The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry

The sun glistened off of the dragons wings as she carried Ember Innocenzi and Perhluna high into the bright morning sky. With one more wave goodbye, they winked out and were gone, leaving Arial and the Kind One standing in the tall meadow grass.

They walked toward the shade of the forest as Arial explained how their rescue had been achieved. The Kind One was delighted to find out that the shadeberries Perhluna had found gave the two humans the ability to share their thoughts.

*****

I was dizzy from spinning and dancing with my faerie friends. Still laughing, I stopped and bent forward, trying hard not to topple over while I struggled to catch my breath. It was so great to be with the faeries again. My recent brush with the dark side of the realm made me realize how lucky I am to have my faeries with me.

Along with the feelings of gratitude came the memories of the ivy hedge and my family on the mortal side. Still slightly out of breath I jumped up, a renewed look of panic clouding  my eyes. That same irrational urge to dash into the forest flooded my instincts. I had to get to the portal as quickly as I could, but before I could say anything to Arial I felt a calming hand on my arm.

My mind had slipped back into a whirl of racing thoughts and it was all I could do to keep from shaking Arial’s hand off of my arm. Sucking in a quick deep breath, I turned to face the faerie who had become my ethereal mentor and best friend. Struggling to remain calm I waited for Arial’s sage advice.

Her dulcet voice had an instant effect on my frayed nerves. “Kind One, do not go down the same path that delivered you into the arms of certain danger only last night. Heed the lessons of the Fae, calm your mind, focus, only then can you control your doubts and fears. Clarity of purpose will be your reward.”

I felt like cold water had been thrown in my face. She was right, panicking never got me anywhere. I closed my eyes and concentrated on slowing my breathing. I pictured everyone at home, safe and happy. A sense of peace settle around me like a comforting fuzzy blanket. A soft tingling was spreading over the center of my forehead where the third eye chakra is.

Then…I knew what to do, just like that. It was so simple. I opened my eyes and looked straight into the deep green eyes of Arial. “Arial! you were so right! It was right here all along.” Bella, Ferne and Sunny all cheered in high musical voices as they dipped and dived around my head. Arial just stood, a smile on her face, and nodded in understanding.

“I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before, oh, I have so much to learn.” I reached around my neck and pulled a small pouch that hung from a fine silk cord out from under the neck of my gown. The pouch held all of the gifts the queens had given me, well, all but one. The Horn of Aeon Myst that Mab had just given us at the yule ball hung around my neck on its own shinning silver chain.

Holding the small blue velvet bag in one hand I carefully pulled the strings open to inspect the contents.  Orlaith’s crystal was glowing a soft blue-white, when I passed my fingers over it, the stone’s light intensified, illuminating the other objects. Alina’s butterfly settled on my hand, its iridescent blue-green wings pulsed slowly up and down as I carefully readjusted the lid to the tiny box in the bottom of the pouch that held Litha’s gift of lightening.

I had always thought of the gifts as small tokens of friendship bestowed on me by the queens of the four seasons, but now, holding them like this, I realized that they were much, much more. They were tools, each one harnessing great power. Crystal/ Illumination, butterfly/transportation, lightening/protection, and…I reached up to pinch the tiny ivory horn hanging on its silver chain around my neck between my fingers…horn/communication.

“Arial, why didn’t you tell me about the power of these objects?” Arial stepped closer and held out her finger for the butterfly to settle on, then brought it close to her face so that it could flutter around her eyes and nose. This simple action was one of tenderness and respect. Arial returned the butterfly to my hand  as she spoke. “To the uninitiated, these are just mementos, but to those like you, those who are half faerie, half human, they become a tools with purpose. I could not tell you of their powers, you had to come to it. They choose when to reveal themselves.” She smiled. ” All I could do is get you to focus. You must have been ready because the light dawned.”

“There were so many times that I could have used these!” I recalled the ghostly faerie, then Ember and I sitting under the old Oak tree in the dark and further back to the time Odette and I got caught in the crossed energy of Arial’s and Cythia’s wands and ended up in the forest of Elvenwood. It was Odette who pointed out the fact that the crystal glowed when I held it. I scrunched my face up in disgust. “I guess I should have known they were different when I used the crystal to light up the darkness for Odette to look at my knee.”

Arial transformed herself to her usual faerie size and said, “All in due time, all in due time.” She settled herself on my shoulder and continued, “Think Kind One, there is something more, something that can help you now, what is it? I stared at the shadowed path ahead of us, the path that wandered through the forest to the portal in the ivy hedge. It seemed a long walk back…travel,I thought,  it’s about travel! I have it! I reached into the small bag and pulled out the last object, the rose quartz disc with a hole in its center. Arial’s instructions came flooding back to me, “hold the stone to your eye and picture your destination clearly in the center, then close your eyes and say “Take me to…”

Holding the rose quartz up to my eye I pictured my backyard. The Hawthorne trees casting shade on the ivy hedge, Odette and Warren digging in the garden, Bill sticking his head out of the back door to ask me what’s for dinner. Then I closed my eye’s and said out loud, “Take me home.”

