The following are various performances in numerous locations at various times. Some are solo performances, others ensemble; they all tell a story.
The first is a soliloquy, from one sister to another.
Mother screamed throughout the night. The air was cold, but the house was full of activity. Not that it was really much of a house, but Mama made it her own. A red haired woman with the fiery temper to match she kept her husband in check. But she doted on me; at least she did before the baby came.
"Come on child, come see your little sister." I was only about 4 years old then. "She's special." My mother whispered, a stage whisper is the closest description. “You have to help her, she’s new and has to learn things from her big sister.” Mother had a hard time from then on; I didn’t know why he changed so much. Never did he lay a hand on me, but mother felt the back of his often during fights.
Things didn't really change much other than that for quite some time. A few years passed. Yes, I was a little jealous of my Sister, but I loved her... and I protected her if someone tried to hurt her.
Mother taught us both about the beauty of things. She taught me to sing, dance and speak with eloquence and flair... I learned myself how to make people believe bended truths. Up until she died, things seemed like they might get better.
On her death bed, I gave my mother a promise. I would protect Faye, and keep her from harm. I didn't learn until later that was something I couldn't do at my age. Father started using devilweed. The beautiful things of the house were slowly sold off. The only thing of beauty left was my Sister... and she was sold off too. “Where did she go?” “She’s gone, that’s all you need to know. We needed money, and she was the best source.” I had failed in my promise.
I was left to my own accord in the slum of Cheapside. I learned to distract when I took what I had to survive; perform if I was caught - it wasn't that far from the truth some of the things I said. I learned about love too. Not for myself, but from the older children and teens and those young lovers in their 20’s. I helped deliver messages between them... and eventually started doing the same outside the district too; and I learned how to help them, quietly in the shadows giving them advice and words. I had a hidden cache of cloths; I could act like I was part of wherever I was. To blend in with language and performance. It allowed me to learn how to dazzle by studying songs. I was an actress, an acrobat and a pickpocket when needed.
The day father died, I learned what he did with my Sister. He hadn't just sold her, he sold her to a brothel! He spouted off his anger in the middle of a deranged devilweed overdose that ended up killing him. The gist of it was "I didn't want to marry your mother... she was a whore; your sister is a bastard and a whore... you'll end up as a whore to; damn the lot of you!" He died; probably his heart gave out. Any love in his heart had long since died. It was sad and I felt for him. So I searched.
I spent some time trying to find her. I knew I would need money, so I saved and worked until I could get her out of her bondage. I went to Aquor to study in the Temple of Lady Firehair and for a time after I freed her we were estranged. We'd spent so long apart; I couldn't tell her everything, not yet, she wasn't ready for that. But I would renew my promise; I kept an eye on her; I would keep an eye on all things of Beauty. I would not fail again if I could help it.
The war came. I fled Aquor, as I was instructed by the priests, carrying off what I could of value for them toward the city. Something cold hit me. I woke up here. Floating. Such a thing of Awe and Beauty, torn out of war. I had to find my Sister again.
The first is a soliloquy, from one sister to another.
Mother screamed throughout the night. The air was cold, but the house was full of activity. Not that it was really much of a house, but Mama made it her own. A red haired woman with the fiery temper to match she kept her husband in check. But she doted on me; at least she did before the baby came.
"Come on child, come see your little sister." I was only about 4 years old then. "She's special." My mother whispered, a stage whisper is the closest description. “You have to help her, she’s new and has to learn things from her big sister.” Mother had a hard time from then on; I didn’t know why he changed so much. Never did he lay a hand on me, but mother felt the back of his often during fights.
Things didn't really change much other than that for quite some time. A few years passed. Yes, I was a little jealous of my Sister, but I loved her... and I protected her if someone tried to hurt her.
Mother taught us both about the beauty of things. She taught me to sing, dance and speak with eloquence and flair... I learned myself how to make people believe bended truths. Up until she died, things seemed like they might get better.
On her death bed, I gave my mother a promise. I would protect Faye, and keep her from harm. I didn't learn until later that was something I couldn't do at my age. Father started using devilweed. The beautiful things of the house were slowly sold off. The only thing of beauty left was my Sister... and she was sold off too. “Where did she go?” “She’s gone, that’s all you need to know. We needed money, and she was the best source.” I had failed in my promise.
I was left to my own accord in the slum of Cheapside. I learned to distract when I took what I had to survive; perform if I was caught - it wasn't that far from the truth some of the things I said. I learned about love too. Not for myself, but from the older children and teens and those young lovers in their 20’s. I helped deliver messages between them... and eventually started doing the same outside the district too; and I learned how to help them, quietly in the shadows giving them advice and words. I had a hidden cache of cloths; I could act like I was part of wherever I was. To blend in with language and performance. It allowed me to learn how to dazzle by studying songs. I was an actress, an acrobat and a pickpocket when needed.
The day father died, I learned what he did with my Sister. He hadn't just sold her, he sold her to a brothel! He spouted off his anger in the middle of a deranged devilweed overdose that ended up killing him. The gist of it was "I didn't want to marry your mother... she was a whore; your sister is a bastard and a whore... you'll end up as a whore to; damn the lot of you!" He died; probably his heart gave out. Any love in his heart had long since died. It was sad and I felt for him. So I searched.
I spent some time trying to find her. I knew I would need money, so I saved and worked until I could get her out of her bondage. I went to Aquor to study in the Temple of Lady Firehair and for a time after I freed her we were estranged. We'd spent so long apart; I couldn't tell her everything, not yet, she wasn't ready for that. But I would renew my promise; I kept an eye on her; I would keep an eye on all things of Beauty. I would not fail again if I could help it.
The war came. I fled Aquor, as I was instructed by the priests, carrying off what I could of value for them toward the city. Something cold hit me. I woke up here. Floating. Such a thing of Awe and Beauty, torn out of war. I had to find my Sister again.
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