It's getting dark already, but I know the way. In fact I'm benefiting from my occasional nightly strolls now. It helps too, that I'm not the only one on their way to the old fair ground. Others are heading in the same direction. Some alone. Others in small groups. All are dressed up for the occasion though. None can really compare to me and my enchanted outfit though. As a result I'm drawing more than a few looks and even some stares. I'm starting to feel a little self conscious because of it.

  Good gods and goddesses. What am I even thinking? This is well beyond anything I have ever done. Should I … no, there is no turning back! I can't chicken out now! Try as I might to firm my resolve, I can't keep my nerves from fluttering. The best I can do, is to act as if I had no care.

  That I know some of people heading the same way as me doesn't exactly help either. Maybe it should though? There is the trio of Rafal, Feliks and Lotar. They are hard to miss, especially as others are drawn to them at times due to Rafal playing his lute.

  I think I can see Tamara and Odolan too. It's curious that Szmuel isn't tagging along with them. Or maybe it's only natural. By the looks of it the young dwarven woman wants some time alone with her human comrade in arms. The young catfolk adventurer will probably be around too, except he'll be on his own or with someone else.

  And those are only the ones easiest to spot among those I can see. There will probably already be more at the fair ground and even more might arrive later. And even that doesn't account for the people from other nearby villages that share the fair ground with Clear Brook. It'll be a lively night. I have little doubt about that.

  A moment later, already well beyond halfway to my destination I spot someone else. Danuta the witch. Of course she is attending too. And other than the bard she might be just about the only other person so far drawing as much attention, or at least almost as much, as I. The way her new dress shows off her curvaceous figure might have something to do with that. It might not be heavily enchanted like mine, but the way it pronounces her charms seems like some kind of magic all on its own.

  She has noticed me too, of that I'm certain, but we don't get a chance to exchange any words.

  My eyes widen as I take note of the changes washing over the meadows and groves. Like the last time they are subtle at first. The grass seems greener, the foliage of the trees a little more lush. The smells of the plants all around become a little more intense too. It is the smell of spring that tickles my nose.

  It doesn't end there though. Out of the corner of my eyes I can almost see motion among the trees. Some of that motion resolves into figures I can actually discern. Mostly pixies, but a few other fey as well. All, or at least the ones I can see clearly, seem to be dressed up for the occasion. Then my breath catches in my throat, as a voice like a hundred delicate silver bells calls out to me.

  “You came, Valeria of Iwona's blood. Thank you.”

  And just like that he is there. Again I can barely glimpse his true form when I don't look directly at him. I close my eyes for a moment to ward off the building headache. When I open them again I try not to look too closely at what is not quite there. I focus on other sensations instead. Sensations like the smooth skin of his hand as he takes mine and his breath, that is a little like a pleasant spring breeze, on my skin as he breathes a fleeting kiss on the back of my hand. My heart speeds up. When he is this close. his sweet floral fragrance is almost too much for me.

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  Finally, after a brief moment that feels like an eternity anyway, I find words again.

  “Of course I came. I promised.”

  He chuckles. His laugh once again sounding like pleasant silver bells.

  “Indeed. Not all people keep their promises though. Thus I'm all the more glad to see you today. And you dressed up too. I know the dress, but the rest is new. Made with so much love and care too. I'm impressed.”

  It may sound silly, but the praise is enough to make my heart flutter. Sure, I'm not the only one who deserves praise. Urszula's father made my sandals after all and the floral wreath is Elzbieta's work, all the love and care that went into it are hers, but the enchantments on both are mine. It's not entirely wrong that I take some pride in my contribution, right?

  As he leads me along the path to the fair ground, other fey, barely visible most of the time, flitting through the woods all around us, he speaks up again. His voice is soft and soothing.

  “You promised me one dance, but maybe I can coax another out of you.”

  With him so close it's hard to keep thinking straight. The way his voice lulls me in isn't helping either. Is he trying to change the deal we struck? Well, he is only suggesting it as an option so far. As long as the choice remains mine in the end I don't mind. Still I'm a little worried.

  “We shouldn't make the summer queen jealous though.”

  He doesn't protest this time around. Instead he just nods.

  “We really shouldn't. It might make for a really unpleasant summer otherwise. Unbearably hot like her anger. No, let's try to coax the best out of her instead!”

  A shiver runs down my spine, but I don't object either. I can really only hope that this will work out well in the end. I, instead, decide to go with the flow.

  “You have a plan?”

  The fey prince doesn't answer right away. Instead he twirls me around just as we reach the fair ground, the fair ground that is very different from what I remember. Of course it's different! It's not just a handful of people here this time around after all. No, the place is incredibly lively.

  There are people all around the edge of the large clearing, clustering together in groups small and large. It's not just people from Clear Brook either. No, there are many faces I can't even begin to recognize. And, of course, the arrival of a fey prince has gone neither unannounced nor unnoticed.

  There countless fey intermingling with us mortals. Pixies, dozens, no hundreds of them, are already fluttering about overhead in an intricate dance. Thankfully none seem to be of the corrupted kind I have had the misfortune of meeting not too long ago.

  These lively, little creatures aren't the only ones either. Not by far. There are dryads walking among the groups closest to the forest's edge. Good gods and goddesses, I have never heard of so many of them coming together in any one place!

  My eyes are wide in wonder. Then something else catches my attention. There are Sylphs too, some are dancing among the smaller pixies in the sky above. Others mingle with the mortals that have come to celebrate the midsummer night.

  And, of course there is the bonfire at the clearing's center. The very heart of this festival. That is where most of the fair folk gather to dance. And they do not just dance around the fire like the few mortals who dare to get this close to the being that dances in the fire itself. There she is, the queen of summer, wreathed in flames, wearing them like the finest cloth and the dancing embers of the fire like glowing jewelry.

  And as I lay eyes on her, her form shifts subtly, to mirror the figurine of the sun mother I carved recently, even if just a little bit. My breath catches as I behold her and her fiery gaze in turn touches me and the fey prince at my side.

  The fey prince seems not nearly as heavily affected as me. He buys me a moment to compose myself by interjecting himself in between me and the queen of summer, briefly obscuring her from view. His own smile is barely any better though. It makes my heart flutter anew.

  “Well, my dear, shall we dance?”