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Author's infos Gender: Male Age: 29 Location: San Francisco. |
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| Introduction: You're invited to a very special premiere. | ||
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A man and a woman sit in the dark, side by side in the third row. They believe they are alone in the theater. They face the stage and wait for the black curtain to rise. "I don't remember ever buying tickets to this," the man says. The woman looks at the stub in her hand. "We didn't buy them, they came in the mail. They say 'Special invitation only.'" The man looks around at the empty seats. "Then why were we the only ones invited?" The woman does not know. She reads the program: The King in Yellow. A play in two Acts. Author anonymous. Translated from the original French by George Caplan. Dramatis Personae: CAMILLA, a courtesan. CASSILDA, her sister, also a courtesan. THALE, an artist, engaged to Cassilda. ALDONES, a lord, ex-lover of Camilla. MESSENGER, a servant of the King in Yellow. THE STRANGER, a masked apparition, the Phantom of Truth. THE KING IN YELLOW, Camilla's mysterious patron. Also: Servants, lords, ladies, guardsmen. Place: The city of Carcosa. "You know," says the woman, "I feel like we've seen this before." "Couldn't have," says the man, "this is opening night." He shifts in his seat, and coughs. It echoes over the empty seats. "I hope they're starting soon." The man and the woman believe they are alone, but there is a third figure in the theater, a man in a mask, who watches them from the aisle. The man in the mask knows when the curtain will rise. He knows what the actors will say. He knows what the man and the woman in the audience will say after. He is the only one who knows. But he says nothing, and goes unnoticed. *** Act 1, Scene 1: (Curtain rises on the sitting room in CAMILLA and CASSILDA's apartments. It is small but well-appointed, the furnishings comfortable, the decor homey. At left a balcony opens overlooking the backdrop of a dark city. The door at stage right marks the entrance.) (CASSILDA, older of the two, stands at a mirror at center, dressed in her nightgown and brushing out her hair with methodical strokes. She is pretty and reserved, affecting sincerity and propriety.) (CAMILLA, younger, prettier, but also more temperamental than her sister, stands on the balcony, looking out at the city and quietly sulking.) Camilla: In other cities they say the stars in Carcosa are black. Cassilda: The stars are the same color here as any other place, you just can't see them because of the smoke. Camilla: In other cities they say that spirits walk the streets of Carcosa at night and steal anyone they find wandering after dark. Cassilda: We've wandered after dark lots of times and no one has stolen us. Camilla: But people go missing all the time. Who's to say that spirits didn't take them? Cassilda: (Finishes with her hair and replaces each of the brushes and combs in the box on the shelf, one at a time) If spirits are after people around here they probably have to wait until their creditors are through with them. Camilla: Yes. But what kind of spirit is stealing you away from me? Cassilda: Don't start that please. (She goes the balcony and brings CAMILLA inside, hands on shoulders, guiding her. CAMILLA allows herself to be lead, looking at her own bare feet rather than her sister's face.) Camilla: I'm sorry. I just hate the idea of being left here alone. Cassilda: You don't have to stay. You could come with us to England. (They sit on the couch, CAMILLA hugging her herself, CASSILDA hugging her.) Camilla: And what would I do there? Spin? Garden? There's no place in a hamlet for a courtesan. (Aside) Which is why you chose it, if I'm not mistaken. Cassilda: But when we're there we won't have to be courtesans anymore. Camilla: I've never been anything else. I would not know how to start now. Cassilda: Do you remember when we first came here? We hoped we'd make rich lords fall in love with us and take us to live in palaces. Camilla: And now you're leaving to marry a painter without two coins to rub together. Cassilda: Thale is the richest man I know. Camilla: Richly wived, perhaps. (CASSILDA takes her hands away, crossing her arms in front of her chest.) Cassilda: Don't you like him? Camilla: (Apologetic) Of course I do, he's wonderful. I wish I had someone like him. Cassilda: (Slowly) We're going to Lord Aldones' costume ball tomorrow. I never liked him, but he made you happy once. Maybe- Camilla: Aldones is a pig. I wouldn't line a cowshed with his affections. If it weren't for you I would never go anywhere near one of his balls again. (CASSILDA looks like she's about to laugh.) Camilla: Oh, you know what I mean! (They both giggle, and relax a bit.) Cassilda: Well, you don't have to go with us if you don't want to. Camilla: If I don't go Aldones will be put out, and then who knows if Thale will ever get the money he's owed for that painting Aldones commissioned. Cassilda: I'm sure we can manage Aldones without you. (Suddenly) Camilla, have you ever thought about what it would be like to be a parent? Camilla: (Distracted) I think children can get along fine without parents. We did. Cassilda: But what if we had known mother or father and- (There's a knock on the door. Both women look surprised. CASSILDA puts on a cloak to cover her nightgown as CAMILLA opens the door at right.) (Enter the MESSENGER, a short, dark man with a face like an ape, dressed all in black. He scampers in, doffs his hat and cloak, and bows more deeply than is necessary.) Messenger: Good evening ladies. Cassilda: Sir, whatever business you've come on, can it can wait until morning? Messenger: A thousand pardons gentle maiden, but I was sent here on the orders of my master. He specifically instructed me to call on you at this hour. He is very strict. (He bows several more times. CASSILDA looks suspicious, her mouth a hard line, but CAMILLA seems amused.) Camilla: Who is your master? Messenger: A great and powerful lord who wishes to make the acquaintance of the lovely and virtuous woman they call Camilla. And if I am not mistaken, you are she? Camilla: I am Camilla, and I am most delighted to receive your master's regard, even if he does call at strange hours. Messenger: My master has heard of your beauty, grace, and wit, and wishes to know you better. (CAMILLA's smile widens. CASSILDA watches the MESSENGER closely.) Camilla: Well, I am certain I can entertain him. Messenger: Ah, but he does not wish to meet you yet. My master, he has particular preferences. But he has expressed a desire to see you, tomorrow, at Lord Aldones' costume ball. See you, you understand, in the ocular sense, but not meet you, not yet. Camilla: A curious request, but I have heard stranger. How will your lord know me when he sees me? Messenger: Your beauty