Chapter 123: When The House Falls...

Mary-Beth Brunhild was an actress whom had been extremely popular in Hollywood in her younger years.

With every project the young girl had found herself in, she had somehow managed to stand out, sometimes even stealing the show and gaining far more acclaim than her fellow peers or colleagues.

Sadly, Hollywood was a space where the brightest of stars drew the worst kinds of ill-will, and simultaneously, the worst kind of creeps.

For an actress like Mary-Beth, it had been hell, to say the least.

Forced into acting at just six years of age by parents that were abusive and exploitative to say the least, both of whom couldn’t care less about their daughter’s well-being as long as they got their bag, the young girl had essentially been trapped inside their little box before she could fully understand her own rights.

It got so bad at some point, the very sight of her father had her feeling nauseated and practically on the verge of puking.

Her mother was even worse, as she happened to be a woman who truly loathed her daughter’s beauty... but knew well enough not to damage the ’goods’, as Mary-Beth--perhaps unluckily for her--quite looked like a living porcelain doll in human flesh.

One that just happened to have caught the attention of more than just a few powerful creeps in the darker side of Tinseltown.

It was also those very same looks, that got her so much hate from her fellow actresses, and at the same time, prevented her from actually having any proper relations with those of the opposite sex.

The reason for this was rather simple.

Mary-Beth had grown extremely distrustful of every breathing human that walked the earth.

Sure, she could handle acting around them, as she found it rather easy to flip a switch in her head and immediately assume whatever role was required of her like a chameleon, her own deep-rooted fear sat firmly within her.

It was also why, for as monstrously talented as she was, she couldn’t help but loath acting.

Afterall, it was the one thing that had prevented her from truly confronting her fears as she could easily pretend whenever she wanted... which was all the time.

Yet, it had also become the only way for her to cage that deep-seated fear.

It also happened to be why, even after her parents had thankfully passed away in a ghastly car accident, one she herself had managed to survive uninjured by some stroke of maddening luck, she had found herself right back in Hollywood after five whole years of staying away from the spotlight.

This time though, she had opted to join HTA after doing some serious, deep research of her own... or at least as much as Eagle would allow her.

Now aged twenty, Mary-Beth looked practically no older than sixteen.

Her skin was flawless without a single freckle, her high cheekbones slightly robust, her natural blonde-hair with charcoal-black roots perfectly blending together, her button nose perfectly dainty, her peachy-pink lips full and her big, round eyes housing the deepest bottle-green irises.

She also happened to have auditioned for the role of Alice.Jr Kingsleigh in [A Maddened Wonderland], one she’d immediately gotten without having to go through callbacks.

And though she wasn’t particularly excited to act in the movie as opposed to several individuals on set, she wasn’t the type to skimp out on giving it her all nonetheless.

That was her job as an actress.

That said, there was someone whose excitement was palpably radiating off of him in waves... which was rather ironic considering he looked like he was the most reserved of everyone.

Niall Parker.

As the lady stood off to a corner in the wide, bustling green room, Niall and several of the extras currently seated in the tavern prop which was placed atop a hydraulic motion platorm to simulate a shaky, earthquake-like movement, everyone found themselves instinctively glancing over to him from time to time.

Sure, he was dressed in a distinctly wine tail-coat, a haphazardly dotted-vest of various color mismatches, striped wine pants, elven-like black boots, alongside a massive bow-tie on his neck that could double as a sash if one loosened it and a crooked black top hat that clearly screamed that he was the protagonist of the story...

...it really shouldn’t have stood out as much considering was every other extra in the tavern was just as colorfully dressed.

Even now, as Mark went through the motions, checking with the crew in the green room in preparation for the very first scene in the movie, the lady, much like several others, couldn’t help but steal glances.

Though none of them couldn’t quite place their finger on just why, they were certain that Niall was tempering his unbridled excitement.

As for the man in question, it was yet again that certain feeling of unabashed enthusiasm he got whenever he found himself on a film set... but dialed so high and far past eleven, his Gift of Bestowal was leaking out in subtle waves he wasn’t even aware of.

To that effect, he’d unknowingly created an environment where everyone’s anticipation for the cameras to begin rolling had increased as well, with most really looking forward to seeing him act.

Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait long, as just a few minutes later, Mark calmed his nerves by quietly reciting a mantra to himself to calm his beating heart and then, raised up the megaphone, his voice firm and commanding;

"Roll sound!"

