A girl to my left began powdering my cheeks, while another one straightened my sash. Someone else began to fasten bangles to my ankles and wrists.
"What is going on here?" I asked the room of people, but no one was paying any attention to what I was saying. They all seemed to be rushing about in a scurried frenzy.
"Okay!" the man with the gold teeth shouted. He swung me around by my shoulders to face him, giving me a once-over. He brought his fingers to his mouth and kissed them in the same manner as an Italian chef. "Voila! You look absolutely stunning!"
He turned me away from him and pushed me towards what I thought was a wall, until I noticed the gleam of light moving from underneath. It was a set of curtains. . .
It suddenly dawned on me what was happening.
"Oh no, you"ve got the wrong girl for this!" I exclaimed.
I decided then and there that I preferred to be caught and punished. I"d gladly spend my whole freaking life here if that was what it took, rather than to go out on stage in front of people.
The man behind me laughed again. "She"s funny," he mentioned to whoever was standing next to him. Then, he pushed me hard into the curtains. "You"re on, draga! Knock "em dead!"
The stage lights immediately lit upon me while I stared motionlessly into the crowd of onlookers. "Oh, G.o.d," I groaned miserably. "This can"t be happening."
Someone with a microphone announced, "Here she is, Miss Lina Drynski, famed belly dancer extraordinaire!"
How was this possible? Lina would have seen it coming...it suddenly occurred to me that while she was wishing me luck, she had also said to "break a leg." What a miserable friend! She had known and hadn"t warned me. Note to self: Strangle Lina to death.
The crowd cheered as some music started blaring from nearby speakers. I turned behind me and caught a glimpse of the man with the gold teeth peeking through the curtains. He was waving frantically, motioning me to begin the dance.
"I don"t know which one I"m performing!" I yelled to him.
"The Ghawazee!" he yelled back.
As soon as he named the style, the steps to the dance filled my mind. This will be okay, I thought, trying to keep myself calm. I"d practiced the Ghawazee style numerous times with Lina, probably more than any other kind of dance. I can do this, I rea.s.sured myself. I couldn"t panic. The dance called for sensuality and slowly controlled movements. The appearance of panic would ruin the fluidity I needed to create.
I took one deep breath and closed my eyes. Here goes nothing, I thought. I lifted my hands in the air, pulling my right hip upwards, holding it there and waiting for the next beat.
As soon as it resounded, I dropped my hip, beginning the dance. I heard the roar of the crowd"s cheer again, but I didn"t open my eyes just yet. I pretended like they weren"t there. I acted like it was only me and Lina, practicing in some quiet studio.
As I lifted my hip up and down with the beat, I slowly turned my arm, keeping my thumb and index finger held together for an added touch of beauty, keeping the cymbals closed between them. I could feel my muscles scream because I hadn"t performed the dance in so long; the movement required perfect precision. Though it was difficult, it had to appear seamless, as if my arms were mere ribbons, fluttering softly and slowly in the breeze. I glanced to my left, keeping my eyes halfway closed and peering out from beneath my lashes.
I kept my face expressionless, but I was ridiculously happy because I"d executed the movement perfectly. I figured if I could still pull off the arm movements, I could probably get through the rest of the dance, too.
Since the beat was still slow and tribal-like, I placed my arms over my head and lifted my chest. I dropped it suddenly to my right side, and then downwards, and then to the left, and finally upwards. A perfect diamond. Then I moved faster, until I was isolating my rib cage and creating a rapid chest circle.
I heard the shrill cry of the zaghareet as the music picked up. I dropped my hip into a shimmy and began to twirl about the stage. The crowd continued to cheer and so I finally let myself open my eyes. As I realized that I was actually pulling this off, I smiled. My small, gleeful smile stayed plastered to my face as I continued the rest of the dance.
Bizarrely, while I danced, several images popped into my mind of other dances I"d performed during my past lives. I guess Dakota was right, after all; I had done this before. Confidence filled me as I remembered all my old performances. I really wished I would have felt the same confidence ten minutes ago, though I supposed it was better late than never.
I took a bow as the dance came to an end, breathing heavily. As I looked out into the cheering crowd, I noticed the strangest thing. It almost looked like Gabe was there. I thought I saw the familiar lines of his face, but the figure turned and became lost in the crowd.
I shook the spooky feeling away, sincerely hoping my constant longing to see Gabe hadn"t caused me to start hallucinating.
As soon as I walked backstage, everyone swarmed over me again. The man with the gold teeth stood on his toes to reach my forehead. There, he planted a kiss. "You were wonderful, draga! Simply spectacular!"
"Thank you," I said.
"Would you like to encore the audience with a tribal fusion dance?"
I grimaced. "Ugh, I"d love to, but I gotta run. Sorry!"
