On the edge of the Ara Pavilion where traffic fluctuated, Noarwin spread out his arms. Asinis, Feri, and Silas paused behind him as the sound of invisible drums started a roll of enthusiasm. Children, familiar with them, shouted and ran over one another to get to Noarwin. He flashed a smile at them and threw his arm over his head. A burst of confetti and flowers fell toward their faces, only to fade away the moment they touched the boy’s and girl’s lashes and cheeks. Exclamations of familiarity coupled with the drum roll, which turned into an inviting fanfare. With the sound of lutes and pipes, Noarwin spun, his coat catching sunlight so the golden threads flashed like a windmill of comets. They shot from his coat and burst into butterflies, which flew to merge with the sky. Men and women gathered among the children and then the music ended. Applause roared all around, and Noarwin bowed.

“Thank you, ladies, gentlemen, and little ones.” He tapped the nose of a girl, who giggled. “Welcome, to today’s performance. Mind you. Keep your delight between us. We don’t want the guard interrupting our story.” A boo followed his warning. Noarwin whipped his coat behind him and revealed from it a purple fan of silver and gold lace. Faux crystals dangled from it, creating rainbows across his sleeve. “What shall it be today?” He asked a little boy familiar with his show.

“The griffon and hippogriff!” he shouted, jumping and waving his arms.

“Nice choice. That is one of my favorites. And what shall we add to it today?” He pointed at a little girl who held her face in her hands.

“Dancing in the princess’s flower grove!”

“Ah. Imaginative. I like it. Alright.” He struck a pose, his chest puffed, one foot in front of the other so he stood straight and tall. He raised his arms, his parachute sleeves billowing. A ring of light surrounded him and illusionary crystals of blue, green, and purple jutted from it like a prism full of sun flares. Noarwin fell into a squat, poised his fingers as if about to cast another spell, and lowered his voice.

“Once, on a moonless night, a Moon Princess—” he gestured behind him, and Feri gasped as her gnome disguise was covered in a sheer and shimmering pink dress. Then, Noarwin tucked one hand in his coat as he waved the fingers of his other hand. Feri stumbled a few steps until she stood before the crowd. “Lovely and desired by many a man, she found herself faced with a mysterious Forest Prince. Silas grunted as he was also compelled to draw forward as Noarwin snuck another flick on the sword at his side. "It was love at first sight.”

“Aw no!” The boys groaned while the girls giggled. Smiles found the adult’s faces as they listened.

“But the princess’s father, a great Mage King,” flick, “refused to give her up to just anyone!” Asinis, now in the heavy garb of a red and fur-lined cape, joined Silas and Feri. Noarwin sent him a nod and Asinis paled. For a moment, nothing happened and then—

“Good—Forest Prince. Oh! I love my child. I. Cannot part from her. Unless... it be to. A good. Man!” Asinis declared in monotone as he searched for his character’s dialogue.

Snickers followed, and Noarwin raised one expectant eyebrow at Feri.

She scrambled. “Ah, but Father. I… love him?”

“Uh—too. Too bad.”

“Oh...” Silas tilted his head at them.

Noarwin snorted, shared a conspiratory grin with his audience and went on, “And so! The Forest Prince vowed to summon his great servants, the griffin and hippogriff. He would send them to find and destroy the monster hiding in the princess’s flower grove in order to prove his devotion and his love.” At that moment, a serpent-like shadow drew under his audience’s feet. The children gasped while the adults marveled at the ominous illusion.

Noarwin glanced sideways at Silas who seemed curious by the figures that came from behind to stand at his shoulder. The griffin and hippogriff ruffled their feathers and shook their heads. The hippogriff pawed the ground. Silas glanced forward, found the shadow under one of the children and passed Noarwin a glance. Noarwin smiled at him, gave an indecipherable nod to any not looking for it, and winked when Silas motioned at the shadow. A flash of light shot up between a boy’s legs. The child shouted, jumping nearly as tall as he stood. Then, the hippogriff and griffin swept into the air. The serpentine creature emerged and then dashed around to hover over Asinis and Feri. Asinis drew Feri behind him, and then the hippogriff and griffin pummeled into its body. The impact sent it left and right as its black form turned to smoke where the mythological allusions hit it. And then the thing melted into the ground before Asinis and Feri and bubbled until out of sight.

“When the battle ended, the prince's hippogriff and griffin purified the garden by dancing through it, and the king gave his daughter to the prince to marry.” Noarwin passed the dancing hippogriff and griffin to go to Feri and Silas and joined their hands. The two creatures stopped their prancing and stood on either side. “And by the power vested in me, I gave them to each other as husband and wife!”

Cheers followed his announcement. Coins flashed and rained down on them as a wisp swept out of Noarwin's sleeve and gobbled up every piece.

“Bravo, Mr. Noarwin!”

“Another fine show!”

“Mr. Noarwin, were you really there to marry the prince and princess?”

“Of course I was. Who else would I have bestowed the honor after arranging their meeting?” Noarwin scoffed.

Shouts of praise and goodbyes waved across the center as the crowd dispersed and people went back to their business. Noarwin opened his sleeve and let his wisp inside, which turned into a purse in his coat. He checked it and nodded to himself.

“Not bad.” He spun to face the others no longer in their illusionary costumes and clapped. “Now that you have earned your keep, let’s eat out.”

“Silas. You did so well!” Feri said, excited by the event.

“Hm? Mr. Noarwin signaled me what to do,” he said.

“But it looked like you actually drew that shadow out of hiding and sent your guardians after it,” she insisted.

“She’s right. It went good on your part,” Asinis said, bashful over being forced into the performance and knowing he'd acted awkwardly.

“Don’t short change yourself, Mr. Asinis.” Noarwin pat his back. “Your instinct to protect Feri and glower at my monster added a nice effect to the moment.”

“Aw, Asinis. Your instinct was to protect me!” Feri giggled.

Asinis paused. “Yes. I—guess it was.”

“You sound surprised,” Noarwin chuckled.

“I just never thought of myself as the protective type,” Asinis said as he self-consciously pulled on the edge of his coat.

“It just means you’re a good person, and we are good friends,” Feri said.

Asinis smiled bashfully to himself and shrugged his shoulders. “Yes, I guess so.”

“That’s wonderful, but now we have a problem.” Noarwin stopped walking and the others looked back at where he’d paused. “Your rings seem to have stopped working.”