I did not love her, and for some reason that mattered a great deal to me, and very little to everyone else involved.”

Cassie listened closely, nodding as he spoke. “So what did you do?”

“I left. I decided not to marry and not to get trapped in a loveless marriage. My parents, although they do love each other, did not ever present a warm, loving, compassionate example for me. I walked out and determined never to come back. This did not sit well with my mother, although my father sent me Ainsel to be my companion.” Brendan shrugged. “History is fascinating, but let’s talk about the future, Cassie. How many kids shall we have?”

Cassie barked a laugh then smothered further giggles with her hands. “You’re not serious.”

“Dead serious, my love. I want a large, happy, boisterous family. How about you?”

“Well, I always thought two or three would be nice, but not a ‘large’ family,” Cassie replied. She thought for a moment and grinned. “Caught you! You are not getting away with it. Tell me about Ainsel.”

Brendan had the grace to look sheepish, which mollified Cassie somewhat. “Sorry, old habits die hard. It’s the bait and switch, get them interested in something, dangle something tantalizing, and end up tangentially discussing the shiny bits and ignoring the crux of the matter. Second nature.” Brendan gestured over the waitress and ordered three desserts, all different.

“That should keep us satisfied for a bit. Ok, Ainsel. Well, do you know what Ainsel means?”

“No, do tell.”

“Ainsel means ‘ownself’. There’s a faerie tale where a young child is up late into the night against the wishes of his mother or grandmother or aunt, depends on the version. Anyway, the young child is playing merrily by itself by the fire, when a pookah comes out of the fire and begins to play with it. The pookah, a type of faerie, introduces himself as Ainsel. They continue to play, and Ainsel somehow injures the child and disappears. The child cries to its mother, grandmother or aunt, and when asked what happened and who hurt it, answers ‘My Ainsel’, or my ownself, getting the child in more trouble, earning a cuffing upside the head and straight to bed. Lovely tail, yes no?”

“Terribly entertaining. You should have been a storyteller; you have the gift.”

“Don’t be cold, Cassie, it’s unbecoming in a lady. Regardless of my ability to tell a story, that is the story in a nutshell. There are other similar or vastly different tales, all surrounding one mischievous, dangerous, fun-loving pookah faerie. You know him best from Shakespeare, who thought he was quite hilarious, and knew him to be dangerous. He goes by Robin Goodfellow, or Hobgoblin, often referred to as a brownie, kobold, or sprite, you probably know him simply as Puck.”

Cassie looked at Brendan and shook her head. “You’ve got to be kidding. Your long time companion, best friend, and humble servant all rolled into one is the single most famous trickster ever? How on earth do you trust him? Wouldn’t he just run back to Titania and tell her where you are when you sleep? Do you sleep with one eye open?”

“Well, I have a few tricks up my own sleeve, and let’s leave it at that.” Brendan pushed back from the table. “I’m going to go get the little trickster and we can have dessert.”

After all the excitement, and knowing tomorrow would be a big day, Cassie lay down and fell nearly instantly into a deep resting sleep. Brendan curled beside her and they passed the night time hours together as they had each night since they met.