The Dreamweaver

by Nancy Joseph Peterson

  Emrys shocked expression, followed quickly by his joyous, “YES!” Made Anna realise Queen Aine’s disclosure was a good thing.

  Bowing before Queen Aine, Emrys placed his closed fist over his heart, “Your gift is a generosity I would never have expected to receive twice in this lifetime. I am, as ever, your servant now and anytime that you require my help, you have but to call.” As he knelt before Queen Aine, she extended her right hand and Emrys kissed her ring in a show of devotion.

  “Now, this business done, I need to see about the unpleasant matter of this corrupted fairy ring. Who will show me the way?” Queen Aine rose from her chair and imperiously strode to the door.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  The Queen's Decision

  The journey back to the fairy ring altar was much faster than the first, it turned out traveling with a Fairy Queen had its advantage as she’d transported the four of them with the wave of a regal hand. Anna remained behind, in the temporary care of Carwyn.

  Queen Aine stood in front of the altar examining the fairy ring quietly, “You were correct, Cath, the walls between Sidhe and this realm are too thin here. This place is rife with my power and far too dangerous to be allowed to remain unprotected.” She stood, wiping her hands on the cloth Cath had given her.

  Emrys spoke up, breaking the silence, “My Queen, what can be done that will not disrupt or alter this dimension without too much damage? This area,” He swept his arm to indicate a wide area, “is heavily populated by good humans. It was the work of a few corrupt individuals, dark druids, that perpetrated this crime upon Sidhe.”

  Blaise added, “Cath closed the original rift they’d opened, and we are grateful for her service.” He nodded in Cath’s direction, “Is it possible to simply destroy the fairy ring to keep such a thing from ever occurring again?” He asked hopefully.

  “No, Blaisbheum, unfortunately that will not work as a permanent solution. I believe Merlin could explain it far better than I, but suffice to say the ring would simply return and the danger with it. My first instinct would be to simply remove all matter within this area. It will ensure the safety of my people and realm.”

  Reinforcing Aine’s statement about the fairy ring, Emrys explained, “Because the fungi has long-reaching threadlike mycelia, virtually a huge web of hundreds of thousands of tiny connected veins hidden in the soil, it is a single giant and ancient organism. It would be difficult if not impossible to kill it completely because if even a minute piece of the mycelia remained, it would grow back.”

  Emrys paused, adding as diplomatically as possible, “My Queen the ‘removal’ of all matter within even a tiny area, would have a devastating effect on this world as well as each of it’s layered dimensions. The aftermath would be catastrophic to millions of humans. I am sure your benevolent nature would recoil at such a disaster to befall this land and its’ people at your hand.”

  The Queen paused as she considered Merlin’s statement, directing her attention inward, she stared into space, lost in her own thoughts.

  Blaise and Emrys stood quietly, holding their collective breath as they awaited her decision.

  Walking forward a few paces in the glade, Queen Aine turned towards the tall fir trees, and noticing a small blue bird that perched a few feet to her left, she called to in an otherworldly and beautiful tone. Flitting to her, the tiny bird perched unafraid upon Aines extended finger. Cooing to the small creature for a moment, Aine ignored the men and her soldier standing a few yards behind her.

  Turning towards them and releasing the bird, Queen Aine spoke, “I find I have a … temptation … an impulse to establish a residence here.” She tapped her chin with a slender finger.

  Queen Aine moved to walk a short distance away, examining various trees and flowers as she went.

  Appearing to have made a decision, she turned and nodded, “Yes, I think this is the answer. I shall establish a royal palace in this glade for a short period of time, some hundred years or so. This will mean, of course, this area will be made uninhabitable to any humans.” She explained, seeing the alarm on the nearby humans faces, “It would simply feel very uncomfortable for them the nearer they came to Sidhe domain, and if a human were to persist, they would fall violently ill and be unable to continue any closer to my palace or grounds, but probably surviving if they left of their own accord.”

  Blaise let out an audible sigh of relief, “That is an incredibly generous solution, Queen Aine. Could you give us some idea how much of the area the villagers will need to avoid?”

  Cath answered for her, “The village will be safe to remain where it is, and most of this forest will be safe for humans as well. This glade and a few hundred yards around it will represent the area of our consulate palace in this realm.”

  Queen Aine smiled, “Yes, that seems fair enough.” Her eyes became dreamy, “I spent a small portion of my childhood in this realm…I would like to recreate some of my early memories, the creatures here are quite dear, if not rather dully coloured by comparison to their cousins in Sidhe.” She waved her hand in a Queenly gesture of proclamation, “I shall take possession of this site immediately and allow a few members of the Royal family to bring their offspring for instruction in this dimension. Cath you will oversee the building of a palace and grounds with haste.”

  Remembering the dark druids, the Queen added, “And, Cath dispatch a company of archers to gather the dark druids responsible for stealing from Sidhe. I shall deal with them harshly making an example for any humans who are considering thievery from me or Sidhe in the future.” Her eyes sparkled ominously, making it clear her retribution would not be merciful.

