The Rose of Anthacena

Chapter 22

The drive to the Zion High School was a quiet one. Arin just stared out the window and didn't say anything, a look of deep concentration on his face. Will, who was driving, respected his master and friend's silence, and didn't speak, either.

When they got there, the parking lot was extremely crowded, and Arin was worried that that they wouldn't be able to get good seats. His fears were soon set to rest, however. There were two seats right next to each other in the fourth row, near the middle, and they had a very good view of the stage.

Arin was so tense and nervous that he didn't even notice when the program started. The fifth perform was well into his act before Will became aware of Arin's inattention.

"You're not listening," Will whispered, elbowing Arin to get his attention.

"You're right, I'm not," Arin replied in a similar whisper. "I'm just getting a little nervous here." Will sighed.

"I'm sure you are," he said dryly.

"Will, I-I haven't seen her in almost two years," Arin said, his voice worried. "What if she's...changed or something?" Will suppressed, with difficulty, an impatient sigh.

"She won't have changed, Arin," he assured gently. "Not in the way you're talking about. I mean, we all change all the time. Even you are not the same person you were just a year ago."

"I suppose..." Arin allowed reluctantly, his eyes on the floor. Then he shook his head rapidly. "I will pay attention now, though."

* * *

Violet listened to the contestants that came before her with a growing feeling of dread. It had been a long time since she last sang in public, and she had never enjoyed it. Just to make herself feel a little better, she ran through her song in her head.

Time seemed to crawl by excruciatingly slowly, while, at the same time, passing altogether too fast. As it drew closer to her turn, Violet became more and more nervous. She tried to calm herself down by telling herself that it was just going to be another lesson with Will, but she was rather unsuccessful in that attempt.

Violet spent another ten minutes panicking before finally, the dreaded moment came-and the announcer called her name.

* * *

Arin became instantly alert the moment the announcer said, "And our next contestant is 23-year old Violet O'Reilly." When she walked out onto the stage with a smile, Arin released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

Violet was wearing black pants that flared at the bottom. Her red turtleneck made a bright contrast against her pants and her dark hair. To the majority of the audience, she was pretty. But to Arin, she was absolutely stunning. He waited with bated breath to see what she would do.

"I know it's not really...traditional to say anything before performing," Violet began with a smile, and Arin's heart beat faster at her voice. "But...I thought that you as the audience might appreciate some insight as to why I chose the song that I did, since I'm pretty sure most of you have never heard it before," she added with a laugh. She paused and thought for a moment.

"I-I was born and raised in Anthacena, Ireland," Violet continued at last, "and that's where my family lived until I was almost twenty. Then we moved to Renon, a dinky little town in Ireland with a population of about 150, including us." The audience laughed, causing Violet to smile.

"We lived there for about a year, and then we started touring the world. Finally, about one year ago, we settled her in Zion. And-it's been wonderful here. It really has. We...were pretty much welcomed with open arms. We've made a lot of good friends here, which I sincerely hope we will keep for a long time. So, it's just been really great here, and I'm-I'm proud to call Zion my home.