Craig has recently completed a historical-fantasy novel set in 19th century Colonial China and he is now working on an SF-mythological novel set in Titan orbit during the 22nd century. You can get in touch via his website: http://craigpay.com
Tiesa's Truth
by Dominica Malcolm
“You cannot tell a lie.” These were the oft repeated words in Tiesa's youth, spoken by her mother.
Though she had never thought to test her, when Tiesa was but six years of age, she questioned her mother, “Why?”
“The Goddess of Little Folk forbade it for all truth fairies like us,” she said. “Should a curse fall upon one of us that allows untruths to be uttered, the green blood that gives zir life will bubble and burn from the inside out unless ze corrects zirs error within one cycle of the sun.”
Curses were so uncommon in The Garden of Meilė, where they lived, that one could assume they did not exist at all, but that did not stop her mother's words from scaring Tiesa. Having the chance to utter a lie scared her more than the possibility of humans discovering their garden. It seemed far more likely, for humans were creatures of myth.
The elders in the garden took much delight in talking to youngsters like Tiesa, telling them tales of human destruction, warning them of what fate might have in store should they follow the same paths of hatred and deception.
On one occasion, Elder Kaleem---a wisdom fairy---had gathered together truth fairies of seven and eight years old to discuss the dangers of the past. They sat in the grass and looked up at their elder as he spun his words whilst sitting atop a mushroom.
“They wiped each other out,” he claimed, “in what humans called the Last Great War. It was so called for all that remained at the end was perhaps five percent of those who had existed when the war began.”
“What happened to the rest of them?” Tiesa asked Elder Kaleem.
“The Goddess of Purity wreaked havoc on their fertility. They died out because they could no longer reproduce. Punishment for their sins.”
“That's a pile of gnome snot!” came a voice on the opposite side of Kaleem to where Tiesa was sitting.
Tiesa glanced at the dissenter. It was Audra, a girl Tiesa had generally avoided, mainly because she was popular. Tiesa feared making a fool of herself in front of her.
Audra continued, “My mother says that even though you're a wisdom fairy, doesn't make you right like us truth fairies have to be. Where's your evidence humans ever existed at all?”
“Just because your opinion is true to you, doesn't make you right, either,” Tiesa spouted back. Immediately her hands covered her mouth, wishing she hadn't said anything.
Audra stood up, seething. “Oh, yeah?”
“Girls!” Elder Kaleem yelled, also standing. “That's enough.”
Audra flew off in a rage, taking most of the other girls with her, and Tiesa wanted to crawl into a mole hole and die. The only girl who had not followed was Jadvyga, but Tiesa barely noticed because she was busy worrying about how much her face flushed red in response to the boys laughing.
“Perhaps you should go home, Tiesa,” Elder Kaleem said. “It's going to be difficult for me to continue this lesson if you're here.”
Not wanting to argue with the elder and make things worse, Tiesa nodded and left the circle. Too ashamed of herself, Tiesa felt like she didn't deserve to call herself a fairy at all. She avoided using her wings and walked home alone, back to the oak tree in which she lived.
When Tiesa arrived, she interrupted her mother picking petals that she could fashion into dresses.
“You're home early,” her mother said. “What happened?”
“I got kicked out because the boys were laughing at me,” Tiesa said. “Mother, why am I so different? Why doesn't anyone like me?”
“Oh, Rose Petal,” her mother said, using an affectionate name for her daughter. “I think sometimes it just takes a little while to find the right friends.”
Tiesa frowned. She didn't want to wait. She wanted everyone to like her right then.
Unfortunately, things didn't seem to get any better as she aged. Feeling so much like an outsider, Tiesa instead spent more time with fairies older than her, rather than ones her own age. After the laughing incident, Elder Kaleem agreed to tutor her on her own.
When she was eleven, he told her, “It is rumoured that humans still exist in coastal towns. They dare not venture inland to places like Meilė, for they fear something they call 'nuclear fallout' and 'radiation poisoning': side effects from their last war.”
