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[Triple post...haha you're gonna be so tired of me! XD Obviously, this post continues from the one before.]


Frantically, a boy ran into the Music Room. Startled by the noise of the door flying open, Forte stopped playing and whirled around to see what had happened. She saw the boy and he cowered in fear.

"Please don't hurt me!" he cried out, shaking with nervousness.

The musician looked at him. "Now why would I hurt you?" she asked.

The boy opened his eyes, not realizing he'd closed them. "Uh..well, I...it's just..." he stammered. "Your...your music...it was...frightening, so...I was going to ask you to stop...oh, but I didn't mean it was bad or anything! I just...oh!!" His face flushed and he shook his head.

Forte sighed. "Ordinarily I would pay you no mind or tell you to leave, seeing how I've a lot of work to do before tonight. I do find myself tiring of the stale atmosphere, however. Maybe I'll go outside for a stroll."

But the boy didn't stick around long enough for her to finish her sentence. He was out the door and gone before she could even address him again. Forgetting the whole incident, the musician left her belongings in the Music Room and headed outside for her stroll.

~~~

It was a relatively warm day, sunny and pleasant; perfect beach-going weather. But going swimming was not on Forte's mind. Instead the composer had resigned herself to taking a short walk around until she got bored or wanted to do something else.

She'd been walking for fifteen minutes when she happened upon a small group of people. They were laughing and having fun playing volleyball on a small court nearby. Smiling softly, the girl continued her walk when...

"LOOK OUT!"

Forte's eyes widened as a volleyball came speeding toward her. She threw herself down to the ground, catching herself with her hands as she'd learned to do through dancing. The ball whizzed past her, hitting a tree behind her and falling to the ground.

"I'm so sorry!" a girl cried out, running over. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Forte replied, standing up and dusting herself off. "I'm just fine; no worries."

Two other people joined her. A few more were on their way, and one of them Forte saw to be Laramie. In her head she allowed herself to groan in annoyance. Another girl went and got the volleyball and headed back to the court with it.

"You've got good reflexes," the girl from earlier continued. "I've never seen anybody avoid something like that before."

"What's with your clothes?" a guy said, noticing the musician's strange clothing. "You look like you just stepped out of a time machine. Is it a costume?"

Forte's expression became puzzled. "No, this isn't a costume," she said. "These garments are just my regular clothes. Am I not allowed to wear different clothing? Not everyone likes to shop at mainstream stores, you know."

The guy stepped back. "Jeez, sorry I asked weirdo."

"John, be nice!" the girl snapped at him. "Sorry, he's kind of a jerk."

The musician put her hand up. "There's no reason to worry," she assured her. "Believe me, I've been met with more judgments than a critic can shake his finger at."

Just then Laramie arrived. "Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked. "I thought you were chilling in the Music Room, like you usually do." He seemed happy to see her for some reason.

"Do you two know each other?" the girl asked.

"Eh...sort of," Laramie responded. "Through various circumstances we've become acquaintances."

Not a lie. The composer agreed.

"Anyway, I'm Kathryn," the girl said cheerfully. "Why don't you come play volleyball with us? It'll be fun!"

"Uh, no that's okay, I'm really--" Forte began, but Kathryn didn't hear her. She was already dragging the girl toward the volleyball court.

"With your awesome reflexes we'll win for sure!" she said.

When they got to the court, Kathryn took the ball from one of her teammates. "Here, you serve," she said, tossing the ball to Forte. The musician caught it and stared at it for a few seconds. Apparently good reflexes meant you were amazing at sports too.

Forte got into position and prepared to serve the ball. She could hear the snickers from Kathryn's team as well as the opposing one. They were criticizing her clothes and overall appearance. She wanted to tell them not to judge a book by its cover, but she was too busy thinking about the task at hand.

"What are you waiting for freak? Serve the ball!" one of the guys from the opposing team jeered.

"Yeah, come on!"

"Serve already!"

Laramie looked over at Forte, asking with his eyes what was up. She met his stare with one that said "It's none of your business" in the friendliest and most discreet way possible.

"What, are you afraid you're gonna hurt your precious little fingers?" a familiar voice said.

Looking to her right although she didn't need to, the musician saw her nemesis smiling evilly at her.

Calm down Forte, the composer told herself. Resist the urge to strangle her and serve the ball.

She'd always hated volleyball. Always. It was her worst sport, and every time she'd play her forearms would end up blood red by the end of the game. Not to mention she could never make the ball go where she wanted it to. She thought once high school gym class was over for good she'd never have to play again. Yet here she was.

The teams were getting restless. Even Kathryn was wondering why she wasn't serving the ball. Laramie offered to help her, but Forte pushed him away. She had to do something. Glee was finding too much happiness in this.

These people look like good volleyball players, she thought. I have to give them something they won't expect. Something they won't expect...something...they won't...expect....

Suddenly it came to her. She readjusted her position. Sure enough, a few of the opposing team members looked a bit startled.

"She's serving underhand? What is she, a five year-old?"

Forte served the ball. It went high up in the air, so high that the opposing team members had to shield their eyes from the afternoon sun to see it. It came down at nearly the same angle it had gone up, just skirting the net and landing on the other side. None of the other players were able to touch it.

A light serve from a person terrible at volleyball. The perfect ace-in-the-hole.

At least that's how it appeared to members of the team. To Forte, it was just pure dumb luck.

Kathryn cheered. "Took you long enough!" she laughed, high-fiving the musician. Forte looked a bit taken aback at the gesture, not used to pleasant social interactions, but she smiled nonetheless as she went along with it. She could tell Glee was sulking.

