Beau is fire, Canela is water
For Mike, the lawyer and countless brave men and women
Like him who use their talent to fight for children in Manilla,
Asia, Africa, Latin America and the World…
Because children deserve to live in a world where the
Worst person they can think of is in fiction.
Beau was not a bad man. He had lovely parents, Inara and Asaph, who were pleasantly surprised to be blessed with a child after waiting for many years. He was their delight and joy they taught him right from wrong and how to fight dragons. However, because he did not have any brothers or sisters that he needed to share with, his one fault was that he was given a bit too much of his own way.
Beau knew he was destined for greatness, he believed it his whole life and dreamed of becoming a Viscount, he was a natural leader, head of the debate team at school, he always had a bunch of guys and girls following him around, giving him their lunch, asking him to sort out quarrels, and offering to do his homework. They always thought what he said was profound and due to all the attention he received from everyone, he grew up thinking he was more handsome, wise and clever than he actually was.
From a young age, Beau had been trained in the arts of Dragon-Fighting, when he turned 12 he was given a Fairy-gift; Alynta-Celeste, a sword which had flames of 3 different golds etched into the handle fire that seemed to dance in the sunlight. He had never used a sword that felt better in his hands. He had used it to chase off several small dragons from his area and was generally considered a hero in his school. LINK
The problem with this is that the dragons really don't care about what other people think of a person, they know that they all taste good. Beau had worked hard at becoming a good dragon fighter, but there was still more than a hint of superciliousness about him. When he met Claudine, who was pretending to be a princess, he could not imagine marrying a common lady, a lady without a tile- a mere Miss Suchandsuch, would never do.
He dreamed of fighting dragons and rescuing people and having them enthusiastically thank him... He dreamed of the glory.
When he turned 21, Beau didn't think he would have much trouble finding a countess or perhaps someone more important to marry him in one month, then again, he didn't think he'd be invisible either – Even to this day, he is not sure why he agreed to have dinner with Claudine. Perhaps he was dazzled by her superficial beauty - but he sure regretted it now.
***
You may or may not know that while Beau had expressed his determination to never marry a common lady an equally determined young lady turned him invisible when he refused to marry her. Beau was depressed. He had been home looking for a “suitable” dragon-fighter who would love him and found that some of his female school friends had married other “important” dragon-fighters. One thing you may need to know about Beau's hometown is that the girls are most often named names that sound like one or two letters in the alphabet; it's more than a little strange even to the people in La Paz. Now back to his friends... LE, and KD could not hear him or see him, then there were the ones like Bea and Kaye; who screamed and thought they had heard a ghost.
Beau thought he had almost convinced Elle and Dee, but in the end they didn't want to help him because they were secretly scared that Claudine had also made him ugly; they were not interested in marrying anyone who was plain.
KC and LX, if he had started with them, he may have had a shot, but they worried that he would never be visible again and they wanted a husband with whom they could show off to their friends, it would NEVER do if they could not see him. Beau was also secretly beginning to share their fear, as he approached JC and KT, the rejection for the first time in his life removing the words his mind was telling him to say from his mouth, he made such a bumbling mess of it that the girls were more than half convinced it was a trick so they replied that they had so many boys around them that neither of them had time for an invisible husband.
These thoughts were weighing heavily upon his mind and he didn’t notice at first that he had unwelcome-scaly company, hiding behind the trees in the forest.
What he did notice was a young lady who was yelling and slinging tennis balls at a falcon, which flew away directly. She then stooped to give whatever she was protecting a hug. When she picked it up he saw that it was a lamb. The lamb looked so happy to be snuggled safe in her arms. She had beautiful brown hair and creamy coco skin
WHACK
Bleating from the kid that ran into him
“Ouch!” cried Beau as he fell to the ground with a thump.
“Who said that?” questioned Canela
„She can hear me‟ he thought…
“Don’t be afraid, I am a person who has been made invisible by a horrid woman that I refused to marry. My name is Beau and I am from Manilla, I have travelled a long way with my pony, Rapido to find a lady dragon-fighter rescue her from a dragon and marry her, “he said talking fast “Well actually I am picky; and now I am invisible too, TRULY I didn‟t mean to startle you”. He said as he was fumbling in his pocket for a picture of his family to show her.
There is something different about your horse, she thought. Canela was on the tip of asking about it and jumped with fright, forgetting her thoughts as he said excitedly-
“Found it! This is me with my parents” he said holding out the photo to her, aware in the back of his mind how odd it must seem to the girl that the photo was floating in mid-air.
Canela picked up the photo to examine it more closely “This is the strangest thing I have ever heard,” she said to herself but remembering her manners she asked “Are you hungry? I have just made chicken and lentil dumpling stew, for my Dad and I. One more at the table won‟t hurt”. She said thinking that perhaps she was dreaming.
