by C J Timms
‘Oy Gale, you don’t think the bathrooms are crystal, do you?’ Titus said.
‘Why, feeling shy Titus?’ Gale said, flashing back to the Dragon King’s palace in the Deep.
‘Wicked I mean do we get to piss on the crystal? That's right classy that is.’ Titus said. He dashed for the chocolate fondue, but the Bookwyrm grabbed him.
The Bookwyrm wagged a finger. ‘Not yet, Titus, entrees will come from the door closest to the kitchen. That is where we are setting up camp.’ The Bookwyrm lead Titus towards the kitchen door. The Bookwyrm opened her hefty looking purse. ‘Come on we need to get enough to take a feast home to my darlings’.
‘Drinks?’ Gale said, gesturing to Ashley and the others.
Ephemeral sprites walked around the room serving drinks. They maintained a serene expression, well, apart from the one that Titus and Bookwyrm had commandeered in the corner. That sprite was making a continuous loop back and forth from the kitchen.
Gale sipped his beer, and it was good quality stuff. He had great beer, good friends and a stunning date. Life was pretty good at the moment.
‘So are you two dating?’ Jean asked.
Gale snorted beer out his nose. Ash hip-checked him and winked at Jean. ‘I don’t know. Gale, are we dating?’
Gale started to blush, deep breaths, he thought.
‘Ah, Gale, who are your friends.’ Blush interrupted.
Gale snorted beer out his nose again.
Blush wore a scandalous red dress with gold trim. Gale kept his eyes straight ahead.
‘Ummm…Ash, Jean, this is Blush. She’s one of our teachers.’
‘Charmed.’ Blush said and gave Jean a peck on the cheek. ‘And this other young lady?’
‘This is Ash, she’s err my…well...’ Everyone stared at him, Ash just raised an eyebrow. ‘…My date.’
Ash’s gave him a wink.
‘Well children, have a good night. Don’t drink too much Gale, you owe me a good performance bright and early tomorrow.’ Blush said, sauntering away.
Ash grabbed Gale’s hand and pulled him away in the opposite direction.‘Come on, I want to dance.’
Gale passed his drink to Yip and leaned forward. ‘Remember the plan,’ he whispered. Yip rolled his eyes.
The music stopped for a break and food swept through the hall on floating trays. Titus and the Bookwyrm maintained their spot camping the entrance to the kitchen, but the rest of them had found a crystal table to rest on. Sterling grabbed for the last of a platter of arancini balls. Another hand snagged it before he could. Swan hesitated, then split the appetiser down the middle. She held it out to Sterling who smiled. Before he could grab it though, Jean pounced, swiping it up and swallowing it whole.
Swan wore a black dress with silver highlights. Her cast even had a festive silver bow on it.
‘Errr…Swan, you look good.’ Gale said.
‘Yeah, did you do something with your hair, it looks good.’ Sterling said.
Swan smiled back and tucked her hair back behind her ear. She turned and nodded at the brooding member of the group. ‘Yip.’ Swan said.
‘Quitter.’ Yip said.
‘Frak you,’ Swan said. ‘You are the one who didn’t trust me.’
‘I’ll trust you when you are honest with us.’ Yip said. ‘Your words are only as good as gold.’
‘Frak off Zultan.’ Swan said, trying to force her casted hand into a z shape. She stormed off.
‘We’ll go talk to her.’ Sterling said, moving off with Jean.
Yip drank with Gale in silence for a moment, watching the crowd swell back and forth. Currents of students flowed around waiters with drinks trays and canapes. The crowd pulled along by the smell of roasted beef, the waft of crackling pork and the crisp crunch of rice paper rolls.
‘She ain’t so different from you, ya know.’ Gale said.
‘Please enlighten me.’ Yip said.
‘Family, it's all about family, for all of us really but particularly you two. You’re both trying to do the best thing for your family in your own way.’ Gale said.
Yip took a pull from his beer. He ignored Gale for a while, just studying the crowd.
‘You want to tell me how you paid for these tickets?’ Yip asked. ‘I know the numbers better than you and there ain't money in the budget for it. Semester payment is coming up.’
