Changeling’s Fantasy
It had been two years four months and three days since Brian had found himself in Arcadia at the mercy of his Keeper Ithuseela and her twisted obsessions. The smell of her dark tonics perforated the air in a thick haze as he watched another keg rolling along into the main house. The brewers were held in high regard as long as their elixirs stayed potent; merciless to the senses, that is, if the Fae had them. Brian tested his current concoction with renewed anticipation, dipping his flask to drink deeply of the black liquid which stung his throat as he swallowed. The strange magic ran though him with such force that he quickly braced against a nearby vat to catch himself. A low chuckle behind him signaled the arrival of Octave, a hulking form of bone and horn who patrolled the grounds and took pleasure in occasionally dropping by the brewery to wet his lips.
"A new taste for my pleasures Brian?" said the ox like beast as he drew up a barrel to sit.
Octave's body was covered in grey matted hair. His great weapon which resembled an axe with sickle like qualities relaxed in his right hand as he took his seat. The white glossy eyes of this creature always unnerved any human who looked into them; Octave had once been a mortal man. His Keeper had warped him into this hideous creature that now smiled wistfully at Brian and took the flask without breaking eye contact.
"I've just finished it; she'll need to breathe for a little while before I lock her away to age."
The guard nodded as he took a gulp. Snorting heavily, he heaved a cough and shook his massive head back and forth to regain his senses.
"This is certainly a well crafted potion. Ithuseela will be pleased."
Brian nodded and returned to his duties. The vat would cool and then be moved from the still into the casking room to be barreled for the cellars. The brewer shuddered at the thought of those dark catacombs below his Keeper's house. The shadows snuffed out all light and choked the very air from its cold halls. Brian made sure never to find himself near those rooms and took comfort in the fact that as a brewer, he rarely needed to travel beyond the walls of the still.
Octave had risen once more and trudged back towards his rounds with a slight stumble. Brian picked up the flask and turned back to his potions without further thought.
Arcadia was his life; he rested in the fact that his mangled form still resembled the humanity that had almost left him. This tainted land had taken its toll on everyone who was not born here. He knew that soon his clouded memories of the past would be snuffed out. Perhaps soon he would try to go. Others had run away, some returning, some not. His Keeper seemed somewhat offset by these actions, but never upset. Rumors of Changelings passing the gates tempted many to flee. Brian felt his time grew near. Soon, he would make a move, taking his secrets of brewer's magic with him out of the hedge.
The day of escape fell on him unexpectedly. Brian watched as another barrel was rolled towards the house and wondered when Ithuseela would make her rounds of the still. A messenger arrived later that day summoning Brian in person. He was the master brewer of the household and was often summoned to give a report or randomly tell a story while drinking himself into a stupor to amuse his mistress. When he set off for the main house a distracting sight caught his eye. Three servants were moving though a garden on his left. They motioned to him with flailing gestured and he came to them cautiously. Stepping into the strange topiaries of flesh and iron he gazed down at their ragged state and shrugged.
"Why do you waist my time for this?" He growled.
A younger looking wretch gazed up at him imploringly and spoke in meekest whispers.
"Please, where is the direction to go from this place?"
Brian scoffed, "Where are you going?"
Another voice came from a heap of rags near by.
"To the hedge master brewer, you would do well to join us on this day."
Brian hid his surprise at being so easily recognizable to these pathetic slaves, but his curiosity held him to their plight.
"How do you know I hold such information?"
The rags continued.
"You send the barrels abroad master brewer, the keys are in your memory of what direction the carts go."
Brian knew the direction they spoke of well, he had even traveled it with the carts on occasion to make a delivery personally.
"I know what way you speak of, this is true, but why should I let you have such information? What will you do for me?"
Bartering for a Contract was crucial in ones survival in Arcadia. Brian knew they owed him for this secret; he would make them pay a high price for the escape they sought.
The third servant now lifted its head. She might have been beautiful, but Brian did not know what that was anymore. He felt drawn to her face and knelt down to be near her as she spoke.
"You can come with us. I will hold you close as we travel back through the hedge. I will gather your soul and restore your daughter's name to you again."
The brewer gasped. "My daughter? What do you speak of? A family? I am alone."
