"Amazing…"
Marie could only watch in wonder, from the grand opening that showed off Ferrand's greatness, to the comical mistake he made leading to his first meeting with Suzanne.
What Marie was watching felt like the ebb and flow of a river, it brings you up and slowly carries you down. The emotions you feel as Ferrand falls in love with Suzanne.
The warm feeling of watching Ferrand woo Suzanne, the laughter you could not control as you watch Claude try to and fail to woo Anais.
The bad feelings that sprout when you are made to confront the reality of the situation, the truth behind Suzanne and Anais' existence.
No one said anything about sympathizing with the human knights, none even got mad as they watched the human knights cut down demons for a "righteous cause".
Some bold ladies even shouted in support of Ferrand and Claude as they cut down sanguine!
Then, the transformation of Claude came, the confrontation between the sisters and the eventual escape.
If the first part of the story was a careful travel downstream, the tale after Claude's transformation was a sudden descent into raging rapids.
Your emotions are twisted, turned, crushed and remade and just when you felt as if things were suddenly calming down, a waterfall comes into view.
A saving grace, a fallen tree appears as a point of hope, the escape from the human territory, the travel to the land of demons.
All of it came crashing down, the moment Leon appeared as like seeing the fallen tree break in half just as you were about to reach land. Now, without a boat and without any support, your emotions are dragged into the waterfall of despair.
Yet, what made many react was not Leon's cold actions, not anger towards Claude who caused the entire situation.
No, what the noble ladies were cursing out towards was-
"Damned Ferrand! Why did you do nothing?!"
"DID YOU REALLY LOVE SUZANNE?! FERRAND YOU BASTARD!"
"Poor Suzanne, she loved him yet continued to reject and push Ferrand away… maybe her actions were indeed right… loving Ferrand was a mistake!"
"Curse you Ferrand! THE LAMIA WILL REMEMBER THIS!"
It was the first time Marie ever felt a noble audience react explosively to entertainment.
Even during plays, most nobles only smile and react to songs, the rest of the show was spent yawning and chattering.
But, before this "movie", the nobles who would ignore wonderful stories and see them as boring were now empathizing and crying for a fake character.
Suzanne was clearly played by Ortrun Martell, the woman more than half of the audience despised. Yet they were now crying for that very same woman.
In plays, there were some actors who had noble backgrounds. When such a noble performs, the audience would usually speak ill of the noble. Making fun of their "fellow noble" for "stooping down" to such a level.
Yet, none even tried to speak badly about Suzanne, even when Suzanne was actively pushing Ferrand away, most of the noble ladies only squealed at the "romantic scenes".
Now, an opportunity to take some jabs presented itself, some could have even let their emotions take over and "accidentally" speak badly about the duchess within a dirty prison.
Yet, everyone was more focused on cursing at Ferrand who pinned the blame on Claude and stood silently as Claude declared his attempt at rescuing the lamia sisters.
When Claude showed his genius, people were immediately amazed, the same Claude who, for the majority of the tale did nothing more than make a fool of himself, had crafted an ingenious plan to reduce the amount of people watching over the two sisters.
As Claude watched the perverted guards try to make passes on the lamia sisters, none tried to speak badly about Ortrun. Not because of fear but because-
"KILL THOSE PERVERTS!"
"DAMNED HUMAN SCUM!"
"Such men truly are disgusting"
Most of the audience were throwing their disgust at the knights who tried to abuse the lamia sisters.
After all, those very same knights had looked at the sisters in disgust but when they were left vulnerable within the prison cells that interfered with their abilities as a lamia, the guards had taken an aggressive act and tried to enforce their power over the sisters.
This of course led to many seeing Claude, despite not being as handsome as Ferrand, as an attractive man.
"Sir Claude, please take me away!"
"I too wish to be saved by Sir Claude!"
"Those strong arms may seem boorish but now that I look at it… they do indeed provide a sense of security"
Before the movie, none cared for the second prince, most of the noblewomen aimed for either the third prince or the first prince.
It was a well known fact that the second prince truly did not match his brothers, especially in terms of appearance.
But-
'It appears that the second prince would find himself finally experiencing the same struggles that plagued his brothers'
Marie thought as the image changed to present Ferrand.
The moment the once bright knight appeared on the screen, curses immediately rang out but soon died down as Ferrand's emotions and thoughts began to be relayed to the audience.
Marie took note of this as this was another way by which the movie differed from the plays.
Unlike plays that NEEDED actors to "put their thoughts into words", the movie was able to show emotion through facial expressions.
The confusion, pain, guilt and regret on Ferrand's face, the handsome face that once shone brightly now had a shadow cast over it.
In the previous shots, the focus was not on Ferrand's expression, instead there was a darkness that made people focus more on Claude.
Ferrand, after the capture of the sisters and during his conversation with Claude had been shown with an expression that betrayed many of the audience who fell for him. Yet now, the audience could clearly "feel" the emotions swirling within Ferrand's eyes.
'Aside from the way of presentation, the fact that the Third Prince is able to show such emotions through his eyes alone speaks volumes… I guess his reputation of making women fall for him was not without reason'
Rumors spoke of the Third Prince abusing his appearance to make women fall for him, yet Marie could tell, the Third Prince was not a simple pretty face.
She thought as the recollection of the story about the snake was "recalled" by Ferrand.
'I see, they mixed in important parts of the tale, hints at what's to come through the "joyful" moments. What brilliant storytelling'
Marie commended Rexford, if the Third Prince heard her he would have likely felt shame as the story was a rushed project and one that, especially to the prince who was used to watching billion dollar blockbusters, quite rough.
