A Faery Tale

Maddy and Hanna wandered down to an old cottage at the corner of their wood. An aging woman had recently taken a few things in there.

Shaila had loved the woods and the faeries and had returned to live there for what humans’ experience as the end of life.

She placed down her favourite snow globe that had fascinated the faeries in her garden when she was a child and she hoped it would call in the faeries one last time

Maddy and Hanna saw the old lady put down the globe, understood they were being called and were happy to oblige.

As they appeared, Shaila had clapped excitedly and said,

“Oh, you look exactly the same!”

Hanna and Maddy had looked at her with confusion, it took a moment, but they started to realise this was someone they’d played with in the past.

Hanna waved her hand and took away the years. Then they recognised Shaila as a young girl whom they’d spent summers with when she came to visit her grandma.

“Oh Shaila,” Hanna said Sadly.

“It’s ok, Shaila replied, “I had a good life.” She Picked up her globe, went to the cottage and sat down on a rocking chair and put the globe down on the small table beside her.

There was a small fire burning in the hearth, not very well, Hanna noticed, so she put a few pieces of wood on it and encouraged it to burn harder.

“Thank you dear.” Shaila began to rock gently. 'You know,' she continued, 'I had quite forgotten about you ladies over the years, I went away, got married, had children.'

“Children!” Said Maddy, “Why didn’t you bring them here?”

“Well, a few reasons really, life seems to steal things from you. Things you know as true because you experienced them as a child seem to get pushed aside when you meet more and more people who not only don’t believe you, feel the need to make sure you understand you didn’t see what you thought you saw.”

Maddy furrowed her brow, “That’s ridiculous! How’s that even possible?”

Hanna patted her sister gently, “their world is entirely different to ours”

“But how can you deny what you have clearly seen with your own 2 eyes?” Maddy argued.

“I think you forget just how dull their senses can be,” replied Hanna “remember how we would become human and compare how different the forest looked?”

Maddy did remember, but she was busy making the point that, humans were stupid and dense, she also remembered that none of Shaila’s friends or family ever noticed them in the garden and in fact Maddy had pranked several of Shaila’s friends and they kept blaming Shaila.

“Yes,” Maddy said looking at Shaila, “your friends were notably dull.”

Shaila smiled and rocked a little harder.

The room felt warmer, and they watched Shaila fall asleep in her chair. Maddy headed to the door, but Hanna didn’t move.

Maddy frowned at her, realised she was staying and continued out the door.

Meandering down the path, why on earth would Hanna want to just sit there and what, watch her sleep?”

Triss, the queen of the faeries appeared in front of her.

She spoke telepathically

“Because she is old and afraid of what comes next.”

“How is that our concern?” Maddy asked out loud.

The queen seemed taken aback

“It became your concern when you involved yourself in her life 70 years ago.”

Maddy didn’t understand, they hadn’t really involved themselves, not deliberately anyway. They were watching the children play, Shaila noticed them, they played together sometimes.

“Yes, but you didn’t have to, you involved her in your days and now, she has come back to you in her final days.”

Now Maddy was taken aback. She knew the queen could hear her thoughts, but she assumed she wouldn’t bother, especially with a younger faery, like herself, who tended to ramble endlessly.

“But you’re not that young, Maddy, you’re about the same age Hanna was when you first started playing with Shaila.”

Maddy wanted to argue that Hanna had always been better than her. The queen put her hand up.

“That is in no way an excuse. But here you are, and a path has been set for you for just a small amount of your time. I have considered leaving Hanna to help Shaila with this task if for no other reason that, you were not kind to Shaila then and you’re not being kind to her now.”

Maddy felt affronted and stared at the queen. She tried not to think for fear of saying something that would make her situation worse, and she totally agreed with the queen, best leave it to Hanna. She turned to leave.

“However,” the queen said out loud. Maddy halted and turned, Oh no, really? No. Really?

“Yes, really, you can go back up there and help.”

As hard as Maddy tried, in her head she was still arguing, But I really don’t want to do that, since when do faeries have to do things? Hanna wants to look after Shaila, I do not, she didn’t even visit with her kids so how much does she really remember.

“She thought of us often, she talked about us to her children and then her grandchildren in bedtime stories. She told them what I told her all those years ago that her great grandmother was a faery.”

What now? Well now her mind was never going to be still because what Queen Triss had just confessed was that she was Shaila’s grandmother!”

Well, that explained everything so perfectly, why Shaila saw them as a child, why Hanna, who must have been alive to witness that would show so much more compassion to the child who is now an old woman.”

“Why aren’t you looking after her?!”

She regretted it as soon as it came out of her mouth.

