands on the ground she has become a white cat.

Danvers licks my finger, tasting my blood and giving me a harsh glare. “Were you aroused?”

“You’ve trained me to enjoy having my blood stolen,” I smirk at her. “I was more shocked than anything. I thought you two were going to eat me alive.”

“I’m saving that for something special,” she scolds. She shoves me down on the bed there and places herself between my thighs. She takes my prick into her mouth, devouring me in a way I am used to. 

The next day, I notice Fable is much bigger than before. He has grown overnight, and looks more like a young man than ever. His long white hair hangs in beautiful loose curls, and he worries me with his good looks. “He grew so fast overnight. Is it because of his mother waking?” I ask Danvers.

“It means his mother has accomplished her goal. The one who harmed Fable’s mother is of my kind, so when he dies, his energy must go into his blood again. Hence his growth overnight. Our kind do not stay children long,” Danvers says as she styles Fable’s long, beautiful hair. 

I furrow my brow. “You were pregnant when you arrived here. What became of that child?” 

“I sent them back home,” she replies. “I’m sure they will find me again one day.”

The white cat returns the following day. Her fur is filthy and her paws are caked with mud. Danvers gives her a bath, and soon I find the young woman working alongside Danvers in the boarding house. She’s quiet as she works, her eyes intense. Danvers calls her Jane.

Jane and Fable ignore each other, but at this point, they look exactly the same age. Fable is more attached to me and Danvers, but he has shown interest in one of the cooks in the boarding house. It makes me nervous, especially since the cook is a large, hulking presence. He had spent time in jail, although we never questioned for what. The fact that my beautiful son seems attracted to him has me worried. I do not want Fable getting hurt or worse by this brute.

“Your son is like me,” Danvers tells me. “He has appetites like I do, and he’s at the age where they are strongest.” She looks me over as I frown. “Do you miss him being little?”

“I suppose,” I confess. “It was nice having him around. He was sweet and precious.”

“My kind do not stay young long. Soon, he will have his own doors to lock.” Danvers takes me by the hand. “You are still potent; if you want another, you can make one.”

“You would kill me.” I look at her. “Besides, I will be fine.”

“I see the way you are with Fable. I see the love and longing in your eyes.” Danvers surprises me. “You try to hide it, but you want family. You want children. You’re an Owl with such powerful magic; if you had a child, it would carry on that bloodline.”

“Are you saying you would bear my child?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “I am only saying it is a good idea.”

That evening as I am getting ready for bed, Danvers and Jane both come into the bedroom. Jane is naked, and Danvers has a smile on her face. “Go on, Jane,” Danvers urges.

“What’s going on?” I look to Danvers as Jane approaches me. She wraps her arms around me, holding me close and pressing her warm, naked body against mine. “What are you doing?”

“I told Jane how you wanted another child. She’s been wanting you desperately for so long, and now, I’m letting her have her chance.”

Danvers watches as Jane sinks to her knees before me. “Take me, Sir. I want you.” Jane removes my belt and slowly pulls down my trousers. “Ever since I tasted your blood, I’ve wanted to taste all of you.”

“This is wrong. I can’t...” I moan softly as Jane kisses my shaft. Her mouth is small and warm.

“Fable will have a sibling this way, and this one won’t grow as fast.” Danvers watches as Jane sucks my prick. Her breath hitches and she breaks into a grin. “Good girl. Do what you like to him.”

“Danvers,” I growl at her.

She steps close to me and kisses my neck. “Your wish is that you would never be alone. That is why you fill this house at all times, that is why you want your children, and that is why I stay by your side.” She looks down at Jane’s lips pressing against my thighs.

“When I was alone, I would...” I close my eyes and whimper as Jane bites me.

“I know what would happen,” Danvers whispers. “Come now, Jane.” She nudges her and grabs her arm. “Get on the bed.”

Jane nods and excitedly rushes to the bed, bending over and presenting her rear to me. Danvers guides me, taking my prick and pressing it to Jane’s soft, wet mound. “He’s going to make you feel so good, Jane,” Danvers whispers. “He won’t stop until you do.” 

