Fairy Dust

A word about fairy dust. What is it exactly? Depends on who you ask. Tinker Bell would look at you like you were stupid, and say something like "Well, it's what makes everything happen in Pixie Hollow, of course!" In the Disney version of things, fairy dust is the source of the fairies' magic. Without it, they can't fly or do any of the other wonderful things they do. They carry it about all the time in little pouches made from leaves. The fairies leave a little trail of it behind them when they move.

Fairy dust can be purchased commercially as a decorative cosmetic made of finely ground glitter. Some pagans use it in the same or similar form as an aid to casting magical spells. Unfortunately, the term is also slang for both cocaine and crystal meth, a fact that makes Willow shudder.

When I imagined Willow, I didn't think of fairy dust until I was well into the book. I contemplated including it as a fairy trait, but there were just too many complications for a fairy who was supposed to be covert among humans. Was it something she carried, or was it produced by the glow of her skin? Did only certain parts of her body produce it? How long did it last? If her body didn't produce it, where did she get it? Did she have to sprinkle it every time she did something magical?

I decided to drop the whole idea. Willow breathed a sigh of relief when I did.