Legal Mumbo-Jumbo: X-Files, Fox Mulder, Melissa, Dana and Margaret Scully and any related characters are the property of Fox, Ten-Thirteen, and Chris Carter. No infringement intended. However, Connaire, Rianna, et. al. and Patrick and Finn Scully are mine (Paul Leone a.k.a. Kuusamo@aol.com), so if you want to use them for some reason, ask me first. And now for something completely different.... X-Files "Finding the Faith" 'The Faery Dance' My eyes beheld the faery dance, Oh my eyes beheld, Oh my eyes beheld, The faery dance. My heart did hear the faery song, Oh my heart did hear, Oh my heart did hear, The faery song. Beneath my feet the Earth turned green once more, The Earth turned green, The Earth turned green, Once more. Paul Leone The Fae Nook Coffee Club Washington, D.C. April 28, 1995 Nothing worked any more, Melissa said to herself, staring down into the herbal tea. She'd lost her gift, the Sight that had driven her life for decades, lost it all. What point in life if the magic was gone? She couldn't see it any more, couldn't touch the glamour, couldn't taste the fire. Everything was shades of gray, dull, pointless. Mundane. Even the club, filled with creative souls and thinkers, had become bland to her. These people...they were -alive-, but she wasn't. Not any more. What was the point in life if you couldn't -live- it? Connaire stared at the young woman, sitting alone in the crowded club. She looked so sad, staring down. He'd seen her a few times before, in the few months he'd been in Washington. It was like looking at a different person. What had happened to her? Why couldn't he feel her inner passion any more? It was as if she had died. Certainly, he could feel recent pain and loss. Perhaps she was simply depressed. No, it was more than that. Despair had shrouded her soul. Left alone, it would drag her into the darkness. "You feel it too, Connaire?" Rianna! Connaire nodded slowly, awed by the vision before him. Rianna was a noble spirit, towering above him in both the physical and spiritual plane. Few like her had ever crossed paths with Connaire. Eithne, the great Lady of the Sidhe Court, and her lovely children Fiona and Eogan. But, they barely noticed a lowly sprite like him. And, yet, here was Rianna, talking to him, Connaire! "She's so sad and alone. Maybe I should give her a little nudge. Loan a little breath of life?" Rianna shook her head sadly. "No." "No?" "It's like this, my little friend." Rianna sat down next to Connaire. "She's caught up in great things, even if she doesn't know it." "I can tell. She's Ffolk, isn't she?" "Of a very old line. And thus, you cannot work magic on her." "That's a stupid rule." "It's Eithne's rule, little imp." "She's so sad," Connaire repeated. Rianna smiled gently and whispered in Connaire's ear. "I never said you couldn't charm her. Just no magic." Then, she stood up and kissed his hand. "Good luck, little imp." Connaire blushed and stared as Rianna walked out of the club. He nearly shook from excitement. Rianna had kissed -him-! In all his excitement, he nearly forgot the woman. Melissa sighed and finished off the tea. She absently stared at the leaves. Now, that was an odd pattern. The leaves foretold a romance...almost. It was mixed up with the patterns for innocence and faith, forming a rather confused picture. Shaking her head, she scattered the leaves with her finger. It was all nonsense, just random patterns that meant nothing. Just like life... Her watch beeped softly. Time to go home. Connaire watched the woman go. Even her walk was tinged with defeat. Shoulders just slightly slumped, arms a little bit limp, steps lacking any enthusiasm. It made him depressed just watching. Maybe Rianna was right. He couldn't do any magic even if he wanted to. He was just a sprite, barely out of childhood, and certainly not an ancient noble like Rianna or Eithne. If they wouldn't do it, why should he? No! Connaire shook his head, clearing the gloomy thoughts before they sucked him up. He'd do it because he was fairy and she was Ffolk and that was the rule. He would help her be happy again, and then she might kiss him, too! She was beautiful, even more than Rianna, 'cause she was just a Ffolk, not a magic fairy. Fairies were always pretty, and that was boring. Humans were beautiful inside and out, especially this one. He smiled and stood up. This would be fun, being a hero and getting kisses from beautiful ladies! Melissa slipped the key into her door and halfheartedly turned it. With a click, the door swung open. Home sweet home. Mail had piled up, ignored, under the door. Bills, junk mail, bills. A postcard from Pat. She threw the rest into the garbage and stuck the postcard to the refrigerator. She half-heartedly listened to her mother's message on the machine. Sorry, can't make lunch. Make it up soon, Missy, I promise. Nothing on TV except junk and weather reports. Another record breaking temperature today. More hurricanes. Music? All her music was old and boring. A book? Nothing she hadn't read a million times before. She sat down on the couch and stared at the old painting her Great Uncle Finn had given