The Elf and the Magnolia

All parts of "The Elf and the Magnolia" in order from 1 to 8, for easier reading and navigation.

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Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8 

The Sack Knight

All parts of "The Sack Knight" in order from 1 to 10 for easier reading and navigation

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10 

Into the Land of the Elves: What's in the Lacy Book?

The Diary of Miss Aidyn Hall, author

July 10

12:34 PM

What’s In the Lacy Book?

“Why do spiders serve as your guardians?” I asked Apple Blossom yesterday afternoon, as the two of us sailed along the Bell’s Rush on a thick raft made from oak logs. I wondered if the use of spiders, like the Jadeites’ written language, had originated with the tree elves.

“Tales from the first Jadeites say that humans fear spiders more than any other creature,” Apple Blossom explained, “so the Jadeites formed an alliance with the spiders: they could have undisturbed places to build their webs in exchange for keeping humans away from the Jadeite Greenwoods.” She looked at me and asked, “Is it true that humans fear spiders more than any other living thing?”

I chuckled and answered, “Yes, for the most part.”

 “Why?” she asked “Spiders are so much smaller than humans, and so out of the way.”

“I can’t answer that,” I said with a shrug. I always thought the fear of spiders was irrational and ridiculous. Spiders do nothing except look cool and keep pests out of the yard.

It would have been very nice to be able to see the banks of the Bell’s Rush instead of row upon row of blue-clad civil soldiers—three in each row, standing tall and grim-faced in perfect chain formations, watching us. It was part of the “careful observation.” Apple Blossom had asked the queen if the two of us could have a sail along the Bell’s Rush, and the queen had sent for a squad of civil soldiers to keep an eye on us…or rather, on me. We had to wait until they were all lined up before we could go. It was still a lovely sail, and I enjoyed listening to the “tingle-tingle-ting” of the Bell’s Rush. I just wished I could’ve had a better view of the scenery around us.

Thinking of the queen made me think of that lacy book in her office that I never got to discover the use for. I wished I hadn’t thought of it, because now it was going to bother me all day. “Apple Blossom,” I whispered, “do you know about that book sitting on your mother’s desk in the office with all the roses and lacy things?”

Apple Blossom nodded. “I know which book you’re talking about, but I don’t know what’s written in it.”

“Oh,” I said. “I was just curious about what it might be used for. But you don’t know.” I shrugged my shoulders.

Apple Blossom looked at me, and her face held an impish grin. “We can see what’s in it,” she said. “Remember, I know where the key is kept.”

I shook my head. “That’s not a good idea, Apple Blossom. It’s not for us to read, and I need to stay out of trouble.”

“We won’t get in trouble,” said Apple Blossom. “I know how to keep from getting caught.”

“You got caught last time,” I reminded her.

“That was because I hid! I won’t hide this time.”

“Still…”

“We’ll just look at one page,” she said. “Just one page, and then we’ll get out! I can tell you what the page says.”

I wasn’t curious enough about the book to get into trouble over it, and I was on thin enough ice just for being a human. Apple Blossom is a princess, but she is a child and I’m an adult, and because of that I hold a certain amount of dominion over her. “We’re not going to do it, Apple Blossom,” I said as sternly as I could, “and that is the end of that.”

 “Okay, we won’t do it,” said Apple Blossom, playfully rolling her eyes.

“Thank you.”

She gave me that impish grin again and said, “But I will do it myself!”

This was certainly not a better option. Since she was with me, I would likely be blamed for her mischief if she was caught. “That’s not what I meant, Apple Blossom,” I said firmly. “I meant that neither of us is going to do it.”

“You won’t get in trouble if it’s only me.” Apple Blossom steered the raft towards the shore.

“Oh, I have a feeling that I will.”

 “You won’t,” she assured me, patting my knee. “If I do get caught, I’ll be sure that Mother knows it was all my idea. But I don’t think I’ll get caught. I really do know how to go in and out without anybody seeing.” She stepped off of the raft and approached a line of three soldiers, nodding to them in a respectful manner. “Our sail is over for the time being,” she told them. “I thank you very much for taking the time to ensure that Aidyn and I had a safe sail.” She had gone from mischievous little kid to well-spoken regal princess without a second thought. The soldiers nodded their heads to her and moved aside to let us pass through. “Thank you,” I said, polite to the end despite my unease. I caught up to Apple Blossom and grabbed her by the hand.

“Let’s not do this, Apple Blossom,” I said. “It’s really not all that important for us to know what’s in that book.”

“I need to know!” said Apple Blossom. “You’ve got me curious, and it’s going to be on my mind forever unless I find out!”

“It won’t be forever,” I assured her.

“What if it’s about me?” she asked.

“Your mother would never write anything bad about you!”

“I don’t mean anything bad. I mean anything at all about me!”

There was no stopping the irrepressible little imp. I let go of her hand with a sigh. “Promise me you won’t get into any trouble over this,” I said, though I knew that if she was caught she’d be in trouble anyway—and so would I. Still, Apple Blossom said, “I promise, Aidyn.” She sounded so solemn that I wanted to trust her, but I knew that children’s promises usually amounted to nothing, even when they were solemn.

When we reached the palace, Apple Blossom told me to wait in the garden.

“I don’t think so,” I said. “I’m going to wait by the door, so if I have to cover for you, I will.”

