Awakening
by
Luna WhiteClaw
Home
The garden was a large affair with many trees scattered though out and neat garden beds with potatoes off all kinds and pumpkin of many varieties and sizes varying from golden little nugget sized ones and long pale yellow almost white skinned ones with sweet soft orange meat to deep orange very large fleshy ones dominating one large garden bed against one side of the boundary fence and neat smaller beds for carrots, beets, rhubarb, brussel sprouts, onions, garlic, cucumbers, lettuce and many more all in neat beds of their own. Along another fence line there were tomato plants neatly staked in one long row and another fence line had several large trellises with a choice of beans and peas making their way slowly to the top. Cherry, apple, plum, orange and lemon trees were scattered about and a very large old oak tree shaded the house. A smoke house was tucked away in a corner of the garden next to the wood shed, a well could be seen from the back door and several neat garden beds with herbs and spices such as rosemary, thyme, mint, lemongrass, ginger, basil, paprika and pepper, peppermint and spearmint as well as aloe vera and sage, coriander, oregano and vanilla all edged with dandelions and forget-me-nots.
It was a garden where there was always something to do, a little weeding or digging to aerate and feed the soil with a little compost, trim and prune. A girl was weeding around the carrots and rhubarbs digging a little to loosen the soil and help them grow, humming to herself, digging her hands into the soil. She looked up in confusion, as if seeing everything for the first time. She looked down and saw her hands buried in soil. It felt so NICE with the moist coolness between her fingers and that musty earthy smell was so refreshing and felt like coming home. She heard a noise and looked around slowly and saw neat garden plots with carefully placed rock. As she looked towards the noise she spotted an old man with white shoulder length hair, once gold blond hair now white as snow, bending down and with his large hands to delicately pull some offending weeds. As he stood, the sun was behind and the broad shoulders of a hunter and marks man with the bow could clearly be seen, looked as if he was surrounded by a bright halo. Turning towards her he smiled and blew her a kiss which she caught and smiling rubbed into her cheek. With hands clutching soil she stood and walked towards him. As she approached, the old man stooped down smiling as she held out the soil. He took her hand and inhaled deeply as she then lowered her head and also inhaled deeply. They looked deeply into each other’s eyes, young sky blue into tired old grey, smile and nod. The moment was broken by a voice from the window calling that the evening meal was nearly ready and for them to come in and get cleaned up. The old man took her hand and they walked along the path to the house slowly, stopping at the garden trough to wash their hands and faces. Walking up stone steps and then through a door which is painted in bright colours, the smell of the evening meal of a hearty vegetable stew with fried bacon and onion and freshly baked bread, assaulted their noses making their tummies growl like two hungry bears. As they moved further into the spacious kitchen, a large pot seemed to be walking towards them, the old man lifted the pot to reveal a small lady. With a kindly smile which showed her two gold teeth she shuffled over to the serving bench. The girl took the cutlery which was already waiting for her and walked into the next room, as she walked out of the kitchen she could hear the old lady mumbling in a sing song voice as she was serving up the food on their plates. In the next room there was a massive oval table covered with a cream embroidered table cloth that had the prettiest gold fringe. She placed the cutlery in their appropriate places then sat in her seat and patiently waited, looking around the familiar room where everything that ever happened in this home was in here or the kitchen.
As the old woman bent with age shuffle in with the plates laden with delicious food the old man walked over to the big cabinet against the far wall, opening the big door on with the delicately painted oak tree on the left and took down with the large three pronged candelabra placing it gently and reverence every so lovingly in the center of the table. Whilst he was doing that the old lady had gone back into the kitchen and brought back a dark cane basket with a beautiful white cloth embroidered with golden corn stalks and yellow sunflowers. The steam from the freshly baked bread was rising through the embroidery like mist rises in the morning off the fresh snow. Setting the basket on the table the old woman produced matches from her spacious and numerous apron pockets, they all became silent as she lit the white, red and black candles and placed a small bread roll specifically baked at the foot of the candelabra saying;
“From forest and stream; From mountain and field; From the fertile Earth's nourishing yield; We now partake of divine energy; May it lend health strength and love to us. Blessed Be”. They then proceeded to enjoy the wonderful food provided by the garden so lovingly tended by all.
After the meal was completed and everything was cleaned up it was time to sit at the big oval table with the candles in the candelabra as the main lighting. This time it was to listen to stories and to sing. The old woman brought out her darning basket, made of dark twigs inter woven in an odd shape which resembled a bent over jug more than a basket, and then went in search for the socks and other things which need mending. Her long delicate fingers finding the objects of her desire then set to work in an agility belying her great age darning socks in such a way it could never be seen where the repair was made. The old man would light the wood in the hearth and then sit in his big, soft, threadbare chair. He made the chair look like a throne when he sat so relaxed yet still so tall and regal. Sitting at his feet on a big cushion as threadbare as the chair she wriggled until she had clear view of her grandmother who had a smaller more delicate but identical chair in which she looked like a queen in the girls eyes.
