Chapter 3: Waltz of Secrets
Linea turned on her side in her bed. The sun spilled through the window, and landed softly upon her bed. She opened her eyes, squinting against the light. She yawned and sat up. She put her feet on the ground and reached for her bag for new clothes. She quickly changed into a shirt and pants, and put her boots on. She grabbed her dagger off her nightstand and put it inside her boot safely. She walked out of the room and to the bar to find James, Trett, and Kashiko already there.
"Morning, 'Kaneko'," James said with a wink. Linea smiled and sat beside them at their table. They had bought some fruit, soup, meat, and juice already. Linea took some meat and drank some juice every now and then between bites. She hadn't realized how hungry she was.
The bartender walked up to their table and said, "Anything else yer group needs?" Linea shook her head kindly. "Awright then. Yer group going to the public ball here?" Linea gave a quizzical look. "Ah, travelers yeh must be." James nodded, while eating some meat off a turkey leg. "Well, there's a public ball tonight at the palace. You should think about attendin'." He took the empty steel mugs and took them to the back.
"Sounds like fun," Trett said. Linea shook her head.
"We don't have time to goof around," She argued flatly.
"Oh c'mon," James retorted. Linea sighed. "It'll be fun!" James nudged Kashiko. Kashiko blushed and bopped James. "Ouch! Please?" Linea shook her head. James gave a puppy dog face, and finally Linea gave in.
"Alright! But we'll have to travel during the night to make up for lost time." Linea said, tired of James' begging. James smiled happily, and finished off the turkey leg. Trett decided to be silly.
"Achoo!" Trett said, pretending to sneeze in James' soup. "Were you gonna eat that?" Trett asked, smiling, showing his teeth.
"Err… now I'm not," James said, scooting the bowl towards Trett. Trett smiled big and slurped some of the soup out of a wooden spoon.
"I'm going to the market place. I guess if we're going, I'm going to dress properly…" Linea stated. Trett nearly spit out his soup, and James nearly choked on a bite of meat.
"You mean… in a dress!?!??!?!" James exclaimed. Linea nodded slowly. "My Goddess Kysta…" He whispered.
"Be back in a little bit," She said, walking out the door.
Linea was in the market place, looking for something nice to wear. She didn't know why she was so concerned how she looked, but she knew she wanted to look nice. And she needed to think about Kashiko. Why was he so familiar? Linea noticed a small store with a wooden sign saying "Dresses here!" She decided to walk in and look around. Her mouth hung open at all the colorful dresses. They were sorted in order by their color and fabric. She walked over to the velvet area and looked at the dark red dresses. She held one up, her size, and decided to try it on.
She walked into a small room to try it. It had a slit in both sides, covered with white fabric trimmed in a gold lace. A gold colored tie was around the waist, and the sleeves went gracefully to her fingertips. It had an attached red velvet cape. She decided to look at more before deciding. She looked at the sky-blue colored ones. She saw another just like the red one, but trimmed all in gold lace, and the sleeves had a puffy part at the shoulder, which she wasn't fond of. She decided to keep the red one.
"Do we have to buy nice clothes?" Trett complained. "I like the non-itchy clothes like these." Trett pointed to his baggy pants and shirt. Kashiko laughed.
"Well, you want to make a good impression in front of the other people, don't you?" James asked, looking around, and noticing a small store where some nice outfits were, suitable for a ball. They walked silently inside. Trett noticed some tights and gagged. James and Kashiko laughed. Instead, Trett noticed some nice pale green pants to go with a white shirt and a matching green tunic with patterns on it, and long sleeves. He decided he liked it. James and Kashiko both bought the same thing, but in different colors. Kashiko's were maroon pants, white shirt, and a maroon tunic. James had black pants, navy blue shirt, and a black tunic. They purchased the outfits and walked back to the inn.
It came 7 o'clock, a half-hour before the ball. Linea was dressed in the red gown she bought, and the guys were dressed in their outfits. Linea wanting her outfit to be a surprise, so she told them to go and meet her at the ball, instead of wait for her.
"SilverWing!" Linea called, as the falcon perched on her hand. She was wearing the elegant dress she had bought. "What do you think?"
Very nice, Linea, SilverWing replied. Are you going to use cosmetics? Linea nodded slowly, and got out a small mirror and pulled out red make-ups she had bought. She applied pinkish eye shadow, red lipstick, and even some blush on. She went to a full-length mirror and admired herself.
