"You’re not going to say, ‘I-told-you-so,’ are you, Cap?" Lance said rather testily, looking up suspiciously from the letter he was writing to Samantha into Keith’s amused dark eyes as he entered the rec room with a book in his hand. "Because if you do…"
Keith shrugged innocently with his uninjured shoulder, although the injured one was healing nicely. "I don't say I told you so," he said with a grin, carefully lying back on the rec room couch and focusing his attention on the book. "Most of the time." He looked at the clock hanging on the far end of the rec room wall. "She’s probably on Merion by now, moping about you."
Lance looked up wistfully at the clock as well. "Yeah, she probably is," he said with a sigh. "Damn, but I wish she could have stayed."
Keith laughed at Lance’s dejected expression, earning a disgusted look from him. "So, Lance, don’t you think this falling-in-love business might cramp on your style?" he teased from behind his book.
Lance grimaced at him. "Maybe so – but I’ve never been happier in my life, even if I do miss her already. I plan to fly to Merion and visit her on my next day off." He put his pen down and regarded his friend with twinkling brown eyes. "Which reminds me – it’s your turn, Captain."
"My turn?" Keith said, feigning ignorance from behind his book and refusing to look at him. "My turn to what?"
"To look into yourself and admit what it is you’re really feeling," Lance said wickedly, throwing back Keith’s words at him.
Keith was studiously silent behind his book.
Lance leaned on the table and grinned at Keith mischievously. "I distinctly remember that a certain blonde-haired, blue-eyed princess told me that my best bet would be to tell the one I cared about what I really feel."
Keith continued pretending to ignore him, but Lance pushed on anyway, knowing he was listening.
"Maybe you should take some of her advice – it
worked for me," he went on, picking up his pen and papers from the table,
planning to leave Keith with his book and with the thought hanging in the
air. "After all," he added wickedly, "It was her idea." Without
another word, he went out the rec room door, but not before he caught a
glimpse of Keith’s visible wince.
The ballroom door was slightly open, and the darkened room was bathed in silver by the moonlight streaming through its wide glass windows. A pool of moonlight surrounded the grand piano, bathing the Princess’ slender figure in its ethereal light, the silver bringing out the gold in her hair. She was playing a sweet, lilting melody upon the piano, the peaceful expression on her face making it even more beautiful as it radiated a light of happiness that rivaled even the moonlight. With a soft, clear voice she began to hum the same melody she was playing, the rich, warm sound weaving itself around the strains of the piano and the moonlight.
He watched her through the crack in the door for long, endless minutes, drinking in the sight of her innocent smile and her blissful expression, the vision of her slender white hands gracefully dancing over the keys, letting the sweet sounds of her music bathe over him like a blessing. Finally, he raised his hand to the button that would fully open the ballroom doors, hesitating for another long moment before he pressed it.
The ballroom doors silently swung open and he quietly entered the room, pausing to partly close the doors behind him, then walking towards her, his soft footfalls hidden by the music. Her eyes, intent on the keys, did not see him until his shadow fell over the keys as he leaned upon the piano.
Startled, the princess stopped playing and looked up at him. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the tender smile upon his face as she looked into his eyes. The way he looked, silhouetted in the moonlight, it reminded her of a dream she had once, not so long ago, of a smiling knight who kissed her gently and told her –
"Please," he said softly, gazing at her intently. "Don’t stop playing."
Her hand flew to her throat, where the blue rose pendant nestled against its hollow. She tore her gaze away from his and fixed it on the keys that her other hand was lightly stroking. "I… I come here sometimes to play, at night, when everyone sleeps," she said, smiling softly as she fingered the pendant at her throat. "For a little while, it… it helps me make sense of… everything."
"I know," he said softly, the tender smile still in place. She looked up at him with a surprised look on her face. He reached out and tucked a stray strand of golden hair behind her ear gently, as she looked on, bemused. "I often stay up to listen. It brings me peace."
For a long moment, their gazes locked.
She shyly smiled at that small bit of praise,
pride and happiness shining in her eyes. "Thank you, Keith," she said softly,
still keeping her frank blue gaze trained on his for another endless moment.
Then, looking away from him reluctantly, she began another lilting melody,
her clear voice floating above the music, as he watched her, holding the
vision of her close to his heart.
Outside, Lance looked through the slightly opened
doors into the ballroom, which he passed on his way to his room from the
observation room, pausing to watch the two shadowed figures in the moonlight,
listening to the music, and smiling wisely. After a few more moments, he
walked away, his head leaning into both his hands behind his nape, whistling
the same sweet melody softly even long after the lilting notes of the princess’
piano had faded away behind him.