Author Note: I am happy with the response I have recieved for the character contest, but I would still like to see some more. I need a major villian and any other characters you want to send in. I will take the best few, and use them in the story once this section about the True Texas Cowboy Competition is over. Also, this chapter of the story contains two songs. For those kind enough to send substantail reviews I will send a digital copy of the first song. Just make a note of it in your review if you are interested in the song. I will offer the song until 1st of June, 2006. After that, your out of luck.
Chapter 9
Country Comes to Town
Sly and the gang practiced with Sadie for the rest of the day, and into the night. When they finally got done they were ready for the music competition. The way it worked out, Bentley was back on drums, Murray was on bass guitar, Sadie was on her fiddle, and Sly sung. Blain used his magic to animate several other instruments, making them float in the air and play by themselves. Still, most of the music would have to be done by Sly and the others.
The next morning, the gang woke up slowly. Blain sent Tennessee back to the spirit world. It was a bit sad to see him leave, but Tennessee promised to tell Sly's father know just how great of thief he had become. The gang was able to spend the rest of the day relaxing as they waited for the music competition. It would happen later in the evening, the first band having to perform right around 6:00
Blain spent the day practicing the songs. Making several instruments play at once was easy, but making them play well was a lot harder. Murray and Bentley were content to help Sadie down in the motels lobby while Sly was going to spend the day talking with Carmelita.
It took a while, but Sly finally had their room to himself. He took out Carmelita's book of knowledge, gently holding it in his hands as he cracked the pages open. He began to flip through the pages, looking for Carmelita. He finally found her in the living room of the house inside the book. She was dressed in some blue jeans and a gray tank top. She had one of her CD's playing on the stereo while she practiced some form of self defense.
Sly smiled, wondering if he should interrupt Carmelita's workout when she turned, and saw him looking at her through the pages. Carmelita turned to face Sly, wiping some sweat from her forehead, "Hey Sly."
Sly continued to smile, picking up a freshly sharpened pencil and wrote, "Hey Carmelita, how are you doing?"
(Note: for this section things Sly has to write will be italicized. Carmelita's responses are written words, but unlike Sly she is actually saying them, and they are being translated into written text.)
Carmelita shrugged, "I'm doing pretty good, though I must admit I am getting a little stir crazy in here."
Sly chuckled, "I can imagine. So, what are you listening to, the book says you have some music playing on the stereo."
"Just one of my old CD's. Speaking of music, how did your band practice go last night?"
"It went fine. I think we have a good shot at winning. Still, the song Blain wants us to play for our preliminaries is a solo song, but he has rewritten it as a duet. A duet between a girl and a guy. Sadie says she is willing to play the fiddle for us, but she won't sing."
Carmelita looked questioningly up at Sly, "Who is Sadie?"
"Don't worry Carmelita. She is just a nice rattlesnake that is going to help us by playing the fiddle. It was all Blain's idea anyway."
Carmelita crossed her arms, but then nodded her head, "All right Ringtail, I can believe that. Still, then what are you going to do about the duet in the song."
"I don't know. Blain says that if worse comes to worse, I can sing its solo version, but he says it will loose almost all of its power if it's sung by one person."
Carmelita uncrossed her arms, and began to think. After a few minutes she said, "Sly, can you take my book to Blain. I want to ask him something."
Sly blinked his eyes a few times, a little surprised, but then nodded his head as he picked Carmelita's book of knowledge up, and began to look for Blain. He finally found the panther on the roof, meditating as trumpet played something in front of him. When Sly walked up, the trumpet stopped and Blain asked, "What is it Sly?"
Sly held Carmelita's book out to Blain, "Carmelita wanted to ask you something."
Blain turned around, raising his eyebrow as he looked at the book. He then took it form Sly, opening it up in his arms as he made a pen appear in the air beside him. He jotted a few quick notes to Carmelita, and then read her response. Blain began to smile, an idea beginning to hatch in his head. He looked up at Sly and said, "That duet of yours, just practice your part normally. Carmelita just gave me a solution to our problem of finding a female singer."
Sly shrugged shoulders, taking Carmelita's book from Blain before he stood up, and the pair began to walk toward their room. Blain had a lot of work to do if he was going to be ready for that night, but it would easily be worth it to see the expression on Sly's face.
Soon, it was time for the big show. People were coming from all over just for the music competition. Sly and the gang arrived at the stadium an hour before they were supposed to go on. Bentley and Murray were dressed in their usual cowboy get ups while Blain was in a set of black pants, black shirt, black boots, and black hat. Sly was dressed a little more casually, wearing a pair of blue jeans, a dark blue button down shirt, and a belt the Cooper gang logo as the belt buckle.
