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Oh yeah, I need to look for Ashlyn… Where did that banshee disappear to?!
I glanced around the meadow, but still didn't see her sparkling long silver hair. But I noticed a dark figure that I hadn't seen before. A tall young man with a beautiful profile, my age by the look of it (well, not exactly my age of course… I don't know how old I am myself… you can never tell how old a fairy is by looking at them, but by human standards he looked about thirty). He was wearing clothes made of expensive fabrics, in which a bright red velvet vest stood out.
As if he sensed my piercing gaze, he pushed back his unruly long black hair and turned to face me. Oh! And the red vest perfectly matched his red eyes… Damn it! It’s a vampire! A rare guest in our lands though… I’ve met them three times at most in the last two hundred years, and then only briefly. And in all of Erin there were no more than twenty of them (if you trust Abcan’s stories, of course… but this dwarf had an iron reputation, so I was tended to believe him).
I didn’t get a chance to examine the rarity because the dancing had begun. Never mind, the night is long, the moon is bright, we’ll have time for everything. But for now – let’s go have fun!
* * *
A trio of dwarves set the rhythm with a cheerful reel on a violin, bodhran and flute. To their sounds, all the visitors to the clearing began to dance, jumping and spinning with each other in turn. One of the musicians began to sing in this cheerful rhythm:
Oh, full moon, pour your light upon the Fairies' Meadow.
My bodhran is banging hard the rhythm of our souls.
Drive away from our lands all the darkest shadows.
Celebrate, the young and old, when sacred Samhain calls!
Wow… What a celebration indeed! My head was already dizzy… In order to avoid a dangerous collision with other participants in this chaotic action, I stepped aside a little to catch my breath. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed tables with refreshments and drinks, among which a red cap with a feather flashed. Merrow! I hope it's Eavain… I ran up to the tables and to familiar cap.
"Eavain! Is that you?!" – I called out to the merrow joyfully. She jumped slightly in surprise and turned to face me.
"Eithne!" – seeing me, her frightened face softened and broke into a warm smile. – "Happy Samhain!"
Eavain ran up to me and hugged me tightly.
"Happy Samhain to you too, my dear!" – I happily hugged her back. – "May the new year bring peace to the lands of Erin and send invaders back home!"
"You couldn't say it better! So be it!" – Eavain raised her hands to the sky in prayer to the gods, and a second later grabbed my hands, which now made me jump too. – "Eithne! Where have you been?! I haven't seen you for over a week! I'm starting to worry…"
I love Eavain very much. She is an incredibly beautiful, gentle creature. My mind is always at peace and my soul is happy when I'm with her. For me, she was the embodiment of all the tenderness of the world, love and compassion. Even the dress she was wearing today was incredibly delicate and airy, peach shaded with flowing sleeves and a belt embroidered with precious stones and shells. There was also a beautiful sparkling shell brooch on her cap. Of course, I can't say that the red cap went well with the dress, but without this attribute, the merrow would not be here now. But thanks to it you definitely won't lose this beauty in the crowd.
"I'm so sorry! I was terribly busy", – I answered with a guilty face. – "As you can see, this year full moon falls on Samhain. Half of the attendants of this event will go to my pub after the dance to continue having fun until dawn! I needed time to prepare enough ale and treats. And make a couple of hangover potions… I'm sure someone will definitely need them in the morning".
After a small pause, we both laughed. Ballads about gatherings in my pub fly far beyond the borders of our forest. Even to the depths of the sea.
"By the way!" – I remembered. – "That last type of fish that I got from you, when dried turned out to be just perfect for ale! Tomorrow evening I will come to you to get some more. The more the better! Can you get some?"
Eavain was not only my friend, but also my main seafood supplier. For myself, I always took various shellfish, and dried fish always went well with ale.
"Of course!" – merrow answered happily. – "This fish is easy to catch, although it goes far from the shore… I think I'll have time to get enough for two baskets by tomorrow evening".
"Excellent! I'll take everything! What do you want for it?"
The price was always different, depending on what Eavain needed at the moment. Sometimes something from the forest (berries or mushrooms), medicine or potions that I made from herbs, or my ale of course.
"This time I will have a very unusual request…" – Eavain whispered modestly, lowering her eyes.
