Chapter 11

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The troupe was well, and happy to see me again—even cranky Andrea enjoyed my company. As for Metis, she was thrilled that I was doing so well at the academy.

"Mona Tiffany is the headmistress now? No way! She was my physics teacher when I was, like, 16!" she exclaimed. "She's a great woman, isn't she?"

"She's been very helpful," I agreed.

"Ya know," Shika, the graceful Eblanese dancer put in, "I've sort of been considering dropping the traveling for a while and going to dance school. Actually, I think I want to teach."

"Really?"

"I love dancing. And I know there are other very talented people all over the world who love dancing too. I'd like to help them learn. It seems very fullfiling."

Shika was just barely younger than me; Chi and Yin, the twins, were behind only by a year or two. But since I had seen them, all three girls had grown taller, and we were all filling in nicely if not rapidly. We were all growing up, forming plans and hopes and dreams of our own. Edward wasn't the only one whose time with the troupe was drawing to a close. It seemed that Shika would be jumping ship soon as well to forge her own life somehwere. As for Chi and Yin—orhpans without real identification—the world was wide open and waiting for them whenever they were ready.

Metis, Andrea, and Roland—the adults—would remain pretty much the same. But the students they picked up over the years would roll in and out like the tide. The current tide was washing out, and it seemed to make even Andrea a little sad.

Edward and I arrived back at the school just 20 minutes before curfew, enough time to say goodnight and return to my room without getting penalized.

"It was good to see everyone again; I've missed you all so much," I said.

"They'll miss you too, you know. You've only been in our lives breifly, but Metis has a special place for you in her heart. She always will."

"So, I'll see you at the concert tomorrow night?"

"Of course," he agreed, kissing my hand. Of course, that wasn't enough; he pulled me close and kissed me again, longer this time than that morning.

"I love you, Anna."

"I love you too, Edward."

I watched him until he was gone before going back in the building. I felt so good; solid and real, savoring ever moment of reality, because reality was great!

As good as I felt though, I had some urgent business to attend to. I still needed to write to Mama about my new summer plans. Monique and Goza were already asleep when I came in, so I quietly sat at my desk and began writing a letter explaining how my evening had gone—and finally given permission to explain who Edward really was.

So my mother received quite a letter: firstly, her daughter was being courted by the crown prince of one of the most powerful nations in the world. Secondly, he had invited me to spend the summer with his family in their—wait for it—palace, and that I really wanted to go, and that she and Daddy too were very coridaly invited to join me. Finally, what would we do about Daddy?

When I woke the next morning, I didn't really expect to find any correspondance from Mama. And yet there was her letter, waiting for me on my desk:

I just can't believe that this boy has been a prince all this time! And he shares your brother's name, no less! I, personally, count all these things as a good omen, but… I'm just not sure what to say about all this right now.

As for his fmaily's invitation, I don't blame you for wanting to drop summer school. I know I certainly would! I know that your father and I will miss you, but I agree with the boy: you ought to go and meet his family. They are a king and a queen, and they've extended you a lavishly generous offer which few girls in hundreds of years can hope for. Graciously accept it; and I'm sure I don't have to remind you to mind your manners, but I will anyway. I am your mother, after all, and it's what I do.

Yes, it's not like I can just leave your father here all alone. And someone has to cover for you; the two of you need all the time you can get to get ahead. I'll let your father know that your friends invited you to vacation with them, and that you've accepted. Oh, he'll be mad for a few days and probably threaten to pull you out of school and make you spend time with your own family, but I'll handle him.

I was dissapointed that Mama wouln't be coming, but I knew that she would meet Edward's family one day. Actually, I was surprised at how calm she sounded in her letter. But then, that was Mama. Cool and collected, even when she was alarmed.

The troupe's first concert for the city was that evening, and Goza and I were so excited we could barley stand it. Monique, however, almost didn't come. She crawled under her sheets and feined a bad stomach ache, but I could tell she was still a little miffed with Edward. Alright, she was a lot miffed with him; and I guess I didn't really blame her. Of course, being a white mage, Goza didn't buy it for a minute; but she got the hint that Monique didn't want to be bothered or talk about anything, so she allowed our friend her privacy. I, on the other hand, couldn't bear the rift bewteen my best friend and my beloved.

"Monique, maybe you should just talk to him?" I suggested when Goza had gone ahead of me.

She scoffed. "One doesn't just walk up to a prince and scold him like a school child."

"I'm sure his teachers do all the time."

Monique sat up. "But he's my prince! I'm one of his subjects! I can't just—"

"Trust me, you can," I interupted. "Mo, he's really needed this time. He's been safe and well trained."

"Trained in what? Dancing like a monkey?"

"No, in people-skills. Mo, did you know that ruling a kingodm used to terrify him?"

"…It did?"

"Yeah. But being so close to common people with normal problems and nromal lives—people like us, like you—it made his see how much help he could be to people who are struggling and need help. It's not all about the music—it's about people. And if there's one thing I've learned by not knowing that he was a prince all along, it's that he's just a person, just like us. He has hopes and dreams and fears and wants of his own, Mo. Go talk to him. Tell him how you feel. He'll make it right."

