Shadows in the Smoke S1E28 - "Pas des Deux"

Shadows in the Smoke S1E28 – “Pas de Deux”

Kim
Shadows in the Smoke is intended for mature audiences and may contain material that some people find disturbing. Please see the episode description for content warnings, and listen with care.

[Shadows in the Smoke theme]

[A carriage moves through the streets of London]

Kim
Miss Douglas, Detective Inspector Fairweather says nothing over the course of this journey, and surprisingly does not take you to any manner of police station. The carriage stops in front of a small, humble shop advertising the services of a Mr. Higgins, a cobbler in London.

T.
Mmhmm…

Natalia
Maesie has spent the entire ride doing the fish man’s song. Like, just imitating that the whole way, to be as annoying as possible.

Kim
You’re lucky he didn’t take you to Bedlam.

Natalia
[Laughs]

Kim
DI Fairweather pulls you out of the carriage and walks you down an alley, and shoves you into the back room of this cobbler.

[Empty ambient drones]

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Alright, you know I know how to walk, right? You don’t have to push.

Kim
He straightens his silk cravat, adjusts his gold cufflinks just so. This is a very nicely dressed man, despite the fact that he claims to be on a civil servant’s salary.

DI Fairweather (Kim)
My friend will deal with you. It’s been a pleasure, Miss Douglas.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Can’t say the same.

DI Fairweather (Kim)
I hope we never see each other again. But I don’t believe I shall be so lucky.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Bye.

Natalia
She flips him off.

DI Fairweather (Kim)
Though I suppose if you do not answer my associate’s questions, no one will see you again.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
That meant to be a threat? It’s so scary. You’re so scary, with your little gold cufflinks and your little cravat.

Kim
DI Fairweather sneers at you, licks his lips, and leaves.

Natalia
Maesie’s immediately going through drawers, cabinets, anything in this room.

Kim
This room is picked clean.

Natalia
Damn.

Kim
There is nothing in this room other than a small pile of straw and a bucket. There is the door that DI Fairweather put you in, and then there’s a door that seems to lead into the rest of the shop, both of which are quite locked.

You stay there for a moment, before the door in front of you opens. Stepping in is a man in a tweed suit. He is quite pale. His skin is quite oily.

Mr. Higgins (Kim)
I presume you are Miss Douglas?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Why would you presume that?

Mr. Higgins (Kim)
And I presume you work at Hargrave House?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Alright.

Mr. Higgins (Kim)
Will you answer my questions, Miss Douglas?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Will you stop asking inane questions?

Mr. Higgins (Kim)
Miss Douglas, do you know what happens to people who do not answer my questions?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
No. I’ve never met you before. I have no idea who you are. Am I supposed to?

Mr. Higgins (Kim)
Are you going to continue being a thorn in my employer’s side? Do you know what happens to people who cross my employer? What if I told you I happen when people cross her?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
What, a greasy man who asks questions nonstop?

Mr. Higgins (Kim)
Miss Douglas, do you suppose I have a gun in my coat? Would you guess that I’m a very good shot?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
At this range, I feel most people would be.

Mr. Higgins (Kim)
Would it please you to tell me all it is that you know about Miss Ena Thanero?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
No.

Kim
He cocks the gun.

Mr. Higgins (Kim)
Would you care to try again?

Natalia
Maesie just stares.

Mr. Higgins (Kim)
Would you guess that I’m not a patient man, Miss Douglas?

Natalia
Silence.

Kim
He levels this pistol at you. Make the Night Move.

Natalia
Is there anything in this bucket?

Kim
Yes.

Natalia
There’s a liquid!

Kim
There is indeed a liquid. Miss Douglas, what are you afraid will happen in this moment?

Natalia
I mean, the very real threat of just… He will shoot me and let me bleed out and die in this cell.

Kim
It’s worse than that. No one will find you. The last that your friends knew was that you were supposed to show up to the ballet, and no one ever saw you again. This is the Night Move with… Vitality. I feel like it has to be, in order to get out of the way of Mr. Higgins’s shot. I feel like Lost Girl is at play again, here. You’re being, like, very…

Natalia
Obstinate?

Kim
Yeah. Very obstinate, yeah.

Natalia
Moving forward through London recently has seemed quite dangerous at all times, and Maesie has started carrying that vial of holy water with her everywhere she goes, because carrying water is a very good defense for her.

Kim
Indeed.

Natalia
So I’m gonna invoke that Personal Quarters item and just flat roll this.

