Boys Only - Episode One

The day had dawned bright and clear, leaving Aideen and her friend Bridie free to enjoy a restful swim in a gurgling river near Kells Castle. They were having the greatest fun they'd had in a long time, laughing at something Aideen was saying.
"I swear to you, Bridie, they have a club-house out near the Temra-Kells border. They sneak off to it when they think nobody is watching; but I've seen them go there."
Bridie chuckled. "Were you spying on them, Aideen?"
Aideen responded to the verbal jibe by splashing the human girl. "A bit, I guess. I think they go there so that Angus can teach Rohan to sing. Or at least to try."
Bridie raised an eyebrow; almost an identical motion to Angus' usual look of confusion.
"To sing, little one? To sing?"
Aideen crossed her arms over her chest, pointing her tiny nose up in the air.
"Among other things. I don't watch them the entire time."
Angus and Rohan meet and old friend and a much different Aideen.
Aideen shrugged. "They've gone there since they were children, you know."
Bridie smiled and shook her head, saying softly; indeed almost under her breath; "I always wondered where they disappeared to when Cathbad's ire was up."
"Hmm?"
"Nothing."
Aideen gazed at Bridie, studying her blondish-brown hair, her soft brown eyes. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you about it. They've never invited Ivar or Garrett to join them; maybe they want it to be kept secret."
"Oh, we'll keep their secret...I just think we should give those two a run for their money."
Aideen fluttered upward from the rock she'd been resting on, flapping the water from her wings.
"What do you mean?" She asked, looking uncertain. "They'd kill me!...and they don't know you..."
Bridie studied her sword as she wiped it clean. Aideen noticed for the first time that, except for being a little more delicate, it was exactly like Rohan's. When next Bridie spoke, it was so soft that Aideen had to hover almost at her friend's mouth to hear her.
"Oh yes they do. We grew up together, the three of us and the princess. Ohh...the last time I saw them, we were still only children. Rohan had just been taken in by that druid, Cathbad, and he and Deirdre were already quarrelling; almost like an old married couple. Angus and I had always been like brother and sister; Deirdre was three years my senior and asking me for advice. Then...Angus and I had a serious fight, which ended in him breaking my arm and me breaking his leg. I left not long afterwards."
Bridie paused as she stood up and sheathed her sword. She drew a shaky breath and continued.
"I doubt they'd remember me now-it's been over five years since we saw each other."
Aideen began flying off toward Rohan and Angus' hideaway, turning to glance at her friend.
"What's five years to good friends?" She said wisely.
Angus and Rohan meet and old friend and a much different Aideen.

It was difficult climbing over the rock-bridge at the falls, jumping over the giant rocks in the Greenbriar Field, dodging the toadstool rings, and scrambling up the hillside; at least for Bridie; and she had to stop for a rest at the top of Pixie Mound. They were overlooking a broad, green plain that was littered with stones and castle ruins.
"Are you sure we're going the right way, Aideen?" Bridie asked, wiping her brow and taking a few deep, calming breaths. "It seems quite a long journey from Kells Castle to this club-house of theirs.
"We've barely been travelling for ten minutes, you silly half-elf," Aideen said disdainfully. "What a pity you didn't aquire the stamina of a fairy along with those wits of yours, Bridie. You're almost as weak as Angus."
Bridie straightened suddenly, grinning at the pixie.
"Continue, Aideen. I feel better already."
The two of them climbed over a small mountain and scrambled down a couple of mole-hills; and there, in the distance, was the 'club-house'.
"You were misinformed!" Bridie said, her jaw dropping. "This is no club-house; it's a palace!"
"It's the site of the first Kells Castle, built some two-hundred years ago, before the borders were altered."
"This is where Rohan and Angus disappeared to all the time? No wonder they were always gone so long-I'd never want to leave this place for Cathbad and his musty old chamber."
Aideen dived behind the pile of rocks at their side. "Look out!" She cried. Bridie joined her little friend behind the stones as they watched Rohan and Angus come out of the ruined castle, having a sort of conversation. Bridie strained to hear them but knew it was impossible from this distance. They each had a practice sword in hand, and both were laughing and joking as they took fighting positions. The boys began mock-fighting; Angus knocked the sword out of Rohan's hand, looked at his and threw it to the ground. As Angus' back was turned, Rohan took the advantage and jumped onto his friend's back, holding on for dear life as the mighty Angus tried to throw him off. They fell to the ground, wrestling and laughing. Finally Rohan won, pinning Angus into the mud. In good humor he gets up, wiping some of the mud off his face, his hair and clothing completely covered in the goopy black stuff, and offered a slimy hand to Angus. Patting each other on the back, they walked back into the castle, singing an Irish folk-melody loud and terrible.
Bridie and Aideen glanced at each other and began laughing uncontrollably.
"They won't suspect a thing. Now's our golden opportunity. You have to admit, scaring two grown men into fits sounds like fun."
"I've got to admit that I always wondered if Rohan could be frightened. But...well I'm so small. How can I do anything?"
Bridie nodded, reminding Aideen yet again of Angus when he got an idea.
"I've an idea," Bridie said. "You remember when you bargained with Maeve to become human?"
Aideen nodded. "Of course I do. But what has that to do with anything?"
"When you told me about how you broke her prism in the end, it got me to thinking. I know fairies; they usually keep a prize when they outwit a human. Did you keep a bit of that prism?"
"Yes, I did."
She removed the broken prism piece and tossed it into Bridie's hand.
"What are you going to do with it?" She asked.
Bridie bit her lip and glanced sheepishly at the fairy.
"I learned a bit of magic from Cathbad all those years ago. And I've a bit of my own. Perhaps there's enough power in this to turn you human-sized again."
"It can't last long, even if there is."
"True. Only twenty-four hours at best." Bridie studied her friend. "It's up to you, Aideen. It's your choice."
Aideen thought about it for a moment.
"If it means I can be big enough to look Rohan in the eye again, for no matter how long, it'll be worth it."
Bridie nodded and aimed the tip of the prism at Aideen, who alighted on the ground.
"Cathbad always told me thought is more powerful than the spoken word. I hope this is what he meant. Are you ready?"
"Ready when you are, Bridie."
Bridie closed her eyes. The prism began to glow with a red-gold light, and a shaft of color burst from it onto Aideen's tiny body. The fairy began to grow. Finally the glowing stopped and Aideen opened her eyes; looking on the world as a human woman. Only one small problem...
"Bridie," Aideen said, panic creeping into her voice, "I've still got my wings!"

