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Post by Cerise nó Eglantine on Jan 25, 2011 20:56:26 GMT -5
My eyes widened at his words. "Truly? Oh I would absolutely love to have such tomes at my disposal," I mused, "I wonder if the palace library would have such things. Were you able to copy any of the sheet music down and bring it back with you?"
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Post by Leon Charles d'Essoms on Jan 25, 2011 21:10:18 GMT -5
At her questions, I could feel my face brighten; there was no doubt that she would be able to see it. "I didn't see any in the royal library when I was there the other day, but the place is vast. I could easily have missed them," I told her, recalling the hours I spent amongst the books there, but then gave her some better news, "I was able to make copies of some of the songs. It would have been easy to spend years doing nothing but that, however, I copied the ones that I liked best, even if a few of them were too complex for me to play well yet."
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Post by Cerise nó Eglantine on Jan 25, 2011 21:21:45 GMT -5
I could see the light of an intellect shining in his eyes, and his face as he answered my questions, coming more to life now with this topic moreso than the others.
"I would be forever in your debt if you would let me peruse them. Perhaps we could do a trade. My mother, brought with her the music of her homeland, not so much the sheet music but up here," I tapped at my head, "and I transcribed it to sheet music."
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Post by Leon Charles d'Essoms on Jan 25, 2011 22:39:46 GMT -5
"I would like very much to see, and hear, some of these songs that your mother brought with you. I'm sure a trade could be arranged," I said with continued interest shining in my sapphire eyes; the University in Tiberium was woefully lacking in certain subjects, and the residents of Alba and Eire was one of those topics beyond their observations of them. "I'll be happy to share what I have with you," I added honestly, having no reason whatsoever to keep such things to myself.
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Post by Cerise nó Eglantine on Jan 26, 2011 11:33:12 GMT -5
I beamed, excited that I would be learning something new, even if it may have been centuries old, and glad that we had common ground to converse.
"Excellent! I will be sure to make copies of what I have for you, I am rather good at that, very quick," I said with a grin, "that way if you like any of them, you will be able to keep them for yourself. And perhaps I will forego the new song I have worked on and play something my mother taught me, if you would like," I grinned widely, excited at the prospect of showing someone who would appreciate it, something of my own heritage, which I took great pride in.
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Post by Leon Charles d'Essoms on Jan 26, 2011 12:23:26 GMT -5
Her offer to play something other than what she had planned kept me smiling, but I shook my head slightly and told her, "I would love to hear it, but you need not trouble yourself on my account, really. I'm certain that whatever you play will be enchanting." That was the simple truth; I may never have visited the Night Court, but I'd learned about the houses as any d'Angeline youth does, and was fairly certain that an Eglantine who had devoted themselves to learning music would be very good at playing.
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Post by Cerise nó Eglantine on Jan 26, 2011 13:20:57 GMT -5
I smiled at his words of confidence. "Thank you, Leon," I said in soft tones. "Well," I explained, "what I plan to play is in the Eiran and Alban style, so it will be a combination of both worlds, I think," I grinned.
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Post by Leon Charles d'Essoms on Jan 26, 2011 15:00:53 GMT -5
"I look forward to hearing it, Cerise," I told her, unconsciously caressing her name with my voice in a fond manner as it left my lips. In addition to the common ground we had, her friendliness and apparent enjoyment of our conversation made it difficult to not like her, if I had been trying. "I've not actually tried writing anything myself before, only played what others have written before me," I added, giving a brief glance around the room before taking another sip from my wineglass.
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Post by Cerise nó Eglantine on Jan 26, 2011 15:17:19 GMT -5
I nodded, understanding.
"I started out that way too, at first," I said, watching as he sipped his glass, taking a cursory look around. "But my love for music, and the harp just blossomed and there was no way to separate me from it, and eventually I learned how to read music, and therefore how to write it, though sometimes it is more difficult than people may think it to be. You should try it sometime," I said with a grin, taking a sip from my glass. He seemed to be more at ease, and I was happy for it. "My love for music is why I am an Eglantine adept now. Otherwise I daresay I would have been taught my father's trade."
