In Greater Hands - Sneak Scene

As I have been rather lax in blogging, I will apologize with a snippet scene, since it's been a while since I've put one up. Here is the first entrance of Vic Vance, master of surprise and oddball extraordinaire, from In Greater Hands.

***

Leta shrugged and headed towards a small building that looked like some kind of a cafe. She entered and looked around inside it. It was decorated in a quaint, sort-of picturesque style, with flowers in carved wooden vases along the half-walls that were by the entrance. There were a few random paintings on the wall behind the counter, but aside from these the walls were bare of anything but their warm, brown paint. Only a few people were inside - an old lady with a small girl in a booth, a server behind the counter, and a dark-haired younger guy sitting at the counter. 

Nothing seemed out of place... Not that anything should, Leta reminded herself. Leksvia was a pretty quiet town, after all. Leta went to the other side of the counter and sat down. 

The server came over. "Would you like a list?," he asked in Russian. 

"Yes, thank you," Leta replied in the same tongue. 

It felt like a flashing memory to speak her home language again in her homeland. It had been so long... Even just one word felt like she was home again when she spoke it. It filled her with the old thoughts of the last time she'd been here. Leta shook herself. No. Can't think of that now, she told herself. 

After the server had left, Leta glanced around the cafe again, more closely observing her company to distract herself from more reminiscing. The old woman in the booth was dressed in a black trench coat and had her silvery hair bunned up stiffly. Her expression was very calm, and she watched the small girl. The girl had to have been around four or five. She wore a large white bow in her red hair, and had a long, flowery skirt that reminded Leta of the flowers in the vases along the cafe's walls. The young man across the counter had dark, coffee-colored hair that looked like it had been blasted back by a gust of wind. He was actually looking in Leta's direction, glancing over at her with bright lime-green eyes. 

Leta looked down embarrassedly. Maybe it was a little rude to watch other people and expect not to be watched in turn. So she turned her attention to the menu that the server had given her. 

When the server came back, Leta gave her order and handed back the menu. She fell back into looking around the cafe. There was that sweep-haired weirdo again - the guy across the counter - still looking over in her direction. Oh well... This probably wasn't the last time Leta would be watched by someone or other with her career starting now. It didn't really bother her. Well, okay, maybe it did bother her a little bit, but not any more than the fact that she still hadn't gotten her order... and time ticked on relentlessly. Normally she wouldn't care, but today, everything had to be on time - no messing up. 

Leta tapped her finger on the counter, a sign of impatience usually. The server came back, and gave Leta a paper with her bill and Lady Lecta's name on it. Leta had been instructed to use Lady Lecta's name, in case of trouble. 

The server brought her a tray with her order. "I apologize for your wait, Miss Lecta." 

Leta paid him, and then the server departed. Leta ate quickly, still thinking of her mission. She still had time, but it was best not to cut it close. 

Suddenly, interrupting her thoughts, there was a buzzing noise, faint, but surely not just imagined. It must be my contactor... If it was, though, it could be Lady Lecta. It could concern the mission or any other thing of great importance. Leta took it out. It was the contactor making the noise alright.

Glancing around briefly, Leta quickly swiped her hand over the device. She expected to see the eyes of one of the secret sergeants pop into view, or the commanding countenance of Lady Lecta, but instead she saw the recently-familiar lime-green eyes and swept-back dark-brown hair of someone else entirely. It was the man who had been watching her from across the counter! 

"Hallo!," the man said from the contactor. 

Leta glanced bewilderedly across the counter. The guy was still there! He had his own contactor out and nodded when she looked his way. She looked back at her own mechanism. Fears began to pop into her mind one by one. Maybe he was dangerous. Maybe he was from an enemy of Lady Lecta. Maybe he was a spy or the one who had made the fake message to bring her here. Maybe he had found out what Leta was doing here and had come to stop her. Leta knew she couldn't panic, though, whatever the case. 

So Leta decided to try and play it cool. "Why did you contact me?," she asked, hoping the question sounded commanding. 

The device's hologram-man shrugged. "I was bored, you looked nice enough, so I decided I might query your name," he said, half-smiling in a friendly manner. 

Leta didn't quite know what to think. Only her first official task mission and something like this had to happen...? She raised an eyebrow in question. "You could have just come over and talked to me if you were that bored." 

"Well, that's the easy solution," He nodded nonchalantly. "Most guys would have done that in such a case." 

"Why didn't you?," Leta questioned dryly. 

