frightfiction Chapter 126 Chapter 126
Chapter 126 Chapter 126
"How? The opera that the musician made for you?" Naquili asked slowly, taking a sip of tea.
If her hand didn't slip the teacup lid crookedly because of three consecutive slips, the calm and casualness she forced would be quite decent.
Even though Naquili had never met the music master, and didn't even know his name, she was already fascinated by that short piece of melody just based on a small piece of paper from ten years ago; Naquili is also a very proud person, at least in the current era, she is definitely one of the best composers and playwrights in Númenor, so she was amazed at the staggering talent of the mysterious musician, on the other hand , which also deeply aroused her competitiveness.
Romimos really couldn't bear to hit her. In her opinion, Naquili was lucky enough to get the title of a master just because she happened to be born in an era that didn't pay much attention to music and art, while Maglor was among the stars. The moon that still shines brightly in the shining night sky.
But Romemos can't identify Maglor's identity, and because of her personality, she doesn't like to set limits on others, so she told Naquili directly, "Don't think about it, she is someone you can't compare to", maybe What untapped potential is there in Naquiri, right?
"The music is uncluttered and brilliant in every sense of the word," Romimos said, "but I don't think it's the right script for the show."
"How do you say that?" Naquili asked.
Romemos didn't explain much, just handed the score to Naquili, let her read it by herself.
Nakuili's eyes lit up, but her face was still pretending to be reserved, she slowly opened the first page with two fingers, her back and neck were straightened, her eyes were turned downwards, and she looked down in a condescending manner. Attitude examines the notes.
While Naquili was reading the script, Romemos was drinking tea leisurely.
In fact, she should change it to a more accurate term, she thought, Maglor's opera is not completely unsuitable for performances, but at least it is not suitable for performances in Numenor.
After nearly 30 years at the Alando Royal Opera House, Romemos can roughly divide all the dramas he has starred in into three categories: the first category is usually dedicated to praise such as Ru and Vera , now turned to the praises of the kings of Numenor, mainly Pharazon; the second is the most popular and enduring heroic epic. The legends of famous human heroes such as Lun and Tull are gradually no longer respected by the people of Númenor, although they are still their ancestors; The changes in the past few decades are very small, and most of them are nothing more than a routine of a handsome man and a beautiful woman who fall in love with each other but cannot get it for various reasons. After several twists and turns, they finally either reunite happily or both die in love.
However, Maglor's play cannot be classified into any of the above three categories.
This is no wonder, after all, the protagonist of this story is Romimos, a name that is neither pious, humble, nor heroic, and of course has nothing to do with romantic pure love.To be honest, even if Romemos were to use herself as the protagonist to create a story that the public would love to hear, I'm afraid she would have a lot of headaches.
So Maglor simply gave up, and finally presented a script that was not popular with the public at all, or it was not so much a script with a complete plot of succession and transformation, but more like a confessional memoir of an almost crazy person.The whole play uses Romimos as the first perspective, telling what she saw, thought and did in Gondolin. The libretto is filled with a lot of schizophrenic self-examination, self-analysis, self-doubt and self-remodeling. Considering that Maglor and Romimos were completely unfamiliar before this, it is hard not to suspect that the author himself was carrying private goods.Especially in the last scene, Romimos looked around alone and looked around the raging fire that burned the once white marble into a piece of charred black, and sang a lyrics like a soliloquy: "If I make a different choice, the ending will be different." What will happen?"
Regardless of whether Romimos really had such an idea, it is not important. The point is that the reflection and regret of the past revealed by Maglor with the help of "Romimos" in the music are the efforts of today. The last thing Manor needs.Today's empire is like a horse that has run loose. The nobles at the top are blindly enjoying the thrill of its rapid gallop. As for whether this horse will lead them into the abyss or hit the south wall in the end, they are either too proud I will think about it, or I am too weak to think about it, and no one is allowed to point it out.
After reading the script, Naquili was also silent.
"Do you understand what I mean?" Romemos put down his teacup, "Take a step back, even if Farathon and Sauron agreed to add this drama to the tour program after watching it, we wouldn't be able to make much money from it. More than once, I have heard the director complain that the funds allocated to us have been cut again."
Romemos stopped talking because she realized that Naquili wasn't listening at all.
"Naquili?" Romimos called out, but there was still no response from the person opposite, so Romimos could only lean out and pull Maglor's opera score back from her hand, "... …are you OK?"
Naquili raised her head, her face was pale, and her eyes were full of horror, as if she had seen a ghost.
The next day, Naquili fell ill, and Ocanom asked her to stay in Pelakir to recuperate at ease. After recovering, she can go directly to Armenelos by boat, and when Romimos sees her again Already half a year later.
