http://fairiefabels.com faeries through the ivy hedge Sun, 13 Feb 2011 00:50:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.5 faeries through the ivy hedge The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry no faeries through the ivy hedge http://fairiefabels.com/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://fairiefabels.com/category/entertainment/ http://fairiefabels.com/2011/02/the-ember-audios/ http://fairiefabels.com/2011/02/the-ember-audios/#comments Sun, 13 Feb 2011 00:50:07 +0000 admin http://fairiefabels.com/?p=2324 http://fairiefabels.com/2011/02/the-ember-audios/feed/ 0 http://fairiefabels.com/2010/02/dragon-awards/ http://fairiefabels.com/2010/02/dragon-awards/#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:26:05 +0000 admin http://fairiefabels.com/?p=2082 http://fairiefabels.com/2010/02/dragon-awards/feed/ 0 http://fairiefabels.com/2009/12/the-yule-ball/ http://fairiefabels.com/2009/12/the-yule-ball/#comments Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:07:47 +0000 admin http://fairiefabels.com/?p=1914 http://fairiefabels.com/2009/12/the-yule-ball/feed/ 0 celebration,faerie magic,faerie winter palace,gift,holly berries,jingle bells,pine cones,shooting star,steampunk faerie "Winter Procession" by David Delemare Transporting the "faerie way" has a tendency to make me slightly dizzy, I think it has something to do with molecules rearranging... - We always arrive in the realm outside the palace, "Winter Procession" by David Delemare Transporting the "faerie way" has a tendency to make me slightly dizzy, I think it has something to do with molecules rearranging... We always arrive in the realm outside the palace, appearing  just at the bottom of the broad stairs that lead up to the ornate double doors of the royal home. Because this was a special occasion, and because Arial wanted to make her first visit to the newly arrived queen spectacular, she made sure that our whole entourage appeared right in the center of the Grand Hall. Personally, I thought it was because she was showing off for her mother, but she insists it was..."just for effect, in honor of Yule". The winter palace, as you would suspect, is made entirely of ice and snow. Every wall glistens. The floors are solid white and the color of choice is blue, every shade you can imagine. It sounds like a cold and foreboding place but I can assure you, it is just the opposite. Faerie magic is a wonderfully subtle thing, you can never trust your senses. What looks cold; is warm, and things that appear at a distance are actually closer than you suspect.  Now, standing in the middle of the winter palace, I was comfortably warm. The pale ice blue walls were draped with long runs of spruce garland that were decorated with pine cones, holly berries, and snowdrop flowers.Fireflies added their own particular type of twinkle.  Two large oak trees stood sentinel at both sides of the dais, where, instead of one chair, four chairs sat. I had to ask. "Arial, what's with the four chairs?" I pointed at the ornate stools, each carved with symbols depicting winter, spring, summer, and fall. Arial was busy greeting a steady flow of her faerie family. She looked very proud of her kind as she  turned to explained."The Festival of Oak and Holly is the only time the four sitting queens are together. The Yule ball is the time for all four seasons of the Fae to come together and celebrate the coming year." I nodded and looked around me. The grand hall was quickly filling up with faeries of all types and sizes. Other magical beings where in attendance as well. Elendain and the elves from the elven-wood were here. The centaurs were represented by Serg. There were dwarfs and pixies, mermaids and dyads (the mermaids accommodated by the placement of large fountains down each side of the hall). The dyads pretty much stayed in the oak trees, only coming out to greet the occasional well wisher.  This party reminded me of the one I attended at Midsummer, only more lavish. While marveling at my surroundings, I was surprised by a sudden flurry of faerie wings. Flashes of blue, yellow, red, and green obscured my sight. Four faeries whipped about my head in an excited frenzy. They were all talking in high tinkling voices at the same time, which made it hard to tell what was being said, it just sounded like a cacophony of jingle bells. Then it dawned on me, these were the first four faeries I ever saw! I held out my arms. Sunny, Bella, Pip, and Ferne all came to rest, two on each arm, wings fluttering wildly in their excitement . "Oh! my dear sweet friends! I am so glad you're back! Pip, I do believe you've grown, and Sunny, are you still a relentless teaser?" Ferne, the plant lover of the bunch, glided up to tuck a sprig of holly behind my ear