Fantasy Faire

The sunlight trickled through the tiny breaks in the forest canopy above me.  I could see and hear the air moving the treetops, but there wasn’t a hint of breeze on the ground where I was walking.  I was so hot, I could hardly breathe.  I told myself that neither would be a problem much longer.  I wouldn’t be worried about breathing once I was dead.  The heat I felt now was nothing compared to what I was about to face for eternity.

I knew I would go to hell for killing myself, but it didn’t really matter since I was going to wind up there anyway.  Dad had said so.  He didn’t know he was telling me of course, because he didn’t know that I was even less perfect than he already thought.  No, Dad had been speaking from the pulpit at church when he said that AIDS was God’s just and proper judgment against the evil homosexuals who were bound for hell.

Yes, I was gay.  I had finally admitted that to myself.  I wanted nothing to do with girls physically.  I dreamed about guys; about doing things with guys, naked guys.  I wanted more than anything for a strong, handsome, naked guy to take my naked body into his arms and hold me there forever, while we learn together how sex really feels instead of just dreaming about it.

I had a girlfriend for a while.  We had dated for several weeks in fact.  I had tried so hard to be the good little preacher’s kid that everyone expected me to be.  I couldn’t do it, though.  I could barely hold hands with her without feeling guilty inside, guilty for leading her on, guilty for pretending to want to be with her, all the while I was imagining being with someone else, someone male.

She must have known about it.  She had just broken up with me yesterday.  Not that I could blame her, mind you.  I can’t say that I was saddened by the loss.  If anything I was relieved, but I was afraid at the same time.  She must have known why I was so physically distant with her.  If she did know, how much longer would it be before the whole town knew?

I was so absorbed in my thoughts that when I saw something run through the trees, I at first didn’t pay any attention.  When I got a second better look, I stopped dead still and stared for a minute.  I had just seen a little girl with wings like a butterfly run past me.   Before I could really grasp that fact, another fantastic vision appeared in front of me.

“Did you see a little brat sister run this way?”  I found myself staring at a boy, a gorgeous blond boy with gossamer wings.  He was very nearly naked as well.  He was wearing some sort of loin cloth thing and sandals.  His body glittered from head to toe.  “I beg a thousand pardons, young master,” he suddenly said.  “I mistook thee for a fellow of the faire. Did thee perhaps spy a young pixie girl…?”

“She went that way, I think,” I finally managed to croak out.  Just then we heard her giggle somewhere nearby.  I motioned for the angel boy to go to the left while I went to the right.  I soon found the errant little pixie hiding in a bush watching the angel boy.  “Gotcha!” I called out as I caught her gently by the arm.  “Do I get three wishes for catching you?” I asked her with a grin.

“I’m not a leprechaun,” she giggled.  “You can have this, though,” and she blew a fist full of glitter into my face.  I sneezed and as she expected, let go of her arm.  She turned to run, but she ran right into the angel boy’s arms.

“I’ve got you now,” he crowed triumphantly.  “You should apologize to the man for blowing fairy dust into his face like that.”

“He’s not a man, he’s just a big kid like you,” the pixie pouted.

“That’s no excuse to be rude or mean,” he replied.

About that time I sneezed again, and again and again.  It was like I couldn’t stop.  The worst of it was that they were those great big sneezes that are so embarrassing, not the little semi polite kind.  I sounded like I was exploding or something.  I staggered backwards, tripped over a tree root, fell into the creek that I had not even seen before, and hit my head on a rock.  The world went dark and fuzzy for a moment after that.

“I told you to be careful with that stuff,” I heard the boy tell the girl.  “Now look what you’ve done.” 

“I didn’t mean to kill him,” she answered.  “I was just having some fun.”  She sounded like she might start crying.  I didn’t want her to get upset over me, so I opened my eyes and started to speak.  Unfortunately, when I opened my eyes, I was looking right at the boy with the wings.  Specifically, I was looking at his butt as he bent over to talk to the little pixie.  For future reference, taking a big gasp of breath when your mouth is very, VERY close to being underwater is not recommended.  I inhaled water and started coughing and struggling, but couldn’t seem to get up.  In fact, I wound up slipping back into the water with another big splash.  The two of them tried hard to look concerned but eventually it failed when I finally managed to speak.

“I don’t think I’m dead yet,” I told them.  “Because I’m still a klutz, and I’m still wet, even if I am seeing angels.”  I hadn’t meant to include that last part, but it was out of my mouth before I could stop it.

“We’re not angels,” the little girl giggled.  “We’re fairies.”

“And I thought I was the only one around here,” I whispered.  I sat up and realized that I got a little dizzy when I did that.  I shook my head a little and noticed that the angel, sorry…fairy boy was holding out his hand to help me out of the creek.

I took his offer of help, but immediately regretted it.  Despite what reason was telling me, I would have sworn he was a real fairy.  I sure felt magic when our hands touched.

“I bid thee welcome to the faire, good master,” he was saying.  “I am Robin Goodfellow, and this is my sister, Tania.  We are Oberon’s children, son of man.”

“You talk funny,” I blurted.  There’s nothing like making a good first impression.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to be rude.”

“You’ve never been to a fantasy festival before?” he asked me in a more normal voice.  I shook my head, and he grinned.  Wow, now I’m sure he’s a real fairy, because he just put a spell on me.

“Is that what this is?” I questioned intelligently.  I was batting a thousand.

“Didn’t you see the signs when you came in?” the girl asked.

“I came from over that way,” I told her pointing toward my house through the woods.  “I walked through the woods.”

“You snuck in, then?” the boy asked a little harshly.

“I don’t know what you guys are talking about,” I defended myself.  “Where did you come from?”

“Duh! We’re from the festival,” the girl replied with melodramatically rolled eyes.  “It’s over there,” she added pointing in the opposite direction from my house.  She looked me up and down, giggled and added, “You’re all wet.”

“That happens to us mortals when little fairies choke us with their fairy dust,” I retorted.  “We fall in streams and get soaked.”

