Prompt: Writing in light and music

Thanks to Alimera for permission to use this stunning image/animation, "Peacock Garden"!
You owe it to yourself to go see the original Flash (which I can't seem to share here).

Kalysari lifted her arms and felt the blue silk drift down her body. She lifted her long dark hair and swept it to the side. The sapphire butterflies danced around her skin, their piercing touches so delicate, she no longer felt the sting of the swirling designs they left across her face, her arms, her back. They fluttered away as she walked onto the balcony in the crisp night air.

There was no moon to hide the starts tonight, and their light shone down, captured in the gleaming lantern dangling above her chair. She sat and picked up the lute, beckoning the silver peacock closer. He swept his tail from side to side, then lifted its feathers into a magnificent display. Kalysari sang a wordless melody and played the lute as the peacock strutted around the balcony in star and lantern light.

The sapphires returned and settled along her arms, perched on her brow as she played. She gave them no mind, no resistance to their endless designs. One rested on the locket she wore against her throat, its wings gently fanning her skin. As she played, it pressed against her and began a new design, outlining the locket on her flesh. Kalysari played on.

The lantern drew light from the moonless stars and flared brighter, casting its glow across the balcony. The peacock’s tail flared and rustled as it caught the light, gleaming against its sheer silvery white feathers. It moved in time to Kalysari’s music, dancing with her as she swayed in the chair.

Still she played and sang, the melody never repeating, never ending. Her eyes were closed to the beauty of the night, the light, the colors. Her skin no longer felt the cold night air or the sapphires’ touch. Her fingers could not feel the strings. And still she played.

The lantern grew brighter than sunlight, warming the balcony with captured starlight, blinding Kalysari even with her eyes closed. The peacock cried out, and was still. She opened her eyes and saw him, brightly colored in gleaming gold the hue of the lantern’s light, streaked with deep sapphire blue, the color of her dress and the butterflies. She looked around, and they were gone. She looked down at her body. Her dress was silvery white. The sapphires’ delicate designs gleamed dark blue against her skin.

The peacock lifted his head, jumped to his feet, and shook his golden feathers. He wandered off, crying his plaintive lament. Kalysari looked down at the lute in her hands. Its wood was silvery white, with delicate blue designs traced all over the face and neck. She knew it would no longer play and set it down, leaning it carefully against the cold stone. There would be another new lute on the balcony at the next new moon. Another dress. Another peacock.

The lantern still gleamed as she went inside and lay on the cold silk sheets of her bed. She closed her eyes and imagined she still felt the sapphires’ wings warming her.

Dogs in house	Houdini, Brindle
Music:	Assasin's Creed Soundtrack-Ezio's Family (in Peacock Garden Flash animation)
Time writing:	~25 minutes
August word count:	5,985