Day 17

(cont from Day 15)
"You're not sure if you should? My dear, you don't seem to me the type of woman who would let that get in her way."
"No, it's not that." Etana rubbed the bracelet again, absent-mindedly. "I think this is something I need to figure out on my own, first, before I go looking for help. I don't think I'm ready yet." She looked at Ma Belda and smiled. "But thank you for your offer. I hope you will keep it open until I do feel ready."
Ma Belda grinned at that. "Well then, child, I wish you the best of luck. And remember that you can always come to Ma Belda for mundane advice, like dealing with a certain someone." She winked, and left.
Etana sat, watching the fire and the players for a while. Why did I refuse Ma Belda? I don't know where that came from. But... it feels right, I think. It would be too easy this way, and this isn't supposed to be easy. Soon she grew tired, and asked directions to the prop wagon. Someone directed her to it.
The wagon was a little ways from the fire, since many of the props were flammable. It was rather dark, and the moving shadows from the fire didn't help. She opened the door and stumbled as she stepped on something unexpectedly soft.
"Ouch!"
"Gaah!"
"Is that you, Etana?" said a groggy voice she recognized as Aleth's.
"Um, I'm sorry I didn't see you."
"Probably not going to be able to sleep after that," he whined.
"It was dark, okay?"
"Sure, sure. Why don't you go looking for your bedroll in there somewhere?"
"Can you be more specific?"
"Yes." She thought he heard him swear under his breath after that.
Etana waited for more specific instructions. "Well?"
"Urgh... Okay. Your bedroll is definitely not deeper in the props wagon, and it is definitely not behind the painted trees. And don't you dare believe a word I'm saying."
"Are you trying to tell me that my bedroll is deeper in the wagon, and that it is behind the painted trees?"
"No." He swore again, a little louder this time. "I mean no. Argh!" He pulled himself to a standing position, groaning, rubbing his eyes, and trying to get his hair out of them. "Follow me," he said curtly.
"Are you drunk?" She asked as he led her deeper into the wagon, stepping carefully so as not to crush the props.
"Yes. I mean, not very drunk."
"You sound drunk."
"Grargh." She'd never seen him this cranky before, although admittedly she usually didn't accidentally wake him. Etana did notice that he didn't smell at all as if he'd been drinking, and certainly not to excess, although he certainly staggered like a drunkard.
She decided to try to be courteous if he was being grumpy. "Thank you for showing me to my bed."
"Mhm." Aleth's hair had fallen in his eyes again, and he pushed it back. Then he paused a moment, thinking, and finally spoke. "Have you noticed that there is a wall of props between you and me? Do you think this is a good enough guarantee of your privacy and modesty?"
Etana looked at the layout of the wagon. Her bed had indeed been made in what was effectively a small alcove. And in addition to there being walls between her and Aleth, the fact that he slept at the door meant that she would be safe from any intruders. It definitely seemed like Ma Belda's handiwork. She realized that Aleth was expecting an answer of some sort, so she said "Yes, I think so."
"Good night," he said, and staggered back to his own bed.

Over the next days, they stayed with the troupe. Aleth did not spend that much time with her, preferring to spend it with the players. He seemed to be rehearsing for the play they wanted to put on, and catching up with Dacore. Etana found herself spending a lot of time with Ma Belda, who taught her more mundane lessons--such as how to drive a wagon, and how to sing.
"You've got a fine voice, girl, but untrained," Ma Belda had said when she encountered Etana singing to herself as she did some knitting.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You have an ear for the music, and your voice is pleasant, but if you practiced and worked at it, you could be really good. There's still parts where you don't hit the notes quite right. And if you practiced, you'd be able to hit higher and lower notes than you can now."
"Oh."
"I can teach you that, if you're interested."
"I'm not sure why I would need to learn."
"For the joy of learning, why else?" Ma Belda saw the doubtful look on Etana's face. "And besides, you're travelling with a minstrel. Folks are going to wonder how come you two don't perform together. Unless you tell them more about what you're doing than you want other people to know, or come up with a real good excuse, it's easiest to just go with the flow."
"Well, okay, then." But really, the idea of performing did appeal to Etana, more than she'd have liked it to. It was not a very sensible thing to do.
"Good! Now, to start with, there's this thing called a 'scale'..."

