Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize from outside of my writing.
A/N: Sorry about the delay. Life's been slightly crazy lately. Hopefully, the length of this chapter will make up for that a bit. Enjoy! By the way, this chapter is also known as Chapter of the Character Flaws, and So There is A Plot Hiding Around Here Somewhere!
Which Heaven To Gaudy Day Denies
Evelynn awoke the next morning, feeling troubled. She'd had a very restless night, thinking over Fizban's words, and the mannerisms of the strange mage. She put all thoughts aside, however, to go to chorus practice. She dressed quickly, tying her hair simply to keep it out of her face. She hurried to the sanctuary.
With relief, Evelynn found a large group of other elves in the sanctuary upon her arrival. Risers had been set up on the raised platform around the alter, and elves were either in their places on the risers, or standing around on the floor, chatting amiably. With a wince, Evelynn stood just inside the door. She knew how idiotic she must look, just standing there, but she knew no one other than Rinni, Teva, and Andreana. Due to a lack of sleep, she was in no mood to suffer through one of their battles of wills, so she decided that standing isolated was the better choice.
Suddenly, Evelynn noticed a rather attractive young elf making his way towards her. "Hello. My name is Eramil."
For a couple of seconds, Evelynn could only stand there, stunned. It was not that she was overcome by his good looks, more that she was just completely stunned that someone would actually approach her and want to talk. "Uh… Evelynn." She tried to smile.
"You new around here?" Evelynn contained a wince as she was reminded of why she didn't enjoy small talk.
"Yes. I was initiated yesterday." I will not be sarcastic, I will not antagonize. Evelynn recited this litany to herself to keep from using the biting sarcasm that sometimes jumped out of her mouth, seemingly of its own will. She desperately tried to think of something else to say, something slightly intelligent, but not haughty. Nothing came. "I don't know many people yet."
Eramil smiled at her, his long, silvery-blond hair creating a halo around his features. "It takes a while to get to know everyone. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll meet more people today."
That's what I'm afraid of! Evelynn couldn't help but think to herself that behind that beautiful covering, there was not much of a mind. However, first encounters could be deceiving, so she decided to give the young man a chance. "So, what part do you sing? I'm a second soprano." The vocal part she was referring to was the lower of the two upper voices. It was a challenging part, since it often had counter-melodies, harmonies, and notes to fill the chords rather than a line that actually made sense.
"I'm a first tenor." He apparently sang the highest of the male parts. Evelynn was not surprised, since higher voices seemed to be predominant among elves, and true baritones, let alone basses were hard to come by. Finally, the choral master came in, saving Evelynn from further social embarrassment.
"For those of you who are new, I am Revered Son Fiel." The chorus master pointed out which section of the risers went to each voice, and handed out new music to the few new people. Fiel's hair was a bright blond and he wore it in a loose ponytail. Evelynn estimated that he must be at least one hundred and fifty, but he held himself as though he was trying to appear younger.
Evelynn looked over the first few pieces, and realized that they were, luckily, the same arrangements used in Silvanost. She was sure that there would be other more difficult pieces soon, but for now, the old melodies were comforting. Unexpectedly, there was almost no warm up. It appeared that the elves were expected to warm up in their rooms before coming. Evelynn winced as she heard her voice sticking in her throat the way it tended to do in the early morning.
Rehearsal doesn't matter – performance does. Evelynn tried to tell herself that, but couldn't help but notice Andreana and Teva smirking from the first soprano section. Likely, they were also laughing because her voice wasn't high enough for her to be placed in the lauded first soprano section. Even though pure, high voices were common along elves, the first sopranos still got all of the melody, and the glory, though the altos and second sopranos had the much harder task of keeping the harmonies together.
Singing in the beautiful room was amazing. Even with her scratchy morning throat, Evelynn felt as though the wonderful acoustics were pulling the notes from her throat, making them even purer and more in tune then they were naturally. After singing in a room like the sanctuary, Evelynn was sure she would have trouble singing in any other room for lack of that beautiful quality the air gave it.
Finally, after much painful throat clearing, Evelynn had warmed up her voice and was ready for the morning prayers. It was apparently just in time, too, since Fiel suddenly got a strained look on his face and told them to stand straighter. "Oh, and Evelynn, do try to stop clearing your throat!" His acidic remark came just as the first few worshipers trailed into the chapel, and Evelynn felt her cheeks burning under the speculation of the other elves.
