The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry

Dressed in their finest,  Arial and the emerald guard escorted the Kind One to the winter queen’s palace. The grand hall was transformed for the faeries high holiday of Yule. It is the only time the queens of the four seasons, Orlaith, Alina, Litha and Mab are ever seen together.  Residents from throughout the realm were arriving to celebrate winter’s return, and hoping to get an audience with the queens.

The lights dimmed and the procession of the queens began. In the soft light The Kind One noticed other mortals standing in the crowd but her curiosity melted when Mab, the queen of autumn herself stopped right in front of her and extended and invitation to attend a special meeting at midnight by the great crystal doors of the palace. The Kind One was told that the other mortals would be there, and Mab would bestow a gift upon her.

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The air in the room took on the subtle smell of wood smoke and the musty scent of falling leaves as Mab approached our small circle. Her dress of red and black billowed around her, and her crown of  fall harvest and leaves bobbled  in the soft light of the winter palace.

She greeted each of us, with a warm hug and bright smile. It appeared that she already knew each of us, but how? I hadn’t met her until tonight, and judging by the looks on all the faces, I assumed that they hadn’t ether. I stood a little to one side of the group and watched as she laughed and chatted with the others. Mab has a charming, easygoing, off-beat way about her. The muss of leaves in her hair and her yellow and orange striped socks under a  black and red plaid dress proved she was a character. I loved her immediately.

Mab looked around and saw that I was holding back a little, taking in the scene, and gestured for me to come closer. “Kind One, please, do join us. You must meet everyone.” The group turned as one and joined her in her bidding, all speaking at the same time. “Yes, come join us. So nice to meet you! Don’t be shy. What’s your name again?” They were all so friendly and inviting. I moved closer to join the group, making a mental note of the warmth and fellowship. Who was it that told me that those with faerie blood would come together to help save our world? In the midst of all the excitement and introductions I couldn’t quite remember.

When Mab was certain we were all together she made her way around the circle to introduce us. “Thank you all for coming tonight! What a special pleasure it is to see my faerie brothers and sisters from the mortal world here with us this Yule.” Mab smiled brightly and the room, as if it had a life of its own, radiated pure joy. “Now, you must all get to know each other for you will all become part of the grand design for the future of your world and ours.” Mab stopped in front of the petite woman I had seen earlier at the ball.  “Everyone, this is Sparkle, she loves bright colors and it is reflected in her art. Her intuition has led her to us through her painting, only one with faerie blood can paint so gloriously.” She gave Sparkle a hug and moved to put her arm around the gentleman standing by her side. “This is the Word Master. He was drawn to Sparkle in a quest to understand himself and was fascinated by her fascination with the realm. What he came to find was that he, too, had faerie blood flowing through his veins.” The Word Master bowed deeply and Mab moved on.

She continued around until she had introduced everyone, telling about the special traits that made each of us “faeries by blood”. “This is the Sculptress, she has a talent with the “shroomie” beings of the realm, and they in turn inspire her art. Her faerie blood makes is possible to communicate with these shy creatures.” Jewel followed. “Jewel, like the Sculptress, is drawn by her faerie blood to the natural arts, but instead of looking at the forest floor for inspiration, she looks to the sky. Jewel is influenced by the Dryads. Her special talent is finding the spirit within the leaves of sacred trees.” I looked around; there was only one more person to introduce before Mab got to me. Golden Heart.

“Golden Heart’s glowing countenance is only second to her striking black hair. She is the caregiver, the person always ready to volunteer. She has unfailing kindness for everyone she meets. Her faerie blood gives her the ability to see the good in all mortals.”

I stood in awe of the wonderful talent that each of these people brought with them and was caught up in my thoughts when Mab finally turned to me. I couldn’t for the life of me see what special abilities my faerie blood gave me. What could she say? I do a good garden, which the faeries love to come and play in it. I felt Mab’s presence right in front of me and shook the wild thoughts out of my head, but I saw in her eyes that she already knew what I had been thinking.

Mab whispered in my ear, “Do not underestimate your powers Kind One, you are a very important piece of the puzzle.” She turned and spoke to the group. “This is the Kind One, she is having a hard time understanding her place in such an influential group, but knows this, it is the subtle strength of will that she possesses, that allows her the ability to hold the energy of an entire region in the west. Her faerie blood drew her toward one of the portals of the realm just in time to keep the Undak from entering the mortal world.” Everyone exhaled a collective sigh as they rushed toward me for a group hug. I have to say that Mab made my adventures sound important and dangerous, real cloak and dagger stuff. I thought about that for almost two seconds before I was awash with bodies. I didn’t think what had been happening was so special but at the moment I didn’t care, I just liked being included.