“You would really do that?” Apple Blossom’s eyes widened. “You could get into even more trouble than I could! Isn’t that what you were afraid of?”

“Now I don’t mind it so much,” I said. Suddenly, I’d rather have had the queen, king, and whoever else be cross with me than with her. She was my friend, and nobody wants to see their friend get into disgrace, no matter the age difference. Still, I was quick to remind her, “We can still forget this and go back to our nice sail.”

Apple Blossom shook her head. “Please run into the garden if anyone comes by,” she pleaded.

“I’ll try.”

Silently, Apple Blossom scampered off around the side of the palace. I held my position, and when I saw two men dressed in red—palace guards—approaching, I continued to hold my position despite Apple Blossom’s plea. I looked far less suspicious now than I would have looked if I had just run off into the garden. “Good afternoon,” I said, nodding to the two men.

“Good afternoon,” replied one of the guards. “Where is the princess? Wasn’t she with you?”

“She was,” I replied, “but she wanted to show me something from her room, so she’s gone to get it.” I wasn’t sure how deep within the palace Apple Blossom’s room was, but I figured that this would leave enough space for her to attempt her little stealth trick. Sure enough, the guards departed without another word, and I heard the big front doors swing open. Apple Blossom returned, smiling and proudly holding up the key.

“You’d better make this very quick, Apple Blossom,” I warned. “And leave everything exactly the way it was when you went in!”

“I will,” said Apple Blossom, and she unlocked the office and went inside. I kept an eye out for guards and passerbys, but the garden was calm and empty today—a sharp contrast to the day of the party. I felt a pang of guilt for allowing Apple Blossom to do something that was obviously forbidden, and I promised myself that I wouldn’t let it happen again.

            I heard the door creak open, and Apple Blossom peered up at me, her expressive eyes asking if it was safe to come out. I looked around to see if the coast was clear, then nodded when I saw that it was. Apple Blossom crept out of the office, locked the door behind her, and gave me a push. “Run to the garden!” she cried. “Hurry!”

            We scrambled for the garden and took cover in the spot that the party table had once occupied. We sat down in a soft patch of grass, and Apple Blossom hid the key in her shoe. Immediately, I felt the need to lay down the law: “Apple Blossom, this is the first and last time I am letting you do something like this. From now on, if I see that you have to sneak to do something, then that shows me that you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place, and it will not be allowed! I am not covering for you anymore the way I did today, and if you do something like this again I’m afraid that I will have to tell your mother.” I expected her to argue or protest, but she just shrugged her shoulders and said, “Okay, I understand.”

            “So what was written in the book?” I asked, now more curious than ever—I wanted to know exactly what it was that had nearly caused so much trouble!

            Apple Blossom hugged herself and burst into loud and sudden laughter.

            “Hey, what’s so funny?” I asked. “Come on. Tell me what you found in the book.”

            She shook with laughter for a few moments more before she said, “It was nothing! Oh, Aidyn, we went through all that trouble for nothing! It was only a court record book!”

            “A court record book?”

            “It’s just a record of the citizens she sees when she holds court, and what their problems are and how they were solved. It’s nothing that concerns us!”

            I would’ve liked to see that court record book. I would’ve liked to know what kinds of things Jadeites brought before their monarchs. But I knew to leave well enough alone. “That isn’t ‘nothing.’ It’s very important,” I told her. “You will be queen someday, and then you’ll have to hold court. Don’t you think you ought to start taking it seriously?”

            Apple Blossom shook her head. “Court is boring. I shall let my husband hold court when I’m queen.”

            I chuckled at that. For a moment I wondered what kind of monarch Apple Blossom would turn out to be. I had a strong feeling that the negative reception of humans would diminish under her reign. She was already working on that.

            

Into the Land of the Elves: I Meet The Queen

The Diary of Miss Aidyn Hall, author

July 9

10:10 AM

I Meet the Queen

            I made a crown of the greenest cedar boughs I could find in the mini forest, interwoven with bright pink knockout roses from my garden. I added holly berries and juniper berries and smiled satisfactorily at my work. It looked like a jeweled crown meant for a queen. I hoped that Apple Blossom would share my satisfaction.

            This morning after breakfast, I made my way to the magnolia archway with the tag in my pocket and my gift for the princess in hand. The Grand Elder Guardian’s web was not blocking my way today, and I guessed that what happened at the party meant he now completely approved of me. I heard a series of running “slap-pat” footsteps making their way through the brush. Sure enough, there was Apple Blossom rushing towards me. “Hi there!” I called out, waving.

            She skidded to a stop right in front of me and bounced on her toes. “You came back, Aidyn! Oh, yesterday I came here and waited all day for you to come back, and when you didn’t show up I was so disappointed that I cried. But you’re here now, and I’m glad, glad, glad!” She was acting just like a kid instead of an esteemed royal princess, and it was delightfully endearing. It absolutely stung to hear that I had unintentionally made her cry, but I had been so busy yesterday with journaling, making the crown, outlining two tales for my short story collection and working on the drafts for two others. There was just no time in my day to nip off to the Greenwood.

             “I am very, very sorry,” I told her. “I was just so busy yesterday that I couldn’t find any time to head over. I promise I didn’t mean to disappoint you and make you cry, and if I can make it up to you today, I would like to know how.”

