Chapter 3

When Ayl'fair ended up under the table in a boneless heap, unconscious, and unresponsive, we were stunned. Jumping up we bent down, crawled under the table, and pulled her out.

Harold picked her up and carried her to Mom and Dad's room, which had its own bathroom, laid her on the bed, and retrieved a damp washcloth. Repeated applications of the washcloth finally, brought Ayl'fair out of her funk enough to understand that the thought of something happening to the Sacred Grove, had been too much of a shock.

She requested and received a dose of essence from Harold to facilitate her recovery. Once the energy spike faded, they returned to the kitchen table to ponder the ramifications of the situation.

The ideas were bandied about until a consensus was reached on a possible course of action. The only problems with the possible solution ... get the parents involved and not just theirs but Roy's Mother as well if need be, since she was a lawyer.

It was decided that Harold would ask his Mother how to find out who owned a particular piece of property. Once that knowledge was in hand, he could do the finger/legwork to find the information and they could plan their next move.

Ayl'fair's information allowed Harold to make a quick call to Roy bring him up to date on the problem and, in the process, brought Mike, who was there visiting, up to speed as well. Roy promised to inform his Mother, a lawyer, about the situation, to give her a 'head's up' in case they might need her assistance.

Later that evening, Harold was able to catch his mother as she entered her office, suggest ordering pizza for supper, and asked her his question.

She was a little surprised since none of her children had ever evinced any desire, or interest in Real Estate, and said, "Why the sudden interest Harold, I didn't see you ever wanting to become involved in Real Estate transaction unless it was one day to purchase some property for your own use?"

Harold knew that his Mother was too intelligent, once her curiosity was aroused, to accept anything but the truth so he said, "Come with me please, I have something to show you."

Leading her up to his room, he opened the door to reveal Dana, Andy, and Ayl'fair. His Mother, to her credit, reacted quite well under the circumstances to the sight of a naked girl, that wasn't her daughter, in Harold's room, and the presence of Harold's sister, and brother, seated next to the young lady.

"Mom, this is Ayl'fair," Harold said, and then continued, "Please come in, and be seated so we can explain what is going on."

Barbera was surprised, what mother wouldn't be under the circumstances, but was secure enough in her knowledge of how her children had been raised to give them the benefit of the doubt, and at least listen to the explanation before doing something she might regret.

So she said, "Alright, I can do that, and I can see already that this 'explanation' is going to be a doozy, or it had better be.

Hello, Ayl'fair was it? You're a very beautiful girl, just wearing fewer clothes than I'm used to people wearing when first introduced."

Ayl'fair said, "That's because I'm not a girl, I'm a Nymph, and I don't normally wear clothes."

A startled Barbera stuttered, "Uh ... a ... a ... Nymph did you say or did I misunderstand you?"

Ayl'fair smiling sweetly said, "You heard correctly, I'm a Nymph. One of thirteen in the area but I've only been out of my tree for a very few days. My sister Dyl'fair, who was helped by her bonded human Roy, and his mother, released us."

"Okay, it's a joke right? You kids are pulling my leg right? So what's the real story?" Barbera asked.

Harold sighed and said, "I thought it might be difficult to convince you, Ayl'fair would you regress to what you looked like before you changed?"

Ayl'fair didn't say anything but her body began to shift and change, finally before them stood a small pre-pubescent waif. She said, "This was my true form in which I existed in my tree while in Dreamtime."

Barbera could only be glad she was already seated or the floor would have caught her. As it was, her mouth was opening and closing but no sound was forthcoming. Since no Oxygen was reaching her brain, she fainted, and ended up on the floor anyway when Harold wasn't fast enough to catch her.

A short time later Barbera came to her senses and found herself on Harold's bed shoes off, legs elevated, clothing loosened, and a cool washrag being gently applied to her forehead.

Turning her eyes to the side, she could see that it wasn't a hallucination because Ayl'fair was still present, a gentle smile on her face, and still in pre-pubescent form.

Her eyes sought out Harold's, Andy's, and Dana's, finding loving looks of concern on all three.

Harold said, "Are you alright now?"

Barbera considered the question as if it were the most important question she would ever answer, and said, "I think I've got my head wrapped around the concept enough that I'm not still in total shock. My head feels good, thanks for the excellent care everyone, I see that the First Aid training, we insisted you take, wasn't wasted."

Slowly swiveling her legs over the side of the bed, she sat up, and when she was sure she wasn't going to suffer a relapse, said, "I'm fine for now but we need to talk about this, a lot. Ayl'fair would you like to start?"

Ayl'fair began to tell the story with the others chiming in when appropriate as their part came into the story. They told it all, Ayl'fair's requirement for essence to survive, Dana's participation, and the concern that was raised about the Sacred Grove.

When at last the story was complete, Barbera knew in her heart it was true, NOBODY could make up a story like that, and Ayl'fair was right in front of Barbera as living proof. She looked at the three kids and one Nymph, and said, "I can see that the situation could be dire indeed and the need for speed in this matter is paramount.

We will research the records tomorrow after we get some rest so our heads will be clear, and Ayl'fair can show me in person where the Sacred Grove is in order to find it on a Plat Map."

All of them hugged her and thanked her for being so understanding.

She smiled and said, "It would have done no good to go ballistic and could have done great harm. Ayl'fair, I take it you can't become pregnant so there is no danger of that, no STD's, or any other problems?"

"No Barbera, I'm pretty well sterile in everyway, always clean, and have a nice scent."