Chapter two: Next Day
Toppo spent most of the next morning reading over Nadir's extra-long script. He quickly realized that he had much more lines than normal, as it was the full play instead of the simple balcony scene. Currently, he sat in the shade under a tree, reading each of his lines carefully. Nadir said that he was having a special audience, so Toppo wanted to make sure he had all the lines down perfectly.
The silent man quickly realized that Nadir wasn't kidding when he said everyone who had a part in a play was trying their hardest. Geddoe's team had arrived earlier, as a couple members of the defense force had a part in a play. Everyone was really wanting to be in top form. Juan was falling asleep less often during performances, Samus was putting more enthusiasm in his acting, and even Guillaume was improving his acting by cutting back on the laughing.
Toppo looked up from the script to watch his two female friends, who were close by. Shabon was having a game of tag with some other kids, and it looked like she was having fun. Toppo focused on his elf friend Nei, who was sitting on a nearby bench with Roland. They both looked like they were having a conversation, and were enjoying each other's company.
The juggler let a quiet growl escape his throat as he saw the obvious love between the two elves. To be honest, Toppo wasn't really fond of Roland. At ALL. He disliked Roland because the knight looked like he would be the kind to not care about having a wife or girlfriend, being so serious and all. Toppo thought Nei deserved more than that. He was just thankful that there were children in the area, because if there weren't, he'd knock some sense into Roland.
Luckily for Roland, Toppo's thoughts were broken by a voice coming from his right.
"Toppo!"
Toppo responded by turning his head to the right. He saw a very familiar nurse coming in his direction. The juggler stood to his feet as Mio arrived by his side.
"Toppo, Nadir tells me that you're going to play the part of Romeo!" Mio said. "I guess that means we'll be doing a lot of the play together!"
Toppo blushed and nodded.
"Well, I'm thinking that, since we're in the same play, we should practice together." Mio suggested.
Toppo scratched his chin, thinking it over. It would probably be better to practice with a fellow actor than to simply memorize the lines alone. Toppo looked at Mio and nodded. The nurse smiled. "Great! Let's go find a spot to practice!" She said.
Although a little uneasy about leaving Nei and Shabon, Toppo agreed as he and Mio walked up the hill, leading to the rest of Budehuc Castle.
Toppo and Mio walked around Budehuc Castle, looking for a place to practice. They had encountered many of the residents practicing for their own plays. Juan and Joker were doing a scene from 'Hamlet', and from the looks of things, Juan was playing the role of Hamlet. Ace, Mua and Guillaume were doing a scene from 'Macbeth', and it seemed that Ace and Mua were the stars. There were even a few plays Nadir thought up on his own being done. In fact, Toppo and Mio encountered Reed, Kathy and Leo doing a scene from one of Nadir's adventure plays. From the things they were saying, Reed seemed like the hero, Kathy the heroine and Leo the villain.
Several minutes later, both Toppo and Mio were getting quite frustrated, not being able to find a spot to practice. As they were walking through the main area of the castle, Mio spotted something.
"Hey, Toppo." Mio said. "What do you suppose is going on over there?"
Mio pointed towards the Inn. Toppo looked to see what she was pointing at, and raised an eyebrow at the scene that lay before him. To the right of the Inn's door, hidden behind some large bushes, were two giant makeshift slingshots stuck in the ground, one slightly behind the other. Melville and a Karayan child were helping Elliot into the slingshot at the front as Jacques and Muto were helping Landis into the slingshot at the back.
Toppo and Mio looked at each other, shrugged and walked over to the Inn to see what was going on.
Melville saw the two adults coming. "Hey, Toppo! Miss Mio!"
"Hello, Melville." Mio said. "May I ask what you people are doing?"
"Well, Landis and I didn't get any roles in any of Nadir's plays." Elliot said with a playful grin. "So we've decided to call a truce for this one small event."
Toppo and Mio both raised an eyebrow, and looked over at Jacques. The blue- clad man simply shrugged. "Don't look at me. I don't know what it is."
"We're going to play a prank on Lilly Pendragon." Landis said with one of his trademark chuckles.
"What kind of prank?" Mio asked.
Toppo raised his eyebrow again as a smirk crept across his face. {This I gotta see!} He thought.
"Quiet!" Elliot said as he saw the door to the Inn starting to open. "Here she comes!"
Melville and the Karayan boy pulled back on the giant elastic on Elliot's slingshot and Jacques and Muto did the same with Landis.