The Autumn queen stood back and watched with delight as the mortals who were part faerie talked and laughed then stepped forward and addressed us once more. “My time in the palace of the Winter queen grows short but before I go I want you all to have my gift.” Silence fell over the great hall as we waited in anticipation of the final gift of the faeries. Mab held her wand out and waved it over her up turned palm. An image wavered over her hand flickering in and out like it had no intention of materializing. She frowned and gave the air a little stab. The image solidified into a soft golden bag.

The queen worked her way around the circle we had made. Stopping in front of us, she pulled out a small ivory horn that was rimmed with gold and hanging from a golden chain. The horn was about two inches long. She draped it around our neck and moved on to the next person. “My gift to you is the gift of communication. With The Horn of Aeon Myst you can summon the fae or hear great distances. You would be wise to keep it close to you at all times. The Armies of darkness will stop at nothing to take it from you if they know you possess it.” Six mouth’s dropped open and six pairs of eyes stared at her in shocked disbelief.

Mab backed away and clapped her hands. Six faeries of the fall queen’s court appeared in a flash of rusty sparkles. Before they all winked out Mab turned to face us, she wore an impish grin. “You should see your faces!” She laughed, and her court echoed her mirth. We looked around us and relaxed. The faerie court rose into the air as one, and from the fog of sparkles I heard Mab’s voice, “Remember Kind One to always keep the Horn of Aeon Myst close to you.”

© Tami Ruesch, The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry, 2009-2010

One of the nicest things about having an up close and personal relationship with my faerie friends is meeting others who travel the same magical path. The Fae it seems, just naturally attract others who share the same love of these ethereal winged creatures. My friends often tell me that they passed my house in the predawn mist and saw faeries dancing on my front lawn, or send a quick e-mail to ask me how to deal with a particularly moody pixie that keeps up ending all of their flower pots. As delightful as these beings from the realm can be, they do have a mischievous side.

Just recently, a good friend of mine introduced me to John Probst. John has just finished a book that Linda Biggs illustrated titled “Her Rainbow World”. You can read  the article about them here. Linda’s love of fantasy art comes through in her use of bright colors. It’s this use of colors that sets her apart from other faerie artists. Arial tells me that her friends love the colors (they remind them of the flowers, and some of the pictures even resemble their friends). John has a website where you can see a few of the illustrations from their book. I am still waiting for my copy…Marilyn?

This morning, as I was having my coffee, Arial was sitting on my shoulder (her usual place) and braiding the ends of my hair. I have never understood why she does this, I have just learned to accept the ways of the Fae and don’t ask.  Anyway, we are just sitting on the chaise lounge enjoying the summer morning and all of a sudden, she flips her wings once and shoots for the door squeaking  “Come, you must go to your computer machine.”

Like I said, I don’t even ask why. Faeries have an intuition that surpasses anything I have known. “Hold on Arial, I have to get the computer started.” I wasn’t really ready to start the day, but she was so insistent. After I had the computer running, I looked over at her and said “Okay, what am I looking for?” She smiled at me as she perched lightly on the edge of the monitor.

“The letters, look at your letters.” Arial is trying to understand the computer, but she has a hard time with the buzz words. “Do you mean my e-mail?”  Her smile broadened. “E-mail, that’s right, look at your e-mail. You will like it.” I couldn’t get my e-mail opened fast enough. Arial kept buzzing around my head. “Arial, please settle down, your flitting about is very distracting.”

Once I got the e-mail opened I saw at once what she had wanted me to see. Kat, a friend on LinkedIn, had sent me a note to introduce me to Patricia Saxton. Patricia has written a book entitled “A Book of Fairies”. I am looking forward to talking with Patricia more about the subject of faeries…wait a minute,  Arial is trying to get my attention. “Whats that? Arial reminded me that you can find Patricia’s book in her boutique.

I would encourage you to visit these sites and show your support of these writers and artists. To quote Arial, “Mortals who love faeries make the best friends!”