I felt a tingling sensation and a rush of warm air, when I opened my eyes again, I was standing on the patio facing a Laurel bush that had been completely destroyed…

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

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.

I landed face down in a bed of thick damp moss, two seconds later, Odette landed right beside me. With the smell of ozone still heavy in my nostrils, I rolled over and sat up. The last of the light was leaving the sky and the forest  was becoming increasingly dark.

Odette stood beside me pulling bits of leaves and moss out of her hair. “An what would ya be thinkin just happened?” She seemed to be very calm, given the fact that we were just magically transported who knows where. Now that I had a chance to pull myself together, I didn’t seem to be all that worried either, I had some bumps and scratches, but that was it.

I picked Odette up and put her on my lap. “I think that there was some sort of negative effect when the energy beams from the two wands crossed, and we got caught in the middle of it.” The underbrush rustled violently to the side of us. “Shh! I put my fingers over Odette’s mouth. “Somethings coming.”

I got quietly to my knees and crawled into a stand of tall ferns, signaling Odette to follow, then pulled the fronds up behind us. Twenty feet away, two young Centaurs crashed into the clearing, jumping wildly and butting their heads together as they took turns using defensive moves.

They shoved and pushed their way closer to us, unaware that we were watching. When they were just feet away they suddenly stopped and turned  in our direction, sensing our presence.  Odette and I sat frozen in place.

Odette opened her mouth to say something but I quickly put one finger to my lips to signal her to keep quiet. The centaurs started pushing through the undergrowth, working in opposite directions around the clearing. Before they could complete the circle back to where we hid, a horn sounded, high and thin. They snorted and bounded off through the trees, leaving us alone in the forest.

I released the breath I had been holding. “I thought they would find us for sure.  Do you think they were friendly?” My nerves were frayed, reality was setting in, we were alone in the forest and no one knew where we were or how to find us.

“There there dear, that’s what I’ve been tryin to tell ya, centaurs are faerie friendly, I’ve known em to help all the different faeries. Chances are, the faeries have called all the forest dwellers ta gether ta help find ya.”

The light in the sky was almost gone now and I was starting to shiver. We had landed in very damp moss and my clothes were soaked through. “Odette, I’m getting cold and I don’t think we had better stay here any longer. Lets find some place where we can get warm.” When I stood up a sharp pain shot through my knee. I muffled a groan.

Odette peered at me through the growing darkness. “You okay missus?” I crouched down to pick her up and another pain coursed through my knee, I bit back an exclamation. “Yes, I’m fine, just sore from the landing I guess.” I needed to change the subject. “If the centaurs are friendly maybe we should go the way they went.” I pointed across the clearing. “Over there, between those two trees, see, we can walk where they trampled through the underbrush.

We started across the clearing. Bruised from the fall, and with my knee constantly reminding me that there was some wrong with it, I worried that I wouldn’t be able to walk very far.  I looked around to find a stick that I could use as a cane. I couldn’t see anything, the forest was completely  submerged in darkness now. Discouraged, I sat down with my back against a gigantic tree, tears welling up in my eyes.

Odette climbed up my arm and with the edge of her apron, wiped the tears away. “Here now missus, no need for them tears, things will work out, you’ll see.” She sat down on my shoulder. It reminded me of the way Arial would sit and braid my hair while talking to me and the tears started again.

“Odette, it’s pitch dark now, I can’t see two feet in front of me, I’m cold, and my knee hurts. I’m having a very hard time seeing how things will be okay.”

Odette thought for a minute. “Do ya have the crystal that the queen of the frost faeries gave ya?” I used the sleeve of my shirt to wipe my eyes. “Yes, I keep it in a pouch around my neck, why?” Odette jumped up, slid down my arm and looked up at me. “What did the queen tell ya about it? Think back.”

The memory of the little faerie queen came back to me. She was holding out a crystal she had taken from her crown. She put it in my hand and said…”a crystal that will be a source of light and comfort for you in the dark times.”

“Odette, that’s it! The crystal, it glows!” I  grabbed the little pouch that hung around my neck and opened it. The crystal was glowing softly. I was so relieved that I almost laughed out loud. “It doesn’t glow very bright though.” I let Odette look in the little pouch. “Yes, but I’ll be thinkin that ya should hold it up, have a see what it’ll do.”

I took it out of the bag and held it in my hand. The light pulsed for a minute then the crystal began to quiver. I held it up to the night sky and it suddenly burst into sparkling white light.

Tears rushed from my eyes, but this time they were tears of relief.

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