Page 13 of A Tale of Mirth & Magic

B ARRA

T his was bad. This was very, very bad.

I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be going home tonight.

Or any night for the foreseeable future.

Because I was fairly certain that I had feelings for Elikki.

Strong, mushy, unbearable feelings for this elf with her artistic and magical talent, boundless flirtations, fiery temper, and bubbly light that contained hidden depths.

As we continued on the path, me striding beside Pebble’s plodding steps, I thought back over the last few hours.

The things she’d shared with me. Everything I’d shared with her—I couldn’t believe how long I’d rambled about the girls!

Ma Wren usually teased me for being such a closed book with strangers.

My fingers found the red ribbon that Elikki had used to tie back my hair. I hoped it didn’t look ridiculous. But I trusted her when she said it looked nice. Striking but understated. I warmed at the memory.

Usually, I aimed for more of a bland and forgettable style—all the better to blend into the background.

Elikki called me out on that within a day of knowing me.

This seemed to be one of her signature skills.

Even more than that, she somehow made me break out of my comfort zone a little in a way that didn’t make me feel judged or pressured.

I still wasn’t even quite sure how it’d happened.

But I knew that I liked it. And I wanted more.

I wanted her to keep nudging me, in her teasing way, and for her to let me nudge her a bit more too.

There was so much locked up in her about her past, her family, her childhood.

Maybe it would be a release for Elikki to let it out.

I had experience with that. I could help if she wanted me to.

Hopefully in a way that didn’t cause more balls of ricocheting metal to storm around me and my horse.

But I hadn’t lied. The sight had been incredible. Beautiful. She was.

And a little terrifying, in a sexy way. I could only imagine what else she was capable of.

The image of Elikki commanding her power for those moments, gray eyes blazing and auburn hair tumbling over her shoulders, would be burned into my memory for a very long time.

It was like when I first met her in the market.

The way she took control of the situation with that sleazeball Felsith was one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen in my life.

Probably second only to what had happened just now.

When I steadied her, held her neck as she came back to herself—it had been a long time since I connected with anyone like that. I knew what she needed, and I reached for her without a second thought. I would have stood with her there for hours in the road if that’s what it took.

I would have kissed her back if she had moved toward me. I had almost thought she was about to.

I would, I realized suddenly, have done anything to stop her from hurting.

At some point during our short time together, my walls had started to come down for Elikki. My carefully constructed, two-years-in-the-making walls that I fancied were made of thick, solid steel. It had taken so little for her to disintegrate them.

Was it because of Elikki specifically and how amazing she made me feel? Or was this just my old patterns emerging again, urging me to give and give and give to convince people to love me?

Either way, what should I do now? I abhorred the thought of leaving her, but could I trust myself to not lose my sense of self this time, with someone new?

As my mind was churning over these frustrating questions, I began to hear a strange noise in the distance. It sounded like a manic, slightly off-key fiddle. Or… a few fiddles?

“Do you hear that?” Elikki asked.

“Yes. I think it might be music?”

“Or it’s trying to be.”

The sounds got louder as we walked on. After a couple of minutes, an unusual group of people appeared around a bend.

There were six of them. Musicians, apparently. Or perhaps more accurately, enthusiastic instrument players.

Leading the group were the fiddlers I’d heard—two fauns and a gnome carrying instruments of varied sizes. Incongruously, the gnome held the largest one, its hefty bulk held up with a shoulder strap and her sturdy shoulders.

Behind the fiddlers followed a plump, sky-blue caravan wagon pulled by a large brown-and-white spotted horse.

A dwarf and a fairy sat driving the wagon.

Well, neither of them seemed quite to be driving, as they were engaged in an intense make-out session, but the horse calmly followed the fiddlers down the road.

Trailing behind the motley crew was a dazed-looking centaur who weaved along as he conducted to the clouds above, singing happily to himself.

One of the fauns, a tall tawny-skinned fellow wearing voluminous pink pantaloons cropped above his hooves, caught sight of Elikki and me as his group approached. He stopped playing and cried, “Fellow travelers! What a delight!”

The other faun perked up, bow pausing in the air above her fiddle. Her curvy body was wrapped entirely in intricately tied colorful scarves, with only the tawny skin of her head, neck, and shoulders visible.

