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The stage of the Opera Epiclese gleamed infront of the rows upon rows of velvet seats, and an audience watching in an enthralled delight. low hums of violins echoed through out the grand halls, filling the empty paths with their song. The figure situated in the centre of the stage was framed in the lights gentle glow, Adorned in a well-fitted, deep navy suit with golden cuffs. She held another in her arms, a young woman in a pastel pink dress. The final scene left the navy-covered prince weeping over the body of the lost damsel, a touching scene telling a story where no words need to be said. White and blue hair draped down the prince's cheeks as the mellow choir dimmed into nothingness and the lights faded to black before the crowd burst out into frantic claps and cheers.
The main lights switched back on, revealing the entire cast of the just completed play bowed down towards the audience. Arlecchino's red-pupiled eyes instantly locked on to the main lead, the one adorned in delicate blues.
Furina De Fontaine.
Former Hydro archon, Fontaines most renowned icon, a highly skilled actress and also the one who managed to do what Arlecchino deemed impossible, making her heart ache.
The events of that night still haunt her mind like some needy ghost. The way the former archons eyes watered as The Knave towered above her under the cover of night. How she begged for her life as the cat she was playing with just mere moments ago fleed in fear in the presence of Arlecchino's tall and intimidating figure. There was no Gnosis upon Furina's being, rendering her efforts redundant and at the same time, bestowing upon her the curse of traumatising the women she later came to love in the name of the Tsaritsa.
Of course, since then, she had showered both Furina and, in turn her acting troupe, in gifts almost every day to try and make amends for the events of the night. She had the children of the house of hearth deliver them in her stead because only the archons know how much of a heart attack Furina would get if she saw The Knave infront of her door.
So now here ,rather pathetically in her opinion, she stands amongst a crowd of rowdy strangers for the 3rd time that week, but atleast she was making progress in apologising to Furina. At the last tea party Navia held, Furina actually laughed at one of her dad jokes, though she suspects it was out of fear rather than amusement.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted three familiar figures. One of them ,dressed in black and red, standing up and clapping towards the stage with the rest of the audience whilst the other two sit back in their chairs. Freminet and the Twins. Lyney was the first to notice her, a grin forming on his face before joyously walking over to The Knave, abandoning his two siblings.
"Father! What a surprise to see you here! …again!", He tried to yell over the sounds of the unsettled chatter of the crowd.
"You make it sound as if I come here every day.", Arlecchino replied.
"Whaaat??? You don't come here everyday?!", he said in an over exaggerated tone of surprise, "well, that would make sense, since it's not everyday in which Miss Furina perfo-"
"Lyney. Don't you have a show right after this? That you still haven't set up for?"
"Ahh such a trivial matter on such a lovely day!"
"Lyney…"
"Alright! Alright! I'll go round up Lynette and Freminet."
"Take care, then."
"See you later, Father." He says ,tipping his hat with a bow. He walks off back to his introverted partners, with Lynette somehow managing to indulge herself with a cup of tea in a place with no kettle.
She exited her seat and her legs strained from a whole hour and a half of neglection. After regaining her composure, she made her way through the obstreperous groups of scattered audience, many of them pacing back and forth or leaning on one leg to the other in attempts to warm their legs back up.
The knave made her way to the side hall nearest to her, walking through the grand archway into a mostly empty space. The hall was painted in its classic theme of beige walls and wooden, timeworn floors. The occasional painting appeared as she trekked down the corridor. Paintings of plays, the former Archon, the Iudex and even the Palais Mermonia were all carefully hung, their golden frames contrasting the fawn walls.
Finally, she reached the door leading to the backstage. The coldness of the door handle was merely a phantom feeling, one she wished she could still truly feel. She caught her thoughts and continued onto into the room, gently closing the door behind her so as to not alert any others of her presence.
After quietly slipping through a couple of crowds, she eventually heard the familiar sound of large props scraping against the floor and the clanking of tools accompanying it. Freminet was next to a large wooden container, hammering in a few loose nails back into the wood. He wore a demin-blue jacket, adorned with gold buttons, and his brimmed beret followed a similar colour scheme. A long, platinum-blonde, fringe half covered his eyes but his hair only reached his shoulders.
"…oh, father," Freminet said shyly, "are you here to watch the show..?"
