Fae Land

Nert is Nert

Lela knew she should be scared, but she felt strangely safe when her body fell from the grip of the Bird-Snake. She landed in what she assumed was the river. The water felt like hundreds of thousand kisses on her skin. It was warm and welcoming. Out of habit she held her breath until her lungs had sharp pains and they pushed against her ribs requesting oxygen. She felt like she was still underwater though; so she clawed at her surroundings trying to figure out which way was up. Dizziness forced her to suck in the water. She felt it enter her mouth, throat and then lungs. Tiny flicks of fire spread out from her lungs followed by punches of ice hot water that filled her belly.

Swirls of different color lights appeared in front of her. She was wordless. How does one describe color the first time one sees it? With no other frame of reference, she called it blue. Her head started to throb and pound. She reached for her forehead to see a dark sparkling hand and arm. She knew what people said in her childhood village and then several times in America to describe her. Her village called her a disgusting pile of tar filled elephant shit or variations of that. An American kid not older than five or six once asked her if she ate coal and if that was the reason her skin was so black. Is this brown or black, she wondered? It wasn't one color, but several small different hues making one larger tone.

Suddenly her attention was jerked away as she felt her body rise. She looked up, the water was lighter up there. It was a softer blue than in the depths. When she broke the surface, the world went dark. She felt drips of water on her face and knew she broke the surface, but she frowned. She was tempted to try to break free of the invisible grip around her and try to go back into the water to the beautiful colors.

A sound of laughter to her right made her flinch. "I promise you can go back in after the Ball, but we must get you ready or you will be late." She didn't recognize who the voice belonged to, but it was a soft feminine voice.

"Who are you and where am I?" She asked immediately pointing her face towards the sound. There was a sound of light laughter and Lela felt a warm soft cloth being wrapped around her. "Bo? Are you here?" No response at least not right away.  She tensed.

"Shh! Now don't get yourself worked up. He'll be at the Ball too."

"What Ball?"

"THE Ball. Oh, everyone can't stop talking about it. Anytime there are visitors; everyone gets full of such excitement and merriment. I can't wait to dance; I hear that there will be foods and drinks from all over Fae."

"Fae? Is that where I am?"

"Mmm." She kind of grunted in agreeance. "Now that you are dry, let's see. You have quite possibly the prettiest skin tone I have ever seen. You are going to look fabulous in dark browns, purples and greens. I'm thinking a stunning Amidol dress. Yes!"

"I'll just take my old clothes please," Lela told her.

"Oh... I'm sorry. Techne took it as payment for finding you. The colors were too fabulous. It wanted to turn them into a beautiful coat woven with nert."

"What is nert?"

"Nert is nert."

"Well that explains it," Lela said dryly.

"Doesn't it." She said proudly.

"Ok, will you at least tell me who you are?"

"I'm Macha, your humble servant. I am death-bound to make you happy."

"What?"

"Never mind that. Let's get you dressed. Come on. Follow me." Her voice started to disappear.

"Umm. I'm blind. I can't see where you are going."

"Oh, I'm sure that hasn't stopped you before," Macha responded her voice still getting softer as she continued walking away. Lela could feel both panic and frustration building, but hell, nothing else has made sense so she took a step towards where she felt the sound was coming from. Macha started humming a tune similar to Lela's warm-up Bb scale. The floor under her was surprisingly dry, flat and warm. She didn't feel dirt, but it is not like anything makes any kind of sense. "Dum. Duh. Dee. Duh." Macha hummed going up in octave in perfect key. Lela felt the floor change from a firm tile to a fluffly cloth texture. She felt like she was walking in soft kitten fur. She couldn't help but bent down to touch it. It was almost exactly like animal fur.

"Do you like it? It's Tishstrob. We were so happy when it was gifted to the estate. It is the softest Tishstrob in all Fae."

"Tishstrob?"

"Yes." Her voice almost sang it in wonder. "Ok. Over here please."

Lela got up and walked a few steps closer until she felt Macha's hand on her arm. Then she felt different cloths being wrapped around her. She also felt rubbing on her face, next and shoulder. A brush or comb was run through her very short textured hair. She kept it short on purpose. It was easier to keep. She then felt a cool sensation on her shoulder. "What is that?" Lela asked. The weight of it pressed against her right shoulder.

"That's your Amidol."

"What's an Amidol?"

"I'm sorry. I don't know what you call it. It is a stunning piece of Fae. It sparkles like Noff bark and Dell leaves. It matches your wears." Macha explained.

"How do you know English?"

"The scholars travel each Samhain and Beltane Festivals when the in-between allows travel for three Moonrises. It's so wonderful to hear their stories of all the wondrous things from your world. I even got to try a strawberry! Can you believe it? A strawberry. Nothing is as wonderous as a strawberry... unless its Nochlillies or Nochlilly seeds. I'm sure they will have some of those at the Ball."

Lela felt her head throb and then Macha put something on it. It was weighty and cool but warmed as soon as it touched Lela's forehead. When she reached up she felt something similar to a set of jewels that hung from a ring placed on her head and dripped down her forehead and over her eyes. "Is this a crown or a veil?"

"Ya. I think that's what you call it both. I don't know. It's filled with Amidol held together by lod."

"So Amidol is a type of gem or jewel?"

"Sure. You could say that. It's more like salt. Isn't salt beautiful?"

"Umm. I've never heard it described that way."

"How would you describe salt?"

"Its hard to the touch, but grainy and sharp on the edges, but its usually ground so small that it doesn't pierce the skin. When I have tasted salt, it is hard at first. Then the burst of flavor makes my mouth water from the saltiness as it melts into my tongue. Sorry. I don't know another word for salt. It's salty."

"Oh, I forgot I heard that you eat it. How fabulous. I wouldn't dare do that. I have a single grain of salt and I would be so lost if it disappeared.

"A single grain?"

"Yes. Salt may be abundant where you are from, but its treasured by us death-bounds." Macha told her. "Oh. Gosh. Listen to us blabber. You gotta go."

"Go?"

"Yes. Let us go dance!"

Macha placed a hand in Lela's and guided her from the room. Lela could tell because the flooring changed again. This time it was a soft tightly woven cloth. The new space was most likely a hallway if their dwellings were anything like Lela's world. After walking for 30 seconds, Lela began hearing music. It sounded like a flute and violin duet. She felt the music's draw.

"You are about two steps from the ballroom staircase," Macha told her. They took the last two steps and Macha stopped. "I can't enter with you, but I will find you later; we can dance until the moon kisses us goodnight!"

"But I can't see. I don't know where to go." Lela almost whined in frustration.

"You will. Don't worry about such things here." Macha replies and released her hand.