Evelynn's anxiety and embarrassment made her voice quaver during the first song, and she botched several of the easier intervals. Because of this, her insecurity and shaking got even worse. The second piece was even worse than the first for her, due to the looks that many of the other choir members were shooting her. Finally, face red in shame, she dropped out during the third song, and just mouthed the words.
By the end of the service she was close to tears. As someone who always cried easily, she dug her nails into her palms to try to stem the tears she felt, hot in her eyes. Finally, the service was over, and the elves started to get off of the risers. Before she could flee, Evelynn was cornered by Teva and Andreana. "Nice first service." Andreana's voice was scornful, taunting.
With a sneer, Teva spoke. "Good luck on solo auditions." With a toss of her hair, she and Andreana walked towards some of their other friends, leading Rinni away so she couldn't talk to Evelynn.
At the older elves' words, Evelynn fled from the room, sobbing. She was past caring who saw her, and her only thought was to be alone. She barreled through the corridors, ignoring all who tried to stop her. Finally, she made it to her room, slamming the door behind her. She fell onto her bed, weeping. She felt a comforting arm wrap around her, and was crying into a bony shoulder covered in soft robes before she realized that it shouldn't be there.
With a gulp to catch her breath, Evelynn jerked herself erect. "Wh… Why? How?" She managed to stutter at the elderly mage with the dirty white robes who was perched on the edge of her bed.
"Because I have nothing better to do, and because your door was unlocked. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. Even I do!"
For once, the old man seemed to be almost lucid, and Evelynn couldn't help but smile at his statement of intense hubris. "But in front of all of those people!"
"It didn't make a damn difference to most of those people that you were losing your voice. Even if they noticed, it will not affect them in the least. Other mistakes are not so easy to forget, or remedy. Now, where did I put my hat? Can't do magic without my hat, you know."
Evelynn was thrown off balance yet again by the ancient man's sudden mood change. "On your head, Fizban. Your hat is on your head." She sighed. Though the mage's presence was comforting, sometimes, his words seemed to hinder more than help.
"Very good. Now, you give that Teva a run for her money this afternoon at rehearsal. You might want to practice the first solo in the opening song. Lovely talking to you, my dear, but I really must be off now. Very busy, you know!" Evelynn rolled her eyes. What could the decrepit magic user have to do that was so important? She was about to ask the man what he'd meant about practicing the solo, but when she turned back to him, he was gone.
For another few minutes, Evelynn sat, composing herself. Then, she went to the drawer, and pulled out a small piece of good Silvanesti chocolate. On top of her slow metabolism, that was the reason Evelynn was slightly pudgy for an elf – she lived by the belief that chocolate could make most, if not all, of the world's ills seem a bit less bad!
No harm in practicing that solo, she decided once she'd finally calmed down. For a few hours, she practiced the solo relentlessly, smoothing out all minor problems and glitches. Finally, she could sing it perfectly, assuming she didn't panic again. She took a brief lunch. For this meal, she got a mug of steaming tea with honey, something that always helped her throat before an audition.
Finally, two o'clock rolled around, and Evelynn strode to the chapel, newly confident. She had resolved not to look at anyone, and to think only of herself and her own performance. Unfortunately, Eramil managed to spot her the minute she walked into the room. "Evelynn! It's terrible what happened to you earlier. But don't feel bad, everyone has bad days." He was apparently trying to be comforting.
"Thanks, Eramil. I'm good now, and hopefully will do a lot better this afternoon." She nodded to him, and attempted to walk away without being rude. The other elf, however, apparently had other plans.
"Well, if you ever need me, I am here." Well, duh! If you weren't here, you wouldn't be talking to me! "When do you usually have dinner? Do you want to eat with me?"
For a second, Evelynn just gaped at him. Did he just ask me out? "Me?" Not a very witty reply, was it? "I mean, um, why not?" She was still rather puzzled, since he barely knew her, and her type was not one that got asked on a date for looks alone.
"All right then. I'll meet you at the dining hall at six?" Evelynn could only nod, still shocked.
Shaking her head to clear it, Evelynn started towards her spot on the risers. This time, she was ready when Revered Son Fiel flew into the first song without any warm up. After only a few measures, she allowed herself to fall into a state in which the only thing that existed was the music. It surrounded her, filled her, flowed through her. The acoustics of the room pulled the sound from her, and it flew flawlessly from her unresisting throat. She felt that she sang better than she ever had, and almost didn't stop when Fiel cut them off.
