Chapter 93

There was a faint whirring of wings as April rose from Maribel's outstretched hand and settled into the ivy circlet atop her head.

Maribel's elfin face positively glowed as she whispered, "I felt her landing on my head...This, is, soooo cool!"

She looked at Roger, "Now what do I do?"

He grinned, "You relax and enjoy the rest of the party. Feel free to sing and dance, April won't fall off, she's never fallen off my head when she's with me."

He gestured, "Now shoo! Go play, have fun, wasn't that the whole point of this gathering of kindred spirits?"

Maribel handed him the adder stone, flashed a dazzling smile and she danced away like the tiny fairy she wished to be.

As he watched her delicate form dancing away, Anita returned and spoke up, "You certainly made her happy."

Roger chuckled and replied, "Yes, it was pretty easy actually."

"How so?"

"Apparently, our little April has taken a liking to her. You letting her use your adder stone allowed her to see what April looked like and it was love at first sight, so to speak."

"So what's next?"

"I'm letting Maribel keep tabs on April until we decide to leave. At the moment, April is sleeping off a chocolate binge in Maribel's ivy crown."

"Maribel is her name?"

"Yeah, isn't that funny? That little renfairy and April's mother sharing a name like that, it certainly is a coinkydink!"

"So you trust this Maribel with our littlest family member?"

Smiling at Anita's comment Roger replied,"April's instincts are pretty reliable, if she had any doubts about Maribel, she wouldn't be anywhere near her."

He sighed, "By now, her mom is probably going bonkers looking for her and getting on Silky's nerves with her fretting about April's absence."

"You gonna tell her mom she was with you?"

"I have to, I'm responsible for April. After all, she was born in my bedroom, the same room where she was conceived."

"How Maribel is going to react, remains to be seen. I'm sure it will be fairly high pitched and well beyond my hearing range for the most part."

Anita inadvertently smiled, she was quite familiar with the chittering of sprites, as her Axel always seemed to have several of them perched on him at all times.

Like Roger, she had noticed that sprites were quite sensitive to a persons intentions.

They'd make themselves scarce when a hostile person was near.

While kind hearted people drew them near, almost like moths to a flame.

Looking around at the after hours party goers, Anita noted the presence of several wild sprites flitting about, enjoying the fairefolk at play.

Anita laughed when she saw two colorfully dressed performers attempting to woo Freya.

One would get down on hands and knees while the other would stand on his back and present his case for why Freya should be with him instead of that 'other fellow'.

After a few moments of this, the one on hands and knees would buck his competition off and admonish him on his lack of couth in approaching young ladies, whereupon he would take his place and demonstrate the 'proper wooing method', with his own inept efforts and ham handed approach.

Freya, naturally, blushed prettily and giggled on cue and generally enjoyed herself immensely.

It was nearly midnite when Roger decided it was time to leave.

Many of the faire workers had retreated to their booths or their tents and were engaging in more intimate forms of merry making.

To his pleasant surprise Maribel approached him with a young man in tow.

He was clearly one of the acrobats as his lean, lithe build and dancer's grace attested.

Maribel smiled at Roger and said, "I think April wants to go home now, I don't know why, I just do."

She executed a perfect curtsy and as she dipped her head, Roger ever so gently lifted the sleeping sprite child out of her ivy circlet.

Holding the sleeping child in his hand, Roger smiled at Maribel and said, "Thank you for keeping an eye on April for me, I greatly appreciate it."

Maribel smiled, "You're welcome, I enjoyed it too!"

Glancing at the young man Roger asked, "Is this your boyfriend?"

Maribel smiled and said roguishly, "He is, for tonight!"

"Ah"

With that, Maribel took her paramour's hand and they danced away in their happiness.

Roger chuckled, Maribel was tiny, not even five feet tall, her delicate body was flawless and quite limber.

Theirs would be a night to remember.

Roger waved to get Freya's attention and she waved back before saying fare thee well to her crestfallen, would be suitors.

Coming up to him with a big smile on her pretty face, the young giantess radiated happiness, she hadn't had this much fun in a long time.

"Ready to go kiddo?" he asked.

"Ah am, ef we must." replied his towering companion.

Chuckling, he replied, "I'm afraid so, we had a stowaway and I'm sure her mother is fit to be tied about now."

At Freya's puzzled look, he held out his hand to reveal April's sleeping form in the palm of his hand, on her tiny face a smile of contentment.

"Whaur war she aw thes time?"

Roger pointed out Maribel who was dancing with her evening's paramour.

"April apparently took a liking to her and was perched in her ivy head circlet when I spotted her, so I let her keep an eye on the child until we had to leave."

"Diz she hae th' sight?"

"No actually, Anita lent her an adder stone so she could keep an eye on her.

