A small bell dinged and the televisions in the cabin dimmed and muted as the flight attendant’s voice came over the speakers announcing their descent into London. Tuning out the noise, Elizabeth and her two friends, Amber and Greg, gathered their trash and got their seats and tray tables back into their proper positions.

It had been a trip six years in the making. Between juggling school and work, the three friends were excited to be in the place that had held all of their fascinations for the past decade. Now at twenty-four, Beth’s heart gave a small patter as she looked out the plane and saw the infamous skyline of London as they approached.

Upon landing, the long process of getting off the plane began and on more than once occasion, Beth had her heels hit by luggage and knocked her not-so-funny funny bone on the seats several times.

Thankful to be off the plane, they moved swiftly through the airport. Amber called out to her friends that she needed to ‘use the loo’, and disappeared into the bathroom.

Taking the opportunity now that they were alone, Greg said nonchalantly, “I sure could go for a strawberry lollipop right now.”

Beth grinned, and rummaged through her purse—finding what she was looking for, she handed the small square box over to him. Inside the inner black velvet box was a Ballerine Cartier ring that she helped him pick out months before their trip.

“Do you have any idea as to where you plan on proposing to her yet?” asked Beth, nodding towards the box.

Tossing it into the air and catching it, Greg swung his carry-on bag around and placed the box inside.

“I was thinking about popping it when we go to Glastonbury, seeing as how it’s where King Arthur and his lady Guinevere lived and died.”

Nodding her head in approval, they chatted about how he was planning on doing it, but hushed when Amber finally made it out of the bathroom.

Bustling their way through the airport, they made it through the required checkpoints and gathered their luggage without issues, and after their brief tutorial on driving in Europe, they were in their rental car and heading towards London proper.

They spent the next two days eating all the traditional London fare and perusing the pubs, as well of course, doing all the tourist attractions London had to offer. From there they traveled to many other places including Cardiff, Stonehenge, Oxford and so on, until the ended in Bath, where they stayed the night in a quaint bed and breakfast after soaking their feet in thousand year old thermal pools at the site.

The following day, they left the city of Bath and headed south towards Glastonbury, the fabled city of Avalon and resting place of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere.

Upon arriving, Greg parked the car and they all got out. Looking around the area they could see Glastonbury Tor in the distance, as well as the remains of the abbey in the forefront.

Greg glanced down at his watch and noted the time. “We have about twenty minutes before the tour starts. You want to hit up the gift shop?”

Beth and Amber nodded and made their way to the small gift shop. At five till, they made their way back outside to find a small crowd gathering in front.

The tour guide, Arienne Goode, was already checking off guests for the tour and quickly checked the three friends off. Once everyone was gathered, she wasted no time in getting down to business.

“Glastonbury Abbey – or Avalon as it is also known by, was founded in 716 by King Ine of Wessex and was of the Benedictine order. In 1184…”

She gave the history of Glastonbury Abbey: from the fire of 1184 which led to the discovery of the two skeletal remains in a hollowed tree trunk along with a cross bearing the names Arthur and Guinevere, to the Glastonbury Thorn from which a sprig is collected by the oldest pupil of St. John’s every year and given to the Queen of England, a tradition that’s been around since King James ruled in the late 1500’s.

When she was finished, she allowed the tourists to mill about the ruins and take pictures before moving along to the next attraction, the Glastonbury Tor, which for hundreds of years has been a paranormal anomaly, including reports of ghosts, druidic arts, UFO’s, and fairies, to name a few.

It was the talk of fairies however, that piqued Beth’s attention. Ever since she was a little girl, they’d been a staple in her life, to the point that in her teenage years, she thought she was going crazy.

Up until she was seven, she thought they were just tiny little winged creatures that were sweet as pie. Then the dreams began and the person in them told her differently.

Breaking herself from her daydream, Beth separated from her group and began to walk around the Tor. When she had first approached it, she felt a low hum begin in her bones, radiating from her center and causing goose-bumps to form on her skin. Now that she was closer, those feelings intensified to the point that her head began to throb and her stomach began to flop around.

Feeling ill, she rested a moment against the Tor, breathing deeply and fighting the need to throw up. After a few moments, her body settled enough for her to function. Pushing away from the wall, she rounded the south corner and heard someone one call out, “Well, what is it?”

Hurrying closer to where the commotion was coming from, Beth saw that a half circle had formed around a standing Amber and a kneeling Greg who was presenting her with the ring.

Amber spotted Beth over Greg’s head and she gave her friend a shocked smile as she let the first stream of tears fall. Looking back down to Greg, Amber nodded vigorously as she reached down and grasped the collar of Greg’s shirt, tugging him up, her arms flying around his neck as she tangled her hands in his hair and brought his lips to hers.

The crowd around them cheered, Beth included. While she was indeed happy for her friends, she couldn’t help the constricted feeling in her chest. She’d once wished for her fairy tale ending, but after seven years and several failed relationships, she was approaching her twenty-fifth birthday in a week’s time and had all but given up hope of ever finding someone that compared to him, the one man she held in the highest regard and to whom she compared all potential boyfriends.

The man of course was purely fictitious and lived in her head; she hadn’t seen or dreamt about him in nearly seven years. He was the reason why she thought she was insane: her fairy tale Prince, Conlan.

Shaking off the feelings that always stirred when she thought about him, she walked over to her embracing friends and hugged each in turn.

“Did you know about this?” Amber questioned Beth.

With a sly smile to Greg she replied, “Who do you think had the ring this whole time?”

Amber swatted at Greg and Beth. “You two sneaks!”

Standing straight up, Greg gave a formal bow and said in a mock British accent, “Would milady care to be my escort around the church?”

