Moonchild, A Faerie's Tale

Episode 6: Risks Tiny faerie Moonchild must take huge risks to save herself and her dearest human friend Eleanor!

“Elizabeth, please help!” Moonchild called with her tiny voice. She saw Elizabeth slow her pace and turn her head, but the girl kept walking. Moonchild tried harder.

“Please, PLEASE, ELIZABETHElLIZABEizabeth!”

Elizabeth regained her pace though kept scanning about. Moonchild realized Elizabeth was now walking farther away from her and soon would be at the house’s porch.

Moonchild forced her glow and exerted her tiny voice with all her might.

“ELIZABETH! I’M TRAPPED AT THE FOUNTAIN!”

Elizabeth stopped mid-stride. “Who is there?” She asked about. “Is someone playing a joke on me out here?”

“NO, Elizabeth,” Moonchild shouted, in her faerie-small voice. “I’m a friend of Eleanor. Look, see the butterfly?” Moonchild wiggled her restraints and the dead butterfly bounced around. Elizabeth saw the butterfly.

“Funny, very funny whoever you are. Do you expect me to believe that a butterfly speaks?”

“No, no it’s me,” Moonchild said, taking a breath. “I am the faerie you saw under your bed.”

What!?” Elizabeth shrieked.

“Please keep quiet, Elizabeth. Come closer to me.”

Elizabeth glanced around and slowly walked closer to the birdbath. She watched the butterfly, but Moonchild knew Elizabeth didn’t see her.

“Just look closely, search for my green glow. Remember when you were little? Remember under the bed just last week. You can see me, Elizabeth"just believe a little bit in my existence.” 

Elizabeth slowed her pace to creeping short steps toward the fountain. Moonchild raised her glow and wiggled in her thread restraints again.

“OH!” Elizabeth dropped her basket and covered her mouth with both hands.

“You do exist, but Eleanor…” Elizabeth said, coming closer.

“Eleanor always believed"belief makes it easy to see me,” Moonchild said. “Elizabeth, you must believe. I NEED you to believe.”

“I do believe, now. Ah…”

“My name is Moonchild,” she said, trying to calm herself. “I’ve lived here since before your parents built your house, but now I need YOUR help desperately because Eleanor desperately needs my help. Please, can you free me from these threads that bind me?”

“I’ll free you, but what can a tiny faerie like you do to help Eleanor?” Elizabeth said, reaching for the threads that bound Moonchild. “Mother told me it is hopeless for Eleanor, but I mustn’t tell her.”

“It is not hopeless for Eleanor,” Moonchild said adamantly. “I can, I must help her.”

“I don’t understand…” Elizabeth said, as she began carefully breaking the threads, keeping her fingers a safe distance away from Moonchild.

“Oh, I see your beautiful wing is damaged,” Elizabeth said. “Did you hurt it when you got caught?”

“No, in the barn fire. I rushed to tell Eleanor about the fire, and I broke it going through a gap in the barn boards.”  

“That’s how she found out first!” Elizabeth snapped off two more threads. “Awww, this stuff is sticky and that butterfly"poor thing. It must have been Joseph, my wicked brother.”

“You must not tell him,” Moonchild said.

“Elizabeth! What are you doing?” called her mother.

“Oh, ah,” Elizabeth stammered. 

“Tell her you saw leaves in the birdbath.”

“Just some leaves to pick out of the water, mother.”

“Fine, come and eat,” Mother said, but she stopped and looked at Elizabeth.

“Elizabeth! What is that?” Mother asked, pointing.

“Nothing mother! Oh, the butterfly"is caught.”

“Hurry Elizabeth, only three more threads,” Moonchild whispered.

“But the threads hurt my fingers,” she whispered, snapping another one.

“What do you mean nothing? I see something there that is green, like a light,” Mother said. “And I’ve seen that green before.”

Elizabeth turned to face her mother. “Just a caught butterfly.”

“No, its not. Let me see daughter,” Mother walked up and gripped Elizabeth’s shoulder. She looked down closely at Moonchild. “Oh my word! It is you!” She pointed with one hand and covered her mouth with the other.

“Yes, ma’am.” Moonchild said, trying to curtsy, but two threads still held her upright. “I am your resident garden faerie, Moonchild, and a very close friend of Eleanor.”

“I know.” Mother said, calmly nodding. “I saw you the day of the fire and long ago when I was young.”

“Now I remember seeing you at the barn fire, too,” said Elizabeth. “But the memory is foggy like a dream.”

“What are you doing here at the fountain?” Mother asked.

“I am caught in a trap like this poor butterfly.”