Bridie didn't know what to say.
"That's...impossible, Aideen! I'm sure nothing went wrong...but then I've never done that spell before."
Bridie took Aideen's arm and turned her friend around to take a closer look at the wings. They were as soft as velvet to the touch, like those of a butterfly.
"It's alright, Bridie," Aideen said, smiling ruefully. "After all, if I've still got my wings, Rohan will have to believe that I'm me. Otherwise he might have doubted me; and that would break my heart."
Bridie gave her friend a little hug.
"Don't you worry, little one. How could he ever disbelieve anything you told him?" She paused for a second. "Why, I'll have to stop calling you little one...you're bigger than me now."
Aideen laughed. "Now I get to call you little one. This should be exciting."
"We'd better hurry. I have no idea how long this spell will last; and I know you'll probably want to talk to Rohan alone."
"Of course I'd like to."
They hurried down the hill, crouching below the windows.
"Look!" Bridie whispered fiercely. "They're inside; do you see them? There, at that table."
Rohan and Angus were indeed within, sitting in low chairs at a makeshift wooden table, leafing through scrolls of music or songs; Bridie couldn't tell which. Angus was bare chested; his shirt nad vest were hanging on a stick by the fire, sopping wet. Rohan was wriggling out of his usual costume, exposing the grey undershirt.
Aideen looked at Bridie. "I see them. How are we going to frighten them if they're inside and we're out here?"
At that moment Angus belted out part of a song; Rohan took a glob of mud from the shirt he just took off and tossed it at Angus, where it lands on the thief's chest. He took the glob off his skin with a dainty, offended motion, glaring at Rohan.
"Now I'll have to take a bath. Thanks, Rohan."
Rohan laughed. "Ah, you needed one anyway." He wrinkled his nose as he pulled his own shirt off and flung it in a corner. "And you aren't the only one." He added.
Bridie turned to Aideen.
"Have you still got any of your magic?" She whispered.
"I don't know."
"Try to form an illusion. Make us monsters."
Aideen sighed. "I'll try; but I don't promise anything."
She put her hands together, closing her eyes in concentration. A blue ball of light formed between her palms, growing wider as she pulled them apart, until two seperate balls formed. Aideen threw the lights to the ground, and two apparitions sprung up to cover the girls; creatures unlike any Maeve had ever sent to Kells.
"Excellent!" Bridie exclaimed. "Now we'll sneak up on them; if I can remember the proper way Angus taught me to sneak."
They crouched low and began creeping to the doorway. Once there, they opened their mouths and let out the deepest, most horrifying roars they could emit. Rohan and Angus dropped what they were doing, gazing in terror at the 'monsters', reaching for their weapons even as they backed up...