“I’m sorry,” she said as she dropped her head.

“It’s ok,” I told her.  “I was too hot anyway.”  She looked up hopefully and I smiled at her.

“You’re not going to tell on me, are you?” she whispered.

“No, Tania,” I assured her.  “I won’t tell on you.  Who would believe me anyway?  I got lost in the woods and saw two fairies.  Oh yeah, that happens all the time.”  I looked down at my clothes.  Tania was right; I was all wet.

“Can someone explain to me why I have had to leave the festival grounds and hunt my children in the forest as if they were wild animals?” I looked up to see a huge man standing with his hands on his hips staring at us.  He didn’t have wings, but he did have a crown. “And who have we here?” he asked me. 

“I swear I didn’t sneak in.  I was just walking through the woods from over that way.  I didn’t even know there was a fair thing until he told me.” I pointed at Robin.  I tried to convince myself to shut up at that point, but somehow I knew that I was probably not done making myself look stupid.  I was saved from further embarrassment by their ongoing conversation diverting their attention away from me.

“Tania wandered off again,” Robin responded.

“You said you wouldn’t tell on me,” she pouted.

“Actually, that was me,” I pointed out to her.  “He’s a big brother, it’s part of his job to tell on you; just like it’s part of your job to bug him.”  That made them all three laugh.

“Well spoken, young sir,” their father said with a smile.  He introduced himself by saying his character for the fair was Oberon.  I introduced myself, but didn’t give my last name.  “I see by your face that you have been dusted by my youngest child.  I’m not sure why your clothes are all wet, though.  Come back to the fair with us, and we will provide you with dry apparel, young Master Elijah.  You look the same size as Robin; his garments should fit you well.”

“Well, if it’s just the same, I think I would rather stay wet,” I said with a blush.  “I don’t know about an outfit like that,” I added, indicating the skimpy loin cloth the boy beside me was wearing.

“My apologies,” the man told me.  “I meant his regular clothes,” he explained.  “He isn’t always a fairy.”

“Just my luck,” I muttered.  I didn’t think anyone heard me, but I got a funny look from Robin.

I followed the big man back through the woods to a clearing where a medieval looking town had been constructed.  It looked like something right out of Lord of the Rings.  I was amazed by all the different booths not to mention the people.  None was more incredible than the tall woman floating towards us.  She really seemed to hover across the ground rather than walk.  As she got closer, I could tell that she had to be Tania and Robin’s mother.  She had the longest golden blonde hair I had ever seen and I could see the same eyes that sparkled in Tania’s face.  Her lips were the same shape and color as Robin’s, but his were so much more sensuous, at least in my opinion.

I shook my head to try to force those thoughts out of my mind.  I remembered that I had been planning to kill myself less than an hour ago for just such sinful thoughts.  I was suddenly aware that people were talking to me, and I hadn’t heard a word they had said.

“He hit his head on a rock when he fell into the stream,” Robin was saying.

“You should have said so when I met you in the woods, son,” Oberon scolded.

“He seemed ok, dad,” Robin defended.  “I didn’t think he was hurt that bad.”

“We thought he was dead,” Tania contributed.

“You did, I didn’t,” Robin snapped.

“Don’t fuss at your sister like that,” Oberon told his son.

All this was going on while I was staring into the face of Robin and Tania’s mom.  She looked concerned for a moment, but her face gradually eased into a beautiful smile.  I thought finally of the historical stories and Shakespeare’s plays that I had read and bowed lowly on one knee in front of this beautiful woman.

“Forgive my lack of manners,” I said to her feet.  “I am but a mere mortal, and overwhelmed by your beauty, your majesty.”

“You were right after all, Robin,” Oberon laughed.  “If he is aware enough to appreciate the queen of my heart, he must not have hit his head too hard.”

“You may rise, young man,” the woman said to me, offering her hand to help steady me when I swayed a little.  “Perhaps there is a danger after all.  Robin, take him to the healer’s cottage.  Tania, you will stay with me.”

“I really am fine,” I tried to protest.  “I….”

“This is my chance to get away from babysitter duty,” Robin whispered near me.

“You know, maybe that is a good idea,” I announced.  “I do still feel a little dizzy.”

“I’ll take you to the healer’s right now,” Robin blurted, loudly and quickly.

His mother looked at me and then at him before saying, “Perhaps you should hold his arm, in case he should feel dizzy again on the way.  We wouldn’t want him to fall again.”

“Ok, mother,” Robin agreed instantly.

As this angel of a boy lead me through the faire, I looked around in awe.  There was a guy in a leather outfit who was swallowing flaming swords.  A little further along was a woman in peasant clothing working a pottery wheel.  It was when we passed a tent filled with medieval style clothing for sale that Robin lost his grip on my arm.  He had kept walking, but I had stopped to admire the fanciful clothes.  He quickly turned around and saw me staring at the costumes.

“I do have some costumes that aren’t quite as revealing as this one if you’re interested,” he whispered.  “As long as you’re careful with them, I could loan them to you instead of street clothes.  You’d make a fantastic gypsy prince.”

“That might be kind of cool,” I confessed.  “This place is incredible.”

“Thanks, my parents and their friends have worked really hard on it,” he told me.  “For that matter, so have I.  Everyone you see working here has put a lot of effort into making this the place you see.”  He paused before asking me, “So what about that prince costume?”

“Maybe,” I grinned.  “I’ll have to see it first.”

“Let’s go then,” he smiled.  “I’ll take you there as soon as we see the apothecary.  That’s medieval talk for EMT,” he added in a whisper.

“I’m feeling much better now though,” I protested.

“We’ll both be feeling terrible if we don’t listen to Mom, though,” he explained to me.

“Oh, all right,” I surrendered.  “I really don’t think I need to go though.”

“It shouldn’t take too long,” Robin told me.  “It’s late enough that the staff hangovers have been dealt with and the guests haven’t really started drinking too much yet.  Besides, the apothecary shop is on the way to our place anyway.”