and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. While we got caught up on the latest happenings, the lights dimmed and the huge crystal doors at the back of the hall swung open slowly. A path to the throne was made as the guests parted to make way for the procession of queens. As it turned out, I was on the front line after the throng of beings drew back to allow the queens passage. I could see them as they came down the aisle, stopping every once in a while to hug someone or share a few words. I noticed, as they made their way to where I was standing, that the people they stopped to speak with didn't look at all magical. The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry no http://fairiefabels.com/2009/10/i-see-faeries/ http://fairiefabels.com/2009/10/i-see-faeries/#comments Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:01:11 +0000 admin http://fairiefabels.com/?p=1781 http://fairiefabels.com/2009/10/i-see-faeries/feed/ 0 Blue Ridge Mountains,faerie fan club,faerie sighthing,Haiku,Katherine Bourgeois,magic of words,silver flute " Arial, come and look." I was working at the computer when an e-mail message came in from a good friend, Katherine Bourgeois. Kat and I met on a social site for business people and were immediately friends. " Arial, come and look." I was working at the computer when an e-mail message came in from a good friend, Katherine Bourgeois. Kat and I met on a social site for business people and were immediately friends. I was told by Queen Litha that faerie people find each other, and I am finding out that  she was right, people from all over are writing to me about some faerie sighting or another. "Remember Kat? She introduced us to Patricia Saxton." Arial was all smile's as she made herself comfortable on my shoulder. "Yes, I do remember, have you received new tidings from her? (Fairy's tend to talk "old world"). "I have, would you like to see?" Arial jumped up and swirled about in a fast, rather complicated series of aerial maneuvers. She stopped suddenly and drew a tiny silver flute from  her belt. It wasn't long after the sweet, melodic notes had faded away that the room exploded into hundreds of fall faeries, all struggling to look at the monitor. I had faeries sitting on my head and slipping off both shoulders, one even tried to perch on the tip of my nose. "Um...excuse me!" I carefully removed the offending faerie by lifting her up by the wings and setting her down on the desk, where remarkably, there wasn't one other faerie. "Thanks Arial, just what we needed, a faerie fan club." The room vibrated with excitement. Arial darted back and forth, "Hurry, hurry hurry!" A couple of  things I have noticed about my faerie friends, they don't have much patience, and they love a good story (that's probably why Arial is so insistent that I write things down). "All right, calm down! I'm opening it, look, here it comes. She sent pictures too!" Kat wrote: Tami, on a recent trip blueberry picking in a beautiful valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, my granddaughter Chloe and I discovered several beautiful faerie hideaways.  These lovely little spots also sparked a little faerie haiku. Arial wrinkled her nose as she tip-toed around the keyboard. "What is "haiku?" She ask this as if it were something to avoid stepping in. I had to laugh at the expression on her face. "Haiku is a form of non-rhyming, Zen-like poetry that originated in Japan. It has a formal structure limited to seventeen syllables, five in the first line, seven in the second line, and five in the third line. Would you like me to read them to you?" All the faeries clapped and cheered so I began: Deep in the valley I thought I saw a glimmer Of faerie luster. Twinkling by the stream Sparkling, blinking, and shining Faeries as flashlights ****** Faerie, tucked in for The night, did you hide your light Under the covers? ****** Silly Faerie, why Do you think I cannot see You blinking at me? ****** Do faeries smile and Stop to talk a while and be Friends like you and me? ****** Is there faerie time? Or can their days be measured In winks of an eye? ****** When faeries get mad Do they blink slowly and point A mean wing at you? There was a soft collective sigh when I stopped reading. Fairy eyes are, for the most part, large and dewy, but now I noticed that there were more than a few misty eyes in the group. I smiled. "Judging by everyone's response I take it that you like Kat's Haiku?" The faeries were sitting in groups of two and three hugging each other and humming softly. Arial came up close to my ear and whispered "We must send Kat a missive this instant thanking her for her charming words and her captivating still life!" The fall faeries drifted off, one by one, still caught in the magic of Katherine's words. © Tami