The Dancing maiden of hormuz

The centre of the village had become almost unrecognisable. A raised stage stood where there had once been nothing but cracked earth, its surface covered with rich embroidered carpets in deep reds and golds.

Strings of glowing lanterns hung overhead while long pieces of colourful fabric fluttered between the nearby buildings. For perhaps the first time in years, the bleak village square looked alive.

Along one side stood a long table laden with warm food. Steaming pots, fresh bread, fruit, pastries, and other dishes covered almost every inch of it, and everyone was welcome to take something.

Lucille stood behind the table with several other villagers, helping distribute the food as hungry hands reached for it, while Kio and Rina poured lemonade into glasses.

People crowded around the stage. Children squeezed between adults for a better view, elderly villagers emerged from their homes wrapped in their familiar black clothing, and factory workers gathered along the edges of the growing crowd.

At the centre of it all stood Elena, almost impossible to recognise. A delicate veil covered most of her face, leaving only her vivid green eyes visible, while dark mascara and carefully applied makeup made them appear even more striking beneath the lantern light.

Her blonde hair had been concealed beneath an elegant head covering adorned with tiny golden ornaments. She wore an elaborate two-piece dancing outfit, with a richly embroidered cropped top and flowing harem pants gathered gracefully around her ankles.

A thousand tiny golden coins decorated her waist and hips, chiming softly whenever she shifted her weight.

A few steps away, Rowland stood before a large drum, dressed to match the performance. Loose harem pants hung from his waist while an open embroidered vest exposed his broad shoulders, and a turban had been wrapped around his reddish-brown hair.

He looked from the drum to Elena, then towards Sammy. His expression suggested he regretted every decision that had brought him here.

Sammy, dressed in a similar outfit, was considerably more enthusiastic. He stepped towards the crowd and raised both arms.

“Ladies and gentlemen!”

His voice boomed across the village square, and conversations gradually died away as heads turned towards him.

Sammy swept one arm dramatically towards Elena.

“The Dancing Maiden of Hurmuz is here to perform for the first time ever!”

Excited murmurs rippled through the crowd, and Elena’s eyes widened behind her veil.

Beside the stage, Silvi sat upon an embroidered cushion wearing a miniature version of Elena’s dancing outfit. A voice whispered through Elena’s enchanted earring.

Now move your belly like your life depends on it. Five, six, seven, eight, and twirl and shimmy and wave, now bow low, now hair flip, now turn.”

Elena swallowed.

Then another whisper reached Rowland from beneath his turban.

“Lose a single beat, dear, and I’ll make sure it kills you.”

Rowland’s eyes widened.

“Silvi—”

“Play.”

Rowland lifted his hands.

The first strike thundered across the square.

Boom.

Then another.

Boom. Boom.

Elena slowly raised her arms as the drumbeat quickened, and the thousand golden coins around her body began to sing.

*************

A few days earlier, Elena, Sybill, and Silvi were already back in the room when Rowland and Sammy finally returned. Both boys were covered from head to toe in a thick, black, gooey substance, groaning and muttering complaints under their breath.

The smell reached the room before they did. Sybill immediately pinched her nose, Elena gagged, and Silvi made a distressed noise from the bed.

Without a word, Sybill grabbed her wand and fired off several cleaning spells, followed by a fruit-and-flower-scented magic spell that made the entire room smell like an overturned perfume cart.

It barely helped.

Elena pointed towards the door.

“No. Absolutely not. Both of you, out.”

Sammy stared at her.

“We just got here.”

“Bath. Now.”

Rowland sighed.

“Fair.”

They were ordered to leave, wash properly, and only return once the smell had disappeared.

By the time they came back, both boys had changed clothes and looked considerably less miserable.

Elena stared at them.

“What was all that about? You two looked like you fell into a poop-infested river.”

Sammy looked close to tears.

“That is exactly what happened.”

Rowland rubbed both hands over his face.

“I wanted to get a clearer look at something near the factory.”

Sammy pointed accusingly at him.

“He was about to fall.”

“So he tried to save me,” Rowland continued.

“And then we both fell.”

Silvi tilted slightly.

“Into what?”

Sammy’s expression darkened.

