A Play without Lines

Elara came to the raised wooden platform and looked over the woodwork curiously. The surface was smooth, sanded down to prevent the chance of getting splinters when touched. The woodwork was not the focus though. Tugging the overflowing bag closer to her, she approached the other two centaurs that waited for her on the stage behind the erected fabric barrier. 

“Were you able to get all of the pieces?” Ailen asked, the female equine looking at the bag Elara carried eagerly. Elara nodded, dropping the large bag on the floor between them all. 

“Just barely,” she said. 

The dusk coated canine reached in and pulled out a few pieces of fabric. “Perfect. These will work perfectly for the dance,” Lukkja said. 

“Yes, thank you for getting the costume pieces Elara. Lukkja and I were able to finish setting up while you did that,” Ailen said. 

Today, the three of them were going to try dancing in front of other people. Elara had not planned on joining but after watching the two centaurs practice a few weeks ago, Elara found herself drawn into the flow and form of dancing figures. Pulling out her own costume, the three of them got ready. 

Elara dressed as a witch, a tall hat with black cap that flowed easily behind her. Ailen was dressed as a forest fairy, soft wing cut cap and fae antennae atop her head. Lukkja was dressed in fine clothing, a lost noble child. This was going to be as much of a play, as it was going to be a long dance. 

Pulling their costumes on, Ailen ran her hands down her over her hips. She tried to use the motion to settle the butterflies that were starting up in her stomach. Lukkja looked unfazed but inside, he was going over his movements to keep himself from getting just as nervous as the girls. 

“Are you all ready?” a soft voice asked from the side. 

Lukkja turned his head and nodded to Ayla. “We are,” he said, Ailen and Elara nodding as well. Ayla smiled warmly at them and dipped her head to them. She held a pan flute and regular wooden flute in her hands. Ayla was going to provide the music for them. 

Seeing they were ready, Ayla left them behind the curtain. She walked over and stepped down off the stage to the side to sit. Ayla got ready as the dancers readied themselves behind the curtain. Seeing a group of people on and right beside the stage, a small crowd was starting to gather, curious to what was going to happen. 

Lukkja, Ailen, and Elara shared a group hug and smile. They nodded to each other as they heard Ayla begin to play the soft tune of their opening. 

With the cue of the music, Lukkja slipped around the curtain and bounded to the stage. He turned and twirled, mimicking in dramatic fashion, the movements of someone exploring some sort of fantastical forest. The music took a low humming turn, Lukkja changing his dance from the happy, jumping movements of someone exploring to that of someone who has gotten completely lost. 

That was Elara’s cue. Slipping out onto the stage, upon sight of Elara, Ayla changed the music to an ominous tune, foretelling the witch of the woods. Elara exaggerated her arm movements, mimicking as if she was casting fantastical spells, enthralling the lost prince Lukkja. 

Lukkja stumbled a bit when he went to turn while stepping back. He caught himself quickly and tossed in a dramatic flail of the arm, portraying it as if the stumble was on purpose. Elara looked at him in relief before continuing. She slowly crept closer and closer to Lukkja, her movements while smooth, looked more violent as she stomped her hooves against the stage, slashing her hands through the air as Lukkja stumbled and gracefully tumbled away from her as she approached him. 

Ayla quickened the pace of the music, letting her tune amp up to encourage the feeling of the prince being chased by the witch in the woods. Lukkja ducked and weaved in time with the flourish of Elara’s hands, dodging the spells she cast. The music Ayla played came to a loud crescendo as Elara appeared to strike down the lost prince, Lukkja falling to the ground in defeat. 

Ayla switched to a softer tone. Elara vanished with a spin as Ailen slipped onto stage. She came on stage with large, graceful movements as she pranced around. The fabric wings fluttered behind her gracefully as she moved, her hooves creating another tone of music as she moved across the stage. 

Coming across the defeated Lukkja, Ailen trotted around him. Her legs pulled high and her trot slowed before she leaned down towards him. She waved her hands over him, the fairy casting her magic upon him. Lukkja came to with some waving of his upper torso, blinking and looking around confused. 

Ailen lifted Lukkja up and grasped his hands in hers. Once he was on his feet, Ailen began to tug him along, dancing them into a circle before letting go of one hand and taking them around the stage in bounding movements. Ayla brought the music to turn more whimsical, turning more of a graceful time with the fairy who rescued the prince. 

With a sudden clang in the music and loud clopping of hooves, Elara returned to the stage. The appearance of the witch startling the prince and fairy. Lukkja stumbled backward with a graceful tumble while Ailen delicately danced to the side, avoiding the upset witch’s aggressive spells. 

Elara threw her hand out against Ailen, sending the fairy tumbling away. Lukkja danced away from the approaching witch, bowing away from Elara who clicked her hooves against the stage. Ailen pranced over and Elara took her turn to stumble away thanks to the magic of the fairy. It quickly turned into a magic duel, the dance mostly Elara and Ailen circling each other while bobbing and weaving to avoid attacks. 