her on her sixteenth birthday. "The Fairy Dance." It was an odd-job mixture of bright yellow, red, and orange splotches and subdued green and blue tones that vaguely depicted elves dancing around a fire. In the bottom corner, a tiny scribble identified the artist as 'Eithne'. It added a bit of color to the room, if nothing else. In the past, it had inspired a poem or two, but nothing since the operation. Nothing inspired her any more. Not books, not paintings, not television, not music. Drugs? She briefly flirted with the idea, then realized she didn't know anybody who had that kind of stuff. Besides, that would probably make things even worse. God only knows what Mom would say. And Pat. Connaire peeked over the fence. The backyard was almost literally a jungle. Weeds and dandelions fought with roses and a small cherry tree for domination. The weeds were winning. A few faded garden statues sat neglected in one corner, half hidden by weeds. Connaire smiled sadly. An elf, a gnome, and a happy dragon. How appropriate. How sad. He reached into his pouch and pulled out a CD. She looked like she could use a little cheering up. What better than fairy music? He aimed carefully and tossed it through the open window. Clang! Melissa woke up and watched the CD fall from the top of the bookshelf. Frowning, she picked it up. The cover was the same as the painting Finn had given her. Fiona O'Mab? When had she gotten -this-? Celtic folk-music? Not her style, but what the hell, might as well give it a try. She placed it into the CD player with a careless shrug. Probably a gift from one of her friends at work. The music came on. Gentle harp tones. Fiddles. Then the singing. It was beautiful. It was emotional. It was in Irish. Shaking her head, Melissa turned off the CD player. Never listen to something you don't understand. Connaire frowned. Okay, so that hadn't been wildly successful. She was Ffolk, it wasn't his -fault- she didn't know the old tongue. Now what? He thought for a second, then smiled and clapped his hands together. -This- would work, for certain! Laughing, Connaire hopped off the fence. I am so clever, he said to himself. Melissa half-heartedly chewed the left over pizza. As always, a night in the freezer had robbed it of taste. Another dull night. Maybe she should call Dana. No. She'd just get all concerned and probably make things worse. Suffer singly in solitude, lest ye suffer many times in company. She reached for a pen to write down the thought, then sighed and abandoned the idea. Not in a creative mood tonight. Connaire winced at the thought. Not creative meant you were as good as dead. Time to act! He tugged the heavy basket up the stairs and set it down, then pressed the doorbell and ran. Melissa stared down at the basket. What was this? Inside the layer of towels, something barked. Oh, no. She lifted the basket. A tiny furry face poked out from under the towels and licked her face happily. Later that night (after a hasty trip to the grocery store for dog food and -lots- of paper towels).... The dog climbed onto Melissa's lap and fell asleep. "Oh, fuzzy...Not there." She stared to lift it up, but looked at the blissful look on its face and smiled. "Okay, but just for tonight." It yawned and squirmed, burying its face in her sweater. Melissa stared at the tiny dog and realized she was starting to like the little fellow. Connaire giggled. This was going along perfectly! Dafydd had been so nice to cooperate. Just as long as he didn't lose patience, everything would go fine. "He's adorable! What kind of dog is he?" Dana whispered, patting the dog on his head. "A Corgi." "A what?" Dana muttered, letting the dog lick her hand. She smiled like a proud mother. "A Welsh Corgi. That's what the book said." "Isn't he the sweetest thing, Mom?" Gently, she lifted the dog up and handed it to Margaret. "Oh, heavens! Look at you!" Margaret held the dog in front of her face and smiled at it, whispering in baby talk. "He's wonderful! What's his name?" Melissa shrugged. "I don't know. What do you think?" "He is very definitely a William," Margaret said, letting the dog lick her face with its tiny tongue. "No. I think that he looks more like a Fox." Mulder would -love- that name. "David. His name's David." The dog looked up at Melissa and yapped happily. "Well, that's the one he seems to like." Things were going well. If she was in tune enough to name it David, the worst was over, Connaire said to himself, staring through the window. Now, one more piece, and everything would be set. He smiled and hurried off to get everything ready. David huddled down in front of the bookshelf and promptly fell asleep on top of a worn copy of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Melissa smiled at the tiny Corgi. Maybe she would keep him after all. Mom had been so happy, she almost treated him like a grandson. And Dana had promised to bring her own dog over 'to make friends'. Well, if they became -too- friendly, Dana would be stuck with the puppies. Strange, but this little puppy was the best thing to happen in months. Maternal instincts? Maybe, but she would never