The Dark Theater

[serpentoflore]

Sarah paid little attention to the new visitor, the Queen having asked a question. Royalty always had priority, especially since Maleficent had been kind enough to allow her to meet Acteur. Did she have any real options after she learned such arts? It had not occurred to her. "I am afraid that I have not been thinking about them." She held the Piccolo closer to the pillow, just in case there was something that required her attention otherwise.

She took a look at the new visitor again, for just a moment. A scythe was not an abnormal weapon, but the person seemed odd. Was it just her imagination that the person seemed fake? Perhaps it was, but it mattered not at the moment. She turned her attention back to the Queen.

[MeadowSong]

[glow=Purple,2,300]MeadowSong rose a finger to her lips, her other arm folded beneath the other elbow, and her eyes directed upward in thought. Though magics was a very powerful tool, the use of it through sound and will alone was always something of great interest to the faerie, though she never really dove that into it.

"I have always been fascinated by the power one can wield through their songs, Miss Appleton. You could shatter the very bones within a person's body if you tried; you could manipulate their...strings, if you will, and assume total control of their body and mind. Those whose prowess extend beyond these abilities could cause a range of beautiful or chaotic effects, much like your performance just now. Mayhaps you could even perform certain pieces to deal single, lethal blows if you really wished."

MeadowSong considered these options and smiled, moving closer to both Sarah and the piccolo. She admired the instrument without touching it, as she felt he black touch would render it useless and broken.

"You have such talent, Miss Appleton, and I expect great things while you are here in my castle, and possibly beyond."[/glow]

[serpentoflore]

Acteur had been right when he spoke of the limitless possibilities. Queen Maleficent also recognized her ability to play such powerful music. "I will appease both your will and my desires, your majesty." She kept her eyes on Maleficent, her hands coming together. The options of dark music seemed endless, so endless she did not want to leave the bottomless pit of it. Acteur had opened the door to a place without end. A place that he would walk along with her when necessary.

[Deleted]

Attra glared at the musician as she walked to the second row, she threw herself into a chair and put her feet up onto the chair diagonal from her, she threw her scythe into the air and it dissolved into a dark cloud.
"so... what should I be doing?"
she adjusted her position
"Atticus said you'd have a 'fun task' for me"
she crossed her arms and waited for a response

[MeadowSong]

[glow=Purple,2,300]MeadowSong gave the musician an approving nod and turned over to the new girl, just giving her a glance, and replied to sarah's statement:

"I am very pleased to hear this, Miss Appleton. Perhaps when Atticus is finished with your training I will send you out on a mission for our cause, yes? With this power unlocked, I'm sure you have plenty of ideas, no? Many things you'd like to do with them?"

She chuckled, and then addressed the new girl. "Did the Fallen in fact say I had some job for you as well, then? Very well. I would like you to find one of my associates; I have not seen him in a while, and assume that he is up to no good." MeadowSong waved a hand over her crystal ball atop Faeries' Wrath and the green mist within began spinning fast, until an image appeared. She gazed into the picture and saw glowing yellow eyes amongst blackness.

"Traverse to Port Royal--" she snapped her finger and a sheet of paper appeared from a cloud of darkness above Attra, landing in her lap. "these are the directions; I hope you know how to Corridor or have access to a gummi ship...find Kefka; it appears that he is going through a transition at the moment so seek him out, ask around. Now go."[/glow]

[serpentoflore]

Sarah wondered what type of mission Maleficent might mean. She kept her hands in front of her, holding them together loosely. "I will be of service if you need me, your majesty." Her eyes closed, bowing again towards the Queen. She wanted to do more and more, delving into the darkness of music. Why had she felt so uncomfortable earlier? There was no doubt how merciful Maleficent was to guests.

[Deleted]

She glanced at the paper.
"awesome"
she got up out of her seat and opened a corridor.
"I'll she you later then"
she disappeared into the swirling vortex of darkness.