That evening began as they usually did with the grandfather telling the grandmother what was happening in his vegetable garden. There were seeds popping and small green delicate seedlings emerging, the fruit trees were budding and a bee hive was being built in the old wood shed, which were actually only a few bits of wood stacked together. The grandmother would listen intently nodding her head while mending a torn sleeve. She had a patch near the back door which led to the kitchen where she grew her herbs. The conversation turned to the actual season and all the magical events that would take place during that time of year. The grandfather began to talk about the Faery Queen and that she must be due to hold her spring festival. The grandmother was becoming very agitated and changed the subject into a story about spring cleaning and how things, when the grandmothers grandmother was a girl were done and why. Sensing a wonderful story the girl crawled onto her grandfather’s lap.
In the olden days, the grandmother started......when my grandmother was just a girl and spring came, it was a time for celebration. The winter freeze was survived and they were alive and a new beginning was on its way. The whole village would clean out their huts by dragging all the old dirty straw, which was used to keep the floor warm, into the center of the village. They would scrub, sweep, scrape and dig until the whole village was clean by the end of the day. That evening the whole village would gather at the pile of straw and dirt and they would throw the twig brooms and scrubbing rags onto the pile and then the oldest woman in the village lit the straw and began to sing a song of thanks and praise as the village joined in song and dance. The women would go and get food which was prepared during the day and the whole village feasted in celebration of spring survival and new beginnings.
By the time the grandmother had finished the story the girl was falling asleep on the grandfather’s lap. Gently being woken and led by the hand to the bedroom, which once was her mothers, the girl was helped by her grandmother into a soft warm night gown and the girl felt secure in the knowledge that she was safe and loved unconditionally. As she slipped under the blanket her grandmother opened the curtains to let the brilliant light of the moon enter the room. The grandmother bent down and said a small prayer;
“O Gracious Goddess; O Gracious God; She now enters the realm of dreams; Weave now, it You will, weave a web of protective light around her.” she then kissed the girl first on cheeks, then the forehead, then the eyelids and lastly a gentle kiss on the lips. The girl could smell all sorts of wonderful things such as lavender, mint, lemon grass, roses and then there was that smell she could never quite identify, it tugged at a long forgotten memory but it always slipped just out of reach. The girl snuggled down under the big feather blanket and began to dream......
The Dream
The smell of summer rain and freshly cut grass surrounded the girl as she stepped into the a clearing filled with colour. As she walked further into the clearing she became surrounded by hundreds of beautiful butterflies with vibrantly colored wings, hues for which the girl could not find a name for. The butterflies were fluttering around her head in such a wild frenzy that she had to gently wave her hands in front of her face to be able to see. She could feel them landing on her hair and lifting some as they took off into flight. Looking around in wonder at the flowers that were growing all around her she dropped to her knees wanting to smell and touch them. The butterflies flew in a mad frenzy all around her and then settled on nearby flowers as well as the girl’s hair and shoulders. A butterfly landed on the tip of her nose which made the girl giggle. As the girl went cross eyed to looked closer she saw that what had landed on her nose was not a butterfly at all but a tiny little person with a big smile. The surprise of seeing a little butterfly person perched on the end of her nose made the girl jump back and falls onto her back in amongst the flowers and butterflies. This caused a riot of fluttering of wings and a few of the butterflies flew up to her face and she saw little people with wings and very cranky faces waving their arms about angrily. Watching them and looking around she saw that not all of the swarm of butterflies were little people.
As everything settled the girl noticed movement to her left and turned to see more clearly. A procession of butterflies moved along in a very stately manner but on closer inspection the girl could see that every single butterfly was actually tiny person. The noise which the girl heard was actually drums and pan pipes playing and also singing in the most heartbreakingly beautiful voices. As the procession got closer to the girl it stopped and as the sea of butterfly people parted, the girl could see the most beautiful maiden that she had ever seen, not that she had met many beautiful young maidens living with her grandparents and seeing mostly their neighbours, friends and relatives. The girl was stunned by all these lovely creatures and bobbed down on her heels in the middle of the clearing, staring in wonder and amazement with her eyes nearly popping out of her head and her mouth about to drop open.
A carriage made out of flower the kind which the girl had never seen before was drawn by bumble bees. The colours were of hues of the flowers the girl had never seen nor heard describe before and she could find no words to describe the vibrancy yet subtlety of the colours which emanated from these petals. A beautiful small creature stood up and waved to the girl and motioned for her to come closer beckoning with her tiny hands. The girl carefully moved closer, she could hear individual voices and was yet again mesmerized by the beauty of the sound. There was something familiar to the girl as she listened more closely to the melody, a haunting sound tugging at a memory tucked away in furthest recess of her subconscious. The beautiful tiny lady stretched and fluttered her wings and then ever so gracefully floated up to the girls face with a beautiful smile which lit up her face. Looking closely, the girl saw sapphire blue eyes and a heart shaped face, there was something familiar about her face but yet again it felt like a long lost memory to the girl. The butterfly lady opened her mouth but the noise which came out was that of a flock of chirping birds, not words that the girl could understand. The little butterfly lady frowned, wings fluttering in an irritated manner, which if it could have, made her even more beautiful and then looked up with delight glowing on her face. With a look of concentration the little lady fluttered back and forth in front of the girls face and then just as quick she turned around and looked hard at the girl and made a humming sound, similar to bees far away. The girl smiled and shook her head slightly indicating that she could not understand which made her feel a little sad.
