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Snow Fairies (4) : On a cold winter night, when the moon is nearly full and bright in the sky, you hear laughter. At first, you can't place it, but then you feel little pokes and prods, tugs on your hair, your clothes. Sometimes you think you see something out of the corner of your eye--a small, icy body. Sometimes you hear wings flapping in the night. As long as you are out in the cold, you feel eyes on you and you find yourself the target of small mischief from what seems to be icy little fairies, though they move too fast for you to see or grab. They never speak, only laugh. When you go inside, or venture anywhere with too much light or heat, they seem to disappear and do not bother you again.
Breathing in the cold, icy air, Bryn closed her eyes in sheer bliss. She loved this time of year, it reminded her so much of when she was little and living in Iceland. Not that Destiny City wasn’t nice, but well. It sure couldn’t beat the place her heart called home. As she opened her eyes and looked up at the clear, starry skies, she felt a tiny pang. There were no auroras here. But the sky was clear and she could see the moon and so many stars.
As she stood in the thin moonlight, admiring the heavens above, she heard tiny, tinkling laughter. Bryn thought nothing of it at first. It was likely just some little kid out enjoying the snow.
What felt like a hard, little pinch on her ear shook Bryn from her reverie. Her OUCH echoed through the cold stillness as she massaged her ear with a gloved hand. Glaring around, she saw nothing, though she could still hear laughter. After a moment, she shrugged and was ready to dismiss the pinch as a weird fluke. Only, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a tiny, icy body zip by, followed by a sound much like a hummingbird's wings. Head whipping around, she didn’t see anything. But she felt a hard tug at a loose strand of hair.
Turning, she saw nothing, but suspicions were beginning to build in her mind. All around her, she heard laughter and the soft whirring of wings.
“Are you a different sort of álfur,” she said in a soft voice. If she was dealing with one or more of the Hidden People, she didn't want to cause offense. But she would have liked to have seen which of the Huldufólk that she was dealing with. It would have helped to inform her responses.
Still, she could feel someone or something watching her closely after she spoke. And she could still hear the People laughing. As she turned this way and that, trying hard to spot one of the little fairies, she felt a tiny, cold caress on her ear and the tug on her hair this time was a bit gentler. Now, the little mischiefs felt more like a game. As Bryn spun and turned, the fairies were faster, only ever giving her a hint of their presence through little tugs and touches and the ever-present silvery laughter.
Laughing a little in her turn, Bryn wondered what had drawn the álfur out. Some of the stories indicated a love of mischief, which seemed to fit this bunch to a tee. The pinches were softer now, though the fairies seemed to enjoy it when she spun around, trying to see them.
“How are you so fast?” she muttered as a small wave of dizziness forced her to close her eyes until it passed. What a good thing that she was in the city and not out in the wilderness. There were many stories of the álfur leading people into trouble if they weren’t careful. But there should be no reason to lead her astray. She was playing along and maintaining civility. She should have nothing to fear from the fairies.
Once the dizziness faded, she laughed a little and began to head home. Along the way, she could hear wings and laughter, could feel little tugs and pokes and prods. But that was all right. It was just the álfur’s way.
Once she reached her house, she blew a kiss toward the empty street, knowing that the fairies would see her, even if she couldn’t see them. Then, she went inside, the open door spilling heat and light out onto the street.
Word Count = 616