 “Oh, poor thing. Keep working Elizabeth, set her free. Joseph will pay for this.”

“Don’t tell Joseph about Moonchild!” Elizabeth said, turning with a shocked expression.

“Don’t worry I won’t,” Mother said. “Your poor wing, Moonchild. The day of the barn fire, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Mother, she warned Nell about the fire!” Elizabeth said, breaking the last thread. Moonchild flipped her wings making the loose thread ends swirl around. She flittered down to sit on the rim of the birdbath. She picked some of the sticky strands off.

“You did? Well, I suppose it all makes sense. Thank you, Moonchild. Father said we’d of surely lost the cattle and horses if we hadn’t been awakened by Eleanor. Now we find that we owe you, Moonchild.”

“No, you don’t. I was just saving my friends in the barn and saving you the grief.” Moonchild hung her head. “Though not fast enough and now poor Eleanor...”

“Yes, we feel powerless to help her.”

“Do not let your heart be troubled for hope always remains. I may be able to make her better,” Moonchild said.

“But Doctor Welling told us…” Mother just let the words trail off. 

“My father showed me a way to save her, but…”

Elizabeth pondered a moment, turned pale, and swallowed hard. “Will she change or go away from here?” 

“Oh no,” Moonchild said, standing up. “If I’m successful, she will remain as always a part of your family.” She looked away, and her glow dimmed.

“What about you? Will you"go away?” Elizabeth asked.

Moonchild scanned the remaining tame wilds that survived the fire. She turned to mother and daughter. “Truthfully yes, though only a small consequence. I will go away"but happily, satisfied, that Eleanor lives on.”

“I had no idea Eleanor had such a marvelous friendship with you, Moonchild,” Mother said, turning to Elizabeth. “Did you know about them?”

“Well,” Elizabeth paused. “I sort of scolded Nell to stop telling stories about a faerie in the backyard. I thought it was just one Nell’s childish stories.”

“Sometimes you have to believe in things that are so very hard to believe,” Mother hesitated; her eyes grew big and glassy as she turned to look at Moonchild.

“Mildred!” They all turned to see father returning from sending off the last helpful neighbor. “I am going inside.” He waved to the house while limping up to the porch.

“I need to go to the house with father,” Mother said. “Elizabeth, make sure Moonchild is all right and tend to any of her needs.”

“I will Mother,” Elizabeth said, then turning aside. “Can I do anything for you Moonchild?”

 Moonchild now performed perfect curtsies to mother and Elizabeth. “For you ma’am for me making your acquaintance after such a duration, and to you Elizabeth for releasing me from the trap.”

“We are so pleased to meet you, too Moonchild,” Mother said. “I wish we had done so earlier on, before all these dire circumstances.”

“As I also feel,” said Moonchild.

“Perhaps we can visit more later,” Mother said. “For now, thank you, Moonchild.”

“At a more opportune occasion, surely. Good bye.”

Mother departed across the backyard while Moonchild and Elizabeth remained silent, watching.

“I’d like to assist you in any way I can,” Elizabeth said. “But you have to tell me what I can do. I feel embarrassed and awkward.”

“Don’t feel that way. You saved my life by releasing me and in a manner saved Eleanor as well. Be happy in our meeting and mutual knowledge of the here and now.”

“Of course.” Elizabeth turned to look beyond the backyard. “I assume you live back at the sundial in the spring beauties,” Elizabeth said, pointing. “We lost some of the brush back there from the fire.”

“Yes, the tame wilds were disturbed but my friends, er, animals managed to escape.”

“Very good. Oh, excuse me for not asking. Can you fly okay? I could carry you back there to your home. That would be such a marvelous thrill to carry you.”

Moonchild flittered up above the fountain and around it once thinking she was fine, but she alighted on the birdbath rim.

“Yes Elizabeth, you can carry me. My wings are tired after my journey and capture.”

Elizabeth reached out to grip Moonchild in an open fist, but embarrassed, she withdrew her hand. “Oh sorry, that won’t do. What is the best way to carry you?”

“Oh of course. I’m so used to hopping on Eleanor everyday without a thought. Just hold your palm out flat down here.” Moonchild demonstrated. Elizabeth put her hand out and Moonchild stepped on.

“As easy as that,” Moonchild said, uneasily. “Just take me back to the faerie dial. Oh, don’t worry about me in your hand. Eleanor tripped once and it ended up bad. Watch where you step"don’t watch me.”

“All r-r-r-right. Let’s go,” Elizabeth said, taking small steps. “You’re as light as a feather. I can barely feel you in my hand.”

“About the same"feathers and me,” Moonchild giggled.

