As was expected of a Friday Night, people filed into the semi-circular rows of fine, velvet cushioned seats. The crowd was immaculately dressed, as Leo suspected there wasn't much occasion to bring out the finest of one's collection throughout a work week. Unless, of course, they owned a high class casino and were always expected to wear a bowtie smile.
As was befitting of the owner of such an establishment, Leo occupied one of the balconies that overlooked the stage. The prime spot, in fact, that was neither the closest or farthest to the stage but provided the most wholistic viewing of the stage below. For most the acts and plays, the stage decoration was kept simple, at Augustine's request, for he insisted to Leo that the audience should be directed to the lyricism and art itself than flashy things.
Leo only nodded and murmured his agreement, as the casino and opera house owner delegated most of the creative direction to his dear playwright friend, whilst he handled the financials. It had been a boon of an operation, as Augustine claimed the people in the Citadel were "starved" for fine art, but as Leo surveyed the seats that began to swell with occupants, he suspected they were looking more for an escape, a marbled, gilded bubble to protect them from the horrors of their reality.
Leo did not dedicate much thought to it, as he did not care why people paid for tickets, so long as they paid, and turned his attention to the fine dame seated next to him. Caterina was a Diamond's high card, a petite and pretty thing that looked far younger than her age of forty.
"I hear Morticia's on tonight," Leo started, accepting a glass of wine offered to him on a gold platter ringed in flourished design. He saw a smile crest Caterina's painted lips, for he knew Morticia to be one of her favorites.
"Excellent" was all Caterina could saw before the lights dimmed and a lonely voice rang out, clear and strong, silencing the rolling murmur of conversation amongst opera attendees. The opera had started.
She only had a very rough recollection of what her life was like before she turned into a monster, but Seryna felt like it was something like this. There was always a tense rush brought about by her chosen career -- days and nights spent in a flurry of activities mostly spent in the practice of song and the whole production, or on fittings for costumes. She vaguely remembered hardly ever really getting rest, spending most of her waking hours trying to be the best of the best.
But now...now she was the best, for now, she was the only remaining Soprano. Or at least that was how it currently was. Augustine spoke of having found a new talent, a bright little star, untainted by their curse. Seryna couldn't help feel threatened. Since her re-awakening, the Silverlight Opera House and Augustine had become her home, her first anchor to this new yet very sad world. Singing and breathing song was one of the very few things which remind her that she was once human and that she hasn't always been a monster.
Still, as she put on her wig and makeup and donned her exquisite costume, Seryna found herself saddened as she watched herself turn into someone else. As Morticia, a persona created for her to fit the current times, she was afforded some sort of freedom provided by this new identity. Yet the fact that she seemingly denies being Seryna Constantine, upsets her. She felt or rather, at least hoped, that before she became what she was now, she was once loved and accepted.
However as the heavy curtains part and the haunting melody begins, all thoughts were put aside. There only remained to feel.
After the applause has faded and she had changed into a more casual dress, Augustine escorted her up towards the balconies.
"Mr. Wilkenson, Miss," Seryna greeted the occupants of the box with a solemn smile. "it's been an honor to perform for you. It may be a little shameless of me, but I hoped you enjoyed the show?" Tag : Leander Wilkenson
QuotePosted 09-30-2021, 07:24 PMThis post was last modified: 09-30-2021, 07:25 PM by Seryna Constantine
It was not just that Morticia was on tonight. It was that she was the headliner. As the lights dimmed and the audience was bathed in darkness before an illuminated stage, Leo watched as the velvet curtains unveiled a slender, pale skinned woman dressed in the livery of a performer. He felt the voice, sweet in its tone yet haunting in its story, enrapture his companion, who he saw from the corner of his eye lean closer and closer towards the stage throughout the act.
Leo, on the other hand, found more entertainment in the wine, of which he went through three glasses before the first half ended. And another five afterwards. He enjoyed opera, sure, but he went more for the atmosphere, the collective gathering of other blind fools in their exquisite gowns and artful jewelry under a sloping mural roof and before a stage that glowed yellow like a spring sun. Caterina did not utter a word to Leo, who's periodic comments on the singing quality and appearance of the singers seemed to grate on her, and Leo found it better to fall silent for the second half of the performances. When Morticia was on stage, everyone else was invisible and mute.
