Ch. 3
Everyone clapped and cheered when Kavi, who was once called Madame Minstrel before she became the maverick "Mad Minstrel," gave an impromptu concert in the dining car for everyone.
Alice sat down at a table with Lord Lionel, Alan and Jacques. Oreldo, Martis, and Stecchin were at a table close by. It had taken some getting used to seeing everyone in their regular clothes rather than in uniform. Stecchin was the biggest surprise by far. She wore a simple dress the color of burgundy wine, and instead of pigtails had brushed her hair down. Oreldo almost didn't recognize her. He went to flirt with her when she turned and he nearly tripped over his own feet.
Alice watched the whole thing and chuckled to herself. She then watched Kavi set up.
She turned to Jacques. "I've heard of the Madame Minstrel, but I don't know much about her. Is there anything you can tell me?"
Jacques cleared his throat. "She's a fascinating woman, that one. She has become a sort of urban legend in several countries. There are so many rumors and stories of heroism and knavery alike. She started as the national Poet Laureate for her home country, the Republic of Frost. Ousted from her homeland because of her outrageous style of war protests, she now wanders from country to country, enjoying ample patronage wherever she goes.
"She makes no distinction between classes, which technically makes her a free bard and not a minstrel, but the nickname has just stuck with her over the years. It seems to matter not who her audience is. Why, look at this dining car, for example."
Alice looked around. Indeed, it was a surprise mix of minor nobility, commoners, and soldiers like Lily, Oreldo and Martis. People still tended to keep to themselves, but there was no quarreling.
"Not that I'm complaining," she wondered aloud to Jacques, "but this is very unusual to have mixed company on a train."
"Indeed it is," Jacques agreed, "I must apologize, as I didn't mention it earlier. This is a special train, one meant to promote peace and equality in all countries. It runs everywhere: our Rodelia, the Republic of Frost, and the Imperial State, to name a few. The fare is the same, regardless of class, but almost no one is turned away. They also take private donations, you see."
"That's wonderful," Alice sighed. Jacques continued.
"As I was saying about Ms. Kavi, she plays for the nobles as well as commoners and treats both as equals. It is said some nights she stays in mansions as an honored guest. Other times, the only payment she receives is a hot meal and dry hay in a barn. And she is grateful for both.
"During the war years, it is rumored she wore many hats to help people where she could, and the various skills she learned has served her well now that times are far tighter. I have heard she is a seamstress, which is how she came to have so many splendid costumes. She can create fine works of art as well as make songs and write poetry. She is a fair cook and a fairer mechanic. She prefers peace, but many a tale had been told of her bar brawls. She is, my lady, a true Jack-of-all-trades, and most of all, a truer mystery."
Alice watched Kavi carefully. Just sitting there, tuning her guitar, she caught your eye by her garish attire alone. She looked like some wacky nobody…and then, she opened her mouth.
"Wash my wounds with melted snow
And bind them fast for we mustn't slow
Down here in the tarnished cold
I may be a sheep but I'm out of the fold."
There wasn't a soul in that room who didn't have goosebumps on their arms. Oreldo was so surprised, his stein of beer made it halfway to his mouth and stopped. It wasn't until Martis waved a hand in front of his eyes that he blinked and put it down, glaring at him.
Stecchin was riveted. She hadn't told anyone, but the Mad Minstrel was her personal musical idol.
"Look for green but gaze upon the gray
Seeing lambs poisoned in their play
Blinded with sight, feeling unseen
Where can I go if I want to be clean?"
"I'm uprooted, against the grain
Cast out of the sideshow, outside of the frame
Watching the world racing to ruin
And no one seems to know what they're doing."
"Boy, ain't that the truth?" Oreldo muttered. Martis and Stecchin shushed him.
"Let the agony, the naked truth surge
The floodgates are open, rushing to purge
The real world is rusted, a shattered cage
The gauntlet thrown, it's the final age.
I know I too must continue to race
For though I stop I'll still be last place
Am I an ewe in wolfen fur
No claws to rend the belly of the world?"