Gale swirled his champagne. ‘We were never going to be able to pay third Semester fees. We barely had a quarter of what we need. So I spent some of our money on formal tickets as a wellness thing, to stop us burning out.’
Gale studied his hand. He thought he saw hints of scale returning sometimes, in the dark, when he woke from sleep.
Yip nodded. ‘A tactical sacrifice.’
Gale studied the room and reflected that half of the people here wouldn’t pass the year. How many of them would be tactical sacrifices by the end of it? He saw Sterling had broken away from Swan and Jean, and he was talking with someone in the House Solvent colours. Sterling caught Gale looking and shifted away.
‘You want to tell me where you found a date with Deep Script?’ Yip asked.
Gale looked over at Yip, took a long pull from his drink. ‘Nah.’ He looked back for Sterling, but he was gone.
‘Errr, Gale, can I have a word.’ The Bookwyrm said, pulling on Gale’s suit. Gale looked over at Yip who nodded and leaned back against a wall. Self-sufficient was Yip, happy to be alone in a crowd.
‘Sure.’ Gale said following her off a ways. ‘What's up? Where’s Titus.’
‘Oh, he went into the kitchen to supervise the cooking of the meat. Brought a pair of tongs along even.’ The Bookwyrm fidgeted with her dress. ‘That favour you owe me, Gale? Look after Titus at the match. He’s bad at looking after himself. He always puts his mates first. Needs to learn to put himself first sometimes.’
Gale nodded. ‘Of course, Titus is my mate. I’ve got his back.’
A blur swept Swan up in a bear hug. Spun her around in the air and placed back down. Only one person would do that to her. Well, apart from her dad.
‘I miss ya, Swan. No one makes the morning coffee like you do.’ Titus said. ‘Come back, Swan. You’re one of the boys.’
Swan rolled her eyes and straightened out her dress. ‘I miss you too, dickhead. Give a girl some warning before you sweep her off her feet next time though.’
‘So…whatd’ya think of B?’
Swan nodded, ‘She’s good for you.’
‘I’m glad, if it came down to it, I’d have to back you over her.’
Swan raised an eyebrow. ‘Really?’
‘Well, of course, I’ve got your back first.’ Titus shrugged. ‘Mates before dates see.’
‘That's a bit chauvinistic?’ Swan said.
‘Nah see it's honourable but gender-neutral. Its a new era, one of the boys can be a mate, but a mate right, a mate doesn’t have to be a bloke, now a bloke can obviously be a lad, but a lad doesn’t have to be a mate. See?
Swan thought for a moment, then smiled.
‘Sure Titus, here’s to the boys.’
They clinked glasses and downed their drinks. Titus offered a VB tinny. ‘Can I top you off?’
Swan was happy. She had a plan and a decent chance of passing exams. Thanks dad.
The Bookwyrm pulled Titus away as the music changed beats. ‘Come on Titus, its time for a dance.’ The Bookwyrm pulled Swan along with them.
They lined up facing partners. Swan stepped up opposite Sterling, and Sterling bowed and smiled. Damn but that boy had a good smile. Equally good for punching or kissing. Not her type, though.
‘Surprised you’d dance with a traitor.’ Swan said.
‘We all make mistakes Swan, its how we atone for them that defines us. Something my uncle used to say.’ Sterling shook his head. ‘Besides, I don’t think you betrayed us, Swan. You would have punched us in the nuts before stabbing us in the back.’
They spun around to a toe-tapping beat. Sterling moved well, guiding her
into place. She felt a smile cross her lips.
The beat changed, Swan spun off to her next partner. Ashley, Gale’s date took her hands, and Swan quirked an eyebrow.
‘Who leads?’ Swan asked.
‘I don’t know, are you a leader?’ Ash asked.
Swan waited for Larc to jump in with a quip. Silence bounded through her head, echoing off empty walls. She took a deep breath and assumed the lead.
‘It seems Gale has good taste.’ Swan said, moving through the slower forms.
‘I would say that I have good taste.’ Ash said.
The beat changed. Ash spun away, and Jean’s hand took hers. A thrill ran through her. Swan retook the lead.
‘Sterling’s playing nice then?’ Swan asked.