~~~

After a while however, things began to take a turn for the worse. Forte's practically nonexistent volleyball skills began to take hold, subjecting her to ridicule from both sides. Kathryn tried to quell the insults, but to no avail. Luckily the musician was used to it, so the insults slid right off her like water off a duck's back. Forte decided she was getting tired and wanted to go back inside.

"Wait! Aren't you going to finish the game?" Kathryn asked.

"No," Forte told her. "I've...never really liked volleyball actually. But I am glad you actually gave me a chance instead of pushing me away, like certain others usually do." She shot Glee a death glare, causing the girl to jump back slightly in fear.

As she walked away, Laramie watched her go. Glee took notice of this and upset by it, she picked up the ball and brought it over to a group of girls on her team who had joked with her about Forte. They whispered back and forth and soon after one of the girls spiked the volleyball right at Forte's head. It was quickly speeding toward the musician; her back was turned so she couldn't see it coming.

Laramie saw the whole thing and was shocked. "ORGAN GIRL!" he yelled, trying to warn her. Other team members, including Kathryn turned around.

But the warning was not necessary. Forte stepped to her left and bringing her right hand up, smacked the speeding ball away. Many shocked gasps could be heard some feet behind her. She turned around slowly.

"You'd do well to remember my name, Mr. Anderson," the girl said as she looked at him. She then turned toward Glee. "And you'd do well not to take such cheap shots Glee. It's unseemly for a lady."

Glee's face burned bright red with anger and Forte smirked. The composer turned on her heel and continued her stride.

"What would YOU know about being a lady?!" Glee screamed after her.

Forte was considering answering her, but thought it would just be a waste of time and energy. She continued walking, leaving the volleyball game behind her and focusing on her next task: finishing a piece of music before her performance at the restaurant tonight.

However, things were different for Glee. She had something to worry about now: her boyfriend's apparent kindness toward that organ-playing freak.

"Well, no, I didn't exactly lose him...it's just..." Alexi tried to explain while Xei dragged her out of the library. But luckily for her, she didn't have to explain much because at that moment Sven was heading toward her. When he spotted her, he smiled brightly.

"Alexi!" he called out excitedly. "Alexi guess what?! One of the flowers in my garden outside bloomed today! It bloomed while I was talking to it! Come on; you gotta see it!"

The girls chattered and thanked her excitedly at the compliment. "I'm glad you enjoyed it - we're doing something right, then!"

"I wanted to congratulate you all. It really was breathtaking," Jessie said, loudly enough for the others beyond their immediate group to hear. "But don't get complacent! It's easy to be the most beautiful dancers when you're the only ones on stage. Our goal is to be the best out of all the other dancers, when all of the different companies come together. And it's within our reach, so long as we keep working like we have been."

"Right," Aurelien said hopefully, even as he hardly dared to hope. He felt bowled over that out of all the other potential soloists, they'd chosen him from his audition. It gave him confidence, because they really had to be doing something right, or he wouldn't have gotten this far.

Soon after, Jessie and Evelyn left - it was getting late, and the dancers had practise in the morning. Back to the car, and then on to a restaurant - Evie suggested Italian. Over dinner they had plenty of time to talk about anything they liked. Family, friends, studies, growing up - obviously these were big topics, as Evelyn, being so young, didn't have much other experience so far. That wasn't to say her opinions on everything else weren't fascinating, though. Evelyn was much more interesting to Jessie than his food - his share of their starter platter and pizza both went lukewarm as he ignored them in favour of the conversation. Yes, pizza - it was probably the most undignified thing to choose to eat on a date, but who cares? It was delicious! It meant there was no Lady and the Tramp moment, but it was friendly and nice, and Jessie got to put his quick reflexes to use when a rogue blob of tomato sauce nearly dripped onto Evie's dress.