"Sadly not, I have work that needs tending to." She replied ,"I'm only here to check on you three before I leave."
"Lyney and Lynette and in the prop room just behind me.."
"Thank you, Freminet." She nods to him and walks off, he returns the nod with a gentle smile.
-
The sight before her was ineffable. The usual props, stood at the side of the room, were untouched. Instead, she watched as the twins miserably failed at wrangling a small, black bunny. Lyney was half tangled in a white sheet of cloth and Lynette was attempting to trap the creature with a cardboard box. In an instant, Arlecchino grabbed the rabbit and held it up as it hopped past her.
"Quite a magic trick you've prepared." She said with a hint of mild dissapointment at the scene before her.
"Greetings, Father." Lynette said, taking the rabbit from the taller woman arms.
"We haven't had much time to practice, due to our missions, but I promise you this will look much better when we're on stage." Lyney replied, finally untangling himself from the cloth and dusting of his clothes.
"And how long do you have until then?"
"Half an hour..?" He chuckled nervously, his uncertainty causing the release of a sigh that Arlecchino didn't even know she was holding.
"I heard that the traveller and Paimon were coming down to watch your show," She steered away from the problem at hand, watching at Lynette carefully stroke the small creature in her arms.
"They were, but they already had something planned around then so they instead watched the play with us." He explained while fiddling with his hat, adjusting it on his head.
"I see. I had wished to discuss some matter with them regarding Poisson but that'll have to wait."
"I can see if I can send them a letter?"
"That would be appreciated, Lynette." Arlecchino replied, "I'll be off now, I wish you both the best of luck for your show."
"Goodbye, Father"
"See you later Father"
Arlecchino exited the room. The backstage area was almost empty now that the cast of the play had started to pack up and leave. She navigated her way past clothing racks and abandoned props before she noticed a familiar blue blazer and white hair. She contemplated on whether to sneak past or just act like she never saw her, for Furina's sake, but neither of those were viable anymore after they made eye contact.
Furina's eyes, painted in alternating blues, locked onto hers. Her face was pale and her eyes darted around the room looking for the nearest exit.
"H-hiii!" Furina mumbled nervously, "Didn't expect to see you here!"
"Hello, Lady Furi-"
"Wow! Great conversation! Loved hearing about it, Byee!" Furina blurted out right before sprinting to the door, but before she could reach the handle, Arlecchino called out to her.
"Lady Furina, could we possibly talk..?"
"…"
"..Please..?"
"About what?" She muttered in a flat and uninterested tone.
"I… just wanted to apologise for the events of that night."
Furina turned to face the Knave, " what's done is done. No matter how many times you apologise, it won't undo any of it…"
"You've gotten more comfortable with talking to me atleast. A few months ago, you pretended I didn't even exist. Even when I was right infront of you."
Furina chuckled lightly, cautiously stepping towards the Knave, "it's quite hard to give the silent treatment when Navia's constantly pairing us up on Board night."
"I think she just wants to be on the same team as clorinde." she replied before taking a deep breath in and averting her gaze from Furina, "Your performance was lovely, as per usual."
"I think I could have done better- wait you watch my shows?"
"Who wouldn't want to watch a show with the esteemed Furina De Fontaine?" She exclaimed, implicitly confessing that she did watch Furina's shows.
Furina's face was graced with a red hue before her face made a conflicted expression. Arlecchino could tell that Furina realised who she was talking to and that all her mind could do was drag her back to that horrible night.
"I'll be departing now, Lady Furina," She excused herself before her presence could make things worse.
Furina stayed silent, looking at the floor , and they could both feel the lingering eyes of her children further down the room as they readied their props. Arlecchino took the initiative, hastily walking past the shorter figure, and towards the door. Neither of the uttered a word as Arlecchino turned the door handle and left the room, leaving behind the air of unease with it.
-
She paced back and forth next the railing out the back of the Opera Epiclese, overlooking the entrance to the fortress of meropide. Her blazer was left abandoned on the bench next to her as the dusk breeze grazed her skin. She had work to do but that could all be left for later, she'd only spend it all distracted anyways. Arlecchino watched as the sun slowly set but all she could think about was Furina, what she had done to her, what she had been doing to make up for it and what she was going to do now.
Oh by the Tsaritsa, I'm too old for this
Said the woman in the early-thirties