It was a bit dark, but I swear I noticed how her cheeks turned red! As soon as I opened my mouth to find out all the secrets from this modest girl, someone grabbed me by the shoulder.
"Hey, mistress!" – jumping up in surprise, I turned around and stared at a happy face with reddened swollen eyes. Aha… So, she was howling somewhere after all…
"Finally! Where have you been?!" – I exclaimed and turned back to the merrow. "Eavain, I'll come tomorrow, and you'll tell me everything! Deal?"
"Sure! I'll meet you tomorrow at sunset at our usual place then. I won't disturb you anymore! I'll go back to dancing".
Having said goodbye to Eavain, I took two mugs of ale from the nearest table and turned to Ashlyn, handing her one.
"Well? Tell me!" – I said this with such indignation that the banshee almost spilled her drink. – "Where have you been? Because of you, I was late for the ceremony!"
"Sorry", – even knowing well that it was not her fault, Ashlyn still apologized, because she deeply respected me. After all, I was not only her friend, but also her employer: this constantly disappearing banshee was my right hand and helped me run my pub. – "I was already halfway to the "Tipsy Moon" when I heard the Call. I didn't even have time to warn you that I might not make it in time…"
Ashlyn's face with those swollen red eyes looked simply heartbreaking.
"Ashlyn, my dear, I'm not angry at all. Don't be so sad. It's your duty, what can you do. Your eyes are completely swollen already… Don't be sad even more…" – I stroked her silver hair in a silent "everything will be fine", and she finally smiled.
"Tell me", – I continued in a softer tone. – "Who is it this time? Someone from Ardara villagers again?"
"Yes, from there again. Already the third one this week. He has two days left… The English are strangling them with unbearable taxes, and their harvest this year is very poor. Barely enough for food. There is nothing to trade. There is nothing to pay the rent. Someone decides to commit suicide. Someone dies of famine. It's sad to see… They are Erin's children too. But we can't interfere with their world. At least I can warn them of their upcoming loss", – Ashlyn took a deep breath and shook her head, driving away sad thoughts. – "It's not right for us to be sad on the holy night of Samhain!"
Still with a trace of sadness, she finally smiled.
"You are right, colleague!" – smiling, I hugged her tightly. – "We have no time for sadness today, for a hot night with a tipsy smell awaits us!"
"Oh! That's true!" – the banshee laughed, already anticipating rivers of ale and dancing on barrels.
Suddenly a shadow ran across her face, the smile and enthusiasm were replaced by thoughtfulness and anxiety.
"Eithne…" – she turned to me, but her gaze was looking somewhere to the right of me into the distance. I turned in the direction of her gaze.
"Mmm?" – and saw that she was looking at the main guest of the night – the vampire.
"Have you noticed who our guest is tonight?" – the banshee asked anxiously.
"If you mean the handsome vampire, then yes. I managed to get a good look at him. But I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet".
"I hope there won't be a chance…" – Ashlyn muttered.
"Why?" – my eyebrow went up. Maybe he's not her type? I wonder what kind of taste the banshee has. I've never seen her flirting with anyone though …
"The appearance of a vampire is always a bad omen… It is always better to stay away from them".
There was something in her words that sent shivers down my spine. A banshee would know a thing or two about omens. Perhaps I should have listened to her, even though there was something so alluring about this vampire. Maybe it was just my natural curiosity…
We gazed at him for a couple more minutes and, having made sure that no danger emanated from him at the moment, finished our ale and returned to dancing.
* * *
"Ah… That's it… I can't take it anymore…" – Ashlyn was barely dragging her feet, finally leaving the dancing circle. I was following her at the same speed of a turtle.
"Yeah… that's definitely enough for today", – I agreed, breathing heavily.
Then I heard the flapping of wings and a few seconds later, which was quite expected, Finn landed on my shoulder.
"Hey, buddy! Where have you been?" – I asked the raven with a smile, lightly patting his feathered belly. – "Did you find anything interesting?"
Finn slightly raised his right leg, on which I noticed a small ring. I held out my palm, and he shook his finding into it.
"I hope you didn't steal it…" – I looked at my friend warily. Stealing the personal belongings of fairies, especially jewelry, was a big taboo in our world. These things absorb part of the owner's aura. A curse will fall on anyone who dares to steal this part…
The raven cawed twice and flapped its wings, clearly saying angry: "How dare you think that about me!"