“Maybe you should hold my arm some more just in case I get dizzy again,” I lied.  I just wanted this gorgeous boy to touch me again.

“Are you feeling dizzy again,” he asked with concern.  I just nodded.  When his hand touched my arm, I found myself incapable of speech.

“Robin Goodfellow, what brings thee to my humble shops?” a voice called out.

“Master Frodo here has taken a fall, apothecary, and needs thy learned care,” Robin announced.

“Well, show him in with haste.”  Once we were inside the little cottage, the accents were dropped.  “All right boys, someone want to tell me what happened?”

“He got a face full of fairy dust from our favorite little imp,” Robin answered.  “He started sneezing and fell backwards into a stream in the woods near here and hit his head on a rock.  He says he is feeling dizzy.”

“I’m fine, really,” I started to protest.

“Now that would be my job to decide,” the apothecary told me.  “Follow this light with your eyes,” he said as he held up a tiny flashlight in front of me.  He did a couple of other tests including poking at the knot on the back of my head before announcing that he didn’t believe there was any permanent damage.  “You’ll have a sore spot back here for a couple of days, though.”

“Does that mean I can go now?” I asked.

“No one ever wants to stay and visit,” the man pouted.  I started to feel a little guilty about being in such a hurry to leave, but then he grinned.  “Of course you can go, Frodo.”

“Frodo?” I asked Robin once we outside again.

“Well, your name is Elijah and I found you in the woods,” he explained with a shrug, and I swear a bit of a blush.  “I’m sorry if you didn’t like it.”

“I didn’t say that,” I told him quickly.  “I just didn’t get the connection until now.  So do you really like all this fantasy stuff, or is it just occupational interest?”

“I’m as bad as my parents,” he admitted freely.  “It could be considered occupational, in a way though.  I mean you do have to know a lot of it for this kind of work.”

“I would imagine,” I agreed.  Just then we walked past a couple of girls that were in regular clothes.  They were obviously visitors to the fair, and they were certainly interested in the nearly naked fairy that was walking with me.  He didn’t seem to notice though.  I was surprised at the hostility I felt towards them as they ogled him, however.  I tried to shake it off and even attempted conversation about it.  “The girls must follow you around everywhere.”

“I guess so,” he said noncommittally.  “I never really notice them.”  He looked nervous suddenly and said, “I mean I’m usually so busy around here.  I have to stay in character as well.”  He suddenly tugged my arm, making me aware that he had been holding it after we left the apothecary’s just as he had before.  We ducked in behind a couple of thatched roof cottages and found a very modern and nice sized travel trailer.  “Here we are, home sweet trailer,” Robin joked.  He led me inside and up some steps to the little room over the bed of the truck that was used to pull the trailer.

“You get the tower bedroom I see,” I observed.  There were two beds, but one was covered in clothes.  The other was unmade and looked as if he had just crawled out of it moments ago.  That thought sent a flood of erotic images to my mind.  The room was too low for us to stand up in, so when I did, I wound up hitting the back of my head on the ceiling.  That brought an unrepeatable word to my lips and a sway to my legs.

“Sorry,” Robin told me sincerely.  “I should have warned you about that.  Here why don’t you sit on my bed for a minute while I get you something to wear?”  He helped me over to the unmade bed and then turned away from me.  Unfortunately that meant that he was bending over right in front of me, in a golden loin cloth.  He was in nothing but a golden loin cloth.  I felt myself burning all over and could tell I was starting to breathe funny.  He spun around quickly to face me again.  “Are you okay?  Do you need to go back to the apothecary?”

“No I’m fine,” I told him quickly.  “I just hit my head a little harder than I thought.  I’m fine, it’s just really sore.”  I suddenly realized that I was sitting on his bed in wet clothes.  “I’m sorry.  I’m getting your bed all wet.”

“Just take the wet stuff off,” he told me.  “I’m going to get that gypsy outfit for you.  I forgot it’s in my parents’ room at the other end of the trailer.  I’ll be right back.”

I peeled my wet shirt off over my head and then stood as best I could in the short space.  I dropped my pants and was wondering if I should take off my soggy underwear as well when I saw something on his bed.   There was a sticky wet looking spot in the middle of his sheets nowhere near the place I had been sitting.  I leaned in closer to get a better look and caught the smell, his smell, rising from the bed.  I was intoxicated instantly.  I looked back to the little staircase down to the rest of the trailer, but he wasn’t in sight.  I lowered my face to the sheets just beside the mysterious wet spot.  Once there, the mystery was gone, but my attraction remained.  This was the remains of his cum.  Either he slept nude and had a wet dream, or he had jerked off this morning before leaving the bed.  No matter which, I was addicted to his scent, and captivated by the rest of him.

“Dude, I found it,” he called out.  “You’re going to look great in this.”  His voice startled me and I jerked away from where I had rested my head.  I didn’t realize at first that when I did, the corner of my mouth drug across his damp cum spot.  I instinctively flicked my tongue out to clean my lips.  As soon as I did, I realized that I had just tasted his sperm.  A moment passed before I became aware of him being in the room with me.  He was staring at me, but not at my face.  I followed his line of sight down my body and was mortified to see that I was as hard as a rock and tenting out the front of my white briefs.  They were wet enough still that they were nearly transparent.  Robin had a perfect view of all I had to offer.

“I’m sorry,” I whimpered and quickly put my hands over it.  “I’ll leave now.  I never should have come to the fair with a hot guy like you.”

“Did you just call me hot?” he asked, still staring at my crotch.

“Don’t hurt me!” I begged.  “I’ll go and you’ll never have to see me again.  No one will.”

“Don’t leave!” he called out and blocked me from the stairs.  “What do you mean no one will?”

“Nothing,” I lied, but I could feel my face burning as I said it.  I snatched up my pants from the floor and then groaned as the knife I had stashed in them fell out of the pocket.

“What is that?” he demanded.  “You were going to hurt yourself weren’t you?”

