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Please, Tell Another Tale...

Started by DragonSong, March 23, 2018, 07:43:23 PM

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DragonSong

@quaggan




The court of Dreamhaven was always a splendid place, even when nothing all that interesting was happening. Magical lights fluttered just out of reach, near the ceiling of the grand hall, and every wall was strung with flowered garlands, the scent of honeysuckle and lavender always present on the air. Typically it was a bustle of activity, but on this day it was rather subdued, peaceful.

On this particular day, the crown princess had been confined to the palace on the orders of her parents, and she was moping the day away perched on the sill of one of the massive windows that took up almost the entirety of the western-most wall.

Krysta sighed and let her head lean against the ever-so-slightly gold-tinted pane of glass, watching the bustle of the palace courtyard below. Far below. The palace itself was grown into the trunk of a massive, ancient willow tree, and the courtyard was nestled among its roots, its borders gently brushed by the drooping leaves and branches, veiling the palace from the rest of the city. The princess of Dreamhaven fluttered her wings unconsciously as she pouted and stared out, trying to get a glimpse of the wider forest beyond through the green curtain.

"Your Highness?"

"Mm?" She lifted her head and turned toward the voice- Anfelath, one of the stewards. "Yes, Annie, what is it?"

The old pixie crinkled up his nose at the nickname, but he didn't press the issue. "Well, your mother and father thought perhaps you might like to hear an old ballad or some such, something to keep your mind occupied. You've been rather...despondent of late."

Krysta rolled her eyes and took to the air, hovering with her feet just above the floor. "If Mother and Father really wanted me to cheer up, they'd let me go out," she said with a finely arched eyebrow. Anfelath blustered, but before he could really say anything she waved him off and sighed, "No, it's alright. I'd...be happy to hear this new minstrel. That is what you were leading up to, isn't it?"

There'd been rumors around the palace that her parents were thinking of bringing a minstrel- a real, proper, official one- into the court, so she assumed that's what the steward was getting at. He nodded and bowed curtly.

"I'll fetch him then, highness. Do wait here." He glided back out of the hall.

Krysta sighed again and drifted back toward the window, toes barely skimming the ground. "Don't I always?"

quaggan

 Steward Anfelath brushed inside the drawing room, his wings fluttering in the air. "The Princess will see you now" he proclaimed.

"That's as far as I go, then" Caerwyn the Candlelight commented. "Unless the invitation included me as well? Yes, didn't think so. Go on, present yourself to Her Highness."

Maldwyn followed the steward through the winding pathways of the castle. The lines of the wood swirled on the walls and floor both in a mesmerising pattern, immediately captivating his attention. It wasn't hard to distract him from his nervousness, especially when faced with such beauty. What was nature trying to tell him, hiding its secret in this geometric cipher? Was it yet another mystery no one was fated to solve?

The steward cleared his throat as he floated towards the door at the end of the hallway and pulled them open. "Her Highness is waiting inside" he explained, moving aside. Maldwyn entered cautiously, immediately dropping to one knee in a proper bow, hovering just above the floor.

DragonSong

Krysta glanced up as she heard the doors open and rose from her perch on the windowsill, flitting to the center of the room.

Hmm. The court had never had an official minstrel before, and for some reason she'd expected him to be...older. Not ancient, certainly, but not a young man either. She couldn't even put her finger on why what was what she'd expected, but Maldwyn took her a bit by surprise.

The bowing did not, unfortunately, and she sighed. Her eyes darted from side to side, confirming they were alone in the hall, and she let her wings still so she could plop to the ground, folding her legs under her body and tilting her head at him curiously. 

"You really don't have to do that," the princess told him with a wave of her hand and a roll of her eyes. "Leastways not when it's just the two of us. Or even if some of the maids or what-have-you are about, they all know I hate the bowing and scraping and nonsense." She wrinkled her nose up, then tried for a friendly smile.

"What's your name, Sir Minstrel? No one told me."

quaggan

 At the princess' command, he raised his head to look her in the eyes. She was beautiful, truly a lady of royal blood. Her request was surprising, but he would obey nevertheless, as a loyal subject should. At least both the princess and the etiquette his mother told him to follow were in agreement on one thing: he should introduce himself now.

