Page 38 of Songs and Spun Gold
“It is also the first place anyone would look.” Axel grabbed a handful of his cloak with his left hand and launched into the sword fight fromThe Tanner’s Secret, stabbing an imaginary sword at an equally-imaginary opponent before dancing back, executing a perfectly unnecessary and impractical spin, and flinging his non-existent sword up to block an overhead strike.
“But it is well known that you love the gardens,” Tobias drawled back.
“True, but our lovely gardens are quite extensive and thus easier to hide oneself in than a suite with a single entrance,” he grunted as he jumped before his foe could sweep him off his feet. “Besides, if you were a perfectly primped lady in yards offabric and too proper to do anything so fatiguing as walking more than two hundred feet at a time, where would you try first?”
“You’re telling me the royal wing isn’t secure?”
Lunging forward, he faked left and swung right, braking his arm where a parry caught his sword. “You obviously haven’t watched some of the courtiers trying to charm my father’s guards. The guards won’t let them through, but some of them will pester me with messages until I relent and resurface.”
A twirl as his opponent attempted to flank him gave him a glimpse of his friend’s amused face. “Wouldn’t attending the party require less effort?”
“Less physical effort, perhaps,” he panted, “but more effort overall. If you are so desperate to return, feel free to meander your way back to the castle and entertain Lady Ilse for the rest of the afternoon. I’m sure she’d love the chance to fawn over ‘Dear Lord Tobias’ some more.”
Tobias took a slow sip of his drink. “I’ll pass.”
Axel grinned without removing his focus from the blocking. “Somehow, that does not surprise me.”
With a final flourish, he liberated his opponent’s sword and stamped his foot upon it, preventing its recovery. He held the pose for a count of five before re-sheathing the sword he’d never actually drawn and resuming his circuit from one end of the lane to the other, making sure to step over the villain where he lay bound.
“I’m surprised you’re not in there singing.” Tobias paused for another sip. “Or lobbying for it, anyway.”
“The party is neither small enough nor select enough,” Axel sighed. The cold air brushed across the slightly damp back of his neck; all of his dancing around had knocked his hood off. “Besides, Father remains persuaded that I am withholding information relating to the opening night at which I failed toappear. As such, he has decided that allowing me opportunities to perform is unwise.”
“Are you?” Tobias asked, his eyes narrowed as they followed Axel.
“I already gave you an account of what occurred that night,” Axel replied. A stronger wind swept past, making him shiver, so he pulled his hood back up. “Do you not believe me?”
“You, falling for a girl that fast?” The pale young man shook his head. “Doesn’t ring true for me.”
Axel finally slowed his pace, staring off over the bushes as he remembered that night. “Oh, there was definitely a girl,” he said quietly. Lifting his right hand, he gently caressed the empty air where her cheek would be. His chest tightened at the absence. “But I doubt I’ll ever see her again.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tobias staring at him before slowly lowering his left foot to the ground and sitting up straighter. “You’re serious.”
Axel crooned to the empty air where he cupped a chin that wasn’t there, the words and melody of another song fromThe Tanner’s Secretcoming to him without thought.
“The night is almost over,
The day will soon appear.
Hold fast, our foe cannot touch you
As long as I am here.
Stay with me forever,
Run from me no more.
Beloved—”
“Hey, snap out of it!”
Startled, he looked up to find Tobias standing in front of him with drawn eyebrows. The ever-present glass was nowhere in sight.
“I know you like the theater, but let’s not get lost in it, hmm?” Tobias glared at him before sauntering back to thebench and draping himself across it once more. “People will think you’ve gone crazy. Your father might never let you near the theater again.”
Axel looked down at his empty hand. Perhaps hewasgoing crazy; how else could he explain the way she filled his thoughts at inopportune moments? He’d been quite taken with her, but he understood why Tobias hadn’t believed it. Before meeting her, Axel would have laughed at the idea that he could find a young woman so irresistible so quickly. He’d always thought he had more substance than that.
Slowly letting his hand drop to his side, he wandered over to the bench. “I bow to your wisdom, my friend,” he joked with a smile, but his jaunty tone felt a little flat. “My deepest gratitude for returning me to my senses.”
