Hey, welcome to chapter 2 of my story. If you're reading this, I hope it means that you're interested in what I'm writing enough to continue to the second chapter. I made a slight change in the first chapter, placing the "Kirkland" siblings as being step-siblings rather than blood siblings.
I hope you will review and let me know what you think of what I am doing. I'm not a mindreader. I cannot mentally reach out over the internet and tell automatically whether or not you like what I'm doing.
So please, review.
Oh, and before I continue, unless stated otherwise, italics are a female singing, bold represents a male singing, and both is when they are singing together.
There are also many times where I think it would be helpful for you to listen to the songs, if you can find them. It shows the overlaps in singing much better than I can in typing.
Good luck, and please, enjoy!
"Miss Kirkland, I want you to start singing your part as Mina. Mr. Lupei will come in on his part. This is to see if you can work together in this improv exercise. Are you ready?"
The young woman nodded, her pigtails bobbing slightly at the motion, and Herakles gave Roderich the signal to begin.
I step across the line for you,
I plunge myself in mortal sin.
I sacrifice my soul to be your bride,
I've given in to the feelings I can't hide.
Mentally, Herakles nodded approvingly, a strong beginning for such a strong voice.
…
I leap with you behind, who cares if love is blind?
The certainty is bliss, at last I know my mind…
A smooth tenor joined Alice on the song, alerting her to the presence of the man who may be her costar.
We'll live our lives and then, we'll live them once again,
There's always a tomorrow. There's always a tomorrow.
There's always one more night…
Now he dropped off again and she was singing alone, but she could feel his arms wrap around her waist and feel his head press into the crook of her shoulder. If it wasn't for the sake that they were acting, he'd have gotten an earful for that, but she continued on, "I hear you before you speak, I'm with you wherever you are…" His body behind her felt quite a bit taller than her, but she couldn't judge it precisely.
When you sleep I'm in your dreams,
I can read your thoughts from afar.
She saw a pale hand reach up to lightly touch her cheek as she was pulled further back into the chest of the man behind her, and she started to overlap on his part.
The first time I saw your face,
I knew I would make you mine,
I felt a quickening of the pulse,
I felt a shiver down my spine.
I hear you before speak
Mina, you're the chosen one out of all the loves I've known,
And all my centuries alone…
I'm with you wherever you are
And then he was overlapping her voice.
Ever since I saw your face,
I've been trying to deny that I was hopelessly in love,
That I could ever say good-bye.
When you sleep I'm in your dreams
Now I know this can't be done,
No I'll turn away from light,
And embrace your endless night.
I can hear your thoughts from afar
Then the warmth at her back was gone, as were the arms that wrapped around her so securely.
But every time I see your face, I'm tormented by this doubt
Her heart quickened, was he leaving her?
Can I deprive you of your death?
Can I condemn you to live out this circle of despair?
Or should I not set you free and let you do the same for me?
She whirled around to grab him before he could vanish away from her, looking up into his red eyes
I was born to love you
She had to make him understand.
I was born to need you
Please let him understand.
These are simple truths that I try to betray.
A sad smile crossed his face as he reached a hand up to caress her face, his voice filled with pain
If you truly love me,
Prove to me you love me,
Free me and go back to the beauties of day
He lifted his hand further to caress her hair, and she leaned into it, ever so slightly as his voice grew stronger, even as it grew bitter with self-loathing.
I can't poison your life,
I can't drive you insane,
I can't drag you into my world of bloodlust and pain.
My life is no life at all,
It is bleak and unforgiving,
Feeding on a stranger's blood, imprisoned by the night.
What's the use prolonging life, when life is not worth living?
If you love me set me free and let me touch the light.
Impulsively, she reached up as he belted out his plea, and pulled his head down to her level, pretending to kiss him soundly as the music swelled around them, trying to make her actions speak her words to him. As they broke apart, she pleaded again.
Please don't make me end this before it's begun…
He only smiled at that and continued his song.
Give me the true nightfall, give me back to darkness. Give me back my soul, and step into the sun.
I was born to love you
Lived and died to love you
He handed her something, something that Alice guessed must be a knife of some sort from the song, even if the object didn't exist. She looked into his eyes, and they sang together.
