FIC: Blodeuedd, Part 1 of 3

[geri_chan]

Re-posting another of my old Petshop fics; it was originally posted in 5 chapters on Yahoo Groups, but I condensed it into 3 longer chapters here for convenience's sake.

Title: Blodeuedd, Part 1 of 3
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Leon/D, but the story mostly focuses on two OCs, a customer of D's and his "pet"
Word count: ~5,000
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Matsuri Akino; no money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.

Summary: Sequel to "Spirits". D sells a pet to a lonely young man. The story is based on a Welsh legend from The Mabinogion.

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The door opened with a creak, and a man walked in. He was quite handsome, despite the bleak, empty look in his hazel eyes. His dark brown hair looked uncombed, and his jacket and shirt were wrinkled, as if he'd slept in them.
    
"Welcome, I am Count D," said the...person...who answered the door. He was slender and androgynously beautiful, with unnaturally pale skin--the phrase "white as snow" popped into the customer's mind. Wasn't that from the Snow White fairy tale? "White as snow, black as coal, red as blood..." The Count's chin-length hair was indeed black, but his lips were more of a dark purple than blood-red. But strangest of all were his eyes: one was purple, and the other was green...no, yellow. The dim light of the shop made it difficult to be certain. The Count wore a black robe trimmed with red at the collar, sleeves, and hem, with frog closures running down the front of the...whatever you called it. Simon would know the proper term, mused the man.
    
"People from all over the world come here in search of rare and exotic animals," continued the Count. "I am certain you shall find something here that you desire. How may we serve you?"
    
The man shrugged. "I'm a friend of Simon Holt. I've been feeling kind of down lately, and he suggested I get a pet. He recommended your store, but...I'm not sure if..." His voice trailed off.
    
The Count waited patiently for the man to gather his thoughts.
    
"Oh, sorry, I should introduce myself. I'm Kyle Hamilton. Look, I don't want to waste your time; I don't think--"
    
"Please, won't you sit and have some tea?"
    
Kyle let himself be seated on the couch, and let the strange Chinese man pour him some tea. He didn't really want a pet, but Simon had insisted...and now he couldn't seem to summon enough energy to object.
    
Count D placed a plate of almond cookies on the coffee table. "Please, help yourself," he said as he took a cookie himself and bit into it daintily.
    
Kyle noticed that the Count's long, perfectly manicured nails were the same shade of purple as his lips. A strange little bat-like creature fluttered down and landed on the Count's shoulder.
    
"Kyu!" the animal squeaked, and the Count fed it a piece of cookie. "You say Mr. Simon Holt referred you to this shop?" he asked.
    
"Yeah, he thought a pet might cheer me up. I guess you're a friend of Simon's, too?"
    
"I looked after his nephew when his mother died. I do not know Mr. Holt very well, but he seems to be a kind and compassionate man."
    
"Yeah, that's Simon, always trying to help people out." Kyle smiled wryly. "Even when they don't really want help."
    
"Oh?" was all the Count said, as he fed his pet another bite of cookie.
    
Kyle picked up his cup, twirling it around in his hands absent-mindedly. "I broke up with my girlfriend a couple of month ago, and...I guess I've been kind of depressed ever since. Simon is an old college buddy of mine..." He took a sip of tea, more for an excuse to stop talking than because he was thirsty. Why was he babbling about his personal life to a total stranger? Something about the Count's quiet, accepting presence seemed to pull the words out of him.
    
"Well, anyway, Simon's wife was here on business, so he stopped by to visit, and saw me moping around the house...really, he's making a big deal out of nothing..." Damn it, thought Kyle. I'm babbling again!
    
The Count sensed that it was indeed a "big deal." The young man was in great pain, but it would be impolite to tell him so, and in any case, he would only deny it. However, the proper pet might be able to help ease his pain...
    
"I think I have something that might interest you," said the Count.

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"This way, please." Kyle followed as Count D led him down a dark hallway.
    
