The Iron Quill: In the Dark of Night - Rebecca

[chromiumboy]

“I must say that I expected more from you, Rebecca.”

Rebecca stared at her feet, her cheeks burning brightly with shame. The words from the woman standing in the doorway behind her had been softly spoken, but the disappointment in her voice was clear.

“I'm very sorry, Ms. Du Bois,” Rebecca whispered in reply.

“I dare say you are!” retorted Colette Du Bois, mistress of illusion and proprietress of the Star Theatre. “When you tumbled into Cassandra during rehearsal this afternoon she was lucky your fall didn't break her leg! As it is she's sprained her ankle quite badly and has to stay off her feet for at least a week, the good doctor says. And Cassandra is not a woman who enjoys sitting still.”

Colette stepped into the room and closed the door to her office behind her with a decisive click. When she had settled herself behind the desk that sat at the back of the room, Colette leant forward to fix the quivering girl that stood in front of her with a hard, though not unkind, stare.

“When I saw you dance the other night, I was enamoured with you. I had to have you join my troupe. And I am not easily impressed.”

Leaning back in her chair, Colette continued, “What happened this afternoon was, quite frankly, a disaster. What happened?”

Silence greeted her question. Colette let out a heavy sigh.

“Please don't throw me out!” Rebecca suddenly burst out, “I'll try harder!”

Colette blinked in surprise. “No, dear, I don't intend to throw you out! I'll admit that I am annoyed, but I am not so tyrannical that I would toss a young girl back onto the streets of Malifaux so casually!”

Colette rose from her seat and moved to comfort now weeping girl. Colette tried to look the girl directly in the eye, but Rebecca kept pulling her head away.

“Rebecca, listen to me. You are a wonderfully talented young lady. You do not have to try harder. You have the capability already, inside you. You just have to let it out.”

Colette sighed again as the girl burst openly in tears of gratitude. The performers of Star could be highly strung at times, but Rebecca was wound as tightly as a drum. When the girl had calmed down, Colette cleared her throat.

“I have reached a decision," Colette announced. "I will be training you personally, rather than Cassandra or one of the other girls. You will be my little project. Come to the dance hall tomorrow morning, early, and we shall start.”

Colette suppressed a grin at the look of stupefied wonder that crossed Rebecca's face. It was a reward in itself.

---

Colette rubbed her temples as she felt the sharp beginnings of a headache. Glancing up at her stumbling protégée, she called out, “Again!” The pair had been closeted together for several days with Rebecca under Colette's tutelage. The girl would occasionally show a glimmer of what Colette had witnessed in that lonely courtyard that night almost a week past, but as soon as Colette tried to coax anything further from her, the glimmer would disappear. It was most frustrating.

“You're wasting your time on this one,” came a sultry voice behind Colette.

“Cassandra, m'dear, should you really be walking about just yet?” Colette replied without turning her head, “The doctor did say to stay off your foot for a full week, at least.”

“I got tired of waiting,” Cassandra rejoined with a pout. Wincing slightly, she took a seat beside Colette and the two watched Rebecca dance for a few minutes in silence. Finally Cassandra muttered, “The girl moves like a landed fish.”

“Not still sore about what happened earlier this week, are we?” Colette tone was civil, but it hid a reproof.

“I haven't seen anything to be impressed by yet, is all,” Cassandra grumbled. To Cassandra's mild surprise, Colette nodded in agreement.

“No, not yet. But Cassandra! I wish you had been with me that night I found Rebecca. She was alone in an old courtyard, dancing. I happened to catch a glimpse of her through a small alleyway. Her movements had such grace and power, it was like nothing I had ever seen..."

The awe was plain in Colette's voice. After a moment, she went on, "Did you know that Rebecca means 'captivating' in an old Earth tongue? It suited her well. I stood awestruck in the mouth of the alley for perhaps a quarter of an hour before she realised I was there. She stopped so suddenly that I almost regretted intruding upon her. I offered her a job instantly.”

Colette shook her head as she watched Rebecca nearly trip over her own feet.

“I just don't understand. Just after I first met Rebecca, I had all these grand ideas planned for her. She was so naturally talented. We could maybe polish her performance a little, here and there, but we would have a new jewel ready for our stage within the week. And patrons clamouring for her within two. As it stands at the moment, I would be content to hide her at the back of the ensemble. What happened?”

As before, silence greeted Colette's question. After a moment Colette continued, “When I caught that glimpse of her, I felt there was a powerful reason for why I found her.”