            Apple Blossom gave me a big smile, hugged me, and said, “Of course you didn’t mean it. You’re too kind for that, Aidyn.” While she was hugging me, I took the opportunity to place the cedar-and-rose crown on her head. “Oh!” she cried, pulling back. She poked at it a few times before taking it off to have a look. “What is this, Aidyn?” she asked. “Is this a wreath? Or is it some sort of crown?” She looked at me quizzically.

            “It is indeed ‘some sort of crown,’” I told her. “In fact, it is a crown that I made myself, with you entirely in mind (her eyes widened at this). I even picked those lovely pink roses from my own garden. I had a great time at your party, and I felt that you should have a birthday gift from me.” I placed the crown back on her head. “It does look lovely on you. You look like a…”

            Before I could finish saying, “You look like a real little queen,” she wrapped her arms around me again and hugged me tightly, pressing her face into my stomach. “Thank you, Aidyn,” she said. “Thank you, thank you!” Surely, no other Jadeite in history had received such a kind gesture from a human.  

            That is why I will be finishing my account of the party this morning and spending the rest of the day with my new little elf friend. Any additional tasks can wait until tomorrow. I have much more important matters to attend to!

            The garden gate opened and in stepped a magnificently dressed elven woman who looked so like I had always imagined Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She wore a long white gown with colorful seasonal blossoms sewn into it, and a cape the color of the sky. Her hair was the color of a misty sea and curled into elegant ringlets that fell around her pretty pink face like a picture frame. On her head she wore a thin, shimmering veil that fell over her face. She was beautiful, elegant, and very imposing all at the same time.

            “Mother! Mother!” Apple Blossom cried, leaping up from her seat to rush over and embrace the woman. Lovingly, the woman returned her daughter’s embrace and lifted her up to her shoulder. Then her face grew serious, and I had a feeling that the commotion I’d caused had something to do with it.”

            “Apple Blossom, have you brought a human into the Greenwood?” the woman asked darkly. She said the word “human” as if she was talking about a pile of rotting garbage sitting out in the sun. My stomach began to churn.

            “She’s been tagged, Mother,” Apple Blossom assured the queen. “And she’s not like other humans. She’s a good human, Mother! Her name is Aidyn, and she has been very kind to me and my friends.”

            “Why did you bring her here, Apple Blossom?” asked the queen. She glanced at me, and I had the feeling that she viewed me the way one might view a sewer rat.

            “I wanted to play with a human,” Apple Blossom answered honestly.

            “You don’t play with humans, Apple Blossom,” the queen said firmly. “You observe them and nothing more. Do you know how dangerous it was for you to bring one in here?” She had a good point; of course I wouldn’t hurt anyone or mess anything up, but what if Human Number Five hadn’t been me? What if it had been someone much less inclined to be friendly to elves?

            I spoke up: “I haven’t hurt anybody, and I won’t.” The queen looked surprised and a little offended that I had spoken out of turn. She was looking at me, the girls at the table were looking at me, Apple Blossom was looking at me, and I wanted to shrink. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” I said in my most polite tone, “but what I say is true. I am here in the interest of observation alone, and not to create a disruption.” I hoped that was the proper way to speak to a queen. It seemed to be, going by what I’d read in stories that involved queens.

            The queen set Apple Blossom down and curled her finger at me. “Come here.” I got up from my seat and obeyed. She only came up to my shoulders and had to look up to look me directly in the eyes, but she had a commanding presence all the same.

            “My daughter tells me your name is Aidyn?”

            “That is correct, Your Majesty.”  

            “You have a tag?”

            “I do.” I pulled the tag out of my pocket and handed it to her. She turned it over to look at the number.

            “You will have to come with me,” she told me, taking both of my hands.

            “Have I done something wrong?” I asked quickly. Without answering me, she began to lead me out of the garden. Apple Blossom followed behind us, but the queen turned to her and said, “Stay here, Apple Blossom.”

            “Mother, I want to go with Aidyn!”

            “No, stay here and entertain your guests.”

            “I’ll be back soon, Apple Blossom,” I assured her with a smile. I wasn’t so sure how true that was, but I didn’t want the kid to worry her birthday away. “Save some more of that pudding for me. It was phenomenal.” Raindrop smiled when I said this. I waved to the girls as I was led away, and the five of them waved back.

            The queen led me out of the garden and through a side door into the palace, which I would get to see at last! Secretly, I had been longing for that very thing since I’d laid eyes on those majestic jade towers. I wondered if the queen could feel my hands shaking in anticipation. If she could, she didn’t bother to take note.

            The door opened into a sea-green-colored room with candy-pink roses painted all over the walls. The showpiece of this room was a big navy blue wooden desk decorated with all sorts of lacy things: a white lacy box, a clothbound book trimmed with lace, a white lace desk skirt, and a pink jar tied with lace ribbons, which held four pens that appeared to be carved out of tree branches. The queen let go of my hands and motioned for me to sit at this desk. I obeyed, taking a seat on a stool painted in the same rose motif as the walls.

            The queen took another look at the number on my tag. Then she looked at me in the way a school principal might look at a troublemaker who had been brought into his office with too many infractions. “Stay here,” she told me firmly. “Do not go anywhere, and do not touch anything.” Then she left the room, and I heard her lock the door as she went out. I folded my hands the way an obedient child would and made up my mind to remain perfectly still, silent, and out of the way. When she returned, she would be totally shocked that the horrible, brutish human had not flipped her desk and trashed her little office!