Kim
Night Move with Vitality.

Natalia
Get to add 1, that’s something.

12 + 1. 13! Let’s go!

T.
Motherfucker!

[A city street in London, church bells ringing]

Kim
Mr. Lloyd, you are pulled out of your reverie by someone repeatedly jabbing you in the shoulder with their finger.

Robert
He doesn’t turn around immediately. Instead, Morgan just grabs the hand the next time it goes in for a poke, and then turns around to face the person bothering him.

Kim
It is a woman dressed in beggar’s rags. She is quite tall, and has long silver white hair that drapes over her shoulders and in front of her face. This seems to be a woman almost completely drained of color. Her eyes are this light grey. The only bit of color on her is this Christmas wreath that she wears upon her head. And she stares at you with those light grey eyes, this surprisingly clear complexion, this unlined face – which strikes you as a bit notable, considering the rough conditions in which she lives.

Beggar Woman (Kim)
What was it you saw? Where did you go?

[The ambience gradually turns more mystical]

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Oh, you know, mum. Sorry for bothering you. Um, no. Just saw what needed to be seen. Stayed right here the whole time.

Beggar Woman (Kim)
It lies. Why dost thou lie?

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
It wasn’t a lie at all. I was here, on the streets of London. I saw what needed to be seen.

Beggar Woman (Kim)
But you traveled, storyteller.

Robert
At that, Morgan locks in. Do I recognize this – like, you gave me a physical description. Do I recognize this woman at all?

Kim
I’m gonna say no. You do not recognize this person in front of you. I feel like, especially since marking the Cosmic Passage and opening that third eye, you can detect the magic of London. And many people, even the mundane, have a bit of essence or aura about them. The magic of this very old city, and the people they encounter, and the spaces they move through, everything leaves a bit of an impression, even upon mundane, commonplace people. As you look at this woman, you not only see no magic, no aura, nothing about her, it is moreso that you see just the absence of. As if this is a person who magic cannot live in.

Robert
Morgan grabs her by the collar of her clothes.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Either you that name, in which case you should leave me alone. Or someone told you that name, in which case you should leave them alone. But I would warn you, names have power. Don’t use them lightly.

Beggar Woman (Kim)
We have many names. I have many names. Had many names.

Kim
She wriggles out of your grasp and gives you a little curtsy, holding out the rags as if they were a grand gown.

The Snow Queen (Kim)
They call me the Snow Queen now. I believe you have something in your pocket. A gift for me. A gift for your queen, yes.

Robert
Morgan quickly, like, pats his pants down. Like, finds the pocket she’s talking about.

T.
She asking for an item?

Kim
She is.

Robert
As Morgan pats down his pockets, he feels a sprig of the St. John’s wort that he took from the ballroom.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Well, anyone who knows that title would not appreciate this gift, so I give it to you.

Robert
And he grabs her hand and presses the St. John’s wort into her hand.

Kim
She looks at the smashed flower in her hands, a bit in confusion. As though she feels like she should have a reaction to this, and yet doesn’t.

Robert
Seeing that she doesn’t have a reaction, Morgan relaxes a little bit, but still not fully. He leans in closely.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
I don’t believe you sent yourself, so tell whoever sent you the storyteller will be back soon.

The Snow Queen (Kim)
Thou seeks to mock me, child.

Kim
She picks up the smashed petals and tucks them into her Christmas wreath.

The Snow Queen (Kim)
Your baubles and totems cannot harm me, but a gift deserves a gift in kind. I shall tell the a story, Storyteller.

Kim
I have a Paint the Scene for all of you. This woman, this Snow Queen, begins to tell Mr. Lloyd a story. A story of the birth of Christ. But it is not one that anyone has read in any Bible. Indeed, it is a story that she is narrating as if she was present for the birth herself. I would like you all to give a detail of the Snow Queen’s strange story of this birth of Christ, featuring some unfamiliar guests.

Natalia
The Snow Queen begins by telling Rabbit about the arrival of a bright, burning star to a manger in Bethlehem. And where most stories simply view this burning light as a star, in her story, this light continues to grow larger and larger as it finally comes to land on the earth. Not in a destructive way, but in the arrival of several interstellar extraterrestrial beings, who have come to watch this event take place.

T.
Though the story of the birth of Christ takes place in Bethlehem in the deserts of Arimathea, this event warped the world in such a way that it caught the notice of multiple pantheons. And Boreas, the North Wind, and his daughter Chione were present. And Chione was so inspired that she made it snow in the desert. And we, as mortals, warped that into a Christmas scene that wea re familiar with today.

