Once the four of them found a suitable place to sit, James walked over to the barkeep and ordered four pints. He was glad to get a break from all the wedding planning, just as much as Emily. He could not wait to marry her, then he could have her all to himself. That thought made him smile a little. He moved quickly through the crowded pub and made his way back to the table where his friends and his Emily were waiting for him. He sat next to Emily and gave her a little wink. He passed the drinks around. He was going to enjoy a night without worrying about all the stress it was causing Emily.

Emily and James sat there having the best time with Gwen and Edwynn. They had talked through the first pint of lager, then the second. Soon the four of them were singing, laughing and having the best time together. They stayed at the pub for the rest of the evening. It had been a while since Emily was able to have fun

Gwen was glad to see that her best friend and the man in her life were with her for one of her favorite festival nights. It made her happier than anything else. She did not see Maggie anywhere tonight. Maybe she wasn't up for this sort of thing. She didn't worry about it. She was having the greatest time with Emily, Edwynn and James. She was glad Emily was with someone like that. James was a nice fellow. He was good to her, and he loved her. Then suddenly Emily leaned over to tell Gwen the funniest thing she'd thought she ever heard.

" Apparently Edwynn's shyness disappears, just add a pint." Gwen could not stop laughing over that one.

James was having a great time he was happy to see Emily let loose for a while, poor girl has been dealing with all the planning and arranging. She deserved a night away from all the decisions. She was great with all of it. She was a people person that was for sure. One of the million reasons that he loved her. He was glad to see her happy. He was having a good time with Edwynn. He was a good guy. James had noticed you give that guy a few drinks he's really a lot of fun to be around. He would mention it to Emily later.

When the festival had ended that night, they all agreed it was too soon. It was a great time, they could not wait for the next festival to come around they would all go together. James told the others goodbye, that he had a great time. He then offered to walk Emily home. She of course accepted without a moment's hesitation. They walked alone together on that magical summer night back to Emily's.

He was glad to have a few more minutes with her. He did not want to tell her goodbye. He loved the way he felt when she was near him. Gwen meant everything to him, even though they had only been seeing each other for a few months. He had only told her he was not ready for marriage because he did not want to scare her away from him. He knew he needed no other woman, only Gwen. He loved Gwen more than anything. She seemed to fit him, they had a lot of things in common. They liked to do a lot of the same activities, they both had a sensible yet adventurous spirit. He was not ready to say goodnight. He leaned over to kiss her for a long moment.

Gwen walked swiftly to Emily's, it was a half hour walk. She was still a little tired from the night before , but it was a beautiful day, perfect for a walk anywhere. She had cut through the forest to get to Emilys a little faster. Gwen had enjoyed the walk. She thought about her friend the tree sprite while she walked to Emily's house. She needed to go see lily sometime soon, it had been an exciting couple of days. She wondered if there would be enough time to go see the tree sprite before nightfall? She would try to make time for her. She enjoyed spending time with Lily just as she did her human friends. She was over half way to Emily's she knew it was not much further before she would be there. She had not made plans with Emily, she just thought she would be a nice friend and stop by to see her.

Gwen was helpful, it was in her nature she liked to put others first, it brought her a lot of joy. Most of the older women in town thought she was a fine young woman. She was the type that would make time to help other people. Gwen looked up from her thoughts, good threr was the small pond near a large willow tree, almost there another five yards to Emily's house, it was probably full of relatives, she thought. Gwen hurried, sprinting the last few yards until she reached the front door, she had made it. She hoped her best friend did not have anything planned, but she would soon find out.

Once Gwen caught her breath a little, she knocked on the large front door. She hoped it was not a bad time, she did not want to intrude on family affairs. When there was no answer, Gwen knocked again. Suddenly the door swung open, it was Emilys pa, Phil.

" Gwennie, do come in dear." Phil greeted her. 

Gwen had always been welcome in their home. Gwen accepted the invitation and went inside. "So tell me anything new?" Phil asked their daughter's best friend.

