The Beginning of the Comedy

The street was busy with carriages taking people to the evening shows and parties, the gaslights twinkling merrily in the darkness. Katherine looked at the woman holding her arm as she walked towards the show. The young woman was lovely. Bertie had gotten quite lucky to find her. It really was a pity that the poor thing could not remember anything of her past. She was quite obviously well-bred and some family somewhere was probably quite worried about her. As they passed other couples and groups, they nodded politely. The two Eldren were catching more than their share of glances, but neither seemed to notice.

As they passed another gaggle of admiring men, Flora turned to Katherine and stated, “I don't think I got a chance to congratulate you on your engagement."

Katherine smiled, her face lighting up. "Thank you." She looks earnestly at Flora. "I appreciate you going to the show with me." She flushed, a consternated frown briefly darkening her face. "And the other events this evening."

Flora smiled back. "I'm sure you and Ezekiel will be very happy together." The look on Katherine’s face was noticeable. "And you are welcome. May I say that if you are too worried about, we could always attend the opera and leave the rest of the activities to the others." Flora wasn't bound by such rules but she perhaps had a hint of understanding from some place lost inside of her.

"Oh no, no," Katherine said quickly. She inhaled and then exhaled deeply. "I just don't want to do anything that will make my father angry or sully Ezekiel's reputation. If we could just go for curiosity's sake and then leave, would you be unhappy with me?"

Flora shook her head. "Not at all." She had little actual interest in watching Bertie fall over the woman that worked at the establishment where he currently was. "If you haven't noticed not much makes me upset with others."

"I do so admire that about you," Katherine stated. She paused for a moment, and then a quirky smile played on her lips. "How do you put up with Bertie?"

A nod of thanks came from Flora to the compliment. The thought process took a moment. It wasn't that she didn't know the answer . . . it was more the wording of it. "I owe Bertie a great deal. If it was not for him I might very well still be on the streets. I am very willing to keep that in mind. Sometimes I have to run that thought though my mind repeatedly but it always seems to make me remember what he has done for me."

The laugh was muted as was proper, but merry. "I am fond of him. But Bertie can dance on my last nerve better than anyone that I've ever met. If he is good to you, then I am pleased." They walked onward a few steps and then she asked, "What made you cry out so this morning?"

Flora simply nodded and smiled at Katherine's response. The answer was not as simple as to whether Bertie was good to her. In some ways he was very good and decent to her and in other ways he left certain things to be desired. The truth was that she owed him and she allowed that to let her overlook his not so pleasant qualities.

However, the question made Flora stop in her tracks and look at Katherine. "A voice. A deep voice which I swear sounded evil. It spoke to me, in French. In a very menacing way. I felt like I could not move, like I was trapped." That was a feeling that Flora never wanted to experience again. She looked towards the other woman. "Thinking back on it now, I think I screamed as a reaction to not knowing what else to do."

"A deep voice? In French?" Her eyes wide, the red-haired Eldren stopped in her tracks. "Like the voice from that building the other night? The horrible club?" She put her hand on Flora's arm. "Oh my dear, was it from outside our window?"

Flora said a quiet "Yes, exactly like that voice." Her voice had a bit of a quiver. "It was over me when it spoke. At least that was the way if felt." The thought of what had happened still gave a slight shiver.

Katherine trembled slightly, though her eyes lit with an emerald fire. "I will watch you sleep tonight," she announced. "Nothing will get to you!" She drew herself up, her lips pressing together. "We will see what tries to sully your sleep and he will rue it."

Flora had come to realize that the Eldren standing near was skilled in certain aspects. Nonetheless. . ."I do appreciate it but I am not sure what can be done to protect me. I fear this might be something which is beyond being able to be destroyed by non-magical efforts." She paused slightly. "I do wish I knew what I have done to upset him, whoever he is, so immensely."

"Maybe Neecy can help?" Katherine offered. "He is quite skilled in such things." She tucked her arm into Flora's and began to walk towards the playhouse again. "So the voice did not awake any memories within you?"

"Perhaps." Neecy was an option but the thought crossed her mind to what if this entity was beyond Neecy's capabilities. She continued to walk with the other woman down the street. "No," she emphasized the word with the motion of her head in answer to the second question. "Nothing. If it had it might have almost been worth the fear it placed in me."

"Ah," Katherine sighed in frustration. "Tis' a pity. Do you remember what words were said to you?"

"Not really. I unfortunately do not speak French. I really only recognized it as such."

"Yes, you remembered very little when I was tending to you, just a phrase that makes no sense. I had hoped that with time. . ." She let the sentence fade. She, herself, had a memory that tended to misplace some of the most important things with an annoying frequency. Distance from the event would not be her friend either for clarity either. She could not fault the poor woman beside her. Making a little face, Katherine resolved to stay up and watch over the pretty Eldren that night regardless. She would be tired the next day, but she could sleep on the train once they were away. Her thoughts turned again to a fear more immediate and pressing. "Flora, do you know what is to be found at a men's club like we are going to?" she asked in a low voice.

Flora said nothing, knowing what Katherine was getting at but she did not necessarily trust her own memory at times. And the whole ordeal of the early morning had been trying on her; perhaps that was part of the issue. When Katherine then asked about being found in a men’s club. Flora could do nothing but suppress the urge to laugh, not at Katherine but the question. “I am afraid I cannot answer that. I do not believe I would know if I do.” It was actually meant as a slight joke at Flora’s own expense.

Her companion seemed disappointed. "I would go if Ezekiel and I were already married. I'm just terrified that this might cause me to lose him. But Josephine seemed so happy and I don't want to disappoint her. I just don't know what to expect and I’m . . . I’m quite frightened of bad consequences."

"Well, that is understandable. I do not think it will be so awful and it might be an experience we will never forgot." The dark-haired Eldren paused. "Though I do believe I could say that about this entire trip." She smiled slightly.

Flora looked up to see the Opera house close in their sights. She nodded towards the Opera house. "Well, shall we go in?"

Katherine nodded. She smoothed her hair one last time, checked her bag for her ticket, and then put on a smile. No need to worry too much. They were about to have a sedate and entertaining evening. The night would go well, the Moulin Rouge would be exciting but uneventful, and then she would be quite content to stay up until morning to watch Flora. She nodded to the doorman who opened the door for them and followed Flora into the chandeliered opulence of the hall.

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