The Moon Dancer

Chapter 1

"I hope there'll be cute princes there!"

"Imagine the food they'll be serving!"

The group grew louder as each member tried to grab ahold of the invitation and voice their thoughts.

"Quiet!" A commanding voice boomed out. The group of circus performers silenced and turned to see a tall woman with a scowl on her face.

"Ah, my dear wife! Did you hear the news?" Ravoi exclaimed as he raced over to his much taller wife.

"Yes. I also heard that the banquet is tonight. That means you sops have no time to be squealing like children. This performance must be perfect. I will not have my family name sullied in front of the royal family, is this understood? Practice is to start immediately!" Ravoi's wife commanded, her voice held traces of an unspoken threat.

"Yes, Mistress Lo." The circus group chorused as they hurried to practice their acts. The dining area was soon empty except for a brown-haired girl hunched over a bowl of porridge. Ravoi's smile slightly wavered as he made his way over to her.

"Hey, Ruhya, are you feeling alright? Is it your eyes again?" Ravoi asked as he placed a warm hand on the girl's shoulder. Ruhya held her head and nodded. Ravoi grabbed the white silk scarf next to her and held it up. Ruhya's hand groped blindly for the scarf before grabbing it. She held it against her eyes and Ravoi tied it securely behind her head.

"Thanks. I thought I could handle at least eating breakfast uncovered, but I guess not." Ruhya said as she felt around for her spoon. The wooden table creaked as Ravoi sat down. He smiled ruefully at the blindfolded girl as she slowly brought her spoon to her mouth, a small drop of oatmeal falling to the table.

"So, what do you think about performing for the royal family?" Ravoi asked.

"It's just another performance. I will do my best and hope my eyes won't hurt too much after. As long as I get to dance, it doesn't matter who watches." Ruhya said with a slight shoulder shrug.

"But this performance is special. This will be your last performance, at least your last one for this circus."

"Wait, you mean-"

"Yes. You're 19 now, you've been under my ownership for about a decade. I think it's time to set you free. The Kou Empire is a place of great opportunity, especially for a young girl like you."

"And what of Mistress Lo? She'd never let me go."

"Maybe, but I am your legal owner, not my wife."

Ruhya giggled with excitement as she clapped her hands. The chains around her ankles jingled with her movement. Her years under Ravoi's ownership had not been hard, in fact, she was extremely grateful to Ravoi for buying her and sparing her a fate of working in a brothel, but she did long for freedom. To be free of the chains Mistress Lo insisted she wear and be able to dance for herself was Ruhya's greatest desire.

"Now, go on and practice one more time. Oh, and don't tell Lo anything. The less she knows the better." Ravio winked as he stood. If his darling wife found out he planned to set free the star of their show, she would throw a fit. He loved his wife and his circus, but he could no longer bear to keep his dancing bird locked up.

***

Ruhya's short ash-colored hair tickled her cheek as she felt around in a large wicker basket for her dancing outfit. As she groped for the outfit, Ruhya's fingers brushed against a jeweled dagger. Ruhya pulled her hand away like it had been burned. Slowly she reached back into the basket and pulled out the dagger.

She ran her hand over the sheath, feeling every small jewel before unsheathing the dagger. The blade was thin, as the dagger was more for decoration than practicality. Engraved at the base of the six-inch blade was a circle with the letter L inside. This dagger was Ruhya's only clue to the identity of her biological father.

The sound of oncoming footsteps caused Ruhya to quickly sheath the dagger and thrust it back into her basket. She calmed her breathing as her tent flap opened.

"Hey Ruhya, the crew and I are doing a small ceremony for good luck tonight. Wanna join?"

Ruhya recognized the voice as Peli, the drummer for her routine. He was a sweet boy who tried his best to hide the obvious crush he had on her.

"Oh Peli, don't tell me Mona got you to believe in her superstitious ceremonies." Ruhya laughed as she turned to fae Peli.

"Well, no, but she did predict that we would perform for some really important people in her last ceremony." Peli chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.

I might as well indulge him. This is going to be the last time I'll be able to do this, Ruhya thought.

"Okay, fine. I'll join in, but just this once. You'll have to lead me though, I don't know where Mona holds these silly things." Ruhya relented as she stretched her arm out in Peli's direction. Peli grabbed her hand and led her out of the tent. Ruhya could already imagine how red Peli's face was.

Peli led the blindfolded Ruhya through the maze of tents before coming to a small clearing at the edge of the camp. Gathered around a fire was a group of about 7 performers, including the resident fortune teller Mona.

"Nice Peli! You actually got her to come." Someone said.

"I think he got her to do more than that," Mona said as she eyed their entwined hands. Peli quickly let go of Ruhya's hand and stammered out a protest. The group of performers laughed at the 16-year-old as he tried to explain the hand holding.

After taking a few minutes to calm down, the group prepared for the good luck ceremony. Passing around a small knife each member cut a lock of hair and threw it into the fire. Ruhya made sure to cut the bottom layer of her hair and laughed to herself. Now she knew the reason why Mona always hid her hair under a dark scarf.

Mona chanted some strange words then threw a pink powder into the fire, causing it to blaze brightly for a few seconds before going back to normal.

"Is it over? That was silly" Ruhya said.

"Yup." Peli agreed. He was too embarrassed to admit to Ruhya that he believed the ceremony would bring them good luck. The group of performers scattered and Peli grabbed Ruhya's hand to lead her back to her tent. They had only walked a few steps before Mona called out to them.

"Ruhya! Peli! Wait, I need to talk to you!"

Ruhya and Peli turned to Mona as she quickly jogged over to them.

"What is it?" Peli asked.

"Ruhya, I saw something. I don't know what it means, but I saw a pair of ruby red eyes in the fire. I could feel like they were meant for you. You should be careful these next few days." Mona warned.

"Thanks, but I don't believe in that stuff." Ruhya said.

"Don't say I didn't warn you. Beware of those red eyes." Mona warned one last time before returning to her fire.

"So silly, I don't even know anyone with red eyes."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you from anyone or anything." Peli stated with determination in his voice.

"My hero." Ruhya laughed as she patted Peli's arm, unable to see the strong emotion in his eyes.