“The sewage.”

The room went quiet as Rowland sat down.

“It was coming directly from the factory.”

He grimaced at the memory.

“A massive stream of black, tar-like waste.”

Sybill slowly lowered her wand, and Elena’s expression changed. The joke was over.

“Chemical waste destroying the ecosystem, rendering the land barren. How anticlimactic.”

“Yes, yes. The very anticlimactic,” Sybill agreed solemnly.

Silvi made a thoughtful humming sound.

“Hmmm.”

Elena looked towards the boys.

“How did you guys even find the factory?”

“Scouting, of course,” Rowland replied. “It’s a little far from the main village, but it’s connected to the same river.”

Sammy nodded.

“So whatever they’re dumping there eventually reaches this land.”

Elena looked towards Sybill.

“And that’s what caused everything to go barren.”

Sybill placed a hand beneath her chin in what was unmistakably her best Silhvester impression.

“The pollutant must be the acidic in nature.”

Silvi’s button eyes widened.

“That explains the Silver Coverback.”

Everyone looked towards her.

“It thrives in acidic soil. Everything else dies, but that flower keeps spreading.”

Sammy frowned.

“And none of that waste is being treated before they dump it straight into the river. This was bound to happen sooner or later.”

He folded his arms.

“The Royal Bureau of Magical Ecology should have sealed that factory years ago. Unless somebody was paying them a lot of money to look the other way.”

Rowland’s expression changed.

“We know whose jurisdiction that falls under.”

Sammy looked at him.

“Whose?”

“David.”

Elena narrowed her eyes.

“Dame Darlene’s grandson?”

Rowland nodded.

“The very same.”

“So we expose whoever owns the factory. Maybe Father Lionel is on his payroll.”

Sammy gave him a flat look.

“Oh, yeah. Just touch Father Lionel and every villager here will probably set all of us on fire.”

Rowland paused.

“Fair point.”

“Their devotion to the Goddess has already blinded them,” Elena said.

Silvi tilted thoughtfully.

“Then perhaps we use that same devotion to take the blindfold off once and for all.”

The room went quiet before Sammy slowly smiled.

“For that, we need something big.”

Rowland understood immediately.

“A spectacle.”

Elena’s grin widened.

“Something this village will remember for ages.”

Sammy scratched his chin.

“But how do we achieve that?”

He thought for a moment.

“A spectacle on a full belly. That’s the kind we need.”

He glanced towards the window.

“These people are starving. For sure.”

Rowland nodded.

“We could place an order for warm food at the inn.”

Elena reached into her hair and removed one of the jewelled pins holding it in place. She placed it on the table.

“This can help pay for it.”

Sybill’s eyes widened.

“No, no, the Elena. You cannot be the doing this.”

Elena looked down at the pin.

“I just want to end this nightmare.”

Silvi suddenly turned towards Sybill.

“Sibi. Change my outfit immediately.”

Sybill’s expression displayed pure horror.

“Oh no. The Silvi.”

“Didn’t you hear me, woman? Now!”

Everyone jumped.

Sammy stared at Silvi.

“How can a sound that big come from someone so small?”

A shimmer of magic surrounded the tiny porcelain doll. A moment later, Silvi wore an entirely black outfit consisting of fitted trousers and a tiny cropped top, with a miniature animated whip wrapped around one arm that sprang dramatically to life whenever she shifted.

Everyone stared. Sybill swallowed hard.

“The teacher and the director Silvi is the very—”

Silvi tilted proudly, waiting.

“Very scary.”

**************

Elena danced gracefully across the stage, every turn, sway, and movement of her hips following Rowland’s rhythm perfectly. The golden coins around her body chimed with every step.

Applause erupted again and again. Gasps of admiration swept through the crowd as Elena spun beneath the glowing lanterns, her veil fluttering around her face.

Nearby, Sammy moved enthusiastically between the villagers, collecting coins inside his embroidered cap, while Rowland continued beating the drum.

For once, almost the entire village was out of their homes. Children sat upon their parents’ shoulders, factory workers crowded together near the back, and elderly villagers who rarely ventured outside had gathered along the edges of the square.

Everyone was watching.

Then—

BOOM.