Strange, shadowy shapes moved in cages that lined the walls. They squealed, chittered, growled, and screeched. He couldn't see them clearly, but they looked and sounded like no animal Kyle had ever seen before. But the spark of curiosity was buried under a wave of apathy almost as soon as it appeared. They came to a set of double doors carved in some Oriental design. The Count pushed open one door, and it gave way with a loud creak. D held the door open, and motioned for Kyle to step through.
    
He walked into the room. It smelled of incense, and little gray streamers of smoke floated up from a brazier set on a table near the door. In a chair at the far end of the room sat a woman... Kyle rubbed his eyes. No, it was a bird...an owl? No, a woman...
    
"What the hell is going on?" Kyle demanded of the Count, who had silently come up behind him.
    
"This is Blodeuedd," said Count D, an enigmatic smile playing around the corners of his plum-colored lips.
    
 She was the most beautiful woman Kyle had ever seen. Waves of flaxen hair spilled down to her waist. She was clad in a light blue gown that matched her cornflower-colored eyes. Her skin was fair and smooth, with just a hint of rosy blush in her cheeks. She wore a wreath of flowers in her hair. Somehow the sweet floral scent cut through the incense. She smelled of springtime, and the heaviness in his heart lifted slightly.
    
"But what...how...this is a pet shop, not a...a..."
    
"She is a bird. An owl, tyto alba or barn owl, to be exact."
    
"But--"
    
"Look closely."
    
The smoke from the incense obscured the woman's form for a minute, and suddenly through the haze, he saw an owl! Not one of those great horned owls with the big ear tufts, but a small, slender bird with a round, earless head. Its feathers were light brown and grey on its back and wings, shading to white on its belly and face. Its heart-shaped face looked almost like a flower...
    
Then the smoke cleared, and the woman sat before him again.
    
"What the--?!"
    
"I told you we had many rare and exotic species here," said the Count with a sly smile. "However, if you are not interested in her--"
    
"No! I'm interested! But you can't just sell a woman as if she were an animal!"
    
"She is an owl...however, you are correct in that we do not force the pets to go with an owner against their will." He turned to Blodeuedd. "Well, my dear? Do you wish to go with this man?"
    
She shrugged. "It matters not," she said, in an accent Kyle couldn't place. But it gave a musical, lilting quality to her voice. "One man is the same as another." Her voice sounded as weary and indifferent as he felt. Looking closer, he saw that her lovely blue eyes were filled with incredible sadness.
    
"It matters a great deal," said the Count. "And not all men are alike."
    
"How can she be both a woman and a bird?" asked Kyle. He felt dizzy...was it the incense, or the surreal quality of this encounter?
    
"She is...under a spell, you might say. But it is not my story to tell. Do you wish to purchase her?"
    
It seemed obscene to suggest buying this woman as if she were a slave, yet...Kyle did not want to leave without her. "I...if she consents..."
    
"Blodeuedd? You must choose."
    
She laughed bitterly. "When have I ever had any choices?"
    
"You do now," said the Count gently.
    
"I won't take you against your will," declared Kyle, with more determination than he'd felt in weeks. "Is this man holding you prisoner here?"
    
Blodeuedd smiled sadly and shook her head. "No, the Count has been nothing but kind to me. He took me in when I had nowhere else to go."
    
"Well?" asked the Count.
    
"Very well," said Blodeuedd. "It would be good to go to the surface world once more, to feel fresh air and sunlight upon my face..."
    
"Mr. Hamilton? I have some papers for you to sign...please note that there are three conditions in the contract:
    
1) You must not show her to anyone.
2) You must provide her with flowers and sunlight during the day.
3) You must let her out to hunt at night."
    
"Hunt?"
    
"In her owl form, she must hunt for food every night."
     
Kyle opened his mouth to ask why she turned into an owl, and why he couldn't just buy her meat or even live mice if that's what she needed, but the sudden look of anguish and shame on Blodeuedd's face stopped him. "All right. I agree."
    
"If any of these terms are broken, this shop cannot be held responsible for the consequences. Sign here, please."
    
This is insane, thought Kyle. But he took the pen the Count offered him, and scrawled his name at the bottom of the contract.
     
"Thank you for your business. Please take good care of her, and may you experience good fortune and happiness far into the future."

