The Tales of Tarya, Books 1-3

Chapter 5 - The Warrior Queen-1

The Warrior QueenThree of the player wagons were painted like elaborate jewel boxes, in a riot of clashing colours. Splashes of gold added to the splendid gaudiness. The scenery wagon was different. Carved of dark wood, it bore sparse highlights of gilt, which accentuated the shadows beneath the carvings. At a distance the carvings appeared random, but up close they resolved into faces. Mina guessed they represented the audience, laughing at the jests and foolery of playing. To her, their wide-open mouths and haunted eyes suggested torment.

As she reached the back steps of the wagon, the carvings resolved again into random patterns. She shuddered, but the thought of seeing Aldo drew her on. Knocking, she opened the door and entered.

The inside was also of dark wood, plain and serviceable. Three tiers of narrow shelves ran the length of the left side. The bottom shelf contained flat boards similar to the carven window Uberto had shown her. The top one contained rolls of cloth. The middle one held two beds. Underneath the bottom shelf were some trunks. Two chairs completed the barren array, other than a clothing rail that partitioned off the doorway to the driver’s seat. Light eked in through small high windows.

Aldo lay on one of the bunks, apparently asleep. Mina turned to leave, but he called out to her.

‘It’s okay, angel, I’m just resting. Come in, come in. I haven’t had a chance to thank you.’

She drew near to the bed, and Aldo reached a hand out to her. His skin still had a grey cast but the sheen of sweat was gone. She took his hand, her fingers disappearing in his meaty grip, which was surprisingly weak.

‘Mina, Mina. My little princess. You saved my life. With your beautiful story, you stopped my poor heart racing to its doom. You’re too special to be a player, angel. You can transform Tarya itself!’

Aldo stopped and dragged a few breaths into his shuddering chest, then spoke again.

‘Your gift is beyond anything I’ve seen, and I’ve been playing more seasons than I can remember. I was so young when I started, and it was all so exciting. I left my family, my home, without a backward glance. I played the Inamorato, once. Can you imagine? Me, Aldo! I was more handsome than young Jal once. Girls swooned and cried out for me. Of course, those sort of opportunities dry up with time, but in my youth!’

He smiled a distant smile. Aldo’s story reminded Mina of Paolo and she realised she still had no idea how to find him. Aldo mistook her silent musing for disbelief.

‘Can’t believe it, princess? Time does funny things. Sometimes I catch sight of what I’ve become, and wonder where the thin, handsome prince is. I’m sure he’s inside somewhere. I can feel him in my head. But now I’m the cuckholded husband, the foolish father. No one loves me.’

Mina began to speak a protest. Aldo squeezed her hand.

‘Oh, don’t worry, I’m not giving in to self-pity. Just remembering. Playing seemed so exciting when I was young. And now I’m too old to do anything else. But you have your life ahead of you, my angel. Playing isn’t all you imagine. And your gift might be better used elsewhere, to create …’

Mina shook her head. ‘But the players create!’ she protested.

Aldo smiled, a bittersweet expression. ‘Not like you. You saved my life with the enchanted place you created. Princess, beneath the costumes and make-up, playing isn’t so wonderful. This isn’t the life for you.’

‘Someone else said that today, but he wouldn’t say why.’

‘Trust an old man. I’ve done this too long to stop, but I’ve had to live with what we do. It takes you, a little at a time. If I’d seen how things were at the beginning, I might have … but a little at a time … you don’t see until you’re drawn in.’

‘What do players do that’s so bad? I’ve heard people call us thieves. But I know that’s not true. Besides, if players stole from somewhere they’d hardly be able to go back, and they live on the generosity of the places they visit.’

‘That’s why we usually only visit the Place of Dreams in bigger towns,’ Aldo said absentmindedly.

Mina seized on this first glimpse of the unspoken. ‘The Place of Dreams?’

Aldo covered his eyes with his hand, then shook his head. He patted her hand. ‘You’re quick. But you don’t see everything. When you do, it’ll be too late. I can’t tell you any more yet, princess. I’ve taken an oath.’

Mina had the feeling Aldo had been about to reveal something important. He was looking at her with affection. She tried to think of a question that might help her discover something about Paolo without giving away her secret quest.

‘Aldo, do players ever leave? What happens to them?’

Aldo pulled his hand away. ‘What have you heard?’ he asked, wary.

‘Maybe they aren’t suited … to the lifestyle, or can’t reach Tarya or …?’ Mina stuttered.

Aldo nodded, a frown on his face. ‘Being with the players changes you,’ he said. ‘People who’ve been with us often can’t go home. Things are different for them.’

He patted her hand again, then shifted his huge body, trying to sit up. ‘But you’ll be fine. I’m so hungry! Could you bring me some food, angel?’

The small exertion of movement had made a light sweat break out on his forehead, but he pulled his legs over the edge of the bunk and sat up.

‘On second thoughts, Uberto says I must exercise more. Let’s walk. To lunch!’

With a grin, he offered Mina his hand. He staggered a little, but succeeded in walking halfway to the picnic Mama Tina had prepared before he stopped, his face grey again. Mina looked up at him, concerned.

‘Just a little out of breath, princess,’ he reassured her, and they continued their slow walk.

~

Aldo leaned heavily on Mina’s arm. His heart was pounding in his chest, but he hid that from the girl, and cursed himself for what he’d hidden in their conversation. She’d saved his life, and he owed her a brighter future, not one filled with regret and self-loathing.

