Naimh

Tap-Tap.

Tap-Tap.

What on earth was that sound thought Niamh?

Tap-Tap.

That is the first sound Niamh heard as she awakened from her deep dark dreams. She had dreamt that she traveled from the land of fairies and was now in her bed, or was she? She remembered going camping into the woods with a bunch of friends, and that was the last thing she remembered.

The story of hearing a "tap" filtered through her foggy memory, and the story was told that if you hear that sound that it was the sound of a fairy leprechaun.

Tap-Tap.

As she looked up, she saw him the same ole creature she had dreamed about and the one they called leath brogan.

"What are you doing here?," he asked while holding his cobbler's hammer above his head.

Naimh words got caught in here throat.

He looked at her pointedly and said, "I will not ask again, what are you doing here in the land of the fairies?"

She sat straight up and realized he was tiny in stature. His height barely reached her kneecap.

The stories were all true, the little leprechaun had blondish red hair, a very long beard that reached to his belly, and he held a pipe in his hand. The only difference she could recall was that instead of wearing green he wore a red suit with a tall black hat.

Finally, Naimh found her voice and said, "Hello, my name is Naimh and I do not know what I am doing here? I just woke up and here I am."

The man grunted and turned away without a word. He continued walking and disappeared from sight.

Suddenly a beautiful creature the size of a pea flew up and said, "Hello, my name is Siofra and I have been assigned to watch over you and take you to our kingdom."

Siofra glittered in a swirl of blue and gold, quickly flying around with translucent white wings. She had light blonde hair that was almost white and perfect features. Her green eyes were cat shaped, and pouty pink nose and lips.

Naimh stood up and looked around, there was a doorway into a very old Hawthorne tree, and the smell was of ancient earth. Siofra told her to follow her, and that was when Naimh noticed the small little windows throughout the the lovely old tree. She hesitated for a moment, thinking to herself why is she following a tiny fairy through a tree? Then entered into the light.

As they entered deeper into fairy lands Siofra told Naimh about the creature she had seen when she woke up and explained he was the local fairy cobbler and keeper of the gold and jewels of the kingdom. She explained that people from outside their world called his kind leprechauns but to them he was called The Keeper.

Siofra explained that The Keeper could be a trickster and grouchy but overall he was very much trusted and loved. As they walked into what appeared to be a different realm, Naimh saw fairies of all different colors and sizes. She was amazed at how friendly everyone greeted her and asked if they could get them food or water.

After what seemed like hours of walking they finally stopped at a beautiful fairy home built inside of a tree. Siofra explained that this was her family's home and introduced her parents, two brothers and one baby sister. Siofra told her they would rest and eat a meal before they continued on their journey. Siofra explained that if she ate a magic mushroom then she would temporarily shrink to their size.

Naimh thought she was already dreaming, so what would be the harm in eating a magic mushroom? As she ate the rubbery textured mushroom, the taste was like dirt. The transition was almost immediate as her body shrunk to the size of a pea. Everyone was watching her reaction and the only thing she could say was, "I'm hungry."

A feast was spread out before them and she thought how everything felt so real.

The meal was delicious, it tasted like nothing she had ever experienced before. There were at least 10 courses of different types of meats, vegetables, and desserts. Her favorite was a cherry tart filled with cream and topped with ice cream. Nothing tasted so good.

After the meal was over the family got together and discussed what was on everyone's mind, and that was the recent attacks of the Shadow Creatures. The family told of the three attacks where small fairy communities were burned down and no fairy was found alive, in fact there weren't any bodies found either. Naimh noticed a chill in the room, or maybe it was fear.

To change the subject the family started to play instruments and Siofra stood up and sang an age old fairy song called King of the Fairies. It brought tears to everyone's eyes and so began a night of celebration in welcoming Naimh to their home.

As the time got to nearing midnight, Siofra showed Naimh to a room to sleep and said, "The magic mushroom should last until the morning, and then we will be off to the next part of our journey."

Naimh asked, "Where are you taking me?"

Siofra replied, "Why to the King of course," and closed the door behind her but not without saying good night.

When morning approached Naimh woke up to a doglike creature sleeping next to her and said hello. The creature woke up and came to her and gave her a morning kiss and quickly scampered out of the room. She quickly got up and went downstairs to a kitchen filled with family activity. Breakfast was being made and conversation as still on the Shadow Creatures.

After a quick good morning everyone started to tell her about the village that had been decimated. The only remnants that a village had existed in that area was a puff of smoke left from what appeared to be a highly volatile fire. Soifra and her family mentioned a note in blood that was left for everyone to see.

