Chapter Ten #2
“That’s a lie. You’re nervous most of the time. You just hide it well.”
Danny’s illusion of a smile faltered. “Nothing gets past ye, does it?”
“No, it doesn’t. You know what else I’ve noticed? Your accent is heavier.”
“Yeah, that’s because I like you.”
I shot a glance at Charlie, who was seething in the corner. “You like everybody.”
“Absolutely not. I hate most people.”
“You and me both.”
“I try to monitor the way I speak around new people. I worry about being misunderstood, so I try to mirror other people’s way of speaking so I can camouflage,” Danny explained. “But I now know the rest of ye well, so I don’t feel the need to try and hide anymore.”
“That’s adorable, Danny. But it’s a little off-color that this is the group you fit into. We aren’t the best people.”
“Sure ye are. I’ve had to hide my whole life. This group right here’s the first time I feel welcomed. I don’t feel like I need to conceal myself anymore.”
“We aren’t friends,” Charlie grumbled under his breath, then stomped off.
I rolled my eyes at the tantrum before continuing the conversation. “You’re not the only one who’s worried. I’m nervous, too. If we fail this time, there’s no more second chances. Either we stop the Warden for good with the Elven Gate, or that’s it and we’ve ruined everything.”
I shifted in my chair for the millionth time that evening as a bolt of pain etched through my spine. Danny asked, “You all right?”
“I’ve been uncomfortable all day. My back is cramping like crazy. I can’t get any relief no matter what I do.”
“You’re just stressed. Old injuries flaring up. We’ll get the key and end this.”
“Let’s hope.” This war could be over with today if we found the Astromancer key, but I was worried about not going with the rest of them.
I couldn’t do much to help, yet I still wanted to be there.
Something about this whole situation seemed dreadfully off, and it wasn’t the play.
I hadn’t felt right since I’d woken up this morning.
“I know you’re worried about Charlie,” Danny started. “It’s in your eyes.”
“Just… take care of him, all right? Since I can’t.
” Charlie had never gone to get a key without me, and every time we’d found one, it had turned into a bad situation.
It was worse this time, because Charlie had nothing to lose.
Now that our marriage was done for, I knew he’d throw himself in the line of fire.
He’d become the sacrifice so we could get our hands on that final key, and I wouldn’t be there to stop him.
I hated that I wasn’t going to be there to help.
“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Danny promised. “He won’t get hurt on my watch.”
“You better promise.”
“I swear he’ll be all right.” Danny reached back to grasp my hand. “I’ll make sure of it.”
He better. I was counting on him to keep Charlie safe, and stop him from doing anything reckless. Which didn’t give me much reassurance, because Danny was the most reckless person out of all of us.
The curtain was pulled back, and the play began. I remained in my spot backstage to watch, and wait my turn to take the spotlight. The play opened to an elaborate set, with Alana and Erica standing on top of a caricature of a beautifully built Elven ship.
“Our sailing be blessed, siren queen,” Alana began, speaking loudly so her voice echoed across the stage. “We shall meet your kingdom upon the morn, your people rejoicing at the sight of their beloved Empress Elystia.”
“Alas, Captain Adrifta, our time together has been ofttimes pleasurable,” Erica responded, speaking her lines smoothly over the painful dialogue. “It pains me that we shall soon dearly depart these waters, and unto it, each other’s arms.”
Kallie swept onto the stage, playing the part of the storm. Her dazzling gray, blue and black gown fanned out in long streamers behind her as she ran onstage. The lighting above began strobing, imitating lightning, and techies backstage began pounding on drums to resemble thunder.
“A wicked wind has struck forth!” Alana proclaimed. “The sails be wrecked by her tempest and wrath! Mercy, lady of the skies!”
“I am the goddess of the western wind,” Kallie said, reciting her lines in a monotone voice and sounding bored. “Fear me.”
She wasn’t selling it, but Marcus was starstruck. “Awe, that’s my pretty girl! She’s so good onstage!”
He was just freaking out that his fiancé was participating in his favorite thing. Kallie swooped around the stage, circling the ship, and the set began to vibrate.
“Hark! The ship is cracking!” Erica cried.
“Swim to shore, we must!” Alana burst, and she grabbed Erica to perform a stage dive off the side of the ship as it burst apart, the set pulled to pieces by hidden strings that were yanked on by techies.
Erica and Alana landed on a mattress that was hidden by props which resembled the waves of the ocean, until the techies pushed set pieces built to resemble palm trees onstage.
Alana and Erica rose from the mattress, emerging from behind a fake tree.
