The mortal girl sat amongst the faeries, feeling out of place and useless. She was not useless, of course; otherwise she wouldn't have been there. She was in fact, the most powerful gypsy of her time, and she was only eighteen years of age!

As the female faeries around her began to sneer and prod, the girl felt more and more uncomfortable. She felt she was the ugliest thing on Earth compared to these beings. It made no difference that her skin was as white as the Moon, yet as smooth as ivory. It meant nothing that her rich, dark-brown hair fell around her face in perfect waves and curls; or that her honey-gold eyes glistened with that cat-like ability to see near perfectly in the dark. Her borrowed faerie dress clung to her in all the right places, outlining her curved, yet slender form. It flowed with an elegance that shouldn't have been witnessed by human eyes.

Queen Titania and King Oberon may have needed her for her skills in healing, cursing, charming, and seeing the future, but she still didn't fit in. No matter how long she stayed in Faerie, no matter how much she was reassured by Their Majesties, she would never belong.

She only seemed to prove this point as she shuddered violently in the cold night. All of the faeries around her laughed mockingly, and a few even began to throw dried twigs and thorns. She yelped as a bramble caught her cheek and another tangled in her hair. She covered her head with her arms in hopes of warding off the blows, when suddenly they stopped. Curiosity getting the better of her, she dared a peek between her hands.

What she saw froze her in shock. Robin Goodfellow, the King's own Puck, stood before her, smiling his permanent sly smile. He held out a hand to her, and she hesitated. She noted distantly that the faeries around them had started up a their unearthly music, humming dreamily. It all just didn't make sense to her. She'd seen Puck before, of course, since they were both very key elements in the Faerie Court. She'd even healed him personally a few times when he'd gotten mixed up with the wrong faeires, or played a prank that had a price. But it didn't make any sense for him to be taking an interest in a mortal, much less her.

And yet, she felt herself take his hand anyway. She let out a pent-up breath as he smoothly brought her to her feet.

Then, when she was sure that things couldn't get any stranger, fireflies came out of the night to collect around her. They came by the millions, swirling around her so rapidly, yet so gracefully, that they lifted her off the ground. They twirled her and pressed against her, making her tumble and twist with a fluidness that she didn't know she had. She felt as if she were being taught some kind of some kind of sacred lost dance.

Finally, they left her with a flourish, practically making her fall right into Puck's awaiting arms. She felt herself blush profusely, but she didn't have time to protest as a pair of dazzling opal wings unfurled from Puck's uncovered back. She gasped and clung to him tighter as he began to take to the air, drifting upward with a sense of leisure that reminded her of snow falling.

The gypsy looked up into his warm, twinkling eyes and felt herself melt into him. It was just to right. It was meant to be.

He grinned impishly and pulled her closer against his bare chest. She breathed in his scent in ecstasy; he smelled of pine and the Earth, a smell that hid a dash of something mischievous behind it. He smelled of the Night.

She tried in vain to think of something to say, but he stopped her with a finger to her lips. She didn't need to say anything; her expression said it all, as did his. He told her with his eyes how long her had been watching her, how long he had longed to make her his. He sealed their unspoken love by tilting her face upward, and softly placing his lips on hers. She closed her eyes and kissed him back, feeling pure bliss warm the shadows of her spirit.

Let their tale of love be remembered by the timeless Moon and her many stars. Let it be told and retold again, through the language of the fireflies.

This story was inspired by the amazing song 'Fireflies', by Owl City.