The Tales of Tarya, Books 1-3

Chapter 12 - Stage Fright-3

Lucien’s reply was swift. ‘Yes, dear heart.’

Isabella transformed her face with a smile of great charm and glamour. Mina coughed, but Lisette seized her hand and gave her the faintest twist of a smile. Isabella was determined to catch a lord. Let her imagine she has, Lisette’s hinted smile said.

‘Well, I’m sure you find players fascinating! You can worship me for tonight, my lord!’

Jal laughed. ‘This one takes a lot of worshipping!’ he quipped.

Lucien stood again, but in a smooth move he bowed low to Isabella. ‘I am here to worship, my angel.’ Standing, he offered his hand to her, and led her back into the palace. ‘Tell me about playing …’ they heard him begin.

‘May I worship you?’ Dario asked of Mina, and she turned to him, but her thoughts were of Isabella.

‘How does she do that?’

‘That was a record even for her,’ Dario replied. ‘She has a lot of tricks, but I’ve never seen her make such a quick conquest!’

‘I wonder how quickly she will change her mind when she discovers he’s one of us,’ Mina said.

Jal turned to her, astonished. ‘Have you been a little bit naughty?’ he asked.

She grinned. ‘It seems the night for it.’

‘I know who … that was Lucien Andreini. I didn’t recognise him without his make-up. He’s grown up.’

‘An Andreini?’ Lisette asked. ‘Well, he is a lord, one could say.’

Dario replied to Mina’s unspoken query. ‘The Andreinis are one of the oldest playing families. They’ve been the royal troupe many, many times. You could say they’re our royalty. An Andreini was part of the original troupe, when playing began, just as a Gazini was.’

A murmur ran through the crowd as movement above caught everyone’s attention. Nobles and the royal retinue were coming out to observe the parade from the second level balconies. Amongst them, stewards stood with golden lanterns that cast a dim light across the gathered nobility. The murmur of many voices grew louder.

Dario wrapped his arms around Mina’s shoulders from behind and whispered in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine with his closeness. ‘Here they come.’

Like stars fallen from the heavens, many-coloured lights shimmered along the long, broad road winding toward the palace. At first Mina didn’t understand what she saw. She was transfixed by the snaking river of light. Then she realised what it was. All the people of the city must have spent weeks preparing lanterns, just as they did in Andon, and now they approached with their creations, walking with solemn slowness.

Mina’s last Festival of Lights had been before the players last came to Andon, before her journey began. During those months, her uncle had babbled melancholy nonsense constantly, repeating the name Anastasia, his lost wife. Just before the festival, Mina had been making lanterns with the village children, coating pink paper petals with resin to protect them from burning. Uncle Tonio had reached out to help, and made a mess. She hadn’t told him off, sensing their time together was ending. He was so grey and bowed and thin that to look at him was to see time running away. Yet it had been she who left in the end.

‘Beautiful, my little dove,’ he had managed to say, sense appearing briefly in the midst of his nonsense, his endearment a burning reminder of Paolo. Then he had smeared resin from his forehead across his nose and cheek, causing the older children to laugh at him. Mina had dropped the paper petals and taken Uncle Tonio’s elbow, hurrying him home to stop the laughter and to clean him up.

They had watched the parade together later, from the upper storey of their house, Uncle Tonio dancing on the balls of his feet with excitement, then resting his head on Mina’s shoulders as he became tired. Mina had stopped spending time with others after that, instead sitting with Uncle Tonio as he spent more and more time in bed, his babbling fading to silence, his spirit slowly drifting away. When she had said goodbye to him, he had been more animated than he had in months. Mina wondered now if he was still there, waiting for her to return, or whether time had run out for her gentle uncle. When he visited her in her dream, had he been coming to say goodbye? A wave of homesickness overcame her.

‘Mina … Mina, what is it?’

Dario’s voice, rich with concern, brought her back to herself. His arms wrapped a little tighter around her, but he couldn’t protect her from the grief seeping into her limbs.

She wiped a tear from her cheek, shaking her head. ‘I was just remembering my family,’ she said.

‘Festivals always return us to the past,’ Dario replied, ‘like an enchanted point in the year. I’ve always thought each one is connected to the others that have gone before, as though you could step from one to the other across the years. Were you with your family last year?’

Mina nodded and leaned into him. ‘I miss them,’ she said, and felt the warmth of his chest against her face.

‘You’ll find them again.’

None of the other players noticed the choice of words, but Mina took it to mean she would find Paolo. Despite her fears for her uncle, she couldn’t return home yet. She must find her brother.

The lanterns were close now, entering the palace courtyard. Faces emerged in the glimmering light. Much as Aurea had diminished Andon in Mina’s thoughts, now the majesty of the approaching lanterns made her realise Andon’s Festival of Lights, regardless of her special memories, was a small affair. Yet despite Isabella’s efforts during their journey, and the splendour of the past few days, Mina refused to look down on the world she came from. She felt pride in the handmade lanterns of home even as these giant lanterns cast their brilliance over her memory. Mama’s love reached across the distance of these last unsettling, overwhelming months, reminding Mina she was important to her family, and that the awe of this palace and city and occasion might be bigger and brighter, but no better than what she held within her.

