Club Scaretale (Part 3)

It was a small room with a desk right by the stage that was the Storyteller’s quarters. There were no walls in front of the desk and gave a perfect view of the stage. Magic had been used so that the Storyteller could look out, but no one on the outside could look in.

On the desk lay the Storybook, as Emma used to call it. The brown leather and the golden lettering had faded slightly by the constant turning of the many pages. Bottles of ink and crumpled up paper were scattered around the desk.

Tears burned behind Anette’s eyes as she entered the room. This was not the first time she had been in here, but this time was different.

She set down the quill next to the book and sat down on the chair by the desk. She looked out on the stage and already missed the feeling of spotlights and the undivided attention of the audience directed at her.

With shaking hands, she opened up the Storybook and read the first page.

In a world of magic and wonder

At the top of each page stood the name of the act that the Storyteller was supposed to bring to life with complicated lightshows and other effects. Anette’s eyes soon found some of her own:

Slow, Love, Slow… Scaretale… Sleeping Sun… The Heart Asks Pleasure First… Storytime… The Crow, The Owl, And The Dove…

Her curiosity got the better of her and she started to read from the show named Sleeping Sun:

“The ceiling has a color of pink and blue with a few white, fluffy clouds. Above the singer there is a bright, yellow sun that is about to go down over the horizon. On the stage, water are in calm waves, reflecting the band on the surface. As the song continues, the sun slowly starts to descend and the stage goes dark. When the last chorus starts, the stars begins to appear and the moon…”

“Holy shit!” Anette exclaimed when she looked up and saw how the moon appeared. She placed a hand over her rapidly beating heart and took long, deep breaths to try to calm herself down.

As her concentration faltered, the stage returned to its normal self.

Anette ran a hand through her long, black hair and continued to flip through the pages. There were drawings and short stories in the back of the book. Magical creatures, mythology, and signs.

Anette was mesmerized.

A loud knock managed to break through the haze and Anette jumped in her seat. She quickly got up and when she opened the door, the drummer in the house band, Jukka, greeted her.

“Hey, what’s up? You are getting comfy in here?”

“Yes, I am trying to. It is just so much to take in. you know?”

“Hmm, I can imagine. By the way, I watched your sunset. Pretty impressive!” Jukka said and nudged Anette gently in the ribs.

“That was nothing, just beginners luck.” Anette said and smiled brightly.

“Well then, I must be going, the doors will open in an hour.”

“Wait, an hour?!” Anette said in disbelief.

“Yes, we did not want to interrupt you, like you said, it is a lot to take in.”

“Yeah, yeah. Do you know where I can get tonight’s program?”

“I think that Jeremy passed it on to John just some minutes ago.”

“Okay, thank you, I will see you later!”

Jukka said his goodbyes and disappeared down the hallway.

After talking to Jeremy, the costume designer, Anette made her way back the stage and spotted John, the stage and prop manager.

“Hey, John!”

John immediately dropped his notepad and leaned towards the nearby wall.

“God Anette, you really scared me!”

Anette giggled slightly and reached her hand out towards the stage manager.

“Tonight’s program, if you would be so kind.”

John, still a little shaken up, fumbled his way through his jeans pockets in search for the small piece of paper.

“It must be in here somewhere.”

After a few moments, the young man pulled out the crumbled piece of paper he had been looking for. Anette was just about to take it when she noticed a small object on the floor right next to John’s shoes. It looked like a small arrowhead and the tip of it was colored slightly in yellow. Quickly averting her eyes, Anette grabbed the paper and made her way to the kitchen, where she ate her dinner before the show was going to start.

Dressed in a dark, green dress with black high heels, Anette made her way to the Storyteller’s room. She had just been introduced as the new Storyteller in front of tonight’s audience and many disappointed voices could be heard when they announced that she would no longer be performing regularly.

She placed the program next to the book and sat down. Tonight’s theme was “Fire and Water”, which meant a fire breather and a water bender.

Anette found the page named Burning Angelwings To Dust and waited for the performer to enter the stage.

When Anette’s eyes spotted the redheaded woman named Jennifer, her gaze fell to the book in front of her and she started to read.

“From the first exhale, a butterfly shall be formed. From the wings, a small rain of fire will be falling down on the audience while it flies, but not touch them. The butterfly will return to the performer and be placed gently on her hand before she will crush it.”

Anette heard a few gasps, and the band playing in the background.

“From the second exhale, the Phoenix bird shall be formed. From its beak, bone-shivering shrieks of its newly formed freedom shall travel through the audience.”

Anette heard the sounds and nearly jumped out of her skin.

“This is real, this is really real!” Anette told herself and continued to read.

“The bird will take flight, flying up towards the ceiling, and then the performer will call for it.”

Anette waited for Jennifer’s voice to call out for the bird before she continued.

“The bird will land on the performer’s arm before the third and last exhale will begin. From the third exhale, a dragon shall be formed.”

Anette heard the shrieks of terror from the audience. Anette nearly wanted to end, but she shook her head and bit her lip before she continued.

“The dragon will spit fire on the audience, but the fire will not touch or harm them. The wings of the dragon will touch the ceiling and set it on fire. The dragon then will set its eyes on the performer, with malicious things in mind before it flies towards the stage. The Phoenix bird will go face to face with the dragon to defend its master. The bird will rip at the dragon’s throat and bite its wings.”

And this time, Anette did look up. Her stomach did a quick flip while her eyes watered at the intense heat that radiated from the fire show. The audience were glued to their seats while the fight continued. Anette saw how the Phoenix bird struggled, while the dragon had lost the glint in its eyes.

“Defeated and weak, the dragon will land on the side of the stage with the bird clutching onto it. While the last chorus begins to play, the water bender that will enter the stage will put out the dragon and bird. Swirls of water will surround them and end their newly found life. The fire breather, displeased with the water benders arrival, begins to swirl fire around its body. Their powers will clash at each other, sending water and fire towards the audience. After a particularly hard clash, the stage and audience will be covered in a thick mist.”

Anette noticed that it was eerily quiet.

“The mist will clear and the performers will disappear from stage. The fire in the ceiling and the creatures born from fire will disappear.”

Anette looked up and held her breath.

When the first sets of applauds broke through the silence, Anette felt like she could breathe again. Jennifer, and the water bender Will, came up on stage and bowed deeply.

Anette leaned back in her chair and whispered quietly.

“This is amazing, Emma. This is not just nothing. This is everything”