They all had their instruments except for Bentley, who had some of the stage hands bring his drums up. Sadie began tuning her violin while Blain moved over to a wall on the stage, and began to draw a very complex design. Along with his guitar, he was also carrying Carmelita's book.
It was almost time for them to go on when Blain finished the last of his mystic symbols. He had drawn probably twenty symbols around the stage, and five more out in the audience. They were drawn by magic, so no one would be able to destroy them, but it still took a lot of time. Sly tried several times to ask what Blain was planning, but he just smiled and kept going about his business.
Then, before Sly could get even a clue out of Blain, it was time for the show. The gang moved onto the stage as the previous band moved off. The crowd gave them a kind applause, some of it left over from the previous band. The audience and the judges all wanted to go home. Most of the bands had been absolutely atrocious, with only a few good ones amongst the dirt.
Sly and the gang were set up in a few minutes, and then Sly passed the microphone to Blain. Blain walked up to the front of the stage, holding the cordless microphone close to his mouth as he said, "I hope that all of you are enjoying yourselves tonight. Now, all the previous bands have played very upbeat numbers, but now we are going to slow it down. Before I announce are song though, may I introduce the person who will be singing, Sly 'Tennessee Kid' Cooper."
The crowd applauded, and Sly waved a bit. Blain waited for the applause to die a bit before he continued, "Now, I am proud to present the song, 'When Two People Fall in Love'. This song was originally played by the famous Brad Paisley. Tonight, we are going to present our own rendition of the song, with a special surprise.
The crowd began to applaud as Blain handed the microphone back to Sly, and picked up his instrument. In a few moments, Sadie began to play on her violin. Blain, Murray, and Bentley joined in, the sounds combing into the songs intro. Sly listened to the music for a few more moments, letting the others finish the intro before he looked up at the audience, and sang.
A baby's born in the middle of the night in a local delivery room
They grab his feet, smack him till he cries, he goes home the next afternoon
Before you know it he's off to school and then he graduates in May
Goes out and gets a Ph.D. and then cures all sorts of things
Wins a Nobel Prize and saves a million different lives
The world's a better place for all he's done
It's funny when you think about the reason he's alive
Is all because two people fell in love
Right now at a picnic shelter down by canyon creek
You'll find potato salad, hot dogs and baked beans
The whole Wilson family's lined up filling there paper plates
They drove or flown in here from 15 different states
Stanley Wilson said that sixty years ago he knew
The Miss Sama Tucker was the one
Now, five generations get together every June
And all because two people fell in love
Yea there ain't nothing not affected
When two hearts get connected
All that is, will be, or ever was
Every single choice we make
Every breath we get to take
Is all because two people fell in love
Sly paused, letting Blain, Sadie, and Murray play a small musical interlude. He was just about to start singing when he heard a female voice from behind him sing.
I was a young woman floating along through life
I had a career, a car, and a place to call my home
I thought I had everything I wanted, that I would ever need
That is until the day I found someone I would never expect
He stole my heart, and now I am beginning to see the world through new eyes
And all because two people fell in love
Sly turned around, and his eyes widened when he saw Carmelita walking up the stage. He looked back at Blain, who smiled and whispered, "It's only temporary, and she can't leave the stage. I'll tell you more later. Now, I think you need to start singing. It's time for your duet."
Sly nodded his head, turning to look at Carmelita as she stopped beside him. She had a western outfit on, but still she looked very beautiful. Carmelita smiled at him, holding a microphone up. Sly smiled back at her, and raised his microphone before they both sang:
Yea there ain't nothing not affected
When two hearts get connected
All that is, will be, or ever was
Every single choice we make
Every breath we get to take
Is all because two people fell in love.
Carmelita lowered her microphone as Sly kept singing,
I recall several years ago, when my family was ripped away from me
I went to an orphanage, and found those I call my friends
Still, there was something I was lacking
A hole in my heart that nothing could fill
Then, my eyes fell on a person I was supposed to hate
We were rivals by jobs, enemies by fate
Still, nothing could stop me from growing closer to her
And it's all because two people fell in love
Carmelita and Sly paused a second, letting the crowd cheer a bit. Then, they turned to face each other, smiling as they sand, there voices intertwining to make the most beautiful sound you could imagine
Ya know to me it's all so clear
Every one of us is here
All because two people fell in love
Everything that is, will be, or ever was
Every single choice we make
Every breath we take
Is all because two people fell in love
The song ended, and the crowd began to erupt in applause. Carmelita and Sly smiled at each other, but neither could bring themselves to say what was boiling in their minds. Eventually, the gang got moved off the stage.
Once back stage, Blain explained that he used his magic, the many mystic symbols around the stage, and a mixture of shaman magic and light to project Carmelita's soul. Basically, Carmelita's never left her book, but her soul was linked to the hologram Blain had created through his magic. Everything was real, Carmelita could feel, hear, and see everything. The only thing wrong with her body was that it couldn't leave the stage area, and it was nothing but light. Had Sly tried to touch her, his hand would have passed right through.
