Lavender & Fire

12. Music Brings Forth Emotion

"Here, what do you think of this one?" Othen pulled out a small wind instrument and held it to his lips, pressing his fingers over small holes and playing a quick tune. They had toured the music hall previously, but there was too much to cover. So this morning he knocked on her door and asked if he could play some instruments for her.

"Oh, it's lovely, my lord."

"That means it's not your favorite." Othen chuckled.

"I said no such thing, my lord!" Biechta said in horror. "I do not wish to offend you, it is a lovely instrument."

"Relax, relax. It is of no offense. I genuinely want to know what you like, Lady Biechta. I appreciate music and instruments of all kinds but of course I have some that are favorites and some that I find less favorable. It is only natural."

"Oh..." she whispered.

"We've only tried wind instruments so far, how about we move on to something else?"

"As you wish, my lord."

"Lady Biechta, please." He drew in a breath and rubbed his forehead before dropping his hand. "You are a person. You have opinions. You have preferences. You have likes and dislikes. There is no shame in expressing yourself. You are free to do so in my presence, I promise you."

She looked down and away. A trait he was quickly learning meant she was embarrassed and she wasn't sure what to do or say.

"How about this? When you heard the maids playing music and you liked it, what did it sound like?"

"I'm not really sure how to describe it." She said softly.

"Were they singing? Humming? Was it a recording they were playing?"

"I did enjoy the singing and humming by the maids, yes. But I was more fascinated by the recordings."

"Ok, and there were instruments in the recordings?"

"Yes, there usually was one or two people singing and it sounded like..." her eyes scrunched together and she closed her eyes in thought. "I don't know what it sounded like."

"Hmm" Othen stopped in thought. "Nothing like the wind instruments, I take it?"

She shook her head no.

"Ok, let's head to strings!" He said with enthusiasm..

"Ok, my lord."

He pulled down a medium sized instrument and sat on a chair with it laying on his lap. "I'll have to tune it first." He fiddled with the knobs.

"What exactly are you doing to it, my lord?"

He hid the smile that wanted to burst from his lips that she spoke without being questioned first.

"The thickness and tightness of the strings both affect how they sound. Over time, the strings stretch and loosen and the pitch of the string lowers. He strummed a string and let it resonate throughout the room."

She nodded.

"It can sound okay on its own, but to play the strings together they need to be tuned correctly so they flow smoothly. Or else the sound isn't very pleasant."

"I see."

"So..." he continued as he kept plucking strings with one hand and twisting the tuning pegs with the other. "I'm twisting the pegs so they will tighten the strings to where they need to go.

Once finished he strummed each string one by one until the sounds were resonating all together.

"I..."