“Obviously, you can’t understand what you don’t know” Queen Triss waved her hand and Maddy stood there as a human. She looked down, horrified, “You can’t do this!”

“I was a human for 30 years, against my will, in a time when young human men looked for us to take as wives.” Triss pointed to the cottage, “Now you know who she is, you have no excuse, we let you play with her because you didn’t know any better, I cannot separate the time I was held against my will and although I do have love for Shaila, I would not be a good companion. You were not a good friend to Shaila back then, it is Hanna who she remembers. The sad fact is, when I returned to the forest, it was Hanna, who had guarded our people and taken steps to ensure no more faeries fell for the humankinds’ trickery. At the time, she didn’t feel right or ready to take control as a queen, although I would argue she had been one for 30 years. She didn’t bring any new faeries into the realm in her time, believing it wasn’t her place. Since then, I have brought forward barely a dozen, and you were one of those, because what I have realised is, you are different, more human. I don’t know how that is possible, and I don’t know what that means, but it explains somewhat the diminished population as queens become aware. Maybe it is a deliberate change from higher realms, to help the humans evolve or maybe its elvish shenanigans to reduce faeries, none the less, I will bring no further of our folk forward.”

This felt like an insult to Maddy, so we’re not good enough, tainted and now I have to look after your grandchild because you can’t face her.

She could see her thoughts were hurting the Queen, but she didn’t care.

She turned and walked to the cottage, opened the door, which startled Shaila awake.

“Well, Shaila, it appears that we’re going to be going through this together.”

Shaila seemed happy with this but, Maddy could see her questioning why it wasn’t Hanna.

“Queen Hanna needs to stay as a faery, I, apparently am part human, as you are part faery, so I humbly apologise for my behaviour when you were younger, but nobody explained to me what had happened and so I didn’t even know my behaviour was different.”

It wasn’t so much an apology as a chastisement toward Hanna who, at no time in the last 70 years felt the need to tell her any of this.

Hanna faded away and this only angered Maddy further, she was obviously going to queen Triss to discuss how to handle this. All this time she thought Hanna was her best friend and they were going to be together forever, she felt utterly alone.

She started to cry, Shaila was visibly worried, enough to get her old bones off the chair and walk over to where Maddy stood and wrapped her old frame and shawl around Maddy, she cried a little but then stopped herself. She had to assume the emotion came from the human side, faeries don’t cry, why would they ever need to?

In the afternoon, Hanna and Triss appeared in human form. This made Shaila cry, and they held her for a good long while.

Hanna stepped back but Triss stayed holding her granddaughter. “I’m sorry I didn’t show more courage and give you more love, as you deserved. I have watched your life; I saw you at all different times. I learned more about humans and that there are many who have a compassionate nature even if your grandfather didn’t. Our children and grandchildren did and I’m sorry it took me so long to see that.

Shaila nodded as her grandmother talked.

“And so” Triss continued as she stood up and her and Hanna became a faery again, “you know Maddy is related, and she will tend to you as long as you stay in these woods, and I hope you can let her learn a little more about humans so she can move forward wiser than I.”

Maddy looked at their light, she felt very afraid but, she also understood that this had to happen.

She remembered she liked Shaila and admitted to herself she could have been kinder. Maybe this would help them both.

They fell into an easy rhythm. Shaila truly was near the end of her time. Her thoughts weren’t always clear.

She mentioned all kinds of strange things like a device that you could hear music with and another that showed moving pictures and stories of people. It didn’t make much sense.

About 2 weeks in a young man burst through the door startling them both.

“Nan!” he yelled too loudly in a cottage that was sitting quietly at the edge of a forest with only bird sounds.

He raced over to her where she sat in her rocking chair and hugged her.

“We didn’t know where you were, we’ve had searches!”

“Oh dear,” said Shaila softly, “I told your father where I was going.”

“Off with the Pixies!” still talking too loud.

“Faeries.” Shaila corrected

“Pixies, faeries, what’s the difference?”

Maddy stared at him, she could feel the hostility rising. What’s the difference?!

“where’s your phone?” he asked. He turned and looked at Maddy and for the first time noticed this beautiful dark-haired girl.

“I’m sorry, who are you?”

Having never spoken to a male human, and having recently been told of their trickery, she didn’t quite know how to respond.

“This is Maddy,” Shaila answered for her, “we have been friends for years and years, she’s keeping me company”

Years and years? He thought she can’t be much older than me. He decided nan must be going off on a tangent.

“Have you seen her phone?”

Maddy didn’t know what that was,” No, I’m sorry.”

