The Iron Princess

by Niall Teasdale

  Then the drums came to a crashing stop and the five girls were left in their final position, breathing quite hard from the effort of the dance, and Ayah started clapping two beats before any of the men. There were a couple of other women among the audience. Most seemed to have accompanied a boyfriend or maybe a husband and were not quite so enthusiastic in their appreciation. As the dancers trooped out, collecting their cloaks as they went, they smiled at the audience, and there were some other, less obvious exchanges Ayah could not quite work out. One of the girls, a stunning blonde, gave Ayah a big smile and a wink which was a little more suggestive than Ayah had expected to see. A little confused, Ayah trooped out with the rest of the audience and started for town: she had seen what she wanted to see.

  One possible reason for the wink became apparent when Ayah heard something while she was leaving the circus camp and turned to look in the direction the sound had come from. One of the fire dancers was leading a man by the hand toward a tent. Ayah had been sitting beside that man for the show and he was wearing the kind of goofy grin some men got when they knew they were about to get laid. The girl was so far above his class he would have needed a ladder just to be able to see that high, but there she was, leading him to what had to be her tent. Money had to be involved. Would Ayah be expected to do that as well as dancing in barely anything?

  Well, that was something to work out if Taravel was willing to even consider her joining the troop and it would have to wait until morning. It was dark and Ayah wanted some sleep under her belt before she tried to find a job.

  9th Day, First Nahad.

  Ayah considered her potential employment and decided to dress appropriately for her interview. It had taken a while to make the outfit, but it had kept both herself and Xian busy in the winter evenings and the result had been quite good, if Ayah were any judge. It had all been made of soft deer hide, except for the belts which they had bought in Omashi’s market on one of their trips into the town. There was a short vest and a skirt, and there was a lot of flesh on display between the two. The skirt wrapped her hips and had fur along the hem at the bottom. It fell to her knee on the left but showed off most of her right leg, and a belt held it in place, but there were a pair of looser belts over the top, angled to cross over her stomach, over the top just for an accent. Well, she could hang her sword from them and there were feathers and beads hanging from one belt over her right hip. To finish things up, her forearms were wrapped in leather tied on with thongs, two bands of leather held fur bracelets around her biceps, and she had wonderfully soft leather boots with fur trim.

  She got a few odd looks as she trooped out to the circus’s encampment around midmorning, which just went to show that people did not know their history. It was actually their history too: the outfit Ayah was wearing was based around one of the commonest forms of dress for women across the Western Plains some two hundred Great Years earlier. Alright, so that was definitely quite a few generations ago, but still.

  The circus people were still rousing themselves as Ayah walked in among their tents. She figured they worked late so they got up late and had acted accordingly, but they were a little slower than she had expected. People were emerging from tents half-dressed and yawning and stretching. She came across one young man with short, dark, curly hair standing beside a tent in britches and boots. He was quite handsome, well-built, and almost a hand taller than her, and his yawning stopped as he spotted her walking his way. He blinked brown eyes a couple of times as though he was not sure he was actually awake.

  ‘Good morning,’ Ayah said. ‘I was looking for Laoshi Taravel.’

  ‘Uh,’ he said in reply.

  ‘Should I come back when you’re awake?’

  ‘I’m awake,’ he said. He had quite a nice voice to go with the face. Quite a strong jawline and a straight nose. His chin had a little cleft in it and there was a rather pleasingly sensuous quality about his mouth. Ayah had to force herself not to think about his mouth. ‘You’ll find him over there,’ the man went on, pointing. ‘It’s the big wagon with the canopy.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Ayah said and set off in the direction he had pointed.

  ‘Uh, I’m Jun.’

  ‘Hello, Jun,’ she called back. ‘I’m Ayah.’ She walked on through the tents until she spotted the wagon she suspected Jun had meant. It was a little bigger than the others and it had a canvas canopy over the back of it and a set of wooden steps running down from the back. Beside the steps there was a man and she had a strong feeling that this was Taravel.

