Under a Spell and Over the Moon

I let slip my fevered fears as I watched the joyful twinkling lights and recalled my reaction to my dream last night; Monty, just go with it was my attitude before, and it would suit me just fine once again. It was a weird but fun dream last night; I was willing to go with it for a second night running. Maybe my pent-up, unreleased arousal crouching in my nuts from last night will end with sexual satisfaction for me in this dream. A man can always dream, I reasoned.

The swarm of tiny glowing orbs gathered in the middle of the meadow as I watched from my position propped against the base of the cliff. The mass of lights bobbed in the gathering darkness, as they hovered in a loose formation appearing to wait on a signal. They all shifted to my left and then darted in a fluttering flotilla toward the basaltic barrier several yards distant from my left shoulder. I turned my head to follow their flight, only to realize that I was once again looking at more than a dozen flying female fairies, each clothed in a radiant gown taken from one of the colors of the rainbow. They huddled together blending their separate colored parts of the light spectrum to become a glowing orb of bright, silver light.

They projected their fairy incandescence onto the solid rock wall, revealing that it was not as solid as I had believed. The band of merry fairies illuminated an opening in the rock with their magical auras. The shadows were dispelled by their fairy light and I was amazed to see Miss Goodfellow emerge from the cleft in the rock face and wade into the mist of the silver light. Robin was enveloped in a cloud of light; she turned her eyes toward me and beamed a smile of grace and a pleasant welcome. I returned her smile, feeling wonderful in part because this was looking a lot like last night's sweet dream and in part because I was relieved to know I was not alone and awake and about to die in the forest.

Miss Goodfellow moved her lips and I heard the sound of a warm breeze in dry grass and mirthful sounds of flowing water. The fairy women responded to this language and disbanded as if on command. They flew in a whirling swirl to my body and began to flick me their wings, dance on my limbs with their small feet and rub parts of my body with their cute little bosoms.

Feeling came back into my arms and legs, but it was not I who controlled my movements. The fairy women danced, flittered and rubbed me, sending jolts and jerks into my muscles, manipulating me with poorly practiced fits of magic. Under the localized spells cast upon my body parts they quickened my muscles and made me rise from my catatonic stupor. Through uncoordinated movements they managed to make me lift my feet and cast then forward in a crude resemblance of walking. My footsteps were driven by magic as my arms flailed and I struggled to keep my balance as I was directed toward the entrance where Robin Goodfellow watched my herky-jerk ambling progress with amusement.

I tottered past her with faltering steps and spasmodic knee-jerks through the narrow opening in the rock wall and into the dark recess of the cave. A few awkward paces into the gloom, I was left to sway in a rigid stance with the colorful fairies hanging off my arms and legs. They flew off of me and hovered above my head, forming a misty, glowing sphere of silver light.

I heard a soft scraping sound and a solid thump. I knew that the entrance to this chamber had been sealed behind me. Robin walked up behind me and placed her hands over my eyes and then drew them down to my cheeks and passed onto my shoulders, continuing down my ribs until she reached my pelvis and continued frisking my legs. Her touch gave off a warm tickling that ran through my muscles and pricked my skin. When she removed her hands from my hips, normal feeling and control were restored to my body. Miss Goodfellow glided in front of me and met my eyes with a welcoming smile under the soft radiance emitted by the host of tiny, winged women hanging in the air overhead. "How do you feel Monty?" She asked.

"Much better now, thank you Robin." My words had the feel of a real waking conversation, not a dream conversation. Again I wondered if it is possible to consider if one is dreaming while in the middle of having a dream?

Robin faded into the darkness, her withdrawing position visible by faint wisps of light outlining her gown woven of magic moonbeams. The glowing globe of fairies broke apart like an exploding firework shell in the night sky, each flying off in a separate direction with the thin whirring of tiny wings. I was left standing alone in total darkness.

A gasp of surprise filled my lungs as the dark interior began to glow with a blue-green light. The chamber brightened, revealing a cavernous room with walls of smooth stone. A million elongate prismatic crystals filled with light pointed down from the vaulted ceiling. "Oberon I bid you welcome. We have long vexed ourselves and my realm has been troubled with much anxious magic cast upon the breeze in our search to find one such as you. In the fullness of time the fruition of our desires will be met in you Oberon; our once lost prince."

