Musical arc is coming to a close~!
/= [DAY 85] =/
Charice smiled. Everyone was in costumes and the audience was coming tomorrow. There was already some tension running around, but no one made any remark on them. She wondered why that was to be, because a lot of them were talking about how happy they were that the rehearsals were finally going to be over. Apparently no one wanted to hear Les Miserables anymore…despite how cool the story was. Maybe it was because it was French?
As she walked out of the theatre, she noticed that the man named Berwald was sitting down in a prop chair, reading the Les Miserables book and wearing something that looked like a revolutionary. She had to admit, it looked interesting on the guy. Had she ever heard him talk before? Hm.
"Oh, Berwald!" Tino chirped. "There you are!"
"T'n'. N'ce t' s'e th't y'u'r' h'r' t''."
…what?
"Eh? Charice, hi." Tino waved at her. "Are we starting yet?"
"Just about to." She leaned at the book. "There's a book version of the musical?"
"T'e m's'c'a' 's b's'd o'f 't."
"…hah?"
"The musical that we're doing is based off this book." Tino explained. "It's a lot thicker than what the show is, and they changed a lot of things."
"Did you read the book too?"
"I've seen a few chapters. A lot of them are nothing more than political context."
"Oh…great."
"'t's m're 'nt'r'st'ng th'n y'u m'g't th'nk."
"…um…interesting." She nodded. "I…might have to read it."
"You should." Tino smiled. "You get more context of certain scenes then in the musical: like when Cosette and Marius fall in love."
"Really?"
"It actually takes a few months for it to happen. Not two seconds."
"…so Cosette really wasn't a Mary Sue…" She blinked. "Huh."
"S''? R''lly 'nt'r'st'ng."
"…interesting." That was all Charice could get.
/=+=/
She rounded a corner and saw that Ludwig and Feliciano were talking to Alfred in the lobby. Blinking, she hid behind a soda machine just as Li Xiao and Kiku came out of the auditorium with their plans for the show.
"What's going on?" Kiku asked.
"That." She pointed at them.
Kiku and Li Xiao looked up before hiding behind the soda machine as well. They were all in costume and apparently Ludwig was talking to Alfred on how to make his relationship with Feliciano more realistic. Despite the fact that the Italian loves hugs, he was really shy when Alfred hugged him.
"Like this?"
"Ve~~~you got it." He shivered. "Still not as good as Doitsu, though…"
"Hey, I'm not trying to be a replacement here." Alfred let him go. "I'm just trying to be convincing here."
"Without actually hurting him." Ludwig answered, folding his arms.
"Dude, I knew you were protective of him! I didn't think it would go this far!"
"W-well, who else can protect him?" The German turned his head away. "He's on his own. So I have to be there for him."
"Ve~~~thank you, Doitsu." Feliciano went to him. "I can't ask for anyone else."
"Awww…" Alfred chuckled. "But still, I think me and Arthur are cuter."
"Oh? What makes you say that?" Ludwig grinned.
"Ve? Ve~!" Feliciano was cuddled closer. "Me and Ludwig are cuter together."
"No way. Me and Arthur are."
"What the bloody hell are you three talking about?"
"Hey! Just in time!" Alfred grinned, looping an arm around his shoulder. "Aren't we cuter than those two?"
"H-huh? What? Well…" He snapped himself back into tsun. "Of course we're cuter than they are."
"What makes you say that?" Ludwig grinned. "This is a battle we'll win, you know."
"No no no…Americans always win a battle." Alfred winked.
"No, we're winning this time." Ludwig pointed out. "And there's nothing you can do about it."
"Ve~~~maybe we should get Charice here." Feliciano looked up. "She's the only one who could judge something like this."
Unfortunately, Li Xiao and Kiku heard this.
"No…no, we can't do this. Charice, no-"
"I'LL DO IT, I'LL DO IT, I'LL DO IT!"
"Oh no…"
/= [DAY 85] =/
The day of the opening curtain was right there, a few minutes away. The place was utterly crowded, being shown to both the public figures and the common man alike. The fact that the both of them were there added more pressure to the performers. If they were to go out there and they fail horribly…
"Are you nervous, da ze?" Yong Soo walked next to her, wearing his prison garb.
"A little." She fidgeted with the corset on her stomach. "But it's just stage fright."
"Hey, you don't have to go onstage till the next scene."
"The next scene better not come…"
"Don't worry, da ze! You'll be fine! If you forget your lines onstage, all you have to do is mouth them with the others! For someone like me I have to remember them, da ze!"
"Yeah…awesome…whatever that was supposed to be."
"We're going to kick all their asses tonight, da ze! And let's not forget that!"
"Yeah…I'm not going to forget that!"
/=+=/
It was already the end of Act I, and the whole audience was clapping in happiness. Charice quickly switched her skirts to that of a black one before she headed outside for a good breath of fresh air. Once she was out, she realized that Natalya was out there, wearing her dress for the next scene (that doesn't show up in about a few minutes). She blinked.
"Uh…hi."
"…" Natalya just nodded. "You're not on stage."
"It's a break." Charice answered. "You're not onstage."
"It's my break from Ivan. I've been lowering it to eighteen hours."
"Wow…that is dedication."
"This is true love." She answered. "I am willing to wait for him to love me."
"…absolute love…" Charice sighed. "I…don't believe in stuff like that."
"You don't?" Natalya stared at her. "From what I have heard from my brother, you believe in love."
"I do…just not absolute love." She looked up to the sky. "For nothing in this world is absolute."
"What are you saying?"
"Time is going to wash away everything…pain, despair, regret, happiness, joy…and even with someone as immortal as we are, circumstances are going to force us apart." Charice looked down. "Nothing is going to stay together. Nothing is going to stay like this. I just accept that reality as it comes."
"And what of Feliciano and Ludwig? I know how much you love them together."
"I know…that's why I'm scared for them. Something's going to happen and the both of them are going to be forced apart…kind of like Roderich and Elizabeta. They were so in love…"
"How can you not believe in absolute?" Natalya was confused. "There is always an absolute."
"Maybe…but I don't believe it. There is no such thing as an absolute."
"There is always an absolute."
Charice looked up.
"After the Soviet Union had dissolved, big brother's family had been lost to him, scattered around the world. He had gathered us after he had been freed from the Tartars with the hope of having someone that can love him. He was alone in the world, suffering, for too long. Losing that family again hurt him." Natalya stomped forward. "That is why I want to be there for him. That is why I ask him to marry me. Not just because I love him. I want to be there for him no matter what. I want to be that absolute. The only absolute in this world."
Charice was taken aback. She never thought that Natalya thought of it all so deeply. It was then that she heard a commotion from the inside.
"We have to go back…for the show." Charice grinned. "You up for it?"
"Anything to make brother happy." She smiled. "He's watching."
It was then that she realized something: Natalya was smiling. She headed back inside with the Belarusian, not knowing that Kiku and Li Xiao had been listening the entire time.
/=+=/
And the arc…is over. *sigh*