The Gigantic Mr Burns

Eugene stayed on his hands and knees for about a minute, it began to make Cyrus uncomfortable. Eventually he rose and touched his hand to his chest, then his head, in some kind of salute. He turned to face Cyrus, his eyes wide and full of a manic energy.

He took Cyrus' hand, shook it enthusiastically. 

"Thank you," he said. "Thank you so much. I never thought…" His eyes misted. "I never thought I'd see it."

Cyrus found him strange, but likeable. He happened to look up and saw Thalia, sitting about twenty feet off the ground her legs dangling over the side of one of the tree boughs. Eugene must have noticed his shocked features, followed his gaze. 

"By the Gods!" He cursed, falling back to his knees. He didn't bow, just kneeled there. "It's… It's…" He seemed unable to say it.

Eugene's mouth was actually hanging open like a cartoon coyote.

"A Sylvan," Cyrus finished the sentence for him. "Her name's Thalia and this is her tree, not mine."

The man fell forwards, supplicating himself once more. "Great Thalia," he called out. "Please, forgive me for trespassing on your domain, I meant no harm to you or your tree."

There was genuine fear and a sprinkle of panic in Eugene's voice. Cyrus looked up at Thalia, from this distance he couldn't tell what expression she wore. He shrugged.

Thalia slid forward on the tree branch and dropped to the ground, landing on her feet as lightly as if she'd just stepped off the curb. She looked at Cyrus, her brows furrowed. "Did you..?"

Cyrus held up his hands, "Nothing to do with me," he said. "I just said he could see the tree. Didn't tell him it was here. He already knew."

"I don't want to be worshipped," she said, looking down at Eugene with a displeased frown. "I'm not a goddess, just a Sylvan like any other."

Eugene looked up, caught her eye and immediately bowed his head again. 

"Stop it!" she cried out. "Stand up, now."

He scrambled to his feet, almost falling over backwards in his haste. "Sorry, Mistress," he said, his voice shaky. "I mean no disrespect."

"Hey! Cut it out. I'm not your mistress." 

She folded her arms over her chest and glanced at Cyrus who was trying his hardest not to laugh. He failed, snorting laughter spilling out of him. Hearing him, Thalia was unable to stop herself joining in.

The fearfulness drained away from Eugene, his stance relaxed. He looked from Thalia to Cyrus. 

"You're not angry?" he asked. 

"Why would I be angry?" Thalia replied, uncrossing her arms. "I'm not a mystical goddess. I'm a creature of flesh, blood and magic, just like you."

"I just… I mean…" Eugene was unable to get a coherent sentence out. 

Cyrus felt a pang of sympathy for the man. Suddenly it made sense. He was obviously some hippy-dippy, mystical searcher for profound truth or somesuch. Or that's what the old Cyrus would have thought of him.

He was finding himself a lot more open minded recently though.

"Eugene, Thalia is…" He wasn't really sure how to put it himself. "She's my guest here. And she's not some object for you to worship, she's a person, okay?"

Thalia suddenly looked at Cyrus with open admiration. Her stare made him a bit nervous. Eugene then did the same and Cyrus' cheeks began to burn. 

"So if you want to come back here, just be normal, please," he said.

Eugene's nodded emphatically. "Yes, yes. I will. I can come back?"

"That's really up to her," Cyrus said, looking at Thalia.

"Well," she shrugged. "Sure. The tree likes you."

The man seemed to swell up with pride at her words. Cyrus thought he might burst, or go floating off into the air to get stuck beneath the canopy of the tree. Eugene dug something out of his inside pocket, his wallet. 

He pulled a card out, held it to Cyrus with a trembling hand. It said; 'The Arcanist's Tales: Specialist Bookshop, 23 Bridgegate Lane.

"Please, feel free to visit us," Eugene said excitedly. "Any time, but Tuesday nights are when we have a special get-together you might be interested in."

Cyrus stared at the card for a moment longer and slid it into his back pocket. "Sure," he said, with no intention of going.

"I.. I should tell the others," Eugene said. He bowed his head to Thalia. "It was an honour to meet you, Lady Thalia. If I can be of service, you need only ask."

Thalia looked at Cyrus, waited for him to catch her eye. "Lady, Thalia," she said when he did, raising an eyebrow. "Fitting, I feel."

"I'm not calling you Lady Thalia. You sit and watch cartoons all night."

She quickly stuck her tongue out at him, then looked to Eugene, all sweetness and elegance. "We'll come and see your card place," Thalia told him. "Thank you." 

He seemed unable to respond, all in a fluster. He turned without another word and walked towards the door as though in a daze. Before he went through the door, he turned, seemed about to say something but then reconsidered, smiled and waved.

Cyrus watched him go and when the door had closed behind him said, "Did you enchant him?"

"No!" Thalia responded in mock outrage. "Some people just have proper respect for Sylvan's, that's all." She shot him an innocent smile, turned and looked up at her tree. "The tree really did like him."

"I thought you were the tree and he was you?" Cyrus asked. 

"Yes, but it's more complicated than that. Harder to explain."

Cyrus wasn't about to force her to reveal more than she was willing, so he changed the subject. "Shall we go to the park and you can continue training me?" He asked.

Thalia nodded. "Yes, but first, can you make me more coffee?"

He grinned. Even magic tree girls loved coffee.

Within the hour, they were walking to the park, enjoying the newly wild city. Birds were everywhere and Cyrus wasn't sure, but every now and then he thought he could hear snatches of words in their song. He hoped they wouldn't start talking though, wasn't sure he could take the shock of it.

As they neared the end of the Cyrus' street, neither of them noticed the white van sitting at the side of the road. Or the two workmen who moved out of sight behind it. Neither did they take note that one of the workmen had to crouch on account of his ridiculous size.

They were walking past the van when a sense of dread crept over Cyrus. Somewhere in the distance a crow began to call an urgent, harsh warning.

It all happened in a flash and later he would see it played out in his mind over and over again like a series of still photographs.

The two workmen stepped out from behind the van just as he turned to warn Thalia that something was wrong.

She looked to him, a happy smile and a question on her beautiful face, when faster than he could see one of the workmen, looming impossibly large over them, slammed a bag of some sort down over Thalia's head.

She immediately slumped to the ground like a puppet that'd had it's strings cut.

Cyrus looked up at the workman, shocked, and saw a familiar, sneering face. The gigantic Mr Burns.