They also talked about some of Jessie's travels and experiences, and out of that the conversation turned to Cressa. "I've known her for most of my life, actually," he said, smiling, poking at a bit of his pizza crust with a fork. "I think I must have been about thirty when we first met. Maybe younger - twenty eight. Twenty seven? And - how can I say this? The universe is a strange thing. We just so happened to be in the same town, in the same part of the world at the same time. Then again, I suppose no one would ever meet if they didn't just happen to run into each other, but it was strange luck all the same. She'd been outed as a dark elf and attracted a number of, you know, pitchfork-wielding townspeople. She was challenging them all to duels and beating them one by one. Well - I say beating, she was killing them. Cressa... was a very different person, all those years ago. You all must know her as just a loveable scamp, but when I first knew her, she was ruthless. Bloodthirsty. You almost wouldn't guess what kind of power she has nowadays, but back then she didn't hesitate to murder with it. That was her mischief back then. Quite different to now. Anyway, no one could beat her, and so I stepped in to stop her, and she couldn't beat me. And I think that's what incited her to start following me around. After such a long time being all-powerful and outsmarting everyone, she couldn't stand that she'd been beaten - by one of her own kind, and a man nonetheless. It had been years since either of us had seen another dark elf. We clashed, time and time again. I don't know why she didn't just incinerate me if I annoyed her so much - maybe for once she just didn't want to 'cheat.' But anyway, we ended up working together, travelling together. We became friends..."

"She's the best friend I've ever had. ...Do you know how old she is? Older than me. She's over a century. Haha, a few years ago I might have said it's hard to believe - but she's very wise. Wiser than I used to give her credit for. And there's no one better or more experienced at what they do than her. But it's not just that she's experienced - her intelligence is so sharp! I don't think anyone as intelligent as her can get away without being at least a little eccentric. She's remarkable. She's wonderful," he said, voice softening. He glanced away from Evelyn, not able to help it, as an ache of love for his absent mate gripped at his heart. He probably shouldn't have been talking about her with his date, but she had to know anyway - and he couldn't help but feel that she understood. She was not the type to be jealous or selfish, and her kind, sweet face was encouraging. Cressa was someone important in both of their lives.

He took, chewed and swallowed a bite of his meal before continuing. "She cares. She cares. She pretends that she doesn't, but she does. Believe me. No one knows her better than I do. She puts on these shows, she wants people to see her in this big, larger than life way, but inside, she's someone very different. And I love her. I love every part of her. And I love her more and more every day."

Evelyn placed her cup down on the table when Jessie finished his speech. She brought her napkin to her mouth for a moment before dropping it and reaching out to touch his hand. She searched his eye for ten full seconds before actually saying anything.

“I understand,” came out of her mouth first. “I understand. I really do. Cressa is one of the most remarkable, beautiful people I’ve ever met. I understand.”

That was just the way Evie was. If anyone could understand love and devotion and friendship, it was her. Jessie gripped her hand and gave her a smile. "Thank you. She is beautiful. You are beautiful, too. Between you both, I'm the luckiest man alive, aren't I?"

Yes, he had a lot to be thankful for. Despite everything he'd learned over the years about love and loss, he still took everything he'd been given for granted far too much. Maybe he was still young and stupid in that regard. The love of his sister and his family, the women who had inspired him, Cressa, even the love he'd had to reject over the years - it was all beautiful and special in its own way. No one person ever could replace another.

It was very late by the time they finally stood up, paid and got back in the car to go home. Gambino Town was livelier at night than during the day, though. The streets hummed with activity, until they passed back on to the solitary road that led back to the Temple. Jessie held Evie in his arms on the way back. She was tired. It was comfortable. They'd grown much closer over the evening, hadn't they? When the car pulled up outside the Temple, he didn't put her down - as the chauffeur opened the door, he simply slipped out with an all-too-easy grace, carrying her. "Thank you. Do you have the time?"

"It's nearly midnight, sir," the hardworking driver replied.

"Is it? Thank you. Look in my wallet, take whatever you like as a tip."

"Oh, no, I couldn't - you're paying well enough already," he said, and no insistence could make him take the offer. Jessie carried his princess into the sleeping temple and down the stairs to the basement, where he put her down onto her own two feet to walk the last fifty metres.

"Midnight. Cinderella has to go back to her ordinary life," he teased. "You can keep your slippers - it's quite alright. I can recognise you without resorting to your shoe size."

