have had numerous “chance” encounters whereby my life was never the same. I would be lying if I thought that my life’s course had not been in some way affected in one way or another by an encounter that was just happenstance. I could say this of every deep friendship or intimacy of my life. The meetings were never planned. Nothing was ever contrived or conspired. Perhaps that is what always led to the longevity of such liaisons.
It was the first and by virtue of that fact, most memorable chance encounter was when I met He of the Silver Arm, the Red King, Nuada, that comes immediately to mind. He was the Supreme Sovereign of the Tuatha Dé Danan, and a wonder to all who knew him or had ever heard of him. It was determined by Morgienne that I would go to the Great Council to represent the Fortunate Island. Looking back I somehow believe that Morgienne sent me in the hopes that I would fail or fall victim to some dark, Unseelie Prince. Surely Queen Annwynn, the Queen of Air and Darkness would be sending her heir, Itet.
I pulled the dark cloak about me tighter. This would be the first time I had ventured out of the Black Forest in a very long time. but in this I had little choice. I had followed the Red King, Nuada, to Berlin. The very survival of the world depended upon alliances that could be drawn up here. I had passed through the first gates and fortifications, only to be stopped by a guard at the second.
“What is your purpose here, madame?” the human man, obviously of French origin asked me.
“I am here to see King Nuada, “I said simply in his own language.
The young man scoffed, shaking his head, “Sure, he said returning in French, “and just whom may I say is here to see him? ”
I pushed back the hood of my cloak to reveal my face. The young Frenchman looked at me with astonished eyes. The lightning bolt of recognition of my face clearly made him nervous.
“Tell him that the the representative Lady Morgienne, of the Fortunate Isle…..the Halfling wishes to see him.”
The young man was about to deny me once again, when I heard a voice, one that was used to commanding many speak.
“Allow her, Henri,” he said.
The shadows outside the penthouse of King Nuada were cool, and a welcome respite from the bustle of the City of Berlin. I peered from the tall double doors that were slightly apart. From inside I caught the scent of Seelie Incenses. When my escort opened the doors to announce my arrival to the King, I kept my face a mask.. As the door swung open for me to be received, I caught sight of the wizened, yet handsome head.
Nuada.
I stood barely inside of the door, for a fragment of a moment unable to move and I could not help but feel the rising tide of apprehension that rose from deep inside of me. It was as if each step had to be forced. I’faith it is hard to stand before the one whom many call the Great Seelie Uniter. I inclined my head but did not bend my knee, for as representative of Fortunate Isle, for me to do so would have implied allegiance. Morgienne would not have stood for it, and now was not time for that.
“You come at an inopportune moment, Halfling,” Nuada said quietly, appraising me, “Strange that Morgienne would have sent you.” His power was a palpable thing, and it instilled awe in that part of me that was human. “So, what do you think when you look upon your own people, Faelyn?” he asked.
I gasped, amazed that he already knew my name. “Her Ladyship thought it better that I should come,” I managed, “I have seen but a few of the Fae, Majesty” I inclined my head again.
With a soft approving chuckle he came toward me. When he at last stood in front of me he lifted my chin between his fingers. “Then there is much you will have to learn about your own kind.”
And so over the following days Nuada told me those things which neither my mother, nor my foster-mother, Morgienne, would do. It was he who was the one who instilled in me what it was to be Fae. Nuada was to me as my father was not. While I like to think of myself of possessing all of the tenacity needed to succeed in life, Nuada and our chance meeting stands out most in my mind as having set my feet upon my present course.
Muse: Fanny Fae
Fandom: Original Character / Folklore / Mythology
Word Count: 795
Crossposted to
hey say that who we are is a product of the events of our childhood. I imagine that my life would offer no exception to that particular adage. I decided at a very young age that I would never be the victim of someone else’s power and control. I suppose it could be said that it was always my ambition to rule, if not over others certainly over all aspects of my own life. I daresay that I have achieved both of these things. 
e are all slaves to fortune of one kind or another, whether we will or no. Some view it as fame, that magickal elixir that will insure immortality of a kind. From the great Greek warrior, Achilles, to the meanest scullery maid hoping to catch the notice, if not fleeting, of her Lord, fortune takes many forms. Fortuna, that fickle Goddess is ever changeable. Her insignia, the wheel, is like the spinning wheel of the Fates, and very much like the wheel of mediaeval torture. Sometimes it is torture to endure the turns that the wheel makes within our life. It is at the centre of the Wheel and in our life that balance is found. The Wheel of Fortune also can become like the wheel of a ship, whereby we make it to serve us – rather than being dictated by it and blown about by the winds of Fate.
Fanny Fae 