Here's the two songs for this chapter. The first is called Strings of Fire, a violin duel. The second is The Call by Celtic Woman. Listen to them while you read ^^
Unfortunately for Toshiro, he could not escape. Lilianna and Myndræl both were not about to miss out on the singing and Ruala herself prevented Toshiro from escaping to the mountain. Plus, his father looked rather happy about it all, and Toshiro did not want to ruin that mood.
'Oh go on, Master, if even your father is willing to relax they're not in that much of a rush.' Hyorinmaru snorted as his wielder pouted off to the side.
'As long as they don't make me sing.' Toshiro grumbled.
'You're voice is perfectly fine.'
'Hyorinmaru, I'm not singing.'
'You and Hinamori used to sing together back in the Rukongai.'
'That was a long time ago.'
They were all outside with the dragons, Toshiro sitting next to his while Sylfie spoke with his father, the woman now in a more festive outfit consisting of an elbow sleeved black shirt with thin green silk dangling down and a black and green skirt that went mid-calf. She was also barefoot, which Toshiro found odd. But then again, he'd realized last night she was very odd.
Ralæn began to play a violin, a slow tune that caught their attention quickly.
"Ah, there we go." Sylfie beamed, darting inside to grab another one before joining her daughter's side quickly.
She began to play as well and the two of them harmonized.
"Ruala, give us a dance." Ælfwyn encouraged the Avaintha. The woman wore something similar to her mother but white with gold.
Ruala was wearing a brown shirt with green at the elbow and a flowing green skirt. As Sylfie and her daughter began to play at a faster pace, surprising Toshiro at how they managed to stay in tune with one another while going so fast, Ruala stepped out and danced to the beat. It was completely different from traditional Japanese dance, very fast paced and a lot of footwork. She twirled and moved her entire body all in complete harmony with the music. Both Hitsugayas were rather star struck.
"Well don't let her dance alone." Ralæn nodded her head at her twin, not missing a beat.
Ælfwyn laughed and obliged, moving out to the center with Ruala where they moved in perfect rhythm with one another. How did they do that? It was like they'd been doing the same thing for years. Perhaps they had.
"I don't think I've ever heard this song before." He heard his father muse beside him.
"What?" Toshiro looked at him in surprise. "They dance like they've done it hundreds of times."
"Well, they've danced hundreds of times, but never the same dance." Satoru winked. "These celtic people are superb at this, and so lively."
The tune shifted, the two violinists shifting it together without pause. Both girls dancing changed the dance in tandem, not missing a single step and looking like a well-choreographed duet. Laughing happily, the king clapped along to the beat, the dragons hitting their tails to the ground and humming along. Shrugging, Toshiro clapped along; at least he didn't have to sing.
The song ended with a big finish and the dancers finished with it, not looking the least bit tired. Their audience clapped while the girls giggled excitedly, still looking ready for another go.
"Sofia, how about a beat?" Sylfie looked to the white cat.
Grinning like a Cheshire, Sofia turned into her larger cat self and stepped over to a set of drums she'd pulled out earlier. Cat or no, as she started drumming, there was no question she was good at it.
"Willing to join in?" Sylfie winked at her male guests.
"I can try." The king shrugged.
"Still no." Toshiro huffed.
"Come now, son, just let the music lead you."
The boy glanced at his dad before giving another huff and remaining stubbornly quiet.
"Sometimes in this life we hear, calling from somewhere." Ælfwyn began in a beautiful voice, Sofia's drumming quieting down to nothing as she let the singers take spotlight. "Sometimes it is loud and clear, sometimes it's so softly there…"
The lady in white turned towards her mother who quickly took up the song in a lower voice.
"Sometimes it is in the sea, sometimes in the sky…"
"Sometimes it's in you and me," Ruala cut in, her voice a little higher than the other two, "and sometimes it's a cry."
Now all four of them sang together in harmony that entranced Toshiro, taking his mind off of anything else.
"Open your heart, I am calling you. Right from the very start, your wounded heart was calling too." The girls were all smiling, even the normally quiet Ruala. It was strange to see her so excited and open. "Open your arms, you will find the answer when you answer to The Call…"
Ralæn cut in with a quick violin play that fit perfectly to their voices, Sofia taking up the drums again. The instruments quieted down and, to the surprise of the boys, Lilianna took up the song.
