The Fae-Woman Tale {IC}

Some time ago – the exact date lost alongside extra buttons and that extra eye of newt – two of kind met in passion’s embrace. A púca, fond of dancing upon a river shore, flirted with an observing nixie; as the sun and moon changed hands, the flirting became more daring, till they fell into the ivory lilies nearby. When the petals had changed from pure white to a cheery, lustful yellow, the two parted ways. If the female shapeshifter had known she would be left with more than an afterglow, she might have enticed the fellow to stay much longer- after three seasons, the golden lilies were stained pink with blood, and the gurgle of a newborn was mixed with the burble of the water flow.

Now, nixies are not meant to be mothers- they lure humans into their local waters, if only to tease and harass… or to drown them. Confused and naïve, the fae woman abandoned her babe at a nearby barrow. The guardian spriggans, perplexed at first (normally, they steal infants, not receive them on their doorsteps), scratched their heads and shrugged their shoulders before taking the little one into their care. Due to her magical affinity, the child proved more than entertainment and became quite useful in protecting the little clan’s buried treasure, as well as in warding off any snooping mortals.

As the child aged, however, and grew into a young adult, she found herself not quite fitting in with her adoptive family. Though she cared for them, and they for her, the girl’s differing complexion and form set her apart (especially when she grew so tall that she began to bump her head on the barrow ceiling). The typically disgruntled spriggans wiped tears for their eyes and waved off their fae-daughter as she struck out into the woods and countryside to find a new home.

Now, she was self-conscious about her appearance, and dressed in a dark-brown cloak to hide her body. When she happened upon a human village, this became threefold- she wrapped herself in cloth, wearing gloves, scarves and cowls to cover herself. No one is quite sure what she actually looked like, beyond her shrouded trimmings, and no one within that village seemed too interested in the stranger to find out. She settled herself on the outskirts of town and set up an apothecary.

The cloaked woman, despite her strangeness, was received admirably when it was discovered her herbs and potions healed the ill and mended the wounded well. As with many maidens, she developed a fondness for a local youth. After watching dreamily from a distance, she sent him a small package containing a letter and blessed charm.

She never expected him to be so cruel.

The youth never responded to her, and in fact, seemed to preoccupy himself with the company of other village girls from thereafter. One day, while passing through the town, she overheard laughter… and the butt of the joke was her. Brimming with pain and anger, she fled the area, dropping ingredients in her wake while the merciless guffaw followed after her.

Matters worsened for her when the youth abruptly became ill. Suspicion grew as his condition worsened and other young folk were confined to their beds. In a classic act, the young villagers that were not bedridden soon claimed that it was the “witch” that had cursed them, citing the “hexing items” left at the scene of the first crime. Fueled with their initial distaste for the poor outcast, they incited the community and finally led a mob to her hut.

Mother Nature played a role that day- rather than be dragged to the stake and burned or simply run away and hide, the fae-woman decided that if the town thought she was a witch, she certainly did not want to disappoint them. A malicious sparkle in her eye, she concocted a volatile brew; when the torches and pitchforks drew near her dwelling, she picked up the small cauldron and walked out upon her doorstep. As the leader began to decry her for her foul doings, she simply smiled and tipped the pot, a gruesome, coal-colored oil slipping out and pouring down toward the crowd.

The details of the event stop there, with the only other “fact” being that screams could be heard echoing across the night. Those that survived were toward the back and ran back to town as fast as they could. The morning after, the area was covered in a hardened, stemming substance – no bodies, no hut, no woman.

It is rumored that the fae-woman now wanders from town to town, appearing around the time of plagues and epidemics to cure them (for a price) before disappearing. She carries an unsettling air and disdain for others, especially those seen as prominent community members. Yet, there is not one defining physical appearance or name that can be ascribed to her- with each tale, it is different.

Of course, this is just another fairy tale, as well.