burns like the thousand lamps on the shores of the lake Hali and- Cassilda: There will be an awful lot of lamps and girls burning tomorrow, and they'll all be wearing masks. How is your master to tell my sister from the others? (CAMILLA almost laughs, but bites her tongue.) Messenger: He hopes you will wear this. (The MESSENGER holds out a gold pendant). Camilla: It's beautiful! This mark on it, is it your master's seal? Messenger: No lady, it is yours. His is of another sort. He will be very pleased, though, to hear that you like it, and that you consent to wear it. Cassilda: (Aside) She should not accept it... Messenger: And now, sweet Venus, I will bring this joyous news back to my master. Camilla: Wait! Who is he? To whom do I owe my gratitude for this gift and these compliments? Messenger: Few know his true name, but to the world he is known as the King in Yellow. Cassilda: (At the same time) The what? Camilla: (At the same time) The King in Yellow? Messenger: Indeed madam. But it is not a title to be invoked lightly, so please, exercise discretion. Cassilda: But what kind of a title is that? Messenger: His title, lady. Camilla: (Frowning) Why yellow? Messenger: I believe he would say that it is a joke about the silly practices of the English concerning the censoring of books. My master finds other people's taboos so amusing. And the name has certain, ah, mystical properties as well. My master's dealings are not entirely of this world...but I have said too much. Cassilda: Mystical qualities? I hope you do not represent some charlatan or stage show fraud? (CAMILLA gives her a dirty look.) Messenger: No indeed, my master's powers are quite real, though hard for we mere mortals to understand. Perhaps Camilla would agree, unless of course she is too distracted thinking about how an English hamlet, like the one you are moving to, has no place in it for a courtesan, and that that surely is why you have chosen to move there? (CAMILLA looks shocked. CASSILDA gives her a puzzled look. The MESSENGER smiles, puts his hat on, and head for the door.) Messenger: All will be made clear to you in time. And now ladies, adieu. (The MESSENGER opens the door, but then stops in place, seemingly frozen. CASSILDA, too, is motionless all of a sudden. Only CAMILLA remains animate, and she appears confused by the behavior of the other two.) (Enter the STRANGER through the open door at right. He is a tall, silent specter dressed in a ragged robe, face hidden by a corpse-like mask. CAMILLA gasps at the sight of him. He raises his arm and points an accusing finger at her, and she swoons, holding herself up by the bedpost.) Camilla: Who are you? (The STRANGER says nothing, exiting right, and as soon as he is gone the MESSENGER and CASSILDA become animate again, apparently unaware of what has just happened.) Messenger: Adieu, and au revoir, sweet ladies. (Exits.) Cassilda: I suddenly feel the need to change the air in here. Camilla: Did you see that? Cassilda: That toad-like little man with his obsequious flattery? Yes, I saw him. Camilla: No! The other one, the man in the mask! Cassilda: (Frowns) I saw no masked man. Camilla: But he was right here! He had a robe, and a mask, and he pointed at me, and then he was gone! (She begins to cry.) Cassilda: (Embracing CAMILLA) It must have been your imagination dear. If there was someone else there I'm sure I would have seen it. Camilla: (Doubtful) I suppose. Cassilda: Probably that messenger upset your nerves, with all of his talk about mystical powers. What nonsense. Camilla: But it's not nonsense! He knew exactly what I thinking, even though I never said it! Cassilda: Parlor tricks. You should throw away that pendant Camilla; a worthwhile patron would not rely on nonsense to win your attention. Camilla: (Breaking away) I cannot afford to turn away good business. Cassilda: I know you can manage your own affairs, but something about that man made me frightened for you. If I were you, I'd have nothing to do with this nameless lord. Camilla: (Holding up the pendant) It's so beautiful. Cassilda: (Leaning on the mantle, suddenly looking very tired) I've seen something like it before, but I can't remember where. Camilla: I know! Do you remember the mansion with the Gothic courtyard, the one by the river? We once saw a carriage leaving it, and it had this mark on the door. Cassilda: Are you sure? Camilla: I'm positive. For some reason I've often thought of it. Cassilda: Well, this "king" must be a rich man indeed if that's his dwelling. Camilla: (Holding the pendant very tightly) I don't care if he's rich. I just hope he's a good man, like Thale. (Aside) And that he will not leave... (For a second, CASSILDA looks like she may cry. She turns away to disguise this.) Cassilda: We'll see tomorrow. Good night Camilla. Camilla: Good night. (CASSILDA exits center. CAMILLA crosses to the balcony at left, admiring the pendant and smiling.) Camilla: A very good night, I hope. (From right, the STRANGER watches her, unnoticed.) (Curtain falls.) *** A man and a woman sit in the dark. Although they were seated side by side when the show began, now there is one seat between them, though they do not remember moving. Sitting in that seat is a man in a mask and a tattered robe, but they do not notice that he is there. The woman whispers: "Whoever this king is he has no taste at all. I think the older one is much prettier." "But she's spoken for," the man says. The woman tsks. "That sort of man wouldn't care." "You're acquainted with that sort of man, are you? The woman does not answer. The masked figure stirs, but says nothing. The man frowns and looks at his program. "I'm having trouble remembering which is which. 'Camilla', 'Cassilda', their names sound the same." "Cassilda is the older one who's getting married. You can remember because 'S' stands for 'senior.'" "And secret, and seduce, and swindle," he says, but does not know why. The masked man stirs again, but as the next scene is about to begin, neither man nor woman pay him any mind. *** Act 1, Scene 2: (Curtain rises on LORD ALDONES' ballroom. The interior is gaudy, with an emphasis on red velvet and polished brass. At center there is a dance floor, at left a banquet table. THALE's painting sits with a red velvet cloth draped over it at center rear, waiting for the unveiling. There are doors at left, right, and center.) (Well-dressed lords and ladies fill the stage. At right a SERVANT is taking the cloaks of the guests as they arrive one by one. They are all fantastically costumed, the ladies in elaborate dresses, the lords in expensive vests or waistcoats. Men and women alike are covered in jewelry, and everyone, even the servants, wears a mask.) (Enter CAMILLA and CASSILDA at right, dressed in similar gowns, CAMILLA'S yellow and low-cut, CASSILDA's blue and more conservative. CASSILDA's domino mask is plain white and unadorned, CAMILLA'S black and decorated