by S. K Munt
And I owe it all to Jade Cobbler-Ray, of all people! Finn thought, biting her lip when she tried to imagine how uncomfortable her arrival would have been, if she’d been stuck wandering around alone to a soundtrack of whispers instead of exclamations. God! People who have friends have no idea how easy they have it! How stressful just deciding how to walk is, when you’re walking alone!
Finn would have been content to just stand there with Jade’s old surfer buddies all night, but after only a few minutes, Jade announced that they were going to listen to the guy that was playing guitar down by the waterfront, and then started dragging Finn in that direction. Finn was happy to go wherever so long as she didn’t have to go it alone, but she was curious as to why they were moving on so soon.
‘Do you know Jake?’ she asked, pointing to the busker, who must have been thrilled because there were already at least five chips worth of coins in his open guitar-case on the ground. ‘Is that why we’re rushing to see him?’
‘Huh? Oh, not really.’ Jade leaned in and giggled. ‘But Chris’s girlfriend was coming over, so I needed an excuse to get out of there!’
Finn raised an eyebrow. ‘Do you have a thing for him or…?’
‘No,’ Jade said quickly, then scrunched up her tanned face. ‘Well, not anymore. But I did once, and when he was with me kind of overlapped with when he was with her and now she hates me so… oh! Look Finn, they’re selling hot dogs- real hot dogs!’ And then Jade was tugging on her arm again, and Finn was laughing and following her head, thinking that if nothing else, she suddenly understood Jade that little bit better, because trying to hang out with her was like trying to catch a wave- in the sense that it would probably prove to be well worth it, if only she could manage to find a way to stay on her feet until the end of the ride!
*
King Amory may not have been able to feed them all for free that night, but he had certainly gone all out as far as arranging entertainment for the evening went, and had even invited bands and soloists from the Outskirter suburbs to perform too, meaning that sometimes, he had as many as four live acts performing at once.
‘There’s a rock band from Burrawong Island performing in the castle foyer at eight!’ Jade cried, as she licked the sugar from her third donut off her finger while Finn looked around and grinned, taking it all in and leaving it to her companions to read the posted itinerary. ‘And a DJ after that at nine! An actual DJ!’ She turned to Finn; blue eyes wide. ‘Do you think he has speakers and everything?’
‘Either that or a really loud, versatile voice…’ Whitney Sawyer joked. She was a Potential that Finn had never had much to do with, but Jade knew her from surfing, and had invited her to join them after Whitney had complained that her long-term girlfriend Cass was working as a server for the royal family all night.
‘Oh look- here’s your friend…’ Gemma Landing declared, looking from Finn to her fingertip as she pointed to an act in the line-up. Neither Finn or Jade had ever hung out with her before, because she was only in tenth grade, but she’d come over to compliment Finn’s dress and had mentioned that she had no one to hang out with until her friends finished performing, so they had invited her to join them. ‘You do hang out with Bonnie Sullivan, don’t you?’
‘Um…’ Finn said, sobering a little when she saw that Bonnie was playing at seven-thirty, which wasn’t that far away. ‘Yeah….’
‘You’re so lucky…’ Gemma gushed. She looked very elegant in a flowing floral blouse that matched her flowing reddish hair and trousers, but the clothes looked a little big for her, which meant she’d probably borrowed them from her mother. ‘I’d love to know what it’s like to be close with girls like that! And Finn just smiled and shrugged, thinking: That makes two of us!
‘You can go to Bonnie’s thing Finn…’ Jade grumbled then, sounding annoyed as she began unwrapping her second hotdog for the night, making Finn wonder two things: How could she afford all that food, and where was she storing it in her lean frame? ‘But I really want to go watch the Indigenous dancers then, so we’ll just have to split up then meet at the castle again at eight.’