I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of that little renfairy since April seems to like her."

"Och, aye, dae ye hae 'er contact info?"

"Not me, but I'm sure Anita will get it before the end of faire next week end."

"Aye."

Roger carefully tucked April into his carrying pouch and joining hands with Freya, started towards the gates.

They made their way through the darkened streets of Canterbury Shire and were let out by a couple of security guards posted at the sole exit for nighttime use.

Freya's nighttime vision came in handy when she spotted their van before he did and they headed for it.

Minutes later, the van was warming up and they were buckling in.

He grinned at his youthful companion, "Did you have fun today?"

Freya's big smile was his first clue and the warm hug she gave him was his second clue, "Ah had fun, e'eryone made me feel welcome an' meitin' aw th' mukkers ay Warren's was interestin'"

She giggled, "Ah had sae mony marriage proposals in sae mony ways, Ah dornt ken whaur tae begin!"

Roger grinned, "And I'm sure you broke a number of hearts when you and I left together, especially those two who took turns standing on each other's backs while proposing to you."

He chuckled, "I thought it would make a fun stage show, you being wooed by those two who kept stabbing each other in the back. It was actually pretty funny for something they cooked up on the spot."

The drive home was uneventful and almost an hour after they left Canterbury Shire, they pulled into their driveway and drove up to the spot where Roger parked the van.

Roger glanced over at Freya and said, "Welp, time to deal with an upset Maribel and a frazzled Silky."

"Aye"

A few moments later they were being greeted by Sasha and her enormous mate who insisted on investigating the new smells they'd brought home with them.

Dena was a bit less joyful, directing her spleen mostly at Roger.

"Did it nae occur tae ye, 'at maybe ye shoods caw haem tae let us ken 'at ye had Maribel's bairn wi' ye?"

As April climbed out of his pouch, Maribel dove on her in a whirring of wings and after glomming onto her, looked her over to see if she was all right and affirming she was fine.

Maribel then seized her child by the ear and engaged in the first ass chewing Roger had ever seen between two sprites.

What he heard was mostly angry sounding chirrups and warbles.

He was so fascinated by this that Dena finally grabbed his ear and said, "Ah'm talkin' tae ye, ne'er min' whit they're daein'!"

Roger looked back at Dena and replied, "The kid stowed away in our van and by the time I saw her, it was already after closing time and the damage was done."

He smiled, "Freya was having so much fun that I couldn't spoil it for her. Besides, I made an arrangement for someone to watch over April."

"Whit sort ay an arrangemen'?"

"I let one of the renfairys watch her...Now, before you start with the yelling thing again. April had already taken a liking to her and was perched in an ivy circlet she was wearing on her head."

"Renfairy? Whit's a renfairy?"

Roger smiled, "A renfairy is someone who dresses as a fairy or a fae and wanders about the faire grounds ignoring us mere normies, they act as if we don't really exist to them."

Dena looked puzzled and asked, "Hoo dae they ken whit a fae is s'posed tae look loch?"

Roger laughed, "They don't, they dress how they imagine a fae to look like and act how they think a fae would act."

He grinned, "I made no effort to correct their misconceptions."

Dena looked thoughtful, "Ur ye gang back oan th' morrow?"

Roger hemmed and replied, "I hadn't planned on it, can I assume you wish to see this faire?"

Dena grinned, "Ay coorse Ah wish tae see thes faire ye speak ay!"

Looking at him coyly she asked, "Whit time ur we laein' oan th' morrow?"

"You're awfully sure of yourself missy!" exclaimed Roger.

"Ah am sure ay meself, hoo else woods Ah be?"

Taken aback by her reply, Roger conceded, "Yes, you are sure of yourself, otherwise you wouldn't have come down from Canada with Sasha that time."

Dena grinned and remarked, "Ye huvnae answered me question, whit time dae we lae oan the morrow?"

Resigned to his fate, he replied, "We're leaving at half past eight A.M. No sleeping in!"

"Ah'll be ready!" declared his tiny wood elf companion.

The next morning found Roger and company pulling into the parking spot they were guided to and he parked their van.

He glanced over at Freya and she had a slight smile on her pretty face, she knew he had gotten roped into coming back by Dena who was sitting between them dressed in her traditional clothing and smiling quite contentedly.

The two foot tall wood wife had conned him once again into doing something he hadn't planned on.

This time however, they had carefully checked the van before leaving to make sure April had not stowed away again.

While her mother had given her quite the chewing out the night before and she was likely to be on her best behavior for a while, they still checked to make sure she hadn't decided to go with them, and never mind what her mom had to say about it.

Sprite children, much like any child, could be quite the handful at times.

Having exited the van and donned their garb and with Dena snuggled in his arm, they made their way to the gates of the faire grounds.

