Welcome to Gaia! ::

The door to the make up parlor was almost never closed, and this morning was no exception. Any one who graced the frame with thier presence would be able to see Madame busy pressing costumes to preformers and shoving them from the room, or applying one last layer of lipstick and rouge to the cheeks of a young lady. She humed to herself, skirts stylishly swishing around her legs as she moved. It was an odd sight to see one could imagine... a modern woman surronded by the fantasy and granduer of the theater costumes...
She glanced up, gray eyes connecting with the young lady in the hall who had come to see her.

" Mz. Emmah! Zou look lovely this morning." she said with the strange accent that snuck it's way into her conversations. "Are Zou ready for the prrreformance t'night. " She Clasped her hands together and motioned for the young woman to come closer. " I can start on Zour make up now if Zou would pleaze." She offered a kind smile and waited for the girl to answer back, knowing Emma there would be all sorts of livley gossip and conversation this morning. " Zou have your part perfect?"

" My 'ittle flower! Cheri, I know very well. But I will not allow zou to be any zing but perrrfect." She assured, turning to the table again and again to pick up stage base, make up pencils and lip color. She dragged a brush through the girls hair, gently.
" Zee other performers...I worry for zem." MAdame sighed after a long while. "Zee other day zah chorus girl, a small high alto. She was singing off key and zee magician had her killed... And such a lovely costume I had made for her role!" Moving her hands down the length of Emma's hair she made sure it was shining and smooth.
" Zere is a new costume for zou, Mz. Emmah. I have finished za adjustments from our last fitting. Ready for opening night!" There was the heavey scent of perfume that hung in the air, and it became even more potent, even more exotic as Madame threw open the standing closet and drew out a lovely pink dress.

Kristine had been practicing for hours, perfecting her pieces, and now she could not help but smile in a rather pleased fashion. Everything was dead on, and she knew there would be no mistakes on her part. She knew her music so well, that should someone else mess up the music, she would easily be able to recover her own place, and likely make up for any mistakes. This was to be her first performance as an actual opera singer, and she could not completely contain her nerves. She clasped her hands before her, in an attempt to keep them still, and stood from her piano. She smoothed out her dress, a nervous habit of hers, and headed out of her room and down the hall. She would need to get hair and make-up done in order to perform in the dress rehersal. There was only one woman to see for that.

As she walked down the hall, the sound of two women talking came to her delicate ears. She slowed her pace as she neared Madame Sabrina's parlor. She heard the distinctive voice of Madame Sabrina, and the voice of another girl. After a few seconds, she recognized it as one of the actresses, though she could not remember the girl's name. She waited a few more seconds, then stepped up to the door and peeked inside. She softly knocked on the door, not wanting to interrupt, and stood there, looking rather shy and very much like a timid mouse. She was never one to truly speak up, which was strange considering the rather enormous voice she had. However, as this was her first performance, not many had heard her sing yet, and she had yet to build her rep amongst these people. She was so new to all this, that she was often pushed around, simply because she was so shy.

Kristine nodded, alittle overwhelmed by the strong scent of the perfume that hit her like a wall. However, she stepped in, though her movements were slow and timid, as she often was on first meetings. She seemed like such a fragile creature, easily broken if not handled with care. Yet this timid and shy young woman held such a powerful voice behind her, and a practice method that was strict and rather demanding. She walked up until she was only a few feet away from the woman, and offered a small smile.

"My name is Kristine, and I believe I am to come to you for my costume and make-up." Her voice was soft and sweet, much like the voice one might expect to hear from and angel. Her eyes were bright and inquisitive, though they remained fixed on the woman before her. She would not show any rude behaviour by turning her gaze away, for she remembered quite vividly her strict teachings of proper manners. She was nothing if not polite.

Kristine looked about, feeling almost drunk with the smell of the perfume. Madame Sabrina was a wonderful woman, but Kristine wasn't sure she wanted to be there for very long. She took another timid step forward then stopped altogether. "My part? Well, I'm playing the soprano role. The young maiden who is to run away with the prince." She always loved shows like this one, where true love won through all obstacles.

She looked about at all the makeup that the woman had laid out on her table. She was reluctant to have makeup put on, for she was a woman who preferred the natural look. However, if the audience was to truly see her facial expressions, something that was crucial in opera, than she would need makeup to help amplify those expressions.

Kristine held the dress for a moment, so unused to such elegant clothing. She looked almost terrified for a brief second, then reality clicked in. She hurried to change, slipping off the dress she had worn moments before, and pulling on the one she had just been handed. In such a place with so many people, it was hardly possible to be modest. She was simply thankful that Madame Sabrina had her back turned to the young girl. Her long and slightly curled brown hair fell about her in silky smoothe ringlets, which were quite a natural thing on her.

She made a small 'ahem' sound and clasped her hands before her, looking up with that shy and innocent gaze of hers. She felt so lavish and regal in this outfit, and she was amazed at how easy it was to breath. However, one could not wear something as restricting as a corset if they were to sing an opera. Air was a neccessity for singing, and it was essential for this young girl to be able to move about with ease and to have the ability to fill her lungs fully, if she wanted to sing the long runs that were common of aria's.

Kristine did as she was asked without any protest. She was used to doing as she was told, having been raised by a woman who had been the choriagrapher (sp?) of an opera house. She had been in charge of teaching the ballerinas each of their routines. Even Kristine had learned to dance from the kind woman, having been best friends with the woman's daughter. "Its fine." She said softly, trying to reassure the woman that everything was fine with the dress.

She knew it would likely take a long time to get ready, but that didn't bother her. She was used to spending much more time practicing and perfecting a piece of music. Standing here for a few hours would not affect her in the least. For someone so shy and timid, she had a great deal of patience and endurance.

((I have no idea. I'm pretty sure people have stopped RPing here, except you and I. So sad, I was actually enjoying this one, seeing as this is what my career is going to be.))

Kristine nodded, bowing graciously to the woman. "Thank you madam." She offered the woman a sweet smile while she picked up the skirt of her dress so that she would not trip on it. She did not run, for she had always been taught that a woman ought never to run. However, she moved at a brisk pace, as though she had somewhere important to be. She was making her way out to the backstage area, to ready for the performance.

As she walked through the halls, which were oddly quiet, she began to hum. She knew how important it was to keep her voice warmed up, yet how important it was that she also not wear herself out too early. This was to be her debut performance, and everything had to be absolutely perfect. So much was riding on this, so much more than even she could have imagined, for she did not yet know about the magician's way of dealing with imperfection.