“So what if I was?” I blurted.  “It’ll save you the trouble of beating me up for perving on you and eating your cum.”  I slapped my hand over my mouth as soon as I said it.

“You did what?” he asked.  He finally took his eyes off me and looked around me at the bed.  Now his face was glowing.  “Oh, my god!  I didn’t think that anyone would be coming in here.”

“Well you came enough in here for a couple of people,” I said with a giggle.  I again slapped my hand over my mouth.  He looked up at me in horror, and then his face calmed.  I could feel myself relaxing as well.  Another few seconds of awkwardness passed, but soon we were both giggling, and then laughing.

“I’m so embarrassed,” he gasped, still chuckling.  “I never thought anyone would be in my room today and I woke up so horny this morning.  I guess you think I’m pretty disgusting now, huh?”  He suddenly got serious and looked me directly in the eyes.  “Wait a minute.  You said you ate it?”

“Yeah,” I confessed.  “I’m the disgusting one.  I didn’t mean to do it.  I just smelled it, your bed I mean, and when you yelled up here, it scared me.  I jumped away from the bed, but some of your… the wet…. Well it got on my lips.  I licked them without thinking about it.  I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry,” he told me.  “You were smelling my bed?” I nodded without looking at him.  “You licked my cum?”  Again I nodded, but kept my eyes on the floor.

“I told you I was the disgusting one,” I mumbled.  “I promise, I’ll go away.  You’ll never see me again.  Just don’t hurt me.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, Elijah,” he said softly.  “I would never hurt you.”  He reached out and laid his hand on my leg.  I looked up into his eyes and got lost.  Our faces got closer and closer.  Then it happened.  Our lips met.

This was nothing like kissing a girl.  I felt like my blood was on fire inside my veins.  My heart was racing away inside my chest.  Without knowing how or why, I responded to the kiss with pure instinct.  My lips parted allowing his tongue to enter me.  I gasped and moaned in pleasure.  He finally backed away, leaving us both fighting to catch our breath.

“That was incredible,” I whispered.  “I never dreamed that kissing could feel so good.”

“You’ve never kissed anyone before?” he questioned.

“Not a boy,” I answered.  “And never anyone like that,” I added with a blush and smile.

“You’ve kissed girls?” he asked.  “Does that mean you’re not gay?”

“Yes…. I mean no” I said weakly.  The realization of what I was saying struck me and suddenly gave me strength.  “I’m… I am gay.”

“Thank goodness,” he sighed in relief.  “I was worried that I was falling for another straight guy.”

“What?” I blurted intelligently.

“I had a really big crush on a guy once,” he started telling me.  “I followed him around like a puppy for weeks.  I finally got enough courage to make a move only to find out he was straight.  He went straight too, straight to my parents.”

“What happened?” I asked frightened at what this beautiful guy was about to say.

“They fired him for sexual harassment for trying to out me to my parents,” he told me.  “They didn’t care that I was gay, but they wanted me to be the one to tell them, not a stranger who was trying to cause trouble for me.”

“Wow!” I gasped.  “My folks would never take this that well.  That’s why I was going to… Never mind.”

“You really were going to hurt yourself?” he gasped.  “How could you do that?”

“I couldn’t… I can’t go on living like this,” I told him.  “I don’t want to live a lie anymore.”

“You need to talk to my Uncle Raymond,” Robin told me seriously.  “He could help you.  He works in the child services office when he’s not swallowing swords.”

“That was your uncle?” I gasped.

“Mom’s little brother,” he explained.  “He’s been with the fair for years.  He would listen and help you all he can.  I can take you over there and introduce you if you want,” Robin was saying as he headed out of the room.

“Shouldn’t I get dressed first?” I asked.

“You don’t have to for me,” I heard him mutter under his breath.  More loudly, he answered, “Yeah, probably.  Just come down when you’re ready.”

“I hate to sound pathetic, Robin, but I don’t know how to put this stuff on,” I called out.  “Could you help me?”

“With pleasure, Master Frodo,” he said with a flourish and bow as he came back in the little room.  “I am most glad to assist you in both undressing and dressing, though the former more gladly than the latter.  I am your humble servant, sir.”

“I don’t want a servant,” I told him.  “I wouldn’t mind having a friend, though.”

“My friendship was yours when I saw you in the woods,” he announced, still in character.

“Good fairy friend of mine, pray tell me where to begin with these confusing clothes,” I said with a smile.  “They seem precious to me, and I would not wish to soil them with my wet undergarments.”  I was shocking myself.  I was actually flirting with this boy.

“If the wetness disturbs thee, remove them from thy body,” he whispered.  “More and drier garments can be gotten for thee, though perhaps not in such a haste that I may not admire thee in thy natural state for a moment.”

“Would a moment be sufficient?” I asked as I dropped my underwear and lay back on his bed, naked before his hungry eyes.  With my own, I begged him silently to come closer to me.  He did so eagerly.

“I may wear the wings, but you’re the angel,” he whispered hoarsely.  “You are so gorgeous, Elijah.”

“The wings belong where they are,” I told him.  “When I first saw you through the trees, I thought for a second that I was already dead.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Robin begged.  “Please don’t leave me just when I’ve found you.”

“I won’t,” I promised.  “Something tells me I have more to live for now than ever before.”

“I hope so, I really do,” he breathed as he lay down beside me.  “You have no idea how many times I’ve dreamed of having someone like you in this bed with me.”

“So have I,” I admitted.  “I’ve wanted someone to touch me all over while I explore him too.”

“I’m right here,” Robin told me.  “Let your curiosity run as wild as you want.  Mine will do the same,” he added as he stretched a trembling hand over my bare chest.  My breath caught as his finger brushed my nipple.  “So beautiful,” he whispered.

I reached over and touched him the same way he had me.  His eyes fluttered closed, and I heard a moan, but I wasn’t sure if it had come from him or me or both.  When his eyes opened, I was staring into them.  I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and pulled the two of us closer together.  Both of closed our eyes as we brushed our lips together.  The fireworks I had always wanted to feel with a girl and now finally experienced with him sent me into orbit in his arms.

