Chapter Twenty Seven - In The Beginning There Was...
Project 86Chapter Twenty Seven – In The Beginning There Was…
When had she entered the water? For the life of her she couldn’t remember exactly when it had happened but she knew the why, and from that and the position of the locks on her wrists she could infer it must have been just about twenty seconds ago. Slipping the wrists around and pulling herself up closer to the locks she stuck the pin in into the little keyhole, wiggling it smoothly to hear the first click.
Thirty seconds, thirty more to go.
A twist of her neck here, a nod of her head there and she heard the second click. Now the locks and loops around her hands loosened and she could slip her wrists out, immediately pulling her knees in and splendidly stretching herself up to easily reach the locks on her feet from which she was hanging.
The blood that had been rushing fast into her head was now beginning to flow back down naturally, bringing with it the familiar prickly sensation of a rush of blood and an instantaneous dizziness accompanied by a tiny headache. She really hated having to hang upside down, especially when she was dressed in the outfit that she was, so revealing.
Forty five seconds gone, fifteen left. She needed to be free and out of the chamber by that time.
Day in day out she was cut, eviscerated, drowned and then while doing all those things she had to flatter the star of the show and showboat her form and curves to the crowd to garner their favour, flirt with the people called to assist on stage. Sure now and then there was an actual gentleman who was a snack or a proper lady who was a real treat to the eyes, but most of it was rather appalling. Not that she blamed them for looking as they did, of course not, but she just wished she didn’t have to entertain them in that way. In all honesty she didn’t want to entertain anyone that way other than privately to someone she loved.
The familiar click of the final lock that held the chains around her feet on the hook brought her back to reality and she slipped her feet out and quickly swam up to the top hatch, silently climbing out as not to overpower the sound of the pitiful show orchestra that was keeping the excitement up and to cover the noise she made. Crouched on the metal case she waited for her cue to stand up and flourish.
“Sixty seconds! One minute! Shall we see how our maiden of the hour is doing?”
The curtains fell and the lights of the show room blasted in her eyes, forcing her to squint as she stood atop the metal and reinforced glass case filled with water, arms up with flair and a huge smile, her body angled to flaunt her curves.
“Voila! There we have it people, Sunny the Seductress has done it again!”
The crowd applauded and whistled as Sunny stood there holding her frown of disgust away and smiling as the water poured down drenching her further. Her outfit was lacy and white on purpose. When she came out of the tank this wet her skin was visible through it and the fabric stuck to her skin, giving the crowd even more to look at. Absolutely demeaning.
The water tank trick was the show finale and as the crowds dissipated and the performance came to an official close after rapturous applause from the crowd, Sunny finally received a towel to dry and cover herself. Immediately after wiping most of the water, she stormed into the changing room of Magnificent Malone, the illusionist she was working for.
Bursting into the room still in her show outfit but with a towel wrapped around her she found him, as expected, flirting with one of the younger stage hands.
“Out!” She commanded the younger guy in the room the lad immediately releasing his hold on Malone and walking out quietly, shutting the door behind him. This wasn’t the first time this had happened and after all Sunny was the second star and senior of the show right after Malone. They had to listen.
“Why the sour face my Seductress? It was another successful show, you didn’t drown. A win I’d say,” Malone jeered as he poured another cup of whiskey and began to work on his cigar to light it up.
“Don’t call me that. I’ve told you a thousand times to not use that name!”
“But it’s now an established brand; I can’t go changing your name now. Besides you look the part,” he pointed at Sunny with his cigar hand as he began to slowly light it, dragging on it a few times to get it going and then blowing out the first puffs.
“It’s a brand because you called me that when we started even after I told you specifically to not call me that. And you’re the who dresses me like this anyway! ert!” Sunny fumed her cool completely lost. Malone was selfish and disgusting and his attitude had just gotten worse with fame. This shouting contest was an all too common occurrence to the two; the whole cast and crew of the show wondering just how much longer it could last at this pace.
“Baby, please you don’t-”
“Don’t ing ‘baby’ me you dickweed!” Sunny smacked the cigar out of Malone’s hand, the thing flying off and landing onto the wood floor still smoking a little. Malone looked at Sunny a little surprised before walking over and picking the cigar up relighting it. He may have found success recently but he wasn’t rich enough to waste a good cigar. Not yet at least.
