Warrior's Heart (Book 1 of The Warrior Chronicles)

Chapter 51

"Alright," her voice echoed across Happy Time.

There were people leaning over the Mezzanine, lining the staircases and filling every nook and cranny from the double doors to the edge of the stage. Hundreds of eyes were on her, waiting to see what she would do. Leyla walked over to the musicians that sat to the right of the stage and couldn't think of a single Greenlandic song to name for what she was about to do.

"I need you to improvise. Start slow, then follow my lead," she told the man who looked like the groups leader. Once they nodded their agreement, she walked to the other side of the stage and leaned down to the nearest table where a blonde couple in rich clothing sat in anticipation.

"May I have those flowers, and that red fan?"

"Certainly!" The man passed over the roses and his companion's fan without hesitation, then winked. Leyla gave them a tight-lipped nod of gratitude. Alright, she was ready, but she had no idea how the performance would go down. Her fingers tingled with nerves. She had never attempted the Aschian sky dance...Maybe she aught to reconsider, do something different or not do anything at all. Perhaps there was a different way to negotiate with the Green King.

"My Lady Alessa, we are waiting" The King drank from his tankard while playing with a lock of one concubines hair.

"Yes, your Highness. I just need one more moment." Leyla tucked the fan into the waistband of her dress, then plucked the rose petals, letting them drop near her feet before throwing the stems to the side. Next she tipped her head up to judge the height of the thick swaths of silk that were hanging from the ceiling, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

A hush fell over Happy Time, as she raised her right hand for the musicians to start. The string instruments began to play, following the slow pace of her softly waving hand, filling the chamber with a slow, haunting tune. She lowered her hand now that the music flowed and focused her energy while swaying gently. She could feel the material of her dress moving, the loose silk shifting over her arms and legs, brushing against her to the rhythm of the music.

Her muscles warm now, she waited for a high note in the melody, then jumped, catching two hanging silks in each hand and drawing them together in one fell swoop. Gasps drowned out the music for a moment, but only for a moment, and then she was climbing, twisting the material around her ankles and wrists as she made her way upwards. Now high above the audience, she wrapped the silks around her waist and twisted, then flipped, hanging from her knees down.

Gasps filled the hall once more, and now Leyla looked down as she executed the moves she had seen performed at the Jade Palace. She copied the moves she recalled, twisting the material around her legs as she twirled and spun and stretched her hands away from her body.

The audience below pointed in amazement as her legs split horizontally between the two ropes, her feet wrapped up in the silks. For a moment she hung there, suspended, then she pulled her heels together and spun, wrapping the materials around her waste in ever faster motions.

Seeing her cue, the musicians far below picked up the pace of the melody. She flipped forward, then twisted, wrapping the silks even more tightly around her body. Then, when she was well and truly cocooned high over the audience's heads, she released her right foot and unravelled. Her dress billowed, the dangling red silks and her skirts blending into one as her body whirled downwards. It felt like she was falling, spinning in the air with her hands circling around her, but Leyla made no effort to save herself, until she had almost reached the ground. Only at the very last second did she reach for the ropes and pull, just in time to stop her face from touching the floor. The music jerked to a halt and a few guests squealed in fear.