Innocent Fire

The scene in the great hall was a bit rowdy, to say the least. Jeff and
Matt, the acrobat brothers, swung from the rafters high above the crowd,
Meanie and Nova were drunkenly practicing their swordfighting "skills", and
assorted jugglers and fire-eaters roamed around entertaining the
townspeople. In the midst of the happy chaos, Lord Stevie Richards and his
Lady Stephanie sat, quietly enjoying a cup of mead. Stevie surveyed the
room, a look of contentment in his eyes. He always liked to have a happy
and festive atmosphere in his fiefdom, and from the looks of things he'd
accomplished his goal.

The heavy oak doors of the hall began to swing open, admitting two more
people. They had the ragged appearance of travelers, and the woman had a
miniature lute slung over her shoulder. Their faces were shrouded in heavy
cloaks, but it was obvious they were traveling bards.

The crowd let out a roar of approval. It had been months since they'd had
bards come through, and they never disappointed. The man flung back his
cowl, exposing an aged, kindly face. The woman kept her face hidden, and
bent over the lute, checking its strings. The crowd seemed to hold their
breath as the man began telling his story.

He sang of a once-great kingdom that had fallen into disrepair, and of the
greedy and selfish rulers who had neglected it and its subjects. He told
the crowd about how they could not see beyond their kingdom and their
wealth, and how this cost them the love of their daughter. It was, he sang,
with tears glistening in his eyes, a loss more painful than a thousand
fallen kingdoms, worse than ten thousand bloody battles.

All the while, his wife strummed the lute in time to her husband's
melodious voice. And the townspeople were too transfixed to notice how her
hands trembled over the string, how her shoulders shook with emotion under
her heavy cloak. The rowdy crowd had in fact fallen deathly silent,
listening to the bard spin his tragic tale.

The man ended the story by singing of the great battle that had finally
forced the kingdom to its knees, and how the former rulers exiled
themselves from their township. They would forever roam the lands, haunted
by their mistakes, destined to spread the tale far and wide so that others
would perhaps learn. It was too late for the King and Queen, he concluded,
but not for those who listen and heed.

With that, the man touched his wife gently on the shoulder, and pulled his
cowl back up as they prepared to go. Stephanie rose to follow the couple
out, and Stevie laid a staying hand on her arm, his eyes questioning.

"Stevie, I feel like I know them! Quickly, we need to stop them before they
reach the outer gate of the manor," Stephanie explained quickly.
Understanding her need to catch up to them, Stevie followed his wife
outside. Meanwhile, behind them, the crowd turned loud and bawdy again,
paying no notice to the lord and lady. All except one person hiding in the
shadows...

The bards were just pulling open the creaking outer doors when Stephanie
caught up to them. She was a few paces ahead of Stevie, and he could not
quite make out her words, but they appeared to be effective. The pair had
let go of the gate and were walking back towards the great hall with
Stephanie. As they neared him, Stevie heard her saying breathlessly,
"....and then when you got to the part about losing the castle and your
daughter, I knew without a doubt it was you. You must come in and
have a bite to eat... and how long have you been traveling since the
kingdom fell? We've so much to talk about! I've often thought about you,
after I left..." He smiled to himself. This reunion could not have come at
a better time, he decided.

Stephanie ushered the pair back in the great hall, making a place for them
at the table. Immediately cups of ale and plates piled high with food were
placed in front of the two. Stephanie was still chattering away, catching
up with them.

In the middle of a conversation about the family, the four were startled by
a loud roar and burst of fire that incinerated a hanging tapestry and came
close to incinerating Sir Nova as well. Stevie shook his head and exchanged
a long-suffering look with his wife.

Nova glanced drunkenly down at his scorched clothes, and at the tail of the
little green dragon who he'd walked on. "Oops," he croaked out, before
hitting the floor with a thud. He left a rather sooty mark on the
polished floor, Stevie noted with amusement.

A tiny brown-haired girl stepped out from the remnants of the tapestry. She
picked up the little dragon, who glared down at Nova, blissfully passed out
on the ground, and belched a cloud of smoke in his general direction. The
girl primly picked up the hem of her dress and delicately stepped over
Nova's prone form, making her way to the long table where her parents were
seated.

"Mama," she piped, climbing into Stephanie's lap and still hugging her
dragon, "Spot wants to hear a story. He wants to know who the singing
people are. And he's sorry about the curtain, but Uncle Nova scared him."
She smiled cherubically into her mother's face. She had Stephanie's eyes
and chin, and Stevie's crooked smile, and long chestnut hair like the both
of them.

Stevie leaned over and tapped her head. "Eve, darling, weren't you supposed
to be in bed?" Eve's eyes twinkled mischievously at him. "But Daddy, I
couldn't sleep. And Spot really wanted to come and watch the acrobats, and
the singers..."

The lord and lady smiled indulgently. "And now that you've satisfied Spot's
craving for entertainment, it's time for bed, young lady," Stephanie
teased.

Eve furrowed her brow. "But can we have a story first?" she begged
plaintively, turning huge eyes on her mama and daddy. "And who're the
singing people?"

Stephanie and Stevie exchanged a look. "After the story, we'll tell you who
they are. You'll understand then. Now run along and get your doll Linda,
and we'll be right there to tuck you in and tell you a story, okay?"
Stephanie watched Eve run off in the direction of the living quarters, Spot
bouncing in her arms, and turned to their guests. "We'll be back in a
bit... please, make yourselves at home." She and Stevie smiled warmly at
them, and left to put their daughter to
bed.


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