“So much anger from the Seduc-,” Malone stopped short as he saw the fury in Sunny’s eyes and caught her hand reaching out to the bottle of Jack sitting behind her. She was ready for a real smack and Malone decided it best not to risk it. “Sunny, so much anger. Why are you angry after every show?”
“Will you let me change my name and outfit?”
“I can’t, the people-”
“People my . Well if not that will you let me have any speaking role?”
“But the Magnificent Malone’s voice is what makes-”
“So that’s a no too. See, nothing. You give me nothing that I could do on my own. We started this out as a tenuous partnership but there is no partnership. There is just what you say and want.”
Malone dragged long on his cigar before releasing the smoke, blowing it away from Sunny up into the roof. There was no need to antagonize her any further. “Well, I am the star of the show.”
“Well I want to do more. I want to be a star of a show. I’m just as capable a magician and actually create these bloody illusions for you to perform!”
“You think the crowds want to see some showgirl turned magician? Let’s be real here, you’re there for the eye candy and male fantasy. Stop your delusions.”
What little restraint Sunny had left was gone and her eyes were wide with fury and nostrils flared out puffing the pent up steam that one could have expected to be rising from her. She couldn’t believe at the incredulity and haughtiness that this man was showing, after all the work she had done for the show he was taking all the credit and reducing her to some skin showing showgirl. After performing all the illusions she had and creating new tricks for him to perform this is how he treated her.
The smug self-important expression on Malone’s face quickly faded as Sunny walked over to him staring into his eyes which began to rapidly flutter as his body reacted to her approach, expecting to be hit.
“,” she plucked the cigar from his mouth, took a few steps back and threw it on the floor. She then grabbed the bottle of whiskey on the counter next to her and opened the cork, “you.”
Unblinking, her eyes were locked on to his, she poured the whole bottle of whiskey over the cigar completely drenching it, rendering it un-smokable and wasting the bottle of drink. Malone was left in his room standing with gawking eyes and a wet floor as Sunny dropped the empty bottle on the floor, turned around and walked out leaving the door to the room open as she exited.
She was furious, her eyes messaging this to everyone on staff and so they avoided her as she charged into her changing room to get out of her wet outfit, dry and clean herself off before leaving. Being the visual of the show she still had to maintain a good look even once the show was over. Not that she cared anymore how it affected Malone but it also affected her own presentation and visuals if she ever desired to breakaway and pursue something on her own. So after a shower she still had to apply some ‘natural’ makeup, never going out barefaced.
All prepped to leave and go home Sunny arrived at the front lobby where the receptionist handed her coat over to her and bid a goodnight, keeping the conversation short as her agitation was still visible.
“I overheard your heated argument with the oh so great Malone over there.”
Sunny turned around towards the voice as she buttoned up her overcoat and adjusted her hat. “Yeah yeah, you can laugh at my dream too.”
Standing by the entrance to the theatre next to the front doors leaning onto the wall was a long and lithe figure, a woman. She was wearing a suit and a regular hat, the immediate and natural observation being that she was a very beautiful and handsome looking man. But Sunny could quickly tell it was a woman, and the frilly neck piece and the generous make up she applied didn’t even attempt to hide her gender. She was a very beautiful and chic woman.
“No I think it’s great. I think you should do it and I think you should do it with me.”
“You do?” Sunny looked at the woman with astonishment, not expecting to hear words of encouragement over slander. She approached her with a few apprehensive steps, but a smile was already creeping on her lips. “And who are you exactly?”
“My name is Choi Sooyoung and I’m a show producer and illusion inventor.”
Brows shot up as Sunny was surprised to hear the latter part of her description. “Illusion inventor you say. So you develop magic tricks but you don’t perform them?”
“That’s right, and I know that most of the Magnificent Malone’s illusions and tricks are done by you, and I’ve seen you pull off the tricks he does when teaching them to him. That’s a waste, you should be doing them starring in your own show.”
Hint of red flashed on Sunny’s cheek’s at the compliments. It was wonderful to hear recognition for her work especially when it was so hard to get that message out there. On their latest revised contract they added the clause that legally the tricks are co-owned by both Malone and Sunny, but the person who created the trick gets the credit for its invention. Before the revised contract Malone was taking credit for all the tricks she was creating and so she forced this revision to make sure, that even if not in the public's eyes, at least legally there was a record of the illusions being her work.