There was a commotion and another butterfly person, a man, fluttered up to the girls face and made noises which were somewhere between birds twittering and the wind rustling autumn leaves as he spoke. The little lady and the little man were talking they looked at the girl and stopped, the man cleared his throat and called in a loud clear voice “I am called Alberich, do you understand me little human?” The girl smile and nodded her head too afraid to speak unless they disappeared and she woke up. The little man turned to speak to the little lady and then he turned back to the girl “I have the greatest of pleasure to introduce you to the Princess Niamh. Princess of this entire realm which the eyes perceive” The girl is surprised by the announcement and in the huffy manner it was done. She smiled and bowed her head and spoke in a shy whisper “My name is Dagmar, your Highness, it is a pleasure to meet you”, shyly looking at the beautiful faery princess.
Princess Niamh listened intently to what Dagmar had said and after clearing her throat she spoke in a voice so clear and beautiful, it could make you weep, and said “Welcome Dagmar, welcome to my kingdom. May I ask how it is you have come to be here as we have not seen humans since……?” The princess stopped suddenly and looked very closely at Dagmar and then she turned to Alberich and spoke in hushed tones. All this was making Dagmar very nervous and she looked around for a place to hide if the need arose, not seeing anything apart from hundreds of butterflies, no they were faeries she reminded herself and there was nothing big enough for her to hide behind. The princess noticed that Dagmar was becoming agitated and turned to her and smiled “Come and we will talk, follow us and we will go to the palace and speak about many things. I am sure you have many questions as we also have many to ask you. Do not be afraid we will not harm you little sweetling you will be safe.” The girl decided that there was no harm in following these beautiful creatures because after all, it was only a dream……
Another realm
The procession became a fluttering whirl wind of wings, giggles and noise as they turned around to make their way back to the palace. Dagmar waited until everyone was ready and she slowly got up dislodging a few faeries which had made themselves comfortable on her knees and began to follow. The girl was constantly surrounded by chattering faeries who constantly buzzed around her head and quickly darted in front of her face and then just as quickly flew away again giggling. Some of the braver ones would fly up to her face and quickly touch her nose or eye lashes and flew away before she could react. It was a merry procession with music, dancing and much singing when suddenly a hush fell over the parade. Princess Niamh stood up in her carriage and moved her hands in graceful motions until there was a shimmering like the kind you saw on hot days. The air around the whole crowd began to crackle with static and the small spot of shimmer grew bigger and bigger until everything that was part of the procession was enveloped. Dagmar felt no fear, in fact she felt very much at peace, something akin to sleeping in your own bed after spending time away. As they made their way into the shimmer, it became transparent and disappeared within moments of stepping into it. The child noticed one remarkable change immediately, the Princess and all her retinue were now the same size as she was.
Alberich flew up to Dagmar and bowed “Welcome to the faery palace, the home of their highnesses the King and Queen of the Fae. Her Highness, Princess Niamh cordially invites you to a small feast to welcome you to our realm.” he bowed again, not waiting for an answer then flew away. The palace came into view and it was breathtakingly beautiful with towers which were topped with spires curled and twisted like a unicorn’s horn, sparkling in a rainbow of colours and vanished into the clouds. The courtyard at the center of the palace, which seemed to be curled around the courtyard similar to a cat curled up in front of the kitchen fire, could be seen from the massive sparkling butterfly wing shaped gates through which the procession was heading.
When the whole cavalcade came to a complete stop, movement erupted out of the windows and doors, from seemingly out of nowhere marquees were erected and tables set up, a platform appeared and tables as well as some very special looking chairs were set in place. There were cooking fires popping up everywhere and the smells which drifted up Dagmar’s nose, reminded her that she had not eaten since the evening before. Her tummy made some very impatient grumble noises which stopped faeries close enough to hear and fell about laughing. A pretty dark haired faery popped into view, looking a little daunted at the task given, she beckoned for Dagmar to follow in quick frightened movements. Looking around and not being able to see the princess or Alberich, she followed the little faery.
They wound their way through marquees, cooking fires and dance platforms. They were met by an elderly faery “Greetings sweetling, I am called Lillianna and you are…..” she tilted her head questioningly and looked at the girl with twinkling eyes “My name is Dagmar and it is a pleasure to meet you Lillianna” said the girl whilst making a small curtsey, “May I ask where the princess is?”. The elderly faery smiled and responded kindly “The princess has gone to freshen up before the feast; she has sent old Lillianna to speak with you and to make you feel comfortable and at home, my dear. I have something for you, which will make it easier for us all to understand each other” placing a small ring made of tiny flowers of all the colours of the rainbow into the girls palm. When Dagmar looked more closely she noticed that it had grown big enough to fit her pinkie finger and that the flowers were all individual gems. Looking at Lillianna, the girl slipped the ring on her right pinkie finger and she immediately could understand all the rustling noises which were actually many conversations. A small squeak of surprise escaped before she could stop herself and she looked around slightly shaken realising that nobody paid any attention. The elderly elf chuckled and walked over to where Dagmar was standing “Welcome my dear, I am so happy to finally meet you. Speaking human is something we enjoy but it is so much easier to be able to speak in a language we are comfortable in, also not all fae have learnt the tongue of man.” Lillianna held out her small delicate hand, Dagmar tentatively took it and they walked over to the table and sat down.
