Fantastical | N.S.

First

Back in the hills of Wales stood a carefully crafted tombstone under the shade of a fully grown yew tree that had once been a powerful wand. It read only a name and a phrase in welsh, Rhaid i'r sioe fynd ymlaen, fy annwyl.

The show must go on, my dear.

And that was just like him, to leave such a message to all the living. To his one and only remaining link to them.

And so, though all knew the great Gwydion Tonks was dead (as it had been years since the day that stone had been laid in the ground, yet to home moss of such a green) the show did indeed go on.

On a stage before hundreds, a woman cloaked in an array of red and black not entirely considered appropriate, least for her, sauntered into view with her arms spread wide. Upon her head sat a worn hat, a top hat to be precise, with its deep crimson ribbon tied seriously in a perfect line around the bottom of the black fabric. Yet she was anything but serious save for the meticulous nature of everything she wore, created, and maintained. For, above all, a goofy smile fueled by the euphoria of the people staring up at her spread across her cheeks.

With a dramatic stomp of her heeled boot, a thin cane slid seamlessly from her sleeve to rest on the wood of the flooring with a small tap as its compact charm fell away. She was quick to grip it upright, white gloved hand wrapped around the handle. Applause came like music to her ears.

She called to the crowd with that British lilt they found so enchanting, "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to my show!" Her fingers came to lightly grip the rim of her hat as she bowed low, extending it before her with something flashing white in its depths. Her smile shone when she straightened. "I'm Rhian, your magician, and I hope you enjoy!"

And from her hat burst a great cloud of fluttering wings to the cheers and gasps of her muggle audience as the doves flew to the sky.

The show was just beginning.

꧁☁︎꧂

A woman reflected back at her in the mirror with the chattering's of her patrons echoing backstage. Clear skin, straight nose, glistening deep brown locks. It was annoying. So she withdrew her wand, dark hazel gaze becoming stagnant in concentration, and after a steady incantation, her nose bent as if it had been broken much too often, her hair dulled, and old acne scars gained a sheen as they were revealed to the world alongside who she really was. It was much better this way.

Panacea Tonks could feel gravity's insistent tug on her bones after such a long day, the pull of exhaustion begging for a break as it always did. However, if Rhian the magician was anything, it was not tired. So the disguise that had become a necessity as a working woman, especially in her profession in that day and age to withhold to certain standards, had to go. And now the oldest Tonks child sat alone in a room of wood, the vanity she was using, and nothing more. Only dust that clung to the corners as they did to her thoughts. And the only colour came from the curtains that peeked from the corners where they blocked the audience's view of the stage of anything and everything, shining in colour under such dim lighting.

Panacea took a breath and stood, stepping further into that dark and grabbing her hat with the buzzing of her mind finally fading alongside their cheers. Not much felt more right than being on that stage doing what she loved, but one that did was this moment. The coming home to her family. The one that burst relief to a life never so real.

Sure, she may not have had any special someone nor any blood that cared anything for her left on this earth, but she didn't need any of that. The only thing she needed was this moment after the show returning to a home that had been hers and her father's for the full entirety of their lives. She stopped before another door of wood and shoved her gloves into her coat pockets to grip the cool metal doorknob, feeling it warm for a split second as she hung that hat with its perfectly tied bow on a hook nailed into the wood with Rhian's scarlet and midnight jacket beside it on another. Then she let it swing open.