Empress Liu Mei Fan/Bond Story

*The days of glory are in the past. Among the tedious, unchanging days where only lives are lost through war between the stars. Looking up from the desolate Moon Empire – the "Empress" waits for someone. From "Performance Festival" Play - Act 5.*

*(Part 1 and Part 2 of Arcana Arcadia Stage Girl bond stories are viewable in the Gallery under Arcana Arcadia - Intermission.)*

* Part 1
* Part 2
* Bond Level 15 Talk
* Bond Level 30 Talk

My Empress

**Frontier Student A:**...Okay, the waist is done.

**Frontier Student B:**Let's move on to the inside leg.

**Frontier Student A:**Stand still while I measure it.

 **Mei Fan:**O-Okay!

**Frontier Student B:**Here we go... Wow! Liu-san, your legs are so long!

**Frontier Student A:**Wow, they really are! Everyone at Siegfeld is so stylish!

 **Mei Fan:**M-Me stylish...?!

**Frontier Student B:**Liu-san, please don't move!

 **Mei Fan:**Ah...! Sorry!

 **Mei Fan:**Oh, you can just call me Mei Fan by the way!

**Frontier Student B:**Got it, Mei Fan-san.

**Frontier Student B:**Well... Inside leg is... About this long.

**Frontier Student A:**Let me write it down.

**Frontier Student A:**That should do it. We've measured everything we need for the costume.

**Frontier Student B:**Mei Fan-san, measurements are finished. Thank you for your patience.

 **Mei Fan:**Thank you!

**Frontier Student A:**We'll all work on your costume, so look forward to it!

 **Mei Fan:**I'm already excited!

 **Mei Fan:**...Preparations for the "Performance Festival" stage construction have finally started.

**Frontier Student A:**That's exactly right!

**Frontier Student B:**I-I'm a first year student, so I'm super nervous already...!

 **Mei Fan:**So am I! I feel so honored being able to participate in such a long-standing tradition, but at the same time I feel so nervous!

 **Mei Fan:**T-That's why...

**Students:**Huh?

 **Mei Fan:**Is it really okay for a first year student like me to perform in the festival...?

 **Mei Fan:**I still can't believe they cast me as the "Empress" – it being such a powerful and important role...

**Frontier Student A:**Stop! Stop!

**Frontier Student A:**Didn't the production team tell you that not to let other people know your role until the script reading starts?

**Frontier Student B:**You never know who's listening. Be careful!

 **Mei Fan:**I-I almost forgot!

 **Mei Fan:**That said...I don't feel confident about my role. And the fact that I can't discuss it with anyone doesn't help...

**Frontier Student A:**Well, just trust the production team for now. I for one think it's an interesting idea.

**Frontier Student B:**Me too! Not knowing what will happen adds to the excitement!

**Frontier Student A:**Thinking about it too much won't help you. Work with what you have, as I'm sure the people backstage and the other performers are in the same position.

 **Mei Fan:**Yeah, you're right.

**Frontier Student A:**We'll make the coolest costume for you, so make sure you'll give your best as the "Empress"!

**Frontier Student B:**Don't do anything to alter the measurements, all right? No binging and no diets allowed!

 **Mei Fan:**I'll make sure to stick to my usual portions!

 **Mei Fan:**Thank you so much for taking my measurements today!

 **Mei Fan:**...Hmm...

 **Mei Fan:**Can I really perform the "Empress" well...?

 **Mei Fan:**......

 **Mei Fan:**This is the first draft of the "Performance Festival" script. The title hasn't been decided yet...

 **Mei Fan:**A play with a tarot card theme... A timeless epic consisting of six acts... That's all I know.

 **Mei Fan:**It's so thick. I can only imagine how much the team has poured their souls in making it...

 **Mei Fan:**The "Empress" makes her appearance in the fifth act. The stage is set in a far away future where a war has taken place between the Moon and the Earth...

 **Mei Fan:**"...And so it is that another night has passed..."

 **Mei Fan:**"The pouring light is dim, and the wind feels stale."

 **Mei Fan:**"Yet another day has passed where many old warriors have lost their lives on the battlefield. New warriors will take their places today."

