“We are gathered, one and all, to celebrate my daughter becoming queen tomorrow.” The king was standing in the middle of the long table that was raised above every other table in the room. the chair on which he had been sitting was made of silver with diamonds built into the frame. Etched into the back of the chair was the image of a bear, with scars on its snout and a quarter of its nose missing. The muse for this particular image, the bear Baldur, was standing to the kings left. Baldur had his own place at the table and a raw piece of meat was laid out on a tray.
Freya wanted to vanish as all eyes, noble and servant alike, turned to look at her. It was as if the air in the room got heavier. She felt heat rising to her face and tried her best to lean out of the candle light.
Rowan was at the end of the royal table, standing with his hands behind his back and his robin, Berty, perched on his shoulder. When he noticed the expression on her face, he made his eyes go crossed and stuck out his tongue.
Freya laughed.
“This will be a momentous day indeed, but there is no reason that tonight should not be just as memorable.” Her fathers eyes burned amber as he leaned over the candles and food on the table to glance around at his guests.
“So, in order for this night to be just that, I have arranged the best food, the finest wine, and some entertainment from out of town.”
Freya sat up and started to pay attention. She liked watching the performers. They were always doing things she hadn’t seen before, bending in half, eating fire. Every time she saw them she wondered what kind of a thrilling life they must lead to have learnt these skills. Mind you, some of them just get them as a result of what their spirit animal is. She remembered this one woman who had a snake spirit animal and as a result her bones were less rigid than most. She bent and moved as if made of water.
Her father had been continuing his speech while she was away with her thoughts. The only thing she heard when she tuned back in was “Friends, I give you, the Clowns.”
Gesturing towards the large expanse of floor between the lower tables, her father settled in his seat again. The hall was huge. There were at least two hundred nobles sat at dinner and just as many servants waiting on them. But the area in the middle of the room was always left empty for the entertainment.
Then, a very large and rotund man waddled across the wood floor, stopping dead centre beneath the over head candle filled chandelier. He was wearing a red coat that didn’t close around him and had one hand extended for a fly to sit on. When he started to speak the fly buzzed up onto his shoulder without a word of command.
“Your highness,” He bowed. “your majesty” another bow. “And lords and ladies of the court,” He turned slowly, almost toppling over. “You have asked to be entertained and I will not disappoint. We open tonight with something truly spectacular. Two women, one as quiet as a mouse, the other a fierce feline.”
There was some noises of appreciation from the crowd. Freya wasn’t interested. There was always a portion of the show dedicated to the men in the room. when she was queen, she was going to make it a law that there had to be something like that for the women too. It was only fair.
“They are both amazing but beware, they can be more dangerous than they seem.” With a wave of his hand the man stepped aside and let the two girls through.
One was small and blonde. Her skin was so pale it seemed to reflect the light and her dress was short enough to make some of the men blush. She held out her hand like a woman in an Egyptian painting and on top of the hand was a small white mouse. Sauntering through the room she came to a stop beside one of the nobles. He watched her chest as if the sequence on her outfit there had hypnotised him.
The other girl was larger with wider hips and an hourglass shape. Her hair was scarlet and her outfit made up of a corset and a tutu, both red. Her long black boots stomped out a beat as she came in. by her side was a large snow leopard. Its paws seemed of endless size and its tail was curled against the girls back. it wore a red bow on its neck.
They started their routine while one of the other clowns played a tune on the lyre. They danced well but the whole experience was making Freya uncomfortable. She looked at Rowan. He was staring at the ceiling, hands clasped together and wringing his fingers.
Her father laughed and gulped a bit of wine. The smell of it made the atmosphere even more dizzying.
Freya rubbed her eyes and tried to focus on anything normal. Everywhere she looked, the nobles were either turning their gaze away or openly leering. Their sniggering ricocheted off the walls.
Then a young man came out into the performance space. He came from between two tables at the back of the room. his features were soft and he looked around the same age as Freya. He didn’t look up until he was almost at the royal table. His hair was reddish-brown turned copper in the dim light cast by the flames. It sat in an unruly and dirty mass on his head.
He had a ring with him, one big enough that at least two of Freya would have fitted inside it. There was a strange odour coming off the ring and it made Freya cough.
