Etude 7: Andante Tranquillo

Fun stuff in the realm of the Butterfly People! I'm not ripping off Faerie, really I'm not... Okay, maybe a little bit. I'd like this to have more influence from fairy tales (the old, original kind which were never meant for children) than from Tolkien. I'm throwing in poetry quotations now to help keep up the mood.

This way come; make haste, O fair!
Let your clear eyes gild the air;
Come, and bless us with your sight;
This way, this way, seek delight!
-- John Fletcher, "Song in the Wood"

The sparkling lights faded to reveal a field of gigantic flowers. The flowers were in all sorts of shapes and sizes, with colors ranging from simple reddish-pink to spectacular violet tinged with red and streaked through with orange. Throughout the field other Butterfly People flitted about, some carrying objects that trailed multi-coloured ribbons behind them.
"Where are we?" Asked Sarah in amazement.
"This is the field at the center of our domain. Only those of the Butterfly People have the power to visit here unaided." Lysshander cupped her hands together, and a pale. rosy light glowed between them for a moment. In her hands appeared two identical flowers. She handed one to each of them. "Take these, and wear them on you always. They will mark you as our friends, and allow you to roam freely in our land."
"Thank you," Sarah said. She tucked the blossom over her ear.
"Uh, thanks." Armand looked at the flower doubtfully, then stuffed it in his jacket pocket.
"Come, I will take you to the Spring Flower." She took both their hands, and beat her wings. In a short time, she had lifted them off the ground, and set them down again upon a magnificent pink blossom, coloured like a rosy dawn. In the center of the blossom was a very young woman, barely past childhood, perched on a bed of pollen.
...