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Post by Leon Charles d'Essoms on Jan 26, 2011 17:53:48 GMT -5
I nodded with interest as I listened to Cerise, fingers toying with the stem of my wineglass idly. "I may try it sometime, though I think I want to at least wait until I can manage to play some of the more complex pieces of music I have in my collection," I responded; writing was something I'd always wanted to do, but I didn't feel confident enough in my abilities to attempt it just yet. "What trade is that?" I then asked her, referring to her father's business, curious about what might have become of her had she not become a member of Eglantine house, a fate that just seemed to fit her perfectly, from the little time I had spent with her so far.
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Post by Cerise nó Eglantine on Jan 27, 2011 10:46:25 GMT -5
"A tradeswoman... a business woman," I said with a smile, "He owns many ships and trades in all sorts of things - spices, cloth, metlas, even weaponry," I explained. "That was how he met my mother, in fact. He had been stranded at sea, his ship destroyed in a storm. My mother found him close to the shore and brought him back to her village where she nursed him back to health," I grinned widely. It was my favourite story, how the two met and fell in love. "It is a wonder with the blood I have in me that I am able to stay put in one place so long and not feel the itch for freedom," I said with a laugh. "Though I do wish I could travel someday."
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Post by Leon Charles d'Essoms on Jan 27, 2011 11:09:18 GMT -5
Though I was certain she would have made a fine merchant, as personable as she was, it seemed to me that it would have been a waste of her talents, and that was without having heard her play her harp yet. "A beautiful story, Cerise," I smiled as she told it; it was a far more interesting and romantic story than that of my own parents, who had a far more 'typical' courtship for d'Angeline nobility. "Well, there is nothing to say that you won't get your chance. You're still young, after all," I said reassuringly. She was young, after all, if still older than I. I'd simply been fortunate that my own travels had begun at such a young age. With the position I found myself in, I was glad that I'd been able to see something of the world before getting saddled with a title.
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Post by Cerise nó Eglantine on Jan 27, 2011 11:27:06 GMT -5
"Perhaps," I mused with a smile, "though what I do now isn't too terrible," I said with a short laugh. "I get to learn the thing I love most, and show off my abilities as often as possible. For now, that suits me. I am constantly learning new things, and that keeps me preoccupied enough," I said. The lute player had completed her show, and the crowd clapped as she bowed on teh stage, some people whistled. I laughed, putting my glass down to clap. Truth be told though, I had stopped paying a great deal of attention to her playing once our conversation picked up. "One more person and then I am up!" I said, shaking my hands a bit to dislodge any nervousness that started to gather.
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Post by Leon Charles d'Essoms on Jan 27, 2011 11:40:04 GMT -5
I clapped as well, for all that I'd not been paying attention, either, though the music had provided a pleasant background for our conversation. The next person up brought a violin with her onto the stage, and while she was not terrible, I don't know that I'd have had the courage to go in front of so many people to play if I missed as many notes as she did.
As the waitress came by to see if we needed anything else, I did inform her that I would like to be placed in line to go up on stage to perform, at which the woman nodded and went about her business. Turning my attention back to Cerise, I said somewhat wistfully, "It certainly doesn't sound like anything to complain about. It sounds about how I felt when I was still in Tiberium."
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Post by Cerise nó Eglantine on Jan 27, 2011 12:07:28 GMT -5
I smiled at our commonalities. Though we came from two different walks of life, we weren't terribly different, not so different that we cuoldn't sit here and converse on different subjects.
"So, other than music, and the harp, what other things do you enjoy?" I asked. "And what were you studying in Tiberium?"
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Post by Leon Charles d'Essoms on Jan 27, 2011 12:32:33 GMT -5
"Reading, particularly historical writings and about the faiths of other lands," I began to answer her question, pausing for a moment to take another sip from my glass of wine and continuing to toy with the stem of the glass as I went on, "And fencing. My mother insisted, when I was a boy, that I learn some sort of physical activity in addition to my studies, and since then, I've kept up with it. I don't know that I'd trust my skills in a real fight, but if it came to it, at least I would have something to fall back on." As I spoke, the woman on stage hit a particularly off note, enough that I winced on her behalf.
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Post by Cerise nó Eglantine on Jan 27, 2011 12:44:21 GMT -5
I had been listening to him, and watching him, and at teh pitchy note, we both winced visibly. I laughed then, shaking my head.
