Aii The Ugly And Beautiful | Three Twisted Knots

Gwyneth:

Something about the new Bower unsettles me.

I can’t decide if it’s the unfinished nature of it, my reluctance to rebuild a Land without My King. I fear I shall never be able to recapture the Dance of Gwyneth and Janus.

It might be just the seeming immaterial-ness of it all. Is that even a word? It is now.

I walked around the sparsely furnished room that serves as my bedchamber, and I thought of Nathaniel’s and my cottage by the sea, and it made me smile.

No need for a fire in the big fireplace now.

No need for a fire in the big fireplace now; the nights are warm enough that I can leave the great windows open much of the time.

So much work to be done. Am I ready?

This gorgeous dress is the Ivy Rose gown from The White Armory. It’ll be at We ❤ RP on the 4th of June. As with everything from The White Armory, it comes in a good array of colours, fits beautifully, and the prim accents work perfectly to give the dress a feel of ebb and flow. I particularly like the texturing on the belt.

There is no way to tell whether I’m ready, of course. The only thing to do is go to sleep, and see what the morning brings. Go to sleep, I told myself, and dream, dream of creation. Dream of the bower-to-be. Dream of the Seelie Lands in almost-summer, that apex of power. Dream.

Morning found me dawdling over my breakfast. No big surprise there.

Morning found me dawdling over my breakfast. No big surprise there. Bran has taken to pretending we’re at some posh café in Amsterdam, and he giggles when I produce Euros from my belt pouch. Teases with me to leave him a good tip. I just give him a look. Then he usually gives me a kiss (chaste, but with an undercurrent of passion, just the way I like them). This morning, he reminded me that I had work to do. So, sighing, I took to the air to peruse the floating Island of the Seelie Lands. A forest, I decided. There should be a forest here.

I do so love a good forest.

I do so love a good forest. And, it must be said, I’m good at forests. I didn’t ask for the dog, but he seemed determined to stay. I’ve never been much of a dog person, but whatever. He told me his name is Guardian, which, OK, is not all that imaginative, but then again, he’s a dog. He really seemed much more interested in the fox— who froze the moment she caught a whiff of him—than he was in me, which was OK with me, because I’m pretty sure dog slobber impedes Fae magic.

I finished my morning libations to Her Who Gives Us Life, and turned to fly back to the bower, visible in the distance atop its own floating Island.

But then I realised something.

For the first time since Ascending to the Throne….I felt old.

For the first time since Ascending to the Throne….I felt old. Not decrepit, but ageless, as if this Summer upon us were only one of an endless succession of Summers, leading to an endless succession of Autumns.

I wonder how many seasons I shall have to spend without a King to balance me? How long can I carry this burden?

The dress and beautiful headpiece are both from EvalineInTheBox, and they’ll be available for purchase at the upcoming Fair Play: Second Life Is A Game event, which opens on the first of June, just hours from this writing. I’ll put a landmark in the style card section for you. The dress comes in several colours, and it’s two-piece, so you can mix and match. The crown is a gacha!

And then it all seemed not worth worrying about. Because I made a forest this morning. The dog sniffed at my heels as I lifted into the sky and headed to the bower: no doubt he’ll show up there eventually, begging for this or that, as dogs will. At least the morning wasn’t full of those pesky white owls I keep seeing everywhere.

Style Cards:

Evening:
Body: Maitreya
Head: Catwa Jessica
Ears: BentBox, Sylvan Ears
Eyes: Soul, Sidhe Eyes
Skin: Lumae Eirtae, Tone 1
Hair: Analog Dog (natch!), Epsilon
Circlet: Junbug, The Sabrina Circlet
Dress: The White Armory, Ivy Rose Gown in Silver (Coming soon to We ❤ RP!)
Shoes: Deviance, Milady’s Slipper, Snow
Tower: Poëtica, Willow Tower
Fireplace: Noble Creations
Clock: Noble Creations
Café table, chair and tray: Ideza

Morning:
Body: Maitreya
Head: Catwa Helena
Ears: BentBox, Sylvan Ears
Eyes: Soul, Sidhe Eyes
Skin: Lumae Eirtae, Tone 1
Hair: Truth, River
Crown: EvalineInTheBox, Starling Headpiece, Emerald (Coming soon to Fair Play!)
Dress: EvalineInTheBox, Eloise Skirt & Top in Cream (Coming soon to Fair Play!)
Shoes: Junbug, Valkyrie Sandals in Light Leather
Wings: Aii The Ugly And Beautiful, Pixie Wings, Light (Available at Enchantment!)
Tattoo: Arise, Let me Be Your Wings Tattoo (Available at Enchantment!)
Makeup: Pichi, Sweet Fairy Makeup Catwa Applier, green (Available at Enchantment!)
Lipstick: The Skinnery, Matte Lip Potion Catwa Applier
Forest: Studio Skye, Enchanted Forest
Pond: Studio Skye, Enchanted Pond
Dog: MeadowWorks, Greyhound- Watcher
Fox: Half-Deer, Fennec Fox, Stargazer

Spiffy photos taken with the indispensible aid of my LumiPro. I never create forests and have Existential Fae Angst without it!