            It wasn’t so bad being locked in there. The room was pretty, and I liked the rose pattern and the sea-green color. But sitting completely still and quiet had never been any easy task for me, and I was growing increasingly curious about what might be written in that book. It couldn’t have been a diary. You don’t keep diaries in your study or home office in plain sight. You keep them in your bedroom or in a very secret place that nobody is allowed to lay their eyes on. It was more likely a record book, or a tome of some sort, or…

            A part of my mind was scolding me: No, Aidyn, absolutely not! Don’t you dare open that book when you were told not to touch anything! But another side of my mind was saying, If you steal a quick glimpse and then put it right back down where you found it, there will be no harm done and there will be no way for her to find out! It’s not like she’ll check your fingerprints. I felt like a child locked in a battle with my conscience about whether or not it was all right to sneak ice cream before dinner so long as I was sure to eat all of my peas. But before I could decide which side to obey, I heard the door open and resumed my “obedient child” stance.

            It wasn’t the queen who entered, but Apple Blossom. She looked behind her to see if anybody had seen her enter, then she shut and locked the door. Her fist was tightly closed around something, probably the key. “Apple Blossom!” I exclaimed. “What are you doing here? Did your mother tell you to come here and check on me?”

            “No, I told me to come here and check on you,” said Apple Blossom. “What did my mother say to you? Did she tell you anything at all? Oh, I hope she didn’t say that you must leave and never come back! I’ve grown so fond of you already!” Tears came to her eyes. “She was outside talking to your tagger just a few moments ago, but I saw her go inside and I think she might be talking to my father or…or the guards. Oh, will she at least let you stay until the end of my partyyyy?!” This last word ended with a howl, and then she erupted into sobs. As if a switch had been flicked, she had gone from princess to typical overemotional child. She cried and howled with such intensity that her face turned as red as a tomato and the bodice of her beautiful flowery dress was stained with tears.

            “Apple Blossom, she didn’t…” I began, but realized that there was no way she could hear me over her wild sobs. It stung to see her this upset; it was as if she was my little sister, and all I wanted to do was comfort her and try to bring back one of those big, bright smiles. I got up from the stool, kneeled down in front of her, and wrapped my arms around her. “I’m not going anywhere,” I assured her, stroking her hair. “Nobody’s told me to go anywhere. I’m staying here.”

            She leaned her head against my shoulder. “Mother didn’t say you have to leave? She isn’t going to have you taken out?”

            “She didn’t say anything about me leaving,” I told her, “and if she was going to have me taken out, I’d likely be gone by now.” Then I wanted to try and make her laugh, so I grabbed one of her springy green curls and tugged on it gently. “Boing!” I cried when it bounced back like a spring toy.

            “Oh!” Apple Blossom grabbed the lock I’d bounced and looked at me in surprise. “What’d you do that for, Aidyn?”

            “To make you laugh,” I told her. I bounced another curl and uttered, “Boing!” She touched the top of her head and burst into giggles.  “You’re silly, Aidyn!” I responded by stretching another curl as far as it would go and bouncing it back, uttering a drawn out “Bo-o-oing!” We both laughed.

            At the sound of a key turning in the door, Apple Blossom disappeared under the table as quick as a wisp, and I returned to the stool. The door opened and the queen stepped in. Her expression had not changed from when she had left me. “Welcome back,” I said, nodding my head respectfully.

            “I see you’ve managed to keep my office clean and orderly.” She spoke sternly, but her eyes marveled at how I had not managed destroyed the place. “Indeed,” I replied. “It’s far too beautiful to trash.”

            She raised a brow at me. “I trust that you would have refrained from defacing it regardless of its beauty?”  

            “Of course,” I answered truthfully.

            “You’ve managed to cause quite a stir,” the queen went on, “especially among my daughter’s young party guests.” Apple Blossom shifted under the table. If the queen had been out to the garden, she had discovered that her daughter was mysteriously absent from the party table. Still, I didn’t let on that I knew she was under there. “They seem rather fond of you,” continued the queen, “despite your humanity.” She made it sound like a cuss word.

            “Your daughter adores me,” I told her, smiling modestly. All mothers love to hear about their kids, and I guessed that elf queens were no exception. “She’s absolutely crazy about me. I don’t think she believed that a human could be kind to her, and now that she’s seen otherwise, she is just thrilled.”

            “I think what she did was very foolish and very reckless,” said the queen, “but…” She paused, then went on, “…I suppose I should be very thankful that she found a human others can be so fond of, as opposed to a creature of selfishness and destruction.”

            I didn’t know what to say. I was almost certain that I had made it to the queen’s good side, but my only response was to nod and wait for whatever else she had to say.

            “After careful and thorough consideration and discussion,” said the queen, “I and my husband have decided that you may return to the Greenwood under very careful observation. I hope that you will not display any behavior that will cause us to retract that decision, especially if our daughter is going to be involved.” She looked me right in the eye, equally awaiting my response and daring me to oppose her.

            “Of course not,” I replied abruptly. I felt ready to break into song and dance! I had been approved by the monarchy and was free to take in all that the land of the elves had to offer—under careful observation, of course! I could immerse myself in the Jadeite culture and gather all the information I needed for…for…well, for whatever I might end up needing it for. But most importantly for the moment, I was free to stay for the rest of Apple Blossom’s birthday party!