The note stated they wanted the The Keeper's pot of gold and within a day's time. The Shadow Creatures set a place and time for the drop-off, or another village would be destroyed.

Naimh thought to herself, how did she get in the middle of this mess and how could she possible help? All of a sudden, she noticed her body was starting go back to it's original size. She quickly ran outside and grew nearly as tall as the closest tree.

Siofra and her family came flying out of their home in a flurry and we all said a quick goodbye. As the journey continued, Siofra explained that the meeting with the King was scheduled for that evening and the entire village would be in attendance. The threat of the Shadow Creatures loomed in their subconscious.

The deadline to the Shadow Creatures for The Keeper's pot of gold was due around the same time so tension filled the air.

As both traveled towards the center of the fairy kingdom they came to a crossroad, it was there that the The Keeper appeared and they met at the intersection. The Keeper asked Siofra to come talk to him, and they were speaking in hushed tones. Naimh heard the words "could not find the gold at the end of the rainbow," and that is when Siofra started to fly around excitedly saying, "what are we all going to do now?"

Naimh stood across the road safely away from the commotion, but asked, "can I be of any help?"

The Keeper looked at her and said, "maybe there is something you can do." He started to whisper to Siofra again until they both approached Naimh with a look of trepidation.

The plan was set, and Naimh was asked to follow the main road alone while Siofra and The Keeper went to find the pot of gold. The Keeper suspected who had stolen the fairy treasury and he had already gathered a fairy army to get it back. He needed Siofra to lead the bow and arrow troop.

As they parted ways, Naimh thought to herself that she hoped it would not take too long to get to the King. Siofra had said it would only take an hour or so at most. The fairy song from last night came to her mind and she started reciting the lyrics.

Down in the village of Earlston
Lully lullay
True Thomas plays upon his harp
He turns his face to the sky
Lully lullay
With a story, sad story to tell

Oh, oh, one more song
Oh, oh, for two years I've been riding
Three hundred miles from my home
My love is calling me
My son is calling me
I can hear them calling me home

Seven years have passed and gone
Lully lullay
True Thomas cries above his harp
The gates of faerie are closed
Lully lullay
Forever True Thomas will say

Oh, oh, one more song
Oh, oh, for two years I've been riding
Three hundred miles from my home
My love is calling me
My son is calling me
I can hear them calling me home

I left my family and friends
Since centuries
Became the king of the fairies
I slept on silver and gold
Roses opened for you
I was the king of the fairies

I left my family and friends
Since centuries
Became the king of the fairies
I slept on silver and gold
Roses opened for you
I was the king of the fairies

Under Eildon oak tree
Dragons have golden wings
Rivers are made of milk
Honey and wine are flowing

You shall hold your tongue
You shall keep it to yourself
You shall hold your tongue
You shall keep it to yourself

Under Eildon oak tree
Dragons have golden wings
Rivers are made of milk
Honey and wine are flowing

You shall hold your tongue
You shall keep it to yourself

Just as she finished singing the song out loud, a voice came out of nowhere and said, "you must be Naimh, we have been expecting you." A male fairy wearing armor and carrying a sword came out of the trees and said his name was Kalen. He was larger than most fairies and had an amazing purple aura around him. As they walked into the castle courtyard everyone stared to look at her, but she was focused on Kalen and what he was telling her about the plan to trap the Shadow creatures.

Thankfully, she was small enough to fit in the center of the Kingdom but Kalen noticed her uneasiness and offered more magic mushrooms and said, "these will last a longer this time and allow you to stay within the castle walls if you wish?" She agreed and ate the mushrooms, within a few seconds she was smaller than Kalen and looked up into his handsome blue eyes.

Kalen started telling Naimh about fairy protocol on meeting the King and how important of an event this was for the kingdom. Everyone was anxious over the impending Shadow Creature threat, and they were very sorry that this had to happen during the time of this celebration. Kalen assured her that she would be well protected, as he was the King's personal guard and protector.

Naimh was shown to a private room to freshen up and given a royal gown to wear for the King's introduction ceremony.

When she was summoned a couple of hours later, Kalen came to get her and their eyes met in mutual appreciation. Kalen escorted her through the long stone walls of the castle to the main hall where the King sat on his throne. As she entered the main hall the King rose to his feet to greet her.

Within minutes the door to the main hall burst open and chaos ensued ...

To Be Continued

This was my first attempt at a 2,000 word short story! To join this cool contest with @mctiller & @gggcontest, click here or here.

This contest was located using the daily list generated by @moneyinfant.

Image Sources for 1, 2,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Lyrics, 9, & 10.