He stopped her gently before they reached her corridor. After another deep, mind-melting kiss that probably went on much longer than originally intended, he gave her a hug - and now was his last chance to say something. He looked into her eyes, wanting badly to make it count.

"No matter what happens after tonight, if you need me, I will always be there for you. Don't be afraid to ask me for anything. Even if I don't turn out to be your prince, I can still be your knight, forever," he told her, gently holding her pale cheek.

[Hey a 3...not bad!! =D]


"WAAAAAAH!" Sven cried out while Xei dragged him alongside Alexi out of the Temple. "Where is he taking us?"

"Dunno," said Alexi. "But wherever we're going, if Xei's excited about it, you know it's going to be good."


[Sorry for short fail post blaaargh ><'']

"A family search?" Sven asked, interested. "So does this mean...we get to play detectives?!?!"

Alexi shook her head, smiling. "Yes Sven, we get to play detectives." She patted his head and he giggled. He was in a surprisingly cheery mood that day.

"Airship captains?" Alexi asked. "Unfortunately no. But we might be able to catapult ourselves again...." She trailed off, thinking. "...On second thought, never mind. But we could probably ask around town if we needed one."

"Yes, exactly that, we are detectives looking for the Lost Island!" said the wizard, before a stray word confused him. At this, he turned while speaking and realized that there was no plant-like companion, only Alexi and some other guy. He didn't hear much else after that in his confusion (probably for the best, considering the subject matter)

"Wait....Alexi, Total, who...who the heck? You aren't Total, you're too tall...but your aura is really close to his. Total, how did you get...tall? And not all plant-like? Alexi, what the heck did I miss?"

Time has a habit of bringing about change. The summer was beginning to wane. On the mainland, this would bring decay and falling leaves, but on the island, where all of the plants - and many of the people, for that matter - seemed eternally young, the effects of time were more subtle.

"Al!" said Adeline, one morning when her office seemed even busier and more fabric-strewn than ever, "Could you pass me that roll of blue silk please, my angel? Thank you...!"

Increasingly when she looked at him, her eyes grew soft and dilated - as if she were looking at her own Prince Charmant. He was always helpful, sweet and charming... and he did have the most lovely dark hair...

Sometimes Lacine noticed Ardelle gazing out the window, her eyes similarly misty. "Are you thinking about your home again?"

"...Yes," she replied. For a while, she said nothing else. Then, she continued out of nowhere: "Actually, I was thinking about him. My fiance."

"Fiance?!"

This was a bombshell that threw Lacine completely. In retrospect, she kicked herself for being so judgemental - just because Ardelle acted downright asexual didn't mean she actually was. And if she was already in a committed relationship, well, that might explain her constant disinterest in anyone else. It must've been hard for her, having a lover so far away with no way of contacting them. "I-I'm sorry... I just never thought you had someone waiting for you back home!"

Her expression grew more melancholy. "...That's the problem. I have no idea... no way of knowing if he is."

Gloria caught up with Evelyn just as class was finishing up one afternoon. "Hey! Look... I've just been meaning to say for a while now," she said, shifting her weight from side to side, "I know I've been pretty shitty to you for no reason. I mean, you've never been anything but nice to me, even though I'm kind of a b***h. So... I just wanted you to know... as far as I'm concerned, we're cool. You're cool."

She found herself apologising a lot these days. But of course, it was her own fault - all because she'd behaved so badly. She gave Evelyn a hug, and when she turned around to go, she could see their instructor watching them from further up the beach, standing like a dark shadow on the white sand. They exchanged smiles, and as Gloria began disassembling the day's equipment, she felt she had done him proud.

Jessie continued to show favour towards Evelyn, but, as if his last words to her on their date had held an element of prophesy, they spent less and less time together, though every moment they did was amiable. People still talked about them, which was good in its own way. It was another layer of smokescreen on top of what was actually going on.

For Cressa's birthday in late July, Jessie arranged a room swap for them. It was a stroke of luck, really - Lorika had complained for a long time that her room was too large for her, too empty. She didn't have enough possessions to fill it. Cressa and Jessie, meanwhile, were practically tumbling on top of each other in their small room, and it was quite possibly elven dexterity alone to thank for the fact that their mountains of stuff didn't come tumbling down with them. Cressa's first order of business was to immediately knock through the wall that adjoined the priestess' (former) room with the Overseer's (empty) one.

"Um," said Jessie, surveying the destruction.

