Ursula took another deep breath, closed her eyes, then summoned her courage and opened them. She climbedthe three steps and walked onto the stage, the thin soles of her slippers shuffling softly against the smooth, hard floor.Carmen’s dancing shoes will sound wonderful against this material. She found the center of the stage, took another deep breath, straightened her spine, threw her shoulders back, and turned to face the crowd. She raised an arm, the sleeve falling back to reveal the sparkling bracelets encircling her wrist and the jeweled rings on four of her fingers. Faceted stone and gleaming metal caught and reflected the morning sunshine as though she were surrounded in a brilliant nimbus of sparkling light.
“Good morning, Fangrys Village!” Ursula spoke in her very best imitation of Robin William’s iconic greeting inGood Morning, Vietnam.She knew nobody except Carmen would understand the pop culture reference, but she enjoyed using it anyway. Carmen’s delighted smile and thumbs-up gesture showed that the other woman appreciated it. She took a breath and looked at the crowd of expectant attendees all garbed in their finest.
Turning her head to look at the crowd, the morning sunlight made the spokes of her jeweled tiara sparkle. “I am delighted you could attend what I hope will be the first of an annual festival here. As many of you know, I’m one of the brides sent from the planet Earth. Back in my homeland, we celebrate an autumn or harvesttime festival called Halloween. Halloween benefits from a mixture of Earth cultures and customs, some of which I have integrated into this event, as well as other events I am sure all of you—and especially our children—will enjoy and appreciate.”
Ursula paused and again let her gaze roam across the gathered crowd. No one smiled. No one clapped. They gave her their solemn attention. She wondered briefly if that was merely because of her high caste status as the Fangrys Prima. Forcing a broad, welcoming smile that she in no way intended as threatening despite the baring of her teeth, she clapped her hands together and said, “So, without further ado, let’s get this shindig started!” She gestured to her left. “We have many wonderful vendors offering an amazing variety of handcrafted items.” She gestured to her right. “And we have a plethora of food vendors to tempt everyone’s tastebuds.”She raised both arms. “And here on stage, we have a full program of performances. First up is Omari Prima Carmen Sanchez and her warrior triad performing a Spanish flamenco!”
After Ursula exited stage left, Pako mounted the stage first, carrying an instrument that didn’t quite look like a guitar. Ursula assumed it was the Urib version of the stringed instrument. He pulled over a stool and carefully positioned it before taking a seat, balancing the not-guitar on one knee. Yiis walked on stage next, carrying a drum. He, too, pulled over a stool, carefully positioned it, and sat with the tall drum placed between his knees. He rested his palms on the drum’s taut leather top. Mosk and Carmen climbed the stairs next, her hand in his. Mosk positioned himself center forward and struck a pose, looking both supercilious and sexy in a costume Carmen had adapted to the Urib male’s physique. Dressed in a skin-tight, red dress with a skirt of cascading, flame-colored ruffles, Carmen posed beside him, raising one arm and extending the other, castanets in each hand. Her large chandelier earrings matched the flame colors of her skirt.
Pako began the performance, his claws strumming the not-guitar with flawless precision. Yiis’ hands struck a rhythm on the drum in perfect counterpoint. After a moment, he began to sing, his resonant tenor starting low and increasing in volume as he verbalized deep emotions of love, loss, joy, and grief, his voice rising and descending with the not-guitar’s music. As he sang, Carmen and Mosk began to dance, drawing gasps of astonishment from the crowd who had gathered to watch this spectacle of Earth culture. When the performance ended with Carmen gracefully draped backward over Mosk’s brawny arm and the clacking castanets finally silent, Ursula joined them onstage and applauded with obvious enthusiasm. The Urib crowd quickly followed suit and clapped, emulating their Prima’s expression of appreciation. The Omari Triad and their Prima bowed.
“Wasn’t thatabsolutely magnificent?” she called out. She glanced at her program as the Omari Triad and their Prima left the stage. “Next up we have an acrobatic performance by our very own warrior recruits!”
She clapped again and exited the stage as a group of six young males, not a berserker among them, dragged mats onto the stage and placed them to form a softer landing than the hard surface below. The adolescent males had choreographed martial arts kicks, hits, parries, and tumbles, some with empty hands and some with blunt wooden weapons. When they finished, the crowd remembered the appropriate response—appropriate according to their Prima—and applauded. The young males took a cue from the first act and bowed, chests heaving as they panted from their athletic exertions.
