Post by nathan king on Feb 16, 2009 13:47:56 GMT -5
nathan orlando david king
[/b][/color][/size] A Mr. Nathan King at the dear age of twenty-one has found himself upon the most curious of situations - entering into London's most tantalizing gossip. "[/i][/color][/font][/size][/ul][/blockquote]
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W R I T E R .
name: melinda
RP experience: forever + 2 days
how did you find us?: i was walking along the street when this van pulled up. the next thing i knew i was in this room and a bright light was shining in my face. then, i heard brianna's voice telling me if i didn't kate would feed me ice cream until i exploded...
age:
gender: female
P O R T R A I T .
eye color: chocolate brown
hair color: dark brown
height: 6'2"
body type: slender with slight muscle definition
distinguishing features: deep-set, dark eyes
fashion style:
M A N N E R S .
profession: actor
adoration for:
distaste for:
dreams:
fears:
secrets:
main:
P A S T .
family:
. felix king, "father", 61 - theater company proprietor[/ul]
main:
Kathleen “Kit” Dobson pursed her lips as she watched her longtime friend and coworker begin unfastening the heavily beaded and gold trimmed gown, tossing it carelessly over the arm of the faded dressing chair before stepping behind the screen. Absentmindedly, Kit stooped and picked up a velvet cape, tucking it around the slumbering toddlers form. Little Nathan had become a fixture backstage of the Fairweather Vaudeville Troupe since his mother, Rebecca Collingwood, had given birth to him four years ago. His lullabies had been the wavering notes of the chorus and loud timpani drums. He was the sort of child who could occupy himself whilst his mother performed on stage or practiced a new combination. Bright and happy, he had won the hearts of all the other performers, Kit included.
Earlier that evening, the proprietor of the troupe, Mr. Fairweather, had announced an upcoming tour in America – the opportunity to perform in front of the new money that seemed to flow freely throughout the country. It had been the source of conversation amongst the dancers, excited whispers filling the silence backstage. This was the opportunity that they all dreamed of, and young Nathan’s mother was not excluded.
Rebecca Collingwood had never intended to become a mother. She had always prided herself on her distinct lack of maternal instincts, but one drunken night following several months of blatant flirtations and she had Nathan to show for it. Already she resented having him. While the other girls went out for drinks after a performance she had to haul him back to the boarding house and wait for him to drift back off to sleep before hurrying out to meet up with the rest of them. Men no longer looked at her the same way either. The intrigue died in their eyes the moment Nathan trotted over and pulled on her skirt, calling her “Mama.” She had spoken to Mr. Fairweather after his announcement, inquiring where that left her. Not one to mince words, he had been forthright, telling her that under no circumstance could she bring the child along with them. Despite her talent, he could not risk the disdain of American society if they were to discover that he employed a single mother, never wed.
“What about his father?” Kit asked, reaching down to unfasten her red silk slippers.
“Who, David Grant?” Rebecca scoffed as she stepped from behind the screen. “I ain’t ‘eard from ‘im since As You Like It. I don’ think ‘e even remembers us.” Her dark eyes flitted toward her sleeping son, a steely determination creeping into them. “I can tell you one thing, tho’, I ain’t goin’ to keep lettin’ my life pass me by while ‘e get to live ‘is ’owever he wants.”
Kit gasped. “Becca, what are you sayin’?”
“I’m goin’ on that tour, Kit. Mark my words, I ain’t givin’ up this, too.”
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It was a conversation Kit replayed countless minds, wondering what, if anything, she could have said that would have changed Rebecca’s mind. In her heart she knew the truth: Rebecca Collingwood was merely waiting for the right opportunity to walk away from the life she felt she was trapped within.
It was an eerily still Spring night. The wind silent, the steady sheeting rain of London stilled for a night. Kit had laid awake in her boarding room for hours that night, trying to fall asleep within the silence. She hadn’t realized how comforted she was with the always-present din of the city. She wasn’t certain how long she had been asleep when a soft rapping at her door wakened her. Frowning, she reached for her dressing robe and made her to the front door. Keeping the door latched she opened it slightly, peering into the hall cautiously. Seeing no one, she sighed, making a note to speak to the landlady in the morning, and went to close the door. A faint shuffle of feet and a sniffle drew her attention downward. Her eyes followed the sound to where Nathan stood, red-eyed from crying, by her door. Wasting no time, Kit unlocked the door and fell to her knees at his side. “Nathan!” she gasped anxiously. “What has happened? Where’s your mother?”
“Gone.” He sniffled, wiping his eyes with the back of his small hand. In the slight movement, Kit noticed the small piece of paper pinned to his shirt, a small carpet bag by his feet. With trembling fingers, her heart hammering out a rhythm of dread, Kit opened the note.
Kit,
I don’t expect you to understand my actions. You have always been more of a mother to Nathan than me. I know that whatever you do will be best for him. I can’t live away from my dreams any longer.