“It was coincidence, more like”

“Cassandra, there are no coincidences. You know that.”

Silence descended on the pair once more as they watched Rebecca struggle to master the dance Colette had painstakingly choreographed for her. After a few more minutes, Cassandra eased herself to her feet.

“Well, I'm off for the night. You make sure that you and the girl get some sleep.”

Colette waved off her friend, not really hearing her words, her mind solidly fixed on the puzzle that was Rebecca.

---

Colette awoke late the following morning. Though she was still tired from having too little sleep the night before, Colette drove herself from her bed. When she had dressed, Colette made her way to the dance hall to find Rebecca already there, practicing, along with some of the other performers. Hiding in the shadows at the edges of the room, Colette studied her charge.

The girl was certainly an enigma.

The etheric dancer has somehow transformed into a bumbling performer, Colette mused. The difference between her and the other girls is so stark, it's almost laughable. How ill at ease she seems to be, standing among them!

Colette's agitation was piqued further when she started to notice that Rebecca was oddly refusing to make eye contact with anyone standing close to her. At first Colette dismissed Rebecca's behaviour as simple shyness, but as Colette continued to watch the feeling that something was not right nagged at her.

Why is Rebecca so desperate that no one look her eye? Now that I think about it, I don't recall if she has ever met my gaze since we first met.

And with that thought, Colette's patience finally reached its end. She would gently coach Rebecca through whatever crisis of confidence that had afflicted her dancing, but Colette would not tolerate any one of her girls feeling like they should hide themselves from the others. It didn't matter to Colette the reason why Rebecca was keeping her eyes averted, whether it a display of servitude to her supposed betters, or if Rebecca felt inadequate compared to the other show girls. The performers of the Star were like a family. Rebecca was now a part of that family and Colette expected that she would treat and be treated as such.

Stepping into the bright candlelight of the dance hall, Colette called Rebecca to her. When the girl reached her, Colette noted, she stood and stared at her own feet.

"You were alone for a long time, weren't you Rebecca?" Colette asked kindly, "On the streets, before I met you."

The girl nodded mutely.

"I know it would have been hard,” Colette continued, “that's how I started. You seem surprised, didn't you know? Yes, I was a street urchin once. But I found others, who were like you and me, and together we worked our way up, out from the gutters. I'm telling you this because I know you've been hiding yourself away from us. I just want you to know that don't have to fear me, or any of the other girls. I want to help you.”

"You can't," the girl muttered, "You'll chase me away when you find out. Everyone else does."

"Rebecca, please. Trust me."

Rebecca stood still for a few moments, then lifted her head. Colette's eyes meet Rebecca's.

Her irises were a dark violet hue, almost black in colour. Though unusually coloured, Rebecca's eyes would still have passed for a human, had it not been for the cat-like pupils at their centre.

Colette went cold with dread. Of all the possibilities she had entertained, this had not been one of them. “You're one of the Neverborn,” Colette breathed. Rebecca nodded, her eyes beginning to swell with tears.

“I used to dance in front of people, but I don't anymore. Something happens to them,” the girl confessed in a whispered voice, “its like they've been bewitched. When I'm dancing, people can't look away. And the dance, it... affects them somehow, how they feel..."

Rebecca faltered for a moment, but after taking a deep breath she continued, "Sometimes I-I got carried away. And they w-would become so excited, that their breathing would stop. Or, their h-hearts...

Rebecca covered her face with her hands and shook her head violently.

“I never meant for anyone to get hurt! Never!”

The other show girls were now staring at the pair of them, though Colette was sure they hadn't overheard what had been said. Colette studied Rebecca carefully. What stood before her looked just like a girl of no more than sixteen, but was in fact a creature that was not entirely human. The Neverborn could be highly dangerous, and should never be taken lightly, but...

“I believe you.” Colette said softly, “You've been here a week and have harmed no-one, though you've had plenty of opportunities to do so. If you really wanted to hurt a lot of people, you would have convinced me to let you go up on stage. You would have danced before hundreds of people every night...”

The thought stopped Colette cold. Shaking herself, Colette asked “Why are you here, then?”

Rebecca wrung her hands together, and twisted the tip of one foot into the floor.

“I love to dance, but its the audience that I live for. The emotions of so many people running high... it's intoxicating," Rebecca smiled dreamily. "It fills something empty inside of me. But its dangerous for me to dance for others... so I had to dance for myself. But then you found me, and offered me a place in your troupe. Everyone knows that the Star has the greatest performers in all of Malifaux, and draws the largest crowds. By joining you, I could spend every night watching them both, and drink it all in. I couldn't resist.”