“You are a fun faerie lady. I can see why Eleanor adores you. Maybe you and I…?”

“Of course,” Moonchild smiled grimly. She didn’t want to remind Elizabeth of the outcome tonight. She pointed near the faeriedial. “Here. Lower me to the ground.”

“There you go.” Elizabeth bent over with her hand near the ground and Moonchild disembarked.

“Thank you, Elizabeth. Despite all the problems with the fire and Eleanor, it is so nice to finally make friends with you.”

“And I you,” Elizabeth said. “Anything else I can do?”

“No thanks. I must prepare a few things for later tonight"for Eleanor.”

“Oh, all right. I can check on you before dark.”

“That would be pleasurable, Elizabeth.” She made a curt bow. “Good bye for now.”

“Bye Moonchild.” With that, Elizabeth skipped back to the house.

Moonchild flittered back to her spot at the stream and sat down. She didn’t want to reveal too much to Elizabeth because she didn’t know or fully trust Elizabeth. It had been the same with Eleanor in the beginning for a faerie could not be TOO careful. She considered that thought about being careful in respect to what she prepared to do. How silly being careful with Elizabeth, but she did need to be careful so she can return to Eleanor. She reopened her mineral cache and replaced the faeriefinderorb in its special niche.

Moondazewaxing had ensured Moonchild had the items necessary for Eleanor’s procedure. Even though Moonchild had not done an inventory in years, she knew precisely what she had. She had reassured her father that she did indeed have the necessary minerals and the essential courage. She collected two stones and two bags of faerie dust from her cache. Rising up and out, she resealed the cache. Holding her items, she stared at the faeriedial as viewing it for the last time. A flicker caught her eye on the other side of the new barn materials. What was that? And it was gone.

She returned to her burrow and decided to clean it out. It didn’t really need cleaning, but the work let her contemplate the procedure Moondazewaxing had outlined. After that bit of cleaning, she went down to the stream’s edge. As always, Buford Bullfrog lay in the shallow water with just his eyes above water appearing as two green pebbles floating on the surface. Moonchild patted him on the head. Like she had hoped, he eased out of the water and gave her a couple deep-throated croaks. The sound warmed her heart. She lay down there on the streambed to doze.

When she awakened, the day was waning. Moonchild knew the hour grew short and she must steel herself for the task at hand, but at the same time, she put on a joyful face for Eleanor. Why did she feel this way"melancholy? She had made the decision before she had departed to visit her father; there was just no other way to save precious Eleanor.

She gathered up her minerals and flittered into the house and up to Eleanor’s room. The house, Moonchild thought, was unusually quiet. She flew into Eleanor’s room and found the little girl sleeping. Her breath was fitful, deep, and rattly almost as loud as master’s snoring. Moonchild set her things down in the corner and sat on Eleanor’s bed. With a sniffle and a snort, Eleanor suddenly woke up.

“Moonchild, I missed you,” the little girl said sleepily. “I thought you would return sooner than this. It is almost night time.”

“Well young missy, you needed your rest. Not to mention all the people around here made it a bit daunting for a faerie to get around .Oh, and I sort of got, ah tied up.”

“Tied up? With what?”

“I’ll tell you about it someday,” Moonchild said. She stepped over closer to Eleanor’s shoulder. 

“How are your sick friends?”

“They are going to be just fine. Never better, eventually. But I’m here now to sprinkle you with some faerie dust.”

“How’s that? Faerie dust? I thought that was some ah, ah"” Eleanor appeared embarrassed.

“Faerie tale?”

“Yes, that’s it. I didn’t want to say it,” Eleanor said. “So, why do you have this faerie dust now?”

“I learned a procedure from my father that will cure you,” Moonchild said, getting her materials.

“Really? I’d like to meet your father.”

“I don’t think it is possible. He is strict, by the faerie book and one rule states that we’re not supposed to leave our Faerierealm once embedded.”

“But you just left to see him.”

“Some of us bend the rules a bit,” Moonchild said, opening her tiny cloth bag.

“Is he very far away?”

“Quite a distance, say several days ride with your grand pulling horses.”

“Oh, it is a ways, then.” Eleanor coughed several times, so hard she sat up, doubling over at the waist. Her pain reminded Moonchild to get on with it. She waited until Eleanor stopped coughing and caught her breath.

“Lie down and pull your bed sheets down a little.”

Eleanor did as Moonchild instructed.

“Here take a circlestone in each hand. Green in right, red in left.”  Eleanor gripped them. “Hold them really tight.” Moonchild flittered up and sprinkled white dust over Eleanor’s head. “Try to breathe in the dust, but do not sneeze it out.” Eleanor took a deep breath.