But what the muse said he knew to be true. His strongest memory was of a young girl, her smiling face, embracing her and knowing love. He wanted more than anything to remember her, who she was, why he loved her so.
"I will tell you the way if you take me with you."
The servants all nodded and offered him some of their rags to hide himself. They crawled together through the gardens in the direction the carts took to leave the estate. Octave stood at the exit with ax in hand. He paced diligently and paused only to look in the four directions. The servants cowered in fear as they approached. Brian lifted his rags and approached the great beast.
"Octave, I've seen escaping servants from the main hall. Ithuseela is amused by their departure and wishes you to lead a hunt. I am to direct you to her."
The great oxen snorted and drew up his weapon.
"Where Brian, where am I to take up this hunt?"
The brewer pointed back towards the gardens and nodded.
"Haste is a welcome sight to our mistress my friend, go forth and enjoy your seeking."
The monster tore out in fury, stamping right over the pile of ragged forms of the servants without notice. As he disappeared around a macabre fountain of blood and stone Brian ushered the others to him and they slipped though the gates undetected. The others thanked him with nods of encouragement as they crept through the streets unnoticed by the powerful Fae that moved around them. Brian remembered the twisting streets only vaguely and lead them to many a dead end before they reached the main square. There the eldest member whispered.
"We are to meet the ogre Jinx at the west corner; he will take us to the hedge."
The youngest offered a talisman to Brian as they crossed the square.
"Keep this close to you and the shadows will aid in our escape."
No sooner had the brewer taken the strange object, then a black mist took form in front of them and shrouded their movement. Brian watched as the others took similar talismans to perform the same thing. It had to be part of a powerful Contract made with the darkness.
Brian appreciated the cloak of shadows as they pushed their way though a crowd of guards at the west corner. Jinx sat with a staff leaning over one shoulder. He sensed the arrival of the party and nodded in their direction before rising to take his leave of the square. The ragged party followed at a safe distance as the old demon crawled along the streets out of the city. Finally they reached a strange portal in a high wall. Jinx pointed roughly and then moved on back in the direction he had come. The female in their group came forward and dropped the veil which hid her.
"We enter here. Hold close to me Brian, the fear must not take you."
The others also dropped their talismans and began to enter the portal one by one. Brian and the woman entered last. As they crossed the threshold into what looked like a thick thorny hedge, Brian felt a burning pain in his chest and stumbled forward blindly in the arms of his guide.
He awoke to the gentle touch of a beautiful woman, but as his eyes adjusted he saw it was the strange female creature that had lead him into the hedge. She was still wearing the rags but the masque had hidden the disturbing features that gave away her
Changeling status. Brian looked up at her and smiled. They had come through into the world of man. He was home again.
The lady who called herself Jessie gave Brian a piece of paper with an address. The family was Armstrong; his daughter's name was Lucy. The memories came flooding back to him as he walked the streets of the city. The address was not the one he had remembered them living at but perhaps the two years he had been gone was enough to change many things. He was now 27. His daughter would be nine; perhaps she would not really remember him? Eagerly he crossed the streets to the block the address matched up with. Soon he would be reunited with the people he loved most. Soon he would be holding his beloved Lucy once more.
The apartment number was missing from the door but the name was right. Brian knocked loudly and waited. No one answered. It was not early mourning. Perhaps they were still asleep. He banged louder and heard footsteps coming to the door. It swung open quite suddenly and there stood and strange man in a bath robe with a wild look in his eye. Brian immediately became defensive.
"Who are you?"
The man standing there lifted an eye brow and glared.
"I am Brian Armstrong, who are you?"
Brian wheeled for a moment and then shook his head.
"No, you can't be. Where's Lucy?"
"What's my daughter done now? Was she arrested again? Shit! I told her if she stayed out again one more night without asking..."
"What? You let her stay out at this age?"
The man at the door suddenly looked confused.
"Hey, you're not with child services are you?"
Brian shook his head. "No, but letting a nine year old girl just wander the streets."
"What? Nine? You mean seventeen? She's still underage but in this town I'm lucky she's not dropped out of school and pregnant."
Brian swooned for a minute and nearly collapsed.