Gwen thought for a few minutes before she answered him in her usual cheery self. " Has Emily mentioned my seeing Edwynn?" Gwen asked.

" Yes I do believe she mentioned that." Phil answered her. " I am glad , you're a nice girl and you deserve to be happy."

" Thank you sir you are too kind," Gwen replied.

 Then Emily came running from around the corner, to see Gwen was there. Her face lit up, always happy to see her best friend.

"Gwen, so good to see you. Is anything going on?" Emily asked, puzzled.

"Just your wedding silly, I came to offer any help." Gwen informed her scatterbrained friend.

"Oh, yeah there is that." Emily replied with a light hearted giggle.

Then she quickly added "We have got it under control, but I could use a break, would you care to join me?" Emily invited her.

" That sounds wonderful, I would love to." Gwen accepted the offer.

" Let's go have tea under the maple tree in the back." Emily suggested.

After a while Gwen realized how long she had been there, she remembered there were a few more places that she wanted to stop. She thanked Emily for the visit as well as the tea, but she needed to get going. Gwen hugged Emily goodbye before walking out the door and on her way. Gwen headed for the woods, she had a much longer walk this time. Gwen hurried through the woods as fast as she could go, she felt the wind rushing through her hair. She felt as free as a bird, as if she could fly she was enjoying the run. She loved it. She wanted to hurry. She wanted to stop by and see Maggie. Gwen was sprinting through the woods as fast as she could possibly go. She was not sure if Maggie would be home today or not, but she always tried to make time for a good friend. It did not take her long to make it to Maggies cottage in the woods.

Gwen quickly knocked on the door. She waited and then knocked again, a little louder this time. After a few minutes Maggie opened the front door to her cottage to see Gwen her young prodigy standing there.

" Hello dear, come in please, sit. " Maggie invited Gwen with a little smile.

"I would love to, yes." Gwen replied.

She followed Maggie into the small cottage. She was glad that Maggie was home, and in the mood for company. Gwen adored the small cottage, she had always felt welcomed there, right at home. It was like a second home to Gwen.

" I have not seen you the last few days, has Edwynn taken up kidnapping as a hobby?" Maggie asked completely teasing her yet with a serious face, it always seemed to make her laugh.

"Gods no, it is nothing like that." Gwen replied to the old womans teasing.

" Well then where have you been?" Maggie repeated her question.

" Oh, yes. I have been over to see my friend Emily to see if she needs any help with the wedding, she will be getting married in a few days." Gwen paused to take a breath and then continued on. " Last night was the summer festival, I went with Edwynn, Emily and a few of our friends." Gwen explained to Maggie.

"Did you have a good time?" Maggie asked her.

" Yes I would have to say I did. I had fun being with all of my friends as well as Edwynn." Gwen replied to her.

" Now it is time for training, evil stops for nothing, you know the darkness does not rest." Maggie informed her once again.

"Yes of course." Gwen replied, ready to get started.

 She loved training under Maggie's instruction. Her wisdom was almost unreal. Gwen especially loved spell casting. She caught on well with it, and she had a natural almost cosmic attraction to it. Gwen was even impressed with her own abilities. Maggie would show her wand magic, Gwen would repeat the spell with complete perfection. She had the same effect with potions, incantations even herb magic. Gwen was full of joy as things seemed to just come to her. She felt wonderful and empowered by her own inner magic. She loved to learn the old ways, especially under the wing of Maggie.

By the time the lesson was over it was very late in the afternoon, and gwen needed to get going. She told Maggie goodbye before she left her quaint little cottage in the woods. She remembered she Wanted to make special time for Lily her tree sprite. It was really not that far out of Gwen's way but even if it was, she still would have made the trip to see her newest friend. Before long with the sun at her back, Gwen headed for lily's tree. She could not wait to see the tree sprite. Lily was a very interesting creature, who seemed to share a connection with her, as if their souls had befriended before this lifetime. She lightly knocked three times on the trunk door of the huge old tree. She waited patiently. She hoped she had not missed her friend. Suddenly the little door opened. Lily looked up. She flew to a branch closer to Gwen's eye level.

