So here we go with Chapter 13! Readings are fun.
/= [DAY 20] =/
"Hey, Lovi-kun! There you are!"
"It's LOVINO, Charice."
"Yeah, whatever." She looked around. "Where's Antonio?"
"He's hanging out with his crazy ass friends…not like I miss him or anything."
Charice stared at him as he tended the tomatoes that grew around him. He wiped sweat from his brow and continued to tend while she stood back (stepping in was going to make him start yelling…that much she knew). That's when he turned around.
"What? You're not going to start ranting randomly to me?"
"…you want me to?"
"No, of course not!"
"Then I won't." She grinned. "I will remind you that we have a reading for Les Miserables after school today!"
"God, not that show again…why in the world did that frog make me a woman? MARRIED TO ANTONIO, out of all people!"
"Well, in the show, you do constantly curse out your husband and steal for a living…" She shrugged. "And you do stay alive for the entire show."
"Wait, people die in that show?"
"Yeah…mainly everyone, though…um, Yong Soo, half the ensemble, Gilbert…oh, Ludwig-"
"Fine, I'm showing up."
"Great! Besides, if you ditch right now, the show might fall in on itself. We need every character we can take, you know!"
"Che…like I was ever needed."
"Eh? You say something?"
"No, nothing. What, are you just going to stand there and look at me like that?"
"Until you give me a tomato, then yes."
"…fine, stand there for all I care."
"Huh…I was expecting you to give me a tomato and tell me to piss off or something."
"Do you want me to give you a tomato and tell you to piss off?"
"Only if you want too."
"Then here. Have a tomato. Piss off."
/=+=/
The read-through was right after school, so she dashed over to the auditorium and dropped her books. As she plopped into her seat, she flipped her head around to see if there was any indication of anyone standing around. Yet oddly enough, she was alone. How, though…?
"Oh, Charice…hey there."
She looked up and saw none other than Alfred F. Jones standing over her, a semi-worried look on his face. What was up with that…?
"I'm the one that doesn't have the grudge, Al."
"Oh…OK! That's good!" Alfred plopped down next to her. "How's Rizal doing, by the way?"
"He's doing OK. No big fights, so that's good." She smiled. "You don't have to worry, Al. He's not mad anymore."
"That's good to hear…"
Why are people scared of him? No one ever told her about it.
Nonetheless, everyone started pouring into the room so she couldn't ask him that question. Francis stepped in the middle of the circle and started up some really long lecture about the soul of this show and how it represented human struggles or something like that. She didn't care, so she ended up scanning the cast.
Somehow, Antonio got Lovino to show up without throwing a fit, Ludwig was sitting a few feet away so that he wouldn't get mad, Arthur was muttering some choice words underneath his breath, so she didn't try to remark upon it, and…wait, where's Feliciano?
"Ve~~~I'm right here…"
"HAH? Oh, Feli-chan! There you are!" She chirped. "I'm sorry that I didn't see you!"
"It's fine, Charice…I didn't know you were there either!"
…hah?
"All right then…let's get this reading over with so that we can have our fun next time we meet!"
"Which will be when, you bloody frog?"
"Why, two days from now! Now hush while I begin the music!"
Francis started the CD as the rest of them started listening to the music. Some tried to sing along…few were successful. Then again, who did know the pitch and the lyrics other than Francis (and maybe Kiku?)…oh right, her. She was in the audience with Rizal when Lea Salonga played Eponine in the 10th Anniversary. So she had the most fun singing "Lovely Ladies" with the other girls. As she sat down, Feliciano stared at her in interest.
"Ve~~~I never knew that you knew the song!"
"I was at one of the shows. It's a fun song…though it's about prostitution and all that bad stuff…"
"D-does this one have Elizabeta as…well…one of them?"
"Yeah, but she's doing it to support your character, Cosette. Think about it: she's the only source of income and raised her daughter well."
"Ve~~~like how Elizabeta and Roderich raised me as a child."
Charice sat there in confusion. Elizabeta plays a woman who's sending money to someone for their child played by Feliciano, even though she had raised him in real life. Then Valjean's going to take over, played by Roderich…who also raised him as a child.
DAMN, Francis. All that irony.
Nonetheless, Ludwig's intervention song made him sound so badass all the girls squealed (which, oddly enough, wasn't much). The show went on as Alfred and Feliciano sang "Heart Full of Love" with Arthur in the background and Charice couldn't help but tear up. Man, songs like this can always get you emotional. After all was said and done, they went through the barricade scene (it was then that Gilbert threw a fit at the fact that he had to FAKE DEATH) and went to the scene where Roderich carries Alfred through the sewers.
…wait…
"This is impossible." Gilbert laughed. "Roderich can't even carry three bags of groceries! How's he going to carry a human being?"
"Don't rub it in, Gilbert…"
"We'll figure it out, somehow…" Francis grinned. "Now, moving on…"
They continued on through the end of the play as Charice watched everyone kill each other on the barricade yet again, Feliciano and Alfred getting married (I'm sensing a bit of brotherly jealousy from Lovino over there…), and then the show where Roderich dies in their arms and is taken to heaven with Elizabeta and Arthur in his arms.
