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9.

Each performer had their own beds, but we had to share rooms with about ten other people. The beds were simple, but comfortable, as I had discovered through a heavy nights sleep. Surprisingly, it was the people who sucked the most. Lucas, the only friend I thought I had, was brainwashed and the rest of them either didn't speak a word to me or couldn't stop talking. The only words that left the mouths of those within the room were ones of immense gratitude towards 'The King and Duchess for giving us this amazing opportunity'. Instead of acting like they unwillingly kidnapped, they spoke as if they had got into Julliard or won some incredible honour. It baffled me; it seemed as if I was the only sane human in the new and strange place.

But I am known for speaking too soon.

"Hi! I'm Vanessa." A young woman with thick brown locks and hooded green eyes held her hand out for me to shake.

"Lyra." I immediately smiled and grabbed her petite hand, admiring her flawless dark skin as I did so. "Has someone sent you to talk to me or are you actually sane?" I asked critically, a brow raised.

"No," She laughed, her crooked teeth flashing in the morning light, "I am one of the few sane here. You'll find two other boys, Kyle and Levin also have their sanity in check."

I sighed in relief, watching people pass by us as they woke for breakfast. None seemed to pay much attention to what was going on around them. It was as if their minds were only focused on one immediate task-the performance tonight.

"So why are you...?" I trailed off, unsure how to word my question.

"Here?" She laughed again and pulled me to the kitchen to make a bowl of fruit and crackers. "Both myself, Kyle and Levin were taken from our homes. Kyle is a crooner singer, Levin and I are both violinists." She said whilst unapologetically slicing through all the strawberries in the kitchen.

"Oh, same, I guess?" I scratched my head through my curls, surprised to find it still dirt and oil free.

"I'm sorry," She gave me a small smile and handed me the large bowl of fruit, "but I think you'll find the only people worth talking to are the ones who were taken. It sucks, but we are here now." I nodded at her words, but was still confused by the many soulless monotones walking among us.

"What about the rest of them?" I asked, biting my cheek.

She held up a finger, signally for me to wait, and beckoned me towards the large vine doors. I opened my mouth to protest, I had tried to leave earlier only to find them sewed shut, but they opened when she walked towards them. I followed behind her, eyes widened in amazement.

"How?"

"They can sense your intentions. They only let people out if they know where they wish to go within the palace walls and with good intentions." She answered, turning down a hallway.

"Oh." Was all I could reply, although I knew I should have been prepared for more surprises. My brow furrowed upon thought. My intentions in the morning were not to escape, but to see Alvar. I wondered why that was not reason enough for the palace to let me go.

At the end of the hall was a large open room, much like the throne room, but with several other small doors attached to its far walls. Vanessa walked with purpose towards one of the smaller rooms, dead centre of the wall. I quickened my pace to keep up, whilst also trying to not drop the fruit all over the floor. The door opened when she stood in front of it to reveal a complete audio recording studio. My hands loosened around the bowl and I made a wild scramble to keep it within my grasp. Vanessa gave me one unimpressed eyebrow raise and started forwards towards the glass.

"This is one of the performance rooms. I've already been informed I am assigned to your group tonight so I thought id get us one of the best rooms as early as possible. They fill up pretty quickly."

"Group?" I said, placing the bowl on one of the mixing tables to run my hands over the many buttons and machines that lined the walls.

"Yes. You missed orientation and a lot of information, clearly." She sighed and pulled up a chair, beckoning me to join her for breakfast. "Each singer or lead performer gets a band on the first night. It's a way for them to suss out who's the better performers to continue through the celebrations as solo performers. So tonight you, the singer I have been told, have a pre selected band to help you perform." She threw a strawberry into her mouth, smiling at me with her cheeks filled.

"How are you okay with all this?" I asked after a moment, my appetite lost.

"I'm not," She said immediately, "But I have to be. They threatened my baby boy." Her voice cracked and my heart dropped. Their tactics were effective, but heartless. "Look, I'm guessing they do the same thing to all of us, so I am sorry for whoever they threatened you with... But I have been here over a month, in fact most of us have. How are you holding up?"

"A month?" My voice raised and I sat up in my seat. "Why was I brought so long after you?"

"I don't know for sure, but I've heard some of the others talk about the men who brought you here. Apparently they're the best scouts this place has got. They made a mistake last year, well at least the performer they brought in did and so this year they took the extra time to make sure they got the best of the best. So congratulations, seems like your expected to be the sun amongst the stars tonight."

"I don't understand; I am not even that good!" I nearly screamed, standing from my seat to pace around the room. I didn't want the pressure of perfection; I just wanted to be good enough for them to let me return home to my family. My chances of screwing up were heightened by the expectation laid upon me. "I sing for fun! I don't practice every day and I sure as hell wouldn't bet my life on it, or my family's!"