" Gwen it is you", lily squealed much like a teenage human girl.

" Lily, I have missed you as well." Gwen replied in a sweet tone.

"Where have you been, mortal?" Lily asked slightly annoyed by Gwen's absence.

" Lily I am sorry for that, really I am. There has been a lot going on where I live." Gwen explained to her softly.

"Well like what?" Lily asked, more curious about the human activities than her feeling ignored.

Lily listened intently as Gwen told her about Emily's wedding and the big summer festival the night before. She told Lily all about her training with Maggie, told her a little about witchcraft, what she could tell her. Gwen still was not a full blown witch. Her initiation into the craft was not for a while yet. After a long talk with Gwen lily felt better and much less offended. She enjoyed their meetings, but her father never let her go to the human places. She was surprised she was allowed to befriend Gwen, her one and only human.

Lily then told Gwen of the upcoming sprite convention. It was to be held here this time. It was in a different forest each convention. It was held once a quarter century. Her father an elder sprite was actually going to let her attend this year, supervised of course. Lily had been waiting to tell her for a few days now. She was glad she got to talk with her human friend. She told Gwen she was glad to visit but she had to get going. She had a nice time Gwen was an interesting human to visit with. She noticed Gwen was always running here or there. It was quite amusing to lily. She couldn't help but think about the human. Her father had told her most humans don't even live to be a hundred. Most sprites live to be a thousand maybe longer depending on the sprite.

Other than it getting dark out she had no other real reason to hurry home. The forrest was a remarkable sight with the sun setting just right. It was gorgeous, a true moment of natural beauty at it's finest work. She stopped for just a moment to see it, capture it in her mind long enough to keep it in the memory books within her mind. She turned and kept going she needed to get back soon. She didn't stay in the forest much past the sun set. She had no idea what was out here after dark, and she did not want to find out the hard way.

The moonlight gave a rather enchanting glow against the forest pathway. It was strange and serene. It was comforting to her, she smiled as she walked a little faster as not to be too horribly late getting home. It was also dangerous to be out here witch or not. There were wild animals as well as gremlins, goblins and who knows what else. She knew better than to run in the darkness, but she knew not to be out here too much longer alone. She walked faster. She was scaring herself thinking of what could be out here lurking in the dark instead of the empty forest. As she went through the forest quickly she thought about other things, her friends, her family her magical powers growing stronger by the day. She of course thought of Edwynn as she hurried though the forest.

That very same day, Sarah had never been so happy in all of her young life. Last night at the summer festival she had met Tom, a nice fellow who had spent all of his time there with her and even walked her home. It was the best evening she had ever experienced. Even more so, Tom had spoken to her father. She could not believe it but the guy actually had got her father to permit her to see Tom. She thought she had heard wrong. 

She thought she was lost in a foolish dream of wishful thinking. She could not believe it. Her first reaction she was speechless. She could not believe what she had heard. She had to commend Tom for even attempting it. She was shocked that it had worked at all. She felt as if she were walking on air. She couldn't wait she wanted to tell someone about it. She decided to walk to Gwen's it would be something she would want to hear. Sarah walked to Gwen's it really wasn't far from her own home. She wanted to talk to her and Gwen was nice, she always had been.

Sarah walked quickly to Gwen's it was nearly the afternoon, she wondered how her night went at the festival as well? She could not wait to talk to her. She was glad it had been so easy to make friends here. She was very happy about that. When she finally made it to Gwen's cottage at the top of the hill, she knocked on the door. Sophia answered it, as the last time. Sophia, being a polite person, invited Sarah in for coffee, if she were willing. Sarah accepted graciously. She sat and had coffee with Gwen's mother for well over an hour. She had a nice time.

