Their days returned more or less to normal for the pair, or as normal as it could, given the circumstances. A new shade of awkwardness settled over everything the two did together. Accidental touches while Taliesin played upon the piano with Rhiannon made them both jump and quickly separate. Stray thoughts sent Rhiannon into inexplicable blushing fits that Bellflower seemed to find amusing (if the knowing smiles quickly hidden behind hand or tray were any indication). Taliesin fared a little better, though he attributed this to the tiny bottle already half emptied in his pocket.
If this went on much longer, he might just have to try his hand at potion making again. Taliesin prayed it wouldn’t come to that.
A week later, Bellflower brought out trowels and gardening gloves. It was the afternoon, and they welcomed the distraction. Silent as ever, she pointed first to Taliesin and then to a pile of stakes and roll of twine in the garden. For Rhiannon, she signaled for the princess to follow her for some planting. When and where the fairy had found time to start the dozens of seeds Rhiannon didn’t know, but she couldn’t help smiling at all the little leaves peeking out of labeled pots of dirt.
Bellflower showed Rhiannon what to do and then set to her half of the flower beds. Digging felt good, planting even better. While Rhiannon liked the flowers at the castle, the gardeners had never let her muddy her hands. The most she could hope for was either picking out the color of the roses to be planted or admiring them when they bloomed. Rhiannon patted the dirt around the freshly planted sprout and moved on to the next.
Bellflower threw out an arm, and Rhiannon stopped abruptly. “Is something wrong?” she asked. The silkie pointed, and Rhiannon followed her finger. There in the middle of their garden grew a ring of toadstools of all things. “What on earth...?”
Taliesin glanced over from where he was driving stakes into the dirt for future cucumber vines to climb. “It looks like a fairy ring. When did that get there?”
“A fairy ring?”
Brushing dirt from his palms, Taliesin approached and squatted. “They’re temporary portals to the lands of the Fae. The courts use them occasionally to summon members who have gone abroad.” He thought about it for a moment, then snapped his fingers. His next question he directed at Bellflower. “Has Her Majesty asked you to join her for the Moon Viewing again?”
Bellflower nodded, then gestured both to Taliesin and Rhiannon.
“It seems we’re invited as well,” Taliesin informed Rhiannon. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to refuse after my abrupt exit when last we visited.”
“I would love to come.” Their last visit to the Seelie Court had been somewhat of a whirlwind of joy and fear. Still, she was confident she could handle the exuberance. The Seelie Queen had seemed friendly enough, and the rest of the court followed her lead. And if Bellflower were to join them...
Bellflower clapped her hands and practically glowed with joy. She yanked off her gardening gloves, brushed soil from her gray frock, and grabbed Rhiannon to steer her by the elbow back toward the house. When Taliesin followed, her grin broadened, and she shut the door in his face.
“Bellflower!” Rhiannon cried. “Why did you do that?”
The complaints fell upon deaf ears. Bellflower ushered her up the stairs to her wardrobe. She threw open the doors and pawed through excitedly. Rhiannon had no doubt that if the silent Fae could make a sound, she’d be humming contentedly to herself as she selected dress after dress to hold against the princess before rejecting each in turn. With each choice, a theme began to emerge. Soft yellow or off-white fabric made up each dress, and every single one had been stitched with a garden party in mind.
After the fourteenth such dress, Bellflower settled on one decorated with champagne-colored lace. She nodded, satisfied with the choice, and made Rhiannon change. The Fae then sat the princess down to work out jewelry and makeup appropriate for the occasion.
“It’s not so formal as to need all this, is it?” Rhiannon asked with some concern as Bellflower compared gold and silver showers of stars to clip in Rhiannon’s ears.
The fairy looked askance at the suggestion. Rhiannon lifted her hands placatingly. “I’m sorry. Please choose whichever you think is best.”
Dress and jewelry chosen, and hair braided in a coronet around her head, Bellflower moved on to makeup—something Rhiannon had successfully begged off since coming here. She sat perfectly still while Bellflower painted her lips and lashes. The fairy hadn’t steered her wrong yet, but Rhiannon remembered some rather spectacular failures in Jessica’s ‘art’ over the years.
Bellflower stepped back to admire her handiwork. Beaming, she led Rhiannon to the full-length mirror to see the results of her labor.
Soft pink lips, darkened lashes, a gentle blush on her cheeks. Rhiannon shyly looked away. “You don’t think this is too much?” she asked uncertainly.
The silkie shook her head. She put proud hands upon Rhiannon’s shoulders and smiled brilliantly.
“I... Thank you.”
Bellflower led her downstairs to the parlor, where Taliesin waited. He was dressed in the colorful tunic and cloak of a bard, his violin case beside him on the sofa. He leaped to his feet when they entered. For a few seconds, he could only stare. He remembered himself when Rhiannon shifted uncomfortably under his unblinking gaze. Taliesin cleared his throat. “You look lovely,” he said. “Bellflower really outdid herself.”
