Old Songs of Winters Past
By: Iron Galley
Adagio Dazzle looked into a pool of water beside her. She could see her reflection despite the mud and contamination upsetting the clarity of the water; she scowled. Her hair was cut short and the curls she usually wore were either gone or too small to notice. Her hand moved to stroke the gem of her necklace, but instead she folded her arms and watched as a patrol passed her by in an armored car. The uniformed men gave her a passing glance, but stared ahead again as the car sped onward through the dirt path on its way to the sprawling city in the distance.
Adagio leaned back against the concrete wall of the rundown farmhouse she'd taken for a resting spot and waited. The sun drifted over her head and towards the west, and she felt sleep overtaking her. Her eyelids felt heavy and the soft breeze that blew in from the eastern coast caressed her skin while the sun warmed it. Her eyes closed once, twice, and she opened them again a third. Adagio mumbled a bit and adjusted her trench coat.
In the distance she saw a familiar shape approaching.
Aria rode up to her mounted on a strong, chestnut mare; wearing her hair as she liked, and garbed in fine clothing. She smiled and dismounted, all the while Adagio frowned.
"Not even Sonata would have dared to do such a stupid thing." Adagio said, her fists clenched. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Don't you like it? I thought I'd wear something nice for a change, unlike some people." Aria smiled and looked down at Adagio as she left the saddle. "Maybe you like dressing up poorly, Adagio, but I'm tired of it."
"How do you think you're going to explain where you got those clothes and the mare if the police asks you?" Adagio said, and Aria smiled.
"With a song." She then crossed her arms and arched her eyebrow. "Anyway, it's still got nothing on Sonata." Aria pointed to the horizon behind Adagio, and when she turned around, her palm hit her own face almost immediately.
Sonata waved at them from the back of an armored car, while four soldiers on motorcycles escorted them. Her hair was loose, and she was wearing a uniform with a single medal and a cap; she was beaming.
The armored car and its escort stopped in front of Adagio and Aria, and Sonata climbed down from it while yelling goodbyes and farewells to the soldiers within, all the while Adagio and Aria stood back and stared. After the last of the men had received a hug and wished her good luck, the patrol sped back the way it had come from.
"Aren't those guys the best? They even let me keep one of their cool outfits!" Sonata said, posing for the others. "Do these pants make my butt look big?"
Adagio was rubbing her temples; Aria rolled her eyes. Sonata sighed and clapped her gloved hands.
"So! Where to?" She smiled. "Oh! I brought a bunch of juicy secrets like you asked, Adagio! You wouldn't believe the things that go on inside that city; it's such a huge drama!"
"Right." Adagio mumbled. "Let's skip over the fact that you two insist on blowing our cover, and focus on the mission."
Aria walked off to the side and pulled out a small envelope from a saddlebag on her mare. "Well, I found out a few interesting things." She said and opened the envelop. "It seems most of the aristocracy of the city will be gathering in a party next week."
Adagio smiled.
"That's just great. How many people? Who's not going?" Adagio looked at Aria; she shrugged, but Sonata gasped and clapped her hands together.
"Everyone is going! It's some very important guy's birthday, and he's super popular or something, because even the president is going! Oh, but not some people; the Long Bolts, or something." Sonata glanced sideways and took a step closer. "They're, like, in a fight or something with birthday guy."
"General True Sight. It's his birthday party, but he's a staunch democrat and capitalist, while the Long Bolts are republicans and are part of the communist party."
"That explains it then. What do you girls know of the Long Bolts?" Adagio started walking in the direction of the city. Aria took her mare by the reins and led her on while Sonata followed at a brisk pace.
"They don't have many friends, I heard. No one really likes them, or invites them to anything. They're, like, total weirdos." Sonata said.
"They're one of the most wealthy families in the city and government, but they're also the only one of those families that belongs to the communist party, so that might explain what Sonata is yapping about." Aria said, and Sonata stuck her tongue out at her.
Adagio nodded as she walked.
"So they're not important?"
"Not at all! They're a bunch of losers, most like. Total loners, am I right, Adagio?" Sonata smiled. "Right, Aria?"
"They shouldn't matter if we can't get to sing them a song. As long as we get the rest of the party guests, we should be fine." Aria replied. "We might want to get rid of them afterwards though. The documents I took mention some worker unions in the city making communist rallies, and a Long Bolt that ran for governor of the capital got twenty-five percent of the votes from a four-candidate election, scoring third place."
"Bo-ring!" Sonata sang. "Let's hurry, I'm hungry."
Aria rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh. Well, I am not in the mood for the usual garbage we can afford."
Adagio brought a hand to caress the gem of her necklace. "Soon enough we'll be feasting like we used to do before."
"Like when?" Aria scoffed. "That one time we made that count ruin himself trying to do what we told him? That went just great, Adagio."
"You think so? Because I think it went terrible! I mean, his gold ran all out and those guys in shiny suits came and wrecked his place completely because he didn't pay his boss anymore." Sonata said.
"Yeah, and whose fault was that?" Aria replied.
"Hey, I didn't know a castle that spelled my name costed that much to make."
"Be quiet, you two!" Adagio called back. "This time it's going to be different. Now we'll have an entire country doing our bidding. We'll be adored."
Adagio walked on, and Aria and Sonata followed. The three sirens moved into the city.
