You fluttered there beside Kaylee looking about the sort of party that the two of you had flown up to. The top of the tree's trunk was a large circular opening in the tree and had allowed you and Kaylee to fly up to a platform of branches. Inside the tree there was a great deal of light that rose up from it, and came out of the hole. You wondered if anyone had ever noticed it before, as at night, light rising up from inside a tree would be easily noticeable. But then, maybe since the tree was their home, the fairies might work together from time to time as Kaylee had mentioned and did just enough to make humans forget or at least not notice. You remembered walking past this very tree before, and wondered if Kaylee had cast the forget or not notice spell... not that it really mattered if she did. At the time, she couldn't reveal herself, and now, you were a fairy too. It wasn't like you could accuse her when in time you'd probably be expected to cast the same spell.
But, your thoughts on that were brief. There wasn't anything that could be done, and you weren't here to do anything. You'd come to enjoy this festival the fairies had and to be with Kaylee. And as you fluttered beside her, you looked at the platform of branches. It was tight and interwoven to the point that the branches themselves formed a nearly flat surface with only a small hole in it. It was just barely big enough for the two of you to fly through. You also noticed that the branches outside this platform were also very thick and went out in the way you'd expected tree branches to go, but much thicker. You were fairly certain that the fairies had used a lot of magic to make all of this.
And dancing, socializing, and even eating were a large number of fairies. All of them female, wearing flower petal dresses that matched their hair color or went with it. Your hair was golden and your dress was purple. You had remembered that Kaylee had very light blond hair when she was human, but her hair was now pink and her dress was made of red rose petals. It was all very colorful.
"So, this is the festival?" you asked.
"This is the part of it that most come to," Kaylee answered, "the party in the palace that you saw was also part of this, but mostly for those in the Queen's family and the upper echelons of her government."
"Didn't she say you were an adviser?" you wondered.
"I'm one of many, but from a largely unimportant position," Kaylee shrugged, "all I really do is give a report on what human culture is like and give my two cents on what humanity thinks or knows about fairies..."
"Which today... means we aren't much more the fairy tales... err... was that a poor choice of words?" you managed.
"No," Kaylee shrugged, "even the fairies that were born fairies use that term. But we're not here to discuss my job or even your training..."
"We're here to party," you nodded.
"Ada..." Kaylee sighed and then chuckled, "Come on, let's get a little something to eat. I doubt you've eaten anything since your transformation."
You rubbed your stomach almost reflexively.
"I do feel a bit hungry," you commented.
Kaylee nodded and landed on the platform of branches. You were quick to follow her as she made her way to what looked like a table. Though it also looked like it was part of the tree. You both managed to dodge dancing fairies as you went, and you could also here music being played by what sounded like flutes, clarinets, oboes, violins, and other instruments that were predominantly made of wood. You guessed that fairies didn't like the sound of brass instruments or things that required electricity, as it all sounded acoustical. You gave a slight shrug, though, guessing that beings that were magical and living together where their magic sort of collected around them removed the need for things like electricity.
"So, what is the Full Moon Festival for?" you asked, "the Queen said something about it honoring a fairy's connection with nature..."
"It is," Kaylee answered, "the fairy people are highly in tune with it, and very protective of it. I've heard some conspiracy theories here that would say that the real reason Teddy Roosevelt created the National Parks was because he camped near where a group of fairies made their home, and they repeatedly chanted that message and magic to him while he slept."
"Only a theory?" you ask.
"Queen Titania is Queen of THIS fairy community, but she isn't the only Queen and this isn't the ONLY fairy community," Kaylee answered, "and given our physical size, Ada, it's not likely we could easily travel to the other communities out there, if we even knew exactly where they are."
"Oh."
"Anyway, the Festival honors a fairy's connection to nature, the blooming of new flowers in spring, the changing colors of autumn, the bright sun of summer, and the deep "sleep" in winter," Kaylee returned to answering your question, "On the closest full moon to the summer and winter solstices and the autumn and spring equinoxes, the fairy people celebrate the connection and the changes of the seasons."
