cheerful, yet astonished, greeting toward me and my
friend.
“Mr. Twinks! Hello! So good of you to come
and join us,” she said, smiling. She turned back to her
beau, gently patting him on the back of his hand.
“I’ve someone for you to meet,” she said,
“someone very important to me, and my dear sister, too,
of course.” “And I have someone for you to meet,” I boomed
an exuberant interruption - knowing the anxiety Blossom
must be feeling in the home of the humans for the very
first time in her life.
But, Mr. Fitzpatrick just said, “Where?” and
refused to turn his head back toward us. O, I knew he’d
seen us, glanced at us the moment we’d walked in, but
now, he simply sat, rigid, blinking at Honor’s face,
denying the direction of her outstretched hand.
“Where, Honor?” he said firmly, almost in an
accusatory tone.
“Allow me, Honor,” I plead.
“Narn,” she said, “you first, then,” not yet
unsmiling.
“For the very first time in history, I want you to
know, brave Blossom, here has agreed to enter the home
of humans, with me, to meet, well I must confess,
Honor, I called you and Blithe my family.” Honor held a
hand to her throat, struck by the emotion of the moment.
“Gracious,” she said, “that’s just what I’ve been
thinking, too. When you arrived, I’d been thinking, I’d
really have introduced my whole family, you know, you
and Blithe.”
Just then Blithe re-entered the room, this time
with tea. Honor caught her up on the conversation by
saying, “Isn’t that right, Blithe? You and Mr. Twinks
and now, Ernest, here, has met my entire family.”
“Well, I suppose,” Blithe said, “Mr. Twinks
could be thought of, somewhat, as family to us here;
now that we aren‘t in England, yes. It is a bit like we’ve
all ‘gathered ‘round’. A good thing, too, Honor, as there
is something to discuss, the nature of which I am sure
you are quite unaware.”
“Really, sister? Well, we must let Narn continue,
he has brought with him a friend, and I’ve yet to
properly announce the reason for this tea and get
together.” Blithe took another long inhale, like the one that
had made her nose look pinched - which it did again - so
Honor quickly spoke, as not to let Blithe delay our
introductions.
“Mr. Fitzpatrick, Earnest, meet Narn Twinks,”
she said.
“And Blossom, meet Honor - and Blithe,” I said.
“Pfft,” the sewing machine man ‘said’, and
crossed his arms in front of him, actually liftinghis nose
into the air while looking down it. Honor stood
up and thrust her open palm toward us, standing near
the kitchen door, as though to point, but not exactly.
“Darling,” she said, “did you hear me? Meet my
friends,” he did not move his head nor his eyes from
down his nose.
“Blossom,” Honor said, “so lovely to meet you.
Her first time around humans, and Earnest‘s first time
around -“ before she could say faeries, Mr. Fitzpatrick
exclaimed, loudly, “Nonsense!” “O, dear,” Blithe nearly smiled, pouring tea.
“But Earnest - these are friends, well, Narn’s
practically family! I know it must be a shock - that’s it,”
she excused to us, “he’s in shock! Remember our first
time, sister, seeing a faerie, seeing Narn? Well, we were
frightened, yes we were; but, Ernest, he is not to be
feared. No, not at all, he is -” and she was interrupted,
yet again, although talking quite rapid trying to get it all
in what she’d experienced as to smooth over the
unpleasantness.
“Nonsense!” he said again, and then, “Phooey! A
bunch of hooey ballooey.“
He stood up, “Faeries?! Imaginary friends,” he
hissed, then shook his head left to right, three times,
finger right in Honor’s face.
He looked sternly into her eyes as though she
were under inspection and said, “I didn’t see it in you,
Honor. You nearly fooled me, I must admit.” “Blithe!” Honor nearly whined, hoping for an
explanation from the more sensible of the pair of
hostesses.
At this moment, I thought of Miss Tullie, “She’d
been right, about ol’ Blithe!” She paused with an
expression like she sucked a lemon. Mr. Fitzpatrick
looked at her, then back at Honor.
“There! You see?” and Honor must have sunk
inside so much that her posture gave way, slightly,in the
middle, she kind of ‘bent’.
“Excuse me, sir!” I insisted, but he pretended
not to hear me, only blinking at the sound of my voice,
he would not look in my direction.
“I’ve had enough of this,” he said, “I’m going.”
He grabbed his coat. Honor hurried to him.
“Ernest,” she pled, “don’t go. Let’s talk this out.
You’re just having a bad reaction, we could -”
“I’m sorry, Honor. I’m rescinding my request - of
marriage,” he said lowly the last word which made Honor nearly freeze in her tracks and Blithe shake,
slightly, the tea cup in her hand. She set it down and
went to comfort her sister, Honor. She wrapped a hand
around her shoulder.
