[Dream]
[[OOC: Oh god this is so long and I'm writing it during economics class.]]
This was it, then. The big show.
Her feet are cold. She's done this before, she knows, standing at the end of the tightrope, vertigo making her head spin. The crowd's too quiet. When they're quiet like that, she knows they're all watching her. No other distractions. Just the girl on the tightrope, sweating behind her mask because the ground looks so far away. And the top of the tent is close. The ground is so far away and why didn't her dad let them set the safety net, she's thinking, and why is the crowd so quiet. "One step at a time, love."
Her right foot moves forward, and she already knows something's wrong. Her left foot now, and the rope is too slack, it dips, and the everything around her moves upwards as she moves closer to the ground. Why is the crowd so quiet, she thinks. Can't they see she's about to fall?
But the crowd isn't there at all. There's no one there at all. Nothing but empty seats and empty popcorn bags, and the musical instruments all along where the band should have been, all in that terrible silence.
"Mum?"
And now she's falling, all alone in the empty tent, in the darkness.
"You should have been more careful, dear," says her mother's voice.
"I look like an idiot!" And that's her own voice now, although it's not, because her mouth is open and she's about to scream because she's falling. She reaches out with her left hand to catch herself and she knows it won't make any difference, and her arm is going to break, oh god her arm is going to break.
She should have hit the ground by now, and she thought she had, except when she opens her eyes it's like she had never opened them.
"There once was a preedidly lilah," said the narrator.
"What?" says Helena.
"Who dranced on the beaches of briah.
'Til the finch of kraktoo,
With a frown of dispru,
Ordered 'er down from the lia."
and then she woke up
"What a bunch of jabberwocky."
Wakes up in her trailer in the circus, and she can see the lights in the distance, and she knows she's late for the show.
This is it, then. The big show.
"Hello? Mum?"
Except it's not the big show. She starts to realize as she puts on her costume that she's felt this way before; this uncertainty about everything. She turns to the mask on her wall and she asks it, "Am I asleep? Am I dreaming?"
She knows that she is; this is exactly how she felt when she fought the dark queen, when she saved her dreamworld from dying. She's in her element now, but the circus tent looks so big in the distance, and the top looks so far away. The mask gives her a reassuring wink.
"Okay. I can do this," she tells herself, making her way out of the trailer, toward the circus tent. And even as she says it, she knows it's true.
[[OOC: Anyone walking into Helena's dream will get to visit her circus! Whether you want to end up backstage or the actual stage, or in the stands during the show, or even in Helena's trailer is up to you. Feel free to list action tags saying where in the circus your character bumps into Helena, if you want to.]]
This was it, then. The big show.
Her feet are cold. She's done this before, she knows, standing at the end of the tightrope, vertigo making her head spin. The crowd's too quiet. When they're quiet like that, she knows they're all watching her. No other distractions. Just the girl on the tightrope, sweating behind her mask because the ground looks so far away. And the top of the tent is close. The ground is so far away and why didn't her dad let them set the safety net, she's thinking, and why is the crowd so quiet. "One step at a time, love."
Her right foot moves forward, and she already knows something's wrong. Her left foot now, and the rope is too slack, it dips, and the everything around her moves upwards as she moves closer to the ground. Why is the crowd so quiet, she thinks. Can't they see she's about to fall?
But the crowd isn't there at all. There's no one there at all. Nothing but empty seats and empty popcorn bags, and the musical instruments all along where the band should have been, all in that terrible silence.
"Mum?"
And now she's falling, all alone in the empty tent, in the darkness.
"You should have been more careful, dear," says her mother's voice.
"I look like an idiot!" And that's her own voice now, although it's not, because her mouth is open and she's about to scream because she's falling. She reaches out with her left hand to catch herself and she knows it won't make any difference, and her arm is going to break, oh god her arm is going to break.
She should have hit the ground by now, and she thought she had, except when she opens her eyes it's like she had never opened them.
"There once was a preedidly lilah," said the narrator.
"What?" says Helena.
"Who dranced on the beaches of briah.
'Til the finch of kraktoo,
With a frown of dispru,
Ordered 'er down from the lia."
and then she woke up
"What a bunch of jabberwocky."
Wakes up in her trailer in the circus, and she can see the lights in the distance, and she knows she's late for the show.
This is it, then. The big show.
"Hello? Mum?"
Except it's not the big show. She starts to realize as she puts on her costume that she's felt this way before; this uncertainty about everything. She turns to the mask on her wall and she asks it, "Am I asleep? Am I dreaming?"
She knows that she is; this is exactly how she felt when she fought the dark queen, when she saved her dreamworld from dying. She's in her element now, but the circus tent looks so big in the distance, and the top looks so far away. The mask gives her a reassuring wink.
"Okay. I can do this," she tells herself, making her way out of the trailer, toward the circus tent. And even as she says it, she knows it's true.
[[OOC: Anyone walking into Helena's dream will get to visit her circus! Whether you want to end up backstage or the actual stage, or in the stands during the show, or even in Helena's trailer is up to you. Feel free to list action tags saying where in the circus your character bumps into Helena, if you want to.]]