The magic began wearing off and Aideen laughed at Rohan and Angus. Bridie had ducked behind Aideen, uncertain how to reintroduce herself to her old friends.
"Relax, mystic knights," Aideen said. "It's only us...and we have no weapons."
"Us?" Rohan said. He shook his head in confusion. "Who are you?" Then he paused a beat as memory came flooding back to him. "You...you're the girl from the village, the one who rescued Deirdre from Maeve and then disappeared. Where did you ome from?"
Aideen sighed nervously. "I fear I left some very important things unsaid at our last meeting, Rohan. I...I come from tir na nOg."
"What's your name then?" Angus said.
"Don't you recognize your friend? These may help."
Aideen turned a little to one side, showing her wings. Rohan looked startled; then leaned forward to study her a bit more closely.
"Aideen?"
He reached out tenderly, wanting to touch her face...almost does...but then regains his composure and drops his hand back to his side.
"But," he continued uncertainly, "you had no wings when we saw you running the gauntlet at the castle. Did you? And how can you be human-sized?"
Aideen glanced at the ground and then back into Rohan's face, nibbling the inside of one cheek.
"The first time it was Maeve's magic, but I had to choose between it and a friend. This time...it was the work of a friend; and I fear her magic isn't as good as she'd have me believe."
Bridie made a tiny disgruntled noise, and Angus tried to peek over Aideen's shoulder.
"This friend of yours wouldn't be hiding behind your back, would she, Aideen?" He asked. He reached around behind Aideen and grappled Bridie out of hiding. Bridie reacted swiftly, grabbing his arms, which had tried to grasp her about the midsection, pulled them around, swung her foot out behind his and twisted it around his ankle, pulling him to the ground. He sputtered and coughed, leaping back to his feet, angrily brushing himself off; and then he stopped in mid-brush. Looked up.
"Bridie?" He asked. "Is that you?"
Bridie grinned and nodded, and Angus' own face burst into a smile, he laughed and reached out, bending at the knees so she could run straight into his arms. Rohan and Aideen looked on as the happy pair was reunited. Angus twirled Bridie around with him as they hugged, then he let her go.
"You look...well...Bridie," he said. "But...well; you look like a girl!"
"That's what I am, silly," Bridie replied. Suddenly she got a mischievous look in her eyes. Angus' eyes got bigger as he prepared himself for what came next, and there was a sense in the room that they had greeted each other this way before.
Bridie turned, dropping to one knee and extending her leg, tripping Angus, then diving on top of him. She straddled his bare stomach, her knees digging into his ribcage just a little bit as her hands slid up his arms to capture his wrists. With the grin still in place, she leaned closer to his face until Rohan is sure his friend can feel Bridie's breath on his lips.
"But Angus," Bridie continued sweetly, "boy or girl, I can still best you."