"Sound is speeding!" the sound crew responded.

"Roll camera!" he called out again.

"Camera’s speeding!" the lead cinematographer and other cameramen followed up.

"Slate!" he ordered, his arm gesturing.

"A Maddened Wonderland – Act 1 – Scene 1 – Take 1." the clapperloader released the stick as requested.

Then, allowing for a short pause to descend in the area for a few seconds, the young director gave one look over before finally saying the magic words;

"... Action!"

-

{A Maddened Wonderland | 9th, March 2019 | Act 1 | Scene 1 | Take 1}

The tavern was rising.

Very, very fast.

The entire building vibrated so violently that the windows rattled within their frames as cupboards flew open and porcelain teacups jittered across the shelves as the tavern plummeted through the clouds right afterwards.

"WE’RE GOING TO DIE!" the bartender screamed.

"WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GO AND STEAL THE OLD OAK’S SAP WITHOUT HIS PERMISSION?!" his wife grabbed him by the collar, a mix of fury and terror in her eyes!

"I HAVEN’T FINISHED MY MASTERPIECE!" the bard shrieked immediately after, everyone in the tavern running helter-skelter and holding onto anything they possibly could for dear life.

"WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!" the bartender screamed yet again to which his wife slapped him across the face;

"YOU ALREADY SAID THAT, YOU BIG OAF!"

Amidst the chaos, Alistair Hatter calmly sipped his tea.

He sat at a small wooden table in the middle of the tavern, one leg crossed over the other, his crooked top hat resting upon his head as though a pissed tree hadn’t just punted them into the skies a minute ago.

As another violent tremor rocked the tavern, his tea rippled and a tiny drop sloshed over the rim.

Staring at the brown-liquid, he frowned, his eyes narrowing slightly as he hummed;

"Hmm..."

Then he took a small sip a moment after, another vague scream echoing from somewhere upstairs as he muttered;

"Needs more sugar."

The tavern suddenly lurched downward, and several chairs were lifted from the floor as several individuals crashed into the walls.

A teapot flew over, heading right for Alistair’s head. Calmly, he tilted his head to avoid it.

Then, with all the urgency of a man who had finally remembered an appointment, he rose from his seat, straightened his coat, adjusted his top hat and began climbing the stairs.

"Out of my way, please." he said to a terrified man clinging to the banisters for dear life, the man looking at him incredulously.

"OUT OF YOUR WAY?! WE’RE FALLING OUT OF THE SKY!"

"Did I stutter?" Alistair politely asked, his expression genuinely confused.

"THAT’S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?!" the man replied with yet another shout, only for a brief turbulence to launch him forwards.

Casually, Alistair side-stepped as the man whooshed past. Then he glanced over his shoulder and said, his empathy on full-display;

"Well, I could scream if it would make you feel better."

Despite now being head down, butt up, his view of Alistair upside down, he still saw the light smile on the young man’s face.

Then he screamed again;

"AAAAAH!"

Shrugging to himself, Alistair continued climbing.

By the time he reached the top, the tavern had begun flinging furniture out the windows.

Arriving at the balcony doors which were rattling in their frames, Alistair gently leaned on them, right as another gust of wind tore through the building and tried to steal his hat.

Clutching it with a hand, he simply took in the view as Wonderland stretched beneath him.

Rivers occasionally flowing uphill, enormous flowers singing to one another in open fields, mushrooms towering above crooked cottages, distant mountains curling into shapes that had no business existing in nature...

Everything was drenched in colors of brilliant reds, violent purples and impossibly beautiful shades of blue.

Even the clouds up above seemed to have been painted by someone who had never heard of the word ’subtlety’, much less what the term implied.

Beyond the horizon though, The Outlands stood, a stark contrast to everything else.

It was a pale gray that crept across the distant landscape, stripped off of all vibrant colors.

Yet, Alistair’s smile had never faltered for once.

Soon, he looked down at the rapidly shrinking ground. Then up at the sky. Then back at the falling tavern he was standing on.

"Well," he muttered, clearly unfettered.

"Father always did say; When the house falls, don’t." he tipped his hat to no one in particular.

"Though I don’t recall him ever specifying how..." he thoughtfully tapped his chin a moment after.

Then his eyes sparkled, and his grin widened.

Without thinking twice, Alistair leapt off the edge of the balcony!

"Cut!"

-

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/Caer07