Dancing Days

by Val St. Crowe

  * * *

  The architecture enclave was like another world. It was located on the other side of the stream, down from the main fire pit. Surrounded entirely by high stone walls, they entered through iron gates, wrought into the shapes of leaves and flowers and fairies. Unlike the haphazard archway in the tweens and rebels enclave, these gates were deliberate and ornate. Inside, the enclave had streets and sidewalks and buildings of varying heights and styles, all made from different materials. Maddie strode through the streets without giving them a second look; she was familiar with the place. But Nora spent so much time gazing at her surroundings, she had to run to catch up with Maddie more than once.

  There was a stone cathedral, complete with gargoyles and bas relief figures. A high dome rose out of its center. There was a cluster of towers, like a castle, with a moat and a drawbridge. There was a circular house made of wood with a bright copper-colored roof. There was another house, constructed entirely of big rectangular planks. A waterfall ran over it, powering a watermill at its base. There was a strange underground house with a chimney peeking up from the ground and windows in the dirt. Everything was odd and intricate, like a funhouse of buildings on display.

  The streets twisted and turned, seemingly following no discernible pattern. Finally, they stopped on a corner where a massive green tent was pitched. Inside they found Caira Squirrel, a tentmaker muse. She knew who Nora was right away and seemed to have been expecting she’d come by. She gave Nora two tents when she asked for them, but unlike tents in the mundane world, they didn’t fold up into small bags. Nora and Maddie had to carry the tall tent poles over their shoulders and shove the rest of the materials into a wheeled cart, which they promised to return to Caira as soon as they were finished.

  Afterwards, they trekked back to the tweens and rebels enclave and scouted out spots to set up the tents. Maddie said that Nora should pitch her tent close to Maddie’s, and Nora heartily agreed, so they cleared a space next to Maddie’s tent of branches and rocks and set to work.

  Later, sweaty and giggling, they’d managed to erect Nora’s tent and hammock. It was an emerald green color, with textured leaf patterns woven throughout. Nora thought it might be the most beautiful tent she’d ever seen, and she was awed by the notion that it was all hers. Maddie said that they could get blankets from the fabric and clothing enclave. They flung themselves on the ground next to the fire pit, resting for a while before heading out for blankets.

  “Nora!” called a voice.

  Nora sat up. “Owen?”

  Owen appeared, coming through the archway. “I had no idea where you were.”

  Uh oh. Owen was annoyed. Nora got to her feet. “Maddie helped me get myself a tent and get it set up here. I got one for you too.” She gestured to Owen’s tent, which was lying on the ground nearby, not yet set up.

  Owen eyed her tent. “You already set your tent up?”

  “Well, I wanted to have a place to sleep tonight.”

  “Damn it, Nora.” Owen sighed.

  Maddie sat up. “Um, hi,” she said, looking back and forth between the two of them nervously.

  Owen would be polite in front of Maddie, wouldn’t he? “This is Maddie,” said Nora. “She’s been showing me around and filling me in on everything.”

  “I could have done that,” said Owen.

  “Well, maybe,” said Nora. “But you haven’t been here in eleven years.”

  Maddie got to her feet, brushing herself off. “Maybe I should just run over and get blankets for you, Nora. That way you two can have some time to talk.”

  “Thank you,” said Owen.

  “You don’t have to do that,” said Nora. But Maddie was already scampering off. Nora chewed on her lip and waited for Maddie to disappear between the trees around the tweens and rebels enclave. “What’s wrong, Owen? Are you okay? Did something go wrong with the portal?”

  “No,” he said. “We closed it easily enough. The other people on the team thought I was really helpful. They said there’s a place for me in the security enclave if I want.”

  “That’s awesome,” said Nora. “So, why are you in such a bad mood?”

  “I didn’t know where you were,” said Owen. “I’ve been looking all over the place, and then when I finally find you, you’ve already pitched a tent and everything.”

  Nora guessed she could see how searching for her could be frustrating. “I’m sorry I didn’t let anyone know where I was going to be. I’m sorry you to had to hunt all over. But the tent’s a good thing. Isn’t it?”

  Owen shifted on his feet. “I thought we could both stay in the security enclave. You know, so we wouldn’t have to be apart, since this place is new to both of us. I thought we’d stick together.”

  Oh. He was disappointed about that. “We don’t have to split up. Maddie says it’s okay if you stay here. Everyone who lives here is our age.”

  “But most people in the security enclave stay there,” said Owen. “So that’s where I want to be. We’ll just have to take your tent down.” He started over to it, reaching down to pull out one of her stakes.

  “No,” said Nora.

  Owen straightened, giving her a funny look. “Don’t you want to be close to me?”

  “Of course I do,” said Nora. “But I want to stay here. I like Maddie. She’s really nice. And it took us forever to get this tent up. If you want to go the security enclave, you’ll have to go without me.”

  “You’ve known Maddie for less than a day,” said Owen. “You’ve known me your whole life.”

  Nora went to Owen, twining her hands around his arm. “Why don’t you stay here?”

  He shook her off. “Why are you pulling away from me?”

  “It’s not about you,” Nora said. “I just don’t see why I should live in the security enclave, when I’m not working with them.” She tried a smile. “Plus, do they have a super nifty tree house?”

  Owen caught her chin with his fingers and stared deep into her eyes. She gazed back, swimming in his blue eyes. “I want us to be together. Let’s move your tent.”

  “I want us to be together too. So why don’t you stay here?”

  Owen looked startled. He furrowed his brow and dropped her chin, turning away from her. He didn’t say anything for several moments. Finally, he turned back to her, and there were apologies all over his expression. “I don’t want us to fight about this. We haven’t had the chance to really talk since we got here. And we did it, Nora. We got back to Helicon. Let’s celebrate that. We’ll worry about the tent stuff later.”

  Nora felt relieved. She hated it when Owen got mad. “It is amazing here. I can’t believe how wonderful it all is.” She looked around at the trees and the tents and the colossal tree house.

  Owen put his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. “I told you I’d get us back here.” And then he kissed her.