"But how do I…?"

"I can make a few arrangements."

So Monique cautiously made a miraculous recovery and joined us for the concert.

Edward played a significantly bigger role this time than before, and he had graduated to a level where he didn't need to wear silly makeup to get attention. He and Roland played harp together, with Andrea on the mandolin, the twins on flue, and Metis on percussion, an Shika spinning and leaping to the music like a graceful wind. They were a joyful little band—they were a family of their own.

And then it occurred to me what bard magic really was. It wasn't just using the music to reach over long distances, or to beat back monsters. It was an ability to stir emotions with the pluck of a single string. Their magic was so much deeper than mine. I could manipulate the elements of Fire, Ice, and Thunder; but they could manipulate the heart, mind, and the very soul. What a treasure.

At the intermission, I led Monique to the back of the caravan, where my friends were resting for the second act. Monique wouldn't come backstage with me; she was still mad and a nervous.

"Monique is still upset with you," I explained to Edward. "I think you should talk to her; she could really use it."

Edward agreed, hating to think that he had offened her so badly. He stepped out of the wagon, right in front of Monique, and gave her a friendly smile. Suddenly sheepish—maybe even a little ashamed of being angry now that he was standing there—she bowed her head and wouldn't look up.

"I'll leave you two alone," I told them and walked away. I rejoined Goza, who had been looking for us.

"Where's Mo?"

"Oh, she and Guilbert had a small snag to work out."

"So she does remember him? What happened?"

"Just an old childhood tiff. No big deal. They'll be fine; trust me."

Goza accepted it and let it be. Sure enough, Monique came back just before the second act began, and she looked much better than before.

"Get everything worked out?" I asked.

"Yes. Definitely," she said. "Thanks, Anna. Thanks for making me listen."

My friends only came with me to that first concert. But I went by myself to all four of them. Naturally, on the night of the finale, Edward played the calling song he had written for me. Now that Daddy wasn't there hoovering over me, I let the song reel me in, dragging me closer to the stage. When Edward saw me coming, he grinned at me and the call suddenly felt stronger; the affect was working exactly the way he had made it to, and he was overjoyed beyond words. I stopped just short of leaping up on the stage beside him, instead leaning against it and just standing there, watching him play. He looked back at me, holding me with those blue eyes. He didn't need to look at the strings; he knew the song by heart. When the song ended, it didn't feel like the affect wore off.

"You know that song is for you," he reminded, offering me his hand.

I didn't care if it made a spectacle—they already were a spectacle, so surely they wouldn't care. Edward pulled me up on the stage, in front of the entire crowd.

"That will always be your song, and no one else's," he continued.

"No," I corrected. "Yours and mine. Always?"

"Yes. Always. I promise."

Once again, there was nothing around us. No crowd to think us silly, no lights casting shadows, no stage to put us on the spot—it was just the two of us, in a moment all to ourselves. This time, we came together at the same time. He didn't kiss me and I didn't kiss him. This time, we kissed each other.

Somewhere in the distance, I could hear the crowd eating it up; but I didn't pay it much attention to their noise. What really caught our attention was the applause coming from backstage.

"Way to go, big brother!" Shika called from behind the curtain.

Best night of my life. Ever. At least, the best night of my life ever so far.

The following morning the troupe packed up and hauled out. The sadness of parting ways was happily dampened by the knowledge that we would meet again in a few short months.

At least, Edward and I would. They were traveling back together through Kaipo and Damcyan, but Edward would leave them there, never to rejoin them on the road. We all would often meet when they came through town, but seldom in the same place all together. It was enough to make Shika start to tear up when I came to see them off.

"You take care of my big brother," she commanded tearfully, giving me a hug. "I've never had a big brother before, and Edward's been a great one, so don't you let anything happen to him."

"Don't worry, Shika. I won't let you down. I'll keep him in one piece, I promise."

After they departed, it was just a matter of studying and passing tests with flying colors until school ended for the summer. The only hitch came a few days after the troupe left, in the form of an angry letter from home. Headmistress Tiffany delivered it to me herself, chocking back hysterical laughter. It was Daddy again, as Mama had warned, threatening to pull me out of school if I didn't drop my summer plans and come striaght home, and then we would possibly discuss my return in the fall.

"Your mother isn't going to stand for that, is she," Tiffany guessed.

"Absolutely not," I agreed, tearing the letter into little pieces, incinerating them with a quick burst of Fire, and brushing the ashes into the air, where they dissipated like cigar smoke.

Obviously, I passed my first year at Sparrow's Wing. The end of the semester was thrilling—there was a whirlwind of packing to be done by all the girls returning home for the summer. Monique and Goza, however, were not part of the packing proccess; they were staying for summer school, and were sadened that I was not. And while I couldn't tell Goza exactly where I was going, Monique knew what my plans were and, now that she wasn't mad at Edward anymore, she was thrilled for me.