“You have many questions my dear!” There WERE many questions bubbling around in the girls head and as they sat she had to ask a few to ease the pressure “What is this place? How did I get here? I thought you were all very tiny creatures” Lillianna gestured to one of the faeries flitting about with trays and took two goblets of rose dew nectar, handed one to Dagmar and settled back into her seat, preparing herself to answer many questions. “Well my dear this is the Faery Realm, we live parallel with the human world but we have a magical curtain to stop humans from accidentally stumbling into our realm. As for how you got here, well only those with fae blood can safely pass through both boundaries. The one separating our real from yours AND the protective orb we have crafted in case a human somehow stumbles into the realm, as you did my dear. We are on average the same height as humans but in your realm we like to be small because then we can hide much better and also get into places we may need to go with greater ease” Dagmar was very, she had believed that this was all a dream and that she was still safely in bed. She sat and pondered this information and then asked “But Lillianna, how could I be here apart from in a dream? I am asleep in my bed and this is all just a dream.” Lillianna took sip from the goblet and sighed appreciatively “Ahh my darling little foundling you are of the fae, a halfling as some would say, which makes me wonder who gave you fae blood. That is the only reason you could walk on the beam of the Mother Moon and enter this realm. Your shadow is in your bed and your Oma will know where you are I am sure. With the ring you will be able to bring the WHOLE YOU next time you visit. Now my sweetling would you like to have a look around before the feasting begins?” The girl very much wanted to explore but after what Lillianna had said she was not so sure. Lillianna sensed that and suggested they go for a stroll together before the feast began.
As they walked through the courtyard it was hard to ignore the merry atmosphere and even harder not to be infected by the festive spirit. Dagmar and Lillianna strolled slowly, seemingly aimlessly around the courtyard until they arrived at one of the many doors which led inside the palace. They walked through and found themselves in what appeared to be a dressing room and startled a couple of faeries who were choosing dresses for the feast. Turning towards Dagmar and Lillianna they curtseyed and offered to help them get dressed for the feast. The faery girls treated Lillianna with such reverence that Dagmar wondered who she actually was. The dresses were breathtaking with so many colours and styles, it was very overwhelming until Lillianna suggested that she and Dagmar would sit down and the little faeries could choose what suited best and dress them. That announcement put the little faeries into a right flutter and with that dresses made of spider web flew one way and stockings made of gossamer the other. Dagmar closed her eyes and let it all be a big surprise………
The Dress
The noise which was generated by the excited faeries was a mixture of giggles, wing fluttering and rustling and much whispered conversation. Some small arguments erupted but were quickly sorted out with more giggling, hugging and fluttering as a result. With her eyes closed the girl listened to the buzzing and giggling, which sounded like little silver bells pealing, trying to think about all the questions she had as well as still trying to tell herself that she will wake up at any moment in her warm and comfy bed, and was soon lulled into a light doze. As she floated in a fuzzy dream like state the girl became aware she could see the little faeries flitting about excitedly choosing and discarding clothing in rapid succession creating several small mountains from a seemingly endless supply, wondering how this could be but she was so relaxed and comfortable she did not pursue the thought.
Lillianna was watching Dagmar and saw that she had fallen into light sleep and sat quietly observing the child with gentle eyes. She watched the little face with high cheek bones, gently arched eye brows; long dark eye lashes resting on rosy cheeks and a small cherub mouth that liked to smile and white blond ringlets falling in a tumble over the girls’ forehead and shoulders. Her small hands were resting in her lap, fingers gently curled with the palms facing up. Lillianna leaned over and took a closer looked at the child’s palms. Following the individual lines with her eyes, she smiled and nodded, looking more closely at the child Lillianna made discoveries which disturbed yet pleased her immensely. Sitting back the old faery let herself travel the many paths in her ancient memory looking to find answers to her own questions.
Dagmar felt as if she was in a dream within a dream. As she looked down she saw the little faeries busy rummaging through piles and piles of material and listened to them as they chatted happily away “OOOH look Illona, this one is just so perfect for the Lady Lillianna” the Red haired faery said her friend “No Adella, we need to find a dignified special dress which shows her heritage not a mad rainbow. I have been looking for a deep green one but can’t even find a forest green…..” throwing a bundle of material into the air frustrated to not find what she envisioned Lillianna to be wearing at the feast, Illona dived into the very center of another pile of material re-emerging feet first wriggling with all her might to get whatever she had grabbed out. Adella flew to her friends rescue and grasped her ankles when suddenly Illona popped out causing both faeries to go tumbling into another stack of clothing. Laughing they untangled themselves, straightening out wings and looked at what treasure Illona had found. Dagmar watched them but then became distracted when she saw Lillianna leaning over looking closely at her hands, instinctively pulling her hands away and tucking them behind her back The girl noticed that the hands Lillianna was looking at had not moved. Intrigued more than frightened Dagmar watched closely as the old faery looks inspected at her face and then slowly leaned back and closed her own eyes. Not sure as to what had just happened the child watched the little faeries a little longer as she spotted some very small creatures which did not look like faeries creep into the room.
The two little faeries had during this time been very busy making several piles of clothing ranging from a small heap to some towering mountain of colour and texture. They were busy finding accessories for the small mound of material to then present their selection to their honored guests. There were some small pixies which had snuck into the room and were trying to be helpful, by diving headlong amongst piles of all sorts of things rummaging about finding small treasures such as belts with rubies and diamonds and tiaras made entirely of a single diamond with a veil made of spider webs, or they knew they would be told to go find other things to do. It was a cacophony of twittering, whistling, humming and fluttering wings which made the two faeries concerned that the noise may wake up the girl. The two faeries kept shushing and hushing the pixies in an attempt to keep them quiet, because everyone knew that excited pixies meant much hubbub and noise.
