Ember in Wrilogonzia - Episode 9

....Continued from The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry...

Ember had never been so happy to see another normal person. Okay maybe not entirely normal, she did believe in faeries, she thought, then chuckled, well why shouldn’t believing in faeries be normal, Aunt Elspeth does too and would love this lady. The thought of Elspeth made her wistful yet sad. She missed her family and furries.

Tami watched the emotions playing across Ember’s face and wondered what she was thinking. Ember reminded her of a dragonfly - body of strength yet whose delicate wings hint at frailty.

“Penny for your thoughts.”

Ember smiled, “A penny? Well, for all the thoughts spinning through my head right now, that would be a bargain.” They both laughed softly. Ember began to tell her new friend of her adventures so far.

Her new friend had introduced herself as Tami, and now she explained that in the faerie realm, the fae don’t use the names of the mundane world.

“So what do they call you here? And what’s the mundane world?” Ember asked

“Here, I am known as ‘The Kind One’” laughing, she continued, “sometimes the fae refer to humans as mundanes, because we tend to get ourselves in a rut and don’t always experience life to its fullest like they do. We forget to have fun and appreciate the little things, the magick.” She then told Ember all about Arial, the faerie realm, its courts and how she came to be part of it. When she was done, Ember said, ‘So, you are the one I was told was lost.”

“Who told you I was lost? Was it Arial?”

“It said it was from Arial.”

At Tami/The Kind One’s confused look, Ember pulled a beautiful purple rose from her pocket. As the petals began to open, a soft lilting voice said, “"Hi Ember! Arial here...please, you must come help! The Kind One ran off into the forest to save her family when she found out that the portal in the ivy hedge had been breached. The whole of the faerie realm is trying to find her. Orlaith is afraid that the shape shifters will find her first... oh the humanities!"

“If I wasn’t hopelessly lost in this dark forest, I would take you through the ivy hedge and you could get home to your family, too. When Arial finds me, I’m sure she will help.”

What neither of them knew, was that the mysterious force that had pulled Ember into Wrilogonzia also kept the Kind One hidden from Arial, the Emerald Guard and the fae that were trying to rescue her. They were on their own as long as Ember stayed with her new found friend.

As their conversation abated and the night seemed to drag on endlessly, Ember felt her eyelids growing heavier. She was afraid if she fell asleep she would wake up somewhere new, and she wasn’t ready to leave her new companion just yet. Just when she thought she couldn’t resist sleeps temptation any longer, a small berry splat on her nose. Jumping, she glanced up in time to have another berry bounce off her forehead and she saw Perhluna hanging upside down from a limb above her head.

Looking over at her friend, and seeing her asleep against the tree trunk, she looked up to address Perhluna, right before he threw another berry at her. “Perrrhhhh! Stop, before I pull you out of that tree and we wake up Tami.”

“Must not fall asleep. Things are lurking and waiting for you to do just that.” Perhluna chided, wagging his finger at her.

“Well, I’m definitely awake now. Hey are those berries edible? I’m suddenly really hungry.”

Perhluna plopped down in her lap and produced a handful of berries out of his pouch. She plucked about half of the berries, “Thank you, these are yummy. Save the rest for Tami, when she wakes up. ” After she had eaten the berries, she began to notice an odd sensation. She felt like she was being watched and could hear what sounded like rustling little voices. She looked over at her new friend, who was still asleep. She slowly stood and looked around, trying to locate the sound. The rustling voices seemed to be all around her and when she squinted she thought she saw faces on the leaves and the trunk of the tree. The whispering increased as she got closer.

“Oh my, Perhluna, where did you get those berries? I’m seeing faces where there shouldn’t be any and …..” as she had moved closer studying the leaves, she failed to noticed the branches snaking around her and her companions, until leaves clamped over her mouth and the branches lifted all three high above the forest floor……..