"You're going to love it in Damcyan," she assured me. "The von Moir family is a kind and generous one. You'll feel right at home with them, I'm sure… I just still can't believe that my prince is dating you!"

"I know," I agreed. "I can't quite get my own head around it."

"I've heard that some nobles can be pretty nasty, though. I don't doubt that King Nicholas and Queen Marthe will protect you, but watch yourself all the same."

A few days later, with my things packed in my trunk, I waited in the northern courtyard for Edward to arrive, as he said he would. My guard was down, so I didn't notice the sound of the rock hurtling through the air until it colided sharply with my head. The pain was enough to jerk tears into my eyes and send lights bursting over my sight. Behind me, I heard an unpleasantly familiar voice laughing harshly at me.

"Not so tough now, eh, Faaxhae?"

Crap. It was Mel, who I hadn't really seen since winter.

"What do you want?" I demanded, rubbing the sore spot on the back of my head. I felt a little blood, but it didn't seem too bad; and my vision was beginning to clear.

"I just wanted one more good swing at you before you left for the summer. Where are you off to? Running on home to mommy and daddy?"

"Actually," I said proudly, on the cusp of letting my secret loose, "I'm spending the summer with my boyfriend and his family."

"Ooh, kinky," she jeered. "I thought you weren't trash, like the rest of us."

"It's not like that."

"Of course it's not. You're too impatient to resist for too long, and I saw you on stage when they were in town. You'll be in his pants before you even realize what you're doing."

And now I was mad.

"School's out, Mel. We're the city's problem now. Let's settle this like Reds."

"My pleasure."

Static sparkled around her fingertips as she called forth Thundara. Even if she was a dingbat and a whore, she knew how to handle a spell. I chose to counter with one of my favorite spells: Firaga, a step up from Fira, and sure beat Mel before she got started. Even before I met Edward, the Fire spells were my favorites. And the crystal that his family was in charge of guarding only endeared the spells more to me.

Of course, Firaga also takes longer to chant than Thundara. Mel finished her spell quickly and hurtled the lightning bolt at my chest. Luckily, I was a fast chanter and finished Firaga just in time to block it. The flames flew out of my palm faster than the lightning and I threw them up in front of me, crossing my hands at the wrists. The flames colided with one another, spiraling into a tornado-like vortex and sucking up the lightning before it could touch me.

The heat was intense, especially in the hot May sun. Eager to get the flames away from my unguarded face and to finish this battle before Edward arrived, I released the spinning inferno and it spun across the yard and hit Mel dead on; with the power of both spells, it knocked her over on the stone floor, unconsious.

Anna, 8. Mel, 0. (We'd had a lot of confrontations that first semester.)

Still panting from the heat and the enegry I had lost in casting and controlling my spell, I leaned back against the cool stone wall to catch my breath. A few minutes later, Edward finally arrived driving a strange looking vehicle that I had never seen before.

"What's that?" I asked.

"It's a hoovercraft," he answered, climbing out to greet me. "It's the best way to travel over the shoals and the desert. It was kind of a coming home gift from my parents."

"You're driving us all the way to Damcyan in it?"

"It's only a day away; the only faster way is by airship."

"That's not a bad trip."

"Hey, your face is covered in soot," he realized, brushing his fingers against my face; his fingertips came away blackened. "What have you been up to?"

"Oh, uh, nothing," I insisted, picking up my trunk and walking quickly to the hoovercraft. While I put trunk down in the back seat, Edward pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wet it with a canteen.

"I thought you said you were too mature to attack people in broad daylight with Fire spells," he recalled, gently wiping my face and hands with the wet cloth.

"I am. But it was just Mel again, and she deserved it. I'd been meaning to blast her with a Fire spell, but I had forgotten until just now…"

Edward sighed, exasperated, but he smiled. "Oh, Anna, I do love you so much." For emphasis, he kissed my clean forehead. "Just be careful who you decide to charbroil when we get to the palace, okay? You're good at making friends, but you're just as good at making enemies; and you can make a lot of either where we're going. If someone hurt you, what would I do? My magic doesn't knock people down, after all."

"You're right. I'll be more careful, I promise. Mel was just my freebee; I won't do that again… Probably…"

"And that is what makes you so attractive," he commented, opening the passenger door for me. "Of course, there are other things about you that are attractive," he corrected quickly. "It's just—"

"I get it, Edward. I know what you mean," I assured him, climbing into the craft.

"I could list them all for you, if you'd like," he offered playfully, closing the door and walking to the driver's side. "It'll probably take the whole trip—or maybe the whole summer—but I will."

"That's not necessary. I get it."

"I'm just making sure."

Just as he began pulling levers and the craft began powering back up, a teacher walked by and noticed Mel, still unconscious on the courtyard floor. But before she could notice me, the craft took off down the road and that problem was behind me for the summer.

At last, we were on our first adventure together.

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Author's Notes…

I can't believe that this chapter is SO action packed in only 6 pages, or that I finished it in only 2 hours! 0.0 Maybe I really AM the best writter in the world! XD