[centre][h1][sub]The Lady-in-Waiting[/sub][/h1]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/BfZbVov.png[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/XRcyBUw.png[/img][/centre]
Galbar was [i]so[/i] interesting. The kinds of prayers that wafted through the world and into the inky realm of Glossolalia were so varied and diverse as to never leave someone bored - not that she was ever bored, of course. The Lady-in-Waiting glanced at the sleeping body of Lucia-Meghzaal and smiled. He was so [i]cute[/i]. It was, as she had foreseen long ago, for the best that he should sleep. His [i]poor, little[/i] Lucia could not go eternity listening to his mad ravings and whispers, and he... well, he had seemed quite intent on doing just that - and she couldn't have [i]that[/i] now, could she?

Oh, it broke her heart to see him yet so torn up over her, unable to just [i]move on already[/i]. "Your Lucie-lu has moved on, Meggy, you need to get that into that ink-addled head of yours. You can't go on living like this." She whispered, leaning in and wiping an inky tear from the Lucia-look-alike's cheeks. But, if he did...well, all the better for her, right?

She had watched with interest Shaeylila's plotting and scheming in Ha-Dûna with a small smile. Of course she did not know what Macsal - or even Meghzaal - was; the songs only knew [i]Our Lady[/i]. "Oh, what a clever girl you are little Lila," she murmured, "but if you were cleverer you wouldn't let your guard down quite yet, my little vixen."

They had come running to her from Meliorem the moment songs started disappearing, of course. "Oh my lady! My lady!" A group had come crying, "Shaeylila is gone my lady! And Willarda disappeared! Did they come here?" But of course, they had not come here - they were down on Galbar. 

"Oh, my dears, this is terrible..." she had cooed, "perhaps... a search party needs to be arranged. I will speak to [i]our Lord[/i] without delay. They could have gone anywhere, and we would not want them to fall into the claws of some terrible and malign being now, would we?" The songs cried out melodramatically and fell left and right at her words, and answered in the negative before cascading away to prepare for her visit.

She turned her attention back to the inky flow of prayers and pleas from Galbar. Ah, this one looked quite interesting - loud. A silent scream, a tearing at hair, cold fury that yearned to be unleashed - but remained contained; ah, what expansiveness, what remarkable acting skill for a [i]mere mortal[/i]. The best sort of acting was the sort you lived, day in day out. And the best actors knew to maintain the act at all times - even when alone. But this one had not quite achieved that. She needed a release, an escape from the great play. Poor thing. An escape from the play? "What to, my dear? Where would you go?"

"Huh? Wh- who is there?"

"Do you [i]really[/i] want to run away? All this effort, all these years, all these pieces falling into place for you to weave and work your way through. My dear, you've underplayed your role."

"Wh- what is this? Oh- gods, its happening, I'm going mad. Oh gods, no no," she started sobbing quietly.

"There there now. You are not mad, my dear. Did you think your silent cries went unheard? I have heard your cry and I have seen your tears. I will heal your pain."

"A.. god?" She was quiet for a few moments, then steeled herself. "I... I don't want healing." The nelf whispered. "They could never hurt me."

"Ooh, that is good. You are strong."

"I know. I had to be."

"Will you be stronger? Or will you... run away?"

"I... I never [i]wanted[/i] to be."

"But my girl, what else did you ever want to be? Maybe if you wanted it more you would not be in this state."

"If I wanted it more?" Came the nelf's hesitant response.

"You have entered the great performance, my dear; you have played your part half-heartedly and now claw for the exit. The best performers weave the performance and command it. Why have you not?"

"I... could never do that..."

"For all your strength, my dear, you were weak. It breaks my heart. It should break yours to know it. [i]You could have been stronger[/i]."

"B-but.. I..." she paused, "can I still be?"

"Hmmmmmmm," the tension that had built up dissipated suddenly, and the world seemed to smile warmly. "You can, and you will. I will give you the tools to master the performance, I will give your lines power my dear. But you must want it."

The nelf was silent, frowning. The frown turned to a scowl in the darkness, and the scowl became tearful fury. "I want it... so much." A silent sob, a clenched fist.

"Then it is yours for the taking."

In the days and weeks that followed, those womenfolk of Fragrance who were under constant emotional stress due to male abuse found themselves better able to take the taunts and jibes and humiliations of their men - not only that, they found that they (somehow, against the odds) could maintain a semblance of dignity in situations meant to strip them of it. Though their fury and loss reached a breaking point, the smiles on their faces remained warm, sincere, their laughter joyous and contagious. And when they spoke, there was an allure and subtle command to their words that such abusers were hard-pressed to resist. With a great dark flourish and the masked smile of the Lady-in-Waiting, the great performance at Fragrance entered into a new act.

[centre][img]https://i.imgur.com/XRcyBUw.png[/img][/centre]
[list][*][hider=Summary]The LiW reflects on Megh's plight in his realm, then reflects on Shaeylila and other songs now descending down to Galbar - the implication is that she had a hand in it. The Song's from Cadien's realm come over seeking her help, and she assures them that she will speak to Cadien to set up search parties and find the missing songs wherever they are in the divine realms.
She then listens to the cries of a Fragrancian woman - perhaps rachfi Nilla or someone in a similar situation, it is not clarified. She offers her - and the abused women of Fragrance generally - the power to take a lead part in this male-dominated performance, which the traumatised woman accepts.[/hider]

[*][hider=Might][centre]| 2MP and 5DP | 1MP towards Puppetry | 2DP towards Acting | 4DP towards Inspiration | 3DP towards Music |
2DP towards Dance |[/centre]
2 DP to bless/curse the women of Fragrance
[indent]1) Any woman who comes under male abuse finds herself better able to maintain the facade expected of her, and to seem utterly sincere and warm, even happy, in doing so. Moreover, they are better able to maintain their dignity even in situations designed to strip them fully. (1 DP towards Acting)
2) The words of a woman who is under great emotional stress due to male abuse (or one who is experiencing male abuse but is not necessarily emotionally stressed by it) have a greater allure to them and such abusing males are inclined to listen and obey what she is saying. (1 DP towards Puppetry)[/indent]

[centre]| 2MP and 3DP | 2MP towards Puppetry | 3DP towards Acting | 4DP towards Inspiration | 3DP towards Music |
2DP towards Dance |[/centre][/hider]

[*][hider=Prestige]+3 Points to the Lady-in-Waiting
13 in total (~7,000 chars.)[/hider][/list]