“This is bad place to be talking about… such topics,” Sunny said eyeing around to make sure that nobody was listening in. The only one who appeared to have been in the lobby with them was the receptionist who was now out of view, probably resting in the backroom as there were no customers around.
“May I walk with you and share my proposal?”
Sunny eyed the handsome woman up and down. Her suit on point, the black hat slanted to the side, her lips the deepest red. She was a snack and had real manners to boot, and she had showed recognition and compliments to Sunny’s work and knew that she was behind the Magnificent Malone’s illusions and tricks. It was worth giving her a listen.
“Alright, I’ll hear you,” Sunny said as she exited the building. Sooyoung followed out after and offered her arm out Sunny grabbing onto the outstretched arm.
The route to Sunny’s apartment wasn’t long, a fifteen minute walk along the residential streets before cutting through a park. Her apartment was situated right at the edge of the park which was rather lovely on sunny summer days.
The iron street lamps illuminated the cobble road that the pair trudged down along and there was a gentle mist in the air and a cloudy sky obscuring the view to the stars. Not many people were walking around and even fewer carriages passed by providing the perfect setting and weather in which to conspire.
“So, what do you have in mind?” Sunny asked as their boots clicked on the stone under them, Sunny setting the pace for their walk. A very slow gentle walk.
“To steal you from that swine Malone and make it big with you.”
Sunny let out a loud laugh followed by a high toned rapid giggle. It felt so refreshing to hear someone else be discontent and dislike Malone. Most people didn’t say anything if they did think poorly of him because of the wealth he had recently accumulated. She finally managed to still her giggling and cleared with her hand in front of for manners. “I see you are no friend of Malone’s. It’s wonderful to hear, very refreshing.”
“Let’s just say that I’ve had past dealings with the thief and intellectual property of mine was cheated away from me by him.”
“Oh, he stole one of your illusions?”
“You’ve performed it with him. You know the ‘Clasped Hands’? That one’s mine.”
Sooyoung felt a tug on her hand as Sunny had stopped walking and turning to look at her she found two marble orbs staring at her in disbelief.
“‘Clasped Hands’ is yours? I love that illusion! I always thought that there was no way that Malone could have come up with it, no matter how much he claimed that the first time he showed it to me!” Sunny gushed out with a huge smile in adoration her hands now holding Sooyoung’s.
What had been a cool, mysterious and chic Sooyoung with controlled expressions and a sly smile had now turned into a blushing slightly embarrassed lady. The praise and adoration from such an esteemed illusionist as Sunny was unreal to her. She had been a fan of her work since the very beginning and now was getting exalted by this beauty and wonder of the illusionist world. Sooyoung coughed with her one hand and once again offered her arm to Sunny to continue their walk.
“Thank you. I… you don’t realize how much your compliments mean to me. I’m truly flattered.”
“Of course, credit where credits due! Knowing you are behind that trick makes me even more interested in this endeavour.”
Sooyoung let out a nervous laughter as it suddenly seemed all her dreams were coming true. “I would be lying if I didn’t confess that I’ve been a huge fan of your work and shows since the start. Seeing a woman of your calibre in this field inspired me to continue on my work too. Truly.”
“Well, I’m honoured to have such an esteemed, capable and beautiful fan like you,” Sunny replied smiling wide at Sooyoung, “so let’s hear your proposal. You said you would steal me from Malone. I like the confidence, now how do you plan on doing that?”
They turned in by the park entrance as the dull thuds and clicks of the cobblestone road changed into the gentle crunch of a gravel path. The parks lights were fewer and far between leaving the path darker than the city pedestrian path and there was nobody else in sight beside the two. With Sooyoung walking her home Sunny felt a little more at ease.
“I would like to enter a partnership. We will develop illusions together and you get be the illusionist to exclusive perform them. You have full creative lead on your show; the setting, your name, your dialogue, your outfit.”
“What do you get out of this? What’s the catch?” Sunny looked up at Sooyoung. She had lived under the trickery and shadow of Malone and his unfair deals for so long that she had learned her lesson. People always wanted something in return, nobody was truly altruistic.
