Song reworks: dæmonverse AAU and canon.
Several songs from Andromeda's perspective, about Chase and mother-love. (To the tunes of 1) "The Past is Another Land" from Aida, 2) "Race You to the Top of the Morning" from The Secret Garden, and 3) "King of Pain" by The Police.)
1) Andromeda's Lament: A sorrow-song for a stifling marriage.
Andromeda’s Lament
To the tune of “The Past is Another Land” from Aida.)
Rowan can’t understand me, for he’s not my kind:
So often it seems he’s willfully blind.
He’s built a cage for me and gilded the bars:
He longs to control both my power and spirit
But those-they will not be confined.
I miss the days of childhood,
Now flown past recall.
The cradling embrace of the trees,
And their branches reaching tall.
And the beauty of the sky-song…
Why did I have to fall?
For now I am a prisoner
And play the human wife-
A subservient, pretty toy-
An empty, wasted life.
A dreadful price love can incur,
And then swiftly turn to strife.
My child is a victory,
And reason to abide.
For him I bear the marriage-chains
Even though I sometimes scream inside.
For him, my stars and my moon
My legacy, my joy and pride.
For him, my stars and my moon
My legacy, my joy and pride.
2) Just Before Bedtime: A story told and a promise made.
Just Before Bedtime
(To the tune of “Race You to the Top of the Morning” from The Secret Garden.)
Scene: Andromeda tells Chase a story, contemplates her own and makes a promise.
ANDROMEDA (spoken):
Now, let’s see, Robert…
(sung)
We’d just left Athena:
She’d stripped off her disguise,
And she’d accepted Arachne’s challenge.
Arachne should have known better
Than to give the goddess such insult.
She said, “I am the greatest of all mortal weavers.”
Athena confirmed she was right.
But Athena had warned her, and Arachne scorned her,
So the challenge would come to a fight.
And so the looms were set:
Would Arachne regret prideful words?
It remains to be seen.
They both began to weave,
Warp and weft to receive
Threads of gold, of silver and of green.
With the sun sinking fast,
Contest finished at last,
The complete tapestries were compared:
Quality proved the same.
Though a weaver of fame, Arachne
Lost the most deadly game.
She had incurred Athena’s ire:
An error, and one that she would ne’er repeat.
Whispered words of a spell; body shifting, she fell:
Rose with eight spider’s legs ‘stead of feet.
(Chase has fallen asleep. Andromeda strokes his hair and kisses his cheek. He doesn’t stir.)
My darling, sleep fast until morning:
In your dreams, on the wind’s back ride.
Know I will be there beside you,
Watch over and guide you.
I love you, my joy and my pride.
(Andromeda leaves Chase’s bedroom, Zeru on her shoulder, and moves into the room she shares with Rowan: his side of the bed is empty. She continues to sing, as though to Chase.)
Though my sisters all call me a fool,
I won’t leave you,
Even if being trapped spells death.
(To herself:) How these cursèd walls taunt me!
The sky-song still haunts me-
My soul struggles for freedom and breath.
If only my husband-
I know better than that now.
There are things he can’t understand.
I must stand strong, Goddess: I can’t ask him why,
Cannot make him see the heart-deep need to fly.
My son needs me still, calls as strong as the sky-
Help me hear him only, and not my soul’s cry!
My first duty’s to Robert, and not to my nature:
I promised as much long ago.
So I’ll quiet my heart,
Keep him safe, play my part-
For to love is sacrifice to know.
How I miss my clan-my mother, aunts and sisters-
The heartache’s sometimes too much to bear.
If I have chosen wrongly, if I’ve been naïve,
At least this vow I’ll keep. So I swear
To walk on the path beside my child,
To protect, to teach and to guide.
He’ll remain safe in my keeping,
Safe, waking and sleeping.
I promise-
I promise, my joy and my pride.
3) Keeping Vigil: Andromeda post-mortem, watching over Chase.
Keeping Vigil
To the tune of “King of Pain” by The Police.)
Scene: Andromeda, watching over Chase.
ANDROMEDA:
There’s a young man going off to work today,
Through the same routines, in just the same way
To an office that’s walled in steel and glass
And a mentor who lets no detail pass.
I made a promise once, so many years ago:
‘ Vigil I’ll ever keep,’ in a voice soft and low.
