Come Away

Chapter 30 - Brokenness

The music swells inside my lungs like sweet, intoxicating air. I let it guide my body across the ground, forcing my thoughts to be silent.

The only way I'm surviving this is to stop thinking and just dance.

It's strange to admit, but as the melody builds so does my enjoyment. Am I actually having a good time twirling around like a lunatic?

I realize my eyes are closed when I stumble into someone. It's a female faery, one of the aristocrats, and she's smiling at me encouragingly, gently guiding me back into the half-circle so I can keep dancing. After my contact with her, other faeries start to show their support by clapping with the beat. I even notice a few of them swaying back and forth like they want to join in with me.

Making my way around the edge of the crowd, I grab hands with one of these faeries and pull him into the middle. His eyes widen in surprise, and then crinkle up as he laughs, stomping his feet and doing a little jig. More faeries are braving the chance to dance in the circle. 

I know it's dumb how giddy I am that I turned a stoic group of statues into a faery mosh pit. But I'm too busy dancing to care about much of anything.

That is, until I feel a cold hand clamp around my wrist and spin me around. I expect to see King Naoise, but instead I'm met by Orla's gray stare and unreadable expression. My feet stop moving and we stand there surrounded by the shifting crowd. I close off the noise of the dancers and the music in a back cupboard of my mind in order to hear what Orla's face is telling me.

No matter how well I do with these tasks, the King is not going to let me win.

Our wordless moment is swept away as a male faery takes my hand and starts to dance with me. The jubilation in his face, or in the passionate musicians still creating such breathtaking music, is lost in Orla's warning. I turn to see where she went, but she already melted back into the crowd. I don't need to see those eyes again for their chill to rattle my heart.

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The melody is still ringing in my ears long after it stopped. I guess the King let his subjects have their fun before he made Orla move us along to the next task. So we all group back into the chariots and ride up to the grassy area in front of the castle.

I scan the place where I last saw Darren, but all that's left of the mortal boys is the wooden platform they were building this morning. The late afternoon sun is taking on a fiery glow, like a blooming tiger lily against a backdrop of soft blue sky. An ominous reminder of the fading daylight hours. Then Samhain will be over.

When my chariot stops, the guards lead me over to the platform where the Orla is standing waiting for me. There's a malicious bite in her words as she says, "Well done, mortal girl. You hid your poor dance skills behind a crowd before anyone could notice the truth. Let's see you try and hide now."

She breathes the words into my ear and then disappears with the guards and leaves me on the stage, staring out into the expecting eyes of the royal faeries.

When the musicians skirt their way around me and into the corner of the platform, I know what the third task will be. Singing.

As I clear my throat, I want to tuck my shaking hands under my arms or at least sit down to keep my knees from knocking together. But then I catch the King's condescending glare and I lift my chin, resting my hands beside me and filling my chest with air. With the blazing sun settling behind me, I'm glad my dress is intensely red in order to keep everyone's attention.

If they want me to shy away from the one task I know I can do, they'll have to try harder than this.

When I wink at the musicians, they start to play the only faery song I know. The lilting melody soothes my nerves, and I can sense that any anger these aristocrats once had for me is starting to melt away like snow in the rain. Maybe if I can convince enough of them to think I deserve some respect, it won't matter how much the King wants me dead. Someone might vouch for my cause.