THE FAERIES SWEET VALENTINE CONTEST

The voice on the phone was filled with urgency, unusual in this center.
"Help, please, is this the Heartbreak Hotline?"
"Yes. How may I help you?"
"I've shot myself and I don't know what to do!"
"Shot yourself? You need the medical hotline. I'm going to transfer you over."
"No, it's not like that. It's.. I'm..Well, I need to come over and explain personally. Are you free?"
"I'm free. Let's see, your call places you in Twarn, so maybe about two hours, at 4:30?"
"Five minutes?"
"Impossible! You can't get here in five minutes!"
"I have ways. See you in five, then?"
"Sure." She hung up, flummoxed. How was he going to get here that fast? The Hotlines center was purposly located at least an hour away from the nearest civilization. She tossed the thought away, figuring he'd be here in a couple hours.
Settling down at her desk, Timmy pulled a box of papers towards her, preparing to sort them. She figured there would be at least half an hour to make some kind of order out of the chaos in her office.
A few minutes later, she heard murmers from her staff. Figuring they were admiring someone who had walked by, she ignored it.
The murmers escalated, culminating in a gentle knock on the door. Hurriedly sweeping aside her papers, Timmy called,
"Come in."
The door swung open, admitting a young man. Timmy suddenly understood why her staff had been so busily murmuring; the man was the most handsome she had ever seen. His bright blue eyes were framed by amber hair, which swept down, revealing his slim figure. His shirt had a small hole over the heart seemingly rimmed with gold.
He asked, "Mz Timna?"
"Miss, actually. And it's Timmy. You are?"
"The one with the arrow problem. My name's Cupid."
Seeing her curious glance, he continued,
"Who I am is part of the problem."
Timmy noticed, now, the bow and quiver of arrows slung over one of his shoulders.
"Then I'll assume the arrow didn't harm you physically."
"No, these arrows don't cause physical harm. I can't deny some emotional harm."
The arrows, as if hearing themselves mentioned, tinkled softly in their pouch. Cupid glanced at them and raised an amused eyebrow. He continued his tale.
"I was checking my bow, because I've been having some trouble with it, when I lost my grip and the arrow went straight into my heart. I pulled it out, but it was too late. The arrow's juice was already inside me!"
His control dissolved, and Cupid sank into a chair, looking up at Timmy despairingly.
"What am I to do?"
Timmy thought for a minute.
"How long do you have until the juice starts working?"
"Four days, or three at the minimum, then I fall in love with whoever's around."
Timmy's spirits lifted.
"Oh, That's not so bad. Will it affect you if you don't have contact with anyone?"
"Yeah, but how?"
"Easy enough. We have isolation units that you can stay in for as long as you need."
Cupid looked up and her, hope filling his face. He expressed his thanks, then agreed with a suggestion from Timmy that they go have lunch before finding him a room.
For lunch, they picked a small cafe by the name of T.O's. Placing their orders, they soon discovered they had more in common than they had realized.
"Chicken-dish?"
"Yeah," Cupid replied. "It's my ambrosia."
"Nice description, and good taste. Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to lock you up!"
"That could be dangerous."
Timmy sobered and assured him that he'd be isolated in plenty of time.
The conversation shifted away to other topics, and they realized they had grown up in the same small town. Timmy's parents had run a chocolate shop and belonged to the local faery book club.
Cupid's parents had left him early on in life. This wasn't such a loss, as his divinity allowed him to live better without them.
Timmy was interested in his story, and found herself drawn to him, wondering if they could be friends after he was out of isolation.
The waiter appeared with the bill, causing both Timmy and Cupid to sigh at the thought of getting back to work. Paying, they left the resteraunt. On the way to the elevators, Timmy's pager buzzed, the tune indicating it was important. She sighed and signaled to Cupid to wait for her on a nearby bench.
An excited babble filled her ears, the trademark of one of her staff.
"Slow down. You know I can't understand you when you talk so fast."
"All right, all right, but listen! The high-ups called! They want to see you, but they wouldn't tell me why!"
Timmy stifled a chuckle at the indignation in her voice. After asking several questions, she escaped. Shaking her head, she strode over to Cupid, who grinned.
"Did you win the battle?"
"Possibly. I'm alive. But the high-ups want to see me, and they're insisting on a meeting immediately. It will probably last all evening. I can assign you to one of my staff who will find you a room. They may not be as sensible as me, but I'll try to find someone sane."
"They wouldn't be as nice, either," Cupid returned with a smile. "I'd rather not work with one of the murmer-girls from your office. How 'bout YOU help me out tomorrow instead?"
Timmy agreed to meet him back at T.O's at nine the next morning to continue the search.
As she strolled down the seventh floor corridor, Timmy speculated about why the high-ups might have sent for her. Eventually, Timmy quieted her mind with the rebuke that she'd just have to wait and see.
The bell on the side of the door pinged softly when she pressed it, three soft notes that sang of authority and power.
