Work Text:
"Tequila! Thank goodness, you are here!"
The female singer, who pensively bent over her desk and the sheet music spread out on it, looked up at the creaking door and smiled sweetly at the Marquis entering the guest room.
"My dear Lucas, but it was you who invited me. Where else could I be, if this is where our meeting place always used to be?"
Marquis slowly approached the table. For a long time they have not stay alone like this. Their music studies with Tequila gradually began to come to naught since the first time he met Eleanor, and several months ago, when Marquis began to harbor a very serious plan, these meetings ceased altogether. Lucas highly appreciated his friendship with a talented singer and never thought about pursuing her romantically. However, to make sure that Eleanor would not feel any anxiety, he decided to cancel these meetings, which from the outside could seem ambiguous. Although, he had to admit, Marquis missed the amusing spectacle of Miss Belle pacing from corner to corner while singing, and he certainly missed their sudden musical improvisations. Practicing it quite a lot, they composed many good songs, but none of them was ever recorded.
Lucas decided to elaborate why in fact he and asked the Southern Siren for a tete-a-tete at his estate so long before the annual masquerade ball. He thoughtfully looked at his friend. This time she wasn’t at her full parade, as she was usually ready to enter the stage at the first request and enchant everyone with her singing. Long blond hair that she always gathered in a high hairstyle was now braided in a low scythe; beautiful, but simple, casual dress suited her elegant figure; low-key, calm makeup was nice and moderate. Her bright blue eyes studied him with interest as she was waiting for him to speak again.
"I'm sorry that my invitation was so sudden, I know it’s the very heat of all your great performances this month," - he began, slowly leading his fingers along the empty music stand. "However a wonderful idea occurred to me, and I really need your assistance. Hear me out and you will understand that all your way here was not in vain."
Tequila raised her eyebrows, inviting him to continue.
"The thing is... I'm going to propose to Eleanor at upcoming masquerade ball, I think you have already guessed that. I know you can look right through me... Now, just don’t laugh, I've been trying to figure out how to arrange the whole process of the proposal for a very long time. I wanted to talk to Sixpence first, but Eleanor knows her uncle all too well. He won’t be able to hide a surprise of this magnitude from her. Therefore, I finally found a solution, and for that I really need you, Tequila. Be there with me on that day and sing her a song before I get down on one knee. Please? And... Could you help me write this song for Eleanor? I remember how well you managed to improvise.
The blonde-haired woman, not surprised by the request to sing, was somewhat taken aback by the second half of the request. Her smile faded a bit.
"Yes, I’m good at this, but... I would love to help you, but I cannot even imagine... God, this is the moment when you offer her your hand and your heart; it is like one the most important things in your life! It has to be perfect… What exactly do you want me to sing to make it perfect?"
"Oh, I'd really like to tell her about my memories of the first night when I saw her... When Sixpence took her to my ball... I was looking at her constantly; even missed a very good move while playing cards." Marquis grinned and tugged his little dark beard. "One glance and I fell in love, as if I was sixteen!"
"One glance, you say ..." Tequila shook her head knowingly and smiled again at her friend. "You know, if you tell me anything else, I'll probably be able to think of something."
"You're a miracle, Tequila!" Lucas shone and excitedly waved his hands. "Can you imagine how many things have happened since then, and I still remember that evening down to the smallest detail! I'm quite a fool to have taken so long to admit to her, and even longer to propose, am I not? Ha-ha..."
Tequila, smiling again, looked again at the table, searched through the scribbled papers for a blank sheet, took a pencil and wrote down the first lines that came to mind. She remembered that night well too.
It was the first time she met Willow Blue.
Tequila was wondering around and looking curiously at the players' cards at the table, walking to them from the back. It was especially fascinating for her to watch for Trinity’s gambit - her half-sister was blind however played any card game with an astonishing confidence. Only once the head of the guard Clay Rockridge caught her at the open cheating, but in the end, he was the one who was caught on the hook of her charm. Now wedding rings shone on their ring fingers, and although in this game the former guard and his wife sat on opposite sides of the playing table and were opponents, they looked like they had defeated everyone long ago and shared this victory for two. Tequila even a little bit, just a bit envied their happiness. Her growing popularity on stage did not exactly mean happiness in her personal life.