  He was not an especially tall man, but he made up for that in girth. He was wearing a dun-coloured tunic over brown leggings and some sturdy boots, and the tunic was stretched over quite a spectacular stomach. On the other hand, there was muscle on his shoulders and arms and his legs did not have the thinness some fat men seemed to get. He was bald, but he had a full beard which was starting to grey. He was certainly not the most attractive man in the world since he had something of a bulbous nose and thin lips, and his brown eyes looked a little small for his head. Still, there was a feeling of authority about him, even as he scratched his behind and yawned.

  ‘Laoshi Taravel?’ Ayah asked.

  The big man closed his mouth and peered at her for a second. ‘I’m Taravel,’ he said. His voice was deep and resonant; she imagined that he was a good public speaker. ‘And what may I do for you, young lady?’

  ‘I was hoping you might employ me. You’re missing a fire dancer and I know the Fire Dance.’

  ‘Hm. Do your parents know you’re trying to run away with a circus?’

  That was something she had not exactly expected. ‘My father is dead and my mother is across the plains and I turned six Great Years of age on Great Sky Day.’

  ‘And you know the Fire Dance?’

  ‘I do. And I can use a sword and I’ve some talent with healing, though not as much as my mother.’

  ‘You look more like you learned Earth Form.’

  ‘I did, laoshi, and Metal, Wood, and Fire. I’ve never learned the Sword Dance, but I might pick it up with a little training. Of course, you have a full complement of sword dancers.’

  Taravel rubbed at the back of his neck and looked at her for a long second. ‘Well, you look the part. We’ve a costume we could fit to you. Aren’t you cold in that outfit?’

  Ayah’s lips twitched. It was early spring and the temperature was not high, but it was not too chilly either and Xian had taught her a trick to keep herself warm with her qi. ‘No, laoshi, I’m not. And I’ve seen the costumes your dancers wear.’

  ‘We travel a great deal. You’re prepared for that?’

  ‘Travel doesn’t bother me.’

  ‘Since you seem determined, we’ll see how you dance. If you’re good enough, we’ll talk details.’ He paused and then added. ‘After I’ve had breakfast.’

  Ayah grinned. ‘Of course, laoshi.’

  ~~~

  There was only one drummer keeping the beat, but he was good at his job and Ayah had no trouble keeping her steps in time as she worked through the Fire Dance. There were no burning coals at her feet, but the dishes for them were there to give her the spots to work around. She focused herself on the dance and ignored her real need to please her audience: if she did the dance as Xian had taught her, the audience would like it. Her body slid smoothly into the final position just as the drum beat the final crescendo and she held the pose for a couple of seconds before turning to look at Taravel.

  He was not the only one in the enclosure, perhaps not even the most important one there. Five girls sat in various places around the circle, all of them dancers and all of them likely to have an opinion. The blonde girl sitting beside Taravel was the important one, however. Her name was Yaena and she was the most senior of the fire dancers. She was also the girl who had winked at Ayah at the performance the night before. She was a very attractive woman: very slim but with wide hips and an expansive bust, honey-blonde hair which fell around her shoulders, beautiful blue eyes
, and a pert nose set in a sharply angled face which still managed to have a soft roundness to it. Her lips were quite full and curved into a rather suggestive smile. She was wearing one of the short, wraparound dresses like the one Xian had presented Ayah with, though this one was in deep red.

  ‘That was good,’ Yaena said. ‘On the better side of competent.’

  It did not sound like much of a compliment, but Taravel smiled. ‘That is high praise from our Yaena. If ever she tells you you’re better than competent, it likely means you’re ready to perform before royalty in Abesson.’ Taravel, it seemed, was almost the epitome of a Plains resident: he was plain and simple, practical but jovial. The only thing ‘wrong’ with him was that he did not seem to want to put down roots; the majority of people on the Western Plains did not stray more than ten myls from their homes at any time in their lives. ‘Very well. You’ll start as an apprentice performer. The pay is thirty-eight marks a week, but you’ll need to pay for food and we charge everyone a fee for the tents and transport. It covers repairs and such over the season. You can expect to see about three marks a week in clear profit.’

  Ayah gave a shrug. ‘What’s there to spend it on anyway?’ There was also the fact that her primary objective was to reach Istollam, not to become rich.

  ‘Most people find something. Still, we are on the road much of the time, so you have a point. You’re happy with that?’

  Ayah nodded. ‘When can I start?’

  ‘You can join us as soon as you’d like. Yaena and the others will take you through the dance a few times on the way to the next town and your first performance will be there. That’ll be next Moon Day barring problems. Everyone gets paid on Wood Day morning, but you’ll have to wait until the one after that first performance.’

  ‘I’ve money enough to keep me going until then. I’ll go pick up my belongings and come back. If someone could point me at wherever I’m sleeping when I do…’

  Taravel pursed his lips for a second. ‘Ask for Suyin or Nareel. There’s space for a bed in their tent.’

  ‘And come see me when you’re settled,’ Yaena said. ‘We’ll organise your training schedule.’

  Ayah gave them both a smile. ‘Suyin, Nareel, Yaena for training. Got it. I’ll be back soon.’