“Wheresthou have we landed?” Erica turned in place. Takahashi bounced up from behind a fake bush like he had springs on his feet, wearing a massive headdress to make him look like a giant talking theater mask. Erica screamed at the top of her lungs.
That scream was unintentional— Erica hadn’t been expecting Takahashi to pop up like that. Alana caught her before she tripped, and Takahashi boomed, “Welcome, travelers, to the realm of the mystic, the intrigued! Strangers are verily forbidden from wandering its shores!”
“What, pray tell, this realm be called?” Erica questioned.
“Know it by no other, but the Isle of the Lost Poet,” Takahashi replied proudly.
I still facepalmed every time I heard that name. It was so pretentious it might as well be wearing a fedora. The only thing that was worse was the name of the play itself; Le Troubadour Tourmenté. I was tormenting myself just by being here.
Takahashi’s beaming grin cracked me up. He was having the time of his life up there, but damn, his dialogue was awkward. As stilted as they come. I’d never seen such poor acting. I watched Marcus’ eye twitch as Takahashi added, “How dist thou come upon my forests?”
“Our ship hast sunk, and fallen have we unto this land,” Alana spoke. “May ye know the way thither?”
“I will be your guide! Come thee, and forward we shall progress!” Takahashi fumbled to keep the giant headdress from falling off his head. We hadn’t been able to fit it right before the show.
“You aren’t even using some of the terms right,” I grumbled to Marcus. “One theater class where you cover Ye Olde English for a week at a shoddy school like the Institute doesn't make you one of the old masters.”
“Ssh!” Marcus insisted, appearing enthralled as his eyes remained glued to the stage.
These lines would’ve been a lot easier to learn if Marcus had just stuck to common dialogue. But he’d been committed to making the cast speak Elizabethan English— poorly. He was far from Shakespeare. “But maybe someday they’ll play it at The Globe!” he’d whined.
Psh. The Globe, my ass. London would set itself on fire a second time before it got close to our rank ass play.
Alana, Erica, and Takahashi pretended to walk through the forest. “Upon this realm, you may meet many entities! Cross them all, and by journey’s end, you shall find your home!”
Takahashi gestured ahead, and Ghost came onto the stage. He hurriedly set up several sticks, then carried in a stack of plates. He placed a plate on each stick, spinning the discs until he was surrounded. It was the one talent he’d told us he could do, and Marcus had decided to use it.
“Who may be this strange creature?” Erica wondered aloud.
“Erstwhile, he may be known as the entity of balance! But may he be harassed by the agent of chaos!” Takahashi burst.
That was Danny’s cue. He sprung onto the stage, screaming, “I AM THE ENTITY OF CHAOS! I CLAIM, I COME, I DESTROY!”
Danny grabbed the spinning plates and smashed them onto the floor, cackling menacingly. They made a big mess of porcelain everywhere.
Ghost looked out into the audience and paled. A bead of sweat appeared on his hairline, and he gulped. “I… uh….”
Ghost had forgotten his one line. Up in the catwalks, Professor Wykoff adjusted the lighting so that the spotlight shone on Ghost, but it got in his eyes. He tripped and dropped the rest of the plates, spilling them onto the stage. “Oops!”
“No,” Marcus moaned. “Now the allegory won’t make sense!”
It didn’t make sense anyway, but Danny darted forward and started smashing the plates further, crushing them into dust underneath his shoes. “I shatter expectations! I pull apart dreams!”
“Phew. Smart move. Danny gets it.” Marcus nodded, mumbling to himself. “This is good, we can work with this.”
“Can we?” I wondered aloud.
“I wish we’d been able to turn this into a musical like I wanted. You and Charlie could’ve come up with the songs,” Marcus whispered back.
“There was no time for us to make up an entire musical for the cast to learn on the last day, along with dance sequences. You’re being unrealistic.”
“Nothing’s unrealistic when you have a dream!”
The play went on. The curtains were pulled for a quick scene change, and the forest became a palace as my Uncle Jonah and Auntie Imogen danced onstage.
They wore matching leotards in sparkling rainbow colors, complete with glitter eyeshadow and long, false lashes.
Imogen was holding a glittering baton that had pastel streamers rippling from the end of it, while my uncle wore multicolored chaps and a diamond encrusted cowboy hat.
They’d refused to do the play unless Marcus let them wear what they wanted. Their outfits did not fit the theme.
Jonah picked up Imogen, spinning her around his head as she spread her arms wide before he caught her, propping her up against his strong torso. She backflipped off his arm and landed in a crouch. Jonah flung his arms out, doing jazz hands. “Tah-dah!”