DANCE AND SING ALL AFTERNOON ;;

[Filter: Scott]

Did you -- do what we talked about?

... Are you even really here? I've been waiting to hear from you all day.

[Filter: Jack]

Where are you? Everyone says you just disappeared, and -- and those people were saying some things that made me think -- but it can't be true.

You need to write! Right away!

I cannot believe Elyiethe is making us rehearse two days before Festival!!

No one tell her I said that, please.

But really she knows good and well that it's been a challenge to deal with the markets what with the situations recently and we need every last second we have -- at least, some of us do -- and ooooh.

Lionel! I know you're here! And you're in Kilia! And you're in trouble for never writing us any letters, you utter barbarian. Did you know, I have friends in Kilia, right now? What a strange coincidence. If you're anywhere near Baethan, you should say hello.

[Filter: Marigold]

So ... you

Well, now that you've

What sorts of things exactly are

[pause]

[Filter: Jack]

Have you had any luck at all with your mysterious journey, Jack? I've missed our little excursions terribly, you know, things here are just so tense, it would be lovely to ... to ...

[Filter: Private]

Oooh.

I can't tell him I miss him! Ridiculous. That's the first rule of these sorts of things. Don't tell him you miss him, and certainly don't nag him to tell you more about whatever sordid nonsense he's up to now. Boring. Predictable!

... And I don't really want to know about Mari. What good would knowing do. I know that Josiah doesn't like it, whatever they're doing, and ... really, isn't that enough? I don't want anything to do with all of that.

What to do, what to do ...

At least there are rehearsals again. I just knew Elyiethe wouldn't let anything interrupt her for very long.

But that certainly doesn't give me anything to do right now. Maybe Dimitri is free ...

[Filter: Pearl]

Pearl!!

I need your help. It's for something extremely silly but very important to me, and you're the only one I could possibly turn to!

Good heavens, Sir Elden, I don't know what you're doing out there, but you should know Elyiethe is quite upset with you! She's been glaring daggers at the rest of us all day long. She's completely redone the rehearsal schedule this week ... there are other people upset with you, too. Talking about how if just about anyone else tried this, she'd find a replacement before she'd rearrange the schedule for them ...

Hmph. Well, it's the talk of the whole troupe, in any case. I can't say I like having to tiptoe about because of something someone else is doing, but I suppose there's nothing to be done for it.

[Filter: Pearl]

W-well, this is just terrible, isn't it?

You made it back safely, didn't you? I meant to write last night, but I was just so relieved when Josiah showed up after all, and I got caught up in everything back at the apartments -- I can't believe they withstood it just fine, when so many others didn't! I've heard some much sturdier buildings just came crashing right down! Oh, but they must have only seemed sturdier, since ...

Well!!

Lady Fayre must have sent someone for you, right?

Is it terrible of me to be thinking about the play, even now? I keep thinking, oh, I do hope we can resume soon, somehow. It's just dreadful being stuck here not able to do anything to take my mind off it all. At least -- you know, the guard came by today and swept right through the street, and there are patrols posted on the corners, now, so that's ... better than it was!

[Filter: Private]

It's just awful of me to lie to her, isn't it?

Hmm, but I think ...

She hates Jack, and why shouldn't she? If he did what I think he did! And I'm sure he did. So I think she might tell, because she'd say, oh, well, it's for Lydia's own good, so! Also, she may just want to see Josiah murder Jack. Tsk. This is what you get for being such a womanizer, Jack! Enemies!

It's a little like playing a game, isn't it? I need to learn more about it. How to tell if a man is getting bored. I don't think he is yet, though! Surely that's a good sign. He wrote first, didn't he? He wouldn't have bothered if he was bored.

No, I still have all sorts of ideas.

[Filter: Private]

I don't think he's actually scared of Josiah. Well, he is, but not like Dimitri is. I know that's why Dimitri's never -- well.

Hmm. Well, I'm getting much better at that illusion of myself sleeping, at least. I thought Mari was going to notice last night, but she just took one look at it and went right back to sleep. I am a pretty decent stage magician, aren't I? Soon Elyiethe is going to let me design entire sequences, I can just feel it. I'm already better at implementing half of what Ricken comes up with, everyone knows it!

Oh, but that's not why I'm writing, diary, not at all. I wanted to talk about Jack! Obviously. It's been so much fun. We've been to three different opium dens, can you believe it? I didn't like the smell in there, at first, but I think I'm getting used to it. You would think that everyone in places like that would be dirty, wouldn't you? Dirty and lewd and dangerous. But they aren't all like that. There are women in beautiful silk dresses, men in fancy hats, Adveni with bangles and silver animal charms all strung up around their necks and waists and wrists with little bells ... Jack says they're all thieves, and maybe that's true, but nothing's been stolen from me yet. Well, I don't really bring anything, so I'm sure that helps.

I loved the river docks, too. They're so much more interesting than the docks in Floran! And busier, especially now. The river is so fast in the spring, Jack says that it's normally at least ten feet lower in the bank than this. There are ropes and signs everywhere warning you not to get too close -- but a lot of the people I've been meeting can't even read! Isn't that terrible? They'd never even know if they got a magic journal at all. Jack keeps telling me that one day soon he'll get us on a ship. Oh, not to leave -- that sounded bad, didn't it? Just to see the ship! And meet the crew, and all of that. He used to work on one, and I love ships, he knows that.

Really, everything has just been perfect, except for one thing. One little tiny thing ... hmm.

It's funny. I know I'm pretty, I'm not worried about that. If Dimitri weren't so afraid that Josiah would skewer him, he'd have found us a little privacy by now, for sure. Hah, and if the other boys on the cast or in those taverns didn't think I belong to Dimitri, they probably would have tried already, too! But I'm so tired of men dangling me off their arm, or on their laps, buying me drinks and blowing me kisses, and not being willing to -- just follow through! I'm nearly twenty-three years old, can you believe that? I'm so old, now.

It just seems so unfair. I shouldn't have to be the one to say something. If Jack's not afraid of Josiah, just what is he waiting for? At this rate, Mari is going to seduce Sir Elden before I ever get my chance. Terrible.

But at least I'm having fun...?

[Filter: Jack]

You know, you have both of my brothers and my best friend very concerned about your impending arrival. I just can't imagine why, can you?