with sequins and feathers.) Cassilda: This lord of yours won't be able to see his pendant if you keep it tucked away like that. Camilla: I want to see if I can spy him first. What do you think he looks like? Cassilda: Jaundiced, perhaps? Servant: Excuse me madam, but Lord Aldones has asked that you might provide a diversion for the guests by singing. Cassilda: Excuse me? Servant: He says the evening would not be complete without your divine voice, and that he will gladly join you on the harpsichord. He was very specific with his instructions. Cassilda: And how do you know I am the one he meant? Servant: (Hesitates) He said you would be the only one with the nerve to wear white. (Quickly) I'm sorry madam, but that is what he said! Camilla: It's just one of his games, sister. You knew he would do something like this when you agreed to come. Best to get it over with. Cassilda: I suppose. Where is Thale when I need him? Wait for me here. (Exit CASSILDA, center. CAMILLA looks around eagerly, trying to spot her patron.) Camilla: (To SERVANT) Excuse me, but would you happen to know if- (Enter the STRANGER, left. He still wears the tattered robe and the white, corpse-like mask. As before, upon his entrance everyone but CAMILLA freezes.) (CAMILLA is confused by the SERVANT's sudden silence, but then she sees the STRANGER and gasps as he points an accusing finger at her. The STRANGER then exits left, and everyone else in the room springs back to life.) Camilla: (Clutching SERVANT's arm) That man! Do you see him? (She points) Servant: You mean Duke Naotalba, dancing with- (looks closely) -a woman who is not Duchess Naotalba? Camilla: No, that man in the horrible mask! Servant: Duke Naotalba's mask is a bit out of fashion miss, but I do not think it is polite to point. (CAMILLA sags as if about to faint. The SERVANT steadies her and leads her to a couch at left, where she fans herself and tries to regain her bearings.) (CASSILDA and ALDONES enter from center, the latter rolling in a large harpsichord. He is wearing an eagle mask that covers his entire face, and is dressed entirely in white, accented with silver jewelry. He wears a decorative rapier with a gold hilt at his hip. The guests applaud politely at their entrance.) (CASSILDA sings the next verses, while ALDONES plays the harp.) Cassilda: Along the shore the cloud waves break, The twin suns sink behind the lake, The shadows lengthen In Carcosa. Strange is the night where black stars rise, And strange moons circle through the skies But stranger still is Lost Carcosa. Songs that the Hyades shall sing, Where flap the tatters of the King, Must die unheard in Dim Carcosa. Song of my soul, my voice is dead, Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed Shall dry and die in Lost Carcosa. (She bows, and the guests applaud enthusiastically. ALDONES removes his mask, grinning, and bows alongside her, to even greater applause.) (Enter THALE, right. He walks past the SERVANT without thinking to check his cloak. He is dressed a bit haphazardly for the occasion, and seems to have forgotten his mask. When CASSILDA sees him her smile becomes bright and sincere, and the two half-run to each other, leaping into one another's arms.) Cassilda: At last! Thale: I am sorry you had to wait. I couldn't- Aldones: Ah, Thale! I'm afraid you've just missed your bride-to-be's lovely voice. I swear I envy you more every day. Cassilda: (Coldly) You flatter me, Lord Aldones. Thale: (More sincerely) And me, Lord Aldones. I cannot thank you enough for all that you've done. If you had not commissioned this new painting we could never afford to be married. In some ways I think of you as the patron of our union. (CASSILDA gives him a dirty look, turning away so that ALDONES cannot see.) Aldones: Well, they say everything has a price in Carcosa, and if you have purchased a happy marriage at the price of new painting then I am glad to have been the other end of the transaction. I do hope you'll be unveiling the piece soon though, Thale? Thale: Momentarily, Lord Aldones. Aldones: I am not used to delaying what I want this long. It does very bad things for my complexion. Tell me Cassilda, where is your darling sister? She did come, didn’t she? Cassilda: I don’t think- Aldones: Ah, I see her! (ALDONES crosses left, stopping along the way to chat with his guests. CASSILDA and THALE move a bit to right, huddling together.) Cassilda: (Whisper) I wish you wouldn’t fawn over him like that. “Patron of our union” indeed! Thale:(Whisper) I’m sorry, but we have to keep him happy. He could still withhold payment, and then we’d be stranded here without a penny to our names. Cassilda: (Sighs) You're right. I just hate dealing with him. After what he did to Camilla... Thale: I know. That’s why we’re leaving Carcosa, so that we can live in peace and not be beholden to people like him. As soon as he pays we'll book passage for England and put all of this behind us. Cassilda: (Kissing him) I will tolerate this evening then, for the sake of our better future. Thale: Not just ours. (He puts his hand to her stomach) I think I can feel him. Cassilda: Silly, it’s too early for that. Thale: Have you told Camilla? Cassilda: Not yet. I wanted to last night, but then the strangest thing happened. A man showed up at our door in the middle of the night... (They cross to the right, whispering, as ALDONES arrives at the couch, left. He has put his mask back on.) Aldones: Normally I would object to someone reclining on my couch so suggestively, but now I find that if anything I simply envy the furniture. Camilla: (Bored) An eagle Aldones? It does not suit you. Your wit is not half so sharp as its beak, nor half so swift as its flight. I would suggest a vulture in the future. Aldones: (Taking off the mask) And you, my dear, should masquerade as nothing else so fitting as a vixen, or a shrew, but for the sake of good society I will suggest a dove. Yes, a dove, to match your mild temper. Camilla: (Opening her fan) I was mild with you once, but now am so only in my affections. Aldones: You seem quite fond of my couch. If you insist on lounging on it in this immodest manner I may have to join you. (She stands.) Camilla: I do not find your company agreeable Aldones, so on your honor as a gentleman I'll ask you to leave me be. Aldones: You are most cruel Camilla, and yet I cannot deny that I deserve it. The last time we talked I said unpardonable things, and in truth, I very much regret them now. Camilla: Would you have me believe you did not mean what you said? Aldones: I always mean what I say, but I do not always continue to mean it. Tonight I find those words might as well belong to another man. Camilla: (From behind her fan) I have trouble thinking of you as two men Aldones. I have yet to see you manage to even be one. Aldones: Everyone is selling everything, whether they know it or not, isn't that what you told me when