"My esteemed guests, I bid you a gracious welcome to an evening of intrigue, where the veil between the ordinary and the extraordinary shall be lifted before your very eyes." A magician stood in the center of a stage overlooked by several verandas, his shoes clacking loudly, and his long black coat fluttering with each step. His top hat twirled in his fingers as he pulled it off of his head, taking a bow towards the audience.
The crowd erupted in applause, like hundreds of guns going off at once. They weren't tourists, rather regulars. They had come to know of Lumière Croft and his illusionist antics. Their applause was their excitement- their expectation for a show that would exceed all others, including his previous endeavors. Fathers and daughters, mothers and sons- they were all equal as audience members with hearts caught up in anticipation.
A little girl, holding her mother's hand, settled in the front row of the seating area, letting out excited squeals as she sat down in her seat. Each time she would beg her mother to take her out to the show hall to see the magician, she would sit in her seat each time realising that she had grown a little taller. This performance in particular, she had grown just tall enough to see over the railing without her mother's help.
It was a special performance to her.
"Do you want me to lift you up again, darling?" The mother looked down on the little girl with a soft, pitying look. She had grown used to the process. However, to her surprise, her daughter shook her head and smiled, her gaze never averting from the magician center-stage.
As the little girl and the countless others in the audience watched on, Lumière pulled out a white handkerchief from his breast pocket and held it up.
"To any one of you, this may look like any ordinary handkerchief." Lumière grinned as his gaze rose to the veranda which hung high in the show hall. Standing at the front of the crowd on the top row, a woman dressed in a fancy black-and-yellow lace dress stared down at Lumière with a disapproving gaze. Her sapphire eyes watched as Lumière directed his hand to point towards her and spoke out once more. "However, it's actually something our lovely Madame, the host of the show, has kindly donated for the sake of my silly little trick. I'm quite sure it's worth double what I make in a month. Isn't that spectacular? Let's give her a round of applause!"
The Madame was forced to avert her gaze in embarrassment as the crowd directed their excited gazes towards her and applauded. The firecracker-like symphony of clapping continued as Lumière raised the hand that held the handkerchief forward.
"Well, there's some worth in this handkerchief being so absurdly expensive."
The more Lumière drew their attention back and forth, the less they would have been able to focus on, and so as the handkerchief in Lumière's hand became enveloped in bright crimson flame, their surprise was amplified. As embers filled the air, Lumière's gloved hand filled with a wriggling white mass, and when it dissipated, a dove sat perched in the center of his palm.
Surprised gasps escaped the lips of onlookers. "You see, the reason the Madame pays so much for these fancy handkerchiefs is because they're actually birds in disguise!"
As Lumière declared this, his gaze fell upon the little girl who sat in the front of the audience, staring with excitedly wide eyes at the bird that flapped its wings in Lumière's hand. Lumière smiled at the young girl, whose expression took on a look of brilliance after realising she had been noticed. She reached up her tiny little hand to wave at Lumière, who waved back with his free hand in return.
Then, Lumière took off his top hat once more.
"Of course, we can't just have animals running around in the show hall!" He declared, placing the dove inside of his hat. Then, he reached his hand outwards and snapped. Out of his sleeve, a long black-and-white rod- a magician's wand appeared. He spun it between his fingers before tapping on the rim of the upturned hat twice. "Now, it's just a matter of waiting a few seconds…"
He looked back up at the audience, who stared right back at him with anticipation. Lumière smiled at them and raised the hat outwards towards them. "Isn't it marvelous, my dearest guests? With the power of this hat, even I can make living creatures disappear!"
When Lumière glanced down in his hat, the feathery-white dove he had anticipated had disappeared. In its place, however, a rabbit with a soft-white glow around its form wriggled slightly in the center of the hat. He reached into the hat and pulled it out with one hand, holding it against his chest and stared down at it. The crowd, in response, began to cheer even more. Lumière was not so amused.
'Where the hell did you come from?' Lumière's brow twitched. 'Is this one of Ms. Lavant's pranks? Shouldn't an attendant of the show hall dissuade herself from interfering with its performance?'
His act unwavering, Lumière raised the rabbit up in the air and declared while shaking his head. "That wasn't meant to happen!" However, with the inflection of his voice, this was passed off to the crowd as a bit of humour. When Lumière looked down at his arms once more, the rabbit had disappeared, as if it had never existed at all.
