Chapter 94
"Anything you would like to hear in particular?" Avalina asked, her eyes bright as she watched the Horned King standing by the window on the other side of the room.
The Horned King was silent for a while, thinking. Avalina did not say anything, merely pulling one of her sleeves down a little more to cover her wrist. The weather had been getting cooler, without being cold. She loved Autumn, but she had never really enjoyed long sleeves.
The rattle of breath made her look up expectantly.
"Do you recall the one about the curse?"
"Yes sir."
"Play it."
Smiling, Avalina turned back to the piano and began.
A few minutes later, when the last note had dissipated into silence, she turned around on the bench again to see him looking out the window. She had felt him take his gaze off her halfway through the song.
Avalina felt that familiar ache in her heart as she watched him. She could feel his heaviness, but as to what was causing it, she had didn't have a clue.
She opened her mouth to say something, but he beat her to it.
"How do you do it?"
Confused, Avalina furrowed her brow.
"Sir?"
"How do you make that music?"
Avalina struggled to answer.
"Well, um. . ."
The Horned King turned from the window to set his gaze on her.
"How do you know which keys to press?"
"Oh!" Avalina said as it dawned on her.
Getting up, she took the music book that was currently lying open on the piano and crossed the room to him.
She set the book on his chair and backed up, out of reach of his aura as he came over and flipped it open.
"Those tell me which keys to use," she explained, pointing to the various little sticks and black circles that danced across the lines on the page. "The top line is for the left hand, the bottom is for the right. I read those."
The Horned King stared at them for a moment before looking up.
"I have learned many languages, yet this eludes me. How do you read them?"
Avalina smiled sheepishly.
"Well, music has an alphabet like any other language. Only, it has letters A through G, sharps, flats, and octaves. Reading it is actually the hardest part, at least for me. Playing by ear is easier, if you have that ability."
The Horned King looked slightly blank, and Avalina couldn't help laughing softly.
"Nothing I said made any sense, did it?"
". . .Yes and no."
"I'm sorry."
"Do not be."
The Horned King laid the book back on the chair and moved away so she could retrieve it. As she did so, he returned to the window.
"How long did it take you to learn?" He dredged out, turning back to her.
"I can't remember," she said, disappointed she couldn't give him a definitive answer.
"I had so much fun doing it, it doesn't seem like long at all. Isn't it odd how time seems to fly sometimes, and then just stop at others? It's like it can't make up its mind."
The Horned King nodded.
"Indeed."
Glancing back at the piano, he continued, "How can you read the music when all of the keys look the same?"
Avalina shrugged slightly.
"I don't know, sir. After a while, I could just. . .tell."
As he turned back to the window, she asked softly, "Would you like to learn to create music?"
The Horned King slowly shook his head.
"No."
After a pause, Avalina timidly asked, "Why not? I mean, you seem to really enjoy listening to it, so wouldn't you like to make music too?"
The Horned King lowered his head.
"I can only enjoy it from a distance, child. I cannot create things of beauty because I have no heart to do so with."
Avalina frowned, trying to understand this.
"Have you ever tried?"
The Horned King shook his head.
"No."
"Then how do you know?"
"I simply do. I cannot explain it. A monster like myself cannot create such beautiful things."
Avalina thought silently to herself for a moment before speaking again.
"Could you sit down there?" She asked, pointing to the piano bench.
"Why?" The Horned King questioned, looking over at her.
"I want to test your theory."
The Horned King looked like he was about to refuse, but Avalina spoke quickly.
"Would you at least try? That way we'll know for certain."
"There is no point in this," the Horned King dredged out, his voice echoing off the walls.
"There might be, it could just be hiding," Avalina told him, smiling hopefully.
"Could you please sit down?"
The Horned King looked at her, then at the bench, and grudgingly did as she said.
"Child, you are wasting your time," he rumbled.
"This is pointless."
"Don't say that yet!" Avalina said, picking up a light seven-foot pole that was just leaning against the wall. She had a feeling one of the Invisibles had put it there.
Going over behind him, she lightly pointed to a key.
"Press that."
The Horned King sighed, but did as she said.
She felt his attitude change as drastically as the sea. At the sound of the note ringing through the air, he stiffened, staring down at the key, where his first finger lightly rested.
Grinning, Avalina pointed to another.
"That one."
The Horned King hit that too, and it gonged through the air like a bell.
Nearly dancing in delight, Avalina pointed to another. And another. And another, nearly laughing at the Horned King's facial expressions each time he hit a note. She could feel that heaviness around him lift, which lightened her own heart as well.
When the song had ended, Avalina couldn't hold it back anymore.
"You just played a song!" She cried joyfully, bouncing on her feet.
"You just played a song! You just made music!"
The Horned King sat frozen at the bench, staring down at his hands like he couldn't believe what had just happened.
"I. . .I don't understand," he said in his monotone voice, sounding so moved that Avalina nearly cried.
"You don't have to!" Avalina told him, grinning from ear to ear when he looked up at her.
"That's the beauty of music! You don't have to understand it all the time."
After a long moment, the Horned King asked, "What was that? It sounded vaguely familiar."
Avalina snickered faintly, making him look at her rather suspiciously.
"You don't remember?"
"No," he said, feeling a bit apprehensive as he looked at her mirthful expression.
Taking the pole, Avalina began to tap the notes out again, and when it failed to register, she added a line.
"Yankee Doodle went to town, riding on a pony. . ."
The Horned King's facial expression changed from wary to thunderous, and he glared at her quite hard, not pleased in the slightest.
Avalina cringed at this, before slowly backing away as he rose from the bench.
"I'm sorry!" She gasped, half out of fear and half out of mirth, as he began to advance on her.
"It was the simplest one I knew!"
