Arkhaven logo

From some unseen location, Vi, like a street magician, produced a key. The key looked as though of crystal with a bronze-rimmed hole in its bow, and it glowed, covering the side of the bell in a pale, rainbow ripple. Vi pulled back his arm and then swung. The key struck the bell, and the clearest sound Eibhlin had ever heard sang through the air. Clear, sharp, like pure glass, but hard as diamond, unbreakable, immortal. Eibhlin’s legs gave out.


As soon as the sound stopped, Vi looked back down, waving the key in the air. “Pretty bell! Small bell. Vi cannot ring big bell. Too heavy, but Vi can ring small bell. Pretty bell.”


Vi struck the bell again, and Eibhlin shivered as the sound passed through her again. The creature laughed. Eibhlin tried to speak, but her voice would not come out, as if banished by the sound of the key upon the bell. She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. Fear resurfaced. What if, on a third ring, she wouldn’t even be able to breathe? She did not even have the energy to be startled when Melaioni’s voice rose above Vi’s exclamations.


“That key, Son of Star’s Shadows, my lady seeks that key,” it said. “It is our purpose in coming to this tower.”


Vi stopped and stared. “Sunstrands did not come to ring bells?”


“N-no.” Eibhlin managed, though she sounded a few pitches higher than she had intended. “No. I- we didn’t come here to ring the bells. We came looking for any hint to find Mealla’s key.”


“Mealla?”


“The Lady of Gates and Roads,” answered Mel.


At the description, Vi’s speck-like eyes enlarged. “Lady of Doors?”


“Yes.”


“Sun’s Faithful?”


“Among many other titles.”


“Lady of Keys who gave Vi this key?” the creature asked, holding out the key in question.


“Yes. That key,” Eibhlin said. “Please, Vi, give it to me! I really need it.”


Vi swung himself up and scurried back over to and down the bell rope until he was only a few feet from Eibhlin. At that closeness, he seemed even less defined than from a distance. He held up the key. “Sunstrands wants Vi’s key?” he asked.


“Yes.”


“Vi cannot ring small bell without key.”


“Ah. W-well…”


“Vi cannot ring big bell. Too heavy. But with key, Vi can ring small bell. Pretty bell. But if Sunstrands has key, Vi cannot ring small bell, either.”


A chill crept into Eibhlin’s heart. She remembered climbing the stairs and its fear and the terror of facing the dark elf. This new feeling was somewhere between, though she wasn’t sure to which it was closer. She spoke slowly, “Vi, I need that key.”


“Even if Vi cannot ring small bell?”


Eibhlin nodded. A moment later, she wished she had not. Vi’s eyes grew till the glowing orbs filled most of his smoky form, and his mouth stretched across his face, thin as the first sliver of moonlight after a new moon. Starting from her chest and spreading to the rest of her body, Eibhlin froze, as if her heart were pumping ice.

Vi spoke. “If Sunstrands wants Vi’s key, then bring Vi something else. Bring something else to ring small bell. If Sunstrands brings something good, then Vi will trade.”


“And if I don’t?”


“Then Vi will eat your thieving heart.”


Eibhlin’s voice withered to a squeak.


Melaioni yelled, “Eibhlin, wait! Don’t spea—”


“She has already spoken, Child of the Knowledge Speaker. Now, Sun’s Daughter, Vi will wait three days. Bring Vi new ringer of bell, and Vi will trade Vi’s key. Come tomorrow or tomorrow’s tomorrow or to-morrow’s tomorrow’s tomorrow and ring bell. Vi will answer and see what you have brought.”


With that, the creature dashed back up the rope and was lost amongst the shadows. When the creature did not appear again for several minutes, Eibhlin stumbled to her feet, picked up Mel, and hugged the instrument close as she began down the stairs. Halfway down, it vibrated against her fingers as it said, “Be careful of the steps, Milady. There is very little light.”


In almost a whisper, Eibhlin asked, “Are you talking normally to me again?”


“Would you rather I keep silent?”


“No. Thank you.” She went down several more steps before she spoke again, grabbing the first topic that came to her thawing thoughts. “You called Mealla ‘Lady of Gates and Roads’ and ‘Sun’s Faithful’ and stuff like that. What did you mean?”


“Mealla, or rather the fairy you call Mealla, is one of the eldest in both the Mortal and Fae Realms. Some believe she might even be one of the few remaining who were born at the Dawn of Time, though there is no way to know for sure. As for her titles, powerful immortals tend to get those. If you ever wish to hear the related stories, just ask. I cannot play myself, but I can at least tell the stories,” replied Mel.


Eibhlin’s voice trembled. “I made a deal with a pretty powerful fairy, didn’t I?”


“Yes.”


Gripping the instrument tighter, she asked, “And what about Vi? What kind of creature or power is he?”


