40th Autumn 508AV
Early Morning
Early Morning
It was a horridly drizzly day, one of those that couldn't make up its mind whether there would be rain or not and, thus, leaving the residents of Zeltiva in two minds as to whether they should venture out of their homes without cover. On the one hand, one could take an umbrella and thus be protected when the heavens opened. On the other, one risked looking stupid if one was carrying an umbrella around all day - and it could be bothersome. In a spirit of optimism, Adelaide went without an umbrella, without even a coat - electing instead to don a blood red kirtle over a white poet shirt with billowing sleeves; the kirtle tied tightly enough to do justice to her silhouette while allowing for ease of movement: those casting disapproved strongly of inappropriate attire. Just before leaving Gideon's apartment, she plaited her long hair into a single plait (doing the same for Raja, her new roommate) and put on some simple red shoes with a small heel of one inch. She had opted to dress practically.
The street was full, even on such a day, for Zeltiva was a buzzing University town, more vibrant than even Kenash if home to less sophisticated company - it didn't need to be, after all. It was as gritty as it was pretty and revelled in that fact, the port, the air fried with salt, winding its way to the city, the old quarter and West Street. Even East Street added to the charm, a den of vice but the mark of a roaring, living city where every need, so to speak, was catered for. Things were regulated, but not too much and the whole place was crowned by hills, winding their way around the only city that could match up to Kenash for beauty and culture.
Five chimes later, Raja and Adelaide were walking down the street, not quite arm in arm (for Raja, Eypharian that she was, had six arms) Adelaide holding her lines in one hand so as to be able to go over them while walking. Raja started singing, her accent rolling the rs and gently pausing over the vowels.
Adelaide had looked up with a start at the first line, her brow slightly furrowed, "Those are my words!"
"You threw them away. I fished the piece of paper with them written on out of the wastepaper basket. Is it about Kenash?"
"Yes and no." Adelaide was having trouble concentrating on the words in front of her, the lines of her monologue seemed to swim in front of her eyes and she could have sworn that she had read the same line eight or nine times. With a small smile, realising she was more in the mood to speak with Raja than revise, she slipped the paper into her pocket and turned to her friend, "It's my version of Kenash, a version that I now know does not exist. That is why I threw it away."
"Does not exist?"
"Kenash is my home. It's beautiful, but it's not as perfect as I used to believe it to be." Adelaide paused and decided to change the subject, "Raja - how did you come up with the tune?"
The Eypharian shrugged all six shoulders, "It just popped into my head. Probably something I've already heard and forgotten I heard rather than something I made up."
Adelaide nodded. She knew all about that; how it felt to imagine one had made something up and then realise that it was something she had heard years ago, as a child perhaps. With a sigh, she turned back to the words. She had been told that she would need two speeches: one she had written herself and a duologue that she would do with someone reading in... a classic set piece from a play popular in Zeltiva, but completely unknown in Kenash. It put her at a disadvantage because, as Kristin (a friend she had made while last at the Theatre) told her, it was a play known by everyone in Zeltiva and which all the other actresses would have done at least once.
"I haven't even read it." the young woman said, trying to sound more confident than she felt, "Do you think everyone else will have?"
"Without a doubt."
"Do you know it?"
"Remember that, just like you, I am not from here. I was brought up in Ahnatep." Raja paused before adding, with her usual enigmatic smile, almost coquettishly, "But I have auditioned enough times to know the gist. It's pure melodrama. There's a woman, a very beautiful woman..."
"Evidently not the role I'm going for." interrupted Adelaide, her voice cynical.
"Well, there's a very beautiful woman, who is good, kind, clever and virtuous. She's married to an old miser who only cares for his money. However, a young and handsome sailor is in love with her and he comes every night to sing under her window, serenading her. Now, he already has a mistress who is pregnant with his child, but the mistress has many lovers and he does not care for her. She, however is completely in love with him and, although not beautiful like the other woman, she is passionate and determined. So, after giving birth to the child and realising that he wants nothing to do with her or her daughter, she decides to hire two hitmen to kill the virtuous woman."
"And?"
"And I do not remember the rest. There's a problem with mistaken identity at one point, but I do not recall what happens."
"Oh."
Raja had been right to call it melodramatic. Mistaken identity was a staple of the genre and, though Adelaide was not the sort to look down on melodrama or excessive emotion in Theatre. After all, Theatre was an art form and it did not have to be completely true to life. The rest of the walk to the lightshow Theatre passed in silence, save for a moment when Adelaide had to practically drag Raja away from a peddler selling brightly coloured scarves. When they finally arrived at the Theatre, the eighth bell had just struck and the Lobby was full of a number of men and women, some with props. One woman had come in full costume.
With a small sigh, Adelaide settled herself down in a corner, cross-legged, while Raja went off to greet a friend. Hopefully, everything would go well. Part of her was very excited, loving the thrill of performance and the adrenaline of the stage, but neither was she confident enough in her own skill to be completely at ease. Her heart was thumping so loudly that she felt sure all the other self-assured (at least in appearance) people in the room must be able to hear it, loud as a drum. Still, maybe everything would go well and this would be the start of a career that, even as a little girl, she'd always dreamt of. All she had to do now was to enter a room, speak loudly and clearly, not break character and do what was asked of her. She knew her lines to both the duologue and the monologue well enough so now it was just a question of not messing up. Now, now, now. Every new statement was emblazoned in Adelaide's head like a warning, flashing red. Now she would know whether or not she was ridiculous to hold illusions of being on the stage, of being a star.
