Pocketville Lost Diamonds: VOLUME 2

Chapter 2: the music room

Ava jumped back, screaming, raised her fur and arched her back.

She expected something inside the room, throwing itself out, attacking her with the aggressivity of a monster, rested inside that ghost castle for years.

The sound continued and Ava’s instinct of feline blinded her, walking back and trying to run away from there. The cold and smooth surface of the floor didn’t help and the princess ended up slipping on it and then falling down.
Her mind determined it as her end, but… nothing happened.

The princess slowly looked up, to the huge door. That sound was….
- Music?

- Princess Ava!
Ava turned on her left and saw a Golden Retriever doing his best to run on the floor as fast as possible, scratching it with nails. He stopped between the cat and the door, in a defensive position, growling.

- I’m okay, William. - said Ava, trying to stand up under his furry paws.
- Who… who is playing the orchestra?! - asked the Golden Retriever, surprised.
- I don’t know….
- Don’t move, princess. - William slowly moved to the door, keeping his tail and head low.
When he stepped inside the room, torches turned on.
Ava, ignoring what her Royal Guard had just said, stood up and walked behind him.
- Green way, no one is here… - announced William. He turned back and made a surprised face when he found the princess only a few centimeters from his tail.
- I told you to not move….!
- William, look! - Ava overpassed him and entered the room, despite all the dog’s attempts to stop her.

In a corner, a weird record player was moving, playing a big LP-like object. The music was from it. 
The princess approached it and immediately the Ocean of Friendship glowed, recognizing a kind of magic alike its one.
- I guess this was my grandmother’s way to keep visitors away… - said, using a paw to turn it off - Or maybe just the kind of music she used to listen…. 
The creepy music stopped and William shook his ears, upset.
- What’s this room?

Ava looked up: the room appeared to be different than any other one into that creepy castle.
Walls were covered of white and dark green marble, which also built the tall columns that touched the domed ceiling.
An engraved line ran through the perimeter on the top of the wall and Ava noticed there were many bas-reliefs.
A crystal chandelier was hung at the center of the room, reflecting the light of the torches, while big windows showed a beautiful snow landscape.
A warm carpet protected their paws from the cold floor, always done of the same green marble.
A tall library filled with old books covered a huge part of the wall on Ava’s right and, in front of it, in the centre of the room, a big instrument of dark wood - the only object of a different color than the white and grey - stood in silence.

- This looks a bit similar to our castle. - said William.
- We have a bit more colored rooms, don’t we?

Ava approached the piano and smelt it, letting her vibrissae touch the surface.
It was a precious object, paw-made in an ancient time that the rock castle must have stolen from its memory. The top was covered with dust, a sign that no one touched it for years.

The princess felt his heart missing: was it the place where her father learnt how to play his favourite instrument?
- Are you okay? - asked William, noticing her hurted expression.
The siamese cat nodded, uncertain.

The Guard smelt walked on the opposite side of the piano and used his snout to raise the cover of the keyboard.
His breath made minuscule parts of dust fly away like small snowflakes.
Ava walked on his side and stared at the keys, a black and white road to the unknown destination of music. They were perfectly clean, saved from the signs of the years thanks to their cover.

In that moment, she felt like her heart whispered to her brain something, expressing a deep need.
“play it”.

- Is there any music sheet here? - asked, noticing that the support was sadly empty.
- I don’t know…- William turned to the bookshelves behind him and stared at them for a moment, wondering if someone put them there.