“Ooo, it smells good like chamomile tea,” said Eleanor.

“Good, enjoy. Now another, not so nice smelling.” Moonchild hovered again and sprinkled some black dust over Eleanor.

“Mother is going to kill me if this makes a mess,” Eleanor said, with a stifled giggle.

“I don’t think so,” said Moonchild seriously.

“This dust is horrible like rotten eggs.”

“I know, take it in. Now the important part. Close your eyes and keep them shut no matter what.”

“All right.”

“Ready? I’m going to put my hands on your head.”

 “I’m ready.” 

 Moonchild flittered up and standing on Eleanor’s hairline, she put her hands on Eleanor’s forehead. She concentrated with all her will power. Moonchild winced with the sudden twinge. 

“It tickles,” said Eleanor, with a giggle.

“Sshhh,” Moonchild said, fighting off her pain.

Moonchild could feel her faerieforce leaving her body, and she could see the glow leave her arms and seep into Eleanor. She saw Eleanor’s eyes flicker open.

“Don’t look!” Moonchild warned.

“But your glow, it is turning dark. It is like killing you. I feel your glow inside my head. Stop Moonchild, stop!”  Eleanor cried.

“You’ll be better when I’m done.”

“NO!” Eleanor cried, but so weakly, it was as a whisper. She attempted to get up. She tried to move her arms. “Moonchild, please stop.” She said, despairingly. “You’re hurting yourself.”

“Yes, she is,” came a soft deep male voice. “Daughter, slow down. You must proceed unhurriedly and resolutely. I am here to assist you.”

Eleanor vaguely acknowledged the voice. “Moonchild, who?” She mumbled.

“My father, Moondazewaxing. Relax, Eleanor. Keep your eyes closed.” Moonchild said soothingly.

Eleanor squeezed her eyes tighter shut, and her mouth formed a silent oh. Moonchild turned to Moondazewaxing. 

“Father, leave us. I know what you plan and you must not give yourself for my friend. You told me that I alone must give myself entirely to save Eleanor.”

“Moonchild, stop! I know what I knew you were hurting yourself. Stop,” Eleanor whimpered.

Moonchild shushed her. Moondazewaxing looked at his daughter face to face.

“I was mistaken in my advice, daughter, and I do not plan to sacrifice myself, here let me help.”

He leaned over beside Moonchild and put his hands on Eleanor’s head next to Moonchild’s. Eleanor’s eyes opened, then rolled back into her head as she lost consciousness.

Moonchild gasped, but she didn’t withdraw her hands.

“She sleeps, good.” He turned and smiled. “Daughter,” He whispered. “Together we will save her, but remember to save yourself, just a little, save a little of your faerieforce.”

Together they held their hands to Eleanor’s forehead, concentrating intensely. Moonchild saw out the corners of her eyes that Moondazewaxing’s blue glow seeped out of his hands and arms as happened to her a few seconds ago. Eleanor’s forehead began to glow where they touched her and began to spread across her face and down her neck. Moonchild felt herself getting weak as the glow left her legs with the dimming creeping down her body like a warm sunset ending to an autumn day.

“Daughter,” Moondazewaxing said. “We must be thorough and drive the impurities from the little human’s body.”

“Eleanor,” Moonchild sleepily said.

Moondazewaxing nodded. “We must continue and not pause, not stop at all, because if we do we cannot begin again or attempt to save Eleanor again. The elders instructed me so.”

Moonchild flinched but kept her palms firmly tight on Eleanor’s skin. “The FairieElders father? You went to them?”

“Yes,” he said, breathlessly. “I almost couldn’t make it here for my journey there"to Elderess.” He took a deep breath. “I knew you were prepared to"”

“Elderess,” Moonchild whispered, as her head drooped over to her shoulder. Moondazewaxing observed that Moonchild’s chartreuse glow had almost entirely extinguished, leaving only a pale yellowish hue.

“Moonchild! Don’t leave me, don’t leave this plane by giving the last of your faerieforce,” Moondazewaxing said desperately. “Think of Eleanor. You must stay for her.”

“But"I"must"save"Eleanor,” she murmured so low that her father barely heard. Moonchild wilted like a flower at its life’s end, collapsing there at last, but her tiny, fine hands remained firmly in contact with Eleanor’s forehead. Only a faintest whisper of Moonchild’s glow remained.

 

 

    

Reviews

[Journal-Writer]

This was an excellent read and again, I enjoyed each and every word written. The story is just enchanting!

[wondering]

Adventure and suspense, good things o find in any story, fairytale or not
thanks