Keladry joins the circus
First fanfic uh hi bet I got lots of details wrong, sorry about that. And players, I'm hazy about that so if I misused the word sorry about that too. But otherwise, you must enjoy!! Or try too and excuse any of my bad grammar :D
DN: Setting and most characters belong to Tamora Pierce. Woop
Chapter 1- Resolution
The circus. A lion's den brimming with ambition, dreams and rivalry. It is a tightrope walk; one slip of the foot will tip the balance between success and failure.
To a spectator, each step is light and casual but to the tightrope walker every one of those small steps towards the other side are laden with the knowledge that a slight tremor could be the beginnings of a monstrous earthquake that would leave her dreams in ruins.
With this in mind, Keladry of Mindelan signed her name in blood, binding herself to The Wandering Player's Circus.
Keladry's fascination with the circus began one fateful day during trip down to Corus with her father when she was a little girl.
The busy, crowded city was intoxicating with the bright colours of the street stalls and the delicious, wafting odours of homemade goods but the circus was in town that day and that added a whole new level of excitement to Corus.
Keladry was separated from her father amongst the hustle and bustle of the city. As she wandered down the streets in an attempt to find her father, Kel was drawn by an invisible force to the crowd and the loud, lilting music playing from the middle of the square.
As she squirmed her way into the centre of the crowd, a wondrous sight greeted her.
Coloured pieces of confetti were raining down from the sky, shimmering in the sunlight.
The circus players were dressed in striking costumes studded with fat, gaudy jewels. Some somersaulted off the strange circus animals draped in royal purple cloth, to meet with the other players and take their opening bow.
Kel was mesmerized as the circus performed their jaw dropping tricks. The gifted and non gifted were equally as great and worked together to create magic acts that left the spectators astounded, mouths open with disbelief.
Then a huge roar came from the crowd as a small woman with flaming red hair and violet eyes appeared, followed by a huge lion whose coat was the same colour as the woman's hair. "Lioness! Lioness! Lioness!" screamed the crowd, as the woman raised her arms high to acknowledge the people.
When the kerfuffle died down, the lioness trained her calm eyes on the lion and began to sway to the hypnotic music of a lone flute. The lion began to move in response and the two engaged in something similar to a dance.
Even at her young age, Kel was able to see that the woman was not the master and the lion not the servant, but their bond was one of equals. They had the familiar air of kindred spirits who understood each other which enabled them to dance in as a single unity in pure harmony.
A gasp came from the circle as the lion unsheathed its gleaming claws. The curious dance intensified as the lion stood up on his hind paws. The Lioness and the lion danced as one, the woman was twirling and twisting, flitting about like a butterfly narrowly avoiding those lethal claws and the stately steps of the lion.
The dance reached its peak as the two lunged in and away from each other; the dance had turned into more of a passionate tango rather than a polite waltz. The lion was slicing and thrusting with his paws, an inch away from the woman's bare flesh.
Silence filled the air as the music came to a halt, the people of Corus watched with morbid anticipation as the woman flung herself through the air at the lion and he bounded towards her in perfect sync, with his claws outstretched. Compared to her tiny figure, the lion was a glorious moving mountain of lean muscle and flaming red hair.
As they came closer and closer together, nearer and nearer to a fatal embrace, the collective tension of the spectators reached a near unbearable point. The tension shattered in the deafening applause that followed the Lady Lioness as she manoeuvred herself through the outstretched forepaws of the lion, a fit as tight as interlaced fingers and emerged over his head unscathed.
Then the mysterious woman disappeared in a flash of blinding, violet light in midair to bring her powerful performance to an end.
"Lioness! Lioness! Lioness!" Shouted the crowd and this time, Keladry joined in.
From then on, Keladry's dream was to join the circus.
As she grew older she learned the true nature of the trade from the many stories told by word of mouth and from her own eyes.
Hero Psyuni's changed as swiftly as the direction of the month "King" Jonathon was the people's favourite and the next it was her own brother Anders of Mindelan but something would always happen that would make you lose favour with the people.
Anders was given a limp for life that ended his career because he had doubted his familiar for a mere second. The novelty of "The King" wore off when his relationship with the Lioness ended. It wasn't all glory but a cutthroat, fickle profession where only the strongest could survive.
One of the strongest was The Lioness, she had survived the changes of time. Her faith in her familiar-Faithful and ability to impress the crowd every time kept her in good favour. Keladry strove to become as great as her and was willing to overlook the bad of this line of work for the good.
She loved the sheer grace and beauty of the art called Psyunn, she wished to find an animal familiar that would share an inseparable bond with, to possess an almost telepathic connection with the other half of her soul.
She hoped to be able to share this beauty with the rest of the world, to pass on the passion that had been given to her on that day. This drove her to train hard every day. She developed an intense exercise routine specifically designed to increase her stamina, flexibility, strength and reflexes. She needed to reach a level of fitness that would prepare her for the day when the travelling circus would pass through Tortall again and she, Keladry of Mindelan will be ready to finally start living her dreams.
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