Hi everyone, sorry for taking so long to get this up. I'm finding it really hard to get through this bit as I'm dying to get to the stuff later on but I also work full time as a geologist in a coal mine so I don't get a heck of a lot of spare time. Please bear with me. Thanks so much for you reviews, I'm sorry to say America wont be going back to the castle any time soon, she has a bit of a journey to go through first and a lot of new friends to make. That's not to say that Maxon wont come to her =).
Chapter 2
I needn't have worried about not being able to perform music as a three.
After a lot of nagging, my father had been convinced to give me all the offers of work I had received since leaving the palace. I might have left it a little bit longer if I had known just how many there was; Just about every two in the district had requested my performance at some party or the other and I didn't know whether to be excited about my new found stardom or scared.
"Just remember, you don't have to take them all" my mother said as we sorted through the stack of jobs "after all you're a three now"
May dropped the small selection she had been reading and picked up an apple from the bowl in the middle of the table. "Yeah, that and just one of these jobs will earn you more money than u used to earn in a year!" she said before taking a bite
"Well, I have to go the Haywood's, they had always been good to us, that's next week. I don't know how I can really turn down this one for the Campbell's" I sighed putting their two cards aside
"Just because they are offering absorbent amounts of money doesn't mean you need to accept it" mum added, I gave her a half smile, she was right but it was hard to turn down a job that would ensure us a comfortable winter.
May picked up a card that had been in her pile and held it out towards me "How 'bout this one" she said through a mouth full of apple
"May Singer!" our mother scolded "don't talk with your mouthful"
"Sorry" she replied swallowing the last the apple before she continued "it looks really interesting"
I took the card off out of her hand. It was unlike the other cards, which were printed on lavish cards in sprawling writing. This card was written on the back of an old faded and creased postcard which depicted an old world theatre. The writing on the back was ruff and in black marker pen:
To Miss "Lady" America Singer
The house of the splendid dark would like to Offer you a position in our orchestra of stars.
We will speak soon.
Kate XOXO
I couldn't see a return number anywhere so I turned it over to look at the picture; I had seen pictures of theatres like this before, they were a remanent of times long before the fall of America, all gold painted moulding and red velvet. The only other writing was printed in one of the corners and read; House of the splendid dark, Angeles. "Weird, it doesn't have a number on it or anything"
"I know, it's so mysterious, it's so cool!" May replied literally bubbling with excitement. She was right though, the mystery of it made it so much more appealing than the rest of the cards and although there was nothing more I could do with the card I slipped it into the pile of jobs to accept.
"Well no matter what jobs you accept, you can't go dressed in anything you have here" my mother said after another half hour of whittling down the pile of potential gigs.
"I have a couple of dress that were sent back with me" I replied, trying not to allow my mind float back to the world the dresses had come from.
"You can't just wear the same things all the time America, you're practically a celebrity now, you're draw card is you image. We will go into the high street tomorrow and get a good set of outfits" my mother replied, I had the sense this had a lot to do with a potential men I would meet at these events and her making sure that I looked like I could be a two.
"I can't afford anything else yet, once I've taken some jobs I -"
"Nonsense" my mother cut in "we have all this money saved up from while you were away, I can't think of any better way to use it" I was about to protest, to tell her that that money needed to be saved for when my celebrity status didn't mean anything but she cut me off again "it's a good investment America, with the money you will bring in this family won't want for anything for a long time"
I nodded, she was partially right of course, it was my mission to support my family, and if I had my way they wouldn't want for anything ever again.
The next day when we arrived at the tailor I high street I could have sworn my mother was a born two the way she commanded the attention of the shop girls. May and I stood watching in shock as our mother skimmed through pattern books and racks of fabric. The grand total of my input was when I had to stand on a pedestal while I was measured, pinned, draped in fabric and otherwise used like a doll. It was one of the strangest experiences of my life, and it was exhausting! But as I watched my mother command the room, I thought of how much easier this was with my maids, how they just knew what colours and styles would suit me without any of the hustle and bustle of the store.
All of a sudden I realised how much I missed my maids, I had spent so much time morning the loss of Maxon that I had forgotten to miss the people who I had been closest to . I wondered how they were managing without me there. What they were doing now that I wasn't there to look after? Had there been another raid since I left? What if they had been injured? Or worse killed? I would never see them again, yet I felt like they knew me better than most people I knew. I began to feel a familiar panic set in, one similar to my first night in the castle, I needed air and space.
I excused myself from the chaos of a chill and satin and escaped into the street, but out here was worse, there were people everywhere filling every piece of spare space..
I searched desperately for an escape, finally setting my eyes on an alley way only a few shops down. I collapsed into the emptiness of it, leaning heavily against the cool brick wall of an electronic store. I closed my eyes and thought of open places; of manicured gardens bordered by forests, for the first time since I had left I thought of the palace and felt better.
"Here" said a voice from behind me. I looked to see a women holding out a tissue. I took it great fully and dabbed my eyes, I hadn't even realised that I had been crying.
The women smiled, she had a warm smile, the type that you could instantly trust. The Women didn't look like the type of person you would normally see on the high street; more like a rock star than a normal person. Her hair sat just above her shoulders in large flowing curls but what stood out is that it was light icy blue colour, the same colour as her eyes. The dress she wore was the same colour as her hair, a large bring pink belt that sat around her waist and the whole lot was cover by a tan over coat.
"Thank you, for the tissue that is" I replied unsure of what to make of the women
"Not a problem, it's quite un-canny that I should meet you here America Singer, I was just on my way to see you"
"I'm sorry do I know you?"
"My Name is Kate Tainui; I'm the director of the house of the splendid dark. I wonder if you have seen my little post card?"
"Yes I saw it" I replied thinking how the mystery of the card seemed to match the mystery of the women who had sent it "it was very different"
She smiled widely with something like mischief showing in her eyes in her eyes "Excellent, how about we find somewhere quite to have a drink; I have a lot to discuss with you miss sing"
Thanks for reading guys, just so you know further down the track I will be doing some chapters from Kate's POV, mostly based in the past so you can see her back story (which I really love and has a love story to rival (and compliment) Maxon and America's.
To see what Kate kind of looks like go to here:
doedeereblogazine articles/blue-hair-i-finally-did-it/
Thanks again!