"Wow…" She said with admiration. "I look… good, in a dress." The falcon cawed in approval. "Well, you stay here, SilverWing. I must go now."
Bye Linea, it cawed back, be sure you have fun!
"I will," Linea said, closing the door.
Linea arrived at the palace and stared at the gleaming pillars of peach colors. People still were going into the palace. She followed them, lifting her dress as she climbed up the stairs. Many women were dresses in whites and blues. And even some people in silver. She followed them into a large room that was filled with orchestral music and people waltzing. Linea noticed James and them, their backs facing from Linea. She grinned and walked over to them.
"Hello gentlemen," Linea greeted them. Trett turned around and nearly dropped his wine glass.
"L—err…is that you, KANEKO?" James exclaimed.
"Naw, I'm bartender Bob!" Linea said, jokingly. Kashiko smiled. "I'm going to go get something to drink, be right back." Linea walked away and found a table with a punch bowl and poured herself something to drink.
Linea turned around and accidentally bumped into a lady, who looked about 19. "I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," Linea said hurriedly, while getting up off the ground.
"Oh, that's okay," The woman said. She had a dark blue dress, and her brown hair was braided with silver ribbons entwined with it. "I'm Terra."
"Kaneko, I'm a traveler," Linea said. Terra smiled.
"So am I," Terra said. Linea and Terra stood talking for quite awhile, about where they traveled and about what they were looking for.
Suddenly, A man walked over to Terra. He was tall and had black hair that was neatly combed, with a set of brown eyes. He was very muscular, too.
"Would you like to dance?" The man asked Terra. Terra blushed and smiled, nodding. She waved to Linea as she walked off with the man. Linea grinned. Linea watched the two dance gracefully.
I wish I knew where Selryam was… Linea thought. Ever since Selryam moved, she missed him terribly. I don't even know where he moved…
"Care to dance, M'Lady?" A voice said to her, interrupting her thoughts. It was Kashiko. He held out his hand kindly. Linea hesitated, before smiling and taking his hand. Kashiko grinned his charming smile at Linea. He led her out to a spot on the dance floor. He out a hand on her waist, she put a hand on his shoulder, and their other 2 hands were clasped. They waltz for a couple of minutes before Kashiko spoke again. "Is something bothering you?" Linea hesitated to his question again.
"…Yes, something is…" Linea said. Kashiko shifted to face a different direction.
"What is it?" He whispered. Linea looked up into his eyes. His kind eyes were so familiar…
"Uh… it's nothing, really," Linea assured him.
"If you insist," Kashiko said with a small grin. The song stopped, and was replaced by a slow tempo waltz. Kashiko still danced with Linea, and Linea caught Terra and the young man walking off to the palace gardens at the corner of her eye.
"So…" Linea started. "Why did you follow us, Kashiko?"
Kashiko did a small laugh. "I will tell you soon. Possibly even tonight." He whispered quietly.
"Just tell me," Linea said, grinning. "Please?"
"You will know soon enough," he replied back, slowly swaying Linea to the music. Linea smiled.
"I hope so," She said. Kashiko nodded. Kashiko's brown-yellow eyes held a secret deep within. "Are you hiding something?" She whispered to him. Kashiko grinned slyly.
"Perhaps." He said simply. Suddenly, Kashiko had a flashback.
"I'm going to miss you, Selryam." A younger Linea said. "Be sure you come back."
A younger Kashiko grinned. "Do not worry so much, Linea." He picked up Linea's chin from looking down. "I will come back." Kashiko was only about 15 then, and Linea was 14. "I promise." Kashiko hugged Linea good-bye, and went off on horseback into the misty grayness of the world.
Kashiko shook his head. "What's wrong?" Linea asked.
"Nothing…" Kashiko lied. Linea nodded. The song ended, and Kashiko put his hands back down by his waist. "I'm going to get something to eat…" Kashiko said. Linea nodded, and watched him walk off.
Selryam…where are you… Linea thought. Nobody had known about her secret liking for Selryam. She missed him dearly, and wished he were there by her side to comfort her. Is this the whole reason of my escaping from the castle? It was true, that her land was dying, and she cared for it so. But she didn't know if this journey was about Selryam too. She almost cried at the thought of his face.
Linea bumped into Terra again a few minutes later while getting something to eat. "So, what was that man's name?" Linea asked curiously.
