PHI'S POV
We ventured out in the woods until a clearing.
"This place is nice," Ryn said. "There are mountains just north of here. It's perfect for us dwarfs and goblins. We will have plenty of rocks to carve, cast or forge. We'll be able to make the finest new swords. . ."
He could hardly hide his excitement.
"There are wildflowers," said the pillywiggins, darting from flower to flower while stretching the butterfly wings. Flora, the flower fairy, beautiful with her glistening violet eyes and golden hair, joined them and lay amidst the meadow's long, flowing grass to look at the blue sky of May with pure delight.
Siegfried agreed. "We need to go no farther. We have everything. Fresh water and the sea for the water creatures, the forest and the field for the earth creatures, and mountains for the goblins and dwarfs."
When the sun went to rest and the moon took its place, we gathered in a circle by a river and joined our hands. A faint wind brushed against the water's surface and rippled the stillness of its surface.
"Highly Mother of the Earth
And your brothers and sisters
The moon, sun, and stars
Deities of the eight directions
Deities who give us strength and powers
And the four breaths of the four seasons."
Siegfried drew his sword, Gram. I had rarely seen the sword, although I knew all about it. Grannie had told us countless times how it had been forged from the pieces of Siegfried's father's sword and how Siegfried used it to slay the dragon Fafnir.
Fafnir had been hired by Wotan, a powerful deity, synonym of evil, to kill Siegfried. But the latter had outsmarted him and slayed the dragon instead. Since then, Wotan had vanished into the darkness, riding his eight legged horse.
"I bless this land with this sword of silver and gold," King Siegfried said, stabbing the tip of the blade into the soil. On his arms and neck, his sigils, a cluster of intertwined flowing lines, began to shine. A sign the magic was working. "I pray that you also protect us from unwanted eyes. Raise a mist and morph the landscape whenever a mortal comes close by so that he could never find his way to us and do us harm."
He then drew a cross with his sword and the rest of the Elders continued chanting.
"To the East as far as the sea
To the West as far as the two kissing trees
To the South as far as the end of the lake
To the North as far the mountains
May you shield us from evil for the next hundred years."
To complete the spell, we danced and welcomed the moonlight into our bodies. Like we did in the alley to feed on its energy. My body was loose, moving with the night breeze, my limbs flowing around me, embracing myself and the others. I rose from the ground and fluttered back to the Earth. I looked around me, we were a field of wild flowers blossoming in the night.
Siegfried readjusted his crown of feathers and twigs on his forehead. "Welcome to the Hidden Land," he said. "Our own land of wonder, magic and newly found happiness."
*
The earth fairies combined their powers to grow a gigantic red oak tree. Its branches reached phenomenal dimensions; crimson leaves flourished on every single one of its twigs. It was going to be our Great Tree. The tree where all fairies, even now that we were all human size, could build their nests.
"Tomorrow," Aras said, yawning. "Tomorrow we will build a nest. I need to rest from the journey."
I followed her as she climbed on one of the Great Tree's branch. I held her tight to keep us both warm. When I woke up the following day, the laminaks had grinded away all night to build an entire colony on the gigantic tree's trunk and branches.
"We were too excited," they shrugged. "We couldn't sleep. Had to occupy ourselves."
Using the bark from trees devoid of life, as per the Mother's teachings, they had built stairs that circled the trunk and stopped on small platforms on which stood equally small houses. Small in proportion to our human size, they were thousands of time bigger than our nests in the alley. The roofs were made of enlarged green, yellow, red, and orange leaves tied together with solid webs that local spiders had been willing to give us; dried mud was used to solidify the walls.
I chose the house near the top of the tree. The one right after the king and the queen's new quarters. Halia and Aras chose a house closer to the ground. Grand, flowing walkways made from vines connected our homes.
Halia came to visit me later, carrying large balls of spider webs. "The spiders did as they promised," she said. "You'll have plenty of webs to spin and weave."
"But now that we are human size," I asked. "Can the spider accommodate enough webs to satisfy our clothing needs?"
"Non sense," Grandmother said. "We just cast a spell on the webs to multiply the size of its threads."
I lamented the fact I would still need to weave although I was in the new world, I still could not escape my weaving duties. Grandmother had re-built the dreadful machine using dry wood from the land and it was still haunting our main room.
"The Tisannieres have asked us to weave large pieces of fabric for them," Grandmother informed me. "They'll make themselves new tunics when they return from the woods."
Halia's eyes brightened. "Can we make them the dresses instead?" she asked. "I know exactly what to do!"
She had stormed out faster than she had come in. "I think you're a bad influence on her," Grandmother commented, referring to my whirlwind way of entering and the leaving a room.
I had almost finished the first long roll of fabric when Halia came back, out of breath after having run up the stairs. "We can use those to dye the fabrics," she said, throwing a bag full of plants on the floor beside me.
"How do you know those are good for dying?" I asked, incredulous.
"I just know," she replied.
