Saving Summer

Chapter Three: The Talent Show

“Who is he?” Queen Yesenia whispered to Henrietta, looking pointedly at the red haired man.

Henrietta glanced at the red haired man before returning her attention towards the queen. She looked at her in disbelief, “You mean you do not recall?”

Queen Yesenia shook her head from side to side, “No, I do not. Would you care to enlighten me?”

“That man is Sir Domnahl MacFargus,” Henrietta said in a hushed tone. She added, “He is the knight that slayed the hydra that was eating travelers that wandered through the Forest of Chaos. There was even a big celebration and everything. It happened about two months ago. My queen, I cannot believe that you do not remember!”

Now that Duchess Locke had mentioned the name, Queen Yesenia began to remember a ceremony honoring Sir MacFargus. Half the kingdom had shown up to the ceremony to show their appreciation. King Agostino knighted him and Sir MacFargus also received a sword made of the finest elven steel encrusted with fire opals on the hilt. It was a beautiful sword and everyone who saw it was in awe of it. Sir MacFargus had thanked King Agostino for the sword and swore that he would use it to defend the people of the Summer Kingdom from every threat.

Queen Yesenia could not believe that she had forgotten. The man was their greatest hero in recent memory and she could not even recall his name. A flush of pink colored her cheeks and Queen Yesenia stared at her feet, “It seems as though my memory is not quite what it used to be. But I do remember now.”

Duchess Henrietta placed a hand upon Queen Yesenia’s bare shoulder and squeezed. She smiled warmly at her, “Pregnancy can do that to a person. Why when I was pregnant with my daughter, Clarice, I would forget things all the time. Ulysses, the Gods rest his soul, would tease me profusely that I would forget my feet if they were not attached to me. You do not need to worry, my queen, your memory will be sharper than ever once you give birth. If you do not mind my asking, when is the prince or princess due to make their arrival?”

“Beginning of next month,” Queen Yesenia responded. She fanned herself with her hand. The heat seemed to be getting even more insufferable. It was never this bad but her added weight from the pregnancy had made it difficult to endure. Realizing that her hand was doing nothing to cool her down, the queen reached into her handbag and extracted a decorated paper fan from within. She sighed in relief as she fanned herself and added, “And it honestly cannot get here any sooner.”

Duchess Henrietta gave the queen a sympathetic look, “I hope it does. This heat is hardly tolerable at the best of times.”

Queen Yesenia nodded in agreement. Just as Queen Yesenia was about to ask Henrietta about her daughter Clarice, the announcer for the talent show took the stage. Queen Yesenia and the others took their seats. All eyes were focused upon the stage.

“Welcome everyone to the five hundredth Bacchus festival talent show,” The announcer exclaimed. His arms were stretched wide as he addressed the crowd. His rainbow sequined suit sparkled under the bright multicolored lights of the stage. His wide smile showed off his perfectly straight, white teeth and his honey colored eyes gleamed with excitement as he gazed out into the crowd. “I ask now that everyone be seated as we prepare to start with our first act of the night. But first, I would like to wish a warm, not literally though it is quite a bit hotter here than what they are used to, welcome to the Kings and Queens of the other kingdoms who are in attendance tonight. We hope that you enjoy this final night of the Bacchus festival and come back next year as well.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Alright, let us get started. Send out the first act!”

A boy no older than twelve stepped onto the stage. He reached into his pockets and grabbed three red balls. The boy began to juggle the balls, tossing them in intervals into the air. Everything was going fine until he decided to add three more. The instant that the boy tried to throw the other three into the air, he lost concentration and dropped all of the balls. The red balls rolled off the stage and disappeared underneath into the shadows. His pale cheeks flushed red and Queen Yesenia could see the tears starting to form around his eyes. Laughter rose from the crowd and the boy dashed off the stage towards the town entrance without looking back. Queen Yesenia felt sorry for the boy and wished that there was some way that she could make him feel better, but she knew that there was nothing that she could do for him.

The acts after the boy did not have the same result but some were definitely far more entertaining than others. Queen Yesenia particularly enjoyed a young woman who played a sweet, melodious song on her silver harp. A man who cracked jokes at the expense of others made Duchess Locke laugh so hard that it took a full minute for her to be able to catch her breath enough to give him her score. A dancing trio of female elves had captivated everyone in attendance with their moves and their provocative outfits. The way that they swayed to the beat of the music captured the attention of every male in the audience. When the trio finally left the stage, there was an uproar of complaints from the crowd as they did not wish for the dancing elves to go.

As Queen Yesenia saw the female elves exit the stage, the next act followed. A short woman in a long black dress commanded everyone’s attention the moment that she stepped foot onto the stage. She raised her hands above her head and clapped them together. At the exact moment that her hands  touched, the sound of thunder could be heard. The silence was deafening as everyone eyed the woman. Magic was not common in any of the kingdoms. Only a select few could use it as it was unreliable. Bad things tended to happen to those who could not control the use of their magic. Only those who studied under another witch or warlock were able to use magic. But everyone was too fascinated by this woman to care about what the consequences might be for the misuse of magic. The crowd were on the edge of their seats as the woman put on a display of her magic. As Queen Yesenia saw the smoky figures that the woman created, she realized that she was performing the tale of Sir Leofric and Princess Bronwyn. The tale was famous in the land of Prinaes. Every child knew the tale as it was a favorite bed time story. It had been passed down through the generations. Queen Yesenia remembered her own mother telling her the story when she was a young child. The tale was one of her favorites and she knew it by heart.