Cassandra
Standing around this manger scene, we do actually take in the presence of the Erythraen Sibyl, who was said to have predicted the Trojan War. But also, in later Christian tradition, the coming of Christ.

Robert
And as the story draws to a close, she notes the arrival of three men from distant lands. Not kings, as the gospels would have you believe, but rather Baldur, Orpheus, and Maui – three other gods who had to die so that their mythology could continue.

The Snow Queen (Kim)
And as those men arrived, they gave the child a gift. A curious gift.

Kim
She produces from her rags a pair of ancient ballet slippers.

The Snow Queen (Kim)
I took them for myself. Too big to fit the little babe.

Kim
That is a Clue for The Nutcracker. 

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Thank you for the gift. A story is not something to be told lightly, but I suspect you know that already.

Kim
She pats your cheek.

The Snow Queen (Kim)
So glum, Storyteller. Cheer up. The ways are open to you again, so I’ve heard.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
But I can see that you are cut off from them. Whatever was done to you was far worse than what was done to me. Keep yourself safe.

[A busy London street]

Kim
Miss Thanero and Mr. John, arriving in Covent Garden, the home of the Royal Ballet and Opera. This place is overwhelming, a veritable temple to the muses. We see all manner of orphans and beggars outside. There are icicles melting in the winter sun. I have a Paint the Scene, here. In 1728, John Rich raised capital to build the theatre through the success of his play The Beggars Opera, which satirized Italian opera at the time. What subversive or satirical elements of opera do you see about this theatre that reflect this history?

T.
Flanking the proscenium are two insets with enormous statues designed to guard the stage and call in the divinity. They are both in the guise of large, heavy-set women wearing Viking helmets and carrying spears.

Robert
The fresco on the ceiling has the usual classical motifs that one would expect. Scenes from classical mythology. But rather than the gods and heroes, they are all characters from Commedia dell’arte: clowns in makeup.

Cassandra
In the atrium of this theatre, there is a costume display. But all of the costumes on the mannequins have overly elaborate wigs that are too tall to be allowed, costumes that blend both Roman togas with really contemporary fashion. But everything seems patched together to intentionally look absurdly gaudy.

Natalia
And on the outside of the theatre, there is an inscription in Italian which is meant to inspire a love for the opera and for Italy that reads, “questo è un teatro,” which literally translates to, “this is a theatre.”

Kim
[Laughs] Beautiful Italian pronunciation, by the way.

Natalia
The romance languages live in me.

Cassandra
I believe that.

Kim
The two of you enter. Miss Thanero has far too many tickets.

T.
[Laughs]

Cassandra
She’s just counting them, looking around to see if anybody is here. And seeing one of these beggars asking for coin, she takes these three extra tickets and just puts them down in front of one of the beggars, and hopes that they will enjoy an afternoon at the theatre.

T.
John is checking his sundial.

Mr. John (T.)
The day’s getting long in the tooth. Better take our seats and hope they meet us here.

Cassandra
Would I recognize the sundial? Would I have seen it before, or no?

Kim
I don’t suppose you’ve seen Mr. John’s pocket watch, but I imagine you would know your brother’s work.

Cassandra
Yeah, absolutely. She looks at the pocket watch and turns to face him, and like takes it out of his hand and looks at it. She’s kind of like snickering at it, knowing that this is her brother’s handiwork.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
When did you happen upon this little piece of art?

Mr. John (T.)
Oh, what can I say? I got friends in high places.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
You certainly do. I hope you’ve heeded my advice about how often you consult with my brother.

Cassandra
And she snaps it closed and hands it back to him.

Mr. John (T.)
I’m never one to turn my nose up at prudent wisdom.

T.
And he extends his crooked elbow to her.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
That is a wise course of action, Augustus.

Cassandra
And she takes his arm.

[The murmur of an audience]

T.
He smiles to himself, and nods to the costumes and finery in the lobby as they head toward her box.

Mr. John (T.)
Looks like something you’d be traipsing around in.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I have been known to don some strange apparel in my time.

Mr. John (T.)
One of the first things that caused me to take notice of you. Your disregard for conventions.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Convention is all rather boring, if you ask me. If you’re going to walk this earth as long as I have, it begs for some different choices, as far as one wears. Some experimentation. Some trial. Some error.

