Page 47 of Rubbing One Out

Dae nodded, his throat choking up. “Yes. I know it has to be granted, but there was no talk of permanency once again.” He clenched his fists in frustration. “I should have been smarter and realised what we were not saying. We worked so hard to make sure that the words were clear. I can’t believe I forgot something as important as that.” Hot tears filled his eyes and he slumped down on the second stool. “Ben must be so worried about me. It must be hours, even days since he’s seen me by now. He’ll be thinking the worst.”

The Lady Mage laid a soft hand on his arm. “You are in love and were caught up with emotion. It is easy to make a mistake when one is blinded by such.” Her tone was sad and Dae wondered if something similar had ever happened to her. “I will ask you to remain here while I discuss this with the Lord and Lady, and my superiors. There is also the situation of finding another Djinn to replace you should all Ben’s wishes come true. I have a few who would truly leap at the chance so I doubt that will be too difficult.” She patted his hand. “I will try my best to get you everything you want for yourself in the other world, Daliel. Stay positive.” She stood with a rustling of clothing and another gentle smile.

“The lilies have bloomed again since you were last here. They are as beautiful as ever. Go visit them. I have no doubt they would welcome your presence.”

Dae nodded, wiping away the wet from his cheeks. “Thank you, My Lady. I’m sure they’ll cheer me up while I wait.”

She gave him one last compassionate smile then was gone in a shimmer of soft haze. Dae sat on the stool, staring out into the exotic garden beyond, unable to enjoy its full splendour. He was drained, and wasn’t the most patient of people, so waiting for a decision that would greatly impact his future was excruciating.

He stood wearily and exited the cosy home of the Lady Mage. It was as he remembered, a stone cottage with the cutest sloping room and a small side turret, set in the mountains of Adathra, amid the Lakes of Evershire. It was a magical, mystical place inhabited by fae who preferred to live in peace and solitude rather than the hustle and bustle of trading towns and cities. It was also many moons away from his family.

The lilies were indeed as gorgeous as she’d promised. Fields of rich, creamy petals among a verdant landscape, their yellow inners releasing minute specks of pollen into the atmosphere. They seemed to whisper to him as he sat cross-legged on the grass under a shady tree and tried not to wonder what Ben was doing.

“I’m trying to come back to you,” he whispered into the breeze. “Please stay hopeful. It’s not over yet, I promise.”

He desperately hoped what he was telling himself was the truth.

***

Ben put down his pen with a deep sigh and leaned back in his chair in his office at work. His back ached from sitting too long doing his damn monthly reports and looking at spreadsheets until his view became cross-eyed. It was almost six on a Monday night and he wasn’t in the mood to go home. It wasn’t the same since Dae had gone. It’d been over a week ago now.

“You have a dog to look after,” he muttered to himself. “Get up and stop feeling so damn sorry for yourself.” He was probably being harsher on himself that the situation warranted, but honestly, his life had grown dimmer. His days dragged on since the sassy light of his life had disappeared.

Ben closed up the office and headed home. He was riding his bicycle, enjoying the warmer climes and the later hour of the setting sun. As he cycled along the village lanes, all he could think of was Dae.

Neither of Ben’s wishes had come true yet. The only thing Ben clung to when he went to bed alone at night was that Dae had been insistent the wishes had to be granted. It wasn’t a case of them being ignored or cancelled once they’d been made. Ben held that fact close to his chest in the faint hope one day he’d get home and find Dae waiting for him.

Even if the powers that be granted his wishes with conditions, Ben was prepared to fight them, no holds barred. Of course, initiating a complaint with powerful magical beings wasn’t going to be easy. He wasn’t even sure how he’d do it. His ace in the hole was he still had the lamp and by God, he’d get Hemmy involved to rub the damn thing so they could make contact again with whoever made the decisions. Even if Hemmy had to wish Ben into the accursed thing.

That would certainly be an awkward conversation with his friend. As planned, Dae’s absence had been explained to Ben’s friends and colleagues as him having to leave suddenly for Scotland to deal with some family emergency. Ben hoped fervently Dae would return soon so his hare-brained scheme didn’t become a reality. He could only imagine what Hemmy would say.

He shuddered at the thought.

When he walked into the house, only Tess was there to greet him, rousing herself from her dog basket to lick his hand and allow him a cuddle.

“At least you’re here, old girl,” Ben murmured affectionately as he prepared her food. He’d gotten into the habit of leaving kibble in her bowl to snack on while he was out of the house and giving her a tasty meal of canned lamb and vegetables when he got home, followed by a leisurely walk up the lane.

Later, Tess fed and walked, Ben was ready to put his feet up and lose himself in some mindless television. He found something on Netflix he fancied watching and escaped into the world of Eleven and her friends again in Stranger Things.

It was close to eleven p.m. when he made it to bed with his sleepy furry bed partner. He got comfortable, then placed a kiss on his fingers, then transferred it to Dae’s pillow.

“Night, babe,” he murmured before he snuggled in. “Hope everything’s working out wherever you are. Sweet dreams.”

***

Dae was antsy as hell after the rest of the day passed and the Lady Mage still wasn’t home. The lilies were no longer doing it for him, so he’d taken a long walk, found a family of beavers building a dam in the river, a brightly coloured mushroom display, which he avoided like the plague, because even if they were pretty, yuck, mushrooms, and then skipped stones across the lake until he got bored. That had taken care of an hour. After that, he’d gone back to the house, found something to eat and hoped he hadn’t been too forward, but he didn’t think the Lady Mage want him to starve. He’d lain down on the reed mat to take a small nap. The small nap had turned into a few hours, and now he was awake, still groggy, and sitting outside in the sun, wondering what he could do next.

He’d been cloud watching, assigning shapes to them all: an erect penis and balls, a rather scruffy goat, and something that looked like a frog riding a bicycle. When he heard a soft swoosh behind him, he turned to see the Lady Mage standing at the entrance to her home. Her forehead was furrowed, her lips pressed together, and she looked thoughtful, which Dae took to be a good sign.

Dae’s pulse beat faster as he stood and moved toward her. “Lady Mage, you’re back.” He didn’t want to rush her about how she’d fared, so instead, he spurted out the first nonsense that came into his head. “Do you know clouds aren’t weightless?” He’d learned a lot of facts about a lot of things watching Blue Planet with Ben, who loved any type of animal or nature programme. “An average cumulus cloud can weigh as much as a million pounds. Cirrus clouds are made of ice, not water.” He pointed up at the sky. “They’re quite fascinating things.”

She regarded him in amusement. “Is that so? I agree. That’s quite interesting.” She entered the house and Dae followed her, his curiosity welling like floodwaters.

“So, how did it go?” he blurted out. “With the Lord and Lady?”

The Lady Mage flapped a hand. “A little give, a little take, like all worthwhile negotiations.” She turned to face Dae, who was at the hand-wringing phase of this situation. He sat down on a stool and wrapped his arms around his knees so he wouldn’t make a fool of himself.

“Uhm, what was given and what was taken?” he asked hesitantly. “Anything I should be worried about, or Ben?”