It wasn‟t a huge juicy Lamb chop covered with his favourite vegies and mushroom sauce but Beau was so hungry anything sounded delicious.
***
Later that evening, while everyone was eating the stew, Arthur, Canela‟s father asked him what he usually eats for dinner in the mansion he‟d talked about earlier. Beau made the mistake of enthusiastically telling him in front of Canela, that his favourite foods were lamb chops, goat’s cheese and curried goat with rice.
I won‟t bore you with the details of the argument that followed, however it is important that you know 2 things; firstly Canela is generally a “go with the flow person” but making her angry is like being swept into rapids and finding a hole in your canoe. You had better hold on and secondly, Beau enjoys conflict- it makes life interesting and he made Canela so angry (at the thought of someone eating her pets) that she started to say… “I wish I could see you so that I could give you a AHHH!…” she would later regret what she was going to say, it was not at all pleasant, what startled her was that he became visible for 5 seconds.
Canela was still in a state of mild shock when the food was eaten. Seriously, can you blame her? It was all a lot to take in. Beau further surprised her by picking up the dishes and beginning to wash up. His method was different to hers, she thought vaguely but the dishes were sparkling clean. As he worked Beau tried to relieve the tension as best as an invisible person can, by chatting away; he told Canela that even the royal citizens La Paz help with cleaning the kitchen after the evening meal. My parents in particular would say “There are some jobs that you need to know how to do for yourself, and washing up is one of them,” quoted Beau
“Living in a mansion, don‟t‟ you have servants?” puzzled Canela
“Sure we do, but they have families too, they go home as soon as the meal is cooked. They eat what we eat, and it‟s only fair that they have it nice and hot too” replied Beau with a smile that showed in his voice, Canela began to feel herself relax.
“The Fairies are always telling us how important family time is, and that we should promote it as much in our domain as we can, but we must first set the example for people to follow; it’s basic good manners really. But it’s so nice to catch up and chat as we work, and it keeps away insects and vermin” he continued as he picked up the broom and began to sweep the floor.
“I wish my Dad would help me wash up some nights, I get so tired and bored from all the house work” sighed Canela
“yeah, I hear you, I thought I would go crazy some nights when both my parents were sick at the same time and could not help, I‟m glad I didn’t have to do that day in day out though” Beau understood
„It was bizarre,‟ Canela thought, to see the dishes looking like they were washing themselves, and then the broom sweeping by itself but it was also lovely to chat to someone as she did the repetitive work. „Washing up by oneself could so be boring at times‟, she believed.
That night they had a long talk, Beau showed Canela his dragon-fighting sabre and told her tales of well-known Dragon-Fighters, whose stories were told from generation to generation of Xions children. Canela especially loved to hear of Braeson and Mikinley who were very wise and Zackhya the Brave, bedtime stories she was told as a child would never again have quite the same appeal to her as the ones she‟d heard that night.
Canela was so impressed with his stories; she asked him how he became a Dragon-Fighter. Beau replied “Oh I did that last year, I asked the Fairies to visit, promised to love justice and promote harmony, then Kathlena put her thumb on the skin above my heart and left her golden thumb-print there; she told me that a tiny drop of Fairy blood soaks through your skin, and joins your blood. Once you are in the Xions family, Dragon-fighting becomes much more a natural part of life. You see things for what they really are and you are strengthened for the fight. Ana then touched her thumb to my horse Rapido, and he grew wings, she told me that with a drop of Fairy blood, Miniature horses become unicorns while mules and donkeys become Hippogriffs, zorses and zebras can also become pegasus too”.
“So that‟s why your horse looked different, I didn‟t notice wings though,”
“Most ordinary people don‟t notice,” it‟s a Fairy thing, maybe there is a Dragon-Fighter in you waiting to come out he thought.
Canela was excited to hear about the new animals, and found herself telling Beau things she had not told anyone else, she wondered if she would ever be brave enough to fight dragons and became overwhelmed with sadness; thinking of all the mistreated animals in the world and wanting to rescue them always made her cry. Canela admitted that sometimes she feels so sad she cannot do anything but cry.
***
Beau was a dragon-fighter-in-training and knew quite a lot about dragons. After a difficult night sleeping, he was suspicious enough to get up early the next day and check out the forest by the house. When he found that his notion was correct; a blue dragon was living in the forest nearby, he decided to show Canela the evidence of her nasty neighbour and help her to remove him „No wonder Canela was so depressed at times‟, he thought. It was not easy for Canela to see the dragon at first, but she was good with a sling-shot and Beau directed her. Canela felt an exhilaration that that surpassed anything she had dreamed of when the job was done. It was like a heavy backpack she did not realise she was carrying was taken off her back. She doubted if she would feel any guilt as Beau assured her that they are not like the animals she loves but the enemy.
