Journey

Chapter Thirty-Seven~ Fighting Spirit

I could hear the piano again. It was not the same soft melody as before; now it was furious. Was it Damion who played?

There was only one way to find out. I headed towards the stairs. Sliding my hand down the smooth railing. My robe flowing down behind me.

The stairs only led me to the throne room of the palace. I followed the sound of the piano keys. The tile of the floor was cold on my feet, making me shiver. The music did not help with its ominous tone.

Suddenly the music stopped. I waited a few minutes for it to start again. It did not. I turned with a sigh and began to retrace my steps. Then it started again. The sweet melody of the song before flowed throughout the palace. I followed the new song with new urgency.

Maids sent glances and smiles my way until I got to a door. The smiles I had gotten before fell. Damion must be through here. The music came through the door. I placed a hand on it and pushed it lighty. It opened just enough for me to slip through and close it softly.

Damion was sitting at a piano in the middle of the room. I watched his fingers glide effortlessly across the keys. His eyes closed every now and then taking in the music. He didn't seem to notice my presence. I leaned against the wall behind me and closed my eyes against the melody. Letting the song take away my worries.

It came to an end so quickly. I opened my eyes. Damion leaned forward and cradled his head in his hands. A pained look crossed his face as he sighed. He looked almost if, if he was weaker than he was, he would cry.

I made a move to go towards him, my instinct to help him kicking in, but thought better of it. The wood floor creaked under the pressure of my foot. I winced. Damion looked up quickly. Our eyes locked. I opened my mouth to say something, anything. "I- I'm sorry. I'll leave." I made a move for the door to leave quickly.

"Don't." Damions husky voice called almost pleadingly. "Please stay."

I turned to look at him, shocked that he would want me in his presence right now. Especially after what I just did to him in the hall. I embarrassed him, and-- if you ask me-- for a good reason. I stood in place. Not looking at the ground, but at his hands.

He motioned for me to sit by him, "Come here."

I walked towards him. His eyes locked on my face the entire time. I fought a blush and took a seat next to him. Not caring to move my robe. This felt so similar to the moment with Aaron, when we played together at the ball, we sat so close to each other. We had just met, and learned that we could both play. I was forced to play a duet with him. We were not engaged yet, but I did like him. That was before I was told he was my betrothed. Never did I think I would be forced to marry him.

"Can you play?" Damions voice tore me out of my flashback.

I willed myself to say no, but my pride got the better of me. Definitely not the weak girl I was before anymore, "Of course."

He smirked at my obvious ego, "Play with me." He placed his hands over the keys and I did the same. I began the song. One I thought he wouldn't know. My fingers flew over the keys gracefully. Pressing the correct ones in a pattern I had remembered since I was a child. I didn't even have to look at what keys my fingers touched. I knew they were the right ones. To my surprise Damion began to play the song with me. Hitting the deeper tuned keys just right. I looked over to him. He was smiling. Not for me, but for himself. This surprised me. The entire time I've been with him, I had not seen him smile. A genuine smile.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile." I said over the music.

"What do you mean? I always smile."

"Not like this." I left the conversation at that. Letting him think about my words. The song was close to an end. I've always loved the ending. It was dramatic and challenging, but not much of a challenge for me anymore. I glanced at Damion from the corner of my eye. Will he do the ending correctly? "Lets see how much of an expert you are."

He accepted the challenge, "Oh, I think you will find that I am perfectly skilled at piano. A master at that."

I laughed and swung into the last noted with confidence. So did he. We were in sync, playing the keys at the same time, to the point I couldn't hear him play.

Then I hit the last key, but it was not the correct last key. I missed by a small bit and hit the one next to it. Just like that the song was ruined. My heart broke, but Damions laugh stitched it back up with his laugh. "Well you tried. Although you gave me much of a challenge. You are a good pianist. Well not as much as me."

I snorted and punched his arm, "How do you even know that song. I wanted to catch you off guard."

"You forget my age. I know every song there is."

"Oh." I should've known. "Does that mean I'm better?" He raised an eyebrow, " I mean if I'm 22 and you're..." I waited for his response.

"563."

"And what does that mean?"

"That you are young?"

"Yes.. but! It does kind of mean I'm better, doesn't it?"

"You could say so, yes."

"I did not expect you to admit to defeat so quickly."

"I did not admit to defeat. I told you what you wanted to hear."

"Which was your defeat."

He laughed and we locked eyes. His laughter died in his throat. He leaned towards me slightly. 'Abandon ship!' My mind yelled at me. I stood up quickly. I force a blush down. "I -- uh -- need to go."

I escaped the room quickly, not looking back at Damion as I did so. Once I was in the clear, I let the blush go. I kept my head down as I fled to my chambers. My face boiled in embarrassment.

I sighed in relief when I closed the door of my room. Happy to be alone. "Hello, Princess." I jumped and turned around to the voice. Grace stood before me. She gave me a questioning look when she saw my face.

"It's nothing." I wave it away.

She nodded, "Are you well enough to train?"