The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry

Arial, the captain of the emerald guard, and her second in command stood together in front of the ivy hedge. Bringing the fiery red tips of their wands together, they focused a beam of immense energy toward the portal. You could see the shimmering of the energy field as the edges of every leaf began to glow.

We stood with the rest of the guard, waiting for the all clear sign, watching the hedge glow and shimmer in the cold night air. It looked like it was on fire but there was no heat. I was rather hoping for some warmth, all I had around my shoulders was the blue shawl that I wore to the party. Bill felt me start to shiver and pulled me closer.

A loud thud came from the far side of the hedge, then, the sound of something heavy being dragged along the ground. The wild rustling had stopped. There was an eeriness to the silence that followed and it felt like the whole world was holding its breath.

After what seemed to be an eternity, Arial broke off the energy beam and the glowing ivy leaves slowly returned to normal. We all strained to hear any signs of life on the other side, but the only sound we could hear was the stream gurgling over the rocks as it made its way down the hill.

” Arial, is it safe to go home now? Whatever it was slouched away, it’s gone.” I was getting colder by the minute and this was starting to make me mad. How dare they (whoever “they” were) come into my back yard and keep us from our home. What was even worse was that they were on the mortal side where dangerous magical things weren’t supposed to be. Everything was turned inside out.

“I will send scouts through to investigate. I am not completely sure it is safe. If that was your neighbor, she might have morphed into a bush and is there waiting for the portal to open. Right now she doesn’t know where the opening is, but  she knows that there is one in the garden. We can’t take the chance of crossing over until we know she has gone.

Four flashes of light streaked past us and darted toward the hedge. The faeries stopped in front of Arial and hung in the air, their wings sparkling in the dark. After they had received their instructions they split up, two going down the hedge to the right, and the other two going left. When they had gone several yards, they shot straight up and disappeared from sight.

“It won’t be long before we have you home Kind One! Oh, but you are shivering, I am so sorry not to have noticed sooner, allow me!” Arial waved her wand and a bright yellow bubble surrounded us. Instantly, the cold dissappeared  and was replaced with radiating warmth. Bill looked at me and smiled, “now that’s what I call service!”

It hadn’t been two minutes before the scouting party returned in a frenzy. The faeries spun around Arial in a flurry, squeaking and squealing, all talking at once with a frantic pitch to their voices. Something was very wrong, and then I saw, only three faeries had returned.

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

The setting sun sent a riot of pink and orange streaking through the high thin clouds which cast the  backyard into deep purple shadows. Arial and I were in the kitchen putting finishing touches on the refreshments for tonight’s celebration. When all the crystal bowls were stacked high with berries and sweet breads, and the gravy boats filled to the rims with milk and honey, Arial pointed  her wand at the platters and they rose into the air and vanished in a flash of light.

Arial turned to me with a radiant smile, “I must go and attend to our guests. We will be back for you when the last of the light has left the sky.” Then she winked out, but not before she swooshed a cascading spray of pink and green sparkles all over me. I covered my eyes. “Hey!” Arial giggled, and was gone.

I tied up my hair  with purple and yellow streamers and found a sparkly blue shawl to throw over my shoulders. Bill wore his best panama hat with the exotic feathers in the band. I checked with Warren and Odette to see if they were ready and was delighted to see Warren in a tiny black and green tartan kilt and a white shirt with puffy sleeves, he was carrying a staff made of  willow, and the toes of his shoes curled at the tips. He kept stopping every few steps to tug at his stockings which kept slipping down below his knees.

“Warren! you look very stylish.” I noticed Odette grabbing at his hand every time he started to pry at his tight collar. ” And Odette, you are a vision in your pink skirts.”

“I had a time of it with Warren here Missus, he’s not used to dressin up, but I told him I didnt’ want him goin and embarasin us all. Oh Warren! stop yer fidgetin”

Bill held the door open for us when we heard drums beating out a slow, steady rhythm. We stepped out into the cool night air and were greeted by four faeries who flanked us. The faerie to my right held up her wand and waved it at the ivy hedge. The vines began to roll back, twisting and twinning around until a large archway formed. A path, lighted on either side by glowing silver and crystal orbs, led down the hill to the left and into a grove of old oak trees.

We stepped through the opening and started off down the path with our escorts on either side. There was a furious rustling behind us. I jerked around, expecting to see Mrs. Shunner streaking up,  like a crazed screaming banshee.  When I looked, there was no one there, and the hedge had filled in, leaving no trace of our passing  from the mortal world.

I linked my arm in Bill’s and took a deep breath as we continued toward the trees. The narrow path opened to a small glade, completely surrounded by live oak trees. In addition to the Spanish Moss (imagine  Spanish Moss in these northern climes), the trees were strung with streamers of pink, blue, and white. Small twinkling lights hung in the branches. I glanced around, “Bill, look over there.” I pointed straight ahead of us. Lights weren’t the only thing hanging from the branches. Tall thin creatures with long stringy fingers were draped over the bottom limbs. They had pointed faces with large glowing green eyes.

I pulled at the skirts of the faerie that had opened the portal. “What are those!” She smiled and said, “Those are Dryads, they live in the oak trees to protect this special grove.” We were shown pillows placed at the bottom of the largest oak then allowed to take our seats.

When we were seated, all kinds of magical creatures began to appear in the glade. Pixies, unicorns, a couple of dwarfs, and the dryads joined the group of faeries to celebrate the Spring Equinox. A sudden hush fell over the group and we all looked skyward. A Light appeared in the sky and grew larger as it descended, landing in the middle of the circle. Then, in a flash of sparkling pink light, Arial appeared.