Ruesch, The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry, 2009. My heartfelt thanks go out to Kat for her wonderful poetry! The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry no 5:32 http://fairiefabels.com/2009/10/the-wiccan-new-year-is-upon-us/ http://fairiefabels.com/2009/10/the-wiccan-new-year-is-upon-us/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:38:58 +0000 admin http://fairiefabels.com/?p=1725 http://fairiefabels.com/2009/10/the-wiccan-new-year-is-upon-us/feed/ 0 http://fairiefabels.com/2009/09/lithas-summons/ http://fairiefabels.com/2009/09/lithas-summons/#comments Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:40:59 +0000 admin http://fairiefabels.com/?p=1671 http://fairiefabels.com/2009/09/lithas-summons/feed/ 1 diamonds,Elendan,faeries,fairy wands,fun house,Litha,Magical travel,rumble of thunder "I knew you could do it!" Arial whipped around my head, giggling and tweaking my cheeks on each pass. "I knew it, I knew it, well done." - My head was spinning. Traveling magically though time and space isn't something that I do everyday, "I knew you could do it!" Arial whipped around my head, giggling and tweaking my cheeks on each pass. "I knew it, I knew it, well done." My head was spinning. Traveling magically though time and space isn't something that I do everyday, not on my own anyway. "Is it always this way?" Arial stopped buzzing around my head. She tilted her head to one side and stared at me with her huge luminous. 'Is what always this way?" I found a flat rock and quickly sat down, holding my head to stop the spinning that threatened to tip me over. "You know, fairy travel. When you pop in and out, do you feel like your being sucked down a worm hole? I felt like I was in one of those spinning tunnels in the fun house. It was more colorful though, like someone had taken all the colors ever imagined and swirled them all together." I closed my eyes and pressed on the top of my head again. Arial landed on my left shoulder, took my ear lobe between both of her tiny hands and pinched. "In the beginning there are some side effects."  I felt a tug on the opposite ear. "There, feel better now?" I sat for a moment, taking stock of my general well being and decided that, everything considered, I was as well as could be expected. I mean, after all, this was nothing compared to my little feline escapade, or getting caught in the middle of the blasts from two fairy wands and ending up in a dark forest. " Yes, I do believe I am beginning to feel a little more like myself,  thanks." The palace doors were thrown wide to the sound of crackling electricity, a flood of orange, red, and yellow faeries poured out of the opening. The winged masses rolled down the steps like a tidal wave and streaked toward us. Within seconds we were surrounded and all I could see were scintillating wings and large gleaming eyes. There was so much electricity around us that my hair was pulled straight out away from my head. I wish I could describe the feeling that comes over me when I am surrounded by the Fae. It is a warm, comforting feeling, like being snuggled in a fuzzy blanket on a cold winters night, and even though the faeries of each season do things a little differently, they always make me feel as though I have come home. I noticed that Arial had risen above the crowd of excited faeries and was performing a deep,  respectful, mid-air curtsy. I craned my neck and looked in the direction of the palace doors. Standing on the flag stone steps was Litha, queen of the fire faeries. Her gown was a deep glittering red, it floated around her like a cloud. Her hair looked like a flame, red turning to orange, turning to bright yellow at the tips and her crown was a circle of  flashing lightening bolts. I had only seen her once before, in the elvenwood with Elendain and I had forgotten what a striking presence she commanded. A silence fell over the crowd of faeries and they parted as she floated toward  toward me. Litha stopped, flashed a bright beautiful smile, then addressed Arial. "Welcome, daughter of  Orlaith, Queen of the Winter Faeries, come and stand at my right hand." Arial floated gracefully to the ground, growing in height, and took her place by Litha. The High Queen of summer is much more proper than the other queens I have met, so when she turned to face me I offered a deep curtsy, following Arial's example. "Queen Litha, I have come in response to your summons. I hope that I haven't kept you waiting." Her laugh wasn't high and musical like I would have expected, but low and throaty. Litha's laugh sounded like the far off rumble of thunder, and her eyes sparkled like diamonds under a bright light. She took both of my hands in hers. "Daughter of Summer, you who have become a beacon of hope for the world of the Fae. Do