The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry

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 one with the hole in the center?” I nodded. My hand found the stone that I carried with me, deep in the pocket of my robe. The stone was the only thing I remembered about Midsummer.

Arial continued. “Fix in your mind a clear picture of where you want to go,  hold the stone up to your eye so that you can see through it and say ‘take me to’, then say where you want to go. It is really quite simple. Shall we try?”

I looked at Arial with what could only be described as total abject fear. “I, I, I…don’t think so!” Pushing the stone deep into my pocket, I backed away from the door. Not that getting away from any mortal opening would stop any magical mode of transportation, but I felt better.  “I haven’t even seen the summer palace, I could end up somewhere so totally wrong Arial, totally wrong!”

Arial stood and put her hands on her hips. “Well, if others can manage, I’m sure you can, come on now, try it.” She rustled down into my pocket before I knew what she was doing and came out with the smooth pink stone. My thoughts were on what she had said. “Wait a minute, wait a minute, what do you mean by “others”?

She darted toward my face with the charm held out in front of her. Sliding to a abrupt stop, she pushed the stone up to my eye, winked and said “you don’t think you are the only one do you? Now, think of the meadow and see it in the center of the stone.”

Thoughts of others with faerie blood vaporized and a picture of the grassy meadow and the palace it surrounded rose up from the depth of my memory, and for one shinning moment, I saw it in the center of the stone.

All I did was blink,  it felt like I was being squeezed through a tunnel, then, the memory of the clearing in the center of the stone became a reality. I found myself standing in tall grass that was waving gently in the breeze, the cheerful little stream that cut a path across the meadow from the forest to the palace, wandered back and forth finally ending  in a cool blue pond. I turned to see the magnificent spires of Litha’s summer court rising up before me.

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

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!”

“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.