  Cath bowed her head in acknowledgement of her queens orders as she started to scout for a potential building site for the royal palace.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  The Children Return

  Since the Queen had decided to stay in preparation for establishing a Sidhe consulate in the glade, it took a little longer for Blaise and Emrys to get back to the crannog. Dimensional travel was exhausting, and as much of it as Emrys had been doing lately, the old fashioned form of travel was a much easier alternative.

  They arrived a few hours later, to find Anna and Carwyn busy preparing an afternoon meal, and setting the table where Alun was quietly enjoying a tankard of ale.

  Anna’s face brightened as Emrys walked through the door, “We’ve made laverbread! Did you know its’ made from seaweed?” She held out a warm slice slathered with sweet butter for him to taste, “It's really good, Carwyn taught me, and there’s soup too, I’m gonna cook this stuff for my Mom, she’d be really impressed.” Her brow creased for a moment, “Do you think I can buy this kind of seaweed at home?” She winked playfully at Emrys who smiled happily, he was so grateful to see Anna’s healthy glow, he’d forever be in Queen Aine debt for saving her.

  Carwyn wiped her hands on her apron as she looked up from the hearth where she’d been stirring the soup, “Anna’s a dear girl, Emrys, I am so glad she’s feeling better, we couldn’t lose another soul and especially not someone so very dear as your girl.”

  Carwyn had been told that Anna had become ill, and they’d rushed her to the dyn hysbys who had thankfully cured her. Carwyn’s eyes had filled with tears of relief that Anna would not suffer the same fate as her sister. The small village had lost too many good people lately.

  “Carwyn, I suspect the worst of it is over now, we seem to have found the source of the infection and have stopped it.” Emrys hugged her to him for a moment.

  “And what of the children? Anyon’s wee-uns, have you heard anything? He was here while you were gone and left some of their things so you could cast for their whereabouts.” Carwyn handed Emrys a small bag, “Emrys, he is at his wits end, after losing Mara to the same thing as my poor sister, those children are all he has left. I just hope you can do something to help him.” Carwyn squeezed Emrys arm, knowing he would do all he could.

  “Oh dear, that’s right, Emrys…I meant to tell
you but we were so caught up in everything with Anna and then the Queen’s business…” Blaise looked guiltily at the small bag, “Anyon was to come around this morning. I told him to bring some of the children’s personal things.” Blaise motioned to the bag Emrys was holding.

  Emrys looked in the small burlap bag; two hairbrushes that had been carefully labelled — one for Adda, Anyon’s ten-year old son, and one for Alys, his six-year old daughter. Other items as well, but the hairbrushes would be best suited for casting.

  “I should be able to get a trace on them with these.” Emrys pulled a strand of hair from one of the brushes, “When did Anyon say he would return?” he asked turning back to Carwyn.

  “He was going to stay nearby, I think something about shoeing a horse, busy work I suspect to keep his mind off his worries. He said he’d be back in a few hours, or if we needed him sooner, he told me to tell you he’d be at Gwynedd’s farm.” Carwyn began to set bowls of steaming soup on the long table, “I know you’re in a hurry to find the children, and so you should be, but a few minutes for a bite of food after your long walk will make you better able for the task.” Carwyn admonished as she pulled Emrys to a bench to sit beside Anna.

  Emrys smiled, she’d always been like that. Really the only mother he’d ever known, she was forever making him stop for a few minutes to look after himself — and he did need replenishing, opening dimensions as often as he’d been doing lately, was depleting both physically and mentally.

  “Okay, okay…but only ten minutes, and then I want to see what can be done. I’d like to have something to tell Anyon before his return.”

  “Do you really think you can find them, Emrys?” Anna asked as she buttered a slice of warm bread for him.

  “I honestly don’t know Anna. With the dark druidry practices that have been discovered lately, the fact that two small children went missing around the same time is very disturbing. I should be able, at the very least, to discover where they were most recently.” And Emrys thought grimly to himself, whether or not they were still alive.

  Blaise looked meaningfully at Emrys, “They went missing about six days ago and we know that the roads out of the village have been closely watched, so it is unlikely they have been moved very far. I really thought we’d have some clues from the cave near the fairy altar, but we found nothing, just a few robes and candles.” Blaise lowered his voice so he wouldn’t be heard by Carwyn or Alun, “Is it possible they could have been moved out of this dimension?”

  Emrys paused to consider the question. The ability for humans to move between dimensions or time was extremely rare. Only someone with a strong understanding of physics, with metaphysical powers as well as an aptitude for the application of natural science, such as he’d learned from the dyn hysbys as a druid, would be able to create the doorways…wait. It would be rare for humans…but not fairies, he flashed on the memory of Cath leaving them in the glade to go into the cave…alone.

  Emrys grabbed Blaise’s arm, his gaze intense, “Did Cath leave your sight when she was warded to you?”

  Blaise’s own eyes opened wide, “Emrys, I allowed her to explore your home… unaccompanied. I was down here, I didn’t imagine she could get into any trouble due to her ward. She could have left the building I suppose - I wasn’t watching her every minute,” and he thought guiltily, he’d even fallen asleep, “There was another odd thing I recall - Cath left her bow and quiver of bolts behind just before she opened the portal into fairy, I thought at the time it was strange because I’d always believed fairies placed a very high value on their archery weapons.”

