The Hawk threw his head back and let out a wail of frustration.
Rushka continued. "Or, if you were to say, 'Take me to her,' he would have to, but you might be dead. Or turned into a lizard if the thought appealed to him. 'Tis a very dangerous thing to try to compel the fairy fool."
The Hawk rubbed his clean-shaven face and brooded into the flames, listening intently as Rushka went on. He sorted through the flood of information, picking and choosing carefully. It could be done. Aye, it could. When Rushka finally fell still, they passed a time in silence unbroken but for the crackle of the hearth fire.
"If you choose to try it, we still have one small problem, my friend," Rushka warned.
"What's that?" the Hawk asked absently.
"He's gone. How will you find him? I've known men who searched for the legendary Fairy their entire lives, yet never saw so much as a stray kelpie, Hawk."
Hawk considered that a moment, then smiled. "Egotistical, you say he is?"
"Aye."
"Vain, obviously."
"Aye," Rushka confirmed.
"Prone to fits of anger and mischief was how I believe you put it."
"Aye."
"And it would appear he came here, goaded by such a human thing as jealousy. Of me."
"'Tis true."
"Good. Then I'm about to really shake up his nasty little world."
"What do you have in mind, Hawk?" Rushka asked, the faint trace of a smile carving his weathered face.
The Hawk grinned and rose to his feet. He had work to do.
* * * * *
Adrienne raced up the steps at 93 Coattail Lane with more energy than she'd had in months.
"Marie! Marie!" she cried as she plunged through the door, searching for the diminutive Cuban woman who'd become more than her housekeeper in the past month; she was now more like a mother and a dear friend.
Adrienne had flatly ordered Marie to move into the house with her, and cautiously the two of them had settled into the lovely rituals of friendship; the nightly teas, the morning chats, the shared laughter and tears.
"Marie!" She called again. Then, spying Moonie, she scooped her up and twirled the bewildered kitten around the foyer.
"Adrienne?" She appeared in the doorway, her eyes bright with hope. Marie measured Adrienne a careful moment; her shining face, her sparkling eyes. "You saw him—zee doctor?"
Adrienne bobbed her head and hugged Moonie tightly. The cat gave a disgruntled snort and squirmed. Adrienne and Marie beamed dumbly at each other over the kitten's head.
"And zee doctor said…" Marie encouraged.
"You were right, Marie! That is why I felt so sick. I'm having Hawk's baby, Marie," Adrienne exclaimed, unable to keep the news inside a moment longer. "I have the Hawk's baby inside me!"
Marie clapped her hands and laughed delightedly. Adrienne would heal in time. Having the baby of the man she loved could graft hope into any woman's heart.
* * * * *
The Hawk hired fifty harpers and jesters and taught them new songs. Songs about the puny fairy fool who had been chased away from Dalkeith-Upon-the-Sea by the legendary Hawk. And being such a legend in his own time, his tales were ceded great truth and staying power. The players were delighted with the epic grandeur of such a wild tale.
When they had rehearsed to perfection the ditties and refrains portraying the defeat of the fool, the Hawk sent them into the counties of Scotland and England. Grimm accompanied the group of players traveling to Edinburgh to help spread the tale himself, while Hawk spent late hours by the candle scribbling, crossing out and perfecting his command for when the fool came. Sometimes, in the wee hours of the morning, he would reach for his set of sharp awls and blades and begin carving toy soldiers and dolls, one by one.
* * * * *
On the Island of Morar, the Queen smothered a delicate laugh with a tiny hand as strains of the new play drifted across the sea. Adam snarled.
The fool had been gloating for months now over his defeat of the Hawk. Smugly he had said to the King, and to anyone else who would listen, "He may have been pretty, but he was no match for me. Just a stupid pretty face."
The King cocked a mischievous brow, unable to resist taunting the fool. "Stupid, is he? Defeated, was he? My, my, fool,'twould seem we named you thusly in truth. The legend of the fairy fool has just been rewritten. For all eternity mortals shall remember your defeat, not his."
The fool loosened a giant howl of rage and disappeared. This time, Finnbheara went directly to his Queen's side.
"The fool goes to the Hawk," he told her. Adam was in a dreadful temper, and the fool had nearly destroyed their race once before. The Compact must not be broken.
The Queen rolled onto her side and measured her consort a long moment. Then she offered her lips for his kisses and Finnbheara knew he was once again in the good graces of his love.