There was a large crowd gathered in a circle, but I couldn't see what was happening. I tried shouldering through the mass of bodies and I managed to nudge one person but they didn't pay me no mind. It was only when they saw Rylan standing close behind me did they part. A narrow path formed to the middle where I could now distinguish music coming from a soldier holding a lyre.
He plucked the strings furiously and several people were whirling, catching each other's arms and spinning around in circles. The lyre player had a gnarly scar across his face and one of his eyes was milky white. His fingers slowed when he saw us and the dancers petered to a stop.
I stepped in the middle of the circle with a burst of courage I hadn't known I'd possessed, and turned slowly, suddenly aware of all the eyes upon me. The lyre player looked at me with his one good eye and I returned his stare with raised eyebrows, an encouraging smile on my face. I waved my hands at him to continue. He nodded once and stood with the lyre in his arms.
He strummed his instrument, playing one long, deep chord before bouncing off into another quick tune. As the thrumming rhythm whispered in my ears, I started to dance. Then I was in the middle of a crowded dance floor and it was like the world was spinning around me.
I lost myself in the music, and a hand slipped into one of mine. Another hand grasped the other in a tight grip and my feet almost lifted off of the ground. I laughed giddily as I was stuck between the two twins, spinning me between them. I looked at them, Haigen and Haiden, but if I couldn't tell them apart before, I certainly couldn't now as both of their faces blurred in front of my eyes. Anders joined in and I could feel the ground reverberate beneath me every time he jumped. At some point during the dance, someone dragged out a pair of drums and the beat echoed through the dark night sky.
My face was flushed and I was out of breath and my back was throbbing but I was alive. I could sense my worries slipping away and I let them. My feet danced to the rhythm of the lyre and the clapping faster than my mind could process. Little dirt clouds puffed every time I would twist and little wisps of hair stuck to my lips.
Just outside the circle, standing as still as a garden statue, was a lone figure not even tapping his foot. Rylan tilted his head in silent warning as I skipped to him. The smile on my face grew as I looked up at him with teasing eyes. He held his hand up to stop me, but I grabbed it instead, pulling him forward into the dancing mass of people.
He stood with his arms crossed in a sea of swaying dancers, but I thought I caught a glimpse of a grin on his face as he watched me spin and twirl in front of him. I grabbed his hand just as Anders caught hold of his other one. One by one we formed a human chain, circling faster and faster until I thought we would lift off of the ground. We broke apart and I could tell Rylan was already eyeing his escape route, but before he could try, I linked my arms through his.
The dance grew livelier and livelier. Rylan's arms circled around me as we spun around and around until we were both breathless. We fell in step together, letting the music control our movements. My surefooted movements guiding Rylan's more hesitant paces. My heartbeat quickened in tune to the rhythm or maybe it was the feeling of his hands on my waist. Rylan's face lost that closed-off, guarded expression he wore so well. My hair fanned around my face as I twirled, the music breathing through my body. The music swelled and it felt like we were floating on air, being taken wherever the wind would carry us. Our chests heaved in unison as the song faded into nothing. Neither of us had noticed that the floor had cleared to watch us.
There was a long moment of silence before Anders let out a loud whistle, cheering wildly and soon the rest of the soldiers that had gathered around joined in. I realized that they had been watching Rylan just as much as they had watched me. Maybe they were shocked at his dance moves or maybe they had never seen him like that before. Carefree. I saw more than a few faces shining with admiration for their captain.
Rylan led me away from the circle just as the lyre player belted out another song and I let him. I was too out of breath to even think about dancing again. We hadn't walked far before a hand ruffled my hair.
"I can't believe you got this one out there." Anders jabbed a thumb in Rylan's direction and instead of the scowl I expected, Rylan had a wide grin on his face.
"That felt good." Rylan admitted.
The dance floor dispersed, replaced by a large campfire. The lyre player stayed, perched on a stump at the edge and strumming softly. The drums laid forgotten in the grass. The soldiers broke off into groups.