not carry the fear of disappointment, but rejoice in the light that you bring to the realm. It is I that have kept you waiting. Waiting far to long since my court arrived, and for that I apologize. The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry no 6:28 http://fairiefabels.com/2009/09/at-the-request-of-the-queen/ http://fairiefabels.com/2009/09/at-the-request-of-the-queen/#comments Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:41:29 +0000 admin http://fairiefabels.com/?p=1638 http://fairiefabels.com/2009/09/at-the-request-of-the-queen/feed/ 1 faerie palace,golden crown,Litha,Summer Fairies,wand The note simply read: By Order of Queen Litha, your presence is requested at the Royal Court of the Summer Faeries. I found it lying by my pillow this morning, tied with a fiery red ribbon from which dangled a tiny golden crown. - The note simply read: By Order of Queen Litha, your presence is requested at the Royal Court of the Summer Faeries. I found it lying by my pillow this morning, tied with a fiery red ribbon from which dangled a tiny golden crown. I have been summoned to the palace before, but not quite so formally. Usually Arial dashes up to me, points her wand at my head, and as we dissolve in a cascading shower of sparkles, says something like "We must hurry, the queen has asked to see you." I have never been left a mysterious note, wondering how I'm supposed to get from the ivy hedge to the palace by myself. I made my way downstairs, mumbling, "I guess I could look through the opening in the ivy again..." Bill was in the kitchen and turned to greet me with a cup of coffee in his hand. "What was that? I couldn't hear what you were saying. Hey, would you like a cup?" He shook an empty mug at me. I pulled out a stool and sat at the counter. "Sure, I'll take a cup, thanks." My attention returned to the note in my hand. "I didn't know I was talking out loud." Bill walked over, handed me my coffee, smiled and patted me on the back. "I hate to tell you this, but you talk to yourself a lot. It's just one of the quirky little things that I love about you.  So, what do you have there?" He stood patiently waiting. I handed the note to him with a little smirk on my face. "Well, I can show you, but you won't remember. " He took the proffered  missive and said, "Hey! give me a little credit, I'm not that old."  I smiled up at him and let the paper slipped from my fingers, "your memory isn't the problem hon." His eyes widened a little as he read Litha's command. "Faeries again huh." I nodded. "Yep. Litha does things differently though. In the past the other queens have either come to me, or Arial took me to them. I don't know how I am supposed to get there this time." I waved my hand at the note. "I just have this." Arial popped in just as Bill was handing the parchment back to me. "Oh good, you have found Queen Litha's invitation. It is very important that we do not keep her waiting, come." I stood and held my arms out. "Would you like me to go in my night gown? Arial tilted her head to one side and held her wand forward. "No, that would never do, allow me." With that, she waved her wand and my pj's were instantly replaced with a long floral skirt and a pale green pleasant blouse. My hair was brushed to a copper sheen and my make-up was expertly applied. "Wow, I have to get me one of those!" I reached toward Arial as if to take her wand. She glided backward in quick retreat, holding the wand behind her. "Faeries only!" "Come on Arial, I was only teasing you, don't be so serious." I swirled the long skirt around my ankles. " Not to change the subject, but, before you showed up I was wondering how Litha expected me to get to the palace. I had no idea if you were aware that I had been summoned." Arial tucked her wand securely under her belt and darted forward. "I can take you, or..." She started drifting casually back and forth. I didn't like her tone, I have come to be very suspicious of sentences that trail away with "or", especially when the sentences come from the mouths of magical creatures. "Or what?" I forgot that Bill was standing  just a few feet away, Arial had my complete attention. He chuckled and shook his head as he walked past me, giving me a look that told me he thought I was talking to myself again. I repeated, "Or what, Arial?" I emphasized Arial's name so that Bill would realize that I was talking to her, not to myself. Arial buzzed around his head and tweaked his ear for emphasis. "Ouch! All right, all right! I see her, okay?" He made a face in her general direction, sticking out his tongue and pulling the corners of his eyes up, then disappeared into the library. Arial flew around to sit on my shoulder. "Or...I could show you how to get there by yourself. Remember the pink stone I gave