FIGMENT

By Wes Leigh

 

This is a work of wild fantasy intended solely for the entertainment of my readers; any resemblance to any real people or places is purely coincidental. This story involves romance and sex between adult men as well as between men and teens and preteens, some incestual. If you are uncomfortable with any of this, please choose another story. This story is the property of the author and is protected by copyright laws. The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent.

Readers who would like to chat are encouraged to contact me at weston.leigh@protonmail.com.

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Chapter Eleven

 

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Tel' Feywild sume lor va. Kar va hin'lo?

The Feywild calls to you. Do you hear it?

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As I walked down the hallway the next morning, I overhead Trace talking to Drew in his bedroom. I didn't mean to eavesdrop on their conversation, but the door was open and they weren't trying to be discrete.

"When do we leave?" Drew asked.

"This afternoon," Trace replied.

"Then there's no point in going to school today, is there?"

"No. And I won't be going to swim practice tonight."

"But I was having fun here."

"It's not about you, Drew. Are you forgetting the reason we're here?"

Drew sighed and grumbled, "I still don't want to go yet."

"I don't either. But it's not our decision."

"I know that, Trace, but I can't help how I feel."

What on earth were the boys talking about? Why did they have to leave? Where were they going?

I turned and walked the other direction, confused and concerned.

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Rick didn't take the boys to school that day, which wasn't a surprise to me after the conversation I'd overheard, but his explanation was vague.

"We have something we need to do today," Rick explained. "As a family."

Drew and Trace ducked their heads, refusing to look up. Figment didn't seem to be paying attention; he was focused on a notepad where he was sketching a forest with mountains rising in the background. A unicorn pranced in the foreground with children dancing around it.

"Anything I can help with?" I asked.

Rick moved to the couch and placed his hands on Drew's and Trace's shoulders. "No. The boys know what to do. I've trained them well."

Drew frowned and pouted.

Trace looked up at me, his eyes sad. He seemed resigned to his fate.

Figment finally looked up and turned his drawing around to show it to me. "This is what the Feywild is like," he said. "Beautiful. Magical. Wonderful. What do you think, Caleb?"

I sat down next to Figment and took the drawing, wondering if it was the last picture I'd see the little guy sketch. "It's beautiful, Figment. The unicorn looks happy."

"He is," Figment replied, "because he has fey elf children to play with. They never hurt the unicorns, not like the evil banshees."

"Are banshees a problem in the Feywild?" I asked.

"They can be," Figment replied. "When they howl, it hurts down to your bones, and the banshees love to catch a unicorn by itself. They attack in packs, and they're very dangerous."

I wrapped my arms around Figment, wondering if Rick was taking him away from me and I'd never hear his wild fantasies again. He leaned back against me, enjoying my hug, completely comfortable in my arms.

I noticed a tall figure on one side of the drawing, watching the young elves dancing with the unicorn. "Who's that?" I asked. "Why isn't he playing with the unicorn too?"

Figment turned and looked up at me, a wistful smile on his face. "That's you. You're watching them, wondering if you should join them."

"Do they want me to be a part of their fun? Won't the unicorn be frightened away by an adult?"

"No, silly," Figment replied. "The unicorn knows he can trust you."

"How could he know that? I might be a banshee in disguise."

Figment giggled and pointed to one of the fey elf children twirling around the unicorn. "The unicorn knows you aren't a banshee, because the prince here told him. The prince said you were a good man who was now living in the Feywild with the royal family, so the unicorn isn't afraid of you."

"With such a long horn, I'm more afraid of him."

Figment giggled.

Drew snorted, grabbing his crotch and squeezing it.

Trace rolled his eyes and punched Drew on the leg, making Drew jump and glare at Trace.

"Boys!" Rick said, raising his eyebrows. "Settle down."

Figment shook his head at his brothers and said, "Fey elves know better than to play with a unicorn's horn. They might get poked."

Drew struggled not to laugh, scrunching up his face. Even Trace had to smile.

Rick stood up and said, "We'd better start getting ready, boys."

Drew's goofy mood immediately vanished, and Trace sighed, standing up next to his dad.

"Go on," Rick said. "Get everything prepared."

Trace held out his hand to Figment, who took it and allowed his big brother to pull him to his feet. Together, all three boys headed for the back of the house.

I looked at Rick and pleaded, "Rick, please tell me what's going on."