Rebecca's eyes shone through her tears as she spoke, but the light within them suddenly flickered and died.

“It... it would have been wonderful,” she croaked. “But I know I can't stay.”

Colette carefully maintained a neutral expression while she deliberated. Rebecca was perhaps dangerous, but she had grown fond of her, and Colette could not bring herself to turn her away.

And if her power could be properly channelled...

Reaching a decision, Colette pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and delicately dried Rebecca's eyes.

“Rebecca," Colette began, speaking in a low, soothing tone, "you said that you never intended to hurt anyone, that your power to influence others sometime grew out of control.”

Hesitantly, Rebecca nodded.

“When a practitioner of magic comes into their power, there are often regrettable accidents,” Colette continued, “You shouldn't rail against yourself so harshly, nor be ashamed of who you are. What you need to do is to learn how to control your magic, so that it harms no one else.”

Looking about the room, Colette concluded, “What you need, is a focus for your power.”

Spying a simple white mask decorating the wall Colette smiled to herself and pulled it down. Colette presented it to her student.

“I've always had a soft spot for masks, for they are powerful yet contrary things. A mask can be used to increase your presence but it also creates a barrier which safely separate you from your audience, for a mask cannot act of its own accord. It has no life but the life, the magic, we give it. And perhaps best of all, a mask fears nothing.”

Colette kissed Rebecca's forehead before fastening the mask over her protégée’s face. Then Colette whispered in Rebecca's ear.

“Become the mask, and let the mask become you.”

Colette lead Rebecca to the centre of the dance hall and left her there, alone. Noticing Colette gesture to them, the curious show girls stopped pretending to be going through their rehearsals and came to stand beside Colette, near the wall. All was still for several minutes, every eye on Rebecca.

Rebecca stood as limply as an abandoned marionette. The only movement Colette could see was Rebecca's slow, yet steady breathing. Then Rebecca's arm slowly rose until it pointed straight up in the air. The rising of her arm seemed to pull the rest of her body into place. Rebecca's back straightened, her limbs were drawn into a pose of subtle elegance and her head was raised proudly, the candlelight flickering softly over the alabaster mask. There was a slight pause, and then Rebecca began dance.

Strong, graceful, agile. All these attributes could be ascribed to Rebecca's movements, but they would also sell them hopelessly short. Mercurial, soft and beautiful, Rebecca's elegant motions drew gasps of delight from her onlookers, and the cries of adoration spurred Rebecca on to even greater heights. For a moment Colette was concerned, but she soon relaxed. Rebecca seemed to be controlling her power well, and the result was an expression of joy, radiant and pure.

Colette grinned to herself as she watched both Rebecca and her audience. Captivating, she thought to herself, So named, and so she is...

---------- Post added at 06:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:23 PM ----------

Hi everyone! Thanks to those who have read this entry. As you probably noticed, I used the mystery ingredients "THEME: Becoming the Mask" and "LINE: There are no coincidences."

It's a bit long at 2075 words, but I'm having trouble cutting down on them. In fact I seem to be adding words. I tried removing the opening scene and integrating the story's introduction and setting into the second section but I wasn't happy with the result, so I decided to post it as it was.

I've posted a link to this entry on the main thread, but I need a moderator to approve it. It should hopefully pop up shortly.

Any comments or suggestions would be great, thanks again.

*Update: it's grown even longer, its at 2400 words now. Sorry guys, but I've been having too much fun with it... hope the judges don't mind. I hope you guys enjoyed it though, that's the important thing

Edited October 29, 2012 by chromiumboy

[Sliver Chocobo]

Oooo I like it

[Ender101]

I shall have to visit the Star even more frequently with this new performer to enchant the audience.

Thank you for posting your story, I quite enjoyed it.

[chromiumboy]

Thank you for your kind replies! I'm glad you enjoyed reading it.

[Paddywhack]

Very well written. Makes me feel inadequate. :1_Exhausted_Puppet:

Not sure either were you could drop the word count - there must be a way to get it down a bit though. Very well written and very good story overall. A slightly different look at Neverborn to be sure.

[chromiumboy]

Hey everyone, I've been busy editing, and I've altered the third section (the 'reveal' so to speak) quite a bit. I didn't like that Colette was able to take a couple of clues and immediately deduce the correct answer Sherlock Homes style. If someone has read the story before, and would let me know how you found the changes, that would be great!