What the fullness of years and what heartbreak would show…
I suppose that it’s just as well I couldn’t know.
There’s a doctor diagnosing, running scans.
(That’s my child there.)
There’s a healer who’s easing pain with gentle hands.
(That’s my child there.)
A human's walking in the world of man.
(That’s my child there.)
A witch isn’t allowed to know his clan.
I made a promise once, so many years ago:
‘Vigil I’ll ever keep,’ in a voice soft and low.
What the fullness of years and what heartbreak would show…
I suppose that it’s just as well I couldn’t know.
There’s a boy who’s crying for his mother’s arms.
There’s a boy in a church, choosing to do no harm.
There’s a hybrid hidden, doing as he must.
There’s a man who is taking the risk of trust…
[Instrumental break.]
There’s a doctor earning his mentor’s pride.
There’s a healer stemming pain’s surging tide.
There’s a seeker learning of an unlived past;
There’s a man who bends and still stands fast.
I made a promise once, so many years ago:
‘Vigil I’ll ever keep,’ in a voice soft and low.
What the fullness of years and what heartbreak would show…
I suppose that it’s just as well I couldn’t know.
Watching still.
I will keep my vigil still.
I will keep my vigil still.
And one based canonically: House's perspective on Chase in the wake of the Dibala incident, to the tune of "Standing" from BtVS' Once More, With Feeling.
Lost Your Way
(To the tune of BtVS’ “Standing.”)
Scene: House’s perspective on Chase in the wake of the Dibala incident.
HOUSE:
I can see your guilty conscience burn:
A line has been crossed, and you can’t return.
This lesson is one you should not have had to learn,
And I…
I fired you and find myself impressed:
You’ve grown more backbone than I could have guessed.
But even though you acted for the best,
I still…
See the signs of self-destruction, and every sleepless night-
I see your marriage breaking; the strain that it can’t fight;
I see the pain that’s building to a height
And know you’ve lost your way.
You’re living what no one should have to live:
All you’ve built, now water through a sieve.
Let that be enough penance, and yourself forgive.
If I…
I’m not meant to play the father or offer steady hand.
You need help I can’t give you: listen and understand
Your enemy is your own countermand
That is standing in your way.
(Wish I could help find your way.)
1) Andromeda's Lament: A sorrow-song for a stifling marriage.
Andromeda’s Lament
To the tune of “The Past is Another Land” from Aida.)
Rowan can’t understand me, for he’s not my kind:
So often it seems he’s willfully blind.
He’s built a cage for me and gilded the bars:
He longs to control both my power and spirit
But those-they will not be confined.
I miss the days of childhood,
Now flown past recall.
The cradling embrace of the trees,
And their branches reaching tall.
And the beauty of the sky-song…
Why did I have to fall?
For now I am a prisoner
And play the human wife-
A subservient, pretty toy-
An empty, wasted life.
A dreadful price love can incur,
And then swiftly turn to strife.
My child is a victory,
And reason to abide.
For him I bear the marriage-chains
Even though I sometimes scream inside.
For him, my stars and my moon
My legacy, my joy and pride.
For him, my stars and my moon
My legacy, my joy and pride.
2) Just Before Bedtime: A story told and a promise made.
Just Before Bedtime
(To the tune of “Race You to the Top of the Morning” from The Secret Garden.)
Scene: Andromeda tells Chase a story, contemplates her own and makes a promise.
ANDROMEDA (spoken):
Now, let’s see, Robert…
(sung)
We’d just left Athena:
She’d stripped off her disguise,
And she’d accepted Arachne’s challenge.
Arachne should have known better
Than to give the goddess such insult.
She said, “I am the greatest of all mortal weavers.”
Athena confirmed she was right.
But Athena had warned her, and Arachne scorned her,
So the challenge would come to a fight.
And so the looms were set:
Would Arachne regret prideful words?
It remains to be seen.
They both began to weave,
Warp and weft to receive
Threads of gold, of silver and of green.
With the sun sinking fast,
Contest finished at last,
The complete tapestries were compared:
Quality proved the same.
Though a weaver of fame, Arachne
Lost the most deadly game.
She had incurred Athena’s ire:
An error, and one that she would ne’er repeat.