Mr. John (T.)
Not all of us have the luxury of making too many errors. Sometimes those will bite you in the ass so hard, you don’t stand up again.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
This seems rather true for you, Mr. John.

Mr. John (T.)
Yeah, I’ve been bit once or twice.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I don’t doubt it.

Mr. John (T.)
Stick around long enough, I’ll give you the full tour. You’ve seen the map, but each landmark has a story.

Cassandra
She looks him up and down and takes her free hand and puts it on the arm that is linked with hers, and kind of gently caresses it, as if feeling for scars that exist underneath the fabric of what he’s wearing.

T.
John’s free hand twitches.

Cassandra
She sees the twitch, gives him a little sideways glance.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I’d be careful what you dare to do, Mr. John.

Mr. John (T.)
I toe a line, but I never overstep without permission.

Cassandra
She gives him a slight nod, and she starts to lead them towards the box where her tickets are for.

T.
And he walks with her, arm in arm. This is very different from their last outing together, when they went to the Blind Owl, where he was following her around like a lost pup. And instead, is keeping astride with her.

Kim
You arrive in Miss Thanero’s very well-placed box, almost in the very center of this theatre.

Mr. John (T.)
It’ s a pleasure to be invited to your box. It seems we have the place to ourselves. I’m treading very carefully, here.

T.
He says, as they take their seats.

Mr. John (T.)
I know you have a particularly complicated set of relations.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Oh, they’re not so complicated, and they certainly could be expanded upon.

Mr. John (T.)
Well, if you have a reunion coming up, I got a bone to pick with that half-brother of yours. The warhawk, not the one that jizzumed on your thigh. Pardon me. Phrasing.

Cassandra
She gets a little quiet at this. She hasn’t fully revealed who she is to him, but it’s clear that he knows. And she kind of just gets a little icy.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I’ll keep that in mind.

Mr. John (T.)
Apologies for my vulgar mouth. Chalk it up to American eccentricities, but I had never been one for beating around the bush.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I suppose that is one thing that I do like about you. You are honest.

Mr. John (T.)
Well to tell you true, Athena, my country has been torn in two by that cousin of yours. The North and South are at odds with one another, and the West is caught in the between. America don’t know who she is anymore, and I wasn’t even there to see my country torn asunder. Although I was present for much of the antebellum period. I had the opportunity to see the president debating with that Douglas fella – no relation to our acquaintance, of course. It was Springfield summer if ’48, he gave his house divided speech, and I had the pleasure of sticking around after the show and picking his brain a bit. We didn’t see eye to eye on everything. I thought slavery was an abomination and needed to be abolished entirely. He thought he would hold onto it, if it meant keeping the South. And you see where that got him.

T.
And Mr. John, in this theatre box, points a finger at his temple.

Mr. John (T.)
But he was a decent sort, otherwise. Spent the night together, chasing around a, well… My very first supernatural foe. Something like that Limehouse character we’re chasing. Bloodsuckers. Turn into bats, and one of them got me.

T.
And he undoes his collar ever so slightly.

Mr. John (T.)
Just there on the clavicle. If it had been an inch higher, I don’t know if we’d be talking to one another in such mutual admiration. At least I hope it’s mutual.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I suppose it might be.

Cassandra
She reaches up, hands gloved, and runs her fingers over these two raised scars from the bite.

[An orchestra tunes]

T.
Kim, there’s nothing in the rules that says the Tales can’t be used on another hunter. Can I roll to try and get a clue? Look, if anybody’s going to Air Bud their way into the situation, it’s the American.

Kim
This is interesting. I will allow it, sure. Go ahead and roll Tall Tales.

T.
That’s 6 the hard way, +2 is 8.

Kim
Alright, so this is when it gets a little murky. On a hit, they fall for your charm and do as you wish or reveal a Clue – your choice.

T.
I’m clue fishing.

Kim
Where it gets interesting is that because you didn’t get a 10+, Miss Thanero gets to ask for something in return. I’ll let you ruminate on that, Cass.

Cassandra
Thank you.

[Empty, ambient drones]

Kim
Miss Douglas. On an astonishing success on the Night Move, narrative control falls to you. I think the first thing that happens is that Mr. Higgins’s shot goes wide. You successfully avoid the bullet. But after that, what do we see?

