Chapter Text
As soon as her bleeding finger had hit the parchment, everything slowed for a second. It was like Estella was being pulled through a gelatinous syrup. Her mouth filled with sweetness, more intense than that of Mr. Johann’s dessert. When she blinked, the colors of Merrywood seemed that much brighter.
Her lungs filled with stardust and wonder. She turned to share the feeling with her friend, but Rhett couldn’t look at her. He seemed different now as well. Like the person you’d assume was the villain in a painting; all indigo shadows and a lethal silhouette. But Estella knew the history behind this painting, and admiring it made her briefly forget about all her problems.
Dimly, she heard Pari twitter something about the rules of Caraval. Her parents wove stories of the once-in-a-life-time event, though her father seemed to speak of it slightly bitterly. Especially of the enigmatic figure Legend. There had been a time when Estella had grown completely obsessed. She’d conduct her own Caravals with her friends. She made sure to stay close to the scriptures. There were always three principles that never changed.
“I know the rules,” Estella interrupted.“, “My mother told me. Caraval is played only at night, everyone starts on the same path, and that is all a game.” She felt quite proud that her knowledge had paid off. Honestly, she felt as if her feet were hovering above the ground. The fantastical game had finally come to the North. She couldn’t think of a reason not to partake in it, and she usually loved to play devil’s advocate.
Pari nodded, “Very good! The prize for the Magnificent Merry-Making Caraval will be an audience with the one and the only Legend! It is only a game, one must recall.” She smiled sickeningly. “I suppose I’ll see you in the latter. Goodbye friends! Best make it to the Initiation before sunrise. Your life depends on it.”
In a blink, she was gone. Estella smiled excitedly at Rhett. “Come on! The sun’ll rise soon!” She turned to follow the crowd.
“Estella wait,” Rhett grabbed her arm, immediately dropping it as if he'd been burned, “I wanted you to know why I thought we should go–”
“We can discuss this after we get to the Initiation," Estella said. Then, she noticed his strained expression. He was getting easier to read, the more she spent time with him. She held up her finger, “See, I promise.”
Rhett hesitantly wrapped his finger around hers, his eyes slightly widening at the contact.
“Let’s go,” she whispered, and turned without warning. She began to move with the urgency she’d seen in the Merrywood folk when she’d first arrived. Now that she knew why, she felt competition rising within her. To this day, she had yet to lose a game of chess. Maybe it was because she was intelligent, or more likely, she had a deadly ambition to win.
The crowd began to thicken. As Estella and Rhett pushed through, more and more annoyed glances passed their way. She felt a bit winded by the time they neared the Merrywood Clock Tower. She glimpsed at Rhett, who seemed to be easily keeping up. She groaned internally. Perhaps this would be the one competition she’d lose. For now.
“Rhett, can you see where the Initiation is?” Fortunately, his tallness did serve a purpose other than to tower over Estella.
Rhett craned his neck, his eyes sharpening. “I think…here. No one’s moving past the tower.”
Estella put her hands on her knees and caught her breath. “Good. I don’t think I could have kept running.”
“Tired already?” Rhett sounded like he was smirking.
Estella straightened, and frowned at him. “No. I was born ready for Caraval. Speaking of which, what did you want to say?”
“I…I said we should go through with this because,” his brows twisted as if he were pondering something, “think about it. Like you said, all these great figures of magic are disappearing. But Legend hasn’t yet. Maybe, he can help us get to our parents.”
“Or, he’s next,” Estella added, “If we can quickly get to him. Then, maybe we can ask for his help, or at least use him as bait.”
“You want to use the biggest magician and illusionist in the world…as bait?”
“Yup!” Estella felt bubbly, as if the whole world were in her palm. “I believe in us. Do you?”
“Always,” Rhett answered, “But we have to be smart about this. Manipulate the biggest manipulator.”
“Did your dad also tell you horror stories about him?” Estella said wryly.
“No,” he snorted, “But your dad did. He didn't like me, but he absolutely hates Legend's guts.”
The girl shook her head, giggling along. For a moment, it was Caraval—a moment gilded in childhood magic. Two best friends just laughing, filling the air with innocent sound. The crowd was filled with hushed whispers as the reality of their situation sunk in. But rather it ground the people, it made their imaginations soar.
They all looked to the sky, which was a bare blue, the last of the stars still twinkling. Suddenly, it seemed that those sparkling pinpricks were falling over them. Celestial snow dusted over the crowds’ skin making the air taste like a carnival snack.
