Dancing with the Fae
For all who long to embrace a creature of the wild
And dance with the fae, be ‘ware there is a price.
Once in the darkest of nights
I wandered lost in the thickest of woods.
The howls of betrayal hunted my tracks,
And the shadows crawled with lonely longing taunting my eyes and flesh.
No sane traveler would walk this haunted road.
When a light appeared within the moonless mists of the thickest of woods
I knew not whether to be afraid or thankful.
A dancing wisp circled ‘round me, whispering strange names and singing weird songs.
No sane traveler would walk this haunted road.
I called out in surprise and reached out my hand
Only to see the little light transform into an elven maiden.
Bright and fair, yet deeply dark and beautiful
She took my hand and we danced.
To the heartbeat of a drum we danced through the thickest of woods
No longer wandering yet just as lost in the enchantment of the dance.
Suddenly, her hand slipped as she once again became but a glowing wisp
Flitting back into the mists and leaving me alone once more on this haunted road.
In a daze I let her go, my senses still reeling from her magic.
And just as I took my next step, there she appeared with a smile that shone
Like pearl from the moonsea beneath the earth.
Again we danced, and again so did she transform and fly into the mists.
This game we played through the thickest of woods in the darkest of night.
I believed we were going somewhere, little by little, dance by dance.
Though I knew not where, I placed my faith in the magic of the fae.
I believed to have found sanctuary when we came upon a clearing,
A place where the thickest of woods opened into the comfort of the grasses of the earth drinking in twinkling starlight.
In this space between the thickest of woods and the shadows of lonely longing
Our dance was open and free, no longer afraid of what may lurk upon that haunted road.
In the circle of standing stones joined the worlds of human and fae
A beacon of heartflame and fleshsong for those in all worlds.
From the magic of the joining a passage appeared,
A gate to the summerlands of bloom and twilight.
Hand-in-hand we took a step—yet she could not cross.
She bid me enter, but I could not without the smile that shined like a pearl from the moonsea beneath the earth.
Standing within the circle of standing stones she revealed her Name:
Healer of Hearts and Guide to the Lost
She could not leave the thickest of woods or the darkest of night
And must return to the travelers who walk the haunted road.
Yet before she returned she must extract her terrible price for guiding me through the wood:
Upon the beating and scarred muscle of my heart she branded her Name.
With each sigil the flesh turned flame and the fire of life leapt from me to her hand.
With this seal I would be set to wander, to know and never know her magic.
And so the little wisp appeared, burning more brightly than before, flitting back into the mists.
And once again I found myself lost in the darkest of nights in the thickest of woods.
The howls of betrayal hunted my tracks,
And the shadows crawled with lonely longing taunting my eyes and flesh.
No sane traveler would walk this haunted road.
Such is the plight of those who have loved a fae,
Doomed as the myths say.
[image credit: Brian Froud]
