The King in Yellow: Opening Night

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-

(She is about to say more, but the STRANGER enters, this time at right. Everyone but CAMILLA freezes.)

Camilla: Again? Who are you?

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'm 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: 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: 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: Do you see it? Do you see?

Cassilda: 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 an entrance, but I admire him less when he is not me. And just who are you, good sir?

Stranger: I am the Truth.

Aldones: 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: 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: (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.

(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 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: Give me a proper answer!


Cassilda: Camilla, no!

Thale: Camilla!

Camilla: Who are you?

Stranger: I am the Truth.

(The STRANGER steps forward and runs himself through on the sword. CAMILLA lets go, 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.

(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. It's an 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. In the third row, between them, sits the man in a mask.

"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 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.)



(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 sees 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: 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 can take 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. 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: 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: But will I be safe anywhere? 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 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: 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. 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) 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: 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 servants to staff it? They will be hired. If you desire money, we can-

Camilla: I desire none of this, 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. What say you?

(CAMILLA hesitates, lost in thought. A particularly strange look comes over her features.)

Camilla: Your master, he can provide anything I want? Even something...unspeakable?

Messenger: It is his specialty.

Camilla: Then tell your lord I consent to his bargain, on one last condition; bring me Lord Aldones' heart. Present it to me in a golden chalice.

Messenger: (Startled) Miss?

Camilla: 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.

(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. 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: 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?

Messenger: Then perhaps this will satisfy you.

(He uncovers the silver dish, and on it is a gleaming golden goblet, stained with blood.)



(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.)

Messenger: (Uneasy) Are you satisfied?

Camilla: 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.

Stranger: (Voice) The girl.

Camilla: A sweet little thing. His daughter I suppose. I wonder if he has a wife?

(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.