Rick blew out his breath. He started to speak, stopped, then started again. "It's complicated, Caleb. You'll have to trust me for now, but I hope you make the right choice when the time comes."

"The right choice? What are you talking about, Rick?"

"I can't say anything more at the moment. It's not permitted."

"But I don't understand, Rick. What's this all about?"

Rick sat down next to me, wiping his eyes with his hand. "All I can tell you is that we've reached the point where it's time to move on, and I hope we've helped you to decide that it would be good for you to go too."

"Go where, Rick?"

He turned and stared intently into my eyes. "I want you to understand one thing, Caleb. Everything that has happened up until now has led to this moment in time."

Rick stood up and hurried out of the room, leaving me more confused than ever.

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I walked outside, hoping the crisp air would clear my muddled thoughts.

They weren't my family, not really, but I had come to think of them as such. I loved them all, with their quirks and flaws and arguments and hugs.

I loved having them in my home, eating meals and watching movies with them, playing D&D on Fridays and having wild sex Friday night.

I loved having them wrapped around me, naked, sleeping through the night.

I loved the sexual free-for-alls ... Rick's gentle lovemaking ... Trace's lustful screwing ... Drew's playful exploration ... Figment's tender passion.

And now, for reasons I couldn't fathom, they were apparently leaving. No explanation. No hint of what I'd done wrong. Maybe it wasn't me. Maybe Rick's past was catching up to him, and he had to run again.

Damn.

I almost wished I'd never called and invited him to play D&D with us. If I'd never met him and fallen hopelessly in love with him and his boys, I wouldn't be sitting on my back porch on a cold winter's day, feeling my heart tear itself in two.

I truly felt like one of Figment's winter fey elves. Frozen emotionally. Bitter. Cold. Wanting to stop feeling, because it hurt to feel anything at all.

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Lunch was a somber affair.

Figment stayed in our bedroom, refusing to come out.

The rest of us ate in silence, unable to look each other in the eyes.

After we finished, Drew and Trace washed the dishes quickly while Rick and I sipped our drinks. Then the two boys silently marched out of the kitchen, headed for their rooms.

Rick sighed and said, "It's almost time. Please remember everything I said this morning."

"About how it all leads up to this moment?"

He nodded.

"When are you going to explain what this moment is all about?" I asked.

"Soon," he replied, standing up and heading for his bedroom.

I watched him go. Well, if Rick wouldn't explain himself, maybe Trace and Drew would. I walked down the hall to their bedrooms. They were standing next to Trace's bed, talking, not trying to keep from being overheard.

"Are you ready, Drew?" Trace asked.

"Yeah. Let's do this," Drew replied.

I knocked on the door and stepped inside Trace's bedroom. I gulped and said, "Guys, ummm, I didn't mean to snoop, but I overheard your conversation just now."

Trace nodded. "As you were meant to do."

I frowned. "I don't understand."

Drew walked slowly toward me and took both my hands in his. "HE wanted you to hear this, because HE will soon reveal everything to you, and this is simply how HE has decided to begin."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, completely baffled now.

"It's time to end the illusion," Trace explained, walking up next to Drew. Trace put his hand on my shoulder and added, "It's time for you to decide. Will you go to the Feywild as his eternal lover?"

Drew squeezed my hands gently. "You've had weeks to get accustomed to the idea, Caleb. We've been leading you, teaching you, preparing you."

Trace nodded, adding, "Now the time has come, Caleb. The Feywild beckons."

I shook my head and backed up a step, pulling away from them both. "Guys, please stop. No more fantasies. No more wild talk."

"It isn't fantasy," Drew replied.

I scoffed. "Seriously? I understand why you've been indulging Figment in all this, but at some point, we all have to help him to accept what happened and stop all the daydreams about the Feywild."

They began walking toward me, shaking their heads sadly. Trace sighed and said, "Right now, we have to help you to accept what is going to happen and to start believing that the Feywild is not a whimsical fantasy."

I backed slowly out into the hallway. "I don't get it. Trace, Drew, why are you going along with this?" I backed into the wall, bumping a picture and jarring it loose behind me.

"We have no choice," Drew replied. "We're also a part of the fantasy. We must do what he commands, for he is a true Eladrin, a powerful illusionist, who formed each of us to serve him here in your land."

Trace nodded. "We don't belong here, any more than he does. He has decided to end the illusion and dispel us, for we are no longer needed. Then he will take you back with him to the Feywild. That has been his plan all along."