Dagmar and Lillianna opened their eyes simultaneously and found themselves surrounded by glowing eyes and happy smiles. Sitting up the child stretched and tried to stifle a yawn as three small faces popped up and nearly bumped into Dagmar’s nose. Resettling in their cushioned alcove Lillianna and the girl were treated to a fashion show with a difference. The first item parading into the room was an exquisitely delicate yellow dress which as Dagmar noticed was actually two dresses, a kind of solid colour under dress and the second was a filmy, see through material. Illona was giving a commentary “This exquisite gown ladies, a tribute to the real from the meadow clan and is made of pure sunshine woven into honey bee hairs for the under dress with the over dress created from spider silk with long pointed sleeves as is the fashion at the moment. You will note that both the under and over dress skirt portion is designed into individual over lapping flower petals, again a very fashionable creation” looking down Illona pointed at a small pair of sunshine yellow skipping along trying to catch up with the dress as it paraded around the room “an these ladies are the matching slippers.” Another gown came into view as the first found a vacant spot and hovered in place, this one a dramatic black “This dress was created by black widow spiders as a tribute to the realm. The under dress is made of tightly woven from black widow silk and the over dress is also black widow silk woven during the nights of the full moon. As with the previous dress the sleeves are long and pointed and the skirts on both dresses are petal shaped. Oh and to complete the ensemble are these beautiful black midnight slippers” Illona hurried the slippers along as the next creation came into view, a gown of all the shades of green from a seedling green to the deep green of the needles of fir trees “Here is a creation and offering by the forests and tribute to the realm again a very fashionable design with a dark forest green silk from the forest spiders silk woven on the moonless nights. The over dress was also made from the silk of the forest spiders but interwoven with rays of sun shine and moon beams and gold leaves woven into the material completes this gorgeous gown.”
The two faeries were looking anxiously at Lilliannas and Dagmar’s faces twisting their hands and biting their lips. The next ensemble began to parade around the room and Illona began her commentary. “This midnight blue under dress again with the petal finish and the over dress was created out of mother of pearl gossamer with long pointed sleeves and petals forming the skirt. The slipper, which you see skipping along are also midnight blue with silver trim. Ahhhh and for the last creation here is a most delicate gown made of mother of pearl spider silk with the over dress made of soap bubble pink gossamer and decorated with sparkling dew drops and silver slippers which are just now skipping into view over there.” All four dresses curtseyed and settled in their most becoming pose awaiting selection. Both Dagmar and Lillianna clapped their hands in appreciation of the lovely show, the two faeries blushed and came forward and curtseyed. Illona being the bravest of the two stepped forward “Lady Lillianna, sweetling Dagmar, would you do us the honor of choosing your gown for this evenings feast?” Adella scurried over to make quick last minute adjustments, turning just in time to see Dagmar walk to the green dress, feeling very shy the child was afraid to touch the gown because it looked so delicate and fragile close up. Adella flew to the rescue, offering to help Dagmar, began to help the child get out of her night gown and then gathered the green under dress and flew up over Dagmar’s head “Lift your arms right up into the air sweetling, that’s it right over your head. Now let the dress adjust itself.” Hearing those words the girl felt the dress adjusting it to fit her perfectly. Lillianna was watching and shook her head “Oh my dear that colour makes you look absolutely ill. The green is far too dark for your fair hair and skin. Why not try that gorgeous pink dress on and see how it suits you?” The girl and the faery went back to their little corner and as Adella helped the child out of the gown agreed with the judgment the poor child looked ill in such dark colours “Sweetling, Lady Lillianna was right you looked so horribly pale almost dead! What you need is a gentle colour with sunshine, you are a sunshine child” Adella picked up the pink dress and flew up to hover over the girls head, with arms already raised and waiting all the faery had to do was fit the under dress and let it adjust only flitting away long enough to pick up the over dress and place it on Dagmar and then stood back and waited for the material to adjust itself to fit the girl like a glove.
In the meantime Lillianna chose the midnight blue gown and had Illona help dress her. As the gown adjusted itself it showed the faery to be a beautifully regal faery that had such an air of royalty that the girl had the urge to curtsey which she did reflexively. Lillianna tried to stop her “Oh no my darling you never ever have to curtsey to me. Oh my! Don’t you just look adorable! Wait a moment……Illona, Adella do you know where that little tiara is?” Adella leaped up and flew to a small collection of treasures and returned with the tiara holding it like a trophy. Handing the tiara to Lillianna and then fluttering out of the way with Illona right behind her. The faery turned to look at Dagmar and stepped forward “With your beautiful hair and skin this tiara will set of the gown and make you look like a princess. Would you like to wear it sweetling?” The child nodded her head with eyes as big as saucers looking at the seven sparkling gems set into it. With great care Lillianna placed the tiara on top of Dagmar’s head and it looked as if were made for the girl and the seven gems began to glow slightly.
