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...
Good lord. You'd think my Muse would let me sleep. But, noooo. Instead, I'm comfortably almost into dreamland, and, BOOM. Merith the Fairy takes root in my head. *mutter*
Misty light filtered through trees and dappled the small clearing with alternating light and shade. Gold pinpoints in a vast sea of green and brown glimmered here and there. In the center of the clearing knelt a woman. She might once have been beautiful, but weeks of tears and ponderations had left their toll on her face.
Now, she had character. Now, she might have almost had purpose. Her dark hair hung in tendrils and tangles every which way, the randomness echoed in the softly glimmering gossamer garments. The flimsy wrappings did little to hide the lithe and well-muscled body beneath. If it had seen little of any excercise of late, this did not show.
Dark circles surrounded her grey eyes, as if they wished to deepen the stain in her soul.
If she had one.
"Merith? What are you doing here, my dear?"
"Go away, Brianna."
The woman spoken to was as slim as the woman kneeling was, but where the other was dark, she was fair. And laughter danced in her blue eyes and rosebud lips. "Don't be silly, dear. There is no time for this. Why must you dally, when there are dances to be had, parties to play?"
"And have we done so well, Brianna?" The dark eyes looked up at the blue. "To dance, while mortals die? To play as mortals weep?"
"You are being far too deep, Merry."
"Don't call me that." Harshness echoed in the woods, underlied by grief.
"Why not?"
"Because I am not, Brianna." She stood, restless. "There is death in this world, Brianna. A death we do not have."
"Did not."
"Did not." A bitter laugh echoed through the trees. "Do you enjoy being Queen, Brianna?"
"Yes." A smile. "I do, my dear, I do."
"Titania you are not."
"Titania is dead."
Merith nodded once, then turned away. "Have you ever wanted death?"
"What a mortal question!"
"And yet I would know your answer."
"I have none, I cannot die." The other replied arrogantly.
"Titania did."
Silence held them for a time as breezes flickered through their hair, stirring the restless branches and leaves. Then Brianna laughed and it was a brittle sound, leaving many forest creature with its hair on end. "You would remind me, wouldn't you."
"I thought you could not die."
"I cannot." A pause, then more fiercely, as if the will of so light and airy a creature could control fate. "I will not."
"Yes." Merith nodded thoughtfully. "I think, Brianna. I think that I shall."
"What, die? Do not talk fustian, my dear."
"I am not. I understand Titania." She turned, arms encompassing the forest, the world, the ElvenGate. "All this. Was hers. Is ours. Is mine. And yet. How empty it is, without thought, without word, without life and joy and happiness."
"You are being ridiculous, like Jester when he tries to court me. We have life and joy and happines." Brianna objected, her hands wrapping each other tightly in agitation.
"Am I?" Merith caught those hands and looked up into the blue eyes that were suddenly troubled. "Why do you never accept his suit, then? Why do none of us ever..." She turned, releasing Brianna's hands. "Never mind."
"You.... Merith, I do not understand you."
"I am leaving."
"Leaving?"
"Yes." Merith turned to her and smiled, pain and joy mingling in the look. "Because I must. I have to. I will... I will be as Titania, in months, ere I do not."
"You would give this up?" Brianna pointed to the ElvenGate. "Become like those herd-like mortals? Learn to eek out a living from the earth and get your hands dirty. My word, Merry, you'd never get the dirt from under your fingernails."
"I would live and die, knowing that there is joy in my life. And I would decay, providing life to the soil, and new life to those who came after me." Merith shivered. "I would know... I would know love, Brianna. Love that is real and not a Faery glamourie provided by the Court Magician for his own pleasure."
"You speak of certainties and death, my dear." Sadness shadowed Brianna's eyes. "I would wish you well. I cannot promise you a way back."
"I know. There is no return."
"None." Brianna closed her eyes, a tear glimmered on her cheek. "Goodbye, my dear."
Merith touched her cheek. "Make love with Jester--even play love is still better than nothing."
"Mayhap."
"Remember me." With those words, Merith turned, her footsteps taking her into the wood. Away from her home, from the ElvenGate. Away from the life she knew. As she went her clothing began to change as did her shape. She became less whispy and more solid, her skirts rustling as she strode between the tall trees. She wore green, of course, patterned on the forest of her life.
And a tiny star nestled at her throat once and was gone, her magic forever sealed, her immortality released to find another host.
She shivered as it suddenly became cold, her skin allowed to feel reality.
The seasons had changed, from the false summer of the ElvenGate to the fall of reality. Leaves were running a riot of colour up and down trees, some littered the path already, crunching under her sturdy boots. A few drifted here and there on the wind, lazily seeking out hair to tangle or feet to fall under.
