The Lark and the Wren - Chapter Fifteen

[kalinara]

So last time, Rune settled in with the Free Bards, got her wounds healed, her songs critiqued, and started to realize that she might just want to bang her new mentor. There are worse goals to have.



So when we rejoin Rune, some time has passed. Rune's out performing again, albeit without the fiddle as her arm's only just out of its sling. Interestingly, we get a (slightly clumsy) point of view switch, into Gwyna's point of view.

A second glance told her she was right. It was Gwyna, all right, and dressed to be as troublesome as she could to male urges and Church sensibilities. Tiny as she was, she had to elbow her way to the front of the crowd so Rune could see her, and by the look in her eyes, she knew she was causing mischief.

Her abundant black hair was held out of her eyes by a scarf of scarlet tied as a head-band over her forehead; beneath it, huge brown eyes glinted with laughter. There was no law against showing-and none against looking-and she always dressed to catch the maximum number of masculine attentions. She garnered a goodly share of appreciative glances as she sauntered among the fair-goers, from men both high and lowly born. She preened beneath the admiration like the bright bird she so strongly resembled.

See, it's more than a bit abrupt. That said, I like that Gwyna's getting a significant role. I was getting awfully tired of books that have only one major female character. As I recall, Gwyna's going to be fairly significant for the rest of the book. And in fact, she's going to be one of two main characters in the sequel "The Robin and the Kestrel".

There's another important aspect to Gwyna's focus though. She's Roma. I've said before that I'm a little too white to weigh in on the book's portrayal of the Roma people as a culture. I have never read any interviews with Ms. Lackey that discuss the Bardic Voices series, so I don't know if her depiction of Roma people is based on actual research or more of the same sort of made up pseudo Western European culture that the white people in the book have. I don't know very much about Roma people in general.

The Roma in this book are generally portrayed heroically. And I think that Lackey IS making an attempt to avoid white saviorism here. The Free Bards were created by a white man (Talaysen), but inspired by and with the cooperation of the Roma people. Roma people are not just allies of the Free Bards, but make up a significant number of the members.

Is that enough? Fuck if I know.

Anyway, Rune and Talaysen are performing Fiddler Girl, though without a fiddle. Rune is singing her part, while Talaysen sings the Ghost. Apparently he's making it quite blood-chilling, enough that Gwyna shivers, even though she's heard it often enough that she could probably sing it herself in either style.

I like seeing musicians talk about other musicians.

The point of view switches back to Rune, and I'm not a huge fan of that. I'm not saying Ms. Lackey has to stick to one point of view for the entire book, but it'd be nice if she could stick to one for a single scene.

Rune catches sight of Daran, or Heron. And we get a bit more description of him:

Tall, gangling, and bony, he was easy to spot, as he towered a good head above the rest of the crowd. He looked nothing like a musician, but he was second only to Talaysen in the mastery of guitar, and that daft-looking, vacuous face with empty blue eyes hid one of the cleverest satiric minds in their company. His voice was a surprising tenor, silver to Talaysen's gold.

We'd actually met Heron before, at the very beginning, as you recall. Back then, fourteen year old Rune didn't seem to notice the vacuousness. But we do observe more as we get older.

So anyway, Rune remembers something that she, Talaysen, Daran and Gwyna came up with when she'd first started performing again, and hadn't been able to play. She signals the others by whistling a bit of doggerel: "My Lover's Eyes".

I am reminded of Ms. Lackey's love for repeated set pieces and motifs. I'd mentioned before how the whole "raised in a tavern/inn, working along side a disabled girl who had to have things explained very carefully" pops up in both this book and To Catch a Thief for example. (In that book, the girl was Maisie. In this book, Maeve.) Or the strange tendency toward evil Kings named Charlis/Charliss/Raschar (nicknamed Char), at least two of which are evil brothers of a better king.

"My Lover's Eyes" seems to be another familiar echo, this time of "My Lady's Eyes", a song that appeared in the Last Herald Mage Trilogy. In that series, the hero, Vanyel, disliked the song as drivel but played it to make his mother happy. (Sadly, none of the Bardic Voices songs are up on YouTube as far as I know, but My Lady's Eyes is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlp4gRuiVzk I...can't say that Vanyel's wrong. But you can follow the links to other, better songs. I have to admit, I now understand why Tarma shena Talesedrin hated the Bard Leslac so much. His songs are really fucking catchy.)

Anyway, "My LOVER'S Eyes" is described: as sickening and sticky-sweet a piece of doggerel as ever a Guild Bard could produce." So probably a similar thing.

Anyway, the four Bards sing it together, acappella, in sweet and pure harmony. Gwyna is paired with Daran, staring passionately at each other, and Rune with Talaysen.

