Chapter 4 – The Pool

While Arsac slept, the spirits of the pool stirred from their depths. Their lazy patterns tightened into swirls and arcs of color. They moved up into the pond, churning the surface with currents of shifting water. Emerging from the pool they took the form of small winged fairies. Flying about in the night air, they moved toward the enchanted boy, casting strange flickering shadows that frightened the night animals and caused them to scurry away. They swirled over Arsac, lighting his sleeping face and ruffling his clothes. With tinkling laughter they tugged at his sleeves and the hems of his pants. As a group, they lifted his pouch from the ground, took his stick and rolled his cloak off of him. They took one last look at his sleeping face, giggled and left him with the clothes on his body but nothing more.

Arsac stirred awake with stiff legs and back. Forgetting where he was, he stretched to his full length and said, “Ison, what time is it?” Hearing nothing, sensing he was in a larger space than his bedroom at home, he opened his eyes and looked up into the night. The stars were bright and sharp, no moon and dawn was hours away. He reached for his cloak to wrap himself against the night-chill and found that it was missing. He stood up tingling, alert to danger and realized that his things were gone and he was alone in this strange place.

Feeling small and sad, Arsac crawled to the edge of the pool and looked in. The surface, now calm and still, reflected the stars above him mixed with the lights below. He could see the fairies moving in the water and he knew they had taken his things. He felt they were laughing at him and he felt miserable and stupid. He was on the first night of his adventure and had already been tricked, enchanted and robbed. He could feel their enchantments working on him again but he didn’t care. He would fall asleep and forget his sadness and shame. His eyes grew heavy and the lights once more became large and blurry as they swam across his vision. In the depth of his despair and self-pity, he felt a strong hand grasp his shoulder pull him back from the pool onto firm ground and into full wakefulness.

In the receding glow of the pool, its lights circling into the depths, Arsac saw a sturdy creature with gnarled arms and a thick trunk of a body. Each hand had long fingers with wood-knots for knuckles. His legs were twisted with feet that buried themselves into the ground. He had a long face with a lopsided nose, moss for hair, and large ears. The creature’s voice was thick and gruff but his eyes were kind, “Little human, you should be careful here. Those fairies are mischievous creatures. If you aren’t careful they could make sport of you for weeks. When you finally emerged you’d be naked, confused, half starved and lost.” Arsac, was unsure how to respond, “Who are you?” he said. The creature’s eyes grew wide and his ears waggled back and forth, “Well now, I am one of the tree people. Just look at me and you’ll see the truth of it.” Arsac had to admit that the creature looked very much like a tree and on this night he was willing to accept any magic he saw. “Follow me,” the tree-man said, “I’ll help you out of this place.” He turned and walked with slow, steady steps away from the pool and into the trees. It was dark in the forest and to avoid getting lost, Arsac followed as close as he could. Soon they entered a meadow that was softly lit with silvery light, the grass slightly wet with the pre-morning dew, flowers closed up tight and waiting for the sun. The forest was dark around them, the purple sky bordered by trees and spattered with stars.

The tree-man sat back with a groan and looked at Arsac, “I don’t like those fairies. They move too fast, make too much noise and think too much of themselves. They enjoy themselves at the expense of others. If you ask me, they live with far too little seriousness, everything is a game to them.” He sighed and looked away, “You wouldn’t know it looking at me, but long ago I was a much less serious fellow. I was a young sapling and I loved the touch of the sun, the feel of the rain on my leaves, the good dirt beneath me. Ah, the making of flowers and fruit, the feel of pollen, releasing my seeds into the earth.” He looked back at Arsac, “But I am forgetting myself. Life is a serious business and you must treat it seriously if you wish to live a good, long life. I am telling you this so that you understand that the ways of the fairies are not the right ways to live.” He closed his eyes and became silent.

Arsac, couldn’t tell if he was going to speak again or if he had fallen asleep. Perhaps he had returned to being a tree, in fact he looked more like a tree now than ever. Arsac, worked up his courage and said, “Excuse me, uhm, Mr. Tree. I understand what you mean about fairies. It isn’t nice to make fun of people and take their things. I’ve known boys like that, they would run after the smallest, shyest, littlest ones making fun of them and hoping to see them cry. If being serious means you treat others nicely, then I am happy to be serious.” The tree-man opened his eyes and smiled, “You are a good boy, I can tell. Did you say they took things from you? What did they take?” Arsac told him about his cloak, pouch and stick. The tree-man seemed especially offended by the taking of the stick, “I have a good feeling about you, and we cannot let the theft of any tree-part go unpunished. I will show you how to sneak into the home of the fairies and get your things back. According to ancient fairy law, if you are able to retrieve your things you may take three items of your choosing from the fairies in return. But be careful, if they awake and find you in their home they will be very angry. They have strong magic and within their home I cannot help you. If you return without being discovered, you will be safe and the fairies will never have the power to harm you again.”

Arsac considered this and asked, “How do I find the fairy home? How do I keep them from waking up and discovering me?” The tree-man narrowed his eyes, his face grew very serious, looking even more like the wood of a tree, “The entrance is here in this meadow, it is why I brought you here. You must move quickly and silently, like the mouse in the ground. I will show you where to go and then you are on your own. Are you ready?”