I was pulling my hair at that point, desperate to throw something across the room or kill myself before they could kill my family.

"Calm down, Lyra! You need to keep your cool!" Vanessa snapped, throwing a blueberry at my head. If I wasn't already scared out of my mind, I may have lunged at her and socked her in the throat. "There's nothing that's going to change the fact that you have to perform tonight. If you screw up, its not just your family that might get hurt. They can hurt your bands' families too."

"Oh thanks what a lovely thing to say." I snapped, raking my hands into my scalp. "So I'll be responsible for more than my families deaths that's just great."

"Lyra..." Vanessa said after a moment, putting the bowl on her chair. "They don't kill families," I sighed in momentary relief, "they destroy them."

"What do you mean?" My voice quivered, my nails digging into my palms.

"You know that boy, Lucas?"

"Yeah, he used to be my best friend." I nodded and sunk my head into my hands.

"I'm sorry. But Lucas? That's what happens to those who screw up. They mess with your head, keep you hear forever to be their 'loyal performer', and the families? They mess with their heads too, but in a different way. They either turn them insane, make them forget you even exist, or turn them against their friends and family. It's worse than death, Lyra. It is permanent suffering." She pried my hands away from my face to look into my eyes. "I know you don't want to hear this but you have to listen to what I am saying. Let go of your anxiety. For tonight, but perform like you would in front of a normal human group of people. Forget about everything else, okay? I need you-we all need you- to forget about it and just perform, okay?"

I knew I was nodding, but I no longer felt connected to my body. It moved on its own; wiping the tears from it's eyes and walking over to the fruit to begin eating the freshly plucked strawberries.

"Okay." My mouth moved on its own too, forming words I never knew I'd say in response to her revelation. "So my question before?"

"Thank you!" She sighed, "A welcome change of subject. The people who weren't brought here actually came willingly, if you can believe that." She rolled her eyes and threw another berry into her mouth. "Idiots." She muttered under her breath."

"What?" I asked, disbelieving that anyone would want to come willingly. Then again... a trip to fairyland to perform for some king probably sounded more appeasing than most tell tale stories of the mundane world.

"Yeah. Some are famous or up and coming stars who want the opportunity to perform here. They don't have the same conditions as us. They get to come and go as they please during these next few weeks as long as they keep whatever 'secret society' they are a part of running so these guys will always have their share of performers. Most of them have been glamoured too so they wont notice important details of this place to ensure they wont spill to anyone unorthodox, as they don't have the whole family blackmail thing, hence the glazed eye look." She snorted into her food and scratched her head. "There are also some who have screwed up in previous years, but were too good to let go. They are also glamoured to keep them here; they're the most mindless of us all."

I leaned back onto the table and ran the facts over in my mind. A simple pluck of the wrong string or the clash of an unfriendly drum could send an entire teams family into chaos and insanity. I found myself wondering if Alvar could answer the questions piling up in my mind before I shook my head and quickly changed the subject.

"So what are we performing tonight?" I asked, looking back at Vanessa with a slumped shoulder.

"They really didn't tell you anything, did they?" She laughed and beckoned me into the other part of the studio. "We perform a song of the singers choice usually, as they are picked based off vocal genre anyway, but this year a special request came through."

Vanessa pointed to the sheet music on the stool in the centre of the room. She picked up a violin from the side of the room as I read through the sheet.

"This can't be right." I muttered, staring at the lines. "This is my rendition of Breath of Life by Florence and the Machine..."

My eyes trailed over the handwritten notes that could have only been found under a stack of papers in my room. I bit my tongue, they had entered my home without my permission, but it shouldn't have surprised me. What did bring shock to my body was the addition of notes for the orchestra who would be performing with me. I ground my teeth and clutched the paper to my chest.

"Vanessa, this sheet music looks really hard... are you sure everyone can pull this off?"

"We have too." She said without looking at me, placing the violin under her chin. "I've already been running through it since it arrived yesterday. Usually groups have the whole month to practice together but we have an advantage?" She smirked, pulling up her bow.

"Wh-what?"

"If you're as good as they say, any flaws in the orchestra will be absorbed by your voice." She winked and began to play her parts of the song on the violin.

I stared at her, unsure of how to approach the situation, but inevitably found myself singing along to her rhythm. As the hours slipped past and the night grew nearer, the rest of the orchestra began to practice along side us. When the sun finally leaking its last rays of light into the clouds, the day had truly just begun.

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How do you think this night will end: with a half happily ever after or a pre purchased coffin for Lyra and his band mates?

Comment your thoughts on the chapter :)

Vote if you enjoyed

xx Charli

Vanessa:

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