The drums that we had heard earlier started again, Arial walked around the group, smiling and placing her hand on each creature’s head as they bowed before her. She turned to the east, tapped her staff on the ground three times and chanted, “Mother Earth, it’s Ostara and now is the hour, time to awaken. and green, and flower.”

She turned to the south and repeated the chant. Once more, after turning to the west, she tapped her staff three times and chanted, “Mother Earth, it’s Ostara, and now is the hour, time to awaken, and green, and flower. After a long silence, the group exploded in cheers and applause. Arial spun up into the darkness with her wand extended. Shimmering light cascaded down over the entire grove. Tables of food appeared around the outside of the area and were converged upon. Fiddles and pan flutes began to play a lively tune and Celtic drums kept the beat. Someone on the edge of the circle started a spiral dance and soon the whole glade was dancing and singing as the circle twirled in toward the center. Faeries and pixies held hands, one dwarf held a unicorns ear with one hand and spun a Dryad around with the other. At one point Warren and Odette jumped into the fray and began dancing in circles.

Since Bill isn’t one for dancing, we just sat on our pillows and enjoyed the show. It was well after midnight when the festivities started to wind down. Arial was making her way toward us through the crowd, waving goodbye to everyone as she came, and wishing them safe journey. “We should be returning to the garden now Kind One, before the Bogies start coming out to forage.”

I looked over at Bill who could hardly keep his eyes open. “Yes, I think that would be a good idea.” I picked up the gnomes and put them in Bills jacket pocket so that they couldn’t get lost in the dark on the way back.

We started walking back up the path the way we had come. Arial was in front with four faeries of the emerald guard and the rest followed behind. As we got closer to the ivy hedge, a chill swept over me and I stopped abruptly, making Bill stumble a little. He leaned in and whispered, “What?”

Arial and the guard had their wands raised, tips glowing bright orange-red. We stood, frozen. Wild rustling sounds were coming from the other side.

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

Winter gives us the best sunsets. I don’t really know why, maybe it’s the humidity combined with the angle of the sun, all I know is that when the clouds feather out across the western sky we get beautiful, fleeting sunsets.

Dusk in the land of the faeries on the other hand lasts for at least an hour, I think. It’s hard to tell because there aren’t any clocks. I really wonder if time is different here. Everything seems to melt together into one phenomenal whole, what I mean is, in the land of the Fae you don’t say, I did this thing at 10:00 and then we went here around 2:00, it’s more like everything happens all at the same time.

The sun was going down, but I couldn’t tell where west was. Everything just got darker, and the sunset looked like the whole sky was a dome swirled with iridescent pink and orange (no clouds). I think I know why the faeries are attracted to the flowers in the garden, it reminds them of their home.

Standing at the entrance to the palace, I watch as the last of the light fades from the sky. It seems like I have been here forever,  I would really like to be back home with Bill and my dogs.

My faerie friends have been very gracious, coming and going, bringing me stuff, making sure that I have anything I want. I would have thought that being in an ice palace would freeze me but I haven’t been the least bit cold, it must be the “faerie charms” they have set around the Palace.

After the sky was completely black, Sunny and Arial darted in through the arch followed by Bella, Pip, and Ferne. The faeries were  in a flutter, shooting back and forth, and then around in circles, they laughed as they tried to braid my hair, all at the same time. It was sort of cute having  my own tiny ladies in waiting. After my hair was done in a riot of tiny braids and I had long garlands of roses draped all over me, they led me outside, through a beautifully kept herb garden, and down a steep path bordered with huge ferns and thousands of faerie globes that glowed with a soft white light.

The end of the path opened out onto a wide, flat meadow surrounded by giant oak and willow trees. Every so often pine trees could barely be seen mixed into the background. There were Honeysuckle bushes and Ivy everywhere underneath the trees (I bet that’s why Sunny always smells like honeysuckle!)

I was led to a flat rock the jutted out of the mossy carpet of grass and they  motioned for me to sit on it, so I did. I sat there and watched as the whole meadow filled up with faeries, even more than I had seen when we arrived at the palace. They were glowing, like they do all the time. Each had a globe that they held in front of them and they all moved in unison to an unheard tune.

When the last of the faeries had taken their place, Orlaith, Queen of the Frost Faeries, materialized in a shower of bright white sparkles in the very middle of the field and a hush fell over the crowd. She hovered several feet above the group, her wings glittered in the darkness and her gown whorled around her in a fine mist. I noticed the she was smaller than when she received me at the palace, but slightly larger than the rest of the court gathered around her.

Awestruck at the spectacle unfolding right in front of me, I just sat there with my mouth hanging open. Sunny must have noticed because she  came around and gently pushed my chin up. I smiled at her and held up my hand for her to sit on. She landed on my palm and turned to watch the show.

Orlaith held up her wand and waved it over her head, the dark canopy of the sky lit with stars, larger and brighter than I have ever seen, then she waved the wand toward one side of the meadow and great tables of food and drink appeared. Immediately, there was a huge surge of little faerie bodies toward the tables.

Arial brought a goblet over to me along with a plate of small biscuits and strawberries. I watched in amazement as the glass and plate grew to fit my grasp (more faerie magic). We ate and sang, first one group of faeries and then another took turns dancing around in a circle in the middle of the meadow. I couldn’t tell where the music was coming from, it seemed to echo out in all directions. At one point I could swear that I saw other small creatures coming out of the forest to join in the festivities. I rubbed my eyes and looked again, yes, there across the meadow a brilliant white unicorn had wandered out to see if there was a biscuit left for her.

The merrymaking went on into the wee hours of the morning. I can remember lying back on the rock where pillows had been placed.  I felt unusually sleepy and just couldn’t keep my eyes open.  A mist sprang up all around me and opened my eyes just in time to see Orlaith raise her wand and point it right at me….

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