The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry

I sat up and struggled to pull myself out of a large  mass of white flowers that were threatening  to smother me.  Opening my eyes, I shoved and pushed the giant blooms, only to find that the large white flowers were only big fluffy pillows that had been placed all around me on a large downy bed.

Bright morning sunlight filtered down through the forest canopy and pooled on the floor beside me. A pillow had slid off the bed and was now moving across the floor, seemingly by its own power. I reached up and twirled a strand of my hair between two fingers.“Where am I, and how did I get here?” The thought floated in my mind like a leaf on a pond. I rubbed my eyes and watched as the pillow ran into the wall. A moment later, a pointed green hat burst out  from under the pillow.

Odette followed the hat, her hair all disheveled. She shoved the pillow off of her and scurried across the floor. “Oh missus! Oh, your awake! Saints be praised, your awake.” She climbed the mountain of pillows that were scattered around the bed then pulled herself up my arm and hugged my ear. “I waited right by yer side missus, I never left ya, not for a moment, no sir, not for a moment.”

She was quivering with excitement and relief. I wiped a tiny gnome sized tear from my ear lobe and plucked her off my shoulder, then cradled her in my hands. “Odette! I thought I had lost you. I was floating on a leaf in the middle of a huge pond and I almost sank when a storm came, but you weren’t there and I couldn’t see the shore.” I held Odette, rocking back and forth and she hugged my thumb.

“T’was the light from the crystal that saved us missus. It glowed so bright the the elves saw it and came for us. they’ed been told to watch fer us just like I told ya, an none to soon, the goblins were wantin us fer their dinner I think.”

Odette gave my thumb a long squeeze then waded across the mattress, sinking in up to her chin with every step. She wrapped her fingers around a delicate chain that was attached to the clapper of a silver bell and tugged. The chime echoed through the forest.

Suddenly, the trees came to life. Eleven folk were everywhere. Spirals of wispy smoke began to curl out of chimney tops scattered throughout the trees. I pulled my gaze back from the activity in the tree tops. “Odette, your an elf alarm clock!” She turned and smiled at me, making her way back to my lap. “We’ll be havin company soon.”

The curtain across the entry was pulled back just as Odette finished tucking the last of her curls up under her cap. Elendain moved through the entrance and came forward with her hands outstretched. “My dear, you have no idea how relieved the faerie court will be to know that you are safe. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Elendain, Mistress of the Elvenwood. We are honored to have you with us.” She glanced at Odette. “And your little friend too. She is a true and faithful companion, she showed incredible grace under pressure.” I noticed Odette blushing at such lavish praise.

“Queen Alina has been notified that you are with us and will be sending an escort for you. The faerie, Cythia, has been remanded to the flower faeries winter realm and will no longer be a problem. I would love to take you on a tour of Elvenwood while we wait for your escort, that is if your knee will allow it.”

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

“Spring Procession” by David Delamare

The flower faeries of spring have been busy all week coxing the flower buds to appear in preparation of the May celebration of Beltane. The gathering of the faeries in May is second only to the raucous gala of Midsummer.

Cythia has persuaded Arial to help her and the other flower faeries with all the arrangements for the festival tonight. All must be made ready for the arrival of  Alina, queen of the flower faeries.

Arial and I were in the kitchen when Cythia suddenly popped in. “There you are Arial! Would you mind showing that group of faeries over there the best place for the Maypole?” She spun around and pointed to a group of five or six faeries who were hovering in the sunshine,their  wings shining. They were giggling and whispering to each other. Obviously not focused on the task at hand.

“Not at all. Did you bring the potion for the Kind One?” Cythia’s attention was distracted by the laughing chatter of the faeries. She tapped lightly on the window pane with her wand, “Ladies! Ladies please! Oh,  I am having such a hard time with them, all they want to do is play. Ladies!” Arial floated up behind her and tweaked her wing. “Cythia, would you please pay attention.”

“So sorry, what were you saying?” One of the faeries laughed and Cythia spun around, pointed her wand at the faerie, and a flash of light shot out of the tip and found its mark on the back of her head. There was a multitude of high piercing squeals and the group winked out.

“My apologies Kind One.” Cythia took a spot on my left shoulder. “Arial tells me that you are having trouble remaining intact.” She giggled. “Sometimes these thing things happen, but I have a potion for you that should knock those nasty cat molecules out of you for good.” She looked closely at my eyes, first one, then the other, pulling them open by my eyelashes.

“Hum, it is strange though, usually my potions don’t have this kind of effect on humans.” Cythia drifted around to the side of my head and tweaked the top of my ear, then grabbed a fistful of my hair and ran her fingers through it. “Your hair is finer than a normal humans hair, and the red highlights are deeper. She came around to face me again, “Are you part elf?”

“What? I don’t think so, but I’m Irish on my mothers side of the family. Hey, how many times have you given potions to humans?”

Arial scooted up beside Cythia with a look of excitement on her face . “Queen Orlaith gave her a blessing and bestowed on her a sacred crystal from her crown! I have never heard of her doing that with a human before.” The two faeries exchanged knowing looks.