“Greetings and good wishes!” she said.

My ears were relieved to have a slight reprieve from the noise. Unfortunately, though, the gnome seemed to be the loudest—and most erratic—among the fiddlers. She carried on unbothered, dancing in place as she played.

“Hello!” Elikki called back with a laugh. “What a treat to get a free performance on our long walk. But maybe your companion could take a break from fiddling for a moment?”

At that, the gnome’s music stopped with a screech. She swung her head around and peered at Elikki with disdain.

“This ain’t a fiddle, lady, it’s a lute. Are ya blind ?”

Holding in giggles, Elikki said, “Right you are. Deepest apologies.” The little gnome scowled, her russet-brown face pinched under a mop of stark white hair.

“Oh, chill out, Mavis,” Pink Pantaloons said. “Don’t insult our charming audience!”

“Audience?” I said, slightly alarmed.

“Yes! How fortuitous! We can try out some new material for you!” Pink Pantaloons seemed to speak only in excited exclamations. He and Scarf Girl jumped forward, corralling Elikki and me to sit on a large fallen log at the side of the road.

“Those nincompoops at the inn had no taste,” Scarf Girl said. “We had to… er… move on after just a couple songs. Uncultured twats.”

“But you two look like just the kind of folk who would appreciate ingenious melodies when you hear them! I’m Vin, and this is my sister, Niv! Just rest here a few moments while our world-renowned troupe prepares to WOW you!”

Vin bowed. Niv winked. They were off in a flash, a whirlwind of color shouting excitedly at their companions and pulling instruments from the wagon.

I was about to protest, but Elikki was clearly loving this. Her eyes sparkled with amusement. I sighed. If this was what brushed away the shadows from earlier and brought a smile back to her face, then I could endure an ear-grating song or two. We had to stop for lunch soon anyway.

I tied Pebble loosely to a tree near a small creek.

After grabbing a few items from my saddlebags, I settled onto the log beside Elikki.

I laid a napkin on the log between us and spooned some preserved fig spread over two slightly stale flatbreads and added walnuts, honey, and cheese on top.

I cut a few thin slices of cured meat and added that.

Folding them in half, I passed one to Elikki. She raised an eyebrow.

“It’s good. Trust me,” I said. She took a bite. Chewing, her eyes widened.

“Okay, that is amazing . The spicy kick in the meat is genius.” She took a bigger bite, eventually swallowed, then said, “Wow, I’m obsessed with this.”

“One of my sister Monty’s creations. A favorite of mine.” Pleased, I started on my own meal as we watched the performers setting up.

The dwarf and fairy had finally untangled their limbs and climbed down from the driver’s bench.

The fairy, a willowy young man with deep black skin, helped Vin unlatch the wagon’s door.

They placed the thick piece of wood on the ground to create a small stage of sorts.

The fairy stood in the center and cleared his throat, then began running through a series of warm-up vocal exercises.

Niv raced around, scarves flying, positioning the rest of the group in the road. The ruddy-faced dwarf man helped her pull the centaur’s attention away from the clouds and got him next to the fairy.

Mavis the gnome began to do her little hopping dance around the centaur as she tuned her lute.

It was hard to tell whether her goal was to keep him in place, entertain him, or bother him.

But the muscular centaur laughed good-naturedly, his two golden arms and four oak-colored hairy legs moving in time with Mavis’s wild tune.

Spotting Elikki and me on our log, he waved and let out a “WOOOOOOO! Hotties in the house!”

“That man is as high as a kite.” Elikki giggled, nodding toward the blissed-out centaur.

“Seems to be enjoying himself though,” I said, laughing with her.

We waved back at him, and I did a high, appreciative whistle.

Delighted, the centaur flexed his pecs and made an elaborate kicking turn, nearly trampling Mavis.

She shook her tiny fist at him and huffed off to the other side of the makeshift stage.

The dwarf came over and passed a tambourine up to him.

The centaur looped it on one wrist like a bracelet and resumed his flexing.

“He must be their eye candy backup dancer,” she said. “Look at that body!”

“Mm-hmm. Guess it wouldn’t hurt to stay for a song or two. Since he’s so excited we’re here,” I said. Elikki and I grinned at each other.