23. Sage
Sage
This nondescript building on the outside was very different on the inside.
It was a massive theater that seemed way too large to fit in the building from the outside. A stage sat below, red velvet seats lining rows above in a full circle. People milled about inside, getting drinks and talking. It seemed nothing had started yet.
“Want a drink?” I asked, going towards the bar.
“I don’t really drink,” Anne said.
“Really, never?” I asked.
She shook her head. “My dad… let’s just say he made me want to stay far, far away from the stuff.”
I nodded, understanding her meaning. “I’ll skip too.”
“You don’t have to,” she said quickly. “I just don’t drink personally.”
I shrugged. “I could take it or leave it.”
“If you’re sure.”
Now that I was less angry, I was starved. We hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
“I’m going to grab some snacks,” I said, spotting a separate stand. “Why don’t you grab us some seats?”
She looked a bit wary. “I can come with you.”
I shook my head, “I’ll just be a minute. Get us something close.”
“Okay,” she said, walking off towards the rows of seats.
The snack booth in the corner was mostly unoccupied, so I took my time picking a few things out.
Popcorn for us to share, a container of sour sweets for me, and a regular one for Anne.
She didn’t give me the feeling she liked sour too much.
I was charged an arm and a leg for them, but that was fine.
Events like this always took advantage of the excitement people felt.
The crowd by the bar blocked my path, but I made my way through slowly.
I was even happier I decided to wear a dark color.
Everyone here was in some tone of black, gray, or brown.
Not many people were in dresses either. There were a few women here and there in skirts, but most everyone was from the port, where pants were a necessity.
It was odd; what I wore typically made me fit right in.
Dresses on women were the norm for Peradona, specifically when it came to nobility.
And with the status I held, I tended to set the trends with people my age.
It was my sister Sorcha who usually stood out, insisting on wearing pants.
I never thought it mattered, but Mother always made a big deal out of it.
I happened to feel comfortable in what was considered socially acceptable.
My dress was my own form of armor, shielding me from anyone seeing deeper than the ornate exterior, which was my preference.
If they only saw what was on the outside, they wouldn’t see all the flaws I contained. And I liked it that way.
So why did it feel so easy to drop that armor around Shadowhart?
I didn’t even know his real name, yet I found him so easy to talk to.
Normally, talking to people took a lot of energy.
Knowing exactly what to say, ensuring I was listening just enough, interjecting when needed.
Parties were like one giant game of conversational chess I got to play whenever I wanted, but it was never talking about anything below surface level.
With Shadowhart, it felt like I could say things I wouldn’t normally, and the amount of times I’d acted out of turn in front of him would normally have someone running for the hills. But instead, he was steady. Sure, he got irritated, but he always came back to being reasonable, even when I wasn’t.
I flicked my head to the side, trying to get my hair out of my face with my hands full. As I did, someone caught my eye.
Octavio?
I scanned that area of the crowd, but didn’t see him.
Weird. Must have been a trick of the eye.
Yes, Octavio was traveling, long gone from his estate by now, but Pointet Harbor wasn’t the kind of harbor you stopped in for a good time.
Though there was a concentration of bars and shops, it was made to serve the ship workers who passed through.
It wasn’t a party port, especially not one for someone of his standing, so he would have no reason to be here.
My nerves must have been getting to me. Sneaking out was my common pastime, but for some reason, sneaking away from Shadowhart had me on edge more than I’d like to admit. Was I losing my edge?
No, I was just in an unfamiliar place… that was all.
I let the thought drop as I spotted Anne in one of the seats, still fidgeting.
When I got down there, I plopped down next to her. “Candy?” I asked, holding the box out to her.
“Thanks,” she said, taking it from me, opening the package and popping one in her mouth. “These are so good.”
“I know,” I said, joining her with one of my own. “It’s one of my favorites.”
“Me too. I try to buy a container every time we’re in Quvill.”
“I always special request them to be imported,” I said.
“That’s so cool,” she said. “You must have tried so many different things.”
I shrugged. “It is, and I have.”
She nodded, popping another candy in her mouth. “I would have never expected to see all the things I’ve seen so far without getting on the ship.”