"I hope to serve the Queendom long
I am called Maldwyn, the Starsong.
  May the sun's light colour your days
And warm your wings with its bright rays."

DragonSong

She blinked, a little startled, then started to smile, eyes glinting delightedly. "Well, that was beautiful," she enthused, laughing quietly. It was a silvery sound, almost chiming through the air. Her head tilted to the side and she asked, "Do you always talk like that, or is it just for special occasions?"

Though her tone was genuinely curious, there was a bit of a teasing glimmer to her eyes, and a quirk to the corner of her mouth that hinted at a moment of humor.

quaggan

 Oh right. Most pixies didn't speak in verse. At least those he met didn't - in the ballads and songs he's learned to perform, everyone spoke in perfect rhythm and sang at perfect pitch. He believed that life would be better if more people spoke in song and poetry, but he has grown to accept this imperfection of the world.

"That's true, I always speak in verse
  Few others do, to my despair.
And no longer need I rehearse
It's easy now like breathing air."

From this perspective, it was but a day like any other... but it couldn't be true, could it? After all, it was the day he was to be introduced to the court in his new official role, and he was even given the honour of speaking with the heiress to the Queendom herself! How could he show such inexcusable lack of decorum?!

DragonSong

"I see." Krysta got to her feet and clasped her hands behind her back, fluttering around and over him in a little spiral. Her skirt and hair blew gently in the soft buffeting wind of her wings as she came to hover just in front of an above him.

"Stand, please," she encouraged, holding a hand out to him with a small smile. "Really, I'm not much for ceremony, if I can help it."

quaggan

 It looked like the princess was not very fond of the etiquette and decorum. It really shouldn't be surprising - songs and stories were full of royals who yearned for freedom from their titles and demands of their subjects. Every tale's deepest truth was rooted in reality that it created, after all.

He rose, still floating above the floor. He preferred it to walking - it could be annoying on his wings at the end of the day, but whenever he walked, he got too absorbed in tracing the patterns of the wood and forgot where he was going. Flying was a blessing.

"How may I attend you, pray tell?
  Is there a service you'd wish from me?
One word is enough to compel
I shall follow through any decree."

DragonSong

The princess giggled quietly- she couldn't help it- and raised a hand to press her fingers to her lips.

"Well...Annie sent you in here to play something, I believe," she mused. Beckoning for Maldwyn to follow her, she bobbed back into the air and fluttered toward her seat on the windowsill. She gestured for him to sit with her, smiling softly.

"Play, if you like. What's your favorite song?"

quaggan

 How could he pick just one favourite song? He loved every single melody he's ever heard, from cheerful folk songs to solemn ballads. But he couldn't just ignore the princess' question! It was barely his first day of holding the post of a court minstrel too! To think that he was given the simplest possible order, and still failed to obey!

Although... Perhaps, this situation was actually the other way around. After all, if every song he knew was his favourite, that meant he could play anything and avoid guilty conscience! That was a relief.

He took out his lute and tried out the strings while he thought on what to play - the last thing he wanted was to show his incompetence by playing an ill-tuned instrument in front of the princess! The likelihood of something getting messed up in the short time it took him to glide here and present himself was not high, but the risk was not worth taking, either!

He could only hope that he didn't keep the princess waiting by the time he was ready. His attitude changed the very moment the first notes rang in the chamber, as if the lute itself was enchanted - and knowing Caerwyn, it could be. His fingers danced on the strings with lightning speed, producing a melody of almost enchanting complexity and rhythm.

DragonSong

Krysta's ears perked forward as the song began, and she settled herself into her seat with rapt attention fixed on the bard. Her eyes were wide and glimmering, a soft smile playing at her lips.

Nearly all pixies loved music, it was almost in their nature. But she'd never heard someone play quick like this.

With a soft, happy sigh she drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, allowing her cheek to rest on her knees as she just listened, letting the music wash over her.

quaggan

 There was no feeling in the world that could possibly compare to this. Music was sweeter than any nectar, greater than the boundless sky, more beautiful than the light of the stars. His fingers danced on the strings of the lute, keeping the quick tempo of the song. Each note was a duet, a part of a dialogue of a musician with his instrument.