I was born to love you,
And need you,
And let you go free…
He hugged her strongly and she plunged the imaginary blade into his heart, feeling him collapse onto her shoulder. Slowly, she too sunk to the ground, holding his body closer and stroking his white-blond hair.
It was done. They waited a few seconds after the music ended before they helped each other get to their feet, turned to the director, and bowed in unison before standing up again to wait for his opinion.
Out of the corner of her eye, Alice examined her singing partner. He wasn't much taller than her, with slightly shaggy white-blond hair and startling red eyes. He was smiling right now…was that a fang? Was he method acting or what? She couldn't tell.
Her attention was attracted by Director Karpusi leaning forward, slowly, and she redirected her eyes in front of her.
His face was stern as he looked at the two of them, and the actress immediately started running through the performance, trying to figure out what she might've done wrong.
Was it the kiss? She knew it was impulsive of her, but she thought that it might be something Mina would do, if she was in love with Dracula. That was part of the play, wasn't it? Mina might fight it, but didn't she have some sort of attraction to this prince of darkness in the musical? If not, then why have them sing this song?
"Miss Kirkland…Mr. Lupei."
The tension was killing her.
"Welcome…to the cast of Dracula…it will be a…pleasure."
…
It was the day of read-through, where the whole cast would be introduced. They were to sit in a circle. Ten minutes early, she perched on her seat, and waited for the wide cast of characters to enter.
It was noisy for a bit as people tried to find their seats, but somehow they managed to be completely settled before the Director entered with what Alice guessed to be the stage crew or whatever else they might be.
"Attention," Director Karpusi yawned as he took his seat in the circle, promptly getting poked by a statuesque brunette. Alice could only guess that they must've already known each other, since she couldn't imagine being that cheeky with the director for their theatrical production.
"I am…awake, Meryem…Anyways, as you all…know…I am Herakles…Karpusi, your…director."
"I'm, like, Feliks," a blond dressed from head to toe in pink smirked, "Costume design." It was with only a little surprise that she noticed he was a boy. Well, it was showbiz afterall.
"Elizaveta Hedervary, also costume design," a pretty brunette smiled at them.
"Roderich Edelstein, conductor and pianist," the brunet adjusted his glasses as he introduced himself.
"Brigitta Oxenstierna. Choreographer," a tall blonde spoke, peering at them through her rectangular glasses. Her long hair was up in a bun, giving her a slight appearance of being a stern librarian, but the unconscious grace belayed her dancing ability.
"Ve~ I'm Feliciana Vargas!" a bubbly petite brunette bounced, "I do set design and posters and tickets! I also love pasta!"
"This…is only a small part…of your stage…crew," Herakles interrupted the Italian before she could go on her pasta rant, "Treat them…with respect…or regret it…"
The room was silent for a good few minutes.
"Please…go around the circle…introduce yourself…your role…voice part…" he gestured to the girl next to him, who responded with a cat-like smile.
"Hi, I'm Liselotte Janz, but you can all call me Lissie. I am playing the role of Lucy Westenra, and I am a first soprano."
She elbowed the man to her left, who came out of his daze a bit abruptly.
"Lars Abel," he said brusquely in a slightly accented voice, "Abraham van Helsing. Baritone."
A blond with his hair sticking up in wild disarray was next, and spoke it a loud voice, despite not shouting, "Hej! I'm Mathias Kohler. I've got the role of Quincey Morris, and I'm a tenor."
"Anya Braginskaya," a silvery blonde spoke up, edging slightly away from the person to her left, "Ensemble, first soprano."
The young man with the silver hair didn't seem to be happy about being interrupted in his quest to get close to the lady next to him, "Nikolai Arlovski. Ensemble as well. Baritone. And no one get any ideas about my sister."
"Step-sister," Anya groaned, but no one seemed to hear her.
Quickly, they moved on to the statuesque brunette that was sitting near the director.
"Meryem Adnan," she introduced herself with a cocky grin. Alice could hear the man next to her take in a deep breath at seeing her. Strangely she heard nothing from her other side (Vladislav? Was that his name?), despite most of the men looking more attendant when this woman spoke, "Ensemble. I am an alto."
Here, Herakles broke in, "Everyone…and some of the…stage crew…will be filling…in for ensemble…at times."
He gestured for them to continue around the circle.