"Like I said, all sorts of 'talent' Friday evenings," i teased. "And taht sounds very interesting. I cannot say that I have ever fenced, though it seems intriguing. Have you ever travelled to the distnt lands whose faiths you've studied? Or have you not gone any farther than Tiberium?" I queried as I scrunched my nose at the series of tonedeaf notes that played. I commended her for having the guts to get on stage, but I could not help but to cringe, shivers going up and down my spine, when a note was incorrect. It was why I had become such a perfectionist in my own musical studies.
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Post by Leon Charles d'Essoms on Jan 27, 2011 12:54:45 GMT -5
At Cerise's next question, I shook my head slightly. "No, my travels went no further than Tiberium and the immediately surrounding city-states. Would that I'd had time to travel a bit more before coming home, but circumstances didn't allow for it," I said with a bit of a sigh, before going on a bit more positively, "Perhaps after a few years, once I have settled into this new position, I will be able to afford to take such a trip." With every missed note of the woman on stage, I found myself looking more and more forward to when the woman whose table I shared would take the stage.
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Post by Cerise nó Eglantine on Jan 27, 2011 14:05:26 GMT -5
I nodded understanding.
"Though... well if you truly wanted to, is it not possible that you could appoint someone to look after your homestead? And whom you could communicate with by letter? I think it is still possible. You do not have to be tied down by your duties i fyou can find a way to work with them." It sounded like the woman's song was coming soon to a close, which was nice, and I was sure teh rest of the crowd would agree that the end of a tortured song would be a good end for all.
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Post by Leon Charles d'Essoms on Jan 27, 2011 14:16:17 GMT -5
"Oh, I'm sure I could, but before appointing someone, I need to learn the job for myself. I...wasn't raised or taught with inheriting in mind," I explained to her, giving a slight shake of my head, "So there is much I am still learning as it relates to my duties." Not long after I finished my explanation, however, the violin player left the stage to applause, though I was fairly certain that people were clapping because it was over, rather than for the performance itself. As I joined in, I looked to Cerise, who was apparently up next.
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Post by Cerise nó Eglantine on Jan 27, 2011 14:40:40 GMT -5
"Ah, I see," I murmured before the violinist ended... on an off note - imagine that. We all applauded, thankful for her departure from teh stage, and then my name was announced. With a depp breath I looked to Leon.
"Wish me luck!" I said with a chuckle before I rose from my chair and - gracefully - made my way to the stage. The stage hands moved my harp into place. It ws massive, I know, but it was the only one I would touch if I had the choice, and here, I did. They also brought out my little stool and placed it beside teh harp. Bowing to the crowd once, and then, turning ito face Leon's direction, bowing again, with a wink, I took my seat at the harp. Raising my hands, I closed my eyes and using both hands, let my finger tips delicately run across the range of strings, the sound starting off soft and low, and then becoming louder and higher pitched as I warmed up my fingers to the sensation of teh vibrating strings. I then placed my hands against them gently to stop their vibration and thereby mute the sound. I took another deep breath, settlign into my position easily, and started to pluck out the melody of a tune I had worked on. The sound time and tune was Alban in nature, but not as archaic - employing some more d'Angeline melodies to make it a modern fusion.
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Post by Leon Charles d'Essoms on Jan 27, 2011 15:17:42 GMT -5
As Cerise took the stage, I watched her as most of the room did. The grace with which she moved, as well as the lovely red waves of hair cascading down her back, couldn't help but draw attention. When she winked at me, I grinned a bit, and mouthed silently to her, "Good luck." She likely wouldn't need it, though.
And when she began to play, I saw that she truly didn't need luck. She had a great deal of skill, not just in playing, but apparently in writing music as well. I looked on, almost in a trance as I listened to the melodies coming from the instrument sitting before her. For once, I did not feel out of place staring at such a lovely woman openly, as I was far from the only one in the room paying her so much attention.
