The trees appeared to be dripping with fairies, each one hanging languidly from a branch or leaning against a trunk as if bored. One fairy swung a slim foot back and forth in a lazy motion as she stared back at Glenna before glancing away in disdain.
Birds of varying sizes dipped and flew through the trees, some alighting near or even on the fairies. Pirates cheered and laughed from a large ship in an enormous pond that fed the small creek. To Glenna's left, a wooden sign leaned wearily to the side, pointing the way down yet another path. It read Traveler's Rest.
"It looks so... real...," Glenna began. The centaur galloped past once more and, try as she might, Glenna could not spy how he was doing so. It looked as if the man really was half-horse. She put her hand to her head, puzzled.
Byfroste laughed. "I think you should explore a bit."
"Well," Glenna licked her lips nervously, "they don't all look very... friendly."
"Looks can be deceiving. They are all here to see you, after all. They don't usually leave the Faire grounds. But... keep in mind, they are not all trustworthy. In fact, many are quite tricky."
"But, who are they?"
"Don't you know?" Byfroste asked. Her gaze was almost taunting as she teased Glenna, her manner mysterious and strange.
Glenna started to shake her head, but then, abruptly, she did recognize someone. "Roger?" she whispered, as she stared at the older man.
It was not quite the Roger Glenna knew. He was more magnificent somehow. His beard was curlier and longer and his eyes sparkled. His cloak was magnificent, rich in color, and the stars dazzled her eyes as he performed trick after trick for a group of animals.
Only... they weren't all animals. Some of them were mostly people, with only a few features resembling an animal. A boy reminded Glenna of the one she had seen before, dressed as a fox. His bushy tail twitched and his reddish brown hair was brushed back, sweeping away from his forehead. Another girl sported black hair with a wide blaze of white running down the middle. She wafted her tail in the air as she relaxed against a large rock.
"What are they?"
"They are lots of things. We call them Therions."
As she watched, Roger spun his hand in a wide circle and a puff of white smoke rose into the air. A snowy bird emerged from the smoke and flew away, chirping and twittering.
Without thinking, Glenna ran to his side. "Roger? How did you do that? I've never seen you do that trick before!"
Roger turned to her, frowning. "My dear girl, who is Roger?"
"That's... that's your name," Glenna replied weakly. She paused, confused.
The magician laughed. "No, no, no. I don't go by Roger. I'm Atterberry!"
"Atterberry? But...."
Glenna felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning to face Byfroste, a thrill of fear run down her spine. "Who are you?" She narrowed her eyes as she faced the woman. "Why doesn't he know he's Roger? What have you done to him?" Glenna asked. She heard the waver in her voice as fear and distrust threatened to overwhelm her.
"Shush," the old woman replied. "I've got many things to tell you, and you have many things to learn, but it will take time. Don't go getting scared on me now." She wrinkled her nose in distaste, her hands clasping the walking stick in front of her as she leaned against it.
"I don't care how long it takes. Please... tell me what's going on." Glenna's heart pounded in her chest.
"Glenna, I would love to stay and chat and explain everything to your heart's desire, but I have things to do. Very important things. And some not so important, just interesting to me." The old woman turned to go, but Glenna started towards her. "Just explore now. You'll learn with time and when I have less to do, I'll teach you."
"Wait! You can't just leave me here. I want to go home!"
"Then use a portal."
"But...." Glenna watched hopefully as Byfroste paused and turned to face her.
"Oh, and Glenna, Happy Birthday! You and Flutter have fun." She waved and disappeared into the crowd.
"Wait! Who's Flutter?" Glenna called after her desperately, but she received no reply.
"What do you mean 'who's Flutter'?" a voice said to Glenna's right. She turned quickly, but saw no one.
"Hey!" the voice trilled. It was high pitched and obviously the voice of a girl. "You nearly made me fall!"
Glenna turned swiftly to her left, and unable to locate the source of the voice, she stood still, surveying the crowd, confused.
"You almost did it again!" the voice complained.
