Heartglass

Heartglass 12: Afternoon Tea

AZALEA

I barely got some sleep and I tried not to doze throughout my morning class. The images of that peculiar encounter bugged me. I mulled over it but I couldn't figure out why I perceived such things. I didn't want to overthink or jump into conclusion so I had to let my speculations go for a while.

Our morning class for Tuesday was about music and dances. Marchioness Felicia stood on a marble floor, in the middle of a huge room, which resembled a ballroom. Musical instruments rested on one corner. A gold grand piano, violin and cielo were caught in sight. An empty vintage turntable lied in wait on a corner.

We listened to her quietly as we sat on a long soft cream-colored couch after introducing ourselves.

"I will be your dance and music instructor for this class, Felicia Atlanta. I know you're already familiar with me as I am the wife of Marquess Leonard Atlanta. You probably recognize us through our business line which involved music and dances. I am honored to teach the future queen of this kingdom," Marchioness Felicia with a light blonde hair announced with a smile. She was wearing a light-yellow dress.

She scanned her students. She nodded at everyone with approval except when our eyes met, her smile slightly faltered. She probably didn't like me that much. Or maybe she was hesitant and doubtful of my participation. They believed I would bring chaos and disaster to this kingdom.

Marchioness Felicia continued. "I hope we'll all get along. And I wish you all the best on this selection."

"Please take care of us, Marchioness Felicia," we answered in unison.

"Today, I will introduce music–its importance–and later, we will listen to some important music pieces. So, Lady Candice, why do you think the royals need to learn music? I mean, they don't have to perform for the crowd. They can just invite great musicians or a grand orchestra to play and entertain them. Why should you learn music?"

Lady Candice, with her long black hair tied in a half ponytail, wearing a peach, embroidered dress, smiled a little and confidently answered. "Music gives us confidence and it can boost our social life. It is also fun and relaxing and useful on different occasions–if needed."

"You're correct, Lady Candice. How about you Lady Shirdine?"

Lady Shirdine answered in a soft voice as her blue eyes gazed at Lady Candice to acknowledge her answer. "I agree with Lady Candice. To add to that, music is also important to enhance our creativity. And music is soothing and can improve our mood, focus and coordination." She wore a light rosy dress and her honey blonde hair was braided into a half-ponytail.

Marchioness Felicia nodded with approval and smiled. "How about you Lady Jaera?"

Lady Jaera answered right away. "It sharpens our memories and helps us practice discipline. And it can also improve our communication skills." Lady Jaera's dark brown hair was tied in a messy bun while wearing a light blue dress. And her caramel eyes were all focused on Marchioness Felicia. She was so attentive as if she didn't want to make any mistakes.

"That's correct, Lady Jaera." Marchioness Felicia turned to me with a small smile. "Lady Azalea, what do you think?"

"Well, most of the answers were already cited by these ladies. Maybe for me, personally, I think music is important to express oneself. Music can be used to connect to each other. Connection? I know its kind of a forbidden word–for us. But through music we can express or reveal the things we can't speak of – the words we can never vocally say. Music can help us express our real feelings. It's another medium to reveal what's inside of us."

I knew this sounded vulnerable and raw and unacceptable but I guessed that was the real purpose of music–to connect.

They fell silent. Music suddenly became an awkward topic. Usually, the people of this kingdom would not look over music at a deeper sense but I just did. And I was certain that my words struck everyone in the room–including myself. Because we knew, we all avoided this kind of connection.