I shrugged, “It doesn’t matter. We have to hurry or we will be late.”
“First we need to clean you up. You’re covered in ash and soot. Do you have any nice clothes?” Jack asked.
“Nice clothes?” I repeated faintly.
“Anything fancy?” Jack said pulling open my draws and rummaging through my things.
I felt my face turn bright pink, “Jack, stop it.” I said half heartedly, “I don’t own nice clothes. They get ruined.”
“We’ll improvise.” He smiled grabbing my hand and dragging me from the room.
By ten o’clock I was wearing an unfamiliar dress of Camryn’s (who had reluctantly agreed to let me borrow it), and standing in the middle of an eager crowd who were all pushing and shoving trying to get seats closest to the front of the stage. It was a small theatre, with only two hundred seats give or take a few, and it smelled quite dank. However the stage was vast, beautiful and brightly lit from a source of light that I couldn’t seem to find. The stage just seemed to be glowing.
I also noticed that the audience seemed to be vastly made up of men, who were all very excited to be there. A few had their wives tagging along, looking sour with folded arms and their noses held in the air.
“You look pretty.” Jack complimented me when we found our seats somewhere in the middle of the theatre.
“Thank you.” I muttered, half-amused at Jack’s teasing smile. I was very glad he wasn’t mad at me anymore, yet there was something different about his smile. It didn’t seem to be reaching his eyes. “Thank you for bringing me, also.” I added.
Jack shrugged and faced the stage, waiting. I guessed that I should stop talking.
Several minutes passed in silence for Jack and I, with much excited murmuring to be heard around us. Finally the room went dark and the glowing stage was the only source of light. A hush fell upon the room and my chest felt tight. Obviously I was about to experience something quite remarkable by the looks of things. In the deathly silence a pair of shoes could be heard clicking slowly and smartly against polished wood. My eyes were fixed upon the stage as I waited eagerly.
There was no introduction to the act for Madame Feather stepped onto the stage and I knew that it was her in an instant. My breath caught in my chest as I gazed upon her perfection. Her hair was long, thick and so blonde that it appeared white in the glowing light. It cascaded down her body and past the small of her back so elegantly that somewhere beneath my awe and admiration I felt jealously. Her skin was perfect and pale; her lips cherry red. She was small and petite wearing a flowing robe of spun silver, and her eyes were crystal blue.
I seemed to have lost my voice. Now I understood why all these people were so eager to see Madam Feather. I would have paid for the ticket simply to gaze at her and feel the most wonderful peace.
The room was so quiet you could have heard a mouse scurry across the floor.
I clutched at Jack’s coat in anticipation as the beautiful woman before us parted her perfect lips to bestow her power upon us.
When the song reached my ears I felt the most unusual sensation. I was calm, serene. I was floating. I didn’t have a care in the world. If dying felt this good, I would gladly welcome it. All the stress and worry I had ever felt seemed to ebb away in a few short seconds. Suddenly everything was beautiful.
The purest thing I had ever heard in my entire life shook me so close to my being that it took a lot of effort not to pass out. I was barely conscious and unaware of my surroundings as I drank in the melody and let it fill me up. I was being cleansed.
I was floating in and out of consciousness when the song came to an end. Several second passed before I grasped hold of reality and pulled myself above water. I breathed deeply and let the oxygen back into my brain for I seemed to have forgotten how to breathe properly.
Another few minutes passed and Jack was shaking me a little.
“Are you okay?” He said in a hoarse voice.
“Yes.” I nodded feebly.
I became aware that I could hear yelling. Several members of the audience were complaining and wanting to hear more of Madame Feather’s song, but she was nowhere in sight. The stage was empty and the glowing was gone.
“Where did she go?” I asked.
“The show is over.” Jack said tugging my arm.
“Already?” I said flabbergasted.
Jack checked his Time-Keeper, “We have been here for over an hour.”
“What?” I gasped.
“Come on.” Jack tugged at my arm a little harder, “Before it gets violent in here.”
As we stepped out into the moonlit night Jack and I were both a little unsteady on our feet. To an outsider it would have appeared that we had drunk a little too much wine.
“What happened back there?” I asked Jack.
“Weird, isn’t it?” Jack smiled dreamily, “What did it feel like for you?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.