[Staging Note: Back in Elara's parlor. The warm, brightly lit room from "Tethered." Her sister and mother are sitting by the fire. Elara stands in the shadows near the door, pale, trembling, and wearing sunglasses or a heavy veil to block the fireplace light.] [Intro] [A gentle, domestic chamber-pop arrangement. Acoustic guitar, soft piano, and the return of the ticking clock from "The Parlor Cage." But beneath it, a low, unnatural, eerie synth drone hums, representing Elara's new nature.] [Verse 1] [Female Vocals - The Sister (Alto)] (Singing warmly, offering a plate) Elara, you're shivering, come by the fire, You've been out walking the mud and the mire. I made you a broth, it's steaming and sweet, You look like a ghost, you have to come eat. [Female Vocals - Elara (Soprano)] (Strained, backing away from the food, her voice echoing slightly) I'm not really hungry, the fever has passed... I just need to rest, I was walking too fast. Keep the fire away, it's hurting my eyes...(Aside, to herself, frantic) ...The smell of the broth is a sickening lie. [Pre-Chorus] [Female Vocals - The Mother (Mezzo-Soprano)] (Approaching Elara, touching her arm) Your skin is like ice! Good heavens, my child, Your hands are so rigid, your eyes are so wild. You're fading away right in front of my face... There isn't a heartbeat that I can embrace. [Chorus] [The domestic music swells with tragic, dramatic irony. The family sings with concern, while Elara sings in horror.] [The Sister & The Mother] Come into the light, let us warm up your soul, The hearth is still burning, the family is whole. Whatever is hurting, whatever is wrong, We'll hold you together, we'll keep you so strong! [Female Vocals - Elara] (Harmonizing, but discordant, singing her internal panic) I'm slipping away, I am losing control! The hunger inside me is swallowing whole! The hearth is a furnace, the light is a knife... I'm a parasite trapped in the house of my life! [Verse 2] [The eerie synth drone gets louder. A frantic, heartbeat-like drum kicks in.] [Female Vocals - Elara] (Staring at her sister's neck. The thirst takes over.) She's pulsing... she's warm... the vein on her neck... My love is collapsing, a beautiful wreck. If I stay in this room, if I sit by her bed, By the time morning comes, she is going to be dead. [Bridge] [The music fractures. The warm acoustic guitar clashes with a rising, horrific orchestral swell.] [The Sister] Elara, what's wrong? Why show me your teeth? [The Mother] Who is the stranger hiding beneath?! [Female Vocals - Elara] (A desperate, monstrous scream) Don't touch me! Don't hold me! Just let me go! I am something that you are not meant to know! [Outro] [The orchestral horror drops away. Just the ticking clock and a tragic, weeping cello.] [Female Vocals - Elara] (Sobbing, backing out the door into the night) I love you... I love you... and so I must leave. I'm dead to the world. It is time you should grieve.(She slams the heavy door shut. The ticking clock stops.)