you? The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry no 8:39 http://fairiefabels.com/2009/08/mortals-who-love-faeries-make-the-best-friends/ http://fairiefabels.com/2009/08/mortals-who-love-faeries-make-the-best-friends/#comments Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:22:30 +0000 admin http://fairiefabels.com/?p=1578 http://fairiefabels.com/2009/08/mortals-who-love-faeries-make-the-best-friends/feed/ 3 http://fairiefabels.com/2009/06/queen-litha-the-fire-faeries-of-summer/ http://fairiefabels.com/2009/06/queen-litha-the-fire-faeries-of-summer/#comments Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:40:17 +0000 Arialhollyberry http://www.fairiefabels.com/?p=1391 http://fairiefabels.com/2009/06/queen-litha-the-fire-faeries-of-summer/feed/ 0 dragonflies,Fairies,fire,fireworks,lightening,magic carpet,shimmering,summer,Wizard of Oz "Summer Procession"      by David Delamare The air was full of iridescent blue-green dragonflies and faeries whose wings  crackled with energy. They circled and dived, then circled again. The elves in the trees came out to watch the aerial display. Ev... "Summer Procession"      by David Delamare The air was full of iridescent blue-green dragonflies and faeries whose wings  crackled with energy. They circled and dived, then circled again. The elves in the trees came out to watch the aerial display. Every so often a faerie would suddenly appear with a loud pop, sending a shower of red, orange, and yellow sparkles out in every direction. This was what I had seen coming through the trees earlier, this faerie firework display. Suddenly, the show halted. The dragonflies landed on the tree branches all around us, reflecting the sunlight in shimmering blue-green flashes. The faeries had drifted quietly to the ground and were hovering a few inches above the ferns on either side of the path. A hush fell over the clearing. The elves had ceased their murmurings and stood in respectful silence. Coming through trees just ahead of us was a large gleaming sphere carrying a faerie in a glittering red gown. She had hair that looked like fire, red turning to orange, turning to yellow and her crown was made up entirely of interwoven lightening bolts that were constantly flashing around her head (it reminded me of the Wizard of Oz when Glinda arrived in munchkin land, only not that big). There were faeries gliding along the ground on either side. Their wings were tall and thin, coming to a long, point.  Glittering lights followed the intricate design of veins that detailed each wing. I realized that these were the fire faeries of summer and that the spectacular faerie in the carriage must be their queen. The procession halted in front of Elendain, who bowed deeply as the queen emerged. The faerie queen circled her wand in the air, spreading a bright yellow light above her, growing in size until she was as tall as the mistress of  the Elvenwood. The royal pair hugged each other in greeting. "We are honored by your presence, Litha, Queen of the fire faeries, and want to welcome you and your court to our forest. Peace be with you." Litha's eyes sparkled and her smile warmed her face as she continued to hold Elendain's hands. "We come in friendship and gratitude. We are indebted to you for saving the Kind One." I stood watching the gracious diplomacy of the two queens feeling small and inadequate, like I had been some what of a bother. It must have shown on my face because Litha turned and approached me. She glided up to me and held me in her arms. "My dear, we were so worried about you." She held me at arms length and looked at me, tears glistening in her eyes. "I do not know what the future would bring if anything had happened to you. You are more important than you suspect, but that is the charm of your human half." There it was again, the half faerie blood thing. I sure wish I knew how to use it to my advantage. "Queen Litha, all of this..." I gestured around me, "is so far over my head. I am learning of things that I had no idea existed, of places I thought belonged  only in bedtime stories." Litha smiled and winked at me. "It is all quite something is it not? We have a very important celebration to attend so we must be going." She turned again to Elendain who had stepped up behind her and they hugged one final time. "Hail and farewell Queen Litha, may your journey be smooth and your nights be filled with stars." Litha waved her wand and a brightly woven rug appeared, hovering two feet off the ground. She motioned for me to sit on it. "A flying carpet!? I feel like I'm in one hundred and one Arabian nights!" She laughed at the analogy. "Well, why not, it is a long journey, you might as well be comfortable." She returned to her crystal bubble and waved at Elendain. "May you only know peace and