Emma stood rooted, drinking in every detail of this enchanted glade. The melody of magical harmonies drifted through leafy boughs heavy with diamond dust instead of raindrops. Faerie folk flitted overhead on gossamer wings, their dancing echoes of color and light.
Aisling gazed fondly at Emma's rapt wonder. "Beautiful, is it not? This is the heart of the forest, where mortal eyes do not tread. The deep magic sustains all life here, in balance with the trees' dreaming." She drifted closer, the space between them alive with crackling energy. Yet Emma did not feel afraid.
"I never wished for you to see this, child. The glamour may entrance mortal minds until memory fades." Aisling's melodic voice held an edge of regret. "Yet curiosity led you here regardless. And I find I do not want our meetings to end."
Emma reached out instinctively, grasping Aisling's slender fingers. Warmth spread from their touch, battling the autumn chill. "Please, do not send me from this place," she pleaded. "I want only to understand the beauty you've revealed to me."
Aisling smiled sadly. "Mortals were not made to linger in Arcadia. Your kind withers where deep magic flows." She brushed back Emma's hair, tracing elegant brows with a leaf-shaped hand. "But mayhaps, in the borderlands between our realms, a middle path could be found."
Emma knew then she'd follow this strange, wonderful creature to the edges of the earth. If finding her place between two worlds was the price of staying by Aisling's side, it was one she gladly chose to pay.