Tipsy Moon

Oh yeah, I need to look for Ashlyn… Where did that banshee disappear to?!

I glanced around the meadow, but still didn't see her sparkling long silver hair. But I noticed a dark figure that I hadn't seen before. A tall young man with a beautiful profile, my age by the look of it (well, not exactly my age of course… I don't know how old I am myself… you can never tell how old a fairy is by looking at them, but by human standards he looked about thirty). He was wearing clothes made of expensive fabrics, in which a bright red velvet vest stood out.

As if he sensed my piercing gaze, he pushed back his unruly long black hair and turned to face me. Oh! And the red vest perfectly matched his red eyes… Damn it! It’s a vampire! A rare guest in our lands though… I’ve met them three times at most in the last two hundred years, and then only briefly. And in all of Erin there were no more than twenty of them (if you trust Abcan’s stories, of course… but this dwarf had an iron reputation, so I was tended to believe him).

I didn’t get a chance to examine the rarity because the dancing had begun. Never mind, the night is long, the moon is bright, we’ll have time for everything. But for now – let’s go have fun!

* * *

A trio of dwarves set the rhythm with a cheerful reel on a violin, bodhran and flute. To their sounds, all the visitors to the clearing began to dance, jumping and spinning with each other in turn. One of the musicians began to sing in this cheerful rhythm:

Oh, full moon, pour your light upon the Fairies' Meadow.

My bodhran is banging hard the rhythm of our souls.

Drive away from our lands all the darkest shadows.

Celebrate, the young and old, when sacred Samhain calls!

Wow… What a celebration indeed! My head was already dizzy… In order to avoid a dangerous collision with other participants in this chaotic action, I stepped aside a little to catch my breath. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed tables with refreshments and drinks, among which a red cap with a feather flashed. Merrow! I hope it's Eavain… I ran up to the tables and to familiar cap.

"Eavain! Is that you?!" – I called out to the merrow joyfully. She jumped slightly in surprise and turned to face me.

"Eithne!" – seeing me, her frightened face softened and broke into a warm smile. – "Happy Samhain!"

Eavain ran up to me and hugged me tightly.

"Happy Samhain to you too, my dear!" – I happily hugged her back. – "May the new year bring peace to the lands of Erin and send invaders back home!"

"You couldn't say it better! So be it!" – Eavain raised her hands to the sky in prayer to the gods, and a second later grabbed my hands, which now made me jump too. – "Eithne! Where have you been?! I haven't seen you for over a week! I'm starting to worry…"

I love Eavain very much. She is an incredibly beautiful, gentle creature. My mind is always at peace and my soul is happy when I'm with her. For me, she was the embodiment of all the tenderness of the world, love and compassion. Even the dress she was wearing today was incredibly delicate and airy, peach shaded with flowing sleeves and a belt embroidered with precious stones and shells. There was also a beautiful sparkling shell brooch on her cap. Of course, I can't say that the red cap went well with the dress, but without this attribute, the merrow would not be here now. But thanks to it you definitely won't lose this beauty in the crowd.

"I'm so sorry! I was terribly busy", – I answered with a guilty face. – "As you can see, this year full moon falls on Samhain. Half of the attendants of this event will go to my pub after the dance to continue having fun until dawn! I needed time to prepare enough ale and treats. And make a couple of hangover potions… I'm sure someone will definitely need them in the morning".

After a small pause, we both laughed. Ballads about gatherings in my pub fly far beyond the borders of our forest. Even to the depths of the sea.

"By the way!" – I remembered. – "That last type of fish that I got from you, when dried turned out to be just perfect for ale! Tomorrow evening I will come to you to get some more. The more the better! Can you get some?"

Eavain was not only my friend, but also my main seafood supplier. For myself, I always took various shellfish, and dried fish always went well with ale.

"Of course!" – merrow answered happily. – "This fish is easy to catch, although it goes far from the shore… I think I'll have time to get enough for two baskets by tomorrow evening".

"Excellent! I'll take everything! What do you want for it?"

The price was always different, depending on what Eavain needed at the moment. Sometimes something from the forest (berries or mushrooms), medicine or potions that I made from herbs, or my ale of course.

"This time I will have a very unusual request…" – Eavain whispered modestly, lowering her eyes.

It was a bit dark, but I swear I noticed how her cheeks turned red! As soon as I opened my mouth to find out all the secrets from this modest girl, someone grabbed me by the shoulder.

"Hey, mistress!" – jumping up in surprise, I turned around and stared at a happy face with reddened swollen eyes. Aha… So, she was howling somewhere after all…

"Finally! Where have you been?!" – I exclaimed and turned back to the merrow. "Eavain, I'll come tomorrow, and you'll tell me everything! Deal?"

"Sure! I'll meet you tomorrow at sunset at our usual place then. I won't disturb you anymore! I'll go back to dancing".

Having said goodbye to Eavain, I took two mugs of ale from the nearest table and turned to Ashlyn, handing her one.

"Well? Tell me!" – I said this with such indignation that the banshee almost spilled her drink. – "Where have you been? Because of you, I was late for the ceremony!"

"Sorry", – even knowing well that it was not her fault, Ashlyn still apologized, because she deeply respected me. After all, I was not only her friend, but also her employer: this constantly disappearing banshee was my right hand and helped me run my pub. – "I was already halfway to the "Tipsy Moon" when I heard the Call. I didn't even have time to warn you that I might not make it in time…"

Ashlyn's face with those swollen red eyes looked simply heartbreaking.

"Ashlyn, my dear, I'm not angry at all. Don't be so sad. It's your duty, what can you do. Your eyes are completely swollen already… Don't be sad even more…" – I stroked her silver hair in a silent "everything will be fine", and she finally smiled.

"Tell me", – I continued in a softer tone. – "Who is it this time? Someone from Ardara villagers again?"

"Yes, from there again. Already the third one this week. He has two days left… The English are strangling them with unbearable taxes, and their harvest this year is very poor. Barely enough for food. There is nothing to trade. There is nothing to pay the rent. Someone decides to commit suicide. Someone dies of famine. It's sad to see… They are Erin's children too. But we can't interfere with their world. At least I can warn them of their upcoming loss", – Ashlyn took a deep breath and shook her head, driving away sad thoughts. – "It's not right for us to be sad on the holy night of Samhain!"

Still with a trace of sadness, she finally smiled.

"You are right, colleague!" – smiling, I hugged her tightly. – "We have no time for sadness today, for a hot night with a tipsy smell awaits us!"

"Oh! That's true!" – the banshee laughed, already anticipating rivers of ale and dancing on barrels.

Suddenly a shadow ran across her face, the smile and enthusiasm were replaced by thoughtfulness and anxiety.

"Eithne…" – she turned to me, but her gaze was looking somewhere to the right of me into the distance. I turned in the direction of her gaze.

"Mmm?" – and saw that she was looking at the main guest of the night – the vampire.

"Have you noticed who our guest is tonight?" – the banshee asked anxiously.

"If you mean the handsome vampire, then yes. I managed to get a good look at him. But I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet".

"I hope there won't be a chance…" – Ashlyn muttered.

"Why?" – my eyebrow went up. Maybe he's not her type? I wonder what kind of taste the banshee has. I've never seen her flirting with anyone though …

"The appearance of a vampire is always a bad omen… It is always better to stay away from them".

There was something in her words that sent shivers down my spine. A banshee would know a thing or two about omens. Perhaps I should have listened to her, even though there was something so alluring about this vampire. Maybe it was just my natural curiosity…

We gazed at him for a couple more minutes and, having made sure that no danger emanated from him at the moment, finished our ale and returned to dancing.

* * *