I looked in the direction of the authoritative female voice calling me by my surname name and speaking in the register of a light and melodious flute. At the back of the chamber sat a delicate woman dressed in a breezy white gown. The folds of her intricate lace dress fell with a soft and lavish drape over a throne of colored glass. Her throne was placed between a pair of stepping, white stacked stone tiers which took the form of a frozen waterfall.

Seated upon her rainbow throne of radiating beauty, the queen turned her eyes toward Robin standing a respectful distance to the side of this subterranean royal chamber, "You and the tiny sisters have done well. Oberon, our lost prince has been found, and with no time to spare. I am pleased." Miss Goodfellow beamed at the praise and dropped her head and made a curtsey before the throne.

With a slow and graceful gathering of her arms, the queen rose from her throne and glided across the polished black floor toward me. I turned toward Robin, a couple of yards from my side, with a look of uncertainty. Robin's smile exuded a sense of peace and grace. I was reassured by her presence. The queen came close to me, looking me in the eye with an unmistakable pair of mischievous green eyes that flared and sparked with a look of deep satisfaction at my presence before her. Compelled to return her welcoming countenance, I cast a look of amazed curiosity at this new lady crowned with long, trailing hair of green. She flowed more than she walked as she entered my complex dreamscape.

She stood before me, perhaps more transfixed on me than I was on her. She held a curious smile on her lips as I ran my eyes over her diminutive body; she was thin and on the petite side for a mortal woman, but if she was a fairy queen, I thought fairies came in much smaller packages. Robin moved beside the pair of us, "Monty Oberon, it is my great pleasure to bring you into Her Majesty's royal light, Empress of our Dryad Realm, Queen Titania."

I wasn't sure I'd heard the introduction right. I allowed my body to loll in awkward silence for a long moment and then I stuck out my hand. At that instant, I suspected that this was not proper etiquette when being introduced to royalty; fairy or otherwise. I began to retract my right hand in a slow move, desperately hoping my gaffe would remain inconspicuous.

Queen Titania offered me both of her hands, wrapping her slender fingers around my wrist as a gesture of face-saving grace to me. I dropped my eyes in humility, only to notice that her dress of intricate lace was not lace, but woven of fresh flowers. Queen Titania's dress was perfumed by the same intoxicating scent that rose from the blossoms which carpeted the glade outside this chamber.

The queen let loose of my wrist and stepped back to take another look at me before addressing Robin, "Has our Prince Oberon been put through his rigors and has his lordly stock been found suitable to partake in his appointed mission?"

Robin gave me a sly smile before reporting to Queen Titania, "Yes Your Majesty, the tiny sisters were delighted to light upon his camp this night past and provoked his rigor with lascivious dance and much merriment about his manhood. With great pleasure, it is that I can report that Prince Oberon's lordly stock was found to be most solid. It will rise in challenge to the loft of our redwoods and it will be a rod of splendor and most certainly a pinnacle of pleasing delight. Our prince's seed cones are formed in beauty and hang ready at the base of his lordly trunk. Prince Oberon comes to you bearing good seed. By the tiny sisters he has been charmed, tested and toyed with, yet he has not found release for his princely seed. He is ready to court you this Night of Nights within your regal floral court."

My dream had taken on a puzzling yet realistic feel. I thought I needed to clarify the situation before things got out of hand, "Excuse me Queen Titania, this is all real nice and I appreciate your royal welcome, but I believe you must have me confused with another. I am not a prince. Oh no, quite the contrary, I am but a lowly software developer." My protestation was met with a silent smirk spread wide across the face of Queen Titania.

Another effort to explain myself was made, "If it pleases Your Majesty, you may ask Miss Goodfellow here; she knows that a couple of days ago I was signing some papers in front of her. I was just a guy living in a converted garage trying to make the world a better place through a little computer application. I am afraid you must realize that you're mistaken; I am definitely not your lost prince."

Queen Titania seemed amused at my explanation. She nodded her head, but I could tell she was unconvinced. I turned to Robin, "Please Robin, tell her that I am not who she thinks I am."