"Yes," Lionel whispered to Alice, "all of us in the world are either sheep or wolves. Although, I prefer lions to wolves."
"Of course you would," she whispered back. She swallowed hard as a lump had caught in her throat.
"And I'm flying, running against the pack
Beyond shadow's doubt, white to my black
And we all seem to be racing to ruin
Could be our salvation or the final undoing."
"Strange song," Martis muttered to Stecchin during the interlude, "what's it about? War?"
Stecchin sniffed, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. Oreldo offered her a handkerchief. Surprised by the kind gesture, she didn't answer immediately.
"Yes," she said, gathering herself, "her songs are often dark and not just about war, but the consequences of war and of bad choices.
They all continued to watch as Kavi ended her song. She gave them all a scorching look that was both angry yet pitying.
"Oh you people, you chasers of dreams
Whose ideas vanish at dawn's waking scream
Cowards all, you woolen hearts
Fear ruins you, and tears you apart!
So I will not cuddle, my heart is seared
And I say nothing, though my coat be sheared
And while we may be all racing to ruin
At least I know what I am pursuing."
The room erupted into cheers. Kavi bowed, and the bartender gave her a drink on the house. She accepted it with gratitude and downed the brew quickly.
So she's traveled all over? Alice thought to herself. I must ask her if she's seen the Corporal.
"A seven and a half-foot giant?" Kavi exclaimed, looking at Alice and her team later after the concert was finished. "Well, I can see why you would ask me, but…"
"Please, Kavi," Alice said, "think hard. We need to find him. He has a lot of scars on his body, including a big one that goes right across his nose."
She thought she saw Kavi's eyes flicker, but the Mad Minstrel took a sip of her beer.
"Are you sure you want to find such a character?" she asked Alice. "Sounds like trouble to me."
"Hey!" Oreldo said. "Watch what you say about our friend!"
"You don't know him!" Alice snapped.
"Oh, the Corporal wouldn't hurt anyone!" Stecchin cried.
"But he'll go out of his way to protect others," Martis added.
Kavi smiled into her beer.
"No worries, friends," she said, holding up a hand, "I was just testing the waters. I get a lot of requests like that, you see, and they're not always friendly, know what I mean?"
"Well?" Alice asked, impatient.
The Mad Minstrel sipped her brew again, pausing for dramatic effect.
"I might've," she said lightly, "or I might not have. If you really want to know, you have to pay my price."
"Why you!" Oreldo started, and stood up fast, almost knocking the chair over.
"Stand down, Sub-Lieutenant!" Alice said. Oreldo froze, but it wasn't because of the order. He sat down slowly and deliberately with a look of shock on his face. His eyes never moved from Kavi's until she put away the tiny pistol dug into his groin. He never saw her move. He'd never seen a faster draw in his life. Her expression of sympathy never changed.
"What is your price, Kavi?" Alice asked.
Kavi regarded Oreldo with mild interest, then turned to Alice.
"Don't worry," she said, "it's not money I want. I assume you're all going to the Ball Masque?"
Alice nodded.
"Good," Kavi said, pulling out a poster. "Part of my patronage comes from the traveling carnival that will be in attendance. I've worked in several of their shows-musicals, puppetry, acrobats, clowns, animals, etc."
The poster was cheerful, boasting of various acts and feats. Lions roared in a corner with a trainer. A strong man lifted a heavy dumbbell, while beautiful acrobats in sparkly leotards leapt and danced in the other, and so on. Can-Can dancers lined the bottom. In the background, they saw an odd figure that was blocky and brown.
"This is part of my price," she said, pointing to the figure, "and it's a fun one. It's a children's play, called Heart of the Wood. I assume you all know the old fairytale of The Gump and the Dove?"
They all nodded. The Gump and the Dove was a familiar old tale, point of which was to remind children of the power of friendship, loyalty, and love. The story centered around an oak tree named Gump. One day a young dove came to rest in his branches. She was seeing the world and its dangers for the very first time. Exhausted and frightened from her long journey, she humbly asked the tree if she could rest there for the night. The oak, having never been asked permission before, took pity on the tiny bird and graciously told her she could remain as long as she liked. They became best friends and the dove nested there for several years.