Terra smiled and answered, "Zynat. He is so kind and caring, and not one of them dogs out on the streets that could care less about your personality. We are so much alike too." (In medieval times, being called a dog was a bad insult ;o)
Kashiko came back to Linea and asked to dance again. Linea accepted and joined him to dance. "So tell me, what secret do you hold?" Linea said. Kashiko laughed.
"I am…" he leaned to her ear and mumbled 3 syllables. Linea's eye widened, and filled with tears.
"Sel… Selryam?" She whispered. Kashiko nodded. Linea hugged him around the neck as quickly as someone would have blinked. Kashiko hugged her back. "I missed you so much!! Where were you for so long?!"
"Shh…" He said, pulling her away from him gently. "It's okay, Linea. I'm right here. So stop acting like I'm across the world." Linea grinned at him.
"I just… Hadn't seen you in so long," Linea said, wiping tears of happiness on her sleeve. "I'm glad you're back." Kashiko grinned widely.
"And what vivid friends you have made over the years," Kashiko said. Linea laughed.
"Yea… quite vivid," She grinned. "I'm going back to the Phoenix Fyre Inn. I'm tired, after all this dancing." Kashiko did a light laugh.
"I am tired as well," He replied with a yawn. James and Trett walked up to them.
"We're going back," James announced. Linea nodded and yawned.
"I'll meet you 3 back, I need to take care of something first," Linea said. The men nodded and walked off back to the Phoenix Fyre Inn. Linea walked over to Terra and Zynat sitting down talking. "Hey Terra, are you any good at any weapons?"
"Um, yes, the bow and arrows…" She stated. "Why do you ask?" Linea grinned.
"Are you travelers or permanent housed citizens?" She asked them.
"I'm a traveler," Zynat replied. Terra nodded, as in 'me too'.
"Then will you join my group and I in our journey? I will tell you more later."
Zynat looked at Terra. Terra smiled. "We need a little excitement. We'll join you," Zynat said, grinning. Linea smiled ear to ear.
"Excellent!" She exclaimed, and she ran back off to catch up with her friends.
~**Author's Note**~: If you're confused about Kashiko and Linea, here's what: Linea and Selryam (Same person as Kashiko! :oP) were best friends since they were about 10, and when Kashiko turned 15, he had to move, and while he was gone, Linea discovered her hidden feelings for him. Thus comes to here. ^_^
Linea turned on her side in her bed. The sun spilled through the window, and landed softly upon her bed. She opened her eyes, squinting against the light. She yawned and sat up. She put her feet on the ground and reached for her bag for new clothes. She quickly changed into a shirt and pants, and put her boots on. She grabbed her dagger off her nightstand and put it inside her boot safely. She walked out of the room and to the bar to find James, Trett, and Kashiko already there.
"Morning, 'Kaneko'," James said with a wink. Linea smiled and sat beside them at their table. They had bought some fruit, soup, meat, and juice already. Linea took some meat and drank some juice every now and then between bites. She hadn't realized how hungry she was.
The bartender walked up to their table and said, "Anything else yer group needs?" Linea shook her head kindly. "Awright then. Yer group going to the public ball here?" Linea gave a quizzical look. "Ah, travelers yeh must be." James nodded, while eating some meat off a turkey leg. "Well, there's a public ball tonight at the palace. You should think about attendin'." He took the empty steel mugs and took them to the back.
"Sounds like fun," Trett said. Linea shook her head.
"We don't have time to goof around," She argued flatly.
"Oh c'mon," James retorted. Linea sighed. "It'll be fun!" James nudged Kashiko. Kashiko blushed and bopped James. "Ouch! Please?" Linea shook her head. James gave a puppy dog face, and finally Linea gave in.
"Alright! But we'll have to travel during the night to make up for lost time." Linea said, tired of James' begging. James smiled happily, and finished off the turkey leg. Trett decided to be silly.
"Achoo!" Trett said, pretending to sneeze in James' soup. "Were you gonna eat that?" Trett asked, smiling, showing his teeth.
"Err… now I'm not," James said, scooting the bowl towards Trett. Trett smiled big and slurped some of the soup out of a wooden spoon.
"I'm going to the market place. I guess if we're going, I'm going to dress properly…" Linea stated. Trett nearly spit out his soup, and James nearly choked on a bite of meat.
"You mean… in a dress!?!??!?!" James exclaimed. Linea nodded slowly. "My Goddess Kysta…" He whispered.
"Be back in a little bit," She said, walking out the door.