“I never knew just touching another guy could get me so hard,” he mumbled as he nuzzled into my neck.  “You smell so wonderful, and you look even hotter than I hoped you would.”

“You were perving on me?” I asked with a grin.  When he blushed and started to look away, I caught his face in my hand.  “I would say we’re even since I was perving on you too, but I seem to be the only one naked.”

“Boys, are you alright up there?”  We both jumped at the sound of his mother’s voice.

“Frodo’s changing, Mom,” Robin called out.

“Frodo?” she asked.

“I mean Elijah,” he answered with a blush that made me giggle.

“He calls me Frodo because my name is Elijah and he found me in the woods,” I explained for him, earning me a playful swat on the arm.  He then threw a pair of tights at me.

“Put those on big mouth,” he told me.  “Those are your pants,” he added with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows. 

“I just went by the apothecary’s,” his mom called up to us.  “He says that he thinks it would be best if Elijah stayed here and rested for a while.  I just came by to tell you that you don’t have to hurry.  In fact, he said it would probably do both of you a world of good if Elijah were to spend the afternoon in bed with you keeping him company, Robin.”

I stood up instantly and banged my head on the ceiling of the trailer.  That hurt like hell.  I groaned and sank back onto the bed.  Robin quickly threw the covers over me as his mother peeked into the little room.

“What was that noise?” she asked.

“Elijah just hit his head again on the ceiling, Mom,” Robin told her honestly.  “He got dizzy as soon as he did it, so I think you’re right.  We’ll just stay here for a bit.”

“Take care of him, Robin,” his mother admonished.  “He seems like a very nice young man.”

“He is very nice, Mom,” Robin smiled down at me.  “Very, very nice.”  He suddenly frowned though and looked at his mother.  “He needs to talk to Uncle Raymond later.  It’s really important.”

“How important?” she returned.  “I mean, he’ll be glad to talk to you, Elijah, but he has three shows today.  Can it wait until he gets a break between them, or is this an emergency kind of thing.  If it is, I’ll stop his show right now.”

“It’s not that important,” I told her.

“Mom, Elijah was planning to hurt himself in the woods,” Robin blurted.

“Robin!” I cried out.  I felt so betrayed right then.

“I’ll get him now,” his mom said quickly.

“No,” I called to her.  “Don’t interrupt his show for me.  I’m not worth it,” I added in a whisper.

“You are too worth it,” Robin told me.  I looked up at him in anger, but what I saw cooled that emotion instantly.  He was crying.  This beautiful boy was actually crying for me.  “I know we just met, but I feel like I just found part of me that has been missing.  I don’t want to lose you.”

“Robin, you sound pretty serious about this,” his mother said cautiously as she stepped into the little room beside him.  She shoved some of the clothes on the other bed over and sat on it, looking at him, then me, and back at him.  “I assume you’ve talked to one another about this?”

“I love him, Mom,” he said in a ragged whisper as he looked directly into my eyes.

“Oh Robin,” his mother gasped.  “You just met Elijah.  You know nothing about him.  I’m sorry to be so blunt, Elijah.”

“I love him too, ma’am,” I said in response, my eyes still locked with his.

“Well, this is rather unexpected,” his mother said awkwardly.  “Boys are you sure about your feelings?  A lot of times at your age, lust can be easily mistaken for love.”

“I know I love him,” Robin said seriously.

“I lust for him, too,” I confessed, much to my embarrassment.  “I’m sure there is more than that, though.  I love your son, Mrs. Goodfellow.  If he will be my boyfriend, I know I will never want to die again except from happiness.”

“Wait a minute,” his mother said firmly.  “Todd knew about you two, didn’t he?  That’s why he was telling me to give you time to yourselves in the bed for a while.  I’ll kill him,” she said in that mother bear tone.

“Don’t get mad at the apothecary, Mrs. Goodfellow,” I begged her.  “I’m sure he was just joking with us all.”

“You don’t know Todd that well,” his mother returned.  “And why do you keep calling me Mrs. Goodfellow?”

“Isn’t that your name?” I asked suddenly confused.  “Robin introduced himself as… Oh, the character is Robin Goodfellow,” I said with a slap to my head which made me groan in pain.  I looked up at him and asked, “What’s your real name?”

“My name really is Robin, and my little sister really is Tania,” he assured me.  “Our last name is actually Keane.”

I couldn’t help myself, I grinned at them both and said, “Peachy!”

“I hope that bad joke is because of the bumps to your head,” Mrs. Keane said sternly.  When I started stammering through an apology, she cracked up.  “You’ll fit in fine around here with a sense of humor that bad,” she said still smiling.  The smile then faded as she looked at her son and said, “No playtime, son.  You know I don’t think you’re old enough for a physical relationship like that yet.”

“MOM!” he gasped as his face went red.

“Don’t you Mom me, young man,” she snapped, but did so gently.  “You know that I think you should save your virginity for when you know it’s really right.”  His blush intensified at an exponential rate.

“MOTHER!” he hissed.

“It’s okay,” I told him.  “It’s good to know that I’m not the only virgin in the relationship,” I said and then did my own impersonation of a stop light.

“You’ll both stay that way for a while too, if I have anything to say about it,” his mother told us pointedly.  “Robin, you can go get your father and tell him to come here as soon as he can.  I will wait downstairs for Elijah to make himself decent.”  She must have seen the looks on both our faces because she immediately added, “I see wet underwear on the floor beside the wet jeans and shirt.  I see Robin brought you a costume, which is all still on this bed.  That means the only thing between you and me are the covers of the bed.  I’m a mother, which means practically nothing gets by me and if it does, it doesn’t for long.  If you want to wear the gypsy outfit, I have no objections as long as you can stay in character in public and out of trouble in private.”

“He doesn’t know how to put all the stuff on,” Robin started to protest on my behalf.