            “Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you!” I stood up and curtsied as best as I could. “I appreciate being invited into your land, and I promise I won’t make you regret it.”

            “I should hope not,” said the queen. “And…Apple Blossom?”

            Caught at last, Apple Blossom crawled out from her hiding spot. “Yes, Mother?”

            “Return to your party, and take the human with you.”

            Apple Blossom’s face lit up as if someone had flicked a switch.

            So I spent the rest of that day enjoying the garden with the flowers of all seasons, eating pastries and more of that delicious pudding, and playing with Apple Blossom and her four friends. Towards the end of the afternoon, the cake was brought out and we had to line up and file out to the front of the palace. Apple Blossom slipped her hand into mine, securing my place beside her at the front of the line.

            The cake was the size of a baby grand piano and covered in swirls of cloudy blue frosting. Clusters of pink and yellow flowers decorated its edges, and in the center were ten small rods with a small purple globe lantern hanging from the tip of each one. White swirls formed odd looking but clearly defined shapes around the rods. “What’s written on your cake?” I asked Apple Blossom.

            “It’s my name in the language of the tree elves,” she told me.

            “Are you ten years old today?” I asked her.

            She nodded.

            I finally got to see the king, who momentarily glanced at me as he lifted Apple Blossom to his shoulder. He kissed her and set her down on a high seat in front of the massive cake. They cut the first slice of cake together, with his hands set on top of hers. I expected Apple Blossom to serve the first slice of cake to herself, as is commonplace at birthday parties (and more so for princesses). However, she placed the slice on a stone plate and handed it to me with a smile.

            The crowd erupted into whispers and murmurs, clearly just as surprised as I was. Only a select few—Apple Blossom’s four friends included—smiled and clapped politely. The king and queen looked at Apple Blossom and then at eachother, but said nothing. I nodded, thanked Apple Blossom, and silently returned to the garden and my place at the table. I may have been approved, but that does not mean I was welcomed.

            Apple Blossom joined me in a few moments, and I asked her if she would be so kind as to walk me back to the magnolia archway after we finished our cake.

            “Yes,” she replied brightly, “I can do that.”

            And so my first day in the land of the elves drew to a close. There will be many more, and each one will be very well documented.  

10 Simple Things to Take Joy Out Of

I. Little green daffodil shoots coming up out of the ground. Aren't teeny baby plants just so adorable?

II. How fucking awesome the contrails in the clouds look a lot of the time. People say a cloud is just a cloud, but you can't deny that sometimes a cloud is just a natural work of art. 

III. The new redesigns for the official Disney Princess tiaras. They look a lot less gaudy and a lot more regal than their old designs.

IV. When you're on your bike or Razor scooter and you push all the way to the very top of a really imposing hill, only to have all the fun of careening all the way to the bottom, riding the wind the whole time!

V. Sledding in a perfect snow--especially going down headfirst so the snow can smack you in the face!

VI. When the sky is the perfect shade of blue all day, and the sunset is the perfect shade of pink in the evening.

VII. Climbing up into a big cherry blossom and just lying down and enjoying being surrounded by pink lace.

VIII. Spending the whole night with someone you love, just laughing at the most pointless shit in the world until your sides ache and your lungs feel close to bursting.

IX. Dressing up like a princess, a prince, a fairy, a superhero, or anything else, just because you can.

X. Watching videos of the Seaworld whales and just marveling at the intelligence, the family bonding, and how freaking cute little Trua is.

And of course, this world contains a lot more than just these ten things to be happy about. (:

Into the Land of the Elves: The Honored Human Guest at Princess Apple Blossom's Birthday Party

The Diary of Miss Aidyn Hall, author

July 8

9:13 AM

The Honored Human Guest at Princess Apple Blossom’s Birthday Party

The path ended at a small hill flanked by bushy red cedars on both sides. In the distance, I could see several tall, jade colored towers. They blended in with the trees quite nicely; to a faraway observer, they might have been trees themselves. Cheerful chatter blended in with music from all sorts of instruments: bells, flutes, harps, drums, guitars. The music and chatter grew louder as we proceeded onward. The hill ended at another path that was much straighter, shorter and more organized than the one we had taken to get here. I could hear the sound of a rushing stream, but unlike the wild “ksshkssshkssh” of the streams in my mini forest, this one sounded like a bell: “ting ting tingle ting.” I soon learned where the sound was coming from; we were approaching a stream the color of a misty blue topaz. Across the stream, I could see the lights of villages, and every so often I caught glimpses of little green-haired people coming and going. We began crossing over a bridge made out of thick fallen logs.

“This is the Bell’s Rush,” said Apple Blossom (I could see why they call it that), “and after we cross it, we will be in the Greenwood.”

“What is the Greenwood?” I asked.

“All Jadeite forests are called Greenwoods,” she told me.

The land on the other side of that bridge was the greenest I had ever seen, the exact colors of perfect jades and emeralds (now that I think about it, a lot of the Jadeite environment could be compared to jewels). “I can see why it’s called the Greenwood,” I said to Apple Blossom. She modestly smiled at me and led me past a lush green hedge.

