Reindellin

Chapter 5

"I think we've had our momentary fill of feast for now, don't you think?" Nathion broke Kenessa's deep thought. Emerging from a hazy daydream, she realized the question was pointed at herself.

"Yes, I think so." She politely smiled as she looked down at her plate. Disappointment poked at her as she'd hardly touched her portion of lentils. Kenessa found herself lost in thought much of the time, this recounting robbed her of finishing her second plate, while she sat further hungry.

Nathion turned to their guests to ask if they too were wearisome of eating for the time being. They agreed, so Nathion summoned a few workers to come and clear the table of used dishes. Once the table was cleared a new set of tableware was placed before them for future use. Kenessa's stomach groused at the sight of an empty plate. Luckily, as the table clearing progressed a servant replenished Kenessa's tankard of ale. Thinking the drink would temporarily sate her guts complaint, she partook in heavy gulps.

Ale settling in her stomach, she looked out to the full hall and was surprised at how quickly Elderonar's staff readied the room for the next event. Her eyes glided over to a small gang of servants armed with brooms who were sweeping the entertainment floor. Following their trail, she noticed off to the side a group of bards gathered who were busy positioning their quartette and tuning their instruments.

She spotted a man with a large drum tightening the hide around the wooden shell. Next to him sat a beautiful young flautist, who was polishing her flute nimbly. She looked to be as delicate as the instrument she possessed. To her side, sitting quietly was another woman cradling a zither in her lap. Kenessa thought the zither was the most unique instrument of the bunch. Finally, behind the zitherist and flautist, another Phel sat in a high-backed chair. He had his ear pressed close to the neck of his violincello as he brashly plucked the strings with one hand and adjusted the pegs mounted in the pegbox with the other. One by one, he twisted the pegs until he reached the perfect pitch. She watched as he gave a brief once-over to confirm the notes, and his brow furrowed as he caught the D string falling out of tune. The musician restarted the tedious process until he was completely satisfied that each string remained in place. As the multitude of Elderonar's staff cleaned up the final ends of the first course, the musicians quietly conversed. They seemed to come to a consensus as they each readied their posture. In a series of scales, the quartette prepared their hands and minds.

'Even just at practice, their skill shows' thought Kenessa, deciding she wouldn't have distinguished the sounds as true songs or simply scales if she hadn't been watching the progression.

While investigating the instrumentalists, she missed the room grow quiet. Her concentration was only broken when she caught movement in her peripherals. A line of exquisite Eldorian maidens entered the entertainment floor. Each maiden carried under her right arm a small leather roll. In a line just before the royal platform, they knelt to the floor and unrolled their small packs. Through the purple flames separating them, she observed the packs contained an assortment of scarves and ribbons meant to be used in their performance.

The dancer's clothing was tightly fitted with green tinted sheer fabric. Strategic leafed vines covered their sensitive areas and wrapped around a single shoulder and opposing leg. It appeared their garments, while beautiful in symmetry, looked tailored to promote physical flexibility. All five maidens took a kneeled seat on the floor behind each of their undone parcels, their hands politely folded over their knees.

The dancer's presence seemed to carry a silent command toward the entire banquet hall, as Kenessa noticed that not only was the room quieted but all people had their attention directed at the entertainment floor. After a deafening short pause, the violincello echoed a haunting, slow procession of notes. In perfect unison, the dancers each picked up a green ribbon and waved it over their heads slowly. The ribbon must have been exceedingly light, for it wafted the air gently in an arched ripple.