Chapter 6
M y friends filled me in about the lowlights (mostly Wren) and the highlights (mostly Bri) of the their summer so far, and I ate my lunch as quickly as possible. Wrenley still ensured that we had cleaned up and gotten on our way with plenty of time to make the quick walk across the park.
Xer father was already seated on the benches surrounding the amphitheater stage. That wasn't surprising, though, considering Sparrow was one of the performers. Since she was only fourteen, Wrenley and Sparrow's mother, Eva of House Calix, was always with her.
Wrenley's father, Robyn of House Pavone, was a lord and somewhat prominent enchanter in Calida. Eva was a retired muse, so they both had an acute understanding of magickal conductions. He sat near the front row while Eva was back with their daughter and the other performers.
"It drives Sparrow nuts because our mother is always hovering around, but she was the same with me," Wrenley explained with a snicker as we made our way down to sit near xer father.
“It is necessary, though!” Briar chimed in, sounding overly concerned. “My dads let me go on one lucenition by myself when I was seventeen, and the enchanter thought he’d be inappropriate with me because I was so young. I smacked him and ran home straight away.”
"What did your dads do when you told them?" Wrenley asked since they'd always been protective parents.
“Oh, I never told them. They wouldn’t have let me go out on my own anymore,” Briar explained with a shrug. “But if my children want to be a muse, I will never leave them alone with a warlock or enchanter or even an adult muse. Not until they are twenty-one.”
"You're not even twenty-one right now," Wrenley pointed out, since she had just turned twenty.
“I know,” Briar said, undeterred.
Wrenley's father, Robyn, saw us approaching. He offered us a warm smile, and he stood to embrace Wrenley. Xe was such a blend of xer parents: the lanky build, tall height, and aquiline nose were from xer father, and the dark curls, expressive eyes, and enigmatic smile came from xer mother.
Xer little sister Sparrow was also a perfect blend of their parents but with all different qualities: she inherited her pale eyes, pouty lips, and auburn hair from her father, and petite nose, short stature, and wide hips from her mother.
Xer older brother Larken looked like neither of their parents, except for the auburn hair and expressive eyes. He wasn't here, though, because he was away studying at the Calida Conservatory for Magickal Arts in the southern gardens. He was four years older than Wrenley and an aspiring enchanter, like their father.
Lord Robyn smiled as he greeted us. “Lady Briar, Lady Isadore, it’s always a pleasure to see you, and it is so kind of you to show your support of Sparrow.”
“She’s practically my little sister, too,” Briar said because she and Wrenley had been best friends since they were toddlers.
Technically, they were cousins (second or third once removed), but their relationship was distant enough that they didn't spend family events together. They also happened to be neighbors, and both went to Ceffyl Isca Academy, the same day school the royal princess attended until they were sixteen.
“And I’m here because I’ve been helping Sparrow practice her steps all week, and I need to see if any of my hard work paid off,” Wrenley said wryly.
We all took our seats as the music started, and a few moments later, a dozen young muses came out in summer costumes. All of them appeared to be aged twelve to fourteen, so they were not exceptionally young, but most major conductions only began hiring muses when they were sixteen or older.
These performances existed outside of the major festivals to give young muses a chance to gain experience and learn how to conduct the magik that was already coursing through their veins.
Everyone in Wespen was born with magik in them, but those that became muses had an abundance of it. Regardless of class or calling, everyone had to be taught how to tap into it and conduct it. Although, again, muses had an aptitude for it and learned quickly.
Magik usually gained full-strength by the time someone hit puberty and that is when most aspiring muses began practicing and performing. To help them learn how to harness their magik, smaller conductions like this one were put on.
The biggest difference between the ones with children like this in the park and the ones I did was the direction that the coin went. Full-fledged mature muses like myself, Briar, and Wrenley were paid to conduct at the festival. Underage aspiring muses like Sparrow—or, more accurately, her parents—were paid to perform in them. They were paying for the opportunities and experiences, the same way they paid for their tuition for the academy until they were sixteen and Larken's conservatory.