Sarah would be looking forward to it, as well as turning sixteen just before all hallows eve. She could not wait for her birthday. Sixteen was not just a year, it was a defining year in one's life. Sixteen meant you were old enough to marry, if you chose to do so. It was a year of freedom. A year to do what you want. when you want to do it. Before sarah realized it, she had made it back to her own home. That was faster than I thought sarah said under her breath. She had always enjoyed the walk, it had always helped her think. She liked to see the animals and small creatures, but her passion was butterflies. She found them to be one of the most interesting and delicate creatures of the forest. She had always adored them, as a small girl she used to wait outside until she saw one.

She could still remember the way the breeze felt one hot late summer afternoon when she was a child around seven or eight. There was this blue-black butterfly. It was the most amazing thing she had experienced. The butterfly swirled, first around her feet and then it began swirling all the way around her, landing on her arm, as if to look at her. It was strange but one of her fondest memories was that afternoon. She called it the dance of the butterfly. It was the coolest thing that she had seen. Ever since that day, she had a love and respect of the butterfly. Those small simplistic creatures brought her such peace and wonderment, engulfing her in the magic of nature.

Once she had made it back into her house she stepped in and immediately said hello to her father. Her father said hello. Then after a slight pause he looked right at her. " There is something for you in your room."

"You got me something papa?" she asked puzzled.

"Not me, Tom stopped by and left it for you." He corrected her.

"What is it?" She exclaimed.

"Hell if I know, go on in there and open it."

Sarah ran to her room, the suspense was getting to her. Sarah walked into her bedroom and saw a box sitting on her bed. She inspected the package for all of three seconds. Then she carefully lifted the lid to see what sort of a present Tom had left for her. She looked inside the box, it took her a few minutes to realize that he had sent her something she never expected there was a beautiful sapphire necklace with matching earrings. Her eyes widened to double their original size. She blinked not once but three times. It was very impressive. She smiled, a bright beaming smile. She could not believe it. She had never been so surprised in hr life, she had also never gotten a gift from a fellow before, it was a great feeling. She could not believe he did that. Then she recalled the note. She opened it and began to read his short scribbling.

My dear Sarah,

I wanted to give something beautiful to you.

Think of me,

Tom

Sarah looked like she was going to cry any minute. Just then her father went into her room to see what the kid had sent his young daughter to cause such silence. He knew Sarah she did not understand the concept of quiet. It was not possible for her to stand in a room for ten minutes and say nothing. He knew something was up. He saw she was almost in tears.

" Sarah what is the matter?" He asked wondering what would make her so emotional. Then he looked inside the box. Even he could not believe it. " Holy shit" was her father's only response to the jewelry Tom ad sent his fifteen year old daughter. He gave his daughter a hug, then went back into the main room. Sarah sat in her room alone and tried on the jewelry that Tom had sent to her.

Sarah could not believe that Tom had sent these remarkable jewels to her, she was amazed by his generosity. She was impressed and a little overwhelmed by it. She was sure she would be seeing him again very soon. She was not sure where he lived, but she could find out. If Emily did not know where he lives, James probably would. Then Sarah thought for a moment. Emily's wedding was in a few days, maybe Tom would be there? She hoped so. She couldn't wait for it, not only Tom but all the friend she had made would be there. Since she and her family moved there she had made a few friends, but she was closest to Emily. She had also spent more time with Gwen than she used to, now the family was completely settled in here. She hoped that they would not move again anytime soon. Sarah was beginning to like it in Galderia.

Sarah lay in her bed for a long while, then she suddenly reached under the bed and pulled out an old shoe-box. She set it on the bed and began to slowly open it. It's contents were of her quill, ink and current diary. She had kept it for years, writing in it only by order of importance. She wrote in it before and after they moved. She added to it again when she had met Emily and Gwen. She wanted to add a few things in it now. She flipped to the first blank page she could find. She began to fill the page, writing about Emily's wedding, and the festival. She wrote about Tom. She wrote about meeting him, through James, emily's intended. She wrote down that Gwen was there with her fellow too. 