"You ever heard the saying 'make a house a home?'" Cressa beamed at him over her shoulder, "You're not seeing beyond the massive hole and piles of rubble! This can be our living room! We'll turn the hole into an archway and drape it with a couple of tapestries, making a romantic entrance to the darkened bedroom.... I think I prefer candles to electric lighting, don't you? Perhaps we could even put in a fireplace over here, if we knock the Overseer's ensuite out..."

"Um. I don't think we're supposed to be doing this."

But one more smile from her and he knew he'd go along and help her with whatever she wanted to do, like he always did. And the end result was sumptuous and elegant - exotically beautiful, typical of their style. When everything was finished - the deep, floor-sunken bath as they'd had in their old room was actually the last to go in - they lay down together on the dark fabric of their new bed, facing each other. Cressa couldn't stop smiling. Neither could he.

"Do you think... this is our home now?"

"I think... it might just be the closest thing we've had. ...You're so very beautiful. I never noticed, for a long time, because I thought you were ugly on the inside. You're gorgeous."

"You're not so bad yourself," she grinned, "I bet your mother was a looker."

"Oh no. Not really," he said flippantly, "But I've heard my father was. He was a very popular dancer around the time I was born. I think she had him killed for bearing a son. I only know this because it was one of the things that made her unpopular in court... some of the older women knew I was his son, and sometimes when I was around they'd tut openly about what she did."

"As if you weren't even there?"

"Oh Cressa, you know... when you're a man back at home you get used to being invisible."

"Oh, of course... I knew that. I'm sorry. The only man I ever really had contact with growing up was... the opposite of invisible," she said, with a little apologetic grimace. "Andrino, my brother. He didn't play by the rules."

"What an odd name."

"Haha, we all had funny names. Some of my sisters were Umbra, Petra, Pandemona, Yyetavia - she was the eldest, they always followed the naming rule."

"What was the rule?"

"The 'ee-ee' sound. Our Uss-ilharess was Yyasue."

"I like Pandemona," Jessie said thoughtfully, testing it out on his tongue.

"It has a ring to it, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it means 'all of the devils' - but you'd never know. It's so very pretty. I don't know what my sister was like, though. I never met any of them. And by the time I was in my teens, they'd all been killed."

"I see," he replied. It was as he'd assumed about her in the past, but to have it confirmed was like a piece of the puzzle slotting into place. "That's how you ended up..."

"Yes. I was my mother's youngest daughter, and an abomination, but she was left with no choice but to name me as her heir. It was imperative that the matroonhood remain in the line of direct descendency. Our family was particularly zealous about that."

"So what happened after you left...?"

Cressa's reply was blunt and cold. "Don't know. Don't care. My aunt took over, probably."

"You had a living aunt?" he asked, sounding surprised. Usually when matrons took the throne they had all of their (female) siblings killed to remove any threats to their power, if they hadn't done it already.

"For all of her big talk about tradition, my mother could be unusually diplomatic - only in private, though. She struck a lot of deals rather than dirtying the hands of her guards. My auntie was allowed to live comfortably in her own manor, in return for keeping out of the House ruling affairs. Auntie was quite greedy and lazy. It suited her."

She cuddled up to him, burying her face, and said nothing more for some time.

"I wonder sometimes if he was my father."

"Hm?"

"Andrino. My brother. He... was as beautiful as a fine sword, and just as deadly. Sometimes in the past, when I've looked in the mirror, and I've been in a rage, I think I've seen his face staring back at me."

She sounded very unhappy about the possibility of him being the one who sired her. Her mouth ran more quickly, as if she hoped she could convince herself otherwise through words alone. "But I can't see how he could have been. If he had been, I'm sure he would've brought it up, even just once, if only to manipulate me. I just know they had some children together, that's all... but I don't know how early it began, that's the problem. My mother only ever bore sons after me."

"A curse," Jessie whispered, with a wry smile. She looked up at him, and her face broke into a smile again.

"Haha! You have no idea."

"You'd better join the club."

"What?! I was in the club looong before you were born. I founded the club! If anything, you're the one joining my club!"

"I'm not sure the 'Horrible Children who were a Curse on their Parents Club' is something to really brag about," he chuckled.

After a few minutes, she stroked the side of his face and brushed back his fringe lovingly. The sight of the empty socket didn't frighten her like it should have. She looked at it, and then at the rest of his face - the side usually hidden from the world. Jessie was achingly beautiful with his entire face intact. She remembered the first time she'd ever seen Andrino - his appearance had completely intimidated her, leaving her in a kind of shellshock. She couldn't help but imagine that many of Jessie's young fangirls might feel the same way she did back then if they could see him properly, haha! "We should do something about this," she smiled.

"What?" he asked, not immediately understanding what she meant. His face registered shock when she explained. "I didn't think that there was anything that could be done..."