[The sea rumbles]

Natalia
Maesie, in hearing him cock the gun and this altercation becoming more and more contentious, in a split second she reaches her hand into a pocket of her skirt, grabs ahold of the flask. Her eyes roll over black as she enters her Curse of the Deep state. She ducks under the gun, comes up right next to Mr. Higgins, slams the vial into his mouth so that he’s choking on it, and then forms the water inside of it to just sit in his throat so he can’t breathe. And as he struggles with that, she goes to the corner, grabs the bucket, dumps its contents upon him, and just stands over his writhing body and says…

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Right. Well, tell your employer that I don’t want to answer her questions. We don’t talk to cops. Have a nice day.

Natalia
And she grabs a key off of him to unlock the door, and just walks back out and starts making her way back to Cremorne Gardens to find Albertina Welk.

Kim
On a 12+, you also get something extra. I’ll let you add a key to Mr. Higgins’s shop to your Personal Quarters.

Natalia
Hell yeah.

T.
Let’s fucking go.

[Waves crash, gentle birdsong]

Kim
Now unimpeded by any Scotland Yard detective, you find Albertina at the dancing platform, as suspected. She is dancing with a young man, but then I believe the moment that she sees you, she very quickly shoves him away.

[A band plays distantly]

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Albertina. I was going to have so much more time to do this, and I was going to dance with you, but we simply don’t have time. We have tickets to the ballet. Do you want to come?

Albertina Welk (Kim)
Oh, my word. You do? Yes! Fantastic. Yes!

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Okay, great. Let’s go.

Natalia
She grabs her hand and starts, like, moving hastily towards the theatre.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
How have you been? Are you alright? You look lovely. I’m so sorry to grab you in such a hasty way.

Albertina Welk (Kim)
No, please. This is all very romantic. I love it.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Okay, good.

Kim
And she clasps your hand tighter as the two of you make your way very quickly to Covent Garden. Speaking of the ballet, let’s return back to the box.

[“The Waltz of the Snowflakes” plays distantly]

Cassandra
As they’re watching the show, Ena turns and looks at One Shot John. Her eyes start to glow a little bit gold, and she stares at the side of his face, not watching the show until he decides to turn and make eye contact.

T.
There’s no way he couldn’t. You feel those eyes on you as an animal, you gotta turn.

Cassandra
As they are locked in this gaze, Ena whispers to him…

[The music fades]

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I’d like your word that you’ll keep your distance from your whores if you wish to maintain my company in a more intimate way moving forward.

T.
As a symbol of this give, John takes from his inside pocket Philomena Fu’s garter, snaps it in half so that it becomes one whole ribbon.

Mr. John (T.)
May I see your hand?

Cassandra
Ena extends it.

T.
And with his left hand, holds Ena’s, and with his right hand, wraps the ribbon around both of theirs and then pinches it in his fingers.

Mr. John (T.)
My word is my bond. I am my word, and I am yours.

Cassandra
Ena doesn’t break the eye contact while this has happened. She can see this handfasting, and just takes her other hand, the one that has aegis on the palm but is still gloved, and places it over the ribbons and over her hands.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
And so it is. Be wary of breaking promises to me. It tends to make me unhappy.

Mr. John (T.)
As long as I live, I’ll never intentionally do anything to make you unhappy.

T.
John starts to lean in.

[The music from the ballet fades back in]

Robert
And as that intimate moment is drawing to its conclusion, the action on stage is also drawing to a conclusion as a particularly powerful movement comes to its climax on the stage. And as the audience erupts into applause, John and Ena hear Rabbit applauding, standing behind them.

[Applause]

T.
John shoots up, corrects his posture, but does not let go of Ena’s hand.

Cassandra
Ena turns over her shoulder, her eyes still glowing gold, and just glares at Rabbit in this moment, not even remotely ashamed of what has transpired and the intimacy of it, but that he has chosen this moment to interrupt it.

Robert
For the first time in several weeks, Rabbit does not avoid Ena’s glance, and in fact meets it. And a broad smile breaks across his face.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Quite the show tonight.

T.
At that, One Shot does let go of Ena’s hand. Not shocked or embarrassed, but this isn’t something for Rabbit. It’s not for other people.

Mr. John (T.)
Well, I think that’s the intermission.

Mr. Lloyd (Robert)
Yes. I apologize for my tardy appearance, but I was doing some investigating over at St. Paul’s, and came across some rather interesting things that I think we’ll have to have a conversation about, when this is all over.

Cassandra
Ena is still glaring at him, but her eyes start to dim. She nods at Rabbit to acknowledge that we’ll talk about whatever Rabbit discovered, turns back over her shoulder, and begins to coil the ribbon and sticks it in her purse.