'So even the rabbits disappear without my needing to do anything?' Lumière was slightly confused. 'I'll have to talk with Ms. Lavant later…'
As he spoke, a string-quartet began to play a captivating piece in the background, suspended below the stage. The volume of the droning strings began to swell, and the rhythm of the bass kept the swing of the piece in constant motion. After a short while, the crowd had lost focus on Lumière, and now paid full attention to the quartet. So, Lumière ignored his introspections and continued with his performance.
'A magician's first course of action is to distract. This is my first principle, one of many meant to achieve certain goals.' A grin curled up Lumière's lips as he extended his hand. As he snapped his fingers, the quartet stopped the crescendo tune, enveloping the show hall in a slow, serene drone. As the notes fell, so did the gazes of the crowd fall to see the mist that gradually cloaked the performers in a haze, the bare movements of their bows the only sense that they remained.
Seeing this, the audience erupted with gasps of surprise and confusion.
"My esteemed guests, you may have grown to believe that a show is best viewed alongside an exquisite musical performance. I too, have accepted this fact of show life. However, in recent times, the industry has been very tough. The funds are just not what they used to be." Lumière let out a visible sigh, bowing his head while raising his hand towards the quartet cloaked in mist. "Sadly, we just can't afford to hire these amazing, brilliant musicians as we have in the past. Mr. Crusch, our Cellist, Ms. Adeline, our Bassist, and Mr. And Mrs. Haugard, our Violinist and Violist- well, it's time for us to bid adieu to them."
In response, the crowd began to murmur and let out their dissatisfaction.
"I know, it's a shame!" As Lumière spoke towards the audience, the platform underneath the stage where the quartet had been playing became clear once more, the haze vanishing. The bows, suspended within the air, continued to ring out with brilliant sounds, the music taking on a more mellow, somber tone. It wasn't like the previous performance, which enthralled the hearts of all watching. No longer was it majestic, encapsulating. Now it was just saddening.
"My esteemed guests, I've just realised that it really isn't the same without these four!" Lumière cried out, a dramatic, pitiful smile on his face. "An instrument is just that- a tool by which the hearts of the performers share their truest skill. If left to the instrument alone, aren't we doomed to listen to this sorrowful droning forever? If only there were some way to keep them by our side, enlightening us with their beautiful talents!"
Lumière removed his hat once more, and swinging his arm forward, tossed it to the audience member furthest to his left.
"I ask you now for your help!" Lumière glanced up at the Madame, the host of the show hall, who sat high above him. Her gaze was full of disapproval and annoyance. This only pushed Lumière forward, knowing that every slight he could direct towards her would satisfy his heart even more. He had no fear that she would kick him out of the show hall either. His popularity was his shield- her greatest benefit. "Anything you might be able to spare- if we all work together, then perhaps there's some chance that we can bring these great talents back once more! With your help, we can continue to enjoy things as they've always been!"
'The Madame can afford to pay the musicians just fine. Do these lies make me a thief, or was it just misguided greed?' Lumière chided inwardly. 'Well, it's not like I don't deserve additional compensation for bringing smiles to all these people.'
The members of the audience, moved by the somber melody of the empty quartet, found themselves reaching into the pockets of their coats, their handbags, and their trousers. Quickly, the top hat that was being paraded around began to be filled with multi-coloured notes, glimmering metal coins, and the shoddy jewels of the wealthy that could afford to be rid of them.
"My dearest guests, you really are the most generous sort of people, aren't you?" Lumière noticed the little girl at the front of the audience once more. He watched as she begged her mother for the spare coins she kept in her handbag, and then as she subsequently placed the handful of glimmering metal pieces into his top hat. If he could look her in the eyes once more after seeing that, he would have had no heart at all. Even Lumière had shame, even if his actions didn't show it.
After the top hat had been passed around to each audience member, it was returned to Lumière by an attendant. It had nearly been filled to the brim with an assortment of valuable wares and banknotes.
'It does pay off, being such a horrible person…' Lumière chided internally as he set the top hat to the side.
"My dearest guests, it seems we may be able to continue as usual. Your generosity really does amaze me. I would like to thank you all, personally. I hope we can continue to put on wonderful shows for you all." Lumière directed the attention of the audience to various spots throughout the hall with his hand. Nestled in between the audience members, the quartet members suddenly stood up, illuminated by the stage lights that snapped to their locations. As the audience spotted them littered throughout the crowd, they began to cheer and let out aweful praises. "I'm sure our wonderful musicians agree with this sentiment. It looks like they've decided to return and play for us once more. I really wonder how they can do such a thing, but no matter how many times I ask them to tell me how they perform such an act, they won't ever budge. As they say, a magician never reveals his secrets. It's truly a shame."