"If we can bring people back from the dead, and if I can make a potion that can grow me a p***s, we can get you back your eye," she grinned. Jessie raised his eyebrow at the second, almost daring to ask when and if she'd ever brewn a p***s-potion for herself, but deciding it wasn't worth the ********. "It would be pretty easy, actually. Well, it wouldn't be the original one, of course. But it would be identical."

"What would you have to do?"

"Well, if it were a fresh wound it could be regrown no problem, from nothing... but it's a very old wound, so I think the most effective way would be to take a cell sample from your other eye and grow a duplicate in the alchemy lab."

With his consent, she examined it closely, and gently probed around the inside. Jessie tried to relax, but no one had ever really gotten this close to his wound before. Then again, if it was anyone but Cressa, he would've been much more upset. "You see, if you were a human, this would've all collapsed down and healed over in time, and we would've had to construct a new place for it. But because you're not, it's all stable and ready to accept a replacement... Would you like me to do that for you?"

"...I don't know," he choked, "You've stunned me. I've gotten so used to it - I mean, I've spent more years of my life with one eye than I did with two! I was very young when it was taken out. Only twenty. That's fifty years ago. I... why are you even asking so suddenly? You could've asked me years ago. Why now?"

She smiled. "Because... I knew it would upset you. And we didn't have the resources until recently. And... you've given me so much. Now, you've given me a home, which is something I've never really had... and your love... if I can give you something back, I want to!"

He couldn't decide on the moment. She gently squeezed his hand. "Think about it. We have all the time in the world for you to decide what's best for you."

For that, he was very grateful.

[[Okay so this post continues time-wise with my previous post...so figure this starts at like 8 or 9 o'clock at night.]]



“Laramie! Let’s gooooo!” an impatient Glee said as she raced out the doors of the Temple. She stepped out onto the beach, taking care not to get sand in her heels. The night was beautiful as always, the ocean moving in time with the breeze and the moon casting rays of light across it.

“I’m coming!” Laramie called out as he followed his girlfriend out. The two of them joined up and headed into town.

This night was going to be special. Laramie had surprised his girlfriend with reservations to dinner at a special location in town, a place that was not ordinarily open to average customers. It was a fairly high-end restaurant known for its cuisine as well as its five star entertainment. In fact, a young man who had previously worked there had gone on to become a famous musician not too long ago. Glee was especially excited because this meant she got to dress up, something she hadn’t been able to do since prom.

Dressed to the nines, the couple headed to the restaurant, not knowing an acquaintance of theirs was already there.

~~~

The restaurant was bustling with life as usual. Waiters and waitresses were serving the clientele, the bartender was serving up drinks left and right, and overall the patrons were enjoying the food and the atmosphere. Of course, as with everything in life, you cannot make everyone happy. However, while some disagreed with the service or others disagreed with the food, there was one thing everyone could agree on: the music was amazing.

Onstage, the piano was being played by an enigmatic young woman in a blue dress. Her face obscured by her hair, she barely looked out at or even acknowledged the crowd. The only time when she would acknowledge them was with a small bow or a curtsy whenever there was applause. Otherwise, she acted as though they weren’t even there. Despite the fact that no one could figure out why she did this, all of the people were enthralled with her beautiful music.

When Laramie and Glee walked in, they were immediately seated once they told the hostess they had reservations. Shortly after, a waiter took their orders and they sat together, talking cheerily and awaiting their food.

“So what do you think so far?” Laramie asked, hoping his choice in venue would impress his girlfriend. He’d heard about it and knew instantly he wanted to take her there.

“I love it!” Glee said happily. “This place is beautiful! I’ve heard so much about it too; I was just afraid it’d be too high-end for us!” She laughed as she played with her silverware, a nervous habit she’d picked up from God knows where.

Not sure what to make of that last comment, Laramie busied himself with listening to the music. He tried to place the song the girl onstage was playing. To his dismay, he couldn’t. As much as he would’ve liked to say he’d heard it before, he wasn’t quite sure.

Soon after the song ended, the crowd began to applaud and the girl stood up from the piano. Turning to face the crowd, she bowed slightly. She reached for the microphone and spoke into it.

“Thank you all very much,” she said politely.

Laramie’s eyes widened. He recognized that clear voice.

“I will be taking a quick break, but worry not, I’ll return soon,” she continued. “Thank you all again for allowing me to play this evening.”

The applause continued as she walked offstage. Laramie turned to watch her go, but because he had turned his head so late (not wanting to draw his girlfriend’s attention), he only saw part of her walk offstage. He saw parts of a blue dress. However, even with so little information he knew who the girl was.

If only he could remember her name.

