Okay, so
faeries. Notice the spelling. These are not fairies from fairy tales. This isn’t
Tinkerbell, a fairy godmother, or anything like those stories. Thanks to modern
storytelling and the marketing strategy of Jake and Will Grimm, those are
happily-ever-after stories. Those fairies are nice.
No, we’re
talking about faeries, the Tuataha Dé
Danann, with leprechauns, selkies, and
all manner of other folk who like to play tricks on human beings,
especially if they can exploit greed, immorality, or other human weaknesses. Rumpelstiltskin?
Faerie! Sometimes in the stories people get the better of them, other times,
they don’t. It’s a crapshoot. The rules for faeries are simple. Don’t trust
them, they play games, and they make lopsided bargains.
I really do
think that mobsters have faeries to thank for the idea of granting small favors
and asking for big, life-long favors in return. Again, Rumpelstiltskin. She
wanted straw into gold, he asks for her first-born son. How is that equitable?
It ain’t.
So when
Arthur says he’ll do anything for Excalibur, we should slap a giant sticker to
his forehead, reading “SUCKER!” This is not a bargain that can fundamentally
end well for him. That’s not to say that he doesn’t get something amazing out
of the bargain. Excalibur, especially the scabbard, is worth a high price, but
Arthur should have been more careful in his dealings with the mob.