“No catch. We will hash out a contract which we can run by lawyers and fully discuss together. I want this to be fair and by the books. The most that I want, well…” Sooyoung paused, this was the crux of the conversation and it could easily kill Sunny’s interest in the deal. “I would like the lead on the creation of illusions; so I would be lead illusion director while you are lead creative director. And where we create an illusion together a proportionally fair credit is given to each; if I contributed more to it then my name is first in the patent documents for illusions and vice versa.”
Sunny cocked a brow looking at Sooyoung who quickly stammered a further explanation, “The shows are of course all in your name! You are the star and the big print and the draw! I just wish to have my name on the bottom border as mention as the illusion contributor…”
As cool and collected as Sooyoung had been when they had first met she had slowly become more and more flustered and slightly desperate. It was clear that she had not done a lot of business and had been cheated out of things by Malone and possibly others, which probably had made her even more apprehensive about pursuing it. In her Sunny could see the passion and the desire she had possessed in the beginning, the one that had made her desperately sign on with Malone back in the beginning of her career.
But none of Sooyoung’s asks were unreasonable. The deal, at least in its current presentation was very fair and Sunny liked fair. She wasn’t a diva drama queen who wanted all the glory. After being with Malone all she wanted was a fair deal.
Sunny smiled brightly at Sooyoung whose now slightly panicking and flustered face returned a hopeful smile. “Sounds fair to me, very fair. To seal the deal would you mind showing me a little of the work and illusions you are developing? Just to make sure you are legit and I’m not betting on a lame horse.”
“Of course! I can drop by tomorrow and I can show you it all! I-”
“No, don’t show me all, don’t show me the resolution. Never show anything fully until a contract is signed and binding.”
Sooyoung once again turned shy and her face lit up with red. She was clearly way too eager and she knew that Sunny could tell how desperate she was for this to work. But even with that knowledge Sunny was teaching her and treating her fairly. Sooyoung thanked her lucky stars for being a fan of someone so genuine.
“I- of course. I’ll show just enough to convince.”
“Wonderful! Now, there is one other issue. I’m contractually bound till the end of the season with Malone as is he. If we ditch before the end we forfeit earnings and pay a fine.”
“That’s fine, we need time to develop and set everything up so when we reveal the show we come out swinging and with a bang!” Sooyoung said smacking her fist into her open palm as she finished her point, pulling Sunny’s arm along with her as she was still holding onto it.
There was a little chuckle and warm laugh from Sunny, seeing someone so excited to work with her and so passionate about the work. This could be good, really good.
“Ain’t that right! Bang so loud it overpowers and shadows Malone in one fell swoop! I want to debut the moment my contract is over with Malone so I can capitalize in the lull of his show and next tour.”
The gravel path now turned into cobblestone road again and Sunny stopped walking having arrived in front of her apartment building. “We have a lot of work to do. Come by tomorrow with the illusions you want to show and if you already have a draft contract bring it too. If you seem legit, which by the looks of things so far you certainly you do, we can start working on the contract and so get started on our show as soon as possible.”
Sooyoung’s eyes lit up and her smile spread from ear to ear as she gushed out with happiness holding onto Sunny’s hand. “Yes! Thank you so much I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
“I have a feeling I won’t be. Goodnight Sooyoung.”
“Goodnight Sunny, see you tomorrow.”
Sooyoung still holding onto Sunny’s hands lifted up one of them and gave a courteous kiss on her hand and a bow, before excusing herself and walking down the street. Sunny walked up to her apartments door and looked down the street at the fading figure of Sooyoung, eventually seeing her jump up with excitement with fists in the air overjoyed at what had just transpired. Once again Sunny smiled and let out a laugh. It had been a long time but she was once again feeling happy and passionate about her work, looking forward to the next day. She was going to have her own show; her and Sooyoung would make it big.
The following day Sooyoung showed parts of a few of her new ready illusions and devices to show she was legit. With this Sunny was fully convinced and they worked on a contract together that had a start date the day after her previous contract ended. This way she was legally still within her bounds and wasn’t breaching her contract.
Each day off from Malone’s practice and shows that Sunny had she met up with Sooyoung and the two worked on their illusions, their show, practiced how to do them and developed new tricks. The illusions with Malone were co-owned so both of Sunny and Malone had a right to perform them. If Malone would deny her from performing them she had equal right to deny them from Malone, and Sunny knew he needed the illusions more than she did and so wouldn’t risk losing the chance to perform them herself.