Gwyneth:

So much of my life seems to be occurring in dreams right now. It may just be that I’m not as willing to go out and make a new land as I was last time. I miss My King Janus more than I admit. But I must accept that he, like Maric, like so many others, is lost to me. I hope all these losses I’m experiencing will make me very wise and worthy of my office when I grow older. I hope they will.

I have been spending a lot of time in my little garden with the swans. Nathaniel has been busy with Mysthaven Business, which I try not to get involved in, since we mash things up enough as it is.

I remember walking through a sparse wood.

I remember walking through a sparse wood. I had a snow-covered track to walk on, an day feet didn’t feel cold at all. Eventually, I realised the trees must be growing out of some kind of ice: everything reflected blue and smooth around them.

Then, I saw colours other than white, blue, and the green and silver of the birches: up ahead was what might have been a church ruin perhaps? I imagined I could learns something there, find something out.

And there were flowers, summer flowers. How odd.

And there were flowers, summer flowers. How odd. When I reached the intersection, I debated whether or not to ascend either of the two flights of stairs, but opted to go straight on after a little bit of thought.

A series of beautiful lamps—or I assume they were lamps, for they were unlit—lined the side paths.

A series of beautiful lamps—or I assume they were lamps, for they were unlit—lined the side paths. I touched one of them, and the crystal was warm against my skin, but I could find no way to illuminate it. Perhaps they were just decorative.

I made my way to the centre of the structure, where candles burned.

I made my way to the centre of the structure, where candles burned. Over my head were a series of small lamps shaped like cathedrals. The flowers felt alive and warm against my ankles.

And I read the inscription:

Here is a place of serenity
The lights below flicker with love
For those who fight
And for those who have faded into night
Find here amenity
The lights flicker below
And twinkle above

So it was some kind of memorial. And I did feel peaceful, calm.

I began to notice little details.

I began to notice little details: the marbling of the granite, the texture and pattern of the window-panels. Even then, the snow didn’t feel cold against my exposed toes. Even as close as three years ago, I’d have stopped to sketch at least some of this, but now I’m confident enough in my memory, and its ability to impress images onto the little tablet computer I keep locked up in a YWCA locker in a land more convinced that magic and technology coincide a bit than Our Wylds.

I turned and ascended the stairs behind me, and almost immediately felt that dizzying sense of transformation that accompanies a scene change in dreams.

When I reached the top, I held a hand out to catch the staff that seemed to be thrown at me.

When I reached the top, I held a hand out to catch the staff that seemed to have been thrown at me. I felt lighter, felt my hair fall down my back, felt the tightness of a dress I might have worn during my I’m a fairy, so what? phase (or at least that’s what I call that phase).

And then, I felt inclined to dance.

And dance…

And dance.

When I’d finished, I felt … empty.

When I’d finished, I felt empty. Like weeping. As if this were a safe place for me to let all my tears and sorrow and longings out in tears.

I admit it: I fell to the floor in a sobbing heap.

I’m not sure how long after that I woke, in my own bed, feeling more refreshed from a night of sleep than I have in ages.

Style Cards:

Lower Level Photos:
Body: Maitreya
Head: Catwa Jessica
Ears: BentBox, Sylvan Ears
Eyes: Soul, Sidhe Eyes
Skin: Lumae Eirtae, Tone 1
Hair: Doe, Emerson, Essentials (Rare!) (Available at Whimsical!)
Circlet: Secrets, Daydreams Flower Tiara, Lavender (Available at the Fantasy Gacha Carnival!)
Dress: Kaithleen’s, Linen Dress, Smoke (Maitreya) (Available at Whimsical!)
Wings: Aii The Ugly And Beautiful, Pixie Wings, Tintable (Available at Enchantment!)
Shoes: Bubble, Mithril Sandals, Lavender (Available at the Fantasy Gacha Carnival!)

Upper Level Photos:
Body: Maitreya
Head: Catwa Jessica
Ears: BentBox, Sylvan Ears
Eyes: Soul, Sidhe Eyes
Skin: Lumae Eirtae, Tone 1
Hair: Moon, Barracuda (Available at Whimsical!)
Clothes: Belle Epoque, Find Your Tribe Gacha (Belt, Bodysuit (rare!), Bracers, Feet Piece, Headband, Necklace, Staff) (Available at Whimsical!)

Landscape:
Memorial/Cathedral Wall: Find Here Amenity, by Kaelis Ember, a Fantasy Faire Auction Item, one-of-a-kind
Paths: Happy Mood, Dirt Road
Flowers: The Looking Glass, Dream Fields
Trees: The Little Branch, Mystic Birches
Crystal Lamps: Air, Lacrima Ligmo, Silver (Available at Whimsical!)
Cathedral Lamps, Striped Mocha, Petite Shrine Lantern, Light (Available at Whimsical!)

Spiffy photos taken with the indispensible aid of my LumiPro. I never have cool dreams without it!

Three Twisted Knots

Not all those who wander are lost.

Tag / Aii The Ugly And Beautiful

Evening, Morning (with Previews!)

Find Here Serenity