Archive of Our Own

Lily Eyre was widely regarded as a natural airhead. Her inattentiveness was legendary, often making her forget her chores and homework. Her poor parents tried everything they could to organise her, but alas, Lily was a host unto herself. But she did have one thing to her advantage; she could see things that no one else could.

Perhaps, dear reader, you may pause here. After all, ‘seeing things’ is hardly thought of as advantageous. But in Lily’s case, it led her to realms no adult eye had ever seen.

Her parents objected non-stop to her wanderings, imploring her to focus on her homework. They may as well have tried to stop the tide from coming in. Lily’s heart was as set on fancy as her head was fickle. If there were a path in the woods she had not followed or a hidey hole in their garden, untouched by human occupants, she would find it.

At the foot of the garden path there was a gate set under a wisteria covered trellis; a magical portal leading to what Lily called the Wild Lands. Beyond it lay the realm of adventure. A spiralling wilderness of danger and death, where only the bravest dared to to tread!

To local ordinance survey maps, it was known as ‘Pear Tree Woods’.

When Lily walked the Wild Lands, it was like her daily worries melted away. Marks and teachers vanished, leaving her to sing with the birds, dance with the butterflies, and disappear up trees so tall they blotted the sun.

The secret portal was sadly not invisible to grown ups. Lily’s parents could not only see it, but pass through it after her. So it often was that her mother would follow her and call her back, prompting Lily to hide in one of her many dens. Unfortunately her mother was far too cunning for this gambit and would threaten to ‘brick up’ the portal if Lily refused to ‘come home this instant’. It always worked.

‘What are you looking at?’ Mrs Eyre asked one evening in a tired tone.

Lily snapped back into the real world, then smiled. ‘The fairy lights.’

Mrs Eyre looked out to the garden, only to sigh in frustration. ‘Lily, there are no lights.’

‘But there are!’ Lily leapt to her feet in excitement. ‘Right by the portal! Can’t you see them?’

‘Enough!’ Mrs Eyre was on her feet, her hands fastened tightly to her hips. ‘You’re distracting yourself again! Come and do your homework this instant!’

Lily relented, but not in spirit. Every chance she got, she looked back to where the lights were dancing; magical, inviting. How could her mother not see them? They were plainly there.

Her eyes glazed as she drifted. Away from home, away from herself. Lily was swept through distant realms, over rivers and hills, past ancient castles with crumbling walls, until at last she saw it. A palace in the heavens, carved from the roots of trees growing from the clouds. Lakes and fountains bubbled around – a whole island in the sky. And there, in the widest window on the tallest turret, was the king. A tall, slender figure in green and silver, waving back at her from his balcony.

‘LILY!’

Lily was yanked back to the sitting room in surprise by her mother’s voice. She was still on her first maths problem.

Journeying through the portal the next morning made her feel like everything had washed away. Lily still had to finish her arithmetic, but with the whole weekend ahead of her, was able to set it aside for now and focus on more important things.¹

The sound of her mother’s voice made her freeze. She was unsure whether she was being called back or not, but did not want to risk it; she broke into a run.

Glee filled her heart as she felt the pine needles whip her face. Here she was free. Here she was herself. No one told her to ‘focus’ or ‘shape up’; the Wilds did not care about homework or timetables.

Colour radiated from the wild flowers, lighting her way. She could taste the leaves and hear the trees. Every sound was a melody, singing of the life around her. The Wild Lands were alive – everywhere was. If only her parents could learn to see that. Lily came to a halt, tasting the sun through the clouds.

‘Well hello there, young lady.’

A voice came from the violet patches beside her. A boy, slender and silver haired rested against the petals.

‘Hello!’ Lily replied merrily. ‘How are you today?’

‘Never better!’ The boy jumped up, letting his wings carry him into the air.

‘You’re a fairy!?’ Lily’s eyes were wide with wonder.

‘Of course not!’ The boy replied, most indignantly. ‘That would be ridiculous! I’m the King of the fairies!’

This was beyond Lily, who had never been in the presence of royalty before. Now that she could see him up close, she realised she recognised him from the castle in the sky.

The fairy king was ecstatic to see her reaction. He leaned in.

‘And what brings you to my humble domain, hmm?’

‘Exploring!’ Lily found herself at last.

‘A curious thing, aren’t you?’ The king replied. ‘That’s good.’

