Page 54 of Songs and Spun Gold
“Katy.”
Fritz’s quiet voice cut through the argument. He was still on the floor next to the spinning wheel, but he was looking atthe leather bracelet in his hand. After a moment, he transferred his gaze to Katy’s face. “What is it that you want?”
What did she want? That was a complicated question.
She wanted so many things. For the debt to be gone, to be at home with her mother and sisters. To be free of the king and his deal. To shield her friends from his ire. To curl up in her cousin’s embrace and let him protect her from the royals who employed him. But beyond that, to know what happened to her old friend and why he’d never said goodbye. To see Gunther again without the specter of her family. The normalcy of walking with Fritz that evening. A conclusion to her mess that didn’t hurt him.
“I don’t know,” she whimpered. “Can I get through the next two nights before I figure that out?”
Fritz, too good as always, finally stood. Stowing the bracelet back in his pocket, he took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Of course.”
“I suppose I should find rooms for us,” Angelika sighed. “If Katy won’t leave until this is over, we can’t leave, either.”
“Won’t you stay for a little while?” Katy asked a bit desperately as her friend turned toward the door. “The king won’t let anyone be here when I spin, but that must be a few hours away at least.”
“Should we walk the halls?” Otto suggested. “You can leave the room, can’t you? It would be more comfortable than staying in here.”
Katy chewed her lip. “I can, and it would, but…then a lot of people would see us together. The king—”
“It’s all right, Katy,” Fritz cut in, giving her hand another squeeze. “If you want to stay here, we’ll stay.”
~
Tightening her hold on the cloak Otto had given her inplace of his fellow guard’s, Katy trudged down the street in the direction indicated by one of the gate guards. The king had hidden his displeasure when she presented him with another set of gold-wrapped bobbins, but he couldn’t do much about it.
His irritation over his son’s absence – again – was more palpable. Despite her cousin’s warning, she took this as a positive sign. Prince Axel couldn’t be interested in fulfilling his father’s deal if he wouldn’t even meet her.
Despite her second all-nighter, Katy had been unable to sleep after seeing the king. So she decided to escape both her dimly-lit room and the castle itself in a last gasp of freedom.
Because she only needed one more night to succeed. By this time tomorrow, she would be betrothed to the prince.
And if she didn’t succeed tonight, her family would be destitute.
It was foolish, but she was on her way to the theater. Gunther had invited her back, after all. Although she had no idea what she would say to him, assuming he would be there at this time of day. Between the way they had parted and her rapidly-approaching future, not to mention Fritz’s attentions, she didn’t expect a relationship. She just…wanted to see him one more time if she could.
The streets were more crowded than at home, but they weren’t bursting at the seams. The occasional carriage or horse and rider passed through the middle of the road while the foot traffic kept to the sides. It wasn’t something they worried about in Flussendorf – few residents possessed carriages, and they didn’t get many travelers.
When the columns in front of the theater came into view, she breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t mind the press of people, but she was used to knowing where she was, and walking alone through the unfamiliar streets of the city made her nervous.
Her relief faded at the sight of a middle-aged man in adragon-crest cloak. He was standing stiffly on the front steps with his eyes straight ahead, but she felt certain that he saw everyone who passed. For a moment, the irrational thought flew through her mind that he was watching for her, but that was preposterous. King Steffan had said she could leave as long as she was in her room to spin each night. Even if the guards at the gate had informed him of her destination, he wouldn’t have sent one of his men to intercept her.
The guard’s eyes flitted toward her as she approached, but he quickly dismissed her. As she skipped up the stairs, she realized this might be the theater-loving prince’s personal guard. Hopefully, she would have the good fortune to avoid him if that was the case.
After struggling with the large, heavy front door, Katy stepped into the entryway. It was as beautiful as she remembered, the high, arched ceiling painted a light blue and the papered walls covered in fabulous paintings of architecture, the countryside, and what must be scenes from shows. The polished wood under her feet stretched to the auditorium doorways, past which carpet had been laid to muffle footsteps during performances.
Her boots echoed in the empty space as she walked across the hard surface. Dimly, she wondered if she shouldn’t be there, but she shook off the thought; the front door would have been locked if visitors weren’t allowed. Even so, she felt a bit foolish wandering through an empty building seeking someone who likely wasn’t there.
Not completely empty, she reminded herself, thinking of the royal guard out front.
The sound of music drew her attention to the closed doors of the auditorium. Curious, she pulled one open a crack and peeked inside. A group of men and women stood in the middle of the stage with books in their hands. One man was gesturingwildly with his right hand while speaking in dramatic tones against the backdrop of the pulsing, agitated notes of the piano. An older woman sat half-crouched over the piano keyboard as her left hand pounded out the lower notes and her right danced lightly over the keys at the far end. The rest of the group sang short, quick notes, pausing while the speaker threw out his lines and continuing when he would take a breath.
“No, no!” yelled a tall, thin man standing at the stage edge. He swirled his arms in a terse circle, and the singers, pianist, and speaker all dropped into silence. Striding across the front of the raised floor, he waved his hands about as his deep voice bellowed with expression. “It must build more. The tension will be lost if maintained throughout; you must start the passage at pianissimo, hold the energy, then gradually increase to mezzoforte through thedah-dah-dah, and finally swell to a resounding fortissimo on ‘fall’!” Spinning, he pointed to a subgroup of women, his arm fully extended. “Second altos! Do not hold back on your note! We mustfeelthe tension of your dissonance! Now, again, starting at measure 103.”
With a wave of his hands, he cued the pianist and singers back into motion. Katy watched, fascinated, as they rehearsed. She’d never seen an organized group of musicians except at the performance ofThe Tanner’s Secret. Oh, there were always several villagers playing instruments for the occasional dance in the square, but that was simply a few people all playing the same song. It was energetic and fun, but it lacked the precision and beauty of the practiced music here.
After watching for a while, Katy forced herself to withdraw. The longer she stayed, the more chance of being found by the prince. Besides, Gunther wasn’t in the group on stage; she would have to look for him elsewhere.
Her feet drew her to the place she’d met him before. Where else could he be, if not on the stage or in the entryway?
