Preludes
no 1 C major (Reunion)
It is ten years to the day in Polka's world since Frederic died, but for him it is only an instant until he is flat on his back on a hill, gazing up into the face of a beautiful woman who looks familiar (and he doesn't recognize her until she sobs his name into his shoulder).
no 2 A minor (Presentiment of death)
She knows she is going to die soon—all magic-users die young, after all—so she turned down Allegretto's proposal, explaining that he would be marrying a corpse (and so when she flung herself into Frederic's arms, there was nothing holding her back).
no 3 G major (Thou art so like a flower)
Ten years ago, Polka was like a flower, delicate and frail and in need of protection; now, he's not sure what she is, but (gingerly touching the scratches on his back) he decides she must be something with thorns.
no 4 E minor (Suffocation)
As soon as she heard the fateful words—you remind me of my sister—she choked a little, her heart skipping a beat; that was the last thing in the world she wanted him to think when he looked at her (and now, blissfully, he no longer does).
no 5 D major (Uncertainty)
He pauses, his hand on her hip, unsure if he should go any further; in response, she grabs him and pulls him down on the bed with her.
no 6 B minor (Tolling bells)
The blood roars in her ears and mingles with the sound of tolling bells as he touches her again, making her moan in pleasure—when he stops, wondering out loud if it's right to do this in a temple, she could almost strangle him.
no 7 A major (The Polish dance)
She has learned how to dance—another pianist was found for Prince Crescendo's famous annual ball for once—and so Frederic is finally able to lead her in a stately polonaise.
no 8 F# minor (Desperation)
It's been years, and she's grown up quite a bit since they last met; to prove this, she pulls him into an embrace, and they make love with a ferocious intensity (she will regret it the next morning, when knowing smirks are leveled at the sight of her rumpled hair.)
no 9 E major (Vision)
His eyes widen as he sees what she's wearing to bed—or rather, what she isn't wearing; it's so lacy and transparent that it might as well not be there at all.
no 10 C# minor (The night moth)
He climbs into her bed at night—all pale skin and dark, dark hair and slender, skillful fingers—and, mindful of her mother sleeping in the next room, it is all she can do not to cry out in ecstasy at what follows.
no 11 B major (Dragonfly)
On a lazy summer day, as they lay wrapped in each other's arms, watching the dragonflies flit over the lake in Hanon Hills, their reverie is shattered by a silver-haired man's familiar voice.
no 12 G# minor (Duel)
As Allegretto draws his sword and Frederic brandishes his conductor's baton, it is all she can do to stop herself crying, knowing that they are fighting for her heart.
no 13 F# major (Loss)
She screams in agony as she watches him fall, stabbed through the heart and mortally wounded (again she has failed to save him).
no 14 Eb minor (Fear)
Allegretto recoils from his friend's body and turns to Polka with a look of horror, swearing he hadn't meant to kill him; when he reaches for her, she knocks his hand away and he runs.
no 15 Db major (Raindrop)
It is raining, soaking her hair and clothes as she cries alone over Frederic's body; her tears mingle with the rain to land on his ice-cold skin.
no 16 Bb minor (Hades)
He is back in that place again, surrounded by smoke and flames; his shoes crunch through the ashes as he makes his way towards the light (and he would much rather reach the gates of Tenuto than the gates of heaven any day).
no 17 Ab major (A scene on the place de Nôtre Dame de Paris)
The gates swing open, and he finds himself in a cathedral he knows from his old life; standing in the light from the rose window, he prays to be delivered once again (and once again his prayer is heard).
no 18 F minor (Suicide)
She rises and walks to the pier; staring into the depths of the lake, she wonders how long it would take for her to drown (and then she hears a sigh from behind her, and all thoughts of suicide are driven from her mind).
no 19 Eb major (Heartfelt happiness)
He stirs, raising himself up on his elbows, only to be pushed back down by Polka as she heals his wounds before embracing him passionately; she will worry about the details of how he came back later.
no 20 C minor (Funeral march)
With the King's death, their friend Crescendo becomes the ruler of both Forte and Baroque; when they meet him after the coronation, he looks at their intertwined hands and raises an eyebrow (surprisingly, it is Frederic who turns red).
no 21 Bb major (Sunday)
It is a dazzling, gloriously bright Sunday morning, and they are seated side by side on the couch when he turns to her and asks her how she would feel about marrying him.
no 22 G minor (Impatience)
He stands at the altar, a patch of darkness in a church filled with light, and drums his fingers against his thigh as he waits for Polka to walk down the aisle (on Jazz's arm, since she has no father to give her away).
no 23 F major (A pleasure boat)
She doesn't know how to row, but he does, and so they rent a boat and go out onto the lake—when she tells him she's pregnant, he almost drops the oars.
no 24 D minor (The storm)
There's thunder and lightning outside, his two-year-old daughter has just dropped a glass of orange juice on herself, and his infant son will not stop crying—but as Frederic catches Polka's eye, she smiles at him, and he realizes he couldn't be happier.