The earth is a dance. A story that circles on and on; the
snake with its tail in its mouth. The dance never stops as the story weaves on in the same pattern. Fairy tale strands woven in history decide the
steps, the steps of spangled silk slippers on a polished ballroom floor, the
steps of worn leather sandals over gnarled roots and wet leaves, and the steps
of heavy boots on a cold stone tomb. The steps lead a dance, the dance tells
the story and is woven back into the circle of life.
This is a tale of sisters who
chanced upon a dance as ancient as the ruins that surround it. The dance began
as a treat, a gift for a maiden too impatient to wait.
Dark rain blurred the lands
beyond the forest; Elise heard it pounding on the black soil. Her own shoes
were covered in earth, mud caked the thread sewn in the leather straps. She
shivered at the thought of one of her sisters’ waking up and finding her empty
bed, if it was poor tender Alice who slept so lightly and discovered Elise’s
absence… Elise could see a river of salt flowing from her wide blue eyes.
It wouldn’t be Elise’s birthday
for another week but she could not wait to go to the ruins, despite the
surprise her sisters had wanted it to be. So Elise had woken and dressed
beneath her sheets, slipped on her cloak and tiptoed through the passages of
the castle. It had not been easy and she’d had a hard time being silent but not
even Alice stirred when she stepped into the shadows behind the wall.
Now she carried on, barely able
to contain both her excitement and her fear. Her dress was splattered and her
lantern flickered weakly but ahead she could see the silver trees that bordered
the ruins. As she approached, a chill gripped her. Something wasn’t right, her
footsteps faltered and she paused in the darkness. The ruins were different now;
a ghostly light came from them, brightening her path and the trees. It wasn’t the
light that frightened her so; it was the music. It was high and haunting and
made pitch-black flowers bloom behind her eyelids. The closer Elise came to the
light the more aware she became of shadows dancing to the music. They were
shaped like men but longer than ordinary shadows and thinner, and the air of
nightmares clung to them.
Elise was hesitant. For the first
time she considered she was wrong. This was meant to be a birthday present;
that she and her sisters travel to the ruins together. As she built up this
excuse she knew it was not her reason for stopping. The shadows were too dark
and Elise did not want to meet whatever creatures cast them.
Here is where the dance pushed
her onward, as many before her had done. Here is where the steps of sandals on
the earth change to slipped in a ballroom. The music was like a siren call.
There was no beat but it pulsed in her veins, heating her blood, creeping fire
up her wrists and throat. Entranced, her heart beating in her ears, breath
escaping in shallow gasps, Elise continued onward until she was close enough
that the golden light burned in her amber eyes. The trees that had been silver
were now vibrant and gold, casting wavering and dappled shadows over the
weather beaten stones of the ruins.
With a courage Elise felt did not
belong to her she placed her hands around the crumbling wall. Not breathing,
every muscle tensed, her feet planted and legs stiff so as not to rustle silk
on the earthen ground, she peered around the wall. The snake bit its tail.
Art by Dan Simonjova
Text by Lucie MacAulay
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