White Violin

12. Practicing alone

We had a break from violin practicing today were given free time in the castle. After breakfast, when I was retiring back to my room, I heard piano notes along the way. I followed its source and came to the music room.

When I opened the door, the music ended abruptly.

"Oh, it's you," Marie said, standing up from the piano seat, "is it too loud?"

"No..." I said, "it isn't."

"I've had enough practice. Please use this room as you like."

Marie then walked out briskly.

I took out my violin and started tuning it. I focused on listening whether my scales and arpeggios were in tune. By repeating the same movements and listening to see whether my fingers were on the right spot of the strings, I train my muscle memory to accurately reproduce the exact notes when I needed to.

I finished the basic practices and then I stopped. Ever since Lucy told me I wasn't ready for playing complete pieces, I hesitate in going any further. Lucy and Marie seems to have an odd relationship. They rarely talk with each other, yet she was always producing the results Lucy demands from her. Sometimes I wonder whether Marie was Lucy's teacher. Marie could perform on the grand stage anyway. Why did she still have to study in the academy or be in this trip?

I looked around the music room and found one of the books Marie was using for practice. It was a selection of some famous classical pieces. I flipped it open, placed it on the score stand, and firmly held my violin in place.

I inhaled deeply, my bow on top of the strings. I heaved a sigh and put away my bow. Why am I fighting my nausea?

This was when I noticed the violin placed in the centre of the music room, guarded from dust with a small glass container. It was in every way a normal wood violin except for its colour. Why was it in white? It initially struck me as bad taste to have a coloured violin in the room, but there were too many odd things in the castle that I conveniently spared my mind from caring for one or two more.