  ~~~

  Ayah found herself following the mournful song of a stick fiddle to the tent where Suyin and Nareel could be found. It was a fairly big tent, certainly bigger than the simple one Ayah had been using on the road. This one had actual poles supporting it for one thing. She figured that it had to be big enough for four people as long as they were friendly, but when she poked her head in, there were only two people and three short cots, one of them with blankets rolled up on it.

  ‘Uh, hi. I’m Ayah. Hopefully someone mentioned I was coming.’

  The girl sitting on the floor – which was covered by a rush mat – stopped playing her fiddle and looked up. ‘Taravel mentioned it.’ She was not from around here, but then Ayah had thought she was not when she had seen her among the sword dancers. This was the brunette with the dark eyes she had picked out as the best of them. ‘I am Suyin, one of the sword dancers.’ She was wearing a dark-blue version of the wraparound dress Ayah had and there was a lot of lean leg on show.

  ‘I saw you dance last night. You’re very good.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Suyin replied, bowing her head.

  The second woman in the tent was, in some ways, more exotic-looking than Suyin. She was a little under Ayah’s height, around the same as Suyin, and looked almost stocky, though that might have been her clothes. She wore a blue wraparound tunic over loose-fitting trousers, both in blue. There was a wide belt of soft leather tied around her waist and lashed in place with black cord which ended in beaded ties over her right hip. Both her forearms and shins were wrapped in leather, again held in place with beaded cords. Soft, leather boots were on her feet. Ayah was not sure, but she thought it was the kind of outfit you saw in the northern tundra tribes. The girl’s face tended to confirm that suggestion. She was not an unusually pretty girl, but she was not unattractive. Her nose was a little flattened and broadened, her lips were fairly full with a pronounced bow, and she had quite strong features full of hard angles. Her hair was black and tightly braided. She had quite thick, dark eyebrows and those sat above startlingly clear blue eyes, but after those eyes, the first thing you really noticed about her face were the tattoos: nothing complex, just a pair of nested Vs which went from her hairline down to the bridge of her nose and a dotted line which ran from her ears to her nose on both sides. Between those eyes and the facial tattoos, she was someone you remembered.

  ‘You must be Nareel,’ Ayah said, smiling.

  ‘I am. You’re to be a fire dancer?’ She had a strong accent, but Ayah had never met anyone from the far north to let her confirm her speculation based on that.

  ‘Uh-huh.’

  ‘We set up your cot when Herra Taravel said you were coming.’

  ‘Thanks. You’re from the north? The tundra?’

  Nareel nodded and gave a half grin. ‘How could you tell?’

  ‘I was guessing, really.’ Ayah unslung her pack and began to take out the things she thought she might actually need. Not that there was much: her money pouch and then the wooden case her sword was in. ‘I seem to remember that outfit is typical for the area and I seem to remember the northern tribes tattoo their faces.’

  ‘Well, it is, we do, and I am.’

  ‘Is that a sword case?’ Suyin asked, breaking into a discussion Ayah was hoping might lead to a little tuition in Water Form.

