Enter the Shadows: Book One of the RTS Series (First Full Draft)

Chapter Six

Daniel

The days leading up to Daniel's birthday, and his first trial, couldn't pass any slower. With each passing hour, the more impatient he grew. But so did his nerves, which he did his best to ignore. Although they kept coming back to haunt him like a vengeful spirit.

So to pass the time, Daniel worked on perfecting his fighting technique for the battle to come. He tried several weapons, having been trained to wield several types of swords. However, the one he chose best was a rapier sword, as he was trained best in Spanish-fencing.

On the evening before the trial, while Daniel was working on a few techniques in the Marchand's ballroom. The room was wide enough for him to work with, and remained empty most of the year except during the summer solstice, when the Marchands had their turn to hold an annual party for the Henosis Society.

In the midst of Daniel practicing, he heard a knock at the doors. This was a bit inconvenient for Daniel, but he straightened and walked to the door. And was immediately greeted by a small woman wearing a dark green jacket and black work pants, holding a dark green box. One of the Mendax servants who worked for the Marchands, but even for a Mendax this one held some form of respect. She smiled at him. "Good evening, Daniel!"

Daniel scowled. "Astra."

"You seem disappointed to see me." She pointed out the obvious. "Well, in that case, I won't bother you for too long." She held out the box to him. "This is a birthday present for you, and since you'll be busy tomorrow I thought it'd be best if you opened it now. But it's up to you!" She didn't move, not until Daniel hesitantly took the box from her, giving her a questioning look. "That's all. Have a good evening!" And with another obnoxious grin, she turned on her heels, and walked back down the hall.

Daniel stared down at the box, dumbfounded. He noticed that the box felt incredibly light. When he opened it, he was met with a spiral bound book. Flipping through the pages, he saw that the pages were lined with bars of music notes. Sheet music. Specifically, piano sheet music.

Besides learning to fight with a sword, Daniel had also taken piano lessons. Ever since he was a child, he had taken piano lessons from his mother. Even though musical talent has little use in the world of Esoterics, Leo himself said that Daniel taking piano lessons would be a useful thing to learn. Good for the soul, as his mother put it. It was a skill Daniel tried not to let others learn about himself, but playing piano was a natural stress-reliever for him; no matter the problem, a long session at the grand piano in the drawing room usually helped.

Realizing that this was Astra's way of telling him to take a break, and wanting to try out the new music, Daniel put his weapon away and walked from the ballroom to the drawing room closer to the front of the house. There was a fireplace in the room, but it wasn't being used at the moment. The piano in the room was untouched as well, and the leather seat in front of it was cold to the touch; he hadn't played since Christmas break. But besides that, not a single trace of dust remained on the piano.

"I took it upon myself to make sure that it was well taken care of. You know, tuned and regularly dusted. Things as such." Astra's voice came from behind Daniel. She stood in the doorway, not moving, just standing and watching.

Daniel didn't turn to face her, but thanked her quietly nonetheless. He set the music on the stand and looked through the book. Closer to the middle was a song that seemed challenging, but calming. He slightly adjusted the pages so he could read them easilier, checking for the key signature and time. Finally, he settled in the seat and hovered his hands over keys, playing a few experimental notes before settling into the song itself.

His breathing relaxed, and for a moment the only thing that mattered was the music flowing around Daniel. It was not a fast song, by any means, but the emotion of the notes still resonated with him. Something a bit lighter, but still held his attention, and whatever stress Daniel had felt seemed to vanish.