Eventually, they arrived at Fernhom after an uneventful journey. Some of the kids were sent out as criers to make sure that people knew about the play. Etana took the opportunity to see what dyes and fibers were available, and she managed to trade away some of her golden yellow thread for a batch of lusciously blue dye powder. The dyer she dealt with was quite impressed by the quality of her wares; he mentioned that he'd never found the right mordant for the blue dye powder, which was made from the stems and leaves of a local plant. But he was sure that she could figure something out, because he'd never seen that kind of yellow before, and certainly not a yellow so waterfast. After hearing a description of the plant, Etana already had several ideas for substances to use as a mordant, or possibly as a fixative.
As she came away from the market, she heard a familiar voice raised in song, with an unfamiliar instrument accompanying it. Aleth was singing in the town square with his hat out. Some pins and copper bits had been tossed into the hat already. Beside him was Birom, who was playing a lute rather better than Etana had expected. Aleth inclined his head in greeting when he caught sight of her. When the song was finished, Birom waved madly at her in greeting.
"Hi, Etana!" He shouted.
"Hi, Birom," she said when she got to within speaking range.
"Dacore said I was ready to play accompaniment if Aleth would let me and he did!"
"That's wonderful!"
Aleth turned to Birom, but instead of saying anything, he just smiled and gestured in approval. Then Aleth turned to Etana. "Would you like to join us?"
"What, me?"
"Yeah! I've heard you practicing with Ma Belda!" said Birom.
"I'm not very good yet."
Aleth shrugged. "Very well, then."
Birom looked disappointed. "Awww." He tugged at her sleeve. "Are you sure? Not even just one song?"
"I don't know any songs for two people."
"So just sing along. I can sing along, too!"
"Please don't," said Aleth seriously, without a trace of a teasing tone.
"Aww!"
"Why not," Etana asked Aleth.
"Ask him."
"Dacore says my voice is breaking," said Birom. "I'm not supposed to sing until it's settled."
"Oh. He's probably right, you know."
"Awwww!"
Birom looked really disappointed, and Etana felt sorry for him. Finally, she said "Fine, I'll sing a song with you guys."
"Yay!"
"What song would you like to sing?" Asked Aleth. "What songs do you know?"
"The last song I was practicing with Ma Belda was 'I lost my heart one summer's day.' "
Aleth grimaced. "And you want me to sing that?"
Etana laughed at his expression. "No, it's just the first thing that came to mind. I know it's meant for a girl's voice."
"Ooh, I know," piped up Birom. "How about 'Merry Fair'? You can alternate the verses and sing together on the chorus! And I actually know the fingering for that one!"
Aleth laughed at Birom's last point, but nodded. He turned to Etana. "Well, are you willing to try it?"
"I haven't really sung in public before."
"Don't worry too much about it." He smiled reassuringly at her, then turned to Birom. "Birom, would you like to start?"
"Of course!" And Birom began to lay the ground for the familiar song.

("Merry Fair" is not not "Scarborough Fair". I'm tempted to introduce the "nightshade and thyme" theme here.)

Etana was surprised at how well she did. Her first few notes were definitely wavery, but Birom grinned at her encouragingly, and played bits of the melody, and she found her way back on track. They ended the song to applause, and a small shower of bits and pins rained into the hat.
"See, you did good!" said Birom.
"Whew. I don't think I want to do that again in a hurry."
"Why not?" Asked Aleth.
"I don't know how you can stand having all those people just staring at you! It's like they're just waiting for you to make a mistake!"
"Close your eyes, and you won't have to see them."
Etana frowned at Aleth. "That doesn't sound very helpful."
"It's what Dacore told me to do the first time I had to sing! I was really nervous! Of course, I can't do it now because I need to be able to see my lute to play it..." said Birom.
"You played very well, Birom."
"Thanks, Etana." He seemed to blush a little at the compliment.
"I really should be getting back. I think Ma Belda wanted me for some last-minute help with the costumes."
"See you!"
"Bye."