Prologue

Prologue

Isan was dressed in white dancing robes with a sheer veil and her dark hair cascaded down her back. She had bells on her wrist and ankles; with each step she took, the bells chimed musically. The little dusty courtyard was her stage. The workers and their broken down instruments were her musicians. The men, women and children of the streets were her audience. 

She stepped forward and took position. One man begin to tap a wooden cylinder that let out different tones from different areas where it was knocked. Each knock, Isan would accompany with a tap of the ball of her right foot on the ground, making the bells chime. Then came the lute. She turned round to face the audience, moving her feet in a complicated pattern, her hands moving elegantly. As the music began to pick up her dance grew faster. 

All her movements were as graceful as a gazelle. She held the people captive with her dance. Her emotion as she filled herself with music and put herself in a world where nothing else existed, pulled them. 

When the last note rang, her breathing was deep but she held her composure as the audience applauded her. She smiled and bowed as the ones with extra coin threw them to her as appreciation for her dance. She gathered the coins and gave some to her musicians. Once the crowd dispersed, one tall man with skin that was tanned but not dark like the desert folk came up to her from his place in the shadows. 

"You dance beautifully as usual," he said with as smile as he ran his fingers through her hair.

His light eyes the colour of the sky watched her face and shone with love and adoration as he was clearly besotted with her, "I never regret coming out of my way to drop by and watch you dance." 

Isan smiled at him. They were alone and she leaned against him with a content sigh. He kissed the top of her head and ran his fingers through her hair once more. She laid a hand on his chest and touched the strange looking pendant around his neck. 

She loved him so much. She never wanted to leave his side. But they were two different people. She would only ever be happy living in one place. But for him, it was not only his desire to always be on the move, but it was dangerous for him to stay too long in one place. She knew this. And she never once asked him to stop his wanderings and settle down with her.

And him, knowing his beautiful Isan, knew better than to ask her to travel with him. 

He wrapped his arms round her waist and shut his eyes, breathing in the perfume in her hair. Just for that moment, everything was perfect. One day, things would change. They would be together. They would no longer have to be without the other. 

Things would be complete.