"She's seventeen?"
The guy at the door looked puzzled for a minute and then seemed to understand.
"Oh, I see, she must have run a few lines passed you all right. Did she say she was older? Twenty-two perhaps? Ha! That girl can string em' on like lambs to the slaughter when she feels like it. Serves you right for going after the younger ones mister."
Brian had stopped listening a while ago and now looked back at the man who he realized was him several years later. He had been replaced. Lucy had grown up without her real father. The realization that he had missed the last ten years of his daughter's life was almost too much.
"Hey, are you ok? Look, I'm sorry she's causing so much trouble, if you see her; please tell her she needs to come home."
Brian nodded and walked away back down the stairs towards the street. As he rounded the last flight he heard high pitched laughter coming up the steps and moved to get the door for an approaching girl and her friends. In walked what was unmistakably Lucy. The girl was tall and very pretty. This was a beauty Brian had not seen in the past few years of his servitude in Arcadia. His daughter was a bombshell. She looked at him casually as she passed, nodding her head in thanks for his gentlemanly gesture. Before he could stop himself he blurted out.
"Lucy, you might not want to head home, you're dad's awake and kind of pissed off."
The group stopped short and Lucy turned to look at the stranger in surprise.
"What?" Her blue eyes looked curiously at the handsome older man who stood before her awkwardly trying not to stare.
He repeated, "You're Dad's up and waiting for you with what I think will be a parental lecture about hitting on older guys."
One of her friends piped up, "Who are you?"
Brian stepped forward and offered a hand. "My name is Brian; I'm new to the area."
The friend took his hand and continued the interrogation. "So what are you doing waking people up at this time in the mourning?"
Again Brian let his natural talent for story telling take over. "That's a good question; I was just passing by here when I saw a strange man trying to break into the apartment complex. I figured I had better let someone know so I chased him off and then knocked on random doors till someone answered. Guess I woke your dad Lucy."
This time his daughter spoke. "How do you know me?"
Brian smiled and nodded back up the stairs, your Dad thought I had come to report something about you. He knew you weren't home and I guess I put two and two together seeing you coming in."
The friends had begun to awkwardly pace so Lucy ushered them to go on without her. She stepped back down the stairs and moved closer to Brian.
"Why did you warn me?" She asked, letting her eyes run up and down him with curiosity.
"Well, maybe I think you're cute and would hate to see you in trouble like that. Besides, if I hadn't wakened him up, you could have snuck back in without an issue."
She smiled and laughed. "That's sweet of you. Guess my dad should worry."
"Why is that?"
"Because I am hitting on older men."
With that she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and ran up the stairs. Brian felt his heart leap at the close contact with what he loved most. She was so gentle and carefree, nothing like his previous life in Arcadia, her very smile made him nearly forget the torturous life with his Keeper.
Brian set out to reclaim the parts of his life still salvageable. He had an ace up his sleeve that would make returning to the normal world easier. Before his abduction he had recently published a successful novel which had allowed him to buy a country home many years ago. The Swiss account money had been untouched due to the fact that his replacement had no way of knowing its account number. It was perfect, a small fortune at his reach. Brian wasted no time in tapping his wealth to buy a local microbrewery where he set up shop with a few old recipes from the other world.
Conjuring the strong elixirs with his talents came just as naturally here as they had in Arcadia. He hired a number of other Changelings to help run the business and created a number of Contracts to boost his strength in the area. One of his helpers told him that his replacement was known as a Fetch. These magical beings are conjured by the Fae to take over the life of a human who is abducted. They appear to be an exact replica of the lost person and are embraced by the family that they are planted in with. This imposter Brian was a good likeness, older, but still a well made copy. The real Brian would take full advantage of him for good measures. He took on a new last name to avoid confusion becoming Brian Gruit. His brewery became known as "The Red Badger".
Lucy began hanging around the brewpub shortly after her first run in with Brian. He invited her in willingly and enjoyed her reaction to his different concoctions (sampled after hours in the privacy of a back room). The magic of his drink soon took hold of the young inexperienced teen and she found herself transfixed by his gaze on more than one occasion. Brian restrained himself, believing that if they were to start a relationship, she would have to make the first move.