I felt a tangible shift as I stepped into the fairy ring. A soft breeze began to sweep through the meadow, it carried the sent of lavender and jasmine as it swirled around the circle. I heard the rustling of a thousand  faerie voices blowing on the breeze, soft at first, then growing louder. I spun around and peered into the gloomy recces of the tall pines looking for the whispered solicitations, then, In one gigantic explosion, the air was filled with faeries.

I couldn’t see Arial anymore, she was lost in the frenzy of the faerie celebration. At the edge of the clearing, fireflies flew in and out of the flowers on the bleeding heart bushes, making them glow a soft red, still others flickered like tiny yellow candles moving in and out of the shadows at the edge of the clearing. Mixing with the melodious voices of the faeries were the sounds of the night. Frogs and crickets added the counter point to their song.

The faeries circled and spun, diving in and out, their delicate wings fluttering through my hair. In an attempt to find Arial, I moved closer to the center, making sure not to step on any of the spiraling faeries. They were everywhere, flying on humming birds, and hiding behind flowers. I had been to the realm of the fae before but I had never seen so many different types of faeries, they were all shapes and sizes.

The rhythmic melodies of the faeries were becoming more enchanting and I found myself swaying with the magical music. I caught sight of Arial just as a legion of faeries  lifted me into the air. Normally I would have been unnerved by the sudden change of altitude, but the high pitched singing had filled my ears and I was caught up in the turbulent dance of Midsummer. It looked as if I were dancing with the stars themselves, whirling faster and faster until everything blurred together. I heard musical voices whispering to me to leave the mortal world behind.

The night passed into early morning and still we danced, twisting and leaping, until I felt as though I had merged with the fae. All memory of my mortal world was slowly seeping away. This is wonderful! I have no ties to hold me back, no responsibilities. I am grace and spontaneity! At this moment, I had given myself over completely to the faerie realm, I couldn’t even imagine going back.

I was so caught up in the euphoria of the moment that I hadn’t noticed Arial spinning close by. She had a look of understanding on her face. “Kind One, we must get back to the ivy hedge before the sun’s rays hit the meadow.”  I felt like cold water had been splashed in my face. In the east, the sky was beginning to show the first light of day. The celebration was already beginning to fade from my memory and I became aware that I was floating high above the ground.

“No Arial, I don’t want to go back, I’m one of the fae now, I’ve been invited!” Arial held her wand over her head in both hands and spoke in elvish. The wand began to glow as we slowly drifted back toward earth. Arial spoke, her words soft in my ear. “Hold out your hand.” Reluctantly, I gave in and held my hand forward. She waved her wand  and a small polished stone materialized in my upturned palm.

The stone was soft pink rose quartz that had a hole in the center. I watched as black cording twined around the stone then draped itself over my head so that the pendant hung over my heart. “This is beautiful Arial, thank you, but what do I do with it? Does this mean I can stay?”

Arial smiled. “The Fae need your help on the other side Kind One, your work and the people who love you are there. You are much to important to us to stay in the realm.”  She could see that I was having a hard time remembering. “Hold the stone up to your eye and look through it, you will understand better.”

I brought the crystal up to my eye and gazed through the center. The faeries I had been dancing with were fading into mist, their delicate hands reaching out for me. The last thing I saw was their large liquid eyes as the mist enveloped them completely. The scene was replaced with a picture of my backyard. My three Chihuahua’s were sniffing at the bottom of the ivy hedge and whining, then the scene dissolved.

I let the stone fall. “Arial, I remember! I must get home, what was I thinking? What time is it? How long have I been gone?” Arial’s countenance brightened, She held her wand up and waved it over my head just as the suns rays peeked through the pines. I held my hand up to shelter my eyes from the stabbing light and found myself standing in the shade of the old oak tree that grew by the wall of ivy marking the boundary between the faerie realm and my yard on the other side. Looking down I found Odette clinging to my ankle and thought that this was how we got here, but it seems so long ago now…

The mornings are cool in the summer, it’s the only time I can sit in the backyard and watch my faeries come and go through the portal in the ivy hedge. I’m sitting on the chaise loung and my thoughts come back to me as the memory of the Midsummer celebration fades. The wind chimes are blowing in the breeze and my little Edie is asleep on my lap. Arial is on my shoulder braiding my hair, and the gnomes, Warren and Odette are over in the garden trimming the chives

I turn my head to look at Arial. “You know what Arial? I really do love my backyard.”

© Tami Ruesch, The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry, 2009.