Blain said it was also a one time deal. He had spent far too much magic casting the spell. He would have to meditate for several hours to bring his magic back up to decent levels. Still, Blain could not forget the look on Sly's face when he saw Carmelita walking up the stage. It was priceless.
Well, the gang decided to call it a night. They all rode back to the motel. Carmelita's temporary body disappeared the second Blain took her book of the stage. It was a quite ride back to the motel, and the whole time Sly's mind was buzzing.
Sly couldn't spend much more of the night thinking about it, because soon they had gotten back to the motel and were trying to get some sleep. Sly couldn't however. His mind was filled with far too many thoughts.
Sly began to realize just how much Carmelita meant to him. The song had broken down a wall that had formed around his heart. Sure, he flirted with Carmelita, but that was just a very small piece that had escaped from his heart. The wall was the idea that he was a thief, and she was a cop. Even if he wanted to, they could never be together. Sly was supposed to be in jail, and Carmelita was the cop that was supposed to put him behind bars.
Still, now that Sly began to tear down the wall around his heart, he began to see there wasn't anything he wouldn't do if it meant he could save Carmelita's life. Sly sat up from his bed, and began put his head into his hands. He needed to talk to someone about it, but who. He didn't dare talk to Carmelita, at least not yet. Sly then heard something come from the roof. It was the sound of a fiddle playing a slow, mournful song. Blain was supposed to be on the roof, meditating. Sadie must have been up there as well, playing her violin. Sly paused a second, and then got dressed in his usual blue T-shirt before sneaking across the room. Maybe he could talk to them.
Sly walked onto the motel's roof as Sadie finished playing. Sadie looked up at Sly, and smiled as she said, "Sly, shouldn't you be in bed." Blain, who was meditating in the middle of the roof, opened one of his eyes and watched as Sly walked across the roof.
Sly rubbed the back of his neck as he walked over to Sadie. She was sitting on a small ledge that rimmed the motel's roof, and Sly leaned up against it, "I just need to clear my head."
Blain opened his other eye, and looked at Sly with a questioning look, "Clear it of what Sly?"
Sly sighed, "Just some confusing thoughts, about Carmelita."
Blain and Sadie glanced at each other, suddenly gaining a new understanding of the situation. Blain stood up, brushing his pants off as he said, "What's the matter Sly?"
Sly sighed again, trying to collect his thoughts. Even talking to Sadie and Blain about it was hard. He didn't want to imagine how hard it would be to even mention it to Carmelita. Finally, Sly managed to say, "It's just, she has been chasing after me for years now. Each time I see her, we have a small bout of flirty chit-chat, and then we go about our usual game of cops and robbers. I guess when we sang that song together, it showed me something. Carmelita means a lot to me, thieving wouldn't be the same without her."
Sadie smiled, "but, you didn't realize how much she actually meant to you."
Sly blinked, "Yeah, that's right, but how did you know."
Blain leaned up against the low wall, looking over at Sly, "Sadie and I were just talking about that. Trust me, we know how it feels."
Sly looked a bit surprised, "Really."
Sadie nodded her head, "It's more like we know what its like to leave those emotions bottled up so long, and then never have the chance to tell the one we love about them."
Sadie sighed, her mind working back down memory lane, "It was ten years ago, back when I was still a young woman. I was terribly in love with Will, a rattlesnake guy I had met at a rodeo. We had hit it off instantly, and had been dating for a year. Finally, he got up the nerve to propose to me. The wedding was going to be in November, but I never got to see my wedding day. Two Ton Tom talked Will into entering the True Texas Cowboy competition, and then was killed in the Roping competition. I still have my wedding dress. It's just hanging in my closet next to the black dress I wore to the funeral."
Sly was speechless, but it didn't end there. Blain took a deep breath, "Like you Sly, my parents were ripped away by someone. Mz. Ruby had killed them, but she didn't know about me. I had been living at a relative's at the time, and was spared. While I was there, I met someone that changed my life. Her name was Lucy. I was volunteering at the local hospital with my uncle when I met her. Lucy was a little girl, a few years younger then me at the time, who was terminally ill. She became the little sister I never had until one day, I was coming in to read her a story when I saw her room had been cleaned, and the bed was empty. Lucy had died, her small body finally giving out from the strain of the illness. On some nights, I just stay up and wish I could have said that one final good-bye. With my power, I could have easily brought her back like I brought Tennessee back, but it didn't make a difference. I should have been with her when she left for real, when she needed me the most."
