Nocturne

Prologue

Thomas watched the fire snap in the old stone fireplace. The day had been as most usually were; singing for the King and his Nobles, entertaining the people of the court with his stories. His lyre had had to have been tuned three separate times, which Thomas found extremely unbearable in front of the court. He needed a new lyre, and he had the money to get one. The problem was, he wasn't sure if he really wanted to be a bard anymore. He had been born into the guild, and, as the dutiful man he was, he stuck with it for thirty-eight years. But now, as his beard began to gray, Thomas was wondering if he should have chosen a different guild when he was offered the chance on his eighteenth birthday. Now the only way out of the guild was to die, a prospect that made the man cringe.
A knock on the door shook Thomas from his thoughts. He got to his feet and turned his back on the fire. No one ever came to visit a bard of moderate skill.
"Who's there?" He asked gruffly as he opened the heavy front door. He didn't see anyone, and was about to go back inside. Something caught his eye and paused.
There was a small child, possibly around the age of five years, asleep on his stoop. Thomas glanced around to see if there was anyone else about, and found that there wasn't.
The girl, clothed only in a small dress and long red curls, whimpered in her sleep. Thomas cursed himself and lifted her up into his arms. Her slender fingers gripped his cowl. Thomas glanced at the seal of the Bard guild. A golden lyre and a music note intertwined around a tree.
It was in this moment Thomas remembered the promise he had made to the guild master. He would remain in the guild until his death. His only way out was by dying. If he was to be honest with himself, he had actually considered being the cause of his own death.
The little girl in his arms clutched his cowl even tighter and Thomas made a decision. He turned and went back into his house, to raise and care for the girl. But most of all, to write his song.