By then she had filled three and a half pages. Sarah was truly happy for Emily. She thought James was great, a nice guy. He was perfect for Emily. He was the life of the room, a real peacekeeper. He always tried to make sure that everyone was having fun when he was around. Sarah also thought of him as her angel of mercy. He introduced Tom to her, now she had someone in her life. Someone to go places with, to share things, to make memories over the summer that she may look back on when old age set in, a long time from now. She was happy for Emily, who treated her more like a sister than a friend of a year. She always made Sarah feel included even if it was a simple walk to the center of town and back again.

Her thoughts were going all over the place. The wedding coming up, her friends, the festival and of course Tom. She had only met him last night, but she could not wait to see him again. She also did not mind him invading her thoughts like this. It was all so new to her. She wondered if she would see Tom again before Emily's wedding. She really hoped so. She wondered what Tom was up to today? It was the afternoon, she did not want to sit at home all evening but she also did no want to be out in case Tom were to stop by again. She wished she could just go see him, but that was impossible, she had no clue where he lived. She had talked with him at the festival, but she wanted to know more. She wanted to know everything about him.

She pulled out her diary again, where she had placed the note from Tom. It read think of me. She put the jewelry on and sat on the bed. She closed her eyes and pictured Tom in her mind. She thought of his eyes, his smile. His hair. She remembered his scent, it had been intoxicating to her, she then thought of his laugh, she thought of him, concentrating with all the energy she had. She concentrated on the way he made her feel. He made sarah feel like she was living in a dream, she'd never felt so many emotions at once. A flood of caring, infatuation, worry, nervousness and a bit of fear. She did not know what to expect, it was new territory for her.

She waited, half way expecting something to happen. She felt like an idiot. What did she expect? Was she foolish enough to assume if she thought hard enough that Tom would just show up? Perhaps materialize in front of her? She wanted to kick herself for believing in such a child like fantasy. She shook the thought away as if it were a bug. She headed over to her closet to see if her blue dress would match the jewels Tom sent her. She slipped the dress on, then she looked in her bedroom mirror. It was a perfect match. She thought maybe I will wear this to the wedding reception? It was being held in the pub after the wedding would be taking place. Sarah hoped to have her first glass of wine there. She did not think it would happen, but she could hope so.

Sarah paced in her bedroom, slightly bored just for today. The next few days would be full of activity. Sarah knew it.She could not wait for all of the fun after Emily and James were wed. She was really glad that she moved here. She felt like she could really be happy here, it was a great place so far. She could see herself here, long after she would marry, if that happened she would probably want to stay. She could have a nice life here. She had met a lot of the townspeople and they were friendly, nice folks. She had made some real friends here, and she met someone. She also wondered where Tom was, what he was doing. Sarah did not understand why she could not stop thinking about him, even though they had only spent hours together the day before.

Sarah listened intently to see if she could tell who it was that came calling to the door. She listened and she could hardly believe it when she heard Tom s voice. She was giddy with anticipation. She leaned against the door to listen to their conversation. It was Tom, he was here to see her again, she resisted the urge to jump up and down like a child on Christmas day. Then for a split second she wondered if the jewelry had done it? No no she thought to herself. That is blasphemy, the devils work. She ignored the entire train of thought. She smiled as she heard Tom ask her father's permission to take his daughter out for the evening. Then she heard her papa say yes. She nearly wanted to faint.

She checked to make sure she looked alright, she fixed her hair, only a little out of place. She went into the living area where she saw Tom, who seemed very glad to see she was home. She gave her father a hug before leaving with Tom for the evening. she was really having a good time talking with him. She found him to be funny, charming and intelligent. She did not care where they were going. She was out of the house for an evening with a great guy. One who it seemed liked her as well.

they went for a very long walk through the forest. She did not care she listened as Tom talked with her. She had made sure to thank him for the jewelry, she told him he did not have to buy her things. He told her to get used to it, he was going to spoil her. She started to blush as red as a tomato, she was not used to this kind of attention. The sun was setting as Sarah walked with Tom into the now darkening forest. He had taken her through the west part of the forest, she had not come this way before. She found it to be amazing and very serene. The trees were enormous, and beautiful. Further into the forest were several narrow hills and valleys. She thought it looked gorgeous as the sun was setting behind the magnificent view.

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