“How long ago did the War end, Elder?” Tiesa asked, growing ever more curious about the possibility of human life.
“It is hard to say,” Kaleem told her. “The records I have seen detailed the war ending in twenty-three fifty-four AD, but I have been unable to determine what year that corresponds to in our world.”
“Do you think they will ever find us?”
Kaleem shook his head. “Now I think that's enough for today.”
That night, the dreams started. Images flashed in her mind, but Tiesa did not know what to make of them.
When Tiesa reached her adolescence, she watched others of her kind with confusion on her face as they partnered up and started mating rituals. Male fairies held little interest to her, but she supposed this was a ritual she, too, should follow, if she was ever going to feel included.
Assuming she was just a late bloomer, Tiesa approached Jadvyga, who had already found herself a mating partner. Though Tiesa had never actually spoken to Jadvyga before, she seemed to be the most approachable. After all, she recalled that she was the only girl from her childhood who didn't laugh at her at some point. Tiesa had also observed Jadvyga talking with other fairies with grace and compassion.
After exchanging formal introductions, Tiesa asked, “You seemed to find your mate so easily. How am I supposed to find mine?”
Jadvyga sighed. “I was betrothed,” she said. “If it were not for my mother, I do not think I would have one.”
It was not the promising discussion Tiesa had in mind. Not knowing what to say next, she spread her wings and flew upwards into the vines, escaping the embarrassment of trying to communicate further.
Whilst sitting on a leaf, Tiesa felt her face flush. She tried to wrack her mind with ideas of ways she could have finished the conversation, but came up with nothing. Then the memory of Jadvyga's face, hidden behind brown curls, entered her mind. Jadvyga's last words were repeated. I do not think I would have one. Tiesa wondered what she had meant by that. Jadvyga was very friendly, and could probably have had her pick of any male she so desired. Did it then mean she would have preferred not to have a mate?
Tiesa sighed. Flying off as she did likely meant she no longer stood a chance in finding out. Her heart felt heavy with the weight of realisation. Jadvyga may have been the only other fairy who felt like she did.
Weeks passed, and Tiesa had little contact with anyone beyond her parents. When she finally decided to venture further than a metre from her home, she walked through a small mushroom village. Sitting outside one of the mushroom houses was a gaunt gnome named Kazimeras. Tiesa had seen him around before, but they had never officially met. The only thing Tiesa knew about Kazimeras was that he was a generation older than her.
Kazimeras was smoking a reed when he noticed Tiesa and waved her over. He offered her a puff, but she declined, so he placed his right hand on his chest in greeting. Tiesa greeted him back the same way.
“It is good to see you out and about again, Tiesa,” Kazimeras said, dropping his hand to his side. “Your mother seemed worried about you when she came by my stall last week.”
“It is hard to want to get out and talk to others when I don't know how. The last time I tried, I didn't even say goodbye.”
“Oh, you poor girl,” Kazimeras said, putting out his reed. He took one of Tiesa's hands in his own, and brushed the back of it with his other one. “I used to have the same problem. Perhaps I could mentor you?”
> Tiesa pulled her hand away and hesitated. She had a funny feeling about Kazimeras, but she didn't know if she was just scared, especially because she had never spoken to another gnome before. Her parents hadn't really done the best job of exposing her to other races of magical folk, even though there were instances where it was necessary to interact with them.
On the other hand, Tiesa realised she would probably not get another opportunity like this one. Then a part of her wondered if Kazimeras could be her potential mate. Was that allowed? Maybe the reason she wasn't interested in the male fairies was because they were too similar to herself.
With a smile, Tiesa placed her palms together in front of her and bowed. “I would like that very much,” she said as she stood straight again.
Over the next few weeks, Tiesa and Kazimeras met regularly at his stall as he closed it up for the evening. They would walk around the pond, where Kazimeras would generally find a reed he could smoke as they talked. Tiesa felt herself growing in confidence with every day that passed where he didn't run away in fright at the things she said to him.
