Updated for grammar & spelling and checked for continuity: March 9, 2011.
Chapter Three: Ponderings At My Lady's Rose
Katrin arrived at the Rose a good hour early for her mid-day set. She had purchased her regular lunchtime fare earlier than usual at her favorite stand. The only time she ever ate Chinese stir-fry was at faire and she never got tired of it. Rather than sit out on the Green in the sun, she opted for the shade. There were three 'alehouses' this year at the _ Park Faire, but only the largest one had tables rigged up. It was at the center of the shopping row and attracted the most people. One of the patrons from the year before had enjoyed himself so much that he immediately volunteered afterwards to help. Not really one for acting, he designated himself as the 'Procurer of Obscure Objects and Builder of Useful Things.' Somehow, he had managed to find several old, wooden ale casks, which he laboriously transformed into tables. The other two alehouses were small and settled for hay bales, and most of the tables were scattered near the various food vendors. However, My Lady's Rose, as it was lovingly christened, was large and airy enough for a few of them. Katrin settled at one such table in a corner.
Things were quiet in the Rose for the moment, the big crowds not really gathering until closer to noon. It was one reason she had decided to come early. The other reason being she needed time to think. All the other faire participants knew when she was eating early and sitting in a corner it meant she wanted to be alone for a bit. Many of them wished they could return her offer of a shoulder at times like this, though they knew she would just smile, thank them warmly, and decline. It was not so much that she did not want to share with them, but how to explain the things that were weighing her mind. The issues were certainly not normal.
She was not sure why her father's visit of the previous afternoon had bothered her so. Although she had teased him about keeping a watchful eye on her as he had done so often when she first started playing the faire circuit, his lack of vocal response disturbed her. Her father rarely made appearances in the mortal world in his other form during the day unless there was a problem of some sort. But if it were truly serious, she would have expected him to simply waltz in looking human. More or less human looking is more like it, she thought. She reflected on his answer to her posed question about things at home. His tendency to elude questions with vague answers rarely applied when speaking to his family. She was not sure if that was by his choice or by the insistence of her mother. Yet when he responded...
"What are you doing here, anyway? It is not even close to dusk. Pray, is something wrong at home?" The owl shook itself, fluffing its feathers and shuffling its feet on the branch. He didn't shake his head, or respond in her mind. She had not picked up on it at the time, but she realized now that it was not a definite no. And the last time he had done something like that was...
Katrin shuddered. Best not to think about that, she thought. Not here, not now. Surely they cannot be related issues. But why would he bother checking on me? And I have been getting this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach since the beginning of the season all those weeks ago. Perhaps it is just a coincidence. But then his avoiding a direct answer... He did shake to imply no, so things must be fine as far as 'domestic' situations go. Which means Mother and the boys are surely fine. Is there some sort of political scenario that is developing?
She replayed the events of the Court from the last few years, but could not come up with any discontent that was out of the ordinary. Nothing out of the ordinary here in the Mortal realm either, if you can call war, terrorism, and general destructive behavior as not out of the ordinary. Mortals... they never seem to learn. Katrin now felt a desperate desire to go Home, but she had to finish out this weekend first. Hopefully, she would not have to break contracts and promises and would be able to come back in time for the final weekend of this faire. Playing and performing were her only outlets for creativity, something she probably inherited from her mother, as well as her only escape from the tediousness of Court. And her time spent here was the only time she truly felt free. Not that she was under any real constraint at any other time, of course.
Katrin shook her head. My, how the mind doth wander. She looked around and saw that the act before her, a lively trio who played only obscure Dutch folk songs from the 15th and 16th centuries, had just finished tuning and were beginning their set. The songs, while indecipherable (more due to the bad pronunciation than the actual Dutch text), were fast and fun, drawing many patrons to see what it was all about. The members of the group also told funny stories as well, and more importantly knew how to prepare a crowd for the next performer. They loved preceding her act as well, since she often included the musical acts before her in what she called a 'Round Robin Reel' as they finished their last number. Though begun on the melody of whatever song ended their set, it never ended up traditional for she would improvise on it and challenge them to do so as well until the tune spun out of control. Yet it never lost its musical quality. Realizing she had about half an hour before she had to go on and had not yet touched her food beyond poking at it a bit, she dug in. Putting her discontented thoughts behind her out of necessity, she vowed to think on this more after the day was done lest she forget to enjoy her time here, and mentally prepared herself for her performance.