As before, visitors stole sidelong glances at Freya's towering form.

This time she was wearing a long, dark blue skirt, a long sleeved light blue linen shirt and a simple bodice that matched her skirt.

To protect her from the sun, a straw hat was perched at a jaunty angle on her head.

"Good morrow Lady Freya, Sir Roger! Hail and well met!" Cried a familiar voice as Tom Shannon, Deirdre's grandfather came striding up to them, a big smile on his face and a twinkle in his blue eyes.

Roger grinned at him and replied, "Trust me, I am just as surprised to be here as you are."

Gesturing at Dena snuggled up in the crook of his arm, "Let's just say I was coerced into coming here today."

Tom squinted at Dena's tiny form and said quietly, "Would this be Lady Dena, the wood wife my grand daughter has mentioned to me?"

"Yes, it would be her."

At the mention of her name, Dena stirred and sat up and smiled at him. "An' yoo ur, guid sir?" She asked.

Tom swept off his hat and bowed low, "I am Tom Shannon, grand father of Deirdre Shannon. She has mentioned you to me and it is a great pleasure to make your acquaintance milady."

Straightening up again after restoring his hat to its proper place he smiled and said, "Shall I convey your good wishes to our gracious queen, Elizabeth? I know she would be delighted to meet you Lady Dena."

While Dena thought about Tom's invitation, he said, "Our gracious queen hath bestowed a Ladyship on Lady Freya and a knighthood on Sir Roger in honor of their meeting her yesterday."

Dena flashed a dazzling smile and said, "Yes, Ah woods loch 'at, meitin yoor queen. Me nam' is Dena Greenwuid an'Ah abide at the stoatin' hoose wi' Roger an' Freya."

Tom bowed to her then said, "I shall convey your good wishes to our gracious queen, forthwith!"

He stepped back, saluted them and strode off to deliver their message.

A few minutes later, they entered the gates of Canterbury Shire after having presented their tickets.

The woman who took Roger's tickets looked puzzled and said, "You gave me too many tickets m'lord, I count two tickets an' I see only the one of ye."

Roger smiled, made a shushing motion and pointed at Dena cradled in the crook of his arm.

To the woman's unbelieving eyes, Dena smiled and waved at her.

Before she could react Roger had stepped through the gateway and was now within Canterbury Shire and beyond her jurisdiction.

With the towering Freya right behind them, the ticket taker was simply overwhelmed by seeing two mythical beings in such a brief time.

As before, Lord Thistle was waiting for them. "Good morrow Lady Freya, Sir Roger. Our gracious queen hath received your message and looks forward to seeing you all."

He smiled and focused his attention on Dena, "Welcome to Canterbury Shire, Lady Dena, we pray that you will enjoy your visit and will look upon our poor faire with favor."

Dena naturally soaked up his adulation and replied in her squeak of a voice, "Sich a chiel ye ur, quite unlike some others in me acquaintance." Her eyes glanced at Roger, "Ah shall enjoy visitin' yoor wondroos faire!"

Once again, Lord Thistle led the way and soon they were being presented at the court of Elizabeth, Queen of England.

The queen smiled at them and beckoned, Roger stepped forth, bowed and said, "Your majesty, I have brought with me an emissary from the north lands. May I present to you the Lady Dena Greenwood."

He hunkered down and gently placed Dena on her feet and the tiny wood elf stood before the queen.

The court fell silent at the sight of the two foot tall wood wife dressed in her traditional garments.

Dena was quite the little eyeful with her pretty face, elfin looks and long blonde hair. Her attire consisted of a blue dress, a green bodice and a red jacket.

She executed a perfect curtsy and in her piccolo of a voice said, "Yoor Majesty, it is a stoatin' honor tae meit ye."

There was a collective gasp from the courtiers as they realized, she was indeed, real.

The queen herself placed one hand over her heart and fanned herself with the other.

She let out a great breath, took in a breath and said, "And it too, is a great honor to meet you Lady Dena, our shire welcomes you with open arms, open minds and open hearts!"

Dena flashed her most dazzling smile and replied, "Thes is me first time camin' tae thes shire as Ah hud nae heard ay it afore."

She glanced up at Roger and remarked, "In me defense, we hae bin huir uv a thrang at haem, whit wi' settin' up th' library, raisin' th' pups an' mony other things."

The queen blinked a couple of times before replying, "You have set up a library and raised some pups, what sort of pups do you refer to?"

Roger at this point spoke up, "Forgive me your grace for barging in. The pups Lady Dena is referring to are great guardian wolf pups. I believe one of the merchants here at the faire is bonded to one and he has her with him at this very moment."

"Oh?! What is this merchant's name, I may wish to meet with him and his 'pup'?"