Lukkja jumped in after pacing back and forth in his dance of thought. He lunged forward when Elara had turned her back to him and Elara pretended to have been stabbed in the back with a sword. Ailen danced to the side, coming to stand with Lukkja as Elara stumbled forward before tumbling, twisting as she did so she was facing the prince and his fairy. Pulling herself backwards away from Lukkja and Ailen, Elara brought her witch character to slide to a severely injured position as if leaning against a tree, holding her front where the sword had poked through. 

Lukkja looked confused and used his dance to ask the fairy the witch’s story. Ailen was happy to oblige and with fluttering steps and Ayla’s music. The witch was but a young woman, lost in the woods like him but she had not been separated by accident, but cast aside to remain in the forest on purpose. The forest had sheltered the witch and gifted her with magic to defend herself. 

Ailen circled Lukkja as his prince character went through the development of remorse for attacking the lost soul of the witch. With hands over his face, he bent and twisted as he moved around the stage. Ailen twisted and spun in soft, slow twirls, the fairy awaiting the next action of the lost prince. 

Suddenly, Lukkja came to a standstill, Ayla having the note in her music drag loudly in dramatic effect. Turning, Lukkja crept towards Elara, Ailen prancing behind him a couple paces as a fairy over his shoulder. 

Reaching out, Lukkja rested his hand on Elara’s shoulder. The prince asking for forgiveness from the young witch. Elara refused at first but after Lukkja begged, Elara relented. Elated, Lukkja waved Ailen forward for the fairy to heal the witch as the fairy had healed him. 

Ailen stepped forward to wave her arms, dancing around to preform the same magic. Unlike before though, Elara did not get up like Lukkja had. The prince looked confused and was quick to jump up and crowd Ailen, demanding answers. 

The fairy Ailen shrugged, prancing around as she showed this injury couldn’t be healed by the fairy’s magic, it had to be healed by him. The prince looked lost and went to and fro from Elara, debating within himself expressively about what he could do, the prince knew not how to wield magic. Finally, Lukkja stumbled towards Elara and took her hands. The prince layered loving affection upon the witch as she closed her eyes and stilled. The prince cried for the lost witch and the fairy watched from the side. 

Ayla’s music slowly came to a stop and the area was silent. The crowd was quiet, enthralled with the voiceless play of dance. Breaking the silence, Ailen began to dance around again, weaving between the imagined trees of the forest, a smile wide on her face with her hands reaching above her in celebration. Ayla started to play again, her music growing into an upbeat tune of the fae. 

Slowly, Elara came to, waking with dramatic blinking of eyes and glancing around before her gaze landed on the mourning Lukkja. Reaching forward, she lifted the prince’s face. Lukkja looked stunned before he was pulling them both to their feet. With a smile, they began to dance around in joy, celebrating the revival of the forest witch. Elara bounded around gracefully, her cloven hooves clipping in beat with Ailen’s hooves on the other side of the stage. 

Elara and Ailen took turns dancing with Lukkja, the fairy and witch sharing the prince who now lived with them in the forest. Lukkja tugged the two together and made Ailen and Elara dance together as Ayla shifted to another song. 

The three of them joined hands and danced around in weaving circles, celebrating their refound life and the joys of friendship. The music Ayla played slowly came to a stop as Ailen, Lukkja, and Elara held hands and faced the crowd that had come to watch them. They waved Ayla to join them and once her hand grasped Ailen’s, the four of them bowed to the crowd who went wild and cheered, clapping loudly for the performance. 

They all panted a bit for breath but they were smiling. The dance had gone beautifully, the story told through their movement instead of voices. It was hard, easily a story to be interrupted than actually told but it was nice nonetheless. 

Once the cheers died down, they returned to behind the curtain they had started at earlier. 

“That… was awesome,” Ailen said, grinning ecstatic as she pulled her fairy antenna off her head. 

Elara eagerly nodded in agreement, her witch hat falling off in the process. 

“It was good. Thank you again Ayla, for playing the music for us,” Lukkja said. 

Ayla smiled, “Any time. That was fun and it was nice to be part of such a beautiful performance.”

Lukkja removed his costume as did Ailen and Elara. They tucked the costumes back in the bag Elara had brought so they wouldn’t lose anything. Ayla tucked her instruments away in a bag so they wouldn’t get dropped or damaged. 

Coming down from the stage and turning the corner, the four of them were met with the eager crowd, fans rushing towards them to declare their joy in watching the performance, many asking when they were going to perform again. 

The four of them blinked before they laughed. This was just a one time thing but it was nice to know they had done so well they already had fans of their work. 

Ayla waved to them as she slipped away, or tired to before another musician caught her and talked her ears off about how she performed. Elara, Ailen, and Lukkja were swarmed and drowned in praise. The theories of the story and what it meant taking over. They were happy, and all of them were glad they pushed past the early nerves and did this performance. Maybe in the future, they would perform together again.