 **Mei Fan:**"I cannot remember when this war started... I can't see when it will end..."

 **Mei Fan:**"And yet I put on my crimson dress, and wear this golden crown..."

 **Mei Fan:**"I see the flashing lights of the cannons around the Moon's orbit as usual. I did so yesterday and I will do so tomorrow, for who knows how much longer."

 **Mei Fan:**"When did this war start...?"

 **Mei Fan:**"How much longer will I have to wait on this throne for 'someone'...?"

 **Mei Fan:**Whew...

 **Mei Fan:**The "Empress" awaits for "someone" on the throne of a lunar empire ravaged by war... That's my role.

 **Mei Fan:**No matter how many times I read the script, I can't wrap my head around it.

 **Mei Fan:**All her lines feel pompous and grave...

 **Mei Fan:**I feel that her role is too much for me...

 **Mei Fan:**The Empress's upright position means prosperity, fertility, marriage, and womanly charm.

 **Mei Fan:**Its reversed position means waste, futility, breaking off an engagement.

 **Mei Fan:**Breaking off an engagement...

 **Mei Fan:**How am I supposed to express that in my role...?

 **Mei Fan:**\*sigh\* If only I could ask Yachiyo for advice...

 **Mei Fan:**I know I'm not supposed to talk about my role, but I feel this is just too much for me.

 **Mei Fan:**......

 **Mei Fan:**...!

 **Mei Fan:**......!

 **Mei Fan:**W-Wait! I know a way.

 **Mei Fan:**I know exactly who I can model my role after...

 **Mei Fan:**And she's perfect!

 **Mei Fan:**Okay, off to rehearsals!

For Whom the Throne Stands

 **Mei Fan:**"...And so it is that another night has passed..."

 **Mei Fan:**"The pouring light is dim, and the wind feels stale."

 **Mei Fan:**"Yet another day has passed where many old warriors have lost their lives on the battlefield. New warriors will take their places today."

 **Mei Fan:**Whew... Yes, that felt right. I feel more confident in my role now!

 **Mei Fan:**When I heard "Empress", I thought of Wu Zetian.

 **Mei Fan:**Empress Dowager Cixi and Empress Zhangsun would have been a good reference for my role too, but then...

 **Mei Fan:**I remembered that there's an even better model here in Siegfeld.

 **Mei Fan:**An absolute ruler who stands on top... Our king – Frau Platin, Akira Yukishiro!

 **Mei Fan:**I was right in thinking Akira-san's acting would be a perfect example to model my role after.

 **Mei Fan:**If I keep practicing, I'm sure I'll—

 **Michiru:**Be able to act exactly like Akira?

 **Mei Fan:**Eek! M-Michiru-san?! How long have you been there?!

 **Michiru:**Heh heh. Guess.

 **Mei Fan:**Don't tell me you heard everything...

 **Michiru:**Let's just say I didn't hear everything, nor was I trying to.

 **Michiru:**After all, we aren't supposed to know which roles we're playing for the Performance Festival, right?

 **Mei Fan:**R-Right...!

 **Mei Fan:**And yet... I just couldn't wrap around my head around my role without discussing it with someone...

 **Mei Fan:**So after many tries, I came up with an idea.

 **Michiru:**I see.

 **Michiru:**And that is...

 **Michiru:**To imitate Akira?

 **Mei Fan:**Yes, exactly. Wait, what?

 **Michiru:**Isn't that what you're trying to do?

 **Mei Fan:**N-No, I could never...

 **Mei Fan:**...

 **Mei Fan:**I-Is that how it sounded?

 **Michiru:**To me at least.

 **Mei Fan:**...!

 **Mei Fan:**I-I...

 **Michiru:**Mei Fan...

 **Michiru:**I know it's hard to act without having any hints. That's why it's good to find one yourself.

 **Michiru:**That said, this first draft of the script is filled with passion and challenges.

 **Michiru:**Even in its rough form, it's still an amazing script. That's what I think.

 **Mei Fan:**So do I...

 **Michiru:**I don't know which role you're playing, but...considering your lines and actions, the card's upright and reserved positions...

