A Journey's Link

Chapter 50 - Key

Serena stepped out onto the stage, feeling the familiar shining of the lights on her skin and the silence of the crowd anxiously waiting for the time to decide on who would receive the Princess Key for this Showcase. Beside her were three other unknown Performers and Miette, who she had made up with regarding the lies she told about Ash and her reasoning for doing so.

All five walked up to the center where Monsieur Pierre stood, smiling as the Performers made their way over. "Here come our talented Performers right now!" He announced to the audience, tipping his hat slightly. Each Performer waved and smiled at the audience, trying to sway them to vote for their Performance.

"There she is," Chloe remarked, pointing towards Serena. "Let's make sure we cheer loud for her, got it?" She said to Goh, who smiled and nodded. "I'm sure she'll win," Goh said confidently. "I just know it."

Serena and Miette lined up in a row next to the other Performers as projections appeared above them. It was the meter that decided which Performer would win the Showcase and the Princess Key based on the audience's reaction to each Performance.

"Good luck," Miette whispered to Serena, who slightly turned her head as she heard this. "You too," Serena responded, giving a small head nod as she turned back to face the audience. "Now is ze time to decide which Performer you want to win!" Monsieur Pierre announced, giving small gestures to each Performer as he said this.

"You all in ze audience have a wand that can be lit up with ze corresponding color of your favorite Performance from today," Monsieur Pierre explained, holding up his wand as he did so. "By casting your wand, you contribute a vote and get ze Performer you enjoyed closer to stardom!" He finished explaining by twirling his wand, which earned a few mumbles from the crowd.

"Now! Let us begin casting our votes!" He exclaimed, starting the votes by sending out his own, which happened to be for Serena, who smiled as the small ball of light made its way to her projection meter, adding a small value to its bar. This action led to the entire audience raising their wand with their color that linked up with their favorite Performer, with Goh and Chloe voting for Serena.

A multitude of colors all made their way toward the stage, each one filling up the Performer's meter. Serena had decided beforehand to close her eyes during this process, as she didn't want to know the results until it was announced by Monsieur Pierre because she would be envious and worried up until that point.

Serena kept her eyes closed and could hear the sound of wands casting their votes beginning to diminish, eventually leading to what could only be described as an obnoxious silence. Eyes still closed, Serena patiently waited as Monsieur Pierre began speaking once more. "It seems zat we have our winner!" He exclaimed enthusiastically. "And what a close one as well!" He added, causing Serena's heart to stop for a moment.

Am I in this close call? She thought to herself. Even though the audience had applauded extremely loud, she still doubted herself, worried that she had just barely missed out on winning her first Showcase back. "And zat winner is..." Monsieur Pierre held his words out for suspense, which didn't help Serena one bit.

She suddenly felt stage lights shining on her, fighting through to her closed eyes. "Serena!" Monsieur Pierre finished, causing the entire audience to go wild. Serena opened her eyes, astonished at the reaction from the audience upon her win. "I won?" She whispered to herself, somewhat in disbelief. Looking over to see who was close to her, she found Miette smiling back melancholically right below her meter that nearly reached Serena's height.

"So close, Miette," Serena said. "Sorry for that." Miette shrugged and said, "Don't be. You rightfully won this." She winked at Serena. "Besides, next time I'll be the one barely winning. Got it?" She remarked with a joking tone on her face. Serena smirked and responded, "I'm counting on it," earning a genuine smile from Miette.