Aaron and his daughter, Nevaeh, are a couple of good witches who live outside the kingdom of Far Far Away, which has been taken over by an evil dwarf named Rumpelstiltskin. When a mysterious man known as the Pied Piper requests a special payment fro...
Nevaeh watches from the window in the mansion library as the Piper plays his flute in the front yard. Moo-Moo is sitting on the floor beside her, patiently waiting for to do something.
It is the following day, and as the seamstresses promised, there was a wardrobe of beautiful dresses waiting for her. The dress she has chosen to wear is simple but beautiful.
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It is a white dress made from silky satin that reaches down to the floor, embroidered with jacquard fabric that has a clear petal pattern on the chest and waist with lace. The collar is off the shoulder, and the sleeves are long and flare, ruffles accenting the square collar and lantern sleeves. When Nevaeh tried it on, she practically fell in love with it.
After a few minutes, Nevaeh looks down at Moo-Moo, who's looking up at her curiously.
"He really does seem like a nice guy, huh?" she asks rhetorically.
She then walks out of the library, feeling in the mood to explore a bit, and Moo-Moo follows her. She is still getting used to the fact that this mansion is pretty much her new home. She may have promised to stay here (and she has never been one to break a promise), but it doesn't seem so bad here, now that the Piper and his servants have been nothing but kind to her. She walks down a hallway and looks around, and she sees some portraits lined along the walls. One of the portraits in particular catches her eye and makes her stop. It's a portrait of a family—a man, a woman, and three children. The man had blonde hair and hazel eyes, making him look quite handsome. Despite his good looks, there was something about him that sent fear into Nevaeh's heart, but she didn't exactly know what. The woman, however, was very beautiful. She looked quite enchanting, with her beautiful face, long dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. Unlike the man, she seemed like a kind-hearted person.
The children—two boys and one girl—were standing in front of the couple. The boy on the left seems to be fourteen, and is practically a spitting image of his father. The girl seems to be eleven years of age, and she almost looks just like her mother, except she has her father's hazel eyes. The boy on the right, probably ten-years-old, has a remarkable resemblance to his mother. He looks a little shy but kind. It takes Nevaeh a moment to realize he's the Piper when he was a child.
"That's the master and his family," a voice says from right next to Nevaeh.
Nevaeh yelps and nearly jumps out of her skin when she sees the Piper's butler, who she learned was named Henry, standing there.
"Sorry to frighten you, ma'am. I didn't mean any harm," he says.
"Oh, no, it's fine. I didn't hear you coming," she responds, then looks back at the portrait. "This was the Piper's family?"
"Yes. And I must admit, he's better than his father was," Henry says.
Nevaeh looks at Henry with confusion.
"What do you mean by that?" she asks.
"Well. . . the master didn't always have the best life when he was a boy. His father cared more about his wealthy status than what his children wanted. You should know that the master wasn't always known as the Pied Piper," Henry replies.
Nevaeh feels her heart crack a bit when he says that. She looks at the portrait, her eyes landing on the younger Piper. So he wasn't always like this. What kind of father cares more about his status and reputation than his own children?
"I see you've found my family's portrait," a musical voice says, and Nevaeh looks to see the Piper coming toward her.
She just stares at him, feeling terrible for the man before her. He had to live a sad life because his father was neglectful. She would ask him more about his past some other time, when he's ready to share it. Right now, she wants to be a friend to him. Before she can stop herself, she does something completely unexpected.
The Piper drops his flute when he suddenly feels his arms being pressed to his sides. A shocked expression is on his face when he looks down and sees Nevaeh has wrapped her arms around him, her head against his chest. His cheeks turn pink when he processes what is happening. She's hugging him. This girl, who he thought still held some hatred against him for what he did, IS HUGGING HIM!! He feels his heart race as she hugs him tightly. He looks at Henry, who is just as surprised as him, then back down at Nevaeh.
After a few seconds, Nevaeh pulls away and looks up at him, trying as hard as she can to fight the urge to chuckle at his blushing face. She then bends down and picks up his flute, and she holds it out to him. The Piper continues to stare into her hazel eyes as he slowly takes his flute from her hand. Nevaeh then clears her throat, breaking the silence.
"Well, I'm just gonna go. . . do something," she says with a slight chuckle. "I'll see you later."
The Piper simply watches her and Moo-Moo leave the hallway. When she's out of sight, he looks at Henry and points in the direction she went, as if silently asking him what had just happened. Henry simply chuckles softly and shrugs in response before excusing himself to leave, leaving the stunned Piper alone in the hallway.
He can still feel her arms wrapped around him, the warmth of her body still lingering. A smile forms on his face, and he leaves the hallway as well. Why did she hug him? What did he miss? Well, it doesn't matter to him now. All he knows for sure is that he feels happy for the first time in many years.
