32 Minstrel

(General POV)

The party had stretched further on into the latest hours of the night. Most of the food had been consumed and drinks were soon to run dry. Nobody had exactly decided to leave yet, and because he wasn't exactly keen on familiarising himself with other adventurers, he wandered around on his lonesome for the rest of the evening.

Loki had spent two hours arguing with Freya and Hermes, a constant spitfire of an exchange between the three, mostly Loki doing the yelling with Freya egging her on and Hermes trying to calm them down. The other deities had gathered around it like some sort of spectacle and were cheering.

Lyze was beginning to understand exactly how bored they must have been if they'd found something like that entertaining. He'd walked around a bit after that, sampling different foods from different table, continuously being disappointed when he found the taste lacking.

Even the desserts were a disappointment, and in his past life, that was the greatest crime a restaurant could commit to him. Not that this was a restaurant, but if you could not even produce a dessert that didn't taste like slightly tasteful nothingness, then it got a zero star rating.

Yes, that's how he spent his evening. Going around and rating the food on each table. By the time it was almost midnight, his belly was full and he was lazing about waiting for Riveria to come with the carriage.

Turned out that Loki almost always fell asleep drunkenly at gatherings like this and somebody had to come from the Manor to pick her up. Riveria draw the short straw this time.

As he leaned his head on his palm, his fingers tapping away at the cutlery, he caught sight of the band on a particularly lit side of the room take a break from their music and leave their instruments possibly to go refresh themselves. His eyes zeroed in on a piano in the middle of it all.

With his interest peaked, he lifted his tired body which was still in the process of healing from the fight with Goliath and walked over to the large instrument. He'd contemplated just healing himself of all pains with healing magic but he decided against it in the hopes that living through the pain may give him some extra stats. Even just one point was a point extra that was earned without him having to work hard for it.

He plopped down onto the piano stool and inspected what he was working with. A few interested eyes drew his way as he ran his fingers over the keys. Lyze couldn't remember the last time he'd sat down at one like this. Once again he fondly remembered the times he'd spent with his mother, Olivia.

She'd often played it for him in his grandfather's house. Although to the chagrin of the old gits, the way her fingers would dance over the keys, and the comforting lull of her voice was what got him interested in it. And thus began his interest in pianos. When he did music in high school, he'd chosen to play the piano.

He'd been bullied by some of his classmates a little that an athletic guy such as him bothered to learn how to play such an 'ancient' thing, and how he didn't instead take an interest in 'modern' music.

Those fools just didn't understand the way he saw things, what it meant to him. For every time he played one, his mother came to mind and even though she'd be far away, the warmth of her eyes filled his heart. And he'd play to his heart's content, to nobody in particular, a melodious tune dedicated to his mother.

Nothing, and nobody else mattered.

And so, as he pressed the first key, the sudden musical note reverberating around the room caught everybody's attention and they turned their quirked eyebrows to the little boy at the piano. But already, he was immersed in the onslaught of memories that the sound brought rushing back.

His other hand came up and pressed another key, a different sound coming out this time. He pressed another, and again a different sound reached his ears. Some people turned away, dismissing it as the playful curiousity of a child. But some people, like Loki who had not become quite tipsy just yet, and Freya who had not let him out of her sights the whole time they were partying.

Slowly, Lyze familiarised himself with the piano, and discovered to his delight which was barely recognised in the back of his mind as the room disappeared and Lyze found himself even smaller than he was now, seated on his mother's lap. Her fingers guided his over the keys, teaching him the different notes as she sang to him.

Slowly, a beautiful, melodious but melancholy symphony came flowing out of the piano, drawing the attention of everyone once again, this time in shock and awe. Even the band could not believe their ears as the tune they were hearing was something far more beautiful than anything else that even they had ever heard. And they'd played music all over the city.

...

"~Feeling my way through the darkness~"

Came a quiet voice from the small boy. But even though it was quiet, somehow it filled the room as everyone stopped talking altogether to listen to his childish voice singing with such surprising beauty. But Lyze took no notice as he was deaf even to the silence.

He became overwhelmed with emotion, his heart bleeding out into his voice as he relished being reunited with his mother once again.

