The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Marianna Mayer

Dew Dancer’s wingspan was twice the length of the tallest trees in the forest. The closer the braid moved to the mountain range, the more its shape began to unfold. The moon blinked slowly as if the light was hurting her eyes. “It’s too soon for the Dew Dancer to return to Magdalena.”Ī twisting braid of tricoloured white brilliance drew a line across the black sky. It was pulsing to the beat of the dripping silver leaves. She giggled at this particular tree’s sound. They spoke to her with their lively rumbles each time she put a hand to them. Her favourite part of the forest was the tree bellies. Shargeza kept her hand on the trunk, feeling its throbbing life beneath her palm. “Shar, look!” Grenanta pointed to a moving light in the blackness to the left of the moon. Waning toward the tender tops of the Heartsong mountain range, the moon was most chatty in the deeps of the night, and when the silver leaves dusted, shedding their magical essence on those below, the Magdalenes knew the message would be poignant and necessary. It was three o’clock in the deep of night, and she was waiting for a message from the moon. Shargeza felt her skin rise to meet the falling dust that the pure silver leaves sprinkled as she gently put her hand on the belly of the tree trunk before her. Warm, fragrant breezes scented with jasmine filled the air, and under the moonlight pure silver leaves sparkled and danced like musical chimes. Prompt from Charis Cotter (so, it’s the line she gave me, not corresponding to the date!) Book Title: The Twelve Dancing Princesses*

The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Marianna Mayer