"Where are you?" Glenna asked, her voice low and steady. She was terrified, but she didn't want anyone in this strange place to know it. She had read somewhere that animals sensed fear and, though the creatures before her appeared to be mostly human, she decided it was better to be safe than sorry.
"Right here!" Glenna felt a nudge on the top of her shoulder, almost as if someone had tapped her with a single finger. A bug, she thought, reaching to brush it off. She jumped as her hand made contact with what she believed was a very large insect.
Glenna momentarily forget her vow to appear brave in front of the animals. She screamed and shook, trying desperately to rid herself of the creature. Jumping in circles, she attempted to push it off her shoulder with her hand.
"Hey! Heeeyyyy!" the voice screamed. "Stop! Don't move!"
Glenna paused, expecting someone to come to her aid. But no one appeared. The people and animals surrounding her either stared at her in shock or ignored her completely. She glanced fearfully at her shoulder.
A very angry young girl was staring back at her. A very angry, very small young girl.
The girl glared at her while gripping the top of her corset strap with both tiny hands. Gossamer wings fluttered in the breeze as she straightened slowly into standing position on Glenna's shoulder. She smoothed her short light green dress, her petite features still held indignantly in anger. "Why are you trying to kill me?"
"What are you?" Glenna asked, her voice shaky.
"What am I? I'm a sprite, of course!" The girl fisted her hands and propped them up on her hips. "I'm your Guardian Sprite. I would say nice to meet you, but it wasn't! You almost tore my wing."
"Guardian Sprite?" Glenna asked. She rubbed her forehead in disbelief. What is going on here? Am I dreaming?
"Yeah, you can think of me like your sidekick. Every traveler has one." The sprite pursed her lips.
"I must be dreaming." Glenna said. She pinched herself, wincing in pain. Nope, not dreaming. "What is going on?" She straightened. A steely determination to get some answers made her feel braver.
"Well...." The sprite paused. "You're a traveler, for starters."
"Byfroste already told me that," Glenna sighed. She decided to take a different approach. "Who are you?"
The sprite rolled her eyes. "Flutter." She sighed as she rose from Glenna's shoulders and flew in front of her. "I thought you were going to be fun, but so far you're boring."
"Sorry," Glenna replied automatically.
"It's alright." Flutter shrugged as she whizzed around Glenna, inspecting her from head to toe. "I like your dress."
"Thank you. I like your hair."
Flutter's hair was snow white and very long. As Glenna watched, the sprite picked up a handful of locks and surveyed it. "Eww! You scared my hair white."
"What do you mean?"
"When I get really scared, my hair turns white." Flutter shook her head and her hair turned mahogany brown, starting at the roots and then traveling to the tips in a wave of color.
"Wow," Glenna breathed. "How did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Change your hair."
Flutter stared at her as she hovered in midair, confused. "Can't you change your hair?"
"No," Glenna shook her head, "my hair is always this color. But some people can... only, they have to go a salon or use a dye."
"What's a salon?"
Glenna sighed and shook her head again. "Never mind. Where am I, Flutter?"
Flut
ter zipped and dived. "The best place in the world at the best time in the world. We're having a celebration today for you!" She spun in circles and through branches. Leaves snapped from their limbs and tumbled to earth as she darted by.
"For me? Why?"
"Because travelers are rare. We're glad to have another one. We'll need your help one day, when you're older."
"Help with what?"
"Never mind, now. This is the time that you learn and play and grow. But first, we get to go to the party!"
Glenna crossed her arms, her stubborn streak surfacing. She narrowed her eyes. "Where is this party?"
"Up the lane. We need to go," Flutter added.
"Wait! Before we go, I have some questions."
Flutter groaned, exasperated. "Now?!? Everyone's leaving. You're too boring. Can't you do any tricks or anything?" her voice faded into the distance as she buzzed away.
Flutter was right. Everyone was leaving. Glenna hadn't noticed before how quickly the glen was emptying. Only a few lazy fairies and a person who resembled a hedgehog remained. The trail snaking up the hill above them was crowded as the crazy assortment of people and animals made their way back home.
