BEAUTIFUL AND IMPOSSIBLE THINGS

by Lindariel

an episode extension for Season 2/Episode 14
When the Blue Bird Sings

We shall lay our hands upon the basilisk,
and see the jewel in the toad’s head.
Champing his gilded oats, the Hippogriff will stand in our stalls,
and over our heads will float the Blue Bird,
singing of beautiful and impossible things,
of things that are lovely and that never happened,
of things that are not and that should be.

 * * * * *

Far below, in a cozy chamber filled with jars of powders and potions, a large worktable with a sand tray and a basket of shells, a dark bowl filled with crystal clear water, Kristopher gently closed his beloved copy of Oscar Wilde’s works, which he had quietly liberated from Mr. Smythe’s bookshop earlier that day. He looked across to the chamber’s elderly occupant, who was grinning mischievously, her clouded eyes glowing with mirth and good spirits.

“Come, child, come,” Narcissa chortled, as she heaved herself up from her comfy chair by the fire and made a hobbling beeline toward her work table. “Come, we shall look into the waters and see what has become of your gift.”

“I must thank you again, Narcissa,” Kristopher responded, watching the Tunnel Vodou priestess as she prepared a special powder. “Two years ago, you found me and called me Below when the cold of winter liberated me from my body. Here, to this place of new marvels I never imagined, where I could paint at last in peace. So much inspiration just in the wonders of rock and pool, light and shadow. You introduced me to Elizabeth, who so kindly shares her paint supplies and canvasses.  And then, of course, there is our favorite project – Vincent.”

The powder at last completed, Narcissa chanted as she scattered it across the surface of the water, waving her hands above the bowl.

“Now, child, we shall see if that stubborn boy at last begins to see what we see,” Narcissa intoned.

With a final wave of her hands, the waters cleared, revealing Vincent and Catherine as they gazed at the beautiful painting Kristopher had worked on tirelessly almost from the moment he arrived in Narcissa’s chamber – a lost spirit in search of a congenial home. Gradually, the two almost-lovers slowly leaned toward one another, Vincent’s arms gently gathering his beloved Catherine closer until they nearly resembled the pose in the painting before them.

“Can it be that this is how he sees us?” they heard Vincent murmur into Catherine’s ear.

“Together, always?” Catherine responded, looking up tenderly into Vincent’s wondering face. “Oh, I hope so. This is how I see us.”

Vincent gasped as the Bond revealed to him the strength of her belief in him – in them.  And slowly, his arms gathered her even closer, and he bowed his head and claimed her lips.

“Yes!” Kristopher exulted. “At last!” 

He turned to the smugly smiling Vodou priestess, cocked his head, and asked, “Do you think it’s too soon for me to start painting a portrait of their children?”

Narcissa laughed. “Give them time, child. Give them time. We shall see what the waters will show us of the future at a later date. For now, it is enough that Vincent begins to accept his humanity.”

“And his right to love and be loved,” added Kristopher softly with a gentle smile.

“Yes, indeed,” Narcissa responded. “Love is the greatest of the Powers. It springs out of sorrow and overcomes destruction and violence for those who open their hearts.”

“And brings the wandering spirit home,” Kristopher added, dropping a gentle kiss on the old woman’s forehead.