The Clearing

The brook babbled quietly, the water flowing with an almost musical tinkle of sound. It complimented the gentle rustle of leaves above, as well as the pretty song of the closest birds. It fed into a large pond, clear and clean. At its side there was little plant life, though on the small island in the centre — barely two metres in diameter — flowers bloomed in the ground and berry bushes were thick and leafy. The fruit there grew ripe, rich in colour, glossy where the light shone through: no bird dared touch them.
There was colour on that island, contrasting the water around it. The pond’s clearing was otherwise bare, and there was little more colour until one left the clearing and ventured further, either into the woods or perhaps by following the path of the brook uphill.
As night drew closer and the sun came down, the silence became loud. Despite the fact that the birds had gone to roost, music filled the air.
Multiple strings of melody sounded and harmonized, light and airy tunes that seemed to come from the trees themselves, but only when the sun had disappeared on the horizon would the fae begin to dance.
This clearing had long since been theirs, and they claimed it each night in the best way possible.
They danced.
The dances were varied, technically impressive and perfect with the song of the trees. The clearing would fill with colour, the brightness of different skins, wings and (rarely) dresses mere blurs in the air to human eyes.
That didn’t matter, of course: human eyes were not permitted.
The dances would go on until dawn, fast and leaving streaks of rapid colour in the air, tinkling laughter audible beneath the music.
When dawn came, it ended. They would disappear and hide away, until the next night.
Until the next night, the colour would be only on the island once again.

Ao3-Style Tags

Rated G for General Audiences. Published March 28th 2020. Approximately 400 words.

Genre & Tone: Fantasy. 
Themes: Fae & Faeries.