You didn’t think to call someone when an old lady showed up in your cottage?” he interrupted. She shook her head again, are all human men like this?

“Maddy,” Shaila interrupted him, “this is my grandson, Dan.”

Maddy nodded, this was the grandson Shaila had been telling her about? He seemed so nice the stories, not noisy and rude like this guy was.

“My apologies,” she spoke louder too, maybe this was a custom? “I was under the impression everyone knew she had come here, why wouldn’t you believe her when she told your father where she was going?”

Why was she talking weird?

“Come on, I’m taking you back to the hospital.”

“No thank you, I’m fine just here.”

“Nan, you need your pain meds.”

“I’m not in any pain.”

“you’re not in your right mind, I’m taking you back!”

“No!”

He stared at her, he glared a Maddy. “Help me talk sense into her.”

“She says she wants to stay.” Maddy said flatly.

“What’s your deal?” He squinted his eyes.

“Her deal is, she has agreed to help me until I return to my ethereal home, its what I want”

“You know her will has been sealed for some years, she’s not going to give you any money.”

“Dan,” Shaila yelled, “she’s not asked, nor have I offered her anything!”

“Well, you’re not staying and that’s final.” and with that he picked up his frail grandmother and carried her out the door.

“My Globe!” Shaila yelled as he carried to his car.

Maddy grabbed the globe and followed them to the car

“Please, Shaila said weekly, “Can Maddy come with me?

Dan didn’t seem happy but agreed so his nan would come quietly.

When they got to the hospital Dan’s father Jim was there

“Mum, Oh my god, I thought you’d wandered off and fallen down a ditch somewhere.”

“I told you where I was going,” She huffed at him.

“Yes , off to the faeries.” He looked at Maddy, “Is this your faery friend?” he asked sounding genuine but then he winked as he shook her hand so, she just nodded.

“Yes, this is Maddy.” Shaila said

He nodded, “like in your stories?”

The memories were faint, he’s 50 now but he could see how her mother would think that this lady looked just how he imagined the dark hair faery would look like.

They both were nodding, he was smiling, he leant forward and said quietly

“Thanks for playing along with her.”

Her eyes glimmered as she whispered back, “You’re welcome.”

They walked of and she was left standing there.

“Oh please, let Maddy come with me?”

Jim looked hurt.

“Maybe I’ll just come up for a little while?” Jim nodded, like Dan, he decided it would be easier to get his mum to the hospital bed.

The people at the hospital were gentle folk and Maddy could see why they thought it was a good place to be.

They got her comfortable in a bed and used some device to put something into her veins. Shaila looked very relaxed, that was the most important thing to Maddy. She could see light starting to surround Shaila’s body, she was becoming part of the ethereal, it wouldn’t be long now.

Once Shaila seemed settled Dan and Jim both announced they had to go somewhere. Why would they bring her back here just to leave her alone?

Maddy resolved she would stay as long as Shaila needed her.

She walked across and place the globe beside her

She only wished Queen Triss would show up and say farewell to this, her grandchild.

The light became brighter as Triss and Hanna arrived. They changed to human form so as not to frighten the nurses.

Shaila looked at them both with tears in her eyes,

“You came, I wish I’d kept looking for you, calling you” she looked at her globe.

“I know, but you needed to be with the humans and live a human life, not pine for a life you couldn’t really be a part of.”

Triss leaned forward and kissed her granddaughter on her head.

“I love you and wish you well on your journey.”

The door opened and Jim walked in, initially confused he asked

“oh, have you come to get Maddy?”

“Yes, I’m Triss and this is Hanna.”

Like the stories he thought but didn’t say.

Maddy understood they were now expected to leave, she leaned towards Shaila

“It’s been an honour.” She touched foreheads with her and sent her one final message of love telepathically Can you see the light? Shaila nodded. Your mother calls to you. She nodded again.

“We’ll meet again,” she said out loud. “ and so you know Shaila, the globe isn’t magic, you are.” Shaila nodded one more time and the 3 faeries walked out the door.

Jim re-opened the door to say thank you, but he couldn’t see where the ladies went.

Oh well, he thought, I’ll send them a thankyou note.

Although Maddy was happy and relieved that she was now a faery again, she had strange feelings regarding Shaila, she understood what had happened, that all of this needed to happen and she would indeed meet her again, none the less there was a sense of loss she had never experienced as a faery.

As all 3 of them stood there, they understood that this had been all been for the good and faery needed to evolve as well in this changing world and Queen Triss genuinely hoped that one day, humans would be better and they could all live together in a better world but for now, she had no intentions of changing anything.

Maddy and Hanna went off together, they needed to have a long talk.