‘Good?’ Lily was confused. No one had ever described her adventures as good before.

‘There’s nothing worse than a human who doesn’t ask questions. Except for one without an imagination.’

Lily considered this for some time. ‘Why are you down here, your majesty? Isn’t your kingdom in the sky?’

‘How right you are!’ The fairy king circled her. ‘A king is not bound to his own domain. He goes where he wishes.’

‘Oh!’ Lily tried to think back. ‘But then why haven’t I seen you in the Wild Lands before?’

‘A king doesn’t always venture out. Such things are hardly needed when he has everything he needs in his own domain. But as it happens, I no longer have everything. I’m looking for the princess of my realm. She wandered off some time ago and no one’s seen her since. You wouldn’t happen to have seen her, would you?’

Lily shook her head.

The fairy king shrugged energetically. ‘Oh well. Perhaps you can help.’

‘Me!?’ Lily took a few steps back. ‘Um… How could I help?’

‘My dear, don’t pretend you don’t know.’ The fairy smiled ‘I know a half fairy when I see one.’

He motioned towards her, as if this were the most obvious thing ever. Lily stared back in amazement.

‘I’m half a fairy!?’

‘Of course you are! Well, maybe not half a fairy, in the literal sense, but there’s definitely a good amount of fay blood somewhere in your family tree! And I’d say recently by your aura! Don’t tell me you never noticed? How many humans can see the world the way you do?’

Lily clasped her hands and looked down at her feet. She had always known she was different, but never suspected a fay lineage could be the cause.

The fairy king fixed her with a wild smile. ‘Well no matter. Lead on, dearest.’

Lily bit her lip in shock. ‘But how do I know where to look?’

‘Well where do your senses tell you to go?’

Lily thought of each of her favourite haunts. It was difficult to decide which one was most likely to host a fairy princess. Then an image came to her; a sunlit flower patch, full of mushrooms and toadstools.

‘I think I know!’ She announced.

‘Lead the way!’ The king said with a smile.

They walked through trees and bushes, patches of flowers, across streams and gullies, until they found themselves in the spot that Lily had pictured. The sound of water echoes nearby and the scent of the earth was thick in the air. But the mushrooms were far bigger than she recalled. The closest one practically touched her chest!

Butterflies fluttered into the air, disturbed by the intruders. Lily wondered if one of them could be the fairy princess, but the king seemed uninterested.

‘So this is the place?’ He said, surveying the scene.

Lily nodded. ‘I come here all the time and hide in the toadstools. No one ever finds me here…’

‘I can see why.’ The king climbed higher, giving himself a better view of the clearing.

‘Do you see her?’ Lily asked excitedly.

A smile crept across the king’s lips. ‘Why do you hide what you are?’

Lily perked in surprise, ‘Hide?’

‘Almost every day. In this spot.’ He motioned to a particularly dense flower patch. ‘What is it that you’re afraid of?’

Immediately Lily backed away, equally confused and uncomfortable with the question. She hit the stem of a mushroom and peered up. Its head covered her completely. Her heart was overwhelmed, torn between more emotions than she could name.

The king just smiled. ‘There are no princesses here. We’ll just have to try somewhere else.’

He drifted off, leaving Lily blinking under the mushroom. For fear of being left behind, she picked herself up and clambered after him.

‘Uh… Where do we go next?’

‘I was hoping you could tell me, sweet.’

Lily thought again, but all she could picture was the fay castle in the sky.

‘The aspen tree’s sweet. The one by my house. Maybe its dryad could be the princess? Or tell us where she is?’

‘Is that so?’ The kind brushed his chin. ‘Well then, you’d best introduce us.’

Lily nodded, the colour returning to her cheeks. The aspen grew alone, just beyond the garden fence. She was the first thing Lily past when venturing out into the Wild Lands and carried herself as one between the worlds must.

As they walked, the king made conversation.

‘You certainly know these lands well! I was right to enlist you!’

Lily blushed. ‘Mum thinks I spend too much time out here… I guess exploring’s all I’m good at…’

‘Nonsense!’ The king exclaimed. ‘You should never listen to what grown ups tell you. Responsibility’s overrated.’

Lily looked back at him blankly. ‘But what do I do if I can’t learn to focus? Mum always says I won’t grow up to be anything if I don’t shape up…’

‘Why, that’s ever so simple.’ The fay king grinned. ‘Just don’t grow up.’

