Lost and Found: A Tale of the Tylwyth Teg

Chapter 13 - Goat Guts, Eldritch Eye and To Arms!

We both awoke the next morning to a brilliant, sunny day. Anne made omelets with tomatoes, avocado and bacon that were scrumptious. While we were eating, and wondering where our new housemate was, he appeared on the kitchen counter, grabbed the half-pound of raw bacon and vanished with his prize.

Anne furiously rose from the table, when I said, "I'm afraid lecturing him on how bad that bacon fat is for his health will be about as successful as telling me to cut down on my sugar intake. Don't waste your breath!"

"He can probably magic away the cholesterol," she said sourly, sitting back down. "But you can't magic away your love handles!" I glared at her and did my best impression of a feline hiss. "What's on your agenda today, Tigress?"

An hour later saw me at The Cambria Veterinary Clinic, where their two doctors are a husband-and-wife team. They assured me that, while very small amounts of red meat are okay, it should never become a staple of a cat's diet. Bears, however, have stomachs closer to ours, and therefore are better suited for a more regular inclusion of red meat.

While walking towards the Cookie Crock Market to check out their meats, I was overcome with a bout of dizziness. I grabbed the brick wall of an empty store, pausing as my eyes were bombarded with bright light and unfocused vision. I closed my eyes tightly, waiting for the spinning to stop.

A small, slender hand grabbed hold of mine. "Mae Alwyn wedi rhoi anrheg Ail Olwg i chi. Arhoswch ychydig eiliadau wrth i chi addasu," said a girl's voice. I walked a few steps with her and heard an old man's voice.

"Nawr, Glenda, byddwch yn ofalus gyda'r wraig. Nid bob dydd y mae bod dynol yn cwrdd â'r Tylwyth Teg!" This was said with a sense of wonder.

The girl continued, "Pa mor hir cyn iddi understands us?"

"About now, I'd say. Open your eyes, good lady."

Big, sparkling amber eyes were looking at me, their owner jumping back as soon as I opened my own. Glenda was perhaps 4 feet tall, with beautiful curly brown hair falling around her shoulders. Her pointed, slender ears stuck out at 45-degree angles. Across from her, leaning against a display case of meats, was a white-haired old man wearing a butcher's apron. A matronly woman entered with a young boy in tow and paused in the doorway when she saw me.

"Oh...Oh, my." The boy was flying (!) using moth-like wings in tones of brown and gold, zipping around me, and pinching my cheek.

"Ow!" I exclaimed, "That hurt!"

The boy descended and hid behind the older woman, who was examining me through a pair of pince-nez.

"Miss Tansy!' the man exclaimed.

"Owen, behave yourself. That's Ms. Tansy, if you please." And she fixed her stony gaze on him. "So, this is one of the humans that everyone's talking about. She doesn't look like one of the Righter of Wrongs in the Tyl-Mash prophecy. Still, Alwyn's mark is on her and..."

"Excuse me," I began to say –

"She is under the protection of the High Prince and Cambria Colony!" said Glenda, standing on her tiptoes so that her face would reach the matron's.

"Look, this is the first time I've ever met your people and I have so many questions!" I stood up, towering a good two or three heads over all of them.

"So rude, even for a human! I suggest you hurry up and obtain some answers soon or else we're all in for a Magic-fueled massacre not seen since the Fomori were driven out by the Tuatha de Danaan! Hmph!" Ms. Tansy turned to the older gentleman.

"I ordered some salamander stew chunks and a pound of mouse sausage, as well as half a sheep's shank. Have they arrived?" she inquired, keeping her temper in check.

Glenda came out from behind the counter with a large package. "Here you are, ma'am. And here's a free sample of my own dried, spiced rat tails and bones, for Owen." The small bag was grabbed immediately by the boy, who began consuming its contents immediately.

Things had been happening so quickly, I'd barely had time to regain my wits. So, I said the first thing that came to mind, which was actually a terrible idea if I'd been in my right mind. "Ms. Tansy, forgive me. It occurs to me that you must be quite well-known here in...Cambria Colony?" I looked at the old man, who winked at me. "Perhaps you, and maybe Glenda and her grandfather, would like to have dinner with me and my wife tomorrow night? Anne is a very good cook..."

"That's what Abe Grumple says," the ample woman answered.

"Who's he?" I ask (although I'm not certain I want to know.)

"He's your bwbach." Ms. Tansy saw my blank stare. "Your boo-bok, your house minder. They keep the house in order and safe, in exchange for a bit of cream. At least, the Old Country ones did. Here in the Colony, food will do, and yours, he and his family say, is spectacular."

"That's awfully kind of you," the old man said. "I'm Maddox Maddow, and Glenda you met earlier. We'd be delighted."

"You know where I live. Say, 4:30 in the afternoon?"

Everyone agreed to the time. Before I left, Maddox brought me a package that was half as big as he was. When I asked what was in it, he answered, "Goat guts. Alwyn ordered them just as we opened today. And a brace of rabbits, for dinner tomorrow – you might as well get on Ms. Tansy's good side, eh?"

Having Eldritch Eye is a little like wearing bifocals – you can see Cambria 'Colony' one way, and then Cambria in the other. Everywhere I looked, there were fairy creatures walking the same paths as humans. Some were frightening, and others quite mundane. Stores sometimes overlapped; a ghost image imposed upon each other. Truth to tell, I've made myself sound braver and saner than I actually felt.

But in Cambria Colony, I was the one who got stares – lots of stares. Humans aren't seen much – just as the Tylwyth aren't seen at all in Cambria. That I knew of. I was halfway to 'Charmed, I'm Sure' bookshop when I received a call from Annie.

There was a mad ruckus of animal shrieks, roars, cries and hysterical laughter above which Anne said tremulously, "Honey, I hate to break your day's routine, but you need to come home. NOW!"

"Why?" I asked.

"WE'RE UNDER SEIGE!" she screamed, as the sounds of glass shattering and cries of pain propelled me into the car faster than any explanation with words would ever do.