As the young males dragged their mats off the stage, Ursula once again addressed the crowd. “We have one more performance before a break in the program. Please use that break to visit our festival market. Parents, please take your little ones to the children’s activity area where they can have their faces painted and try out a variety of crafts. And, everyone, don’t forget to sample the food. It’samazing!”
The crowd lingered, politely waiting for the third performance before they felt free to explore. However, that time, Ursula didn’t leave the stage. Instead, she announced, “The last performance of this morning is me.”
Folks gasped, although some murmured among themselves that the Fangrys Prima was known for being odd and overly bold—and her mates altogether too permissive.
“I’m going to sing three songs,” she said. “The first is ‘Think of Me’ fromThe Phantom of the Opera. This is the song that first caught my mates’ notice.” She glanced at them hovering nearby and smiled. “My second song is ‘I Will Always Love You’ by Dolly Parton, a personal favorite, and my final song will be ‘Let It Go,’ the theme song from the Walt Disney movieFrozen.” She looked at Gil and said, “Hit it.”
Recorded music swelled and filled the entire village. Ursula saw no speakers, but trusted in his assurance that instrumentals of each recorded song would play without static or other sounds distracting from her performance. On cue, she lifted her voice, the aria soaring toward the sky as she worked to reach andsustain those high notes. When she finished, the crowd of Urib males and mixed assembly of pure and hybrid females gaped before remembering their newly learned response of clapping. After a pause, she launched into the next song. When the third song concluded, Ursula curtsied and bowed her head. Upon rising, she thanked them for listening and again urged them to enjoy themselves before the afternoon’s performances began.
“You… were…awesome,” Carmen enthused, wrapping her friend in a hug. She pulled back, grinned, and said, “Come. Yiis doesn’t like manning your booth, and Bran has a picnic waiting for you there.”
Ursula blinked. “Yiisis staffing my booth?”
Carmen giggled. “He caught some young thug attempting to make off with one of your vases and decided to keep watch. Then a customer approached and he found himself obligated to serve as your salesman.” She giggled again. “He’s aterriblesalesman.”
“I’ll bet,” Ursula replied in an arid tone as Zul moved behind the two women and placed a big hand lightly on his mate’s shoulder to indicate his readiness to escort them to her market stall. Pako moved into place beside Carmen and took her hand in his. “I’d better get over there before he scares away all my customers.”
Carmen shook her head and chuckled. Eyes twinkling, she offered, “Do you want me to set my men to rounding up customers for you?”
Ursula laughed. “No, thanks anyway. I’ll have lunch with my triad, then shoo them away so I can serve my customers until it’s time for the afternoon’s first performance.”
“I’ll staff the booth for you then. Yiis won’t mindtoomuch.” She grinned. “I can beverypersuasive.”
Ursula laughed. “With moves like I saw in your dance, you’ll seduce every male in the village into buying something. Do you want a job?”
Carmen laughed and shook her head. “Nah. I’m happy being a housewife these days.”
Chapter 24
Zul made sure Ursula was occupied in her parlor when the mayor, the sheriff, and their mate arrived at the Fangrys triad’s manse in obedience to the Fangrys Prime’s command. The visitors looked about in awe, not quite gaping, at the majestic edifice in which the warrior triad lived as a supercilious castratus led them to Bran’s office. Bran remained seated when they entered, surmising that standing and looming over them would be unnecessarily intimidating.
“We are here as you ordered, my lord,” the mayor said with a shallow bow of perfunctory respect.
Standing between her mates, the thin female sank into a deep curtsey, keeping her eyes downcast and her head properly covered. Bran noted her lack of adornment, the plain fabrics in dull colors she wore. Beside her, the sheriff bowed and said nothing.
“Mistress Soraia,” Bran addressed the female, who visibly flinched, “the castratus will take you to visit with the Prima.”
“Our mate goes nowhere without escort by either me or my bond,” the sheriff growled.
Bran leveled a cool look at him. “Do you imply your mate is in danger here?”
“Of coursenot, my lord.”