A voice from inside told her to come in, so she walked in cautiously. The figure at the desk looked up and smiled.
"Miss Timna? Go ahead in."
The door to the inner office was open. Timmy paced hesitantly through, finding herself in a confrence-type room. There was a small door in the rear wall, and the main room was taken up by a large oaken table. Three figures sat there, two men and a woman, all imacculatly dressed. The woman sat in the center, and it was she who spoke first.
"Miss Timna, do you know why you are here?"
"Only what my secretary told me." Timmy replied.
"All right. Now, you aren't in trouble. Just the opposite, in fact."
As the woman continued to explain why she was here, Timmy listened spellbound. It semed the high-ups had been watching her and decided to give her a gift: divinity.
Timmy did not know what to say.
"But, you must be joking, I don't deserve divinity, there are others..."
"Yes, there are others who do good things, but we feel you are the one who should recieve this gift. Also, we feel you may find it...useful."
Humor resided in the woman's voice, and Timmy wondered why.
"Useful?"
"You'll see. Ready?"
"I suppose."
"Then go with Cedric."
The man on her left stood up and led Timmy to the small door at his back.
In the small room it opened into, there was one chair, nothing else. Timmy sat down, looking at the deep red walls nervously.
"Just sit and wait," her guide said, "This will take a few hours. Don't worry."
* * *whee fun thingies!
Cupid was curious about Timmy's visit to the high-ups too. He found a bunk in one of the boarding halls and sat on it to think about her... and everything else.
So much had happened since the accident. He was still mad at himself for allowing that to happen, but not as much now that there was a solution.
Trying to recall if he'd ever met Timmy before, he realized he had, though briefly. He had gone to her parents shop and seen her peering around the counter. They had only exchanged hello's before she'd run off.
Cupid laughed at the memory, musing that Timmy certainly wasn't the same shy girl she had been.
Sliding off his light, Cupid drifted off to sleep.
* * *
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! Timmy reached out and slapped her alarm, blearily noting the time: 8:30. Apparently the high-ups had been right about her being exhausted. Yawning, she got ready to meet Cupid.
* * *
"Ready to go room-shopping?"
"of course, with you!"
"We'll start on the fourth floor. They usually have some open units."
* * *
The elevator opened to reveal a packed hallway.
"wow," Timmy declared, shocked, "I"ll go through to the window and see what's going on."
She returned with depressing news. All the rooms on this floor were full, and there was a waiting list. Figuring they would run out of time before Cupid's name got to the top, she hadn't added to the list.
Strolling down the hallway of the next floor, they noted happily that there were no crowds. However, when they arrived at the desk, the clerk informed them that there was no acces on this floor due to a gas leak.
* * *
After a fruitless day of room-searching, they admitted temporary defeat. Agreeing to meet again in the morning, Timmy was turning to leave when Cupid spoke.
"Ah, I was wondering, hoping, if.. you'd care to go to dinner with me?" he asked, adding rapidly, "I'd like to thank you."
"Why, Sure. Where?"
"Ah, I was thinking, actually, ah, Chius?"
Timmy stared at him for a moment, shocked, before replying.
"Sure."
Cupid's anxious look dissolved into a fetching smile.
"Shall I meet you here, then, in and hour and a half?"
"Sure. See you then."
* * *
Back in her room, Timmy sat down on a chair to think about what had just happened. Why had Cupid picked Chiu's? Anywhere else would have been unexceptional, but Chiu's was known to be the most romantic resteraunt. He must know that.
Shrugging off her confusion,Timmy began to get ready for dinner.
* * *
Having returned to his bunk, Cupid too had to sit down and think about the event. "Why did I do that?" he muttered, "Why?"
He knew why he had asked Timmy to dinner; simply to thank her. But why on Earth had he asked her to Chiu's? It had just slipped out of his mouth. The juice couldn't be working sooner than he thought, could it?
"of course not," he chided himself. "You're just imagining things.
Humming softly, he started getting dressed.
* * *
When they reconvened, Timmy was clothed in a blue-green dress that floated to her feet. Cupid sported a blue and black jacket. He greeted Timmy's arrival with an appreciativly raised eyebrow. She blushed and thanked him, allowing herself to be escorted to Chiu's.
Over dinner they talked of childhood memories and every day life. Isolation rooms were not mentioned. It was not until they left the resteraunt that Timmy broached the topic hovering on both their minds.
"Cupid, why did you pick here for dinner?"
Cupid swallowed, fingering the tablecloth, and answered her with the truth.
"I, well, I asked you to dinner to thank you, like I said, but I as for Chiu's, well,... I.. think the potion is taking effect early. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to suggest here, but, well, ... I think I love you."
He looked up from his twisted tablecloth to find Timmy looking at him.
'Well, now I know why they said I'd need my divinity,' she thought.
"Truely? I...I'm actually glad, because, well, ..I love you too."
They hugged awkwardly, then smiled at each other.
"There's no need for an isolation room now."
"No. Not anymore."