Mina was unlike Isabella, who was always willing to do anything to further her ambition. She was also unlike Lisette, who had come to them so despairing that the players offered a bright new world, whatever they might do. Mina had a unique gift, and choices, and Aldo knew he had less to lose than any other player by breaking his oath and telling her the truth. He was old, and time was running out. But if he told her now she would have to hide her knowledge until they reached a place where she could leave the troupe. It would be too dangerous.

‘Irsha then,’ he told himself. ‘I’ll tell her then.’

~

Already Mina felt she had spent weeks upon weeks sitting on the costume wagon’s front seat. She was used to the routine. That afternoon, as they set off again, she was surprised to find Lisette at the reins, rather than Isabella.

‘You don’t … I’ve never …’ Mina said.

Lisette shrugged. She had a colourful scarf wrapped around her head, but the sun was gone now, hidden by heavy grey clouds.

‘Sometimes I do,’ she said. ‘I suppose you’ll want to sit indoors with your best friend. Go ahead. I like the quiet.’

Mina remained in her usual seat. Lisette flicked the reins. Uberto’s wagon was already pulling out and they fell into place behind.

‘I’ve been wanting to get to know you, Lisette. I’ve barely seen you,’ Mina said, breaking the heavy silence.

‘Don’t expect any confidences from me, village girl.’

Her words stung. Mina looked out at the scenery, sparse vegetation and a distant view of the ocean, and felt lonely and homesick. Though clouds massed, there had been no rain for days, and the road was dusty. The storm that had been threatening for what seemed like days would come, but for now it was hot and still.

After a while Mina tried again to find a topic Lisette would respond to, but the girl gave one word answers, staring fixedly at the road ahead. They rode that way for a long while, listening to Petruchio’s steps, the familiar sounds of the wagons and the chirpings and rustlings of the countryside.

Finally, to Mina’s surprise, Lisette broke the silence.

‘The sun, it is rougher than my home. I feel it burn.’

‘Do you miss it?’ Mina asked.

‘It is different. Rien is warm like this in summer, but without the storms.’

‘Why did you leave?’

Lisette glanced at Mina. ‘I told you, no confidences.’

She turned back to the road. As they came over a slight rise, a small village appeared in the distance.

‘I feel torn about leaving my home,’ Mina said. ‘Part of me wishes I was still there, but part of me is glad I left.’

Lisette was hunched over, closed off, in a silent world, one hand clutching the silver locket she always wore, and Mina wanted to break through. There was a weight on Lisette’s shoulders, just as there was on her own. She chose her words with care, hoping to find a connection between them to ease both their burdens.

‘I lost my brother. We were very close.’

Mina realised her grief at her brother’s disappearance was still there, dark and sharp and strong, despite the years. Lisette looked up quickly, and Mina thought she saw a pain in the girl’s eyes that matched her own, but Lisette looked away again without a word. Mina decided to find safer ground.

‘How long have you been with the players?’ she asked.

‘Nine years.’

Mina felt a sudden pain in her chest. That wasn’t quite long enough for Lisette to have been in the troupe with Paolo. Should she ask anyway? Was it safe?

Lisette continued. ‘I began as Inamorata when Uberto’s daughter left with a lover. She fall in love with all her Inamorato. She said this time was for real, but she come back again without him. Miranda loves no one. Before you join us, she left for ambition instead. I hope she will not return.’

‘Miranda …’ Mina said, and saw again the girl from her dream, the girl with long, black hair and green eyes, who had laughed and taken her Paolo.

‘Who was the Inamorato?’ she asked before she could stop herself.

Lisette’s eyes turned hard and suspicious. ‘We do not talk about those who have left the players.’

Mina looked down, thinking hard. Would she be able to trust anyone enough to ask about Paolo? And who would know?

‘Would you tell me about Rien?’ she asked. And as they rode on, drawing nearer to the village as the afternoon faded, Lisette spoke of the land of Rien, where the language was like a melody, and snow fell in the depths of winter. Even with her broken speech, Lisette conjured images of a beautiful place.

‘You sound like you love it so much,’ Mina said. ‘Will you go back?’

‘Never!’

They fell into awkward silence. From up ahead, a strange whistle broke the moment.

‘That’s Uberto. If you left your village for adventure, it perhaps finds you now,’ Lisette said. She flicked the reins a little and the horse began to step faster. ‘Get inside the wagon, Mina. There’s trouble.’

‘What trouble?’

‘Usually people who don’t like players.’

‘I’m not afraid of that.’

A rock pounded against the wagon, and then another.

‘There, in the tree!’ Mina pointed.

Two men sat in a giant tree next to the road, not far ahead. One was pelting the first wagon with rocks, but the other had turned his attention to the one the girls rode. Another rock clattered from the roof to Mina’s side. She picked it up and threw, without thinking. The man in the tree let out a cry and dropped his hand to his side, cradling it. The rock he’d been about to throw fell through the branches.

‘Good shot!’ Lisette said.

‘My brother thought I should have the same skills as him,’ Mina replied with a fierce grin.

Isabella opened the door from the inside of the wagon. ‘What’s happening?’ she asked.

‘They’re throwing rocks,’ Mina said. ‘Duck!’

A rock came straight at them. The first man had also turned his attentions to their wagon now. They were almost under the tree so his aim was good. Isabella pulled back into the wagon just as the stone smashed into Lisette’s cheekbone. It ricocheted off the closed door and bounced to the ground. Lisette dropped the reins and swayed, clutching her face. Mina saw blood through her fingers.