we first met? What's the price of your forgiveness, Camilla? Is it my heart? Say so, and I will pay you gladly. Camilla: I'm afraid you are too late, someone else has matched that price. I have a new patron now. Aldones: (Startled) Who? Camilla: I don’t see that that’s any of your business, but I will tell you this: he is one of your guests tonight. Aldones: Impossible! I know everyone who is here, and none of them could afford- Camilla: Perhaps you do not know everyone as well as you think. (She is about to say more, but the STRANGER enters, this time at right. Everyone but CAMILLA freezes.) Camilla: Again? Who are you? The Stranger: The scalloped tatters of the King in Yellow must hide Yhtill forever. Camilla: What? What does that mean? (Exit the STRANGER, right, returning everyone to normal.) Aldones: (Genuinely concerned) Camilla? What's wrong? Camilla: (Shaken) I am fine. (Aside) Who is he? Could he be the King in Yellow? (To Aldones) Your conversation has unnerved me. If you have any respectability as a gentleman left, take me to my sister. (ALDONES frowns, but guides CAMILLA to center, where THALE and CASSILDA cross to meet them. CAMILLA seems unsteady on her feet. She drops her fan but does not pick it up, or notice. CASSILDA frowns.) Aldones: (Loudly) May I have your attention, ladies and gentleman? As a special treat for my guests, we are unveiling a new piece in my collection tonight. No one has seen it yet, but the artist is right here, so if it does not pass critical muster you all know whom to accost (Pauses for laughter). And now Thale, without further ado? (Thale pulls the curtain off of the portrait, revealing a life-size oil painting of a figure that looks exactly like the STRANGER. The crowd murmurs their approval. CAMILLA looks horrified, and only CASSILDA's hand on her arm keeps her from screaming.) Aldones: Most intriguing. What do you call it? Thale: It is "The Phantom of Truth." Aldones: Is it? But tell me, why did you paint the truth wearing a mask? Thale: Because the truth is often disguised, and so often goes unnoticed. The Pallid Mask, as I call it, represents the assumptions that hide the truth from us. Aldones: I see. And why is the truth dressed so raggedly? Thale: That is the Tattered Raiment, for the truth is much abused, but it does not care. Aldones: (Placid) I see you have an answer for everything. Well, I am very pleased with it. And now, since midnight is almost upon us- (The STRANGER enters from center. This time everyone else remains animated, and his arrival causes quote a commotion among the guests. Some gasp, some cry out, and one man even flees.) (THALE and ALDONES part as he steps between them, both looking astonished. The STRANGER stands before the portrait, arms spread, the Tattered Raiment stirring in an undetectable breeze.) Camilla: (Whispers) Do you see it? Do you see? Cassilda: (Awed) Of course, we all see it! But where did he come from? Aldones: (Regaining his composure) Well, I do admire a man who can make a dramatic entrance, but I admire him less when he is not me. And just who are you, good sir? Stranger: I am the Truth. Aldones: (Wryly) Oh? I do not think we have ever been acquainted. Stranger: I am a stranger to many here. Aldones: I should say you are! Thale, you have outdone yourself this time. I suppose this is one of your actor friends, here to accompany your painting with a little performance art? How delightful. Thale: (Astonished) This is not my doing! Who are you? Stranger: I am the Truth. You may know me. Camilla: (Whispers) Can you hear it? Is it real? Cassilda: Yes Camilla, it's real, we all hear it. Aldones: (Troubled, but covering) Well, I think too much truth at a social gathering is bad manners, but we thank you for this necessarily brief appearance. Now, since it is midnight, it's time for us to unmask! Everyone, lay aside your disguises! (The party guests all remove their masks, reacting with amusement.) Aldones: And now- Camilla: (To the STRANGER) You, sir, should unmask. Stranger: Indeed? Camilla: It's time. We have all laid aside disguise but you. Stranger: I wear no mask. Camilla: No mask? No mask! Aldones: (Frowns) You seem to be upsetting my guests. I must insist on knowing who you are so that I may make it a point not to invite you again, or perhaps to invite you, whichever will ensure you do not show up. (ALDONES removes the STRANGER's mask. The STRANGER turns away so that neither the audience nor any character but ALDONES can see his face. ALDONES cries out then stumbles away, horrified, exiting center. In his rush, he drops his rapier.) (The STRANGER calmly replaces his mask, then turns to face the others. The guests all back away.) Stranger: This that you see is my true face. What I wear underneath is my disguise. Camilla: Who are you really? Why have you been following me? Stranger: I am the Truth. You may know me. The scalloped tatters of the King in Yellow must hide Yhtill forever. Camilla: What does that mean? Who is the King in Yellow, do you know? Stranger: You may know. (CAMILLA picks up ALDONES' dropped rapier. She draws it and holds the point to the STRANGER's chest.) Camilla: Enough of this! Give me a proper answer! Cassilda: Camilla, no! Thale: Camilla! Camilla: Who are you? Stranger: I am the Truth. (The STRANGER steps forward and suddenly runs himself through on the sword. CAMILLA lets go, CASSILDA and several guests scream, but the STRANGER does not react at all. He calmly exits through center, with the rapier still protruding from his body.) (CAMILLA stares, stunned. CASSILDA and THALE rush to her side. The assorted guests and servants all murmur, horrified, and they exit in a rush to the left and right) Thale: What in the world was that? Cassilda: Camilla, are you alright? Camilla: Was it real? Thale: I confess, I do not know myself. (CAMILLA regains her composure and crosses right.) Cassilda: Where are you going? Camilla: To find answers. Whoever that man is, he's been following me since last night. (Taking out the pendant) I heard him mention the King in Yellow twice. They must be connected somehow. (CAMILLA exits right.) Cassilda: Camilla, wait! Thale: Let her go! It's too late. Cassilda: What do you mean? Thale: That pendant, I've seen it before. Cassilda: So? Thale: It's an evil omen, Cassilda, There's nothing we can do to help her. Cassilda: Is she in danger? Thale: Very much. Cassilda: Then I'm not leaving her alone! (CASSILDA exits right, and THALE, after hesitating a moment, goes after her. From left, the STRANGER watches them, unseen, his shadow now the only occupant of the empty ballroom.) (Curtain falls.) *** A man and a woman sit in the dark. The lights come up. Intermission has begun. Although they were seated side by side when the show began, now there is an entire row between them. He sits in the second, she in the fourth. Neither remembers moving. Seated in the third row, between them, is