All theatre bookings and advertising was done in Sooyoung’s name accompanied by strict non-disclosure agreements, as to not tip Malone off one bit about what was happening. They had a few trusted individuals in the industry and this way managed to set their show debut dates and advertisement in secret to be revealed the day Sunny’s old contract ended and new one started.
During the months between meeting Sooyoung and the end of Sunny’s contract, Malone was overconfident that despite their differences and Sunny’s disdain of him, she would sign her contract and continue performing with him. He believed she had no other option if she wanted to continue in this field and so in his hubris didn’t bring the issue of contract during their season, even as the day of its eventual end was fast approaching.
And soon the day arrived; Sunny’s final day with Malone and the end of her contract, and it was as glorious as Sunny had imagined it would be.
She came into the theatre that final day to find her new contract with Malone had been crudely and unceremoniously stuffed into her drawer. Malone didn’t even bother to grace her with a formal meeting to discuss the contract and just assumed Sunny would automatically sign it. She snarled and huffed an air of disbelief. The audacity and pomp of that swine, he would be in for a huge surprise.
In turn Sunny waltzed unannounced in to Malone’s room. She first asked for a light for her cigarette, Malone offering it to her out of habit. Sunny then handed the new contract to Malone who gleefully accepted it.
“So you’ve signed for another seaso-” Malone stopped talking as he read what was written on the front of the contract. “What is this?!” He waived it at Sunny looking her in the eyes with shock. Sunny swiped the contract from Malone’s hand and turned the text facing him. Written on the front in full page sized letters was the word ‘no’.
“This is me telling you I quit. You and I are done,” she then took her lit cigarette and brought it to the edge of the contract paper and with a little assistance from Sunny blowing the paper caught fire, rapidly engulfing the whole thing as Sunny dropped it on the floor. Without a word she turned around and walked out of the theatre for the last time. Oh how she wished she could see Malone’s face the day after when her new show with Sooyoung was revealed to the public, but just as well she could easily live her life without ever having to see Malone’s face again.
The next day her new life with Sooyoung truly began as her contract started and all the hard work they had done together was now legally binding. Sunny and Sooyoung immediately went into a frenzy of transporting equipment and rehearsals and the advertisers began to set up posters around the town. They called upon all to come see the newest and hottest illusionist and magician show starting in two weeks to be performed in the Hippodrome, the cities prime theatre; Sunny Illusoré, the Erudite Enchantress!
Those two weeks preparing for the show were over in a flash and Sunny and Sooyoung found themselves at the very edge of their nerves. All the money invested and preparation for the last almost half a year had lead to this one moment; this first showcase that would make or break them. If they didn’t awe and completely succeed with their first show they wouldn’t get the glorious reviews and the viewership they needed to sustain the investment in to the show. The theatre would take all its cuts from the profit leaving nothing for the two to go on with and it would shatter their reputation.
While developing and preparing for the shows over the months, they had come to the conclusion that with some of the illusions they needed an assistant. After much deliberation they decided together that Sooyoung would play the role. This way they minimised expenses without an external hire but more importantly they kept the secrets of the illusions just between the two of them. Sooyoung had no show experience and as was evident during their first meeting she was easily flustered, so Sunny had to try work her training wonders to increase Sooyoung’s presentation skills and her confidence on stage.
The one thing Sooyoung didn’t lack was grace and beauty. The longer Sunny had spent time with Sooyoung the more she had witnessed it, her smile and laugh was exhilarating and attractive, she was tall and had a beautiful figure, and she had impeccable fashion sense. Wherever she was she would attract the attention of everyone around her, man and woman. This helped Sunny’s work a lot as she didn’t have to worry about her assistant not being distractingly beautiful; Sooyoung was very much the definition of this.
The evening of their first show arrived and as the customers found their seats Sunny stood behind the curtain centre stage, hidden behind a mirror contraption. At the sidelines Sooyoung was waiting with baited breath for the beginning of the show, their eyes locked to each other in anticipation until through the curtain they could see how the lights were turning dim and the murmuring of the crowd lessened as they settled in to wait for the grand opening. The theatre went dark and in this darkness they heard the footsteps on the wooden stage.
