poemtry and prose

The waltz continued for a few more minutes. Cassie rested her head on Hazel's chest the entire time. If anyone watched them, Cassie did not care nor did she see them. She kept her eyes closed the entire time. It was as if they were the only two in creation, no one else but the music of the stars surrounded them.

The music stopped. And Cassie felt her mind rush back into her body. The room, the smell of candle wax, elderberry wine and body heat flooded back into her senses. She lifted her head off his chest, a draft of cool air turning it red. They stared into each other's eyes. Hazel broke the silence first.

He bowed, exaggerating every inch, "Thank you very much Milady. T'was a wonderful dance."

She could not help but to giggle. "No, no, no. Thank You." And then she attempted a flourished curtsey of her own. Her body jerked into position and she quick rose back up.

"So, you thirsty or hot?" she asked.

"You read my mind. Yes, my throat is a bit dry and I really could stand to go outside and cool off. This outfit is not exactly cool ya know."

Hazel extended his right arm outwards. "After you."

Cassie smiled and took the lead. They wandered in and out between dancing couples and groups of faeries chatting. Cassie looked around for Stick but did not see her. She figured that the little faerie had either left or gone off to go talk to some of her other friends. She was not even sure she would even be able to spot Stick with so many tall faeries around her. She lead Hazel back to their table and chairs.

She half expected her goblet to be empty but instead it had been filled back up with more wine. She grabbed the cup and turned around, looking for Celan or any of the other servant fae. But no one was around, not that she could see through all the bodies. Either they were touched by faerie magic and refilled themselves when they sat empty for a time or Cassie just was not as observant to the servants.

They sat in silence, drinking their wine, re-hydrating their bodies while watching everyone around them enjoying themselves.

"You know," Hazel began, "the way they are carrying on, you would not dare to think anything bad was going on. I mean look at them, their smiles, their energy."

Cassie nodded. She looked around. Not a spiky color appeared anywhere. The room swelled with red and green and orange and yellow happy colors. Even the notes floating from the instruments played by the members of The Fabulous, Gobble Ratchet and Clanking Chains Band seemed to be filled with happiness as well. It was hard for her to imagine that anything bad could befall such a loving and magical place. She wondered if this was what was bugging him all night.

"It will be okay, Hazel," Cassie said. "We will figure out what is going on. No matter how long it takes, we will hunt a cure down. I promise, I will do everything that I can think of to help you and everyone."

She smiled at him, but it did not seem to lighten his weight. She touched his back, above his wings, and rubbed it. "I promise Hazel. I mean it." His wings fluttered a bit as she touched his back. The movement made Hazel look like a dog who upon being scratched wagged his tale. He smiled at her.

"Thank you. So want to go check out the terrace?" he said.

Cassie blinked, she was stunned, "You mean the Obelisk has a patio?"

"Well, kinda. Come on I will show you."

They both stood. "Oh wait. Hazel do you think we should let Stick and the Elders know where we are going?"

"Stick knows that we will be okay if we leave. Besides, we will all meet back here in the great room tomorrow anyways. I am sure she is fine. I know there are quite a few suitors she is teasing and stringing along tonight. She will be fine."

They made their way out of the side door into the obelisk hallway. When Hazel stepped into the hall, the torches flared up, casting more light for them to make their way. The sun had long gone down, and the windows flooded the room with a soft white glow. Walking around the obelisk was more like traversing a maze. The stone black walls made everything similar to one another and Cassie had no idea which way they were going and where Hazel was taking her. She also was not able to gage the size of the floor, as it seemed a lot larger on the inside than when she saw it from the ground.

Hazel led her to a set of double doors. They were made of glass and had Celtic knots etched into it. He threw the doors open and they were both greeted by a very cold blast of air and moonbeams from the moon.

"Ahhh, much better," Hazel said. He stepped onto the terrace. "Come on Cass, this feels so good."

Cassie followed, shivering. The cold and fresh air did feel good but she still felt a bit too cold standing outside in her dress. She walked over to the railing where he stood. Both his arms sat firmly on the stone surface. His red curls waved in the breeze.

"Check it out," he said. "The moon looks so close to us that you can almost reach out and touch it from here."

She followed his gaze. The moon was full and huge. Hazel was right, it did seem like they could reach out and touch the rocky surface. Either it was an optical illusion produced by the dark or the obelisk stood taller than she imagined. She then bent over the railing, looking down upon the town. They were too high up in the air to hear the sounds coming from the streets. Smoke slowly meandered upwards from many of the chimneys. Lights from the buildings cast strange shadows over the streets, shifting as the faeries inside moved around. The busy streets had quieted down, only a handful of people walked along the cobblestone. Cassie was able to make out small dots as they moved between the shadows and lighted lamp posts. The light from the posts appeared green and hovered.

"Hazel, I meant to ask you earlier today but did not have time. When we entered Stonehaven I saw those lamp posts, but no candles or bulbs. So what casts the light over the streets?"

"Oh yeah. That is right you do not know about those yet," he said. "They are will-o-wisps. A family that lives here in town, raises them for that purpose. They go out into the swamps and forests west of Isorak and capture them. Will-o-wisps do not seem to have any intelligence, as far as we can tell. And they are relatively rare around here. So we handle them with care and treat them as honored pets. Their glow has lit the streets as far as I can remember."

"Are they placed there at night and then removed?"

