breakinglight11 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
breakinglight11) wrote2017-08-27 08:27 pm
breakinglight11) wrote2017-08-27 08:27 pm
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31 Plays in 31 Days, #27 - "Bravest Soul"
A rough, somewhat vague scene. It's a stab at imagining something that would depend on a plot I know nothing about, the thrust of the story in Mrs. Hawking 5. But I am excited to think about how Clara would be pulled in to help out, particularly because Nathaniel's in danger and she's called upon to be the third man on the team (so to speak) in his absence.
Bah. I do not want to be generating more scenes right now. But I'm pretty much out of non-spoilery Gilded Cages scenes, and I can't bear not to fill out the challenge here on this blog.
I should do more with Mary and Clara. I want them to have a friendship too, but I've never had much of an opportunity to explore it.
Day # 27 - “Bravest Soul”
From Mrs. Frost
By Phoebe Roberts
London, England, 1886
MARY STONE, protégé of the lady’s champion of London
CLARA HAWKING, her fellow apprentice’s wife
~~~
(MARY helps CLARA to dress and get ready.)
CLARA: How do I look?
MARY: Beautiful, madam. And formidable.
CLARA: It’s what I always aim for. But I’ll confess I don’t feel it. How do we do this? Walk into these circumstances, knowing everything relies on you?
MARY: Because… there’s nothing else for it. You never know what you can do until you must.
CLARA: I suppose that’s so.
(Pause.)
CLARA: Do you think he’s all right?
MARY: He’s strong, madam.
(Pause.)
CLARA: I didn’t know this was coming. Not this precisely. But… I was so afraid. I was so afraid of something like this.
MARY: I know.
CLARA: I don’t know if he ever was. He was so sure. About what he was doing, that it was the right thing to do. He didn’t seem afraid at all.
MARY: He’s very brave.
CLARA: Perhaps so. But I don’t know if he ever… really believed he was in danger. That he was too good at it. That she was too good. And, whatever happened, it would all turn out in the end. She would see to it.
MARY: Are you angry with him?
CLARA: He broke his promise. He said he’d always come home. To me. To his daughter and son. Why shouldn’t I be angry?
MARY: He wants to do good, madam. We all do.
CLARA: I know. Which is why I’m not angry. I’m scared. And so desperately sad. What do you think they’re doing to him?
MARY: Don’t— you mustn’t allow yourself to dwell on it. Or you’ll never be able to act to save him.
CLARA: Me. Save him. Do you really think I can?
MARY: It’ll take all of us. You won’t be alone. But yes, madam. We can’t do it without you.
CLARA: So much rests upon this. Nathaniel’s very life. What if I fail?
MARY: I thought the same thing, when I began. But if nobody does anything… nothing can be done. And as I said. You never know what you can do until you have to. And… we have to save him.
CLARA: I’m afraid.
MARY: That’s all right.
CLARA: Is it?
MARY: Because you’re brave.
CLARA: Me?
MARY: Madam. You stare down Mrs. Hawking without batting an eyelash. There are brutes and crime lords that can’t do that. You are the bravest soul I know.
Bah. I do not want to be generating more scenes right now. But I'm pretty much out of non-spoilery Gilded Cages scenes, and I can't bear not to fill out the challenge here on this blog.
I should do more with Mary and Clara. I want them to have a friendship too, but I've never had much of an opportunity to explore it.
Day # 27 - “Bravest Soul”
From Mrs. Frost
By Phoebe Roberts
London, England, 1886
MARY STONE, protégé of the lady’s champion of London
CLARA HAWKING, her fellow apprentice’s wife
~~~
(MARY helps CLARA to dress and get ready.)
CLARA: How do I look?
MARY: Beautiful, madam. And formidable.
CLARA: It’s what I always aim for. But I’ll confess I don’t feel it. How do we do this? Walk into these circumstances, knowing everything relies on you?
MARY: Because… there’s nothing else for it. You never know what you can do until you must.
CLARA: I suppose that’s so.
(Pause.)
CLARA: Do you think he’s all right?
MARY: He’s strong, madam.
(Pause.)
CLARA: I didn’t know this was coming. Not this precisely. But… I was so afraid. I was so afraid of something like this.
MARY: I know.
CLARA: I don’t know if he ever was. He was so sure. About what he was doing, that it was the right thing to do. He didn’t seem afraid at all.
MARY: He’s very brave.
CLARA: Perhaps so. But I don’t know if he ever… really believed he was in danger. That he was too good at it. That she was too good. And, whatever happened, it would all turn out in the end. She would see to it.
MARY: Are you angry with him?
CLARA: He broke his promise. He said he’d always come home. To me. To his daughter and son. Why shouldn’t I be angry?
MARY: He wants to do good, madam. We all do.
CLARA: I know. Which is why I’m not angry. I’m scared. And so desperately sad. What do you think they’re doing to him?
MARY: Don’t— you mustn’t allow yourself to dwell on it. Or you’ll never be able to act to save him.
CLARA: Me. Save him. Do you really think I can?
MARY: It’ll take all of us. You won’t be alone. But yes, madam. We can’t do it without you.
CLARA: So much rests upon this. Nathaniel’s very life. What if I fail?
MARY: I thought the same thing, when I began. But if nobody does anything… nothing can be done. And as I said. You never know what you can do until you have to. And… we have to save him.
CLARA: I’m afraid.
MARY: That’s all right.
CLARA: Is it?
MARY: Because you’re brave.
CLARA: Me?
MARY: Madam. You stare down Mrs. Hawking without batting an eyelash. There are brutes and crime lords that can’t do that. You are the bravest soul I know.