“He can put on the tights and your father can help with the rest when he gets here,” Mrs. Keane told us both.  “Now go and let Dad know that he is needed here.  Stop by and let your uncle know that he needs to come by as well.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Robin said downheartedly.  He trudged out of the room, almost tripping on the steps because he was looking back at me.

“I’ll be fine,” I promised him.  “I’ll be here when you get back, if your mother lets me stay.”

“Pervert that he may be, Todd is still the medical authority around here,” she announced.  “He said you need rest, so rest you shall have.  I will stay here to be sure of it.”

“I meant it when I said I had fallen in love with Robin,” I told her once he had gone.  “If you want me to go, I will.”

“If I wanted you gone, you would be already,” she said firmly.  “You are injured.  You will stay as long as you need to.  As far as my son is concerned, you can stay as long as you and he want to be together.  I just want you to behave yourselves like gentlemen.”

“I’m used to that,” I mumbled.  I hadn’t realized I had said it as loudly as I did though.

“What do you mean by that?” she questioned.

“I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have said that,” I told her.

“Well, you did,” she pointed out.  “Now please explain it to me.”

For some reason, I found myself pouring my soul out to this woman.  I told her what my life was like as the son of a bigoted hard headed minister.  I told her everything about myself, my deepest feelings, my most dreaded fears, everything, including what I had planned to do in the woods today.  When I finished, I was in tears and so was she.

“Raymond will need to hear all of that, Elijah,” she whispered.  “If you like, I will stay with you when you talk to him.  Have you told Robin any of this?”

“He knows some of it,” I confessed.  “I haven’t had the time to tell him all.”

“I will leave it up to you as to how much you tell him, but I think he should know as much as you are comfortable telling him,” she said as she reached over and stroked my cheek, wiping away the tears.  “You are a very special young man, Elijah.  I think my son has excellent taste.”

The word taste brought to mind a different image for me.  That image was fueled by the fact that I was still lying naked in the bed that my beautiful angel of a fairy slept in.  It was the same bed that he had jacked off in that morning, leaving behind the pool that I had sampled earlier.  My thoughts triggered a rush of blood to the two heads of my body and I brought my knees up a bit to hide the lower effects.

“I don’t need to know if you and Robin have already done something sexual,” she began which only worsened my blush.  “I think I will give you some privacy, though.”

“Mrs. Keane,” I called out as she climbed down the steps.  “We haven’t done anything except kiss.”

“Thank you for telling me,” she said without looking back.  “Get dressed when you feel like you are able.  Maybe you could wear some of Robin’s regular clothes until Marshall gets here to help you with the costume.”

“I feel bad for making you miss the fair,” I called out as I grabbed a pair of short pants and a t shirt from the opposite bed.  I managed to get the tights on first and then the street clothes.

“What you are going through is justification enough for my being here instead of out there,” she called back.  “Besides, the heat was starting to ruin my makeup.  It was about time to come back in and repaint the barn door anyway.”

“You are the prettiest barn door I have ever seen,” I told her as I started down the few steps, stumbling dizzily halfway down.  I lost my balance and fell forward just as her husband was coming in the door of the trailer.  He jumped over and caught me just before I hit the floor.  “Sorry,” I told them both.   “Just washed my feet and can’t do a thing with them.”

Oberon, or rather Marshall, since that was his real name, picked me up and carried me to a chair.  Once he sat me down in it, he looked over at his wife and asked, “He has the family sense of humor.  Did we have a kid you forgot to tell me about?”

“No, dear, this one is a son-in-law, not a son,” she told him with a smirk.

“Son-in-law?” Marshall asked looking back and forth between us.  “OH!  You and Robin hit it off that well, did you?”  I blushed intensely, which seemed to amuse both of them to no end.  “Well, then, son-in-law, welcome to the family.  Is this what I was needed for?”

“Yes and no,” his wife answered.  “You would have heard about this sometime today I am sure, but the main reason is that our new family member here seems to have a rather dangerous habit of hitting his head repeatedly, and an even more dangerous idea that his life wasn’t worth continuing.”  I hung my head staring at the floor, but Marshall picked my chin up and made me look him in the eye.

“There is NOTHING that can happen to you that is so bad that suicide is your answer,” he told me firmly.  “May I ask if this is about the fact that you like our son, instead of one of the girls in the fair?”

“Elijah, tell Marshall your father’s name,” Mrs. Keane said softly.

“My father is the Rev. Malachi Rundle,” I told him.

“Oh my, that does complicate your life doesn’t it?” he returned.

I just nodded.  My father was well known for his anti-gay beliefs.  I had suspicions that my father was actually a member of a local neo-Nazi hate group that was known for terrorizing anyone not straight, white, and all-American.  Before I could say anything else, there was a knock on the trailer door and the sword swallower stepped in.

“What’s up, sis?” he asked.  “Robin didn’t have a chance to tell me much other than I had to be here quick.  He also told me to tell someone named Frodo that he really wanted to come back here with me, but someone had to stay and let people know that my next show might be a little late.”

I waved shyly and tried to grin, despite my growing nerves.  “Hi, I’m Frodo, also known as Elijah Rundle.”

“As in Malachi Rundle?” he asked as he slumped into a chair across the little table from me.  When I nodded, he spoke again.  “Why do I suddenly get the impression that my next show won’t be late, but cancelled?”

“Elijah, do you want Marshall and I to leave you alone to talk to Raymond?” Mrs. Keane asked me.  She must have seen the sudden desperation and fear in my eyes.  “Ok, sweetie, we stay.”

“Elijah, son, whatever you have to tell Raymond, he won’t judge you and he won’t let anyone hurt you, neither will I, or anyone else in my family, so you don’t have to be scared to talk to him, and you don’t have to cut off the circulation to Elsa’s hand,” Mr. Keane told me.

“Oh, I am so sorry,” I gasped.  “Did I hurt you?  I am really sorry.”

“Calm down, sweetie,” Mrs. Keane said as she kissed my forehead.  “No harm done, Marshall was just teasing you a bit.  If you want to hold my hand while you tell them what you told me, I will totally understand.  Now, you just start talking when you are ready.”