Beau spent the next few days teaching Canela to hunt dragons. Salt rocks are cumbersome to carry and Canela showed aptitude for Dragon-fighting so Beau fixed her Dad‟s spare archery set and made some more salt tipped arrows. He set about teaching Canela how to get the bullseye in a range of situations, but he was nowhere near as good with a bow as with a sword. Canela was a natural, he‟d seen this before but even Beau was surprised by how quickly she leant, and asked her if she would like to come to Salvatore College (you may know is a school for dragon-fighters, all over the world) with him this term. He told her that some of the best archers in the Dragon-Fighter world were there and could help her develop her skills.
“Let me talk it over with my dad,” Canela responded. She was surprised and excited by the offer but worried that her dad may not agree. In the end she cooked him his favourite meal and dessert just the way he liked it, before she politely and assertively made her request. Arthur said it was ok for her to go to college, but she must take Mikey as he was able to look after the kids and the lamb, but an elephant is just TOO much work for an “old” man, he decided.
Beau gave Canela space to spend some time with her dad before they had to say goodbye, as he knew they would not see each other in a while. Canela asked the Fairies to make her a Dragon-Fighter and while they were visiting, Beau asked them if they could make him visible again. The Fairies told him that he had things to learn and jobs to do that could not be done visible, but they promised him that they would be with him every step of the way.
Three days later, the young Xionss set off for Matteo and Bella‟s place, riding Mikey and Rapido, Beau’s flying horse (who walked and had his wings tucked away to appear as a regular horse to ordinary people). Though they could not see the wings, there was no mistaking that there was something superior about Rapido; a sort of horsey wisdom and confidence which of course ordinary people shrugged off as coincidental.
Beau knew it would be a tough job convincing Bella and Matteo of his invisibility, but easier than he anticipated. Knowing that they were smart and kind he gave Canela a letter of introduction. Having an invisible guest was a shock for them at first but Xionss never complain, they make the best of what they are given and open their minds to what they can learn from the experience.
You may or may not know that Matto and Bella allow a few college students to stay in the home while attending college each year, and this time it was their turn. Canela was set up in the girl’s guest bedroom which was on the top floor of the large but cosy home and Beau set himself up in the basement, to be out of the way. Given the reaction of people in his home town, our hero was still not sure who he could tell “Guess what I am invisible” to and Canela didn’t know ANYBODY in town so it seemed natural at first to them to spend most of their spare time together or with Matteo and Bella.
Sometimes, they needed space from each other… Canela and Beau hadn‟t finished unpacking before they had their first fight. In fact when Bella was coming to the stables to check that each of them had enough food for Mikey and Rápido, she walked in on…
“Bossy-Boots”
“Space-cadet”
“Moron toad-face”
And a frightened elephant and a rather troubled flying pony, Rapido had helped to fight dragons, so he was not scared by a little human fight… but he didn’t enjoy unnecessary tension either.
Bella, who had been given the gift of wisdom by the wise fairy Kathléna, told them that Dragon Fighters never call people names when they are angry; they negotiate rationally. Canela and Beau saw the wisdom in what she said when they had calmed down, Bella gave them some tips for not turning future disagreements nasty and each person having their feelings considered.
Beau knew that Canela needed some things for Salvatore College and he was sorry for provoking her earlier that day. He asked Bella to help him buy some pretty dresses for Canela to make peace with her. Canela was so happy with her new clothes she danced around her room in them.
Beau could not go to school while he was invisible so he worked with Matteo and sometimes Bella on assignments in their area of Italy. Being invisible helped him to catch people who were being sneaky, deceptive and nasty. Being invisible also helped him to spot dragons that were trying to creep into the neighbourhood.
The dragons thought that Bella and Matteo were “alarming” at the best of times, they seemed to need less sleep than most people and were alert and accurate with bows and swords. Now they seemed to have some new sort of “Fairy-magic” and they hoped it did not spread.
Beau became a much improved letter writer, not that he was ever unable to write letters in the past he just preferred not to. He also found enjoyment on pranking some bullies at a local primary school when Canela socialised with her college friends, sometimes he’d check that she was ok. But he has to be quiet about it as it annoys the lady.
In the evening he would help Canela with her homework. Sometimes when she was around, Beau would become visible for a few seconds and then disappear again. But it never seemed to happen in other people’s company.
Canela wanted her friend to have the chance to be visible again, so she brought a few friends home from college to meet him. Using only his voice to communicate could be tedious and tiresome, but mostly he appreciated the effort she went to. He didn’t admit it but he missed having lots of friends around him.