“I think you’re getting distracted again. Can I please just have the potion?” I pointed out the window. “I would love to have my voice back, and I think your girls need some supervision.” We all watched as the pastel faeries of spring darted in and out of the ivy hedge playing tug-o-war with the flower garlands.

“Hold out your hand.” Cythia waved her wand and a small vial filled with cloudy blue liquid appeared in my upturned palm. “Drink this and you will be right as Gaia’s rain in no time!” As soon as the little glass bottle had settled in my hand, Cythia grabbed Arial’s and the two faeries rocketed for the door. “Come, sister Arial, we have so much to do before tonight!”

Before they rounded the corner, Arial shouted, “you will come tonight, the Green Man will be there. We will be singing and dancing around the Maypole and jumping the fires of renewal, please come! I will send the emerald guard for you!” They were out the door and streaking for the ivy hedge before I could get a squeaky whisper of acceptance out.

I turned my attention back to the  small bottle. Uncorking it, I carefully sniffed the contents. It smelled like grape jelly. I held it back and looked closely at it to see if there was anything unnatural floating in it. I wasn’t eager to drink anything a faerie gave me after that last little incident, still, I did want my voice back, so I pinched my nose and swallowed the liquid in one gulp.

It didn’t taste too bad. I walked toward the library testing my vocal cords, “Me, me, me” Good, but not great yet. I wonder what a human wears to the Beltane celebration…

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

I didn’t know if Bill wanted to laugh or cry. One thing was perfectly clear, he wasn’t at all happy about having his wife turned into a cat. He sat down on the porch step and stared at me. Arial and Cythia had each taken a protective position, hovering a few inches off the ground on either side of me.

I have noticed that when situations get tense, the faeries will hum softly. It has a calming effect, like the time my little Chihuahua, Edie, got plopped on the head with cold wet snow.  She will always let us know when she is not happy, and by the sounds of her wild screaming that day, she wasn’t happy! The faeries paralleled her every move, humming a gentle lullaby, until she stopped. Then of course she looked at us like nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

Arial and Cythia were humming like that now, but this time it was for Bill. When the shock began to wear off, and the two faeries were satisfied that he was calmer, they left my side. Arial went to perch on Bill’s shoulder and Cythia proceeded to braid the strands of hair that she had pulled out of my head prior to my feline transformation.

Arial repositioned herself on Bill’s shoulder, leaning forward to observe Cythia’s work. She scratched her head, “Potions are tricky things.” Since Bill hadn’t been home to witness my metamorphosis, Arial had to do a little explaining. “Unless you know the exact magical strength of the creature you are going to change into, it is hard to gauge the length of time before the potion wears off. Obviously Mrs. Shunners cat wasn’t just a cat, or, the shape shifter had placed charms on it.”

“She won’t stay like that will she? We have dogs, and gnomes!” Bill edged a little closer and held out his hand to me. “Please forgive me sweetheart, I had no idea you were a, he gulped, cat.” I knew that I would have to make him dinner tonight, but right now I decided to play the cat role to the hilt. I turned my back and proceeded to lick my paws, glancing around to give him a detached look of disdain. “Tonight, you get tuna!” Meooow.

Cythia finished the braid and wove it into the fur on the top of my head. She moved back  waving her wand over me and chanted. Pink sparkles fell from the tip and disappeared into the thick black fur. “That should do it! Her natural DNA will recognize the strands of hair and the transition back to her former human self will begin.”

We waited. When nothing happened, I started to get nervous and began pacing around in circles. “I can’t stay this way, I can’t stay this way!” Meeeeoow, meeeeoow! Bill stifled a shudder and gently rubbed my fur. “Ah honey! Thanks for that show of support, I forgive you, you don’t have to eat tuna tonight!” Meow, Meoow.

All of a sudden I felt a tingling, it started at the tip of my tail and worked it’s way up my spine and out the tips of my ears. My eyes opened wide and I stood very still, waiting. Everyone else must have known that something was about to happen because they all took several steps away from me. For a split second, I felt as if the whole world was collapsing in on me. Everything compressed, then in a sudden explosion of sparkling pink light I materialized, and from the relieved smiles on their faces, looking quite myself.

At first no one spoke, then, everyone was speaking at the same time. “Well done!”  “Welcome back.” “I thought you would stay that way forever!” “What did it feel like?” “What’s for dinner?” (that’s my hubby, it’s all about the food!).

Faeries were buzzing around my head, Bill was hugging me. I think Warren and Odette even got in on the welcoming committee, of course, the dogs were barking madly. I let their relief wash over me, happy to be myself again, aside from a slight buzz in my head, I felt rather good.

When the celebration had subsided, and Bill couldn’t hug me any tighter, I extricated myself from his arms and stood back to look him in the eyes. With hands on hips, and with a mock tone of indignation in my voice, the first words to come out of my once again human mouth…”Shoo cat!?”

Bill’s eyes opened wide and he stammered, “You understood me?” I nodded. Not being able to hold in my happiness any longer, I pointed at him and began to laugh. “You should have seen the expression on your face!” I heard Odette’s high laugh, then Arial’s, and finally Bill.

We were all out of breath, “I don’t know about anyone else, but I need a coke, my mouth feels like it has feathers in it!” We all looked at each other and broke into renewed gales of laughter.

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