“Where are you originally from?” I asked.
“Meryth Island,” she said.
“I see.” Meryth Island was one of the small island nations that existed off the coast of the main continent.
They were mostly fishing and commuter communities.
I’d never traveled to one of those. After my accident, it took a long time for my mothers to even let me leave the city, much less the continent.
So I never pushed to go further. None of my escapades ever led me further, which I was fine with.
Anywhere away from the ocean was fine with me, but I’d broken one of my only rules.
“So you can imagine I’d experienced… next to nothing. But I feel like I’ve already done a lifetime of things.”
“That’s a nice way to look at it,” I said. “I feel like I can never look at things that… positively.”
“What do you mean?”
I chewed on my lips, unsure I wanted to answer her.
“I’ve also been to a lot of places,” I said carefully.
“Eaten a lot of things. Had everything handed to me. But I’ve also not been to a lot of places due to my…
aversion to ships. I’ve been sheltered and don’t know a lot.
No one’s ever placed their trust in me to do anything, so I’m not very good at anything.
But I’ve also had everything given to me anyone could ever want, so I should feel fulfilled and grateful, but I just don’t. ”
Anne looked thoughtful, and I placed my gaze to the curtained stage, not wanting to see the judgement on her face. It was dumb for a princess to complain about such a trivial matter, but I did anyway. Once, I’d tried to talk to Paige about it. She’d rolled her eyes.
You’re a princess, everything anyone has ever wanted, you have. So you should just be grateful.
“I think you’re being really hard on yourself,” Anne said, surprising me.
“What?”
“Everyone has good things and bad things about themselves, about their life. Just because you have gold in one hand doesn’t mean you can’t have shit in another, is what my mom used to say.
And everyone’s shit looks different. So you can acknowledge you have issues, and still enjoy the shimmer of the gold, you know? ”
I just blinked at her for a long time.
“I…”
Before I could say anything, the lights went down and music started. We turned towards the stage and watched as the curtains opened and a man in a purple top hat stood there.
“Welcome all to the Show of Light. I’m your host, Mirage.” He paused, then, in a blink of an eye, and a puff of smoke, he was gone.
“Tonight, you’ll be shown magic so fantastic, you won’t be able to peel your eyes away.
” Suddenly he was back in one of the aisles, speaking from there now.
Was this real magic? He did use smoke, but he reappeared so quickly.
My magical knowledge was very limited. I knew a lot about curses and healing potions from my time trying to remove the necklace, but never anything else.
There were a few mages in Peradona, mostly healers, but the majority of people there were human, so they didn’t possess any magic.
They just used the benefits to light and heat their house.
I’d seen some things in Quvill before, things that have shown me the true power a magic wielder can have, but I’m shocked every time I see it.
The spotlight followed the row all the way to the stage where a woman balanced gracefully on a hanging aerial hoop, her body laid out flat along the bottom, posed and awaiting the music.
Once it did, she moved to the rhythm, circling herself around that hoop with grace that I didn’t know someone could possess. She wore a rhinestoned blue leotard with hanging fabrics on her arms and waist that moved with her perfectly.
But soon the music changed, the light flashing off for only a second, then illuminating her new, shimmering orange outfit, bright like the sun.
She hung with her hands gripping the bottom of the hoop, dangling in a pose with one leg up.
Her entire body flipped so she did a split upward, letting the light flicker again to reveal her in a shining black outfit with silver trim.
I was totally mesmerized by her. The grace and strength she had was unmatched. Looking over, it seemed Anne was just as entranced as I was.
After a few more outfit changes her set ended, and the show runner was back.
Each act was more impressive than the previous. A man who swallowed colored fire, someone who shot magic arrows into a board someone was spinning on, sparks flying every time it hit.
The finale was a group that created a light show in the air that told the story of the fallen city of Lestia.
It was said that the city fell into the ocean, literally, and hasn’t been seen since.
It was a prominent trading island before it sank, believed to have tons and tons of treasures on it.
There’s never been an official record of existence, so it’s speculated to be a place of fantasy, but many believe it still exists.