That was also why I had rarely performed in them. Occasionally, Adora would scrape together enough coin so I could because she believed the connections and friendships were invaluable. That was where I first met Wrenley and Briar, although we didn’t really become friends until I was sixteen.
These performances in the park were simply meant to teach and entertain. The ones I had done in festivals as a child, so that we could earn coin, those ones had the weight of the kingdom on them.
Finally, the performance of “The Dance of the Hummingbirds” began with bright music, and the aspiring muses ran out onto the stage.
It was a popular piece, especially for this age group, and it was unusual because it had two primamusas. The dual roles of Signy and Otho were a pair of star-crossed lovers kept apart by the curse of the evil Rufus.
Sparrow had gotten the role of Rufus, which she'd initially been upset about until Wrenley told her that the villains always have more fun and get the most dramatic moves.
Most of the children were in brightly colored costumes made of feathers and fluff to mimic the hummingbirds, but Sparrow came out in darker colors with a feathered cloak enveloping her. The look on her face as she danced with a tail of sparkling feathers following her magickally showed that she clearly relished her time on the stage.
When I was her age, I only wanted background roles, preferring to hide in the shadows. I loved the music and the dancing and the magik, but the idea of everyone’s eyes on me made me want to crawl out of my skin.
Adora had pushed me out onto the stage, and she was always in the front row, watching me with the most scrutinizing eyes so she could catch even the slightest mistake. Sometimes, the way she watched me so closely made me feel like she wanted to see me falter.
But that wasn’t how Sparrow’s family watched her. Wrenley sat forward with xer elbows resting on xer knees in rapt attention, and their father watched her with nothing but love and pride.
When the performance ended, Wrenley was instantly on xer feet, applauding and whistling, and their dad was only a moment behind xer. They all hugged Sparrow and congratulated her, and nobody even mentioned anything she could’ve done better.
With the performance over, I made a hasty departure and hurried home. I was allowed to visit with my friends, but my mother wasn't exactly fond of it. She believed that I should do my socializing through my work, and it was dangerous for young women to be out on their own for too long.
I jogged back home, lifting the length of my summer dress to move faster. As soon as I went inside, I checked myself in the entryway mirror, which was good because some of my hair had come free from the chignon I had it in, and Adora would be appalled if she knew I'd been in public looking so unkempt.
"Good afternoon, Miss Izzy. The Lady of the House is still in the bath," our housekeeper Heloise greeted me. She was a plump woman in her late middle age, wearing her beige tunic uniform and dark headscarf covering her graying hair. "How was your picnic?"
“It was lovely, thank you.” I had finished fixing my hair, and I finally looked over at her and noticed the excitement in her barely repressed smile. “What is it, Heloise?”
"While you were out, a message arrived for you," she said, and I glanced down to see a sizeable golden envelope in her hands. Even in the dim light of the entryway, the paper shimmered.
“Is that an invitation to the Ashoralida?” I asked, and my heart was already racing.
“I’m not sure,” Heloise said. “You’ll have to open it and see.”
She handed it to me, and it felt heavy and thick. The seal on the back was made of glimmer wax, so the colors swirled and changed before my eyes. That was the seal of an enchanter.
The parchment itself was as soft as satin, with golden filigree along the edges. The message was written in elegant calligraphy in royal stylization.
“The Grand Celebration of the
Ashoralida
By Commandment of
the King Marcel of House Velt
the Enchanter Soren Tomoleo
is Directed to Invite
Lady Isadore Lucienne Dellamousa
to Present and Conduct with the Muses at the
Royal Palace in the Kingdom of Sudamon
on the Longest Days of Summer”
Beneath all of that, at the very bottom, was a quickly scribbled note in messier handwriting:
Izzy, bring your brightest light. The Kingdom of Sudamon needs you. – Soren