Linea was in the market place, looking for something nice to wear. She didn't know why she was so concerned how she looked, but she knew she wanted to look nice. And she needed to think about Kashiko. Why was he so familiar? Linea noticed a small store with a wooden sign saying "Dresses here!" She decided to walk in and look around. Her mouth hung open at all the colorful dresses. They were sorted in order by their color and fabric. She walked over to the velvet area and looked at the dark red dresses. She held one up, her size, and decided to try it on.
She walked into a small room to try it. It had a slit in both sides, covered with white fabric trimmed in a gold lace. A gold colored tie was around the waist, and the sleeves went gracefully to her fingertips. It had an attached red velvet cape. She decided to look at more before deciding. She looked at the sky-blue colored ones. She saw another just like the red one, but trimmed all in gold lace, and the sleeves had a puffy part at the shoulder, which she wasn't fond of. She decided to keep the red one.
"Do we have to buy nice clothes?" Trett complained. "I like the non-itchy clothes like these." Trett pointed to his baggy pants and shirt. Kashiko laughed.
"Well, you want to make a good impression in front of the other people, don't you?" James asked, looking around, and noticing a small store where some nice outfits were, suitable for a ball. They walked silently inside. Trett noticed some tights and gagged. James and Kashiko laughed. Instead, Trett noticed some nice pale green pants to go with a white shirt and a matching green tunic with patterns on it, and long sleeves. He decided he liked it. James and Kashiko both bought the same thing, but in different colors. Kashiko's were maroon pants, white shirt, and a maroon tunic. James had black pants, navy blue shirt, and a black tunic. They purchased the outfits and walked back to the inn.
It came 7 o'clock, a half-hour before the ball. Linea was dressed in the red gown she bought, and the guys were dressed in their outfits. Linea wanting her outfit to be a surprise, so she told them to go and meet her at the ball, instead of wait for her.
"SilverWing!" Linea called, as the falcon perched on her hand. She was wearing the elegant dress she had bought. "What do you think?"
Very nice, Linea, SilverWing replied. Are you going to use cosmetics? Linea nodded slowly, and got out a small mirror and pulled out red make-ups she had bought. She applied pinkish eye shadow, red lipstick, and even some blush on. She went to a full-length mirror and admired herself.
"Wow…" She said with admiration. "I look… good, in a dress." The falcon cawed in approval. "Well, you stay here, SilverWing. I must go now."
Bye Linea, it cawed back, be sure you have fun!
"I will," Linea said, closing the door.
Linea arrived at the palace and stared at the gleaming pillars of peach colors. People still were going into the palace. She followed them, lifting her dress as she climbed up the stairs. Many women were dresses in whites and blues. And even some people in silver. She followed them into a large room that was filled with orchestral music and people waltzing. Linea noticed James and them, their backs facing from Linea. She grinned and walked over to them.
"Hello gentlemen," Linea greeted them. Trett turned around and nearly dropped his wine glass.
"L—err…is that you, KANEKO?" James exclaimed.
"Naw, I'm bartender Bob!" Linea said, jokingly. Kashiko smiled. "I'm going to go get something to drink, be right back." Linea walked away and found a table with a punch bowl and poured herself something to drink.
Linea turned around and accidentally bumped into a lady, who looked about 19. "I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," Linea said hurriedly, while getting up off the ground.
"Oh, that's okay," The woman said. She had a dark blue dress, and her brown hair was braided with silver ribbons entwined with it. "I'm Terra."
"Kaneko, I'm a traveler," Linea said. Terra smiled.
"So am I," Terra said. Linea and Terra stood talking for quite awhile, about where they traveled and about what they were looking for.
Suddenly, A man walked over to Terra. He was tall and had black hair that was neatly combed, with a set of brown eyes. He was very muscular, too.
"Would you like to dance?" The man asked Terra. Terra blushed and smiled, nodding. She waved to Linea as she walked off with the man. Linea grinned. Linea watched the two dance gracefully.
I wish I knew where Selryam was… Linea thought. Ever since Selryam moved, she missed him terribly. I don't even know where he moved…
"Care to dance, M'Lady?" A voice said to her, interrupting her thoughts. It was Kashiko. He held out his hand kindly. Linea hesitated, before smiling and taking his hand. Kashiko grinned his charming smile at Linea. He led her out to a spot on the dance floor. He out a hand on her waist, she put a hand on his shoulder, and their other 2 hands were clasped. They waltz for a couple of minutes before Kashiko spoke again. "Is something bothering you?" Linea hesitated to his question again.