Although he heard that Naquili had recovered, when Romimus saw her with his own eyes, he doubted the authenticity of the news.In the past few months, Naquili has lost her shape, her shoulders are bent, her face is haggard, she sits at the desk with her head bowed like a puppet, with a large pile of blank parchment in front of her, and her hand holding a pen But motionless.Romemos walked to her side, brushed away her messy hair, and saw that she had two frighteningly thick dark circles under her eyes, her eyes were staring straight at a certain point, and she was humming unconsciously, Romemos listened carefully. It was a piece from the third act of an opera written by Maglor.
"Naquili?" Romimos shook her a few times, which could be called rough.
Naquili raised her head in surprise, she looked at Romemos blankly for a few seconds, as if she didn't recognize her, and after a while, she whispered her name: "Miss Romemos. "
"A bottleneck in the new script?" Romimos asked.
But her casual remark seemed to have stimulated Nakuli. The other party dropped the pen without warning and swung his arm. The ink bottle was knocked down, and the black ink spilled on the table.
Romemos dodged to avoid the splashing ink dots, and pressed Naquili's wrist with his backhand: "Nakuri?"
"...I can't write it." Naquili said hoarsely, "That day, from that day on, except for his music, I can no longer play other melodies in my head."
"You are not in a good state now," Romemos said, "or you should give yourself a vacation first."
"There is no time, there is no time." Naquili muttered to herself, "New Year is coming soon, and I must submit a new play before the end of the year..."
"You are not the only one who can write lyrics and compose music in our opera house," Romemus said, "and I remember that you still have several plays that were not rehearsed after you finished writing them. Use them to change them in case of emergency. is it not OK?"
"Those? Those are a pile of rubbish!" Naquili stood up abruptly, almost bringing her chair down again, "No, it's worse than rubbish! As long as I think of the ridiculous things I wrote, I still Once complacent about it, I'm sick and ashamed of myself!"
"It's not that bad, I think some of them are pretty good." Romemos said.This is not completely unconscionable. Naquili, as a quasi-front-line leader in the field of Númenor music today, naturally cannot say that all works are worthless.
"Not bad?" Naquili laughed a few times like crying, "After you've seen such works, do you still think it's not bad?"
"It's not bad, but that man's work is a masterpiece." Romemos said, "Didn't I just tell you before that he is considered the top singer, musician and composer in the whole of Middle-earth? There’s no shame in being ashamed.”
"Stop it!" Naqueri interrupted. "Please stop humiliating me. You're just trying to tell me that I'm just mediocre, and to me that's no different than being worthless."
"How is she?" Vespa asked.
"Not so much," said Romemos, briefly recounting the conversation they had just had. "
"Well." Vespa was not surprised at all, "It's hard for others to say, but it's not surprising that Miss Naquili is like this, she has the same strict requirements on herself as she does on us, and has always been proud of her Talent, suddenly seeing the sky outside the sky is really shocking, I understand that feeling."
"Is your Tianwaitian referring to me?"
"Who else but you?" Vespa glanced at Romemos with a complicated expression, "No matter how beautiful other people are, no matter how good they sing, I still have the spirit to compete, but you , from the first moment I saw you, I knew that you were an unsurmountable mountain in front of me—you shouldn’t understand this feeling, right? You must have always been looked up to.”
"Actually, no." Romemos replied calmly, "Compared with short-lived human beings, I may have the wisdom given to me by nature and time, but before Yiru's children have not come, Among my kindred, I have never been the best. Especially compared with those powerful people, my strength is not worth mentioning. But in my opinion, the most important thing is not how high the upper limit is, but whether I have my own uniqueness, if I can bring some changes that only I can bring to Arda, even if it is only a little bit, it will be meaningful for me to choose to come here."
"Did you tell Miss Naqueri these words?"
"No, I think she can't listen to anything now." Romemos said, "Since you said you have experience, how did you slow down?"
"I changed my goal." Vespa said, shrugging, "I used to want to be the most popular female star in Númenor and catch up with the richest man, so beauty, singing voice, and fame are all things to me. Everything, but after getting to know Master Isildur, those are no longer important. But Miss Naquili is different from me, she paid too much for her dream, and there is no chance of turning back."
"It's really not good, at least she can go back and be her eldest lady."
"You don't know yet?" Vespa raised his eyebrows, "Just last month, Miss Naquili's father passed away. Her younger brother inherited the title, that bastard, he doesn't talk about family ties, he said Naquili Miss Quilli's deviant disgrace made their family face, and asked her to go back and marry immediately. Of course, Miss Naquili refused again, so she was removed from their family tree, just a few days ago. Cut, he Don’t you just don’t want to share the property that Ms. Naquili inherited, trash man!”
"Be second to none, or be penniless."
Naquili's father has been teaching his children this way since they were young.
As a local lord, Lord Frosta, like Amendil and others, is one of the most noble people in Númenor except Farathon.But there is always a gap between reality and ideals. Although several lords are equal in name, in fact, the status of the lords is inextricably linked with the right to speak and the wealth of their territories, and Frosta, it is Relatively the most barren region of the Númenor Empire.