  Emrys confirmed, “They do, and the answer to your earlier question about whether or not the children could have been taken out of this dimension is, yes — but it would not be likely to have been a druid, and probably not by any human.” He paused, “I think I know who could have done it and how she did it.”

  Emrys quickly gathered Cath’s bow and quiver, motioning to Blaise, “I want you to come with me. We’re going to need to speak with Queen Aine again, if what I suspect is so, she may be able help us recover the children.”

  Emrys stood and kissed Anna on her cheek, “Wait here with Carwyn, I shouldn’t be too long and when Anyon returns, tell him to stay and wait for me.”

  Anna nodded, and stood to hug Emrys for a moment, “Be careful, and I hope you find them. I’m proud of you.”

  Her eyes shone with love for Emrys as he and Blaise ran up the stairs to his workroom for yet another dimensional trip.

  Once in his workroom, Emrys waved a hand over the chair where Queen Aine had recently been sitting, and finding a weak link to her current location, he wove the calculations to open a portal. The shimmering doorway was vague, but he hoped it would get them within a reasonable distance of her current location.

  Emrys stowed Cath’s quiver and bow in a shoulder bag as he and Blaise stepped through the portal and into a utopia of unimaginable beauty.

  Blaise’s eyes grew wide as he took in the scene before them. Like a page from Lost Horizons describing Shangri-La, the vista they beheld was simply breathtaking. Standing upon a hill, the valley that swept downwards, was well known to Emrys as the Realm of the Sidhe, but Blaise stood stunned and motionless, taking in the incomprehensible beauty before him.

  Tall trees with slender golden trunks and tiny pink leaves lined a gently curving bank of a sparkling, silvery stream. Silken, emerald grasses, moving languidly in the warm breeze were sprinkled with spots of brightly coloured flowers and in the far distance, giant purple snow-capped mountains rose imposingly, and were taller than any Blaise had seen before. Above it all, a vibrant azure blue sky, with colours that simply did not exist anywhere else but Fairy.

  Blaise took a deep breath, the air too seemed different, richer somehow. He wanted to breathe more deeply than his lungs could allow…it was almost addictive. Maybe more ozone, he pondered, as he again breathed in the rich atmosphere. The fragrance…was perfect, that scent that people always searched for but could never quite find.

  But it was the centre of the valley that stunned Blaise into open-mouthed speechlessness. An emerald castle, not unlike the photo in a book Emrys had given him from one of his visits to the future, sat twinkling in the sunlight and leading to it, a golden road that was busy with Sidhe travellers.

  Emrys watched Blaise carefully, noting the tears in his eyes, a typical response from human visitors to the realm. The dichotomy between Fairy and the Earthly dimension was simply too great to accept, Blaise was experiencing a complete overload of sensation.

  “Be strong, Blaise, even though you visited the palace recently, the outside Sidhe realm is hard, even for as cognoscente a human as your good self to understand. To our eyes and senses this place is the epitome of perfection, which is too much for a human mind to comprehend. Just close your eyes for a moment and I will try to dull the avalanche of sensations you’re experiencing a little.”

  Blaise did as Emrys asked him, closing his streaming eyes. Emrys rested his palms over both eyes for a moment, muttering a swift charm.

  Opening his eyes, Blaise sighed in relief, “Thank you, Emrys. I thought my heart would burst with joy…which isn’t as good a thing as I’d have once imagined.”

  “To what do we owe this unannounced visit, Merlin?” Cath asked quietly as she stood behind them surrounded by a contingent of her archers, all with bows drawn and none looking very friendly.

  “I came to speak with your Queen, but perhaps you could help me.” Emrys eased her bow out of his shoulder bag carefully so she could see the tip of it, “I believe you left something valuable in my dimension and … perhaps took something valuable from there as well?” He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

  With a sharp intake of breath, Cath grabbed for the bag, “Thank you, Merlin Emrys.” She whispered, “I am happy to see these old things returned to me.” Her eyes glittered with joy as she restored her bow and quiver to her shoulder with a sigh of relief.

  “We shall escort you.�
� She motioned to the guards, who’d positioned themselves front and back of Blaise and Merlin, effectively trapping them for the short journey to the palace. Cath strode by them, a satisfied smile on her face, leading the way.

  Arriving shortly thereafter, Emrys and Blaise were instructed to wait in an ornate parlour, as Cath departed through gilded doors to, presumably, alert the Queen to their presence.

  Emrys and Blaise sat on tufted cushions and were served dainty cups of a delicious herbal tea by a smiling servant who then retreated to stand at a polite distance.

  “How long do you think we will have to wait?” Blaise whispered to Emrys as he sipped his tea, holding his pinky finger up delicately.

  “I have no idea how long, or even if we’ll be received on such short notice, and just so you know, and I am not sure that my suspicions are correct…not one hundred percent anyway,” Emrys mused, “but I believe Anyon’s children may be here in the Queen’s palace somewhere.”