Lily closed her eyes tightly, baffled by his simple logic. What was she supposed to make of this? Her mother would have called it nonsense, but she wanted to believe him.

They reached the aspen just as twilight set in. The sun’s rays spread through the branches, scattering on the floor in orange droplets.

Lily stepped towards it, only for a cry to pull her back.

‘There you are! I’ve been calling and calling! Where have you been?’

Lily flinched. The expression in her mother’s eyes made her hang her head. She began tracing circles in the ground with her foot.

‘Come on, it’s time for dinner! And don’t give me that look!’

‘But Mum! I have to find the fairy king’s princess!’

‘You what?’ Her mother gave her a tired look.

‘The fairy king!’ Lily repeated. ‘He told me his princess ran away and he needs my help finding her!’

Her mother froze, eyes suddenly full of panic. ‘Is this “fairy king” still here?’

Lily looked around. There was no sign of the fay anywhere.

‘Listen to me.’ Her mother crouched, grabbing both of Lily’s shoulders and yanking her close. ‘I don’t want you hanging around with any men you meet in these woods, fairy or whatever else they claim to be! If one appears, you’re to run back to the house immediately! Do you hear me? Do you hear me!?’

‘But why?’ The disappointment hit Lily like a brick. Her mother’s grip was hurting her.

‘Because I told you so!’

Lily winced. Seeing her face made her mother soften slightly.

‘Look. Strange men trying to get to know you are never up to anything good. Tell me if one ever comes near you. And always run if they offer to take you anywhere.’

Lily stared, unsure of what to make of this advice. Her mother’s tone frightened her almost as much as the fear of punishment for disobeying.

From that night on, Lily was barred from playing in the Wild Lands. Her mother locked the gate and told her she was not to venture fourth again.

Lily was beyond hurt. What had she done to deserve this treatment? Her mother refused to say, simply warning that it was too dangerous.

Lily fled to her room in tears, not daring to disobey. She buried her face in her pillow, clutching her teddy bear tightly. Nothing she did was ever good enough. She was trying, she really was. It was just so hard to organise her hazy head. But her mother still insisted she had to be better. When she looked up, she could see the portal through her window – the fairy lights dancing beyond – but could do nothing to reach them. Why was she always punished for things that weren’t her fault?

Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw the Fairy King standing over her.

Lily wiped her eyes, straightening to appear more presentable.

‘Why are you crying?’

Lily looked down, not wanting to answer. The king waited patiently before speaking again.

‘Well, never mind, sweet. How would you like to visit my castle in the clouds?’

Lily’s face lit up. ‘Can I!? But… Mum says I shouldn’t go with you…’

‘Did she now?’ The Fay King scratched his chin. ‘Well, my dear, what did I tell you about listening to grown ups?’

‘But…’ Lily looked down in hesitation. ‘She’s my Mum…’

‘And that’s all the more reason to ignore her! Does she ever listen to you?’

‘Well… no…’

‘Well then!’ He motioned to his left. A real portal opened to a mystical realm. Lily had seen it before. She had travelled its halls and looked out from the branches of the battlements.

‘You recognise it’ the Fairy King smiled, ‘because it’s your home. Welcome back, my daughter.’

He held out his hand. Lily hesitated, then took it. She remembered her fay life, her real childhood. Everything she had left behind when she was born. She had chosen to incarnate, just to see what life as a human was like. Memories of watching them from her window and wanting to play raced back to her.

Before going through, she held herself steady, taking a look around her mortal bedroom.

‘Will I ever be able to come back?’

The Fairy King smiled. ‘That’s entirely up to you.’

Lily’s thoughts rattled round; her fairy and human minds at war. Part of her wanted to run away forever, but she knew it would make her mother sad. Fear and regret gnawed at her, threatening to drag her back to her cage. But as she stood in the portal’s presence, a wave of reassurance came over her. Her hazy head no longer felt like a mess to be improved. All of her quirks and idiosyncrasies were a part of who she was and made her special. A human child with fay blood was to be celebrated, not mocked. No wonder human society told her she was wrong.

Her face lit up brightly. Lily approached the light, stopping only once to turn and wave at the house she had spent the last nine years living in. And, with no further hesitation, took her first step through the portal to the land beyond.

The End