The Moon Dancer

Chapter 7

Judar walked with his hands behind his head. His bare feet made soft scuffling against the stone ground. The thin gold chain wrapped around his hand made faint clinking sounds as he walked. Some loud yelling near the main gate caught Judar's attention. He turned in the direction of the disturbance. Hopefully, he would find something interesting to keep him entertained while Moondancer slept.

At the main gate there were some guards holding back a blond-haired guy who was trying to shove his way through. The guards were getting agitated and threw the blond back. His freckled face was red with rage as he stood back up.

"I'm telling you I have to get inside!"

"Get out of here, kid before I make you regret it!" The guard yelled.

"You don't understand! She needs me!"

Judar watched as the guard lifted his spear and swung at the boy. There was a loud groan as the blunt side of the blade made contact with the blond boy's thigh. The blond fell down in pain and clutched his leg. Judar became annoyed, he was disappointed that it was just a kid trying to get into the palace. So much for finding something fun to do.

The boy cried out in pain as the guard hit him a second time and then a third. He gasped in pain and crouched low to the ground. Surprisingly, he still didn't seem to give up. Whoever this "her" was, she seemed very important to the boy. The guard lifted his spear to strike again, but Judar called out to him.

"Hey, that's enough."

"Excuse us Magi, but this urchin was trying to force his way inside." The guard said as he quickly put down his spear and stood at attention. Judar ignored the guard and stood over the beaten boy. His breathing was ragged, but Judar could tell that the boy wasn't completely beaten down.

"Get out of here, you're making too much noise." Judar said before turning to leave. The fallen boy quickly reached out and grabbed onto Judar's ankle. Judar froze mid-step, his eyes turned dangerous as he looked down at the hand clutching his ankle.

"What do you think you're doing?" Judar asked with venom in his voice.

"They called you Magi, are you the one who has her?" The boy strained out as he looked up at Judar with dark eyes. Judar crouched down and grabbed the boy by his hair.

"If you're referring to that dancer girl, then yes, I have her."

"Where is she?" The boy wheezed.

"The last I saw her, she was in my bed." Judar said with a smirk.

There was an explosion of murderous energy from the boy as he deeply bowed his head. A small chill of unexpected fear went down Judar's spine. The fear was quickly diminished as the boy lifted his head to reveal a face full of tears.

"Please, you have to let me see her."

Judar scrunched his nose in disgust as the boy continued to cry. He scoffed and harshly let go of the boy.

"Get out of here." Judar spat before standing up and shaking his ankle free of the boy's grip. He had walked a couple of steps away when the boy called out to him.
"I'm a musician, if I play for her then she'll dance like you've never seen before!"
Judar stopped. He could sense the desperation in the boy's claim, but it didn't seem to be a lie. Judar turned back to they boy.
"So what? There are plenty of musicians in the palace, why do I need you?"

"It is only when she dances to the beat of my drum does she use her magic. You will never see her light show again unless I play for her."
Visions of Moondancer dancing with light flashed in Judar's head, reminding him of why he wanted her in the first place.
"What's your name?"

"My name is Peli, and I've played for the Moon Dancer for many years so believe what I've said to be the truth."

"Very well, Peli. I will allow you to play your drums for Moondancer," Judar jingled the delicate chain in his hand, "But know this, I don't like sharing my toys."
With Judar's warning in the air he turned for the last time and walked away. He fixed his path back to his room, he had a gift for Moondancer, and it would be rude to leave her waiting much longer.
***

The woman in blue stood alone. The deep lines of age marked her face and the blue dress she wore was faded. The coins no longer flowed her way, the customers preferred to hand over their gold to the younger girls. The hands of time had not been kind to her, and now she wilted like a flower left in the dark. The only ray of sunshine in her life was her daughter, but what was sunshine compared to gold? A small thought formed in her head, was there a way to turn sunshine into gold? A smile spread over the woman's over painted lips. Quickly she turned and made her way to a small dark room. Sitting in the room alone was a small blindfolded girl. The woman in blue walked over to the girl and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Ruhya, it's time you learned to dance."
***
Ruhya opened her eyes in panic, half expecting to see her mother beside her. She placed her hand over her eyes and sighed.
"Will you ever leave me alone?"

"Well that depends on how long you amuse me." A voice answered.

Ruhya shot up and looked to where the voice was coming from. A dark figure moved closer and dread seeped into her as she realized who it was.
"I didn't know you were in here." Ruhya said as she picked up a pillow and put it in her lap, creating a useless boarder between her and her owner. The Magi sat on the bed next to Ruhya, the faint clinking of metal filled the air. Ruhya pulled her legs close to her and avoided touching the man next to her.
"I'm having a small party tonight, and you are going to be the main attraction. I want you to dance with light, like you did before." Judar said as he stretched out in his bed, pretending not to notice Ruhya moving away from him.

"I will dance, but I can't with the light. There has to be certain conditions for that to happen. I can't fully control my magic, so you'll have to be satisfied with a normal dance." Ruhya said with a trace of victory in her voice.

"Oh, but that's the fun part," Judar said as he suddenly spun around and placed his head on Ruhya's lap, "A blonde moron just offered himself up and said he'd play for you. It seems you two know each other, how awful would it be if something were to happen to the kid if a certain somebody didn't dance the way I want them to?"
Ruhya's blood ran cold as she grasped Judar's thinly veiled threat. Her hands began to shake as her imagination took her to places she didn't want to see.
"Please, he's only 16, don't hurt him." Ruhya begged. Visions of Peli filled her mind and guilt filled her heart. Why did he have to follow her? If Pei got hurt it would all be her fault.

"What happens to him relies entirely on you, Moondancer."