“I have nightmares,” Tiesa confessed one day.
Kazimeras looked concerned. “What do you dream about?”
“Humans returning, and slaughtering us all with their weapons. Blades slicing off heads everywhere I look.”
“My poor child,” Kazimeras said. “We must remedy this, and I think I know just how.”
oo00oo
On the eve of the summer solstice, Kazimeras insisted that Tiesa go with him on a quest to stay up all night to watch the sunrise, and he wanted to invite two other truth fairies, Audra and Rozalija. Tiesa didn't know Kazimeras was even friends with these girls, but they were known to her as a couple of the most opinionated of her kind.
Tiesa recalled a memory from her younger years. She had been flying between lavender-coloured Hepatica nobilis flowers, collecting petals for her mother to fashion into dresses.
Audra had seen Tiesa from above and called, “You're not going to wear that colour, are you?”
Not knowing how to respond, Tiesa bit back her tears and hovered on the spot. That's when Rozalija joined Audra's side. Whilst Audra was clothed in white petals, Tiesa considered that perhaps Audra did not enjoy colour. She briefly wondered if Rozalija, who was wearing a pinkish-red, would come to her rescue. Tiesa watched them natter briefly amongst themselves while she remained frozen but for her fluttering wings.
“Zibute!” Rozalija said, referencing the flower's name. She laughed as she flew closer to Tiesa. “If you're going to pick petals from that ugly flower, at the very least get the blue ones.”
Tiesa couldn't bear to hear another word and flew straight home to her mother.
“Why are you crying, my dear?” her mother asked as she handed the petals over.
She had been wounded, and it was too fresh for her to talk about, but her mother knew her well and she didn't have to say a thing.
“Rose Petal, don't worry about what other fairies think. You are kind, and special. Your unique view of the world makes you so much better than the judgemental of our kind.”
Tiesa continued to weep, but now it was because she knew how lucky she was to have a mother like that.
They had been young then, and after a few other similar instances from Audra and Rozalija, Tiesa had learned to avoid them. Perhaps over the last few years they had grown up a bit. Wanting so much to believe it was possible, Tiesa agreed to Kazimeras's quest.
The night started out well, with Rozalija taking Tiesa's hand and apologising for the past. Tiesa smiled at her. Audra was not so forthcoming with such an acknowledgement, but her placid attitude was still better than her former judgemental one.
Kazimeras led the fairies to a circle of shiny black rocks that sat right at the edge of the pond. It seemed the perfect place to sit and talk the night away, and Tiesa was hopeful for new friendships forming. Fireflies danced in the reeds after dark, and with the clouds covering the moon, they were the only light source.
“Let's tell creepy stories,” Kazimeras said. “The atmosphere is perfect, and I am the king of horror.”
Whilst Tiesa was skeptical, the other two fairies were excited. Tiesa began to wonder if they had borne witness to his tales in the past. If so, why had she never been introduced to them? Weren't they good friends?
“I'll go first,” Rozalija said. “Have you heard about what happened to the humans?” The question was rhetorical, and Rozalija didn't wait for an answer. “Because I heard that the ones that survived walked around looking like their faces had been ripped off by bears.”
“That's stupid,” Audra interrupted. “Humans are just stories, myths. No one has ever actually seen one.”
“I have.”
Everyone looked to Tiesa, so sure that she couldn't be telling the truth, despite the fact she was a truth fairy.
“Do tell,” Kazimeras prompted.
“I want to hear one of your stories first.” Tiesa's shyness was showing. She didn't want to risk their friendship by telling the story, and hoped that by letting Kazimeras go first, they would forget she had said anything by the end.
“Alright then,” Kazimeras said. “This is a true story. There is an evil gnome, who is known to us as Marijus, though he rarely takes on that name himself. He befriends fairies, taking up to several years to gain their trust, in order to get closer to them.”