"How can you tell them apart?" I whispered to Rylan. We had been watching the twins, one of whom dragged out a table from the dining hall. They were seated opposite each other and we stood far enough away that they couldn't hear us.
"They make it almost impossible."
Haiden -I thought- held a splayed hand, one with all five fingers attached, flat against the tabletop. Haigen held a kitchen knife in one hand and he had his eyes closed as he stabbed the point of the knife into the table between the spaces of Haiden's fingers. A few soldiers had gathered around them and Haigen fed off their energy, picking up speed, a wicked grin lining his features. His audience clapped to the speed of the knife and I looked away just before its point embedded dangerously close to Haiden's middle finger. At this rate, his hand will match his twin's.
"Come with me." Rylan held out his arm and guided me away from the others. It wasn't until I couldn't feel the heat from the fire and I could make out Rylan's face only from the moonlight that we stopped. The soldiers were yelling in the distance. We were on the edge of camp near the training grounds and I could barely see the targets in the dim lighting.
I sunk to the ground. Dew had already started collecting on the grass and my clothes were already wet with it. Rylan sat next to me, close enough that I could've reached out and touched him if I wanted. His knee was dangerously close to mine. I looked up at the waxing moon, quieting my thoughts and pretending the distance between us wasn't so scarce. He seemed comfortable like this and I wondered why he kept it so hidden from others. I looked to the stars and let out a long sigh. "Being strong and resilient makes a good leader. But being human makes a great leader. You just showed them your human side. I have no doubt they'll follow you anywhere now."
"And how did you know they wouldn't before?"
"Oh, please. I saw the way they trembled in your presence or how fear coated their features when you walked by." I was only half-kidding. "They would have deserted the first chance they got."
Rylan remained quiet and I was worried that I had offended him. I knew desertion was a topic most soldiers took very seriously and here I was, making jokes about it.
"I was raised to be feared. It was how my father taught me. Show no weakness and nothing could be used against you. Even your own son." Rylan's jaw clenched and his mouth twisted into a nasty line. "I can't afford to make mistakes, to relax. It was foolish to believe that I could be like anyone else."
I turned to look at him, but I couldn't make out his expression in the dark. The shadows had once again returned. I tentatively reached a hand out, placing it across the lower part of his cheek. I felt the muscles in his jaw relax against my palm. "No one can be so stoic forever and it's preposterous to ask that of someone."
"Don't look at me like that." Rylan's eyes darkened and he pulled my hand away, holding it in both of his. "Like there is something more to me. This is who I am."
"But maybe it's not who you are supposed to be."
Rylan's fingers curled around my wrist and started tracing circles across my pulse. Every touch sent tingles up my arm. There was a fluttering starting in my chest when he mapped out every line on my palm. And when his fingertips brushed against mine-
"What are these from?" Rylan found the calluses on the pads of my fingers. I snatched my hand from his grip, clutching it to my chest which had started to rise and fall rapidly.
"Nothing." The lie slipped hastily through my lips, sounding just as breathless as I felt. I hunched over, letting my hair fall so it formed a curtain between us, a short curtain. I noticed the remains of the campfire had been reduced to glowing embers and the sound of the other soldiers were gone. "Farming stuff."
I couldn't very well tell him the truth. My calluses had formed from years of pulling back a bowstring. I cursed myself for not wearing a glove to protect my fingers, but I had always liked the satisfying feeling of letting the bowstring go with my bare fingers. Although, who would've been able to predict this is where I would end up or that one of the only things that brought me joy would betray me? But then again, I should never have been here in the first place, lying about it.
"It's late. We should go back." I stood up, brushing the grass from my clothes. I waited for Rylan to call me out on my lie, but if he knew what the calluses were from he didn't say it. I risked a glance past my hair. Rylan was still sitting in the grass, staring up at me with narrow eyes. If he was expecting a different answer, he wouldn't get it.
"They're nothing."
A/N
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-T