***to port royal***

[Acteur de la Noir]

*From Breaking Down the Castle Doors*

As one Corridor of Darkness collapsed inward on itself and vanished into thin air, another opened--this time, however, the figure that emerged from the swirling shadows was not that of a soft-spoken scythe-wielder, but of an elegantly-dressed Victorian performer. As he stepped forth from the dark portal, his jester-esque shoes touching the velvet carpet with an unnatural grace, his very presence seemed to evoke a change in the decadent theater. As he strode down the central aisle, the faintest echoes of a distant noise reverberated along the vast walls...and if one listened for a moment, the sound became clearer, more defined. It was the sound of multiple hands clapping--as though a ghostly presence was applauding the arrival of this rather eccentric-looking individual.

Perhaps it was...for the master of the Dark Theater had returned.

As he ascended the steps to the stage, Acteur de la Noir swept off his hat and bowed to the academic musician, yellow eyes glittering with delight behind that theatrical mask as he saw how comfortably she was cradling the gift he'd left her. "Ah, Ms. Appleton; how has that piccolo been handling for you? I do hope the manual I penned has been of some aid?"

Then the mysterious performer turned to the vision of regal darkness--she of the shadowy skin and faerie wings, clad in dragon-motif robes and bearing the crown of a queen. Sinking into a regal bow, Acteur addressed her with the reverence of a court noble int he presence of a queen. "Mademoiselle Maleficent, I presume? Such a wondrous and nocturnal motif you've adopted...it positively sings!" A pause, and those spooky yellow eyes returned to Sarah. "Speaking of such...have you heard our guest perform, milady? I do believe she harbors wondrous potential..."

[MeadowSong]

[glow=Purple,2,300]MeadowSong regarded Acteur with a loving, motherly-yet-regal smile before hovering over to him and throwing out her hand for him. She gave him a nod and chuckled.

"I have returned to the name of my past, my dear Acteur. I am no longer Maleficent, but MeadowSong." She tilted her head to glance over at the musician. "And I have indeed heard the young one's song, from even my throne. Rather pleasant; dark, soothing. I had to come see and praise her for myself. And wouldn't you know, Miss Appleton even graced me with a personal, live encore. Or at least it would have been personal--private--had the newcomer not come with me." She shrugged. "It gives me much pleasure, Acteur, that there is now something nice to listen to over the drab machinery in my chambers; perhaps very soon you might take this girl to the Opera House that broke off the world of Cosmos not too long ago; I am sure the Impresario there would be more than glad to have someone grace his halls since his star Maria disappeared."[/glow]

[serpentoflore]

Sarah nodded at Acteur's question. She made sure that she told him wordlessly that his manual had been more than enough to start her on her study of the dark arts. The queen had changed her name, but she was still a queen. The talk of an opera house confused her though. How could an opera house break off of a world? It made little sense to her. "An opera house?" She felt a bit new at the content they spoke of.

[Acteur de la Noir]

While the smile on his mask remained in its usual state, Acteur's eerie yellow eyes glowed brightly and shrank into slits, reminiscent of a content feline closing its eyes. Heartless or not, he was a performer at his core...to hear that Meadowsong held similar value in the arts--particularly their nocturnal variants--was a delightful prospect. Further, knowing that the reborn queen of the night enjoyed Sarah's performance so greatly--that she saw the same potential in the lonely musician that Acteur himself had--filled the Heartless puppeteer with a warmth that was normally associated with those who lived in the light. To think that he'd expected to have to convince the Mistress of all Evil to welcome Sarah into their fold! Truly, the darkness was not as one-dimensional as so many who dwelled in the light were inclined to think.

Dipping his head low, Acteur brought a closed fist across his chest in a formal salute to Meadowsong. "T'would be an honor to accompany our budding musician to such a bastion of the performing arts," the elegantly-clad figure mused, his yellow eyes gleaming with anticipation. "From the story of her past, I daresay such an opportunity is long overdue."

Hearing Sarah's puzzled inquiry, the Heartless puppetmaster turned his attention to her, letting out a good-natured chuckle as he rose to his feet. "As you've doubtless discerned from your journey here, there are worlds of untold number...floating not only in space, but in an ether between the dimensions." A pause, and Acteur gestured grandly to the ceiling, which was hidden in deep shadows akin to the void of space. "Sometimes, by accident or design, regions of those worlds are broken away from the whole...and, flung into the ether of the interverse, take on form and identity all their own." A pause, and a sweep of a gloved hand caused the smile on Acteur's mask to widen. "Think of it...a lone theater of grand scope, floating in the ether. Properly attended to, it could become a beacon for the lost arts like no other..."