But apparently then there's a bit of a twist. After the first verse and its promises of fidelity...the partners switch places. And suddenly Gwyna and Talaysen are singing passionately to each other, and Rune and Daran are the same.

The "punchline" of course is that by the third verse, they reach again for their beloveds, and it ends up with the men holding hands with each other and the women holding hands with each other. They retreat back to their original partners for the end of the song.

I could do without the punchline of casual homophobia, Ms. Lackey.

I will say, I'm willing to cut Mercedes Lackey a little more slack when it comes to such things than I am for say, Jennifer Roberson, when it comes to cases of racism. Mercedes Lackey has written quite a few books with gay or bisexual lead characters (including the aforementioned Vanyel, who was possibly my first experience with a gay lead character in a fantasy novel. Or second, because I can't remember if I read Magic's Pawn before or after Tanya Huff's Fire's Stone. Though technically, I think they were bi in Fire's Stone...)

Anyway, slack is cut, but I still don't think that was necessary.

But the crowd enjoyed the song: all except for one man wearing the purple and gold ribbons of a Guild Bard. Talaysen picks up their busking hat and divvies out a generous measure of coins into each of their hands, waving them off to their own activities.

Gwyna decides that she's going to go off on her own. Heron cheerfully lets himself be shooed away, though Rune notes some undercurrents:

Rune noticed that his eyes had been following Gwyna for some time, and she reflected that he would be no bad company for the cheerful Gypsy. Gwyna had confided a great deal to Rune over the past few weeks; they'd become very good friends. Gwyna had said that she tended to take up with either Bards or Gypsies, but that she hadn't had a lover from amongst the Free Bards in four years.

By this, I'm interpreting Gwyna as being a few years older than Rune. Probably her early twenties. It's not terribly important, but I like to know these things. (And it's slightly relevant because while the Lark and the Wren have a significant age difference in favor of the man, in the sequel, the woman will be the slightly older partner, as the yet unknown Kestrel will be eighteen when he appears.)

So now we follow Gwyna as she wanders off into the crowd. She ends up wandering a bit farther than she intends, finding herself in a part of the fair meant for wealthier people. She feels decidedly out of place and starts to head back, only to get blocked.

He who blocked it was a darkly handsome man, as looks are commonly judged-but his gray eyes had a cruel glint to them that Gwyna did not in the least like, the smile on his thin, hard lips was a prurient one, and he wore the robes of a Church Priest. But they were wine-dark, and she thought she could see odd symbols woven into the hem of the robe, symbols which she found even less to her liking than the glint in his eyes..

Eek.

Gwyna tries to get around him, while he hits on her, offering to be her patron and 'friend', and making both of those sound very skeevy. Gwyna gets righteously pissed:

"That I think we do not, 'my lord,' " she retorted, putting a good sharp sting in her reply. "Firstly, you are a Priest of the Church, and sworn to celibacy. If you will take no care for your vows, then I will! Secondly, I am a Free Bard, and I earn my way by song-naught else. I go where I will, I earn my way by music, and I do not sell myself to such as you for your caging. So you may take your 'patronage' and offer it among the dealers in swine and sheep-for I'm sure that there you'll find bed-mates to your liking in plenty!"

She storms away, fighting the urge to run. fortunately, she loses sight of him, and promptly decides to forget about him.

Unfortunately, he doesn't forget about her:

The Priest clenched his jaw in rage, and his saturnine face contorted with anger for one brief instant before settling into a mask of indifference. It was only a moment, but it was long enough for one other to see.

A plump, balding man, oily with good living, and wearing the gold and purple ribbons of a Guild Bard, stepped out from the shelter of a nearby awning and approached the dark-robed cleric.

"If you will forgive my impertinence, my lord," he began, "I cannot help but think we have an interest in common. . . ."

Ominous.

So Gwyna, back at the camp, is telling her friends what happened. Rune and Daran are chuckling appreciatively. But Erdric and Talaysen look worried. Talaysen, who is drinking well-watered wine, we're told, points out that it isn't wise to anger a Priest, and that she may have made a powerful enemy.

I've got mixed feelings about this. I don't particularly like this notion that men are having to tell women how dangerous men can be. But on the other hand, I do appreciate that Gwyna and Rune have never had direct contact with high ranking priests, and Talaysen has. (And has a cousin who's a mage).

Gwyna bristles a bit, noting that she'll just stay within the Faire precincts, and that she does have witnesses who can help her. She's also got concealed knives if he DOES try to lay a hand on her.

Talaysen backs off and accepts the rebuke. He asks about her plans for the night. Gwyna notes that she intends to play and sing for a jewel-smith's daughter's name-day. The girl is twelve, so all the songs will be innocent and everything should be over before midnight. She'll be back in her bed before the night's half over (this comes with a suggestive look to Daran, who is very pleasantly surprised at the implied invitation.)

