Chapter 2: The Dancer and The Singer
Just as the army of Hornburg was a force known to everyone in Orsterra, the women of Hornburg, brought into the world by rich and poor families alike, were the jewels of the kingdom that were at the very center of every man's life should they had the pleasure of courting one with a fierce yet kind soul.
Often during holidays, King Alfred's wife, Queen Mirabella, would host balls inviting the greatest houses of the kingdom and the knights that served the royal family well throughout the years. Such balls brought opportunities to many knights to find a fair lady they would swear to use their blade for. While Olberic, a knight not particularly known to have the smoothest words or best dancing skills at such events, found himself captivated by a few lovely ladies of the court, he would find them flocking to gain the attention and praise of Erhardt, the complete opposite of Olberic when it came to almost everything that didn't have to do with battling and drinking.
Erhardt would walk with his brother-in-arms back to their homes and jab at the other's lack of having the ability to attract women along the way. "Finding a woman that deserves to have your blade protect her is not a battle for the kingdom!" Battling and acting according to the knight's code was all Olberic was truly skilled in. Having never been with a woman - let alone one that he was interested in - Olberic found it difficult to tear down his stoic personality around them, a fact Erhardt knew all too well.
"All a lady wants in a man," Erhardt advised Olberic, "is someone that will accept her for who she is. The good, the bad, the flawed, everything and share moments that are important to her, moments that she would hope her true love would find to be just as important to him." He slung his arm over Olberic's shoulder, pulling him close as if to finally uncover the real secret to success, "They're not plotting to disguise a romantic relationship as an attempt to steal your soul! Next time you speak to a lady, don't just stand around as if you were a statue incapable of expressing emotion!"
Bringing himself back into the present where he stood ever so still in front of the dancer that gracefully stepped into his room, Olberic realized at that moment that he never truly took Erhardt's advice.
She was beautiful. Long auburn hair tied up into a ponytail, keeping her face, her beauty, clear from stray locks of hair and the finest blood red top and slitted skirt adorned with a hip belt made of gold, there was no doubt in Olberic's mind that this was the exotic wonder of Sunshade the old man must have expressed to him. The gold jewelry adorning her neck was nothing compared to her amber eyes, eyes that petrified the warrior.
In an attempt to find his composure in such an encounter, Olberic broke their gaze. If it was due to his indecency of having his bare chest exposed in front of a lady he hardly knows or that he couldn't bear to gaze at her any longer he would never know. Perhaps it was both. He found words to utter, "It's dreadfully late, what business do you have here?"
The dancer at the door seemed amused by the man's naive and awkward state, it was obvious to her that the man didn't realize that her arrival was something that he himself caused. She closed the door behind her, locking it, and chuckled, "My business is with you, my dear Berg." Thankfully, she did not know of the man's true identity. She started making her way towards Olberic, every step closing the gap between them. "You do realize what the deal is, correct?"
The dancer was at an arm's length by the time Olberic assessed the situation at hand. The exotic wonders, the pricey deal that cost an arm and a leg of leaves, and how the old man giggled in glee upon recalling such memories, it all made sense to Olberic now!
"I-I think I have made a mistake." Olberic muttered, his face feeling hot as the dancer stood directly in front of him, her hands tracing the deep scar in the middle of his chest.
She looked up at him, a gentle curiosity in her eyes, as her other hand gently greeted his tense shoulders. "A mistake? Surely you've come to experience a show beyond your wildest dreams that only could be found her in Sunshade?" The hand on Olberic's chest had started making its way south, his heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest.
That was when Olberic remembered that, although he was no longer one, he was a knight, a knight bound by a code of chivalry. Regardless of the reason for her actions are from her own free will or assigned instructions, what sort of man would he be if he allowed himself to ignore his gallantry to indulge himself? He closed his eyes, resisting what his body was telling him to do, and gently held both of the dancer's hands, surprising the alluring woman. "No," he explained as he lowered their hands, "I had no idea that paying such a lofty price for a stay would bring such beautiful face such as yourself to appear before me. I simply came to rest before continuing on my journey."
He felt her take a step back. Did he offend her by declining her advances on him? Olberic met her gaze again only to find himself lost in her eyes that were questioning and full of . . . relief? She crossed her arms as if to say that she would not leave without an answer. "I feel quite hurt that you would say no to such a lovely lady like me." She teased, landing Olberic into her guilt trap.
