The small child with wild brown curls and chocolate smeared across his chin was back again. He stumbled through the weeds and thorny bracken towards a small, hollowed tree stump, carpeted with lichen and tiny golden mushrooms. In the child’s grasp was a thick stack of pages, roughly bound with cloth and bark. Resting against the stump—to the chagrin of one small, bumpy-backed amphibian observing from the liquid shadows of a nearby puddle—the child spread out his pages across the grass and began to scribble….Continue Reading “Of Ballads & Bumpy Black Toads”
In the velvet-warmth of midsummer, a young princess awakens from a nightmare. Her gown of gold and fae-spun gossamer had frayed and become spotted with moss. Her crown of starlight and moon lilies had snagged her curls as thorns erupted from delicate twists of crystal. She stood before a faceless court in a ballroom filled with cacophonous laughter that caused her ears and heart to bleed. The princess creeps from her bed, down the cottage stairs, and out into a garden blooming full with the…Continue Reading “Dark Moon”
A star named Kindness watched over the Earth. Fire and ash spun into land into ocean into creatures that roamed. Kindness lit the morning to show them their way. Kindness kept watch over her garden far away, beaming with pride as life learned to walk. It tottered and teetered, falling to the brink and sometimes all the way back to ash. Yet life, ever persistent, crawled up from the earth and the seas, clinging to trees and the underside of the sky. A kaleidoscope of…Continue Reading “A Star Named Kindness”
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Beyond the thorns of demands and displeasure, just past the tangled bracken of small and irksome misfortunes, there is a quiet place known to offer rest. At the cottage of the end of days, there is a gently sloping roof piled high with auburn leaves, and a small bowl of rainwater where birds bathe their crests. Just inside the door, whose hinges groan like aching bones that have finally found a feathered bed, there is a time-kissed stove, its belly filled with mirth and starlight….Continue Reading “A Quiet Prophecy”
A star fell beyond the horizon, past the mountains far to the north, and down into the black waters of the sea. A small creature had watched its path across the sky in the hour after midnight. His wet nose twitched as he wished upon that falling light. A strange thing for a creature such as himself to do. Wishing. After all, what good are the promises of lights trailing the sky when there are seeds to be found just yards from his paw’s grasp?…Continue Reading “A Path of Wishes & Starlight”
“Marmot! Run!!” Marmalade cried, flinging herself to the side as the creature chasing them barrelled through the luminous underbrush. The monster lurched after them, a twisting mass of vines and flowers, bone and thready sinew, and—most alarmingly—several unblinking eyes. Marmot skidded to a halt, paws scrabbling for purchase against the frozen earth and sodden leaves coating the forest floor. Unsteady on its spindled legs, the monster skittered towards Marmot, who huddled in place frozen with dread as probing vines whipped towards him. “No!” Marmalade stood,…Continue Reading “A Gentle Power”
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Lorne was a wretched creature, she had known this her whole life. Other girls scorned her in the play yards, and boys threw clumps of grave moss at her hair. If you insist, they all said, on being so morbid, you ought to look the part. She had confided in Janice, all of once, during solstice, that she found the graveyards comforting, and, well. Once was all it took. Yet Lorne couldn’t help being odd once more. And then just once again. The once more’s gathered…Continue Reading “Darkwood Fireflies”
The tragic tale of Princess Penelope’s favourite tree. Lightning struck the rocky ridge as the sky flared white, the vicious colour of burning stars. Before the great owl could swallow down the next bolt, it struck her nest. Two of her three eggs she could save. The third turned to stone in the blazing heat of jagged fire. The storm passed by dawn. With feathers of ink and starlight, the owl swept over snow-dusted trees. Downwards her flight melted, down into the wretched, sacred valley…Continue Reading “The Feathered Willow”
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A young Princess Penelope sets off to find the mysterious baker of the Faewood…
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Marmalade stirred the last of the frayfern into her simmering cauldron, turning to her recipe with satisfaction. Just an hour more to brew and a day to decant— Splash. Crash. A familiar squeaking told Marmalade this couldn’t be anything good. Almost afraid to turn around, Marmalade spun to find Marmot upside down in the hearth soot, and her almost perfect potion turning a rather alarming shade of red. “Marmot!” Marmalade cried, unhooking the cauldron and upending its ruined contents into the sink. “For the last…Continue Reading “Clockwork Companion”
Marmot hastened to smooth the woven grass table mat into place. Lady would be home any moment now with her basket of berries and apples and all the things Marmot hated to eat. Since Marmalade had taught him to bake, he had only set their burrow on fire twice. Yet Lady had not been impressed when their den had filled with smoke, and had chittered angrily at him as they waited on the hill for the fumes to clear. She had been even less impressed…Continue Reading “Marmot In Love”
Deep within the forest stood a hollow red tree. It wasn’t the tallest, nor the prettiest, but it was the perfect home for wood witch Marmalade. Airy chimes rang amongst the boughs as an autumn draught fanned the flames of her stove. Sugar pies were stacked atop muffins atop towers of shortcakes. The wafted scent of baking bread enticed all manner of creatures to Marmalade’s tree for sweet treats and a place to rest their paws. Each morning, Marmot would scurry up to Marmalade’s kitchen…Continue Reading “Marmot & Marmalade”