"~Guided by a beating heart~"

"~I can't tell where the journey will end~"

"~But I know where to start~"

As she listened, Loki realised with a sudden and surprising pang in her heart that Lyze genuinely sounded more like a normal child, brim with emotion, than he ever did in the whole time he'd been with her. And for some reason, it caused her a little distress. She discarded the wine glass, and slowly walked down the steps in his direction as he continued to sing.

"~They tell me I'm too young to understand~"

"~They say I'm caught up in a dream~"

"~Well life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes~"

"~Well that's fine by me~"

Lyze began to sway his body as he sang, slowly from side to side as his hands flew over the keys gently. If only he knew the kind of attention he was bringing to himself, but again he was oblivious. Even 'Thread' was discarded as he lost himself into a song very much beloved to him and his TRUE mother.

"~So wake me up when it's all over~"

"~When I'm wiser and I'm older~"

"~All this time I was finding myself, and I~"

"~Didn't know I was lost~"

"~So wake me up when it's all over~"

"~When I'm wiser and I'm older~"

"~All this time I was finding myself, and I~"

"~Didn't know I was lost~"

By this point, every occupant in the room had gathered around the performance. Deities, nobles and adventurers alike looked on in wonder and sadness as the unknown song hit them deep in ways that music had not done before. Some ladies dabbed at damp eyes with handkerchiefs as the raw emotion in the little boy's voice affected them.

Even the stoic Ottar, while maintaining his stony face as he stood by Freya at the front, found himself a little taken aback at how someone of Lyze's character could do something like this. His respect for the boy, somehow increased a bit more as Lyze cast aside his adventurer persona and for the very first time in this life that he didn't want, he was exactly what he appeared to be: a child.

Unknown to everyone else, Riveria had arrived long before this point and had been standing by the door in complete shock as she recognised who was playing music, and sing with such grace that in some way surpassed the elves back home who were known for their beauty of their voices.

"~I tried carrying the weight of the world"

"~But I only have two hands~"

"~Hope I get the chance to travel the world~"

"~But I don't have any plans~"

"~Wish that I could stay forever this young~"

"~Not afraid to close my eyes~"

"~Life's a game made for everyone~"

"~And love is a prize~"

Freya to her surprise found that one of her eyes watered a little at this verse. Slowly she reached up to her eye, and drew out the tear. She stared in awe as the tear rolled off the tip off her finger, fell and splashed on the floor.

"~So wake me up when it's all over~"

"~When I'm wiser and I'm older~"

"~All this time I was finding myself, and I~"

"~Didn't know I was lost~"

"~So wake me up when it's all over~"

"~When I'm wiser and I'm older~"

"~All this time I was finding myself, and I~"

"~Didn't know I was lost~"

.

.

"~I Didn't know I was lost~"

.

.

"~I Didn't know I was lost~"

.

.

"~I Didn't know I was lost~"

The beautiful music of the piano continued as Lyze, no...Alex sang his favourite song all over again, his voice becoming quieter as he drew closer to finishing. When he finally finished, his voice was a little more than a loud whisper. But it was heard all the same.

Slowly, he returned back to reality to the sound of quiet but fervent clapping from his audience as some openly cried while other cheered. But everyone knew exactly what kind of mood the song had settled over the room, and so nobody overdid it.

Lyze registered this but didn't bother to even turn his head and acknowledge them. He felt no embarrassment, nor pride at what he'd done now. He wasn't even aware of exactly what this would do for him in the future. He didn't care.

All he could focus on was the utter despair and loneliness that befell him once again as he realized how far he was away from home, from his mother's warm embrace.

After a few tentative moments, he recognized two arms clad in green clothing slowly wrap around around his waist and a chin rest on his head. He sat in the gentle hug as he absentmindedly tried to decipher who this was. Then the scent of Riveria's perfume finally registered to his nose.

She began whispering something to him in gentle whispers, but he was too overcome with his emotions that he couldn't tell what she was saying. All he did was turn around on the stool and bury his face into the space between her neck and her shoulder, his shoulders and and back shaking as he silently sobbed into her robes.

Nobody said a word.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#RIP Avicii.

If you want to know exactly how Lyze sounded here, type into Youtube:

'Wake me up, (Emotional Piano Cover) feat. Fleurie - Tommee Profitt'

Comment and review!

Read 8+ chapters ahead on my Patreon:

Patreon/ Vulkizaro_Zoromi

For commissions:

Ko-Fi/ vulkizarozoromi