Chapter 4: Miss Opportunity

“Shite” was Donal’s first thought. He’d run out of time.

The brothers hadn’t come up with a plan and Donal had assumed he’d have more time.

“Did you hear that?” he said to his siblings.

“Yep.”

“Guess you’re out of luck.”

“Thanks.”

They were no help.

Meg stood below them, looking out over the ocean. Even if she wasn’t facing him, Donal knew she was the most beautiful fairy he’d ever seen. Freckles dotted her nose and her red hair whipped in the wind.

“I can’t believe my boss retired without telling me. I thought I was the ideal candidate for her job. She’d been such a mentor to me. I’m sorry to see her go.”

Meg sighed. Donal could feel her distress. That’s how he’d known she was his fairy. He’d sworn an oath several thousand years ago to protect her. When he knew he was destined to protect her, he’d promised to keep her safe for all time. Which he couldn’t do if he were in stone.

He remembered that he could be with her for a whole day and he could come to life, but if she was across the ocean that she now stared at, that would never happen. He sighed within his mind. His heart beat with hers already as if the Fairy Queen herself had picked Meg for him.

He’d miss his brothers, but Meg was more important. They would have their chances. His was now and he’d miss out if he didn’t figure out how to go home with her. Wherever home was.

Meg fell silent which made him sad but enabled him to think.

He wasn’t attached to the building. He was merely perched on a ledge. He could move. If he rocked he’d fall, but Meg had put down a bag of some sorts. It fell open when she did.

As if the Fairy Queen was smiling from her hiding place, Donal could see himself falling right into that bag. He just had to do it without Meg seeing.

She wandered slowly to the wall she’d sat on earlier. “This place is so beautiful. Maybe the plant shouldn’t be here. It will remain untouched.”

Donal didn’t know what would happen to the church since Meg had been their first visitor besides the sheep in countless years. He had a feeling that it was invisible to anyone but fairies and Meg was the first one to stop since they’d been turned to stone. At least she had come along.

He blessed whatever fates had brought her across the ocean to him. Otherwise, he’d live out his days as stone.

“I envy you gargoyles being able to look at this all day.”

She’d spun around just as Donal started rocking. He steadied himself, but she seemed too lost in thought to notice he’d been wobbling. She stalked over to the doorway where they stood watch. “It’s not fair. At all. I wanted that job. I earned that job.”

Meg picked up her bag then set it back down. She strode back to the wall, her hands resting on it. “It was my job. Promised to me. I’m perfect for it. No one has worked harder.”

Donal started rocking again. She wasn’t going to notice if he was not on the shelf.

“Go for it, Donal. It’s your last chance,” Sean whispered.

He knew this. He knew it with every fiber of his being. His father had talked about leaping into life and Donal suddenly knew what he meant. He was going to physically leap, but it was also a metaphorical one. Falling off of this ledge would change everything. He would either crash and break into pieces, effectively dying, or he would land in Meg’s bag to be taken home with her. The queen had shrunk them before she turned them to stone.

She groaned but didn’t turn back to them. It was now or never. He wobbled. He rocked. Donal pushed himself off the ledge and then he was in freefall. It hadn’t looked that long a way down, but it was. He approached the bag and then he was in it.

He let out a breath in his mind. Meg still chattered on, not happy with whatever was calling her home. Donal wasn’t completely happy either, but he would be. If he made it home with her and took his human-like form, he would be happy.

“The more I think about it, the madder I get.”

Meg took to pacing between the wall and the doorway. He hoped his brothers wouldn’t do anything stupid.

“I guess there is nothing I can do. It’s my fate.” She looked out to the ocean. “I hope I can come back here on vacation. It is such a beautiful place.” She pulled out her phone, pointing it at the sea. “I will remember this just as it is now. Gray skies, wind moving everything around.”

Donal had to admit she was right. The day was gorgeous even without the sun. It was how he would remember his home. He’d bring her back here. When they were together.

“Goodbye my brothers,” Donal said in his mind.

Meg finally stopped talking and pacing. “I have to be up early, but thank you, boys, for listening to me.”

Donal held his breath, but she didn’t look up at the ledge. Nor did she seem to notice that her bag was heavier when she put it on her shoulder. Would she question the gargoyle statue in her luggage when she returned home? And would he be in her presence long enough to take his correct form?

He didn’t know and he didn’t care. He had a chance at a new life and he would do everything in his power to make it happen. He didn’t know how close he had to be to her for the spell to be reversed. The Fairy Queen had never been specific and she was somewhere laughing, he was sure.