"There, there. I'm sorry. I don't doubt you at all! It's just very strange… Who could lose a ring in the Fairy Meadow?"
I held the ring up to the moonlight to get a better look at it. The smith who made this ring clearly was skilled in jewelry. There was a beautiful ornate pattern all over the ring, successfully intertwined with small precious stones.
"Silver with sapphires. Very beautiful… Ashlyn!" – I turned sharply to the banshee.
"What? Do you know whose it is?" – she asked in surprise.
"No. But let's try to find out something from our guests today. Just don't mention the lost ring. You never know… There are many hunters for such beauty".
"Okay, I got it. I'll think of something", – the banshee nodded.
"And I'll hide it in a safe place until we figure something out. We don't need to bring any trouble upon ourselves…" – I said, hiding the ring in my dress pocket. – "Come on. We need to hurry to the pub. Otherwise, we won't have time to get ready for the guests".
I took Ashlyn by the hand and pulled her towards a huge hawthorn tree growing alone at the edge of the Meadow. We will go along the northern ley line. I had no strength left to run… Ashlyn immediately understood where I was leading her and didn't even think of arguing. It'll take us at least half an hour to walk normally, and two minutes along the ley line. Hmm… A difficult choice!
We approached an ancient tree, the branches of which were turned to the north. That is why the line was called the northern one. We turned our backs to the forest, touched the trunk and closed our eyes to tune in to the dimension of the portals. How long did this tuning take? It always varies. A minute, two, five… At some point, you simply begin to feel the flows of power where they seemed not to have been before. In fact, they have always been there, since the creation of the Earth. But not everyone can feel them, much less see them. Humans are definitely not capable of this. Well, maybe only druids can. They can see, but not walk on them. Only fairies can do this.
A few minutes later, I felt a vibration behind me and opened my eyes. Ashlyn was already looking at the line and waiting for me. Golden streams of power, slightly twisting, radiated from the tree and floated deep into the forest thicket.
"Finn, catch up!" – the raven cawed and having fluttered, disappeared into the darkness of the forest. Of course, he was far from being a fairy and could not walk with us along the ley lines. Although, looking into his wise midnight eyes, I sometimes had doubts about this …
"Ashlyn, so what? Are we diving?"
"Let's go!" – the banshee nodded, and we simultaneously jumped into the golden wave, tuning in to our destination. The main thing is not to lose focus, otherwise the line will take you wherever it wants. That's how I once managed to visit Dublin, which is a week's walk on horseback … So, let's not get distracted! "Tipsy Moon", catch us!
Two minutes later, as I expected, we jumped out of the hawthorn tree right at the pub doors, almost crashing into them.
"Oh, my gods!" – Ashlyn exclaimed, stopping a millimeter from the door. – "I'll never get used to this! And why did you have to plant this tree so close to the entrance?!"
"For uninvited guests, of course! It welcomes its regulars into the house without any problems, and strangers get stuck in its branches and thorns until I find them there and decide what to do with them", – I answered, gently stroking the trunk of my favorite one, which was one of the central elements of the defense system of my home. And mainly it guarded me from wild animals and dark fairies. Humans were not even able to see my house, thanks to the eye-diverting spell. Instead of a picturesque house in the forest, their eyes will see the impassable swampy bogs. That is, of course, if they even get here… The nearest village from the pub is in a two-hour walk through the forest.
The sound of Finn's returning wings reminded me that I needed to get back to business. Ashlyn was already busy in the kitchen. Bowing to the hawthorn tree with gratitude for its care and putting on an apron, I went to get tables and chairs for the veranda. The weather is wonderful today! What could be better than a glass of aromatic ale in the fresh forest air in the silvery light of the full moon?! Right! The only thing better could be a glass of MY ale!
I arranged the tables and chairs so that they would not interfere with the customers dancing and walking around chatting with their neighbors. Moved away, I glanced at the arrangement, and, having made sure that there would be no congestion anywhere, wiped my hands on the apron.
"Damn it! The ring!" – by wiping my hands, I felt the forgotten finding in my pocket. This is not good at all…
After making sure that Ashlyn could not see me, I approached the spring, which waters looped around my house and the surrounding area. It was as if I lived on an island. The spring, of course, was not a regular one either. At least because someone lived in it.
