I ran, and the headwind carried away my tears of happiness… Happiness and gratitude to this forest and its herbs that made my ale so magically delicious. And tonight it will flow like a river! Even the noble fairies will visit my pub today. I want to see them madly! Such an honor falls only once a year on the night of Samhain, when the border between the worlds is erased.
I wonder who will be at the Meadow today? Abcan promised to write a song about my pub… I should remind him… He probably forgot. I think the chief bard of the Tuatha De Danann has enough topics for songs without my modest brewery…
"Eithne! Where have you disappeared to?!" – a ringing voice in my left ear pulled me out of my thoughts. – "Everyone has already gathered. The ceremony is about to begin!"
A little elf, who lived not far from me in the crown of an ancient ash tree, fluttered next to me.
"Kitty! And why aren't you there yet?" – I asked, frowning. Maybe something happened…
"I just came from there. I flew to look for you. I thought maybe something happened".
Wow! The neighbors' thoughts coincide! I glanced at Kitty's worried freckled face and smiled.
"Everything is fine. Thank you for your concern, dear. I was just waiting for Ashlyn. We agreed to go to the Meadow together. But she never came… By the way, is she not there?"
"I haven't seen her", – Kitty answered thoughtfully. – "But Clíodhna is there. Let's find out from her?"
My eyebrow flew up.
"Yeah, right, I'll ask the queen of all banshees: Can you tell me, your honor, where the hell your subordinate is hanging out?!" – I answered with a dull face.
Kitty's ringing laughter seemed to spread throughout the entire forest. Like hundreds of little bells falling on the leaves of the trees.
To be honest, this thought didn't make me smile much… I was worried about Ashlyn. I hoped she was just howling on someone's roof in Ardara, foreshadowing another death. No, of course I didn't wish death on the inhabitants of the coastal village. That's just the way things are in the world of fairies. Everyone has their own purpose. I wonder what mine is. Not to serve ale to everyone of course…
Thinking about the sublime, I didn't even notice how I reached the Meadow, and Kitty had long since flown ahead. It's good that the forest helped me not to stumble over every snag and not get a bunch of slaps from branches, otherwise I could have forgotten about dancing! Of course, I could have used the portal, but on sacred Samhain I just wanted to run through the forest and breathe in the magic of this night…