Adella and Illona brought a huge mirror for Dagmar to see herself in; she did look just like a faery princess except for the wings. Twirling this way and that the girl could see that dress constantly changing colour and sparkled as if there were stars woven into the material. A tingling from scalp to the bottom of her bare feet made her giggle prevented her from noticing the way all the other occupants in the room were looking at the small tiara. With a lot of commotion Lillianna had a look into the mirror to make sure everything was in place, gently adjusting the necklace which sparkled with a kaleidoscope of colour. Adella flew over to Dagmar and with Illonas help they adjusted a few of the child’s ringlets that were a little more energetic and then fluttered back a little distance with hands on hips smiled and said in unison said “Princess Dagmar!” and fell about giggling helplessly.
The Feast
The sound of flutes and drums drifted in through the window, the pixies ran to the window and began to cheer as they clambered out of the window and into the crowd. Illona was shaking her head at the rudeness of some folk and Adella was making some final adjustments to the tiara on the girls golden ringlets, Lillianna endured the same treatment from Adella and then she reached out and took the girls hand and they walked out of the door and were immediately surrounded by a festival of colour and sound. As they made their way to the platform many different creatures came up to touch Lilliannas hand in reverence and to also get a peek at the little foundling everybody had been talking about. Lillianna waved to someone and motioned for them to come to her, as Dagmar was trying to look around in all directions at once she spotted a very handsome man fly to Lilliannas side and gently kissing her on the cheek. “Sweetling this is Thandraug … in human they call me Randolph. My darling I would like you to meet Dagmar our foundling” with a gracious bow Thandraug lifted Dagmar’s hand to his lips and gently kissed it, all the while looking closely at the child’s face “Please call me Randolph, my darling wife” glancing cheekily at Lillianna “has this need to be so formal at times.” Then straightening he took Lilliannas hand and placed it on his arm and took the girls hand in his other and led the little party to the platform.
The table last seen empty by Dagmar now nearly groaned under the weight of all the food and decorations, surrounding it were some of the most beautiful chairs the girl had ever seen. As they reached the bottom of the steps leading up to the platform they heard a trumpet fanfare and the whole crowd went wild with cheers as a man and lady wended their way through the crowd from the opposite side. Lillianna smiled and fluttering her wings and flew to meet the pair, whilst Randolph and Dagmar walked up the steps. They arrived in time to see Lillianna curtsey and then kiss the lady and then did the same with the man, all the while busily chatting to both of them, turning around with a wave of her hand Lillianna was indicating Randolph and Dagmar and turning back still speaking to the pair.
Randolph looked pleased to see these two faeries and walked over to them to bow to both and then taking the pretty ladies hand and kissing it lightly, then turning to the faery man bowing and then grasping his hand to shake it. The auburn haired lady was during this exchange looking at the child indicating for Lillianna to bring her over for the pair to meet. Dagmar was feeling a little foolish standing there watching all this formality and hugging, which did not make sense to her. Lillianna flew to the girls side and took her hand with a bright smile “Come sweetling I would like for you to meet some very special people” walking over to where everybody was now standing in silence waiting for them.
“Your Highnesses I would like to introduce to you our foundling Dagmar” turning to the girl “Sweetling may I introduce Her Highness Titania Queen of the Fae and King Oberon King of the Fae” stepping back slightly Lillianna made room for Dagmar to curtsey and meet the royal pair. Titania took the girl by the hand and enfolded her in a loving hug as did Oberon after she turned to him. Not a word was spoken, not just by the royal pair, but by the whole crowd, there was total silence as the introductions were made. Titania turned to Lillianna smiling “You were right when you said she had her looks. Let us go and feast and get to know each other better. Come Dagmar, come and sit by me.” Leading the way Titania took the child by the hand and led them to the table, choosing a seat. Out of nowhere pixies appeared pulling out chairs and unfolding napkins. Oberon seated himself across from the girl and Lillianna sat on the other side of her with Randolph next to his wife. “So sweetling what do you think of our beautiful realm?” asked Oberon smiling down at the girl, “Oh sir it is just lovely here!” responded Dagmar shyly, having never spoken to a king before let alone King of the Fae. Titania rescued the child by clapping her hands and saying, “Uruviel! Bellmaethorion! There you are, about time you found your way to the feast. You come alone?” without waiting for a reply she turns to Dagmar saying “Sweetling, I presume you have met my granddaughter Uruviel in human it is Niamh? This is her husband, Bellmaethorion which in human is Wouter” Smiling she then turned to her granddaughter and Wouter and blew them an affectionate kiss. The food was beginning to arrive on floating platters ranging from berry tartlets wrapped in thin pastry topped with jelly to extravagantly designed fruit platters with exotic looking fruits in colours which the child had not seen before nor give names to. Before the food arrived three large candles were placed on the table in a three pronged candelabra. Titania lit the first, a white candle and said in a solemn voice “From forest and stream; From mountain and field; From the fertile Earth's nourishing yield;” she then lit a large red candle “We now partake of divine energy; may it lend health, strength and love to us.” she lit the last, a black candle “Blessed Be” Plates were placed in front of everybody, by busy pixies that were so small it took three to carry one empty plate, and glasses were filled by industrious faeries, with delicious berry juice. Oberon placed some delicious slices of a very yellow fruit and encouraged the child to try it, cutting into the fruit Dagmar found it to be juicy and after the first small morsel passed her lips she could not even try and find the words to describe the deliciously sweet flesh. The flesh had a smooth texture and the taste was sweet, but not sickeningly so, mixed with a honey dew melon flavor. Noticing how much she was enjoying the fruit Oberon indicated to the faery with that particular fruit tray to place more of the delicious fruit on to the girls’ plate. Titania turned to the child “Well sweetling I see you like our delicious fruits, this one you are eating is as fruit we harvested during spring and summer from the ‘Summer Meadows’ and we call it Summer Meat. I am happy to see you have a healthy appetite. May I ask an impertinent question? How old are you little one? Where do you come from in the human world child? Who takes care of you in your human home?” Dagmar chewed and swallowed hastily not wanting to have the Queen waiting “I am twelve years old this spring and I live with my grandparents in a small village near the big forest, your highness.” answered the girl. Wouter turned to Lillianna “Was that not the same of the village you once visited many cycles ago Lilli?” “I am not sure Wouter; there are many big forests and many villages. The one you are thinking of was near a larger lake with a small village nestled between forest and lake, as I recall” Dagmar blinked in surprise at Lillianna “That sounds like my village! We have the forest behind us and the lake before us” as Dagmar spoke those words the music began in earnest and so did the festivities.