Hands extended skyward, including Estella’s. As the falling stars drifted closer, pitter-patters echoed around the giant clock. They were little bottles. One dropped into the palm of her hand. She shrieked with joy, waving it in Rhett’s face. Together, they examined the little droplet. It was shaped like an eye with a miniscule cork pinching it shut.
“Here,” Rhett whispered, his nimble fingers easily removing the top. Inside, he withdrew a little scroll. He handed the glass back, before unfurling the parchment. Estella rubbed her thumb over the surface, examining the fragile blue.
Rhett took the paper up to his eyes, copying the movements of the other initiates around him. He groaned in frustration. “This is unreadable,” he decided, “The letters are too tiny.”
Meanwhile, Estella held up the glass droplet to her eye. The world became drenched in cool-tones and warped proportions. She surveyed the surroundings, everything becoming bigger than they really were. She gasped. That was it. “Show me the paper.”
She held up the little lens to the parchment. The words enlarged: “When…the clock greets…the sun…follow the hand that it cannot hold.”
“The sun,” Rhett murmured, looking again at the ambiguous clock tower. Beyond it, the lightening horizon. Estella followed his gaze, watching the hands on the clock. She frowned. The hand it cannot hold. She craned her neck backwards, where a sliver of the sun was rising. The tower was directly parallel with it. That meant--
“Rhett,” Estella beamed, her voice high with exhilaration “It's the shadow! The hand it cannot hold is the clocktower’s shadow–”
“The clocktower’s shadow,” someone near them whispered. Estella immediately shrunk. Rhett flinched as the information disseminated across the crowd, more and more people began to slip away. The only hand they'd had was just revealed. They were far from the foot of the clock-tower let alone the shadow. It would take a while until they could even leave.
“How are we supposed to beat them now?” Estella whispered, not trusting herself to speak loudly.
Rhett looked deep in thought. The parchment crumpled beneath his fingers as a debate warred in his eyes. “Estella, do you trust me?”
“Y-yeah,” she said, breathless as he turned to her. His hazel eyes looked brown in this half-awake light. There was only a second of hesitation. Estella briefly wondered if trusting this boy was a good idea. But, he wasn’t a villain in a painting.
In one smooth movement, Estella was once again in Rhett’s arms. He carried her like she weighed less than a feather and that she was worth more than goblin gold. He moved with lightning at his feet, maneuvering through the maze of people. They moved rapidly enough that by the time people turned to analyze what that strange gust of wind was, the two had already moved on. Estella didn’t dare close her eyes, watching the last of dawn fall around her. Her fingers fastened around the leather lapels of his coat as Rhett gracefully scaled the tower. They moved silently and speedily until they reached the top.
Over the edge, was the rolling countryside. Moorlands lush with violet flowers danced gently in the breeze. Spring was on the other side of the tower, Estella could smell it. As if seasons had borders in the Magnificent North.
Yet there was one odd thing that stole the whimsy of the Magnificent Merry-Making Caraval. The clocktower’s shadow curved this way and that, like a road. Estella didn’t let herself smile too hard, but it was just as she had expected. However, as the sun creeped higher, the path shortened. Estella’s fingers dug into her around her friend’s shoulders, but Rhett must have noticed too. He adjusted his grip on Estella, who felt strangely secure regardless.
“Ready,” he didn’t sound scared. Not anymore. Rather, he sounded like that mischievous boy that climbed trees in hide-and-seek to avoid being found.
Estella smirked. She always ended up finding him anyway. “Always.”
He reared back and leapt.
Estella’s feet had yet to touch the ground, but once they were in the air parallel to the clouds, she felt a great grin push her cheeks high. She must have been screaming, because Rhett joined in as well. No one could hear them now; they were ahead. Her stomach was left on the tower as the drop brought tears to her eyes. Rhett’s feet landed smoothly on the dark path, and then he ran.
She tried to catch a glimpse of his feet, but the movement equated to a blur. When she looked back, she felt tranquility to her. For the first time in ages, she felt like everything was finally going the way it was supposed to. They were moving quickly. They had a plan, more or less. And, they had found each other. That may have been the greatest relief of all.
“Look,” Rhett yelled, not slowing down. Estella craned her neck, and gasped. In the distance, where the shadow road ended, there was a giant glittering sign that read ‘Luminelle: Wonderers and Wanderers Welcome.’