Page 74 of Tendu: Dancing in the Castle

“Not to be worry, Will,” said Aleks. “If he misbehave, we can all rough him up a bit, yes?” His smile faltered as he met my furious glare.

Will didn’t smile. “So when was this?” he demanded, his hands forming fists on the table. “Last night?”

I nodded, annoyed by his annoyance, and asked: “And what about Sadie?”

His face flushed.

I quickly added: “And Simone and Sun? They might want breakfast. There’s plenty.”

It was Justin who answered. “Sunshine was just going to bed when I got up. Simone would have some sort of embolism from merely looking at all this. And let’s be honest, Sadie could stand to miss the odd meal.”

“Justin,” I began, keen to halt the unfortunate criticism of Will’s girlfriend.

“You don’t have to lift her,” he said. “She doesn’t even have good balance or technique to make up for it.”

The entrance of Holly shifted Justin’s attention. He availed her of my changed relationship status. No names were mentioned, but they shared a knowing look.

Aleks smiled. Will glowered. Cosiness was gone.

As the dishes were cleared, Holly asked for my assistance in the laundry room. “I shouldna need to tell you fit a bad idea this is,” she said as soon as we were alone.

I shook my head and sighed. “We love each other. And he’s not how you think.”

“Oh, aye. Misunderstood, is he?”

My hand went protectively to the necklace as if to shelter him. “Yes, actually. People don’t see all there is of him.”

“They see what’s been going on, aricht. For God’s sake, lassie. If he’s treated you shite once, he’ll de it again. There’ll be more tears afore long.”

I started folding clothes and encountered a black thong. The washing basket bore the label of ‘Simone.’ I laid the underwear down slowly, turned on my heel and walked back through to the kitchen.

“Gone to lift weights, all of them!” exclaimed Justin as if telling of mass hysteria. “That was Zolotov’s suggestion for improving things with Sadie. Me, getting muscled up. But it’s a good thing the two of you are back together. All is blissful again in these ancient walls, though I did notice he had a fat lip. Don’t be too vicious with him, Phi. He’s such a beautiful specimen.”

“I dinna believe this,” said Holly, having followed me through. “Justin, ye ken as well as I do that he’s far too auld, he’s full o’ himself, he’s—”

“He wept in my arms, sweet Holly,” said Justin. “He took me into the back passage last night. I would challenge you to remain disaffected by such an experience.”

She remained staunchly unconvinced.

He went on. “And how often does a cock like that come along? I mean, really, darling… And look at our little Phi. The ‘A to Z of Ecstasy’ is getting the job done, all right.”

Bright sunshine blasted through gaps in the trees as I walked up the hill. The centre of the path was grey and icy, so my feet favoured the less slippery, crunchy snow at the sides. A faint aroma of pine mingled with the wood smoke from the previous night. The black patch in the centre of the stone circle still smoked and made me think of a charred wound, a glaring human injury in this most perfect of places.

I sat on the big flat stone, and thought of Aleks and all that had happened, and wondered whether I really knew what I was doing. I’d said I could handle him, but was that true? I loved him, but was that enough? What if the strange character-change thing that had come over him when we first came here happened again? Was I excusing him too easily?

I thought about other people too. Will and Justin, even Michelle, Simone and Sadie wafted in and out of my mind. Lying down on the dry stone in the friendly sunlight soon induced drowsiness, and I drifted into a half sleep, aware of the supportive slab below.

A woman smiled, shining with warmth like the sun, wavy golden hair all round her face. She leant forward and touched my necklace, causing little sparks to dance out of it and leap all around. Her hand held a tiny pink stone, a glowing teardrop of rainbows, and she pressed it into my heart. I laughed at the tickly sensation and sat up, eyes open in the sunny circle, surprised not to find a pink jewel embedded in my chest.

My heart drummed with new power. Everything was possible. Everything was wonderful. We were protected and strong, and love was the answer to everything. I floated down the path to the castle and beamed love toward it.

The dark of the place was instantly obvious as I stepped inside, but the sounds of people in the hall led to friends: my lovely, lovely friends.

“Where have you been?” asked Justin as I sat down at the table between him and Will. “You’ve missed lunch.”

I smiled.

“Been on the mushrooms again?” Lovely Justin.

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