Queen Titania and King Oberon took to their wings and flew to where a space had been cleared for dancing and began with the traditional first dance. Randolph stood and bowed ceremoniously to Dagmar asking her with a wink “Would you like to dance with an old man sweetling?” holding out his hand for her to take. The child blushed and took his hand “I don’t know how to dance Sir.” “For a start I am not a Sir, sweetling, Randolph will do nicely and second, I will show you how to dance so never fear. I promise not to embarrass you!” and with that he took her in his arms and began to dance, but it was not on the ground, they were flying! Dagmar gasped and hung on tight “Relax child I will not let you fall, here stand on my feet and you will be able to enjoy yourself more than having me in a strangle hold” Randolph said with a chuckle. The girl took his advice and placed her feet on top of his and felt a little better as he fluttered his wings and danced through the air in intricate patterns. Many other faery couples joined them and the air was filled with music, murmured conversation, laughter and wing flutters, Lillianna joined the faery dance with Wouter whilst Niamh sat and watched the beautiful display from below clapping her hands in time. When the music finished, Randolph returned the girl, with flushed cheeks and breathless with the exhilaration of having flown, to the platform setting her down near her seat. Still smiling he assisted her into her seat and then took his own.
As the evening wore on and the wild dancing exhausted the revelers, small groups broke into song, some merry yet others hauntingly beautiful. Dagmar sat and listened, resting her head on the back of the chair focusing on the closest group who were singing a merry song in another language which sounded strange yet familiar to the girl. Concentrating on the words the girl began to feel sleepy, with a jerk she sat up. Sensing that something was bothering the child Lillianna leant over and asked “Are you alright sweetling? You look as if you are about to take flight.”, “I was just thinking that it must be late and I had better get back home. Not being ungrateful but I don’t want to have my grandparents worry about me “said Dagmar with a sigh. Lillianna smiled “Ah sweetling I am sorry but they curtain is at its strongest at this moment and we cannot return you. I am certain that your Oma and Opa will know that as long as they look after your shadow you will return to them, because you have fae blood in you I suspect so do they and thus they would know what to do” Feeling a little reassured the girl relaxed and began to listen to the singing again, but this time the words began to make a little sense. They were about a faery and her husband ran away to protect her unborn, or so it sounded, they never returned but news reached the kingdom that the faery died and the father returned to his own people. It was a sad song and it made the girl sad, small tears escaped her closed eye lids and slid like small diamonds down her cheeks, noticing this was Niamh who went to comfort the child “Hush sweetling, all is well. What is making you so sad you cry?” A little embarrassed Dagmar explained “It was the song Niamh, I don’t know how but as I focused on the song I began to understand the words. Was it about a faery who ran away and had a baby and she died and the father went away? That is what I understood.” A little surprised by this Niamh nodded “Yes it is a sad song and yes you understood the words, it is a legend of long ago. Maybe after you have had some rest you may wish to listen to some legends told by true story tellers?” Looking pleased Dagmar nodded and yawned at the same time causing a laugh to bubble out of Niamh, taking her by the hand the faery flew them to another section of the palace, through several archways stopping in a room filled with gentle star light and a massive bed. Gently helping the girl into bed, Niamh pulled back the silk sheet and encouraged her to rest her head on the pillow arranging her hair around her face, pulling up the sheet to her shoulders the faery kisses the girls cheeks, forehead, eyelids and lastly the lips, before stepping back and watching the sleeping child “Blessed Be little one, may sweet dreams be yours” and flew quietly out of the room.
