Loved ones always say to children: "Stay close to the light.". They want them to stay close to their light, because the darkness contains what everyone wants; freedom, truth, beauty, and love.
Arkham Asylum.
A nightclub and a dance hall where the rich and powerful come to play with the handsome and beautiful creatures of the under world. Ruled by Clark Kent, an infamous man that brings these night time pleasures. The most rare and exotic of them all, was the man I loved. Bruce Wayne. A knight that every girl dreamed of in her sleep, while men were jealous of him. And a courtesan who sold his love to women. They called him "The Dark Knight". And he was the star, of Arkham Asylum.
But the man I love... is dead.
I first came to Gotham city one year ago...
It was the year 1899, the summer of love. I knew nothing of Arkham, Clark Kent, or Bruce. The city had just been hit with the wave of the Bohemian Revolution, and I had come from a small island just off the coast of Greece to be apart of it. Despite Gotham being an industrial city, there was more space in Down town compared to Uptown or Midtown. This space, was known as the heart of the revolution. And it wasn't as my mother had told me.
"That is a place that doesn't respect the gods. It is full of sin."
But it wasn't at all. Musicians, dancers, writers populated the area. These people were known as the children of the revolution. And now, I was one of them too. I had sought out to find my calling, and live a penniless existence through writing about the four themes of the revolution. Truth, beauty, freedom, and above all things, love. But as I excitedly sat down to write my first page, I realized something was wrong.
It was the fact that I had never been in love.
Fortunately, an unconscious girl with hair as dark as a rose fell through the roof of my apartment at that very moment. She was later accompanied by a red-haired boy who ran so fast, I almost didn't notice him if not for the fact that he was dressed as a very colorful nun. I stood up quickly confused, and very uncomfortable. The red-haired boy smiled at me.
"How do you do? My name Wally West. Terribly sorry for the ruckus, we were just upstairs rehearsing for a play." He said quickly, not letting me speak.
This play, was something very modern called Spectacular Spectacular. Set in Switzerland, though that was all they had come up with. Unfortunately, the unconsious girl suffered from a condition called narcolepsy, which was a sleeping disorder causing her to knock out at random times of the day.
"You understand though? One moment she is perfectly fine and unconscious the next." Wally said, making a snoring sound as well.
"Is Barbra okay?" Said a female voice. I looked through the hole in my roof. Two girls, who looked almost exactly alike if not for their hair color along with one guy with glasses were looking down at me.
"Oh yeah she's fine. Just unconscious." The boy with the glasses rolled his eyes.
"Well that's good." He said sarcastically. "Now that Barbra is unconscious the script won't be finished in time for our presentation tomorrow."
"Wally, I still have to finish my disappearing act with Barb." Said a girl with black hair and violet eyes. Her lips were a dark plum shade, and it went well with the top hat she was wearing.
"Z relax, we'll just find someone to read the part." Wally answers with a smile. The boy with the glasses scoffs.
"And where are we going to find someone to read the role of a young sensitive swiss poet?" He questions. All eyes are drawn to me. And I find myself upstairs, filling in for the girl named Barbra.
I resist the urge to cover my ears as Wally sings against Lois, who is the girl with brown hair and violet eyes, playing the piano. One, Wally can't sing. Two, Lois can't play. The lyrics don't match with the song, and the melody of the song doesn't fit in with the boy with the glasses ,who introduced himself as Audrey, lyrics. When Wally hits the high note of the song, a light breaks and it flashes before going completely dark.
"Stop!" Audrey yells, walking over to Lois. "Stop it with the annoying droning it's drowning out my words! Can we just stick to a little bit of decorative piano?"
There seemed to be differences between Audrey's lyrics and Lois's song. While Audrey wanted small decorative piano, Lois wanted something a little more Broadway. They started to argue on who should change their part. In which both Wally and the black haired girl named Zantanna started to chime in and give their own opinions.
"I don't see why a nun would sing about a hill." Zantanna says. Lois snaps her fingers.
"What if he sang about the hills being vital, being in tune with the sound?" Lois suggests. Audrey shakes his head. Wally's eyes light up.
"The hills quake and shake!" He says. They all yell no at him, until it's a big argument between the four of them. I see Barbra suddenly stand up.
"The hills intersect with symphonic melodies!" She yells. We all look at her weirdly. She passes out again, landing back on the bed we laid her in. And everyone starts to argue again.
I open my mouth to say something, but Audrey puts up a hand. Again I try to get everyone's attention, but the argument continues. Annoyed, I turn around and squeeze my eyes shut before singing "The hills are alive" from "The Sound of Music". Everyone quiets as I sing. When I finish the line everyone is still silent as I turn back around and face them, pretending as if I didn't sing. Barbra shoots back up which makes everyone jump. She walks over to me.
"The hills are alive with the sound of music. I love it!" She says unnecessarily aggressive. I sigh in relief. Zantanna sings a part of the song, then Wally, then Lois, who plays her song as well. She turns to me.
"It fits perfectly." She said, surprised.
"With songs they have sung for a thousand years." I sing. They all gasp and start to jump, excitedly.
"Audrey, you two should write the show together." Wally said. I smiled. But Audrey looked offended, and appalled by Wally's suggestion. He storms out, yelling how he was quitting, and cursing in French. He slams the door shut. And while I was assuming he didn't want to work with me, Wally just smiles.
"Don't worry, he was a tool anyways." He reassures, holding a tiny shot glass with a strange green liquid in it. He holds it up. "To your first job in Gotham."
"Wally, I think we might have a chance." Zantanna whispers. She turns to me. "Have you ever written anything like this before?" I shake my head.
"The girl has talent!" Barbra says walking over to me and hugging me tightly. I feel my bones crack. "I like her!" She quickly sets me down. "Nothing funny, I just like talent." Wally grabs them by the arms they all form a small huddle. I quietly step off of the ladder I was standing on and lean in to listen to their conversation.
"The hills are alive with the sound of music. Guys, if we work with Diana we can write the truly Bohemian revolutionary show we always dreamed of." He whispers.
"But how can we convince Clark to take us on?" Lois asks. They turn to look at me, and I quickly pretend like I'm doing something else.
But Wally had a plan. They were going to dress me up in Lois's best dress and pass me off as a famous English writer. Once Bruce had obtained my modern portrait, he would be astounded and insist to Clark Kent that I write Spectacular Spectacular. The only problem was that I kept hearing my mother's voice in my head saying how I would waste my life at Arkham Asylum with a CanCan dancer.
"I can't write the show for Arkham Asylum!" I say, pushing past everyone and taking a seat on the bed. Everyone rushes towards me.
"Why not?" Lois cries.
"I don't even know if I am a true Bohemian Revolutionary." I say suddenly. They gasp.
"Do you believe in beauty?" Wally asks. I nod.
"Freedom?" Barbra asks. I nod once again.
"Truth?" Asks Lois. I nod one more time.
"Love?" Asks Zantanna. I look at her.
"Well of course I believe in love. You need to breathe it as if it was air. All you need is love to be happy." I say. They all cheer happily.
"Diana you can't fool us! You are the voice of the children of the Bohemian Revolution!" Wally cheers. "We drink to you!"
Everyone cheers. It was the perfect plan. I was to audition for Bruce. And I would taste my first glass of Absinthe. It was like being sucked into a completely different world. I looked at the Absinthe bottle. Suddenly, it seemed as if the fairy on the bottle was alive. It came out of the label and started to sing with us, and then started to dance, making us all laugh. And we were off to Arkham Asylum, and I was to perform my poetry, for Bruce Wayne.