A chill rose up Tiesa's back as she began to wonder if it's odd for fairies and gnomes to be friends.
“What's wrong with that?” Audra asked.
Kazimeras's lips turn up in a wicked curl. “Because,” he said, “he's only going to kill them in the end.”
Tiesa bit her lip, while the other two fairies gasped.
“Marijus really hates their rotting petal dresses,” Kazimeras continued. “In his head, he's licking his lips, wanting to rip the flowers away and taste their flesh.”
Feeling self-conscious and beginning to worry that Kazimeras was actually Marijus, Tiesa threw her arms across her body so they held the opposite side's shoulders. Audra and Rozalija leaned in closer to him in eager anticipation.
“So one day he befriends the youngest fairy he ever has. She's a cute little redhead.”
Audra and Rozalija are both blonde, but Tiesa didn't miss the point. He was talking about her. She was the redhead.
“This fairy is the most annoying Marijus has ever met, but he knows that will make the meal he has of her so much more delicious when she realises how much she has been lied to.”
Tiesa's eyes began to well up, but she was determined not to show her anger. She didn't even question why she was angry rather than afraid. There he was admitting he was a murderer. Or was that a lie too?
Audra blew him off. “Nah, that's stupid too.” She turned to Tiesa. “Let's hear the dork's human story now.”
By the time Tiesa heard the word “dork,” she was furious, but she was determined not to show it. She would get her own back. She would tell a horror story so scary they would all wet themselves.
Though Tiesa had never actually seen a human in real life, they came alive in her nightmares. Being a truth fairy meant she could not lie, but that did not mean she had to say it came from a dream.
Starting slow, she said, “His face was covered with blood, smeared from battle wounds---both his own and those he had killed.”
“Legend of the last human war occurred many years ago,” Audra interrupted.
“Oh, the battle was not a war. This human just liked to kill.”
Rozalija shuddered, but Audra remained skeptical and Kazimeras rolled his eyes.
“He was here, in the Garden of Meilė,” Tiesa warned. “When everyone else was asleep.”
A rustling sound was heard in a nearby bush, and it was late enough now that all the other magical creatures who lived in the garden were expected to be asleep. The fairies jumped on their stones, switching from sitting to standing. Tiesa was spurred on.
“He saw me, too
,” she said, “but told me I would be protected if I would give up others of my kind. He did not tell me what he would do with them, but my guess is it wasn't good.”
“What did you say?” Rozalija asked, hanging on Tiesa's every word.
“Well, I'm still here, aren't I?”
Audra rolled her eyes this time. “No one's gone missing.”
“Not yet,” Tiesa said.
The rustling moved to a closer bush, and Rozalija clambered closer to Audra, hugging her tight.
“This isn't scary at all,” Kazimeras intervened.
“Shh,” Rozalija said, and prompted Tiesa to continue. “You're not going to let him take us, are you?”
“Why should I protect you?” Tiesa asked. “After all the teasing you put me through when I was younger?” She threw on her own wicked grin, and it felt more evil than the one Kazimeras had worn earlier. “I already decided to give him everyone who has done me wrong.” Shooting a glare to Kazimeras, she added, “And he said I needn't only give him fairies. Gnomes would also do.”
Kazimeras remained steady, until the rustling had moved to the reeds just beside him. Daring not to look around, he and the other truth fairies took off immediately. Tiesa sighed as she watched them disappear. She knew not what had been making the sound, but given her continued lack of friendship, Tiesa assumed it was probably a small animal lurking.
As Tiesa remained on her rock, she hoped whatever it was would just come out and do its worst to her. She was tired of the nightmares, and even if the other little folk had been mean, she no longer wished to scare people away.
Hoping for it to be a fox, Tiesa finally spoke to the reeds. “Come out, then. Just get it over with and eat me.”
As she watched the reeds, a brunette fairy wearing a lavender Hepatica nobilis petal dress emerged.
Happily Never After Page 6