Two
Willows whiten, as aspens quiver,
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Thro' the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four grey walls, and four gray towers;
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle imbowers
The Lady of Shallot.
By the margin, willow-veil'd,
Slide the heavy barges trail'd
By slow horses; and unhail'd
The hallop fitteth silken-sail'd
Skimming down to Camelot:
But who hath seen her wave her hand?
Or at the casement seen her stand?
Or is she known in all the land,
The Lady of Shallot?
Annya flew up to her patio and tried to open the doors that she quickly realized were locked.
Odd, Annya thought, my patio doors are never locked.
She made her wings buzz again, and flew down to the front gates of her castle. The guards at the gates saw her and opened them. The Grand Hall was deserted.
What's going on? This place is usually filled with flying fairies doing work, and why is it so dark? Annya thought. But for some reason she could feel something looking at her, she could feel the presence of other things in the hall. All of a sudden a circle of tall candles on the floor was lit; and in the centre of the candles was a boy fairy and a girl fairy with a flute. The girl started to blow air into the flute and the other fairy started to sing the fairy Happy Birthday.
Beautiful music started to bounce off the walls with the language of the fairies.
Menses dis octavis sogestes elarvado feber
Sol balvs minsis dis maia febar duno iviela.
Februa herbst sol junis octavis febar salix
Monat dis elarvado salix maia menses aovitur.
Menses dis octavis sogestes elarvado feber
Sol balvs minsis dis maia febar duno iviela.
Februa herbst sol junis octavis febar salix
Monat dis elarvado salix maia menses aovitur.
When the song was complete, tears of happiness wanted to burst out of Annya's eyes. All the candles in the Grand Hall were lit and Annya's eyes started to search the huge crowd of fairies that were clapping and cheering. All of a sudden, Annya started to run towards one of the older male fairies and flung her arms around him.
"Oh, thank-you, Father! Thank-you so much!" Annya said to her father.
"Not a problem at all, my child. After all, it is a very special birthday for you." Annya's father chuckled. Annya just nodded. Her father's name was Febar. He seemed to have taken his wife's death very well for he was always jolly and fun to be around; he looked especially happy today. "Come, come. Let us sit and feast." Febar clapped his hands three times and all the fairies started to walk towards very long tables. From a birds eye view, they were all set up vertically, except for one at the front where the royalty sat.
As soon as everyone was seated, servants started to bring in exotic food. There was a swan that had been plucked, cooked, and had all its feathers put back on in the exact place where they had been before. It was carried in on a crystal bowl, filled with water to make it seem as if it were swimming. There were also sucking pigs and a peacock and all other sorts of interesting food, all beautifully decorated.
As soon as the food was placed on the table, everyone began to eat. They were all feasting happily when Yara, seated beside Febar, started to tap her diamond glass so that it rang through the whole hall.
Annya hated Yara. She was 340 years old – a few years younger than Serifenna, had Annya's mother been alive. Yara was always jealous of Serifenna, for Yara wanted to marry Febar, and when Annya was born, Yara was especially mean to Annya. Since Yara couldn't take her anger out on Serifenna, she took it out on Annya because Annya was nearly the exact copy of Serifenna.
Annya shifted her weight in her golden chair as a memory of Yara went through her mind.
Annya was in her gorgeous backyard, swinging on her oak swing throwing her glass cat while she swung. The cat was Annya's most favourite toy. It was as long as an adult's hand and half as wide a hand. The cat was carved to perfection. It looked so real. Its eyes were half closed, its face calm. It was Annya's friend and toy, and she loved it.
While Annya was swinging, she dropped her cat and it fell on the grass with a soft thud. Horrified that it might be broken, she jumped off her swing to its rescue. She crouched down in the grass, gently picked up her cat with tender fingers, and examined every inch of it to make sure that it wasn't scratched or chipped in any way. While investigating her precious kitten, she didn't notice Yara creeping up on her. All of a sudden, Annya's cat was under a foot. Annya jumped up in alarm. She looked up at the person who held her cat hostage. Annya saw Yara smiling sinisterly smile at her.
"Give me back my cat," Annya said firmly.
"Annya, that is no way to talk to an elder. Say you're sorry."
"Why? You took my cat in the first place. I have a right to be angry with you. Give me back my cat."
"Poor kitty is going to die if you don't say that you're sorry." Yara started to push the cat into the ground with her foot and small tinkling sound could be heard.
"Alright!" Annya screamed. "Alright, I'm sorry."