I gulped. "You guys are starting to scare me. It's one thing to go along with Figment's stories; it's another thing altogether to buy into them. I hope this is all some kind of elaborate joke. Another one of your pranks, Drew, and Trace is helping you."

Rick came out of his bedroom and stood next to me. "No, Caleb, it isn't a prank or a joke. The boys have told you the truth. You are beloved, and all that has occurred here, in your world, has been designed to make you love the Eladrin and want to live in their world."

I laughed bitterly. "Rick, I can't believe you would be a part of this ... whatever THIS is. What are you guys doing?"

Rick shook his head sadly. "We're simply telling you the truth, Caleb, because the time has come for you to know the truth."

"Really?" I jeered. "The truth? That you are an Eladrin from the Feywild, who came to my world for me, and you're also a master illusionist who crafted a magical mirage of three sons, all designed to draw me in and make me want to love you and live with you in some alternate plane of existence?"

Rick shook his head. "Some of what you say is correct, but there are a few things you've misunderstood."

"Oh, really? Which parts?"

"I'm not the illusionist," Rick replied. "I'm one of the illusions."

"Okay," I replied with a laugh. "You and Drew and Trace are all illusions? Then who is this master magician that created all of you?"

They all three stared at me, slightly amused expressions on their faces, as though they were tolerating my lack of understanding.

"You haven't guessed?" Rick asked.

I shook my head.

"Who could it be?" Trace asked.

"Yes. Who isn't here?" asked Drew.

I looked at each of them. They seemed completely serious. I sighed and said, "So you're saying it's Figment?"

Rick and Trace nodded. Drew grinned and said, "We're all figments of Figment's imagination."

I shook my head quickly from side to side. "Okay. Okay, guys. So for the sake of argument, I'll go along with what you're telling me. I just have one question ... if this is all some elaborate illusion Figment created, why would he want me to know? Why would he have you—his illusions—expose the truth about you being nothing but `figments of his imagination'?"

Rick answered my question with a question. "What choice would we have, since Figment controls everything we do?"

"That doesn't make any sense!" I exclaimed. "If you're simply illusions, under his control, wouldn't he want me to stay in the dark?"

Trace smirked and replied, "There's only one possible explanation."

Drew nodded. "Only one reason for Figment to use us to tell you all this."

Rick leaned in and kissed me gently on the cheek. "The time has come for us to go. Figment is going to dismiss us now that we've served our purpose."

"What do you mean by that?"

Rick kissed me again. "Don't you see, Caleb? Figment created each of us to teach you an important lesson you needed to know before you could choose to enter the Feywild. My job was to show you that you are still loveable. You were struggling to accept your own value, and I showed you that I needed and wanted you as a companion."

Trace grabbed my crotch and squeezed it, grinning at me. "I showed you that you are still vigorous. I taught you that your age can't hold you back from enjoying all life has to offer."

Drew poked me in the ribs. "And I showed you that you are young at heart. I reminded you of the joy there should be in every moment."

Rick turned my face towards his and added, "He created each of us to bring you out of your winter shell and experience life again, and now our purpose is done."

I was still struggling to believe what they were telling me. "Are you saying that none of you are real? You're all simply magical images that Figment created."

Rick shook his head. "Oh, no. We're real, but we don't exist here. The real us, the living, breathing models Figment used when he created us, live in the Feywild."

"And now, I no longer need the illusions."

I turned and saw Figment standing at the end of the hallway, slowly weaving his fingers in a complex pattern, in and out, over and under. He tilted his head to one side and stopped his fingers in mid-gesture. Rick, Drew, and Trace faded away, leaving just Figment and myself.

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I sat on the couch with Figment next to me. I had to think. To process everything the guys had been telling me ... or was it simply Figment's words in their mouths before they disappeared? I decided I must be having another breakdown. There was no other explanation.

"You aren't breaking down," Figment stated.

I laughed bitterly. "So now you can read my mind too? Is that another power of the Eladrin?"

"No," he replied, "but I can well imagine what you must be thinking right now."

I leaned back in the couch and covered my eyes with one arm. "I can't believe any of this."

"It's all true," Figment insisted. "I told you I'm a fey elf. I came here for you. I chose you to be my lover, and now I want you to return to the Feywild with me."

"Do I have any choice?"

"Of course, you do. I can command my illusions to do whatever I want, but you're no illusion. I can't force you to do anything. All I can do is ask and hope you'll agree. The only way for you to return with me is for you to WANT to go."

