itscurtains | Week Four

Entry tags:

act 3,
week 4

Week Four

[Last week, Gershwin High School Academy University saw its very first intentional murder! What a milestone! And right after Spongebob's No Murder party, too - that doesn't seem like it bodes very well for anybody's future.

You all wake up this morning with yet another new memory returned to you. You'll also find that the school's external doors have now unlocked. Congratulations! You're free! Unfortunately, you also seem to be entirely in the middle of nowhere. So maybe it's more of a symbolic victory.

Still, you should look around and do some investigation! Maybe you'll find a fun surprise.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Be sure to submit your memory regains and your AC for this week! Hester's office hours and the merch booth also remain available! ))

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Eurydice?

[ Orpheus woke up later than he usually does, dreaming strange and surreal dreams and spending almost an hour out of sorts and staring at the ceiling over them, not realizing until afterwards that he'd missed his usual meeting with Eurydice. He roams the school looking for her in a state of borderline panic, calling for her, asking the others if they've seen her, before finally being directed outside. ]

Eurydice! [ He runs to her side, dropping to the ground next to her, terrified until he sees her expression. ] Are you - are you okay?

[ Eurydice turns to face him, eyes shining and wet. She points up at the sky. ]

It's the sun. The sky. I thought I'd never --

[ The rest of the sentence gets caught in her throat, and she turns her gaze back towards the sky, desperate and reverent. ]

[ That's all the confirmation he needs. Orpheus feels - a lot of things at once, at that. The sorrow of losing her, the senseless hope in grief that drove him to follow her underground, the joy that she's here, she's here, she's here and he's with her. It all comes out as tears, and he sobs a little as he reaches out to take her hand. ]

It's the sky. You're here. We're here.

We're here.

[ Eurydice echoes his words, and soon enough, she echoes his sobs, too. She takes the hand, reaching forward with her other one to cup his face. He is here; they are on the surface; Eurydice is home.

She wishes she could stay out here forever. ]

I'm so sorry, Orpheus. I'm so, so sorry.

[ Raising his hand to rest over hers, he smiles through the tears and shakes his head. ]

It's not your fault. It's not.

[ It's mine, he wants to say, but he knows that will only make Eurydice feel worse, so instead he leans in and kisses her. It's wet with tears and interrupted with little hiccuping sobs, but he doesn't care. She's here, with him, and not stuck in the cruel and suffocating underground. ]

We're here. And we're together. And no storms or gods or wizards are going to take us away from each other again.

[ Ordinarily, Eurydice would be content to let Orpheus hold her, and try to forget everything, but she can't do that now. There's something he needs to know. ]

No, you don't understand. It wasn't just the storm. I -- I --

[ Eurydice swallows, stifling a sob before the confession pours out. ]

To work on the line, you have to sign a deal. You have to choose. I chose to stay with him, in the factory -- and I regret it now, more than anything, but I still chose. It wasn't the storm, or the gods. It was me.

[ Quieter, her voice breaking: ]

I'm sorry.

[ Orpheus sits back, still holding her, but with enough space between them that he can watch her expression as he listens, worry and fear creeping back in. She left him. She took Lord Hades's offer - of a job, of security, and left him behind.

For a brief moment, he feels a flash of hurt and betrayal, because how could she? How could she just choose to go? But then he remembers what Mister Hermes said to him, and it all collapses in on itself.

She called your name before she went, but... I guess you weren't listening. ]

No. [ He shakes his head, heartbroken and crushed and guilty. ] This is - if I'd finished the song sooner, or if I'd been there for you through the winter - if I'd been better, you never would have had to choose. I promised you. I promised that I'd fix things, that I'd be there, and I didn't, I wasn't.

[ He blames himself. Of course he does -- he's so kind and good, unlike anyone she's ever met, and all Eurydice did was let him get hurt. ]

No, don't -- you didn't need to be better. Orpheus, you are the best person I've ever met, and I've met a lot of people. I shouldn't have let you promise those things, I should've known -- [ That the world isn't fixable. That she should have moved on as soon as she could, because if she doesn't get hurt, then someone else will.

Eurydice drops her hands, her gaze. She goes quiet and small, closing in on herself. ]

You deserved better.

That isn't - no. [ Orpheus's voice is small and broken as he watches Eurydice pull away. He reaches after her, hands over hers, and starts to sing, quietly. ]

I'll prove to you
We're not gonna die alone
Put your arm on my collarbone
And let me begin

I lied to you
The cost proving much too steep
Promises I couldn't keep
What we couldn't afford

[ He grows a little bolder, then, reaching out to cup her face and try to look into her eyes. ]

But my trust in you
Is a dog on an empty shore
Awaiting the one he swore
He'd live and die beside

You said, "You can't promise me
I'm not gonna die alone"
But trust me, I'll bring you home
And we'll live out our days under the sun

[ Eurydice keeps her head bowed low, at first. There's a voice in the back of her mind: it's safer for him, like this. She'd wanted to much, reached too high.

Then, she feels Orpheus cup her face and oh, it feels like home. She finally lifts her head, and looks into his eyes. Hers are glassy, and the tears fall steady, now.

Shakily: ]

I'm not gonna die alone
I don't think so

[ Orpheus smiles at her, blinking tears out of his eyes. ]

Put your trust in me
You're not gonna die alone

[ He leans in, pressing his forehead against hers. ]

When we get out of here - we'll do it together. And if it puts us back where the Wizard took us from, then I'll come and find you. I promise. Wait for me.

I will. I promise.

[ Eurydice relaxes a little, relishing in the contact. Orpehus -- her anchor, her home is here. He's not leaving, and neither is she. She's not running away, this time. ]

[ There's comfort to be had, in holding each other like this. Whatever happens tomorrow, whatever's waiting for them at home, it can't take away what they have right now. He'll stay there like that, for a long while, letting the tears subside a bit, before pulling back. ]

Have you eaten anything yet, today? [ he asks, gently. ] I can get something from the kitchen, and we can stay out here until it gets dark, if you want.

[ Eurydice nods, wiping away a couple leftover tears. ]

A little, this morning. Mister Salieri made me. [ she'll have to thank him, later. she was pretty out of it this morning.

Eurydice grabs Orpheus's hand. ] I'll come with you. [ she doesn't especially want to be alone. ] Then we can come back out. It's really nice out here.

[ Orpheus smiles a little, nodding. ]

He's a good man. [ he says. He'll be sure to thank him later, too. In any case, he stands back up, helping Eurydice to her feet with him. ]

Let's go. Today's too nice to waste.

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Week Four

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cw: animal death/injury in the original lyrics

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