Many of you may not be aware of a special WG Anniversary we are celebrating this week. When Colette posts her Mabon discussion it will be ONE YEAR of WG Discussions. Exciting, huh?
Well, in honor of the anniversary, I wrote this story.
Enjoy!
****************************************************
One year ago today, give or take a few weeks, Mab, Cerr, and Anna were sitting in the Mod Lounge trying to come up with ideas to make Witchgrove more appealing and to get people to post more.
The Mod Lounge was littered with cigarette butts, empty bottles of red wine, and a few leftover hormone tabs Cerr forgot to take. The garbage can (that's rubbish bin to you Brits) was overflowing with sheets of paper containing lists of failed ideas. Of course the paper would be recycled later. Mab's chain smoking was getting on Cerr and Anna's nerves so she took her cigarettes outside for some fresh air and more tar in her lungs.
Mab settled down on the mushroom outside and lit her cigarette. She took inventory of her surroundings making sure everything was in check and there wasn't anything that needed her attention.
Except for the stone circle in the distance.
"'Kin hell!" Mab thought to herself, "Where did those stones come from? I thought I knew every inch of the Grove!"
She squinted and rubbed her eyes and looked again. The stones were still there.
"Hmm.. must be a trick."
She shrugged and took a few more puffs on her cigarette and put it out. She got up, stretched, and brushed herself off (Mushrooms can be very dusty you know) and turned to back into the Mod Hut.
Before her hand reached the handle do the door something behind the Mod hut caught her eye. Was it a flash of light? A streaker? Someone up late? No lights were on except for the light of Anna's rose colored lighthouse.. but that wasn't even facing the Grove!
She shrugged again and figured Anna had put a little something in her cigarettes when she wasn't looking. Serves her right for suggesting each member adopt a Mod for a month until they post more. As she turned again to go back inside she saw a flash of light behind the hut.
"Aweoeyeowieo aoeiowein woeiowieo yeowowow garble garble garble!" Mab yelled at the dark. This is Black Country speak for: "All right! Who ever is playing with the flashlight needs to stop! Don't make me come over there!"
She strained and listened for voices but got no response except for a few croaking toads and chirping crickets. But Mab wasn't fooled. As we all know Mab is a smart cookie. When her super-keen spider sense went off and caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up she knew something was up.
Mab walked behind the Mod Hut and squinted into the dark. There in the distance was faint white light and the sound of sound of feet shuffling and pocket watches winding.
She waited against the Mod Hut and the noises got louder and the white light came into focus. What she saw made Mab rub her eyes. Running towards her was a white rabbit wearing a sports coat and a nice McAllister Clan kilt. He was winding his watch and muttering something about being late.
He didn't notice the confused woman in front of him and passed Mab without saying hello.
"Mutter mutter.. wind wind," said the rabbit as he ran away from Mab and towards the stone circle.
Mab watched this all take place and stood there with a confused look on her face. Not wanting to be left behind Mab decided to run after him.
"Oh Mr. Rabbit! Mr. Rabbit! Wait!!" Mab wailed.
Before the story continues we need to take pause and discuss this kilted rabbit. This rabbit isn't your average Kilted White Rabbit you have read about in storybooks. Oh no.. this is a special kind of rabbit. He is The Idea Rabbit. The Idea Rabbit appears around the time you want to throw your computer out a window because you can't finish your story. The Idea Rabbit appears right before you give up hope on a project you can't finish. In this case the rabbit was just wandering through the Grove because he thought it looked nice… and he wanted to show off his new kilt.
I digress. Where were we? Oh yes.. Mab and running.
So Mab is running across the Grove with dreads flying. She runs and runs and about the time she decides running is for the birds and she should really to quit smoking, she realizes she is not in the Grove anymore. She is standing directly in the middle of the stone circle and can't seem to get out.
"Bloody hell!" Mab yelled in frustration (because that's what all Brits say when they're upset), "What have I done?! I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning?"
She kicked the grass and considered lighting another cigarette but something caught her attention. The little divot of grass she kicked (which she will be fined for by the WG Groundskeepers) was slowly sinking into the ground creating a hole. Mab was impressed by the divot's ability to create a perfectly round hole complete with an earthen slide big enough for someone her size to get through.
The hole got deeper and deeper and stopped after a few minutes. Little bits of grass and rocks crumbled around it but the hole looked structurally sound. Mab stepped forward to investigate the hole but stopped when the rabbit came out from behind a stone. He was so excited to see the sinkhole that he didn't see Mab in the corner. He ran to the mouth of the hole and squealed with glee.
"Oh brilliant!! I was so hoping I wouldn't have to muddy my paws and make my own hole. Mother gets so mad at me and I can never get the dirt out. Now I'll be home in time for tea!"
Mab laughed to herself but didn't realize laughter in stone circles is amplified 10 times. Her guffaw startled the poor McAllister White Rabbit and he dropped his watch.
He looked at Mab in shock and spluttered, "I … I .. I'm sorry Madame, I didn't see you there… Mother will be so upset…. Stones… portals… I must go!"
And with that the McAllister Rabbit slide merrily down the sinkhole.