“We understand, Mr. Fitzpatrick,” she said.
“Come now, Honor -” Honor interrupted with
nearly a shriek. “You!” she said. “You never wanted me
to marry - all along! Tell him, Blithe! Tell him about
the faeries!”
That was it. He hurried to the front door, tisk
tisk-tisking the whole way and saw himself out into the
open air. Honor ran after him, crying and pleading and
Blossom looked like she would have slipped out the back
if I weren’t holding onto her hand. I watched the scene,
in horror, unable to help my dearest friend in any way.
“He wouldn’t look at me at all,” I muttered.
“Some humans won’t, I’ve heard,” Blossom said.
We both gazed out the window as Mr. Fitzpatrick took
off down the lane to the McGillicutty homestead in his carriage. Honor left, standing, in the middle of the road,
watching the back of the wheels as they went, crying,
I’d imagined, not wanting us to see her, I’d assumed.
Honor did not return to the front room where the tea
sat, getting cold, and Blithe looked so smug - and bitter
- that I didn’t want to stay ‘and chat’ as she’d suggested.
Still holding onto Blossom’s hand, I sulked out
the back, through the kitchen swinger that was always
open, just enough for a faerie to slip through, andexited
to the outside from the kitchen.
“Whew,” Blossom said.
“Sorry,” I said, “that didn’t go as I had planned,
obviously. They really are nice -” I stopped myself for
the first time with her from ‘explaining’ the humans.
Maybe, I let the thought slip in, I was wrong. It was
too enormous a topic to tackle at that moment, too
heavy. I knew Blossom wasn’t in the mood for a
philosophical debate about faeries and humans co
existing, so instead, I simply exhaled. “Whew!” I said, too, and Blossom smiled.
“I should get going,“ she said, then she giggled.
“I’ve been right up close to the humans! I never
thought I would,“ she started in, “I just have to tell my
sisters this. They’ll die of fright! Do you want to come
over?” she asked me, then she laughed again.
“I don’t know what made me do it, go with you.
They aren’t what I expected, and yet, they are
everything I expected, you know?”
I sighed again not knowing what to say. Honor
didn’t help me explain my love for them at all,
and Blithe had been a complete wreck. Right then, I
felt my pixie soul leave my Irish gnome-ness - my wings
fluttered a bit and I felt relieved.
“Let’s get away from these humans,” I thought,
but said aloud, instead, “Yes, let’s go!”
At that moment, flying off with a faerie - a
species much like my own self - I imagined what it might
feel like to never go back to the McGillicutty’s again. It only felt right for a moment or two. I felt, simply put,
free! Thinking about the business of Old Soul’s Tree, I
struggled to keep up with Blossom. This feeling didn’t
last long, though, because what we happened upon, just
past the Meadow Glen, made me realize - I cared.
Honor sat, alone, weeping, in the Wood. I let
Blossom go, and stopped to talk Honor out of whatever
nonsense had led to her run away from home.
“Leave me alone to die,” she wailed, “for I have
lost the only man I loved.”
“You can’t stay out here,” I told her, “there are
foxes and wolves.” Not to mention a goblin, I thought,
but did not say that part out loud.
“I don’t want to go home, and I don’t want to go
on,” she sobbed, “that wretched sister! She didn’t do
anything to tell him I wasn’t making you up!”
“No, she didn’t, but you can’t stay here, Honor.”
“Come on,” I said, “I’ll walk you home.”
“I don’t have a home!” she cried, “Just leave me alone!” With that, Honor ran, fast as she could deeper
into the realm of the Faerie Queen. She headed straight
for the Hollow and its ring of grass that grew more
green than the other grass in the Hollow.
I don’t know what made me turn away, I don’t
remember. Maybe it was the freedom I’d felt earlier,
maybe it was my dislike of her sister’s resolve to keep
Honor stuck to her like glue, alone, and so together;
nevertheless, I turned away and let her go, just long
enough - for in the woods among the trees if not
sticking to the trail, loosing track occurs quite rapidly
and suddenly, she was gone. Not just a little bit gone, I
searched for hours, she was lost to me. She’d run away.
I knew how she felt, I didn’t want to go back to Blithe,
either. I knew I should tell her, but I just didn’t go. I
went instead to the Faerie Ring to step inside and ask the Faerie Queen where she had gone.
The Faerie Ring Dance
Chapter Eleven * Faerie Fox Magic
The scene I’d interrupted within the ring, wasn’t
like other experiences I’d had with the Queen. This one
seemed no less magical, yet the power it held felt eery
and odd. The Queen and her court weren’t dressed in
their finery, instead were rather plain in night clothes
and cloaks. They were gathered, I could see as the
butterfly where I was seated approached, around a fire,
and this time the staff the Queen held was topped by a
round globe of fire, rather than a beating heart. She
looked up from it as we landed.
