1 Little Red Dress

The fire had destroyed so much of what she loved about Enchanted Winery. The historical carriage house with its grand cathedral ceilings and intricate woodwork was nothing but a pile of smoldering ashes.

The outdoor venue with the special made Brazilian Rosewood arch; gone. It's surrounding gardens and outdoor areas were nothing but black dust clinging to the ground. To make matters worse there was bright orange everywhere she looked. The fire plane had dumped the near neon looking retardant all throughout the hills and vineyard. The grounds were covered in the hideous stuff; even the treetops didn't escape.

But at least the vines had survived and their family home.

How the fire was started remained a mystery.

Violet couldn't stand the smell of smoke anymore. She made her way back toward the house. The shifting wind which wasn't helping matters made her long dark hair billow behind as if it were a shadow following her every turn.

A frown formed across her face and she felt that her eyebrows must look like two narrow pointed triangles.

She needed to find an alternate venue for the wedding this next weekend and for all the subsequent weddings scheduled throughout the next few months; maybe for the year. She ground her teeth and slammed her clipboard containing her to do lists she'd been compiling since five am.

The smell of percolating coffee drifted beneath her nose and her body mindlessly followed it as if it had cast a spell on her.

She wasn't sure if there was a fairy alive that loved coffee more than her.

But on this horrible morning and a night of zero sleep; she needed it more than ever.

In the kitchen was her brother, Damon LeSage, soon to be king of the enchanted realm sitting at a barstool drinking coffee with sullen eyes from a pink tumbler with sprinkles of glitter that read, Coffee Now Wine Later.

Damon had dark chin length hair and bright green eyes. She held a hand to her nose and snickered, the cup was hers. She'd never even seen him drink coffee before and suspected his flustered serious face was more to do with a female guest that had run out of gas the night before, more than the fire itself.

Snickering aside. They were what the mortal realm considered; really fucked.

Enchanted Winery had been in their family for generations. It was where they lived when they weren't in Valharinune, the enchanted realm through the portal.

Their job had been to guard the portal ever since wolves had been banished two hundred years before. They also had to earn a mortal living and even pay taxes so as not to raise suspicions, ever, of what their real purpose was.

Not to mention access to the portal could never be left in the hands of mere mortals.

She had tasked her assistant Lily to call all the local hotels to see if anyone had availability to host their scheduled weddings. She poured herself a cup of steaming hot coffee hoping she wouldn't burst a blood vessel as she worried her upper lip daring not to consider the fact that they may have to issue refunds.

But it was out of the question.

It would mean couples couldn't go through with their perfectly scheduled weddings and lives.

Her stomach formed knots that twisted and turned at the thought.

Lily entered the kitchen in a flurry with a frown Violet could see a mile away. Her blonde hair which was always perfectly coiffed in a bun was wild and free. She wore a short blue dress and a black blazer with heels Violet thought were too high for this time of morning. Not that Violet liked high heels any time of day. She always preferred flats over heels, turtlenecks over plunging necklines and long skirts instead of short ones. But who was she to judge a nymph like Lily.

"Is there something you need Lily," Damon scowled.

"I need a word with Violet," she said as she made a weird eyed look..

Damon tossed back one last chug of coffee and Violet duly noted again how miserable he looked.

"I'm meeting mother in Valharinune, she wants to go over details for the Masque."

Damon glided out the back door and as soon as he was out of earshot Lily plopped onto a barstool with her head in her hands, then pulled out a white handkerchief and dabbed her eyes. "I called every venue, hotel and even park in Morgana's Veil and there's nothing."

"Nothing," Violet said nearly choking on her coffee.

"There is one hotel that has availability for all that we need for the next six months if renovations take that long."

"That's great."

"It's Hotel Leloup and I went there to meet with the manager already."

"They said, no. To us?" Violet questioned.

"Hs exact words were, hell no, and when hell freezes over."

"But you're a nymph, what man can resist you?"

"That's the problem isn't it."

OMG as they say in the mortal realm, and up shit creek without a paddle. The nearest town which was along the coast was Carmel and that was out of the question. It was expensive and the road to get there was dangerous. To the south of them were a few towns but also long twisting roads and an area the locals call dead man's curve. Many have plunged to their deaths in the watery Pacific Ocean from trying to take dead man's curve to quickly at night.

Violet nervously tapped at her chin.

There had to be an alternative solution. She glanced out the kitchen windows and all she could see was bright orange. Even if they could clean up the orange where the cathedral and gardens used to be…. There was no way. The surrounding hillsides were covered in orange too and what bride wants that.

Her mind shuffled with possibilities which included cancellations and refunds. Suddenly her cell phone blared and vibrated in her pocket.

