Chapter 9: The Feast of Fools

The day would be sunny and warm; it was the perfect day to hold the Feast of Fools. All the commoners would be there, crowding the streets with their demand of entertainment. Nadya realized her hands were shaking slightly and squeezed them into fists to steady them.

"You have everything you need, right? We won't get a chance to come back down until nightfall." Esme called over to her as she finished the last touches of her makeup. When Nadya didn't respond, Esme turned to face her. Her mouth popped open slightly at the look on her face. "Nadya, are you okay? You're so pale!" She rushed over, hands patting her friends face and hair, trying to comfort.

"I'm fine," She grinned for a moment at the look of disbelief Esmerelda's face. "Really. I swear. I think it's just a little bit of nerves. I've never performed for the people before."

"You don't even realize they're there, I promise. Plus I'll be with you the whole time!" Esme turned to the table and picked up a wooden mug of gypsy wine. She pushed it into Nadya's hand tilting it toward her mouth. "Drink this. It'll help with the nerves." Nadya obediently gulped down the cup, feeling the burn of the strong vintage tickle her throat.

"Drinking this early, sister?" Emilian's head popped through the open caravan door, his facial expression hidden behind black and white face paint. "I didn't think you picked up such habits." He stepped inside and finally took a good look at her. "Actually, now I see maybe it's a little more necessary than I thought." He filled the cup with more wine and offered it to her. "Drink up."

"I can't possibly look that bad." Nadya said but she gulped down entire cup anyway, her head spinning slightly when she resurfaced.

"Bad is not the word I would use. Deathly ill sounds more like it." Emilian said grinning widely. He flopped down on one of the cushioned cots against the wall, lounging back with his feet up.

"Don't over exaggerate. She just looks a little nervous." Esme said glaring at him. Nadya ignored them and poured herself another cup of the wine from the now half empty bottle. She began to chug it down, the shaking in her hand had stopped.

"Woah, you don't want to have too much of that!" Emilian jumped up and pulled the cup from her grip. "Too much and you won't have to worry about preforming. You won't even be able to stand." Nadya glared at him as he set the cup down out of her reach. She eyed the cup wearily; the pleasant swimming in her head was wonderfully dulling all her worries. But she knew drinking too much was a threat to one's dignity.

"Let's get going then." She headed toward the door, glad the shaking was completely gone. "Before I decide to do something drastic." Emilian exchanged a quick glance with Esmeralda before following his sister.

The sun was shining brightly when they pulled themselves out of the barnyard trap door. The streets were already full of commoners and gypsies. Food stalls had been hastily erected overnight; Along with several other stalls for entertainment. Nadya saw Nuri's tent was pitched at the end for fortune telling. On the other side of the courtyard the wooden stage that Clopin used for his puppet show.

Nadya felt her glance linger on the small stage. At the moment it was empty but she knew that at some point in the day Clopin would be behind its curtain, entertaining his most faithful audience. She made a mental note to keep an eye out for the show. It'd been months since she'd see him perform. Since Marko's death two month previously, he'd been so busy with his new responsibilities she had hardly seen him.

Emilian led the girls to a large stall that blocked the entrance to a dead end alley. He motioned for them to follow him before ducking behind the stall and into the darkness behind. Nadya and Esme followed swiftly. The sounds of the street were strangely muted in the shade of the alleyway. Dressed all in yellows and oranges were practicing the routine of their dance or gossiping in groups, waiting for the show to begin.

An older women rushed up to them before they had more than a moment to look around.

"Costumes! Now! They're in the back." She pointed toward a screened off area where they could change quickly. "And you! Out! No men allowed!" She said turning toward Emilian who was grinning at the half dressed ladies fluttering about. The matron growled and pushed him toward the exit to keep watch. He winked quickly at Nadya before he disappeared around the stall again.

"Hurry! Lets change quickly, I want to practice a little more." Esme said pulling Nadya toward the curtains. They dressed quickly, Nadya into a flowing orange and Esmeralda into a vivid yellow. Once changed they joined the girls practicing. All too sound the matron was projecting her voice loudly from the front of the alley.

"Alright ladies, position! Exit in five!" She waved them over, positioning them into a straight line, beginning at the entrance behind the stall. Nadya's position was near the end, Esmeralda stood behind her, the last one in line. Nadya could hear the muffled sounds of the music beginning loudly out in the street. Her heart started to race in her chest but her hands remained steady.

The girls in front of her started to race out into the street, Nadya took a deep breath and followed. The sun blared down on her along with a stream of confetti. The loudness of the music hit her and she lost herself in the sun and smells. The faces of the watchers were nothing but blurs as she rushed past them, following the yellow dress of the girl in front of her. Focusing clearly on the open clearing in the center of the courtyard she hurled herself forward, double flipping before coming to stop in her spot in the front row of dancers.

