The Gypsies and The Other Realm-Chapter 6

An Unexpected Encounter With Sprites

Selena and Jupiter, flew towards the lake, in hopes of foraging some food, and perhaps finding some of her fairy friends. When she arrived at the lake, she saw the gypsy hunters hanging their trophies from the branches of trees. There were deer, pheasants, squirrels, ducks, and rabbits. She and Jupiter, landed on the branch of the tree, and studied them while they worked for a short while. She did not feel comfortable this close, to the hunters and so she and Jupiter, decided to go explore the lake.

There was this small waterfall that spilled from the river into the lake, and she thought that might be a good place to look for some food. She approached, the waterfall, with apprehension, lest she and Jupiter, might have an encounter, with an undesirable, elemental from the other realm. Selena and Jupiter, were capable of invisibility, so when they saw the nymphs, at the bottom of the waterfall, bathing and singing, they settled on a large boulder next to them and disappeared into thin air. The nymphs were like diminutive humans, their bodies, were naked, and an ethereal glow like fire, with wings. Selena had heard about the nymphs, but she had never actually seen one. They were a happy bunch, laughing, splashing in the water, dancing, and singing.

Selena couldn’t help, herself, she wanted to talk to them, get to know them. She started speaking, and they all huddled together in fear. She realized, she and Jupiter, we’re still invisible to them, and apologized, as she and Jupiter took their mortal form. The nymphs, watched astounded, as the two magically appeared, on a large boulder, just above them. Selena tried her introduction again. She said,” hello, there, my name is Selena, I am an elemental pixie faerie and this is my pony, Jupiter. I’m sorry I did not mean to frighten you, it is so nice to meet you, I hope we can be friends.”

Upon hearing this, at once, the little group of nymphs, flew up to her and Jupiter, on the boulder and the group made a circle around them. One of them said,” hello there, we mean no harm to you, we are a tribe of ,"Lake Sprites," and we are the guardians of this section of the river and the lake. My name is Aribella, and this is, Cerylia, Chrystalle, Emerenta, Felicitae, and Naida.

All of," the sprites", flew away as Selena, and, Aribella visited. Soon," the sprites," returned with a feast of berries, seeds, and nectar. They also, brought back a variety of grains and grasses for Jupiter. Sprites, are especially fond of fireflies, and after the meal the group of. "sprites". spread out their tiny wings, and soared up above the, waterfall. They flitted in and out and around and about, darting like fireflies, and they sang joyful music for Selena and Jupiter. At some point during their performance, real fireflies, began to swoon in and join in the merriment.

Suddenly, their celebration was interrupted by a loud rattling sound coming from upriver and a deep raspy spooky laugh. The intruder was drawing nearer to the little group and warned them of his intentions.” When I find you I will capture you little beasts,” presumably that meant," the sprites." "The sprites," became frightened at the rantings of the, "Shelly Coat," and flew into a small cavern under the waterfall, that was their home. Selena, and Jupiter flew into a tall tree and peered out from behind some leaves, at the, "Shelly Coat." It was an ugly, smelly, creature, full of moss and shells. "The Shelly Coat," reached the rivers end and quietly looked around at the top of the waterfall for a bit, before turning back the way it came, from up the river. Selena, had never been this close to a, "Shelly Coat," before, she had heard that they were like," the Bogeyman", meant to scare, and harass, but mostly harmless.

Selena whistled an all clear to the sprites, when the, "Shelly Coat", was out of sight. She said her farewells for the evening to her new found friends, and then she and Jupiter darted across the lake to find her gypsy friends.

The moon was full, and the night sky twinkled with light. The lake was calm, and glistened in the moonlight. Selena concocted a list of items in her mind, that the gypsy girls, might be able to find around the lake, to build a nice fairy hut, and Jupiter a nice stable.

Selena, arrived at the gypsy camp, just as the girls were loading the caravan with the clean supper dishes they had just washed in the lake. Selena and Jupiter, landed on the porch rail, next to Livia, and asked her, if she and Jupiter, had missed anything? Livia, crossed her arms across her chest and squinted her eyes at Selena, then grumbled,” yeah, we could have used some of that magic you got, to do the supper chores,” then she smiled at Selena, teasingly. Mariska, and Violet, ducked through the caravan door and stepped out onto the porch. Mariska, asked Livia, “who are you talking to?"…”then she noticed, Selena and Jupiter on the porch rail.

Selena, asked, the gypsy girls, ”is everyone ready to go on a fairy hut, scavenger hunt, down by the lake?” She then, ticked off a list of items, they might find, that they would need: dirt, water, 3 inch sticks, or twigs that could be easily snapped to size, leaves, twine, flowers, rocks, and moss. Mariska, retrieved a burlap bag and clay jug, to put the items in, from the supply wagon, then they all walked single file, on a dark narrow cows path, through the woods, heading down towards the lake, with Selena and Jupiter, in the lead.

The moon and the stars cast rays of light through the trees, so that they were able to see where they were walking, and Selena and Jupiter, were their little beacon of light to follow down the path.

An owl hooted at them, and some small birds scolded them as they walked through the trees, picking up twigs, twine, bark and leaves. The girls were a little startled by some mice scurrying by, at their feet, causing them to jump and scream, a little, then run. Selena, giggled at their ridiculousness.

When they arrived at the lake they were able to find the dirt, rocks, and moss they needed. They also found a nice piece of broken driftwood that had a large enough groove in it to pack in the dirt deep enough to hold the twigs upright, for the frame of their faerie hut. Selena, was quite pleased, with their bounty. She realized they too, had formulated an architectural plan.

Before heading back to camp, they all, sat by the lake to rest near some dainty flowers and uprooted a few to add to the faerie hut for decoration. Selena, smiled at the girls and told them they," were getting a moon tan.”

Much to, Selena’s, surprise the tribe of," Sprites", appeared. They flitted about the gypsy girls, playfully, singing and dancing in the air, occasionally floating down to touch a cheek or flip a wisp of their hair. The gypsy girls were in absolute awe of these enchanting, miniscule creatures, at first they thought that they were being invaded by insects, but upon closer inspection, saw that they resembled humans. Selena introduced each of the," Sprites", by name, explaining to the gypsy girls that," Sprites", cannot speak the human language, only creatures from the other realm can speak to one another. Each of the," Sprites", flew up to each of the girls, Selena and then Jupiter, and gently kissed them on their foreheads, before flitting away back to wherever it was they came from.

Viktoria, met the girls walking, back to camp on the path from the lake. Selena saw that she seemed a little worried, from her vantage point in the tree. The girls had neglected to let her know that they were going to the lake. Viktoria, had put Rudolpho and Robin to bed with a bedtime story in the caravan, and when the girls had not returned, she decided to go looking for them. Viktoria, asked Mariska,” what is in the burlap bag?” Mariska, replied, “supplies…uh… to build a fairy hut to entertain the twins, while ummm... we are traveling.” Viktoria, smiled then, and asked them the next time to let her know where they were going before traipsing off into the woods after dark. Viktoria, told Violet she would escort her back to her family vardo, as she knew that her mother was probably beginning to wonder where she had taken off to. The girls, then, stashed the burlap bag and clay jar, in the caravan, and said goodnight, to Selena, and Jupiter, before going to bed.