"Wait for it..." Elliot said. As soon as he saw Lilly exit the Inn, he said. "Now!"
With that, the elastics were released, sending Elliot and Landis flying in Lilly's direction, Landis slightly behind Elliot.
Lilly left the Inn and walked into the warm weather. She breathed in the fresh air and looked at the people standing around the fountain in the middle of the area.
Before Lilly could take another step, a screaming Elliot flew past her, several feet off the ground, flapping his arms like a bird. A split second later, Landis flew past her, also flapping his arms. He had a creepy grin on his face as he chased down the 'flying' boy. Both Elliot and Landis vanished beyond Cecile's guard post.
Lilly stood in silence, staring off into space. She tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for what just happened other than Elliot and Landis could fly. Lilly took off one glove and felt her own forehead before walking away from the Inn.
Toppo and Mio looked at each other before running over to where Landis and Elliot had vanished to. When the two adults found them, both Landis and Elliot looked like they were cracking up. Elliot was rolling on his back, doubled over in laughter, while Landis was laughing while clutching his knees to prevent him from doing the same.
Mio looked back at Toppo. "We'd better find somewhere to practice before these two plan to play any pranks on us."
Toppo quickly nodded as he and Mio turned around and rushed off.
Several more minutes passed, and Toppo and Mio STILL couldn't find anywhere to practice. Mio threw her hands up in defeat. "It's no use!" She said. "We've been all over the castle!"
Toppo was silent. He scratched his chin, thinking of somewhere no one would be practicing. Suddenly, a thought came to his head.
"...Yaza Plains..." He muttered.
Mio turned to look at Toppo. "What was that?"
"...Just outside the castle..." Toppo replied quietly.
Suddenly, Mio brightened, catching on to Toppo's idea. "Of course! Just outside the castle! No one would practice out there!"
Toppo grinned and nodded. He and Mio rushed towards the gates of the castle and ran past a confused Cecile. Soon, they were in Yaza Plains.
Neither Toppo or Mio wanted to encounter any monsters, so they moved to the right and stood alongside the wall of the castle, where they knew they'd be safe. Once they stopped running, Mio held up her script. "Should we start practicing?" She asked.
Toppo nodded as he held up his script.
Both juggler and nurse practiced their many lines they had in the play. When it came to the balcony scene, Mio climbed up onto a tree branch to get the feel of what it would be like on the actual stage.
During the practice, Toppo used his voice to its full potential, speaking clearly and skillfully with every word. He quickly noticed that Mio had improved her acting greatly. Before, Nadir said that her acting was so-so, but from how Mio was performing now, Toppo thought that she could do Juliet as good as the best actresses who played Juliet, maybe even better.
After about two hours, both Toppo and Mio were finished practicing the play. Mio thanked Toppo for helping her, and Toppo, although silently, returned the thanks. They walked back into Budehuc Castle, and walked past Cecile, who still held a confused glare.
Toppo walked Mio towards the main building, through the front door, and towards the Infirmary. Once they arrived at the door, Mio turned to Toppo.
"Thanks again, Toppo. I really enjoyed practicing with you." Mio said with a kind smile.
Toppo blushed and said "Your welcome." quietly.
Mio sighed. "Well, the big day's tomorrow night. We'd better be in top form." Toppo nodded. Mio bid farewell to Toppo as she walked into the Infirmary and closed the door behind her. Toppo stared at the door.
"Tomorrow." Toppo muttered to himself. He cracked a grin. "...I'm looking forward to it..."
Toppo turned around and walked into the tavern, deciding to go through it to get to the restaurant to meet Nei and Shabon. However, as Toppo vanished, a lone figured stood around a corner, watching him. He pushed his bangs away from his eyes as he stared at the door Toppo had gone through. Strangely, he wasn't acting his normal, cheerful way.
"He's starting to take an interest in her." Mike said to himself. "If I'm going to ask Mio out, I'd better do it soon." He was tempted to go to the Infirmary now, but stopped himself. "Maybe I should wait until after the plays are all finished tomorrow." He grinned at the idea. "Yeah. That's it. I'll wait until Mio has the burden of the play off her hands."
With that said, Mike turned around and walked back towards the room he was usually found in.
To be continued...
Author's note: *SSBFreak is rubbing his hands together* Yuh-huh-huh! The next chapter's when the action starts! Again DEL, I'm sorry for posting a Toppo fic first, but as I said before, I had no idea you were working on one to begin with. Anyway, please read and review!