"That's so…romantic." Elizabeta sparkled.
"Yeah, but everyone's dead." Arthur spat.
"It doesn't matter! Cause it's only a show, da ze!" Yong Soo chirped. "And shows originated in me!"
"No! Shows originated in ME!"
As Francis and Yong Soo continued to argue amongst themselves, Charice redirected her attention to the Italian, who was too busy talking to what looked like Adelita. What was her country again, Mexico or something…? She lived near Alfred's location, so…
"Geez, how long are they going to argue?" She heard Alfred laugh.
"You should know this, man. You've been working with them." Charice chuckled. "I'm one of the newcomers here!"
"Ah, so true, so true! And you're not even fazed by it!" Alfred grinned. "I must've taught you well in the small time that we were together!"
"You must've…I guess." She shrugged.
She had to admit this much: he was a much better person to look up to next to Antonio in his Conquistador years and…well, Arthur (thank god that time was short). She lifted her hand to rub her forehead when she noticed that there was a card in her hand. It looked something like scales or something like that. She turned her head and saw that there was an angel behind her, wearing blue robes and holding a cross staff or something like that.
["I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."]
This is…whoa.
["AS THE ANGEL PRINCIPALITY, I AM AT YOUR COMMAND."]
The card sank into her body as she saw Alfred stare at her with a strange look on his face. She waved her hands with a grin on her face and tried to play it off…and since this was Alfred she was talking to, hell it worked. Charice was very grateful that she surpassed that curveball.
/=+=/
"Has anyone ever told you that you were a little horrible at singing?"
Charice looked up and saw Li Xiao standing next to the auditorium door with a blank look on his face, not paying attention to the random conversation / argument that was going on behind her. She pouted at that statement and pointed at him.
"At least I auditioned." She answered.
"I'm the Stage Manager, Charice. I already have a big thing to do." He stated. "Anyway, that's not why I'm here."
"Eh? You had a purpose?"
"Yeah…" He sighed. "You've been tense this whole time."
"Tense? What are you-?"
"Are you expecting another murder?" He stared at her frozen frame. "I thought so. That's good. Don't let your guard down."
"Is that all you wanted to tell me?"
"No. I wanted to tell you to relax." Li Xiao stood up. "If you're tensed up when the next attack occurs, then you won't be ready to save them."
"…easier said than done, Li Xiao." She said. "Unlike most of the world, I was only exposed to massive death recently."
"Recently? I thought you had civil wars with both Antonio and Alfred."
"…yeah, about that…Rizal was the one who went to war. They told me to stay behind so that the country would still be standing in case he fell in battle."
"What? Charice, nations can't die."
"You can't, but I can. Logistics when it comes to half of countries are different from those of whole countries." Charice stated. "I represent half of my nation, and Rizal the other. If one of us dies, the other one becomes the whole country and achieves true immortality."
"Why do you say that? Aren't you two twins? You look like it."
"No, Li Xiao…I'm the older half." She grinned. "But thanks for thinking otherwise."
/=+=/
Principality is the seventh order of the Levels of Angels. They are tasked to oversee groups of people and are said to inspire living things to many things like art or science. I see it more like…the angel that leads people through their destiny or something. [Alfred F. Jones - Justice]
And yes, "Adelita" is Mexico. Her name is Spanish and is supposedly the Mexican spelling of the Italian / Spanish name "Adelina"…which means noble. I might include other countries in here, but unless you guys really want to see those countries play huge roles, I'll barely mention OC nations.
OK! We're just about rounding down to the story line! I got a good plan on what I want the choices to be, and here they are:
Jump Antonio and Lovino in the gardens
Hang out with Arthur in the Library
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! I want to say something before you state these choices. You have officially entered the "World War II" sub-story (which started in Chapter 9), the one where Matthew said that Ludwig almost died during that war. It's nothing that you've seen before, and it explains why Gilbert is still alive. I just wanted to say this before I give you the consequences.
One of these choices will make the sub-story round off to its proper conclusion and more answers concerning the countries themselves will be let known. Not only that, but it will involve what I want to call the funniest worlds I've ever made and create a super duo attack that nonetheless will leave a good visual in your head. HOWEVER, CHOOSING THIS ROUTE WILL TAKE OUT TWO CHARACTERS FROM THE LIST OF CHARICE'S POTENTIAL SOUL MATES.
The other choice will keep everyone on the list and you are free to choose them for Charice's soul mates. The world for this victim will be interesting for both the victim and you, in a way. HOWEVER, CHOOSING THIS ROUTE WILL DROP THE SUB-STORY AND NO MORE ANSWERS WILL BE GIVEN. ALSO, this route will drop Gilbert from the chance of being in the main character cast, if you know what I mean :D
So…choose! I won't update until I feel that I got a good choice.
And by the way, I'm not telling you which choice does what :D
*dangle*