March 2, 1185
At any given daytime hour, it was a reasonable bet that at least one of Isidro's peer group could be found Seoth's inn. Ashe and Sparron were not among the most commonly-spotted barflies individually, never mind at the same time. But the two of them were more likely to understand than outgoing, over-the-top attention-lovers like Jadin or Garrett, so Isidro wasn't about to marvel about the math. Much. "You two are a long way from home."Ashe shrugged and glanced over to one of the empty seats at their table; Isidro took the hint and approached. "I thought I'd better check up on Lonriad. He seems all right today; he had some plans with his children."
"And Jadin wanted a second opinion on something." To that, Sparron had no physical reaction more positive than a shudder. "I don't think I can talk about it without throwing up, but long story short, I needed a drink."
"You've had three drinks.""If he asks you to be the third opinion, you'll know why. Unless he already asked Isidro, which would explain why he's here." The shoulder twitch not quite under control, Sparron turned to Isidro with a strained grin. Isidro made a point to avoid Jadin for at least the next week. "What's bothering you, Is?"
"Riona got me a part in the masque. I knew she would, but I figured it would just be some small background role." Like Lucien's, maybe. Lucien was playing the prison warden--in theory an important part of the background workings, but with a number of lines countable on one hand. Or better yet, he could have had a part like Lettie's. Lettie just got to sit around, watch the trial, and react to everyone else's dialogue. Isidro doubted he could do even that half-convincingly, but at least nobody watched the nameless extras. "Instead, I'm playing the prosecutor."
"In a play about a trial?"
Good that they'd caught on. "That's what I said."He watched as the two of them shared a pitying glance. It might have been a stretch, expecting some genuine sincerity. "That's rough."
"I'm well aware." And somehow, he didn't get the sense that either of these two were. "Ashe, who are you playing? I know Riona told Rona she'd try to get you both parts."
"She did. I'm the crown prince."
That didn't sound quite right. "That sounds like an important part."
"You'd think, but not really." Said with a smile. Ashe wasn't the gloating type, but this was likely as close as he ever came. "I just nod along while the king appoints jurors. Hell, Morgan even wrote that in just so my character would be more than a face in the gallery.""Lucky bastard." Isidro shifted his eyes over to Sparron. At least his misfortune had eased his friend's twitching, it seemed. "What about you? Are you in the masque?"
"Yes. I'm the love interest of Lady Morgause's daughter, plus the son of the judge and the brother of Lady Morgause's daughter-in-law. Oh, and prior to the events of the play, Lady Morgause had her way with me, and the tryst resulted in a son."
That... made even less sense. "All right, that's got to be a major part."
"Again--you'd think. I actually do less than he does."Of course he did. That was how the world worked.
Isidro swallowed back a sigh and edged his seat backward. Perhaps he wasn't so averse to being Jadin's third opinion after all. "You can both go to hell."NEXT CHAPTER:
10 comments:
My spine hurts and I think I might puke. :S
Fun fact: Rina's uncle Nythran was sitting at the bar during this shoot, but he managed to avoid getting into any pictures.
Also, this is Naroni #900. What the hell?
Happy 900th, Van! And I hope you're feeling better. That sounds like about as much fun as Isidro is going to have. :\
Poor dear. Doesn't Riona know him at all?? I could have told her that he didn't want that role, and I'm not even married to the dude.
I seem to feel better after sleeping. Slept pretty late, though.
Riona and Isidro maybe be one of those couples with one person who takes it upon themselves to push the other out of their comfort zone. Not entirely a negative thing, but not entirely a positive either.
Happy 900th! *bunny dance* Unblievable that we're this high already. O.o Awesome job, Van! *hands medal of honor*
Awww, Izzy, give it a chance! I know it's damn unconfortable, but you won't always be able to hide. Riona knows you can do it and so do I. Take it as a learning experience?
Feel better, Van!
I have no idea how Naroni has gone on for this long, but I have no plans to end it any time soon. XD
Izzy is nothing if not a survivor, so I'm sure he'll find some way to get more comfortable in time for the performance. But I can't exactly blame him for being stressed now.
If my wife goaded me into taking part in a play I think I'd hide under the bed for a few weeks, so, I guess Izzy has more guts than I do :P
Maybe he will surprise himself and actually enjoy being in the play, I mean, once he realises he knows most of the people taking part.
Then again, he might get all stoney faced and grumpy too :P
Hope you feel better by now, sorry I've been away for so long - had to take my computer in to get properly cleaned - SO MUCH DUST! It's running really loud now, so I'm a bit worried, really itching to get a new one but I don't have the money.
It's true that he could have taken a much more oppositional stance here. I think he's more afraid of screwing up than he is of actually doing it; if he can get past that, he might actually have a little fun with it.
No worries! I hope your computer holds out for as long as you need it.
LOL! Poor Izzy! Getting to lunch with all of these people whose parts in the masque should be big and important ... but aren't. Still, I think that Sparron & Ashe are well-cast for the roles they're in, at least considering how much they would actually have to do in the play.
And Izzy will be a GREAT Will. I know it! And Riona knows it too! He just has to get over the worst of his nerves first.
Happy 900th, Van! I hope you're feeling better now. :)
It occurred to me when I was working out the scenes of the masque that Lamorak shows up very little during the trial despite being an integral part of the The Orkney Saga as a whole (which was probably a good thing for his emotional well-being, given the history with Morgause and his misguided friendship with Mordred), so this scene was born from that observation. :)
It's true that Ashe and Sparron would both prefer smaller roles, so this worked out well for them. I mainly cast Ashe for two reasons, one being that he and Tommy have sort of similar noses, and the other being that he and Rona could be cast as a couple (she'll be playing Lynn since her due date isn't too far off from the masque date, and Lynn was pregnant during the trial; if Rona's still pregnant at the masque, that works, but if not, she'll still have some baby weight--and if the baby shows up on masque day, Lynn's technically just a trial spectator and doesn't have to be present, and Ashe's part can be easily reduced as well).
Sparron as Lamorak was partly due to the size of the part, and partly for kicks for those who know both characters, given how little they have in common. Weirdly, I think Sparron and Lamorak would have each fared much better in the other's situation--sort of like what Sean Bean fans say about Boromir and Ned Stark.
Yeah, I think once Izzy gets past the nerves, he'll play the part well. And, like you said--a little nervousness could actually help with this part. :)
Thanks! I guess I'm feeling mostly better, if not 100%.
Post a Comment