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This is crazy, thought Kyle. I bought a woman who is really an owl...did the Count hypnotize me? Or was that incense some kind of hallucinogen? Did I really see her turn into an owl? And those conditions... "You must not show her to anyone"--okay, that one kind of made sense, since people would think he was either crazy or involved in white slavery! But it would be kind of difficult to keep her out of sight and let her out in the sunlight. Fortunately, although he kept a small apartment near the University where he worked, he had the house his parents had left him. It was in a secluded location outside the city, with lots of tall trees and hedges, and no neighbors close by. That should be all right, as long as they were discreet. He decided not to think about the third condition of the contract for now.
    
They arrived at the house. He had a cleaning service that took care of the house periodically, but he had neglected the yard, which was overgrown. He'd have to call the landscaper--damn! He couldn't take the chance that anyone might see Blodeuedd. He'd probably have to cancel the cleaning service, too. Kyle sighed. Why hadn't Simon sent him to a normal pet shop? Why hadn't he just bought a puppy or a kitten?
    
Blodeuedd had not said a word during the drive to the house, but as Kyle helped her out of the car, she lifted her face up towards the sunlight and spread out her arms, as if she wanted to embrace it. She took a deep breath, then exhaled in a soft sigh. She looked, if not exactly happy, then at least less miserable than she had at the shop. As they walked to the door, she reached out with her hands to caress the knee-high blades of grass, the overhanging branch of a tree, and the fluffy head of a dandelion that was almost as tall as she was. Kyle hated yardwork, but the gentle smile on Blodeuedd's face made the task seem less onerous. Besides, she seemed to like it the way it was. He supposed he'd have to mow the lawn, but maybe he'd leave that dandelion...

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Blodeuedd seemed to withdraw back into herself when they entered the house. Kyle led her up the stairs, to a bedroom on the second floor. It was light and airy, with large windows, and a set of French doors opening onto a small balcony overlooking the back yard. Her face brightened a little when she saw the room.
    
"Do you like it?" asked Kyle.
    
Blodeuedd smiled shyly and nodded.
    
Kyle set down the small suitcase the Count had given him. He supposed it contained Blodeuedd's personal possessions. "Uh, let's see, there're clean sheets in the closet, the bathroom's over here...do you need anything else?" She shook her head. Kyle glanced at the suitcase dubiously. It looked too small to hold more than a few changes of clothing. "Are you sure? You don't need more clothes or anything like that?" She shook her head again. "Well, then, I'll leave you to get settled in..."

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Kyle didn't spend much time in the house; just the occasional weekend, and a few weeks during Christmas and summer breaks. The long commute to the University made it more convenient to keep an apartment in the city, and besides...the house contained memories he would rather not think about. His girlfriend Julia had been delighted that he had a "house in the country"--at least at first. But that was another memory he wanted to avoid.
    
Looking through the kitchen he saw there was not much but a few canned goods. He'd have to stock up on groceries, and bring over some things from his apartment. And flowers...Count D said Blodeuedd needed flowers.
    
Kyle washed some of the dusty dishes, fixed a meager dinner of canned soup, then went upstairs to check on Blodeuedd. "Excuse me? Blodeuedd? Would you like some dinner...?" He peered in the half-open door. The room was empty, and the French doors and the windows were open. A sudden gust of wind lifted something small and white from the floor and blew it towards Kyle. Without thinking, he reached out and caught it. Opening his hand, he saw a feather, and a chill ran down his spine. He had almost forgotten the third condition of the contract... Kyle quietly closed the bedroom door, then went back downstairs to eat dinner alone.

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Blodeuedd was lying asleep on the bed, still clad in her blue gown, when Kyle checked on her the next morning. He hesitated, then left a note for her, saying that he was going to work and would back later in the afternoon.
    
Kyle taught British Literature at the University. He drifted through his morning classes, lecturing by rote while his mind was on Blodeuedd. Her name sounded so familiar...he was sure he had come across it in his studies before, but he just couldn't place it. Fortunately, these particular classes were filled with bored freshman and sophomores trying to fill their English requirements, so most of them didn't notice his air of distraction. A few of his more talented students looked at him with curiosity or concern, but he ignored them.
    
