Saun 40, Arc 716
After the meeting with Daliane Andaris
“King Alexander and Lady Elaine are hiding in a house in a forest near the border of Alamere“, Lady Jane Andaris, the manager of Rynmere Theatre read aloud. “after the queen tried to kill them both. Everybody besides half a dozen of his most faithful warriors have abandoned the young king. The situation is desperate. The twin suns are about to set when suddenly there is a knock on the door. The guards rush to the door while Alexander and Elaine stay in the backroom. Lord Maximus who betrayed Alexander to the queen is there, asking for forgiveness and offering his help ...”
She broke off abruptly and looked intently at Tristan who looked back at her expectantly. They were sitting in the front row where the most important people in Rynmere usually sat when they felt like visiting the theatre and discussing the final rewrite and the premiere of Tristan’s play. At least he hoped they would be discussing that. The more he looked at Lady Jane, the less confident he became. Why was she staring at him like that?
“Well?” he asked her, finally breaking the silence because he really wanted to know what she thought of it. His heart started to beat very quickly, and he was suddenly sweating a little even though it really wasn’t that hot. He felt, he had to admit, just a bit nervous even though he wasn’t normally a very nervous man. What if … by Zanik, what if she hated the whole thing and decided that she didn’t want to show his new play at her theatre after all?
“It’s good”, she replied, and he breathed a huge sigh of relief. “But”, she continued, and the relieved look abruptly disappeared from Tristan’s face. “You rely too much on your star. Everything depends on Daliane. You are friends, I get it, and you wrote the role with him in mind, but what if he falls ill? What if he suffers from a terrible case of stage fright and doesn’t want to go out there? What will you do then? Rumour has it that King Cassander himself will attend the premiere. You need to be prepared Tristan. If this were a normal premiere, we could just postpone it or cancel it and apologize to the people that have already bought tickets, but you can’t just say to the king, ‘Sorry, our star is ill. Please come back in a couple of trials!’.”
“You should be honored that the king is even interested in your play”, she informed him sternly. He nodded and then opened his mouth because he really wanted to tell her something, but she didn’t give him an opportunity to do so. When Lady Jane Andaris had something to say, there was no stopping her. “You are a relatively young and inexperienced playwright, Tristan. This could make you or break you. Do you understand what I mean?” She shut the book that contained Tristan’s script abruptly and informed him, “You need a substitute star in case Daliane is not available on the 96th of Vhalar!”
After the meeting with Daliane Andaris
“King Alexander and Lady Elaine are hiding in a house in a forest near the border of Alamere“, Lady Jane Andaris, the manager of Rynmere Theatre read aloud. “after the queen tried to kill them both. Everybody besides half a dozen of his most faithful warriors have abandoned the young king. The situation is desperate. The twin suns are about to set when suddenly there is a knock on the door. The guards rush to the door while Alexander and Elaine stay in the backroom. Lord Maximus who betrayed Alexander to the queen is there, asking for forgiveness and offering his help ...”
She broke off abruptly and looked intently at Tristan who looked back at her expectantly. They were sitting in the front row where the most important people in Rynmere usually sat when they felt like visiting the theatre and discussing the final rewrite and the premiere of Tristan’s play. At least he hoped they would be discussing that. The more he looked at Lady Jane, the less confident he became. Why was she staring at him like that?
“Well?” he asked her, finally breaking the silence because he really wanted to know what she thought of it. His heart started to beat very quickly, and he was suddenly sweating a little even though it really wasn’t that hot. He felt, he had to admit, just a bit nervous even though he wasn’t normally a very nervous man. What if … by Zanik, what if she hated the whole thing and decided that she didn’t want to show his new play at her theatre after all?
“It’s good”, she replied, and he breathed a huge sigh of relief. “But”, she continued, and the relieved look abruptly disappeared from Tristan’s face. “You rely too much on your star. Everything depends on Daliane. You are friends, I get it, and you wrote the role with him in mind, but what if he falls ill? What if he suffers from a terrible case of stage fright and doesn’t want to go out there? What will you do then? Rumour has it that King Cassander himself will attend the premiere. You need to be prepared Tristan. If this were a normal premiere, we could just postpone it or cancel it and apologize to the people that have already bought tickets, but you can’t just say to the king, ‘Sorry, our star is ill. Please come back in a couple of trials!’.”
“You should be honored that the king is even interested in your play”, she informed him sternly. He nodded and then opened his mouth because he really wanted to tell her something, but she didn’t give him an opportunity to do so. When Lady Jane Andaris had something to say, there was no stopping her. “You are a relatively young and inexperienced playwright, Tristan. This could make you or break you. Do you understand what I mean?” She shut the book that contained Tristan’s script abruptly and informed him, “You need a substitute star in case Daliane is not available on the 96th of Vhalar!”