Dancing on Strings

Welcome to The Show

The tents appeared overnight.

In the evening, Mai was looking out of her balcony doors at the pristine gardens below that glittered with frost.

In the morning, Joliette opened the curtains and gasped.

She, Mai and Henrietta piled out onto the balcony and stared.

Her rooms looked out over the Wisteria Gardens, which was a huge spread of land with a wisteria garden in one section – thus the imaginative name. Different from the gardens with their countless plant life and winding paths, the Wisteria Gardens was more of a playing field for the royal family.

They would ride horses; play cricket and football, host archery competitions and, when they were younger, put on plays with makeshift stages.

There would be no space for such things now.

From what they could see, there were at least four tents out in the gardens.

The gigantic Big Top took centre stage, coloured a variety of deep purples, blues, silvers and white.

Off to its right and circling off behind it were three other tents – who knew how many more tents were hidden behind it.

They were smaller and were either deep purple or frosty blue.

A towering iron fence had been constructed around the setup, the impressive gates topped with a metal line-work of a juggler in top hat and tails, his knives suspended in mid-flight.

A white wooden board was attached to the middle of the gates and Henrietta unearthed a pair of old binoculars that Mai had stolen from the theatre years ago and peered at it.

"We request that all, be they servant or most beloved royal, refrain from entering beyond this point until the gates open at midnight," she read.

"What?" Mai said, laughing and staring at her, "They think they can request the royal family themselves do not enter their own gardens?"

"It seems to be working, Geneviève is not banging the gate down," Henrietta pointed out as Joliette took the binoculars and put them to her eyes.

"It all seems very quiet down there," she observed.

"I suspect they're sleeping if they spent all night constructed that," Mai said as she was handed the binoculars and peered down. "My god, it really is huge. They may very well be able to fit the entire court in there."

"How on earth did we not hear them?" Joliette said, folding her arms on the railing.

"Magic," Henrietta said, grinning at her and Joliette rolled her eyes and straightened.

"Regardless, they are not a priority until tonight," she said, "Come, Mai, let's get ready for the day."

Mai turned away and walked back into her room while Henrietta hung over the balcony railings, binoculars pressed to her face to try an spy any movement beyond the fence line.

Mai undressed, bathed, grinned when Joliette's face blanched as every joint in her body cracked – as was the norm – and then redressed in a pale green gown.

That day was a slower, quieter day until the evening when the first of the season's grand dances would start.

At midnight – as so said by the sign – the gates to The Midnight Troupe would be opened to the guests and, as they say, let the show begin.

The palace was very quiet and very active at the same time.

The lords and ladies of the court were around in the late morning – once they'd woken – to dine and keep company with royals before they vanished into the rooms to begin the long preparations for the ball.