One day a royal woodsman saw the old oak and thought it would make good timber for the prince who ruled the land. He promptly cut it down and placed it on his wagon. The dove could do nothing but weep as her friend was taken away to be sold.
Now, there happened to be an old wizard who lived in the forest. Upon hearing the weeping of the dove, he asked why she was grieving so. She told him everything, and he took pity on her. He realized the woodman had been foolish, as the land Gump had grown from was actually a part of the wizard's land and therefore was his legal property. He went to the prince and demanded it back, threatening to turn him and his whole royal family into stone toads.
The prince, unused to being treated so shabbily was outraged but realized the wizard was too powerful. He ordered the woodsman to return the tree to the wizard. The woodsman begged the forgiveness of both the prince and the wizard, and assisted in carrying it back to the wizard's forest.
Once there, the dove continued to mourn, for she knew Gump could not be put back into the ground, but the wizard reassured her he'd be all right. And so it was, that through his spells, fresh earth, and a rare, enchanted mushroom, he brought Gump back to life. However, instead of just a tree, he could only reanimate him as a golem, carving the word EMET (an old Hebrew word for life) above the hole in his chest, where the magic mushroom acted as his heart. He was shaped like a man, but was still made out of wood and mud.
Gump the Golem was happy, but as he had never been a man before, had to learn all the ways of men. Sadly, in all his learning and doing (the normal "busy-ness" of men) his days with his sweet little dove were almost completely forgotten. Now when he saw her, he saw her through the eyes of men, as just a bird, nothing more.
Now, the dove was very happy Gump the Golem was alive and well, but she still missed him a little. It wasn't Gump's fault he no longer had any leaves to play with, or branches to nest in, or time to be with the little dove. He practiced being a man so much he soon believed he was one, even though he still only mimicked a human figure. The dove just wanted to be near her friend, so she was constantly at his window in the tower he stayed in, singing her song of melancholy in hopes he would someday remember.
Sometime later, the prince held a grand ball for all of his subjects, and Gump wanted to go. The old wizard knew what would happen if the prince or the villagers saw a tall wooden man walking around. Seeking to protect him, he conjured a very potent spell that gave Gump the illusion of being completely human, but warned him the spell would break at midnight.
The dove saw all this and begged the wizard do the same to her. He complied, making her a beautiful princess, rendering her wings invisible. He also warned her of the midnight deadline and sent her on her way.
"Anyway," Kavi said, "it's a marvel of puppetry. I'm not even 100% sure how they do it. Probably two guys in a suit or something." She put the poster away. "The theater will be open, weather permitting, and the grounds will be a mix, like this train. My price is that I want you to do me a favor."
"What sort of favor?" Alice asked.
"Well, part of the fun is we get two new people every performance to play the main parts. What I want, Lieutenant, is for you to play the Dove,"
Alice blinked. "You…want me to act in the play?"
"For the children, yes," Kavi replied. She watched as Alice's expression grew apprehensive.
"Don't worry," Kavi said, "you won't have any lines to memorize, your body type is perfect for the costume, and you'll only appear in the Second Act. All you'll have to do is dance at the ball.
"Oh, but I can't dance at all, Kavi!"
"Perfect!" Kavi proclaimed. "That's usually better because then you can use that awkwardness to mirror the golem. After all, you're a dove in disguise, and doves don't dance!"
Oreldo laughed at that. Martis smiled. Lily thought the whole thing was brilliant.
"Well?" Kavi asked. "Will you do it?"
Alice sighed.
"Couldn't you just tell me if Corporal Oland is all right?" she asked, "Or if you even know him at all?"
"You'll just have to wait and see." Kavi winked.
Alice swallowed hard. She couldn't allow Lily to do this. Too dangerous and possibly humiliating.
"Very well."
*Note: Racing to Ruin, written by me. ;)