I hid the ring under a stone near the source, where its aura would be sealed by the power of the water, and no one would be able to sense it there.
"I'll ask him for advice later…" – I muttered to myself and went back to the pub. As I passed the hawthorn tree, I felt a slight vibration of power.
"Ashlyn!" – I shouted through the door. – "Guests are coming!"
"Excellent!" – the banshee shouted back from the kitchen. – "Everything is ready here. Welcome!"
* * *
The musicians played a lively reel, the ale flowed like a river, Ashlyn danced on a barrel, loudly beating out the rhythm with her boots, and the guests continued to arrive. Almost all the seats were already taken.
The veranda was mostly occupied by elves and noble fairies (not the greatest of course… my modest pub would hardly be honored with such visitors). Of course, the Master of the Forest came, who was sitting under the crown of an ancient hazel tree closer to the spring, and was telling something to Finn, who was greedily devouring a piece of raw wood pigeon.
Closer to the window, Gancanagh and Leannаn s?dhe were chirping. These two certainly had something to talk about… They were probably exchanging their new techniques for seducing the unfortunate inhabitants of Ardara. Although maybe not unfortunate… It depends on how you look at it!
Inside the pub, there were always more of those who wanted to be closer to the ale supply. I even gave Clurichaun his own barrel! It stood in the corner farthest from the entrance next to a small table, so that this noisy drinker would not disturb the other guests too much.
Closer to the entrance sat two mountain dwarf brothers. The gleam of their huge axes always kept me in good shape… At the same time, I respected them very much and loved to talk to them when I had a free minute (which I clearly will not have this night). They had countless stories about their adventures in the mountains of Erin’s various counties. Bards composed songs about their gold-digging expeditions and fights with trolls. Everyone had heard of the glorious names of Goban and Bradach. Two red-haired dwarves, huge as boulders, barely fit on my small chairs… and were drinking endless amounts of ale made with mountain herbs.
By the way, this was my best finding. Each customer's favorite type of ale was the one that contained herbs from the places where they lived. Memories of home awaken the most sincere and warm feelings, the most genuine happiness.
The Leprechaun, however, was happy to drink any type of ale. No one knows where he really lives… As for me, he probably has pots of gold hidden in every county!
I always loved to look at the guests while filling mugs with ale at the bar. Ashlyn finally stopped dancing and ran to deliver more portions of roast boar, wood pigeons and hares. I, in turn, went to hand out ale to everyone. Passing by the window, I overheard Ashlyn's conversation with Leannаn s?dhe.
"… Beautiful emeralds… but sapphires would suit your blue eyes so well!" – the banshee said in a voice full of admiration.
A melodious voice, like a song, came in response:
"Ah, my dear, you are absolutely right! Perhaps I will order our Goban to make me a pair of earrings with these stones. They say he is the best blacksmith in our mountains".
Aha… There was no need to spy further. The ring with sapphires definitely doesn’t belong to her. And the banshee is a good! She figured out well how to find out the information we needed without raising suspicion.
I put my load of six mugs on the dwarves table who were arguing about something and went for the next bunch. Ah, by the way, I need to somehow find out what Goban knows about the ring. If he made it, then he must have remembered it. It was very remarkable, so he probably did not forget who he made it for.
I poured another round of six mugs and was about to leave the bar stand with them when I noticed that the room had become dead silent… Even the musicians had stopped playing and were staring straight at the front door. I turned in the direction of their astonished gazes and stared at… myself. My eyebrow rose. A double ganger with golden eyes and a black cape was smiling at me.
"Free ale for everyone! " – the other me announced to the entire pub.
The real me frowned.
"Very funny, P?ca. Keep it up and you won't get any ale at all, even for money!" – I yelled at the mischievous shapeshifter, causing him to gasp in fear and take his usual form. I threw the mugs on the empty table and quickly ran up to the prankster, lifting him by his long black ear.
"Ouch! Eithne! I swear, I won't do it again!" – P?ca squealed, quickly realizing his future fate. He was certainly a troublemaker, but many could envy his intelligence. Although today he clearly messed up… Turning into me wasn't very smart, of course.
