There were no more words. He asked no questions. He loved me. I loved him in return. There was no rushing, no nervous or clumsy hands, no second thoughts or anxiety about what we were doing. It was Oliver and me becoming one as we had always been meant to be. The way he melted into me astonished me; how easily my body had given in to allow it to happen, how smooth the skin of his back was as he focused his strength to keep from crushing me, how right the bulk of his body felt on top of mine, so fine, so perfect, pressing me down. I revelled in the way his muscles moved with mine, skin on skin, so supple. I would never have imagined a boy so strong could be so yielding, but he was, gentle as ever. I loved the way he breathed into my ear and moaned so softly, the way he responded to the sounds I made in reply. I was amazed by him and by the way we took each other to a place we had never known existed and never wanted to leave. The way he loved me….

He brought me to life.

I had never felt so safe, so completely warm and protected. He moved upon me slowly, gently, with a rhythm that said he never wanted to stop. I clung to him with my arms and legs, caressing him with my limbs. My heart was pounding.

“Sil,” He whispered, “I…oh, Love, I…”

“No-no, no-no,” I clung to him tighter, “It’s all right, Oliver. I want you to. Please, come to me, Sweetheart. Let me give you that.”

He groaned, almost a whimper, and his body began to shudder. After a moment, it was as if all the strength had left him and he laid still, his breath hot and even on my neck.

I didn’t move him. I cradled him instead, holding him inside me as I came back to reality. I wished that we would never have to return to school or to our homes. I wished that I could stay in that little cabin like this with him forever.

We lay together, still stroking each other‘s skin, “You are so beautiful,” He mumbled, “You’re so soft. You feel just like silk…”

I never prayed. I never talked to God or believed that he even existed, but that morning, I thanked him. I thanked God for creating a man as wonderful as Oliver and I promised that I would be a woman fit to have him.

“Just say that you want to stay right here with me forever.” I whispered to Oliver, “Just tell me we can.”

“Maybe we can do that,” He replied dreamily, “Maybe this can be our home.” He lifted his head and looked at me with those beautiful, dark eyes. He was so tired he could barely focus them, “There’s magic here. There is.”

I smiled, “I know.”

He moved off my body and pulled the blankets up over us, gathering me close. “We’re so tired,” His words slurred, “Come, let me hold you.”

I lay my head on his chest and listened to the steady beating of his heart. He stroked my hair gently with one hand and wove our fingers together with the other. I found myself falling asleep.

Oliver’s breath was light and his voice drowsy when he spoke, “Hey, Sil, marry me?”

He said it just like that, just like it was the most natural thing in the world. I lifted my head and looked into his eyes, wondering for a split second if he was even awake. His brown eyes were open wide, staring into mine. There was a slight smile forming at the corners of his mouth. I grinned, “OK,” I answered. I kissed the smooth skin on his chest, “I’ll marry you.”

“Today,” He whispered, kissing the top of my head. “Promise me today after I show you the faerie circle. Let‘s get married…”

“OK,” I remember saying again as my eyes closed again.

Oliver woke me up only three hours later. I swear he had enough energy for ten people. “Silvia,” He whispered, tickling my nose, “Sil, wake up. We’ve got loads to do, Love.”

I opened one eye and groaned, “I need coffee.”

“That I can do for you,” He kissed me quick and bounced off the bed, “It’s not the greatest, mind. It’s instant stuff I nicked from the Professor’s lounge. We’ll get the kind you like in town.” He walked to the stove and poured steaming water from a metal teapot into a mug, “Come on now, Love, I’ve got to show you the circle before we head into town.”

I got dressed quickly and, shivering in the cold of an early spring morning, took my coffee and followed him out into the garden. “Careful, the grass is slick with dew,” He steadied me as we descended the hill past several ancient trees. We stopped before a large ring of mushrooms. At first I didn’t think there was anything odd about it other than its size, but after a moment I noticed the mushrooms were too hefty for the time of year, giant, in fact, while the trees were still budding. Set among the mushrooms were stones of various shapes and sizes.

“It’s a magic circle,” Oliver was excited to show me, “Try to pull up one of the stones.”

I leaned over and tugged what looked like a loose rock. It wouldn’t budge. “Odd,” I crouched and set down my mug, pulling again. Finally, I tried with both hands. I got on my knees in the wet grass to have a better look, “Goodness! They’re set in the earth!”

“Right they are!” Oliver crouched beside me. “When Alex and I were boys we decided to try to dig one out. We must’ve gone down about four feet before Grandpaddy came out and gave us a beating for it. I don’t reckon we were even near the bottom of it.”

“They’ve always been here?”

“Long as I’ve known and long as Grandpaddy knew, too.”

“And the mushrooms?”

“They’re there all year round. Get buried in snow, but you can dig them up if you like.”

“Ever pulled one up?”

“Are you joking?” He looked deadly serious. “Of course we did! They pop right back-like. Grow the size of this in a day or so! Go ahead and try it if you don’t believe me!”

I picked up my coffee cup and stood, “No, I believe you.”

“Well, let’s get into town now that I’ve shown you. We’ve got a lot to do,” He raised himself to his full height and stretched, “You’re still going to marry me, aren’t you?”

“I will.”

“Well then, in that case,” He held out his hand and cocked his head, “We really must move more quickly!”

Oliver had wanted to rush into town for two reasons. The first was that we needed to buy a new door and the second was that he wanted to ring Alexander and ask him to come to our wedding. He called him from a phone box inside a store.

“Do I sound like I’m bloody joking?” He looked at me and rolled his eyes, pointing at the phone. “Yeah, I’ve got the ring that belonged to Nana. I told you I was! Oh, stick a baguette in her mouth and shut her up, Alex! She’s annoying is what she is!” He rolled his eyes again and hung out his tongue. “Let me talk to her…hello, Meredith? Hey, I appreciate your concern, but mind it’s really none of your business. No, I’d like it very much if you came, but this is a happy occasion so keep the negativity to yourself, yeah? OK. Put Alex back on the phone, yeah?” Oliver shook his head at me, “Alexander? Yes. All right. We need the signatures. Can you do that? Yes. Right, I don’t think that Silvia’s dad will be any problem. Yes, but mum and dad know we’ll be eighteen in five days, don’t they? Silvia has a bit longer, but her dad won’t make a fuss. Why would mum and dad? So they could force an annulment and then have us just go do it again in three weeks when Sil's eighteen? Imagine that! OK, Alex. Thanks! See you then, Brawd!”

“It works out bloody perfect!” Oliver told me as he hung up the receiver, “They won’t be leaving for a bit, Alex is doing us a favour first. Then it’s a good three hours or so from where they’re at, so that gives us enough time for me to put up a new door and us to heat water for a bath. Blimey, I didn’t bring any shampoo, so we’ll have to buy that, too,” He was chattering a mile a minute, “I’m starving, aren’t you? Should we stop in at the pub? We need to buy coffee. That instant stuff I nicked could knock the hair off a wolf.”

“Yes, we need better coffee. You know I’m addicted to coffee with cream and sugar. I need to buy myself a face cloth and a pair of socks.’’