"No, like I said, they are trained. I am not sure if they sleep during the day or just hang out in some corral. At night, right as the last rays of sun fade over the horizon, the family releases them and they float right into the lamps. Maybe they stay put all night because the lamps offer them safety from predators while they eat? I am not sure. But in any case, when they feed, they cast off that greenish glow."

"Neat," Cassie said, hoping that they would be able to see the will-o-wisps up close before they had to leave in the morning.

She shivered again. Hazel saw her body tremble in the cold. He pulled his eyes away from the town and moon and stepped behind her. He then wrapped his arms around her, embracing her whole body. Cassie welcomed the warmth his body gave her and eased into him. The only sounds they could hear was the wind slowly moving past them and the calls of a nigh creature flying high above them off in the distance.

"You warm enough now?" Hazel asked Cassie.

"Mmm-huh. Thank you. I feel a lot warmer now. I cannot believe how cold it is now when it was so warm this morning."

"This is normal for this time of year. Then again, where we are heading, it will get a lot colder. But do not worry, Stick and I packed warm clothing, boots and a parka so hopefully we will not grow too cold. We will rest at some towns along the way and when we hike into the woods we have wood and some stones to keep us warm."

Cassie looked up at his chin, "Stones? How are stones going to keep us warm when it is cold and snowy out?"

"These stones are magical. All you have to do is say the activation word and they begin to heat up and they stay hot until you say the word to turn them cold again. Anytime anyone travels to the cold lands they take these stones with them. I have heard stories of men who did not take them with them and regretted it when they found themselves in a cold place without the ability to make fire."

"Right on. I should take some of those back to me if I ever go home," Cassie joked. "Do you know how much money I could make selling those to people? I would never have to go to school again, or work. I would be really rich."

Hazel giggled with her, "Yeah right. I am SO SURE that the Elders would just sit by and do nothing while you take a pocketful of stones back to your world."

"It could happen. You never know what can happen."

"Yes, this is true. You do never know. Okay, I feel better now, do you want to head back in?"

Cassie pulled away from him, "Sure. We should go back inside. Someone might have noticed that we are missing and wonder what happened to us."

Hazel held the door open for her. Cassie slipped past him and waited for him to join her in the hallway. He stepped backwards and closed the doors, making sure the wind could not blow them open again. They made their way back to the Chamber Room. As they got closer to the room, the music from The Fabulous, Gobble Ratchet and Clanking Chains Band grew louder. The party was still going on.

No one notice that the two returned, much less that they left for a bit. The older Elders had retired for the evening. The two chairs stood empty. Cassie caught a glimpse of Innowen dancing with a group of faeries. She had a smile on her face and it was hard for Cassie to believe that someone so young could be an Elder for a Clan.

Stick found them first, "Hey you two, where did you run off to? Been looking for you guys for awhile now."

Hazel and Cassie sat down on the floor against the wall, "It got hot in here, I needed to cool down. What is up? Did something happen?"

"Eh, not much actually. Everyone's been dancing and drinking and having a good time. I was not too worried but after I took off to go talk to Eleric, I lost sight of you both."

Stick hopped over to Cassie and sat in her lap. "So Cassie, what do you think of all this?"

"I am loving it, Stick. It's incredible, amazing, magical, surreal. Never in a million years would I have thought that I be at a faerie party, much less standing in your world."

"Yay! Parties are the best here. The food and wine never stops coming and there is always music, song and dancing. We tend to celebrate lots here. And I like to think that having you here, counts as a reason to party," Stick said, wiggling her body.

"So what have you been up to, Stick?" Cassie said. "Hazel here says that you are a regular flirt!"

Hazel threw his hands up in front of his body, "Hey, do not look at me like that Stick. You and I both know you have a thing for a pretty face, or a pretty body."

Stick frowned at him and then laughed, "Yeah, well. I cannot help it. So much eye candy around here, gotta amuse myself somehow. Besides, you two seamed preoccupied with one another and I did not want to disturb ya."

It was Cassie's turn to frown, "I hope you did not think I was purposefully ignoring you Stick. Hazel wanted to talk and I could not see you any where. I am sorry."

"It is no big thing, Cassie. Like Hazel says, I found my own form of entertainment for the evening. Now if you two shall pardon me, I must get back to Eleric. And do not look so bummed out Cassie, I will see ya tomorrow. And we will have lots of time to chat and catch up on the road."

Stick stood and hugged Cassie, "Thanks for understanding Stick. Now go have your fun. We will definitely chat tomorrow. Have a good night."

Stick put her hand to her forehead and threw a mock-salute. Her body rocked to the music as she spun around. She was soon joined by another faerie her size. Cassie assumed that this as Eleric. He was bald and also did not have any clothes on. His skin was blue and contrasted with Stick's brown body. They greeted each other by nuzzling noses and then hopped off to enjoy the night.

"Stick is so cute," Cassie said as Stick disappeared. "I really do hope she does not think I ditched her. There is just so many things to see and stuff that I sorta feel overwhelmed. And then there is you, Mr. Worrywort."

"Huh?" was all Hazel said.

"Like I said, you are so worried or worked up over something tonight that you barely seem here at all. Are you sure you are okay?"

Hazel nodded. While it was true that he was worried about the plague and what could happen to his world if it continued spreading, he also had something else on his mind. Something completely different.