(continued from Part XIX | Act I | Act II | Part XXI)
The lead actors bowed once, twice, three times; Lou lost count. The raucous applause and cheering of the crowd never abated, not even for a second. But eventually, the final moments of the last show had to come to an end, and the golden curtains of the royal theater finally closed on the stage.
And Lou immediately fell to her knees, unceremoniously tipping backwards into a sitting position, the edges of her vision going dark.
"You okay there Lou?" Roy asked, still holding her right hand as he knelt down next to her. Libellule did the same, holding Lou's left hand as she reached up with her other arm to take off the blindfold part of her Witch-Fiend costume. The two small discs woven into it lit up from the sudden motion, the light quickly extinguished as the actress stuffed the band of fabric down the front of her robe.
All of it had happened so fast. Lou had seen the Prince in the audience, chased him through the old renovated castle for an unreasonable amount of twists and turns, finally cornered him on a distant balcony and... and just let him have it.
What had she done?
She'd never screamed out in anger so loudly, least of all at him. She had run through the full gamut of emotions, and from what she'd been able to tell, so had he. It was no longer a lingering hope in her heart or a guilty desire going against reason—it was true. He cared about her. Regardless of the misguided things he had done or the terrible ways he'd shown it, he cared. Lou's gut instinct had been right. There was only so much the Prince could do to distance himself from the heart beating in his chest.
But now that the existence of his feelings was out in the open... would anything come of it? Aware of it or not, he was still running away, despite Lou's best efforts.
"Here you go ma'am!" the child said as they ran up to her from backstage, a cup full of water and Lou's handkerchief at the ready.
"It's okay," Lou said as she sat up properly, gradually regaining her senses. "I'm okay."
The child stared blankly at her, unsure what to do. They hesitantly held out the cup and piece of cloth anyway.
Lou chuckled and accepted the items, freeing her hands from the colleagues at her sides. "Thank you." She took a sip, first out of politeness, but then out of necessity as her body's needs began to catch up with her.
"Well I ain't coming back from that," Roy said, shaking his head. "Dry eyes after curtain call."
"I told you I wasn't gonna cry tonight," Lou said with just a hint of smugness.
Both of her colleagues held back a laugh.
"...What?" Lou asked. Had they figured out what happened while she'd been gone? Or perhaps...
"It's written all over your face, hon," Libellule said with a smirk.
Lou felt the color rise to her cheeks right as the realization hit her. "Oh no, my makeup. Is it...?"
"A bit of a mess," Libellule said as she gently rubbed Lou's back.
Lou sighed and dipped the handkerchief in the cup of water, attempting to wipe off as much as she could of what was left on her face.
"You did good on stage, though! Handled it like a pro right 'till the end. From what I could see, at least." Libellule turned to Roy. "Did anything happen after the drop?"
"She had to run an errand for a lil' bit," he said, ruffling Lou's hair. "Came back just in time for bows, though."
Lou looked up at Libellule's shocked face. "I can explain! It's, uh..." She trailed off, eyes downcast, focusing on her reflection in the cup she was holding—slightly smudged, but presentable. She wondered if she actually could explain it. What was she going to say? Her foolhardiness had almost ruined the play? Then again, if anyone would understand, it'd be them. She put the cup down and mustered her confidence. "He was in the audience tonight. So I... I chased him down before he could leave."
"He?" Libellule asked. "Who's... wait. HE was here?"
Lou nodded.
Libellule put her hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "Oh, hon."
"Well I don't mean to pry," Roy said, leaning closer, "but I do have one question: didja catch him?"
Lou's face scrunched up. She nodded.
Roy broke out into a conspiratorial smile as he patted her on the back. "Atta girl."
Lou immediately sprang to her feet, taking a few wobbly steps as she tried to outrun the blood rushing to her face. "I gotta go check on the kids! Dusty's taking care of them and, and, and I don't wanna keep her." She could have all the time she wanted with her feelings later; right now, she still had a job to do. One of the best parts of it, too.
The sea of smiling faces waiting for her on the other side of the door made Lou's heart soar. The three actors walked out into the auditorium, where a sizeable number of audience members had remained to mingle with some of the cast. Lou made her way through the throngs of people, trying to locate her former coworker.
All the time Lou had spent on stage over the past two years had made it easy to forget how different things were once her feet were on the ground. Before the coronation, she had full view of the situation; navigating a crowd was as simple as picking one of the clear paths that lay before her. Now, it was like pushing her way through a thicket in the dark. Half of her attention was focused on catching occasional glimpses through the gaps in the shifting masses; the rest of it was spent making sure she avoided getting trampled underfoot. Not that there was any rational risk of that, she chided herself. But the instinct was hard to dismiss.
As soon as she spotted Dusty—surrounded by her family and the troupe members' kids, engaging in lively discussion with Françoise the set technician—Lou ran to her, arms outstretched. She was ready to take the youngest of the troupe children back from her friend, but as she got close, she found the toddler fast asleep in the arms of the former royal maid. Lou slowed in her approach, relieved.
"...everywhere at the end? I gotta know how you did that!" Dusty asked.
"Trade secret!" Françoise said smugly, adjusting her glasses and dramatically flicking back a lock of bright curly hair.
"Aw c'mon, you can give me something! That looked awesome!"
"...Oh, fine!" The technician leaned closer, her ego sufficiently stroked. "Okay, so! You know how witchsilver shines when you shake it? Well, turns out you can trade duration for intensity if you alloy it with—"
"It's the princess!" said a high-pitched voice.
Lou looked around for the source, quickly finding Dusty's youngest sibling looking up at her, mouth wide open. She squatted down to get a little closer. "Hello!" she said with a big smile. "Did you like the play?"
"Yeah!!" the child shouted, pumping their fist in the air. "Le Loup was so cool! Ripped that witch-meanie to shreds!" They looked around. "Is he here too? I want a cape like that!"
Lou's smile lost a bit of its glow as she gently held some memories at bay. "Maybe you'll get to make your own someday." She looked at the child's modestly dapper outfit, focusing on the checkerboard-pattern neckerchief. "It looks like you've already got a nice accessory of your own, though."
The child gave her a big toothy grin as they tugged at the fabric, straightening it out. "YEAH! My dad helped me make it last year!"
She patted the child on the head, holding on to her smile as best she could. "See? You're already set."
Lou looked around from her squatting position, checking in on the other kids—some of whom were in her care, others in Dusty's—and making sure they were handling the noise and the crowd well. But, of course, all they could talk about was the play. This had been their first time in such a large theater. The first of many, hopefully.
"Glasses! There you are!" Dusty said, unceremoniously hoisting Lou up by the crook of the shoulder so the two former colleagues could talk face-to-face. "Great work up there! You didn't tell me you were such a natural!"
"Ah! Thank you," Lou said sheepishly. "But I'm not. Not really. I just had really good teachers."
"Hey, I ain't kidding, you were amazing. I never knew you had it in you! Where's the shy little newbie banging her head everywhere? All I saw was a princess up on stage!" She laughed heartily. "You sold that coronation speech like it was nothin'. If I didn't know you better I'd think you were there when it happened."
"Ahaha..."
Dusty leaned closer to get a better look. "Damn, Glasses, you look so much like her. Why didn't you tell us who you were from the start?"
— end of preview
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