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Luce could not believe how many people were crowded into the Globe They were practically on top of the actors, pressed so close to the stage in the pit that at least twenty spectators had their elbows propped up on the stage itself She could s

And yet, soized--as if instead of panicking under all this attention, Lucinda was co to life

It was a party scene Luce was surrounded by Anne Boleyn's ladies-in-waiting; she alhed at how comical her ladies looked around her These teen boys' Adae lanterns Sweat fors under the are, Daniel and his court stood watching her unabashedly, his love plain on his face She played her part effortlessly, sneaking just enough adlances at Daniel to pique both his and the audience's interest She even i, pale neck--that gave a foreboding hint of what everyone kneaited the real Anne Boleyn

Two players drew close, flanking Luce They were the noblemen of the play, Lord Sands and Lord Wolsey

"Ladies, you are not merry Gentleman, whose fault is this?" Lord Wolsey's voice boomed He was the host of the party--and the villain--and the actor playing hie presence

Then he turned and swept his gaze around to look at Luce She froze

Lord Wolsey was being played by Cam

There was no space for Luce to shout, curse, or flee She was a professional actor now, so she stayed collected, and turned to Wolsey's coh

"The red wine first must rise in their fair cheeks, my lord," he said

When it was Lucinda's turn to deliver her line, her body trembled, and she sneaked a peek at Daniel His violet eyes shness she felt He believed in her

"You are a amester, my lord Sands," Luce felt herself say loudly, in a perfectly pitched teasing tone

Then Daniel stepped forward and a tru He took her hand When he spoke, he spoke to her, not to the audience, as the other players did

"The fairest hand I ever touched," Daniel said "O Beauty, till now I never knew thee" As if the lines had been written for the two of thean to dance, and Daniel locked eyes with her the whole time His eyes were crystal clear and violet, and the way they never strayed from hers chipped away at Luce's heart She knew he'd loved her always, but until this e in front of all these people, she had never really thought about what it meant

It meant that when she saw him for the first time in every life, Daniel was already in love with her Every time And always had been And every time, she had to fall in love with him fro him He had to win her anew each ti, uninterrupted stream It was the purest form of love there was, purer even than the love Luce returned His love floithout breaking, without stopping Whereas Luce's love iped clean with every death, Daniel's grew over ti must it be by now? Hundreds of lifetimes of love stacked one on top of the other? It was almost too massive for Luce to comprehend

He loved her that ain, he had to wait for her to catch up

All this ti with the rest of the troupe, bounding in and out of the wings at breaks in the er sets with

At the close of the scene, even though it wasn't in the script, even though Ca, Luce held fast to Daniel's hand and pulled hie trees He looked at her like she was crazy and tried to tug her to the ? he e when she'd tried to speak freely about her feelings She had to ht, understanding the depth of her love wouldto hi her for hundreds h all the pain and hardship she'd witnessed, right up to the present

Luce knew that it wasn't in the script, but she couldn't stop herself: She grabbed Daniel and she kissed him

She expected him to stop her, but instead he swooped her into his ar with such intensity that she felt the way she did when they were flying, though she knew her feet were planted on the ground

For a an to holler and jeer Sonored it His kisses told Luce that he believed her, that he understood the depth of her love, but she wanted to be absolutely sure

I will always love you, Daniel Only, that didn't seeh She had to ed history, so be it I'll always choose you Yes, that was the word Every single lifetime, I'll choose you Just as you have always chosen me Forever

His lips parted Did he believe her? Did he already know? It was a choice, a long-standing, deep- seated choice that reached beyond anything else Luce was capable of So beautiful and--

Shadows began to swirl in the rigging overhead Heat quaked through her body,her convulse, desperate for the fiery release she kneas co

Daniel's eyes flashed with pain No, he whispered Please don't go yet