Toppo spent most of the next morning reading over Nadir's extra-long script. He quickly realized that he had much more lines than normal, as it was the full play instead of the simple balcony scene. Currently, he sat in the shade under a tree, reading each of his lines carefully. Nadir said that he was having a special audience, so Toppo wanted to make sure he had all the lines down perfectly.
The silent man quickly realized that Nadir wasn't kidding when he said everyone who had a part in a play was trying their hardest. Geddoe's team had arrived earlier, as a couple members of the defense force had a part in a play. Everyone was really wanting to be in top form. Juan was falling asleep less often during performances, Samus was putting more enthusiasm in his acting, and even Guillaume was improving his acting by cutting back on the laughing.
Toppo looked up from the script to watch his two female friends, who were close by. Shabon was having a game of tag with some other kids, and it looked like she was having fun. Toppo focused on his elf friend Nei, who was sitting on a nearby bench with Roland. They both looked like they were having a conversation, and were enjoying each other's company.
The juggler let a quiet growl escape his throat as he saw the obvious love between the two elves. To be honest, Toppo wasn't really fond of Roland. At ALL. He disliked Roland because the knight looked like he would be the kind to not care about having a wife or girlfriend, being so serious and all. Toppo thought Nei deserved more than that. He was just thankful that there were children in the area, because if there weren't, he'd knock some sense into Roland.
Luckily for Roland, Toppo's thoughts were broken by a voice coming from his right.
"Toppo!"
Toppo responded by turning his head to the right. He saw a very familiar nurse coming in his direction. The juggler stood to his feet as Mio arrived by his side.
"Toppo, Nadir tells me that you're going to play the part of Romeo!" Mio said. "I guess that means we'll be doing a lot of the play together!"
Toppo blushed and nodded.
"Well, I'm thinking that, since we're in the same play, we should practice together." Mio suggested.
Toppo scratched his chin, thinking it over. It would probably be better to practice with a fellow actor than to simply memorize the lines alone. Toppo looked at Mio and nodded. The nurse smiled. "Great! Let's go find a spot to practice!" She said.
Although a little uneasy about leaving Nei and Shabon, Toppo agreed as he and Mio walked up the hill, leading to the rest of Budehuc Castle.
Toppo and Mio walked around Budehuc Castle, looking for a place to practice. They had encountered many of the residents practicing for their own plays. Juan and Joker were doing a scene from 'Hamlet', and from the looks of things, Juan was playing the role of Hamlet. Ace, Mua and Guillaume were doing a scene from 'Macbeth', and it seemed that Ace and Mua were the stars. There were even a few plays Nadir thought up on his own being done. In fact, Toppo and Mio encountered Reed, Kathy and Leo doing a scene from one of Nadir's adventure plays. From the things they were saying, Reed seemed like the hero, Kathy the heroine and Leo the villain.
Several minutes later, both Toppo and Mio were getting quite frustrated, not being able to find a spot to practice. As they were walking through the main area of the castle, Mio spotted something.
"Hey, Toppo." Mio said. "What do you suppose is going on over there?"
Mio pointed towards the Inn. Toppo looked to see what she was pointing at, and raised an eyebrow at the scene that lay before him. To the right of the Inn's door, hidden behind some large bushes, were two giant makeshift slingshots stuck in the ground, one slightly behind the other. Melville and a Karayan child were helping Elliot into the slingshot at the front as Jacques and Muto were helping Landis into the slingshot at the back.
Toppo and Mio looked at each other, shrugged and walked over to the Inn to see what was going on.
Melville saw the two adults coming. "Hey, Toppo! Miss Mio!"
"Hello, Melville." Mio said. "May I ask what you people are doing?"
"Well, Landis and I didn't get any roles in any of Nadir's plays." Elliot said with a playful grin. "So we've decided to call a truce for this one small event."
Toppo and Mio both raised an eyebrow, and looked over at Jacques. The blue- clad man simply shrugged. "Don't look at me. I don't know what it is."
"We're going to play a prank on Lilly Pendragon." Landis said with one of his trademark chuckles.
"What kind of prank?" Mio asked.
Toppo raised his eyebrow again as a smirk crept across his face. {This I gotta see!} He thought.
"Quiet!" Elliot said as he saw the door to the Inn starting to open. "Here she comes!"
Melville and the Karayan boy pulled back on the giant elastic on Elliot's slingshot and Jacques and Muto did the same with Landis.