Ugh, it was next weekend's bride to be Letitia Robles, a sweetheart of a woman whose mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Her wedding had been recently scheduled in the hopes of her mother being part of the ceremony. Violet fretted. "Hello Letitia," she said into the phone. "Yes, no. Of course." She continued her short answers with her head bobbing.

Lily watched her wide eyed.

"We already have an alternate venue. Everything will be taken care of. No need to worry. Hotel Leloup."

Violet hit end call; and gulped.

She then informed Lily she would do whatever was necessary to get Hotel Leloup to say yes.

"They'll be expecting a nymph." Lily tsked as she circled Violet.

"Well then, you'd better get to work or call me a fairy godmother."

****

Hotel Leloup was perched dramatically on a cliff which overlooked the Pacific Ocean. Violet could smell the salty sea air as she drove her little red convertible Karmen Gia.

Her heart skipped a beat when the hotel came into her view. It was like a large stone Chateau with hundreds of windows. Ivy vines crawled up one side and beds of flowers of all colors jutted up against others. She pulled into the front of the hotel which was a circular drop off zone and sped right up to the valet, just as Lily had instructed.

She wore high heels, a fitted red dress and carried a basket of wine and assorted jams from Enchanted Winery's kitchens. Violet caught a glimpse of herself in the hotel windows and nearly stopped and turned her reds heels to scurry away.

She never dressed like this; ever.

Damon would probably dead faint, and then after, march her right through the portal. She pulled the black blazer tighter wishing she could button it. But Lily had forbidden her from buttoning it. She had instructed Violet on how to walk, talk and act like a nymph who always gets her way.

And if that didn't work try casting a spell, she joked.

The clerk was a tall thin man with dirty blonde hair who looked at Violet with eyes that bulged like a frog. He oogled from her head to her toes. She did her best to hide her grinding teeth and wished she could turn him into a frog.

Instead she pulled off her large channel sunglass stared dead into his eyes and said, "I'm here to see Roy Redmond the manager."

The clerk stared with his mouth half hanging open.

Violet endured his stare with her head held high doing her best to pretend to be something she wasn't.

Seductive.

Her eyes roved her surroundings. Hotel Leloup was everything she had ever been told. There was a grand staircase in the center of the lobby which lead to a second floor. There were large carved marble fireplaces one on each end that looked big enough to burn a whole tree, surrounded by deep burgundy leather couches for guests to relax in.

Violet glanced upward following the lines of the multiple decadent chandeliers. The Leloup were French rumored to be descended from royalty and they had money; tons of it. They owned a string of luxury hotels, but their corporation was even larger.

"Yes, she's wants to meet with Roy uhm hm."

Violet watched the clerk nodding his head away as he spoke.

"What is this pertaining too?"

"Enchanted Winery business," she said stiffening.

"Not the same woman," he said into the phone, "Your name?"

"Violet Narcissus." She instantly lied giving out Lily's last name.

The clerk hung up and leaned toward Violet. "Have a seat please while you wait it could be a while."

A while, she thought as she marched over toward the fireplace where he gestured. She politely sat upright on the leather couch, crossed her arms and lividly stared into the fire. She didn't know what else to do.

After five minutes of sitting stick straight her back caved and slunk into the couch and its delicately soft pillows.

The flames were mesmerizing and nearly hypnotic. She tried focusing on other details in the lobby. There were some very large tapestries all showing hunting scenes. But the fireplace cast off such a warmth she pulled her jacket off and folded it neatly at her side.

Then she yawned. The exhaustion of not sleeping an entire night was finally catching up to her. She leaned back further and thought, I'll just close them for a minute.

****

She was in Valharinune, and it was a lovely day. The grass was wet beneath her feet. The smell of grass in the mortal realm is nothing like the grass in the enchanted realm. It felt like velvet beneath her feet and the smell was ten times greener and sweeter. She curled up in the grass and decided she would nap at this very spot. It felt so good to be basking in the sun's warmth. Birds were singing and chirping their lovely songs.

But then she heard a pop. And then a snap.

She was dreaming.

She wasn't in Valharinune.

She bolted upright from her nap and remembered. She was in the lobby of Hotel Leloup.

She grabbed for her jacket tossing her dark hair as she wildly searched.

"Is this what you're looking for."

Violet couldn't keep her mouth from hanging open like a mini drawbridge. Lily had described Roy Redmond as in his fifties with white hair in his sideburns, a perpetual scowl on his face and a slight beer belly, but a lovely designer suit, she'd said.

This man. Was not that.

Definitely not a day over thirty.

He had black hair that was neatly slicked back and beautiful tanned skin. He was dressed in a dark tailored suit with a white dress shirt and a black tie and sat with his legs crossed. One arm was draped along the couch and the other held her jacket out.

His baby blue eyes shrewdly stared into hers and he asked again, "Is this what you're looking for."