“Well, since you already know my father’s name, I will guess you know what he is like,” I started.

“I know what your father is like in public, what I want to know, what I think I need to know, is what he is like with you.”

“You want to know how I feel about living with my parents?”  I stood up and went back up the little stairs to Robin’s room and came back carrying the knife.  “I brought this into the woods with me today so that I could slit my wrists and my throat rather than spend another day living my life.  Fortunately for me, I got fairy dusted before I got the chance to do anything.”

“Ok, I need you to back up a bit and tell me more about why you thought that was your only option,” Raymond told me.

“Elijah, I didn’t realize when Elsa said that you were having thoughts of worthlessness that they were this bad,” Mr. Keane said.

“I’m sorry,” I told them.  “I know it was a bad idea, but I didn’t know what else to do.  I’m gay, and I think you all know how my father is going to react to that.  I figured I would send myself to hell before he did it for me.”

“You really believe your father would physically harm you if you told him you are gay?” Raymond asked seriously.

“No sir, I know he would,” I replied.  “None of you have seen my back have you?” I asked them.  I peeled off my shirt and showed them the stripes across my back that were mostly healed now, but still visible.  “This is because I didn’t make the honor roll on my report card last week.”  I pulled the shorts and the tights down just enough on my butt that the slightly fresher stripes could be seen.  “That’s because I coughed during his sermon last Sunday.”

“Elsa, grab your camera for me,” Raymond ordered.  “I know this might be embarrassing, Elijah, but I need photos of those wounds for evidence.  You are not going back to that house, not today, not ever.  You are now under the protection of children’s services and I will be looking into placing you in a foster home as soon as I find one that has room for you.”

“Elsa, don’t we have a spare bedroom at home that shares a bathroom with Robin’s room?” Mr. Keane said loudly.

“You know perfectly well we do, and so does Raymond,” she responded.  “He also knows that we just had our foster family certification renewed last month.”

“You…. you guys would…. You want me even knowing that I am gay, and messed up in the head, and in love with your son?”

“Yes we want you, and yes we know you’re gay and sweet on Robin,” Mrs. Keane told me.

“As for the messed up in the head part, that is to be expected from what you have been through with that father of yours,” Mr. Keane said softly.  “It doesn’t mean for one minute that we think you are crazy or sick or worthless.  You hear me?  You are a wonderful young man, and you deserve to be happy and loved, and not just by our son.”

“I just have one question for you, Elijah,” Mrs. Keane said directly.  “If you stay with us, will you and Robin be able to share that tiny room at the front of the trailer during fair days and nights…. Without any hanky-panky?”

“I can’t really answer that,” I told her honestly.  “I really like him a lot and find him very sex... err... attractive.  I think he likes me, too.  I don’t know that I can be completely controlled around him in private like that.  I guess I will take whatever foster home you can find for me, Mr. Raymond sir.”

“I think this family will do just fine,” Raymond smiled.  “If you had sworn celibacy, I would have been worried that I couldn’t trust you.”

“I agree,” Mrs. Keane said as she hugged me gently.  “Just try to hold off on what you can, and keep the noise down on what you can’t.”

“Hey! No embarrassing the kid when I am taking pictures,” Raymond protested.  “I don’t want the blush on his healthy skin to hide the stripes I am trying to capture on film.”  He laughed as this made me blush even more.

“Sweetheart, I think you might need to step outside for a few minutes and check on the fair,” Mr. Keane told his wife.

“It can wait, Elijah is more important,” she said, which made me hug her tightly and sniffle a little.

“Yes, he is,” Raymond agreed.  “But I now need him to take his shorts and tights off so I can take pictures of his butt, and he probably won’t want a woman in here for that.”

“Oh.”  Now it was Mrs. Keane who was blushing, although so was I.  “Yes… I think now would be a good time to go check on the fair.”  She hugged me one more time before she left the trailer, only to be met by Robin who was coming in.

“Right back out, mister,” Raymond ordered.  “I will let you know when you can come back in, and in the meantime, you will run get Todd and tell him I need him here in official duty mode A.S.A.P.”

“Robin, use the cart and fetch him,” Mr. Keane said firmly.

“Is Frodo ok?” Robin blurted.  “What’s happened to him?”

“I’m fine, Robin,” I assured him as he tried his best to push past his father into the trailer.  “I just need him to come help me move in with you.”

“Huh?” he said very intelligently.

“Just get him, and be quick about it,” his father ordered and shoved him out the door.  “Do you want me to wait outside, too?”  Raymond didn’t answer and I realized they were both looking at me.

“You can go take care of the fair if you need to, but I don’t mind if you are here, Mr. Keane,” I whispered shyly.  “I guess it’s better if you know the whole story on me if I am going to get to stay with you.”

As the photos were taken, I told them more about myself and my home life.  I talked about how I just couldn’t hide who I was anymore.  They kept me talking and I didn’t even think about the fact that I was naked in front of the father and uncle of the boy I was already in love with after just a couple of hours.  Before I knew it, the pictures were done and Mr. Keane helped me pull up the tights and shorts again, but just as he did, Robin and the guy from the first aid station walked in.

“Dad, I can help Elijah into his costume,” Robin offered.

“Well, not just yet you can’t,” his father replied.  “Todd, we need you to check Elijah over as completely as you can here and make sure that these marks on his back and bottom are healing up as they should.”

“What marks?” Robin asked.  “What is going on?”

“If it is ok with you, Elijah, I will take Robin outside and let him know what is happening and why, while Todd checks you over,” Mr. Keane suggested.  “If you would rather tell him yourself, though, I will completely understand.”

“No, it’s ok if you tell him,” I said quietly.  “I’m not sure I…. I mean it would be… I’m sorry,”

“Nothing to be sorry about, son,” Mr. Keane told me.  To his own son he said, “Come outside, Robin, we need to talk.”

“Do you think he will hate me?” I whispered to Raymond as the door shut behind them.