a man in a mask and a tattered robe. "Was it real?" asks the woman. "Was what real?" the man says. "The man in the mask." "Of course not" The masked figure stands. Neither see him. "How do you know?" asks the woman. "Because it's a play. Nothing in it is real." The woman pauses. "What do you think was under the mask?" "An actor." The man in the mask moans, and it echoes off of the empty seats, but the man and the woman do not hear it. The woman pauses. "Are you frightened?" "Of what? The play?" "Of anything..." The man considers this, but before he can answer the lights dim, and the second Act begins. *** Act 2, Scene 1: (Curtain rises on the Gothic courtyard adjoining the street, outside of the King in Yellow's palace. There is a high gate and a capped wall. CAMILLA paces the flagstones, her party clothes concealed under a cloak with a hood.) (She paces, clutches the pendant in her hand, and paces more. The voice of the STRANGER calls out from the wings:) Stranger: (Voice) Have you found the Yellow Sign? Camilla: (Looking around) Where are you? Stranger: (Voice) Have you found the Yellow Sign? Camilla: I don't know what that means. And I don't know who you are. And I don't know...what's happening anymore. Please, at least come out where I can see you? (There is silence, and then the sound of wind whipping down the street and the rustle of dry leaves. CAMILLA hugs her cloak around her body.) (Then:) Stranger: (Voice) Have you found the Yellow Sign? (The voice fades on the last syllables, then vanishes.) (Enter the GUARDSMAN, right.) Guardsman: You there, what are you doing about? Camilla: I have business with the lord of this manor. Guardsman: You don't think I'll be taken in by that, do you? Cast off, you slut! Pedal yourself somewhere else! Camilla: (Incensed) I tell you I have business with the lord of this manor, and if you don't believe me, then look at this! (CAMILLA holds up the pendant. When the GUARDSMAN looks at it he begins to tremble and stammer.) Guardsman: I-I'm sorry! I didn't know. Please don't tell him that I, well, please don't tell him anything! (Exit the GUARDSMAN, right, running. CAMILLA looks surprised, confused, and quietly pleased.) Cassilda: (Offstage) Camilla! Thale: (Offstage) Camilla! Camilla: I'm here! (Enter CASSILDA and THALE, left. We can tell from their dress that they too have come straight from the party.) Cassilda: We've been looking all over for you! Camilla: This is where we saw the carriage with the marking. Whoever the King in Yellow is, he must live here. Cassilda: But that's just it; Thale knows the King in Yellow! Camilla: You do? Thale: (Grave) I have never met him, and I do not know that title, but I recognized the symbol on that pendant. They call it the Yellow Sign. It's an evil thing Camilla, and if you keep it you'll be in danger. Camilla: (Turning away) If so, it will not be the first time. I am quite capable of taking care of myself. Thale: I've known people who were sent the Yellow Sign; traders and artists and debtors and street girls. Always it was followed by a period of fear and confusion and violence in their lives. And then... Camilla: And then what? Thale: They are never heard from again. I've seen it many times. If this King in Yellow is the man who sends the sign, then he means nothing good by you. Cassilda: Camilla, we're going to leave the city, tonight, right now. Camilla: Now? But you've booked passage for- Cassilda: No, we haven't. Aldones refuses to pay the money he promised Thale. Camilla: (Furious) Why? Thale: He seems to have gone half-mad. He demands to see you, he will speak of nothing else. Camilla: What if I don't? (THALE hesitates.) Camilla: Tell me! Cassilda: He won't give us the money. And...he says he will send the guards to our rooms tomorrow with an arrest warrant. (Quieter) For prostitution... Camilla: And how does he plan to have me prosecuted without implicating himself as my patron? Thale: The warrant isn't for you. It's for Cassilda. Camilla: (Shocked) What? Cassilda: Camilla, don't go to him. If you do, he'll control our lives forever! Thale: We're going to leave, right now. I don't know where we can go, but anywhere is better than here. Camilla, please, come with us. You won't be safe here. Camilla: (Slowly) But will I be safe anywhere? Aldones is powerful, and the King in Yellow's man says he is more powerful still... Cassilda: That doesn't matter. Camilla: If I leave with you, Aldones will follow, but if I stay, Aldones will forget about you. And two can travel faster than three. I would only put you in danger. Cassilda: I... Camilla: (Kisses CASSILDA on the cheek) Goodbye sister. You have your life, but you must leave me to live mine however I can. (Kisses THALE on the cheek) Goodbye Thale. I would let you save me from this if I could. (THALE looks grim but resigned. CASSILDA is on the verge of tears. Together they cross left, she clutching at his sleeve.) Camilla: (Once they're out of earshot) And goodbye to you who have not arrived in the world yet. I am sorry I will not know you. (Exit THALE and CASSILDA. Enter the MESSENGER, center, behind the gate, unlocking it with a set of enormous iron keys and stepping out.) Camilla: At last. I wish to speak with your master. Messenger: But he has not sent for you, and you have made no appointment? Camilla: (Acerbic) Didn't his mystical powers tell him I would be here? Messenger: Perhaps, but knowing you're here and wanting me to admit you are two different things, if you will graciously pardon my saying so. Perhaps tomorrow- Camilla: Opportunity does not wait, and I am a rare opportunity indeed. Your lord would be foolish to put me off, as I may not knock twice. Messenger: Radiant maiden- Camilla: Your compliments have grown tiresome. I want answers, not flattery. Messenger: (Coolly) And what are your pressing questions? Camilla: Your lord, has he sent someone to follow me, a man in disguise? Messenger: No, he has not. Although he has ways of knowing your comings and goings, you have not been followed. Camilla: (Hesitates) Tell me, what is the Yellow Sign? Messenger: My master's calling card. Camilla: Is it true that people who receive the Yellow Sign disappear? Messenger: Sometimes, if they have been poor traders. My master's business is of a singular nature. Camilla: And what is his business? Messenger: (Hesitates) I cannot say- Camilla: Then our transaction is concluded. Tell your master I will not answer his call in the future. (CAMILLA crosses right. The MESSENGER runs after her.) Messenger: Wait! My lord has many trades and crafts, but the one he is best known for is as the provider of things that people want. Camilla: (Turning) What kind of things? Messenger: That which people desire most, but cannot have. The lost, the forgotten, the forbidden, and the...unthinkable. But some of his customers don't fully understand the price they must pay, and when they