Now we jump ahead to Gwyna, after the gig. She's got three pieces of gold, hidden in her skirts for safe keeping. She's already making plans for it: one gold piece to Erdric to buy a roast pig and wine for the company. The other would go to Goldsmith Nosta to be added to Gwyna's other savings. Unfortunately, she doesn't see the shadow following her.

She's quickly knocked unconscious.

Oh god.

Thankfully, it's not as bad as it could be. But it's still pretty bad. Gwyna wakes up in a cage to find herself transformed. She has wings and feathers, and is only able to speak in a squawk. Her captors identify themselves: One is the priest that Gwyna insulted. The other is a Guild Bard, who had been the source of the second two gold pieces, which were bespelled.

"Is the vengeance sweet enough, Bestif?" The Priest's deep voice was full of amusement.

"It will be in a moment, m'lord." Bestif bent down so that his face filled Gwyna's field of vision. She shrunk back away from him, until the bars of the cage prevented her going farther. "You, my fine feathered friend, are now truly feathered indeed, and you will remain so. Look at yourself! Bird-brained you were, to make a mock of my masterpiece, and bird you have truly become, the property of m'lord, to sing at his will. You would not serve him freely, so now you shall find yourself serving from within one of those cages you have so despised, and whether you will or no."

I missed it when I read the book before, but the mention of "my masterpiece" clarifies the Guild Bard's motive. He was the writer of My Lover's Eyes and they'd made a mockery of it.

Anyway, he gloats that Gwyna can't even fly away, because her weight is still that of an adult woman. Gwyna observes her plumage and realizes that she must be the most striking and exotic bird she's ever seen. And she's trapped. When she opens her mouth to cry, a glorious liquid song pours out.

More of the spell, the more unhappy Gwyna is, the more she's forced to sing.

Egads.

So the next day, poor Gwyna has been set up on display in the Faire as part of the Priest's revenge. She's given up on escape and is lost in her despair, singing every lament and dirge she can remember. At one point, she sees Daran below her, and she starts singing one of Talaysen's songs "Walls of Iron" at him. She even sings the special interludes that she used to play on her guitar. Daran stares at her, but she can't speak to him and heartbrokenly, she sees him walk away.

She's fed well, and given water, but it's a truly horrible experience. Especially as she's then forced to "perform" for one of the Priest's parties. (The Priest is Revaner, by the way.)

Her disappearance has been noted though, and we switch to Talaysen at the camp, who is questioning everyone for her whereabouts. He remembers his cousin's request to watch out for an evil priest, and he starts to wonder if the Priest that accosted Gwyna be the same. (And I like that he describes the Priest as having threatened Gwyna as opposed to as having been insulted BY Gwyna. She was unwise, but not without provocation.)

Talaysen calls the Free Bards together and tells them to look for ANYTHING that reminds them of Gwyna, especially among the Priest's tents.

Back to poor Gwyna. It's another day at the fair, but this time, she's been left outside after the sun has set. She thinks it's either because the priest doesn't have a party tonight, or just because he's an asshole who wants her to see the night life and entertainment that she can't enjoy. She sings until she's too tired to chirp another note.

Which is when someone gets closed to her cage. It's Daran and Rune! Rune is skeptical, but Daran insists that no one performs Walls of Iron like Gwyna does and the bird did it the same way. He asks her if she's her, but of course she can't answer.

Not in speech anyway. She starts singing the chorus of "Elven Captive". Daran and Rune realize that she's trying to communicate. And when Daran asks who did this, Gwyna sings the first notes of "My Lover's Eyes" and the chorus of "The Scurvy Priest", which is NOT a song normally heard in the Faires.

Daran figures out that it's Bestif and a Priest. Interesting that the Free Bards seem very familiar with the Guild Bards, but that makes some sense, given that Talaysen himself isn't that old. Daran is discouraged, thinking it's too deep for them to handle. Rune is more optimistic. She knows a bit more about the resources that Talaysen has (namely Ardis). She calls encouragement up to Gwyna and promises to be back.

Gwyna holds onto her hope for the night and most of the next day, but when it starts to hit sunset, she starts to despair. Talaysen must not have believed them. Or her transformation was just too hopeless. But then something interesting happens:

A troupe of acrobats end up right in front of the tent, beneath her cage, and start their act. The Priest's servant tries to shoo them away, but they ignore him. They're loud enough to get the attention of the Priest himself, and he comes outside. That's when someone yells "Now!" (Gwyna recognizes Talaysen's voice).

The acrobats fling a blanket over the Priest and trap him, while others form a human tower, with a boy at the top with a lock-pick, opening Gwyna's cage. Below her, Talaysen and Daran have a second blanket, stretched taut, to catch her. She lands painfully, but doesn't break anything, and they scoop her up.