She glanced at Lucas who was triumphantly laughing just a few meters away. That man always had an ability to draw attention to him... Tequila liked him a lot. She almost believed at some point that their music studies could have grown into something else. However, after some failed attempts to let him know about her feelings – perhaps Marquis really hadn’t get it or perhaps he had intentionally preferred not to – she chose unrequited love instead of breaking their friendship furthermore. Only recently she came to acceptance that Lucas was not meant for her. Still, she felt an unpleasant sting of loneliness looking at him now.
With a slight sigh, she stepped away from the players and, turning sharply, almost collided with one of the guests. With a gasp, she and the other woman begged their pardons and then looked at each other, surprised.
"Willow Blue," the stranger came to her senses first and held out her hand. "I heard you singing at the previous ball. I was quite impressed so I visited a couple of your town theatre concerts, Miss Belle, but I never thought that it would come to a personal acquaintance."
"Willow... Um, it’s a pleasure," Tequila repeated in a quite fascinated way, taking the girl's hand and shaking it slightly. "It's strange we haven’t seen each other. I dare say I’m a regular visitor here. Lucas... Marquis Bondes often invites me to sing..."
"Well, I’m not always present at these meetings unfortunately, business and all. And last time I probably was too busy chasing down ghosts to stay here long enough for you to notice me," Blue gave a slight laugh without taking her big, serious dark eyes away from the singer. That seriousness confused Tequila so she failed to understand whether her new friend was joking.
"You look like you didn’t get anything in What’s Your Poison Bar. I was heading there right now; maybe I can bring you something interesting?"
Tequila usually refused all offers to drink, but now, for some reason being unable to look away from the brown eyes in front of her, she could not even shake her head:
"It would be great. I rely on your taste. "
"Very well," Willow finally released her from captivity, turning her face away and revealing a neat, sharp-nosed profile for Tequila to observe. "Then I'll be back soon, will you wait for me here?"
And she headed straight to the bar after receiving a short nod from the singer.
In a moment Tequila suddenly realized she was still watching at Willows’ back while holding her breath. She took a deep one and tried to figure out what had just happened, feeling a bit spellbound.
"Ah, Miss Belle, I see you have met our so-called witch from the swamps?" she heard a cheerful voice beside her. It was preacher Lafcadio, who smiled warmly at Tequila, wiggling his whiskers.
"L-Lafcadio!" the singer was confused. "What do you mean by "so-called witch"?"
"Lucas never told you about her? Huh… They have a very interesting story of acquaintance... Let’s just say that Miss Blue works for him, searches for any curious artifacts for his collection, and he pays her for it."
Tequila nodded, remembering how much Marquises’ collection of various mysterious objects had grown in these few years and spreaded out all over the mansion. She came here quite often, and every time something new appeared, but she was unaware to even ask about it...
"She is originally from Southern lands, Lucas met her somewhere in the marshes there. Rumor has it that she seeks for the artifacts not just for fun and profit, but because her family was actively engaged in occult affairs and some of her ancestors were... clairvoyants or something... That’s why people are inclined to believe that she is a witch or at least knows such things. One has only to watch how she walks through dark corners with a lit candle and really believe in these rumors," – the elderly priest automatically raised his hand to cross himself. "Nevertheless, she is rather pleasant in communication, except for some of her supposedly extrasensory oddities."
"There are so many people here I still do not quite know, right, Mr Boone?" Tequila sighed spreading her arms. "Thank you, now at least I won’t look stupid, talking to her and knowing absolutely nothing."
"Always a pleasure, dear child." Lafcadio bowed slightly and decided to pay attention to Redd, who was troubled with something and was standing alone. "I hope you will let me play the piano for you later?"
"I'll be looking forward to that!" Tequila exclaimed.
When Lafcadio left she looked at the bar direction. Willow was already walking toward her, carefully holding two elegant goblets with graceful swarthy fingers. After seeing Tequila at the same place where she had left her, Blue smiled broadly to her new friend, and this time her eyes smiled too. Yes, Tequila thought, calming her unevenly beating heart, there is at least one magic power Willow possesses with no doubt - her incredible attractiveness.
"Thank you," she said, taking one of the goblets from Willow's hands. The bright blue liquid smelled of some fruit and alcohol.
"It's a pretty tasty thing," Blue hastened to assure Tequila when the singer quizzically looked at her. "And, besides, this cocktails’ color matches your eyes perfectly."
Tequila blushed and laughed softly.
