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Scrapped Princess | Canzonetta of the Unforgiven | The Songstress | Part 5/5
And so . . . late that night.
Around the time that most of the customers lay stretched out and scattered about the floor of the Wild Horse (half of them passed out drunk, and half of them knocked out either by Shannon or a fellow guest), Shannon staggered back to the dressing room.
". . . I'm never gonna drink again . . ."
"Thanks for all your troubles," called a wryly amused voice, bringing Shannon up short. "Nobody meant any harm. A backwater town like this is short on diversions, you see. People will jump on any excuse for a bash."
"I can understand that, but . . ."
"Well . . . don't let this discourage you--come back and have some fun with us again sometime, Shannon."
"Never again--" Shannon started to say, then he looked back at Safir in horror. Well, given how berserk he had gone, it was no wonder that he had been found out.
Far from angry, Safir was all smiles as he handed over a tumbler of water.
"How long have you known, sir?"
"Since you sang." Safir shrugged his shoulders and laughed. "I had Raquel sing for me once as an audition. See, with songs, even if they perform the same melody in the same key, as long as you've got two different singers, you'll get two different songs."
"Er, well, there's a good reason for--"
Shannon broke out in a cold sweat as he tried to make his excuse, but Safir forestalled him by raising a hand.
"Well, it was a big success in the end, so I won't ask for your reasons now."
"I see . . ."
"But you know, all flattery aside, you were really good, Shannon. Where'd you learn?"
"Our deceased mother came from a line of court musicians. She ended up becoming a mage, so apparently she didn't go into the family business, but it seems she learned just a bit of it. When Raquel and I were children, she taught us a little too . . ."
Glancing over his shoulder at the young girl who lay snoring loudly among the adults, Safir asked, "And Pacifica?"
"She was four years old when our mother died. After that, Raquel stepped into the mother role."
Shannon drained the tumbler of water all at once. The cold water felt good on his abused throat.
"That right . . . At any rate, if you can bring in as many customers as this, it's a sweet deal on my end too. How about you and Raquel perform together next time? I'm even thinking of signing you to an exclusive contract."
"Give me a break . . . To begin with, we don't intend to stay in this city for very long."
"Do you hate this town?"
". . . No." This denial came from his lips with a strange spontaneity. "It's a nice town. There are aspects of it that you'd expect from a wayfarers' town1, but . . . even outsiders like us are able to fit right in. The people here are big-hearted, aren't they?" Glancing around the tavern, Shannon smiled. "But that's exactly why . . . it's best if we don't stay for long. For us, and for this town too."
"I guess . . . it's probably better not to ask why."
"Sorry." Shannon meekly bowed his head.
"It's too bad, but what can you do. You'll stick around for a while, though, won't you?"
"Well, at least until we can pay for the repairs to the Big Bear," Shannon said, smiling wryly.
Safir scratched his head for a moment, his expression hesitant . . . then he said, "Say . . . even knowing this reason of yours, can you promise me one thing?"
"What's that?"
"It's about Winia. We're both in the inn business, so I've known her since the day she was born . . . Maybe it's because she grew up with twice as many troubles as the next, but she was a never a child to let her emotions show. She's always been like that--unusually mature, as they say. But since you all turned up, I think she's been acting more her age, able to smile now and then. So . . ." Safir peered at Shannon with terribly earnest eyes. "I don't know what kind of burdens you're shouldering, or why you're on this journey, but . . . when you part ways with her, I want you to do it in a way that she can accept. And if you can, come back some day. Just do what you can--that's enough for me."
"We'll make every effort." Giving him a small smile, Shannon nodded.
Meanwhile . . . in a copse a little way off from Taurus.
There was a gap that commanded a view of the distant lights of the city, and it was filled by an icy stillness.
It was the kind of silence that seemed to pierce through one's ears.
A place removed from human habitation, at night . . . even if someone were to happen to be in this place, it might not seem so strange to her.
However, if that person were especially perceptive, she would have to notice.
That it was far too quiet. As though sound itself had been erased. No insects sang in that place.
". . . I'll go over the maneuver once more."
Suddenly . . . all too suddenly, a voice sprang forth.
There was no response, nor was there any trace of the person who had spoken. The voice resounded futilely in the darkness of the night, like a meaningless soliloquy.
"Each team move out to its designated position and lockdown the entire area within operational boundaries. Then stand by for further orders from Major Sturm. In the event that there is no EXORD, standby orders lapse at one twenty glock2. Effect sequential withdrawal. In the event of an EXORD" --the voice continued without falter-- "maintain top secrecy in relation to the Scrapped Princess by eliminating all citizens."
Naturally, there was no reply. No censure, no distress--the words dissolved into the stillness of the night like they were a matter of course . . . and before long, the copse began to resound with the chirping of insects, as though they had just remembered themselves.
Just as though nothing had happened.
---
[Next] [Previous]
Notes:
1) The text has shukubamachi (宿場町), which was a kind of town used by travelers on long journeys in medieval and early modern Japan. A few remain relatively unchanged and now serve tourists who are drawn by their Edo period atmosphere. Back
2) The Glock pistol is a series of semi-automatic pistols from the Austrian weapons manufacturer, Glock Ges.m.b.H. Back
[Disclaimer]
Scrapped Princess | Canzonetta of the Unforgiven | The Songstress | Part 5/5
And so . . . late that night.
Around the time that most of the customers lay stretched out and scattered about the floor of the Wild Horse (half of them passed out drunk, and half of them knocked out either by Shannon or a fellow guest), Shannon staggered back to the dressing room.
