The Fairy Ring

THE Fairy Ring

Rose was just 5 when June her mother became very ill and was taken into hospital; Rose was sent to live with her aunt Mary and her two boys. 

Aunt Mary was not happy to have Rose, as she had never got on well with her sister June, but thought as she was getting extra money for looking after Rose, it was worth it.  

The first two years for Rose were not too bad and although Rose was missing being with her mother she seemed to be happy, even though she was sent to her room when anyone came to play with Aunt Mary’s boys, so that she would not get in their way.

Rose had always kept a book called the Fairy Ring that she was given when her mother started to teach her to read, she had hidden it in her room so nobody could find it apart from her.  So when Rose was sent to her room she would open up the book look at all the fairies then read it over and over again, sometimes she would wish that she was one of them.

But then things started to change, her mother had to leave and go to live with her mother in heaven.  Rose started being bullied and picked on by both the boys, she sometimes would have bruises on her legs after being kicked and when she told her aunt Mary, she would say my boys wouldn’t do this, you are making this up, go to your room.

As the next few years passed Rose’s life became harder, she was bullied by the boys and Aunt Mary.

Aunt Mary would even give her a smack and tell her what a bad child she was if Rose had not finished all the jobs that she was now being given to keep the house clean.

Rose was not allowed to go to school as her jobs around the house took up most of the day, as Aunt Mary and her boys never cleaned up anything after they had made a mess, this was Rose’s job for being looked after by them.

 Aunt Mary would just lie on the sofa and watch the television or listen to some music and was always shouting at Rose to be quiet, the boys when they had returned from school would cause all the mess again that Rose had just finished clearing up.

Rose and was not allowed to join in any of the parties that Mary held for her boys or to go on trips or any adventures that the boys wanted to go on. 

In fact as far as Aunt Mary and the boys thought, Rose was just there to look after them and nothing else.

Rose had just reached the age of ten today, no parties were held for her, no presents or cards like the boys got every year and it was if she did not exist.

That evening Rose took her fairy story book out from the hiding place and looked again at all the happy fairies inside, then once again after reading a few lines Rose felt that all would be better soon, she read the book a few times before slowly drifting into a deep sleep.

Rose awoke the following morning with a start, for there standing at the bottom of her bed was her Aunt Mary, why is the breakfast not ready Aunt Mary shouted at Rose, what are my boys to do? They can’t go to school hungry.

Well Rose managed just in time to make a meal for Aunt Mary and her boys and prepare a lunch for the boys before the boys went off to school. 

What do you think my poor little boys would have had to put up with if they had not had there breakfast and sandwiches for their lunch, you are a wicked girl reading that silly book that your mother gave you about fairies, you read that and you’re so tired that this happens.

Well the book is not in your room any more.

Aunt Mary laughed as she picked up Rose’s fairy book, she stood in front of Rose and as each page was ripped from the book and thrown into the open fire she laughed even more.

Rose held back the tears that were bursting to come out, for she was sure that her aunt would have loved to have seen her cry and to try and save her precious fairy book, but rose just sat there and closed her eyes, she would not let her aunt win and make her cry.

After aunt Mary had made sure that the entire book was burned she walked out of the room laughing and told Rose that if all the jobs were not done before the evening came she would not get any food for tea, not that she had had no food all day.

Well come evening when she had to prepare the meal for her aunt and the boys, Rose was very tired, she still had work to do after the meal had been served and the table cleared.

I wish I was a fairy that could fly around and be happy and have friends to play with thought Rose as she dried the last plate of the evening meal.

By now Aunt Mary and both of the boys had gone to bed for it was very late, but poor old Rose still had a lot of work to do, she carried on cleaning and dusting, but then she’d had enough, she was tired and was fed up being bullied by Aunt Mary and her boys.

“I am going, don’t know where, but I am going” Rose said quite loudly, she then looked up towards the stairs to make sure that she had not woken any one up with here loud and happy voice.

Rose crept quietly up the stairs to her room, she picked up the holdall that she had had from the day she first arrived here.  Quietly and slowly she packed the few things that she possessed until she was ready to leave.

Quietly she opened the door and left, where she was going to go that she did not know, but anything must be better than what she had to do at her aunts

Rose had not made any plans on what to do; she just wanted to get away from her gruel aunt and her sons. Rose had packed a small torch that she had found a few weeks before when cleaning, as none of them had asked if she had seen it she just put it hidden away in here holdall in case she might need it one day.

She ran fast towards the wooded area that was across the street, soon she was hidden from the house and all she could see was the bright moon and a few of the stars jumping in and out of the clouds.

It did not take her long to get out of site of the her aunt’s house as she quickly walked into the woods that were nearby, the clouds had covered the moon and the stars up above so now it was very dark as she entered the woods.

Rose took the torch from the holdall and switched it on, the light from the torch led a path through the woods and Rose just followed not knowing where it would lead to.

Soon Rose was deep into the woods following the light from the torch, she didn’t know where it would lead to but she would go on until she was far away and safe from her aunt’s house.

After walking for a while Rose had got herself completely lost, the path had twisted and turned and sometimes she had to decided what path to take, “what am I going to do if I can’t find a way out” she said.