‘Sure,’ Finn said, already feeling a little sick at the idea of leaving Jade’s side for Bonnie. Still, she’d promised to be there, and she liked to keep her promises, so her fate was sealed. ‘That works…’
Seeing every act was impossible because they couldn’t be in more than one place at once, but the four girls embarked upon a mission to squeeze in as many as they could, which was ironic, because Finn could remember a time when she wouldn’t have given a fig about seeing any of them at all, except maybe the DJ. But that was the way they’d all been back then- back when they’d had so much entertainment to choose from, that they’d turned their noses up at the genres that they hadn’t shaped their personas around!
The harpist was first, and Finn was moved to tears by the beauty of the music, which played a duet with the setting sun. The mood there was sweet and sombre, but afterwards, they moved up to the town hall, where a Bluegrass band was playing to a more buoyant crowd. There wasn’t any amplification equipment, but the upbeat music filled the space, and Finn was overjoyed when an elderly group of square dancers came out and started putting on a demonstration before they beckoned to the people watching to join them.
‘I feel like I’m in one of those old movies!’ Jade complained as they circled past one another after being spun by their partners. ‘The Pride and the Persecuted or whatever…but on fast-forward!’
‘That’s what I like about it!’ Finn called out gaily, as she circled out, and immediately found herself twirling around one older man in his thirties. She didn’t know what she was doing, but she was enjoying herself immensely! ‘It’s like being in another world!’
‘Maybe that’s how it feels in your dress!’ Jade called out, before she was spun off in the opposite direction. ‘But it’s bloody awkward in this one!’ and Finn laughed because yes, Jade was obviously struggling in her high heels and short skirt.
Finn smiled shyly at the man she’d been hurled at, and then placed her hand in his so he could twirl her, but as he did, Finn found herself making eye-contact with a young man that was sitting on the bleachers and smirking at her.
Wow! Finn thought, her eyes briefly moving over the guy’s three-piece suit before she skipped back toward the centre of the dance floor, where the girls had formed an inner circle. I’ve been outdressed by a dude! I don’t know if I’m relieved, or weirded out!
Finn took her place in the circle beside Gem and then they all spun together, which put her on the other side of the room to the suited boy. Still, she couldn’t help but glance back in his direction every time she circled his way, and was surprised to find that he was almost always staring back at her too, which made her look away, thinking that he might be attractive if he didn’t look so arrogant.
‘Do you know who that guy is in the fancy suit?’ Finn panted to Gemma, as she fanned herself at the end of the number.
‘Which one? I’ve seen like, ten people who look like they’ve dusted off their old wedding clothes for this,’ Gem said, before pointing to the clock in the centre of the wall. ‘Oh- it’s seven twenty-five, which means we need to leave if we’re gonna get back to the waterfront in time for Bonnie’s slot. So… you ready?’
Ready to finally come face to face with the Hive girls? To slide back into her position in the shadows? To give up all the fun she was having away from them, to show support to someone who’d been giving her the cold shoulder since Thursday?
No! A voice in her head screamed. Absolutely not!
But: ‘Sure,’ was all she said out loud as she forced another thin smile, thinking that unlike Cinderella, she still had to worry about life after midnight, after she’d hiked home in two borrowed shoes alone.
*
Finn and Gemma practically had to sprint to get back to the waterfront on time, but as Finn approached the very same spot where she’d seen the harpist playing just an hour beforehand, she imm
ediately knew that she’d done the right thing because the large stone steps that led down to the boardwalk were almost empty.
‘Yikes!’ Finn glanced around the deserted area in dismay before she whispered to Gemma: ‘Where is everybody? Bonnie’s obviously waiting to make her grand entrance, but where’s Aaron and the Hive?’
Gemma cocked her head, so her mane of auburn curls swayed Finn’s way. ‘You say the Hive too?’
Say that? I dubbed it that! ‘Doesn’t everybody?’
Gemma looked perplexed. ‘Yeah, but aren’t you one of them?’
Finn winced, wondering if her admission was going to tarnish her standing in her new friend’s eyes. ‘Well-’
‘Oi Blondie!’ a voice bellowed then. ‘Finn- up here!’ Finn whirled and felt a smile split her face when she looked up to the top of the concrete grandstand and saw a familiar face grinning down at her from above.