With one final note, the song ended on a cheerful crescendo. It was, Maldwyn reflected, like a spell breaking. A sad moment. He only now noticed that he was no longer floating - so utterly absorbed he was with his melody that he forgot to beat his wings. He quickly took to the air again - while the etiquette said nothing about standing or flying in the presence of royalty (and the princess did say that she wasn't too fond of decorum), it was simply his own preference.

DragonSong

As the last chord faded away, Krysta's light applause echoed through the hall.

"That was lovely!" she enthused, fluttering her wings to hover at Maldwyn's level in the air. She but her lip, sort of hesitating, then asked carefully, "Do you...know any ballads? I have a weakness for stories told in song."

The admission was made with a soft blush, one finger twirling almost self-consciously through her silver hair.

quaggan

 The minstrel bowed, more out of habit than etiquette. The applause was nice, as always but the music itself was the greatest reward.

He listened to the princess' request intently. It seemed that she shared his fondness for ballads. What could make a brilliant story even greater, if not putting the music to accompany its words and make the truth hidden within ring even clearer? Maldwyn had quite the collection at the disposal, but he didn't know which ones the princess was familiar with, let alone what would she like to hear.

"I know some, but what should I play?
How would you like 'Finnegan's Wake'?
Perhaps the 'Dawning of the day'?
Or 'False Sir John', that devious snake?"

DragonSong

"Oh, I love Finnegan's Wake." Krysta beamed and her wings fluttered a little faster, giving the air around her a silver shimmer. "I heard it in a tavern in town once."

She flushed as she realized what she said and added quickly, hushed, "I, ah, wasn't really supposed to be there. I hope maybe we can keep that particular piece of information to ourselves?" she asked with a sheepish little smile.

quaggan

 He nodded in agreement.  "You have my oath then, this I swear
Your secret I will keep.
And if I speak, may the earth tear
And bury me so deep."

He could understand Krysta's desires. In the stories he's heard, rebellious princesses frequently sneaked out of the castle against the wishes of their royal parents, eager to see the nation they were to rule and the people they were to guide. In the end, the lessons they learned outside made them wise and compassionate, and the king and queen always saw the error of their ways. Perhaps Dreamhaven would soon become the setting of such a tale. But now was no time for deliberations - he had a ballad to play! He strummed the strings and began to sing.

"Tim Finnegan lived in Walking Street
  He was a gentleman mighty odd
He'd a beautiful brogue rich and sweet
To rise in the world, he carried a hod..."

He continued to spin his lyrical tale, accompanied by the music of his lute. He described the eponymous character and how he's met his sad end, falling to his death. The titular wake followed, as his song moved to describing the mourners, their relation to the deceased, their words over his corpse. Finally, the song reached its climax as the guests, already quite tipsy, accidentally spilled some whiskey over the corpse - and lo and behold, Finnegan rose from the dead!

DragonSong

Krysta laughed delightedly and clapped along to the song, beaming. She even joined in on the chorus, once her memory had been jogged and she remembered the words.

When Maldwyn finished, she smiled at him and bounced to her feet, twirling on her heel. Her short skirts fluttered up around her hips for a moment and the silver glow from her wings brightened just a bit. "Can you imagine?" she giggled as she turned back to face him. "What if it was a true story?"

She laughed again, hands clasped behind her back as she rocked forward onto the tips of her toes where she hovered.

quaggan

 The princess was so cheerful now, singing along, her wings glowing with glee. He couldn't help but smile as well. It was a funny story, after all - just imagining the faces of the guests as the dead man came back to life - and probably scolded them for spilling good alcohol - was enough to make most audiences laugh.

"It could be true, this I'll admit.
I saw it in many songs.
Cheating death by force, love or wit
Forever or not for long.
Or maybe it's a simpler tale:
The ballad's author loved his ale."

DragonSong

The princess giggled again and suddenly whirled away in a silver and green blur, performing a graceful back flip before coming up to buzz just a bit above Maldwyn's height.

He seemed like the kind of person who may go along with her...

"Master Minstrel, how would you feel about breaking a rule?" she asked, eyes glimmering merrily.

quaggan

 Break rules? But she was the princess - if a rule displeased her, why not change it? Was it even possible for royalty to break rules, if their word was the only rule? That was most strange, and he decided to inquire further.

"Through your veins runs the blood of queens
Your word is the rule in these wood.
  Can anyone, by any means
Break rules with your blessings? Who could?"

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