Whispered words of a spell; body shifting, she fell:
Rose with eight spider’s legs ‘stead of feet.
(Chase has fallen asleep. Andromeda strokes his hair and kisses his cheek. He doesn’t stir.)
My darling, sleep fast until morning:
In your dreams, on the wind’s back ride.
Know I will be there beside you,
Watch over and guide you.
I love you, my joy and my pride.
(Andromeda leaves Chase’s bedroom, Zeru on her shoulder, and moves into the room she shares with Rowan: his side of the bed is empty. She continues to sing, as though to Chase.)
Though my sisters all call me a fool,
I won’t leave you,
Even if being trapped spells death.
(To herself:) How these cursèd walls taunt me!
The sky-song still haunts me-
My soul struggles for freedom and breath.
If only my husband-
I know better than that now.
There are things he can’t understand.
I must stand strong, Goddess: I can’t ask him why,
Cannot make him see the heart-deep need to fly.
My son needs me still, calls as strong as the sky-
Help me hear him only, and not my soul’s cry!
My first duty’s to Robert, and not to my nature:
I promised as much long ago.
So I’ll quiet my heart,
Keep him safe, play my part-
For to love is sacrifice to know.
How I miss my clan-my mother, aunts and sisters-
The heartache’s sometimes too much to bear.
If I have chosen wrongly, if I’ve been naïve,
At least this vow I’ll keep. So I swear
To walk on the path beside my child,
To protect, to teach and to guide.
He’ll remain safe in my keeping,
Safe, waking and sleeping.
I promise-
I promise, my joy and my pride.
3) Keeping Vigil: Andromeda post-mortem, watching over Chase.
Keeping Vigil
To the tune of “King of Pain” by The Police.)
Scene: Andromeda, watching over Chase.
ANDROMEDA:
There’s a young man going off to work today,
Through the same routines, in just the same way
To an office that’s walled in steel and glass
And a mentor who lets no detail pass.
I made a promise once, so many years ago:
‘ Vigil I’ll ever keep,’ in a voice soft and low.
What the fullness of years and what heartbreak would show…
I suppose that it’s just as well I couldn’t know.
There’s a doctor diagnosing, running scans.
(That’s my child there.)
There’s a healer who’s easing pain with gentle hands.
(That’s my child there.)
A human's walking in the world of man.
(That’s my child there.)
A witch isn’t allowed to know his clan.
I made a promise once, so many years ago:
‘Vigil I’ll ever keep,’ in a voice soft and low.
What the fullness of years and what heartbreak would show…
I suppose that it’s just as well I couldn’t know.
There’s a boy who’s crying for his mother’s arms.
There’s a boy in a church, choosing to do no harm.
There’s a hybrid hidden, doing as he must.
There’s a man who is taking the risk of trust…
[Instrumental break.]
There’s a doctor earning his mentor’s pride.
There’s a healer stemming pain’s surging tide.
There’s a seeker learning of an unlived past;
There’s a man who bends and still stands fast.
I made a promise once, so many years ago:
‘Vigil I’ll ever keep,’ in a voice soft and low.
What the fullness of years and what heartbreak would show…
I suppose that it’s just as well I couldn’t know.
Watching still.
I will keep my vigil still.
I will keep my vigil still.
And one based canonically: House's perspective on Chase in the wake of the Dibala incident, to the tune of "Standing" from BtVS' Once More, With Feeling.
Lost Your Way
(To the tune of BtVS’ “Standing.”)
Scene: House’s perspective on Chase in the wake of the Dibala incident.
HOUSE:
I can see your guilty conscience burn:
A line has been crossed, and you can’t return.
This lesson is one you should not have had to learn,
And I…
I fired you and find myself impressed:
You’ve grown more backbone than I could have guessed.
But even though you acted for the best,
I still…
See the signs of self-destruction, and every sleepless night-
I see your marriage breaking; the strain that it can’t fight;
I see the pain that’s building to a height
And know you’ve lost your way.
You’re living what no one should have to live:
All you’ve built, now water through a sieve.
Let that be enough penance, and yourself forgive.
If I…
I’m not meant to play the father or offer steady hand.
You need help I can’t give you: listen and understand
Your enemy is your own countermand
That is standing in your way.
(Wish I could help find your way.)