A/N: I don't own any of the music mentioned here, or the story of Peer Gynt.
Chapter VII
I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I actually grew bored with reading after a few hours. I wasn't tired enough to go to bed, so I watched TV for a while. While channel surfing I came across the news and saw a breaking story about something that had happened down at the docks. To my abject shock, Carmine Falcone had been captured at the scene of a massive drug-hustling job. Crates full of illegal drugs had been found being unloaded by Falcone's goons, but that wasn't the amazing thing. Falcone himself had been found tied to a huge spotlight, creating a bat shape in the sky. The goons were all telling a story about being thrashed by some kind of giant bat, or a man dressed like one. There was, unfortunately, no footage of this "Batman", but I could only imagine what he must look like if he actually scared Falcone's steroid-crunching muscleheads.
"Well what d'you know," I mused softly, smiling. "So someone's finally gotten the job done. It took long enough, I must say. I wonder who this Batman is. I wonder…" And so I wondered for a while, until I got bored with that too. I turned off the TV and perused the library for a while. To my delight, I found a piano tucked away in some far corner of the room. My father had taught me to play the piano when I was little…or whatever. I hadn't played in so long, but I remembered all the music I had ever learned. That's what comes from having a photographic memory, I guess. I sat down and ran through a couple scales. The piano was badly out of tune, but it still played just fine. I played for a while, old songs I thought I had forgotten a long time ago. Classics like Moonlight Sonata and Für Elise and Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, which had been one of my favourites. For those songs I could play that had lyrics, I sang while I played. I lost track of the time, and was quite spooked when I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I jumped with a gasp and spun around.
"I'm sorry," said Jonathan. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"You didn't," I replied. "I was just surprised."
"I didn't know you could play," he commented.
"I didn't know you could," I answered. Jonathan smiled.
"I can't. I just have the piano here. I don't know why, really. I don't play it and I don't really take care of it, as you can see. I was thinking about getting rid of it."
"If you don't want it, I'll take care of it," I offered.
"How could I get rid of it now that I've heard you play?" was his response. I smiled. "What else do you know?"
"Take a seat; I'll play you one of my old favourites," I said. Jonathan pulled up an armchair and sat back to listen. "My father used to play this for me and tell me the story that goes with it. Most people don't know it."
"I'd like to hear it," said Jonathan. I smiled and began the story of In the Hall of the Mountain King.
"Peer Gynt, on his quest, comes across a kingdom in the mountains," I began. "Though he knows the kingdom is ruled by trolls, he is exhausted and cannot go a step further. He takes a risk and goes to the castle door. The troll king welcomes the weary traveler and invites him to stay for the night, for he is pleased by Peer Gynt's storytelling and jests. The king likes Peer Gynt so much, he asks him to marry his daughter, the troll princess. Peer Gynt doesn't wish to, for the troll princess is an ugly, lumbering creature like her father, but he knows that this really isn't a suggestion. He pretends to accept eagerly, but that night, when everyone else in the castle is sleeping, he makes his escape." Now I began to play, slowly and softly at first as the song goes. "He tiptoes from his room and quickly but quietly makes his way down the hallway. There doesn't appear to be anyone around, but still he is cautious." I began to play faster and a little louder. "Now he sees two guards on patrol and, frightened, he hurries away, trying to find a way out before he is captured. But the guards noticed his shadow flitting on the wall and start to follow him. Peer Gynt knows he cannot be caught or else the troll king will punish him severely for lying to him. He hurries his steps, but more troll guards are coming." I let the music swell and build into a glorious climax. "A legion of troll guards, led by the king himself, is chasing Peer Gynt as he runs desperately." I struck a chord and said, "He finds a door, but oh! it's locked. He turns and runs faster still." Another chord. "Again, he finds a locked door. He is desperate, for the troll king knows that Peer Gynt will not marry his daughter and is furious that he lied. Peer Gynt keeps running and running until at last, at last, he finds the right door and escapes by the skin of his teeth, running far away from the troll kingdom, never to be seen there again." I took a deep breath, feeling my heart pounding. This song always did that to me, especially when I heard it with the full orchestra. It was quite a masterpiece, and had taken me a while to learn. I turned to Jonathan, who was watching me with great interest.
"I've heard that song before," he said, "but I never knew the story that went with it. That was wonderful, Sirena. You play beautifully, and you have a gift for storytelling." I smiled.
"Thank you." I raised a hand to stifle a yawn, stretching slowly.
"You're tired. You should go to bed. How long have you been in here, anyway?"
"A few hours. I lost track of time, I guess. Oh! I meant to tell you, Falcone's been arrested!"
"What? How?"
"Someone they call the Batman. He caught Falcone and his thugs down at the docks hustling illegal drugs hidden inside stuffed teddy bears and rabbits. God do I feel stupid; I was there that night three weeks ago and I found those toys but I never guessed that they had drugs in them!"
"I'm sure that's why the drugs were hidden inside toys, so that no one would guess."
I looked at Jonathan with a slight frown. "Are you all right? You're acting a little tense, and speaking very tersely. What's wrong?"
"Nothing, just a long night at the asylum. Not for the first time am I rethinking my line of work."
I nodded, but didn't say anything. I knew there was more to this than Johnny wanted to say, but I decided to drop it for the time being. Besides, I was too tired to care. I felt almost like I had when They had drugged me with Valium and Demerol to keep me quiet while They worked on me. I stretched again and rose from the piano stool.
"I think you're right about going to bed." Jonathan smiled as I walked over to him and rose, holding out his arms to me. I hugged him, then frowned as I smelled something strange clinging to his clothes. A chemical, almost floral scent that I couldn't identify, like a flower treated with chlorine or some kind of sulphide. I tried not to let on about this, though. I didn't want Jonathan thinking I suspected him of something, because I didn't. Did I? I was too tired to think about it at the moment. "Good night Johnny," I said, starting to leave. Then, as an afterthought, I turned back and quickly brushed a kiss against his cheek. I hurried to my room, but I could see Jonathan's surprised expression out of the corner of my eye as I left. I hadn't even realized I was going to do it until I had done it, and now I wondered why I had. I didn't regret it or anything; I loved Jonathan and I knew he loved me. I guess it felt strange because we weren't actually related. Still, it was nice. At least, I thought so.
My bed was soft and welcoming that night (though really it always was) as I sank into it. I was tired. I wasn't even sure why, but I was. Probably because of the long walk I had taken in the park that afternoon. Whatever the reason, I just wanted to sleep. And I did. And with the sleep came graphic dreams:
I slipped in and out among the crates, wondering what these men were doing. Who were they? Who were they working for? What was in all these crates and barrels, labeled 'HAZMAT'? I continued creeping along, hearing In the Hall of the Mountain King playing in the background as I did. I saw pipelines broken open and barrels of drugs being poured into the water. I gasped as I realized what was going on. I knew I couldn't be found and tried to get away. However, some of the workers saw me and followed me, trying to catch me. Well, I would show them that catching me and holding me were two very different things, and neither was easy. I dodged and jumped and ran, trying to get away. The music kept playing, speeding up with me as I played out Peer Gynt's part in the story. I ran up onto the catwalks but I was blocked. I turned to run the other way, but I was blocked again. With no other option, I grabbed a rope and swung across to another catwalk and bolted down towards the elevator. It wouldn't move without a key, however, so I tried to climb out the emergency hatch above. On the final drumroll of the song, someone grabbed my ankle and pulled me down. On the last cymbal crash, that someone – a scarecrow-faced man in a pinstriped suit – seized my by the throat and everything went black.