Chapter 21
O ur mornings started with strength training in the courtyard at dawn when the air was so crisp our breath came out in plumes. This was followed by a quick but scrumptious breakfast in the dining hall before we were ushered down to the gymnasium.
The first time I saw the space where we’d be practicing the conduction and aerial silks for the next few weeks, my jaw dropped. While ballrooms were always spectacular, gymnasiums were usually very plain. But the gymnasium of the Lamida palace put almost every other ballroom to shame.
It was a massive rotunda with a ceiling looming thirty feet above. In the center was a domed skylight, letting in the bright blue sky and radiant sun. Surrounding the skylight was a mosaic of glittering stones in gradients shades of the rainbow.
The sunlight glimmered on the thick metal hooks anchored into the ceiling beyond the skylight, making them stand out like diamonds. Long ribbons of silk—each in a different color— hung from the hooks, and despite their cheery appearance, they looked like gallows to me as I approached.
The floor was made of sparkling sand the color of a fresh peach. Madge told us to remove our shoes before entering the gymnasium, so I felt it between my toes. It was so fine and soft and warm, like a beach on a summer day.
Madge had us standing in rows a few feet apart so we could begin stretching, but all through the warmup, I could only look at the silk. It was like being in the room with a tiger and trying to focus on anything else.
Finally, we finished, Madge cleared her throat and announced, “All right. I want to see what you all can do on the silks. Line up one by one and show me a half-moon.”
“ All of us?” I asked meekly, and someone snickered.
"Yes. All of you will do the half-moon, or at least attempt to," Madge said, sounding slightly annoyed that I had even asked. "You have twenty minutes to practice."
Wrenley came over and playfully nudged me with an elbow. “This is good news, Izzy. I’ve seen you do moves just like the half-moon on the ground, and you’re great at that. And we have time to practice. You’ve got this.”
Before we began, we rubbed a pouch of rosin crystals over our hands and feet. The crystals made our skin slightly sticky, improving our grip.
Wrenley took the silk in both hands, wrapping xer dominant leg around the fabric. Xe pulled up with her xer arms, and xer biceps flexed noticeably beyond xer sleeveless top.
"Your grip needs to be stable and firm, and then you can focus on your legs," Wrenley explained as xe moved. "Make sure you put your free foot on top of the other because you don't want all your support on your arms."
Xe repeated the movement a few times until xe was six feet up in the air above me. Xe easily could've kept going higher, but I wouldn't have been able to hear xer if xe had gone up too high.
“So once you get to your desired height, do a single foot lock,” Wrenley instructed, and xe wrapped the silk around xer foot with xer toes and heel exposed.
"And now you go into the half-moon." Wrenley separated the silks, then xe used xer footlock to push in one direction against one silk and leaned back, pulling the other in the opposite direction.
Xe reached up above xer head and gripped the fabric. Wrenley arched xer back, creating the shaping of a crescent moon with xer body.
“And it’s as simple as that!” Wrenley announced proudly.
Xe wasn't wrong in that I could easily do a similar move on the ground or even much nearer to it. Some of the work I'd done at other conductions had required me to master various gymnastics and acrobatics. I regularly did strength and endurance training as well as plenty of stretching.
But the several feet off the ground made it seem impossible.
When it was finally my turn, I managed to do the half-moon a foot off the ground while Madge watched me.
"I believe that you are physically capable of doing all that I need from you, Isadora," she said after I finished. "But you'll never be able to do it if your heart isn't it. Is your heart in it?"
I took a deep breath, and because I hoped it was true, I nodded and replied, “Yes, it is.”
The good news was that I was too tired to cry by the time our training ended for the night. Wrenley and Rowan stayed out with the other muses, but I politely declined and escaped up to my room in the palace. I had made it through the day, but just barely , and every muscle in my body ached.
I looked over at the wardrobe, which I had unpacked yesterday. Now, I wondered if that act had been too presumptuous since I doubted I'd last another day.
I leaned back against the door and took in my room. The colors and décor that had seemed cheery and whimsical in the bright light of the morning now looked subdued and ominous in the blue moonlight.
I flopped onto the bed, and even falling into the fluffy blankets hurt my aching body. I buried my face into my pillow, planning to mope and spend the rest of the night feeling sorry for myself until I heard a bird singing on my window ledge.
Except it wasn't the usual melody of a bird. It was a near-perfect recreation of the first song I performed with Soren back at the Balefire festival.
When I lifted my head, I saw a mimacaro bird. He was about the size of a robin but rounder and fluffier, like an oversized baby chicken. His cheeks were full and white, while the top of his head was sky blue before shifting into the iridescent rainbow of his wings and tail feathers.
I knew he was a boy because only the males were brightly colored and had the gift of vocal mimicry. They used it to attract a mate, but over time, and with a bit of magik, we've taught them to carry messages between people.
“Are you here for me?” I asked the little songbird.
In response, the mimicaro hopped down from the window ledge and onto my bedpost. He tilted his head to one side, blinking his bright eyes at me, and when he opened his beak, it was Soren’s voice that came out: “ Isadore, Isadore, Isadore .”
My name was put to a playful tune, but then it shifted to his regular speaking voice.
“I hope you made it to Lamida safely, and I know that you’ll do wonderfully there,” the bird told me in Soren’s voice. “I’m sorry about how we left things, and I don’t want it to be a dark cloud over your time in such a magickal palace. Have fun, let your light shine bright, and I will see you in a few weeks.”
A tear slipped down my cheek, but this time from happiness because that was just what I needed to hear. I thanked the mimicaro and offered him a few welcome chin scratches before he flew off into the night.