We passed by a small village. The houses were moss-covered triangles made from tree bark. Yellow lanterns hung from poles posted out in front of them. Upon seeing us, the people poked their heads out of the doors and windows, and the ones that were outside turned to look at us. The look of total awe on their faces was enough to make me chuckle—I know it was rude, but I couldn’t hold it back. They were gazing upon me as if I was a visiting goddess, with open mouths and bugged-out eyes. They were totally dumbstruck, but the princess was not. She smiled, waved at them all, and said, “Hello, everyone! This is Aidyn, my new friend. She’s a human! We’re on our way to the palace for my birthday party now. You all are very welcome to join us.” It was as if she was used to bringing humans into the Greenwood, though I had been the only one.

“Do you always invite random villagers to your birthday parties?” I asked, to get my mind off of being stared at and whispered about.

“Yes, I do!” she said, smiling brightly (she smiled before every sentence). “Everybody in the Greenwood is invited.”

I doubted any of these people would come now that I was there. Their gaping mouths and nervous whispers didn’t seem too ready to trust me. I felt guilty for turning away potential party guests. But I wondered just how big her palace was to be able to hold so many guests.

As it turned out, her palace was MASSIVE. “Palace” was the wrong word for it. “Castle” was the wrong word for it. The place was an estate, a compound. The actual palace, with its jade-colored towers, was in the very front and decorated top-to-bottom with streamers, banners, ribbons, jewels, tapestries, flowers, and bells of all colors, shapes, and sizes. Every window was illuminated with a light of a different color, and music and laughter played from all of them. White stone pathways and colorful gardens led to other green stone buildings that I couldn’t guess the uses for, all decorated in a similar manner to the palace. I could hear the “ting ting ting” of the Bell’s Rush and guessed that we must be rather close to it.

My first thought was, I get to hang out here? But the Jadeites were not as thrilled about it as I was. They gasped loudly and gawked at me with open mouths like the ones in the village had done. Many stepped away from me like I was leaking toxic waste, and several ran away.

“Maybe I should just go, Apple Blossom,” I said. “I’m obviously not very welcome here, and I don’t want to scare away all of your party guests.” I slipped my hand out of hers. “Thank you for having me. I really enjoyed seeing your land.”

She caught on to my hand and looked up at me with pleading eyes. The smile left her face as if it’d been erased by a pencil. “Please don’t go!” she cried. “I am sorry that my subjects are so distrustful. They have never seen a real human before, and they’ve heard only bad things about them from other Jadeites. But let me tell them that we’re friends and that you won’t hurt them, and I know that they will change their tune.” That being said, she turned to her gawking subjects and said as casually as could be, “Everybody, this is Aidyn, my good human friend! She will be joining us for the party. I know humans can be very scary, but you do not have to fear her. Aidyn is kind and gentle and she means no harm. I trust you all will give her the welcome she deserves.” She said this last thing in that scolding voice she used with me when she told me I had disrespected the Grand Elder Guardian. It made her seem much older than she looked.

Her subjects only bowed their heads respectfully, and began to whisper conversations I could only catch a little bit of: “…friends with a human?” “…Do the king and queen know about this?” “…Has she been tagged?” I reached into my pocket for the tag and held it up to show them that I had in fact been tagged. “Number five,” I said, showing them the inscribed number. This only made them whisper more, and I shifted uncomfortably. Apple Blossom smiled kindly at me, took my hand, and began leading me around the side of the palace. “We are going to my private gardens now,” she told me. “I have a table set up there for me and my very best friends, and you can sit at the head of it if you wish.”

I was very grateful to be taken somewhere private, where hopefully all eyes would be off me. “No, thank you,” I told her. “You’re the princess and it’s your birthday, so you will sit at the head of the table.”

She smiled brightly. “All right, but if you want to switch places with me, you are very welcome to.”  I have never known anyone so sweet in my life.

We went through a bright green gate and entered a garden that looked exactly like a picture out of an illustrated version of Burnett’s The Secret Garden. Flowers of all kinds bloomed in this garden, including some that weren’t even in season this month: there were irises, hyacinths, and crocuses of all colors, mayflowers and roses, cherry blossoms and peach blossoms and apple blossoms. I wondered what the Jadeites’ secret was to keeping so many different kinds of flowers around at once, but I realized that it must have something to do with those “jade essences.” Sure enough, there were big jade stones set up in every flower bed.

In the center of the garden was a circle of lacy white cherry trees. Under them sat four small Jadeite girls at a decorated party table. When they saw me, their eyes widened and jaws dropped. The smallest one, who was so tiny that she barely would have reached my knee if she were to stand up, looked as if she was ready to flee. I tried hard to flash my friendliest smile, to show them that I was no threat, but I felt uncomfortable and intrusive all over again.

But Apple Blossom said, “Girls, this is Aidyn. She’s a human from outside of the Greenwood, and she will be joining us for the party (I wondered if she was getting tired of repeating that).” She turned to me and told me her friends’ names: Raindrop, Holly Berry, Crystalline, and Wildflower (Wildflower was the tiny one). I smiled again, said, “It’s nice to meet you all,” and took my place at the table. Apple Blossom settled in to the right of me, and to the left of me sat Holly Berry.