"Forgive me, I didn't want to disrespect you."
She laughed at him, "Disrespect me? I'm afraid it's already too late for that, my dear Berg." There was a taint of faked sadness with the words that came out of her lips. Before she would exit her stage, slightly earlier than her usual cue, her curiosity of the traveler in front of her got to her. "What do you hope to find on this journey you're on?"
It was a question that Olberic asked himself for eight long years. Even with such a long time to figure out the answer, he wasn't sure what to tell her. Telling her the whole story would give away his identity and would put him at the risk of news of him finding itself with Erhardt, a risk he couldn't afford to take just yet. He thought back to his liege and the anger he felt when he was killed, a void in his heart that was filled with the idea of finding Erhardt and redeeming himself from not being able to protect the one that put his faith in. Olberic, feeling the void in his heart, spoke to the dancer, "Long ago I lost to someone that threatened someone very dear to me. My defeat had led to that person's demise and I'm determined to find the person that slaughtered him to -"
"Exact revenge." The dancer's words cut through Olberic's thoughts like a knife. The alluring and charming mask the woman created before she entered the room cracked revealing a face painted with pain and struggle. Before Olberic could ask her what caused to come to that conclusion, the dancer quickly turned, the candle's flame flickering towards her as she moved past it and made her way to exit a stage not meant for her. She opened the door, turning her head to meet the confused expression on his face, "I wish you the best of luck on your journey then. I bid you a good night, sir."
Did this woman know something about Erhardt as well? It was doubtful she knew anything about him. Was it simply just her correctly assuming his plan of action once he found Erhardt? Most likely, but the look in the woman's eyes gave him a different impression on why she said what she said. The look in her eyes was one that he was well acquainted with, for he surely had the same gaze for the first few years following the fall of Hornburg. Grief, confusion, pain, and regret at the slight memory of that fateful day.
He and the dancer were not so different.
Out of the several thoughts that were scattered across his mind, only one made it out just before she was out the door, "Forgive me for asking but what is your name?"
They met each other's eyes again, her gaze signaling that she would not give the answers about their supposed similarity. "For my sake, it's best to forget my existence." With that, she was gone, the door closed shut.
She had left just as she came, like a mere mirage of the desert. Left with more questions than answers, Olberic snuffed the candle's flame and climbed onto his bed. He kept thinking about the woman, her face ingrained into his memory even against her wishes, 'Whatever it is she's looking for, I can only hope she has better luck finding it than I ever will.'
The only things that brought her comfort on nights such as this were the moon and the stars, the same night sky her and her father used to sit under many years hundreds of moons ago. The dancer sat outside the inn for far too long than she was expecting, not paying any mind to the few bandits down the street that gazed upon her as if she were the most precious water of the desert. If they were to even come near and breathe the same air as her, her Master would make sure that they would for any damages to his property with their life.
She replayed the conversation she had with her most recent client in her head. Upon realizing that the man was looking to exact revenge, old memories of her father, cruelly slain in front of her very eyes as she stood by and did nothing as the men responsible left her father to bleed out, resurfaced. Although most nights she would tolerate such memories and hateful thoughts, allowing them to resurface only to fuel her drive for revenge, there are moments when the possibility of finding the men responsible would ever be anything more than a simple wish. If the man was already set on finding the person he was looking for, it was safe to assume he had a trail to follow. Besides the memories of her dear father, the pain of having nothing but a mere rumor pained the dancer so. Had she stayed, there is no doubt that she would have told her tale only to have the man offer to accompany him so that perhaps they both would find what they sought for.
She shook her head at the possibility had she remained. This was her revenge and she would be the one to take the lives of the three men by herself with her father's dagger. Be it because of sheer stubbornness or the fear of betrayal, she refused to have anyone, let alone a man that might use her to fulfill his wishes just as every man had used her years before, join her on her mission.
She stood up, cleaning the sand and the dirt off her legs and skirt, and gave the moon one last glance, "I do hope, however, you find what you're searching for." The dancer made her way to her living quarters, expecting the sun to rise and shine on a new day, a day bringing business as usual.
