#fenixtj

He twirls her around! "Better than ok!!"

A laugh as she's twirled! "It's part of the boyfriend code, you have to say that!"

"It's true!!"

Mitra looks at Jessica "don't forget to pretend to write something" A whisper

Jessica makes a note.

Mitra gets an Eyebrow.

"Beautiful!" Ellie agrees.

"Bevera of House Gwydion is next" A nod from Nancy

And Nancy goes up, this time 'armed' with a violin.

Piper gives Adam a kiss in thanks, required or not. And turns to watch the Knight's second song.

"The wind was a torrent of darkness
Among the gusty trees
The moon was a ghostly galleon
Tossed upon the cloudy seas
The road was a ribbon of moonlight
Over the purple moor
When the highwayman came riding
Riding, riding,
The highwayman came riding
Up to the old inn door!" Her bow flies but her voice is not over powered

Piper watches nestled in Adam's arms.

"He'd a french cocked hat at his forehead
A bunch of lace at his chin
A coat of claret velvet
And breeches of brown doe-skin
They fitted with nary a wrinkle
His boots were up to the thigh
And he rode with a jeweled twinkle
His pistol butts a-twinkle
His rapier hilt a-twinkle
Under the jeweled sky
And over cobbles he clattered
And clashed in the dark inn-yard
And he tapped with his whip on the shutters
But all was locked and barred!"

Piper practically has to clap her hands to her mouth to avoid a squeal of delight. She whispers to Adam, "I love this one!"

The song is a fusion of poetry and music, 'twice dreamt' some changelings would say, and so easy to visualize

"He whistled a tune to the window
And who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter
Bess, the landlord's daughter
Plaiting a dark red love knot
Into her long black hair
"One kiss my bonny sweetheart
I'm after a prize tonight
But I should be back with the yellow gold
Before the morning light
Yet if they press me sharply
And harry me through the day
Then look for me by the moonlight
Watch for me by the moonlight
I'll come to thee by the moonlight
Though hell should bar the way."

He rose up right in the stirrups
He scarce could reach her hand
But she loosened her hair in the casement
His face burned like a brand
As a black cascade of perfume
Came tumbling over his breast " Ariel blushes and fights a giggle at this part. But soon is lost in it again.
"And he kissed its waves in the moonlight
Oh, sweet waves in the moonlight
He tugged at his rein in the moonlight
And galloped away to the west
He did not come at the dawning
He did not come at noon
And out of the tawny sunset
Before the rise of the moon
When the road was a gypsy's ribbon
Looping the purple moor
A redcoat troop came marching
Marching, marching
King George's men came marching
Up to the old inn door" The music grows dangerous, building tension

Piper's fingers twitch, already thinking how she would add the ta-ta-ra, ta-ta-ra of the hoofbeats.

Adam's eyes gleam as he lets the words and music paint pictures in his head.... and if the lead looks somewhat familiar.....

Salma's eyes shine, and her hands are clasped to her chest - this isn't a song, it's a STORY...

"They said no word to the landlord
They drank his ale instead " You can almost smell the ale.. or maybe someone is actually drinking some
"But they gagged his daughter and bound her
To the foot of her narrow bed" the violin grows panicky? It's still beautiful, but the struggle.
"Two of them knelt at the casement
With muskets at their side
There was death at every window
Hell at one dark window
For Bess could see through the casement
The road that he would ride
They had tied her up to attention
With many a sniggering jest
They had bound a musket beside her
With the barrel beneath her breast " This time Ariel gasps rather than fights a giggle.
""Now keep good watch" and they kissed her
She heard the dead man say
"Look for me by the moonlight
Watch for me by the moonlight
I'll come to thee by the moonlight
Though hell should bar the way."
She twisted her hands behind her
But all the knots held good!
But she writhed her hands 'til her fingers Were wet with sweat or blood
They stretched and strained in the darkness
And the hours crawled by like years
Till now on the stroke of midnight
Cold on the stroke of midnight
The tip of her finger touched it
The trigger at least was hers
Tot-a-lot, tot-a-lot had they heard it?
The horse's hooves rang clear " Oh yes, tapping of her foot.
"Tot-a-lot, tot-a-lot in the distance
Were they deaf they did not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight
Over the brow of the hill
The highwayman came riding
Riding, riding
The redcoats looked to their priming
She stood up straight and still
Tot-a-lot in the frosty silence
Tot-a-lot in the echoing night
Nearer he came and nearer
Her face was like a light
Her eyes grew wide for a moment
She drew a last deep breath
Then her finger moved in the moonlight
Her musket shattered the moonlight
Shattered her breast in the moonlight
And warned him with her death!"

Holger looks ready to leap into the music and move to help the poor senorita!

Vaeltilde.. nods! Yes! To fight the enemy one must be ready to lose their life!

"That's better than Frozen!"

"He turned, he spurred to the west
He did not know she stood
Bowed with her head o'er musket
Drenched with her own red blood
Not till the dawn he heard it
His face grew grey to hear
How Bess the landlord's daughter
The landlord's black-eyed daughter
Had watched for her love in the moonlight
And died in the darkness there
and the story ends and unwinds and....like a storm getting it's last bolts out "And back he spurred like a madman
Shrieking a curse to the sky!
With the white road smoking behind him
And his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were the spurs in the golden noon
Wine-red was his velvet coat
When they shot him down in the highway
Down like a dog on the highway
And he lay in his blood in the highway
With a bunch of lace at his throat
Still on a winter's night they say
When the wind is in the trees
When the moon is a ghostly galleon
Tossed upon the cloudy seas
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight
Over the purple moor
A highwayman comes riding
Riding, riding,
A highwayman comes riding
Up to the old inn door"

And with a flourish of bow and bow (Both the noun and the verb) the Gwydion ends the song

Piper cheers heartily, clapping and stomping a hoof! It's a good thing that the floors are strong!

Others cheer as well. And among the Troubadours, most agree this was a better showing by the Gwydion than the last one, and that last one was not weak.

Watch your toes, Adam!

"It IS a story" She agrees with Salma. "I bet she knows lots of stories..."

Adam looks MIGHTILY pissed and ready to fight something.

But he channels the emotion into cheering for the Gwydion.

And, of course, The Gwydion Musicker does glance to see if the Countess reacted

Ariel says "Darn Redcoats!"

"Darn red coats? I didn't bring my sewing kit." Salma fusses.

Jessica is making several notes! And nods to the Gwydion.

"And next, Dean...Kuhlau fantasy for flute solo op. 38 D major" Nancy says

There are sounds that stir and get you stomping, and then there are those that still you.... mesmerize....

Peaceful, flowing and flighty at times.... it is a testament that no one coughs... or intrudes

Indeed, Piper barely breaths through the notes dancing around her, eyes almost closed, as though she can absorb the music through the air itself...

Siiiiggghhh.

Salma sighs, too. This is pleasant, but... in a background way. Where is the story? Maybe he could play it in the library.

And when it finally ends, folks can scarce believe they're allowed to speak... then applause, polite and stronger

Dean bows and moves aside to let the next take their turn

Piper claps as well, doubly impressed because it's a skill she lacks practice in, and truly appreciates the work gone into it.

Adam's response is less visceral, less raucous, but still enthusiastic and genuine.

"psssst, Ariel, did Clem make it?"

A nod and she points

Clem is in the crowd, not putting on airs

And "Next is Spencer DeBuke"