"Bonjour," a man with shoulder-length blond hair winked at the members of the circle, "I am Francis Bonnefoy, playing the role of Renfield. My vocal part is that of a baritone."
Alice was slightly confused at that. Cocky attitude aside, he seemed a little too handsome to be the creature that Renfield is. It would be interesting to see if he could live up to the challenge.
Another man who seemed to resemble Francis slightly, but with lighter blond hair spoke up softly, "I am Matthew Williams, and I have the role of Arthur Holmwood. I am also a baritone."
"Alastair Logan," ah, and there was her dear step-brother, "I possess the role of Doctor Seward. I am a tenor."
Now it was the man wearing glasses next to her.
He nearly deafened her in his enthusiasm, causing her to flinch away towards her other costar.
"Alfred F. Jones, dudes! I play the totally heroic role of John Harker! Not to mention that I have a great heroic tenor!"
Alice rolled her eyes as it was her turn, "Hello. I am Alice Kirkland. I am here to play the role of Mina Murray, later Mina Harker. Mezzo-soprano."
And now all eyes turned to the man next to her, who grinned at them all.
"Alo," he spoke with a slight accent, "I am Vladislav Lupei. I am a tenor, and play the part of Dracula himself."
His grin sent shivers down everyone's spines.
But now they were all acquainted, and they could begin.
"I want…all of you…to tell me…what you think about your…characters. What are…their motivations…the things that…move them…etcetera…Ensemble included…Don't just say…what is in the books…what is in the play…What do YOU think?"
It was all quiet until Vladislav spoke up, rising from his seat, "From what I can tell, Dracula got the raw end of a deal centuries ago. He feels betrayed and driven by revenge. And up till now, this complete destruction of the human race has been enough for him. But suddenly, the loneliness gets to him, despite how much he's tried to abate it by creating his wives, but their vapid personalities weren't nearly enough," the young man grinned here, "I think that despite the danger, he enjoyed the time covered by this performance. It's probably the first time he felt alive in centuries. He suddenly cares about living, about existing again. At the beginning, he seems hopeful, but somewhat apathetic to me. At the end, he's desperately trying to hold onto what he's claimed. Too bad he couldn't stop his past from catching up to him."
He sat back down, and all was quiet.
"Interesting…interesting impression…Dracula," his eyes noted slight twitches by his cast, "Oh…perhaps I should have…mentioned. From now on…you ARE your characters…you will be…addressed as such…when in practice…Miss Mina…it is your turn."
Alice started a bit at that, before focusing herself on her character. If she was supposed to be Mina, then…
"I've always had my life laid out for me," she spoke calmly, "I was always told who to be, what to do. While my father did encourage me to learn, my mother never stopped telling me that it was "mannish"," she smiled wryly at that, "Even becoming a school mistress, well, it wasn't enough for either of us. She insisted that I was acting too much like a man. I was convinced that I wasn't anywhere near close enough to the knowledge I wanted."
She paused for a second there before continuing, "John was the first choice I ever felt like I made for myself, and let's face it. He's boring." The young lady paused for a moment to let the others snicker a bit, sneaking a quick glance at "John" who seemed a little irritated by her words, "But I chose him, and I think I love him a little…but I don't think he ever understood me. I wanted to help him with the problem of Dracula, and he just pushed me aside until it was nearly too late," she glanced to her other side at the vampire himself, "I don't know whether or not I love you, Dracula, but I do love the excitement you bring with you, and the interest you show in me just being me."
She sat back down, closing her eyes, reopening them to be Alice Kirkland again.
"Very good…Miss Murray. That…is what I was talking…about. Mr. Harker, I believe…it is your turn."
Mr. Jones grinned at them before composing his face into a sober mask, "Greetings. I was hoping to make a great sale, enough that I could finally marry Mina," he gave Alice a fond look , "We had been waiting for so long. I guess I should've known when the villagers reacted so…oddly, to his name. But I decided to press on, and was initially charmed myself by the monster. It wasn't until later that I found out who he really was. Scared for my life, I somehow managed to escape, and I finally felt safe back with Mina. And then I found out that I had led him back with me," he looked down at his hands, "I think that I let my temper get away from me after that. I forgot about protecting Mina in my desire to defeat the vampire, and in my lapse, he got to my Mina. I thought that I managed to save her, there in the end, but it seemed that even in death, the monster had won."