Dozens of people backstage approached me as I made my way towards the exit, but I ignored them all as I shouted more apologies. Eventually, I found my way outside the door and quickly retreated. I hurried down the steps, realizing how late it had become. I bet my father suspected our plan had failed. I hoped he would still be waiting for me by the pond.
"Lola, stop!"
Horrified at hearing my own name called out, I turned around to see who spotted me. I was startled as I did; however, and I actually jumped backwards.
Both Cam and Gabe were running to catch up with me. They had come from around the corner of the stage, slowing to a stop when they reached me.
"What are you guys doing here?" I murmured the question. "And how did you recognize me?"
I wondered if my eyes were playing tricks on me. I wondered if this was all an imaginary attempt to sabotage myself in some hugely insane way.
"Gabe knew it was you as soon as he saw you." Cam smiled brilliantly. "And we came to rescue you. This is the second time, I might add. Just so you know, you"ve met your quota on rescues for the year."
I wasn"t paying much attention to Cam because I couldn"t take my eyes off of Gabe.
He was scowling at me. I decided I couldn"t possibly be imagining this. If this was my own personal fantasy, Gabe would take me in his arms and kiss me. Or something along those lines, anyway. But it certainly wouldn"t involve scowling.
Eventually, I managed to pull my eyes away from Gabe and back to Cam.
"Well, that"s very nice of you both. But as you can see, I was in the middle of rescuing myself."
I didn"t even have the full sentence out of my mouth before I felt a hand snake across my upper arm. I looked up to see a guard behind me. He jerked me towards him.
"Over here," he shouted. "I"ve found her."
"How?" I asked.
The guard grinned eerily. He pointed to my forehead. "We read your mind."
Before I knew what was happening, Gabe managed to slam his fist into the guard"s stomach, causing the man to double over in pain.
"Run, Lo!" Cam shouted, motioning me to follow him. Without thinking twice, I picked up my skirt and started running as fast as I could, trying to keep up with Cam.
Someone shouted, "She went that way!" from behind me, so I ran even faster.
But running through the crowd had its issues. There were too many d.a.m.ned people in the way. Cam reached back for my hand, and as soon as he grabbed it, he yanked me forward. He tugged me along with him, dodging people left and right. Soon we came close to the river, and I knew where Cam"s thoughts were headed.
"We"re not swimming for it, are we?" I shouted. "I"m covered with coins and sequins-- I"ll sink straight to the bottom!"
"Try to jump to cover as much distance as you can," Cam yelled over his shoulder.
"Great plan," I shouted back sarcastically.
As we neared the edge, we picked up speed and I lifted my skirt higher. "Don"t jump till I say," Cam told me through heavy breaths.
We were almost at the edge of the bank when Cam finally shouted, "Now!" Jumping at the same time, we crashed into the icy water. The strong currents pushed me downstream and I fought to get my bearings. As soon as I felt the shallow ground beneath me, I pushed up hard, gasping for breath as I came through the trough.
"Lo, grab my hand!" Cam called to me.
I couldn"t see him, blinded by the water, though I reached out towards the sound of his voice. I felt him seize my wrist and pull me along to the bank with him. I used my other arm to help him swim against the current. But after running for so long, I was exhausted and didn"t have much strength left.
Cam pushed me to the sh.o.r.e first. I clutched for the ground, clawing at the dirt to pull myself up. It was difficult because I was weighed down from my soaking wet costume. As soon as I was completely out of the water, I turned around to help Cam, but he was already halfway out. I merely helped him pull himself the rest of the way.
We both took a moment to catch our breaths and I dimly noticed my wig floating downstream. The rushing water tossed it violently against the rocks until the auburn strands sank to their demise. I wondered how close I"d come to meeting the same fate.
Cam cut the break shorter than I would have liked. "Come on," he told me. "There"s no time. They can read our every move."
He helped me to my feet and then we began to jog again. My muscles screamed in protest.
"If we can just make it to the clearing ahead, there"s an SUV parked there."
"Okay," I breathed and I pushed myself to move faster.
We both noticed the guards coming at us from the left. And as soon as we turned to the right, we saw they were coming at us from that angle, also.
Cam and I both paused in our tracks. We didn"t have anywhere to run.
"You are ordered to stay where you are!" one of them yelled.
"Oh, h.e.l.l," Cam muttered beneath his breath. "Like there"s anywhere we could go if we wanted to."
Within moments, we were swarmed by guards. Thinking fast, I removed the small pistol from the inside of my dress, thankful to find it still intact. I pulled Cam towards me and held the gun to his head.
"This man is my prisoner! I will shoot him if I have to- so back off right now!"
"Are you crazy?" Cam whispered furiously.
"Just go with it," I whispered back.
