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.

The Emerald Guard appeared at the ivy hedge as promised to escort us to the Mayday festivities. We could hear the bright music and the high tinkling laughter of the faeries echoing through the forest as soon as we past through the portal into the faerie realm,

The long rays of the sun shinning through the high canopy of branches made the spring leaves glow bright green. Pools of deep green shade made a nice backdrop for the long flower garlands the faeries had draped along the path leading to the meadow where Arial had instructed the maypole be placed.

I glanced around nervously, wondering if trolls were lurking in the underbrush. Almost on que, as if she could read my mind, Arial zipped out of the honeysuckle vines the were growing in a matted tangle at the base of a Hawthorne tree. “Good, good, you have come!” She was carrying a crown of flowers woven together with pastel ribbons. “We have taken a vote and it was unanimous, all the faeries have elected you to be the Queen of the May.

Bill and I exchanged a quizzical glance. “Just what exactly does that mean?” I had to ask, I wasn’t sure I wanted any surprises.

Cythia and a few more flower faeries joined us as Arial explained. “For the purpose of the Beltane celebration the Queen of the May acts as the physical form of Mother Earth and leads the parade around the court, accompanied by the green man, who symbolizes the spirit of the plant kingdom and the ever renewing cycle of life. The procession moves forward just as spring moves toward summer.”

“If I am the queen, who is the green man?” I looked from one faerie to another, squinting my eyes in a suspicious scowl. All the faeries burst into loud peals of laughter. The sight of these tiny beings rolling around on the ground, so to speak, in mid-air with their multi colored pastel skirts tumbling around their heads and their wings fluttering madly was too funny and I found myself grinning brightly.

“Kind One…” Arial held her side and tried hard to catch her breath. “The green man is the Green Man, he always has been. He lives in the trees and come out once a year signaling the return of the bright cycle of the year.”

I couldn’t wait to see the walking spirit of the plant kingdom. “Okay, I’ll do it. Lead on!” Arial and Cythia flew ahead of us as we walked down the path and out into a meadow. The maypole had been placed in the center and was tied at the top with long pastel streamers that were waving in the light breeze.

The sky above was thick with faeries, singing and playing flutes. I leaned close to Bill, “At least this will be more fun than turning into a cat!” He didn’t say anything, but put his arm around my shoulder and hugged me tightly. Cythia motioned for Bill to take a seat on some large purple pillows, after making sure that he had food and drink she helped Arial  place the flower wreath on my head and signaled the beginning of the procession.

Out of the forest behind us came a tall stately being, moving in slow, graceful strides. This was the Green Man. He was completely covered in leaves, his hands consisted of fine branches twined together forming fingers and his legs looked like young oak trees. He moved up beside me and stopped. After bowing to Cythia, he turned to face me. Without saying a word, he looked me over from head to foot then extended his arm for me to hold (I was having a very hard time keeping my mouth from hanging open). I took his arm and we began moving around the meadow, gradually moving faster as we approached  the center where the maypole stood. The faerie crowd was cheering and whistling. More than once I saw Arial at the edge of the group with a proud smile on her face.

As we reached the maypole, several faeries, the green man and I took a streamer and began dancing in and out, weaving around the pole as lively music played. When the streamers had been woven tightly around the maypole and we were all out of breath from laughing and  dancing, the green man turned to me and bowed politely. He plucked a willowy stem of leaves out of his chest and wove it into my hair then disappeared into the deep shadows of the forest, leaving me with the feeling that I had been dreaming.

I ran over to Bill. “Did you see that!? I was dancing with a living tree! Oh my gosh…pinch me, am I awake?” Bill looked at me with that same dreamy look in his eyes that he always gets when we are in the faerie realm. “Sure you’re awake” He smiled at me then and said…”Faeries!”

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