Esmeralda took her spot in the front center and there was only a moment's pause before the music's tempo picked up rapidly. Now that she was preforming in front of the crowd, her nerves had disappeared completely. The flashing faces were hard to pick out and it was as though they didn't even exist. Gradually she felt a smile pull at the corners of her mouth and the adrenaline of the dance coursed through her.

When the music stopped at last she was panting heavily, smile still firmly in place. She looked over at Esme and caught her eye. When the dancers dispersed to change out of their costumes she caught up to her and grabbed her hand.

"That was amazing!" Esme's eyes were shining and she pulled her into a tight hug, she was still bouncing from excitement when she pulled away.

"I told you! It's an amazing feeling." She grabbed Nadya's hand and began pulling her toward the changing alley. "It's addicting."

"Just a moment mon amours!" A familiar voice called out and both girls turned. Squinting through the crowded street they spotted the sweeping feathered hat of Clopin approaching. Nadya felt her heart race with a completely different emotion at the sight. After the night of the funeral she'd had no chance to talk to Clopin about what happened. But since then she'd felt a certain uncomfortable tug inside her whenever she did have a chance to see him, which was rare.

Clopin bound up to them, pulling the hat from his head he dipped into a sweeping bow. He was grinning broadly at them when he stood straight again. There were a few more lines around his eyes and mouth and he'd tanned quite a bit in the sun, but the mischievous glint was still present in his eyes.

"That was quite a beautiful dance. I can see all your practice has paid in full." He winked at them still smiling. "I must say, it's regrettable that I haven't been able to see you as much. I have missed your company." He looked at them both, but his eyes lingered on Nadya for just a moment longer than necessary.

"We've missed you too! I know it's been hard running the court but a visit occasionally would be nice." Esme spoke up, glaring playfully at him. He nodded once in agreement to her statement.

"Well my dear, I agree completely. So allow me to formally invite you both to an after feast celebration tonight in my pavilion. Completely formal of course." He said in response to their hesitant looks. "Emilian will be attending as well." This cleared up any hesitation and Nadya and Esmeralda agreed to join in the celebration for short while.

"I'm clearing out before the drinking gets to heavy, though." Esmeralda warned "I'm not into that type of celebrations as you very well know."

"That's perfectly fine, Ma Cherie. It'll be enough to have your company for a while at least." He curled a finger under her chin and kissed her softly on the forehead. "I've missed you considerably in the past few months." His smile took on a soft sadness for only a moment before he turned to Nadya. "I'll enjoy seeing you there as well my dear." He bowed deeply once more before turning to go. "Now if you'll excuse me, my audience awaits."

When he was clear of their sight they turned change out of their costumes. The alleyway was almost completely deserted except for the matron gypsy woman and a few young girls gathering the dresses into chests for storage. They changed quickly and headed back out into the courtyard. The crowds were thinning as it got later.

"I'm going to dance for a while longer," Esme said, pulling a small bag for coins from the folds of her dress. "There's still some money to be made." She grinned broadly and hurried off toward the area Nuri's tent was stationed. Nadya leaned against the side of a stall, glancing about her. She wondered where Emilian was but realized it would be pointless to try and find him.

She found her eyes wandering to the corner where Clopin and puppet were performing. A small group of children and parents clustered around the stage. She smiled to herself when she saw puppet hit on the head with the stick. Deciding it couldn't hurt to watch she headed in their direction.

As she was passing through a cluster of people around a sweet bread stand, a hard grip closed around her arm. Instinctively she gripped the small knife she always carried with her and whipped around only to come face to face with her brother.

Instantly she knew something was wrong. His face was a dark red with anger and the muscles on his bare arms were tight ridged. His grip on her arm was almost painful, which was completely not like him. He would never harm her. She tried to pull his fingers from around her arm but he didn't even seem to notice.

"Come with me, there's something I need you to see." He spoke in a harsh whisper, already pulling her toward the opposite end of courtyard. The entrance to a shady tavern was half hidden by the stone walls of the buildings around it.

The tavern was crowded with men relishing in some carefree drinks after a day of entertainment. Emilian dragged Nadya over into an empty corner and pushed her roughly down into hard wooden stool. He pulled a stool up next to her and sat down.

"Over there." He said gesturing to a table crowded with soldiers. Nadya scanned the table an ominous feeling creeping up her spine. She spotted him almost at one. The dark hair was now peppered with grey and there were more wrinkles on his face than when she'd last seen him, but she couldn't help but recognize him. His face had been burned into her memory from the moment he'd stepped up to the scaffold to place the noose around her father's neck.

"It's him, isn't it." It wasn't a question. She glanced back at her brother and felt the blood rush from her own face. She'd never seen such a look in his eyes before. She knew what he was thinking before he even said it.

"When dark comes and he stubbles from here like the drunken fool he is, I'm going to avenge our father." His voice was not more than a whisper and he never removed his gaze from the greying soldier. "I will kill him."