Roger hesitated momentarily, "His name is Warren Johnson, I'm not sure of his 'address' here at the shire faire. Although I am certain your beefeaters would know of his shop."

Lord Thistle spoke up, "Your majesty, shall I have my men bring him here forthwith?"

The queen smiled and said pleasantly, "That will not be necessary, I have met with this gentleman, we can pay his shop a call during our next processional."

Roger smiled inwardly, Warren was going to be in for a big surprise if he didn't inform him first.

The queen returned her attention to Dena, "You mentioned a library. What, pray tell, sort of books are there in this library you mentioned?"

Dena was about to reply when she paused to look up at Roger, "Ur ye gonnae reply, ur shaa Ah?"

Roger bowed slightly, "Please do."

Dena smiled at him and replied to the queen. "Th' library cam frae uir village in Canada, it belonged tae Freya's grandmother Induna. It is th' largest collection ay Jotun literature knoon."

Dena beamed and said proudly, "Warren is th' head librarian in charge ay aw th' books, scrolls an' maps."

The queen smiled at her remarks and said, "We now have yet another reason to pay a visit to Sir Warren's booth!"

Roger stifled a grin, now he had to get to Warren's booth if no other reason than to make sure he was presentable!

He almost laughed when Lord Thistle remarked, "I wasn't aware that Warren was a knight of the realm, I know he is the head librarian at the Karloff Research library, but was not aware of his knighthood."

The queen smiled and said gaily, "He will be before the sun has set this e'ening."

Lord Thistle smiled, "Yes, your majesty, I shall bring the required items for the bestowal of knighthood upon the future Sir Warren."

"Please do, " she said, turning her royal attention back to Roger and company. The queen addressed Dena, "We thank thee for coming to our fair shire and we pray it will be to your liking, Lady Dena of the green woods."

Dena smiled and replied, "Ah thenk ye fur yoor kindness an' yer graciousness, Yer Majesty. Ah'm lookin' for'ard tae seein' mair ay thes fair shire ay yoors."

With that, Dena executed a perfect curtsy as did Freya while Roger bowed.

Upon leaving the queen's court, Roger hurried along with the intent of getting to Warren's booth before the next Queen's processional.

Freya remarked as she strode along beside him, "Ur we really in 'at much ay a hurry?"

"I just wanna make sure Warren is at least half way presentable, I'd hate for him to look like who'da thunk it when the queen stops by!"

Dena for her part, was enjoying the sights and sounds of an Elizabethan era summer faire.

She was perched on Roger's shoulders as usual with her legs around his neck. Holding onto his head, she had a lovely view of the revelers at play.

There was a brief interruption when they encountered Maribel, the renfairy from the night before.

Without her breaking character, she noticed Dena perched atop Roger and Roger noticed Maribel had acquired a wild sprite perched in her ivy circlet.

He would tell her of it later, if he had a chance.

A short time later, they entered the woodsier portion of the faire and hove to at Warrens' booth, where Roger set Dena down on a straw bale.

Astrid was out in front of the booth, laid out on her side and dozing, a coterie of sprites resting on her as she lay there.

Warren grinned at them and greeted them, "Good morrow, I did not expect to see you here today."

Roger smiled and replied, "Dena wanted to see the faire after I had told her about seeing the renfairies here."

Warren chuckled and smiled at Dena, "How long did it take for you to get your way?"

Dena grinned, "Not lang a'tall."

Warren chuckled, he knew Roger was a bit of a pushover when it came to Dena. After all, how many mere men could claim to be friends with a wood wife as pretty as Dena Greenwood.

She beamed and declared, "Ah mit th' quine an' she wishes tae see Astrid an' talk tae ye."

Warren gaped, "Whaaat?! Talk to me, for what?" He exclaimed.

Looking somewhat goggle eyed, he looked at Roger.

Roger smiled and said, "It's all true, Dena here told her majesty about Astrid and the library you manage. After that, the queen announced she wished to pay a call on you during her next processional."

Warren started laughing and after a few moments, said, "Well, I guess I'd better brush up on my courtly speech then!"

Moments later he said, "I have some Scottish ale, would you care for a sup?"

Roger chuckled and replied, "Of course, only I have nothing to offer in kind. As soon as we got here, we were literally hauled before the queen by Lord Thistle and upon our leaving the court, we came straight here to let you know of her impending arrival."

Warren chuckled, "That is quite all right, I know that ordinarily, you would have something to share yourself. We'll just think of today as an extraordinary occurrence at the faire."

He glanced over at Dena who was admiring one of the porcelain sculptings he had for sale and pointing it out to Freya, who towered over the tiny wood elf.

Warren murmured, "In all my days, I never thought I would be sitting in my booth at the Faire and looking at a genuine wood elf and a frost giantess at the same time." He smiled, "It's like I've died and gone to heaven or something."