There's a reason fairy rhymes with scary -- OohLookShiny
[AN: There's a reason why I use 'faerie' as a spelling for them]
Now let's be clear, faeries don't exist. Everyone knows that they're just old wives' tales about dangerous places that have long since be rendered safe...
But...
Just in case...
Don't fell a faerie tree. Don't disturb a standing stone. Keep away from the faerie hill. Never whistle at midnight when you're in the woods. Throw the salt over your shoulder. Share sugar for joy. Paint certain flowers on your baby's cradle. Hang a horseshoe over your threshold.
It's a silly superstition. We all know it.
But it never hurts to say a friendly greeting to a Magpie.
Pel heard all of this as she moved into the cottage in the woods. They called it The Witch's House, and it was said to be haunted. The people in the nearby village gave her all sorts of charms. And one of them volunteered to paint her door blue to ward off the evil spirits.
She accepted them with grace, because she knew they meant well. And... well... what was the harm? It would certainly help good feeling amongst the villagers. And, once she got her garden going, so would her first crop.
Besides, she really needed this place to retreat to, after the accident. And it was a place far out of the reach of the electronic world. Heck, she didn't even have to have a telephone if she didn't want one.
Paranoia insisted on it anyway.
And in between gardening and socialising at her own speed, Pel could get on with her writing. Just enjoy herself and unwind.
She spent years in that cottage, and enjoyed the village tales of strange lights and phenomenon that hit everywhere but where she could see it for herself. She never had a shoe go missing, never saw a devil. Never spotted one of the fair folk, for all the trouble they caused all around her.
She even sang to herself on the long walk home, regardless of the hour. And no strangely-robed strangers asked her to sing more.
The fae folk never bothered her. But then, they're renowned for not disturbing bards, storytellers, and madmen.
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