"Sometimes it is in desire, or in the love we fear. When the call keeps calling us," The twins sang with the dragon, "till the fear will disappear."
"When we have no dance to dance," Ælfwyn sang again, twirling a little to emphasize her part before her sister joined in, "the call is in us all." Once more all the girls sang together. "When we have no voice to sing, and the call is calling strong."
"Join in!" Sylfie motioned to the boys, dragon included, as they started up the chorus again. Satoru and Myndræl both obliged while Toshiro still kept silent.
"Open you heart, I am calling you!" Everyone seemed to sing together perfectly which was magical in and of itself. Toshiro had heard of people who could enchant anyone with their voices and he was sure he'd found those people. "Right from the very start, your wounded heart was calling too."
"Sing, Toshiro." The king nudged his son. With the energy of the music flowing through him, Toshiro found himself obeying as the second part of the chorus started up.
"Open your arms, you will find the answer when you answer to The Call…"
Ralæn once more played a beautiful violin solo and both Ruala and Sylfie danced along to it. Lilianna winked at Toshiro knowingly, who blushed at having been caught singing.
"Once more!" Sylfie did one last twirl with Ruala before they froze in place and turned to the others. Everyone was quick to catch on and this time Toshiro didn't hesitate; too late to stop now.
"Open your heart, I am calling you! Right from the very start, your wounded heart was calling too. Open your arms, you will find the answer when you answer to-" Ruala and Ælfwyn sang separately, "Open your heart, your heart, and-" Once more everyone, "You will find the answer to…The Call…"
The girls cheered for their success and the dragons purred happily, the king laughing merrily with the contagious energy that the song seemed to give.
"I got the prince to sing!" Sylfie yelled triumphantly, Flash Stepping behind said prince and ruffling his hair. He scowled but did nothing more. "I told you I could get you to sing."
"I can blame it on magic." He grumbled.
"Actually, you can't." Satoru chuckled.
"Whose side are you on?!"
They all laughed.
"Don't be shy, nephew, you have a superb voice." Sylfie patted him on the back before walking back out. "The Royal Guards are hopefully on their way. I know they can never miss a good party."
"Got that right!" A voice said behind Toshiro, making him jump in surprise. It was one of the guards he'd only met briefly, Oetsu Nimaiya, a crazy man with wild black hair and sunglasses, green under his uniform instead of the usual white and shorter pants.
"It's always a pleasure." Senjumaru greeted Sylfie. The other three were there as well. It seemed things were going to get interesting, Toshiro thought.
"Let's do another song." Sylfie beamed, turning back to Toshiro. "And this time you sing right along. No one gets left out!"
"That was a one-time thing." The young prince snapped.
"Oh you were having fun." Ælfwyn appeared by his side.
"Just give in, our mom makes sure no one is in a bad mood." Ralæn added, coming to his other side.
"Fine! I'm just not used to this…"
The green haired woman winked at him before grabbing a guitar and playing a tune.
It took a while for the normally cold and distant Toshiro to actually get into the festivities, though he never did more than sing along and smile. Sylfie tried to get him to stand and dance but he wouldn't have it, though his father joined in to the boy's surprise. They could be attacked at any time and everyone was goofing around. Well, at least they knew how to have fun.
'You don't know how to have fun, apparently.'
'Shut up.'
'Killjoy.'
'Shut up! So I'm not one to have fun, that doesn't matter. I don't have time for that.'
'Your father is living through his last few months, meaning he has a lot to teach you in a short amount of time, yet he's dancing with the rest of them.'
'I…just…leave me alone. Maybe when I'm not under so much pressure.'
The dragon grumbled to himself but went silent. It was becoming clear he was only upsetting the boy more when he was trying for the opposite effect, trying to get him up and actually enjoy himself. Perhaps when he was back in his master's hands he could better help the boy feel comfortable with showing emotion for once.
Things calmed down quickly as Satoru began to feel woozy. Toshiro frowned deeply, watching as Senjumaru and another Royal Guard, Ichibe Hyousube, took him back to the palace.
"He'll be okay, right?" He asked the crazy Oetsu.
"Don't you worry; he just needs to rest a little." The black haired man patted the boy on the back. "Not quite healthy enough for all this dancing, that's all."