Even though their booth was thoroughly air conditioned, a thin sheen of sweet had gathered on Leo's forehead at the show's end. He clapped along with the others as the curtains swept close and Morticia went out in a shower of roses, some real but most of them fake and felt.
"Was that not just marvelous?" Caterina fawned. Her wine glass had remained untouched, whilst Leo took generous sips from his own.
"As fine as all shows go," Leo conceded. If Caterina noticed Leo's inebriation, she didn't notice, just continue to fan after the show. He was about to ask if he could slide an arm over her shoulders, bring her closer and satisfy his sudden want for human company, when he heard a voice beside them.
Leander smiled at the woman, who he would not have recognized had he not known her face.
"Morticia. What a lovely surprise," Leo said, making strong efforts to keep his voice clear and punctuated. "It was great my dear. I-"
He was interrupted by a gasp from his companion. He were just thankful it were not a screech or cry, judging by the energy she exuded. Caterina evidently knew how to compose herself in such a setting.
"You're the famous Morticia? It's an honor. You have such a way with song."
Her grip upon Augustine's arm tightens a little as the other man spoke. Mixed with his human breath was a healthy dose of alcohol and where such scent would usually turn most people off, Seryna presently found it enticing. Though it was only a short time since she regained awareness, she found that certain people's body chemistry make them smell more enticing, and alcohol definitely complimented Leander's scent.
That and the accelerated heartbeat which came along with being drunk was making her feel heady with hunger pangs, even though she had begrudgingly fed the day before this very performance.
"Yes I am. And thank you for such beautiful compliments Miss." she turned to the woman, grateful for the distraction. Remaining distant from the two, Seryna did her best to push her mind to think of anything else other than their two beating pulses.
"But I wouldn't have been able to do this without Mr. Wilkenson's gracious patronage." She turned to the man and subtly hinted he continue with the conversation. She caught that the other woman had cut him off midsentence and based on what Augustine has told her, it was always better to let the men take control of the conversation. Or at least, in this case, the person who has the most money.
=== Tag : Leander Wilkenson
The red carpet below his polished, black shoes, was beginning to grow fuzzy, swirl like a gentle-moving stream. Leander shook his head, rubbed his temple between two fingers, while he was sure his date and the beautiful opera singer indulged each other. When he looked up, he saw he was wrong, as the pale and blonde Morticia was looking directly at him. Leo blinked, then flicked his gaze over to Caterina, who had a look that was less kindly than acerbic.
Do not make a fool of us in front of her. That glare read.
Leo straightened his posture, coughed, readjusted the collar of his suit, all in a fluid motion that may have been imperceptible to all but those who knew him closely.
”Well, I would be a fool to turn away such a talent from the Silverlight. Such is a dangerous precedent - I would be practically offering her to the Olavarria’s down the street.” Leo oft refrained from crass remarks, but his head was swimming and his cheeks were hot and was feeling the emboldening effects of a good few bottles of wine. ”And the world help us if they were the guiding hands of our Citadel’s entertainment district.”
He was unsure if it was the wine, or the boredom, or the desire to be anywhere else but cloying awkwardness of a first encounter and a date that glared at him with piercing eyes, expectant that he play his casanovian guise as a charmer and bolster to her reputation, but he sat up abruptly and clasped his hands together, a loud sound in the emptying chamber.
”It would be unbecoming for us to remain here without a show to watch.” Leo turned to Morticia, the slender blonde with not a blemish to mar her perfect, porcelain features. ”Morticia - would you like to join us for dinner? There is a restaurant adjacent to us - ‘The Peak’, famous for its lamb and mashed potato.” Which Leander also owned, but he neglected to add for humility (whatever modesty could be spared from the neatly-pressed gray suit, silk shirt and golden broach he wore on his breast, studded with glaring diamonds in the shape of a suit of diamonds).
Leo hooked his arm with Caterina’s, signaling his desire to leave to place, to Morticia and his date, who at first looked reluctant to leave the presence of her favorite star, then giddy at Leo’s suggestion.
”We will pay, for all of it. I want to hear of all of it, your story, your muse, what makes you so.. stunning.”
Posted 09-29-2021, 09:14 AM
the siren's song
