Butterfly Wings
A thousand tiny fairies carried the golden casket of the king. Their butterfly wings a mass of colour against the light of thousands of fireflies lining the avenue. Trumpets blared, and drummers flew slowly behind them. Along the sides of the route, thousands upon thousands more crowded to see their beloved king one last time.
And finally, surrounded by her royal guard, came the queen. Her superb wings were twice as large as the other fairies and were the orange and black of the monarch butterfly. She was still young at 150 years and very beautiful. Her long golden hair shone a reddish blonde by the light of the fireflies, and tears could be seen running down her pretty face.
The procession lasted all day, and tomorrow there would be another. The queen would choose another king. It was a highly anticipated day for the young males of the realm, and many had traveled from other countries in the hope of being chosen, there were fairies of all races and colours, and even a few from the new lands, thousands of miles away.
It was sunrise at last, and the growing murmur of the crowd rose to a roar as the queen stepped outside her palace. Her silken gown shone like the dawn and her face was full of concentration. She skimmed the crowd with her large blue eyes, looking for familiar faces, and finding none, she gently fluttered into the midst of them. Male fairies jostled each other trying to get close enough to be seen, some took to the sky and all was colour.
Wings upon wings, all colours of the rainbow, all swirling around the searching queen. As she moved the colours changed and fairies cried out to her. The sky was full as well as the area around her now. Finally her royal guard forced their way through to her, and the rabble was organized enough to let the queen walk through them while she searched.
Suddenly she spotted a large, handsome male, not near the front. Something about him attracted her attention, and she pushed through the crowd, fastening her eyes on his, larger than average, blue and black wings. Their eyes met, and as she moved towards him her feet were off the ground. Touching him lightly on the shoulder they both lifted gently into the air. The other fairies moved to give them room and the dance of love began. Cheers from the ground, and from every building, as they spiraled together, touching, parting. The waiting musicians struck up the dance of love, and all fell silent as the two solitary fairies merged with the music.
They touched for brief seconds, lips gently touching each other, before swooping almost to the ground and hovering, moving in perfect unison. They twirled and spiralled, the Queen’s dress flowing around her as she moved. The Queen had chosen the next king, and the other suitors all knew it. There was no mistaking that the pair were made for each other. Never was a mating dance so exquisite, so perfect.
Suddenly the Queen acknowledged the crowd and on the ground and in the air the celebrations started. Thousands of fairies began to join in the dance of love, and the air was filled with lovers. All over the realm musicians struck up the dance and the one song flowed across the whole land. Love was in the air, and it spread over every species in the world. Animals began their own mating dances, humans took mates. And still the dance continued late into the night.
As the new day dawned, the kingdom had settled once more, and the new king had started to rule his land, and that was the dance of the fairies, as I once saw it in my youth, for I was invited to watch by the queen herself for having saved her life long before. That dance has lasted a lifetime in my mind, and now I pass it to you.