Glenna hurried to catch up to Flutter. "Yes, questions. Like...." Glenna scrambled to choose just one of the questions crowding her mind. Her eyes lit upon the decrepit sign and she blurted out, "Like... what is Traveler's Rest?"
"That's too big a question." The sprite glowered, her arms crossed in anger.
An idea entered Glenna's head. Flutter was her Guardian Sprite. Maybe that meant she couldn't leave Glenna on her own? "Well, if you won't answer it, then I'll go find out for myself." Glenna turned and marched towards the path the sign pointed out, only to find her way blocked by Flutter, who hovered just at the tip of Glenna's nose.
"It's your place. The place for you and all travelers, I mean. But we can go there another time. We'll miss the party if we don't hurry." Her wings fluttered in the air, tickling Glenna's nose. She felt the itch and tried to warn Flutter, but she didn't have time.
Glenna sneezed and Flutter cartwheeled away from her, out of control, before landing in a bed of flowers.
"Ow!" Flutter exclaimed.
Glenna gasped in dismay. "I'm sorry, Flutter. Your wings were tickling my nose."
Flutter grimaced, brushing herself off. Her wings flashed quickly, almost transparent, as she rose in the air and flew towards Glenna, a determined expression on her face.
Grasping the front of Glenna's corset, she pulled on the laced strings while bracing her feet against Glenna's chest, her wings iridescent in the dappled sunlight. "Come on. Let's go to the party," she said, tugging Glenna towards the path.
"Alright, alright," Glenna agreed. She felt badly that she had both sneezed on the sprite and sent her careening to the ground. I'll just stay a little while, Glenna thought as Flutter cheered at her response and shot high up in the air and then down the path. "Follow me!" her voice called from down the narrow lane.
Glenna hurried to catch up to Flutter. She didn't want to admit it, but she was fearful of being left alone in this strange land. For the first time she could remember, Glenna was in a place where she didn't know the basic rules of behavior, or even life in general.
The trail wound up and around the hill in a haphazard manner. Glenna ran over the smooth dirt ground, littered here and there with large rocks. It was difficult to keep Flutter in sight as she whirled and spun around the trees, flying up high into the branches and back down along the earthen path. The trees leaned in towards Glenna, as if whispering secrets.
CHAPTER FOUR
Celebration
Branches moved and swished as she came to the end of the trail, almost as if the trees were allowing her entry. As she stepped from the shielding trees onto the path, she paused once more in confusion. It was like a mirror image of the festival she had just left, only... it was real.
Where low, fake stone walls had lined the tents to the right, now stood a real stone wall, crumbling a bit at the edges from age. Glenna peered at the spot where her parents' tent should be, but it was occupied only by a group of large men, gathered around a simmering pot.
Suddenly, tears smarted in her eyes and she wished only to return home. She began to back away, back to the safety of the dark trail and the bridge, but found her way blocked by the heavy limbs of the trees. She searched the dark foliage for passage, but a solid wall of thorny limbs confronted her.
"What's wrong?" Flutter asked, as she perched on the end of a branch. "Ouch. This is prickly. Do you mind?" She didn't wait for an answer before rising into the air and landing lightly on Glenna's shoulder.
"Why are you crying?" she asked, her voice soft.
"I'm... I'm scared. I don't know this place." It had frightened her to see her parents' spot empty.
"Yes, you do. You built it. You and all the others. This is what the faire is, in their minds."
Glenna gulped and stepped forward hesitantly. "But it looks so real."
The sprite laughed. "That's because it is. You just don't understand yet. Come on. Let's have fun. We can explore and then we'll go to your birthday party. Then you can go home, though I don't know why you would want to do that."
Glenna brightened at the mention of going home. Flutter was right, she could go home later just as well as now. And the Faire did look like fun to explore....
"Well, I guess I could go exploring for a bit, before I go back. And it would be rude for me to miss the party, if it's in my honor like you said. Besides," Glenna added as she stepped slowly out of the shade and into the bustling thoroughfare, "if it's just imagination, it can't be dangerous. It's not like I could be killed or anything."
