A/N: Just a short little one about Elly and his mother. Because I imagine that she was a pretty good mom before Claude and Ernest were killed, before she went... you know. *imitates cuckoo clock* *cough* Anyway. Yeah. Reviews are always appreciated! :D
~Penelope
"O holy night
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world
In sin and error pining
'Til He appear- Augh!" Elliot Nightray broke into a fit of coughs as his voice cracked and caught on itself. Bernice, his mother, sighed, and lifted her fingers off the piano keys.
"I'm telling you, Elly," she said softly, gazing at her thirteen-year-old son, her youngest not so young anymore. "We're going to have to change keys; you can't keep trying to sing it in this one – not anymore."
"But I've always sung it in this key! Every Christmas!" the boy whined, sapphire eyes pleading and more than a bit frustrated. "I like singing it in this key; it sounds better."
"It's too high for you now, sweetie." She offered him an affectionate smile. "You're growing up; your voice can't reach as high as it used to."
"It's stupid!" He crossed his arms and flopped back into the sofa, sulking. "I don't want to change. I like who I am now; isn't that enough?"
"Not for human nature, Elly." She chuckled. If there was anything Elliot had already figured out about himself, it was that he never wanted to change. He wanted to stay young and carefree (careless, sometimes) and wild forever. Unfortunately, he would soon have to learn that that was one thing that could never stay the same. Another sigh escaped her as she watched her little boy glare at his own shoes.
"Come on; I'll lower the key a little bit, and we'll try again." Mrs. Nightray placed her hands over the keys.
Elliot jumped to his feet. "No!" He cleared his throat. "I can do it. Keep it the way it is."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "All right… One more time. If you can't do it, we're changing the key. No more chances."
He nodded. "I'll do it."
She played the introduction in low, sweeping three-over-four arpeggios, and Elliot straightened his back as he always did before he sang. His eyes were hard, and determined.
"O holy night
The stars are brightly shi-" Second line, and again, his voice cracked and strained, unable to hit that high note once more. Elliot attempted to continue, but Bernice had already stopped playing.
"All right, Elly, I'm changing this key. Trust me – you'll like it better."
He folded his arms again with a 'harumph'. "No, I won't."
She laughed to herself. Boy, if she had know that puberty would pose such a challenge to him… Not that there was anything she could have done for him, but she might've been able to spare the rest of the members of the household some grief. With a shake of her head, she repositioned her fingers, and hit an E note. "You'll start singing here instead of where you usually start, okay?"
"Mmm."
She started the same arpeggio intro in C major, and watched her son begrudgingly straighten up, and take a breath.
"O holy night
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world
In sin and error pining
'Til He appeared, and the soul felt its worth."
"Good!" Bernice said, smiling as Elliot hit the notes with perfect tone. Try as he might to hide it, he also looked pleased with himself.
"A thrill of hope
The weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks
A new and glorious morn'
Fall on your knees!
O hear the angel voices!
O night divine!
O night when Christ was born!
O night divine!
O night, O night divine."
"See?" She brought the song to a premature end, and smiled at her boy. "What did I tell you?"
He gave a shrug of his gangly, adolescent shoulders. "Well… I guess it's okay."
"You guess?" She chuckled. "Elliot, that was brilliant. And as your voice continues to change, just remember that we might have to change keys again later. Just trust me when I do that; I had all your brothers before you, and I know how this works." She gave him a wink, at which he let a tentative smile take over his face.
"Life presents plenty of challenges," she said, positioning her fingers on the piano once more. "Sometimes, you'll have to adjust in order to take them in stride. All right, from the top, again!" Sweeping arpeggio, soft intake of breath, straight back…
"O holy night…"
