The Moonlight Boy | Ferry's Tale # 1

The wall

Alwyn shook her head in disbelief, "No, it cannot be..." she whispered.

Mamma Leena came closer and put her hand on Alwyn's shoulder. But she removed it as if burned, turning her back on Mamma Leen and Oona, who was still on the ground. Mamma Leena helped her stand up, but Oona continued to keep her gaze to the ground, trembling.

"It's true, Alwyn," said Mamma Leena. "Oona is your child."

"But Oona is half-fay. That means ─"

" ─ That means her father is a human man," Mamma Leena continued.

Alwyn shook her head again, pressing her fingers on her temples as if trying to understand. She forgot about one and all. About the place she was, about the Queen, and about... Ferry.

"But how can this be? Why don't I remember anything?" she whispered.

"Because you wanted to forget," said Mamma Leena. "About everything. Giving her to me to raise her wasn't enough. You wanted to forget she ever existed. You flew over the Valley of Oblivion right after you gave birth. You wanted to wipe off the mere memory of her. Because the memory of her would've brought back to you the love you had for that man. The one who betrayed you. The one who broke your heart into pieces... Forgetting about her was forgetting about him."

Alwyn was wringing her hands, walking to and fro and talking to herself, "It can't be, it can't be," she kept repeating. "I couldn't have loved a human. I've always despised humans," she said, gnashing her teeth.

"It's because you loved that man so much you despise them now," Mamma Leena gently said.

But Alwyn was not listening. She turned to Oona. A glitter of hope sparkled in the eyes of her daughter. But it vanished as soon as her eyes met Alwyn's gaze.

"Look at her," Alwyn said in disgust. "She's the weirdest of the Wandering Fays. Always careless and childish. Curious and prankish. Always looking for something..."

"The same way you are," said Mamma Leena.

Tears came to Oona's eyes. She was keeping her gaze to the ground again, trying hard not to let them fall.

Alwyn grinned, "She's nothing like me. She lacks ambition. Will and the sharpness of mind. She's passionate at the sight of the smallest things. And she never sees the obvious."

"And what is wrong with seeing beyond the obvious?" Mamma Leena asked. "That proves she's not as careless as some might think."

"I don't care!" Alwyn shouted, walking away from Oona as if never wanted to see her again.

She stopped in front of the Queen's throne and after a small bow, she asked, the same despair in her voice, "Is it true, your Majesty?"

The Queen nodded.

"Then I must fly over the Valley of Oblivion once more to forget about everything," said Alwyn, her fists clenched. "I would fly thousands of times more only to forget I've ever kissed clumsy human lips... That I gave my heart to one of their filthy kind."

Fae Queen laughed, "My dearest child, we shall always fall in love with a human. Even if you'll fly over the Valley of Oblivion a thousand more times, your love for the humans is buried so deep inside you, it takes a single flutter of memory to bring it back again, stronger than ever."

Alwyn stamped, "Never! Why should we need humans anyway? When I'm going to rule over these lands, no human will step foot in Tenalach and ─"

But her words made the Queen burst into laughter, "Rule over these lands? Why would you think you shall ever become a Queen?" she asked.