Slipping Away From This World

Chapter 14

 I woke up when the sun was high up in the sky. There were a few white clouds, but it was relatively sunny. I had only been awake for a few moments when Rae walked into my view, bending down and giving me a small peck on the cheek. She gave me a smile. "Good morning," She paused. "Good afternoon, really. I let you sleep in. You didn't wake up when I shook you, so I figured you were sleepy," She pushed back a lock of my hair and gazed at my face before standing up. I sat up and yawned. I stood up, nearly bumping my head into Rae's. "Sorry," I mumbled, stepping past her. She shrugged.

I slowly got dressed, slipping into a tight grey dress. I came out and sat down at the small table in the inn room with Rae. "Wane is getting food for us," She told me, playfully drumming her fingers on the table. She tapped my hand, bouncing her finger off with a dramatic flair. I let out a snort. Rae and I sat in silence for a few minutes, fiddling around with our fingers and hair. Wane eventually arrived, toting around a tall tower of boxes with him. He set them down on the table.

Wane looked around, realizing that there was no chair for him to sit in. He rolled his eyes. "Thanks for saving me a seat. Really, I appreciate it," He grumbled, his annoyance in his voice clear. Rae laughed and put a hand on her heart. "Aw, it was nothing," Wane sighed. He looked around for a small while before gathering up the pillows from the bed and sat on them. Even though it was a very short stack, his tall figure allowed him to be at a similar level with Rae and I. Wane opened all the boxes. There was a small collection of different fruits, breads, and a few strips of cooked meat. We all ate. Rae attempted to steal Wane's food when he glanced away, but unsurprisingly, failed. Rae would laugh, even as Wane smacked her hands. I snorted and continued to eat my apple.

The three of us hung around the inn until the sun started to set, the sky turning a beautiful, serene orange. We started to prepare the cart, making sure everything was in order. We fed the horses and got into the wagon. We drove off, going at a slower pace. The streets were still full, despite it being late in the evening. We arrived at a large music hall. I had never seen a building so big. People were lingering around the doors outside, waiting and chatting excitedly. As soon as the three of us got out of the cart, a well-dressed man stomped over to us, clearly angry.

"I told you that you had to be here the moment the sun went down! You're late!" He hissed. He quickly scanned our cargo and huffed. "You're not supposed to enter from the front! I made this very clear. Bring in everything from the back of the hall, or I'll start to question hiring you," He yelled, crossing his arms. The three of us looked at each other. Wane let out a loud sigh and shrugged. We led the horses back behind the building and started to carry things in through the back door. Wane was angrily muttering under his breath, clearly agitated. Rae assisted with a few boxes, dragging them along the ground the best she could do.

Once we had gotten everything backstage, we started to help unpack all of the crates. Most of the equipment had already been set up. The entire stage was elaborately decorated. A thick red drape framed the set, flames painted on the grand curtain's lining. The stage floor was covered in a shimmery orange dust, the glistening particles sticking to my shoes and dress.

There were two tall drums in the back of the set, sitting side by side. There were intricate carvings of fire in the dark wood of the drum, the flames reaching up to the top of the drum. There were four tall wooden poles on each stage corner, candles resting on the top of each pillar, glowing brightly. They were many feet into the air, much taller than me. There were also many orbs of light floating near the ceiling, casting lights onto the first few rows of seats as well as the stage floor. The spots of light were a warm, bright, amber-like color. Banners depicting phoenixes with spread wings were hung around the room, every one identical. Everything seemed to relate to flames. Tendrils of fire were painted on the back stage wall, reaching high up, the faint silhouette of a phoenix visible amongst the blaze.