Yours,
Rebecca
Stumbling forward, Kit called out for Rebecca, searching for her. But even as her name rasped upon her lips, Kit knew the truth: Rebecca was gone, swallowed into the night and would not return. She had taken Nathan into her small room, given him a cup of warm milk with honey before wrapping him in a quilt and tucking him into her bed. She sat for a long time, watching his steady breath, smoothing his dark hair from his forehead as she pondered what to do next. Byt the time the first gray rays of morning stole through the lace curtains, her heart was decided. She would not abandon the little boy the way his mother had.
Life was not easy for the young family. A small part of her, one she preferred to not acknowledge, could identify with why Rebecca had left. Opportunities that were once plentiful lessened once it was discovered she had a son. With each passing day, she could feel her dreams dim, the reality of her life now creating cracks in their already thin veneer. Her disparity was not lost on Nathan. He would find her crying late at night after she had thought him asleep and wrap his arms around her and tell her how much he loved her, his mother. For Nathan, Kit was his mother. Any memories he had of Rebecca were faded and distorted, like the pieces of a dream he could no longer recall.
In order to make ends meet, Kit took work in a small tailor’s shop as a seamstress. It was the very life she had thought she had left behind when she had joined Fairweather’s at seventeen, and she hated every moment where she was confined in the dank back room, creating garmets of luxury and opulence for people living a life she no longer allowed herself to dream of living. Although her optimism was dimmed, Kit continued to attend audtions, Nathan in tow, hoping that one day someone would be able to look past ther perceived stains of her past and give her the opportunity to shine once more.
Kit had nearly decided against attending the audition for the chorus line of a new musical produced my the renowned Mr. Felix King. She had become accustomed to disappointment, to being cast into the shadows and never the spotlight. While Nathan played contentedly in the wings, she had sung as she never had before. The sweet tenor of her voice a perfume that intoxicated those listening, leaving them desiring for more as the last few notes trembled delicately in the still auditorium. Felix King was utterly bewitched. He had found his star.
As time progressed, so did their relationship. In Felix, Kit found all of her dreams once more. He didn’t care that she had a child – he quickly embraced Nathan as though he was his own. The spring Nathan turned eight, Kit Dobson married Felix King without much fanfare. It was not the fairy tale she had once dreamed of. Both were ambitious and driven. For the most part it was a union of convenience – each mutually using the other to further their careers. The did love one another, but there relationship was terse and Nathan often fell asleep to the sounds of them arguing. To avoid questions and indecent gossip, it was decided that Nathan would take Felix’s last name. His dark hair and eyes mirrored the young boys and people would often that it was a pity he did not inherit some of his mother’s – Kit – fairness.
Nathan did not give much thought to the life he led. The other performers catered to his every whim. The dancers fawning over him and spoiling him with sweets they would purchase from their wages. His toys were the brightly colored scraps of fabric and props that littered the backstage area. He learned to act and sing, acrobatics from a troupe that had toured with them. He saw all of Europe and parts of North America whilst the tour moved about. Kit’s beauty and talent propelling Mr. King’s career from playwright to proprietor of his own theater company – his productions on demand by the crowned heads all over.
It was during an encore tour in Scotland that everything changed. Felix King still blame the damp air, the other actresses claim the theater they were in was cursed, those that worked backstage whispered that Mr. King had pushed his young wife too far. The fever had seized Kit without warning causing her to collapse during rehearsal once evening. The doctor was called for immediately but there was little to be done. The sore throat she had been complaining about had progressed, the strep virus spreading through her. There was nothing that could be done. Within a week of her collapse, Kit had passed away.
Overcome, Felix canceled the rest of the tour, returning to London with Nathan in tow. For the next few months the two lived together but in separate spheres, each revolving around the other without ever connecting. Slowly, Felix began working on a script again, telling Kathleen’s story seemed the best way to honor her memory. Slowly things returned to the only normal Nathan had ever known. The theater seemed less bright without Kit’s laughter or sweet song. But it was there in the soft folds of velvet and excited whispers that Nathan was certain he could still feel her presence, wanting nothing more than to make her proud of him. She had given him the world and he felt as though he would forever be in her debt.
One day, bored as he waited backstage for the evening’s performance to end, he found Kit’s journal of those first tenuous years they had together. It was as much his sotry as it was hers, confirming the things he had thought were bizarre dreams and distorted memories. Once he had finished, he tossed her words into the fire and walked away. There wasn’t much he could offer Kit now but to protect her secrets for they were his as well.
Everyday he wonders though if he has what it takes to make her proud or if one day Mr. King, the only father he has ever known, will walk away from him as well. The theater is the only world he has ever known, and there are days where he wonders what it would be like to live in a world where he doesn’t have to pretend at all. [/ul]
E T C .
play-by: kevin flamme
password:
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