Prodigy

The following day a light of dawn seeped into a young boy's room. He rubbed his tired eyes and stretched his arms toward the ceiling. Moving out of bed, he walked to the window, glancing at a stunning view with a pearly glow in the sky. After witnessing the breathtaking scenery, he looked over his shoulder at his bed. A fox peacefully slept there as its belly rose, exhaling slowly, still recuperating from its wounds, as it made cute breathing noises. Dark clouds seemingly passed by, obstructing the sun and darkening the room once again.

Artorias Pov:

It was 6 A.M, and today was going to be a slow day; I could feel it. I felt remarkably unmotivated and wasn't sure how to start my day. That's until the room darkened. I peeked through the window's glass whilst leaning against the wall and noticed dark clouds hovering around the island. A sudden hint of inspiration hit me, and I spoke out loud, saying, "behind every dark cloud, there is an ever-shining sun. Just wait. In time the cloud will pass." I smiled, thinking I just needed to maintain my perseverance, and it would pay off sooner or later.

Going with what inspiration I had left, I decided to start my day with some studying and sat at my workbench. I like to start my day with a cold shower to awaken my mind and body. The blast of cold can be a shock at first, but after a while, it feels completely natural. I'm so accustomed to the jolt of energy and mental clarity now that I crave the cold finish. Now that I'm in a fasting state, I start it off with some electrolyte water to hydrate myself, then move on to studying since fasting improves the brain's cognition, and I usually make a lot of progress during those hours. There were also days when I would skip studying altogether when I had other plans for the morning.

Afterward, I'll have breakfast when I feel my brain has had enough of learning. Once I finished breakfast, I would move on to a light workout or work on my archery/swordsmanship, which mainly depended on my mood. Later in the day would consist of spending time with my sister, too, playing the violin. That's been my daily morning routine for the past few months since I've traveled in this world. Furthermore, I appreciated the convenience of magic since I no longer needed to brush my teeth and dress manually.

July 1993, one morning, I was very excited. When I heard about a show at the Los Angelos Dodger stadium, I immediately planned to go, and I was not going to miss it. This was, in fact, the legendary concert, with José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti joined by conductor Zubin Mehta, the L.A. Philharmonic, and the L.A. Music Center Opera Chorus, where they selected from a selection of operatic arias and international favorites, specially orchestrated by composer/arranger Lalo Schifrin. The three tenors, with conductor Zubin Mehta, performed 'A Tribute to Hollywood.' When I was able to witness the final act, 'Nessun Dorma, ' one of my favorite operas of all time live. It gave me literal chills, and my sister was gobsmacked the whole time by Luciano Pavarotti's legendary performance. That was definitely one of my favorite days; although I was saddened about not being able to meet Luciano, I at least got to witness this legendary event.

| Authors' note: I Changed the date by one year to fit my story. It was initially July 1994, and if you don't at least know 'Nessun Dorma,' then I'd say you pretty much live under a rock|

Speaking of concerts, I have been practicing day and night for the past few weeks. I met many well-known violinists and the legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman, best known for his brilliant virtuoso technique. He was stunned and highly impressed when he figured out my age and ability to play at around the level of a professional that has been practicing for ten years. He told me he had never seen such a prodigious level with the violin after explaining that I had been learning for under just a year. I was able to get a lot of knowledge from him about how important experience and emotion are to improving my ability as a violinist.

The conversation went something like this. Itzhak Perlman: "You have a gift with the violin, Mr. Artorias, I believe that. But what is your passion, what strives you to play." With my hand under my chin, thinking of an answer, I reply with, "Well.. music was able to lift me out of depression, showing me that my goal needn't be to play at loft concert halls, but instead to bring the wonder of the instrument to as many people as possible. He looks at me closer with a suspicious look, saying, "are you sure you're only thirteen? You're quite mature for your age."

As we both stood in awkward silence for a few moments, he just laughed, saying, "Well, no matter, how about we see your progress on the piece you will perform." I smiled at him, nodding, then proceeded to show him. As I began to perform, he just looked at me with raised eyebrows, and when I finished, he had a shocked look muttering the words, "you already mastered it... not just that you also memorized it?" I smile at his reaction, thinking, well.. with magic, it's pretty easy to pull off.

One week later, in a vast music venue, a commotion of claps in the crowd halted, and they watched in anticipation of the upcoming performance. The numerous orchestra members assembled with violins begin playing 'Allegro Molto Appassionato.' The highs and lows of the violins harmonize together to form a beautiful piece of art with a sound that touches the soul—thirteen minutes of pure music pass as the music stops and the crowd applauses in appreciation. When the crowd becomes quiet, the music group begins to play the masterpiece 'Sarasate Zigeunerweisen.'