His monologue was shorter than the others', but somehow it seemed to fit the character.
"Renfield."
Although the director's voice was slow, it was still commanding. The blond man flipped his hair over his shoulder as he leaned forward to tell the tale of his Renfield.
"I don't remember when exactly it was, that my little…mania, appeared," he grinned at that moment, and Alice had to suppress a little shudder at how empty he seemed in that moment, "Beforehand, I was the very picture of the dashing young gentleman. I never went anywhere without a lovely young lady on my arm. But one day, I realized something, looking in the mirror one day. I would grow old one day," he touched his skin, tenderly, "My looks would be gone, and one day, I would die. I was nothing more than a mere mortal. I started reading numerous books, hoping to find something, anything, that could be a cure for my little…problem. Somewhere along the line, I came across a book that said the secret to obtaining more life, is to devour it from living creatures. But it seemed that the way described in the book, it would take too long. Age would already start massacring my body by the time the life forces would be able to take effect. And then I came up with another idea. I'd
accumulate the lives into different animals, and then devour the final form. It was brilliant, and made me misunderstood. Women ran from me, and while I was sad for a time, I quickly got over it. Once my treatment was done, I'd have many women for many centuries," the smile fell from his face as a glower appeared.
"They called me crazy. They locked me up. I played the nice patient, in hopes that it would get me out of there sooner. I shouldn't have bothered. I was never getting out, I had resigned myself to that, and simply planned to carry on with my treatment as far as they would let me. I'd outlast them, I'd live longer than them and they'd see that I was right all along! And then…he came."
His face changed again, a blissful smile on it, "He promised me my freedom, he promised me as many lives as I could devour. I had a new hope, so long as I followed my master, all would be fine."
The glower returned, "Too bad my stupid conscience had to get in the way. Lucy died, that didn't matter to me. Mina…Mina was different," he gave Alice an enchanting smile, "She was a coarse woman, certainly not up to my usual standards of beauty. But despite all that, she seemed to be an angel to me, and I…I warned her about my master's plans. Even when he killed me for betraying him, though, I couldn't bring myself to regret it. I'd do it again, for Mina, if I was given the chance."
All was quiet, once more before Karpusi signaled the next performer, "Miss Westerna."
"I suppose I was similar to Renfield in that I've never been alone if I didn't want to be,' the blonde laughed, tossing her head back, "I had three suitors at one time, and yet somehow it didn't make me happy. All of my friends, except dearest Mina, were insanely jealous of me. Yet none of them were quite what I wanted. Quincey satisfied my desire for adventure, but not much else," she smiled apologetically at Mathias before smiling again.
"Dr. John Seward was quite…intriguing. I loved hearing his stories about the asylum. It made me curious, hearing so much about these sorts of people that I would never be exposed to. But John never made me feel excited, alive, and I knew that I wouldn't be content with him either."
Her eyes landed on Matthew, "And Arthur, dear Arthur, you've always been boring. You saw yourself as such a heartbreaker, and I suppose that, in a way, you were. And suddenly, you latched onto me, with all of your feelings. It was sort of endearing in a way," she leant forward to cup a hand around Matthew's cheek, ignoring the growl of the young man sitting next to her, "I thought that I might come to love you after a time, which is why I said yes to your proposal," she released his face and leant back in her seat, "But it would've never made me truly happy, not like Dracula did. He made me feel like a real person, more than a doll just placed on a shelf for others to admire. I will never regret finding him, even if it did cause my death there at the end. I loved him, and I felt loved, even if it was just for a little while."
"Mr. Holmwood, would you care to respond to this?"
The shrinking blond suddenly straightened his back and a stern look replaced the shy one.
"It is as Miss Lucy said, I was a playboy who didn't know what I wanted in life, so I sampled everything in my path. Nothing seemed real, though, not until I found Miss Lucy. I suppose that you could say that she was my North Star, and gave me a path to focus on as I moved. When she was sick, I was out of my mind with worry. When she died, I was devastated. But what really made me mad was when this monster brought her back and forced to prey on innocents," his youthful face transformed into a mask of rage at that moment, "Killing her then was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but only because it was her face. That wasn't Lucy that I killed, Lucy wasn't anywhere inside that shell. I was glad that I destroyed that creature."