Taking his hand and dipping into a curtsey she replied, “Why yes, milord, I would be honored.”

Beth gave a short laugh and rolled her eyes, watching her friends walk arm in arm around the church before passing through it.

However, as they passed through it, the world around them seemed to distort and blur, the colors muting, but everything returned to normal when they reached the other side and approached Beth.

“So, how was passing through it?” asked Beth.

“The hairs on my arm stood up a bit,” Greg started, “and when we reached the center we felt a small breeze, but that was it,” finished Amber.

“Hmm, all right then, my turn.”

Beth walked towards the tower, the feelings from before returning tenfold. Fighting the sensations, she pressed on, determined to walk through. Stopping briefly, she took a deep breath to calm the wave of nausea. With the urge to retch under control, she took her first step in.

The moment she stepped through the archway, the world around her shifted, the modern world and the people in it disappearing. Looking around, she saw the familiar forest she had grown accustomed to seeing once a year as a child, with its thousands of trees covered in moss and the vibrant colored flowers that held hidden treasures.

Walking further in, she followed the familiar path she’d taken when she was younger. Beth walked to the edge of a pink, water filled pond and bent down to dip her hand into the cool liquid, cupping some in both hands to take a sip of the sweet water.

“You’ve come, Eilís.”

Startled by the familiar voice, her head snapped up to see the man she’d not seen in nearly seven years.

“Conlan?”

***

“Elizabeth, gaze upon the lunar mother. Without her, the seas would never break at our feet, but be as still as the ground we walk on. Tonight’s moon is special, and only happens eight times a year; it’s known as The Wishing Moon and they fall on the full moons following the eight major Sabbaths. When this happens you can make a wish and it will come true.”

She had been seven years old when her mother told her about The Wishing Moon. She watched as her mother looked upon the white celestial body, saying a silent prayer. Looking at the parchment paper in front of her, she did as her mother did. She wrote her wish down and when done, her mother gave her a moonstone and wrapped the paper around it, tying it off with a piece of twine. Holding out a vial, Elizabeth dipped her small fingers into the opening of the jasmine essence and smeared the oil onto the bundle as instructed by her mother.

Walking silently behind her mother, they reached the farthest eastern side of the yard. Taking a spade, her mother knelt down and dug a shallow hole in the soil. Placing her own wish in the hole, she covered it and handed the spade to Elizabeth, who in turn did the same thing.

“Now,” her mother spoke in a whisper almost too low for her to hear, “you thank the earth for allowing us to use her at this time, and more importantly, you thank to Goddess Selene for her taking the time to listen to your wish.”

Elizabeth looked up at the pock-marked, glowing moon, and with a grin she waved up at it, half expecting it to wave back as she said in a cheerful voice, “Goodnight, Selene! Thank you for the time, I hope you enjoy the moon cakes and tea!”

That was the first night she dreamt of Conlan.

After being tucked into bed for the night, Beth fell quickly to sleep, only to be whisked away to a forest where the colors were so vivid and bright, even her dream-self needed time for her eyes to adjust. The tree’s leaves glistened in the sunlight like an emerald, the bark just as brown as the ground she walked on but covered in a thin layer of moss. The flowers that littered the floor were the most beautiful and breathtaking she’d ever seen.

She ran over to one of the flowers and lifted the azure bell that was attached to a glossy green stem gently in her small hands. Beth bent down to smell it, but was startled when out stepped a small winged creature with jade hair. Her large dragonfly wings flitted behind her and she gave a smile filled with pointed, razor sharp teeth. Bowing to the “giant” in front of her, her wings beat quickly and she ascended into the air. Beth waved goodbye to the fairy and continued walking down the path.

There were small ponds everywhere, some glistened purple, some green and yellow, others like the crystal blue she’d seen the summer before while on her family vacation.

Beth walked up to one of the pink ponds and gazed into its depths. Below the surface she saw the mermaids she was so enthralled with and pretended to be. The mermaid had yellow hair, with a matching tail of yellows and oranges. She looked up through the water at Beth and giggled, or at least that’s what Beth thought as tiny little bubbles escaped her mouth.

“I see that you’ve met Muirghein,” a deep voice spoke in front of her.

Beth’s head whipped up and she stared at the man in front of her. His hair fell in a cascade of chestnut waves to his waist. His body was slim and toned in all the right places, however it wouldn’t be until she was older that she would learn to appreciate that part of him. Moving her gaze up to his face, she noticed that his eyes were otherworldly and gave a small gasp.

His eyes seemed to shift colors between the palest lavender, almost white, to a brilliant plum color that was much brighter than the fruit. In her later visits she would be able to tell his mood by these colors. Pale for when he was not particularly pleased with something, or plum for when he was the happiest.

“Who are you?” Beth spoke to him, curious to find out more about this place.

Rounding the small pond, he made his way closer to her, a small smile showing off his perfect white teeth. “My name is Conlan and I am your fairy Prince.”

Beth gave a girlish giggle. “My fairy Prince? But, you’re so old.”

“I may be old, Eilís, but one day we will be together and we shall marry beneath the full moon. You are a very lucky little girl, for the Goddess Selene has heard your wish and the mother Danu has granted it.”

Beth, or Eilís as he called her, woke the next morning with a newfound passion for all things fey. Though, the next night and the next she didn’t dream of the magical place, nor did Conlan visit her. It wasn’t until the following Wishing Moon after her eighth birthday she would see him or the place again.

From the age of eight until her eighteenth birthday she would wish for the same thing and on that night she would always visit the world of Sheelin as it was called, which translated into the lake of the fairies.