As soon as his last class was over, he headed for the library. After researching the internet and several books on mythology, he finally found what he was looking for. It was a long and complicated story, part of the Welsh epic cycle The Mabinogion:

The powerful druid king of Gwynedd, Math ap Mathonwy, was under a geas that his feet must rest in the lap of a virgin, or he would "cease to exist"--except during times of war, conveniently enough. Math's nephew Gilfaethwy was infatuated with his uncle's latest "foot warmer," Goewin. Gilfaethwy's brother, Gwydion, who was a mage, came up with a scheme to lure Math away to battle so Gilfaethwy could rape Goewin while she was left unguarded. When the girl told Math what they had done, he married her and made her his queen, giving her control over his lands in compensation. Then he punished her attackers by turning them into animals--they spent one year as boars, the next as stags, and the third year as wolves. After that, Math apparently forgave them and welcomed them back into his household. He chose Gwydion's sister Arianrhod to be his next handmaiden, but the girl failed the test of virginity. She had a child out of wedlock, and wanted nothing to do with him because he reminded her of her disgrace. Gwydion raised the boy (some versions of the tale said he was the father), but Arianrhod laid a spell upon the child that he would never have a name unless she gave it to him. But Gwydion tricked his sister: he arranged for her to see her son in disguise strike down a wren with a needle, and she remarked on what a skillful hand the fair youth had. Thus his name became Llew Llaw Gyffes or "fair-skillful-hand". She then declared that Llew would have no weapons or armor unless she gave them to him; again Gwydion tricked her into giving them to him when he conjured up an illusion of an army attacking her castle. Arianrhod's final curse was that Llew would never have a wife "of any race that is now on earth". So Math and Gwydion magically created a woman made from flowers named...Blodeuedd.

"No way!" shouted Kyle. Several students nearby looked up in surprise, and the librarian on duty glared at him. When she recognized him as a professor--one who was usually quiet and courteous--she asked in a concerned tone, "Is something wrong, Professor Hamilton?"
     
"Uh, no, sorry," said Kyle sheepishly. The librarian gave him a puzzled look, then went back to her work, and Kyle returned to his book.

Blodeuedd was more beautiful than any human woman, but she was not faithful to Llew. She fell in love with Gronw Bebyr, and conspired with him to kill her husband. She tricked Llew into revealing the only way he could be killed: if he stood in a bathhouse on a riverbank with one foot on the back of a he-goat and one foot on the edge of the bath, he could be killed by a spear. She persuaded Llew to demonstrate the position for her. When he did, Gronw stabbed him with the spear. But instead of dying, he vanished in the form of an eagle. Gwydion tracked him down and restored him to human form, but it took a year to nurse him back to health. Gwydion turned Blodeuedd into an owl, a bird that "all other birds would shun" as punishment for the "shame" that she had done to Llew. Gronw's punishment was that Llew would throw a spear into his back, the same as he had done to Llew. Gronw begged Llew for mercy, saying he had been led astray by "woman's wiles". Llew agreed to let him place a stone on his back for protection, but he threw the spear with such force that it pierced the stone and killed Gronw anyway.

Kyle stared at the book. She couldn't possibly be that Blodeuedd...could she? For one thing, the story was only a myth. And even if it was true, it had happened hundreds of years ago! He rubbed his temples; his head was starting to hurt. The idea that she could be this mythical woman made of flowers was insane--but this whole thing was insane! He had bought a woman from a pet store--a woman who turned into an owl...just as the Blodeuedd in the story was turned into an owl... Was this some elaborate hoax that Count D and the woman had cooked up? But why would they want to trick him, and why would his friend Simon be involved in this? He slammed the book shut and stumbled out of the library in a daze.
    
His fears gradually dissolved as he left the building and walked across the campus. Outside, in the sunlight, with students chattering on cell phones, or sitting on the lawn, tapping on laptop computers, the idea of magicians and bespelled women seemed ridiculous. It's all those Arthurian legends we've been covering in class, thought Kyle. I've been reading too much about Merlin and sorcery and whatnot; I'm starting to imagine things. Maybe Blodeuedd was simply a disturbed woman who thought she was the flower-maiden in the story. And surely she hadn't really turned into an owl in the shop; it was just the smoke and incense, and the power of suggestion. As for last night...he hadn't actually seen her turn into an owl--perhaps she had just slipped out for a late-night walk. The feather could've been blown in by the wind from outside.
    
