Hymn of Elys

Prologue

Voices rose and fell throughout the dining room; whispers and laughter ringing in the air mingled with the clatter of silverware. It was decorated richly, with brightly colored cloth and modern furniture. The restaurant was a greatly appreciated part of the upper east side, with most of their patrons being the more affluent variety.

The main dining area was brightly lit by chandeliers, but neither the light nor the cheerful atmosphere served to sooth Alice's mood. Stress continuously weighed on her, like heavy chains shackling her to reality. The green hues that usually made her eyes so remarkable were somehow absent from her usually vibrant hazel eyes.

The day had been long and hard; somewhere in the middle of her shift she had thrown her long blonde hair into a messy bun. Her short black server's dress was rumpled and stained with grease from a mishap with a plate of food an hour before. It didn't help that a couple of her customers had complained to her manager about her state of disarray.

How was she going to remove that stain? If only she had paid more attention to her foster mother's lectures. The woman had tried to give her tips for living alone, but chores had always bored her. Not to mention, she had been so excited about moving to the big city, that it had been all she was able to think about. Alice had thought that all of her dreams would come true, just like any eighteen year old. If only she had known of the many hard lessons that had awaited her.

If only she had listened to all the lessons the lovely woman had tried to teach her.

The last year had been hard on the young woman. She could barely keep on top of her day job now, and she felt her dream of being a world renowned songstress slipping through her fingers. It didn't matter how desperately she tried to cling to her aspirations, the stress and fatigue weighed her down. At this moment, she had no auditions to ready for. There were no contracts to sign, or sight of a record deal at all.

She had worked herself into exhaustion and complacence.

At night there was no respite, either. Her dreams had been invaded by nightmares from her past, and her failing future. She felt as if she was drowning, no matter how optimistic she tried to be. In this new city, she was alone and had no one to turn to; she couldn't bear to worry her kind foster parents states away.

She would continue to persevere, just as they had taught her. Mind over matter would work in this situation, right? All she had to do was believe in herself.

Today just happened to be one of those days where she had to try extra hard at it. Alice smiled brightly at one of her regulars as she started to take away the older woman's plates. "Thank you so much for your visit today! See you next Monday, ma'am?"

The woman in question barely smiled as she tightened her colorful scarf around her throat. "Why, yes. Now, have a good day, Sam."

Alice. Her name was Alice. She had a name tag, and everything! She even served this customer exclusively every time she came in! "Yes, ma'am. Have a wonderful evening!"

She never let her smile slip as the customer walked away and towards the door in the front of the room. Once again, she had left the server only a meager tip. Still, that wasn't what really bothered her about the occurrence. Was she that forgettable? Alice had never thought so before...

Her eyes burned as she carried the plates towards the waitress station in the back of the combined sections.

It was out of the way in the back corner of the restaurant, the light above it darkened. It almost gave the atmosphere as if it was trying to shrink away from the rest of the dining room, as if to not distract the patrons from the rest of the elaborately decorated area. The top black counter was almost immaculate since it was nearing the end of their shift, and the condiments and silverware were neatly put away. No one wanted to stay over just to clean up their mess; it also helped that it was a bit of a slow afternoon. It gave them plenty of time to keep the station in order.