As there were no lights the spectators couldn’t see who was walking, they could only hear the low thudding of the steps until they stopped centre stage. A spotlight and standing in the middle of the stage in a smock and top hat was the rich esteemed civil engineer and industrialist, the owner of the Hippodrome; Sir Isaac Isambard.
“My very esteemed guests and gentlefolk, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Welcome to the Hippodrome and tonight’s fantastic, phantasmal, fabulous fascination of the ever incredible world of magic and illusions!” He flourished his hand producing a bouquet of flowers from his sleeve, a simple trick that Sunny had taught him to bring a little flare to his presentation. The crowd clapped excitedly and in anticipation. He walked over to the edge of the stage and offered the bouquet to a beautiful lady sitting in the front row, then stepped back centre stage and continued.
“You may have seen and been awed by tonight’s star’s charms before, but not like you will see today. She has matured and mastered her craft; learning ancient techniques from the learned teachers of the far east, from mysterious and wise gurus of the south, and travelling the wilderness with the enlightened shamans of the planes of the far west. Today she is here to share these learned secrets with us after mastering her craft.
“It is my greatest honour, privilege, and pleasure to introduce you to the extremely learned, intelligent and beautiful illusionist. Please bear witness to her rebirth! Sunny Illusoré, the Erudite Enchantress!”
As he said this a puff of smoke appeared behind him and the spotlight turned off. The curtains behind them were focused with light as they were released to free fall down and as the light followed its rapid descent it finally reached the stage, but didn’t impact and instead seemed to vanish into the stage. At the same time the light beams panned where Sir Isambard had been standing but he had vanished somehow. All of this happened within a few seconds leaving the crowd awed at the now completely empty looking stage, with smoke drifting slowly away and down.
Out of the fading smoke and fading spotlights a woman appeared, as if she had bent the light of her surroundings to take form and from photon particles themselves had moulded herself into existence right out of thin air. The crowd gasped in awe and wonder, everybody holding with baited breath and huge wonder. The visual was so real and incredible that they were unable to express their amazement.
The woman was in a black top hat, a red bowtie and a waist cut black smock that was open, a white collared shirt that changed into a black leotard. Her full thighs were covered by fishnet stockings down to black thigh high, high heel boots, and she wore delicate white gloves on her hands. With smoky eyes, a rose pink blush and full scarlet lips she winked at the crowd and flourished her hands producing sparks and little fireworks as she whisked them around her into a bow.
“I would like to welcome you all on this journey we are about to embark on together, a journey of wonder, illusion, and magic. I, Sunny Illusoré, will act as your guide through these perilous and wondrous enchanted lands,” Sunny was gently walking across the stage and with a clear and sharp voice captured everybody's attention.
“I prefer the art itself do the talking, so if you’ll follow me let us begin right away by travelling back to start and see how it all began. Witness, ‘The Creation’. In the beginning darkness was over the surface of the deep,” Sunny bellowed in a wonderful melodic voice, almost singing her words to the crowd and then stopping suddenly, holding the crowd hostage with anticipation. The lights began to dim and her sparkles began to fade.
“Let there be light!”
Her hands swiped up to snatch the top hat from her head and one of her arms reached into the hat up to her shoulders. She then violently wrenched it back upwards out of the hat and a tiny bead of light shot forth straight upwards from her hand before it slowly faded into darkness.
Then an explosion of light, as floating above Sunny halfway up towards the ceiling a huge ball of sparkling and swirling oranges and bright yellows appeared into view, reflecting all the colours of the rainbow and more from tiny mirrors, flooding the theatre in dots and a warm glow of an artificial sun. “Then there was light, and we saw that the light was good.”
Uniform gasps and sounds of shriek and awe exploded in the theatre before rapturous applause and joyful shouts followed. Sunny had their undivided attention and unbridled love.
The presentation continued as Sunny with illusory tricks and magic weaved a fantastical story of the history of the world and earth, intermingling both with humour and tragedy. About one third into the show she brought Sooyoung on stage for the first time to assist her with ‘The Flood’. Sooyoung’s nerves were wound tight but the whistles and cheers from the crowd relaxed her countenance in almost an instant. Her beauty was more powerful than any other form of distraction, just the right amount for Sunny to perform her magic.