 **Michiru:**There should already be plenty of hints to help you create your role.

 **Michiru:**With all that said, do you think it's a good fit to model your role specifically after someone..?

 **Mei Fan:**...! That's...

 **Michiru:**Both the production team and the screenwriting team are composed of elite students from different schools, right?

 **Mei Fan:**Yes!

 **Michiru:**And they chose YOU for that role...

 **Michiru:**They chose Liu Mei Fan, rather than Akira Yukishiro.

 **Mei Fan:**...!!

 **Michiru:**I think you should keep that in mind too.

 **Michiru:**In the end, you might end up with a performance that resembles Akira's...

 **Michiru:**But pointing in that direction from the start, and arriving at that spot through trial and error while finding your own path are two different things.

 **Mei Fan:**Finding my own...path...

 **Michiru:**Exactly – the role within yourself.

 **Michiru:**I want you to find it, and I know that you can do it...

 **Michiru:**That's why I casted you.

 **Mei Fan:**...!!

 **Michiru:**We are the Edels – five students chosen from all the students in Siegfeld.

 **Michiru:**We stand on stage carrying a responsibility – something that all the students who weren't given that chance entrusted us with.

 **Michiru:**So please...

 **Mei Fan:**Y-You're right...

 **Mei Fan:**I-I'm sorry...

 **Mei Fan:**...I was so stupid!

 **Mei Fan:**I chose the easiest path without even realizing that...!

 **Mei Fan:**I...am still so immature.

 **Michiru:**Mei Fan...

 **Mei Fan:**I still don't...understand...!

 **Mei Fan:**Ah...!

 **Mei Fan:**"And yet I put on my crimson dress, and wear this golden crown..."

 **Mei Fan:**Those words – they're not something someone who doesn't understand would say.

 **Mei Fan:**They're something someone who understands their own ignorance would say. You can feel their resignation...

 **Mei Fan:**They're not something someone powerless would say.

 **Mei Fan:**They're something someone who understands their own powerlessness would say. That's why they try their hardest to do what they can...

 **Mei Fan:**...

 **Mei Fan:**Her lines feel pompous and grave...

 **Mei Fan:**And yet, she knows she's powerless and laments this... She struggles to change her position.

 **Mei Fan:**Is this... Is this how I'm supposed to perform the "Empress"...?!

 **Michiru:**Mei Fan?

 **Mei Fan:**Huh? Ah, it's nothing...!

 **Mei Fan:**...Thank you so much, Michiru-san. I had it all wrong.

 **Mei Fan:**I focused too much on her position as "Empress" without properly reading her lines.

 **Mei Fan:**I didn't see the conflict and hesitation hidden underneath her words...

 **Michiru:**Mei Fan...

 **Mei Fan:**Like you said, all the hints I needed were in the script...

 **Michiru:**...Maybe it was none of my business.

 **Mei Fan:**Not at all! If you hadn't stepped in, I would've gone astray.

 **Mei Fan:**I feel that I know where I should head now.

 **Mei Fan:**I can see my own path!

 **Michiru:**Heh heh... And that's why you're Frau Rubin.

 **Mei Fan:**Yes!

 **Mei Fan:**I can finally confront the "Empress" thanks to you.

 **Mei Fan:**That said, I wonder how many more times I will be able to receive your advice...

 **Mei Fan:**One day, the "king" will no longer be there.

 **Mei Fan:**We won't be able to stand on the same stage together as Edels many more times.

 **Mei Fan:**I can't keep on running after you all.

 **Mei Fan:**I have to perform on stage without any regrets...

 **Mei Fan:**I will find her. I will find the "Empress" within me!

 **Mei Fan:**Did I capture her dignity and beauty well?

 **Mei Fan:**The "Empress" isn't just strong and beautiful – and that's why she's so charming.

 **Mei Fan:**She's beautiful, majestic and dignified, but also... sad at times.

 **Mei Fan:**By unravelling her sadness, I can perform an "Empress" that's my own!