⇾ weekly #4 ~ (story stew) ⚘

(weekly runs from 3/24 to 3/31)

⇾ Part One ~ (outline) ⚘

Ordinary World: Lanae (nickname Lea) is widely considered to be one of the most talented “magistics” in the world. People come from all over to see Lea’s incredible skills in “magiart” (magic) on the streets.
There’s a catch.
Lea has never performed a single act of magiart in her life.
She’s a fraud. ✓
Call To Adventure : When she receives a note that says that she will be blackmailed if she doesn't do exactly what the note says. The tells her that she must use her skills of illusion and trickery to lure in a wealthy nobleman before stealing the entirety of his fortune - or rather, a highly valuable nationally important document hidden in the vaults of the nobleman's home. She is instructed that she will meet someone at the house - a servant - who will help her complete the task before taking the document and leaving her with the assurances of her secret being kept. ✓
Refusal of the Call : Reluctantly, she accepts. ✓
Meeting the Mentor/Crossing the Threshold : Lea meets Eo, a criminal (about two years older than her) who has been working as a footman in this nobleman's house for three years. Lea begins to see the prep that has gone into this, and though Eo talks to her, he doesn't reveal anything about who he's working with. ✓
Tests, Alliances, Enemies : She makes friends and enemies within the house, using her ‘talents’ to amuse the nobleman and his family. She gains a knowledge of the house and the document. ✓
Approach to Innermost Cave : In the wee hours of the morning, Eo wakes her up to tell her that they will steal the document that night. ✓
Ordeal: They steal the document, but are caught sneaking out. Eo tells her to use magiart to get them out. This reveals that Eo didn't know she didn't possess those talents. She manages to escape with the document, but she leaves Eo.
Road Back: She begins to travel to drop the document off somewhere else.
Resurrection : She goes back and rescues Eo.
Return to Ordinary World : Gives the document, is rewarded, she and Eo part. One day as she's performing, she sees Eo in the streets, looking expectant, leaving questions about a potential second job.

⇾ word count (380) ⚘

⇾ Part Two ~ (Exposition) ⚘

The fire near my cheeks shines in my eyes, but I can't squint to block out the light.
It would ruin the effect, after all.
The fire whips around me for a moment longer, until I clap my hands, triggering the little nozzles attached to my wrists with steel bracelets. They lead to a small leather container of water hidden in my billowing cloak. I put out the fire quickly.
I raise my hands above my head like a saint in some ancient frieze.
The crowd cheers. A few small children are jumping up and down. Someone is crying.
That's a little much, comes the irritated voice in my head, but I silence my thoughts and smile a little bit harder.
I curtsy low, my head nearly touching my knees. Someone cries my name. Their accent sounds vaguely Eastern. I must have gained further acclaim to be heard of from such distant areas.
I curtsy one last time before “disappearing” into the inn behind me, where a warm bath and a good night's rest awaits my weary body.
Sure, magiart is hard.
Faking it is much harder.

⇾ word count (189) ⚘

⇾ Part Three ~ (Story Stew!) ⚘

Elements to include ~

Flashback ✓

Open Ending

Symbol (fire) (because it's definitely not like I've used that symbol like thirty times this session) ✓

Cliffhanger ✓

Plot Twist

⇾ word count (n/a) ⚘

⇾ Part Four ~ (1000 Story) ⚘

(good pacing? what's that?)