Rose had walked a few miles and now the torch was getting dimmer and dimmer, “I must find somewhere to sleep, somewhere where no one can find me” she said to herself. 

Just before the torch finally switched itself off Rose saw a small opening just under a hanging rock, Rose made her way towards the very small cave that had carved itself into the rock face that now toward above the woods.

Rose settled down on the soft grass that lay growing into the cave, she was hungry as she had not been given any food that evening, just outside the cave was a bush covered with berries, “well at least I can have them” said Rose and started to pick them.

Soon Rose had eaten enough to feel better, she was still a little hungry but it was no different from when she lived at her aunts, “at least I can sleep and not have to get up and do all the things my aunt makes me do”  she said to herself and any of the animals that might be around.

Soon lying on the soft grass and the moon now back out Rose drifted off into a now happy sleep.

Rose woke, for she could hear music in the distance, or was this just a dream that made her feel she was awake?

Rose then thought that it was not a dream, as she was now wide awake or that is what she thought, “I wonder where the music is coming from”. Rose said

So Rose quietly crept around the side of the cave and under the hanging rock that faced towards a small clearing inside the thick woods that had grew for over a hundred years.

Rose looked towards the clearing in the woods and was sure that saw a ring of lights covering and in the ring she thought she saw very small people dancing.

“I can’t see from here” Rose said and crept slowly towards the ring of light, closer and closer she came to the ring of light and she was sure from here that she could see something that looked like fairies, “Wow what a weird dream I’m having is if I am asleep” she said to herself.

Rose crept silently closer and closer towards the ring and there dancing on the ground and in the air were hundreds of beautiful fairies all dressed in shimmering colours.

The light shining on all the fairies wings and their clothing made it look like there was a rainbow sitting in the middle of the ring, the wings of the fairies shimmered in the light producing a vibrant mix of all the colours that you could ever think of.

Rose wanted to get closer, so she stood up slightly and crept towards the ring, but then Rose stepped on a small twig that had fallen from the tree above.

All the music stopped and the fairies turned and looked towards Rose.

Well Rose was now scared she jumped up and started to run back to the cave, turning around to see if anyone is following, it was then that she tripped over a tree’s root that crept from down below the smooth green grass.

Rose’s leg hurt a lot as it had banged against the rocks at the side when she fell, slowly Rose tried to get up but the leg was to painful.   Sitting now on the soft grass Rose looked towards the fairy ring and coming towards her were three of the fairies.  Soon they were hovering just above Rose,

Tears started falling from Rose’s eyes and down her cheek, she looked up towards the three fairies and tried to say sorry, “I will go away when my leg stops hurting and I promise that I wouldn’t tell anyone if you let me go and don’t hurt me”.

Primrose the fairy closes to Rose said “We won’t hurt you please don’t cry, it was just that no one has ever come this way before, you just startled us”.  “Here let me look at your leg”.

Primrose looked carefully at Rose’s leg, she had a slight cut on her shin and a bruise was already starting to show just below her knee.  “Can you give me the magic powder” asked Primrose to Buttercup who was now standing next to them both.

Buttercup reached into the small bag that she carried around her waist, and handed Primrose a small bag of the magic powder.  Primrose opened the bag and sprinkled a small amount onto Rose’s leg, the bruise and the cut disappeared straight away and Rose now felt able to stand up.

Peaches had now joined the three of them and asked Rose what she was doing in the woods so late at night?

Rose told the three fairies why she was no longer tucked up in a nice warm bed and had decided that she could no longer live with her aunt and the two bullying sons of her.

“You could come and live with us and never have to be unhappy again” said Peaches.

“I would love to do that but I would look out of place among all you fairies and I am so much taller than you all that I might accidently step on one of you if I don’t look where I am going” said Rose.

“No you won’t, for if you want to live with us and have a real family once again we can turn you into one of us” said Primrose.

“How can you turn me into a fairy, of because I would love to join you, but that would be impossible” Rose said

Buttercup then said, “Yes we can but, if we do you can never again be changed back to how you are now, and all the bad things that have happened to you in your life, will disappear and you will never be able to remember them again, only all the good things will remain with you”.

Rose started to cry again as she softly whispered, “I would love to come and live with you all”.

Rose followed the three fairies back towards the fairy ring; sitting there all around the ring were all the fairies that were now waiting.

Primrose told all the fairies what had happened to Rose and asked if any of them objected to Rose joining them forever, not one fairy objected but all shouted “yes let her come and join us”

Primrose turned once again to Buttercup and asked again for a bag of magic powder.  Primrose asked Rose once again if she was sure that she wanted to be turned into a fairy.

“Yes, yes please” said Rose.

Primrose flapped her wings so that she was hovering just above Rose, she opened the small bag and slowly let the magic dust fall over Rose, as the dust settled onto Rose slowly she started to shrink, from her back a pair of crimson wings sprouted out and all the clothes that she had been wearing changed into a beautiful dress.

All the fairies shouted with joy as the last of the magic dust did its work.

For the rest of the night everyone danced with each other and when the night was nearly over all the fairies including Rose disappeared into the woodland.

Rose lived happily with the fairies never remembering all the bad things that she had in her life as a little girl, only the good things and her mother remained inside her.

THE END

© 2017 D.W.Gore