The show was an absolute hit and by the end of it the crowd was reluctant to leave the theatre, having experienced a life altering presentation of such beauty, sorrow, joy and fantasy that returning to their regular life seemed like an overbearing droll task and punishment. The applause and cheers after the show continued for minutes on end; both Sunny and Sooyoung bowing and accepting gifts of adoration from men and women alike. The theatre and stage was electric and the duo was on fire.
By the end of that first night’s show their next performance had been fully booked and a few days after once the news of their sensational illusions spread across the city their next week was booked, then month, and soon after the whole season.
Sooyoung also gained fame with Sunny and although she assisted in a little less than half of the illusions; her beauty, style, grace, humour and fashion sense had gained her the nickname Chic Sooyoung, which was soon incorporated as her official stage name. As her confidence in herself on stage grew so did her and Sunny’s chemistry. They were a power couple who played off each other perfectly in sync allowing each in turn to shine; which in return meant that together they shined even brighter.
Show after show their names spread and people all across the country travelled to see them at their city and at the Hippodrome. It didn’t take long for them to get requests from theatres and production companies all across the country to come visit, with ever increasing better deals for the profit margins and promises of covering travelling and lodging costs. At this rate they were already booked for the next few years to come.
There were so many places to visit, but they had developed enough new illusions for their show to sustain them for a couple of years of touring without necessarily having to develop anything new. However, both Sooyoung and Sunny were too passionate about their work that they wouldn’t sit on their laurels and not create something new; they would try stay at the top of the game for as long as they could.
The success of the show and increased fame also brought the ire of Malone. At first his pestering was minute. From the start of the first show he was banned from entering their shows, something the security made sure of, but they couldn’t keep all his lackeys out and in increasing amount as the duo’s fame grew so did the disruption from Malone. Eventually they had thugs waiting for them out the door, stalking them, hecklers hired to disrupt the show, people sneaking in the back to try suss out the secrets and finally one of their prime stagehands was assaulted on their way home. Sunny and Sooyoung had to hire security for their walks back home and upgraded the locks and integrity of their own apartment as well. Luckily the increased security helped and they reported every incident to the police to have an official record in case of legal action.
With increased income their philanthropic ventures became more prominent; a particular passion of Sooyoung who had herself survived her formal years thanks to such actions. Their reputation soared with their success; however they would do secret surprise shows at hospitals, schools and orphanages in silence and away from prying eyes of the newspapers. It didn’t take long for Sunny and Sooyoung to begin offering free tickets to low-income children and families to their shows at decent seats; as good seats as the Sir Isambard allowed them to offer; he had to make a profit after all. They wanted everybody to be able to enjoy and share in their magic.
Their final show date was fast approaching and to finish their season off they were taking a full two weeks of no shows just to prepare for this grand finale of their first show season. It would be longer than usual and they would present a new illusion that Sunny had been developing recently. It would also involve a public party afterwards outside the Hippodrome where drinks and food would be available, one of the up and coming successful local live bands would be playing, and Sunny and Sooyoung could engage with their viewers directly.
Sunny Illusoré and Chic Sooyoung’s show had taken on a life of its own, a runaway train of success and nothing was going to stop it now that it was speeding down the rails at ever higher speeds.
Except for that one night.
The knocks on the door were incessant and rapid, the thick new oak door installed for extra security shaking the whole door frame and wall of their apartment with the banging. Beyond it Sunny could hear the voice of her landlady and their favourite errand boy Gary, a tiny eyed and a little scrawny of a guy who was extremely fast and with a penchant for rhyming, calling their names.
Before the door was properly open and Sunny could say a thing Gary blurted the news out, “The Hippodrome is on fire!”
There was nothing she could say. Her usual bright eyes were downcast and she was running out of breath trying to say anything. Her bottom lip quivered and equally much like her voice there was a tremble in her hands. The Hippodrome on fire? Their equipment, their whole future, their dreams, all burning?
Behind her she heard the door to Sooyoung’s room open and she turned around to see a tired and cranky tall woman in her silk pyjamas walk towards her and before she could whine about being woken up Sunny told her the news. Sooyoung almost collapsed and there was little more they could do than hold her as they rode the first wave of nausea that came with the news.
Then they were spurred with action. Maybe it wouldn’t all be gone. They had to go see. Gary was to wait for them downstairs and like a hurricane they had managed to dress themselves on the fly in attire fit for public consumption but good for running.