"It looks like quite a party," you commented as you both finally arrived at the table, and observed the dancing that continued to go on.
"It is," Kaylee nodded, "and I'm glad that you're here with me as my date. I know you don't want to remain a fairy..."
"I don't," you turned to her and pulled her around into a hug, "but so long as I'm with you, I don't care WHAT I am."
"Oh... Ada..." Kaylee gave a loving smile, and then kissed you.
The kiss didn't last too long. It was loving and you privately swore you could feel Kaylee's love through your lips (and it wasn't just the touch of hers).
"Kaylee! What brings you here, and who is this beauty you've found?" came a voice.
You and Kaylee broke apart, blushing, and turned to find two new fairies had come up behind the both of you. Like the others they were both female. But one was noticeably different from the others. So far, the fairies you had seen had a skin tone that was common among Caucasian humans. One of the two new fairies, however, didn't have that skin tone. Her skin was a dark chocolate color.
"You look a bit like Tiana..." you blurted.
"Who?" the fairy asked in a puzzled voice.
"I'm sorry Sarah, this is Ada, formerly Adam," Kaylee spoke, "she thinks you look like the first black princess Disney made a few years back."
"It was in the entertainment section of the local paper and they included a photo," you added, "and you do look like the character a bit... not exactly because she was an animated character and you're obviously real..."
"And was this woman beautiful?" Sarah asked.
"From the picture in the paper that I saw, yes," you admitted, "I'm sorry if I said anything weird."
"It is alright I suppose, Miss Ada," the African American fairy, Sarah answered, "though I'll have to tell you that I've never seen your local paper. It was a very long time ago when I became a fairy."
"Out for a walk and got lost or...?" you wondered.
"I was an escaped slave, Miss Ada," Sarah answered.
"I'm sorry," you blurted.
"That wasn't your fault, dear, and it was a LONG time ago," Sarah answered, "I had escaped and made my way north. But the fugitive slave law was still in effect and I was trying to make my way to Canada and freedom. But it was winter and the city here wasn't as big as it is now back then. I got tired and cold and collapsed in the snow. I didn't know it then, but the drift was over a fairy ring and I transformed and became as I am now..."
"The most beautiful fairy that ever will be," the other newly arrived fairy said with a smile and placed her hand around Sarah's waist.
"Ophelia... you're embarrassing me," Sarah said, blushing.
"But you are," the other fairy, Ophelia answered, "the rest of us are all so bland... the same. The only places where we differ is in hair color and bust size."
"Sarah is the one who helped me get used to being a fairy," Kaylee spoke up, "she was with a group assigned to gather some flower seeds and found me laying in the fairy ring."
"You helped her?" you asked.
"I couldn't just let her go alone," Sarah answered, "she could have gotten hurt, and I'd years to adjust to being a fairy. There are others that were transformed that are younger then I, but I found Kaylee and helped her adjust."
"And she did an excellent job too," Kaylee said with a smile.
"Then, I guess, after Kaylee is through helping me adapt, I'll need to thank you for teaching her everything she knows," you said to her.
"You were once human too?" Ophelia asked.
"I was Kaylee's boyfriend when I was human," you answered, "and I guess I'm her girlfriend now... and being with her again, it's enough to make me feel okay with being female and much shorter then I was."
"So, you are the Adam Kaylee spent nearly a month talking about," Sarah gave a smile, "well, I'll say that you've become a very beautiful fairy, yourself..."
"Ada, her name is Ada, now," Kaylee said.
"That's a pretty name," Ophelia commented, "and you two have come to the festival together?"
"Yes," Kaylee said, taking your arm, "I finally got a date for the festival."
"And may an eternal love blossom between you both," Sarah said with a friendly smile, "and don't worry, Ada. Kaylee can teach you a lot."