HALIA'S POV
I could not shut my eyes that night, as I lay in the shoe sole. I stared at the ceiling above me and I thought of the king's proclamation.
Could it really be the two strangers from my dream? Could Phi be right about my gift?
Of course, who was I to think I could be a fairy this powerful? I was only a Last-born, a child. How could my abilities compare to those of the Elders? But another part wanted it to be true. I wanted the change. After all, I had felt it in my gut. A sensation so intense, I could hardly deny it.
I focused on the dream and tried to make out their faces. I wanted to know who they were, and what news they were bringing.
I stayed like this, immobile for a long time. I heard Aras's breathing slow down as she dozed. It soothed me and eventually I, too, fell asleep.
The following morning, I sat up, rubbed my eyes, and I noticed that Aras had once again left the nest before I even woke.
She must have gone prepare for the mysterious guests.
I listened closely to a sound on the wind. Phi and her grandmother were singing. The song was beautiful but I could not understand it. It was their own language.
In the community, we came from different countries and centuries. This meant that we often spoke different languages. For all to communicate and understand, we used a language called Tecumseh, an ancient language, mother of all tongues. Adam and Eve spoke Tecumseh at the beginning of times, Grannie has said; and most importantly, no one had taught us this language, rather it was innate.
I am not sure if it was because I was recovering from a sickness or if it was because I had danced half the night, but I felt like I imagine the dwarfs and goblins feel when they drink too much cider. I gathered the strength to get out of bed and walked to the entrance to the nest. I sat there and let my legs dangle outside. I looked at the scenery, the alley. The sun was out but it was still raining, washing winter away.
A rainbow. My eyes widened.
A rainbow is no shooting star, but that day I made a wish. Please, Mother, let our days in this awful place come to an end. I closed my eyes tightly. May I come of age and live in the wild.
I was not the strongest believer in the community. I often doubtedâif not the Mother's own existenceâher intentions. I was not normally the kind to believe in superstitions. But that day, I figured it cost me nothing to try.
What would life would be as a young nymph? Would I be a Nereid living in the seas, an Oceanid in the oceans, a hyade in the rainâto become a star once I diedâa Linnade living in the lakes, a Potamide in a river, or a Dryad in the forest? There were so many possibilities.
In any case, the kind of nymph I would become was not up to me. Although my race was determined by blood (I am a nymph as my mother was before me), the ancient spirits were said to be the ones who would decide my kind during the aging ceremony. They would choose it as per the Mother's needs at the moment of the ceremony. If She needed someone to watch over a river, so be it; if She needed someone to watch over the rain, so be it.
I did not see Phi until she appeared in front of me, her hair and wings wet with rain. Startled, I fell backwards and found myself with the bottom on the intertwined twigs that constituted the floor of my home.
"Hah, look at you!" she said, laughing.
"I didn't see you coming," I replied, my cheeks warming.
"Let's go!" Phi said. "Your godmother is waiting for you to take a bath."
I followed her down the alley. Yesterday's rain had transformed a part of the uneven ground into a large puddle. Large enough for the community, composed of about a hundred members, to bathe. The water was not very clear, but it was still passably clean. Moonlight had touched some of it, and many fairies frolicked in the water, giggling and teasing each other.
The difference hope can do.
Aras was already in the water and made a sign for me to join her. I turned to tell Phi I would see her later, but she was already gone, by her grandmother's side, flicking water off her wings at other fairies. Her grandmother kept insisting that she calm down, but her smile was too big, and she danced and flittered about to everyone's joy.
"Come, child," Aras called for me again, louder this time.
I stepped into the water. It was so cold it numbed my feet, but I liked it. It was refreshing.
Aras turned her back to me so I could help her wash her long red hair with plants the Tisannieres had given usâshe could hardly do it herself because of her left handâand she helped me wash mine in return.
I glanced at Phi again as she splashed water around her. Many fairies stared. No one could deny her beauty.
I was just glad all eyes weren't on me. I was certainly pretty, as were all fairies, but I would let Phi shine. She was the master. I smiled at the spectacle and thanked Mother that Phi was my friend.
*
We all worked hard on the feast. The visitors would be arriving soon.
The berstucs, earth spirits with hair and beard covered in moss and who measured rarely more than a few inches in their natural form, had managed to convince some fireflies to illuminate the alley. That was a big accomplishmentâin the city, fireflies were hard to come by.