----Endspam---
And now, I sleep. This time, really sleep. See? This is me, sleeping...
Misty light filtered through trees and dappled the small clearing with alternating light and shade. Gold pinpoints in a vast sea of green and brown glimmered here and there. In the center of the clearing knelt a woman. She might once have been beautiful, but weeks of tears and ponderations had left their toll on her face.
Now, she had character. Now, she might have almost had purpose. Her dark hair hung in tendrils and tangles every which way, the randomness echoed in the softly glimmering gossamer garments. The flimsy wrappings did little to hide the lithe and well-muscled body beneath. If it had seen little of any excercise of late, this did not show.
Dark circles surrounded her grey eyes, as if they wished to deepen the stain in her soul.
If she had one.
"Merith? What are you doing here, my dear?"
"Go away, Brianna."
The woman spoken to was as slim as the woman kneeling was, but where the other was dark, she was fair. And laughter danced in her blue eyes and rosebud lips. "Don't be silly, dear. There is no time for this. Why must you dally, when there are dances to be had, parties to play?"
"And have we done so well, Brianna?" The dark eyes looked up at the blue. "To dance, while mortals die? To play as mortals weep?"
"You are being far too deep, Merry."
"Don't call me that." Harshness echoed in the woods, underlied by grief.
"Why not?"
"Because I am not, Brianna." She stood, restless. "There is death in this world, Brianna. A death we do not have."
"Did not."
"Did not." A bitter laugh echoed through the trees. "Do you enjoy being Queen, Brianna?"
"Yes." A smile. "I do, my dear, I do."
"Titania you are not."
"Titania is dead."
Merith nodded once, then turned away. "Have you ever wanted death?"
"What a mortal question!"
"And yet I would know your answer."
"I have none, I cannot die." The other replied arrogantly.
"Titania did."
Silence held them for a time as breezes flickered through their hair, stirring the restless branches and leaves. Then Brianna laughed and it was a brittle sound, leaving many forest creature with its hair on end. "You would remind me, wouldn't you."
"I thought you could not die."
"I cannot." A pause, then more fiercely, as if the will of so light and airy a creature could control fate. "I will not."
"Yes." Merith nodded thoughtfully. "I think, Brianna. I think that I shall."
"What, die? Do not talk fustian, my dear."
"I am not. I understand Titania." She turned, arms encompassing the forest, the world, the ElvenGate. "All this. Was hers. Is ours. Is mine. And yet. How empty it is, without thought, without word, without life and joy and happiness."
"You are being ridiculous, like Jester when he tries to court me. We have life and joy and happines." Brianna objected, her hands wrapping each other tightly in agitation.
"Am I?" Merith caught those hands and looked up into the blue eyes that were suddenly troubled. "Why do you never accept his suit, then? Why do none of us ever..." She turned, releasing Brianna's hands. "Never mind."
"You.... Merith, I do not understand you."
"I am leaving."
"Leaving?"
"Yes." Merith turned to her and smiled, pain and joy mingling in the look. "Because I must. I have to. I will... I will be as Titania, in months, ere I do not."
"You would give this up?" Brianna pointed to the ElvenGate. "Become like those herd-like mortals? Learn to eek out a living from the earth and get your hands dirty. My word, Merry, you'd never get the dirt from under your fingernails."
"I would live and die, knowing that there is joy in my life. And I would decay, providing life to the soil, and new life to those who came after me." Merith shivered. "I would know... I would know love, Brianna. Love that is real and not a Faery glamourie provided by the Court Magician for his own pleasure."
"You speak of certainties and death, my dear." Sadness shadowed Brianna's eyes. "I would wish you well. I cannot promise you a way back."
"I know. There is no return."
"None." Brianna closed her eyes, a tear glimmered on her cheek. "Goodbye, my dear."
Merith touched her cheek. "Make love with Jester--even play love is still better than nothing."
"Mayhap."
"Remember me." With those words, Merith turned, her footsteps taking her into the wood. Away from her home, from the ElvenGate. Away from the life she knew. As she went her clothing began to change as did her shape. She became less whispy and more solid, her skirts rustling as she strode between the tall trees. She wore green, of course, patterned on the forest of her life.
And a tiny star nestled at her throat once and was gone, her magic forever sealed, her immortality released to find another host.
She shivered as it suddenly became cold, her skin allowed to feel reality.
The seasons had changed, from the false summer of the ElvenGate to the fall of reality. Leaves were running a riot of colour up and down trees, some littered the path already, crunching under her sturdy boots. A few drifted here and there on the wind, lazily seeking out hair to tangle or feet to fall under.
----Endspam---
And now, I sleep. This time, really sleep. See? This is me, sleeping...