"Much improved from this morning." Fiel's acidic voice cut through Evelynn's artistic reverie. "Good to see that you're no longer completely tone-deaf, Evelynn." Evelynn winced, and fought not to show emotion. Despite her care, she could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks.
She took a deep breath. "I was unaware of the fact that we were supposed to warm up in our rooms, Revered Son. I apologize, and it will not happen again." She felt that that was acidic enough without stepping over the line into impropriety. Fiel shot her a glare, and glanced at a packet of notes he had in his hands.
"Now, we are going to have solos in our performance two weeks from now. All those who are interested, please line up. I will have you sing a random passage from some of our music. As to the rest of you, you will all benefit from hearing the constructive criticism that the others are given."
There was a mass exodus to the front of the room, and very few people were left on the risers. After a minute of thought over whether she really wanted the solo or not, Evelynn decided that she had nothing to lose, since she'd have to stand there all afternoon anyway. By the time she got to the line, she was the last, with Teva directly in front of her.
Fiel seemed to play favorites, and gave some of the chorus members exceedingly easy passages, while others had the hardest sections in their repertoire. To his favored members, Fiel gave very little criticism. One of the girls had a harsh voice, especially for an elf. She could put a song across, but it was not pretty. However, Fiel seemed to feel that she had something, because he let her go on with only a slight correction on her rhythm.
Evelynn stood for over an hour, waiting. Finally, it was Teva's turn. Fiel took his music and gave her a particularly easy passage for her to sing. To her credit, Teva did have a lovely voice, and sang the passage quite admirably. She added several flourishes that could be counted in her favor, but to Evelynn's ears, they just made the simple beauty of the song sound garish and overdone.
After what seemed like an eternity, Teva was done. "Well," Fiel smiled at her. "Looks like you've hooked the solo again, my dear." Teva fluttered her eyelashes at him and simpered prettily. "You really do have an exceptional voice."
This had gone on long enough. Evelynn collected herself, and stepped forward a little, coming up next to Teva. "Pardon me, Revered Son Fiel, but I have not gone yet." Evelynn saw Oren standing outside of the door, and she winced at the added audience. No audience. I'm alone.
"If you feel it necessary to waste your fellows' time, I suppose you may." With a roll of his eyes, he started to leaf through his music. For all of the auditions, he'd been lending out his own music so that the choristers would not have the benefits of any notes they might have written on their copies. Finally, he came to a piece and smiled. "The first solo movement in this one." He handed her the music.
Evelynn looked it over quickly, noting that it was one of the hardest passages she'd learned, going to the top of her range, and fairly low as well. The movements were tricky, and there were several hard-to-hear jumps. Suddenly, it clicked. That was the movement that she'd been practicing all morning! How did that batty mage know? She shook her head, deciding that it must have been freak chance.
She breathed in deeply, feeling her stomach turning in anticipation of an audition. Though never shy to speak her mind in public, or even sing for crowds, Evelynn was always paralyzed by stage fright when it came to auditions. Fiel played the first note for her on the organ, and she started, trying not to think about the elf in front of her, or the crowd behind her.
Soon, she felt the music flowing through her once more, the familiarity of the piece counterbalancing her fear. The intervals that she practiced so diligently flowed out naturally, and the rhythms came flawlessly. Gaining confidence, Evelynn added more power to her voice and allowed it to soar. Finally, she finished the solo with a flourish in the style of the solo. Silence surrounded her. Then, someone in the chorus started to clap, and soon most of the room had joined in. Evelynn flushed with pleasure, and noted that even Oren seemed impressed.
"Wonderful job, my dear. Fiel, I do hope you give her the solo. I believe that is the best rendition of that solo that I've heard in many, many years." Oren rushed over to shake Evelynn's hand.
"Well, Father, she is brand new." Fiel looked distinctly less than pleased at how obvious it was that Evelynn deserved the solo over Teva. "I believe it might be wise to allow her time to get acclimated before thrusting a solo upon her. Besides, this morning, she seemed a bit overcome by stage fright." Evelynn wished that they would stop talking as though she weren't standing right there.
"Nonsense, the only way she can overcome that fear is by facing it. I'm sure she will do beautifully." Evelynn looked up from the floor to thank Oren for his support, and over his shoulder, saw another whitish robe. Fizban was standing in the doorway, grinning. He winked before disappearing. Fiel reluctantly agreed that Evelynn did indeed deserve the solo, but Evelynn barely noticed in her elation over singing so well, and meriting the solo to begin with.