I wake up slowly the next morning. The first thing I see is the smoke hovering just outside my window.
The winter is drawing ever closer, and the wealthy have begun starting their fires as others hide in their hovels, huddling for warmth.
Even now, a figure stands outside, their arms wrapped around themselves. They seem to be looking longingly at the smoke coming from the chimney of the third floor room in the inn I'm staying in for the week.
After a second of staring blankly out the window for another moment or two, I realize what the lone figure seems to be looking at is me.
I have a sudden feeling of deja vu. The feeling is so striking that I have to rest my fingers on the windowsill for a moment, just to make a little connection with reality, enough to keep me from losing my breath.
The way they stared at my bedroom window when they came to kick us out.
The way my cousin wept when the door shut for the last time.
The way that she wept for so long that I couldn't bear to be on the streets with them anymore.
I pause.
The way I abandoned them.
I figure I've been staring back at the person on the streets long enough.
Perhaps they have pleasant something to say, I think to myself almost sarcastically.
Might as well, I think. I've thrown out all semblance of common sense this morning, it seems. Perhaps the unending flow of smoke has gotten to my brain.
I throw on a coat - not the thick wool monstrosity I use to impress the passersbys on the streets - and slip down the stairs out into the cobblestone streets.
The man is gone.
Figures.
In his place is a slip of paper marked in delicate navy blue. Lea - Magiart, Resident of the Hare and Hearth Inn on the Terraloan Street, it reads.
I hold the note against my chest and walk upstairs, back to my room.
I've had letters written to me before. Men just barely climbing the social ladder, needing entertainment at their lavish parties.
I love being of use. Especially when they pay handsomely.
I grab a penknife and break the seal. The letter that pokes out from underneath is certainly not an invitation or even the occasional fan letter. It's too long for that.
Lanae,
I'm already grimacing. Lanae was my aunt's name. Lea was shorter, sweeter, and was an easy name to remember in order for my ‘skills’ to get around by word of mouth. I allow myself a short eye-roll before returning my focus to the letter.
We have a proposition for you.
Interesting.
We know that you are no magistic.
I choke. That got me.
No one could know. If one rumor gets out, just one, doubt immediately begins to spread. My name goes down in flames. The bills would pile up.
We need someone to have a temporary residence in a nobleman's house whilst providing quality entertainment, enough that the head of house would hesitate before even thinking of firing you. Should you accept, your secret is kept under wraps, and you'll be left with enough money to satisfy your usual month's earnings. Should you refuse, we will act accordingly.
I draw my coat around me tighter.
Given that which is at stake, we will expect you at Lord Baethan's home the day after next, at four o' clock promptly. One of our associates will meet you there.
Further instructions will be given then.
Yours,
~
It's the dash at the end that taunts me most.
As you may expect, I arrived at the Baethan Manor soon thereafter.
The same figure stands there.
“Welcome to the Manor, Lanae. We're pleased you've joined us.”
–
After a minute or two of silently walking the grounds, the figure finally pulls down his hood to reveal a face that seems to say he's only a bit older than me. His eyes, hair, and skin are all different shades of brown, and a pleasant little smile hangs on his mouth.
“Eo,” he says. I shake his hand stiffly.
“Lea.”
“Not Lanae?”
"Call me that again and I'll make sure you never call me anything again.“
He just smiles at that and walks on until we reach a staircase leading to what looks like a basement.
”Servants' quarters.“
I nod, though confused.
”Here's what's going to happen,“ he says. ”I'm going to walk in their, claiming you're my sister, a magistic, and you're looking for work as an entertainer.“
”We don't look very much like siblings,“ I point out. I'm extremely pale, and my green eyes and heart-shaped face make it even more clear that the two of us don't share the same parents.
”Cousins, then,“ he says.
”After that?“
”You entertain.“
”That's what you're blackmailing me for?“ I say, my eyebrow raised.
”Blackmail?“ he says, confused.
I roll my eyes. ”Never mind.“
”Now, let's get you started. There's more to the job than you'd think.“
”Enlighten me.“
He doesn't seem to detect the sarcasm in my voice, because his expression doesn't change at all from its usual cool amusement.
He stops and turns to me, lowering his voice. ”There's a document hidden in the vaults here. We located it. It's worth an incredible amount if we can ransom it. Someone's gotta steal it. We need someone who is able to move about the house freely, but is able to use magic or entertainment or something of the like. We need you."
