Ricardia opened her eyes, bleary and disoriented. She felt pressure on her shoulders, and belatedly realized that someone was shaking her awake.
"Huh - what are you doing?" She groaned, rolling over. Now that she was face-up, she could see her assailant, which was Sana, grinning wide. She pulled herself upright, shaking off the last vestiges of sleep.
"Time to go, princess," Sana grabbed the costume that Ricardia had left on the table earlier and tossed it to her. "Your debut moment has finally arrived!"
Ricardia sight her head as Sana pulled her to her feet and ushered her out of the room. "This is going to go terribly, isn't it?"
"Maybe!" Sana laughed as she stopped in front of a different door along the hallway, guiding Ricardia though. "But at least you'll look good doing it."
Sana was true to her word. The space she'd been brought to, which appeared to be both bathroom and dressing-room, boasted a huge mirror and an impressive display of cosmetics. It was where all the serving girls went before presenting themselves to the clientele, Sana explained, and now Ricardia was to experience the ritual.
She could only stare at herself, dazed, as Sana stripped off her gray, concealing outfit to squeeze her into the outrageous robe. Her curly hair, tied up for so long, was washed, brushed, and braided. In the aftermath, she could hardly recognize herself. Her outfit hugged her curves; the hair that hadn't been braided now fell in curtains across her shoulders. Her cheeks had aquired a delicate pink sheen - the green in her eyes popped bright against the mascara that framed it.
"You look spicy," Sana stepped back, admiring her handiwork.
Ricardia groaned. "I look like some - I don't know..." She trailed off, distracted by her own face. "Isn't it all a bit much?"
"Nothing is too much for the stage, sister." Sana tugged on her sleeve lightly - it was time to go, it seemed. "Time to see if you can sink or swim."
...
As Ricardia stepped into the club, the first detail she noticed was the absence of the Sandroom's central dance floor. A raised platform had been installed in its place, and atop it stood Dani, who was already yammering away to the crowd. Ricardia caught the last few snippets of her speech as they drew closer.
"...She's traveled over ten sectors to be here tonight, folks - a celebrated dancer in her home colony! Tonight's a special one-" Dani turned, spotting Ricardia. "-you'll get to see a performance that is sacred to the Caedish; a performance of skill, beauty... and featuring the power of a Factor." Sana pushed her forward as Dani pulled; together they deposited her right into the limelight. "Tonight, the lovely Ricardia will tell us a story, one that is told with the body, and the soul - not with words."
Despite the terror running through her, Ricardia couldn't help but feel a twinge of indignation. She felt like a parading animal, ready to perform a trick.
"Give her a hand, people, and enjoy the show!" Then Dani swept past to the sound of half-hearted applause, leaving Ricardia alone on stage. She was past terrified, now - there was just a numbness, as though nothing around her was real. For an impossibly long moment, Ricardia stood there, suddenly aware she had no idea what to do.
Then music, painful and familiar, filled the room. It was the Aura, the Tenth Form, and its opening notes passed through her like a bolt of lighting.
There were differences, of course, then to what she was used to. Her home city favored lighter wind instruments and a slightly faster tempo, but the melody itself was unmistakable.
Slowly, deliberately, Ricardia lifted her arms, crossing them above her head. She took a breath, then two, hesitating for a beat longer than she normally would. But she knew Dani was out there, watching, and so she released her Factor.
There was an audible gasp from the crowd as the skin on her arms and hands lit up with a brilliant blue light.
...
Generations ago, when the Ferrum Rete granted the Caedish their own colony planet, they had little in the way of material possessions. But one of the few relics people had brought from their old world were the first five Forms. The dances depicted lives filled with struggle, survival, and the separation of the Cead from their original Planatae. When they began to settle and prosper in the new colony, a new Planatae began to form, which priests intended to bestow upon it the same name as their people - Caedum.
When Caedum finally came into existence, the Caedish began to give birth to a new generation - thier children possesed the power of a Factor. It manifested as heightened bioluminescence; those with the skill could manipulate light and color anywhere on their body. The next five Forms were created then, in celebration, and only those with the Caedish Factor could perform them correctly.
Aura was the tenth, and Last Form to have been created. It told the story of Luluc the Wanderer, a man who was said to have traveled across Caedum in search of his true love.
...
Ricardia's arms, outstretched and shining with cerulean light, represented the sky, the vastness and grandeur of it. Following the music, her movements became sharper, more erratic, limbs splayed out at harsher angles.
Then her skin lost its color, took on shifting patterns of gray, white, brown. Her fingertips, however, burst aflame with a blinding yellow, darting around the air like lighting in a storm. She was telling a story, but one that used movement and color, rather than words.
Luluc, always alone, was traveling through the mountains when he was surprised by a storm. It raged for a day and night, then another. It was like a beast, a predator, and so Luluc sought his escape in a cave, high on a mountain peak.
Ricardia depicted this by closing in on herself, limbs folding down, color fading away until it was just her plain brown skin.
Luluc went deep inside to escape the rain and thunder, but it was dark, and he had quickly gotten lost. He wandered the cave for a long time in the darkness, despairing that he would be trapped there forever.
Ricardia shot up suddenly, balancing delicately on the balls of her feet. Following the swells of the music, she twirled, lept, twisted - never pausing in her motion.
Suddenly, close to death, he saw a light in the distance, dancing in his vision. He was hungry, and tired, but he ran towards it, as though it were a beacon. For a long time, he ran, but he couldn't catch the light. Finally, Luluc fell to his knees, unable to keep up.
Ricaridia slowed, her movements becoming more gentle. The brilliant white light of her skin faded to a warm-amber, its intensity pulsing to a gentle beat.
The music was slowing, the melody growing soft. She allowed it to guide her, to soften her movements.
Luluc closed his eyes, all hope lost. He felt like the last person in the world at that moment, lost in the darkness. But then, he heard a woman's voice, and felt a hand slip into his, helping him rise again.
Ricardia's skin flashed with the most complex of patterns yet; blue, green, the magenta of a setting sun. But amongst the brightness were dark, stormy designs. There were the colors of Caedem, her home. The same colors Luluc saw when his true love guided him back into the light.
Silence, then, as the music ended. Ricardia settled into a relaxed position, breathing hard. During the entire Form, she'd lost herself in the dance, the music. Now that it was over, she'd been pulled back into reality, and the pressure of the crowd surrounding her.
Then, suddenly, she was bombarded with noise; the crowd was applauding her. Movement caught her attention, and Ricardia turned to see Dani had climbed back onstage. She grabbed Ricardia's hand and lifted it, pulling the two of them into an awkward bow.
Taken off guard by the gesture, Ricardia didn't have time to protest. But as Dani lifted her head, grinning, she was already off the stage, heading towards the back of the club.
Ricardia moved as fast as she could, but the room was crowded and the people around her were curious and emboldened by alcohol. People reached out as she passed, touching her skin, whistling, catcalling. She had to force herself through, shoving and pushing. A large, ruddy-faced man stepped in front of her, forcing Ricardia to come to a stop. He grinned at her, swaying on his feet.
"That was a real pretty performance," he said, stepping closer. "Have a drink with me - I'd love to see those colors up close." Ricardia pulled back, suddenly aware of the tight space she found herself in.
But then Sana shoved her way into Ricardia's presence, expertly pulling her along . She brushed off the man like an insect, giving him a sly smile and shoving a glass of alcohol into his hand. Then she turned, disappearing with Ricardia back into the crowd.