‘Oh no, but then I wouldn’t be here with him if I wanted to play nice.’ Jean winked. Swan flushed bright red.
Gale took her hand from Jeans. He wore a stupid grin and their hands grappled for a moment, struggling for the leading position. With a shrug Swan allowed him to take the lead. Sometimes you just have to let people think they’ve won. Besides, she felt bad for Gale, after what she’d done.
‘We miss you, Swan, come back, you can still join us for the match tomorrow.’
Swan looked down at her feet and focused on the movements. ‘I have made my choice. You could have had my back when you had the chance.’
Gale grimaced, his steps faltering. ‘I’m sorry Swan. I frakked up. There’s a lot weighing me down. My family, well, it's complicated.’
‘Aye family, it's complicated.’ The music faded, and Gale slipped his hand from hers. ‘Listen, Gale, the match, I don’t know if you can win.’
Gale shrugged, ‘Swan its alright, I got used to relying on myself. I moved around a lot and never really made bonds. I’m used to having to do things alone but you lot, well you’ve all helped me this year. After all, you gave me a secret weapon right.’ He winked.
Swan looked down to the floor. She needed to tell him.
‘Gale I…’
‘Mind if I cut in?’
Alisdair’s hand slipped around her shoulder, and she suppressed a shudder.
‘Gale I’ll crush you on Friday at the match, now leave your betters to dance.’ Swan stepped back from Gale. Alisdair’s fingers snaked into hers, and a new beat started up. ‘Let me show you how a real noble does things.’
Alisdair spun her around, he was good, light on his feet, he took the lead. Well trained, a beautiful facade.
‘Not having second thoughts Swan?’ Alisdair asked. ‘I’d hate for daddy’s money to go to waste.’
Swan smiled with clenched teeth. ‘No, I’ve made my decision.’
Alisdair’s hand gripped hers tight, forceful. ‘Good because I want some tune-ups done before the match, swing by my room tonight.’ He dipped her, his eyes roaming, a slight upturn to his lip. Then the music stopped, and they parted.
‘Need a drink.’ Swan muttered, pushing away through the crowd. The music faded, and the silence in her head pounded, no response or quips.
Out of breath, his cheeks flushed, Gale pulled Ash from the dance floor. Damn, but she knew how to move. They grabbed a drink and moved away from the main hall to a side entrance. They slipped outside for some fresh air.
Gale lead Ash down a crystal corridor, moving towards the light from outside. They emerged onto an expansive balcony, a few other couples hiding away in sheltered nooks. The night sky rolled outwards in front of them. The castle slowly parted the sky, flying creatures darting through the white clouds. Gale rested his arms on the balcony and sipped his champagne. Ash leaned backwards on the balcony and looked him up and down, downing her drink.
‘Do you remember the first time we met?’ Ash asked.
Gale smirked, ‘Of course, you fought me to the death for that Aquaman toy in the clinic.’
Ash smiled, ‘That was the first time they told us about the distance rule.’
‘Clinic kids are not meant to come within two feet of each other. Infection control.’ Gale repeated.
‘See the thing is.’ Ash said, leaning in closer. ‘Neither of us actually had the illness.’
Ash looked up and down him in the light of Celesta Firma. She leaned in a bit further and straightened his tie. She slid her hand down his suit. Then she pinched his bum.
Gale jerked, Ash grinned impishly and finished off his drink for him. She leaned back in, and Gale wrapped his arm around her. Gale felt his heart pounding.
Gale twitched, Ash’s head jerked. Something flickered in her eyes.
‘You can hear it?’ Gale said.
Ash’s eyes went wide, and she broke away from him. ‘No, not now,’ Ash said, twisting away from him. Her hands gripped the balcony tight, and her breathing quickened. He walked up towards her, trying not to startle her away and reached out to touch her shoulder.
‘Ash, what is it, you can tell me?’
Ashley turned to him, her cheeks red and her breathing shallow. ‘No…not now.’ She muttered.
‘Ash, who is your betrothed?’ Gale asked, feeling the question he’d been hanging on to come bubbling out.
‘Not now Gale…I need to focus.’
‘ No, no more half-truths, no more riddles and no more distractions. Tell me whats going on. I want to help.’
