However Soft Your Symphony

she stood agog at the spray of stars

When Theo invited Maisy to accompany him to the National Society of the Romanticist Movement benefit concert, Maisy was skeptical. Of course, Theo was by far the most well known Romanticist activist, so he would be headlining the event. The short set he was scheduled to play was the main attraction. Theo had asked Maisy to come to support him and cheer him on, which of course, Maisy was completely willing to do. But at the same time, Theo kept talking about wanting Maisy to experience the full force of radical Romanticists, which was pretty much the opposite of what Maisy was willing to do. Maisy was quite honestly torn.

In the end, it was the logic of it all that helped sway Maisy's opinion. She knew the basics of what the National Society of the Romanticist Movement was trying to accomplish with this benefit concert. The money raised went to raising awareness and research concerning mark removals. The procedure is possible, and has been done before, but it is extremely risky business. The soulmate markings are linked to a certain part of the brain, so it isn't just a procedure focused on the skin. To completely remove a soulmate marking, surgeons have to tamper with some of the connections in the brain. The survival rate is low, and the success rate is even lower. When Romanticists worked to raise money, it was usually going to scientists and universities dedicated to improving the practice of the removal of soulmate markings. Maisy thought about this at length, and determined that even if she didn't agree with anything involving the Romanticist movement, she did agree with saving lives. So she told herself that she would be attending with that in mind only. She was supporting medical research so people would be safe. Repeating this over and over again in her head only made it marginally easier.

So in the end, Maisy did agree to go, which delighted Theo immensely.

Maisy was surprised to find that the event was outdoors, and it was actually more of a festival than a concert. There were booths and balloons and food, and so many people. It was obvious that many of the people seemed to be there for the musical guests, as the stage was always crowded with people. Maisy and Theo spent most of their time in a secluded grassy area meant for VIP members of the organization and special guests, as being mobbed by fans was not high on the list of ways Theo wanted to spend his evening.

Theo tried to stay at Maisy's side throughout the day, but there were a lot of important people at this event and they all seemed to want to talk to Theo privately, so Maisy spent a lot of time frequenting some nice looking benches, and of course the refreshment table. Occasionally, someone would approach her to try and make conversation, and Maisy would smile her way through it as best as possible. It was awkward, sure, but every once and awhile, Theo would return to her side, and Maisy felt more comfortable. When Theo beamed at her expressing so much joy that she was there with him, Maisy found that she was glad that she did come.

At one point, Theo was in deep conversation with the director of the NSRM and a few other impressive looking people with "doctor" or "professor" in their title. They had originally tried to include Maisy in their conversation, but Maisy had opted out of discussing the societal view on soulmate removal procedures, and excused herself as politely as she could manage. Maisy was wandering contently, nursing a glass of some sort of punch as she succumed to her daydreams. She was thinking about how much she hated hearing people discuss Romanticism, how much she disagreed with it, and as much as she hated thinking about it, the guilt she felt about hiding the full truth about herself and her views on soulmates from Theo.

Maisy was deep into her thoughts when an energetic voice yanked her back into reality.

"Oh my god. No way! Maisy? Maisy Pemberton!"

"Ruthie?" Maisy's eyes widened in shock. Ruthie, the girl standing in front of her, was her age, although she appeared to be a little more composed and more professional. Ruthie had been her best friend for most of high school until she had moved their sophomore year, and they never really managed to stay in touch. Seeing Ruthie again was a surprise, for sure, but Maisy couldn't have been more delighted in that moment. "Ruthie, hey!"