When she was only a few years old, Naquili and her younger brother Ivanez went to Armenelos with their father for the first time to attend the banquet celebration. Even though they were the children of nobles, the prosperity and magnificence of the royal city still surprised the siblings. Compared with the children of other lords, they are as simple as the dusty stones that can be seen everywhere in Frosta.
Facing the sneering expressions of the other nobles that were hidden in their eyes even though they didn't say it, Naquili sat down in front of a piano with her head held high, and for the first time regained her dignity with a piece of music she wrote.
As she got older, Naquili became more and more convinced that music was her lifelong ideal and career, but except for her deceased grandmother, no one in her family supported her, especially Ivanez, who sneered at this.
"When you were nine years old, you could rely on your songs to make some face for the family," he said, "but you are already 19 years old, and if you don't do business like this, you will only make people laugh at our poor tutoring. What man would want to marry a man who doesn't understand The housekeeper who settles accounts is a good housekeeper, but the woman who spends her days in front of the piano and desk?"
"I can bring glory to our family with my violin and pen!"
"You really don't understand?!" Ivanez said angrily, "What Forosta needs most now is not your vain reputation! Even if everyone recognizes that you are a talented woman, so what? Can a few of your music scores be used for you? How much income will we increase here? But as long as you agree to marry the son of Lord Harnusta or Orlosta, we can sign more trade contracts! This is thanks to the fact that other lords do not have daughters of the right age, otherwise such a good thing It's your turn."
"Who cares so much!" Naquili spat angrily, "You want to marry those lords so much, you go and marry their daughters yourself."
"I would like to, but any daughter with some family background, who would like to come to a place like ours where there is nothing but a few broken stones?" Ivanez said coldly, "And I'm not alone That's what my father meant, and this time you have to marry if you don't."
So Naquili ran away from home, and there was no news of her for six years.
Six years later, Naquili finally succeeded in entering the highest music hall in Númenor, the Royal Opera House, but her father also found her not long after.
Her father asked her again if she wanted to go home to get married and have children. It is conceivable that Naquili, who was in the most prosperous period at the time, refused immediately, and even threatened that if they dared to force her again, she would sever ties with her family.
Half a year later, my father sent another letter, which said: If she really made up her mind, he would not ask her to go back and marry, but since she has chosen this path, she must do her best on this path .At that time, Naquili thought highly of herself, and she was determined to make some achievements so that her family would have nothing to say, so she naturally agreed without hesitation.
Until a few years later, Romemos brought a sheet of music, which shattered all her pretentiousness in one fell swoop.
In contrast to the works of real genius, every note she once wrote becomes distorted and even hideous, and the melody they form has no bright spots and lacklustre, and every bar seems to mock her mediocrity and incompetence.
Just at this time, Lord Forosta passed away.
As a child, there is no need to mention Naquili’s sadness. Although for a long time, the relationship between her and her father seemed to be weak. Since she left home, Naquili has never taken the initiative to mention her family to others. She and her relatives have never returned home as a daughter, and Lord Frosta rarely wrote to her to check on her recent situation, but deep down in her heart, Naquili still feels somewhat guilty towards her father.What Ivanez said at the time was not all wrong. Her music did not bring real benefits to the family. On the contrary, although her father did not support her choice, every time the Arlando Opera Troupe toured various places, The poorest Forosta's subsidy to the audience is no less than that of the richest Anduinita.
Still, Ivanez has apparently had enough.
"You should know in your heart how tight Frosta's financial situation is, although you have never asked, my good sister." He mocked in the letter to Naquili, "but now we have to make a decision. Change. The wife of the lord of Harlosta passed away due to illness not long ago. I have inquired about it. Raising your land and the people who live here have made some practical contributions. I hope you recognize the reality, but if you are stubborn and unwilling to fulfill your responsibilities, I will not be as merciful as my father."
Naquili was really shaken then.In the past, she was confident that she didn't need any retreat, and she was born to be the one who should eat this bowl of food, but now she is not sure, if one day fails, can she really bear the consequences of her choice?
But in the end, Naquili's stubbornness prevailed. If she backed down at this time, it would be tantamount to admitting that her persistence in the past was all wrong. With this face.
It’s just that the greater the determination to break the boat at the time, the more flustered Nakuli was when she found that her creation was not improving. She stayed in the piano room almost 24 hours a day, only sleeping for two or three hours a day, and it was impossible for her to eat for a whole day. I don’t feel hungry, Ocanom, Vespa, Ilfarin and everyone tried to persuade her, and Romimos also visited for two more rounds, but how do you hear what she said? It didn’t seem like comforting people, so I simply stopped going later, but I secretly regretted that I would not have asked Maglor for his score if I knew it earlier.
Until a certain winter night, Romimos was sitting on a chair and sleeping with his eyes open, while his real body was out of his body and roaming over the Numenor continent, when Vespa suddenly grabbed his shoulder and shook him back.
"Luo Mi, wake up!" Vesper didn't even bother to complain about her scary sleeping appearance this time, "Miss Naquili has an accident!"