Artorias Pov:

The familiar feeling washed over me when I was bowing with my violin, but this time it was different. I had never tested it on humans, and the difference was that I could feel their emotions as well as influence them. It was a strange feeling; I could feel their soul through the medium of sound waves and magic. The feeling almost felt natural as I started to pour more of my emotions into my performance; I could feel my influence over the crowd's emotions rise.

Elaine Pov:

I was sitting near the front of the stage with Mr. Webb on my left, we had a good view of my brother, and I waved at him. He just smiles in my direction and winks. I smile back, laughing internally, as I think to myself; he looks like a dork when he does that. The concert finally began, and a weird feeling washed over me when it was his part to play. Emotions flood me, but they aren't mine, and I notice a tear fall from my eye. Looking at my brother as I feel these emotions, I start to think, is he doing this? I look over to the butler to find that he also seems to be in the same circumstance as me. With the concert persisting for about twenty minutes, it finally ended, and Mr. Webb and I went to see my brother backstage.

Artorias Pov:

Afterward, at the backstage, my butler and sister entered, with my sister running straight at me, giving me the classic old bear hug. When she let me go, I see Mr. Webb walk up to Itzhak Perlman. Itzhak noticing him also walked in his direction, and when they met, both had an expression as if meeting an old-time friend. Speaking up, Mr. Webb says, "I hope Mr. Artorias didn't cause any trouble?" Itzhak replies, "nonsense. Mr. Artorias is quite mature for his age and plays violin exceptionally well, almost too well, in fact. When you told me you had someone for the leading violinist position, I didn't expect you to recommend a thirteen-year-old. But it turns out he's a prodigy, and it can make any violinist envy him for how much time it took him to reach such a level that took them years to get. Tell me, did he really only start learning the violin within a year? It sounds even more unbelievable when I say it." Mr. Webb gives an amused expression replying, "yes, the young master is extraordinarily talented at the violin and naturally learns exceptionally quick." Itzhak replies, "hah!... You don't say..." with an upset look.

A little while later, we left backstage, about to go through the front door. However, before I could exit, a hand fell on my shoulder. When I looked back, I saw Itzhak looking at me with a serious expression and spoke, "Don't go out that way unless you want to be swarmed by reporters. Follow me. Let's go out the back door, come on this way" as he gestures to follow. While following him out the back of the music venue, he slowed down near me and said, "Your gonna be famous now. Careful showing your face around public places." I just sigh at that, giving him a nod while thinking, what a pain. Maybe I should have thought this through more. There's no helping it now. Well, I should be relatively fine. At least I can use notice me not charms or change my looks with an illusion of some sort.

As Itzhak leaves, the three of us depart ways, and we head to an isolated spot. Once we find an alley, Mr. Webb commands us, "all right now, touch this together." Showing us an old pair of glasses in his hands, we both do as he says, and our bodies instantaneously appear outside the mansion. My sister and I fall flat on our butts. Meanwhile, the butler just floats, making a walking motion as he descends from a wormhole like a pro. When he lands, he extends his hands toward us, and we both accept the support pulling us onto our feet.

After today I was exhausted and wanted to head straight to bed. However, when we entered our home, it looked like a raccoon ran through the mansion. There was dirt from plants dragged out, toilet paper rolls, shredded newspapers, and a damp carpet. A noise of a vase shattering came from the living quarters. Investigating the noise of the culprit in action, the three of us rushed into the living quarters to find a small fennec fox sniffing around the air. When I saw the little guy, I immediately face-palmed because I forgot I had left my door open. My sister, upon seeing this, had a different reaction; she just squealed, "hees soo cuuute." I then look at her with an amused expression while thinking, well, he might be cute, but look at this mess he made. He was probably searching for food; it's been two days since he's eaten. I stepped towards the little guy and scooped him up in my arms. As I smile, I start remembering when he first woke up, he would growl a lot if I even got close to him, and now he just snuggles up in my arms. It took three days for him to start warming up to me. He's been through a lot, from what I can guess.

Walking away from my sister, giving me a 'let me hold him' look, I ignored her and exited the living quarters heading upstairs to my room. Closing my door, I put the little guy on the floor; stepping up to my workbench, I opened a jar filled with a few dead crickets and poured it into a bowl. I lay the bowl on the ground and say aloud, "sorry buddy, that's all I have left now, but I also have these." I pull out a jar of fruits and put a few in the bowl as the fox squeaks in happiness. He's really adorable when he does that.

Jumping into my bed, I lay down and get comfortable. Exhausted, I close my eyes with my mind drifting to dreamland.