By nightfall, everything was ready. The alley looked completely different. There were cobwebs glistening everywhere. A freshly cleaned and tightly knit web was on the floor, covered with mead jars, flowers, fruits, and fresh water.
King Siegfried was sitting on his wooden throne at the far end of the alley, his face resting in his palm. He stared at the fog at the end of the alley, beyond which was the human marketplace with its pungent smells of rotting fruit and human sweat, not to mention the raucous crowd, we stayed far away. He was waiting for the first sign of the visitors.
The other fairies were not as quiet. They danced as soon as they heard the first notes of the dwarfs' flutes, floating and twisting weightlessly in a circle. Even the korrigans, horned creatures with goat feet, followed the rhythm of the music by hitting the ground with their hoofs.
I, on the other hand, was not so inclined to dance so soon after last night. I was no longer sick âlast night's ritual had cured me of any nauseaâbut the curious sensation of an upcoming change followed me everywhere. Plus, I was anxious to see if my prediction would come true, hence my preference to sit on the spread out spider web, apart from the other fairies and, like the king, gaze at the mist before me.
After staring at the fog so intensely I thought I might go blind, the shape of a creature materialized.
My heart leapt.
It came out of the haze, walking at a solid pace. The beast had short green hair and teeth, the eyes of a pig, and a human shaped red nose to match his cloak.
It was the ugliest creature I had ever seen. The crowd and music fell silent.
I forced myself not to stare, which became easier when I noticed the other creature that followed a few steps behind him. I later learned that she was of the same species as her companion but, contrary to him, she was ravishing.
Her long and wavy blond hair fell to her hips. It was rare to see hair that color, and running freely like hers, among King Siegfried's people. All the women in the community kept their hair up into sophisticated hairstyles or braids. I guess for practical reason: it's uncomfortable to have flowing hair while living in the humid and thick fog that covered the alley.
"What are they?" I asked Aras.
"They are merrows, dear," she explained. "They use their red cloak to breathe under water, where they live."
Merrows, the creatures that came to save us.
"Welcome, my friends," King Siegfried said, extending his palms. "We are glad to have you back among us."
"Thank you," the merrow man replied, shaking the king's hand and presenting him with a grin, showing off his horrible teeth.
"Mr. and Mrs. Merrow, please sit with us," the Queen of Complaints added, leading the guests to the large web, which was by then covered with candied grapes, plums and figs, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts, and different kinds of fruit jams.
Nixie, a water nymph, and her husband, Fossegrim, served apple juice to children and cider to the Elders. Fossegrim had blue eyes and black hair that flowed around his face. Almost an exact replica of his wife, although, for being a woman, the latter had finer traits.
Nixie was a nymph, like me, but of a different kind. Her skin was scalyâmine was notâand her clothes always bore wet hems, a problem I never had.
But she was the only nymph left in the community besides me. If one day I ever become of age, perhaps she will agree to be my mentor. The idea of one day receiving my powers still seemed surreal, but it felt a little more tangible now than it had ever been.
"Do you want to help me with the entrées?" Nixie asked me after she noticed I was looking at her.
She had caught me staring. I felt my cheeks turn pink. These wandering eyes of mine. I really have to be more careful.
I hurried to pick up the leaves, on which were plated grilled chestnuts and bingnetz, and began to serve the members of the community. It didn't take me long before I was back to my seat beside my godmother.
Looking at the bowl of puls, a soup similar to porridge; the forcres, or pancakes; and deep-fried bingnetz, I realized how hungry I was. It was rare we ate so well, so I took advantage, devouring as much food as I could under my godmother's amused eyes.
"Now, tell me, my dear friends," said the Queen of Complaints to the merrows, "it is our understanding that you came here today to tell us of a way to save our people."
"A people where you will always belong," King Siegfried added, "even if you chose not to follow us here centuries ago."
"I thank you, Your Majesties," Mr. Merrow answered. "It is true. We came to give you news."
I looked up from eating. Mr. Merrow turned to his wife so that she would complete his thought. "The humans recently discovered a new continent, a virgin land we can protect," she said.
"You want us to leave the Old Continent?" the queen asked, carefully choosing her words, as if she could not believe what she was hearing.
"We understand it means abandoning the land of our ancestors," Mr. Merrow said. "But we cannot adapt to what the humans have done to our world. We must go elsewhere."
