***
A few hours later the party still hadn’t abated, although the bard had to take a few breaks to rest his fingers and vocal chords. In the times that he was away an impromptu band made up of his backups would take up the music for a few minutes. However, the dancing always was wilder and the melodies sweeter when the professional performer grabbed his lute and sat down to play. Some people sat in groups around tables and chatted over the music, some danced in the way Barry had explained to Glint, basically exchanging places, twirling and hopping to the music. Those people were directly in front of the bard, but to his left another group danced in a different way, one which seemed more natural to Glint.
He walked up to a random girl, perhaps just into her twenties, and asked, “Hi, sorry, can you explain this dance to me?” he smiled his best smile. She giggled in a friendly way, laughing at him but not in a way he could take offence to.
“You aren’t from around here, are you?”
“No, just passing through, I’ll be leaving soon actually. I came here for a job,” he clarified, feeling pleasantly surprised that the girl was speaking to him. She was relatively tall, coming almost to his height, with fair skin, blue eyes, and straight blond hair that came down almost to her waist. The girl was dressed in simple clothes, but she wore them well, and she had a regal look to her. She hardly looked like a simple farmer girl to Glint. “What’s your name?” she asked in her slightly teasing tone, and he realised he was staring just a bit.
“I’m Glint,” he answered. Some people seemed to mistake his age sometimes because of his build, and he was often told he looked older than he was. Thus the young man was not surprised at how the girl was treating him, as an equal.
“My name is Eve,” She said in turn “and yes, I could explain the dance to you. But it’s better to just try it.” Laughing, she grabbed him by the arms, stopping in surprise for a second when she felt his arms. Glint stammered, but heedless of his struggle the girl dragged him into the circle of people, where a few couples were holding hands and dancing a merry dance, twirling around each other in a joyful manner. Still giggling, the girl grabbed both of Glint’s hands and started to dance. The warrior let himself be led without much fuss, realising this gave him an excuse to stare.
The Final Life Page 35
