"The Pianist"

~Chapter Eight~

The air is freezing, the wind that is blowing makes it even colder. The trees dance like savages around a fire, Gabriella huddles her arms close to her body; she didn't bring her cloak- as torn as it was...it may still be able to shelter her with some warmth. She shivers, shaking her head as the biting wind comes at her it's freezing nails digging into her skin. She refuses to cry, she won't cry. Not for that...not for that arrogant son of two incredibly sweet people. But that didn't mean her lips weren't still trembling- however, it can be from the cold more so than the emotions running haywire through her mind right now. Another tremor shudders through her, she picks up her pace. "M-maybe if-if I ...w-walk fa-faster..." she tells herself, her teeth chattering. Her feet are numb, perhaps she's not wearing proper shoes. Or any shoes. She left in a hurry, not thinking of the conditions outside...

Now she wishes she had used her common sense and not left in haste.

Twigs, sticks, and small rocks crunch under his feet; his fingers numb, but he holds tight to the fur of his parents that are pulling him through the woods. "Gabriella!" He calls out, his voice becoming drowned out by the winds. He shakes his head, shivering. "Gabriella!" He yells again, his parents sniff the ground- they aren't exactly the quietest at sniffing, but at the moment...Troy doesn't care. He presses forward, the two wolves at his side following and leading him at the same time.

Then one of them stops, whether it's his mother and father, he doesn't know. "Wha-what is it?" Troy shivers, he hears whoever it is sniff the air and pull their fur from his hand by yanking themselves away. The two wolves whine at each other, and it goes on for about a minute. Maybe more, but when he hears the crunching the ground moving away from him he knows that one of them has left. "Who left?" He asks, shivering to the bone as he grips the wolves fur tighter. "Mother or father?" The wolf at his side whines and strokes his hand with it's tail. A motherly gesture, Troy realizes. His father left.

"Let's find her." He says, his mother wolf tugs at him and they both go further into the woods. He calls her name again and again and again, but his voice echoes off only the nearby trees; he doubts that she can hear him over the wind.

He is half trotting over the frozen ground and half running; his fur billowing in the wind and his ears twitching but remaining straight up as he runs. His nails dig into the earth, he inhales again...and he's not mistaken, that's blood he smells. He just hoped to God that it wasn't Gabriella's, if Troy is like this, how would he feel if she is hurt? Or worse...he shakes his huge head and pushes faster. Harder. Turning at the nearest and largest oak tree and then jumping over a root jutting from the ground, stopping for a short minute, he sniffs the air again and the scent is close. Too close. He walks around the tree, his nose to the ground and his tail wagging the same time his ears are twitching...and then his nose hits something.

Whining, he probes the object with his nose; the appendages twitch slowly. It's a hand. Still a bit warm, but not much. Warm and bloody.

He walks around to see the face of this man lying on the ground; his eyes are slits, a sign that he's fighting for consciousness. Sitting back on his haunches, David throws his head back in a howl, a low and melancholy sound that carries loudly over the wind. Oh, the first time he's grateful for this curse. He throws his head back again, howling even louder as he sits more so on his haunches with his front paws touching the nails of his back paws. This man is cold, injured...and sick. If he didn't get him to shelter and warmth soon, this man can die.

David howls again. And again. And again.

The howling throws her off, making her jerk her head in the direction that it's coming from. Every muscle in her body recoils and her fingers clench tightly against the cold, her leg is sore and her face is more numb than her feet are. Every instinct in her body is telling her to keeping going, walk away from the howling. Wolves mean danger. But, that doesn't mean that her curiosity doesn't get the better of her. It does. Turning her feet toward the howling, she walks in that direction; swallowing more than five times to keep her fear within her. Yes, now is a time to summon up her bravery; or what she has in her...is she even brave? Shaking her head, she picks up the biggest stick she sees, gripping it tightly as she gets closer.

The howling sounds like it's nearby, but how near? "Aaaooh!" it comes again, she swallows once more and then after the howl she hears, "Gabriella!" Her name sounds nearby; coming from the opposite direction.

It must have been hours that they are out here. He is more than just 'numb'...he can't find a word to describe how cold he is, but he feels like his face has been shoved in a bucket of ice. No water, just ice. It's amazing how he still manages to call out for Gabriella, his mother huddles closer to him; her fur warm and welcoming. "L-let..let's..." he doesn't finish the sentence, he just leans against a tree and closes his eyes; encasing him in more darkness than he is when he's awake. His mother whines, sitting on her haunches, and throwing her head back to reply to the howling. She knows it's her husband, what's he found? She wonders, wanting desperately to hold her son in her arms.

