Every step away from home is a chance for an adventure and Darcy is on her first one. She's been dreaming of finding her father for as long as she can remember. He's out there and she's got a list of clues and a crappy map, but it'll do. Less than a...
Taverns had been at the top of the list of places her mother had told her to avoid. She'd met Darcy's father in a place like the one she now found herself trapped in. Sweat dripped from passing bodies, lending a stale salty smell to the air. Or maybe that was the beer? She wasn't sure but she hated every second.
Percival, or Percy as he had insisted on being called, had asked a very simple favor in return for not turning them in as thieves. They could have argued but the bow in her hand and the pile of stolen gems in her pockets would have ruined their case. It was a simple task anyway. He'd only asked her to entertain the folks in the tavern a bit.
The rest of the band was arguing with him just out of ear shot. The young looking brunette woman, the only one not holding an instrument, kept shaking her head and pointing at Darcy. So far she'd definitely mouthed the words 'urchin' and 'lost forest girl' while gesturing her way. They hadn't even introduced themselves to her yet.
Kasi looked to be having the time of his life. She'd lost track of him seconds after entering and occasionally spotted his dirty shirt weaving between the men gathered at tables. No one had wrung his neck yet. If they did, would she be responsible? She'd only known him a few days after all, and most of that had been spent chasing him down. Surely that didn't mark her as someone important in her life.
The group of musicians parted, the brunette throwing her hands up and storming up to the stage. Percy approached her with the willowy man they'd all been looking to. It didn't take a genius to guess that he was the one in charge. Darcy jumped to her feet, flute clutched between both hands. Any tighter and it'd be shattered worse than the bow.
"You must be Darcy. My name is Cedric. I hear from Percy you're quite the flute player." He held out a hand to her. Rough calluses scraped her palm during the hearty handshake, Between that and his thin frame, there was no way he was one of those rich boys who'd run off from home. This was someone who'd climbed their way to the top.
"Oh, yes I am very good with the flute. Known for it, actually," Darcy answered stiffly. Her mother had always told her she was a horrible liar. All of her thoughts were immediately broadcast across her face. Darcy found it a horrible inconvenience but her mother said it made her trustworthy.
Except in this instance, it looked like it was having the opposite effect on Cedric. He reached for her flute and easily pried it from her numb fingers. "Looks like good craftsmanship. Your handy work?"
Darcy laughed and immediately choked it back after. Neither he nor Percy had shown any indication of laughing along. "No, I don't have any skills like that. It was carved by our master woodworker back home."
"And where is home?" Cedric asked.
"I would rather not say," Darcy answered. Her hand drifted back to feel for her belt and she found Kasi's hand reaching up towards her. She hadn't heard him approach her. Having him at her back somehow comforted her despite knowing how sticky his fingers were. A lost gold pouch would be worth the protection.
Instead of the threats or attacks that had looked imminent, Cedric began to laugh. "Good to know you have a secret or two of your own. I was beginning to think you'd wandered out of the forest only yesterday, completely new to the world."
"Now that's just ridiculous," Darcy joined in his laughter and took her flute back. "Am I playing then?"
Cedric stepped back to let her by and showed her where to stand among the other players. The brunette ignored her but the other two gladly introduced themselves.
To Darcy's left was Peyton. An odd assortment of drums was clustered around her. Her long braids moved like tree vines as she tested her reach. The more she moved the more wildly they swayed. It was as if she was caught in her own whirlwind.
The man sitting on the floor directly in front of where Darcy stood was tuning his lap harp while keeping up a teasing conversation with the brunette. Reyner looked more like a fairytale prince than anyone Darcy had ever met. His waist length black hair looked like silk. Even his laugh sounded like music, small bells ringing in a new dawn.
When he flashed Darcy a wink she blushed and went back to staring at her flute. There was no sheet music for her to study, not that she expected there to be. This looked to be a well established troupe. Back home, Darcy had been part of her own group. They'd never bothered with formalities either. Sometimes their individual voices and talents blended in a perfect symphony.
Other days they sounded like a herd of indri grazing along the riverside.
Cedric stopped beside her and nodded to the brunette. "Keep up with Krea, shadow her rhythm and you'll do just fine," he instructed.
In front of them, Krea flipped her hair over her shoulder and stepped to the edge of the stage. The ombre purple tones in her skirt were reminiscent of the end of a sunset. As she shifted they blended with each other into a swirling kaleidoscope. She had the crowd's full attention long before she sang her first note.
The music washed over Darcy, nearly knocking every thought out of her head. Only Reyner's tap on her shin anchored her back to the world and what she was there to do. The notes rose and fell, seemingly without rhyme or reason. Darcy was so focused on the actual words the actual music kept slipping in one ear and out the other.
She still hadn't lifted her flute when Krea shot her a look over her shoulder. Her stormy gray eyes looked Darcy up and down before she smirked and picked up the pace. The faster she went, the more the crowd leaned in towards her. Everything from her swaying arms to shimmying hips looked like a fishing lure dancing above a still lake.
Suddenly, something shifted in Darcy's ears. There was a pattern deep under the trilling notes. It twisted through the drums and around the harp strings. She could almost see it as clearly as the string she'd used to track Kasi. It wasn't the same pale purple, it was wild like a thunderstorm. Darcy lifted her flute and felt the strange magic wrap around her fingers.
Her control wavered and her fingers flew across the holes on their own. With little effort on her part, she fell into rhythm with Krea. She found that if she pulled against the music's pull and added her own note, Krea seemed to shudder and force herself to match Darcy's notes. The control balanced between the five of them, connecting them.
For a moment, Darcy could have sworn she could hear them speaking.
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