Musical Love

Chapter Seven

     Controlling her with his music, the Piper leads Nevaeh out of the castle, with Moo-Moo being dragged along as he still bites down on the hem of her dress. A carriage is waiting for them at the foot of the steps. It is a black carriage pulled by two magnificent white horses. A coachman is standing by the door, waiting for his master and, from what he's been told, a guest. He appears to be in his late forties. He has green eyes and raven hair, with a light gray streak of hair on each side of his head. He is wearing a pale blue shirt underneath a dark orange vest and a black tailcoat, and is wearing black pants and black leather shoes.

     Seeing the two approaching the carriage, he opens the door for them. The Piper climbs inside, and while still controlling her, he makes sure Nevaeh climbs in carefully. But before she climbs in, she sees the coachman looking at her with a sad, pitiful smile, as though he doesn't like that she's being forced into this as much as her. The Piper has her sit beside him, and Moo-Moo lets go of her dress so he can hop on her lap, glaring at the Piper. The coachman closes the door and climbs onto his seat on the carriage. The Piper stops playing his flute, releasing Nevaeh from his musical spell, and she scoots away from him as far as she can. He is sitting closer to the door, so she knows her chances of escaping before he uses the flute again are very slim. The sound of a whip being cracked is heard, and the carriage is pulled away from the castle.

Nevaeh stares out the window, wanting to look at anything but the man sitting next to her. All she feels right now are anger and sadness. She has been separated from her only living parent, because of him! She can feel his eyes on her, but she tries to ignore the feeling. Some minutes later, the Piper brings his flute to his lips and plays a few quick notes. To Nevaeh's surprise, she can hear the question "What is your name?" She glances at the Piper, wondering how he was able to ask her that through a musical instrument. Thinking that must be how he speaks, she looks back out the window, not wanting to talk to him.

"Tell me. It will be alright," he says through the flute.

Nevaeh shoots him an icy glare.

"Do you really think that?! My dad and I were forcefully taken from our home and tossed into a dungeon cell! When we were brought out, I was forced to sing and sold to you! And what's worse, you took me from my dad, and I might never see him again! And why is that? Because you wanted me as payment? Because you want me there to sing for you? Why does it matter if you know my name when that's all you want me for?" she says, unable to hide the anger in her voice.

His calm expression never changing, the Piper only watches her, allowing her to express her anger and waiting patiently for her to finish.

"That's not all I want you for. A few weeks ago, I first saw you in that willow tree in those woods you and your father lived in. You were singing so beautifully as you made wonderful magic. I fell in love with you," he explains through his flute.

Nevaeh looks at him like he just grew another head. He knows about her favorite spot in the woods, and he knows that she's a witch? And he took her away because he fell in love with her? A memory hits her like a train, and she looks away, trying to get rid of the memory. The Piper does not fail to notice the look on her face when she looks away, and he looks at her with concern. It was like she was thinking of some kind of past trauma.

"You didn't fall in love with me, you fell in love with my singing. You didn't fall in love with me," she says, saying that last bit softly—and a bit sadly—as she looks back out the window again while stroking Moo-Moo's fur.

The Piper only continues to watch her. Back at the castle, he did see that she and her father seemed to have a strong bond. Even her dog wouldn't let her go when he led her out of the castle. He can't help wondering where her mother was. Oh, well. He'll ask her about that later. All that matters to him now is that he has her.