He shrugged again. "Me, I like to keep things interesting - surprise people. Didn't I make it so much more interesting this way?" 

She blinked in confusion and quickly checked herself, as she felt a smile coming through. "You did, I suppose," she said, feeling foolish talking to the hologram of a person who was right across the counter. 

He nodded as if to prove his point. "You see?" he smiled. "Way more interesting." 

"How did you contact me?," Leta asked bewilderedly, trying to get a grip on the conversation. 

The man's face brightened. "Simple! I - being as bored as I was - happened to overhear the waiter call you Miss Lecta. Now, I happen to know of someone called Lecta, and if you had been the same Lecta, he would have never called you something so plain as 'Miss'. So, I looked it up on my contactor. Now, there were several different pins under the same name of 'Lecta', so, ruling out the one I knew, I simply picked at a guess," he said carelessly, as though the occurrence was nothing special. 

"Some lucky guess," Leta mumbled, somewhat put out that she was such a terrible spy that she got contacted by random guys in restaurants on whims. Suddenly a thought struck her. "Wait. If you already knew my name, why were you going to ask it?" 

He shrugged yet again. "If I had gone over and talked to you instead, wouldn't I have still asked your name relentless of whether I had heard?" 

"I suppose..." 

"Then there you see my point," he answered honestly. "Wouldn't you have thought it was odd if I contacted you and acted like I already knew your name even though you hadn't even the slightest notion of mine?" 

Leta rolled her eyes in frustration. "I do think it's odd." She looked irately at the device. "Why don't you just come over and talk to me now instead of being weird?" 

"Alright, Miss Lecta - as you like it," said the man's voice, not from the contactor, but from right next to Leta. She started, but quickly masked her jump as putting away her contactor. 

"Alright then..." Leta really had no idea where to go from here. "And since you know my name, you can stop calling me 'Miss Lecta'" 

"Actually..." He paused. "That's all I know of your name - is Miss Lecta. It only puts surnames and sometimes initials on the pin codes. Might I inquire as to what your first name is?" 

Leta hesitated. Should she tell him her real name, or Lady Lecta's? Since he said he knew of someone called Lecta, maybe it was Lady Lecta? And he had said that the Lecta he knew of wouldn't have been called merely 'Miss,' so that sounded like Lady Lecta... If that was so, then telling him Lady Lecta's name, as she had been instructed, might get her found out as a fake! So, then, should she tell him her real name? She probably wouldn't ever see him again, so what harm was there in it? None, I guess. Leta saw no great harm in it, and if she had hoped to be discreet, she had already failed. 

"Leta. It's Leta," she said finally. 

The man looked thoughtful for a moment and raised an eyebrow with an expression as though he was trying to decide whether he liked an odd new food. "Hmm... Leta Lecta?," he murmured, looking at her again. "Just doesn't fit you. Well, Leta does, but it just doesn't sound well together. Hmm. Leta Lecta..." 

"Well, I live with being called it, so I think it's fine," Leta said, trying to act offended. Acting for cover-up wasn't as easy as acting for any school-play or stage-musical as Lady Lecta had made it sound. 

"I'm sorry, I just don't think it fits you very well," he said apologetically, seeming to buy her poor act. 

"Well, your name fits you perfectly, then?" 

"Fits like a boot." 

"Uh, don't you mean a glove?" 

"Nope," he said, absently tapping his rather long fingers on the counter. "I said what I meant: a boot. Never yet seen a glove that fit me well, so I amend the phrase for myself, to something that actually does fit well. So, like I said, it fits me like a boot." 

Weirdo. Leta shook her head. Whatever. "I'll decide that, since you seem to be the judge of mine. What is your name?" 

"Vic Vance, or Vicinius Vance if you prefer." 

"Vicinius?" 

"What? It fits me, doesn't it?"

"Well, yes, I guess it does..." Leta had to admit that it actually rather did.

Vic Vance nodded. "Then there you go." 

Leta suddenly remembered her mission. She had to somehow get out of this conversation without seeming suspicious - she needed to start heading to the Ristoff House. I need to get Ristoff…

"What about Ristoff...?," Vance questioned with a confused smile. 

Leta flushed. Had she said that out loud...? Oh no... Another blunder to add to the count today...

"I know where the Ristoffs live," Vance offered. "If you're looking for any of them, that is." 

Leta hesitated. She needed to find Ristoff, it was true. And time was quickly flying... Leta might not have time to find Ristoff herself at this rate... And if she didn't find Ristoff, it would be a failed mission. And if Leta only let Vance show her the house, then there wasn't any harm done... right? Maybe just this... 