Breaking Fast
There was a terrible itch on the bottom of Dagmar’s feet and she kept moving and rubbing, but the itch seemed to follow. Rolling onto her back she opened her eyes and looked around, sitting up with fright, and then just as suddenly remembering where she was but not certain where the room she found herself in was. As she slipped out of the bed and her feet touched the ground a chorus of giggles emanated out from under the bed, scooting back onto the bed she turned around and laid on her belly with her head hanging over the edge and peeped under the bed. At first all she saw was darkness but as her eyes adjusted she saw tiny little creature scuttling in every direction, trying to hide. Sitting up the girl rolled to the side closest to the window and scrambled off the bed and walked slowly to the window pulling aside huge tapestries that were keeping the room in a pleasant semi dark. Letting in the sunlight the girl then raced back to the bed to looking under it, not finding anyone hiding, she noticed that the floor felt nice and warm on her knees and shins. Looking closely and running her fingers over the surface of deeply vibrant floor tapestry she saw and felt rich vibrant deep colours, the deep warmth of the burgundy and the caressing touch of a spring breeze with promises of things to come in deep sapphire blues. It was made of the softest material she had ever felt and her fingers caressed the fabric luxuriating in the in the experience. She stood and wandered back to the window and was dazzled by the breathtaking view. She felt as if she could see forever, with the blue sky having a sparkling sheen to it and soft fluffy white clouds frolicking in small groups whilst underneath, tall trees of all kinds were reaching up to touch the sun. Many large grassy clearings could also be seen with small creeks and rivers running through them in a casual meandering way.
Turning to the sound of more giggling the girl again saw tiny creatures but now she notices that she had seen them before, in the dressing room the previous evening. Kneeling down the child raises her hand slowly waving “Hello there, nice to see you. Were you tickling my feet earlier? My name is Dagmar, who are you?” the little creatures began to giggle again and then scurried away too quickly for anyone to try and catch them. They resembled the faeries with pointy ears and wings but these ones were small enough to fit into her hand. Looking around the room properly for the first time she notices that it is a very large round room with a huge four post bed in the very center and windows set in such a way there was no break by walls in the view. The door to the room opened and Lillianna and Niamh stepped into the room. “Good Morrow sweetling!” they both sang simultaneously “Did you sleep and dream well?” asked Lillianna “Yes thank you I slept very well, umm not so sure if I did dream though” while Niamh opened a wardrobe and took out some garments which she laid on the bed. “We have food waiting in the court yard but first we must have you washed and dressed, oh look at the lovely outfits Niamh has chosen, which do you think you would like to wear?” asked Lillianna as she held up some lovely blue pants with a white shirt and then picked up a beautiful rainbow coloured dress showing it to Dagmar. Closing her eyes Dagmar pointed her finger and spun on her heel then stopping suddenly, pointing at the pants and shirt. Laughing at the way the child did her choosing the two faeries helped the girl dress in her new clothing.
The material of the pants were the most lovely shade of blue and when they were against her skin it did not even feel like she was wearing them, and the shirt was such a bright white it stung the eyes when the sun touched it and it was as soft as eiderdown and as light as feathers but also warm against the morning chill which still hung in the air. Dagmar noticed that the clothing was all one size but as she put them on they adjusted to fit her perfectly. Niamh searched around and found slipper which she found in the bottom of a cloth bag that Lillianna had brought in with them, they were of a brown velvet material and as the girl slipped her feet into them and they also adjusted to fit her feet snugly. In all her life the girl had never felt such soft comfortable garments, not even her grandmother.
Niamh then set to work brushing the child’s hair making such a fuss over her “Oh how I just LOVE your beautiful ringlets AND the color!” Dagmar was becoming a little embarrassed. Lillianna came to her rescue by opening the big doors which led outside saying “Come you two, they are all waiting for us to break fast! There is plenty of time for you to play with the sweeting’s hair later on.” And took to her wings and flew to the platform from the previous evenings feast. Niamh had put her arms around Dagmar “Don’t fret dearest I will keep you safe” and flew after Lillianna to alight on the platform only seconds later, placing the girl gently on her feet then proceeded to steer her to a seat at the table and began to fuss over her, waving to faeries who were loaded with trays of delicious fruits and cereals and deftly choosing several samples to be placed on Dagmar’s plate. Sitting down next to her smiling she said “Come sweetling I have chosen the most delicious foods for your breaking of the fast. These here are wild oats and apple blossoms with the sweetest honey milk” pointing to a small bowl, “and this is flesh of the summer meat, very juicy and sweet” indicating a plate filled with the same fruit the child enjoyed so much the evening before at the feast, “and here we have honey dew nectar or you can have dew water instead if you like” waving her hand in the direction of several tulip shaped jugs containing all sorts of delicious liquids. Dagmar tucked in with wild abandon when yet again her tummy embarrassed her by making frustrated growling noises.
The wild oats and apple blossoms tasted grainy and very much like sweet and juicy red apples with the bowl being polished off in no time by the girl. Next came the wonderful fruit she liked so much and made a mess of herself with the juice just dripping down her chin in wild abandon, trying to keep clean, Dagmar wiped her face and front of her shirt and sleeve with a napkin only to notice that as she wiped her face a tingle spread all over her starting from her head to her feet and that as she wiped the sleeve it returned to the original blinding white. Picking up a goblet shaped like a small bell and took a sip of the nectar and licked her lips to catch every small taste sensation. Feeling sated and happy Dagmar sat back and looked around at all the other occupants at the table and listening to the mumble of conversation. Wouter was sitting several seats away from her but she could watch him without moving, long brown hair tied into a tail at the nape, his brows were creased in a slight frown over deep green twinkling eyes as he concentrated on the plate in front of him, feeling her eyes on him he looked up and gave her a big smile and a small wave calling over to her “have you had enough to eat sweetling? Do you want some more food or a little cup of dew? Just ask and it will be brought to you.” Shaking her head she replied “No thank you, I have had my fill, the fruit and cereal were absolutely divine and the dew was just delicious and I feel very full now.”
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