admit it to anybody. She wanted children, badly, but fate didn't seem to have that in mind for her. Meeting the right man would help, but even that was impossible. Who cares? she asked, walking over to play with David. Connaire stopped in his tracks. A whole bunch of faeries, noble Sidhe, were hanging outside the club. He started to backtrack, but they spotted him. "Connaire, come here." He shuffled over, trying to look casual and innocent. "Hiya, Eogan, Rhys, Lianna, Michael, Rowen, Siwan, Shannon, Llywelyn," Connaire said, blurring the long string of names together. The Sidhe smiled at him fondly. "Have you seen Dafydd today, sprite-ling?" Lianna asked, ruffling Connaire's hair. "No-ooo. Why? Is he in trouble?" "Oh, no, sprite-ling. Rianna is calling court, that's all." Rianna? Oh. Well, that was okay, 'cause Sidhe always missed Court, especially when they were off doing good deeds like helping a pretty lady find the magic and stuff like that! Lianna smiled again. "Thank you, sprite-ling." Oh, pooh! Lianna had the Sight! She might tell Rianna, and then Eithne herself, and everything would be wrong and they might get mad and put him back to Sleep and he'd miss everything and the pretty lady wouldn't be thankful and maybe give him a kiss! "I'msorryIdidn'tmeantocausetrouble! Ijustwantedtohelptheprettyladyso she'dkissmelikeRianna!" The Sidhe laughed gently. "Oh, silly sprite, you'll not get in trouble," Eogan said, laughing at Connaire. He picked up Connaire and carried him on his shoulder. "Now, let's see what trouble you've caused." Dafyyd stretched out and frowned. The spell of transformation was fading. He could feel his limbs starting to stretch back into his faery shape. Pretty soon, he'd back to normal. Poor Connaire. He'd be heartbroken, after all his schemes and tricks. Sprites were so inane and flighty sometimes, but they were too sincere to get mad at, especially a young sprite-ling in love like Connaire. The silly boy probably didn't even know he was in love. Well, Dafydd certainly wouldn't defy Eithne's laws and allow a fairy to love a Ffolk, but a kiss? That was okay, right? Eithne was a romantic, after all. He'd fix it for Connaire. But first, time to get out of this silly dog body. It was starting to itch. Dafydd sneaked out the open window and landed in the yard just as his fur began to fall off in clumps. The Sidhe piled into their cars and drove off with Connaire. He eagerly gave directions, relying on trees and flower pots as landmarks, and eventually, they reached Melissa's neighborhood. "So where's your lady love's house, Connaire?" Lianna asked, holding Connaire up in the air so he could get a better view. "That way," Connaire said, pointing. He did his best to ignore his undignified treatment as a navigator. Just because sprites don't forget a path, that's no reason use us like bloodhounds. Can't they just magic themselves to her backyard or something? Stupid rules. Melissa searched the bathroom. "Come on, David. Let's go for a walk." He was nowhere to be found. Slightly worried, she went back into the living room. Nothing. Wait. Clumps of hair were stuck on the window frame. "Oh, god." "There he is!" Eogan said, pointing at Dafydd. Still halfway in dog-form, the Sidhe resembled a miniature werewolf. "Hail, brothers. And look, the little sprite-ling." Connaire squirmed. He better not get in trouble. Dafydd had -agreed-, after all. "Well, what's going on, then?" Connaire felt the eyes of all the Sidhe on him. He briefly considered running, but realized it would just get him in more trouble. "I just wanted to help her! She was sooooo sad." Lianna smiled. "That's no sin, sprite-ling." "But now it's all wrong! She's going to be even sadder if she thinks her dog is gone!" "We'll have to fix that," Dafydd whispered. He pulled out a silver flute and played a quick tune. In seconds, dozens of Corgis appeared, coming from all directions. They assembled at Dafydd's feet and sat down happily. "Well, let's see. That one!" Dafydd pointed at a tiny puppy. "Pick him up Connaire." Connaire nodded happily and picked up the puppy. "He looks just like you did! That's clever." "Now, go to your lady's house." "What?" "Give her the puppy, sprite-ling." "OH!" Connaire nodded and ran off. Melissa bit back tears. David was gone. He'd slipped under the fence, and into the woods! That tiny little baby... The doorbell rang. A cute young boy stood there, holding something in his arms. "DAVID!" Melissa yelped, grabbing the Corgi and hugging him. "Oh, thank you!" She bent down and kissed the boy. He stood there in speechless awe, then ran off. "What a cute boy, huh, David?" David yapped excitedly and nibbled on Melissa's ear. "She kissed me!" Connaire shrieked, gesturing wildly at a slightly damp spot on his cheek. "See! See!" "Come on, sprite-ling, let's go. You can tell everyone at court all about it." Rianna watched the gang of Sidhe carry a triumphant Connaire off and struggled to hold back laughter. "You're learning what real magic is, Connaire," she said proudly. She smiled again and stepped into the forest, laughing all the way to court. -------------------