Court of Love

Chapter 2

The court yard was not busy when Loera first emerged. Then again, the sun was still setting. It was not yet time for the shadows to thrive in the back of the Slums. 

Loera began by strutting around her ring, hand directly on the nine o' clock position. She was light on her toes, the stone beneath her smooth and soft. Not too slick that it would cause her ring to slip from under her, and not with enough texture that would prevent her from dancing. But the stone felt slightly warm from a day's rest under the sun, a contrast to the cool metal ring under her fingertips. 

She began with a warm up. To get a feel for the ring, she simply grabbed towards the top and rolled, a light trot behind it. Her arms effortless guided the ring to where she wanted, in a complete circle before she became more in touch with her companion. She grabbed towards the top and twisted under to stand within the center, spinning the ring around her like a wobbling copper piece thrown onto a table. She spun, practicing finding a spot on the street to use to spot her head in order to establish the horizon. Her balance was forming, her sense of direction. Soon, she would throw it all into chaos. 

By now, the shadows brought with them men and women searching for a night of bliss. As courtesy of the Dragonskeep, customers were granted masks at the beginning of the court yard in order to establish a sense of privacy. No one seemed to want their neighbors or coworkers to know what they were spending their hard-earned wages on. 

When Loera felt that she was peaking the newcomers interest, she became to twist and leap through the ring, her two hands at the 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock positions at the top. She would alternate between feet as she leaped down a line, stopping sharply before skipping and leaping the other way. When she found her way back to the opposite end of her declared stage, she nimbly placed a foot on the bottom of the ring and used her other to swing her momentum up. 

The world turned sideways. 

As quickly as she had been sideways, she resumed her upright position. Just a tease of what she had in store, but it had raised a gasp from a nearby woman. Again, Loera urged herself. She kicked her leg elegantly, altering her poles. Her ring would spin sideways, leaning forward, and Loera would become closer and closer to her hands touching the stone beneath her. 

Her chest was constricted with excitement, her arms starting to feel the familiar burn of exercise. But she was only just getting started as the night's air cooled. 

She forced herself to spin faster and faster, her right leg leading her and weaving through the air like that of a spider. She was creating her own momentum, her own wind, looking like she was defying gravity. Some customers had faltered, staying in the court yard to gape at Loera and her ring-dancing. 

Now was when she chose to wobble from hand to foot, hand to foot. Spinning and spinning, the ribbons of her dress and limbs floating around her. She slowed abruptly, still spinning the ring and beginning to step through it as a child might with a rope in the streets. Breathing slightly labored, she strode towards a man who did not hide his astonishment. But as she neared, she simply turned sharply and boarded her ring once more with a strong kick off of the ground. With all fours on the ring, she clung and spun beautifully in front of him. 

Daringly, she lifted her feet and let her body fly slightly behind the spinning ring. The wind lapped at her face like a strong dog's tongue, and Loera reveled in the feeling. This feeling, it was as close to flying as she had ever felt before. It was the feeling of freedom.

She placed her feet again and used her right leg to gain momentum again so as not to let the ring fall. Once the dancer had establish a quick and controlled spin, she quickly lifted her legs and hung from one arm, eyes daringly looking into the crowd. Several women and men gasped, and clapping arose. The sounds drew in more people wandering the slums, commoners who simply wanted to know what was going on. 

By now, Loera was in front of a hefty crowd. A Mistress had sent a few servants to set up receiving pots, which were being given a decent amount of attention as customers tossed coins in appreciation of the show. She again spun, her feet coming over her head on the ring, defying the laws of nature. When she found that she needed to regain momentum, she let her feet lightly hit the ground before launching herself to hang from simply her hands. She curved her body, trying to keep her toes pointed as elegantly as she could as she showed these people what it meant to fly. 

Loera truly felt alive. 

As time started to tick by, she kept dancing. She was to dance until the moon started to arc to its peak, and once it did, she started to slow. By now, only a handful of the previous crowd remained, dedicated to her show. Loera wanted to thank them for their attention, for their patience and appreciative nods. So, she decided to give them a finale. 

She had never kicked so hard, spun so fast. Her legs tilted over and under her, her head going up, down, and all around. She spun so fast she felt sick to her stomach, but the feeling of freedom was much more prominent. 

Keeping her arms on the top of the ring in their dutiful positions, Loera lowered her feet to the ground and glided over her spinning ring. She moved like the wind, like the tide, like everything beautiful and strong and free in nature. At long last, she spun the ring outside of her so she was no longer in the center and lowered herself into a splits, her free arm coming to curl over her head in a dancer's elegance as she ended her dance, the ring coming around to wobble around her. Loera let go, knowing it would simply titter like a coin until it fell silent at her palms. 

A scattering applause arose, and a few more coins were tossed. Servants came to retrieve the gold and take it to a Mistress, while Loera was left to catch her breath. She had never felt so alive. 

Although a few still cast glances towards her, customers went back to hustling into the brothel in a secret hush. Loera gathered her wits and her breath before standing and gathering her ring. Making sure not to be in anyone's way, she padded along the court yard and under the arches, ducking into one of the doorways and quickly disappearing to a back hall. 

While she trotted her ring back to storage, Loera couldn't wipe the grin that stretched along her face. There was not a single thought in her head other than that of her dance. Her taste of freedom and beauty. 

When she reemerged from the storage room, clad again in her normal simple black dress and her makeup hastily removed, Loera returned to acting as a shadow to the workings of the brothel. At one point, a Mistress instructed her to sit and play the pianoforte, and Loera struggled to keep her fingers steady after the excitement of her night. Later, the same Mistress came and hit her hands with one of the kitchen's wooden spoons, reprimanding her for playing so clumsily. 

After a small nap in the cupboard in the back of the kitchen, Loera was back to her usual late morning routine of gathering dirty bedding and watching as customers were pushed from the rooms or ordered to pay a late fee. She had seen more than enough naked mortals and demi-fae to last her a life time, although it still pained her when she entered her last room. 

Wisp laid in bed, a Mistress carefully examining her. Once Loera had walked in, the Mistress had seemed content that Wisp would be okay and ordered for the other servant in the room to help Wisp up. As Wisp limped past Loera, eyes downcast, Loera sighted the crimson tinge on the sheets. 

She didn't ask, and Wisp didn't tell. 

Scars were not a show-and-tell matter.