The crowd filled with laughter once more.
'That's why I would never call myself a magician. Holding so many secrets is a painful endeavour…'
After the performance ended, Lumière made sure to divide several small portions of the funds for each of the members of the quartet. Although they were more than excited to just be involved in the actual performance, rather than a background accoutrement, Lumière felt bad about using them to use others. So, to ease his guilt slightly, he made sure to give them a fair share.
Then, Lumière found himself changing in a dressing room within the show hall. As he buttoned up his shirt, the door to the room opened with a soft creak. Raised silk shoes echoed tapping sounds upon the tiled floor, and a woman taller than Lumière stepped into the room. She wore a bright yellow gown, which matched well with her eyes like a blue sky. Her stark auburn hair was braided behind her head, and every part of her that would usually draw attention was littered with expensive jewelry.
She was a beautiful woman, but Lumière Croft was not the sort of man that would allow such a thing to stir his emotions. His set of principles did not include bowing to instinct. He had decided after reading a multitude of novels that he was to portray himself in the calmest fashion, like a character in a poorly-written novel. Of course, even he couldn't stop his witty nature from flooding over his intentions.
As the Madame, the woman adorned in regalia approached him, she spoke out.
"The donations weren't on behalf of our show hall, Mr. Croft. I would have never authorised such a demeaning act. The jobs of the quartet's members were never at stake. You used such a somber atmosphere to move the hearts of the audience members. It wasn't a performance, it was more akin to taking hostages…"
"Will you arrest me for this crime, Madame?" Lumière shrugged, his self-satisfied smile unwavering.
"…and you set another of my handkerchiefs on fire. Do you know where that silk comes from?" The Madame scoffed. "It may take weeks, perhaps even months to import another… if my status doesn't remain befitting of my standing, then I'll become the mockery of the industrialists's wives… even the wife of Leiden's financier seems to think she can use any small point to demean another. You really make life harder to live in comparison to how much money you bring in, don't you, magician?"
Lumière shrugged again. "I'm no magician, merely a career-liar. If you wanted a real magician, you could have asked one of those minor religious sects that practice out of the hilltops outside the city."
"And then the Goddess would strike me down." The Madame chided. "One should not delve where one does not need be. That treacherous realm of magic belongs only to the churches. Neither you, I, or the show hall need be involved with those matters."
Leaning against the wall, the Madame pulled out a cigarette from her ornate handbag. "I'm not going to pay you for this show, considering you've already collected from the audience more than I would have paid you anyway."
"What makes you so confident I won't report this to a representative of the Trade Commission?" Lumière spoke calmly in return, leaning his head on his hand.
He watched as the Madame lit a cigarette at the end of a cigarette holder before releasing a hazy cloud of smoke into the air. "It's a preposterous assumption that you've made to assume that I haven't already paid those men to ignore certain things." Lumière watched as the Madame stole his self-satisfied smile, looking down at Lumière as if she remained the victor. His eyebrow twitched, but he kept his calm demeanor.
"You're an evil witch."
"I'm also your employer. I hope you won't forget that, magician."
After a short while, the Madame put out the cigarette in an ashtray on top of a countertop, and without looking back at Lumière, stepped out of the room with an exhausted huff.
'It's not like I actively try to make your life harder, Madame. It's just that my benefit weighs much more than I can consider yours.' Lumière's expression grew sorrowful, his gaze falling towards the floor. 'I'm not the only person that depends on me…'
Lumière pulled the top hat over his messy head of hair and stood up, stepping out of the room. When he had exited the show hall, the money he had obtained from the show tucked discreetly in his interior pocket, he began to walk.
The rain fell harshly on the flagstones that littered the dusty pathway of Leiden. The city was sprawling in its architecture that seemed to try desperately to pierce through the smog of the stormy sky, with towering buildings made of brick and mortar by the Goddess of architecture's design. Gears could be heard whirring in the distance, of mechanical contraptions that powered the city, and of the giant clock tower that rested in the distance of the middle borough, constantly chiming to remind everyone that time was always moving forward.