"…Yes, something is…" Linea said. Kashiko shifted to face a different direction.
"What is it?" He whispered. Linea looked up into his eyes. His kind eyes were so familiar…
"Uh… it's nothing, really," Linea assured him.
"If you insist," Kashiko said with a small grin. The song stopped, and was replaced by a slow tempo waltz. Kashiko still danced with Linea, and Linea caught Terra and the young man walking off to the palace gardens at the corner of her eye.
"So…" Linea started. "Why did you follow us, Kashiko?"
Kashiko did a small laugh. "I will tell you soon. Possibly even tonight." He whispered quietly.
"Just tell me," Linea said, grinning. "Please?"
"You will know soon enough," he replied back, slowly swaying Linea to the music. Linea smiled.
"I hope so," She said. Kashiko nodded. Kashiko's brown-yellow eyes held a secret deep within. "Are you hiding something?" She whispered to him. Kashiko grinned slyly.
"Perhaps." He said simply. Suddenly, Kashiko had a flashback.
"I'm going to miss you, Selryam." A younger Linea said. "Be sure you come back."
A younger Kashiko grinned. "Do not worry so much, Linea." He picked up Linea's chin from looking down. "I will come back." Kashiko was only about 15 then, and Linea was 14. "I promise." Kashiko hugged Linea good-bye, and went off on horseback into the misty grayness of the world.
Kashiko shook his head. "What's wrong?" Linea asked.
"Nothing…" Kashiko lied. Linea nodded. The song ended, and Kashiko put his hands back down by his waist. "I'm going to get something to eat…" Kashiko said. Linea nodded, and watched him walk off.
Selryam…where are you… Linea thought. Nobody had known about her secret liking for Selryam. She missed him dearly, and wished he were there by her side to comfort her. Is this the whole reason of my escaping from the castle? It was true, that her land was dying, and she cared for it so. But she didn't know if this journey was about Selryam too. She almost cried at the thought of his face.
Linea bumped into Terra again a few minutes later while getting something to eat. "So, what was that man's name?" Linea asked curiously.
Terra smiled and answered, "Zynat. He is so kind and caring, and not one of them dogs out on the streets that could care less about your personality. We are so much alike too." (In medieval times, being called a dog was a bad insult ;o)
Kashiko came back to Linea and asked to dance again. Linea accepted and joined him to dance. "So tell me, what secret do you hold?" Linea said. Kashiko laughed.
"I am…" he leaned to her ear and mumbled 3 syllables. Linea's eye widened, and filled with tears.
"Sel… Selryam?" She whispered. Kashiko nodded. Linea hugged him around the neck as quickly as someone would have blinked. Kashiko hugged her back. "I missed you so much!! Where were you for so long?!"
"Shh…" He said, pulling her away from him gently. "It's okay, Linea. I'm right here. So stop acting like I'm across the world." Linea grinned at him.
"I just… Hadn't seen you in so long," Linea said, wiping tears of happiness on her sleeve. "I'm glad you're back." Kashiko grinned widely.
"And what vivid friends you have made over the years," Kashiko said. Linea laughed.
"Yea… quite vivid," She grinned. "I'm going back to the Phoenix Fyre Inn. I'm tired, after all this dancing." Kashiko did a light laugh.
"I am tired as well," He replied with a yawn. James and Trett walked up to them.
"We're going back," James announced. Linea nodded and yawned.
"I'll meet you 3 back, I need to take care of something first," Linea said. The men nodded and walked off back to the Phoenix Fyre Inn. Linea walked over to Terra and Zynat sitting down talking. "Hey Terra, are you any good at any weapons?"
"Um, yes, the bow and arrows…" She stated. "Why do you ask?" Linea grinned.
"Are you travelers or permanent housed citizens?" She asked them.
"I'm a traveler," Zynat replied. Terra nodded, as in 'me too'.
"Then will you join my group and I in our journey? I will tell you more later."
Zynat looked at Terra. Terra smiled. "We need a little excitement. We'll join you," Zynat said, grinning. Linea smiled ear to ear.
"Excellent!" She exclaimed, and she ran back off to catch up with her friends.
~**Author's Note**~: If you're confused about Kashiko and Linea, here's what: Linea and Selryam (Same person as Kashiko! :oP) were best friends since they were about 10, and when Kashiko turned 15, he had to move, and while he was gone, Linea discovered her hidden feelings for him. Thus comes to here. ^_^