Cara and Forest came to visit for Bella‟s birthday and were so excited to meet an invisible Dragon-fighter; they told Michael about it, who promptly invited our unseen hero on a quest. When Beau was half-way sure that Canela would be ok, he wrote her some letters to read while he was away, promised to write and set off with the group. (Turn to page # to read his letters)
When he arrived home, Beau presented Canela with a bunch of pink lilies that he‟d found along the way. He‟d remembered hearing her once tell Bella that they were her favourites she was so happy he stayed visible for 50 minutes.
“I’ve never received flowers before” she said excitedly, she paused to breathe in their beautiful cinnamon aroma, “It’s so nice to have you home” finally remembering her manners, she thanked him with a hug.
Hugs were rare for Beau these days, and he very much enjoyed it. He began to wonder if Canela was the Dragon-fighter for him when it happened again as he brought her an iced chai latte which he‟d made for her while she was studying. He didn't know why, but at times Canela's enthusiasm for rescuing endangered animals made him excited too. They spent many hours discussing how fighting dragons could work together with rescuing elephants, monkeys and other animals Canela loved. Many times when they were washing up together, he would listen to her ideas about saving animals Beau became visible for longer and longer; however, he always disappeared when the conversation was over.
Beau noticed that Canela‟s smile was not quite as bright as it once was; certain that she was probably missing her Dad, Beau taught Canela to fly on Rapido and let her borrow his horse for the Easter break. She came back so happy and refreshed that it almost made up for the boredom he‟s suffered in her absence. Fortunately for him, his parents dropped by towards the end of the break. He‟d somehow managed to finally tell them in a letter about his condition; he had been concerned that they would worry.
His Mum noticed (though she politely did not mention it) that he talked a lot about Canela. She did gush though that he somehow he seemed taller when she hugged him. Asaph noted to his wife that their son had become so much wiser, and both parents were so proud. They thanked The Fairies once again for blessing them with Beau and trusted that one day they would see his face again.
Asaph and Inara stayed in town a week longer; enough to meet Canela and become friends with her too, not just because she made their son happy. Canela found that she liked Beau‟s parents very much. Inara was a petite lady but what she lacked in physical stature she made up for in inner strength and character. Canela thought she gave the best hugs of anyone alive. Asaph was a genial man with a huge warm smile. He worked hard to make people feel comfortable around him, and was certainly thoughtful and gifted in hospitality.
Beau stayed visible for ½ day when Canela passed her exams for first year, and decided to take advantage of it. Now was his chance, bringing her flowers, he was surprised at how nervous he was, and stumbled over the words more than he was comfortable remembering, but when he finally asked her to marry him, Canela told him that she would have to think about it. Two days later, he became visible again, for 10 hours when she told him “yes”.
Canela had a lot to consider, in those days of pondering.
1. She liked his parents, but was not sure that Beau could stay visible once they got married, and how could she explain having an invisible husband. Having an invisible friend had issues enough. Sometimes when they went out, she would forget when others were around and start talking to Beau, and people would laugh at her thinking she was talking to herself.
2. There were also the boys from the pet food shop who paid her a lot of attention and she could actually SEE them… Even though sometimes it seemed that they might be more interested in making trouble than rescuing animals, like they claimed..
It was a tough decision, but in the end, she decided to take a chance, and every day for the rest of her life, she was glad she‟d listened with her heart and made the decision to marry Beau, although it seemed crazy at the time.
Beau, was not perfect, Canela knew that… She remembered the day that he decided to check out his competition, at the pet food store. Pretending to be a magic talking turtle, Beau convinced two of Canela‟s admirers that the most beautiful girls in the world, were back in Manilla. He even gave them a map and some money to get there. To give him credit, Beau had worked out, sooner than Canela did, that they were not as interested in the things Canela was passionate about as they pretended to be. It made him angry that they were deceiving her, she remembered with regret some of the venomous things she had said to her in her fury. Eventually she saw his wisdom and a little while after that she admitted it.
That evening, when Bella, discovered what Beau did, she told him, “I know you were meaning to be nice, but you have to let Canela make her own decisions, and see for herself that the boys are deceitful”.
Taking Bella’s words to heart, Beau, worked on ways that he could be a better friend to Canela, and he spent a lot more time fighting dragons in the kingdom and less time worrying about whether he would be visible again. He liked that he was becoming a better person; he loved to help people… even when they did not know he‟d helped.
The dragons got sick of getting squashed by invisible dragon-fighters and went off to annoy other towns for a while.
Canela and Beau married on the Summer Break from Salvatore College and attended the next year of college together. As soon as Canela said “I Do”, and kissed him; Beau was visible and is visible to this day.
When they graduated, Beau and Canela travelled around the world, fighting dragons and rescuing animals. Canela found that the more dragons she fights the fewer animals there are to rescue as; when the dragons leave, the people stop being cruel to the animals and start caring for them. They love to work as a team.
Beau and Canela still argue every now and then, and they still like to be competitive with the washing up- seeing who can get the dishes the cleanest with the least time and water.
