The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry

“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. I have had urgent matters to attend to. It seems that there are those forces who would take the magic from our world to do evil in yours.”

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

With Arial’s help, I have found my way back to the mortal world, and my garden. I have never been to a midsummer faerie festival and I’m here to tell you that it can take a lot out of a person, even a person like me with faerie blood flowing in her veins.

The summer season is progressing and I can feel a touch of fall in the air, Lughnasa, which marks the beginning of the harvest (Aug. 12th) has come and gone and we are quickly advancing on Mabon.

Mabon is celebrated on the Autumnal Equinox, the time when day and night are equal and is sometimes called the second harvest, the Festival of Dionysus, or the Feast of Avalon. In times past, a good harvest meant surviving the cold winter months.

At Mabon, we  reflect back on our accomplishments of the year and give thanks for all that we have achieved. We plan for the dark cycle of the year, but look  forward to the future and the promise of spring.

In looking back, I am proud of my accomplishments but it is Warren, my little gnome friend, who surpasses me . This year, I decided to grow a garden. In the spring, Bill surprised me by digging up some stumps so that I could plant a faerie cottage garden. Warren helped where he could but kept getting under foot so I insisted that he just watch. I planted several different  perennials and some herbs, and when the weather warmed up a little, I planted some snapdragons and petunias.

When the cottage garden was planted and happily growing, I turned my attention to the vegetable  garden. I planted tomates and cucumbers, green peppers and zucchini.

After all the starts were planted, I had one little tomato plant left over. It was the smallest plant of the bunch and I thought that I would just throw it away but Warren ask if I might let him have it. I didn’t know where to plant it so I just stuck it in my flower garden. I put a cage around it and left it for the gnomes to tend.

August has come and the tomato’s are ripening. Mine are having some difficulty, the spring was wetter than usual so I have been fighting powdery mildew and blossom end rot. Warren’s tiny tomato plant on the other hand has grown into a gigantic vine and has taken over the entire flower garden! I knew gnomes had a way with gardens, that was one of the reasons I asked Warren and Odette to come and live in mine, but this is amazing. I have never seen a tomato vine get so big.

It has grown up and over the cage, then down and over all my perenials. Warren loves teasing me, he is very proud of his work and has offered his expertise for our garden next year. I think I will take him up on his offer, but if all my tomato’s grow this big, I will have to have more space.

The days are getting shorter and soon the fall faeries will arrive to help usher in the hibernation of winter. As much as I love the fire faeries of summer, I can’t wait to see my winter faerie friends again. Arial has been  spending a lot of time lately looking toward the north in anticipation. As I watch her now, I wonder what the dark winter nights have in store for us…it has been to quite at  Mrs. Shunner’s house.

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

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.