I bet you can guess what happens next.
That's right. Keanu Reeves shows up and gives her a choice between a red or blue pill. Oh, wrong story.
Back to the story!
Since Mab has no way of getting out of the stone circle and she's never been one to pass up chasing rabbits, she threw caution to the wind and slid into the earth following the white rabbit.
Sod getting her jeans dirty!
The trip was bumpy and jumpy and Mab enjoyed the scenery on the way down. The walls of the sinkhole were painted blue and had the autographs of many celebrities who had taken the same journey. There were refreshments along the way and a polite voice told her only three more bumps until she hit bottom.
The first bump came and went.. then the second one.. more refreshments.. a book on The Mercantile Acts… then the third bump. She slid down the dirt slide and landed with a thud on hard tile.
She looked up and blinked. What was before her looked like something off the set of The Prisoner. The tile was black and white and shaped like a chessboard. There were crystal chess pieces scattered about the floor and birds were flying backwards. Good thing there wasn't a killer white ball chasing her.
Mab got up off the floor and looked around and said, "I have a feeling I'm not in Kansas anymore."
"Yer durn roit yer not in bloody Kansas" boomed a voice from afar.
As usual nothing appeared. Mab groaned and sighed. She was getting tired of these mystery voices and lights.
"Quit hiding and show yourself!" She yelled.
There was a brief silence before a 7-foot tall redheaded Scotsman stepped out from behind a chess piece. Mab knew he was Scottish because he was wearing a kilt. He looked to be around 23 or 24 but you never can tell these days. He had bright blue eyes and a big smile on his face. The smile faded when he looked at Mab. This wasn't because she is ugly or had warts but because it wasn't who he expected.
"Woot are yew doin' here? Yer not my Claire!" The Scotsman said.
"No, I'm not Claire. I'm Mab of the Ways. Does it bother you I'm not a virgin?" Mab questioned.
The Scotsman chuckled and extended his hand. "Been readin' those books have ye then? Jamie Fraser is my name."
"Pleasure to meet you Jamie." Mab said, "Do you have any nettles?
"Fresh ooot. Used tha last ones on my wee lass Claire."
"Oh, too bad. Since you seem to be know your way around here, I was wondering if you could help me with a problem." Mab said.
"Of course. For a wee lassie like you I'd do almoost anythin'.. except look for gold."
The pair walked into the middle of the tile chess board and sat down on a bench that magically appeared.
"Well, here's the problem," Mab started, "You see I followed a white rabbit down a sink hole and got myself lost. The trip was nice but I'm ready to back now and black and white tile is not my thing. I'm more of a gold and black gal myself."
Jamie leaned back on the bench and looked at her with one eyebrow raised.
"Yer a fan o' those wolves are ye?"
"Why yes I am!" And with that Mab jumped up and started singing the Wanderers Fight Song/Nat'l Anthem.
The tiles slowly turned gray and the chess pieces walked off the board.
"Enooof! Ennoof! Quit singing! I ken get ye back to where ye came frum, lassie!" Jamie bellowed.
"Really? Great! But I have one more problem," Mab said as she put her hand on his thigh.
Jamie laughed and Mab winked and continued.
"I am a moderator of a wonderful group called Witchgrove. People on the group aren't chatty enough and there's a wealth of information to be shared. The moderators and I have tried and tried to come up with ideas but nothing sticks. We've tried threats, hot oil, begging, free money… everything! What can we do?"
Mab watched as Jamie stood up and exposed all 7-feet of his glory to her. Jamie had a smile on his face and a glint in his eye. She thought briefly about staying as he leaned over and whispered into Mab's ear. As he whispered the room got blurry and Mab felt herself floating off to sleep. The last thing she heard before she landed back in the Grove was, "Off ye go lassie!"
Back in the Grove Mab awoke up with a jolt. She almost fell off the mushroom and had to steady herself on the wall. Behind her she could hear the muffled voices of Anna and Cerr giggling. She looked around and everything was in the same place as it was when she left. The stone circle was missing though.
"Musta been a dream, " She said as dusted herself off from the mushroom and stood up. She really wasn't looking forward to continuing with the conversation inside but it had to be done.
Right as she grabbed the door to go inside, the words Jamie Fraser had whispered in her ear came back to her. She let out an excited "Meep!" and ran into the Mod Hut yelling, "I KNOW HOW TO GET PEOPLE TO POST AND JAMIE FRASER TOLD ME HOW".
The rest, as they say, is history.
**************************************************
On a side note, I would like to thank each and every person who did a discussion this year. It's given Witchgrove so much life and character and it sets it apart from other witchy lists. We've covered a wonderful array of topics and I have enjoyed each one. I've watched people blossom by posting the discussions and it's done my heart good. My favorite discussion was Mike's Transportation of the Gods thread. He wrote to me and Roxanne about 8 times asking for help and it was fun helping him with ideas.
We've had many people volunteer their time and talents. Most people have done one or two discussions. I did 5 this year. You may bow down to me.
I would like to thank Mab and Jamie Fraser for coming up with the idea. Cerr took the ball and it began, fittingly, with The Mother. A wonderful thing was born that day.
Thank you everyone!