A Night for the Sound of Music

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the theater began to fill with people awaiting a night of wonderful music. Of course, keenly aware of passing time, Sabriel knew that it hadn’t actually been hours. It had only been one hour and 25 minutes since she had sat down to tune the piano she would be playing that evening to utter perfection. Tune a piano in 30 minutes? Sabrie smirked for a moment as she watched people wander in. Yes, she could, and not just because someone had just tuned it the day before.

She wasn’t picky—well, okay, she was, but everyone would be just as particular if she heard notes the way she did. She sat until she was confident that the entire piano would sound to the audience the very voices of angels. If only she were as sure of her dress as the sound of her music, but she didn’t have the same control over the quality of fabric as the quality of sound.

It wasn’t that she was nervous, she told herself, because of course she would perform wonderfully. Rather, it was more like… when no one’s opinion in particular mattered suddenly everyone’s opinion mattered. It was precisely when you had no one to impress that you should impress everyone if only because no safety net of someone, anyone, that mattered would be there to pick you up again in the event of disaster.


Okay, maybe she was a little picky and a little nervous.

Oh well.

It was a combination of both nerves and sitting for a long period of time that brought her to the foyer of the music hall that evening. It usually made her feel a little better if she had a chance to mingle a little bit with the people who would be listening to her music. Sometimes she talked to a lot of people briefly; sometimes she only talked to a few, but either way it reminded her that her audience was, in fact, made of normal people and not hundreds of judgmental clones of herself.

And that was important, because she was her worst critic.

Sabrie’s was not the first performance of the evening, so when everyone finally settled down in their seats she stood at the back of the theater to watch the initial opening.

Truth be told, it was probably the most boring introduction she had ever heard, but that hardly phased her. For some reason the large majority of speeches made before such venues just seemed to go on forever. Some of the information was actually relevant to the nights performance, such as—

“Please refrain from leaving your seats during performances, but if you have a crying baby, please feel free to get up at any time.”

The rest, however, was almost painful to listen to. Fortunately, all good things eventually come to a close, and by the time the music actually started the room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. The thought made Sabrie chuckle a bit from her place in the shadows near the exits.

The first act of the night was a pretty little piece involving a small orchestra. Sabrie had to admit they were very good, wonderful in fact. The soft tones and sudden dynamics surely kept the audience from falling asleep, and surely no one could be unmoved by the emotion behind notes-- or maybe that was just her, because she knew the story behind music. She wasn't special, or anything, she had just heard it from the musicians themselves during conversations at rehearsal.


Ooc: I can write more, if necessary, but I wanted to ask first-- when did you want them to meet, after the show perhaps? I'm not sure how to proceed.

Her turn would arrive soon enough, so sometime during the middle of the piece she circled back through the hallways and behind the stage. Fortunately for her, this wasn’t a competition but more or less a recital. She wasn’t entirely sure that her pieces was competition ready, and even if it were… Well, competition is tough regardless of who is participating… Shark eaten by megalithic monster world, make no mistake.

She played with the frilly sleeve of her dress as the string musicians stood for their applause and filed off stage. The curtain closed momentarily as the piano she would be playing was brought to the forefront. The announcer made their usual quips and comments, something that was supposed to be an introduction but, of course, seemed equally terrible as the first to her. Worse, she supposed, was that it was her introduction, oh well… At least the performers themselves would make up for all the talking in-between.

Then it was time for her to go on stage. She managed to walk out, bow, and make it to her piano without tripping, so that was probably a good omen. She sat and waited for the crowd to quiet. Pushing them out of her mind she looked at the keys. She ran her fingers lightly across them, not making any noise, just feeling how smooth (and cold) they were under her hands. That would change; the spot light would be unbearably hot by the end of it.

A deep breath--

And then she began.

Soft at first, as she carefully worked her way up (and down) in intensity and scale. The start of the music was quick at first, to draw the listener in and then, before they knew what was happening, absorb them completely into the darker passion of the song. She adored this particular arrangement (although she might not want to look at it again for a few months, at least) and she wanted the audience to adore it too. She wanted them to feel the life blood of the song and hang by a thread when the climatic pause came and time slowed almost to a stop at the right moment… Just so their hearts could quicken at the release!

Well, alright, so the music wasn’t quite as dramatic as that. Certainly she would try and make it just so, winding the sound with her subtle ability to manipulate time, but no one’s watches would be affected.

Someday, what a wistful thought!

Even so, the music did end long before she wanted it to. Almost abruptly it seemed to her, even after practicing it for hours upon hours—or maybe her mother’s passion has just rubbed off on her. He father did say she could be absurd about it at times… Well, whatever.

She rose from her place at the piano, did her mandatory bowing and made her way off stage with a small wave. Performing in front of a live audience was stressful enough, but at the end she was hyped up on joy and adrenaline.

Now to take advantage of the refreshments that were there just for performers.