Tell me were you standing in your world, may be reading a newspaper, or perhaps sitting at a desk, working when all of a sudden you were whisked off into the dark unknown? Your mind in a haze while your body spun round and round like a wheel until you lost all sense of reality and the past merged with the present and the future was no more. And then when you heard the soft music playing in your ears, slowly getting louder, like waves crashing against the sea, the wind beating against something your mind could not fathom, that is when you woke up here. But where is here? Ah! stranger do you not realize you are in my world, in the land beyond time?

Haven't you ever looked up at the sky, and wondered? Could your eyes not see the wonders that lay up there among the clouds? Did you just think they were vapours that would fall on you one day? Ah! How little you know! Those vapours that you call rain are not our clouds falling down from the sky, those are ... but then that is another story. May be I'll tell you one day. All right now so where was I? Telling you about my world. The clouds are our world. Each one houses a different tenant. Some are fairies, some are prince and princesses, some witches, both good and bad. We have a wide variety of folks living up here. On the little clouds you will see baby fairies all curled up and cosy on their soft beds. When they wake up they nibble a bit at the clouds. Didn't you know that? Why do you think the clouds look so eatable from down below? They are! A bit of a problem when the very land on which you walk on is eatable but we have plenty and we have strict property laws here. No eating other folk's property.

Oh my! Look at me I have been going on and on here and I haven't even introduced myself. I, your hostess, am the Princess Florina. Oh yes, I am a princess all right. I was named Florina because I look like a flower. Folks all over tell me I look like a rose with my beautiful rosy complexion and exquisitely carved features. Some have compared me to a daffodil, others to ... well there are so many to name here. I'd better not start. But please do not think that I am not modest. I am very modest and even while I am telling you all this, I am blushing. It's just that all those folks tell me so. I, like all princesses live in a castle. But my castle is not pretty normal like the ones down there. Mine is on a cloud right at the heart of our land. It is a beautiful castle made out of shimmering glass that you cannot even see through. It is magical. At least now you do not have to imagine what my castle looks like. One of the visitors to my land was The Nomad Cyber Queen and she was kind enough to make a painting of my castle. She has made it look even prettier than it is ... well I heard her art has magic in it .. wonder if that has something to do with it.

Oh I am giving you all these descriptions, you must be getting so curious as to what I really look like. So I am thinking of getting my portrait done. There is someone who makes them. She is not from our part of the world. But she is a Goddess. Folks have warned me not to do this. They say she has magick that can capture the soul in a picture. But folks should know me better than to warn me. Many a warnings I have not heeded to before and on one occasion I have paid dearly. But I never learn. Adventure to me is irresistable. I must tell you some of my stories someday.

But first of all you must meet some of the folks in this part of the world. First of all Burny. She is a little fairy. Did you think all those butterflies you see down there are, indeed butterflies? Some of them are but if you look closely you will find that most of them are fairies. Well Burny, my dearest friend is one such fairy. She has the most beautiful wings a fairy could possibly have. They have all the colors of the rainbow in them. I wish I had wings like hers but princesses do not have wings unless ... but that needs strong magic, very strong magic. And even Kyle, the Wizard cannot perform such strong magic. And fairies are even worse than wizards at strong magic. Their magic wand is only good for granting small wishes. Wizards are still more powerful, though, but not powerful enough. Kyle is a good wizard, though not like .. ugh! Grossil. She is a witch in the right sense of the word. Mean and grumpy looking. As soon as you hear her coming, and you can hear her a hundred clouds away, always chanting strange spells, get out of her way. You never know what she might change you into if she is in a bad mood. Poor Grumpy, he is one of her many victims. As if being a dwarf wasn't bad enough. You see there are many dwarfs around and they like being dwarfs but Grumpy, oh Grumpy wanted to be a giant. So that really makes the situation worse. If you do come accross him, please do not laugh to his face. I know that is going to be difficult but please try. He is such a sweet person always trying to help everybody else and they all laugh at him. They cannot help it, it's the spell. After all he does look so .. so .. well .. so grumpy!

Well so now you have met some of the folks around here. I must send you back home to your world for now. But next time you are whisked off to our land, remember, to come to my castle and meet me. I might tell you all those stories that I promised I would tell and may be show you around a bit more. Bye now

Award Winners Florina's Scrolls Web Rings