"You we're right, Thiton is really good at playing zither... and her name is the only one I remember." Ruby nods and smiles sitting next to me but keeps her eyes fixed on the fairy who's bowing her head to thank the audience for their kind compliments. The clearing of the forest is covered with colourful primroses and there's a gorgeous ceiling above our heads made of apple tree pink flowers, the eye catching dresses the major fairies and other magical creatures are wearing play their part in this kaleidoscope of colour. "Wait a minute... Is that Alice?" I ask confused while watching a blonde girl wearing blue running between trees.
"Yes, I think so..." my wife mumbles grabbing a glass from a table.
"Do you think she's still chasing that white rabbit?"
"Probably yes, they're elusive animals..."
As Ruby predicted, there's a lot of food and drinks: walnut pies and bottles of blueberry liquor, meat pies and cider, roasted chestnuts... A group of dwarves takes Thiton's place on the stage and starts playing music to dance while the servants move chairs away and bring more bottles of liquor. I wasn't expecting such a massive party since Avalon has a reputation for being a hidden island, a secret and enchanted kingdom, very mysterious and the source of countless legends even among inhabitants of fairy tale forests, but all the ladies ruling over this castle have invited their families, Morgan's older sisters are here too, and some friends. There's a bunch of elves that come from distant lands and wear exotic clothes, the powerful sorceress Circe has come with her entourage from her island in the Mediterranean Sea, the Snow Queen is sitting in the shade under an apple tree fanning herself, I guess it's too hot for her here... More dwarves, fairies, witches, necromancers, knights and ladies from different courts, druids...
Ruby takes a sip of her glass of sweet wine absentmindedly watching the guests getting drunk little by little while they dance and laugh, the noise level is high and my ruby heel taps on the ground following the rhythm of the drum but we remain sat on one side of the clearing while pretending to eat hazelnut pastries. My wife has decided that we shouldn't mingle with magical creatures, Rumpelstiltskin is here and she's afraid he could fool me with one of his tricks, so we wait for Morgana to be busy talking to the elves or too drunk to notice that we sneak out of her party. The thick silk shawl slips from my shoulders and I let it fall on the back of my chair, relieved: it's too hot in this forest and I'm happy I left the protective cape in our bedroom because it'd be too much.
"We'd better hurry up," I hear Ruby whispering while she leaves her glass on a side table. "Before things get even hotter."
"What?! I ask confused, getting up and following her while she walks slowly, smiling and greeting some guests, getting closer to the castle's gate even if she seems to be wandering aimlessly.
"As I told you, Avalon's parties end up in orgies to honour Mother Earth's fertility and this is why sensuality drifts through the atmosphere." The witch waves her hand and I realize that some knights have taken their doublets off and ladies fan themselves with their hands as if the heat were unbearable while they dance but they laugh out loud while servants are busy bringing more and more drinks. "I believe Morgan and her friends are capable of pouring an aphrodisiac in the liquor to improve the mood of their guests so the most shy also join the fun, I don't know, but I know everybody will take all their clothes off in less than one hour and will look for a partner, or several, to have fun behind the bushes."
"Aphrodisiac?" I ask scared remembering the night I met her, in her cave, when I felt I was burning alive and Ruby was the only one who could put out the fire that was consuming me. I don't want to experience that again, I mean, I already forgave my wife for that incident and I'm really happy sharing her bed but I prefer to be aware of what I'm doing.
