The Potion of Love, Desire, and Deception and the Evil Fairy of Astor Place

"Hey, Red, I bet I know what you want."

Grace, a twenty-something girl-next-door woman with a pretty face, a nice smile, and a sometimes outgoing, sometimes shy personality, looked up at the intrusion of a young man's voice. She was sitting at an outdoor café in New York near Astor Place and Lafayette Street, and off and on sipping at a caramel-flavored frozen coffee.

Her hand flew to cover her mouth as she snickered.

The intruder was objectively handsome, with a very masculine, suntanned face, longish wheat blonde hair and azure blue eyes that tried to look innocent, but Grace wasn't buying it. He had on khaki slacks and a white v-neck that showcased his plethora of lovely-cut muscles, and rising just behind him were the daintiest set of life-size gauzy fairy wings she had ever seen, not that she had ever seen any before.

She tried so hard not to laugh, and looked about the café. Why hadn't anyone else noticed this weirdo? Strangely, no one seemed to have noticed anything out of the ordinary about him.

"I bet I know what you want." The male fairy repeated.

Grace blinked.

"Mind if I sit down?" He asked, pulling out a chair.

"It's a free country," Grace said, somewhat tritely. The fairy guy sat down opposite her quite casually, leaning slightly to the side since the back of the chair refused to accommodate his oversized wings.

"Well, Grace-"

"How do you know my name?" Grace asked suspiciously. "Have you been going through my garbage?"

The fairy chuckled. "No."

"Is there something you want from me?" Grace asked impatiently, astonishing herself how she sounded more "New York" daily.

"No, but I think you could use some love in your life-"

Grace laughed. "That is the worst pick up line I've ever heard."

The fairy looked about nonchalantly, then brought up a strange red flagon from under the table and winked knowingly.

"What is that?" Grace asked. "Oh, I'm sorry, I don't need to know-"

"It's a love potion."

"Excuse me?"

"The bona fide, genuine article." His smile was white as a glacier.

"Did Natasha put you up to this?" Grace asked, narrowing her eyes.

The fairy smiled.

"It's a present from me. Call it-magic. And I want you to have it."

"Oh yeah, and what does it do?"

"Ah hah! Now you've asked the right question." The fairy cried. "This," he said, showing his ware with an artistic flair and wave of the hand, "is passion in a bottle. It's a potion of love and desire."

"And I suppose it has no side-effects?" Grace teased.

The fairy seemed uncomfortable that she had mentioned that.

"There are some, once the potion wears off a little. It can lead to deception, but no more than in the person who didn't drink it."

Grace made a confused face.

"So, let me get this straight. You're offering me a love potion?"

The fairy nodded, setting the flagon on the table, and inched it towards her.

"Any particular reason?" Grace wondered, compressing her lips.

"You could say it's my job."

"Ah-hah." Grace nodded, and there was a brief silence, at the end of which, the fairy came to himself, slapped his hands together, and rubbed them vigorously a moment. Then he exhaled, smiled at Grace, and licked his lips once.

"So, who do you want to try it on?" he asked, curious.

"I don't believe this-" Grace shook her head. "You're from NYU. An actor, right?"

"Then why not tell me?" The fairy said, with magnanimous patience.

Grace almost blushed, waved her hands a bit, smiled in spite of herself.

"Richard Burton." She blurted, laughing.

"He's already dead." The fairy said, unamused.

"Hey if you believe in magic, why not time travel, too?" Now Grace wore an impish expression.

"Be serious." The fairy said, shaking his head.