Angus gazed up into Bridie's eyes, as brown as his own. There is a challenge written on Angus' face as he pursed his lips into a soft, playful smile. Bridie appeared too sure of herself for her own good.
"But Bridie," he said just as sweetly, "you forgot something very important."
"What?"
"I'm a mystic knight."
Aideen and Rohan watched the childish fracas with vague amusement.
"You'll never beat her, Angus. You haven't been able to since you were no bigger than a spriggan." Rohan said, trying to hide his smile.
Angus turned his head to glare at his friend, trying to hide the fact that he was turned on by the way Bridie's hips ground against his own every time he struggled.
"Don't count on it, Rohan," he said, "I'm a lot bigger now than I used to be. She's still the same size."
Angus visibly strained against Bridie's hold, but nothing happened. She didn't budge an inch, but merely yawned elaborately, making Rohan and Aideen chuckle. Rohan glanced at Aideen and reached out, as though wanting to touch her long blonde curls; but he didn't and finally lowered his hand to his side.
Bridie and Angus had been watching Rohan do this, and as soon as Rohan's hand dropped they glanced at each other, each raising an eyebrow. Bridie climbed off of Angus and offered him a hand up.
"I think Angus and I will take a walk," she said, taking Angus hand. "Looks like the two of you have some talking to do."
Angus tried to protest as Bridie pulled him out the door.
"Yeah, but..." he said.
Bridie grasped his arm and moved him faster.
"We'll be back in a little while," she said, smiling at Rohan and Aideen, who grinned shyly back.
Bridie pulled Angus along with her, out the front door and down the hill, poor Angus protesting the entire way.
"Angus!" Bridie sighed in exasperation. "Let them be."
She hadn't released his hand, and Angus kept glancing down at their entwined fingers, seeming to realize something even as he grins.
"Should I take this to mean you like me?"
Bridie glanced down at their hands and quickly dropped his.
"No," she replied quickly. Too quickly. "I was only making sure you couldn't go back and bother them."
"Oh. Well, now you've released me, I'll just be going back to the castle."
Bridie quickly grabbed his hand again as he started back up the hill.
"Oh no you don't!" She said, pulling him into her on accident. She gazed at their hands again, realizing how small hers looked engulfed in his own big paw. A shudder went through her. She forced herslef not to look at him, even though she dearly wanted to. Angus was studying her face.
"Why were you so insistent that we leave those two alone in there?" He asked quietly.
"Aideen has...feelings for Rohan. I thought it best that she tell him, get it out in the open..."
"He knows how she feels," Angus said. "I'm sure the only reason he hasn't returned them is...well, she's a fairy. He's a human. Until now that must have made it very difficult for the proper feelings to get across. Maybe now it'll be easier, since they're the same size."
"Maybe," Bridie sighed. "I hope so. It gets tiring hearing 'Rohan' this and 'Rohan' that; but my magic isn't that powerful. She hasn't long in her human form."
"Bridie..." Angus said, tugging gently on her hand, making her pause beside him. He cleared his throat, looked down, looked back into her eyes. He'd never felt so nervous before, but he couldn't figure why.
"Umm...this is sort of difficult for me, but...well, the last time I saw you, we were both little imps, barely teenagers. I know I treated you rotten those last couple of months before you ran off, and I'm sorry for that. But we were the best of friends long before that happened. You and I were even closer than Rohan and me back then..and all I canreally remember of you is how you sounded when you laughed at Deirdre for having to wear dresses all the time; and how you could always best me, no matter what it was I did to you."
He reached out tentatively to stroke a strand of hair away from Bridie's face. Bridie swallowed the lump in her throat back down to her stomach, and they gazed deeply into each other's eyes. Bridie could feel her slef-control slipping, becoming almost non-existent.
"Bridie, I...I don't know what it is exactly that I feel for you. My respect for you is almost overwhelming, and yet...I don't see you as the same girl you were. I see you as..."
He fumbled for the right word, and Bridie's brow wrinkled as she searched his eyes. Finally she supplied the word for him.
"A woman, is that it?" She asked. Angus smiled gratefully and nodded.
"I love you, Bridie. I always have...even when you were seven and I was ten, and you threw me head-first into the Boyne. I went around for three weeks smelling of river-slime. I loved you then, because you were stronger than me. Like even now, when I'm a mystic knight and I still can't best you."
"Maybe you didn't try hard enough, Angus," Bridie said softly. It was Angus' turn to swallow the lump.
"Maybe I tried the wrong way," he said. He flicked his tongue over lips suddenly gone dry with nervousness and they slowly inclined their heads toward one another. Their lips had almost touched when...
"Help! Angus, Bridie, help me!"
It was Aideen! Angus and Bridie turned panic-stricken eyes toward the castle, then back toward each other.

"By Dagda!" Bridie said. She completely forgot that Angus was supposed to be kissing her. Angus had forgotten too, evidently, as they raced up the steep incline as fast as the loose rocks and slippery mud will allow, finally bursting into the anteroom of the castle.
"Aideen! What's happened?" Bridie asked her friend, who was sobbing with fear and confusion.
"Rohan's gone! We were talking and...he just disappeared!"
Bridie reached out and pulled Aideen to her, comforting her friend even as she gazes at Angus over the young girl's shoulder, smiling gently, sadly. Angus smiled back and touched Aideen's shoulder.
"We'd best go see Cathbad," Angus said. "He might know what sort of enchantment Rohan's under."
Bridie nodded. "Right. There's no time to waste on tears now, Aideen, even though we're all hurting. It's more important that we find Rohan. When we do, you can cry over the finding of him instead of the losing."
Aideen wiped the tears from her eyes.
"If only I were still a fairy I could fly to tir na nOg and ask King Fin Varra what's happened to him."
Angus' eyes flashed with an idea. "You still can, Aideen. You've still got your wings haven't you? All you have to do is put your hand on the portal stone like we do."
Aideen grinned. "You're right, Angus. Of course; that's just what I'll do."
"We'll go to Kells Castle and see Cathbad. And King Conchobar must be told that Draganta has gone missing. It's been so long His Majesty probably won't recognize me. You'll have to do most of the talking, Angus."
"I will," he promised. "Come on; we'd better get going."
"Be careful, Aideen," Bridie said as Aideen took flight, waving at her friends as she set sail for tir na nOg.
"You too, little one," she said, smiling. Bridie grinned and shook her head.
The journey back to the castle didn't take nearly as long as the trip to the club-house. Angus and Bridie arrived in what seemed mere moments, and were admitted to the throne-room with barely an announcement.
A handsome, blond-haired stranger had his profile toward Angus and Bridie; he's standing beside the throne, deep in conversation with the king.
"The knight Angus," said a guard near the king's throne. Both the king and the stranger turned to look at Angus; whose eyes grew wide as he beheld...
"Garrett!" Angus exclaimed in half-shock, half-dismay. Bridie looked confused; who was Garrett? And why had Angus reacted to him like that, almost in fear?"

To be Continued...