At last, Leta nodded. "Yes - could you show me?" 

Vance smiled brightly. "Just follow me."

***

AABB, Part Two: Belle

Not so long ago, I posted that I would be attempting a moral defense of Disney's Beauty and the Beast; this shall be the first real chapter. And, fittingly enough, as the story begins with a prologue and then with Belle herself, so will I.

Belle is an interesting character... and a controversial one. Because there are so many interpretations of both her and her actions, she ranges from being a characterless bookworm to a self-centered feminist to a paragon of redemption. Well, here goes...

Her Treatment of Others

One of the main things people point out first about Belle is that she seems rather rude and dismissive of other people, especially in the stage version. She calls the villagers "little people," their town "dull" and "provincial," Gaston "boorish, brainless" and "monster," the Beast also "monster" and "fool," and generally has no friends. Not to mention, she seems to regard other people's lives as irrelevant - how they live is of no consequence to her. This is seen not only in her sung insults above, but also in her careless attitude towards the servants and the rules in the Beast's castle. Now, even for all this, you might notice that I still said she only seems rude and dismissive of other people. Well, the truth of it is, she doesn't want to be - this is one of Belle's defining features, in fact.

Belle certainly has a disregard for the rules, but I believe that this is more out of her contrary nature rather than her disbelief in them or a progressive mindset (as some have claimed). Think about it. She only goes to the West Wing because she was told she shouldn't; same for her eating despite his command. And, really, is there another good example of Belle breaking the rules? She doesn't do it often; I would say her breaking of the Beast's rules is more a way of being contrary to the captor she so loathes at the beginning, not a lifestyle. The involvement of the servants is merely an afterthought to Belle - she didn't do it to get them in trouble, nor did she show any sign of even recognizing that possibility.

For Gaston and the Beast's parts, Belle's critique of them is really only an offense when piled upon other things. After all, isn't Gaston boorish and brainless? Does he not treat her with the utmost arrogance and near-monstrous presumption? And does he not even go to the length of attempting to make her miserable to make himself happy, as in the case of imprisoning her father? And what of the Beast? Didn't he also imprison her father, as well as her? Did he not behave himself with every intent of being the monster he seemed? As for his being a fool, this is a mere passing shot of Belle's contrary character - it was rude and uncalled for, but it is yet another part of the arc that she shapes (as I will demonstrate below). 

As for Belle's treatment of other people in the village, her dismissiveness is a clue to her character arc. She calls them things like "provincial" and "little people" in an unintentional ironic sense of humor - she is one of them, but not enough to reap the benefits of being a little person... in that, she is the littlest of them all. In her complaining of the village life, she doesn't realize how much pettier even than them she has become - while they concern themselves with bacon, fish, bread, and the market prices, she has a leg above them and complains about life in general. But it's not meant as an insult.

When Belle complains, her intent, however pettily played out, is that she merely wants something higher than being alone in the village. Her conversation with her father reveals this perhaps more than anything. She asks him if, for her being alone, she is odd, as she hears. He replies that she should not acknowledge the other villagers - their opinions and what they say is quite irrelevant, and she should not care whether she has a friend among them. They are, after all, "the common herd," as he claims, and aren't worth much. Reluctant to accept this truth, Belle vaguely affirms the notion - if I'm not one of them yet, then it must not be worth it to be one of them, she thinks. But we never really get the idea that Belle is crazy about the idea - she accepts it because the only friend she does have says it's so.

What Does Belle Really Want?

This gets to the very root of exactly what Belle desires. She does not shun the traditional life, or other people's company - in fact, this is what she yearns for most. It is, once more, her contrary personality and the influence of her well-meaning but oversighted father that shapes her dismissal of the small world she inhabits. The best look we get of Belle's dreams are when she sings of the beauty she finds in books - not of the traveling life or of great distance from other people, but of prince Charmings and true love, of someone who will be a companion to her, and of the chivalry of old, beauteous devotion. It's not that she rejects the husband-wife-children-life attitude of the villagers, but, rather, she envies them so very greatly because that is what she desires. She doesn't want to be passed off as one more girl marrying a good-looking guy for adventure and thrills (like so many of the women fancying Gaston are), but wants desperately to marry for love, and for someone who will stick by her in life. 

