Cursebreaker and Fireheart

Chapter 25: The Theatre

Aelin had never seen a place quite like Velaris. Now that she wasn't falling to her death, she could properly appreciate the beauty of the city. Feyre had claimed its title was the City of Starlight, and Aelin thought that was very fitting. Everything in the city seemed to glow with life and light, and Aelin couldn't get enough of it. 

What was strange, however, was how the people of Velaris treated her and Rowan. She'd thought they'd be able to tell she and Rowan didn't belong here, but no one treated them any different. Some people even smiled and waved at her. A child came up to her and babbled incoherently, reaching for her blonde hair when she'd kneeled in front of her. The child's mother had told her that her daughter seemed to like her golden hair, which made Aelin beam. 

"Rowan, look!" Aelin grabbed her mate's arm as they were walking away from the child and her mother. She pointed to a golden-topped theatre set among a small bunch of colored buildings. 

"Are you new to Velaris?" A kindly voice asked behind them. When Aelin turned, she saw a Fae female smiling at them. 

"I suppose you could say that," Rowan replied. The female gestured proudly to the brightly colored buildings. 

"That's the Rainbow of Velaris. Our artist's square. And that-" She pointed to the gold-topped theatre- "Is the most famous theatre in the Rainbow. If you've never been, I suggest going as soon as possible. It's quite a sight to behold." She nodded to them both and walked away. 

Aelin sneaked a glance at Rowan, doing her best impression of Fleetfoot's begging. Rowan sighed, almost melodramatically. 

"Alright, let's go." He said, taking her hand and leading her towards the theatre. Aelin bounced giddily. Although they now had a theatre in Orynth, she didn't get the chance to visit it very often. She sometimes played the piano Lysandra had given her, but it had been a while since she had been able to sit and enjoy proper music. 

The theatre was open, but there was no one in the main hall. Apparently, there wouldn't be any performances tonight. But that didn't discourage Aelin. She could hear the music floating through the halls, probably from practice sessions of the musicians. 

She and Rowan wandered the theatre's halls for a while. Aelin wasn't exactly sure if they were allowed to be there, but couldn't bring herself to really care about it at the moment. 

Eventually, the music grew louder, and they came across the practice rooms. Aelin peeked into one of the rooms and saw a young Fae female playing the piano. She wasn't extremely good. She hit a few sour notes. She wasn't playing off of sheet music, but rather seemed to be making up her own music, which impressed Aelin more. 

"Aelin." She turned around to see Rowan standing down the hall, beckoning her. She followed him into a practice room and saw a piano sitting in the corner. It wasn't grand or big, but it was beautiful. 

"Who are you?" Aelin and Rowan both turned around at the inquisitive voice behind them. It was the young Fae female from the next room, staring curiously at them. If she were human, Aelin would have said she looked about seventeen, with long, white-gold hair in a heavy braid down her back.  

"We're... just visiting." Aelin hedged. The female smiled slightly. 

"You must be the "visitors" who fell from the heavens." She laughed when Rowan and Aelin exchanged a look. "You thought we would not notice two people falling from a crack in the sky?" 

"I guess not. No one else we've passed has mentioned it." Aelin replied.

"Well, they wouldn't. They're probably too polite to pry." The girl tilted her head, reminding Aelin of Feyre a bit. "What are your names?"