By the time he had left the campus, and gone shopping for groceries, Kyle had almost convinced himself that there was nothing to worry about. He didn't let himself think too much about why he had "bought" a woman and brought her home to live with him. Whenever that troubling little thought arose, he shoved it aside, banishing it to a distant corner in his mind. He whistled almost cheerfully as he pushed his cart down the aisle. He spotted potted plants and bouquets of fresh-cut flowers near the produce section, and remembered the second condition of the contract. He examined the flowers, wondering what to get; the Count had not specified what kind of flowers Blodeuedd needed. He finally decided on a bouquet of daisies and a potted violet.

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"Hello," called Kyle, "I'm home." He almost dropped the bags of groceries when he saw Blodeuedd descend down the staircase to greet him. She was dressed in another long, old-fashioned gown, this one pale green with flowering vines embroidered in gold thread along the hem, sleeves, and bodice. She dropped to the floor in graceful curtsy, her skirt spreading out in a pool of green around her, and said, "Welcome home, my lord," in that lovely, lilting accent, which Kyle now recognized as Welsh.
    
Kyle set down the bags and gently took her by the arm, saying, "Please don't kneel to me." Blodeuedd allowed him to pull her to her feet, but looked confused. "I am not your lord," said Kyle, "so please don't call me that. Just call me Kyle."
    
"But you are my lord," said Blodeuedd. "You purchased me from the Count--"
    
"No!" exclaimed Kyle, and Blodeuedd flinched. He continued, in a more gentle tone, "I did pay the Count and sign the contract, but I am not your master, and I won't hold you here against your will. You are free to leave at any time if you wish."
    
"I do not understand," said Blodeuedd. "I was created to serve men. Have I displeased you? Do you wish me to leave?"
    
"No! It's just that...I want you to understand that you're not a prisoner or a slave. You don't have to stay here if you don't want to."
    
"I have nowhere else to go except back to the shop," said Blodeuedd. "But if you wish me to leave, I will return to the Count."
    
Kyle sighed and gave up. "Then stay, as long as you like," he said. He reached into one of the bags and pulled out the bouquet of daisies. "These are for you; I hope you like them. I wasn't sure what kind of flowers I should get."
    
She took the flowers and stroked the petals. "They're lovely," she said, but her eyes were filled with sorrow.
    
"Is something wrong?" asked Kyle.
    
"These flowers are dying," she said softly. "Cut from their roots, they will wither and fade in a day or two." She looked at the cut stems as if they were amputated limbs, and Kyle suddenly felt like a monster.
    
"Uh, sorry," he mumbled. "Um, er, perhaps this is more to your liking?" He handed her the potted violet.
       
"Ah," she said with a smile. "It is thirsty and tired, but it will be good as new with a little sunlight and water." She fussed and cooed over the plant as if it were a baby.
     
"Note to self," muttered Kyle. "Only buy live flowers. You'd think the Count might have told me."
    
"It is the fate of most flowers to bloom but briefly," said Blodeuedd. "They die and are reborn the next spring." She sighed, and Kyle thought he heard her whisper, "If only I could die..."
    
"What?" asked Kyle, alarmed. Was she suicidal?
     
"Nothing," said Blodeuedd. "I'll put these in water, and we can enjoy their beauty for a few days; we shouldn't let them go to waste. And...thank you for the violet." She gave him a sweet, if slightly melancholy smile.
    
"Well, I'm glad you liked it." Kyle was still worried; what if she tried to hurt herself while he was away at work? If only he could think of something that would make her happy, or at least capture her interest. He suddenly realized that she reminded him of himself, drifting through life, burdened with despair that was slowly turning into indifference: doing normal everyday things like eating breakfast or going to work had become increasingly difficult, taking more and more of his energy. He had none left over for hobbies or socializing. His friends urged him to snap out of his funk and start dating again, but it didn't seem worth the effort. He wrapped himself in a blanket of numbness, keeping out both pleasure and pain. He knew what he was doing to himself, but he couldn't summon up enough energy to care about it. But somehow it bothered him to see that same numbness in Blodeuedd. Suddenly an idea occurred to him...
    