Lovely.
I sigh. “Fine. Where do we start?”
He grins. “Let's introduce you to the staff, and our honorable employer, Lord Baethan.”
–
At least Lord Baethan is nice enough.
Eo told me to perform one of my acts for him, so he would be impressed enough to hire me as a full-time entertainer.
The aging man took one look at the fire routine and practically threw money at me.
And thus, I took on employment for the first time in my life.
I sleep in the same room as a maid named Aeli. She was there for my little performance too and now believes I'm a fire witch. Ever since I moved in, she's begun wearing a lava rock around her neck and clutches it every time I walk in a room. She also has taken to throwing me dirty looks every time I eat anything, as if I'm polluting it with my “palms of dastardly acts”.
It's a lovely working position.
Eo eats breakfast with me every morning. He's working as a footman, and makes it a habit to try and do something ridiculous every time I walk into a room.
It lightens the mood a bit. He still won't tell me who he works for, just that the ‘job’ is drawing ever closer.
He means stealing.
Every day, once I finish my morning entertainment for his Lordship's breakfast group, I am free to wander the manor as I wish. It only takes a week or two to find the room where the document is. It's clearly labelled. Excellent security measures, if I do say so myself. After that, I just wander to get an idea of escape routes.
Eo sometimes comes with me.
We have fun, I guess. He's smart. I'm sarcastic. He listens to my endless chatter about the horrors of my bunkmate, as he complains about the mindlessness of being a footman.
We're friends, in a way.
That doesn't change the fact that he - or rather, whoever he's working for - blackmailed me into this.
But we seem to get along alright.
At least, until he wakes me up at four a.m.
“Lanae!” he whispers.
Calling me that wakes me up real quick. I grab my pillow and whack him over the head.
“Ouch!” he yelps quietly. “What was that for?”
“You woke me up!” I say. “Not to mention, you shouldn't even be here!” I'm trying to keep my voice lowered so as to not wake my roommate up, but it's hard.
“Relax, I'm going to be here for two seconds, then I'm history.”
If only.
“What do you want?”
“We're getting the document tonight. Nine o'clock, once dinner is done. Meet me in the wine cellar. See you then,” he says.
My eyes widen, but before I can add anything, he's out of the room.
I rub my eyes, wondering if I dreamed the entire conversation.
But given the pointed looks he gives me for the rest of the day, I discern that it couldn't be the case.
–
Night falls quickly. His Lordship has friends over for a dinner party tonight, meaning he needs his entertainer for a few hours. I purposely speed through the act before ducking out quickly. I offer my apologies to His Lordship, playing at illness. He doesn't even bat an eye at me, even though I'm a terrible liar.
At least, when I'm lying with my words.
I slip out of his drawing room and practically fall down the stairs to the wine cellar. Eo is already waiting there, grasping a set of tools.
“Ready?” he asks.
I nod, and together we quietly slip through the corridors until we reach the room. I try the door.
“It's locked,” I say.
He grins and pulls a corkscrew-shaped thing from the pack on his back. He slips it into the lock, and the door opens within seconds. I give him a nod of respect and tiptoe into the room.
The document- which Eo called The Rites of Elsier- stands on a pedestal in the dark. It's supposedly a great political document. I don't care. It's my way to pay the bills until I can move to a bigger city.
I look for a place to safely store it. I can't find anything, so I shove it up my sleeve.
“Got it?” Eo asks. I nod. “Let's go.”
We turn, only to face His Lordship.
And his fleet of guards.
“Give it to me,” he says.
Did he sound that loud before? I suddenly cannot remember a louder sound in the world.
Eo turns to me. “Do something!”
“Do what?” I yell back. The soldiers are coming at us slowly, clearly worried about damaging the document.
“Magiart, or something!”
“I can't do magiart- you know that!” I yell back.
His Lordship pauses. Eo pauses. His eyes are filled with betrayal.
“You can't?”
“No one told you?”
My head spins until it hurts.
“No.” His answer is soft.
I let out a shaky breath before pulling the document out of my sleeve, turning around, and opening the window behind me.
I jump out.
There's a small scream, but I've already grabbed safely onto the ledge outside the window. I slowly scurry away, focusing on my fingers and not on the way my body seems to be begging me to cry, to get out this hurt.
I finally get to the ground safely and take off running, the document in hand.
It's only when I see Eo's wanted poster two weeks later that I realized he got away too.
I need to find him.
I need to get paid.
I need to find a home.[/i}

⇾ word count (1878) ⚘

⇾ Part Five ~ (critique) ⚘

xxx

⇾ word count (xxx) ⚘

~~~

⇾ total word count (xxxx) ⚘
⇾ completed on: (3/xx) ⚘