69th Autumn 514 AV
Half a bell after midight
Lantern Square
Half a bell after midight
Lantern Square
Two bells after the end of that evening's performance, or rather the performance of the night before, for they had almost reached the next bell of the next morning, Adelaide and a group of a dozen or so actors and singers from the Playhouse were sitting around in a corner, drinking and being rather too raucous. Thus was the nature of after-show drinks, especially after a new show that had never been performed anywhere else and was premiering for the first time. There was also the prospect of a break the next day... something which Adelaide would naturally not have. Already, she could sense that her Uncle was not going to be so happy that she had spent the evening away from the Bloodflower plantation but she had rather wasted that afternoon, spent entirely at the Playhouse. Not that that was outrageous, since the venue was owned by her family and the morning had been very useful for her, but it was not the day to do it. There lay another reason why Adelaide was so happy to drink her troubles away.
The group had been at Lantern Square for a bell when a middle aged man came up to them, frowning. Unfortunately, for the man in question, by that point everyone had had rather too much rum, wine and other libations and rendering them unwilling to listen to criticism from anyone.
"I should have known who was making all this noise! My wife and I attended your performance tonight. You should not get away with pedalling such rubbish to the public?"
Adelaide would have rolled her eyes but, in the end, only fell back into Caspar's lap with a smile, playing with the young man's beard absent-mindedly, "Many people would disagree with you on that one Sir."
"You shouldn't be allowed to show that kind of play."
"Why not?"
"It might give the freeborn, and even the slaves, ideas. I should speak to the magistrate about it."
"I'll tell Uncle to expect your visit! Who should I say is calling? A third cousin twice removed of the Rajor?" Adelaide dismissed the man with another laugh and turned towards Caspar, who also laughed and shrugged, "Calm down sir or you won't make it!"
"Make it?" he seethed, shaking his head, evidently not understanding.
"Make it through the Summer!" replied half the group, in chorus, laughing at their terrible attempt to joke about something really quite serious, too hyped to realise how poor a joke it was.
With a completely vicious frown and muttering something about some "petching Shykai", the man made a move of helplessness and moved back to his wife on the other side of the square. Adelaide watched with a little smile as they exchanged a few words and then both got up and left. With a smile, Octavius ordered another round of rum from a passing slave and everyone cheered.
"I think at this point, we should make a move to..."
"Oh, come on Octavius!" Winona called, from her position, with her head on Millicent's lap and her feet on some less important member of the Playhouse troupe, "You never use five words when fifty will do. Get to the point!"
"Alright. I won't say anything. I'll just say that it was a good idea to swap the footlights of the stage for the Lanterns of Lantern Square."
"Cheers!" Winona raised her glass and fell back on Millicent's lap.
Adelaide was feeling decidedly content with life. Next season, a play of her was finally going to be performed and, that season, they had followed her suggestion as to what Opera should be performed for the last ten days of the season. And now, as she sat with them in Lantern Square, she felt as much part of the troupe as anyone could be. Actors were not the unaccepting sort but, even in somewhere as hierarchy-orientated as Kenash, there always seemed to be a slight resentment of their being told what to do. It was only within that circle, only amongst performers, that Adelaide didn't anger at the resentment but rather wished to do her best so that it might not be felt anymore. Now, it seemed like she had almost succeeded. Naturally, there were always Dynasts who did - lovers of theatre and music that they were - but it seemed to take more time for them than for the freeborn to be completely accepted amongst the group. It made the pleasure all the greater, for Adelaide at least.
The group had been at Lantern Square for a bell when a middle aged man came up to them, frowning. Unfortunately, for the man in question, by that point everyone had had rather too much rum, wine and other libations and rendering them unwilling to listen to criticism from anyone.
"I should have known who was making all this noise! My wife and I attended your performance tonight. You should not get away with pedalling such rubbish to the public?"
Adelaide would have rolled her eyes but, in the end, only fell back into Caspar's lap with a smile, playing with the young man's beard absent-mindedly, "Many people would disagree with you on that one Sir."
"You shouldn't be allowed to show that kind of play."
"Why not?"
"It might give the freeborn, and even the slaves, ideas. I should speak to the magistrate about it."
"I'll tell Uncle to expect your visit! Who should I say is calling? A third cousin twice removed of the Rajor?" Adelaide dismissed the man with another laugh and turned towards Caspar, who also laughed and shrugged, "Calm down sir or you won't make it!"
"Make it?" he seethed, shaking his head, evidently not understanding.
"Make it through the Summer!" replied half the group, in chorus, laughing at their terrible attempt to joke about something really quite serious, too hyped to realise how poor a joke it was.
With a completely vicious frown and muttering something about some "petching Shykai", the man made a move of helplessness and moved back to his wife on the other side of the square. Adelaide watched with a little smile as they exchanged a few words and then both got up and left. With a smile, Octavius ordered another round of rum from a passing slave and everyone cheered.
"I think at this point, we should make a move to..."
"Oh, come on Octavius!" Winona called, from her position, with her head on Millicent's lap and her feet on some less important member of the Playhouse troupe, "You never use five words when fifty will do. Get to the point!"
"Alright. I won't say anything. I'll just say that it was a good idea to swap the footlights of the stage for the Lanterns of Lantern Square."
"Cheers!" Winona raised her glass and fell back on Millicent's lap.
Adelaide was feeling decidedly content with life. Next season, a play of her was finally going to be performed and, that season, they had followed her suggestion as to what Opera should be performed for the last ten days of the season. And now, as she sat with them in Lantern Square, she felt as much part of the troupe as anyone could be. Actors were not the unaccepting sort but, even in somewhere as hierarchy-orientated as Kenash, there always seemed to be a slight resentment of their being told what to do. It was only within that circle, only amongst performers, that Adelaide didn't anger at the resentment but rather wished to do her best so that it might not be felt anymore. Now, it seemed like she had almost succeeded. Naturally, there were always Dynasts who did - lovers of theatre and music that they were - but it seemed to take more time for them than for the freeborn to be completely accepted amongst the group. It made the pleasure all the greater, for Adelaide at least.