Belle rejects Gaston because she knows that he will not help her. Not only is he openly unfaithful, but he cares much more about what he does outside the home than in - Belle is irrelevant to him except as someone to be there for the rare time when his whim lies with making a legacy for his household. He can't help her discover herself, he can't help her live up to a higher ideal, and he certainly cannot love her, wholeheartedly, giving instead of taking. Life with Gaston would be oh-so lonely for Belle, who already struggles so with her loneliness and stumbling journey.

Because the villagers would look well on Belle even if she married for the adventure of Gaston, Belle believes that they are errant (and, to a certain extent, they absolutely are). She herself only sees the lack of mystery and constancy in such a union, and abhors the thought. 

Even in her petty state of mind, she yearns for a true, profound relationship - one that will give her fulfillment. Belle's desire for the infinite is a desire in us all, isn't it? And even in the beginning, when it is her constant complaint against the town, the integral good of the thing remains - Belle merely wants a lasting thing.

But Does She Actually Change?

It is my belief that Belle does indeed change, and quite drastically. Think about it. In her first scene, she complains of how boring and typical her hometown is. A few scenes later, when she realizes the true tragedy that is out there, with her father being imprisoned by the Beast, she chides herself, singing "and to think I complained of that dull, provincial town!". Even though her ungrateful attitude remains at that point, we see already her change in attitudes towards the village. Then, later, when she wonders at the spell, and when she finally befriends the Beast, we hear her start to show gratitude more (as when she is healing the Beast). Then, finally, before the mob scene, she sings of how wrong she was, how stupid and silly to disregard everyone but herself, and how much, even against her own stubbornness, the Beast has changed her. And to top it all off, her farewell to the Beast as he is dying claims him a better being than herself - one more worthy of love.

By the end, really, we see a much humbler and more grateful Belle - humbled by hardship and mortification, perhaps, but humbled nonetheless. This is actually one of the biggest reasons that my preference strictly script-wise lies with the stage version (while she's ruder in the play's beginning than in the movie's, we don't get either of Belle's character arc songs, "Home" and "Change in Me," in the movie). To hold Belle's beginning character against her after her change is ridiculous, and I think it is not sufficient reason to condemn the story. 

Her ego diminishes as the story goes on, creating, actually, quite a pleasing character arc. In fact, her character arc can be seen as a reflection of the Beast's - just as he is reformed by her, so she is by him. And both have the same problem after all - egotism, stubbornness, and a rebellious temper. But by the end, both are willing to give their own ways up for the other. The story is all about redemption - after all, the only character who never reform in a story are the villains, and Beauty and the Beast is no exception. Gaston and LeFou (both of whom I'll get to later) don't change a bit, except perhaps for the worse, and same for M. D'Arque (the asylum keeper - unnamed in the movie). But Belle changes. The Beast changes. Lumiere, Cogsworth, and most of the rest change (as I'll also get to in a future post). The only people who don't change are those who represent ideal virtue in the story (Mrs. Potts) and those who represent the utmost lack of virtue (I would argue LeFou, but Gaston works as well). In a way, Beauty and the Beast is a title not just labeling the romance of Belle and Prince Adam (the Beast's oft forgotten real name, by the bye), but the two sides of Belle as well, fighting for her until the nobler one wills out. 

In this, I would defend Belle. Your thoughts on her? Do you have anything to add? To object? To suggest for future posts in this series? Please - spare a thought or two, if you have them. 

Meet the Books! - By the First Light of Dawn (What?! It's Back?)

I said back in May that there would be no more Meet the Books! posts. And, well... there won't... at least not any full ones, here. But, at that announcement, it seemed that there were a good few people who wished the return of Meet the Books!, and had further use for it. So, I intend to do it about every three months, perhaps, now, with a prospective WIP (as I have no more real ones to introduce myself) or with just the questions attached, for other bloggers to use the link-up to introduce their own works, especially since NaNo's started up. After that, perhaps, the feature may finally retire. For the moment, it shall remain in partial retirement, at any rate.

Anyways, getting down to the actual goings-on, I'm pretty sure most of you know the rules by now: answer the questions, use the picture if you like, and link it to me in a comment here so I can see the post. Like I said above, I used to make this central post for the link-up one of my stories, but I have no more full WIPs left for introducing. So, like with the last one (Pack Up Your Troubles), I'm going to use an "archive" story, yet to be written and mostly idea at present.

What is the genre?

The genre will hopefully be Fantasy, though it's not my strongest genre, so hold tight.

What is the title? Time period?

The title is By the First Light of Dawn, and, as some of my buddies here know, it is a retelling of Giselle. Due to this, it is in the same rough time period - the fifteenth century-ish.