His eyes fell on "Lucy", still caught up in the moment, making the young woman uneasy until Matthew returned, breaking the stare to look down at the floor in embarrassment.
"Mr. van Helsing."
One of the men with spiky hair sat up a little straighter, and the sleepy look he had left his eyes.
"There was a time in life that I would've scoffed at the thought of the supernatural," he spoke in a faint Dutch accent, "And I wish that I had known the things then that I did now. If I did, then maybe that MONSTER wouldn't have killed my wife."
He spoke bluntly with venom in his voice.
"I swore that I'd get my revenge, hunt down the hunter, and dedicated the rest of my life to it. I was too late to save Lucy, something I apologize for, however her death and the monster's obsession with Miss Mina are what allowed me to catch up with this vile beast, and so I thank them for their sacrifices."
He stopped speaking at the room was silent.
"Mr. Morris."
The other young man with spiky hair grinned as he leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Mr. Morris was my father, sir. Just call me Quincey. Anyways, I suppose that I wasn't as shocked as the rest when we found out about vampires. Y'see, when I was twelve, I had to put my horse down. Vampire bats had got to him. Never thought I'd see the human version for myself, though. I loved Lucy as much as a guy like me could. I know that I wasn't exactly the most gentlemanly of men, but there was something about Lucy that could turn even a rough guy like me into someone who could walk beside her in all of her daintiness and not look completely out of place. I was glad to have been of service to her, and I wish that I could've done more to save her. At least I died trying to rescue her, even if I couldn't be her knight in shining armor."
"Dr. John Seward."
Alice's eyes were drawn to her brother as he sat up tall in his seat, assuming a more proper and distinguished air more suitable to a Victorian age doctor.
"It's funny how our proposals didn't destroy our friendship. Maybe it would've had we had much time to be envious of Arthur after that. Sadly, it wasn't too long before we were united in trying to save dearest Lucy. Then we were united in grieving for her death, then in stopping the monster who had taken her body, and finally in grief again for Quincey. Arthur was distant after that, and I threw myself into my work. I married after this was all done, and happily so. Never forgot Lucy though, guess it was just the suddenness of it all that made it so that she wouldn't leave my mind."
"Ensemble, I would like you to develop your own characters based on what solos you have and other aspects of your characters. I don't want a bunch of flat background characters. I want to hear your personalities in your voices, and see it in your clothes. Make it so, and all will go well. Think on this, and we shall begin at our next rehearsal. Make sure you memorize all of your lines. Dismissed."
As the other actors stood up to leave, Meryem walked over to her childhood friend, and leant over him, bracing her hand on the back of his chair so that she could look him right in the eye.
"I've got to say, brat, I think that's the fastest and the most words I've ever heard you speak."
"Shut…up…"
She plopped herself down on the seat next to him, leaning back until the front two legs were off the ground.
"You never change, do you?" she sighed.
"Why…change…perfection?"
A hand came to push him off of his chair as the young woman's chair came banging to the ground.
"Come off it, Jerkules. I'm not about to compliment you any more if this is how you respond."
"That was…a compliment?" Herakles glared up at her from where he fell onto the floor, "Doesn't…seem like…one to me."
"You need someone to keep you in line," white teeth showed up beautifully against her tanned skin, "Don't want that head of yours getting too big. When they acclaim your for opening night, you need someone walking behind you, telling you to 'Remember you are mortal', over and over again."
He swatted at her legs, but she just leapt up, dodging his hands, "Cease…your…annoyance."
"Let's see you try to stop me," she laughed, childishly sticking her tongue out at him as she rose to her feet, tossing her long dark braid over her shoulder, "Well, Hassan is waiting for me. I'll see you next rehearsal!"
Herakles remained sitting there as she left, wondering how she could be so annoying. He was really starting to regret allowing her to join the production. She'd better not spend most of the rehearsals with her mind on her new boyfriend.
Deep down, Herakles knew that he was being unfair, but at the moment, he really couldn't care less. He wondered if the reason he was so irritated about her boyfriend being Hassan was that he hadn't had anyone for a little over a month. He just didn't have the time. This was his first production; distractions were unnecessary.
