Musical Love

Chapter Nine

     The day went by nicely. The Piper gave Nevaeh a tour of his mansion, and the whole time he showed her around, he had a gentle grip on her hand.

     That evening, the Piper goes to Nevaeh's room to escort her to dinner. He remembers how she did seem happy earlier, but he could tell that she was still a little upset with him. Her words from last night kept replaying themselves in his mind: "You didn't fall in love with me, you fell in love with my singing. You didn't fall in love with me." The look she had on her face after she said that is brought to his mind. She looked like she went through something horrible in her past. He wants to ask her what happened to her, but he'll respect it if she's not ready to talk about it.

He stops at her door and knocks, smiling a bit when he hears Moo-Moo growling from inside. He thinks it's adorable how that dog is so small but so brave and protective of his mistress.

"Come in," he hears Nevaeh call out from inside the room.

     It sounds she's trying to be cheerful, but he can hear the sadness in her voice. He opens the door and sees Nevaeh on her bed. She is sitting upright against the pillows, and Moo-Moo is lying on her lap while looking at the person entering the room. She looks a little sad, and she's holding a photo in her hands, but when she sees the Piper approaching the bed, she smiles kindly at him, forcing away any signs of sadness.

     "Hello, Pied Piper. Is there something you need?" she asks.

The Piper doesn't answer. He simply sits on the end of the bed, looking at the photo with curiosity.

"What do you have there?" he asks through the flute.

     Nevaeh looks a little conflicted about showing him the photo, but after a moment of having a mental battle (and her kindness winning), she sits in a position so her feet are hanging over the bed and so she's sitting next to him, and hands him the photo. It's a photo of a beautiful woman holding an infant in her arms, and standing next to the woman is a man who looks just like Nevaeh. The infant had hazel eyes and small strands of brown hair on her head, and she is wrapped in a soft pink blanket, looking up at the man and woman with a cute little smile.

     "It's a photo of me and my parents. It was taken shortly after I was born," Nevaeh explains.

     The Piper looks at Nevaeh, then at the photo in his hands. He remembers seeing Aaron at Rumpelstiltskin's castle when he came for Nevaeh. But where was her mother? He gives her the photo back so he can speak through his flute.

     "What happened to your mother?" he asks.

     Nevaeh looks down at her lap sadly, not wanting him to see the tears threatening to fill her eyes.

"She. . . she died when I was fifteen. She got very sick. My dad was a loyal knight to the King and Queen of Far Far Away and was great friends with them, and they looked at me like I was their niece. They hired the best doctor they could find to help my mom. . . but her sickness was terminal. . . and. . ." she trails off, her voice cracking, but she doesn't cry, wanting to be strong in front of the man sitting next to her.

The Piper stares at Nevaeh, feeling awful for her. He understands what it's like to lose a loving mother. Seeing that she looks like she's about to cry, he decides to change the subject.

"What is your name?" he asks.

Nevaeh looks at him for a moment, but then looks back down at her lap. Even if he's not what she and her dad thought he was, she still doesn't know if she's comfortable with revealing her name to the man who took her from her dad. After a moment of silence, the Piper sets his flute down beside him, and he gently grabs Nevaeh's chin, gently turning her head to meet his gaze. For a moment, she gets lost in his calm dark blue eyes. Why do they look so dazzling?

     Snap out of it, woman! she thinks.

     "I'll tell you when I'm ready to tell you," she replies.

     The Piper nods his head and releases her chin, agreeing to this silently. He then picks up his flute and gives it to Nevaeh. She looks at the instrument in her hands, then at the Piper with confusion. He motions for her to play it, and she gives it back to him.

     "Sorry, I can't play," she says sheepishly.

     The Piper simply smiles at her and gives it back to her, showing her how to hold it right. He then touches each finger she has to put down, and he motions for her to blow in it, to which she obeys. Every time he has her blow a note, he touches each finger she has to move or put down. Slowly but surely, she starts playing "London Bridge is Falling Down" all by herself. The Piper watches her as she does so, keeping his hands on her shoulders. He watches as she concentrates on getting every note right, a happy glint shining in her eyes when she finishes the song perfectly. That's when she realizes how close she is to him. Suddenly feeling her face heat up, she quickly gives the flute back to him.

     "Um. . . thank you for the lesson," she says.

     "I'll give you more lessons later," the Piper replies.

     "Sounds good," she responds with a small smile.

     To the Piper's surprise, Moo-Moo walks over Nevaeh's lap and sits on his lap, looking up at him.

     "Looks like Moo-Moo's warming up to you. He's often timid around strangers, or very protective when he thinks someone means to do me harm," Nevaeh explains.

     The Piper looks down at Moo-Moo and carefully scratches Moo-Moo's chin, earning a few licks on the hand in return, making Nevaeh giggle. The Piper smiles a bit, not just from Moo-Moo showing him affection, but also from hearing that giggle, and he can't help but stare at her. That's the first time he heard Nevaeh giggle since he brought her to his mansion, and to him, it's a beautiful sound. When Nevaeh finishes giggling at the adorable scene before her, her smile slowly fades when she notices the Piper staring at her.

     "What's wrong?" she asks.

     He quickly snaps out of his trance and looks away.

     "Nothing, nothing's wrong," he simply replies, trying not to make the tune sound nervous.

But in truth, he was admiring her. Admiring her beauty, her smile. Even her kindness is enough to make his heart leap. When he went to her room to escort her to breakfast, he thought she was going to hate him, shout at him, slam the door in his face. Which is why he was indeed surprised when she greeted him politely instead. And when he offered to put the necklace on for her, she allowed it. She even tolerated him holding her hand. Her hand was soft and warm in his, and he would be lying if he said it didn't make his heart race when he held it.

"Dinner will be ready soon. If you'd like, after we eat, I could have my seamstresses make some new dresses for you. They'll need to take your measurements and know which fabric you'd prefer they use," he offers.

     Nevaeh smiles softly, amazed at how much of a gentleman the Piper is being to her. Giving her lovely gifts? Giving her lessons on how to play the flute? Having his seamstresses make new dresses for her?

"That would be nice," she replies.

The Piper smiles softly at her, and with one hand he carefully takes Moo-Moo off his lap and sets him down beside him. He then stands up and offers his hand to her, which she gladly accepts, not feeling as shy this time. He leads her out of the room, with Moo-Moo following them. Nevaeh can't help but smile as the Piper holds her hand. She doesn't understand why, but the feeling is actually quite enjoyable, enough to make her heart flutter. What is this she's starting to feel?

     "Nevaeh," she mutters.

     The Piper stops and looks at her, his eyebrow raised in confusion as if to ask her "What was that?"

     "Nevaeh. That's my name," she says with a shy smile.

     The Piper smiles softly and nods. He then continues to lead her to the dining room, feeling very happy inside.