Little Wildflower was the first to speak: “Apple Blossom, aren’t humans bad?” She had slid three quarters of the way under the table and was peering over the edge at me. What exactly had she and the other girls been told about humans? Were we the fabled evil bogeymen of the Jadeite world? Did little Jadeite children fear humans lurking in their closets and under their beds? I wanted to set them all straight very badly.

Apple Blossom said, “Aidyn is very good. If she’s good, then there must be other humans that are good.”

“There are!” I said quickly. “There are humans that help hurt and sick animals, and humans that save the lives of children just like you girls. There are humans that save others from danger, and humans that create art and plant flower gardens so that everyone has something beautiful to look at.” Apple Blossom’s four friends looked at me as if I’d just pushed a mountain off to the side. The idea of good humans doing good things had never occurred to them until this moment.  “There are humans that dedicate their lives to protecting forests like yours,” I went on. Now I really had their attention. “They set up special organizations and sign petitions and pass laws that help prevent damage to forests.”

“That’s not true!” said Holly Berry. “Humans destroy forests! Humans are the reason our lands are so small.” So that’s why they were so distrustful of me. They thought that I would go on a forest-destroying rampage at any second. But I knew for sure that there really were people who desired to protect forests; when I was in community college, I served on an environmental board for a while, and one of the things we advocated for was the increased protection of forested areas. “I used to work for people who helped protect forests,” I told them.

“See!” exclaimed Apple Blossom. “I told you Aidyn was good!” The girls smiled at me, nodded to me, and little Wildflower picked a bright red cherry off of her plate and handed it to me. I was being accepted at last.

Apple Blossom fixed a plate of colorful berries, bright green sprigs, a deep red pudding, and some meat that I was sure was deer. She placed the plate in front of me. I thanked her and began to examine the contents thoroughly—rude or not, it was possible that Jadeites could eat things that humans could not, and of course Apple Blossom wouldn’t know that. “What kind of pudding is this?” I asked, giving it a few pokes with the wooden fork. It bounced and jiggled.

“It’s cranberry,” Raindrop said proudly. “It’s my mama’s.” She looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to taste. I love cranberry, so I took a mouthful of it. It was not like the canned cranberry sauce I have with my family every Thanksgiving and Christmas, nor was it like the sugary supermarket cranberry juice. It was both sweet and bitter at the same time, and it had a pleasant silky consistency with little bits of berry pulp here and there. I liked it, and I took another mouthful once I’d finished the first. I gave Raindrop a thumbs-up, and she looked at me quizzically. I guess the thumbs-up isn’t a widely used gesture among Jadeites. I clarified for her: “That means I like the pudding very much.”

“Thank you,” she said politely.

I looked over the pile of berries. There were cherries, cranberries, and blueberries, all of which I love. But there were also holly berries, some glossy red berry I didn’t know the name of, and the juniper berries that grow from red cedars. I wasn’t so sure if those were meant for humans to eat, and I was about to say so to Apple Blossom when the garden gate opened with a creak.

The entire time I’ve been writing this entry, I have been nagged by guilt for not finding a present for Apple Blossom. If an elf princess invites you to her birthday party despite her subjects’ negative opinions of humans, you must thank her by giving her a birthday gift. That’s common courtesy, really. I’m sure I can find a gift for her somewhere. I know, I’ll make her a flower crown like the one she was wearing for the party. This will take quite a bit of time, and I cannot guarantee that I’ll be left with any more time to journal when I’m done. I’ll save the rest of my account of the party for tomorrow morning.

I wonder if Apple Blossom would like a crown of cedar boughs and roses…

Into the Land of the Elves: Today I Met Apple Blossom

The Diary of Miss Aidyn Hall, author

July 7

5:24 PM

Today I Met Apple Blossom

            This morning after breakfast, I went back to the magnolia archway and found it still unblocked. I proceeded down the path, expecting to run into the daddy longlegs and his web after ten steps. But this time around, there was no daddy longlegs and no web. It sucked for the spider, who I figured had gotten his web demolished by some careless oaf. But how lucky for me!

            The path remained straight for about ten more steps, and then it made a winding turn. It reminded me of Dorothy’s yellow brick road, and I hummed the song to myself as I walked. I was starting to wonder if I really would see Oz at the end of the path, and how I would react to seeing all those munchkins coming out from under hedges and behind buildings. And with that thought firmly in my head, what else do I see but a little green haired person coming my way? She was not a munchkin, but a little girl who looked to be around nine or ten. But munchkin or not, she was certainly odd; she was very small, but not quite munchkin small. She had hair the exact color of a well-tended summer lawn. She was wearing a crown of pink and white blossoms, and a pink and green dress that looked like a big flower—the bodice was a flower bud and petals, the skirt formed the leaves. I wish I had a cool dress like that.

            The girl smiled brightly at me. She had a very pretty smile that used all of her pearly teeth. She was one of those people whose eyes got really wide and whose eyebrows rose all the way up when they smiled. I smiled back, tipped my head, and said, “Hey!”

            “Hey!” she cried. “Hey! Hey!” She bounced on her feet, which made her mossy curls bounce. “I saw you!” she cried. “I saw you! I saw you out here yesterday!”

            That was weird. I hadn’t seen her (if I had, I would have written about her, of course). She must have been hiding, or had blended into the trees. “Is that so?” I said, as I continued walking. “When did you see me?”

