Empires SMP oneshots

Stage fright

           Oli was excited. And scared. Because he and his son Gregory were going to have a live performance in Animalia, alongside Ariana Goate. It was no trifle thing. 

           "So you wanna be a star, huh, kid?" His agent had asked, the day he signed up with her. She was Ariana Goate's agent. Ariana Goate! He, Oli, and Greg, were sharing the same agent as Ariana Goate! "Oh, yes! I've been really working hard out there, doing the rounds, I'm really excited for my big break, and obviously, you're the biggest in the industry!" Oli'd answered, his heart beating so fast it was running the risk of giving him an arrhythmia. "Yeah, I bet you've heard of one of my other clients, Ariana Goate." The agent replied coolly, like she'd said it many times before to other aspiring clients. 

           "Such an honor to even share the same air as Ariana, let alone hopefully the stage!" Oli had squeaked, his excitement bubbling over like an overflowing cup. "Breathe it in, kid," His agent advised, patting his shoulder, and Oli did so. He breathed it all in; the sights, the sounds, and the smells of the stage, and of fame and fortune. "You know, I turned her from a simple goat into a star," The agent gestured with a flourish. "World renowned. I can do the same for you." Oli couldn't imagine the great Ariana Goate ever being a simple goat, but all the big stars were once small and insignificant, like he was. And hopefully he would rise to be one of those great stars one day. 

           The same for us, Oli thought in excitement. "Did you hear that, Gregory? We're going to be stars!" Oli shouted to his son, who was busy chewing on something he shouldn't be again. Oli couldn't really blame him; dragons had instincts, and old habits die hard. "Too excited there, huh?" His agent had laughed, smiling at the sight of another over-enthusiastic potential client. Then her voice became clipped and business-like. "First step, you need to sign this contract." Oli had grabbed it and a pen as quickly as possible. He didn't even bother to read what the contract said. Did it really matter if he and Greggy had maybe sold their souls to a shady agent if it meant he could share the stage, at least once, with Ariana Goate?

           "You ready, kid?" His agent asked, bursting the flashback bubble and bringing the bard back to reality. Oli couldn't stop himself from fanboy screaming in his head. Ariana Goate! I'm about to share the stage with Ariana Goate! He took some deep breaths, and a couple more. "I have no idea!" He called out in reply. "Well, you'd better be ready soon, in half an hour the show's starting." She said as she walked away. Oli's heart stopped. Half an hour? Half an hour?! I can't get ready in half an hour! Oli started anxiously pacing, Greg looking up at him curiously. 

           "Half an hour, Greg! Half an hour! Maybe I'm making a huge fuss about nothing, but half an hour! I thought we would have more time to prepare! But no, we've got to do our show in half an hour!" Oli stopped and took some more deep breaths. "Okay, Greggy, we have no time to be worried. We've got to spent that half hour we have to prepare to share the stage with Ariana Goate! Come on, Greg!" He ran out the room, bumping his head in the doorway, and Greg waddled after him. 

           They spent the next half hour practicing their songs over and over again. They must get it perfect. And of course it was so scary when Oli kept making that one mistake in that one song. "No! Greg, why is it every time the piece calls for a C, I sing a solid D?! I keep making that little mistake! I must not make it on stage! Are you with me, Greg?" And Gregory was busy attacking the carpet. "Hey, leave that alone! Gregory!" But then, the half hour time that they had was used up, and their agent pushed the two of them onto the stage. 

           "Wait! I'm not ready!" Oli squealed, kicking and thrashing as he was unwillingly brought to what he thought was his doom. "Don't stress it. You'll be fine," The agent said, rolling her eyes at another stage fright-riddled client. Happens every time... She thought, walking away. Oli froze in place, unmoving. "Oh no, Greg, we can't do this! We can't! We're not ready! We're doomed!" Oli cried out in despair. "Why are you doomed?" Asked a sweet falsetto voice, and Oli turned to see Ariana Goate standing right behind him. He squeaked and fell over. "Ariana Goate!" He squealed, heart racing. "You're Ariana Goate!" "Yes, I am," She smiled. "Now, why are you doomed?" "Because I'm not ready!" Oli wailed. 

           "Sing your song to me," Ariana said, and Oli blinked. "Wait, you mean, right now? You want us to sing to you right now?" "Yes." Ariana nodded, and who could say no to a star like her? Oli and Greg did what they practiced, and in their nervousness of showing off to Ariana Goate herself, Oli sang the accursed D note instead of a C. "I swear, that happens every single time! I'm ruined if I can't handle a basic C!" "I made that same mistake a long time ago," Ariana said softly. "You don't have to worry about it. Most people probably wouldn't notice." "Really?" Oli asked hopefully. "Well, maybe they will notice, but does it matter? What matters is that you get your chance to sing!" Ariana bleated, and Oli felt so much better. "Thank you, Ariana!" He shouted as the curtains went up. 

          Ariana smiled and retreated backstage. Oli, feeling more confident, turned to the crowd. "Hello, Animalia!" He shouted into the microphone. The crowd mildly cheered, and the bard was emboldened even more. "Who here is excited for Ariana Goate?!" Oli yelled, and everyone squealed loudly. "Well, before she comes out here, me and my son are going to play you some songs from our new album, Bards to Men!" He looked at Greg. "Hit a beat! Okay, now this one's to all the cool cats out there!" 

           And they sang their hearts out. Oli replaced the C note with a D again, but he didn't care. And he continued to sing like he had never done it. And from the looks of the crowd, it looked like they hadn't noticed his one mistake. And Oli was happy. When he was done, everyone was more inclined to express their impatience to see Ariana Goate than their delight of hearing Oli and Greg sing, but Oli was pretty sure that they were just excited for Ariana. And who could blame them? Ariana was a star. Just like he and Greggy were going to be. As for Ariana's performance, she sang her lines so perfectly and so gracefully that Oli felt like a duck in comparison. But he didn't care. Ariana was his idol. And he was going to be just like her.