Chapter 950 Encroaching Prelude

950 Encroaching Prelude

Focus was my new best and only friend. It was probably the only hope I had of getting through all of this without falling apart into some kind of mania for an entire fanbase to meme and slander on the silver screen. Acting was already hard enough on its own, all those lights, all those shines, the million pairs of eyes and their iron-scorching stares whittling away at your psyche waiting to see if you're gonna flub your lines so they can point and laugh at you like the walking, talking epitome of embarrassment you know you are. An exaggeration? Fine, maybe. But my point still stands—pretending to be someone you're not, and worse, failing at that would certainly be one of those moments you mull about sleeplessly deep in the dead of night. And now, thanks to a certain doting devil's meddling, my chances of acute insomnia just skyrocketed to a near absolute guarantee. We'd be in a scene, in the heat of the moment; cameras, boom mics, and all sorts of technical fixtures invisible behind the thin veil of suspension, and thanks to some light persuasion from Chester, Tressa Yar had agreed to aid Leonardo in his venture to return to the realm of Asteria. All was going quite smoothly. But then, randomly, unwittingly, I'd see her there, just off to the side, in the corner of my eyes—standing there just a little beyond the boundary of the sacred veil. Barely a glimpse, I'd see her prideful smile, the excitement in her eyes, just waiting for her opportunity to come join me in the frame... and Chester starts panicking, sweating... wait were my lines again? Oh, right, I had none. I was supposed to think. How was I supposed to think? We entered into a clearing, Tressa leading the pack. Leonardo follows suit, dutifully and diligently in his march. But as the hours began to stretch on longer and longer so too did the patience of a particularly impatient Elf. Remelda grew ever more spiteful, bitter, implying in not-so-subtle snides that Tressa intended nothing more but to waste everyone's time wandering aimlessly through vast, barren nothings. An accusation that only served to whittle away at Tressa's ever-dwindling generosity with every passing insinuation. Leonardo demanded Remelda cease her provocations, which backfired completely, stoking her foul mood to even nastier degrees of abuse. Tensions were spiking, soaring... someone needed to step in, broker peace; in the company of much contempt and malice, a bit of levity was desperately necessary... a bit of charm to lighten things up. This chapter was originally shared via N0v3l_Biin.

Okay, Chester, say your line. Stop trying to peek through the veil. Focus is your friend. There are no cameras, there are no lights, and more importantly, you have no mother. So start acting like it. "Leonardo, my friend," I put on my best smile, whispering at his side. "A word, perhaps?" 15:34

"Are you okay?" Amanda took his place, standing a few inches closer in front of me, scouring my face all over like a doctor looking for symptoms. "And by 'are you okay' I think you know what I mean by that." "Dunno, alright, I suppose," I said, shrugging. "I mean, how would you feel having your mom co-starring alongside you?" "Your mom isn't my mom," she said with a wispy breath. "And you definitely know what I mean by that." "I'm fine. It's fine," I told her, shaking my head trying to shake off all her scrutiny. "Sure, it was a shock at first. But what the hell—I've been shocked by worst. This is nothing. She's just another actor, it's just another scene. It'll all be over before we know it." I took my eyes off Amanda briefly to look around. A lot was going on around us. Members of staff in a constant ebb and flow, but even amidst the chaos and commotion, she continued to stand out above it all. Like she really was above it all. Mom looked like a splotch of darkness compared to everything else. Like a drop of black in an empty white canvas. Whoever made her costume desperately needed to come up and see the sun sometime soon. There she was, a little further off from where I last saw her. Dad and Sammy were with her now, and while Dad looked like his usual aloof self, Sammy did not seem to be taking Mom's new profession all too well. And while she appeared to be talking to Mom just fine, albeit, flabbergasted...I can't help but sense that her feelings went a little beyond that just being shocked. I remembered the discussion we had. About learning to live with what we know. About trying to see the best side to it all. It seems that way of living is about to be put to the test soon.

"You're curious too, aren't you?" I blinked, eyelids fluttering open to the sight of Amanda peering over at my family too. "Curious?" I repeated back. "No, come on," she turned back toward me, narrowing her lips. "You know what I mean." "Not this time, I don't," I said. "What are you talking about?" "Your mother," she muttered, her words soft and stifled with apprehension. "After all this time... I was just wondering... you know..." "Wondering about what?" Again, her gaze wandered over to that dark splotch in reality, that anomaly. And at that moment I understood what she meant. She wasn't just staring at my mother anymore. "If she still has it in her." And we're back after like a week-long break! Sorry about that. I was having a severe case of writer's back so I figured I should step back. I went ahead and read a couple of new novels to rejuvenate myself and it worked like a charm. I feel renewed now, and hope you'll be able to sense that in the writing here. Fingers crossed we don't run out of steam so soon again, eh?