I uncovered my eyes and stared at Figment. His face was calm and serene, with no sign that any of what he was saying was a little boy's delusion or a masterful web of lies or the ultimate practical joke. He smiled tentatively and said, "I'm not a ten-year-old boy, Caleb. I'm a young fey elf who's seen almost as many years pass by as you have. But I think you've known that all along."

"It's all been an intricate illusion?" I asked, resigned at last to believe what Figment had been telling me.

"Yes, even the ears." He pointed at his ears and wiggled his fingers. The air seemed to shimmer and where round, little boy ears had been, now I saw elegantly pointed elven ears.

I began shaking uncontrollably. It simply couldn't be true, but I believed him. I believed all of it, even the part about Figment wanting me as his fey lover. I tried to stop my legs from jumping, pressing down on my knees, but they refused to obey me. They kept shaking.

I thought about all he was saying and began to get frustrated and angry. "Really? You want me to come with you to another land, a place that is the fabric of fantasy, leaving everything I've ever known behind?" I sat up and squinted at Figment. "And if everything I've seen is real, you want me to do this after you've spent the last few months manipulating my emotions, filling my mind with illusions, and making me believe I was loved by a wonderful family that I wanted with all my heart to be a part of?" My words seemed to batter Figment, and I didn't want them to sound as harsh and hateful as they did, but I was angry. And justifiably so. He had tricked me, and now he simply expected me to forget all that and go with him to the Feywild? Amazing!

Figment stared back at me, his eyes slowly filling with tears. He blinked and tears flowed down his cheeks. Nodding, he said, "I do want you to go with me, and I'm sorry about what I've done." He gasped and sobbed, "But don't you see, Caleb. I did it all for you."

"For me?"

"Yes. I didn't know any other way to help you."

"You think were helping me?"

"Yes. You were stuck in your Winter. Somehow, someway, I had to break you free. This was the only way I could see to help you find the Springtime that was locked away in your soul." He burst into tears and dropped his head into his lap, sobbing and shaking.

Well, shit.

I reached out and touched his shoulder, gently rubbing at first, and when he didn't respond, I grabbed him and lifted him up, pulling him to my chest and hugging him. I let him cry, soaking my shirt with his tears. Kissing him tenderly on the cheek, I stroked his back and sides until he calmed down and stopped crying.

Figment pushed back and sniffled, then took my face in his small hands, puckered his lips, leaned in, and kissed me tenderly. "Can you forgive me?" he whispered.

I nodded. And with that admission, my heart stopped pounding, and my anger and fears and frustrations were pushed aside for the moment. I pulled him in again and kissed him tenderly, lovingly.

He pushed back with a smile and asked, "Caleb Malcolm, will you be my fey lover? Will you return with me to the Feywild? My family will love you. I know they will. As much as I love you."

The mention of his family made me pause and think about what I had just been so readily considering. What about his family? Would they be like Rick and Trace and Drew? Would they accept me into their world, welcoming me as Figment had promised.

And did I really want to trust him now? He looked like an anxious little boy, an innocent ten-year-old, who longed to have me join him in the ultimate fantasy, living out my life in a land of make-believe. Crazy as it sounded, I was actually considering it. But I was also thinking about how Figment had manipulated me with his illusions, playing with my emotions. No matter how he tried to make it seem that he was doing it for my good, it still felt wrong, immoral somehow.

He waited for my answer. His eyes were bright, shining a deeper green than I ever remembered them being before.

I wanted to say yes. I knew Figment yearned to hear that answer. He was shivering slightly, waiting for me to speak.

The air around Figment shimmered. Rolling thunder shook the room, making the windows rattle. Figment looked around, alarmed, and shouted, "No, not yet. I wasn't finished. Just a few more minutes."

I heard a low, rumbling, sonorous voice that resonated deep in my bones, making my teeth ache and my skull itch. The voice spoke, "Cease your play, child, and come eat."

Figment jumped out of my arms and ran into the middle of the room, staring up at the ceiling in a panic. "But I'm not done, Father. Please—"

The voice was gentle, but firm. "You will have time to finish later, dear boy. Your brothers and I are at table, and we wait for you before we begin to sup."

Figment held his hands before his face, pleading. "Please, Father. Just a few minutes more."

The air reverberated with a thunderclap that made me grab at my ears. Where Figment had been was empty space. He was gone.

 

The end of Chapter Eleven of FIGMENT