Kim, for the ribbon that we just used as like a token, would I add it to my Personal Quarters?

Kim
I think especially because Mr. John has not marked this item… It is a rule that hunters are allowed to, with permission, use other character’s Personal Quarters items. So yeah, I would say I’ll allow it. Mr. John, you can remove Philomena Fu’s garter from your Personal Quarters. And Miss Thanero, you can add the now ribbon to your Personal Quarters.

Miss Douglas, the two of you arrive at the Royal Ballet. No tickets in hand.

[A busy London street]

Natalia
Considering that it was intermission, is there anybody waiting in the lobby?

T.
John would be having a cigarette on the steps.

Natalia
Lovely. Maesie runs up the steps with Albertina held by the hand.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
John, um, a lot to talk about. How much of the ballet have we missed?

Mr. John (T.)
Just half.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Just half?!

Mr. John (T.)
Well, it’s only the setup. The payoff is still to come.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Albertina, I’m so sorry. Um, there was a lot going on. The new Detective Inspector – or, I don’t know if there’s multiple of them – but another one came and talked to me at Cremorne Gardens. And they’re so annoying. And then he sort of took me off to talk to that cobbler, I believe.

T.
John stiffens.

Mr. John (T.)
Perhaps we should talk about this privately.

T.
Snuffs out his cigarette.

Albertina Welk (Kim)
Maesie, were you arrested?

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
No! No, they just had some questions. You know, about the fish man. Remember when there was that whole incident in the harbor? And there was a guy, and then it was a show? It was about that.

Mr. John (T.)
Oh, right. With Thomas and Beulah. They, uh, gave us all that information.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
They just wanted to know what was going on with that guy who was pretending to be a fish man, and I told them that he was faking it.

Kim
Albertina flutters her fan and smiles at you, Maesie.

Albertina Welk (Kim)
I dare say, an element of mystery. Perhaps even danger. It’s all very exciting.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Indeed. Let us go see the show.

Mr. John (T.)
You’re not even gonna introduce us? And I’m the rude one.

Natalia
No, Maesie is just dragging Albertina, not introducing her at all.

Albertina Welk (Kim)
Albertina Welk! I daresay, I’ve never met an American before. How fascinating!

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Don’t talk to him! He’s really – no! No!

Mr. John (T.)
Gus Hutchinson, pleasure.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
You have a name?!

Natalia
Nevermind. Maesie stops immediately and turns and looks at John and is like…

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
We’ll discuss this later, but the fact that you have never said your name to me but you will to her? No offense, Albertina, you are wonderful. Rude.

Natalia
Keeps going up into eh theatre.

Kim
Act Two begins.

[The Sugar Plum Adagio plays]

Kim
For those of you unfamiliar with The Nutcracker, which I realize in actual history has not been written yet, but exists in the world of The Between… Act Two takes place in the land of sweets. Clara and the Nutcracker Prince are greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. And here is where you get the Clue that I owe you. As the Sugar Plum Fairy dances, she manages her solo with skill and grace. But you notice that in addition to the ribbons that are about her feet that are keeping her pointe shoes on, there are bandages. And as she begins her pas de deux with the Cavalier, one of those bandages falls away and you se that her legs are red with frostbite. That is a Clue for The Nutcracker. And indeed, as the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier finish their pas de deux and the crowd jumps to applause, the Sugar Plum Fairy raises an arm to bow, and then collapses.

Mr. John (T.)
[Gasps]

Kim
And the curtain falls.

[Applause, audience mumurs]

Mr. John (T.)
Well, it ain’t my cup of tea, but it’ll play in Peoria. What do you say we try and get backstage to see if we can’t talk to some of the company members before they scoot?

Kim
Albertina holds your hand, Maesie.

Albertina Welk (Kim)
Well, apart from that last dance, I thought all of it was very well done.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I am so excited that you got to come. I’m sorry, again, that we only made it for the second half. I’m sure the first half was also amazing.

Albertina Welk (Kim)
Oh, no, I’m flattered that you, it seems, broke out of prison to take me out.

Natalia
Maesie doesn’t want to correct her because it’s not wrong, but also doesn’t want to give the impression that she was in prison.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Um, sure, that is… It’s a bit exaggerated, but the sentiment stands.

Albertina Welk (Kim)
Well, do you want to join your friend backstage, or shall we promenade?

Natalia
Maesie looks at everyone sitting in this box.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I had plans earlier that were interrupted, and so I feel that in my not asking for permission, I am going to take a walk with Albertina Welk. Goodbye everybody!

