I could tell it was only a dream, but it was great to see Mom again. She was telling me about the fair folk.

“Always remember, in the company of the Fey, unless you are offered something, explicitly ‘freely given,’ do not ask for anything, including information. All things are done politely and transactionally. The only exception is a demand from a king or queen. Even those demands require that they offer you something.”

I saw my younger self asking, as I did that very day, “Why would a queen demand something from me?”

“There is value in many things. Your name has value and power. If the Fey ask your name, they need to offer you something in exchange. The Fey often have more than one name. The use of their ‘True Name’ gives you advantages and disadvantages. There are ways to use it to control them and threaten them, but it can turn them against you as well. Gaining their trust, as a mortal, is not always easy.” She ruffled my auburn hair as she said this with an endearing smile.

“Mom,” my older self felt silly as I remembered as I whined a little. “How would I even be in a position to talk to the Fey? I don’t know how I would even find one of them.”

“You should not find them. Beware of circles of mushrooms, flowers, or stones in the woods. They can trap you in a Fey dance, or show you things that will trouble you.”

“That’s just pretend, though. The Fey are not real. My teacher said so!” I replied.

“Arthur! Do not assume anyone knows everything about the world.” She pushed a portion of her unruly red hair behind her left ear. I was always entranced by her vibrant red hair. There was a twinkle in her blue eyes as she grinned at me. “Just don’t share the things I tell you of the Fey with your teacher. They may not understand.” She then booped my nose and went back to cooking dinner. Her lilting voice carried flowing words in a Gaelic song.

---===+++===---

I woke with a sad smile on my face. She was a good mother who shared beautiful, whimsical stories of the Fey.

She once told me a tale of a desperate princess of the Fey who wanted to have a child. She tricked a queen into a fairy ring and caused her to fall into an enchanted sleep. The princess gave the mortal queen beautiful dreams of a heroic lover sweeping her off of her feet and away from the king.

As the story went, the princess, disguised as the mortal queen, took the queen’s place in the king’s bed. He gave her a daughter. The king was proud of their daughter and would not leave her unguarded.

The princess became bored with the king. She realized that she would never be able to steal away with the child. In despair, she brought the queen back and provided her with a dream of having the beautiful child with her king. The princess was certain that she would be able to come back for the girl and bring her home to meet her real family.

The king died a week later, at the hand of the very man the queen had dreamed of. He took the throne and soon had a son with the queen.

As the girl grew, she became more beautiful and intelligent than anyone expected. People of the Fey would visit the girl and tell her wonderful secrets and bring her treats. They would even teach her secrets of the universe and how to make wondrous things happen. She learned of her real family, but she had fallen in love with the young prince who everyone believed was her brother. She refused to leave him.

Her stepfather did not like his heir being with the auburn haired princess, but sibling marriages were fairly common in those times. Still, he consulted a well known wise man who came to live in the castle.

The wise man was rumored to be a man of magic feats, but the princess did not trust him. There was darkness in him. The Fey who would visit her often hid from him in fear. They whispered about the scent of death and darker things when they talked of him to the girl.

The Fey supported their love. Her real mother went to the Fey queen to find a gift for the young royal’s wedding. A great and powerful sword was given to her for a wedding gift. It was to be an heirloom for the family they would bring.

She never told me directly about the ending of the great love story. But something told me it ended in tragedy.

There were embellishments sometimes, but the basics of the story always held.

Other times, she told me tales of the Fey fleeing from mortals who could not act civil and would kill and destroy for their own selfish desires. She told of evil wizards held at bay by heroic Fey who guarded life and freedom. The few mortals who helped the Fey were praised in her stories.

The gifts such heros were given were powerful and full of wonder.