Three Twisted Knots

From Friðrós:

Whilst Her Fae Majesty may be on holiday or whatever, she certainly seems to be capable of sending messages. Yesterday, I received a letter suggesting that I needed to “get the Book Forest into shape” for her. Really, YFM? The Book Forest that I have never been allowed to touch? Oh, sure, decorate an entire house, make sure there’s someone to run the toy shop, but the Book Forest? That is her baby. When I chased Brán about this, he showed me an entire store-room in the Great Library, full of things Gwyneth had been meaning to place into the Book Forest but never got around to doing. Well, fine. I asked Clutie to assign me some demifae for a few days, and we got to work.

As we’re well into autumn now and Samhain is on the horizon, I even put on my new witch dress from Enfant Terrible. I love that it comes in a bright orange and the hat has a ribbon to match. It also fits me really well, and it just made me feel more powerful just being in it, so I guess that’s something.

The new location for the Book Forest is right next to my tiny little house! I know we are a tourist destination, and I don’t expect complete privacy, but honestly! There is now a picnic table just steps away from my sauna. Who does that? Well, obviously, she does that. I’m hoping she will close us for at least two weeks in January so I can have proper ice dips. Tourists are so funny when it comes to naked fae.

It took most of a day to reorganise the picture book section, since the books themselves are bulky enough that it takes one demifae to levitate and move and another to direct. That said, once I got started, I realised being responsible for the Book Forest might not be such a bad thing, particularly as it’s essentially in my garden. Never mind that picnic table: since I’m in charge now, I might just move it! Stick a nice big fir tree there instead. A whole copse. Some topiary. Keep people from staring into my windows (like that will stop our tourists).

Once we had the Princess and the Pea bed positioned, I had to admit I was pretty much done. I don’t know how HFM seems to handle all this stuff in an afternoon or something. Or maybe … maybe she doesn’t. Maybe I’m the one making her look like she does. Heh; all this time, it’s been the staff who’re the magic.

I decided to pop through to the travelling bookseller (who doesn’t really travel so much; I don’t know why he calls himself that) and talk to the proprietor for a few minutes before heading home to bed.

Khajiit (he says he calls himself that as some kind of joke; nobody here really gets it, but whatever) is always good for a light (or heavy!) conversation. Once he’d found me a book, and he always knows just the perfect one that I want to read—one of his many talents—I asked him about Queen Gwyneth’s unique delegation style.

He told me she never used to delegate anything, and he said many of the Realm’s residents were downright pleased she’d taken such a long holiday, even if it was because of some tiff she had with The Author.

‘Do you think she’s coming back soon’? I asked.

‘It is the eve of Samhain’, he replied (I already knew that, dude.) ‘She rarely will stay away for more than a short season, and she left us on the cusp of Autumn. I feel she’ll surely be back within the next fortnight or so’.

I chewed on my lip, thinking. ‘Is she going to re-jog everything I’ve done’?

‘Doubt it. She’ll be busy with the Pangurlands whilst the veil is thin; you know she likes to commune with the Cait souls’. He stretched—well, as much as a fat white cat can show that they’re stretching anyway—and continued. ‘Besides, if she weren’t happy with your work, she’d never have left for so long. Did you know you’re the longest-lasting intern so far? She must have high hopes for you’.

‘Huh’. I frowned. ‘I’m pretty ordinary for a huldufölk‘, I said. ‘There’s nothing special about me’.

‘It’s your status as a land spirit, I think, that gives you the ability to do more and last longer than your predecessors’, he said. ‘Earlier interns—not that they weren’t perfectly nice—were mostly from the fae courts of other Realms. And while they came highly recommended and knew all the rules, someone with your more, hm, earthly powers, even when they make your moods somewhat volatile, give you more of what this Realm needs. Her Majesty is made of Air and Water. You are made of Earth and Water, and as an earth fae, someone with ancestral ties to the druidic cosmology, you understand the places of the Realms in ways those high-born fae do not. It is in your blood’.

I’d wondered why no-one spoke much about my predecessors; they’re just mentioned as, “the former interns” most of the time. ‘I found myself enjoying working in the Book Forest, even though it was exhausting’, I admitted.

‘Nobody said this kind of Realm work was easy‘, Khajiit reminded me. ‘And you have, whether you admit it or like it, latched on to HFM as an authority figure, so your reactions to her when you are both in the same space are, well. You know you sometimes act like a spoiled child, yes’?

I bristled and almost said something that would have proven his point outright. I took a deep breath and replied, ‘Yes’.

‘Good work’, he said. He gave me a Blinky cat smile. ‘Now run along and read yourself to sleep, huldufölk girl’.

I thought for a moment. Am I really so special? Is it even all right for me to think of myself as special? But I kept my thoughts to myself and took Khajiit’s advice.

The book was thick, and just the beginning was dense enough that I knew it would keep me busy for weeks. Gnomon, by Nick Harkaway. It felt different, like something I’d want to read again when I’d finished it, but maybe not immediately. That cat always knows the right book.

Notes & Credits:

Items gifted to me by lovely creators:

• Friðrós’ delightfully witchy outfit: Enfant Terrible, Wanda Dress & Hat. Available at the Access Halloween Round! I won this in their Facebook giveaway, and I couldn’t be happier with it!
• Friðrós creamy, freckled skin: Moth & Moon, Aria, in T2, with freckle option 2. Available at the Moth & Moon Main Store.
• Friðrós’ eyeshadow: Hexumbra, Lydia. Originally an exclusive for Harvest of Souls, now available at the Hexumbra Main Store.
• Friðrós lipstick: Hexumbra, Robin Lip Stain 4. Available at the Hexumbra Main Store.

Other Fancy Stuff:

• Friðrós’ shoes and socks: rainnn, Cherry Oxford Pumps
• Friðrós hair: Magika, Addison
• Friðrós eyes: Arte, Husky Eyes (3)
• Friðrós lashes: Someone, Delicate Lashes
• Friðrós neck tat: Endless Pain, Varis (a group gift at their main store)
• Friðrós nails: Eventyra, Vintage Black Cat
• Friðrós is styled on a Maitreya Petite body and a Lelutka EvoX Avalon head. Her ears are the Andore Pixie Ears.

Environmental Items & Deco:

• Book Forest Landing Platform: The Looking Glass, Shrine Tree Portal
• Fairy Tale Castle Book: BananaN, Story Book, castle and books
• Picture Books: Happy Mood, Pop Up Books
• Travelling Bookseller Cart, Decor, Chairs, Table, Lamp, and Cash Register: Kraftwork, The Traveling Bookseller
• Khajiit was played by Foxwood Fluffs, Light
• Sleepy cat on table: Half-Deer, Sleepy Cat