"Oh, I wouldn't go that far," the sprite said as she lounged on Glenna's shoulder. "Anything can happen here, in fact, more than could happen in your world. Actually, it's one of the most dangerous places that exists. But sometimes things that seem scary and dangerous are the most wonderful of all."
"What?" Glenna started to ask, but she didn't get a chance. She found herself surrounded once again by a multitude of creatures and people. As she watched, a group of knights knelt to the ground, swords before them. A still quiet descended over the area and then the cheering started.
"A traveler!" a thin man with a mop of thick brown hair shouted. His loose beige shirt fanned in the breeze. "We have a traveler once more!"
"Once more?" Glenna asked. "What happened to the last one?"
"Nasty business." A pirate with a swollen face, eye patch, and missing teeth leaned in to tell her. His eye glinted dangerously as he growled out the words.
"Nasty business?" Glenna asked Flutter as the crowd swept her away from the pirate and down the path. Hands grasped at her arms and pushed against her back, leading her away from the tree line and towards the large pavilion in the middle of the lane.
"Don't pay attention to him." Flutter dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "You're not in any real danger until you get older. Right now, you'll be fine. Especially with me as your guide."
"What happens when I'm older?"
"Lots of things, but don't worry about that now. Enjoy being young. It will only be small assignments at first, anyway."
Glenna sighed and allowed herself to be propelled forward. I guess I'll have to take their word for it and just trust that I'll find out what's going on here with time, she thought.
* * *
The lane widened, sloping down and turning to the left. A pavilion of stone and wood with wide shuttered windows swinging open to admit the light and air of the spring morning was in the exact center. Glenna squinted, studying it closely. The wood was rough and dark with a reddish tint. Here and there, flowers crowded around the door in baskets and pots and every window box overflowed with a riot of colors. It looked a lot like the pavilion at home. Home, she thought, the normal world I've left behind.... A pang of homesickness came over her.
"Why are you making that face?" Flutter asked as she hovered n
ear Glenna's right ear.
"It looks familiar." Glenna replied.
Flutter chortled, turning in circles with her arms wrapped around her belly as her laughter filled the air. "Of course it does," she said as she stopped and caught her breath. "Lots of things will. And people, too!"
The crowd propelled Glenna through the open doors of the large building. She was surprised to find it was very light and airy inside. Several large chairs crowded a raised platform at the end of the building, with one extremely large chair in the middle decorated with the familiar flowering vines and leaves shimmering in green and silver.
Glenna tried to pause to stare at the ornate carvings covering the walls, but she didn't have time. A group of musicians began to play, the tune light and flowing, energetic. Glenna found herself suddenly on the stage, being pushed into the largest chair. Placing her hands on the armrests, she started to rise, but was stopped as Flutter landed on the back of her left hand. Her small feet felt as light as a feather as she stared at Glenna. Something about her gaze gave Glenna pause. She sat back into the chair reluctantly.
"Don't you like your throne?"
"My throne?" Glenna repeated.
"Yes, you are our traveler, after all."
"Your traveler?" Glenna asked.
"Yes, ours. It's how you got here. And it's how you'll get home. Well, part of it anyway."
The noise of the cheering people seemed to fade into the distance as Glenna listened to Flutter. The sprite continued, "Glenna, you never have to come back here. It's not something you have to do. But we need you. We need a traveler to keep us here. To help us. We need you."
Glenna swallowed hard as she listened to the sprite. She felt confused and scared. She wasn't sure she wanted to be a traveler.
"Why can't someone else do it?" Glenna asked. "Why me?"
"Because...," Flutter began before she was interrupted by a loud BOOM echoing through the air. First pink and then green smoke filled the doorway. Everyone shrank away from the only exit in fear. Glenna watched warily as the smoke cleared.
* * *
A tall figure in a dark cloak emerged from the shadowy smoke. Pink tendrils drifted towards the ceiling on one side of the individual while thick green smoke snaked eerily up the other before wafting away.