renege, well, business, as they say, is business. Camilla: I'm not sure I like the sound of your lord's business, or how he conducts it. Messenger: I have a message from my master for you; perhaps it would ease your mind? Camilla: I'm listening. Messenger: The King in Yellow has seen you and finds that all of the stories of your beauty are true. Therefore, he makes this offer: Spend just one night with him, and he will give you everything you ever wanted. Camilla: Everything? Messenger: Do you desire a house as magnificent as this? It will be built. Do you want an entire household of servants to staff it? They will be hired. If you desire money, we can- Camilla: I desire none of these things, and even if I did, I am no longer confident that I could collect them in safety. I have seen strange things since accepting your master's token, and I do not wish to continue seeing them. (She starts to take off the pendant.) Messenger: What about your sister's freedom? (CAMILLA stops.) Messenger: What about protection from prosecution, passage to another land, and money to establish her and her new husband there? Surely that is important to you, surely that is worth any price? Camilla: Your lord, he can do this? Messenger: As easily as moving the littlest finger of his hand. They say everything has a price in Carcosa; I think you'll agree that all this in exchange for just one night is an excellent bargain indeed. What say you? (CAMILLA hesitates, lost in thought. A particularly strange look comes over her features.) Camilla: Your master, he provides "the "forbidden" and the "unthinkable", you say? Messenger: It is his specialty. Camilla: Then tell your lord I consent to his bargain, on one last condition. Messenger: I am sure he can meet it very easily. What is your wish, oh beguiling nymph? Camilla: Lord Aldones' heart. Presented to me in a golden chalice. Messenger: (Startled) Miss? Camilla: (Firmly) That is my price. Messenger: (Horrified) But why? If we are already protecting your sister- Camilla: (Smiling, removing her opera gloves one at a time) Because he offered it to me tonight, but I think he is the sort who would renege. Business, as they say, is business. Messenger: (Shaken, voice quavering) I will take your message to my master and...I am sure he will consent. Be here at this time tomorrow, and you will have what you ask for, and more. Camilla: I am certain that I will. (Exit the MESSENGER, locking the gate behind him.) (From offstage, the voice of the STRANGER floats in.) Stranger: I am the Truth. You may know me... Camilla: (Taking off her cloak) But I do not want to. (Exit CAMILLA, right. Curtain falls.) *** A man and a woman sit in the dark. Now they are on opposite ends of the theater, he in the front row, she in the back, he on the left, she on the right. They shout across the span so that they can be heard, but still they do not realize how far apart they are. Unnoticed still, the masked figure sits between them. "It must be hard for her," says the woman. "Who, the actress?" says the man. "No, Camilla!" "I don't see the difference," says the man. The man in the mask says: "There is no difference." But neither hear him. "Soon she'll be all alone," says the woman. "Happens to everyone sooner or later," says the man. "I hope I'm never alone like that," says the woman, from her seat at the back of the theater. "I haven't been alone in years," says the man to the empty chairs on every side. "I miss it." The final scene begins. *** Act 2, Scene 2: (Curtain rises on a bedchamber in the King in Yellow's palace. Everything here is fine and expensive, but it has a hard look, with sharp edges and corners. At center there is an enormous bed, and behind it hangs an oil panting of a man and a little girl. At right there is a long table, and on it there is a covered silver dish.) (Enter CAMILLA from right, dressed in a form-fitting, low-cut gown, her hair elaborately coiled on her head and secured with gold pins. Her lips are very, very red. The MESSENGER enters with her.) Messenger: He has asked for you to wait for him here. He will join you shortly. You saw your sister and her new husband off? Camilla: Yes. Messenger: And you heard the news of Lord Aldones' death? Camilla: (Sitting on the bed, crossing her legs) I did. I heard that it was suicide, that he threw himself off of his balcony. Messenger: We sent him the Yellow Sign. Camilla: I don't understand your meaning. Messenger: Then perhaps this will satisfy you. (He uncovers the silver dish, and on it is a gleaming golden goblet, stained with blood, and a raw red human heart sitting in it.) (CAMILLA rises, crossing to the table.) Camilla: Is it-? (She touches the heart with the tip of one finger, puts the finger to her mouth, and then laughs a little.) Camilla: (Cold) I lose. Messenger: Miss? Camilla: I would have bet that it would be black. Messenger: (Uneasy) You are satisfied then? Camilla: (Dismissively) I am. You can take this away. Messenger: Yes, m'lady. (Exit MESSENGER right, with goblet, looking ill. CAMILLA lounges on the bed, running her hand over the rich golden fabric of the comforter.) Stranger: (Voice) Sins hang upon the sinner, like weights in the water. Camilla: (Nonchalantly) I have so many already, what's one more? Stranger: (Voice) The sins of the father... Camilla: But I have no father. Stranger: (Voice) Have you found the Yellow Sign? Camilla: Yes. I had it the whole time. (Glances at the portrait.) A very handsome lord. Is he the King in Yellow, do you think? Stranger: (Voice) The girl. Camilla: A sweet little thing. His daughter I suppose. I wonder if he has a wife? Not that he'd be the first. (She appears suddenly startled. She stands on the bed to look closer at the painting.) Camilla: Look, the little girl's pendant, it's the same! Stranger: (Voice) The sins of the father... Camilla: Don't you see? I've found the Yellow Sign! It was right here. She's a very pretty child. She has blue eyes. Stranger: (Voice) Like yours. Camilla: And that hair, so dark and curly. Stranger: (Voice) Like yours. Camilla: And she has (pause), a birthmark on her...on her cheek... Stranger: (Voice) Like yours. (CAMILLA stares at the painting, then cries out, stepping back off of the bed, almost falling, catching herself, wheeling away from the portrait, hand to her mouth.) (Enter THE KING IN YELLOW from left, a handsome older gentleman, immaculately dressed. His cloak is gold, as are his gloves, and his boots, and his sash, and the buttons on his coat. He bows very deeply to CAMILLA, who tries to regain her composure, and then he kisses her hand once, tenderly.) King: At last. Camilla: Are you...are you my patron? King: For longer than you have known. Camilla: That man in the painting, he is you? King: When I was much younger, yes. I often think that I was then a different man entirely. Camilla: And that girl? King: My youngest daughter. That portrait was painted