Oh my god! Her mind did the fact-checking while her heart pounded hopefully. Oh my god! Is that-
‘Paige?!’ Finn lifted her skirts and loped back up the stairs, screaming when she got close enough to confirm that she hadn’t imagined her mate standing there. But it was her all right, and the two of them smashed together like magnets. ‘What are you doing here?!’
‘I just saw Michelle and her sidekicks back at the castle!’ Paige said, squeezing her back painfully tightly before releasing her so they could beam at one another. ‘They said you might be-’
‘Not here on the boardwalk- here in Laidlaw!’ Finn said, laughing as she stepped back and assessed her old friend. Paige was only wearing faded blue jeans and a white button-down blouse, but that was dressed up for her so Finn’s smile widened, especially when she noticed the little changes that had come over her since she’d seen her last- like the fact that she’d shot up another few inches, and that her dark hair now fell just past her shoulders and was gleaming with health. ‘I thought you were never coming back?’
Paige scrunched up her face and looked around, as though there were something disturbing about the scene around them, with the bay rippling under the twilight sky, or the way the air was perfumed with the scent of citronella, which was what was making the torches along the boardwalk low. ‘I’m not gonna lie… I’m trying to keep a low profile.’ She shrugged. ‘But my family got the invite and I thought: Why not? If your king tries to kidnap me, I’ll just kill him!’
‘That’s a sound plan!’ Finn smiled at her shaking her head as she reached out and rubbed Paige’s upper arm, needing to touch her again to know that she was real. ‘Wow! Well, I’m glad you did come back- I’ve been miserable since you left!’
‘Really?’ Paige made a big show of eyeing her up and down, making Finn giggle self-consciously. ‘You don’t look it. If anything, the words belle of the ball are coming to mind!’
‘Oh, this old thing?’ Finn pretended to scoff as she swished one of the skirts of her dress, but she giggled. ‘No seriously- it’s ancient. Mum whipped it together out of broken promises and yellow food dye this afternoon and if it makes it til midnight, I’ll be relieved.’
‘Well, you look fantastic, so your mum’s a-’
‘Hold up!’ Finn suddenly realised something. ‘Did you just say the Hive are at the castle? But they’re supposed to be here for-’
‘Not anymore,’ Paige said, ‘not since Bonnie pulled out.’
‘Hey?’ Gemma squeaked, joining them. ‘Why’d she do that?’
‘She said she felt a sore throat coming on this morning, so she cancelled, just to be safe.’ Paige made a face. ‘I reckon she chickened out though. Seemed- and sounded- fine to me a minute ago, and she’s still well enough to party so…’ Paige shrugged. ‘Whatever.’
Finn pursed her lips, wondering if Aaron had pitched one of his jealous fits again. ‘Well, I wish they’d told me but-’
‘I think they’re a bit distracted right now, not to mention in a rush.’ Paige appraised her. ‘And I’m guessing you don’t know about the big news either, seeing as how you’re down here, not up there?’
‘Huh?’ Finn’s eyebrows shot up. ‘What big news?’
‘About the king finally asking for Lady Miriam’s hand...?’
Finn sucked in a breath. ‘You’re kidding! King Amory finally proposed to Miriam?!’
‘And we MISSED it?’ Gemma cried, looking around. ‘That sucks! Biggest news this year- and we’re the last to know!’
‘I doubt you’re the last,’ Paige assured her. ‘There were only about fifteen people present and I just happened to see it because I was walking around looking for Finn a few minutes ago when he went for it.’ She pushed the cuffs of her sleeves higher up her elbows. ‘Looked to me like he got their families and some of their closest friends together on the steps under the pretence of cutting Cara’s birthday cake and making a little speech about her, you know? But then as soon as she’d cut her cake, he went from telling Cara she was like a little sister to him now, to asking Miriam if she’d like to make Cara his sister-in-law: officially!’ She grimaced and nodded knowingly as Finn groaned, knowing that Cara wouldn’t have appreciated that transition at all, even if it had been a smooth one. ‘Cara of course, looked like she was going to murder him after, so he probably shouldn’t have stolen her spotlight after handing her a knife, but Miriam will make a good queen, so I’m happy for her, I guess.’ Paige winced. ‘So long as Cara doesn’t end up as a princess by marriage, because if she does, this will be my last trip here!’