The afternoon passed in a happy blur for Evelynn, and soon it was five o'clock. With a start, she realized that she'd agreed to go on a date with Eramil! She took out a fresh robe, since clerics weren't supposed to wear any other type of clothing. Then, she put a small amount of lip rouge and blush on. Next, she sighed – it was time for her hair. She'd never done her own hair in any fancy style before, since that was one of Ramalad's fortes. Finally, she wrestled it into some semblance of a respectable fashion.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Evelynn walked out of her room and headed quickly to the dining hall. When she arrived at the dining hall, she saw with a wince that Eramil was already there, and was sitting at one of the long tables near the center of the room, surrounded by other clerics. He must've never read those romance novels that mention privacy as one of the necessities in a date, Evelynn thought wryly to herself. She steeled herself, pasted a tranquil smile on her face, got a small plate of food, and walked over to where Eramil was sitting.
"Evelynn! Right on time. Here, take a seat." He got up and pulled a chair out next to her, and helped her sit. Despite her discomfiture, Evelynn smiled genuinely at the show of chivalry. Despite her vehement feminism, she always had a soft spot for displays of chivalry. She sat as gracefully as she was able to, and smiled at the others at the table. Eramil introduced her to his friends, and when he was done, Evelynn couldn't remember one single name.
"So…" Evelynn spoke hesitantly and uncomfortably. "What interests do you have other than singing?" She made a hesitant stab at conversation.
"Well," Eramil seemed to be having a hard time coming up with an answer. "I really apply myself to my music more than anything else. What about you?" He seemed very relieved to pass the spotlight on to someone else.
"Well, I enjoy reading, and archery." Evelynn so no purpose in hiding her less feminine side, because if someone couldn't accept her for her she was, she's always felt that they weren't worth knowing.
"That's … interesting." Evelynn could tell that though he accepted her, Eramil was slightly intimidated, and even more nervous about their social situation. The two spent the rest of the evening juggling uncomfortable silences, and even less comfortable conversations. By the end of the evening, Evelynn had determined that while Eramil was not the most intriguing of characters, he was still a genuinely nice person, and worth knowing. Despite this fact, she couldn't help but think that even that Black Robe would have been better company over dinner.
The next day, solo parts were handed out in the morning. Evelynn was given the smallest of the pieces, but frankly, she didn't care. She knew she'd overcome the first hurdle. She sang better than the morning before, though not as well as she had the previous afternoon. Partly, her problem was from lack of sleep. After her 'date' with Eramil, she had trouble falling asleep, as she had the night before.
Once more, she was tormented with thoughts of good and evil. How could the elves, children of good, do things that seemed so petty and vile? To take other elves prisoner, threatening the lives of their children? To exile a proud young mind whose only crime was to speak out? These questions flew through Evelynn's head, giving her no rest.
For the rest of the week, she was similarly tormented. By Friday, it seemed that only sheer willpower was keeping her awake. She was practically asleep during the morning prayers, even the beautiful room, or the threat of Fiel's fierce glares not sufficient to awaken her. Finally, she knew what she had to do.
After dinner, she went to her rooms, and began to pace. She'd give him another hour. Assuming he was on a regular a schedule as she, he would be finishing about then. Minutes stretched to eons, but finally it was time. Evelynn walked slowly to the mages rooms one more time. She was careful not to be seen, because she had no excuse for being in that part of the temple complex. Somehow, she doubted that the other clerics would understand the truth.
As she walked, she rationalized. If anyone saw her there, what could they do anyway? It wasn't a crime to talk. Besides which, if pressed, she could always say that she'd been inspired to try to bring the mage to the ways of light. Finally, arguments rattling around hollowly in her head, Evelynn was there. She knocked lightly on the door, and suddenly realized she had no idea what she was going to say to him!
A/N: Well, I hope you liked this new segment. Please, please review. Remember, constructive criticism is helpful! Also, (save the next two or three weeks, when I'll be busier than ever) a lot of reviews really do help me to write faster, especially with this story.
Guan: Glad you liked. And yes, this may finally lead to the main plot, sticking its head out from hiding!
Jade Limill: Hehe, sorry this took so long. And no worries, you're not on Fie's hit list.
Pet: LOL – now I can only think of that scene in Anime terms too! Look what you did! About her not recognizing Fizban, it's going to get worse before it gets better. Poor Evelynn. She has to go through a lot.