The Fool stood alone, the shadows swirling around him as the light receded from the wood. Oh how he hated the sunlight. He was only one for darkness. Tonight was a good night for a ride: the moon was out and the queen and her court were celebrating the summer solstice at the Drombeg Stone Circle. Yes, tonight was a good night. The ends of the Fool's mouth curled up into a sneer and he let lose a short chuckle, which was more like a bark, the evil sound ringing off the trees around him.
He called his hunting party together and they set off on horseback into the woods. A rider sounded his horn as they trampled through the undergrowth, little magical people jumping out from under the horses hooves and back into whatever thicket or hollow from whence they came. The fool could see the light of the Circle and he signaled for the rider to sound his horn again, this time for the Queen to hear. Almost instantly the horn was answered by the unearthly cry of the Queen, her rage echoing all around the forest to the very edges of the closest town whose people woke frightened in their beds.
The Fool's anger was for a time quelled by the Queen's fury and he called a retreat. Turning his horse around, he led the hunt back the way that they had come. As he rode back into full darkness the Fool had one more thought, they would be back. Oh yes, they would be back.
Author's Note:
This is just another little short dealio like "The Partridge Replacement", something I'd written a while back, blah blah blah. This is based on some Irish folklore, the Fool and the faerie queen and her court and all that. Possibly in the future I will write a sequel or something to this.
