Land of the Fair Folk
After supper the grandkids and meself gathered near the warm fire for another evenin' of storytellin' whilst their mams chattered among themselves in the kitchen...
'Beannaithe were anxious to discover what she were to do next. She lay in her bed until all had gone to sleep then silently crept into her grandfather's garden. Finding the Fairy Circle, she began to dance. She vanished at once.'
'A moment, please,' said Darowva. 'How did Beannaithe return to her home in Lyndelby followin' her adventure in the Greenwood?'
'Did I not say?' I asked.
'No!' me grandkids shouted.
'Well, your old Granda is gettin' forgetful in his dotage,' I said with a chuckle. 'Let me think...'
A moment passed before I got it sorted.
'Ah, well then, the entire journey visitin' the Bear-folk and the Elf-king were a dream.'
'Did Beannaithe still have the Elf-bow?' asked Dooli. He is particularly keen on archery.
'Uh, why, yes, she did,' I answered.
'Yet it were a dream?' asked Daibhidh.
'Well, then, no, it weren't a dream,' I said. A seanduine ("old person") such as meself is permitted to change his mind on occasion, isn't he?
'Your old Granda was just testin' ye to see if ye were payin' attention,' I fibbed. 'This is what really happened...
The lass felt badly about takin' so many grand gifts from the King of the Wood-elves while givin' him only a honey-cake in return, so she returned to the gate of the Wood-elf city where she persuaded them to return her snail armour to her. In exchange she gave them the Wood-elf armour, the Elf-bow, as well as the saddle and such that they'd placed on the hart. Truth be told, the hart didn't fancy wearnin' the gear anyway.'
'Didn't you say the lass kept the bow?' asked Dooli.
'Aye, lad, I did,' I said. 'Let me finish.'
'The Wood-elves said she could keep the bow as a remembrance of her visit to their hall, but they kept the rest. They bid her farewell and wished her good fortune on her travels.'
'Is that all?' asked Daibhidh.
'Not quite,' I said. 'The lass road the hart back to the home of the bear-folk where he were reunited with the hind and her fawns. Beannaithe spent another night with Grimbeorn and his kin, and in the mornin' found the path leadin' back across the Abhainn Mhór ("Great River") and, eventually, to Lyndelby.'
'And now?' asked Daibhidh.
I thought a moment before sayin', 'Aye, that's the short version of it.'
Me grandkids looked at one another and agreed that they were fine with me explanation.
'All right,' they said.
Continuing where I'd left off earlier...
'After dancin' in the Fairy Circle the lass were surprised to find herself in a new place. Not amid a stone circle in a haunted forest nor along the shore of a vast lake. No, she weren't in a stone circle but in a circle she were. It were a circle of livin' pillars within an immense forest of tall trees shrouded in mist.
She heard a squawk and looked up. Atop one of the pillars were a raven as black as coal. It gazed at her intently.
"Beannaithe," it said in a croaky voice. The lass were greatly surprised that she understood Raven Speech. "Beannaithe, daughter of Aengus, war is coming."
Beannaithe's knees began to shake, but only a wee bit. "It must be the cold damp mist that I'm feelin'," she thought to herself.
"Best prepare yourself!" the raven cried before takin' to wing. It quickly disappeared into the mist.
"That's just what I'm doin'!" Beannaithe thought, but the raven had gone. If the raven could read her thoughts as others had--Áine, The Huntsman, and the Lady of the Lake--it were not there to do so.
Beannaithe began to walk through the forest. "I must find the Fair Folk that live in this land," she thought.
The trees in this forest were unlike any found in Misthallow, or anywhere else that she'd travelled with Fikta the Dwarf. The trees rose to great heights, farther than the eye could see. Their bark was smooth and white, and their great roots protruded from the ground.
"The roots must run very deep indeed to support such tall trees," thought Beannaithe.
She walked the whole day without seein' another livin' soul. There were birds and deer and squirrels, but no people at all. Night fell, and still Beannaithe walked on. Finally she came to a path lined with strange lampposts, and a high hedge wall. She could hear music comin' from the other side of the wall. She rushed to see who made such beautiful sounds.
In the clearin' on the other side of the wall Beaanaithe observed what she thought must be a host of fairies dancin' merrily. Held in a reverie, she watched them for the longest time. They were tall and very beautiful.
"I wish I were tall and beautiful as they so that I may join in their dance," thought Beannaithe. "Me clumsy steps would surely spoil the gaiety of their revels."
Beannaithe observed that none of the other fairies were dressed as she. "Is that because I am only a half-fairy?" No, she decided. She is dressed for battle, while these other faeries wore festive clothing.
She would change her mind when she observed the guards of the Tree City when she saw how different their armour were from her own. But we'll save that discussion for another evenin'.'
'Don't stop now. The story were just gettin' interestin'!' complained Daibhidh.
'I'd like to think that all of it were interestin', but I'll let ye decide that for yourselves,' I answered. 'Now off to bed with ye!'
"Good night, Granda," they said as they were led off to bed by their mothers.