Sadie rested a hand on Sly's shoulder, "Sly, we do not want you to worry about us. We are telling you these things in hopes of warning you. If you having feelings for Carmelita tell her. If you don't, those things that were left unsaid will haunt you for the rest of your life."
Sly stood up, walking across the rooftop as he stared at the moon, "Still, I just can't bring myself to say anything to her more then some flirty comments. I just can't."
Blain began to walk towards Sly, "Yes, it always like that at first. Through out our childhood we learn to express happiness, sadness, pain, and suffering. What we don't learn how to express is true love. It is a love we can not share not with our parents or grandparents. It is a love that can only shared between two people."
Sly stared up at the moon for a few more minutes, and then looked back at Sadie and Blain, "Thank you. Thank you for listening."
Sadie smiled, "Don't mention it Sly. Now, you better run off to bed. We find out tomorrow morning who made it into the finals for the band competition, and also the ten people who are in the finals for the rodeo part of the competition."
Sly nodded his head, and then turned and walked toward the door. Sadie and Blain watched Sly walk down the stairs, closing the door behind him. Sadie sighed, "I am glad we could help him, but that has brought up so many memories."
Blain nodded his head, "Yeah, it is like digging up a grave. We see the bones of the past, and we might as well be reliving the things that torment us the most. No amount of good memories can over power the memories that haunt us, the ones we would rather forget."
Blain stared up at the stars, getting lost in the grand tapestry of the sky. Sadie reached down, and picked up her violin. She began to play it, using the music the ease the pain in her heart. Blain perked his ears, he knew that song. It was pretty new, and it seemed to be perfect for the situation. Blain turned to look at Sadie and said, "I know that song. It's from Rascal Flatts, isn't it?"
Sadie nodded her head, "Yeah. I know it's new, but it I couldn't help learning it the second I heard it. I had to listen to it ten times to get it right."
Blain smiled, "Start it again. If you are trying to relieve the pain, I might as well join you." Sadie nodded her head as Blain turned away. His eyes began to glow white. As Sadie used her music to ease the pain, Blain used his magic. A bright mystical symbol appeared on the roof of the hotel as Sadie began to play. Blain began to move his hands around, the magic flowing like great ribbons. Then, the air began to fill with something more then just the music from Sadie's violin. The sounds of other instruments began to join with the violins, and it sounded like a great orchestra. Then, with the music began to mix voices. The voices began to sing the song as the magic from Blain's hands began to erupt into the night sky, and create a great show of light and sound.
I can take the rain the roof of this empty house
That don't bother me
I can take a few tears now and then
And just let them out.
I'm not afraid to cry, every once in a while
Even though going on with you gone
Still upsets me
There are days, every now and again I pretend I'm okay
But that's not what gets me
Colors of red and blue began to mix in the night sky, taking the shape of two people. It was a man and a woman, and they were wrapped up in each others arm. Then, the woman just disappeared from the man's arms.
What hurts the most, was being so close
And having so much to say
And watching you walk away
And never knowing, what could have
And not seeing that loving you
Is what I was trying to do
The image of the man broke apart, turning into ribbons of many different colors that began to fly across the sky, intertwining with each other in a sorrowful dance
It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go
But I'm doing it
It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone
Still harder getting up, getting dressed, living with this regret
But I know if I could do it over
I would trade, give away all the words that I saved in my heart
That I left unspoken
The song began to reach its climax, and so did Blain's magic. The sky was filled with a hundred different colors. Then, they formed back into the two lovers. They stood there for a few moments again, and then the woman pushed away from the man, and physically walked away.
What hurts the most is being so close
And having so much to say
And watching you walk away
And never knowing, what could have been
And not seeing that loving you
Is what I was trying to do
The chorus began to repeat for the final time, Blain summoned a great final surge of magic. The mystical circle around him began to glow brightly four spires of light shot up, high into the sky.
What hurts the most is being so close
And having so much to say
And watching you walk away
And never knowing, what could have been
And not seeing that loving you
Is what I was trying to do
The four beams began to spin around, intertwining. Then, when the four beams touched, they burst apart. Ribbons of light shot across the sky, flowing through the streets of Silver Ridge like a great wind. Then, just as the song was ending, all the ribbons came back, and formed into a single ball of light above the roof of the hotel. Sadie then stopped playing, and the world fell silent as the ball of light slowly dimmed and then disappeared into the night.
Blain turned back to Sadie, sighing, "Come on, we better get inside." Sadie nodded her head, standing up before she followed Blain over to the stairs. The pair then went inside the hotel, Sadie shutting the door to the roof before going down the stairs. No one else had seen what happened in the night sky over Silver Ridge, but Sadie knew it was something she would never forget. It was like looking at a painting, with each brush stroke a new emotion was revealed. It was the most beautiful thing she had seen. It was a masterpiece in the sky, painted with emotion and magic.