". . . I'm never gonna drink again . . ."
"Thanks for all your troubles," called a wryly amused voice, bringing Shannon up short. "Nobody meant any harm. A backwater town like this is short on diversions, you see. People will jump on any excuse for a bash."
"I can understand that, but . . ."
"Well . . . don't let this discourage you--come back and have some fun with us again sometime, Shannon."
"Never again--" Shannon started to say, then he looked back at Safir in horror. Well, given how berserk he had gone, it was no wonder that he had been found out.
Far from angry, Safir was all smiles as he handed over a tumbler of water.
"How long have you known, sir?"
"Since you sang." Safir shrugged his shoulders and laughed. "I had Raquel sing for me once as an audition. See, with songs, even if they perform the same melody in the same key, as long as you've got two different singers, you'll get two different songs."
"Er, well, there's a good reason for--"
Shannon broke out in a cold sweat as he tried to make his excuse, but Safir forestalled him by raising a hand.
"Well, it was a big success in the end, so I won't ask for your reasons now."
"I see . . ."
"But you know, all flattery aside, you were really good, Shannon. Where'd you learn?"
"Our deceased mother came from a line of court musicians. She ended up becoming a mage, so apparently she didn't go into the family business, but it seems she learned just a bit of it. When Raquel and I were children, she taught us a little too . . ."
Glancing over his shoulder at the young girl who lay snoring loudly among the adults, Safir asked, "And Pacifica?"
"She was four years old when our mother died. After that, Raquel stepped into the mother role."
Shannon drained the tumbler of water all at once. The cold water felt good on his abused throat.
"That right . . . At any rate, if you can bring in as many customers as this, it's a sweet deal on my end too. How about you and Raquel perform together next time? I'm even thinking of signing you to an exclusive contract."
"Give me a break . . . To begin with, we don't intend to stay in this city for very long."
"Do you hate this town?"
". . . No." This denial came from his lips with a strange spontaneity. "It's a nice town. There are aspects of it that you'd expect from a wayfarers' town1, but . . . even outsiders like us are able to fit right in. The people here are big-hearted, aren't they?" Glancing around the tavern, Shannon smiled. "But that's exactly why . . . it's best if we don't stay for long. For us, and for this town too."
"I guess . . . it's probably better not to ask why."
"Sorry." Shannon meekly bowed his head.
"It's too bad, but what can you do. You'll stick around for a while, though, won't you?"
"Well, at least until we can pay for the repairs to the Big Bear," Shannon said, smiling wryly.
Safir scratched his head for a moment, his expression hesitant . . . then he said, "Say . . . even knowing this reason of yours, can you promise me one thing?"
"What's that?"
"It's about Winia. We're both in the inn business, so I've known her since the day she was born . . . Maybe it's because she grew up with twice as many troubles as the next, but she was a never a child to let her emotions show. She's always been like that--unusually mature, as they say. But since you all turned up, I think she's been acting more her age, able to smile now and then. So . . ." Safir peered at Shannon with terribly earnest eyes. "I don't know what kind of burdens you're shouldering, or why you're on this journey, but . . . when you part ways with her, I want you to do it in a way that she can accept. And if you can, come back some day. Just do what you can--that's enough for me."
"We'll make every effort." Giving him a small smile, Shannon nodded.
Meanwhile . . . in a copse a little way off from Taurus.
There was a gap that commanded a view of the distant lights of the city, and it was filled by an icy stillness.
It was the kind of silence that seemed to pierce through one's ears.
A place removed from human habitation, at night . . . even if someone were to happen to be in this place, it might not seem so strange to her.
However, if that person were especially perceptive, she would have to notice.
That it was far too quiet. As though sound itself had been erased. No insects sang in that place.
". . . I'll go over the maneuver once more."
Suddenly . . . all too suddenly, a voice sprang forth.
There was no response, nor was there any trace of the person who had spoken. The voice resounded futilely in the darkness of the night, like a meaningless soliloquy.
"Each team move out to its designated position and lockdown the entire area within operational boundaries. Then stand by for further orders from Major Sturm. In the event that there is no EXORD, standby orders lapse at one twenty glock2. Effect sequential withdrawal. In the event of an EXORD" --the voice continued without falter-- "maintain top secrecy in relation to the Scrapped Princess by eliminating all citizens."
Naturally, there was no reply. No censure, no distress--the words dissolved into the stillness of the night like they were a matter of course . . . and before long, the copse began to resound with the chirping of insects, as though they had just remembered themselves.
Just as though nothing had happened.
---
[Next] [Previous]
Notes:
1) The text has shukubamachi (宿場町), which was a kind of town used by travelers on long journeys in medieval and early modern Japan. A few remain relatively unchanged and now serve tourists who are drawn by their Edo period atmosphere. Back
2) The Glock pistol is a series of semi-automatic pistols from the Austrian weapons manufacturer, Glock Ges.m.b.H. Back
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-10-16 03:21 pm (UTC)It's good to see that the adults in town seem to care for Winia.
NiceEerie set-up for the next scene. Yikes, the intensity of the last part. It's very far from the last sentence.no subject
Date: 2011-10-20 02:13 am (UTC)Honestly, I kind of wonder just who did treat Winia so badly (aside from the kids, obviously).
It's a great switch. Though translating Chris's military speech is an . . . interesting challenge.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-20 05:08 am (UTC)Yeah, I assume since he knew it was Shannon, he let his customers went to town :P
"Though translating Chris's military speech is an . . . interesting challenge."
That read really smoothly and didn't show at all. I wouldn't know if you didn't mention it.