~~~

After her break was over, Forte took her place at the piano once more. She wasn’t sure what to play next; she’d already played most of her older compositions, along with some traditional ones people already knew. Flipping through her newer compositions, the composer came across the perfect one. Placing her fingers upon the keys, she took a deep breath and began to play.

The melody was solemn and even a bit sad. The first thing Laramie thought of was a child being pushed away by peers and shunned, if for no particular reason at all. He could tell other people were feeling it too, based on their expressions. It wasn’t a complete depression, however; many of the expressions on people’s faces evoked wonder and deep thought. Forte thought this fitting as she herself looked out at the crowd for the first time that evening.

The piece was entitled “Soliloquy of the Silent”.

Forte noticed that Laramie and Glee were in the crowd, and that the former had noticed her. Gasping slightly, she turned back toward the piano and continued to play, not letting their presence affect her.

While she played, a little boy was watching her, as he had done all evening long. For some reason he couldn’t put his finger on, he was fascinated by her. To him, the reason she wasn’t paying attention to the crowd was not out of sheer rudeness like his overprotective mother thought, but because she wanted to make her music authentic to her listeners. Of course, he couldn’t tell his mother this because he didn’t know half the words needed to convey such a message. The tender age of five could be so hindering sometimes.

The song ended and the crowd applauded. Forte turned to them and bowed her head slightly. However, it was at this time that Glee had finally decided to pay attention to the stage, and noticed that the girl playing looked somewhat familiar. An evil smirk spread across her face.

“Hello there Forte,” Glee said, attempting to make herself heard. “Enjoying your stint here?”

The applause stopped and Forte looked in the direction the comment had come from. “Oh Heavens,” she said quietly to herself.

So that’s her name, Laramie thought to himself. Forte. I swear I’m going to remember this time. Forte…

“Come on Glee, sit down and eat your dinner,” Laramie told his girlfriend, attempting to intervene. “She’s just playing music, she’s not bothering you.”

“Well, I’ll give you that,” Glee replied, turning around to face her boyfriend. Her metallic dress moved with her. “She’s not playing that God-awful organ, to say the least.”

By now the crowd had taken to staring at Glee. They weren’t sure what to make of this confrontation between her and the musician onstage.

“But I think this crowd deserves to know the truth,” she said, turning back to face the musician. “Did you all know that this girl, Forte, fought in the war some years back?”

People seemed to consider this for a few moments.

“And did you know that this girl fought on the side of S.I.N.?”

Collective gasps from the crowd.

“You liar!” Forte cried out in shock. “You and I both know that’s completely false! I was on the side of B.O.O. whilst you cowered in the woods, afraid of it all!”

“Oh really?” Glee said, clearly proud of egging the composer on. “Then why did I see you sneaking out of your camp at night to go over to the other side of the warfront?”

“That was reconnaissance! I was told to by superiors!” Forte replied.

As the two girls continued their conversation, the crowd became increasingly more aggravated. Laramie continually tried to get Glee to leave Forte alone, but to no avail. Something had to give, and fast.

“All right, what is going on out here?!” a booming voice called out. It was the manager. He stood about six feet tall.

“These two are fighting,” a woman told him, pointing to Glee and Forte.

“Who started it?” he asked.

“The girl in the metallic dress. But the young woman onstage seems to be hiding something,” another patron said.

The manager stepped forward and looked at the two girls, sizing them up. Both Forte and Glee gulped quietly, trying to hide their respective fears.

“This is ridiculous,” he told them both. “This is a respected establishment, not a boxing ring. One of you will have to leave right now.”

“Come on Glee,” Laramie said. He stood up and pulled on her arm. “Let’s go. I’ll pay the bill and we’ll go.”

“Hey why do we have to leave?!” Glee whined. “We had reservations and this is our date!”

“Maybe but she was here first,” he told her sternly. “And you started the trouble. Let’s go. We’re going. Now.”

She continued to make a stink about leaving when suddenly an ominous tone came from the piano. People’s heads whirled round to face the stage. Forte had slammed her hands down on the keys in an effort to shut up the crowd. Some people were afraid.

Still not facing the crowd, Forte took a deep breath.

“I will leave,” she said. The musician’s voice quivered slightly. “I will leave. I will leave.”

She wanted desperately to say something else, but for some reason she couldn’t. Emotions were welling up inside her. She felt like a volcano ready to boil over. Forte gathered her belongings and headed for the exit. A confused crowd watched her go. Smiling, Glee sat back down and began to eat. Laramie’s heart sank, but he couldn’t understand why.