Yet the people of this world had no experience with blockbusters or any similar entertainment medium.
The story continued to play out, Ferrand's silent actions made the whole crowd gasp. His abandonment of the one thing he could be proud of had given everyone an understanding of what was about to come.
Yet the story didn't seem to want the audience to have an "easy time".
As the movie continued to play, the tension also continued to rise.
Commander Leon's foresight, Claude's revelation and sacrifice, the sisters' will to give it all and finally, Ferrand's redemption.
The reactions of the audience was palpable, it was a sequence of scenes that would have made many modern viewers cringe at how excessive the director was at using "shock" to tell the story.
Yet for an audience whose greatest feeling of tension in entertainment was the moment when a song starts to play… the method used by Rexford was truly entertaining.
It was the first time they had encountered such a story, one that had so many twists and turns yet still gave one the feeling of a smoldering flame that had yet to truly burn.
Even when the group of four escaped, people could still feel tension.
Whether it was the music or the way their escape was framed, the audience knew that this was still far from the end and their prediction was right.
"I'll give you one last chance, Ferrand- Claude… give up and let the light of God judge you!"
Leon arrived, his armor dirtied by the chaotic chase after being thrown into the raging river.
Yet in response to his words, both Ferrand and Claude resisted, but not only did they resist, they also used the very same power that was supposed to "judge them" against Leon.
If it were only Ferrand using his blessing to defend a demon then Leon could accept it but Claude- a man who was now a demon was using the same blessing. The power to kill demons was used by a demon to fight against humans.
It was a conflict of ideals, everyone was tired, battered and bruised.
The elite knights were all defeated but not without consequence and as the battle was nearing its climax, the dark skies roared with thunder as rain drenched the three brothers.
A memory played as a scene of the three brothers sparring overlapped with their life and death struggle.
It all culminated in one attack, Claude who charged at Leon, in the memory, he was easily intercepted but now, with his heightened abilities, Claude was able to deal a devastating blow to Leon shattering the memory.
But as if responding to such a change, Leon did not simply toss Claude away but stabbed him with the bottom of his spear.
At that moment, Ferrand came charging in, much like the memory but now, instead of the large distance that made it impossible for Ferrand to break through Leon's spear, he now was just inches away.
The distance between them made it a stalemate as the spear's advantage was lost but Leon did not surrender or give up, ending the fight with a pat in the back.
Again, the illusion of a bright past shattered as Leon stabbed his spear into Ferrand's chest while Ferrand himself swung his sword horizontally towards Leon's neck.
Many noble ladies closed their eyes in fear, unwilling to see the gruesome end of the tale yet-
What came was not the scene of a headless corpse but the dull image of Ferrand, stabbed by the spear stopping his sword from cutting his brother down.
The music all but disappeared leaving only the awfully loud sound of rain and the audible sound of dripping blood.
What followed was the conversation between the two brothers.
Ferrand's oath, his dropped sword and the shattered spear.
'Beautiful'
The allusion's, symbolisms and meanings crammed into that scene struck Marie.
Plays used such methods extensively yet only those who truly appreciated art could properly understand and perceive them.
Yet, right before her eyes, Marie could tell, the movie did more than just create these symbols and meanings, it delivered them.
An audience that would have never been able to see past the simple scene of "Ferrand was stabbed, dropped his sword and remade his oath". Was now being "forced to understand" the meaning behind all the actions, events and words without needing an art teacher to break it down for them!
Through the use of focus, the view of Leon's distraught face as he slowly came to a sudden realization, the lack of music that gives a "grounded" experience.
All of it created the perfect storm for the audience to understand the many lessons and meanings of the few words and actions that two characters exchanged.
'May the stone break when the tragedies has come to an end'
The sight of Leon despairing at the unbreakable stone statues and the words left by what could only be the "God" which he believed in.
As the story came to an end, the image turned dark but a soft sound of turning pages still echoed.
Then, everyone was made to watch a scene of the Duchess Delilah, not as a fictional character but as herself speaking with the Third Prince.
They were not in a luxurious room but it appears to be some small office and the two talked about the tale that had just come to an end.
The title of the tale was on the book that had been closed by Delilah and what followed was a scene that made many realize that the Third Prince was planning something huge.
"Cinderella…"
The drawn image of a blonde beauty and a hideous monster, the book that the prince was working on had such an image.
It was not hard to grasp what it meant.
'I need to be part of that…'
As the lights came back on, the noble ladies began to talk to their friends. Their conversations revolved around comparing the three knights.
Although the large number of people who champion Ferrand was expected to be followed by a few others who supported Claude, there was also an even smaller group that felt Leon was not all "that bad".
In fact, some were unexpectedly defending Leon as a "tragic character". Unlike his brothers who interacted with the sisters and learned that "not all demons are evil" and that "they are a lot more similar than we thought".
Leon, since the very start of the tale had been leading the knights, he likely spent his days responding to calls for help when the "evil demons" attacked. So unlike his brothers who met "kind demons", Leon's only encounters with demons are those with an "evil" or "vile" nature.
Some even went as far as to criticize the leader above Leon as the final scene obviously proved that the God he served did not discriminate against demons. In fact, God seems to be partial towards them even favoring them with the help provided.
The conversations that surrounded her made Marie even more sure of what she has to do.
'Maybe… if I use my body…'
She turned her gaze towards the multiple private viewing platforms, her mind calculating and her eyes squinting.
'I need this…'
A look of resolution painted her face as she stood up and silently left the theatre.