The following morning, Olberic thanked the innkeeper for her hospitality, leaving out the detail of his encounter, and made his way to the small market to find water. Filling up two canteens full to the brim with water turned out to be more expensive than he expected. The merchant selling the water explained that water is more valuable than most precious ores found in the Sunlands and, in some towns, is sometimes substitutes leaves as currency.
"Mayhaps I should bring an entire lake from the Highlands next time," Olberic joked with the man as he placed his canteens in his sack, "I would become the richest man on the continent if I did!"
The merchant smiled and pointed a finger at the large building down the street, "Mayhaps you should! With that sort of money, you could place one of these types of taverns in every village! Wouldn't that make the world a more cheery place?" Olberic turned to the big building that looked more like a theater than an actual tavern, his curiosity didn't escape the keen eye of the merchant, "A foreigner are ya? Don't tell me ye were about to leave without visiting our well-known tavern! If ye have at least a mere moment to spare, please visit it before yeer on your way!"
"I think I'll take you up on that offer." After all, Olberic was never one to dismiss a reason to partake in having a good drink.
Passing by a guard who had a little too much to drink, evident by the way he clumsy took his steps, Olberic entered the tavern. Inside stood a grand stage and multiple tables filled with people even though it was much too early for this many people to be in the tavern. One of the ladies dressed much like the woman in red from the night before but instead in much simpler garments glanced at Olberic and made her way towards him. "Welcome to our humble tavern," She said sweetly, "What would you like to drink, handsome?"
"What do recommend?" He replied, it was always a tradition back in the old days for him and many of his fellow knights to try what servers recommended when visiting new lands.
"A popular drink here is Sealticge's Dawn, shall I order one for you, dear?" Olberic nodded at her recommendation. She took out a small notebook and jotted down the order, pointing at the empty table by the corner of the stage as she kept writing, "Please take a seat and we'll be ready with your drink before you know it!" She made her way to the bar on the right, barking orders at the poor gentleman behind the bar that was busy brewing and mixing multiple other drinks.
He sat down at his table, observing the many faces of the people around him. Some were young and some looked much too old to be drinking, but they all seemed free of any troubles the world presented them with or perhaps they were choosing to leave their troubles for another day as they drank their worries away. As he looked around, he noticed that four dancers entered the tavern. Three of them were dressed in the same garments as the servers while the fourth's was much more refined with her outfit being the color of a clear blue sky and made of pure silk, her short black hair contrasting that of the other three's brown hair. Now Olberic could see why merchants went out of their way to visit this lonely town in the middle of the desert for the dancers of Sunshade had a certain alluring beauty that was unique to each of them.
The three dancers were laughing and snickering to each other, gracefully walking to what looked like the entrance to the main stage. They formed a line right in front of it, awaiting orders from a blond young man who was busy coordinating and planning to have them perform on stage. Olberic was sitting close enough to overhear just what they were talking about.
"Can you believe that woman?" One of the dancers with a thick ponytail sneered to the other two, "So full of herself just because she's master's favorite!"
The other, with long black hair, chimed in with her, "Her dancing is just as good as the rest of us I don't understand what people see in her." The dancer scoffed, tossing her hair behind her shoulder, "If it's her beauty that gets men and women salivating at the mere thought of being in the same bed with her, well, I'd slap all of them upside the head! Just one look at her pathetic face makes me want to hurl!"
The third one twirled her chocolate short hair, eyes lighting up as if she came up with a brilliant plan, "Such a shame that such a delicate little flower like her doesn't have a thorn at her side like the rest of us. Perhaps we should gift her something to really be hurt about." She beckoned the other two to come closer and whispered something that Olberic couldn't make out.
Whatever it was, it was enough for the other two to clap with glee. The fourth dancer, however, was unamused at their happiness. "You three are despicable witches," her words cut through the other three's joy, even Olberic was taken aback with her tone of voice, "Don't you three ever get tired of making her life a living hell?"
The girl shot her a cold look that made the dancer in blue back down, "Our lives are nothing but full of torture with every passing day! But for her? I bet she enjoys every single second of it with all of the attention and adoration she gets!"