One night after a particularly long evening of sampling, Brian walked Lucy home. She was a little tipsy and tried more than once to walk into the street stating that his magical brews had made her invincible. They laughed together all the way up the stairs and as she reached out to open the door there stood a very upset woman. Brian nearly dropped Lucy in surprise. His wife looked haggard and in a state of shock. Melanie did not recognize her husband but saw only a strange man holding her obviously drunk daughter in his arms. She quickly pulled Lucy into the house and shouted for assistance.
"Brian, Brian its Lucy, this guy's brought her home completely intoxicated!"
The Fetch came trotting into view in briefs and a tight wife beater. He looked at his daughter as she slid past him in a fit of giggles and then met Brian head on.
"I could have you reported for this!"
Brian shrugged and took a step back. "Hey, she comes to my pub on her own. I could report the fact that her parents regularly let her stay out past curfew and turn the other way when she's sleeping around with men twice her age."
At that the Fetch Brian tried to rip through the doorway past his wife but Melanie pushed him back. Brian could not hid his pleasure but his face fell as Melanie looked at him in shame. He backpedaled quickly.
"Look, I'm not sleeping with her. I haven't done anything to your little girl. In fact, I prefer to have her in the pub where I can keep an eye on her. She's safer there than wandering the streets. She's a smart girl, got a lot of talent between her ears. I'd hate to see that wasted."
His concern was genuine and Melanie saw it in his eyes. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her, shutting out the Fetch.
"You care about Lucy, but why? You don't know her or us at all."
Brian held back the tears and swallowed hard.
"Sure I do, I had a wife and daughter too once. I loved them dearly."
Melanie's stare softened into a frown. "What happened to them?"
He looked away for a minute to compose his emotions.
"They died in a car accident a few years ago. I was away on business in Europe. I guess if my little girl had grown up, she would have been a lot like Lucy."
"Well, I'm sorry about your family. Thank you for looking out for Lucy, but she really shouldn't be drinking at the pub or hanging out with a man so much older than her."
Brian was getting tired of being pushed back. He rolled his eyes and put up a hand to stop her. "Look Melanie, your daughter needs a mentor, someone who can get her back on track. You and your husband aren't enough for her. She's not a little girl any more. One day she'll be a woman and you two won't know what to do. Hell, she might already be."
Melanie slapped him. "How dare you make such sick assumptions about out daughter; you're not her guardian! Take your pub and stay the fuck away from us!"
With that she went back inside and slammed the door in his face. Brian let the rage drain out of him with a smile. He knew they couldn't keep Lucy away from him. The magic was too strong now. She would keep coming to him, and he'd welcome her with open arms.
The next night Lucy came bursting into the back room of the brewery in tears. She threw her arms around Brian and cried hard into his chest. He held her in silence and let the tears soak into his shirt. He took in a deep breath of her hair and caressed her neck gently until she recomposed herself.
"They don't understand anything!" She sobbed. "Always telling me I'm wrong, I can't do anything right!"
Brian hid his smile and showed a look of deep concern.
"What have they done to you now babe?"
She curled up against him and looked up into his brown eyes with tear stained face.
"They said I can't see you any more. They said you're too old for me and..."
"Too old for what?" He asked reveling in the direction their conversation was headed.
Lucy wiped her eyes and sniffled. "Too old to love."
Brian had not been expecting this. Her infatuation with him might have lead to a few make out sessions, but he had not realized she was in so deep. The mention of her love for him caught him off guard.
"You love me?"
She pushed away and looked at him in anger.
"Yes, are you really that slow? I've been coming here every night to be with you. I don't ever want to leave."
Perhaps he had brewed the last batch a little too strong. She moved closer and slipped her arms around his waist.
"Don't you like me Brian? Don't you want me to stay?"
He let his eyes flutter closed for a moment and thought of how wonderful it would be to have her with him.
"Yes, he whispered, I want you to stay. I want you to..."
Her lips fell across his awkwardly for a moment, then they kissed full on and embraced tightly. Lucy's hands went to the back of his head and he pulled her into him, letting his hands drop to her hips and then around the curve of her ass. She tensed for a moment and then he felt her legs part a little as his right hand traced the edge of one cheek down to the back of her thigh. She rose to her tiptoes to whisper in his ear.
