Divergence: The Vampire Queen

Serenade

"Now...about the rest of the day..." she said, linking her arm in his. "I am completely at your disposal to do with whatever you like. Show me whatever, go wherever...I am yours." Her smile was warm but not as genuine as it had been before. She wanted to know more about him. She wanted to understand why some of the peculiar things she'd noticed were there, but she also didn't want to raise any suspicion. The things she couldn't explain gave her a pit in her stomach. They'd started off on such a nice foot, she didn't want to ruin that, and moreover, if there was anything strange going on, she didn't want to be on his bad side.

As she linked arms with him, something seemed a little different about Natalia, but it wasn't as evident exactly what that something was. He didn't know her well enough yet to be able to put his finger upon it.

Shrugging and starting to lead her out, he thought about their options. "We can have a look at the music room if thats something you have an interest in? Unless you had something more specific on your mind?" Automatically he locked the door behind him, taking one last glance at the decanter and narrowing his eyes, unable to recall its situation before today.

The music room was a short pace down the hallway. Marcello had never spent a lot of time there. Even with sleepless nights and confined days, he'd never been that bothered about the sound of music. Maybe she could teach him a little something, give him a bit more determination to learn.

He opened the door and held it for her to enter. It was another grand room, immaculately cleaned with a myriad of instruments. A grand piano sat above the rest in its own slightly raised corner. He wasn't even sure how many years it had been there, untouched. The only music that ever rang through the halls was at the occasional ball held out of absolute necessity.

"I would love to hear you sing or play Natalia, if you feel up to it?" he said with a mischievous smile. He had played it smart by bringing her here. What could possibly go wrong?

Natalia didn't mind indulging him. She ran a finger delicately down the ivory keys before sitting on the bench. Her fingers moved quickly across them churning out a delicate medley of notes. She possessed thin and nimble fingers, truly had a pianist's hands, and they moved with immense grace across the keys.

After a brief interlude of just the music, she opened her mouth and began to sing. Her voice was clean and crisp, a tongue of perfect diction, and notes as pure as those coming from the piano itself. Had she not been born a lady of high station, she could've easily become an opera diva on the stage. Even her high notes did not falter. She clearly had a natural talent that had been fostered and molded.
As she sat at the bench, he chose a seat next to it and closed his eyes. What he heard next was a complete surprise by all accounts, she sang more beautifully than he had ever heard before. He kept his eyes shut, the smile growing and growing every few moments. She played so cleanly, not missing a single note and with a clear honed talent that gave him a great amount of respect for her. For a human to be this good, She must have spent hours in training on top of natural ability.

She closed her eyes as she sang, her hands still moving rapidly across the keys, knowing each one so intimately that she did not need her sight for them. There was such passion in her voice, it was as if she felt the emotions of whomever had penned the song like they were her very own. The last note she held out several extra counts, adding vibrato for flourish, and then her mouth and hands stilled.

He opened his eyes as she reached the closing section of her song and realised she too had been performing with her eyes closed. So familiar and able that she did not need to see what she was playing. The thing that impressed him most was that she was so able to emulate the emotion of the songwriter. The pain, the happiness and everything in between, she sang as if she understood and empathised.