<sorry for the length; just ignore it>
She sat within the libraries pouring over books. She wasn't sure if she was allowed to be in there or not, but no one had used the libraries in a long time, so she figured, why not? She could not just let them rot away with un-weathered bindings. It's what gave a book character, and that was what she was trying to do with her own songs: give them character. She had never been on an adventure of her own, so all she could do was re-sing the songs of other bards long past, or sing of adventures that everyone knew about. Not that that wasn't interesting, but she had always wanted to create something new that the audience could relate to; most couldn't relate to the old stories any more. They were just stories now, purely entertainment or things that people sighed at as they reminisced about better times. At the moment she was looking through a story that she found quite interesting.
It was about a girl who was not as pretty as her other sisters. Her father grew weary of having her about, and so sold her to a prince he knew nothing of; in fact, no one knew anything of this prince, for he never came out of his castle. No one did. But he sent her there anyway in hopes of getting financial benefits. That's how it always is, she thought wearily to herself, rolling her crimson eyes. She continued to read. The prince turned out to be a terrible monster—Oh!—who kept her there because he loved her. He had been enchanted, or rather cursed, into such a terrifying form, and had to fall in love in order to break the spell. And of course, there was a time limit. Of course. Blahblahblah and in the end, the two fell in love, broke the spell, and lived happily ever after. A nice story, but redundant. Most stories were.
"And that's why I need to find my own!" she groaned to herself, allowing her head to fall on her hand, her elbow propped up on the library floor she was lying on. She sighed, slamming the book shut as if she were about to throw a tantrum. She brought herself up and gloomily walked to the large window, dragging her feet on the marble floors. She suddenly straightened. "Shit!" The sun was now a half circle, swiftly disappearing behind the horizon. She rushed back to her messy pile and began to hastily close the covers and gather them up into her arms. They kept falling back onto the ground. Growling in frustration, the albino girl threw the other books on the ground, as if they burned her skin.
She took an exaggerated deep breath and then released it. "Don't be hasty, Lalage Floyera. It's alright. If you do this right, you won't be late." She took a couple more deep breaths, then began to hum a tune to herself. The tune was a familiar one, from a song that told a story about a king who, having been hiding himself until the correct time, assumed the throne and saved his kingdom and the others from a terrible darkness. A common story, perhaps. Her voice was a fluttering, airy soprano, and the room was suddenly filled with a whimsical and peaceful air. She quietly began to pick up a couple books at a time, putting them back where she had got them. And soon enough, the room was clean once more. She looked around and smiled, dusting off her hands with a satisfied expression upon her face.
The girl was in high spirits when she left the library, lute strapped over her shoulder and her wooden flute in her right hand. She skipped down the avenues of the elite district until she found a carriage. "Ho, you there!" she called, waving her left hand obnoxiously to the carriage driver. She was well known in these parts, for everyone had heard of her family's death. She was now the last in her line, and could not even carry her family name. She had been the subject of the gossips for a long time. They had finally died down after a couple years. This had all happened when she was six. And although still young, she had been able to establish herself as a musician. She wasn't paid well, but well enough to get along.
Sitting in the carriage, she watched as the large houses went by. Today, she was going to see a new client. She had heard of the family before, but she had never seen or met any of them, at least as far as she knew. She was a bit nervous, for she wasn't sure how they would receive her. It'll be alright, she told herself. But was she going to be? All she knew about tonight was that she was playing for a small dinner party, so she would have several people to impress. The good thing about dinner parties, though, was that they weren't going to be paying too much attention to her. She was only going to be the background. She usually was, although every now and then, when she sang, she would have control of all eyes and ears. But today she was only playing.
When she arrived, she was glad to know that she was still a bit early, at least by a candlemark. She sighed inside, relieved. She was led into the dining hall by one of the servants, where she immediately began to play. The guests and the host as well needed to hear music before they entered. It was only polite and made the environment seem better. She at first began to strum about on her lute some gentle tunes, weaving the room with magic. She was only making the atmosphere of the room calm, warm, and welcoming for the guests.
She sat there switching form lute to flute, playing various tunes as the guests arrived and the party commenced. For the first time in her life, Lalage was bored. Some party she thought as she tried to look pleased to be of service to them. Her eyes wandered about the room as she played, looking at the intricate designs and the various doors that lined the room. She wondered to where each of them led.