I’ve been so used to Danvers after all this time that I feel strange. Jane’s warm channel wraps around me, wet and hot with her desire. Her voice escapes as a wanton mewl. She thrusts back against me, taking every inch of me deep inside her. Danvers watches, amused with our copulation. 

That evening, I lie awake between both women. Jane is happy and smiling, curled up into my side. Danvers is resting her head on my chest and her hand over my heart. Then I hear the doorknob rattle. The door shakes and jerks, and someone begins pounding on the door.

I get up to answer it while the women sleep and there, standing naked and covered in blood, is Fable. It drips down from his mouth onto his chest. It’s on his hands, knees, and feet. Behind him, I can see a trail of bloodied prints through the hallway.

“What have you done?” I gasp in alarm.

Fable looks at me, his eyes wide and full of tears. He leans into me, sobbing into my chest as he holds me like a child. I place my arms around him, letting him sob and stain me with blood.

Danvers wakes, leaving Jane alone in bed as she stands beside us. “Show us the mess,” she says to him.

Fable leads us to the kitchen, where the cook is eviscerated on the floor. He looks like he has been mauled by wild animals, not my beautiful son. Danvers sighs as she kneels beside the body. “Fable, you know better.” She stands back up. “You’re smarter than this.”

Fable snarls, showing off rows of sharp teeth I didn’t know he had. 

Danvers glares at him. “Don’t you start with me, young man.”

I put my hand on Fable’s shoulder and move him behind me. “What’s going on? What do you know?”

Danvers scoffs. “He was defending himself, but he got excited.” She looks down at what had once been the cook. “We need to deal with this before morning.”

“No, I...” I step away from them. “I need to...” I leave the kitchen, dashing outside where I immediately vomit. I look up towards the sky, seeing the moon hanging full and bright above me. 

When I was young, my mother would take me out during the full moon. She would chant and make me follow along. Sometimes we would dance and she would sing. I used to love those nights with my mother. But as I grew older, those nights began to change. “You love me, right?” she would ask me. “Sweet, beautiful boy, you love me. More than anything?”

“Yes, Mama,” I would answer her.

“That’s right, yes, you do.” She would embrace me close. “I love you too. You’re the only one I love in this world.”

She would sleep in bed with me some nights, whispering things like that. If I ever played with a girl in the woods, she would get upset and punish me. It was around this time my father sent me away to the boarding school, and I never understood why he did. My mother was a monster only interested in herself. Nothing mattered but her own happiness. If I said anything against her, she would make sure I know how upset she was. I woke more than once with her hands around my throat.

“Sir?” Danvers comes up behind me, gently touching my back. “I’m so sorry,” she whispers. “I didn’t realize how upset that made you.”

“It’s alright. I didn’t, either. I guess I’m just in shock.” I look up at her and see her smiling softly. “I’ll come back.”

She shakes her head. “Go back to bed. I’ll make Fable clean this mess.” She kisses my cheek. “You’ve done enough tonight.”

I hold Danvers close to me. “Tell me,” I whisper, “why do you grant these wishes? Why even bother with mine?”

Danvers rests her head on my shoulder. “Because my wish was never heard.” She looks into my eyes. “And I will not let any more go unheard.” She touches my face, wiping away the tears. “Your mother is gone. She is no longer in this world. She cannot harm you, and she will never come back for you.”

I stare at her in disbelief. “My mother?”

“Black cats are your friends,” she says rather cryptically. “But whatever fear you have, whatever ghost you think you see, it is just what has been trapped in the walls.”

I gasp in relief and mourning. My mother is finally dead and gone. But my poor father, I’m sure he’s been long dead too. I weep, and Danvers holds me, guiding me back inside to where Fable has begun tossing viscera into a pot.

“Go to Jane.” Danvers pats my back. “Enjoy your night.”

“I love you,” I whisper to her.

“I know, Sir.” She touches my face. “I am your wish fulfilled, and you are mine.”