twenty years ago, when she was but three years old. I have not seen her since. Camilla: (Voice shaking) But that's me, isn't it? And that's why I'm here. King: (Smiling) A happy reunion at last. (Camilla sinks down into a chair, dazed. The KING removes and hangs his cloak, waistcoat, gloves, sash, and boots one by one as he speaks his next lines.) King: Of course you're shocked. I was too when I realized I had finally found you after all these years. But here we are, Camilla. Or should I call you Ythill? That was your name before your mother changed it. Camilla: (Dazed) Yhtill? My mother? King: Ah, she was an incomparable woman, even more beautiful than you. She married me not knowing the truth about where my money and influence came from. When she found out, she left with you and your sister, saying she could never raise her daughters on the wages of sin. Camilla: She took us away? King: (Sits opposite CAMILLA) Yes. I tried to reason with her, but she was beyond it. Camilla: But I never knew my mother? King: I found out that she died shortly after leaving, and because she refused to accept anything from me you and your sister were left with nothing. She had changed your name, and hers, and left no trace of where to find you, and ever since then I‘ve never stopped looking. Camilla: Why didn't you tell me from the beginning? King: Because I wanted to see what kind of woman you had grown into, what sort of life you had made, by yourself, with no one else to rely on. I saw everything, through this. (He touches the Yellow Sign) Wherever my symbol goes, I go with it. I saw you last night. I could not be more proud. Camilla: Proud? King: I admire the way you handled Aldones. I couldn't have taught you better myself. Camilla: Aldones? (Slowly, as though realizing for the first time) You killed him. Because I asked you to? King: Yes. Do you feel remorse? That's normal. The first time is always the hardest. Soon you won't care about such things anymore. To live is to desire, to desire is to destroy. Camilla: Why did you send only for me? Why not Cassilda too? King: Perhaps I will, but now she has her own life, and I would leave her to it for a time. Now I am principally interested in you, and in your just reward: Everything you ever wanted. Camilla: Everything? King: Everything. (Pause) Provided you pay the price, of course. Camilla: (Anxiously) What do you mean? King: We have an agreement. I will fulfill your every wish, if you spend one night with me first. Everything in Carcosa has a price, and that is mine. (For a moment CAMILLA cannot speak, then she bolts to her feet, backing up against the wall. The KING watches, his face neutral.) Camilla: No! You can't mean it! King: Did you not find the offer reasonable when you agreed to it? Camilla: But I'm your daughter! Your own daughter, by blood! King: And I am the kind of all that is forbidden, and taboo. What are rules to me? Camilla: You can't mean that? King: (Blandly) Leaving is the price of arriving. Forgetting is the price of knowing. Dying is the price of living. Nothing is permanent, and man's laws are as impermanent as his nature. Stranger: (Voice) The sins of the father... Camilla: It's horrible! King: More horrible than asking for your ex-lover's heart in a chalice? (CAMILLA breaks down, sobbing.) Camilla: I will not consent! King: Consent is not necessary. (Forcefully) Stop crying. (CAMILLA stops crying.) King: Stand up straight. (CAMILLA stands up, looking confused as she does.) Camilla: What is this? King: It is the Yellow Sign. Didn't you know? When you accept my seal, it puts you in my power. Camilla: I don't believe you. King: Really? Try to remove it. (CAMILLA puts her hand to her neck. The KING watches, impassive. CAMILLA begins to tremble and she clutches the pendant very tightly, but does not take it off.) King: You see? (CAMILLA cries out in frustration.) King: It is how I dealt with Aldones, and with those who displease me. Weak-minded people never know what they want, so my desires become theirs. Camilla: (Breathing heavily) Aldones...did I ask for him to be killed, or did you make me? King: (Smugly) You really don't you know? Camilla: No! King: (Smiling) Perhaps it was me. Or maybe it was you. Or maybe we had nothing to do with it at all, and it was just a well-timed suicide. But you'll never be sure. If only you knew what you wanted it would be easy to figure out, but you don't. That is why I could not send Cassilda the Yellow Sign. Only you. Camilla: I don't care. I won't pay your price. Stranger: (Voice) The Truth will set you free. King: (Forcefully) Go to the bed. (CAMILLA walks to the foot of the bed.) King: Lie down. (CAMILLA trembles, but does not move.) King: (Angry) Lie down! Camilla: No. King: (Eyes wide) Obey me! Camilla: I will not. (Still trembling, she wrestles with the pendant, eventually tearing it off and throwing it onto the bed. The KING looks shocked, but also oddly pleased. He takes a few steps closer to CAMILLA, who backs away.) King: Well. It seems you do know what you want? Camilla: No. But I know what I don't want. King: We made a deal, and I held up my end of it. You will renege? Camilla: I will. King: (Resigned) Well. (He goes to a jewelry box on the nightstand and removes a second golden pendant and chain, holding it up for her to see.) King: Do you recognize this? You saw it first when you were three years old. It was a jeweler's mistake, a miscast locket, but for some reason you loved the shape of it and begged me to buy it for you. When I lost you, I adopted it as my seal, as a remembrance of you. It is only right that you should have it back now. (He holds it up, and she flinches.) King: It's alright, it can't harm you now. I only wanted you to have something to remember me by. (He moves behind her, putting the chain around her neck.) King: There. And now, dear daughter, business is business... (The KING pulls on the chain and begins to strangle CAMILLA with it. She fights, but he overpowers her, pushing her to her knees in front of him. She claws at her throat, gasping, and he stares ahead, cold-eyed, expressionless.) King: I thought you took after me, but I see now that you're just like your mother, willful and defiant. (CAMILLA gasps and struggles, to no avail.) Stranger: (Voice) The Truth will set you free. King: It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living god. If it's any consolation, I'm actually proud of you. (CAMILLA is becoming weaker, her frame drooping, eyes rolling back. The KING's knuckles are white and his arms shake with exertion.) Stranger: (Voice) But there will be a price. Everything has a price. King: At least I have one daughter still. It will be harder to manipulate her, but I'm sure it can be done, once the husband is disposed of. Unless of course you're having second thoughts? (CAMILLA is fading.) Stranger: (Voice) Will you pay the price? Will you? King: This is your