Damn curse. His breathing is ragged and sweat is on his hands and forehead. She nudges him with her nose, and he scratches behind her ears in comfort. "We'll-we'll find her..." he whispers. He regrets what he said to her, he didn't mean to upset her...but it's partially her fault; if she hadn't kept on talking about-

"It's pathetic. You act like a spoiled child when you don't get your way and you will go to any lengths to get your way; you throw fits and tantrums, you're arrogant and-" Her words echo in his brain, like someone hitting his skull with a hammer or a hardcover book. And then he flinches at what he had said, and he feels worse than he had before.

"You know nothing about me! So who are you to tell me what I am? How I act? You know nothing! You're just a peasant! A peasant who lost her way in the big, bad woods! I didn't even want you here, but my parents insisted on it! Why don't you just...just go! I'm happier- much happier here alone!" He was angry, he hadn't meant to- his mother nudges his hand and grabs his sleeve with her mouth; tugging on his arm.

"What is it?" He says, his mother whines some more and tugs on his arm. "What? Mother-" another howl splits the air, Troy may not be a wolf, but he can hear the urgency in it's tone. His mind draws up the worst conclusions and scenario's. His heart pounding in his chest, loudly, and behind his ears and ribs he grabs his mother's fur tightly but she shakes him loose going around him and between his legs. She bucks him slightly so he's sitting on her back, Troy grips her fur tightly between both hands. At least this is faster.

And he doesn't have to walk no more. His mother trots quickly in the direction of the howling; Troy's mind continues to draw up conclusions and scenarios that he hopes aren't real. He hopes that she isn't hurt. He already hurt her enough...

The carriage ride is bumpy, the curtains in the windows are closed tight and the shutters are locked. Adriana braids Sharpay's hair with her small, nimble fingers. The blond scoffs at her book, "this is why I hate reading." She closes it harshly and tosses it on the floor, her brother picks it up and dusts off the cover.

"Then why'd you bring it?" his tone is evident with boredom. Sharpay looks at him, but jerks her head when the bumpy carriage ride causes Adriana to pull at her hair. "Easy serf!" she yells, making the young girl shudder back and then braid her hair faster just to get done with it. She truly is an evil woman. "Ryan, brother, I brought it cause I knew I'd be bored-"

"You don't read." She rolls her eyes, "Of course I don't. But you can read it if you want to." Ryan sighs, tucking the book in his pouch and leans back against the velvet seat. Sharpay looks out the window, humming softly and checking her nails to see if they are 'perfection!'. A few seconds pass, Ryan lays down on the seat and huffs out a breath.

"Why am I going?"

"Huh?" She hums, looking at her nails still, but jerking her head again when Adriana pulls - accidentally - at her hair. "WATCH IT!"

"I'm sorry.." the girl mutters, finishing up her braid and then twisting it in a bun. Sharpay waves her off when she's done, looking at her brother; her eyes narrow and her teeth show.

"Sit up. You're royalty...act like-"

"Why do you need me to go with you to give Troy his invitation?" Ryan asks again, Sharpay laughs curtly.

"Male bonding."

"What?"

"If he likes you as a male companion, then he'll like me as a bride-why are you laughing?" She asks, crossing her arms over her non-existent breasts. She glares at Adriana who is giggling softly, she shuts her mouth instantly when pinned with the blond's glare. She looks down at her hands, biting her lip. Sharpay glares at her brother, who is laughing still, tears in his eyes. "Shut up, Ry." She says, teeth clenched.

"I'm...I'm...fo-forgive..Ha!"

"What is amusing to you?" She wonders, glaring him with a 'I will set you ablaze right now' stare, but he continues laughing; grasping his ribs and wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Just...noth-nothing! Ha!"

"I'm not laughing." She says blantantly, crossing her arms over her chest tighter; her small breasts looking a tad bigger. Keyword: 'tad'. Ryan shakes his head, calming his laughter and hugging his ribs for they hurt much. His tears of laughter drying on his face, no wonder he'll grow old with so many laugh lines...

"Just...the thought of you and Troy- the former prince of Faerie...oh my goodness-"

"It's not funny!" She yells, her voice raising three octaves, squeaking in a deafening manner. Ryan winces as his laughter immediately ceases, Sharpay pins him with the same 'set you ablaze' glare."Why is it funny? You think I won't make a beautiful bride?"

Not in this lifetime, Ryan thinks. Instead he says nothing, just looking at her and then out the window at the terrain that is covered in the shadows of the trees. Oi, this is a long ride.