"Lysshander!" she squealed excitedly, and rose to meet their guide. She fluttered over and hugged Lysshander. "So these are the strangers?"
"Yes. This one is Sarah, and the other is Armand. I brought them here because Seliari warned me of an approaching wolf."
"Good, good! I love visitors!" She fluttered over to Armand and peered at him. "What a strange thing you have on your face! Does it come off?" Before he could say anything, she tugged at the chain connecting his earring and nose-ring.
"Ow!" He backed away quickly.
"Oh, it's attached... Does it grow like that? How come she doesn't have one?"
"It's, it's not really attached. Or, it, um, it doesn't grow. It's not part of me. It's jewelry."
"How strange! And your hair is so funny." She poked at it, then ran a finger down the shaved streak. Armand found himself blushing furiously.
"Um, I, um..."
"Oh, but how bad of me! I forgot that the two of you are newcomers here. You don't have wings, do you?"
"Um, no..."
"You must borrow some wings then!" She clapped her hands excitedly, and another Butterfly Person flew in to the flower.
"Yes, Flower?"
"These guests need wings!"
"I will get them, Flower."
"So! Tell me, what do you think of our realm so far!"
Lysshander cleared her throat delicately. "Flower?"
"Yes, Lysshander?"
"I believe these two are newcomers to Farelle."
"Oh! Yes, then, they must be warned, certainly."
"Warned?" Sarah asked, worriedly.
"Yes, yes! We don't get visitors very often... There are certain rules that you must follow in Farelle, since you're outsiders. The main, important one, is not to give out your true name."
"But you already know our names."
"No, I don't! Lysshander only told me what you are called, but those are not your true names. Since you're outsiders, you probably don't even know them yourselves, which is probably safest for you."
"It is possible for a very wise, knowledgeable person to study another and learn their true name. However, this is very difficult to do without that person knowing. If you have some measure of power, but do not know your true name, that power will serve to keep it hidden except by the most powerful of magics," said Lysshander.
"Yes! What she said. And of course, Lysshander isn't her true name." The Spring Flower waved her finger at them. "It's not polite to ask, either."
"The other important thing, is that gifts must be repaid with gifts of equal or greater value. You can put off payment for a time, but if you don't return your debt, it will catch up to you!"
"What if we don't want the gift," asked Armand.
"Then don't take it! But sometimes, that might anger the giver, so you have to be careful." At that point, the servant who had been sent for the wings returned with them. "Ahh, here we are! I don't suppose you have anything of equal value to these wings?"
Sarah shook her head. "I don't know what would be of equal value."
The Spring Flower nodded, and took the pair of delicate blue wings. "Sarah, I give these wings to you freely by the Lord of the Stars and the Lady of the Moons, for you to use without debt as long as you are in my realm." Sarah thought she saw a glow sparkle over the wings, and then the Flower handed them to her. "Now these wings are safe for you to use, without you giving me an equal gift. The only condition is that you must return them to me when you leave -- only then will the balance be restored. And if you attempt to leave my realm with these wings, things will go badly for you."
"I -- thank you, Spring Flower." Sarah curtseyed quickly.
The Flower giggled. "Oh, how quaint! But put them on, put them on!"
Sarah examined the wings. They seemed to have straps, like the straps on a backpack, and she slipped her arms through these. She felt a sudden shocking wrench as the wings attached themselves to her back. She felt dizzy for a moment.
"Lysshander, why don't you teach her how to use them? I'd like to talk with the boy alone." The Flower grinned mischievously.
"Yes, Flower." She turned to Sarah. "Take my hand. I will guide you to another blossom where I can teach you better." Sarah gingerly took Lysshander's hand, and then the two fluttered off to a nearby blossom.
The Spring Flower turned to Armand, suddenly serious. "First, your wings." She took the pair of brilliant gold and black wings from the servant, and then dismissed him. "Armand, I give these wings to you freely by the Lord of the Stars and the Lady of the Moons, for you to use without debt as long as you are in my realm."
"Um, thank you." He took the wings from her, and started to put them on.
"Wait, don't put them on yet."
"Huh?"
The Spring Flower walked around him as he stood there, examining him from all angles. "You have traces of the Fallen Ones about you."
"The Fallen Ones?"
She nodded. "They are beings of light. Once they were stars, but they angered the Lord of Stars, and He cast them down. I can sense the light about you, but it is strange... You are not their creature."
"These beings of light... Can they... Can they take over a person's body and use it for their own will?"
The Flower nodded again. "Yes, and it marks the person as one of their own. You bear the traces of their passage, but you are not one of theirs."
"I felt them... They were trying to get Sarah for something. But I fought them. Whenever they tried to take over, I fought them. Sometimes I won. Just before we came... here... One of them took me over. It was chasing Sarah, but somehow I fought it off..."
She studied his face for a while. "Yes, you have some strange power that I do not recognize. The girl, of course, is a nexus. I have never heard of anyone being able to fight off one of the Fallen Ones before." She was silent for a while, considering something. "First, your wings. Hold them in front of you, and close your eyes."
Armand did so, feeling a little bit silly. "Now what?"
"You can feel the weight of the wings in your hands, but there should also be a tingle coming from them."
He nodded. It was like having his hands fall asleep, but more pleasant. "What do I do?"
"Embrace the feeling, and let it fill you."
Armand stood there for a little longer. How the hell do I "embrace" a tingling feeling? He could feel his fingers, numb and alert at the same time. The wings were smooth but a little powdery. Wonder if they'll give off glitter if I shake them?
"You're not doing anything."
"I don't know what to do."
"This is elementary. Let the tingle flow through your arms and into your body."
Hey, tingle, flow, okay? Nothing happened. Hellooo! More nothing happened. Flow, damn it! I am not going to be stymied by a pair of costume wings! Do something! And then he felt the wings pulse with a rich, soothing energy that enveloped him in a comforting coccoon. The aura bathed him for a moment, and then was gone.
The Flower looked pleased. "Power, indeed!" She clapped her hands. "I wish I knew what it was. Now put the wings on."
The wings were already fluttering slightly in his hands. He put his arms through the straps, and felt the wings attach, still fluttering, ready to take off and fly. "Okay."
The Flower brought her hands together in a prayer-like gesture, then brought them apart, filled with a sparkling blue radiance. She circled Armand, sprinkling the radiance on him as if it were glitter. Then she returned to the center of the flower and closed her eyes, hands held upwards. Her antennae waved purposefully. Energy spilled from the wings again, blowing through him as if through a canyon, and then it was gone. And he felt suddenly... lighter.
"I have removed the last traces of the Fallen Ones from you," she said. "You must wear the wings all the time that you are in our realm, to hide yourself from them."
"Um, thank you."
The Spring Flower fluttered back over to the center of the large blossom. "You may go now. See our realm. Enjoy the sights. We will speak again before you leave."