last chance. (The KING's grip slackens a bit, allowing CAMILLA to gasp out response:) Camilla: (Weakly) I will pay the price... King: Yes. You will. (Enter the STRANGER, left. He still carries Aldones' rapier. The KING releases CAMILLA, who falls in a heap on the floor, and confronts the intruder, face rigid with anger.) King: Who are you? How did you get in here? (The KING reaches for the silver bell on the nightstand, ringing it once before the STRANGER stabs him through the heart. He screams and collapses, bleeding, onto the bed.) (The KING writhes in pain. He looks at the STRANGER, wild-eyed.) King: (Gurgling) You! I know you... Stranger: You do. King: Camilla... (He dies. The STRANGER looks on. CAMILLA stirs, pulling herself up by the bedpost, clutching her throat. When she speaks her voice is hoarse. She gasps.) Camilla: You killed him? Stranger: It was the price. (Enter the MESSENGER, right, carrying a tray.) Messenger: You rang, m'lord? (Drops the tray) Oh my God! What have you done? Camilla: No! It wasn't me! It was- Messenger: Guards, guards! (Exits right.) Stranger: Every sin hangs upon the sinner, like weights in the water. Camilla: Who are you, really? Stranger: I am the Truth. You may know me. Camilla: May I? (She reaches for the STRANGER's mask, and the STRANGER takes it off. The STRANGER turns so that the audience can see it is CAMILLA's own face underneath.) Stranger: This (handing the mask to CAMILLA) is my real face. This (points to face) is my disguise. Do you see? Camilla: I-I- (The STRANGER exits left. CAMILLA chases after, snatching at the edges of the ragged robe, but it comes off, leaving her standing alone onstage, clutching the Tattered Raiment and the Pallid Mask. She opens her mouth, but has nothing to say.) (Enter from right the MESSENGER, FIRST GUARDSMAN and SECOND GUARDSMAN.) Messenger: That's her! Look what she's done! Camilla: No! It wasn't me, it was the Truth! Second Guardsman: The truth? Camilla: Yes! The Truth is- First Guardsman: Why don't you give us the truth, Miss? (CAMILLA is about to say something more, but then stops. She lays the Tattered Raiment on the bed, and then hands the Pallid Mask to the FIRST GUARDSMAN. Then, without a word, she lets the SECOND GUARDSMAN lead her away, exiting right, with the MESSENGER.) (The FIRST GUARDSMAN looks at the mask, then at the KING's body. He seems disturbed, and unsure what to do. There is a flutter of movement at stage left, and he looks suddenly frightened. He throws the mask down on the bed, and exits after the others.) (The stage goes dark except for a spotlight on the bed, illuminating the sword, the robe, the body, and the mask. The spotlight dwindles down to a small circle on only the mask, and then it disappears entirely, and everything is dark.) (Curtain falls.) (Fin.) *** A man and a woman sit in the dark. He is in the orchestra pit, she is at the back of the highest balcony, They shout at each other across the void, and they do not see the man in the mask who stands between them. "Who was that girl who played the lead?" the woman asks. "She looks familiar. I thought I saw her picture in the newspaper last year." "I don't know," says the man, and looks at the program: THE CAST: Camilla: MELISSA FOLGER. Cassilda: TESSA SOLOMON. Thale/Second Guardsman: ALEXANDER SCOTT. Aldones/First Guardsman: LOUIS CASTAIGNE. Messenger/Servant: HENRY CASTAIGNE. The King in Yellow: PROF. ROBERT CHAMBERS. The Stranger: HIMSELF. The man checks his watch. "Well, I thought it was quite good, all things considered," he shouts. "But I don't see what the big deal is. Why should people have been so afraid of a story like that?" "I thought the ending was awful!" the woman shouts back. "Well, I suppose the incest theme was crass, but-" "Incest?" "Yes. The King in Yellow was her father, and when she would not sleep with him he tried to kill her, and then the Stranger killed him. We just saw it?" "That's not how it ended!" the woman shouts back. "The King in Yellow was Thale! It was all a ruse of his to seduce Camilla and convince her to murder Cassilda for him! But the Stranger tells Cassilda, and she poisons them both thinking that Camilla is in on it, and then she goes off to the convent to have her baby, and kill herself after. We just saw it?" The man frowns. "But that's now how it happened at all!" he shouts. "It was!" she shouts back. "To live is to desire, to desire is to destroy, that's the message of the play!" "No! To desire is to be alone, because we never really understand the thing we desire, so even when we have it we don't really have it, and so we're always alone, that's the message of the play!" "It's not!" he shouts. "It is!" she shouts back. And so it goes. And though they argue long and loud, they cannot agree on the true nature of desire. Finally she comes down from the balcony, and he up from the orchestra, and they meet, but when they try to leave they see the man in the mask blocking the door. "Do you see that?" asks the man. "I do," says the woman, "but I don't know who it is. Do you?" "I don't know him at all," says the man. And so neither of them knew the Truth. Instead of leaving, they sit down, side by side, in the third row. "I don't remember ever buying tickets to this," the man says. The woman looks at the stub in her hand. "We didn't buy them, they came in the mail. They say 'Special invitation only.'" The man looks around at the empty seats. "Then why were we the only ones invited?" The woman does not know. And the play began again, and again, and again. And each time it ended, they still could not agree, and they were always in the dark, and they moved further and further apart but never realized it. And they never knew the Truth. (Note: Robert W. Chambers invented "The King in Yellow" as a device connecting several of his short stories. This non-existent play, and its sanity-destroying power, was often alluded to, but Chambers made few specific references to its storyline or dialogue. Over the years, many fans and writers have produced facsimiles of "The King in Yellow", of which this is one. Of course, no real play could be as psychologically disturbing as the one that Chambers' characters encounter, and so any version of "The King in Yellow" will always, invariably, be a let-down. Then again, some stories are said to have a life of their own, and the play has always existed in many forms. Perhaps if you read it again, it will be different. Was that line of dialogue there before, has that stage direction changed just a little? Read it enough times, and you may eventually discover a different story altogether, one that tells you things you are not prepared to hear. For all we know, it's already happened, and the play you just read was not at all the one I originally wrote. But this writer is not responsible for what a story might do of its own accord.) |
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