Since the crimson sun had nearly set, all manners of people had started to make their way home. Those coming home from an exhausting day of hard labour rode on the double-deckered engine-driven street trains, while residents of the middle borough would hire a carriage pulled by well-groomed horses, and the wealthy would ride along the wide streets in their own motorised carriages. Even in the main street, the disparity between the labourers and the fortunate was intensely obvious. If one could afford it, those carriages would be driven by attendants, and for those who owned the greatest wealth, their motorised carriages would be driven by mass-produced human-like automatons.
In place of the sun which had pulled away its light from the streets, oil lamps on posts had been manually lit by the lamplighter that stomped his way through the city. So, the street was basked in a bright orange glow from the flames. Lumière knew that even the lamplighter was prone to losing his work at the behest of advancing industry. More and more had electricity begun to fill the streets with bright incandescent light, and so flame that had been gifted to humanity took a quiet backseat.
Alongside the glow of the lamplight, the lilac-coloured moon had emerged, alongside a singular green, blue, and red star. A raven had settled underneath its light above Lumière, a terrible omen of despair.
But alongside bad luck was simply the only way one could live. A man would be made to know his worth, whether most of all, or naught in the slightest, and then he would be made to fight against life with the sharpness of his family's name, or bare-handed against hunger and strife. That was why Lumière struggled, both to live, and to lie. If he could make money, then the people who depended on him could also survive.
As he found his way in an empty alleyway, movement stirred in Lumière's jacket pocket. Reaching inside, he grasped hold of a wriggling, soft mass. As he pulled it out, he realised it was the dove he had pocketed during his performance.
'Is this where you went when that rabbit replaced you? I completely forgot about where you would end up after that trick…'
As he looked at the bird, he let out a soft laugh- one that almost completely dispelled the exhaustion that had knitted its way into his body. He held the dove outwards and stared into its empty black eyes.
'I would keep you, but I'm sure someone back home would much rather eat you than take care of you. As for returning you to the show hall, the Madame doesn't mind buying new birds… I doubt she would want you back. Maybe this is your chance to feel the freedom of life, whatever that may be…'
Lumière let out a sigh and threw the dove forward. It began to flap its wings, and before flying away, turned back to look at Lumière as it hovered.
Then, shadows filled the air, as if the sun had finally completely set. Lumière's humoured gaze darkened as he watched a mass of blackish-crimson miasma lurch through the air. A gaping maw that dripped with foul, putrid black liquid enveloped the form of the dove, swallowing it in an instant as Lumière's heart shook fiercely. Confusion was etched onto his face, and all he could do as his body froze in horror was watch as a beast made up of rotting liquid flesh stomped its way past him, ignorant of his presence. Instead, its shaking pupils fixated on two figures standing at the edge of the empty alleyway.
Being approached by the massive creature, Lumière saw a familiar mother and little girl frozen in fear as they stared up at the monster. His heart dropped immediately, and he felt his hand twitch slightly, as if he couldn't even will himself to step forward. As the little girl cried out, her gaze moved to the side and spotted Lumière standing behind the monster. He knew then what expression had found its way onto his face.
It was an expression of shame.
As the monster opened its mouth, the foul liquid dripped off of its many layers of teeth onto the mother and child. The mother hugged the young girl close, and the beast lunged towards the two.
'Damn it, even if I could move, what could I possibly do?' He didn't bother to try and comprehend the situation. All he knew was that the incomprehensible was threatening the lives of the people he had taken advantage of. His shameful heart wanted to walk forward, but his body refused. 'I'm just a liar… if I were really a magician, could I do something?'
The sky suddenly dimmed. The world lost its sense of colour, and Lumière was plunged into black-and-white, his skin growing ice-cold. The beast froze in front of the mother and daughter, their expressions of fear frozen on their faces. Lumière, too, found that he was frozen. However, his eyes were left to dart back and forth, scanning his surroundings, aware of his situation.
For a moment, there was chilling silence. Then, he heard murmurs in the distance, almost incomprehensible. There were thousands of them, constantly repeating both in his head and far away, stacked atop each other like a cacophony of gibberish and madness. It made Lumière's head pulse in sharp, repetitive pain. But he could not cry out, only continue to watch his frozen surroundings until the murmurs coalesced into a comprehensible sentence, echoing endlessly in the distance in a cold tone of voice.
"{To correct your misdeeds, would you sin further?}"