When Avalina's back hit the wall, she suddenly realized it wasn't funny anymore.
He glared at her very hard, but stayed his distance as his aura brushed against her face, and she stared at him fearfully, her heart thudding wildly.
After a moment, his features relaxed, and he gave a dark chuckle that made Avalina's hair stand up.
"Well played," he rumbled to her, looking less and less angry.
"But you will pay for that, you know."
Avalina shivered faintly, wondering what his idea of payback was, and stared at him warily.
"You're. . .not angry?" She nearly whimpered, causing him to look up at her with an almost startled expression.
"Not anymore. You do not have to constantly think the worst of me, child," he dredged out, sounding faintly irritated.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, looking down at the floor.
He dismissed her apology with a faint twitch of his fingers.
"It is nothing. I should not expect you to not be frightened in my presence."
After a moment, she dared to speak again.
"Sir?"
"Yes?"
"You. . .you said that a. . ."
Avalina bit the word off and remodeled her sentence.
"You said that someone like yourself couldn't make music, but. . .you did, just now. Does that mean that maybe. . ."
The Horned King faintly twitched a brow ridge.
"Maybe what?"
Avalina hurried through the rest.
"That. . .maybe you're not quite a. . .a. . ."
The last word came out as almost a whisper.
"Monster?"
The Horned King lowered his head slightly.
"If I could, perhaps I would feel gratitude at your words, but I cannot. I will always be a monster, for I have no heart."
Awkwardly, Avalina struggled with the uncomfortable silence, realizing he was right, before gesturing faintly to the piano.
"Would you like me to teach you?"
The Horned King looked conflicted for a moment, before she added, "No more of that song, I promise."
"You had better not," he growled faintly, although there was the tiniest hint of a smirk on his face.
"That is an abomination that should not exist."
Avalina laughed softly, her fear dissipating rather quickly as she relaxed again.
"So, would you like to?" She asked, gesturing faintly to the piano.
The Horned King gave a faint nod.
"Yes."
Avalina grinned happily.
"Ok then! Sit back down and we'll start! By the way, I've been wondering, what would you like me to call you?'
"Call me?" The Horned King asked as he gracefully sat at the bench.
"Yes. Do you have a name?"
The lich looked back at her.
"I am the Horned King."
"I know, but that's a title, not a name. Do you have a real name?"
After a moment, the Horned King answered.
"If I did at one time, I no longer remember it."
"Do you have preferences?" She asked shyly.
He shook his head slowly.
"Not in particular. Names are rather pointless to me."
"Would you mind if I thought of something?"
The Horned King looked faintly amused.
"Must you name everything?"
She giggled slightly.
"Only when they're not already named. Now, press that one!"
Avalina indicated, pointing to a key with her pole.
Neither spoke for a long while, content to simply let the music fill the silence.
The Horned King could not believe what had just happened. He had actually made music. That was. . .completely unfathomable. No words could describe it, this feeling that exploded inside his chest when the notes sang into the air.
He had never imagined that such a creature like himself would be able to do something like that. It was a slap in the face to everything he had previously believed.
He had played a song. A thoroughly detestable one, but a song nonetheless. He had never thought about making music himself, but now. . .he wondered if Avalina felt like this every time she played. It was. . .rather nice.
He had not meant to frighten the girl that much, but his irritation had gotten the better of him for a moment. It was then, for the first time in several weeks, that he remembered exactly who he was, what he was, and that was something that would never go away. No one would ever be able to forget, or forgive, the things he had done.
For as he had told her, try as he might, he could never be anything but a monster.
The memory was sobering.
But that had been well played. He smirked slightly in remembrance at Avalina's laughter.
Well played, indeed.
"...SHE GOT HIM TO PLAY MUSIC!"
"...THIS IS SO AMAZING!"
'WHOOOO-HOOOOO!"
"YEAH!"
The Invisibles shouts of victory echoed off the walls so loudly they could hardly hear each other. They had all wisely relocated to the far side of the castle where no one could hear them, and they were belting it out for all they were worth.
"I nearly died when Avalina made ol' Bramble-Britches play our song! Bahahahah!"
"Isn't it just so beautiful!" Another howled in laughter.
"First we got Dusty to do it, and now him! My day is complete!"
"And he didn't even hurt Avalina for it! Now THAT is progress if I ever saw any. He's taking jokes now!"
"And petting the horse!"
"And reading to her!"
"It's a dream come true!"
"YEEE-HAWW!"
"I COULD SCREAM TO THE WORLD, MY EXCITEMENT!"
"I think you are screaming," the first Invisible said dryly.
"BUT NOT TO THE WORLD!" The other howled back.
"I can hardly believe it," the fourth Invisible said in awe.
"Avalina's just. . .amazing. How does she do it?"
"I don't know," the first Invisible said.
"But when you have a name like that, you can't *not* expect this kind of change from everyone you're around!" The third happily commented.
"Absolutely!" The second laughed.
"It's pretty obvious the master cares for her a little bit, or he would never act this way," the fourth noted.
"He's still in denial," the third snickered. "Do you think we should make him send her a Valentine?"
The second cackled madly at the notion.
"That would be a facial expression I would *never* forget!"
"Why don't we do that?"
"Because it could hurt Avalina's feelings pretty bad if it goes wrong, and we can't risk that. She's lost most of her fear of him for the most part, and it needs to stay that way," the first Invisible said tartly.
"Agreed," the other three admitted.
"But," the second one said thoughtfully, "Nobody would get their feelings hurt if we were to trash his chambers again."
"No!" The first Invisible shouted, "I FORBID YOU TO-!"
The door slammed shut.
"Those two will be the death of me," the first groaned painfully.
"Look on the bright side," the fourth said, "At least it won't be Creeper and his mead!"