“This intrusion, Mr. Twinks, it’d better be
urgent,” she said.
“It is, Your Majesty. A human, my fr-” I
hesitated. I hadn’t told anyone, but Blossom, I was friends, family, with the humans.
“In the realm?” she quickly interrupted.
“Yes,” I said, grateful I hadn’t need to explain.
“Well, where?” she sounded impatient.
“I don’t know, “ I said and my voice trailed off as
though I might cry. My dearest friend, Honor, in the
Wood in the night, and I didn’t even know where.
“Twinks,” she said sternly, “are you aware I’m
busy, here?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” I said.
“Couldn’t this have waited?” she asked.
“Well, its night, and she doesn’t know the realm,
well. She’s only been to the wood to gather mushrooms,
and she run off this time, deep into forest - I don’t
know - but I’m afraid.”
“That is distressing,” she said, “but we’ve a fire
here, I don’t suppose you know what that means.”
“No,” I said, “I don’t.”
“The Twelyth Teg,” she said, “has come into our Wood. Something dark, a mystery still, has caused them
to enter, here. Maybe this human, or another, has
brought about a cause for their particular
magic - full of tricks and dark enchantments - to our
world.”
“This human,” I added, “was crying. I think
she’s run away from home.”
“Doubtful that its her, then,” she said addressing
the others with a look around and a loud authority to
her tone. A slow rolling chatter of agreement emerged
around the circle of faeries enclosing the bonfire.
“The goblin at the Six-Shaped Tree,” she told
me then, “could tell you where she is. She could be in
true danger if she were to happen in too close to the
music of Twelyth Teg. You must go. I fear we will
have to enchant her, here, like Einion, if only to save her
life from a far worse fate.”
I agreed to the orders she set out for me, as soon
as they were fully issued, and I hurried off - with a butterfly’s kiss from the Buttergirl for good luck - to see
them through. Six faeries were sent with me, which I
thought were to spread out and hopefully
find her, once the goblin had the chance to ‘listen’ which
is what he does to find what lurks among us in the
forests, besides himself. It was later in life that I heard
the entire tale of what happened to Honor that night.
It was told to me at the Six-Shaped Tree,
included in this personal account. Honor, distraught and
out of her head due to heart break and the witnessed
cruelty from her sister, disappeared easily from my view
as she turned from the woodland trail and lost herself
among the dense trees of the forest, I explained to the
goblin. He said he’d heard her crying and he knew I
was her friend. She’d called my name out once or twice
and was now in fear for her life, regretting the emotional
upheaval she’d let run her off into the woods at night. I
agreed it was not the place for Honor McGillicutt
y,
alone too. While the goblin thought and listened, Honor walked in circles in the Wood, unable to find her way to
the trail she‘d left before the sun went down.
Eventually, I was told, Honor sat right down on the
forest floor in what was to be her engagement party
dress. She curled her legs under its fabric for warmth
and she lowered her chin in resolve to spend the night
among the trees, alone, lost, and quite now sure she
wanted very much to live. Angry at herself for getting
so caught up in sadness that she cried out loud howsorry
she was.
Cold, hungry, and crying, she closed her eyes and
tried to sleep. She heard footsteps, and opened her eyes.
There was a man, a scruffy, rough-looking fellow with a
walking stick and dirty clothes grumbling something
about waking up and a lazy boy standing over her.
Quite frightened, she jumped to her feet and told him
she was not! Not lazy and not a boy, she was a lady
from the McGillicutty homestead. He immediately knew
the name, and muttered out some sort of apology. He told her his boy, Einion, tended her sheep in the
Hollow’s rise, but he’d run off and left his father to the
task and all the farm chores, too. He told her he was
just about to
give him a beating with his stick and that when he found
the lad, he’d be sure to wallop the tarnation right out of
him, discouraging, he thought, any further kind of such
behavior in the future from the sheep tender that he was.
Honor was taken aback by his gruffness and the cruel
words he said about his boy. Your own kin, she
thought, how awful!
No wonder he’d run away, she told him, “You
can’t take that gnarled, old stick to a boy!”
“I can“, he told her, and worse too!
“He’ll sleep with the sheep at my home!”
During that half hour, a most disagreeable
interaction for Honor, the goblin thought and rubbed his
chin. A strange and eerie music drifted to his ear upon
the ground, and he lifted it climbing quickly to the tree and listened to the wind. The moon had risen in the sky
these past few hours and all at once its bright, half moon
crescent shone out from behind dark clouds which
drifted off as soon as such this whispering wind picked
up and told him in his ears that magic was afoot - the
Twelyth Teg were in the wood!
Honor sat back down informing him he won’t be