As the restaurant returned to normal, the little boy noticed something on the floor a few feet away from his family’s table. He got up and walked over to where it was. It was a small silver bracelet. And he knew to whom it belonged. He started to walk toward the exit.

“Matthew! Matthew, where are you going?!” his mother cried out after him, but nothing could change the boy’s mind. He took off running out of the restaurant, leaving his shocked family behind.

Disgusted with his girlfriend and needing some air, Laramie followed the little boy out, concerned for his safety. But someone else’s safety was on his mind as well.

Oh Forte, he thought to himself as he started running in the direction the boy had run. Please be okay…

~~~

The sound of beautiful music was replaced with feet pounding pavement and heavy gasps in the musician’s head. She was running as fast as she possibly could in a fancy dress down the street and away from the restaurant. Strangely there were still some people on the streets even at that late hour, and as she ran they stared at her, wondering why she was running so fast.

Out of breath, the musician stopped running and sat down under a bridge. The moonlight seeped in from the outside, making it slightly easier for her to see. Forte tried to catch her breath but unfortunately it wasn’t an easy task. She was gasping heavily not just from exhaustion but from frustration. She desperately tried to fight back the tears she knew were just waiting to burst forth and consume her.

“No, no, no, no, NO!” she cried out, bowing her head and holding it. “Stop this, stop it now!” She shook her head violently, trying to quell the emotions inside her.

Just then a few footsteps could be heard nearby. She sat up quickly and noticed a small boy was standing just outside of the space under the bridge.

He addressed her.

“Um…excuse me…Miss Lady?” he asked softly, aware of her current state and not wanting to upset her further. “I think you dropped this. In the restaurant after you left.” He walked under the bridge and handed her the silver bracelet.

Forte’s eyes opened wide as the little boy placed the piece of jewelry in her hand. She felt the tears start to flow slowly; she would not allow them to flow any faster. Leave it to a child to be so brave and so considerate.

“Thank you,” she told him. She smiled and nodded, looking directly into the boy’s eyes.

“You’re welcome,” he said, knowing she really meant it. “Well, I have to go back to my mommy and daddy now. I don’t think they’re going to be happy with me.”

“Why not?” Forte asked.

“Because I left the restaurant without telling them,” he replied. “They’re gonna be mad at me.”

Forte smiled. “Worry not, I think they’ll be very happy when you get back,” she said. “I’m sure of it.”

The little boy smiled at her, looking down at his feet.

“Thank you again for bringing the bracelet to me,” she told him. “You went out of your way for a complete stranger. Nobody’s that kind, much less brave. That means you’re special.”

“Thank you,” he said blushing. “Well I have to go now. Bye Miss Lady!”

“Goodbye,” Forte told him. “Be careful!”

The little boy started running back toward the restaurant, happy as a little clam. The piano lady wasn’t mean after all; she was really nice and she even said he was special! That made him feel really good.

As he neared the restaurant, the little boy came across Laramie as he was running down the street as well.

“Hey!” the latter called out, heading toward the little boy. “Are you okay? Where did you go?”

“I’m fine,” he told Laramie. “I went looking for Miss Lady. She dropped her shiny wrist thing.”

“Miss Lady?” Laramie asked, confused.

“The lady who was playing the piano,” the little boy clarified. “She dropped her shiny wrist thing so I wanted to give it back to her.”

Shiny wrist thing? Laramie wondered. Ah. He must mean a bracelet. But…does that mean…did he find…Forte?

“I think you’re talking about a bracelet,” he told the child. “Did you find the lady who was playing the piano?”

“Yeah. I gave her the…bracelet…and then I started coming back. She was really upset about something. She was crying.”

“Crying?” the young man asked.

“Yeah, crying.”

Laramie thought a moment.

She was crying...something’s wrong. Even when she’s pushed down in the dirt, Forte never cries. Something’s really wrong. I have to find her.

“Well anyway, your parents are looking for you; we better head back to the restaurant,” he told the little boy, holding out his hand. The boy took it and the two went back to the restaurant.

Upon their arrival, the two were greeted with cheers and applause. Little Matthew was greeted by parents grateful that he had returned safely, just as Forte had predicted, warning him half-seriously not to repeat his little jaunt again. Laramie was hailed as a sort of hero, his girlfriend staring at him with a mix of happiness and contempt. He glared at her. Without saying a word, he walked over to the manager, paid the bill for their dinner, and walked back out. At that point he was so mad at Glee he couldn’t even see straight. The only thing on his mind was finding Forte and making sure she was okay.


[[Part 1 of 2]]