After dinner that evening, Selice worked Shava and me both hard at practicing the dances she had been teaching us until now, but also how to go more gracefully and fluidly from one movement to the next. Once Shava and I were done with the basics, Selice decided to intensify my dance training. I hadn’t quite mastered the dances she was teaching us yet, but she considered me graceful and flexible enough to begin trying things that were more complex and physically demanding.

“Truth to tell, Kaelyn,” she said with a smile as we took a break, “you’ve always been graceful and flexible, it’s one of the benefits of being a Faerie. You only needed to be more comfortable in your new body, so the movements feel more natural. You move a lot more fluidly now, as if you aren’t confused by how your body moves anymore, and you seem to be improving every day with what I’ve been teaching you.”

“Aye,” I agreed as I matched her smile. “Sharai said much the same after sword practice this morning. I think part of it was being a Faerie now and having the wings start feeling like they are part of me, but learning to fly has helped with that a lot, as did the stretching exercises for my wings that Sharai has been making me do. A lot of my trouble was from going from being so short to so tall though. I was constantly misjudging my reach, and things looked so small, but I think I am finally getting used to it, and moving feels a lot more natural than when I first changed.”

“Your playing has been improving too, though Daivin thinks that could be in part because you’ve been using unfamiliar instruments and now you’re getting used to both them and your body,” Selice added.

They were not wrong. Until recently, I had been playing my instruments very carefully, relying on my years of practice and paying more attention to each note I was playing than I really should have had to. As I got more used to my body though, I had to focus less on playing each note properly and could just enjoy playing. My fingers were much more dexterous now as well, and as I got used to the longer fingers and arms, I was improving by leaps and bounds.

“Aye,” Master Nirlyn contributed from where she was holding Kalara as the pair watched the dance lesson and practice. “I said ya were the best o’ us on the harp back in Thaeria village, but since then you’ve been improvin’ on that an’ yer other instruments by the day. Yer close t’ Journeyman standards on most o’ them, but on the harp yer damn near t’ bein’ a Master already. Tha’s likely what caught tha’ man’s ear today.”

“Aye, and we all know what caught his eyes, and those of his master,” Selice added with a playful grin.

“Speakin’ o’ his master, I’m no’ sure I trust His Grace, so ya both best be careful at tha’ party,” Master Nirlyn advised with a frown.

The dancer nodded thoughtfully. “I don’t trust him either, but Kaelyn and I stand to make a small fortune, and the mere thought of reprisals from the Fae had him scared stiff. We can use that. If needs must, Kaelyn can fly away, and I’ll keep an owl feather on me so I can shift and do the same.”

After that conversation, we got back to work. This time Selice was taking an assortment of poses and moving smoothly from one to the next before having me try to copy them to the best of my ability. She also had me doing so with the enchantment on my Tien’jin active so we could see which movements and poses caused the crystals to light up and make a sound.

It was largely trial and error. Some things would cause a crystal to light up and ring out with a tinkling bell-like chime, while others would not. Even things like having my hands just so, the bend of a wrist or ankle, and the positions of fingers and thumbs could cause them to go off. I was trying to keep the different keys of the various chimes in my mind, but this was a complex instrument, and it would take a while to get used to its intricacies. Kalara seemed fascinated by the lights and the sounds, but they would not be anything close to harmonious until I could become a better dancer and become more familiar with the instrument.

The next morning followed the same pattern as others since we had set up camp outside of Hindra. I got up early to practice my sword dances and train in combat with Shava under Sharai’s supervision and then had breakfast before going to feed Zaiya, wake up Kalara, and then feed her as well. After that, it was Bardic lessons until midday when we would eat before going into the city to busk and take care of any other business. I did not have any business planned in the city except for busking, which was something of a relief since I would not have to rush to join my fellow Bards before they were done busking for the day.

We were eating our midday meal before heading out when the messenger from Duke Farun Sal-Grethan arrived with a missive for me and Selice, and a pouch containing seven gold pieces. Thankfully, Selice had already changed into my duplicate in preparation for busking and the man was able to pick us out easily among the mostly darker and shorter Voyagers of the troupe. It likely helped that we were the only two who looked to be Faerie.

The missive looked more like a formal invitation and contained the location, time, and details of the party. It was due to begin at sixth bell tomorrow night with an extravagant dinner and then move out into the gardens where the festivities would continue until midnight. Since we were the entertainment for this party and would spend close to five hours dancing, playing music, and singing, Master Nirlyn suggested that we stay at camp and rest tomorrow while the others were out busking so we wouldn’t strain ourselves by overdoing it.

With that decided, I once again left Kalara with the other kids of the troupe, with Glimma and Aunt Sivelle looking after them, and we made our way back to our busking spot from the previous two days. The merchants on both sides of our spot were happy to have us there since the music attracted customers for them who were only too happy to listen to a bit of music and watch a pretty girl dance while enjoying a meal and a nice mug of cider or ale. We enjoyed the occasional mug of cider as well, especially if we were singing, as I did yesterday. It quenched the thirst and soothed the throat and would not make us drunk as the ale would have.

