AN: LOL thanks! The response to the update was overwhelming. It's funny but the day after I posted the last chapter was my birth day. I expected to get emails from family and church friends only. That morning when I opened up my email there were over a hundred 'favorites', 'follows', and a couple of reviews thrown in there. I was speechless. Then I checked the stats and was blown away. Thank each and every one of you for the best BD gift. See the rest of my note below.

RobSmutLovers, honey I don't know where you rec'd it but you're good at getting the word out. Thanks for the BD gift even if you didn't know you were sending me one.

THE DARK DANCE Sleeping Beauty and the Child

I've never liked the feeling of waking up. I don't bounce up ready to go. No, I'm always in a fog. This waking however is different. I feel heat on my face, the sound of the surf in my ears, the screech of the gulls on the wing. The smell of salty surf mingles with the coconut tanning oil. I defiantly like this sort of waking up. I want to purr. Ah, there it is, a finger drawing patterns on my stomach. I giggle as a well-oiled finger slides down a little lower toward my bikini bottom.

Edward and I had an easy time planning the wedding since Rose and Alice handled most of it. We were mostly just told to 'put this on' and 'stand here and smile'. I liked it that way. It was a garden wedding, which was so romantic. Dad flew down from Washington to give me away. Mom and her husband actually came back from Japan, I had my doubts that they would be able to but they came through.

After the wedding we danced half the night at the reception. Ferns and fairy lights hung from the oaks trees over the dance floor. It looked like a film set, by the end of the night I was dancing on bare feet. The food was over by the pool and Alice arranged for candles and flowers to float in the pool. I'm so glad I didn't have to clean that up.

Edward handled the honeymoon. He wanted it to be a surprise and boy was it. It took us forever to get here. We flew down to Brazil then took a boat to a small island off the coast. We are on Isla… what was that name again? The name rests on the back of my tongue but I can't bring it forward…

/\\/\\

April in the Cotswold's is so romantic. Edward kept our honeymoon a secret up until we checked in at Virgin Air. I almost made a scene in the Airport I was so happy. He said he wanted to show me where all my favorite books came from. So, I'm on the search for Mr. Darcy with my very own Mr. Darcy. I don't think I could have found a more perfect man to love.

We are based outside of a picturesque village in a small cottage named after a woman who lived there in the sixteenth century. A woman who the villagers swear was a fairy queen. A picture of her sits in a gilded frame over the mantle. She was a tiny woman with very odd green eyes and bright red hair that was almost the color of blood rubies…

/\\/\\

Venice is the city of love….

/\\/\\

In an enchanted cavern deep inside the earth there is a small round room. Firelight flickers from torches on the wall casting odd shadows which seem to move. If you approach carefully you will find the walls are covered with pale green moths. Aboveground they are called Luna Moths, but these specimens are much larger than their aboveground cousins. These are the size of dinner plates, with stingers that drip poison. They are the soft guardians of a lone figure shrouded in gossamer silk.

Her resting place lies in the center of the chamber upon a narrow slab with sheets of royal blue silk. Dressed in a cream colored gown the sleeping beauty slumbers undisturbed by visitors, seemingly forgotten by time. The shroud of translucent silk covers but does little to hide the rich chestnut hair that falls in waves across her pillow or the slight pink blush upon her naturally pail complexion. The rose lips are slightly parted as if waiting for a kiss. Shadowed lids and dark lashes cover eyes that move occasionally from the dreams that dance behind them.

/\\/\\

On the bank of an enchanted spring a little girl plays in the sand near the water. She has pale moonlight skin and hair that falls to her waist that is the color of pidgin blood rubies. Her eyes are the color of South American emeralds and they sparkle with energy and humor. She looks like she is three years old.

At the moment she is building a sandcastle with a plastic pail and shovel, her giggles float through the air. Demifey flutter about adding small stones and flowers to the growing sandcastle. A butter yellow demifey approached with a yellow wildflower in her arms. She struggled because it was almost as big as she. Landing gently she placed the delicate flower in the child's hand and watched with a big smile as she placed it at the top of the sandcastle.