"The humans are only starting to occupy the New World," added Mrs. Merrow. "Imagine, large forests, lakes, and wildlife, virtually untapped. It would be like a new beginning."
"You describe this new world as if you had already set foot there," said a cautious dwarf. I could not see whom.
"Everything we know about the New Land we learned from a goguelin," replied Mr. Merrow.
"What is a goguelin?" I whispered in Aras's ear.
"A creature that lives in the holds of humans' ships," she whispered back.
I had hoped that my interruption was left unnoticed, but Mrs. Merrow looked at me intently for a few seconds. I could not read what she was thinking, but her lingering eyes made my face flush.
She turned her attention back to the king and queen. "The goguelin told us fishermen seasonally go on expeditions there," she continued. "Although the goguelin had never been to shore, he and his family went with the humans on one of those expeditions and were able to see the land from afar. What they saw amazed them. The waters there are full of fish and the forests are endless."
I felt my heart racing at the promise of such beauty, even as the crowd around me began to murmur excitedly.
"The problem is that the goguelins are usually not to be trusted," admitted Mr. Merrow, silencing the horde. "But if they are telling the truth, my wife and I plan on taking the next boat to the New Land."
"There is a way to find out if they are saying the truth," King Siegfried said. Raising his glass, he added, "Tomorrow we will pay the goguelins a visit, but until then, let's rejoice in this new hope!"
To the goblins, this meant to celebrate the idea in the way they loved best. They sat by the barrels of cider and drank.
Fossegrim, Nixie's husband, tucked his long black hair behind his ears, picked up his fiddle and began to play. The sounds of the forest, the wind, and water were heard as he hit the strings.
The fairies felt compelled to dance and left the remaining food on the web. I realized I was finally feeling more rested since last night's ritual, lighter on my feet, and so was about to join them when Aras held me back.
"I don't want you to dance," she said.
"Why not?" I asked. It was the first time she ever stopped me from dancing.
"You might not be well enough."
"I feel better, now," I insisted.
But Aras still did not let me go. "This is not a chanting dance. There is a reason why some creatures die of exhaustion after entering a fairy circle. Only the most experienced fairies should enter this dance."
I frowned.
"Do you see Phi, there?" she asked to distract me. "She is with the musicians. Why don't you go sing with her?"
I gulped. "In front of all these people?"
Ultimately, I had to obey. She knew what was best for me. I was the child.
I walked towards my friend and I hoped I was not going to embarrass myself.
At least if I sing with Phi, people won't notice me as much.
"Want some company for the next song?" I asked when I arrived.
Phi beamed and preened her feathers. She hadn't seen me coming her way. "Of course!" she said. "What song do you want to sing?"
I thought for an instant. I did not know many songs by heart, apart from the songs we sang in rituals, but there was one that would fit the moment.
"The Fortunate Land," I finally replied.
Phi seemed satisfied with my suggestion. She turned to Fossegrim who was going to accompany us with his fiddle and told him the song. He nodded.
I reached out for her hand as we started singing, to give me courage. I also locked eyes with Aras.
My godmother smiled at me and held her right hand out to send me good luck. I took a deep breath and relaxed. I sang without thinking.
"I heard of a land where
Circles of fairies dance under the moonlight
A land clouded in mist
That no mortal can ever find
They say that there is no fairer sight
Than that of the land of Arcadia
With its fields of emerald grass
Birds singing night and day
Rivers clearer than air
On this fortunate land
Hearts know no sorrows
And love lasts forever
They say there shall never be fairer sight
Than that of the land of Arcadia
Where life is eternal
Where there is no battle
Nymphs and other spirits of nature
Live in peace among virgin wilderness
On this fortunate land
Hearts know no sorrows
And love lasts forever
They say there shall never be fairer sight
Than that of the land of Arcadia
Where one day I will be
Waiting for you."
The fairies had ceased their dance to listen to our song. They applauded at the last notes,
breaking my trance. I was suddenly aware of their eyes on me.
I looked down at my right hand, which Phi still held in hers. She looked as happy as ever, and blew kisses at the audience with her other hand. I was just thrilled I'd been able to sing in front of everyone.
I squeezed my friend's hand in mine, letting her warmth fill me. She gives me the courage I need to go beyond.
I never wanted to lose that.