"Wait for it..." Elliot said. As soon as he saw Lilly exit the Inn, he said. "Now!"
With that, the elastics were released, sending Elliot and Landis flying in Lilly's direction, Landis slightly behind Elliot.
Lilly left the Inn and walked into the warm weather. She breathed in the fresh air and looked at the people standing around the fountain in the middle of the area.
Before Lilly could take another step, a screaming Elliot flew past her, several feet off the ground, flapping his arms like a bird. A split second later, Landis flew past her, also flapping his arms. He had a creepy grin on his face as he chased down the 'flying' boy. Both Elliot and Landis vanished beyond Cecile's guard post.
Lilly stood in silence, staring off into space. She tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for what just happened other than Elliot and Landis could fly. Lilly took off one glove and felt her own forehead before walking away from the Inn.
Toppo and Mio looked at each other before running over to where Landis and Elliot had vanished to. When the two adults found them, both Landis and Elliot looked like they were cracking up. Elliot was rolling on his back, doubled over in laughter, while Landis was laughing while clutching his knees to prevent him from doing the same.
Mio looked back at Toppo. "We'd better find somewhere to practice before these two plan to play any pranks on us."
Toppo quickly nodded as he and Mio turned around and rushed off.
Several more minutes passed, and Toppo and Mio STILL couldn't find anywhere to practice. Mio threw her hands up in defeat. "It's no use!" She said. "We've been all over the castle!"
Toppo was silent. He scratched his chin, thinking of somewhere no one would be practicing. Suddenly, a thought came to his head.
"...Yaza Plains..." He muttered.
Mio turned to look at Toppo. "What was that?"
"...Just outside the castle..." Toppo replied quietly.
Suddenly, Mio brightened, catching on to Toppo's idea. "Of course! Just outside the castle! No one would practice out there!"
Toppo grinned and nodded. He and Mio rushed towards the gates of the castle and ran past a confused Cecile. Soon, they were in Yaza Plains.
Neither Toppo or Mio wanted to encounter any monsters, so they moved to the right and stood alongside the wall of the castle, where they knew they'd be safe. Once they stopped running, Mio held up her script. "Should we start practicing?" She asked.
Toppo nodded as he held up his script.
Both juggler and nurse practiced their many lines they had in the play. When it came to the balcony scene, Mio climbed up onto a tree branch to get the feel of what it would be like on the actual stage.
During the practice, Toppo used his voice to its full potential, speaking clearly and skillfully with every word. He quickly noticed that Mio had improved her acting greatly. Before, Nadir said that her acting was so-so, but from how Mio was performing now, Toppo thought that she could do Juliet as good as the best actresses who played Juliet, maybe even better.
After about two hours, both Toppo and Mio were finished practicing the play. Mio thanked Toppo for helping her, and Toppo, although silently, returned the thanks. They walked back into Budehuc Castle, and walked past Cecile, who still held a confused glare.
Toppo walked Mio towards the main building, through the front door, and towards the Infirmary. Once they arrived at the door, Mio turned to Toppo.
"Thanks again, Toppo. I really enjoyed practicing with you." Mio said with a kind smile.
Toppo blushed and said "Your welcome." quietly.
Mio sighed. "Well, the big day's tomorrow night. We'd better be in top form." Toppo nodded. Mio bid farewell to Toppo as she walked into the Infirmary and closed the door behind her. Toppo stared at the door.
"Tomorrow." Toppo muttered to himself. He cracked a grin. "...I'm looking forward to it..."
Toppo turned around and walked into the tavern, deciding to go through it to get to the restaurant to meet Nei and Shabon. However, as Toppo vanished, a lone figured stood around a corner, watching him. He pushed his bangs away from his eyes as he stared at the door Toppo had gone through. Strangely, he wasn't acting his normal, cheerful way.
"He's starting to take an interest in her." Mike said to himself. "If I'm going to ask Mio out, I'd better do it soon." He was tempted to go to the Infirmary now, but stopped himself. "Maybe I should wait until after the plays are all finished tomorrow." He grinned at the idea. "Yeah. That's it. I'll wait until Mio has the burden of the play off her hands."
With that said, Mike turned around and walked back towards the room he was usually found in.
To be continued...
Author's note: *SSBFreak is rubbing his hands together* Yuh-huh-huh! The next chapter's when the action starts! Again DEL, I'm sorry for posting a Toppo fic first, but as I said before, I had no idea you were working on one to begin with. Anyway, please read and review!