Chapter 8:
Acrobats and Accidental Revelations
Nothing all that interesting occurred on the ship after the pirate incident (which Tayend was now pretending never happened). The magician and his feisty assistant arrived in Kito Town, and soon settled into the Guildhouse. Tayend seemed to adore the Vindo culture; perhaps because he liked the idea that every second day was a public holiday.
On one such day, Dannyl and his assistant had gone for a wander through the city. The only thing that seemed to bother Tayend was the boldness of the Vindo ladies. Already, over a dozen of them had approached him, and casually invited him home for what they called some "innocent fun, with no strings attached." The young Elyne firmly refused these advances, and Dannyl tried to be helpful by explaining to the women that Tayend was in a chastity club. The scholar was amazed when he realised that Dannyl actually believed this to be the case. Hasn't he figured out the truth yet? He thought wearily to himself.
But Tayend's worries were interrupted when he caught sight of the performers on the street. His heart skipped several beats, and then swelled with pure joy. For a few moments he stood frozen with astonishment, before the most beautiful word in the world escaped from his trembling lips.
"ACROBATS!"
Dannyl was genuinely concerned for his young companion. His breathing was rapid, he was shaking, and there was a crazed expression of ecstasy on his handsome face. His eyes were unnaturally wide as they stared intently at the shirtless, tanned and wonderfully toned men who were performing on the street.
Dannyl's own gaze focused on the acrobats for some inexplicable reason. But he finally managed to pull his eyes away from them. Feeling rather uneasy, the magician told Tayend he was going to buy some wine. The scholar just nodded vaguely, and continued ogling the half naked men.
When Dannyl entered the wine shop, it was wonderfully cool and peaceful in comparison to the noisy celebrations outside. Dannyl took a deep calming breath, and looked back out the window. What he saw outside was so terrible, so unexpected, it made him completely forget Lord Dannyl's sixth Commandment: Thou shalt not panic.
Some dirty pervert was harassing Tayend!
Dannyl gave an almightily roar of fury, and charged out of the shop and back onto the street. The scholar was backed up against a wall in fear. His assailant was grinning manically, and brandishing a rusty twelve inch knife. For some unknown reason, no one else seemed to notice or care what was going on. Perhaps this was all an everyday occurrence to them.
But Dannyl wasn't willing to accept it. Nobody touches my assistant and gets away with it!
He summoned up an unnecessary amount of magic and directed it forcefully into the man. He exploded into a cloud of green smoke, just as Dannyl belatedly realised he had broken his own seventh Commandment: Thou shalt not kill. People nearby finally took interest in what had just happened, and they cheered at Dannyl for his amazing magic trick. The magician pulled his most fearsome face, stood up to his full height and bared his teeth. The crowd fled in terror.
Turning his attention back to Tayend, Dannyl saw him lying in a heap on the ground. He rushed frantically over and placed his hand on the scholar's wrist. To Dannyl's relief, Tayend was alright; he had just fainted from shock. Dannyl was about to pull away, when he gave into temptation and listened to Tayend's thoughts.
The Elyne's life flashed before Dannyl's eyes.
The magician couldn't take it all in, but he caught snatches of different memories. Tayend's tenth birthday; when he had cried because his father had given him a toy sword instead of the pony he had asked for. His fourteenth birthday; when a girl had kissed him for the first time, and he had run away screaming in terror. Then his sixteenth birthday party; when his best friend Darlend had snogged him in front of a crowd of guests, and Tayend had fainted with shock.
Things got more sordid after that, as the memories switched to scenes such as Tayend getting caught in bed with a married nobleman. Tayend punching Velend in the face, after finding the man ogling him through his bedroom window. Tayend making a condemning speech about Mayrie's husband at her wedding, and later that evening drunkenly trying to seduce the man. Dem Tremmelin roaring accusations at his son, after finding an alarming pile of romance novels hidden under his bed. And for some reason, images of acrobats kept flashing across the Elyne's mind. Dannyl finally broke contact with Tayend and pulled away.
The scholar opened his eyes, and looked guiltily at the Kyralian. "So… so you know now, I suppose. I'm actually quite relieved. I have no idea how you didn't figure it out before now."
The Ambassador nodded slowly, as he put everything together. It had all been so obvious; he was a complete fool for not having seen it. It explained Tayend's fascination with acrobats, why Dem Tremmelin was ashamed of his son, and also why Tayend was so flexible.
Tayend of Tremmelin was planning to join the circus and become an acrobat.
Dannyl beamed encouragingly at his friend, and patted his arm. Tayend was shocked by his easy acceptance, and sighed. "I wish everybody were as tolerant of lads as you are!"
The magician froze, and all his wrong conclusions were instantly shattered. Looking at the Elyne in amazement he cried:
"You're a lad? Since when?"
At last Dannyl knows the truth! This is roughly halfway into the parody, and my personal favourite chapters are coming up soon; hopefully readers will enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them!
As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter. Your support is what keeps me writing and posting this crazy story! :D
