White Collar Ficlet - The Magic at Moonrise (WC100 - #61 - Moon)

[elrhiarhodan]

Title: The Magic at Moonrise
Prompt: White Collar 100 - #61 - Moon
Author: elrhiarhodan
Fandom: White Collar
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Elizabeth Burke (Implied P/E/N)
Spoilers: None
Warnings/Enticements/Triggers: None
Word Count: 300
Summary: It’s Halloween and there’s something in the air.

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There was magic in the air tonight.

It wasn't brought by the hordes of small children in their department store costumes seeking candy; it didn't come with the jack o'lanterns that decorated every stoop and staircase on their street. It came, instead, on the chilly, October evening breeze that rattled the bare branches and sent the desiccated leaves down the street. It came on the breeze that rose as the sun fell behind the tree line and then under the horizon, the last bit of brightness weaving shadows under the eaves and in the corners and the narrow spaces between the buildings.

It came with the moon that rose early and hung low on the horizon, fat and gold and forever out of reach, like some miser’s hoarded coin.

Elizabeth could taste the magic as it drifted through the house. It was savory, like Peter’s pot roast cooking all day. It was sweet, like the cake that Neal brought from the bakery. It was an elusive taste, too, a lot like her earliest memories, the ones that were more feeling happy and loved and safe as she was wrapped in her mother’s arms.

And yet, there was just an undercurrent of darkness. Not so much fear, but the anticipation of the unknown.

Her granny would say that the walls between the worlds were thin tonight. It wasn’t just the souls that were out tonight. Mischief walked in the shadows, potent with disaster. You needed to be very careful about what you wished for because those just might come true.

Elizabeth didn’t worry about random wishes, she had everything she needed right here, in the safety of her own home. Whatever power shimmered in the dark places couldn’t touch her or the people she loved. Her magic was far more powerful.

FIN

Comments

[lov-pb.livejournal.com]

Delightful! Beautifully descriptive. I felt touched with warmth and just a bit of shadow.

[elrhiarhodan]

Thank you! That's just the reaction I was hoping for!

[kanarek13]

Beautiful, my friend ♥ The way you have written it, it's like I could feel the magic myself, the warmth and safety, despite the darkness lurking somewhere close by... ♥

Tomorrow we have All Saint's Day here in Poland and I'm hoping to take a few pictures to capture our own magic. Will post if I'm successful :D

*hugs* :D

[elrhiarhodan]

Thank you so very much! Your own spooky, ghostly artworks reminded me that I had this waiting and ready to go (and it had been waiting and ready to go for quite a while).

[maiac.livejournal.com]

I love the feeling of the wild magic and Elizabeth's power.

[elrhiarhodan]

Thank you so very much! This one's been waiting for publication for a while (I won't say how long, but last year's disaster wasn't the first time I didn't post it on Halloween).

[maiac.livejournal.com]

By the way, Tanya Huff posted a short Halloween story (http://andpuff.livejournal.com/226939.html). I think you'll enjoy it.

[morganslady.livejournal.com]

You wrote a beautiful picture.I could feel El's magic..

[miri-thompson.livejournal.com]

What a gorgeous, evocative piece! Well done!

[daria234.livejournal.com]

Very lovely. I really like the tone you develop here.

[embroiderama]

Beautiful!

[qwertyfaced.livejournal.com]

Gorgeously descriptive, hauntingly evocative. Kudos to you—I loved this. I'm particularly impressed by your ability to set a scene and a feeling so beautifully in so few words.

[ladygray99]

This really highlights what a brilliant writer you are.