Hesitantly

“It’s nothing,” Christopher shook his head suddenly shy again. “She’s just someone I was thinking about.”

“Come on Christopher,” Brushing aside a wisp of hair that had fallen across his eyes was supposed to be a motherly gesture but it turned out to be far more intimate than you intended; you point to the phone before either of you reads too much into it. “Tell me, what’s her story – why does she look so sad?”

“Its for a retelling of an old legend that I started." He tells you shyly. "She’s supposed to be Rhiannon, a legendary Celtic queen. She’s sad because her newborn son has been stolen from her by a demon and her husband has banished her because her thinks she's killed the baby.”

“Is that the demon?” The muscular yellow-eyed figure peering from the shadows is only hinted at but feels distinctly menacing.

“Yes, he was created from the lust and anger of Rhiannon’s fiancé, when she dumped him.” You vaguely remember the tale, (for a while you had been quite interested the Welsh mythology of your mother’s family) but nothing about a demon or a scene like this. He pauses for a second and then perhaps deciding he could trust you he explains how he wrote a story about the raven-haired queen who had been tormented by a demon when she had chosen to marry Pwyll of Dyfed instead of Gawal, the man she had been promised to.

“She’s bathing in one of the Mountain's sacred pools, to cleanse her soul and atone for whatever affront she gave the gods…” Christopher abruptly turns off the phone. “It’s dumb.”

“No,” You pull your chair closer to his and lean in just a little. “What happens to her, does the monster take her?” You shouldn’t feel as disappointed as you do; he’s just an 18 year old virgin – why shouldn’t he fantasize about demons ravaging helpless maidens.

“No. Well, it tries to but she’s saved by her guardsman, Wydan.” You look up in surprise, and he shrugs apologetically. “I call him Wydan the True, because he is like a paladin; but not anymore 'cause he broke the laws of the sacred grove by sneaking into the woods to guard his queen from just this type of attack.”

“That’s as much as I wrote.” He pushes away from the table and picks up his coat.

“Thank-you Ms. Summers” He picks up the cell phone and sticks into his front pocket. You’re not absolutely sure, but you are pretty sure that there was a good sized lump there before the phone even reached his pocket. God, you are going to be spending a good long time with the vibrator Teri gave you as a “divorce present” as soon as he’s gone. Curiosity though, delays that moment for a little longer as you question the young man.

“Wait, why did you stop writing?” You stop him just before he leaves.

“Because Rhiannon is supposed to reward Wydan by sleeping with him.” He laughs bitterly at himself, “and I can’t even begin to write about something like that until I know what the fuck I’m talking about.”