Firebird

Chapter 11- Her Last Performance

Chapter 11- Her Last Performance

   More fire. All around. I couldn’t see past it. I couldn’t escape it. I heard a voice, shouting at others in the distance. It was out of my reach. It stopped and I tried to scream for whomever’s it was to help me…

   I’m not sure if I screamed or not. My eyes flashed open but I lay still. I was in my own tent. It was evening and the grey sky was fading to black. I was cold. Normally my tent was warm but I shivered under a pile of blankets.

   I felt a coolness on my forehead and let my eyes adjust to see who put it there. It was Astley like I’d expected. He didn’t speak to me at first and I suspected he didn’t yet realize I was awake. He looked half asleep himself. His eyes were sunken and face unshaven. His hair was tousled. His pipe hung lazily between his thin lips.

   When he noticed I was awake, he smiled. “G’morning, sunshine.”

   I tried to reply but my throat was dry. I felt weak and slightly dizzy. Astley placed his hand on my forehead. “Fever’s gone down a bit. You’ll be fine by tomorrow.”

   “How long was I asleep?” I rasped.

   He yawned. “Quite awhile, love. A whole day. We tried to wake you but you wouldn’t.”

   “Have you been here the whole time?”

   “No. Sy took care of you awhile. Ryo stopped by not long ago. Do you remember anything before you passed out?”

   I thought a moment. It was all blurry but I remembered doing something like… magic.

   He was grinning sleepily at me. “Chalavar would’ve been angry that you fainted during his show if it wasn’t for that amazing little performance you gave. He has big plans for you now.”

   I shook my head, not wanting to mention Chalavar. I was curious as to what I did exactly. I asked him.

   “Why you danced with fire, of course! And it was beautiful as you might imagine. It didn’t last long though. Chalavar wants you to learn to control it instead of… how did he put it? ‘Spontaneously bursting into a pretty spectacle only to fall and ruin the entire show.’”

   “So I did ruin it?”

   “No, dear. Quite the opposite. It surprised and enthralled the crowd. They didn’t see you fall because Chalavar snatched you from the air with a flick of his wrist and you disappeared.”

   “Then why did he say I ruined it?”

   He laughed. “He’s that way sometimes. He was angry but the more he thought about it, he liked it.”

   I lay silently for awhile. “Is it because of the magic that I feel so ill?”

   “I don’t believe. There’s been so much going around here it’s hard to tell where your fever came from. This happens ever so often that nearly everyone catches something at once.”

   “Don’t I have to perform tonight?”

   He repositioned the cool rag to the side of my face after soaking it in cold water. “…You’ll have awhile off. Chalavar doesn’t want you performing until you can control yourself. After that, you’re being promoted.”

   “What!?”

   He chortled at my surprise. “Your moving up. One step closer to being part of the finale like you’ve wanted.”

   I wasn’t ready for that. I’m not even good enough to move up at all. There were times I had trouble with the routine I had (obviously). But Ryo must think I’m ready too. She had begun teaching me all those new moves. How had she known?