"So that's what you were staring at me that way – to pick up a perfect cocktail?"
"Umm, something like that, yes," Willow could not hold back another smile and tried to hide it by drinking from her goblet, listening to the pleasant laughter of the girl, who had her attention since the previous ball. One of the reasons Willow got so interested in the singer was the ghosts’ talk that she overheard. The ghosts, invisible to other guests, could not just stop talking about Miss Belle. It was so intriguing that, instead of being present at the ball, Willow spent half of the night pacing around the corridors of the mansion, holding a burning candle in her hand, eavesdropping on their stormy compliments to the voice of a blonde diva. Perhaps one day she will be able to tell that pretty girl about how she conquered the inhabitants of the other world. In the meantime, why not become a little more than just a couple of acquaintances, right?
They had a very pleasant time together, chatting about common interests, people around them and just anything. Almost instantly two women felt like they have known each other for a long time.
They just started another conversation and almost finished another round of drinks when Sixpence entered the room and loudly asked for a moment of attention.
"My friends, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce to you my beloved niece, who finally persuaded me to show her where I am so happy to disappear almost every weekend. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Eleanor," - and he inclined his balding red head toward the door. There was a smartly, neatly dressed pretty girl with bright copper hair intercepted by a beautiful ribbon. She smiled embarrassedly at everyone and took a few steps forward.
"It's a pleasure to meet you at last... My uncle spoke so warmly of you that I could not help asking him... "
Tequila squinted at Willow. For some reason, she was agitated about how her acquaintance might look at a new guest, but what she saw calmed her down: Blue gave Eleanor a quick glance and looked at Tequila again, much more intensely than at Eleanor:
"She's sweet. And a bit too pure for this place, don’t you think? Something tells me that her arrival will be an interesting plot twist for all of us..."
Tequila nodded thinking that she even liked the strange manner in which Willow spoke. The singer touched Blues’ hand lightly and nodded her head pointing at Eleanor:
- Should we perhaps go and greet her?
However, Marquis who had jumped up from the playing table outstripped her. Belle was surprised to see some new expression on his face, which had never appeared before.
"Miss Eleanor... It is a great honor for me, as for the owner of this humble little place, to be the first one to greet you here... Well, that old fox Sixpence kept you hidden from us for quite a long time, huh?" He chuckled embarrassedly, then sobered and introduced himself properly. Eleanor answered him with a pleasant smile and said something softly, glancing at other people, and then Lucas kindly put his hand to her and slowly led her around the hall, introducing her to the guests.
Now as Tequila wrote the song Marquis was shining the same way he did then. He sat down in an armchair next to the table and looked somewhere through Tequila, immersed in memories. The singer didn’t feel sad or embarrassed – her own thoughts were far away from here, and her hand almost independently deduced more and more lines on paper:
«I
Had no intention to fall
Or to lose my calm»
Before her eyes Lucas's happy and bewildered face floated as he drove Eleanor through the hall, not noticing a cunning and joyous glance that Sixpence had thrown at him. Tequila wondered if the red-haired clockmaker already knew then that one day his younger friend would propose to his niece.
«Oh but you
Came along
With that crystalline smile»
The image changed – now Tequila was seeing as an unfamiliar woman turns to her for the very first time. Swaying chestnut hair running freely down her shoulders, intense look of the brown eyes, and then – the first warm smile. Willow's smile... Eleanor's smile... Belle sighed softly and continued, already losing confidence whether these feelings and memories of the unforgettable evening she was describing in lyrics belonged to Lucas or to her:
«And now I'm a fool for you»
You said you needed just one look, dear Marquis? Well...
«One look and I forget how to walk
One smile – now I can’t talk»
Yes... no doubt, just one look and magically all became clear for her and for Lucas... Perhaps, with the help of this song, she could also...
«One look and I shatter like glass
One smile – I'm whole again»
Tequila put down her pencil, peered at what she had written, whispered the newborn phrases. After she got the correct rhythm, she began to hum quietly under her breath – hum something that could probably become the future melody of the song.
Marquis came out of a blissful stupor and admiringly listened to his friend:
"Oh, Tequila, you lovely bird! It is wonderful; just wait for me to write down the notes! Now everything will be exactly right! I'm sure she'll like it..."
"Yes... She will love it..." Tequila agreed quietly, not thinking of Eleanor at all.