Page 37 of Muse

I didn’t look down – my eyes stayed fixed toward the ceiling – and I moved my body through the motions into the half-moon.

Then, I took a deep breath and moved on to the next stage of choreography. I didn't stop until I ran all the way through the routine.

I could do this.

Chapter 24

We were in the middle of practice a few days later when King Asmond interrupted. The room was still aglow with our magik going out into the ether, leaving the air crackling and sparkling.

Fortunately, I was near the bottom of the silks, only a few feet off the ground, because everybody froze in place the moment he stepped onto the sandy floor. The King was barefoot beneath a colorful kaftan.

Wrenley was in xer aerial hoop, hanging upside down twenty feet up, and that was the way xe stayed while Asmond spoke. Xer hair hung around xer head like a curly halo, and xer cheeks reddened from the blood rush.

“Your Majesty,” Madge said, sounding rather nervous as she bowed before him. “What an unexpected surprise.”

"Yes, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you," Asmond said. "I know you've all been working so hard, which is why I wanted to ensure you have some fun while here in Lamida. As part of the Dandy Days, a fantastic garden labyrinth is behind the palace.It's typically closed to the public at dusk, but we're having a special night labyrinth open only for you and some other performers and servants.

"I know that you have already given so much," he went on. "But I have one more thing to ask of you: that you kindly accept my invitation and attend the labyrinth and that you have a good time."

After that, he left, and all of us devolved into excited chatter. Now that we knew we had something to look forward to, the rest of the practice dragged on. Afterward, I got ready as quickly as possible so we could get going, but Wrenly did not seem to have the same urgency.

Xe tried on five different outfits, which was really unlike xer. It wasn’t that xe didn’t care about xer appearance. On the contrary, xe cared a whole lot, but xe was always so confident and certain about xerself, never second-guessing something once xe had put it on.

But after practice, xe rummaged through both our wardrobes. Xe even tried on one of my tops despite being taller and thinner than me, so xe was drowning in fabric.

I’d chosen a colorful tea skirt with crinoline underneath to fill it out, and I paired it with a simple white top that tied around my neck with a ribbon.

“Are you ready?” Rowan asked through our closed bedroom door after he knocked. “It’s almost dusk.”

I looked to Wrenley for an answer, and xe stood in front of the mirror, turning this way and that to admire xer reflection.

Xe eventually decided on an outfit similar to the one we would be wearing for the Dandy Days performance: a lace top cropped at the navel paired with light palazzo pants in a vibrant fabric.

"Yes. I am ready," xe said finally, raking xer fingers through xer hair.

Rowan had waited for us, but Madge and the other muses had already gone to the gardens. Wrenley slipped on xer sandals and then plucked a clip from the wardrobe. It had a little pink bird on it, and Wrenley put it in xer hair before turning to look at me and Rowan.

“What do you think? Is this too much?” Wrenley asked.

“Too much for what?” Rowan asked in confusion.

“It looks good, but why are you so worried? You look fantastic, like always,” I said, hoping to cheer xer up, but it only made xer scowl.

“I’m not worried. I don’t care. I just want to have fun,” Wrenley grumbled before yanking the clip out of xer hair, and then xe grabbed a floppy sunhat. “Let’s go.”

“At the risk of slowing things down, you do realize that the sun has already set, and you are wearing a sun hat?” Rowan asked xer.

"It's still a hat, and I still have a head, so let's go," Wrenley said, shooing us out the door.

When I had first heard of the night labyrinth in the garden, I wasn’t exactly sure how it would work. Wouldn’t we get lost in the dark?

The answer became apparent when we went onto the stone patio, raised twenty feet above the garden, and I could see it all clearly. The labyrinth was made of seven-foot-tall hornbeam hedges that served as the walls and dividers along the pathway. Glowing pebbles lit up the path, with small colored lanterns strung on lights along the hedges. Fireflies and fairies glittered in the air, and already, the moon was bright in the starry sky.

Madge and the other muses were just inside the entrance, and we hurried down the steps to join them.

“I’ve never been in a hedge maze before,” I admitted. “Is it easy to get lost if we separate from the group?”

"I've been in this one before. Or at least a variation of this one, since they prune it yearly, so it's different," Rowan explained. "It's fairly easy to find your way through with marked paths. There are a few hidden surprises, but getting back to the main route is easy.

---