She looked so happy I could not resist. "You're lucky Grandmother is gone out to see Grannie," I said. "I don't think water and bird creatures are supposed to mess with plants. You know they say it can be dangerous, right?"
She shrugged. "Don't worry, I have a feeling." She winked. "First, we need to brew the plants and dip the fabric into it. Then we'll have green."
"Green?" I asked. "That's unusual, but I like it."
"I thought you might like it," I said. "Although one never dyed our clothes before, your previous dresses were stained green with the plants you carried at your belt. It gave us the idea..."
She beamed.
"Then you could decide of the length and style," she added. "It can't be something too flamboyant. I doubt they would like it."
We worked hard to make three identical dresses. One for each green fairy. My eyes widened. I was surprised that with Halia's help and excitement it didn't seem like a chore anymore. Maybe it was the fact that I wasn't weaving. This time, I was creating. Doing something that came right out of my imagination.
The dresses were simply gorgeous. They were loose with wide sleeves but tighter around the waist. We added layers of a light, see-through fabric to add movement and braided beige and green belts to which we pinned a few leaves.
"It really reminds me of the earth element," I said, giggling, and holding one up to my body.
"They are beautiful," Halia replied. "I wish I had one similar."
We stayed silent a moment, admiring our works of art.
"What have you done?" Grandmother asked.
We spun around to face her. "Are we in trouble?" I asked. "I think the Tisannieres will like them."
Grandmother examined the dresses. "Who dyed the fabric?" she asked.
"We both did it," I replied.
That's it, share the blame. I mentally crossed my fingers. The last time I was punished, I'd had to thoroughly scrub the goblins' lair, and to put it mildly, the goblins are not reputed to be among the cleanest creatures.
"You chose the plants to dye the product?" Grandmother asked Halia.
Halia nodded. Wow, she was taking the fall.
"It is not uncommon for a child to have interest in other arts and elements," Grandmother said. I blinked, surprised her voice did not seem angry but rather pensive. "The interest is usually lost once the child becomes of age. But perhaps this time is different."
"What are you saying, Grandmother?" I asked.
She sat down on a chair to rest her shivering legs. "I am saying that a fairy's powers usually come from their motherâthe mother being the one raising the childâbut perhaps some of the Last-borns draw their powers from their father too."
"You think Halia has some of her father's powers?" I asked.
"Halia, and certainly other Last-borns too. After all, it is not unusual. Halia's grandmother was a nymph, just like Senira, Halia's mother. Yet, Aras is a child fairy."
"Are you saying that Aras did have a father and that my grandmother had a relationship with . . ." Halia gulped. "A child?"
"In the Mother's name, no!" Grandmother said. "Of course not. That would be . . . no! Your grandmother was just a big admirer of flowers. Child fairies happen when a fairy spends too much time caring for a flower she loves." I saw an air of relief in Halia's face. "But bear with me," Grandmother continued. "If a flower can have this effect on a child, it is possible that fathers do have some effect as well."
"So," I said slowly. "What you are saying is that Halia might have some earth powers because her father was an earth fairy?"
"It is possible," Grandmother replied.
Halia smiled and grabbed my hand. Mother, what a revelation!
*
I helped my grandmother carry the dresses to the green fairies' lair in a small house at the bottom of the tree. Their house was filled with a sublime perfume that floated around the air. A mixture of several flowers and plants.
"Hello," said one of the Tisannieres, without lifting her head from the book she held on her knees. She looked so focused I thought at first she had not seen us enter. "A problem with the fabric?"
"Not at all," Grandmother said. "We actually took the liberty in making you the tunics. What do you think?" She displayed the three dresses on a rectangular wooden table.
"I am pleased," said another Tisanniere, turning a distracted eye from her bubbling potion.
"Me too," said the other passing by with her arms full of ingredients.
"Maybe you should try them on," suggested Grandmother.
The first Tisanniere took one of the dresses and magically it appeared on her body.
"I like it," she said, and then looked at me suspiciously. "I was not expecting this kind of work from a creature like you."
Like me? Why Iâ
"She had help," Grandmother said quickly. "Halia was the one bringing the plants for the dye."
"Halia?" said the Tisanniere. "The sick child?"
I cringed at the name. Halia was much more than a sick fairy. She was a nymph, able to feel the future! I wished to tell them that, but I kept the remark to myself.
Grandmother nodded. "Is it possible the Mother wants our children to be more than what we are used to. Maybe Halia is more than just a nymph."
The green fairy sniffed the dresses. "This choice of plants," she said. "She might well be a bit green fairy herself."
"A green fairy and a nymph?" said her sister, eyes wide. "I have never heard of such thing."
"Maybe you could see if she and the other Last-borns can control more than one element," Grandmother said.
"That's something that demands reflection," replied the most serious of the green fairies after deliberating with her sisters. "We have been talking with the king today and were going to conduct an aging ceremony tonight so that the children can receive their powers."
My heart soared. Tonight?
"Then, tomorrow, we will give them their first class on the art of magic," Grandmother said.
Sounded like aperfect plan to me. I couldn't wait to tell Halia.z[;.