Finn shuddered at the idea of seeing a crown on Cara Wiley’s head, but she reigned in her revulsion when she remembered that she had a third-party present- one who seemed to hero-worship the Hive a little. ‘I don’t think so…’ she stammered, still reeling. ‘I mean, I don’t think it works that way- not unless she marries his son who’s like, two years her junior.’
‘Well colour me relieved!’ Paige clapped her hands together. ‘Anyway…! There’s supposed to be an awesome band starting up at the castle soon and this is the one part of the kingdom that’s dead right now, so are you coming or…?’
‘Yes!’ Finn turned back to Gemma, not wanting her to feel excluded. ‘You in? Oh! By the way Paige, this is Gemma- she’s in tenth. And Gemma this is Paige, she’s-’
‘An Enigma!’ Gemma smiled broadly. ‘Duh! Everyone’s heard of Paige Hayes, Finn. You’re the Enmity from the Shards, yeah? A pretty kick-ass one, from what I’ve heard.’
‘It helps that I was destructive before the Strike,’ Paige said, making Gemma laugh. Finn sighed though, saddened that Paige had been living an exciting life that Finn knew almost nothing about.
‘Well, I’d love to come with you, but I have to go up to the music room and get my stuff for my gig so…’ Gemma made a face. ‘I’ll meet up with you at the castle after my set though, okay Finn?’
‘Are you in the school band too?’ Paige asked, and Gemma nodded. ‘Right- Cara was just about to head to the music room as well.’ She glanced at Finn. ‘She seemed really happy about that too though not quite as depressed as the rest of her mates looked, trudging after her like lemmings going off a cliff...’
‘I’ll bet,’ Gemma said, and Finn snickered thinking that yes, there were advantages to being the Outskirter of a clique like that, and not having to attend Cara’s recitals was one of them! Not that she wouldn’t have gone, if she’d thought Cara actually wanted her there. ‘Okay well... see you guys in an hour?’
‘See you then!’ Finn said, waving as Gemma hastened away.
‘She seems okay,’ Paige said, once Finn was out of earshot. ‘How long have you two been friends for?’
‘Um… forty-five minutes? And that’s only because she thinks I’m part of the Hive,’ Finn joked, and when Paige side-eyed her sceptically, she snorted. ‘I told you I’ve been miserable. Not the whole time, but this last week has been…’ she sighed and motioned towards the castle. ‘Let’s just say if I had your powers, I would have brought this entire kingdom down on Georgia Janks’ head by now.’
/> ‘Why do you think I stay away?’ Paige joked back, as she started walking. ‘Janks is lucky that I didn’t kill her before I learned how to do it with just a thought, so I doubt she would have survived long after I had.’ She pulled out a cigarette and offered one to Finn, who waved it off. ‘Well... what’s she done this time?’
Finn shook her head. ‘You don’t want to know. It’s the longest, bitchiest story ever, and it basically revolves around a dress so…’
‘Oi, I live on an island with three teenage guys and one angry little sister… so I am more than a little overdue for a good ol’ fashioned bitch session!’ Paige slung one arm around her shoulder before gesticulating to the kingdom ahead of them with her un-lit cigarette. ‘So, come on Monroe: spill yer guts!’
And so Finn did, feeling herself grow lighter with every step she took forward and every word she said. She didn’t know if it was because it was just cathartic to finally unload on somebody that she wasn’t afraid of burdening with the truth, or because she could feel her friend’s loyalty and strength seeping into her through their embrace… but she did suspect that there wasn’t a power on that earth- Enigmatic or otherwise- that would ever be as powerful or restorative, as an old friend found could be.
CHAPTER TEN
The castle’s foyer was so packed with people that Finn found it difficult to navigate her way through that usually familiar, cavernous space- especially while there were flashing lights, a smoke machine and pounding music making the stone structure pulse and shiver around her, distorting everything.