As they got out of their apartment from the distance over the tops of the city buildings they could already see the orange and yellow glow against the blackness of night, bright enough to illuminate the clouds high up in the sky which in return reflected the warm glow further out, enough to drown out starlight. The pit of Sunny’s stomach sank further as they raced towards the source of the light as fast as they could. She prayed it wasn’t true.
Before they were even within sight of the Hippodrome they could see the fire the rooftops of the houses and skyline. The building was in full flames by the time Sunny and Sooyoung made it there, the area blocked off by the police and the firemen. There was no rescuing the theatre from this, nor most of their equipment and illusions. At least all the designs and blueprints for their illusions were protected in a safe in their shared apartment, but everything would have to be rebuilt; all the intricate equipment and mechanisms would take months to remake.
Their season was over. The insurance payout might just be enough to cover the little remnants of their debt and rebuilding some of the equipment but that left them with no income to continue on considering all other costs, living costs included. They had banked everything on this and now it was gone.
With all their equipment gone they could already see many of the offers they received for tours for the coming years being redacted, until this mess was investigated and until they had a show on hand once again. Maybe they could find an outside investor who was interested in keeping their show alive considering how famous and good it was, but it risked giving up creative control from their hands to the investor, something they weren’t keen to do.
“We’re ruined…”
Nobody really paid mind to their arrival as all were entranced by the fire that consumed the magnificent theatre in the centre. There was no saving it anymore but now the concern was keeping the fire from spreading to the buildings nearby, as the city centre was densely packed with large apartments and other public buildings.
They watched the enchanting nature of fire, not unlike their ‘Ring of Fire’ illusion they performed. The heat was overbearing and they all had to stand a good twenty meters away to not get burned. On the roofs of the neighbouring buildings fire-fighters battled the flames and managed to keep them from spreading, and in a rare sight of solidarity between different fire services there was collaboration between three. Hippodrome was a cultural and historical monument for the city and seeing it in flames tugged at the core of most residents.
There were a few collapses of the floors in the night, but the stone frame of the building mostly stayed intact and by morning light the flames had been killed and all that was left was to get rid of the last smoking embers. That magnificent theatre was reduced to a wrecked stone frame smoking in the early morning breeze, an iconic building of the city ruined.
The police requested for them to come for questioning later in the afternoon after they had some rest and they did. There was little doubt that the two were innocent as they had taken their insurance at the start of the season and had invested huge amounts of money for their grand finale that would only payout upon a successful show. The owner of the Hippodrome theatre, Sir Isambard was also quickly erased from the suspect’s lists as he equally had more to gain from an intact theatre.
Sunny and Sooyoung shared their suspicions that the Irish mob might be involved as Malone bore them ill will, had closed family ties with the mob, and had threatened them multiple times so far and attacked one of their stagehands, something the police records corroborated.
While they waited for the investigation to begin and start finding the culprits, Sunny and Sooyoung drifted slowly back towards their apartment. They were tired and devastated, completely demoralized and for a moment Sunny thought that Malone had finally won and gotten his revenge.
“This can’t be it, can it?” Sooyoung asked as they crossed the familiar park next to their apartment, “There’s got to be something we can do.”
Brows and mouth crinkled in thought Sunny stopped walking for a moment, Sooyoung walking on for a few steps before realizing this.
“We still have our fame and success and clout from the shows we did. We can still book another performance. This is not the end. We promised the people a grand finale show and we will deliver, despite Malone’s mobs’ threats and destruction of our property.”
“But where will we hold it? The Hippodrome was the fanciest and biggest theatre in the city, there’s no other venue that can accommodate the people we would need,” Sooyoung said as she walked over to Sunny.
There was nothing that was going to stop Sunny now. She had to do this final push, this last ditch effort. Her reputation was good, people loved her and she still had clout with important people. Their equipment may have gone, but if they could get a show within the next two weeks in that time Sunny knew they could get the necessary items in place for one last show. For one big illusion and grand finale.
The show would be for that one illusion only, and nothing else. They wouldn’t have time nor could they afford to pay for anything else for now, not until the insurance payment came through and even then most of it would go into paying off their debts.
“We will do a show in Castle Park.”
“Castle Park? How will we build the props to support the illusion in an open park?”
“Trust me, just find a way to book it and I will show you what I have in mind. I will show you my ultimate illusion that I recently learned.”
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