"You don't understand," The dancer in blue started, "We're all-"
The blond haired gentleman snapped his fingers at the four of them, grabbing their attention and cutting off the other girl's defense. "Ladies! If you all insist on continuing to fight amongst each other, why don't you all take it out through dancing!" He pointed at the crowd of people that have gathered in the tavern, "We have customers waiting to be satisfied so make their coin worth it! Unless… all of you would rather deal with Halgenish's wrath?"
His voice was sharp and threatening towards them, the mere mention of the name that the man uttered caused the four of them to be struck by fear. This attitude towards them baffled Olberic. The women of Cobblestone and even Hornburg, especially entertainers, were treated with much more respect than anyone else. If dancers were the most sought-after treasure of those that visit Sunshade, why were they being treated like property?
"I'll take that silence as an 'I'd rather dance!' Well, get up on that stage and earn the coin to feed us!" The four of them ran up the stage, urgency in each of their steps, and took their places, everyone's eyes turned to the stage as they got into a starting position. The blond man cleared his voice and smiled at the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen! Today we have a special dance to open today's show! We'll be having the sweet Yusafa take the center stage while her other three companions support her in a ballad called A Letter to Home!"
What a change in personality, Olberic thought to himself. The server he saw earlier returned with a drink on hand. "Enjoy the show!" She gleefully uttered before walking away back to the bar to retrieve and serve even more drinks to guests.
Olberic lifted his drink to his lips and chugged it down without flinching. When there was not a drop left in the mug, a sigh of relief as the strong, bitter taste burned his throat. The taste reminded him of the few people of Sunshade he had the pleasure - and misfortune - of encountering. Bitter and unforgiving, much like the desert but it did its job well. He looked at the dancers performing to the tune of a piano playing offstage. He noticed that one of the dancers - Yusafa was it? -, much to the surprise of the other three and everyone in the tavern, started singing to the tune of the song.
The three supporting dancers danced to the song on tune but each of them had parts of themselves that weighed them down. One was moving her arms as if they were made of solid rock, the other kept misplacing her steps compared to the other two, and the third's body was shaking uncontrollably from nerves. They talked so lowly about one of their fellow companions that they barely had time to even look at how they carried themselves through dancing it seemed.
Yusafa, on the other hand, had the flaws of all three of them when it came to dancing, moving off key and stumbling as if she had two left feet, but her singing was beautiful beyond measure. Her voice was enchanting, every word that slipped through her lips coming out like sweet honey. Every low and high note was matched perfectly as she sang about missing her home, a home in an unreachable place of her dreams, and wishing that she could cross the sea to see her mother with a gentle touch. It was a happy melody turned melancholy, the piano slowed down to the very last few mellow notes, Yusafa matching it by singing she would rather forget than be longing for something that was impossible.
When the performance ended, it was evident only a few in the tavern were moved. There were only a few hands raised to clap for them. The rest of the customers looked at each other in confusion since they clearly came to see alluring and beautiful dancing. He left enough coins to feed a family beside the under the empty glass as a token of his appreciation of what the server must have experienced and started to make his leave. He looked behind to see that the blond man's face has turned red with anger.
Upon remembering a memory of his younger years, something stirred in Olberic. "Don't."
The blond man looked at him, "What?"
Olberic shook his head, he thought back to what the dancers had said about living every moment in sheer suffering "Those women perform to the pleasure of the men that come to see them even though they suffer. Don't you dare threaten them again there will be consequences." Olberic threatened him, prepared to challenge the man if the man wished. Upon seeing the sword Olberic carried, the man did not say another word. With the promise of a threat still hanging in the air, he made his way out the tavern doors. Olberic silently wished the dancers luck in surviving this city of pleasures.
Just as he was about to reach the bridge leading out to the desert, he felt a blunt object hit the back of his head. Sharp pain rushed through his head and watched as the world in front of him fell. Hands moved up and down his body as if to search for something, anything, of value. A feminine voice behind them shouted at whatever was above him, causing the presence to quickly disappear. Something ran down the back of his head before closing his eyes and shutting out the world.
Then, absolutely nothing but darkness consumed him.
A/N: *I have a headcanon that Yusufa was never a really good dancer but is actually a really good singer! I played again through Prim's story and thought that her VA had such a lovely voice!*
Advice is accepted! If you simply like it be sure to let me know! Thank you for reading this chapter!