happiness, Elendain, Mistress of Elvenwood." With that, the entire court of fire faeries rose into the air, flying carpet, dragonflies, and all, then darted toward the west, where the sun was already beginning to set. © Tami Ruesch, The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry, 2009. The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry no http://fairiefabels.com/2009/06/the-invisible-walls-of-elvenwood/ http://fairiefabels.com/2009/06/the-invisible-walls-of-elvenwood/#comments Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:28:20 +0000 Arialhollyberry http://www.fairiefabels.com/?p=1369 http://fairiefabels.com/2009/06/the-invisible-walls-of-elvenwood/feed/ 0 charms,escort,invisible walls,platform,sunlight,trees Odette and I followed Elendain up the rope bridge to a large platform high in the tops of the gigantic evergreen forest. We burst out of the branches into bright morning sunlight that spread as far as we could see. I stopped at the end of the bridge, Odette and I followed Elendain up the rope bridge to a large platform high in the tops of the gigantic evergreen forest. We burst out of the branches into bright morning sunlight that spread as far as we could see. I stopped at the end of the bridge, holding tight to the rough rope. "Is it safe up here? I mean, won't we fall off if the wind starts to blow?" Elendain turned back to me, smiling. "My dear, we have been here since the dawn of time, no one has ever "fallen off". Come, walk with me and I'll show you." She held out her hand to me. "I promise, you won't feel even a whisper of movement." I took her hand and carefully stepped out onto the large, round platform. Elendain continued. "We live in harmony with nature, we respect Gaia and she respects us, the wind never blows strong in these woods. Walk to the edge and put out your hand." I moved gingerly toward the edge, a tingling sensation of dread crawling up my spine. Stopping about five feet back, I held out my hand toward empty space. Elendain glided up behind me. "That's right, keep going. Hold your hand out in front of you, yes, that's right." I nervously inched my way closer to the edge of the platform. Two feet to go and my hand hit something. My eyes told me that there was nothing there, but my touch said there was a wall in front of me. With my eyes wide and my mouth hanging open, I took a few more steps closer and put both hands out, palms forward, and mimed  my way around the entire platform. "It's an invisible wall!" Elendain motioned for me to return to her side. "There are charms all through the elvenwood. This great hall is where we hold all of our celebrations and we prefer to be as close as we can to the heavens. That is why we charmed the ceiling and walls to be invisible. Odette was giggling under her breath, with a mischievous look on her face she darted toward the edge. At the last moment, before she could leap out into the blue sky, she turned her body and smashed, shoulder first into the invisible wall. "Oh, Odette don't...". She rolled on the floor at my feet laughing hysterically. "Ah missus, these inviseeble walls mess with yer brain they do. Lettin ya think yer gona fall."  Elendain was laughing too. I turned toward her with a mock look of exasperation. "Don't encourage her." I tried to keep my voice stern but it's hard not to laugh when everybody around you is laughing. Somewhere below a flute played. Elendain turned toward the east. "Your escort is arriving." In the distance I could see bright flashes of red, orange and yellow all through the dark green of the trees, it looked like tiny  fireworks moving toward us. As we made our way down, dropping once more into the  shelter of the evergreen boughs, I had a thought. "Elendain? If there are charms all through these woods, how did a troll find you? When Arial and the emerald guard helped me get home through the woods by the faerie palace, they kept throwing little silver orbs into the bushes at the side of the road. They said that it made the path invisible to the trolls and since they couldn't see the road, they would wander off in another direction." A shadow of doubt played across Elendain's face. Her eyes darkened the way Lilly's did the day Lucy and I walked down the street in front of the little white house. Elendain's voice pulled me back from my musings. "Yes, that is a good question, and one I will be looking into, but for now..." She stopped at the bottom of the tree and stepped to one side to let me pass in front of her. "Your escort is here." I looked up, flying toward us through the lingering mist on the forest floor, came hundreds of  faeries riding on fireflies. © Tami Ruesch, The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry, 2009. The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry no 5:37