Natalia
Grabs Albertina’s hand and just walks out of the theatre.

Albertina Welk (Kim)
It was such a pleasure to meet all of you!

Mr. John (T.)
Likewise.

Cassandra
I have a question. Obviously Ena would be aware that she was not placed in the best box in the house. Was that box occupied while we were watching the show?

Kim
It was.

Cassandra
Interesting. I think Ena stands up, looks at John and Rabbit.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Why don’t you go on ahead? I want to do some observing for just a moment.

Mr. John (T.)
Alright. I’ll met you back there.

T.
He bows and then leaves.

Mr. John (T.)
Rabbit, you with me?

Robert
You turn around, and Rabbit is already gone, vanished back to Hargrave House when you weren’t looking.

Kim
Let’s begin with Miss Thanero.

Cassandra
Ena, having stood up, walks to the edge of the box. Looking around, being a bit nonchalant as to not arouse any suspicion. And then glances over to see who was in the best seats in the house.

Kim
It is of course none other than Mrs. Theodora Brathwaite.

[Theodora’s theme plays]

Kim
As opposed to the red velvet cushions that align every other box in the Royal Ballet, hers are done in the most beautiful sapphire blue.

Cassandra
Ena doesn’t make eye contact with Theodora. She’s fiddling with her nails, looking out over the theatre.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I’ve always found a signature color to be rather tacky. And asking other people to indulge them, even worse so.

Mrs. Theodora Brathwaite (Kim)
My dear, when one pays for the renovations of a theatre, they get to have a say in its decoration.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I would suggest giving that say to someone else. Your taste level is a bit lacking.

Mrs. Theodora Brathwaite (Kim)
Careful, Miss Thanero. I would hate to pull my invitation to tea.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
My apologies. I would never mean to offend in such a way. Just a little banter between friends.

Mrs. Theodora Brathwaite (Kim)
So. When shall I look forward to entertaining you at my pied-al-terre?

Cassandra
Ena doesn’t answer right away, but looks over at her gives her a small wink.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I suppose you’ll just have to wait and see. My dance card is rather full, with the holidays approaching.

Mrs. Theodora Brathwaite (Kim)
I would say that you wound me, Miss Thanero. Luckily I have a cold, wicked heart.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
I have no doubt of that. The tales of your exploits are legendary. A cold, wicked heart is require to execute them.

Mrs. Theodora Brathwaite (Kim)
I’m afraid that I sonly a part of the story, Miss Thanero. Should you wish to know more, I would be happy to tell you. Over tea.

Miss Thanero (Cassandra)
Of course. The best secrets are always shared over tea.

[An empty stage]

Kim
Mr. John.

T.
I beg your pardon. When I told the Sendulla Sisters that John is dead, I was being literal. It’s Mr. Hutchinson.

Kim
Duly noted. Mr. Hutchinson.

T.
Yes, Kim.

Kim
This feels so strange. It’s a brand new hunter at my table. Backstage.

T.
Mr. Hutchinson – One Shot – it does feel weird.

Kim
It does.

T.
One Shot is backstage very briefly, as there is something to the call of the performer in him. And he walks out onto the boards themselves and beholds this empty auditorium. Although he does keep an eye on Theodora’s box, just in case. And if y’all will indulge me…

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Alright. Let me see if I still got it.

[Clears throat]

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, young and old, big and bold. Come feast your eyes upon the marvels of the Magyar mystery. Transported from the fabled banks of the Danube to the mighty Mississip. From Budapest to Baton Rouge. And for one night only, docked in your humble city, we bring you a floating fantasia of European enchantment. A once in a lifetime spectacular. See the fire dancing fiddlers of the Putza Plains. Don’t miss Ferdinand and Leopold, the twin knife jugglers of the Great Efold. Peer into your future with the seer of Shiged, Madam Soralta. One night only. Step right up!

T.
And he is hoping that he has drawn the attention of somebody who works here, who knows he shouldn’t be on stage.

[A London street]

Kim
Miss Douglas and Albertina Welk. Albertina is snuggling closer to you, quote unquote “because of the snow.”

Natalia
Maesie is walking arm in arm with her, feeling her snuggle up. And doing the same, but trying to keep the cold off of her, so establishing herself more as the protector in this pair.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Right. Well, could I walk you home?

Albertina Welk (Kim)
Well yes, of course you may.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Which direction should that be?

