Svengali | Simone & Fernand
Late 19th century
Fernand and Simone were quickly becoming the most popular duo in Paris. The hunger for the occult had spread across Europe like wildfire, even reaching across the Atlantic to America. Simone was fond of pointing out how many of these self-proclaimed spiritualists were charlatans, which only further proved the two Baptiste children were different.
Fernand had a gift. He could make people do as he said, a seemingly natural gift for hypnotism. Some people were more difficult to control, and Fernand had a suspicion that growing up around him is what had made his sister so headstrong. Regardless of any bickering, the two were absolutely devoted to each other.
Simone, brought home by their father, could read minds. When he had begun performing with her, the two had rocketed to fame. Gone were the days of Fernand convincing their landlord to overlook the month’s rent, or a young Simone managing to blackmail some stranger into paying for things.
Their father, François, was never too far away. He would usually watch their performances, but now that Fernand was 17, he felt comfortable letting the two children handle things. Fernand had just finished a performance, the plush velvet curtains swooping shut to separate him from the sold out theatre.
The audience loved his carefree manners. He was young and confident, and a terrible flirt. An unforeseen consequence was a troupe of admirers waiting for him outside the stage door if he wasn’t careful. He knew it was good for the show, but it did get annoying when he was just trying to have a good time out on the town.
Simone on the other hand was a perfect ‘Medium’. She seemed distant, as if she were in ‘the other world’, when really Fernand was certain she was just trying to filter out all the nonsense in people’s heads. She was horribly serious for a young girl, despite Fernand’s playful prodding. The two perfectly complimented each other.
“Simca!” He hugged her, squeezing her tighter when he felt her trying to squirm away. “That was great! When you revealed that phrase her grandfather used to say? I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house!” He turned, seeing the sillouhette of his father waiting backstage. “Let’s go have dinner, we can go to that cafe you like. I think papa wants to talk to me before we go.”