Gabriella takes small steps, gripping her stick tightly and swallowing a lump in her throat the size of a walnut. She closes her eyes when she reaches the bushes, moving her hand to cast the leaves away, she blows out a breath and moves forward. But she stops in her tracks at what she see's, her eyes widen as she drops her stick and her legs instantly move with sudden haste to the heap of man lying on the ground under the wolf's furry belly. "Move. Move, you animal." she says, shoving him away, lifting the man's head and her breath halts in her throat. "Papa..." she whispers, "Papa..no..wake up...papa!" tears run down her cheeks.

"Papa!" Her voice rings loudly; even over the winds that are blowing around them. She runs her fingers through his hair and down his face, "Papa...please...you're so cold...papa!" The tree branches rustle and then the ground crunches, she snaps her head up to see a wolf...carrying Troy on it's back. She bites her lip, looking back down at her papa, her lips quivering. "Papa..please...wake up..papa-"

"Gabriella." Troy says, Lorana-wolf bringing him closer, and then sitting so he can slide off her back. "I'm sor-"

She snaps her head up, glaring at him, however, with her already misshapen left side of her face already that way it just looks like a deeper scowl. "Go away." He sighs, lifting his hands in front of him.

"You're...you're in front of me?" She sighs, looking down at her father. "Papa...please..." Troy moves a foot forward, his hands still in front of him. His mother grabs his sleeve with her muzzle and guides him to Gabriella.

"I'm sorry." She looks up at him, her eyes wary. "W-what?" He lets out a breath, feeling the ground and holding his mother's fur tightly as he knelt on the ground.

"I-I...apologize." Gabriella bites her lip, looking down at her papa again. "He's...he needs help. I have to help him..." she looks at Troy again, he sighs, cursing the damned enchantress for taking his sight; but he very well imagine what Gabriella looks like when she's sad. And the feeling it leaves him isn't a good one in the slightest.

"Gab-"

"What happened to 'you're just a peasant who lost her way in the woods'?" Gabriella says, looking at him, making him eat his words. He bites his inner cheek and runs a hand through his hair. How he wishes he can just...see her. He opens his mouth to say something but then the whining and slight growling of his mother and father makes him stagger to his feet, grabbing Gabriella's hand and pulling her behind him. "What-"

"Sh!" He shushes, listening intently. Silence, other than bristling trees and rustling bushes. David and Lorana growl once more, Gabriella starts to speak but Troy shushes her again. "Shut up-" a rabbit hops out from under a bush, Gabriella giggles, moving out from behind Troy.

"Don't move, it can probably smell fear." Troy groans, shaking his head. "It could've been something dangerous-" suddenly there is a groan from Gregor lying at their feet, Gabriella kneels at his side hurriedly.

"Papa!" She nearly yells, cupping his face, "papa...it's me..papa..."

"Gab..Gabriella..." he whispers, shivering. Grabbing her hand, "I was..looking for you-"

"Sh..." she shushs gently, "You need help, Papa." He groans, leaning his head on the ground. Troy sighs, feeling around to put his hand on her shoulder.

"Gabriella..." he lets out a breath, and runs a hand down his face. "he-he can stay with my family." Gabriella looks at him, her brow furrowing in the middle. "Why would you-"

"You said he needs help..I'm offering." Gabriella sighs, looking at her papa, she can't argue with Troy about him offering to bring her father to the castle. He needed help. Shelter. Warmth. Food. Her.

She nods, looking up at Troy, "Fine, but...how will we get him-"

"My pare-wolves..they're friendly." She looks over at Lorana and David, just sitting and staring at the place where the rabbit had hopped off to ...God to knows where. Gabriella bites her lip, but grabs Gregor's shoulders, he winces when the pressure goes to his hip and she whimpers.

"Papa-"

"I'm..it's just..."

Gabriella shakes her head, trying to sit him up gently and then place her hands under his arms to lift him; but when one's father is a mass of nearly solid muscle..."I need help.." she huffs out, Troy shuffles his feet on the ground and knots his fingers together behind his back. Gabriella can't help but think he's never looked more handsome than...actually, the only image to compare to now is when he's sitting at his piano; his face concentrated on the music he was making and his eyes- however blind -seemed to glow with the passion he carries with him. Lorana comes up to her, lifting his left arm with her snout and shuffling him on her back, David comes and helps too; adjusting Gregor so he won't fall off, then he goes to Troy and helps him sit on his shoulders; then Gabriella gets on, surrounded by the arms of muscle that is Troy's arms...and the scent that is white musk and...just heaven.

"Do they know the way back?" Gabriella whispers, Troy nods his head against her hair. Hmm, soap. Something so simple...can smell...so seductive.

"Yes." Troy says, "we'll be home soon enough." Gabriella frowns, her brow crinkling, home. That castle...it's not her home. Where she lives with her mama and papa and her brothers and sisters...that's home.

But...then why does her heart flutter when Troy calls it that?

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~Elena