With a quiet grace, Robin turned to speak to me, "I lay before you Monty, a consideration that is yet to settle and find fit within your mind -- but my submission for your consideration quite befits this Night of Nights unfolding before your eyes. Consider that aged worlds other than your own may still dance among the shadows and remain unseen by opened, yet unseeing eyes belonging to the men of the earth. Ask thyself if you are truly but a lowly software developer, or rather is it that you aspire to thy true self and are called to be a Lord among the forest realm?"

I shook my head, "No. No. No, those thoughts of being a forest ranger or that weird idea of being some kind of lord of the woods -- those were all just crazy day dreams. They were never a realistic plan. C'mon Robin, you know that I'm a tech geek. Go ahead; tell Queen Titania my life's work was writing code and that I am not your Prince Oberon. I'm Fremont Muir Oberon; you've made a mistake, plain and simple. Please?"

"As you wish," agreed Robin. "I shall lay before the Queen the circumstances of your fortunate position from three days past. As I do so, it will benefit you to the utmost to heed my words and knit all things that I say with sober wonder and bind your thoughts to that which is before your eyes. Oh man of the earth, if you have ears to hear, hear me well."

Robin seemed to be giving me a minor scolding and I no longer felt assured that my case of mistaken identity would be present to Queen Titania quite as I had expected. Robin gave a modest bow before Queen Titania and was then asked to proceed with her tale on my account. Robin spoke, "Fremont Oberon stands before you on this Night of Nights as a man in possession of a handsome reward of a princely sum. He thinks himself not a prince, yet was it not but three days past that he spoke in allegory of his transformation from frog to forgotten prince, from humble programmer to one in possession of wealth worthy of a prince."

Queen Titania inquired, "So, he believed that he had been transformed into the likeness of a prince?"

"Yes," answered Miss Goodfellow, "But he could only admit to his transformation in the form of an allegory. Indeed he was further told by Mr. Kelly that his work and the princely sum which he received came together like a fairy tale. In his tongue, the phrase 'fairy tale' congers up hints of supernatural events and fantastical fortunes at play in their earthbound world. To our Oberon's ears and to his mind, the events of his, or any other fairy tale, is a set of blessings of such a nature as to boggle comprehension in the minds of these men of the earth. It is suspected by all men involved, that these circumstances which have recently blessed our Oberon were hinting at the presentation of magic -- if one could accept a realm of fairy magic. Alas, fairy magic is rarely accepted among men of the earth. Therefore Your Majesty, his eyes have yet to be fully opened to what is before him; which is this, your present Dryad Realm filled with merry fairy folk."

"May I add, Your Loftiness, that these were the stirrings of his mind as a man of the earth. Yet, our Oberon also has spoken of stirrings within his true heart of hearts. Deep within, he harkens back to a time and a place where he claims title to the woodlands as a lord." Robin finished her presentation to Queen Titania with a curtsy.

Queen Titania adjusted her skirts of fragrant flowers and addressed me, "Our Oberon. Speak to me of this tale you have heard from my servant Puck. Speak to me of what your eyes have beheld of my realm."

"Well, OK. Let me admit that yes - that is pretty much what was said and what happened to me as explained by Robin -- or your Puck, or whomever she is... But let me also say that this all happened after years of hard work and the negotiating skill of some very sharp and well connected attorneys who..."

Queen Titania stopped me mid sentence. "Yes. Yes, I know all about those negotiations and your coding work, the work of a genius it has been said by more than a few. Your ingenious code and the charmed negotiations, they all came about as if each of these steps were imbued with magical charms. Is that not your understanding, especially now after all that has been revealed to you?"

I stammered as I tried to knit together what Queen Titania had just asked me along with the fact that she already knew all of the elements of my conversation in the office of Kelly, Alioto & Theseus. I paused to consider my words. I spoke slowly, thinking aloud, "Are you implying that my code and Mr. Kelly's team of crack venture capital negotiators were under some kind of fairy spell?"

Queen Titania dipped her eyes in acknowledgment, "We welcome you to my woodland realm Oberon. It has been an arduous task to find remnants from the ancient line of our fairy kings. We have cast our magic onto the four winds and have scoured to the far corners of this world hoping to find one such as yourself."