"Why, you stupid child! Yelling won't solve anything. Look at this rock," Yara bent down to pick up a rock the size of a large marble. "It doesn't yell even if I drop it like this." Yara took aim with the rock, removed her foot from the cat, and dropped the rock right on its head. The glass shattered into a thousand pieces, and Annya let out a muffled scream.
"Oops. Clumsy me. Take better care of your toys, Annya." Yara said. As she started to walk away, she turned back and said to Annya "Oh, and Annya, I think it would be a good idea if you didn't tell anyone about this, or else someone might get hurt again."
Annya just sat on the grass cradling her broken friend in her tiny hands. Her vision started to blur as tears started to build in her eyes. Her best friend was crushed. Anger started to build inside of her and she gripped the stone that Yara dropped on her cat. She looked at Yara walking away from her. She wanted to hurt her. She got up, and smoothed the stone with her thumb. She brought her right arm back to throw it at Yara, but she let the stone slip from her hand and onto the ground. It wasn't worth it; Yara would find some way to get back at her even more. Annya lay down in the cool grass and let a single tear slide down her cheek.
Oh yes, how Annya hated her. Even to this day Annya did not tell anyone of what Yara did to her because she did not feel it necessary; but she still hated Yara with a passion.
The fairies became silent as the ringing stopped and Febar stood up.
"Good evening my dear fairy friends! Today is a great day." A cheer went up from the fairies, but died quickly when Febar raised his hand to silence them. "As you all know, my former wife, Serifenna, died of a terrible and rare disease." There were some groans as the memory of Serifinna came back into their minds. "Yes, I know, it pains me the most. But we must all move on. We cannot let the past stop our lives. That is why I have decided to have a double wedding with Annya." Febar smiled down at Annya and she looked back at him with a wondering face.
There were gasps and whispers from the fairies, but they became silent when Febar started to talk. ""But, of course, I could only do this with the approval of my dear daughter Annya. So, Annya, am I allowed to marry Yara?"
Annya froze. Her? Was Annya's first thought. Yara fluttered her wings with the agitation of having such a young fairy approve of her marriage to Febar. No one but Annya saw, for everyone was staring at Annya, waiting of her answer. Annya looked at her father's face, trying to see if he was asking her to get him out of this mess. Nothing; he was really truly asking Annya if he could marry Yara.
Annya's mind started to buzz. Did she really want Yara as her stepmother? Most definitely not. But at the same time, Febar had suffered so much since Serifenna's death. How could she not let Febar have some happiness in his life again?
"I need some time to think about it. May I be excused?"
"Of course, dear," came Yara's voice sweetly. Annya could tell that her face burned with anger of having Annya approve of her marriage to Febar. Annya had to give her credit, for she was good at hiding her emotions. Yara was obviously being since to her so that Annya would approve of Yara's marriage to Febar. "Of course. I think anyone would need some time alone. After all, this is a big decision that you're going to make." Yara added a little stress on the last line as if she were saying: screw this up and you'll wish you were dead! "Take all the time you need, deary."
Annya got up and left. When she turned around to take a peek at Febar to see how he had reacted to her response, he was expressionless and just put his arm around Yara. Annya shivered and her wings started to quiver. That was a ghastly sight.
Annya walked slowly up the stairs to her bedchamber. She slowly opened the door to her bedroom and fell on her bed. She grabbed one of her many pillows on her bed and started to hug it. Tears formed in her eyes and ran down her cheek. It was too much to absorb at once: her marriage and her father's marriage. But why Yara? It could have been another fairy in the kingdom, but Yara… Why? Why? Why? All of a sudden Annya felt a rush of anger. She hated Febar for wanting to marry Yara and she hated Yara for making her life miserable. Didn't Febar understand that she was going through a lot of stress and that his marriage wouldn't help? Didn't he understand that the thought of having a stepmother would bring back memories of Serifinna? No, she mustn't think of her mother; it hurt too much.
Annya couldn't take it, she needed out, to go somewhere to rest her mind away from the buzzing palace and away from any fairy. The mortal world, of course! She could stay there for a while. Yes, it was perfect.
Annya opened her patio doors and called upon the stars to take her to the mortal world. Her surroundings started to spin and she closed her eyes to try to ward off the dizziness she was starting to feel. She felt herself being lifted off the ground and then she was hurtling at extreme speeds through the sky. She was gaining speed incredibly fast. Then she felt herself slow down and it felt like she was trying to break through a wall. She kept being pushed against it, then finally it broke and she felt solid ground under her feet. She fell to the ground from exhaustion from. She lay there and slept.