“I am not sure,” came the answer. “The full nature of the Fae and its creatures are still unknown to me. Honestly, Milady, the Fae itself is beyond me. But in this case, it does not really matter how powerful or of what race he is, does it? Either you satisfy him, or you die.” 

Vi's Price panel 2
Fairy Door series cover
Vi's Price episode cover
17K views978 likes
8 comments

Fairy Door

Created by
author avatar placeholder
V. A. Boston
After years of neglect from her father, Eibhlin has had enough. But when a purse of infinite gold, a fairy, and a trade shatter what little relationship she has with her father, she resolves to set things right. Aided by a magic compass and a talking instrument, she now seeks three magic keys and their magic doors to find the fairy once again and recover what was lost. She broke their relationship. Now, she’ll brave the Fae to fix it. If she can get there. From the fantasy tradition of The Chronicles of Prydain and The Hobbit comes a tale of love and redemption perfect for fans of all ages.
Returning Home+Afterword episode cover
Returning Home+AfterwordEpisode #60
Then What Will You Do? episode cover
Then What Will You Do?Episode #59
I Just Can't episode cover
I Just Can'tEpisode #58
The One She Sought episode cover
The One She SoughtEpisode #57
The Fading Man episode cover
The Fading ManEpisode #56
Mists of Memory episode cover
Mists of MemoryEpisode #55
The Hammer episode cover
The HammerEpisode #54
Lady Mealla episode cover
Lady MeallaEpisode #53
True Magic episode cover
True MagicEpisode #52
Back to the Beginning episode cover
Back to the BeginningEpisode #51
A Moment to Breathe episode cover
A Moment to BreatheEpisode #50
The Moon's Scar episode cover
The Moon's ScarEpisode #49
Moonstricken episode cover
MoonstrickenEpisode #48
What Remained episode cover
What RemainedEpisode #47
Chaos and Mourning episode cover
Chaos and MourningEpisode #46
The Witch's Triumph episode cover
The Witch's TriumphEpisode #45
The Color of Sunbeams episode cover
The Color of SunbeamsEpisode #44
Temptation episode cover
TemptationEpisode #43
The Witch of Hours episode cover
The Witch of HoursEpisode #42
Thresholds episode cover
ThresholdsEpisode #41
The Tower episode cover
The TowerEpisode #40
Frantic Escape episode cover
Frantic EscapeEpisode #39
Memory of Tragedy episode cover
Memory of TragedyEpisode #38
Fae Moon episode cover
Fae MoonEpisode #37
The Witch's Swamp episode cover
The Witch's SwampEpisode #36
Into the Fae episode cover
Into the FaeEpisode #35
Wicked Dealings episode cover
Wicked DealingsEpisode #34
Pangs of Conscience episode cover
Pangs of ConscienceEpisode #33
The Monks episode cover
The MonksEpisode #32
Tensilkir episode cover
TensilkirEpisode #31
Comfort in the Dark episode cover
Comfort in the DarkEpisode #30
Departure and Darkness episode cover
Departure and DarknessEpisode #29
Better Hands, Better Heart episode cover
Better Hands, Better HeartEpisode #28
The Final Day episode cover
The Final DayEpisode #27
Vi's Price episode cover
Vi's PriceEpisode #26
Keeper of the Bells episode cover
Keeper of the BellsEpisode #25
Up the Bell Tower episode cover
Up the Bell TowerEpisode #24
Rumors of Bells and Fae episode cover
Rumors of Bells and FaeEpisode #23
The Fae Realm episode cover
The Fae RealmEpisode #22
Enchanted Instrument episode cover
Enchanted InstrumentEpisode #21
The Seaside City episode cover
The Seaside CityEpisode #20
The Compass episode cover
The CompassEpisode #19
The First Key episode cover
The First KeyEpisode #18
Aftermath episode cover
AftermathEpisode #17
The Dark Elf episode cover
The Dark ElfEpisode #16
The Messenger of History episode cover
The Messenger of HistoryEpisode #15
The Kithara episode cover
The KitharaEpisode #14
Untamed Trees episode cover
Untamed TreesEpisode #13
The Craftsman episode cover
The CraftsmanEpisode #12
Elshiran episode cover
ElshiranEpisode #11
Elven Counsel episode cover
Elven CounselEpisode #10
Through the Door episode cover
Through the DoorEpisode #9
Fairy Key episode cover
Fairy KeyEpisode #8
Into the Woods episode cover
Into the WoodsEpisode #7
Decision episode cover
DecisionEpisode #6
The After Storm episode cover
The After StormEpisode #5
A Midnight Exchange episode cover
A Midnight ExchangeEpisode #4
The Broken episode cover
The BrokenEpisode #3
The Cracks episode cover
The CracksEpisode #2
The Border Town Girl episode cover
The Border Town GirlEpisode #1
,
List icon
Comment icon
Prev icon
Next icon
Fullscreen icon