Ash shoved him away and wrapped her arms around herself, sliding down the balcony into a ball. She rocked back and forth, and Gale was reminded of just how young she was. Barely older than him.
Gale slid down the balcony to sit beside her. ‘I’m sorry for constantly questioning why you are here. Maybe I should just enjoy the moment.’ Gale said. Gale reached into his pocket and pulled out the toy he’d been working on for the past month.
‘Gale is that…is that the Aquaman you took off me?’
Gale nodded. He’d repaired the button triggered voice activation. ‘Protecting our sea critters protects ourselves.’
Ash looked up at him and leaned closer then jerked away, grabbing her head, and clasping hands over her ears. ‘The voices, the song….’ She slumped forwards, shaking her head. Gale could hear nothing but the faint sounds of the live band finishing Jesse’s Girl. If he focused, if he pushed his Script outwards, he could hear whispers, like a lovers breath in your ear. Just the hint of the song he’d heard all year.
He placed his coat over her, ‘Ash, please talk to me.’
‘The song…it rings in my ears…the longer I stay the louder it grows. The call Gale…the call...they’re coming Gale and if I stay…’
Ash’s eyes went blood red. She screamed, and the pupils expanded to fill the blood red with black, the black of the lowest layer of the Trench. She looked around frantically and then surged to her feet, running into a branching set of corridors.
‘Ash,’ Gale yelled, following her but losing track. He hunted the corridors back and forth until he gave up with frustration and pounded one of the walls with his fist. Gale stood there, trying to calm himself. He listened and caught the faint hum again. That ethereal tune began to play, and he followed the sound down the corridors.
The voice trailed off as he came across a hairline crack with a tang of salt to it. A reality fracture, here in the Dancing Castle? Was Ash hearing the same song he’d been hearing since arriving in Ionhome? What did it mean? The song faded away.
‘Oh I remember Evan.’ Yip said, looking at the boy on Alisdairs left who flinched as Yip grinned at him. ‘How's that right arm Evan, I remember someone broke it during the entrance exam.’
‘Ignore him, Evan, little piece of flotsam is all bark and no bite.’ Alisdair said.
‘What still hiding behind your mother’s skirt Alisdair? She might be the police chief, but out on the fris
bee field you’re going to have nowhere to hide.’
Alisdair threw his glass of wine at Yip in anger, but it slipped and flew wide. Yip tried to catch it, but it shattered onto the floor, red wine spilling over the fragmented glass.
Yip’s eye twitched, he looked around for a broom, a dustpan, anything. Seeing nothing, he grimaced and bent over and started picking the pieces up. Alisdair looked on with a smirk. ‘That’s right, pick up after your betters. Volkstorm trash.’
Yip didn’t respond, picking up glass methodically, cutting his hand in the process.
Alisdair looked on, puzzled, at Yip’s hunched form on his hands and knees. Yip muttered to himself. ‘Have to pick it up...everything's alright if it's all back together.’
Very slowly, Alisdair placed a finger on a wine glass on the table and tipped it onto the floor. It shattered, Yip redoubled his efforts to clean up the fragments.
‘Shattered glass is bad luck. Gotta put it back together.’
Yip was frantic, hunched over the floor trying to clean the glass up before Alisdair tipped another one over. Not now, he thought. I’ve avoided this all year.
‘What’s wrong with the freak’ said Evan.
‘He can’t just leave it...he needs to clean it up, he’s got a compulsion.’ Alisdair said.
One of Alisdair’s cronies started flicking leftover canapes at Yip. Yip couldn’t dodge them, and satay chicken glooped onto his back. The brown muck ran down his suit. Yip kept scooping up pieces of broken glass and trying to arrange it on the table. ‘Gotta put it back together. Everything’s alright if it's back together.’
Alisdair started walking along the table, slowly tipping one glass after the other off the table. Yip raced from crash to crash, his face twitching madly, muttering.
‘Volkstormers, nothing but floating trash.’ Alisdair said and spat on Yip.
‘What are you doing Alisdair?’ Swan moved forwards, flowing in her ball gown, plaster cast held at her side and cocktail in the other. A crowd had formed around them.