129 S (1/2)

The next day, thankfully, had cleared up. The gloomy and ominous overcast sky had parted to reveal the land's characteristic summery blue skies and bright sunny rays. Because the contrast was so jarring, perhaps, there were almost twice as many people buzzing on and about in the marketplace square.

Or perhaps it was because already, there was a rumor floating around that the renowned hero Jeanne, the shining star of Riviera, the girl blessed by both crown and god with a heart of shining gold, wanted to announce something of particular importance.

Li stood a fair bit away from the square, by a tavern where barrels of ale were piled up. He did not want to get himself involved in the thick of the crowd, and his vision and height could easily zoom in on the square. Sylvie sat atop the barrels next to him, needing them to boost her height to see over the crowd.

”This is a pretty good crowd,” said Li. ”Almost as big as it was back when Jeanne got her medal.”

”It is not every day that the entire square is rented out by a single person,” said Sylvie. ”Normally, the square is divided amongst several troubadour troops and minstrel bands.”

”Amazing how cutting out bad music and silly shouting makes the square that much quieter,” commented Li. His eyes scanned over the thronging crowd, at the heads of Rivierans man and woman, old and young. ”Even with this many people.”

”It is a shame that Old Thane could not be here to witness it. He does like having his words proven right.”

”He'll manage. What he knows, he knows. He doesn't need to see it to validate himself.”

Sylvie nodded in response before she pored over a piece of paper with the speech she had written, wanting to make sure Jeanne said everything correctly.

Li did consider bringing the old man, but he had asked the old man to stay at the cottage for today because it was likely that restaurateurs were coming around to survey the crop. Li had filled the old man in on the situation, telling him that their golden grain was in high demand, and asked him to get a general grasp of the restauraunters' character and see who was going to net them the best deal.

Of course, Li also wanted the old man to stay home because it was safer, guarded by Zagan, the Myrmeke, Tia, and Iona. Li did not think that Chevrette would be stupid enough to create a ruckus in a public spot like the marketplace square, but it was better to avoid unnecessary chaos when it could be avoided, especially after last time when there was that minor altercation with the duchess's knights and Sunstar at the square.

”It's almost noon. Is she going to show up right on the mark?” said Li.

Sylvie kept her eyes on her paper. ”Jeanne had some difficulty memorizing the speech I wrote for her, so perhaps she is still grappling with it. But I assume it is also rather difficult to get the beastwomen on the square with her considering there are so many people around.”

Li cocked his head. ”Thought Azhar had a good rapport with them. Feel like he'd be able to convince them.”

”The Feli, yes, but the Serpi, less so. The Serpi has been clutched with fear ever since we took her into our quarters in the inn. She does respond to our requests, but it is with quite some hesitation.”

”Can't blame her.” Li shrugged. ”But she should be fine. I'm confident she wouldn't disobey us.”

”Is that also a part of your 'little trick?'” said Sylvie as she looked up from her paper, curious.

”When everything you ever believed in is shattered at the foundation, you tend to become more open minded,” said Li.

Sylvie pouted. ”That doesn't explain anything.”

”It explains enough.” Li pointed to her speech paper. ”If you wanted to make sure Jeanne said everything right, why not go up to the square with her?”

Sylvie shook her head. ”The people love Jeanne and only Jeanne. The less of us there are on the stage, the better. Azhar is a necessity for the Feli trusts only him, but aside from him, the impact upon the people is far greater with just Jeanne.”

”Seems reasonable.” Li waved her attention to the square. The trapdoor at its back end where high end performers usually arose from in a flashy entrance opened. ”Well then, let's see if she got all the words down.”

Jeanne clutched at her speech paper, bringing it close to her chest, close to her heart. The paper crumpled under her strong fingers, but she did not mind. She knew all the words by now. It was the words themselves that gnawed at her.

Jeanne shook her head. Sylvie was always right – she could not doubt her now. She took in a breath and frowned. The air here, under the square, was so humid and musty, as if the very air itself were being choked out. She hated confined spaces, and this place was the definition of confined.

Small, cramped, walled in on all sides. A single lantern lit the area, revealing a bunch of acting props and spare instruments littered about the wood walled room.

”Don't ya worry,” said Azhar. He stood beside her, the two beastwomen trailing behind him. ”There ain't a chance yer gonna' fail with how amazin' you are. So put that smile back on, would ya?”

Jeanne smiled and nodded, glancing at the beastwomen. Two large cloaks were draped over them. She had wanted to dress them in more comfortable, less revealing clothes, but there was nothing that came fitted to their unique proportions. The best she could do was give them cloaks to ward off the cold, though neither of them seemed to mind it.

Azhar looked back and waved his wand, giving a signal for the stage hands to open up the trapdoor. A young boy at the back strained against a lever embedded in the floor, and when it cranked back, the door slid open, letting sunlight flash into the dark confines of the room.

Jeanne took in another breath as she took a step forward, going up the steps leading out the door. She could finally breathe in fresh air. She could finally feel true sunlit warmth. That gave her the energy to steel herself and make it out the door, because if she hesitated now, she doubted she could muster up the courage to keep going forwards.