Far and wide, at bed-time, fairy folk
tell their young ones the story of the Fay With Glass
Hair.
No one remembers, not even the glass-haired fairy herself,
how long she has stood on her remote hilltop, keeping
her lonely vigil.
Many years ago, she was known throughout fairydom
for her beautiful lustrous hair, which had almost a
life of its own. It seemed in constant motion, wafting
and rippling on the slightest breeze, and framing her
lovely features in the most entrancing ways.
Of course, she had many suitors. But she was a wild
thing, even for a fairy, and took their attentions lightly.
One day the Elf King himself came to court her. He looked,
to her, at once so earnest and yet so cocky and sure
of himself, she couldn't help but burst out laughing.
The Elf King grew very still and cold. And as she stood,
still laughing, her hair blowing softly about her face
in the most enchanting ways, he gave her a look so hard
that it instantly turned her hair to glass.
"Now no one can ever love you or even touch you,"
he murmured, "not without destroying that which
you value most."
And so she stands alone on her hilltop, waiting for
someone to come to lift her enchantment. But no one
ever does. And the Fairy Folk tell their children the
Legend of the Fay With Glass hair, as a warning about
the follies of extreme vanity.
But, there is more to her story. There is always more
to anyone's story. What no one knows is the reason she
so prizes her hair.
When she was a child, she wasn't good at the usual
fairy crafts and skills, like her cleverer brothers
and sisters. She was ever being compared unfavorably
to them, and they in turn would tease her for her failings.
But, she had her hair. And from an early age, wherever
she went, actual crowds would gather to marvel at her
one glorious asset.
And so she stands on her hilltop, as the seasons shift
around her in unending cycles. Because what no one understands
is that if her hair shatters, she will be nothing, no
one, and no one could ever possibly love her. Or so
she believes.
Because there is one more thing no one understands
about her -- long before she became the Fay with Glass
Hair, she was always fragile, always breakable.