Mina leaned back against Dario. She no longer felt like a small country girl, even when the king and queen appeared on the balcony above her. Being this close to royalty wasn’t something to be overwhelmed by, but a memory to store and to cherish.

Thousands of people, young and old, carried lanterns into the courtyard. Gradually they stopped walking, forming a glowing cluster. There was a great shout, and all the lights plummeted downward in one breathtaking movement, to be hidden by the crowd. Then a single voice began a simple song of adoration and wonder to the Creator, one all children of Litonya learned. In the midst of the crowd a single lantern was held high again. After the first singing, a few other voices joined in, and a handful of lanterns offered their light to the sky again. Again the song was repeated, and more lanterns re-emerged from the darkness of bodies as more voices took up the music.

With each repetition more and more singers broke the darkness, and more lanterns took their place in the sky. Soon the massed voices of Aurea offered their song to the night, all lanterns raised high. When Dario began singing too, Mina joined in, letting her voice soar. Still singing, the great mass of people began to leave the courtyard. Mina stopped singing to listen. An ever-growing distance between those walking away and those still within the courtyard made the song break up into echoes within echoes.

Finally the courtyard was empty again, distant stars of light the only trace of the lanterns’ enchantment. Voices died away, until only one remained, singing the song a final time in a pure tenor. There was such purity and sweetness to the sound that Mina lost herself in the melody, her arms entwined with Dario’s, as the crowd of artisans broke apart around them.

‘I can see the stars in your eyes,’ Dario said, and turned Mina to him, kissing her gently at first, then more passionately. His arms felt safe around her, but now other sensations began to burn, like tiny sparks ignited in her stomach. The pair became oblivious to the tide of artisans receding from them. Mina lost herself in Dario’s kiss, and the heaviness of her knowledge about Tarya slid from her thoughts. Worries for her family slipped away. Thoughts of Uncle Tonio and Paolo weren’t banished, just set aside momentarily. They pulled apart at the same time, looking into each other’s eyes with wonder.

‘I love you,’ Dario whispered, caressing Mina’s face. Her heart full, Mina echoed his words. Whenever Mina remembered this moment, even years afterwards, she couldn’t think about its perfect happiness without seeing the shadow of what was to come creeping at the edges. But for this night, she saw no shadows. Behind her, the lone singer’s voice cracked. Mina turned to see Luka looking at her with shock in his eyes. He had been hidden from her by the crowd, but now the path between them was clear. Though his singing had died, it still lingered in Mina’s thoughts.

‘The night is over,’ a commanding voice intoned.

Uberto stood above them on the palace steps, moonlight shining on his face. His eyes glinted an eerie silver in the borrowed light, flashing preternaturally when he blinked. Mina shivered. Uberto’s slender form was elongated by strange shadows. He looked like a night creature from children’s stories.

‘You have done wonderful work today, but tomorrow is perhaps the most important day in the history of our troupe. There will be time for you to enjoy your newfound happiness, Dario, Mina, in the days that follow, but at this sacred juncture of the year I insist we return to our chambers and rest.’

His beckoning arm seemed to reach out and draw all to him, another trick of the darkness. Mina and Dario hurried up the steps, chastised. Quicksilver as always, Uberto allowed Dario to pass him, then blocked Mina’s way. Up close his eyes, the pupils enlarged, were as black as the sky. His gaze was intense, but when he spoke his voice was gentle. He put his arm around her shoulder and drew her to his side, walking up the steps with her.

‘This has been such a challenge for you, Mina. You have been with us such a short time, and yet here you are, playing for royalty. I am proud of you.’

He drew her into the palace. Their footsteps were muffled by the vastness of the rooms. Uberto spoke again as they walked into the artisan wing.

‘Your gifts have been noticed, and tomorrow, no matter the outcome of the judging, you will be singled out for attention. I hope you feel you are part of our family now. If you left us, we would grieve.’

They were at their sleeping quarters now, and Uberto stopped at the door, facing Mina.

‘You have become like a daughter to me, Mina. Before you make any decisions, please talk to me. Whatever you decide will affect us all in ways you cannot imagine.’

Uberto’s glare was merciless. Mina felt fear wash over her, leaving nausea in its wake. Did Uberto know she’d found out about the threads? Was he the one who had been breaking them deliberately? But he wasn’t threatening her. His tone was almost pleading. Was he talking about her decision to talk to the Council of Muses? He couldn’t possibly know about that. He was just fearful of losing her, although to whom she couldn’t imagine. People had been impressed by her efforts today, but she wasn’t sure what that might mean.

‘Thanks for your belief in me, Uberto,’ she said. ‘The troupe is my family now.’

She stopped herself saying more. She didn’t want to make any promises. She felt like part of the troupe, that was true, but she’d only ever begun this journey to search for her brother. She hadn’t expected to become so close with Lisette, or to fall in love with Dario, nor to feel so at home onstage. She hadn’t realised she might come to long for the excitement that followed a performance, the sense that the audience needed them, loved them, the energy that buzzed in her when that happened. Yet she couldn’t promise loyalty while Paolo was missing, and broken. Her duty was to the lost souls in Tarya. Especially her brother.