#rivervale_lodge

Over the next few days, the denizens of the Ironhawk abode may notice that their yard and surrounding trails are remarkably tidy. Leaves swept away, sticks piled up, even a few rocks that may have turned an ankle on the pathway moved to the sides. The pooka may not tell the truth, but he keeps his word as best as he can!

Jaymes grunts and goes to talk to Tove. Tove confesses things might have gotten out of hand.

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"Nadeen, you're the one who wanted these lessons," Tove says.

"I already dance, but yes," She says and puts her fingers to the keys.

Nadeen picks out the song slow and easy....

"Arc your fingers" Tove says "just a bit more."

Nadeen nods and regainst her position.

and plays the song.

Dagmar listens from her room - watching, that would be weird, right?

But she can listen and work on a carving...

She plays the tune once, twice, and then begins to sing it. She's not as good as Tove, but she likes the song.

"The soldier came knocking upon the queen's door
He said, "I am not fighting for you any more."
The queen knew she'd seen his face someplace before
And slowly she let him inside." The Piano is not drowned out by the grave vocals of the Varich.

"Read the music, don't rush it," Tove reminds "Sometimes we want to get to the good parts... and then ruin it in the rush"

Nadeen nods and keeps the pace "He said, "I've watched your palace up here on the hill
And I've wondered who's the woman for whom we all kill
But I am leaving tomorrow and you can do what you will
Only first I am asking you why.""
Nadeen considers herself reserved. Yet the song does touch a chord as she sings it. She wonders if only a sidhe woman would understand?
"Down in the long narrow hall he was led
Into her rooms with her tapestries red
And she never once took the crown from her head
She asked him there to sit down."

Nadeen worries she's not getting the soldier right, she feels more for the Queen, "He said, "I see you now, and you are so very young
But I've seen more battles lost than I have battles won
And I've got this intuition, says it's all for your fun
And now will you tell me why?"

And yes, there is more passion in the Queen's part, "The young queen, she fixed him with an arrogant eye
She said, "You won't understand, and you may as well not try"
But her face was a child's, and he thought she would cry
But she closed herself up like a fan. " The ivory grows sad under her fingers

"And she said, "I've swallowed a secret burning thread
It cuts me inside, and often I've bled."
He laid his hand then on top of her head
And he bowed her down to the ground." Oh, that last part, how could the Soldier not see what he had done? What had to be his fate after that?

"Tell me how hungry are you? How weak you must feel
As you are living here alone, and you are never revealed
But I won't march again on your battlefield."
And he took her to the window to see.

And the sun, it was gold, though the sky, it was gray
And she wanted more than she ever could say
But she knew how it frightened her, and she turned away
And would not look at his face again."

Tove makes small gestures to guide pitch and tempo, like a conductor for one

And Nadeen gets a bit lost in the imagery

"And he said, "I want to live as an honest man
To get all I deserve and to give all I can
And to love a young woman who I don't understand
Your highness, your ways are very strange." " A sad pause, a linger, oh what he promises.

Sadly, it won't be enough. How can he not see? "But the crown, it had fallen, and she thought she would break
And she stood there, ashamed of the way her heart ached
She took him to the doorstep and she asked him to wait
She would only be a moment inside.

Out in the distance her order was heard
And the soldier was killed, still waiting for her word
And while the queen went on strangling in the solitude she preferred
The battle continued on" She finishes

"That poor soldier" Tove says.

"I always think that poor queen," Nadeen says "The Soldier ...well, he had to realize what he had done?"

Tove raised a brow "Refused to kill for her? Or do you mean... reminded her she was, at her heart, still a woman, and a young one at that, that could have love over power?"

"Both, I suppose" Nadeen says "You see her as the villainess, don't you?"

"Perhaps, but if so, a sympathetic one," Tove shrugs "But I think the Soldier 's greatest crime was reaching out...and forgetting that some frightened animals bite."

Nadeen tries not to get insulted by that

"And.. my playing?" The sidhe asks

"Technically better," Tove says "But you do bottle yourself up...Nadeen, sometimes it seems you're so intent on perfection you lose the passion. There you had it for a bit, for the Queen, but the soldier's part became mechanical. "

"Can I both thank you for your input and resent it's accuracy?" Nadeen says trying not to sound TOO crisp about it.

"Of course, multasking is a vital skil" The tutor of the moment says

"Thank you" The teen replies

"I think it sounded good!" From down the hall.

"THank you, Dagmar" Nadeen says gratefully.

Dag tromps down the hall to check in on the practice room.

Nadeen is apparently done as she has gotten up from the Piano.

Tove looks at Dagmar "She's good, but she wants help on improving. We can all improve"

"Well, sure. But I thought it was still pretty good."

"Weird song, though."

"It's by Vega...she has quite a few. " Nadeen says "I bet you'd like a few of them more."

"Yeah?"

Tove nods "Would you prefer a sad one or a 'to hell with you' one? "

"Oh, 'to hell.' totally."

Tove strikes out a faster paced beat on the piano and sings

"If you were to kill me now right here
I would still look you in the eye
And I would burn myself into your memory
As long as you were still aliveI would live inside of you
I'd make you wear me like a scar
And I would burn myself into your memory
And run through everything you are"

She chews on a hangnail as she listens.

"I would not run
I would not turn
I would not hide ! I would not run
I would not turn
I would not hiiide"

The song is heart felt, simple, and defiant

"In the eyeIf you were to kill me now right here
I would still look you in the eye
And I would burn myself into your memory
As long as you were still aliveI would not run
I would not turn
I would not hide

I would not run
I would not turn
I would not hide"

And it ends with an echoing

A grunt and a nod. "Good one. Is there a youtube of it yet?"