"Would you like to start a garden?" Kyle asked.
    
"A garden?" Blodeuedd's blue eyes lit up with a sudden hope. Then the hope dimmed, as if she were afraid of being disappointed. "Would you really allow that?" she asked warily.
    
"Sure, why not? The Count said other people can't see you, so I guess the front yard's off limits, but there's plenty of room in the back. Of course, we'll have to do a lot of digging and weeding to get the garden started, but--"
    
"Lle--I mean, my former husband said that it was not appropriate for a lady to dig in the dirt."
    
Kyle snorted. "Your former husband can go stuff it--ahem. I mean, he must have been a real chauvinist pig." Blodeuedd gave him a puzzled look. "I mean, he must have had rather antiquated notions of a woman's place in society--oh, never mind! Let's start a garden! I'll go buy seeds and gardening tools tomorrow!"
    
"Truly? You mean that?" asked Blodeuedd.
    
"Truly, I mean it. My word of honor."
    
"Oh, thank you, my lor--thank you, Kyle!" She smiled at him, a real smile this time, one that lit up the whole room with its radiance and took his breath away.
    
"No problem," said Kyle weakly.
    
She tended to her violet and helped him put away the groceries, singing a cheerful tune in an unfamiliar language--Welsh, he assumed--as she worked. Her voice was as lovely as her face. He fixed a simple meal for himself, and she sat with him as he ate, although she only sipped a glass of fruit juice and didn't touch any of the food. He explained what he did for a living, and she actually seemed interested in what he had to say.
    
"So you preserve the old tales, and teach them to your students?" Blodeuedd asked. "Like a bard handing down poetry and song to his apprentices?"
    
"Um...something like that. It's not so much just preserving them--after all we have books and computers now, unlike the old days when they were handed down orally. Anyone can go to the library and read a copy of Shakespeare's plays, or the tales of King Arthur." Or the Mabinogion, he thought, but he quickly stifled that thought and shoved it out of his mind. "What I do is help the students understand how these works reflect the time period they were written in--values change, and we often see the stories from a different perspective than the original writers and readers did. For example, today we might admire Kate in 'Taming of the Shrew' as a strong, independent woman, and are disturbed by the fact that she submits to her husband and becomes a proper wife at the end of the play. But in Shakespeare's time Kate would indeed have been considered a 'shrew,' and they believed a wife should be subservient to her husband rather than an equal partner." Kyle laughed self-consciously. "Sorry, didn't mean to go into lecture mode! Hazard of the profession, I guess."
    
"No," said Blodeuedd, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Please continue, I find it quite interesting."
    
"Shakespeare did create a great many clever and strong-willed female characters...I wonder if he secretly had an admiration for independent women--but that's just conjecture on my part."
    
"Do you have copies of his plays? Perhaps you would let me read them...?"
    
"Of course!" said Kyle. "No English professor's library is complete without Shakespeare! Help yourself to any of the books in my study."
    
"Thank you, Kyle."
    
Kyle grinned, feeling a surge of happiness that was out of proportion to the simple fact that Blodeuedd was finally talking to him, and calling him by his name. "Uh, well, we also look at the themes of the stories that transcend time: love, hate, fear...man vs. nature, man vs. science, man vs. himself...after all, no one would read these books if there wasn't something in them that touched a chord in a modern audience." They continued talking, or rather, mostly Kyle talked and Blodeuedd listened, until the sun went down and moonlight streamed in through the windows.
    
"I must retire for the night," Blodeuedd said quietly, rising from her chair. "I thank you for the flowers and the conversation, and bid you goodnight."
    
"Huh? Oh...goodnight," replied Kyle. After a moment, he followed her up the stairs. But he stopped outside her closed bedroom door, and didn't try to see if she really turned into an owl, although he thought he heard the flutter of wings--or perhaps it was just the wind.

Part 2, Part 3