I obviosly don't own Gormenghast. It belongs to Mervyn Peake(R.I.P.) and BBC.
Masquerade
Prologue
""PUT off that mask of burning gold
With emerald eyes."
"O no, my dear, you make so bold
To find if hearts be wild and wise,
And yet not cold."
"I would but find what's there to find,
Love or deceit."
"It was the mask engaged your mind,
And after set your heart to beat,
Not what's behind."
"But lest you are my enemy,
I must enquire."
"O no, my dear, let all that be;
What matter, so there is but fire
In you, in me?"
William Butler Yeats
Fuchsia.: Here I am,standing in the middle of a mad whirlwind of coloured masks and bizarre costumes that is called the Annual Masquerade .It is, I have to admit,one of the few Gormenghastian traditions that aren't boring ,and that is probably the reason the Secretary dislikes it so much. It is the only time of the year that we are (almost) free of the Ritual .It is the only time of the year we wear masks and costumes and yet also the only time of the year we can be free. Well,most of us, at least.
There he stands,in his Arlecchin costume.I wonder if he knew I was going to be Colombine. Foolish girl! Of course he knew! He always seems to know everything that's going on. He reads us like the pages of a book and yet never seems to show his true nature.
But tonight, I'll know. I'll rip ALL of his masks off his face. Six years ago, when he accidentally invaded my attic,he invaded my very soul,he saw me for who I am. And I liked him, I still like him. He's more alive than anyone in this castle, the only one who isn't a puppet controlled by the Ritual and the traditions. Even the high and mighty Barquentine is just a me and him, we still can change,we want to change. And we both want to change this castle. So why shouldn't we join forces?
An yet I need to know.I need to see him as he saw me.I wish to be his equal, his partner, not his puppet. He has plenty of other toys, plenty of games to play, and I don't wish to be one of them. I am, after all, a daughter of The Line.I am Fuchsia.I am me. And I wish to remain so.
You know, some people would say that he has picked the wrong costume. After all, what likeliness can there be between the neat, rigid an humorless Undersecretary and the ever-laughing trickster Arlecchin?
But they are wrong,for they saw only one side of him,while there are still so many to see. What little I saw of him six years ago was different. He was my jester, my Arlecchin,bizarre and laughing and adventurous.I know he wanted to please me to get what he wanted,and yet I think that jester was just as real as the cold,rigid Undersecretary And then there's still the boy who brought me roses ...
He definetly picked the right costume. Like Arlecchin,he mocks everything and everyone. Like Arlecchin, he serves everybody and no-one. Like Arlecchin,he has a cunning mind and many faces.
And every Arlecchin has his Colombine: his partner,his mistress,and sometimes,his adversary.
And it is time she entered the stage.
Author:Does anyone know why random words keep disappearing from the text?