Hoisting the ring into the air just before the royal table, the boy waited while someone came in on his left and did the same. Now two huge rings faced the table. Freya was wondering where this was going when some of the servants started to move the food and things to the side. this left empty table on the other sides of the rings.
Freya watched the redhead come around and line herself up with one of the rings. Her leopard took the other. Freya glanced at the rings and used her eyes to guess where on the table they would line up with. What she concluded was that she was about to get a face full of snow leopard.
The rings were then set on fire.
Now she would get a burning animal jumping at her.
Her spider, Buddy, crawled off her lap and went to make a web on the wall behind her. Coward, she thought but she really wished she could sneak away that easily.
The song was getting quicker and the pitch was rising. The girl with the mouse retreated to the back of the room but no one noticed. All eyes were on the flaming rings and the girl and her leopard lined up to go through them. Freya was starting to feel heat off the flames. Her forehead was moist.
The fire burned too brightly for some and they shielded their eyes with their hands.
The music was beginning to hurt her ears as the girl and her leopard took a run up in perfect sync.
Then leapt through the rings. The only evidence that the flames had been close to them was the tiny singe marks on the edges of the ribbon the leopard in front of her was wearing. It smouldered black.
The sound of the table rocking on its legs with impact was lost as the room erupted into applause. The spectacle coupled with the free wine made the crowd loud. Water was splashed over the rings to put them out. The boy from before jogged over to the redhead and offered her his hand to help her down.
Freya looked at her father and then immediately regretted it. The look of delight on his face was darkened by something and he was licking his lips. The redhead was mere inches from his face.
Then the cheer was broken as the huge wooden door at the end of the hall boomed open and against the wall. The wood split down the middle with the force of the impact.
Freya watched as a creature the size of a horse walked into the room. Its beak was like yellow paint when some dirty water gets on it. The feathers around its head were stained grey but patches of white stood out on them. Its front feet were talons, clicking against the wood with each leisurely step. Its back feet were huge golden paws equipped with claws that scraped lines into the floor each time it lifted its paws to walk. Rested on top of its muscular shoulders were massive wings. They were dark coloured and wide enough that they knocked against the door frame. The strength of its body was clearly seen in how its muscles bulged from under its skin.
Snapping and squawking at the nobles it passed, it went unchallenged until it got to the middle of the room. Freya could understand why no one did anything. Griffins were formidable creatures and it wasn’t common to see one this close and survive. The room quickly stank of sweat.
The griffin halted a few paces from the boy who had held the burning ring. It regarded him from head to toe, one foot hovering as if it was debating taking another step. The boy had his back to Freya, so she couldn’t see his face, but his shoulders were set square and his hands were clenched into fists at his sides.
By this point, everyone in the room was being protected or shadowed by their spirit animals. Even Buddy had come back to Freya and was standing on the table in front of where she sat. the candle beside him cast his shadow, making it longer and bigger than the spider himself. Freya waited for the boy’s spirit animal to come to defend him.
Nothing came.
The redhead dropped to the floor. The crack of her boots hitting the ground made half the room jump with fright. She came and stood beside the boy, her leopard skulking to her side and growling so much it was vibrating.
The nobles had stood up and some where backing towards the walls where their servants were standing.
Freya risked a look at Rowan. He was chewing on his lip and staring at the griffin with wide watering eyes.
But the monster had not moved. Freya knew this was odd. Griffins were vicious creatures who would kill you before you could get a good look. So why was this one waiting?
“She won’t attack unless I ask her to.” The voice came in through the open door before the woman who had spoken could be seen. She was older than Freya but not by too much. She wore a large coat made from animal skins and tight ankle boots. Her hazel eyes were eerily familiar to Freya and her hair was sandy blonde, rolling down her back in ringlets.
There was an older woman by her side. She may have been wearing clothes that were too big for her but the older woman wasn’t slowed by them. She strode in as one in a fabulous ball gown might.
“What is the meaning of this?” One of the nobles yelled.
The raised voice caused the griffin to whip its head around toward the noble.
Freya watched the redhead take the chance and yank the boy out of the monsters line of sight. He was reluctant to go but stumbled off to the side with her.
“We have come to challenge for the throne.” The older woman’s eyes turned stony and cold as she fixed them on the king.
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