I return to bed where Jane is still asleep. I lie awake, staring at the ceiling. I’ve left the door unlocked, and it frightens me. I’m waiting for it to open and for my mother to come through. I’m waiting for her hands to clasp around my throat. But she never comes, and soon the sun rises. She truly is gone.

Jane rises in bed, looking towards the window before she glances at me. She kisses me, then leaves. 

That afternoon, a new woman comes to the boarding house. She’s a widow seeking refuge, something different than what I am used to here. Her story becomes a new normal. Widows who have taken comfort after their husbands died in war. Girls who are escaping rather than being hidden away. Suddenly, it feels like there is less darkness coming into the home.

Jane gives birth to a baby girl, one with dark curls like her. I name her Mattea after my father. She has bright violet eyes that are hypnotizing and beautiful, and I love her immediately. 

Fable meets one of the young women who come to the boarding house. She teaches him sign language, and the two fall in love. He claims her baby as his own, and I give them their own room in the boarding house. 

The attic goes unused for a long time. Danvers shows me that the honey is fading ,and the walls are becoming walls once again.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” I ask her.

Danvers looks out the window. “Not yet. I will be here for a while longer.” She places her hand in mine and laces our fingers together. “There are still some wishes that linger, and there are a few more I’m sure that will come. This war brings anger, and it will eventually come here.”

We lock the door to the attic, and it is soon forgotten. I lose the key and it never occurs to me to look for it again. Eventually, the boarding house grows empty. I take my family into Silverlake, returning to my house there. 

Jane, Fable, his bride, their child, Mattea, Danvers and I continue to live there. Some days, I hear of men or women going missing. I ask Danvers about them and she just smiles at me. “Don’t worry about it,” she will say.

I’m growing older, becoming grayer. Mattea has become a beautiful young woman and is turning the boarding house back into a school with her brother. This time, it will be a school for the boys and girls of Silverlake. 

“There is a locked attic door,” she tells me one day. “I can’t find a key to it anywhere. Papa, do you know where it is?”

“Some doors are best kept locked, my child.” I tell her with a gentle pat of her hand. 

“Yes but, I would like it for storage.” She will understand a little better someday, I am sure. I know the walls are no longer like flesh, filled with the despair and pain of all those who lived there before. But it does me well to think that, perhaps, no one will have to go into that room again. Especially not my Mattea. I would prefer her to see a world beyond my own, better than my own.

One day I am sitting in the garden watching my grandchildren play. Danvers comes and sits beside me, placing her hand over mine. She squeezes it, only letting go once she knows I have as well. 

Ages ago, as a young man, I had taken my darkness with me. My wish to hurt my mother became a ghost that haunted me. It seeped into the walls of Blessed Silver, becoming a beacon to others like me. Their wishes joined with mine, and they became the honey that saturated everything. It became a place of coldness and cruelty, where people came to linger in their suffering. 

Danvers was strange and wicked. She came into that place where she found me at my lowest and pulled me back to standing. I don’t know why she stayed so long. She granted my wish and the wishes of others. She took children and gave them to the fairies. She caused many awful things to happen to many horrible people. It was not all good that she did, even if she did save me. 

“Tell me your name,” I say to Danvers. “And I will give you mine.”

Danvers smiles softly. “It is dangerous to give your name to my kind.”

“I know, and I’ve risked it all this time,” I chuckle. “Tell me, Danvers. I am but an old man.”

She takes hold of my hand. The soft, supple skin has not changed, while mine has all but withered away. “It’s Melanie,” she says calmly.

I nod and smile. “Melanie,” I say the name as if it is honey on the tongue. “As strange as it is, I miss not saying it more often. But I suppose that is the life we must leave.” I chuckle. “My name is Marco.”

It has been so long since I have said it, I am uncertain if it is real or not. Only when her eyes turn gold do I know I have given her the true one.

Melanie runs her hand over mine, and the skin begins to change. “You’re mine, Marco. It’s time we go.”