"I want you to take me Brian, right now."
Lust flooded his senses as she let her arms drop back to his waist. He pulled away from her in confusion.
"I don't know if that's a good idea Lucy."
The words were the exact opposite of what he was thinking, but he had to make sure it was really what she wanted.
She stood before him and let a hand fall between her legs, touching her crotch.
"Brian, I know what my body's ready for. I've wanted you since that first night when I kissed your cheek."
The memory of their first contact sent a warm static spark down his spine. Brian felt his cock beginning to harden as he watched Lucy touching herself. He had played similar fantasies in his mind over and over again and now here she was standing before him, begging to be taken. Her hand slipped inside the tight jeans and began pushing down into her panties with tenacity. She moaned as her fingers found wetness and the ripe fruit of her sex. Brian moved closer and put an arm out to brace her and she swooned. He gently pulled her hand back out and brought her damp fingers to his lips. The taste brought him to full arousal as she stuck them into his open mouth. It was too much. He lowered her to the ground and fell on her in a fit of passion.
Lucy undid her jeans excitedly while Brian tore at his own pants. His member slipped out of the boxers before he could get them off and Lucy's tongue eagerly fell upon it with fervor. She sucked willingly as he balanced on hands and knees over her face. Crawling forward he helped her slip of her own underwear exposing her nakedness. She moaned as his head fell between her legs. They tasted one another for the first time and as she drew him into climax, Brian brought his fingers into her as they shuddered and bucked in unison. Lucy's hands gripped around his waist as he pummeled her face with his cock, letting the cum spray down her throat and out the sided of her tight lips. A moment later he tasted her explosion and felt her cunt tighten around his two fingers as she screamed.
She coiled around him on the floor of the still room, looking like a creature more than a human girl. Brian crawled over her, feeling her panting breath in his ear and he pressed her back to the floor for another round. Her legs opened readily for his rekindled desire; hunger written on her pale face. He drove himself into her without gentle warning; her sudden breath showed he had caught her off guard. Lucy stifled a cry of pain as she was ripped open. He realized he was taking her innocence in this moment. Her eyes locked on his as he pressed deeper into the folds of her flesh, pumping to feel every inch of her. The tears fell from both their eyes as she held him tightly thought this sudden and violent moment of sexual awakening. There was no fear left in her tired body as he felt himself letting loose another load.
"Brian, I... I do love you."
Her voice was almost a squeak as she buckled under his weight. They lay together listening to the sound of their gasping breaths; the sweat trickling down spent thighs and strained shoulders. He pushed himself up again and looked into her eyes.
"I love you too baby, more than I think you know."
Lucy's eyes began to tear up again and she threw her arms around him, pulling herself up to bury her face in his neck. Brian sighed and pulled her into him tightly. She was so soft, the smell of sex hung around her like the strong odor of a finely aged scotch. Slowly, he picked her up in his arms and pulled her to her feet. She blushed at her nakedness and searched franticly for cloths which had been strewn around the stills. Brian slid his pants back on and tightened his belt. Lucy was slipping her blouse back on, her jeans on but still unzipped. Looking at her in the pale light, her body, those skinny hips still growing into adulthood, he wanted her again. The impulse to throw her against one of the tanks was strong, but he held back. She looked tired and sore; it would be a few days before she recovered.
Brian walked her back to her apartment but would not come up the stairs.
"Look babe, your parents will get very upset with me if they find out what we've done. I know you won't tell them, but I'd rather they not think we're still hanging out."
Lucy nodded and hugged him one last time, planting a hard kiss on his trembling lip before heading up the stairs. Brian wanted to reach out and pull her back to him. She could have spent the night, but he had been to much a coward of his own intentions to ask her to stay. He felt the erection still pushing against his left leg and he cursed himself for being such a letch.
"You're going to get into quite a lot of trouble if you keep this up mister. She might even want to move in with you."
He paused and thought it over for a minute.
"Bastard, she'll be 18 soon, then you can do whatever you want."
With that, he turned and headed back to The Red Badger for a little one on one with himself.