For May Day or rather Beltane,
In all the world of heathendom there was no such thing more beautiful then Beltane. The goddess came down to earth on that eve to mingle with the hearts of mortals and cast them into each other arms. It was with this, that young Juniper came to a sacred grove in a trance. Wearing only a simple linen dress of green and a ring of flowers on her brow she stepped into the glen. Other young people came too drawn by the hand of the Goddess. There was a great fire lit, a Bard sang gently plucking the strings of his harp. The blood orange light of the fire mingled with the silver moon glow so that the whole glen and the surrounding grove was bright. The foxtail and white blossoms amongst the grass were ablaze in the light. Juniper saw that some were dancing softly to the Harper, others sat and watched the fire, leaning back on their elbows. Some had even begun to whisper gently into one another’s ears. Juniper walked around the glen admiring the Mother’s work sprouting from the earth. She knelt running her fingers through the grass. To her it seemed time had slowed so that her hands moved with the pace of the seasons change.
When she rose the Harper cast his sight in her direction and she smiled back at him, she realized he was looking beyond her. She turned to see Finbar her Uncle’s young esquire. He was taller then her, not lanky and yet not at all heavy set. His eyes were blazing from the light of the fire. She looked back at the Harper but he had turned his attention towards the sky. She felt Finbar behind her. This was not the boy who blushed and hid his eyes from her every time they spoke at court. He had become bold, no doubt the Goddess had inspired some sort of courage in him this eve. He took her hand and she turned to look at him. He pressed his mouth to hers and they kissed. He held her close to him. He let his hands move all over her body and she enjoyed it. She felt as if he had always been next to her, that their hearts were bound, She smiled as he held her close to him. And she was lined with silver from the moon and filled up with warm gold from the fire. If he left her then she would die of sorrow in the instant. But he did not and they lay together in the grove and after looked at the stars wielding overhead. When morning came she opened her eyes to see him sound asleep, his arms wrapped around her. She sat up and recovered her dress and with her fingers arranged her healthy reddish copper hair as neatly as she could. He arose then and blushed. They looked at each other for a little while, noticing that the feelings of the night before were not just for the occasion, but had spilled over them like the sun over the horizon that morning.
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