One of the guards laughed loudly. He moved, standing directly in front of us. "Do you want me to save you the trouble, little girl?" he asked me derisively. "Because I"ll gladly shoot him for you. His life is worth less than nothing in comparison to your capture."
"He"s a Royal," I emphasized the word.
But the guard didn"t seem to care. He only shrugged. "He"s an abandoner. Most would be happy to have him dead."
"Do you wanna let me go now?" Cam grumbled. He"d become stiff after the guard mentioned the word "abandoner."
I groaned miserably and pushed Cam out of the way. I had no choice but to surrender myself.
THIRTY-EIGHT.
"Lola Moori, you are hereby charged with attempting escape and defying Queen Bonjara"s orders against you. How do you plead?"
"Guilty." I ground this out defiantly. Apparently, the Bonjara Queen had departed two days ago, which left me in the hands of another Gabor. This time, I was dealing with King Victor, who I"d always thought was a fair and just Royal, but I would be d.a.m.ned if I was going to sob for mercy to anyone for trying to leave Redwood Forest. They had to know they were being unreasonable. Any gypsy would agree with me on this point.
Victor motioned his advisor to step aside and he stood before me. Behind me, several guards secured Gabe to the ground. He"d been detained for throwing a punch to Prince Tiberius"s jaw. The prince had purposefully riled him, degrading the Constantin family with seedy insults from the moment he laid eyes on Cam and Gabe. "All hail the return of the mighty princes," Tiberius taunted them. When an awkward silence spread over the room, he continued in his droll tone of voice by adding, "I guess everyone here prefer your retirement to Florida. But honestly, we all believed you"d be more creative."
Gabe hadn"t put up with this for long before he started swinging. The guards had tackled him to the ground, but not before he"d managed to b.l.o.o.d.y Tiberius"s upper lip. Several Royals tried to calm the prince while he fumed in the far corner of the hall, his pride more wounded than anything else.
"Relax, Lola. I can see the tension in your shoulders." I dragged my attention away from the angry prince and turned back towards the residing King.
Victor motioned for me to take a seat on a nearby pillow. His casualty seemed strange, especially considering the amount of people observing us within the confines of the great hall. The room was full of Royals, guards and random spectators. I supposed the king was used to the attention, but it still felt increasingly uncomfortable to me. I hesitantly took a seat in front of the king, hoping this trial would be over soon. Let them throw me back in my jail. I didn"t care at this point; I simply wanted everything to be over.
"I"ve heard the rumors about your mind," he continued in a soft, relaxing voice. There was something about him that put me at ease, though I wasn"t quite sure what it was. "It seems your memories will unlock the secret hiding place for the crystal primus."
"Unfortunately, I"ve heard the same rumors."
"That"s a big burden on your shoulders, Miss Moori. How are you handling it?"
I blinked, surprised by the question. No one had ever asked me that question before. I wasn"t sure how to answer the king.
"I"m...okay. I guess. I try not to delve into my memories very much. No one wants me to."
The king appeared to be considering what I said. As if it mattered to him. I wondered if it did matter to him.
"At your age, I was trying to figure out who I was as a person. I looked to all my past lives for guidance, wisdom. I desperately needed that knowledge, trying to mold myself into a decent king. I believe the inability to look to one"s past is a tragedy, whether you are Royal or common."
I shifted on my pillow. Victor was sympathizing with me. The act itself was hard for me to process.
"Anyway," he continued. "It may be true that you are guilty-- you did attempt escape against Queen Bonjara"s orders."
Great, I thought. There goes my tiny dash of hope.
"Under normal circ.u.mstances, these charges would cause for a severe sentencing. However, I am willing to offer you clemency. Lola Moori, you are hereby pardoned of all charges. And since the departure of Queen Bonjara, my first official act of residing King is to relinquish you of her orders. You are free to go."
My jaw was left hanging open, along with everyone else"s who was present at the end of Victor"s speech. I even heard several gasps resound in sync with one another. Baffled, I wondered for a few seconds whether I just heard the man correctly.
The protests started almost immediately- namely from Tiberius. "You can"t be serious, Uncle!" he declared, wide-eyed with outrage.
Victor didn"t even acknowledge his nephew. Instead, he directed to me, "You may want to leave as soon as possible. I don"t know how long I"ll be in Redwood Forest, and the next Royal may hand out different orders."
Mindlessly, I stammered, "How d-do I know I won"t be summoned again?"
He merely waved my fears aside. "It"s like a double jeopardy of sorts. You can"t be summoned for the same reason twice. We also like to trust each other"s judgment. Well, most of the time. Bonjara might have a hard time swallowing it, but I think after listening to reason, she"ll come around."
I nodded. The feeling of giddiness began to set in and everything felt more real to me. This was actually happening. I caught Gabe"s expression out of the corner of my eye. He looked just about as dumbfounded as I was, yet relieved, too.