Albertina Welk (Kim)
Come, let me lead.

Kim
And she starts walking with you back towards her flat.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
So I, um… Well, I had a whole plan, um, earlier. Before I was accosted by a police officer. And I was going to ask if you wanted to dance, um, at the dancing platform. Um, so maybe we could do that at some other point in time.

Albertina Welk (Kim)
Yes, of course. I would love to. You know, I know all sorts of dances.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Yes, and I would love to learn some of those. Do you have a favorite?

Albertina Welk (Kim)
Well, let’s see. I know the polka, the Portland, the Boston… The Viennese Waltz is how I made my reputation with the Cremorne Gardens set. Have you heard of the tango? It’s South American. It’s very dramatic.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
I have not. I would love to learn that.

Albertina Welk (Kim)
It’s a very passionate dance.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Sounds right up my alley.

Albertina Welk (Kim)
Well, this is me.

Miss Douglas (Natalia)
Okay. Well, I will reach out next time I am free to dance.

Albertina Welk (Kim)
Darling, I can tell that you are new at this.

Kim
And she pulls you into a kiss.

Natalia
Maesie hesitates at first, and then reciprocates heavily.

Kim
Mr. Lloyd, back in Hargrave House. How does your day end?

[Mystical ambience]

Robert
Morgan is a little bit shaken by the conversation he had earlier with the Snow Queen. So we find him in the kitchen, where he has poured himself a pretty large bowl of water. He takes out an ink bottle, drops a few little droplets of ink into it until the surface of the water is pitch black and almost as shiny as a mirror. He then pricks his little finger, squeezes just a single drop of blood in, and allows that to swirl into the mixture. He takes a deep breath and looks at himself in this almost obsidian reflection of the water. The eyes that he sees staring back are his own, but the smile is not his.

[An empty stage]

Kim
Mr. Hutchinson, you hear the sound of a single person applauding from the wings. And stepping out is a severe looking woman dressed all in black with her hair puled up in a tight bun.

Severe Woman (Kim)
That is very good. You have a history on the stage?

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Not the stage as you know it, but I fancy myself something of an orator, sure. Six years of that, and add in tobacco smoke’ll wear on your vocal chords.

Severe Woman (Kim)
We do not need words to perform. We are dancers.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Seems like some of your dancers don’t need their feet.

Severe Woman (Kim)
Eh, a few drops off the roster will not stop the ballet. There are always others eager to take the stage.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Show must go on, right?

Severe Woman (Kim)
Perhaps you could have been like us, if brought up young enough. We are survivors. The weak will fall. There is nothing more than that.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
I know something about surviving, myself. Maybe in another lifetime, we would see eye to eye on that. But as it happens, I come not as an artist, but as management.

Severe Woman (Kim)
Oh?

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
I got me a Sugar Plum for you, waiting in the wings. A girl, young enough that she don’t have too many bad habits, and she moves like water.

Severe Woman (Kim)
Hmm.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Don’t suppose you’re holding auditions.

Severe Woman (Kim)
And I thought I knew all of the dancers that were worth knowing in London.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
She’s from out of town.

Severe Woman (Kim)
We shall have an audition. Tonight. Tell your dancer to prepare.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
I’ll make sure she’s ready. Who shall I tell her to call upon?

Zelia Gagnon (Kim)
Zelia Gagnon.

Kim
And she holds out her hand.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Gus Hutchinson.

Zelia Gagnon (Kim)
A pleasure. The audition will be private. No managers.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Well, you understand, I have to keep an eye out on the talent I represent. Just the one.

Zelia Gagnon (Kim)
No managers.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
You creative types. I know better than to argue with you. I’ll tell you to meet you here, but I expect a long and storied career out of this one. Don’t ruin her.

Zelia Gagnon (Kim)
We shall see.

T.
He puts on his hat, gives her the wink and the gun.

Mr. Hutchinson (T.)
Dasvidaniya.

T.
And walks off, back to the streets of London.

[Shadows in the Smoke theme]

Kim
Shadows in the Smoke is a Kitten Marlowe production. This episode was edited and produced by Kim Dalton, and featured a theme song by Jake Pierle. You can find out more about us by visiting KittenMarlowe.com, signing up for our newsletter, or following us on socials. For Discord access, an exclusive behind-the-scenes show, and more, visit Patreon.com/Kittenmarlowe and join Elden86 and all of our incredible Kitten Marlowe patrons in supporting artist-driven storytelling. Thanks for listening.