“Robin could never hate you,” he answered simply.  “He could never hate anyone.  If anyone ever had the heart of gold, it’s that boy.”

A little while later, I had been given thumbs up from Todd the apothecary, who was a nurse practitioner at a family health clinic when he wasn’t in character.  As soon as he said it was ok for me to do so, I grabbed the tights and pulled them back up, just in time as Robin and his dad walked back into the trailer.  Robin was wiping tears as he came up to me and grabbed me in a tight hug. 

“Don’t you ever, ever, ever think that you are worthless,” he choked out as he held me.  “You may be only one person in a whole world of people, but you are the whole world to me already.”

I returned his embrace gladly, but soon cleared my throat seeing the looks of unfinished business on the faces of his father and uncle.  “Alack, fair Robin, your royal father and honored uncle wouldst have further words with me, methinks.”

“You know you are really good at the lingo for a kid who grew up in such a conservative home,” Todd observed as he was leaving.

“Think about it, Todd,” I started as he had strictly forbidden me to call him sir or mister.  “My father is a preacher who only uses the authorized King James Bible.”  I did air quotes around the last four words.  “It was written about the same time as Shakespeare’s plays.  I have to read three chapters of that book every day and discuss them with my father, and I had better make a good discussion or I get the belt again.  I probably spend more time with the lingo than you guys do, because for me it is nearly 24/7 all year.  You guys just do this during the season.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Todd admitted with a shrug and then closed the door behind him as he left. 

I saw Mr. Raymond making notes again as he had done earlier while I was talking to him.  “I have more than enough to justify taking you out of your home, Elijah.  With your testimony, your father is looking at a considerable amount of time in jail for physical and emotional abuse.”

“You really think he would go to jail when two of the county judges are on the front row of the auditorium every Sunday morning?” I asked.  “He made a specific point of converting them to his church years ago, about the same time that the local KKK got really active again.  I haven’t got any proof that he is involved in that group, but I do remember him coming home smelling like he had been at a campfire several nights that crosses were burned in people’s yards in town.  He claimed to have been at the church the whole night in meetings with the deacons, but he sure smelled smoky to me.”  Raymond scribbled down more notes and grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket, then walked out of the trailer.

“Well, you are staying with us now, Elijah, so you can stop worrying about him now,” Mr. Keane told me.  “Why don’t you and Robin go get the rest of your costume on and I will take you on the royal behind the scenes tour of the fair?”

“I can show him around, Dad,” Robin offered quickly.

“No, you will be back to work, and he will be too as soon as we find a spot for him,” Mr. Keane told us both.

It took a few minutes to work out the costume but soon enough I was decked out from head to toe as a gypsy prince.  The tunic was a bit shorter than I would have liked considering the only pants I had were the tights, but I was more covered than Robin was.  Of course I had no complaints about his costume at all.  When we came back to the main room of the trailer, Mr. Keane grabbed a wet cloth and scrubbed the excess glitter off my face which was still sticking to me from Tania’s escape attempt earlier in the day.

After showing me around the fair for a bit, we came back to the tent with the costuming for sale. I saw a woman and her young daughter debating about a princess dress.  Before I could stop myself, I had walked over and started talking with them about the dress.  Part of my gay secret was that I had always been fascinated by clothing, especially historical clothing.  I might not have ever worn it before, but I knew a good bit about it.  I at least knew enough to convince the mother to buy the dress for the little girl.  I looked over and saw Mr. Keane smiling as he talked with a little old woman who apparently ran the shop. 

Once the woman had paid and the little girl had gone behind a curtain and put the dress on, the mother and daughter left the tent.  Mr. Keane walked up to me with a big grin.  “Well, it seems we have found your niche, young Master Frodo.  Would you like to work in the costume shop?”

“I would love to,” I grinned.  “This is the most awesome part of the fair to me, no offense intended.  I have been fascinated with period clothing for years, but the only time it has been of any use up until now was at the annual Christmas pageants at the church.  The first century was so boring clothing wise, though.  It was the medieval period that people developed style and flair with their clothes.”

“Oh no, you’re not gay at all are you, cutie?” the old woman asked with a bit of a giggle.  I immediately froze and my eyes went to the ground at my feet.  I was about to apologize, when a soft hand lifted my chin and I was looking into her face.  “There is nothing wrong with being who you are and liking who and what you like,” she told me firmly.  “Now, I just have one question for you.  Have you met my grandson Robin?  He’s about your age and he’s gay too.  You two would get along great, I would bet.”

“Mother, there is no need for the matchmaker,” Mr. Keane laughed.  “Robin is the one that brought him into the fair today after he was fairy dusted and dumped in a stream by our little Tinkerbell.”

“I thought I recognized this outfit,” the elder Mrs. Keane mused as she gave me a critical appraisal.  “I think it looks better on you than it does on Robin.”

“Yes, these colors are all wrong for his skin and hair,” I agreed.  She and I started discussing colors and fabrics and at some point, Mr. Keane wandered away.

“You and I will get along just fine, Frodo,” she told me after a few minutes.

“Oh, my real name is Elijah,” I informed her.  “Robin called me Frodo when I met his dad in the woods, and it seems to have stuck.”

“Wait, your name is Elijah and you met in the woods?” she started laughing heartily.  “I have to hand it to that grandson of mine, he is a scamp all right.  I guess now that he has you, he can stop binge watching Lord of the Rings though.  A real Elijah is better than one on a TV screen any day.”

“I couldn’t agree more, Grandma.”  I turned and saw Robin standing in the opening of the tent with a big smile on his face.  “I just came to let you know that the gates are closed for the day and Uncle Raymond needs to talk to you again, Elijah.”

“Well, you two run along then,” Grandma told us.  She had insisted that I call her that as well.  “I can handle closing a few tent flaps by myself.”

We were halfway back to the trailer, when I realized that Robin was holding my hand as he led me through the empty fair back to his temporary home.  I just smiled and clenched my fingers with his and tried not to think about what was probably about to happen and be said.