“I think she went a little overboard. I feel a little silly in all of this.”
“You look stunning. You always look...” His face reddened, and he coughed into his fist, letting the rest of that sentence play out in his head. “Shall we go?”
Rhiannon consulted the clock on the mantel. “Won’t we be early? It’s only four o’clock.” This early in the spring, night still came early, but not that early.
He offered his arm, which she took. “Remember, the Fae lands run on their own schedule,” he explained. “It’s likely Her Majesty made the sun there set some time ago.”
When they returned to the fairy ring, they found the circle of toadstools changed. Lights like fireflies rose from the white speckles atop the red caps. Lines of glowing green seeped from the stem to connect the fungi in a web of light. At the center of the ring, the grass stood still against the breeze outside it. Rhiannon’s grip on Taliesin’s elbow tightened with nerves. He patted her hand.
“Traveling by ring is a little like when we ignored the will-o’-the-wisp,” Taliesin explained as he brought her closer. “It shrinks the space between here and the veil, so it can mess with your perception and sense of direction. If you feel dizzy, let me know.”
A shiver ran through her at the memory of him vanishing and a tree taking his place. “You won’t disappear?”
“I won’t disappear,” he promised. “I’ll stay by your side the whole way.”
They stepped over the mushrooms into the ring. A blast of wind forced Rhiannon to shut her eyes. The ground beneath her feet seemed to slide out from under her, and she stumbled. Taliesin held her steady until the vertigo lessened and she could open her eyes again.
The world around them had transformed in an instant. Here, night had descended early to cast the world in a darkness lit only by fireflies and the impossibly large full moon hanging above the trees. Strings of gemstones jingled among the branches of low shrubs with the breeze, hemming them in on a path of magical lamplight. Around them, unseen Fae giggled and tittered in the underbrush.
“Shall we?” Taliesin asked. Rhiannon nodded.
A delicate hand tapped their shoulders. When they turned, Bellflower held out a pair of crystalline lanterns hanging from short poles. The one she placed into Taliesin’s open palm had been fashioned into the shape of a dragon’s egg with a light nestled within the sapphire depths. For Rhiannon, she offered a sphere of delicate, silvery vines and flowers. Having given them their lanterns, Bellflower took up one of her own in the form of a simple paper cylinder with flowers painted on the parchment surface.
The silkie led the way down the path toward the very same clearing Rhiannon and Taliesin had visited last time. Around the perimeter, revelers clinked glasses and laughed with delight. Upon a stage at the center, a chorus of birds sang the accompaniment to their festivities. As before, tables held mountains of delicacies arranged in impossible and impressive displays. Glittering sugar flowers topped cakes that defied gravity. An array of fruits had been arranged to depict a mosaic of butterflies on trays. Red wine sprayed in a fountain from the mouths of diamond fishes into a basin surrounded by flutes. A whole roasted boar with an apple in its mouth lounged beside game birds of all shapes and sizes, some so tiny they might have been hummingbirds.
Bellflower led them to the throne and dipped into a reverent curtsy for her queen. “We are pleased to see you’ve joined us,” said the queen in her low, melodic voice. She turned bright green eyes on Taliesin and Rhiannon. “It saddened us that you left without bidding us farewell. We trust you returned safely to your lodgings?”
Taliesin bowed. Rhiannon curtsied beside him. “We did, Your Majesty,” he said. “We would have loved to say goodbye, but the situation being what it was, we didn’t have the opportunity.”
Her lips curved into a knowing smile. “Yes, the heart beet juice. We pray it did not cause you too much trouble?”
“Not at all, Your Majesty.”
“You lie beautifully, but we can see you no longer wish to discuss this.” The Seelie Queen stepped down from her throne. Addressing Rhiannon, she said, “Rise. Let us take a look at you. We have heard nothing but good from our dear friend Bellflower.”
“I did not know you and Bellflower were friends.”
“Bellflower is friends with many,” the queen replied with a coy grin. “She is an excellent listener, and we’re sure you’ve noticed. And...” Here she dropped her voice so only Rhiannon could hear. “Her baking is delightful. We believe her talents wasted on Taliesin, so it delights us to know he chose you for a mate.”
Rhiannon’s cheeks warmed. The queen’s smile widened. “Ah, but look at you. We shall refrain from saying more on the subject for the time being. Now then, let us be a good host and offer our hospitality. Eat your fill and drink as much as makes you merry.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“We made sure there is no heart beet juice hidden among the refreshments on the table,” the queen added in amusement, “so you only have yourself to blame should you go off elsewhere with Taliesin. Though if you decide to, please let us enjoy his music a while before you do.”
“You tease me.”
“We do,” the queen said unabashedly, “but only because we care. Now go make merry. We have quite the night planned.”