'See? Dancing isn't healthy.' Toshiro shot in his dragon's direction.
'Because your father is ill, that's all. At least he had fun.' Hyorinmaru countered.
'You're not going to let this go, are you?'
'As your partner I'd rather you not be such a downer all the time. I'm just trying to get you to lighten up.'
Toshiro outwardly sighed, recognizing the ice dragon's attempt to cheer him up but still not doing so. There were a few hours of daylight left, and since the girls weren't letting him just continue his training, he thought he'd go ahead and at least practice some more. He wanted to be prepared. Before they could stop him from doing that, he headed off toward the lake. Hopefully he'd be able to conjure the physical form of his Spiritual Pressure without the need for a large body of water, but for now he didn't want to exhaust himself.
Back with the others, Ruala was pulled to the side by her surrogate mother.
"He's a fast learner, I'll give him that." Sylfie cut right to the chase. "But putting him through your trials with Fear still in his heart is risky."
"It's a small amount." Ruala countered quietly. "And…he seems to be fighting past it on his own."
"True…" The green haired woman mused, her hand under her chin. "Still, he hasn't had to face another one of Dethmaiyn's people yet. We're lucky they can't get in here."
"I still haven't found where they're hiding."
"No one has, it's not your fault. Kamai is a tricky bastard. I wouldn't be surprised if that sneaky cousin of mine is hiding in his own kingdom made of shadows."
"Then I cannot go there." Ruala's shoulders slumped.
"Don't worry, he's got his dragons." Sylfie gifted the girl a smile. "Go on, keep an eye on him. If you're not careful he'll try to sneak on up the mountain."
"He won't find anything there."
"Not yet, anyway." Sylfie winked before walking back out to join the others. Ruala vanished from view, heading towards where the Ice Prince was practicing his control.
She found him with the energy dragon curled above him. Since this skill was new, he seemed to be having a little trouble keeping it together, but it was far better than the forms given off by any Soul Reaper with enough power to do so. Plus, he was holding it in place much longer. The dragon gave a growl that sounded like the falling of an avalanche and twisted around in the sky before it dispersed. She could feel a slight blast of energy hit her as the icy Spiritual Pressure of the Soul Prince hit her.
Toshiro breathed deeply and tried again. He'd noticed Ruala arrive and had let his concentration slip. That wouldn't do while in battle.
'You're using more energy than you think you are.' Hyorinmaru warned. 'Rest, you might as well take advantage of it while the girls give it to you.'
'I need to be prepared.' Toshiro argued. 'There's no telling when I'll need to fight again.'
'Then do something other than waste your energy like this. It'll take more than a day to recover it all back.' The dragon paused as he thought of something. 'How about the book, Secrets of the Soul King? You could read through that, get an idea of what you'll be doing as king.'
Toshiro calmed his power down as he thought about that, the ice melting away and the water returning to normal. The ice dragon was right; he hadn't looked at that book once since he'd gotten to the palace. It was probably still sitting on his desk in his room, forgotten.
'I see your point…' Toshiro sighed and once more submerged most of his power within the depths of his Inner World, the new area that did indeed turn out to be a large lake amidst the icy plane. The serpentine wisps had vanished now that he had control of the power inside.
That done, Toshiro turned to where Ruala sat on a thick tree branch with her legs swinging back and forth, simply observing.
"Could you ask Sofia for a favor?" He questioned and she tilted her head, said cat popping up on her shoulder there. "That book you gave me before, I never got to look through it all. I think it's still in my room."
"Got it." Sofia leaped off her master's shoulder to the ground, transforming as she did so. Before she touched earth she soared back up in the form of a large hawk, veering in the direction of the palace for her errand run.
"You've stopped training?" Ruala asked.
"It's probably best I don't wear myself out for the final trial. Hyorinmaru suggested I look through that instead. I never was one to sit still and do nothing."
The woman nodded and jumped down from the tree, turning to walk back to her home. Toshiro followed her this time and they waited for Sofia to return with the book. The fun was over, the young prince wanted to get back to training.
Sylfie just seems to have this way with people, doesn't she? XD Couldn't get him to dance, but he sings a little bit. Just a little. It's hard not to sing along with these girls ^^ And...right after that he's back to training Goodness, Shiro. Enjoy!