The street was full, even on such a day, for Zeltiva was a buzzing University town, more vibrant than even Kenash if home to less sophisticated company - it didn't need to be, after all. It was as gritty as it was pretty and revelled in that fact, the port, the air fried with salt, winding its way to the city, the old quarter and West Street. Even East Street added to the charm, a den of vice but the mark of a roaring, living city where every need, so to speak, was catered for. Things were regulated, but not too much and the whole place was crowned by hills, winding their way around the only city that could match up to Kenash for beauty and culture.
Five chimes later, Raja and Adelaide were walking down the street, not quite arm in arm (for Raja, Eypharian that she was, had six arms) Adelaide holding her lines in one hand so as to be able to go over them while walking. Raja started singing, her accent rolling the rs and gently pausing over the vowels.
"There is a land where the hot wind blows
A sunset cloud like purple powder flows
Over a swamp city crowned by the Sea
There lives the maiden adored by me
Under a night sky, the towheaded lass glides
And me with my lute, forever by her side
And the people look around like beasts in stall
Responding to and praising the maiden's call
As she sings a sweet song of a love now found
In a city where a goddess may tread the ground."
A sunset cloud like purple powder flows
Over a swamp city crowned by the Sea
There lives the maiden adored by me
Under a night sky, the towheaded lass glides
And me with my lute, forever by her side
And the people look around like beasts in stall
Responding to and praising the maiden's call
As she sings a sweet song of a love now found
In a city where a goddess may tread the ground."
Adelaide had looked up with a start at the first line, her brow slightly furrowed, "Those are my words!"
"You threw them away. I fished the piece of paper with them written on out of the wastepaper basket. Is it about Kenash?"
"Yes and no." Adelaide was having trouble concentrating on the words in front of her, the lines of her monologue seemed to swim in front of her eyes and she could have sworn that she had read the same line eight or nine times. With a small smile, realising she was more in the mood to speak with Raja than revise, she slipped the paper into her pocket and turned to her friend, "It's my version of Kenash, a version that I now know does not exist. That is why I threw it away."
"Does not exist?"
"Kenash is my home. It's beautiful, but it's not as perfect as I used to believe it to be." Adelaide paused and decided to change the subject, "Raja - how did you come up with the tune?"
The Eypharian shrugged all six shoulders, "It just popped into my head. Probably something I've already heard and forgotten I heard rather than something I made up."
Adelaide nodded. She knew all about that; how it felt to imagine one had made something up and then realise that it was something she had heard years ago, as a child perhaps. With a sigh, she turned back to the words. She had been told that she would need two speeches: one she had written herself and a duologue that she would do with someone reading in... a classic set piece from a play popular in Zeltiva, but completely unknown in Kenash. It put her at a disadvantage because, as Kristin (a friend she had made while last at the Theatre) told her, it was a play known by everyone in Zeltiva and which all the other actresses would have done at least once.
"I haven't even read it." the young woman said, trying to sound more confident than she felt, "Do you think everyone else will have?"
"Without a doubt."
"Do you know it?"
"Remember that, just like you, I am not from here. I was brought up in Ahnatep." Raja paused before adding, with her usual enigmatic smile, almost coquettishly, "But I have auditioned enough times to know the gist. It's pure melodrama. There's a woman, a very beautiful woman..."
"Evidently not the role I'm going for." interrupted Adelaide, her voice cynical.
"Well, there's a very beautiful woman, who is good, kind, clever and virtuous. She's married to an old miser who only cares for his money. However, a young and handsome sailor is in love with her and he comes every night to sing under her window, serenading her. Now, he already has a mistress who is pregnant with his child, but the mistress has many lovers and he does not care for her. She, however is completely in love with him and, although not beautiful like the other woman, she is passionate and determined. So, after giving birth to the child and realising that he wants nothing to do with her or her daughter, she decides to hire two hitmen to kill the virtuous woman."
"And?"
"And I do not remember the rest. There's a problem with mistaken identity at one point, but I do not recall what happens."
"Oh."
Raja had been right to call it melodramatic. Mistaken identity was a staple of the genre and, though Adelaide was not the sort to look down on melodrama or excessive emotion in Theatre. After all, Theatre was an art form and it did not have to be completely true to life. The rest of the walk to the lightshow Theatre passed in silence, save for a moment when Adelaide had to practically drag Raja away from a peddler selling brightly coloured scarves. When they finally arrived at the Theatre, the eighth bell had just struck and the Lobby was full of a number of men and women, some with props. One woman had come in full costume.
With a small sigh, Adelaide settled herself down in a corner, cross-legged, while Raja went off to greet a friend. Hopefully, everything would go well. Part of her was very excited, loving the thrill of performance and the adrenaline of the stage, but neither was she confident enough in her own skill to be completely at ease. Her heart was thumping so loudly that she felt sure all the other self-assured (at least in appearance) people in the room must be able to hear it, loud as a drum. Still, maybe everything would go well and this would be the start of a career that, even as a little girl, she'd always dreamt of. All she had to do now was to enter a room, speak loudly and clearly, not break character and do what was asked of her. She knew her lines to both the duologue and the monologue well enough so now it was just a question of not messing up. Now, now, now. Every new statement was emblazoned in Adelaide's head like a warning, flashing red. Now she would know whether or not she was ridiculous to hold illusions of being on the stage, of being a star.