It was Vesha’s turn to do most of the singing today, though each of us Bards jumped in for a song or two once in a while to let her rest her voice for a few songs. I was learning that this was common practice when the Bards all busked together. It allowed us all to have a good day of singing practice in but kept us from straining our voices too much. It was also why we apprentices were alternating while we were here and had a proper audience available. Practice and experience were fine, but overworking your voice when you were still learning to use it properly could strain it or cause injury, so Master Nirlyn and Journeyman Daivin wanted to be careful and instill good habits while we were still apprentices.

It was midway through the afternoon when I noticed a familiar face among the gathered crowd. That face, or rather the glamour, belonged to Arinade. She was watching both me and Selice in interest with an amused smirk on her face. A couple of songs later, Master Nirlyn called for a short break and the Faerie in disguise approached us.

She quickly pulled me and my ‘twin’ aside with a grin on her face before speaking in a hushed tone, “If I hadn’t seen one of you Voyagers change before my eyes already, I would have thought you were hiding a twin on me, Kaelyn. There is no sense of magic like with a glamour, and if one of you wasn’t playing the fiddle when I arrived, I wouldn’t have known which was which. You are the one with the fiddle, correct?”

“Aye,” I replied, returning her grin. “This was Selice’s idea. She wanted to know what having wings was like since she is teaching me to dance and thought that pretending to be twins would be fun.”

“And it is,” the dancer put in with a grin of her own. “It’s profitable too, it would seem.”

The enchanter continued to look amused as she giggled and said, “Well, this would certainly explain His Majesty’s comment earlier today. He wants to meet with my informant regarding the Demons and when I told him that it was a Faerie recently arrived in the city, he asked if it was one of the twins that Duke Sal-Grethan was raving about when he came to invite him to a garden party last night. Well played, ladies. Might I assume you have more mischief planned for the party itself? Somebody needs to get these human nobles to lighten up a bit, His Majesty and his wife are the only ones I’ve met who aren’t mired hip-deep in decorum.”

Wait, the king was going to be at this party? I started to feel a little more uncertain about our scandalous outfits as I thought of wearing them in front of a king. Selice though, seemed unbothered as she winked at Arinade and said, “Aye, ‘twas Kaelyn who inspired the idea. We’ll be wearing our ‘dance finery’ for the party.” Then she went on to explain what said ‘dance finery’ was and left me blushing and Arinade laughing hysterically.

“Oh… that’s… perfect!” The enchanter gasped between fits of laughter. “I can’t… wait to see the looks on their faces!”

“You will be attending as well?” Wonderful, now I was going to be practically naked in front of a party full of nobles, the king and Arinade. The thought was paralyzing for a moment.

Sharai seemed to sense where my thoughts were going and was quick to assure me, -Kaelyn, Arinade is a Faerie. She may dress the part of a human here in this city, but it is all a falsehood, like her glamour. She sees this as a wonderful joke, but she is as used to nudity as your troupe is. Fae are not ashamed of their bodies and usually only wear clothing when circumstances require it, she will not think less of you.-

Arinade finally managed to stop laughing enough to give a proper answer by this point, her tone hushed once again. “Aye, the king and queen will both be attending and, upon hearing that my kin would be entertaining, he secured an invitation for me as well, in my official capacity as an ambassador of the Fae. His Majesty was hoping for a few moments there in private to speak with us both about the Demon issue. I daresay Duke Sal-Grethan will be beside himself with pleasure with Their Majesties and representatives of the Fae in attendance.”

“And what will His Majesty think of our little bit of mischief?” I asked in concern.

“He was going to decline the duke’s invitation at first, until he found out who would be providing the entertainment. They are brothers, but you would not think it from their dispositions. His Majesty has learned much about our kind from me, and he is expecting you to do something to make the evening entertaining, other than by singing and dancing. This should not disappoint him,” she explained.

“The duke, on the other hand, is going to be appalled, but he likely won’t do anything about it if he fears Fae retribution,” Selice countered with a pleased smile. “He’ll try to save face, but he looks to be a fop to me, all decorum, parties, and entertainment. I’ve seen others of his ilk before.”

“Aye,” Arinade agreed, “it’s a good thing that his brother was the eldest of the pair and inherited the throne. Kalidar has thrived under his rule to become a nation that embraces equality and respect for the Fae and our forests. Word is that he is considering abolishing the law that insists one must be a male heir to rule as well. His daughter is still young, but this would secure the future of his lineage should anything happen to him and his brother before he can have a son, especially with uncertain times likely ahead of us.”

“So… His Majesty would like to talk with us privately at some time during the party? The duke did say that he wanted us to mingle with the guests, so it is possible,” I said to get back to the subject at hand.

“Aye, and I will have an enchanted item with me that will ensure that our conversation stays private from the other guests,” the enchanter assured me. “I look forward to seeing you both tomorrow night, but I should return to my shop and allow you both to return to your work as well.”

We quickly said our farewells and then Selice and I returned to the others who were sipping at cider while awaiting us. There were mugs of cider for me and Selice as well, so we swiftly drank them so the others would not have to wait any longer and set up for another hour or two of playing and dancing. Sadly though, we had to cut our afternoon short as a spring storm rolled in and drove those without any other pressing business indoors.