How is it written (POV, main character, etc.)?

Not at all yet - I usually only write idea stories in summary form.

What is the setting?

A small, 1500's village in Rhineland (basically Germanic territory near the Rhine River). 

Who are the characters?

Giselle, of course, is the main character, and is pretty much the same as in the ballet - a motherly, if sickly, girl with a dream to dance and a thing for her sweetheart, Albrecht. The change I did make to her character will be explained momentarily. 

Albrecht is only known by Giselle as Loys/Loeys/Loes (I haven't decided which spelling I like better yet...). In reality, he is the prince of the province, engaged to a duchess from another... but in visiting the village once without regal train, he fell in love with the place's beauty, simplicity, and quiet, and came afterwards in disguise as the fictional shepherd, Loys. While there, he fell in love with more than the village... Giselle. But he was already betrothed from birth, so things could get complicated... especially with

Hilarion around, a hunter, and Giselle's suspicious best friend. Hilarion wanted to court Giselle himself, and he senses something strange about Albrecht, so he is, of course, very dubious of "Loys." Even though Giselle turned him down, he harbors hopes of courting her still, which bye and bye turns him more resentful and hard to fool - bad for both Giselle and Albrecht.

Berthe, Giselle's down-to-earth mother, worries for Giselle (who is diseased in the heart, and thus frail), as well as worrying about the forces at work around the village. Because of this, she is extremely protective, and denies Giselle's dreams of dancing.

Myrtha is the cold queen of the Wilis, a group of ghostly fae. She herself is the most prominent force among them, leading their loathing of humankind. Her power is mostly unrivaled in the forest, which causes those who know it alarm, and those who don't potential danger... 

                                           

What does the plot consist of?

On a whole, it's mostly like the original story, but with a twist or two. First off, the story begins with Giselle having strange, erratic dreams - dreams wherein, like the title, everything around her seems to reach a peak of light and fall, twisting until it's crushed itself. Strange visions of strange events speckle the dreams, and they puzzle and frighten Giselle. 

Then, some of the things in the dreams start to take place - Giselle's dream causes her suffering, her best friend soon becomes an enemy, and even her devoted lover is revealed as a liar. With this, Giselle dies. No, no, no - just kidding. Well, sort-of, anyways. Giselle does die, but she's not plain dead - meaning, there's more than chicken to this pot-pie. The Wilis summoned Giselle, and caused her death so that she could join their number - it was not natural, by her weak heart, as it seemed. For Myrtha sees the situation with Giselle and Albrecht and wishes to avenge Giselle... as well as herself, as she was once in Giselle's place, in a way. With this, she could give Giselle the powers of the Wilis, and together the group of them would take vengeance upon Hilarion and Albrecht, the causers of Giselle's woe. Unfortunately, the rest is rather hard to work out sensibly in my summary, so I'm afraid I have to leave it there plot-wise (sorry!). 

What gave you the idea?

I got the idea after watching the absolutely brilliant ballet version of the story by the Bolshoi/Parisian ballet. The story was, even in a format sometimes not too conducing to details, so potent, that I laid awake thinking about it. And as much as I hate retells normally, I wished that someone would write one, fleshing out the story even more, and maybe even adding some new elements. And then popped in, of course, that old quote about writing the book you want to read - so I decided I would.

Who are the favorite characters so far?

As it's not written, there are none.

What is the favorite scene so far?

As above, there are none yet.

Any drawings?

Unfortunately not...

Any themes of music for this work?
Beyond the music to the ballet, no, not yet.

Any snippets?

Again, not quite written yet, so no.

Strong point in story?

So far, the inspiration - I'm so revved up for this story... the only reason I haven't started it yet is because I intend to finish another project first.

Weak point in story?

How about... the fantasy? I am not really a Fantasy writer naturally - it takes some serious work, time, and planning for any of my fantasy to be palatable. 

What are your plans for it?

Whelp... to write it, before anything else, I think.

Any particular writing habits for it?

None - I haven't written it yet. 

If it were made into a movie, what would be your ideal cast for it?

Eh... eh... Let's talk about the movie another time - the book's not even finished yet... 

***

Well, that's Il Fine, I'm afraid. I apologies for backing out on a lot of the questions, and for not having very fleshed out information, but there isn't much else to say at this point about my projects. How about yours, though? Did you do the link-up? If you did, comment so I can see! I love seeing your Meet the Books! posts, so, if it sounds good (even if you've never joined up before), just go for it - remember, it's not gonna come out again for a while!