A pause, and those eerie yellow eyes sought out Sarah's pale amethyst pools. "...And who better to be among its first visitors than yourself, my dear?"

[serpentoflore]

Sarah blushed at the clarification of her question. It was quite an honorable place to be given access too. She adjusted her glasses, keeping her smile on her face. She realized that she would have to clean them in a few moments. Looking towards her sleeves, she noticed something odd. Her attire was not quite appropriate for an opera house, much less a performance. "Do you think that I might be able to find some more appropriate clothing for such a place?" She looked towards Acteur, hoping that the request was not something too imposing. She had already received quite a lot of hospitality.

[MeadowSong]

[glow=Purple,2,300]Maleficent nodded, and turned to leave, but not without giving them both sweet, loving smiles.

"And Acteur," she whispered, though the theatre amplified the dark tone, "please do take care there. That station is from Cosmos, and like I said, Maria resided there once. I am unsure if you know of her whereabouts, but advise you to ignore the Impresario on the subject. It is very fragile and, though you wouldn't know it from the looks, he is a very strange and powerful manipulator."

She opened a Corridor of Darkness and flew through, disappearing into the void and wandering the darkness of her dominion.[/glow]

***Off to Pixie Hollow, in Neverland***

[Acteur de la Noir]

The first of the inquiries directed to him--Sarah's request for more suitable attire--was met with a nod from Acteur, a faint chuckle escaping the frozen smile of that porcelain mask. However, before he could address it more properly, the edict from Meadowsong came forth--and when a dark queen spoke, t'was good manners to listen. Turning to face the dark faerie once more, Acteur de la Noir gave her his full attention--at the mention of a missing Maria, and that inciting the Impresario's despair on the matter could end badly, the elegantly-clad puppeteer cocked his head to one side and let out a thoughtful hum. On one hand, the prospect intrigued him--after all, a heart broken was one easily swayed to the darkness. All the same, he knew that he musn't take Meadowsong's council lightly. For someone of her power to acknowledge the Impresario as dangerous...

So it was that, when Meadowsong finished speaking, Acteur offered a gentlemanly bow and tipped his hat in salute. "As you command, Milady," said he, his jovial and melodramatic accent tempered with an undertone of sincerity. "When my path crosses with his, I shall be ever tactful."

When the dark faerie queen took her leave, Acteur rose from his bow, the tattered hem of his cape whirling about him like a raven's wings as he turned back to address Sarah Appleton. "And so, we find ourselves set for a journey!" he announced, then grin in his voice a match for the crescent slash on his mask. "A bit of practice first, I think--a rehearsal, if you will." A pause, and those keen yellow eyes--spooky, yet so expressive--sought out Sarah's pale violet pools. "Moreover...I confess myself intrigued--desirous, even--to hear the nocturnal melodies which met with such approval from Her Majesty."

Then Acteur blinked, as though struck by a sudden thought. A burst of laughter escaped his mask as he clapped a hand to his brow, tilting his elegant hat rakishly. "Ah, but how rude of me! You requested more suitable attire, yes?" Stepping forward, the puppeteer began to circle Sarah with a jaunty gait, cocking his head this way and that as he appraised her. "Hmmm...perhaps a gown of aristocratic quality? No no no, that won't do at all... ease of movement, and all that. Nevertheless, aesthetic value is a must!"

Stopping for a moment, Acteur de la Noir darted in front of Sarah, cocking his head to one side quizzically. "Inspiration comes to me, I do believe...but first, have you any preferences for style or color? T'will be your outfit, after all."

[serpentoflore]

Acteur's question was something that she had never been asked by her parents. However, the color red came rather vivid to her. The ability to destroy a bond like that did work with the color red. "Red should be in it somewhere." She spoke, smiling at the thought. She had no real thought of what style fit her the most, since she had never even had a choice of color. Still, she wondered if her glasses got in the way of such an eleborate outfit.

"Did you want to see the exact song I played for the Queen?" She asked, unsure if he really wanted to see her setting Mannequin's on fire.