From the shade of a massive oak tree a golden woman walks, she has golden tan skin and hair the color of molten gold. She is nude and shows no shame to be so. She walks by the little girl ruffling her hair as she strolls into the water. She waits till she is hip deep to lean forward and start into a slow crawl for the opposite end of the spring. At the other end of the clear blue pool several gray scaled heads pop up like turtles waiting for an angler to throw out a line. They watch the golden beauty swim their way with eyes black as night. Dark male laughter floats across the water as one by one the heads submerge.

From the forest behind the child comes a crashing through the underbrush. The child's head turns and her startled eyes go wide. From the forest charges a man, also nude except for an assortment of knives strapped to his arms and a large sheath holding a sword draped around his naked waist. She shows so shock or surprise at his nudity, only rolls her eyes at the armed behemoth crashing through the forest. As he passes the child he drops the waist scabbard with the sword and yells, "Watch that for me Esme!" He charges past her into the water causing a large wave to disturb the tranquility of the scene before her.

"When will he ever learn?" a voice behind her turns her from the water again as a couple walks her way with blankets. "The male water nymphs just do that to get a rise out of him. Rose would never give them the time of day other than to bask in their admiration."

"Aunt Alley!" The child jumps up and runs to the woman she calls her aunt. "Come play with us Aunt Alley, we building castles, and making pretty with flowers." She has a childish lilt. She holds her pudgy little hands up bouncing impatiently to be picked up. The minute her 'aunt' lifts the child hugs her tightly then pulls back with a grin, a very sharp tooth grin. "Got cha!" She says a giggles wickedly.

Alice's eyes got big for a moment. "You are getting better at that sweetie; I didn't even feel the pull." The girl starts wiggling wanting down. Alice complies looking thoughtful and then asks, "What did you pull Esme?"

A childish giggle answers her, "Your sight, and a little of the hungry stuff."

"Hungry stuff? What is the hungry stuff? "She asked the child curiously. "Are you saying Esme that you are feeding off me as well as borrowing my gifts?"

"Yum, yum I got you in my belly." She said in a voice mimicking Fat Bastard, and the little girl fell over giggling kicking chubby little legs into the air with her mirth...almost rolling over our favorite blue demifay. Demifey take to the air around her in a swarm, tiny winged people in a rainbow of colors.

"Has Uncle Emmet let you watch Austin Powers again?" This only brought more giggles. But the giggles stopped suddenly with a gasp. "Esme, Esme?" The child didn't answer; her eyes are staring into a future that plays invisibly in front of her. Alice grabbed her hand and Esme pulled her into the vision.

They are in a throne room with a ceiling of purple crystals. A figure in a black gown with a crown of obsidian sits upon a crystal throne. The face is cruel and sneers down at the body of a brunette human at her feet. She is dressed in cream silk. "Bring my son and the child."

Childish giggles dance the air as a small girl is carried toward the Queen by a handsome tall black man with dreads falling to his waist.

/\\/\\

AN: Wow, I started this fic back in 2012 when a fairy ring popped up in my mother's front lawn. That day was bright and sunny and I was taking care of their lawn which is a massive undertaking. Like the story I was hot, sweaty, and just wanted to be finished. The fairy ring was small, only a meter across. My imagination just went crazy. I wish to this day I had gone back at midnight and danced in it. Next time I find one, I will.

The reader response from the start was good. I think in the ensuing years I racked up over three hundred reviews and a bit of the same on follows and fav's. But, ho lee crap, I have never seen the type of response I've received since the update I put out last week. The reviews and well wishes mean a lot to me. Thank y'all so much!

FFN has this cool option where it gives you a breakdown of the numbers by each country reading. I looked at that and was even more awed. It's gone all over the world! To places that I have visited and some I've only dreamed of going. So I say hello to everyone out there reading this, my neighbors here in the States and the lone readers huddled around their laptops and pads so very far away.

Just another thing guys, fill out the Bio's. I love to see the flags and learn about people. I check and read the bio on everyone that pops up on my board. It just takes a second or two. Just say hi I'm from... way far away. You are fascinating! Every one of you is looking for fantasy and escape from this world and we find it here on FFN. You are not alone. So, here is a shout out to all the countries with only one reader. Hi guys, thanks for reading. Bosnia & Herzegovina, Hungary, Nepal (on my vacation bucket list), Israel, Dominica, Taiwan, Chili, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Pakistan, Hong Kong, and Latvia.