Gwyna is both thrilled and upset: she's free, but still a bird!

Rune explains that Talaysen's gone to the Church for help, which confuses Daran, but Rune explains that Talaysen knows someone among the Justicars. They've been told to make a break and run as soon as they think it's safe. Rune is to get someone from the Roma, and Daran and Gwyna have to run for the Court of Justice.

They make a break for it, Daran and Gwyna reaching the Justice Court with the Priest Revaner and his folks in hot pursuit. Talaysen's already there. Revaner tries to accuse them of vandalizing his tent, and the guards grab Daran while Gwyna runs to the "dubious safety" of the three new priests.

One of the Priests, a lady, pets her gently and Gwyna realizes that she senses something very different from her than the others.

Talaysen's already explained the situation and when asked for proof, he recommends that Ardis, or another person, Lord Arran, mind-touch her. A young man steps forward, trying to be reassuring, and Gwyna tries to project her human thoughts and her version of the story. She gets a mental message back that reassures her.

The young man verifies her story and identifies Revaner and Bestif as the culprits. His own Guards stop Revenar from fleeing.

Meanwhile, Ardis examines Gwyna and tells Talaysen and Rune that she needs their help: they have some acquaintance with magic and they know her. Then:

Then all was confusion. The courtyard spun around in front of Gwyna's eyes, moving faster and faster until it was nothing but a blur of light and shadow. The courtyard vanished altogether. Then light blazed up, nearly blinding her, and a dark something separated from her own substance, pulling away from her with a reluctant shudder. She could feel it wanting to stay, clinging with an avid hunger, but the light drove it forth despite its will. Suddenly she was overcome with an appalling pain, and crumbled beneath the onslaught of it. Her flesh felt as if it were melting, twisting, reshaping, and it hurt so much she cried out in sheer misery-

A cry that began as a bird's call, and ended as the anguished sob of a human in mortal agony.

The pain cut off abruptly; Gwyna blinked, finding herself slumped on the stone of the courtyard, her skirts in a puddle of red, gold, and scarlet about her, her dark hair falling into her eyes, and three gold coins on the stone before her.

Yay.

(Sorry for the long excerpt. I have a thing for transformation scenes.)

Everyone is thrilled, except Revaner, who suddenly shrieks like a bird himself:

Crouching where the dark Priest had stood, was an ugly, evil-looking bird, like none Gwyna had ever seen before. Its plumage was a filthy black, its head and crooked neck naked red skin, like a vulture. It had a twisted yellow beak and small, black eyes. It stood nearly waist-high to the two guards beside it. As they watched, it made a swipe at one of them with that sharp beak, but the man was not nearly so ale-sotted as he seemed, and caught the thing by the neck just behind the head.

Apparently, evil spells often go back on their caster once broken. Young Lord Arran seems pretty satisfied with this, giving a speech about Balance being restored, and recommending that he be exhibited at the gate as a moral warning. He should be treated well and gently though, since God may forgive him if he repents. Bestif will be fined twelve gold pieces and banned from the Faire. Half the gold goes to the minstrels that he wronged, and half to people in need.

The other priest concurs. Gwyna offers one of her gold coins in gratitude, which is accepted as an offering for the poor since the priests don't accept pay for their duty. Gwyna gives the rest to Talaysen for a feast of celebration. With one caveat: nothing that once wore feathers.

So there ends this chapter.

This book is structured in an interesting way. The first half is basically a coming of age story, culminating in Rune's experiences at the Faire. That's done. The second half consists of a string of shorter vignettes which will the lead into the last quarter of the book, which is probably the closest thing it has to an overarching plot. It's not a bad set up really, though it might be jarring if you're expecting a truly cohesive experience.

So Gwyna's experience here is the first of those vignettes: basically a short story in its own right. It's interesting because for the first time, Rune is not center stage. Gwyna is, with Talaysen and Heron as the major supporting roles.

So the advantage to this chapter is that we get to know Gwyna a bit more, which is important because for the last quarter of the book, she's going to essentially be a co-lead (though there will be a few other vignettes before then). We also get to see how the Free Bards work. If Gwyna were alone, she'd have been lost forever, but the Free Bards are a team and they won't leave anyone behind.

The one thing that's a bit uncomfortable though is that, so far, Gwyna's had the most utterly horrifying experience in the story. Rune's had some trauma, but it's not as graphically described. And it's hard to miss that the really dehumanizing shit is happening to the woman of color. She's saved, and clearly treasured, and, as we'll see later, the experience will not be forgotten.

But I can understand that being a really hard thing for a reader to take. And I don't really have a good answer for that either.