            “I saw you when you met with the Grand Elder Guardian,” said the girl, “and I saw you get lost in the shrubs. I felt very, very sorry for you, and I wanted to help you out, but it was very naughty of you to disobey the Grand Elder Guardian!” She said this as if I were a kid who had gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “Who is this Grand Elder Guardian,” I asked reasonably, “and how did I disobey him?”

            “The Grand Elder Guardian is the head of the guardians of my land,” the girl explained. “He is the largest spider with the largest web, and he decides who comes in and who goes out. He was going to let you in because he saw that you still held the tag, but…”

            I cut her off. “What’s the tag?”

            “You do still have the tag with you, don’t you?”

            “All I have is my notepad and this green stone I found.” I showed her both.

            “That’s the tag!” she exclaimed, pointing to the stone. “That’s the tag that my people use to keep track of those who come by my land.”

            “Your land?” I asked. “So, you’re the queen?” If she was the queen, then my visions of munchkins had surely become reality. In her little way, she did seem quite queenly. Her posture, her outfit, and the way she conducted herself just screamed “royalty.” But at the same time, she carried on like an excitable kid.

“My mother is the queen,” she told me. “I am the princess, and my name is Apple Blossom.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said. Since she was a princess, I attempted a curtsy. It was likely dopey and awkward looking, but she didn’t seem to mind. “I’m Aidyn,” I told her.

“Hello, Aidyn!” She walked over to me and held out her hand. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to shake it or, as is often the case with princesses, kiss it. But I opted for the shake, because kissing it seemed too weird.

“Today’s my birthday,” she said, “and I’ve always wanted to meet a real, live human and invite one to my birthday party. Then I could introduce it to my friends and family and all of the others at my palace. But I could never find a human. They always misplace or lose their tag.” So she wasn’t human, but I guess I could’ve figured that out. It felt incredibly strange to be called “it” and to be invited to a birthday party for a little girl—a little princess—I had only just met. But if anything made for excellent material, it was this! So I said to Apple Blossom, “I would be delighted to come to your birthday party. But I have a few questions for you, if you don’t mind. You can answer them while we walk.”

“I don’t mind that at all!” said Apple Blossom. She held out her hand, which I took, and we continued walking down the path. I had quite a bit more than “a few” questions, and she had quite a bit more than “a few” answers. For the sake of convenience, I will write the ones I felt were most important in a handy Q&A format:

Q&A WITH PRINCESS APPLE BLOSSOM

Q: So you aren’t human. What are you, then?

A: I am a Jadeite. We are forest dwellers descended from the tree elves, which were descended from the dryads and the ancient forest elves. We live in small, scattered, and secluded places in cedar and oak forests, though our ancestors ruled the forest in the way you humans rule the rest of the world.

(For such a little girl, she can sure talk big. I suppose it’s all part of being a princess.)

Q: So what kind of importance do jade stones hold to you?

A: Jade stones contain the essences of the forest around us, and allow us to better communicate with and form a bond to our environment. We are called the Jadeites because the years have allowed us to strengthen our abilities to harness the forest energies through the jades; we are really no different from the old tree elves otherwise, except that we prefer the ground to the trees.

Q: So could the tree elves harness these “jade forest essences” too?

A. They are the ones who discovered the essences of jades. Before them, forest dwellers thought that emeralds contained the essences of the forests. This is true in small amounts, but jades contain much larger and more powerful forest essences. After they discovered this, the tree elves began to abandon emeralds in favor of jades. By the time of the first Jadeites, emeralds had been nearly completely abandoned. So yes, tree elves could harness the essences of jades, but it was a very newly discovered thing in their time.

(By now I had taken out my notepad and was ferociously writing down everything I could catch. If Apple Blossom minded this, she didn’t show it. But this whole thing about elves and princesses and “forest essences” was a story just waiting to happen.)

Q: What does the jade “tag” do, and what’s carved on the back of it?

A: For our peace of mind, we like to keep track of the humans that come by our land. When a human comes by, a tagger is sent out to place a tag on them. The tag provides a link between us and the human, and allows us to observe the human’s ways. Most lose or throw away their tag, many remove the tags on the spot, and some return only to throw the tag back. It is rare that anybody returns with their tag in hand. The tag is inscribed with your number.

(I showed her my tag and asked what number was carved on it. She said I was number five. Four other people had come by here at some point.)

Q: Did the other four make it in?

A: Only one of them returned, and he did not make it past the Grand Elder Guardian.

Q: Why did the Grand Elder Guardian let me in, especially since I apparently “disobeyed” him?

A: He was not planning to. He and the other guardians didn’t like that you disobeyed him by trying to bypass his web! The only reason he did let you in is because I respectfully requested it of him, and since it is my birthday he was willing to grant the request.

Q: Because you wanted to play with a “real, live human?”

A: Yes!

Well, I’ve always wanted to meet a real live fairy, elf, pixie, or nymph because I’ve always wanted to write about fairies, elves, pixies, and nymphs. I couldn’t very accurately write about them without meeting one first. Now I finally have my chance, and I don’t even need to come up with the story. The story began to tell itself the moment I met little Jadeite Princess Apple Blossom—though really, it started the moment I was “tagged."

It sucks that I don’t have much more time to journal today. I still have so much more to say about this day. But I guess I’ll have to save it all for tomorrow. I’ll dedicate my entire morning to writing about it.