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Post by Cerise nó Eglantine on Jan 27, 2011 15:37:01 GMT -5
My eyes had fallen closed a as I played, the tune starting out slow and very quiet. It was telling a story. There were words to it, but I did not want to sing tonight, just play. It was a song about a man lost at sea, and a siren upon a rock appearing to him through the fog. Then , she lures him into the water, and he struggles before accepting his fate and ebcomes one with the sea, and his siren. I had not reached the part yet where it would cruscendo, but when I did I always got chills, and tears, and I hoped that I would be able to control how the music moved me in front of the crowd.
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Post by Leon Charles d'Essoms on Jan 27, 2011 15:50:59 GMT -5
Even though she was not singing, the music conveyed the emotion behind the song very well. I couldn't read it in Cerise's expression, but the sounds coming from the harp were a different story altogether. I'd more or less tuned out the rest of the room in its entirety by that point, every bit of my attention focused on the woman and her harp. If I'd thought the first two musicians I'd heard that night talented, they were as stars next to the sun in her presence. Honestly, I was no longer certain I wanted to play after her, though I'd already more or less promised I would.
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Post by Cerise nó Eglantine on Jan 27, 2011 15:58:10 GMT -5
Hitting the crescendo, my eyes opened and I focused on Leon, fighting back the tremors, and the tears. A lot of people would have thought me odd, though not so much in Eglantine, for the way music corresponded withi me, the way my body reacted to it, especially harp music, but I thought, for a moment, for some reason, that this man in teh crowd, Leon, whom I had just met, would not judge me if a tear did trickle from my eye. I bit my lip, playin gthe notes, my body moving slightly as I reached for the strings furthest from me on the harp.
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Post by Leon Charles d'Essoms on Jan 27, 2011 16:41:30 GMT -5
It was something of a surprise when, at the crescendo of the music, the Eglantine adept's eyes opened and focused on me. I met her gaze unthinking, as drawn into the music as I was, and could see her struggling with the emotion then. Giving her the most reassuring smile I could, I gave a slight nod, letting her know silently that I appreciated what she was sharing with me.
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Post by Cerise nó Eglantine on Jan 28, 2011 0:27:19 GMT -5
He looked right back at me, gaze unfailing, and smiled, nodding slightly. I smiled back, taking strength from it, from his reassurance. He was not judging me, thinking how an adept should know how to control her emotions, and give a good show without emotions involved. He wasnt thinking I was weak or incapable. He was appreciating the music and the honesty it brought out. And I appreciated that. U took a deep breath as I continued on to the end of the song, playing softly, the last few notes reminiscent of notes that began the song. I took a moment to let the resonance die down on its own before stopping the sound completely, standing and taking a bow.
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Post by Leon Charles d'Essoms on Jan 28, 2011 9:24:13 GMT -5
As her song drew to a close, the room exploded with applause, and I was among them immediately, watching Cerise rise and take a bow so gracefully that it seemed almost a part of the performance itself. No, I did not relish the idea of following after her, but thankfully I was not next. Whomever had that particular honor was going to have a particularly rough time of it. My thoughts did not dwell on this, though; they were focused far more on the appreciation of what I had just witnessed.
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Post by Cerise nó Eglantine on Jan 28, 2011 11:48:15 GMT -5
After my bow, the stage hands came up to push my harp back against the wall and out of the way from whatever performes may follow. I was glad to have the applause that I did, and I blew a kiss out to the crowd, of course, directed towards Leon. I dismounted the stage gracefully, smiling, my eyes still wet, but drying thankfully, the unshed tears that had sprung to my eyes when I played. I took my seat back with Leon, eyes following me as I went, but I did not notice them, really, paid no attention to them. Some looked on with admiration, some looked on with desire, and even others still looked on with jealousy, but my eyes looked straight ahead at teh table I sat down at and teh man who shared it with me.
"Did you like it?" I asked, looking at him eagerly for approval.
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Post by Leon Charles d'Essoms on Jan 28, 2011 12:05:41 GMT -5
I was aware of those who looked on at her, and I could not blame them. My own gaze, was one of mingled admiration, and though I didn't realize it, desire. "It was absolutely beautiful, Cerise," I assured her, giving her a warm smile as she returned to sit down at the table with me again. Some of the jealous looks were being cast in my direction now, but I did a fair job of ignoring them. We were just sharing a table and pleasant conversation, after all. "I'm really glad I happened upon this place tonight," I commented further, then finished off the glass of wine sitting before me.
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