This was the most confusing dream I can recall having crossed through my mind. I was perplexed. I stammered once again, "Are you saying that you think I am descended from some ancient royal and magical men, some old line of fairy kings?"

Queen Titania took on a serious countenance, "We do not think. We are confident in our craft and unbroken in our beliefs. It is for this reason that we have marshaled all of our charms to make it possible for you to be here on this Night of Nights. It is of great importance to finally have you visit my chambers. We welcome you, Prince Oberon."

I was coming around to understand the fantastic tale I was being told. Though, I was skeptical, even in the middle of my fairyland dream. "Queen Titania, if I understand, you have manipulated my code and its high-dollar sale through some tinkering fairy plot as a way to bring me into this old forest. Is that what I'm to understand?"

Queen Titania nodded. I asked, "So, are you supposed to be my fairy godmother?"

Queen Titania and Robin each suppressed a giggle. "No. That would be a misunderstanding of our relationship." The queen was quick to compose herself, "I reign over a race of Woodland Nymphs. I am Queen of this realm of Dryads. And you Oberon are the scion of a race of ancient Woodland Lords. Your veins flow with the ancient blood of that race, you are of a magic bloodline. Your line is a royal line, Oberon you are a prince among the Woodland Lords."

I listened with my ears, but I was not confident that I trusted my understanding of what entered my ears. "I do not see myself as any kind of royalty. But if this is all to be believed, why have you troubled yourselves and played with all of these pieces of my life? For what reasons have you employed your fairy charms on my behalf? And why have you charged your minion of fairy sprites to shuffle events in my life just to have me come camping on this remote mountain top? I don't get it."

"Spoken like a true Woodland Lord. Even with their awareness of our magic and power, the Lords have always been thick of mind and slow of spirit to believe. The Lords have long harbored skepticism toward the powers and intricacies of the magical webs spun by our feminine fairy charms."

I threw my hands up in exasperation, "Can you blame me? I don't even know if I'm dreaming a dream about fairy queens..."

The queen interrupted my rant with a firm correction, "Titania, Queen of the Dryad Realm if you please Prince Oberon. Yes, in a greater sense we are all fairy folk, but you must respect the distinction that you have the privilege of an audience before the Queen of the Dryads, Empress of Woodland Nymphs."

"...whatever. Isn't this my dream? Don't I have control or some say in what goes on in my head?" I stopped my rant; I wasn't sure what I wanted to say. I wasn't even sure if it was all still a dream. I thought being a millionaire would solve my problems and doubts. Now that I had a loaded bank account, I wasn't even sure about what was reality anymore. Nothing was making any sense.

Queen Titania watched and listened to my rant with an expression of displeasure. I paused and dithered with the Dryad queen in front of me and Robin on my right. I was grasping for something sane and solid for my mind to latch onto.

Queen Titania spoke to Robin, "Oh dear, this is not playing well for our newly found prince. I do believe Prince Oberon could use a refreshing draught from the fairy fount." The Queen nodded toward Robin, giving her silent instruction.

Robin stepped to the far recess of the cavernous chamber where the stone waterfall wrapped around the colored glass throne. Robin produced a goblet out of thin air and stooped to fill it from a pool at the base of the white tiered stone fountain. Robin handed me the goblet.

I held the goblet with its clear contents in my right hand. I was suspicious of the drink handed to me, even though I had every reason to trust Miss Goodfellow. Robin observed my hesitation, "Go ahead Monty, everything will be fine. Take a drink; it will put your mind at ease."

I sipped and tasted the elixir with my lips. It tasted like ale. Queen Titania smiled as I imbibed, slowly at first and then with a heartier swallow across my tongue. It was almost addictive. I liked the way it made me feel. I was euphoric, yet I was not drunk with a numbed brain. My euphoria bloomed into a casual confidence and I believed myself to be a man of great sophistication and suave manners. I believed I had blossomed into my true self. I was a prince. I was Prince Oberon, a royal visitor to Queen Titania's Realm of Dryads from the forgotten land of Woodland Lords. I was pleased with myself and all that I surveyed.

Robin took the empty goblet from my hand and retired to a respectable distance to my right. I did not notice where the goblet had disappeared to, but I was unconcerned by my mysterious surroundings. I turned to face Titania, Queen of the Dryads with an air of confidence.