  ‘Yes,’ Ayah replied anyway. She opened up the box and took out the sword. The scabbard was still in her pack. ‘This is my sword.’

  Suyin got to her feet, setting her fiddle aside. She let out a small gasp as she got a closer look at the blade. ‘May I?’ she asked, holding out her hands. Ayah passed it over and Suyin took it gingerly, or maybe reverently. ‘This is a fine weapon. This was made by a master armourer. But you practise Fire Form? How did you come by it?’

  ‘It was given to me by my Metal Form teacher. He said it was given to him by a master smith he knew, or who trained him.’

  ‘You know Metal Form as well as Fire Form?’

  ‘Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal. I’m going to Istollam to try to learn Water Form.’

  Nareel was apparently relatively perceptive. Her lips curled into a slight smile. ‘If you wish my help, I should point out that I am no teacher.’

  ‘You could at least give me a few tips. Show me some moves? If we have time, obviously.’

  ‘You’ll probably be too busy with Yaena for the first week or two,’ Suyin said. ‘She likes to be sure new dancers know the routines… and things like that.’ The pause in the sentence did not go unnoticed, but Ayah was reminded that she was supposed to go see the senior dancer.

  Taking her scabbard from her pack, Ayah turned back to find Suyin presenting her weapon back to her and there was a degree of reverence in it. ‘Thank you, Suyin,’ she said, taking the blade and then bowing to the other girl. Then she slid her sword into its scabbard and attached both to her belts. ‘I’m supposed to go see Yaena so I guess I’d better get on with it.’

  ‘She asked you to see her?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Ah. Enjoy yourself.’

  ‘Uh, right.’ Ayah turned and headed out of the tent.

  ‘Two tents straight ahead,’ Suyin called after her, ‘then three to the left.’

  ‘Okay. Thanks.’

  Ayah set off in the direction indicated, stopping outside the tent she thought was the right one. ‘Yaena? Are you in there?’

  ‘Yes. Come on in, Ayah,’ Yaena called from inside.

  Ayah pushed through the flap. Apparently, Yaena had this tent – the same size as the one Ayah was sharing – all to herself. Just as with the other one, it had that odd, canvas-tent smell to it, a mixture of cloth and warm wax. There was another mat on the ground, but it also had a patterned
rug on the floor and several cushions were strewn over that. There was a cot against the back wall, but it seemed more like the floor was the place to settle yourself and relax. Yaena was sitting on a cushion with her legs crossed in front of her, still wearing the same dress as before.

  ‘Excellent,’ Yaena said, smiling brightly. ‘Have a seat. Before we really get down to business, I need to ask you a question.’

  Ayah settled onto another of the cushions in a similar pose to Yaena. ‘Ask away.’

  ‘Great. Do you… like girls?’

  Ayah took a second to consider the implications of the question, but she really did not think that Yaena was asking whether she liked girls as friends or in a general aesthetic sense. There was the wink the dancer had given Ayah the night before too. ‘That all depends on the girl. I like you.’

  Yaena reached for the bow at the front of her dress and began to loosen it. ‘Oh good. Let’s get better acquainted.’

  ~~~

  ‘Yeah, she’s like that,’ Nareel said. ‘Yaena’s slept with most of the dancers. Maybe all of them. I know she’s slept with Suyin. Yaena feels it “cements bonds.” She’s not fanatical about it. She won’t bother you again if you don’t want her to.’

  Ayah shrugged. ‘I don’t mind. I enjoyed it.’ They were walking through the circus watching for trouble, which was Nareel’s job when they were set up in a camp unless Taravel found something else he needed her for. She also did general duty with the rest of the staff when it came to putting up and taking down the performance areas and sales tents. Ayah had decided to accompany her for something to do, but she had put her sword on, just in case. ‘I have a little bit of an issue with controlling various urges. My qi’s unbalanced. Too energetic.’

  ‘Ah. So, you’re impulsive, hedonistic, and inclined to sleep with anything with a warm body.’

  Ayah’s cheeks flushed. ‘I don’t think I’m quite that bad… but you’re not far off. Uh, do you get much trouble from the locals here?’