A prodigy of music

Lord Edward glanced at the guy with contempt.

“What are you doing here? Don’t be weird in front of our guests!”

Natsuo observed the guy mimicking the position of the fingers on the fretboard of the song they played before and replicating the rhythm with the other hand.

The boy seemed to be lost in his world and didn’t realise that his father was talking with him.

“Tristan! Listen to me!” Lord Edward raised his voice.

The boy, apparently called Tristan, looked up, confused. The long hair that covered his face moved away, revealing a very graceful face and two light blue eyes that seemed deep enough to lose yourself in them.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. What did you say?” he asked.

Lord Edward wrinkled his nose.

“I told you to get out of my sight” he replied, coldly.

Tristan lowered his gaze again and slowly got up.

“Yes, father” he said in a low tone, then went away.

Natsuo was still thinking of him replaying the song with gestures. That boy was certainly special. In Roselond, no one knew anything about music: if he was able to learn that fast, he could be a prodigy of music.

Olive was aghast by Lord Edward’s behaviour. That guy called Tristan was his son, how could he say such terrible things to him?

Gregory, who was usually cheerful, had a cold expression depicted in his face.

“I’m sorry, he can be very weird sometimes, I didn’t intend to ruin your—” Lord Edward

turned to them and sensed the dismay in their faces.

He laughed hysterically.

“We should go and have tea, what do you think?”

“Yeah, we should” Natsuo replied dryly.

They went to the living room and the servants served tea. Lady Eleanor also joined them because she wanted to chat a little more.

“I haven’t thanked you properly yet” said Edward, again with a fake smile printed on his face. “I’m very grateful for your help, thanks to you my precious daughter was able to heal. Of course, I have a reward for your services.”

He motioned for a servant to come closer and the latter handed Natsuo a little coffer.

The boy opened it and inside there were three refined gems to be worn as accessories in clothes.

“They’re family heirlooms. They’ve been kept here in Blue Castle for decades, they belonged to Blueweald’s family members. I hope it’s enough to repay you.”

The gems were of three different colours: red, green and white. Olive looked with sparkling eyes at the green one: she couldn’t believe she could really wear something like this, from now on.

Natsuo glanced at the red gem. If they were family heirlooms, those accessories were of inestimable value. He closed the coffer.

“Yeah, we’re fine with this” he said. “The important thing is that Lady Eleanor is fine now.”

Eleanor lowered her gaze, blushing a little.

“Indeed” replied Edward.

Suddenly, the room’s door swung open and a servant came in.

“There is an important guest for you, my lord” he said.

Considering the rush the servant was in, Edward imagined who that guest could be.

“I’m sorry, I have to go for a bit. Eleanor will keep you company while I’m busy” he said.

As soon as he left the room, Natsuo put the coffer on the table and glanced at Eleanor.

“There’s something I would like to ask you” he said.

“I would be glad to answer.”

“Can you tell me something about Tristan, your brother?” Natsuo asked.

Lady Eleanor’s gaze lowered gloomily.

“Tristan…” She clasped her hands that were resting on the dress’ skirt. “He’s always been a little weird. He doesn’t talk much and has strange behaviours. I don’t see him very often, he always stays alone and most of the times he doesn’t even share meals with the rest of the family. Probably he doesn’t fit in because he’s not a legitimate child…”

Hearing those words, Natsuo understood the situation better. The fact that he was an illegitimate child could be the reason for Lord Edward’s spiteful behaviour toward him.

“Oh, but I don’t think he’s a bad person!” Eleanor added. “He can be very gentle, sometimes. I would like to try to talk to him more, but I don’t know how to approach him. So I always end up watching him train from afar, without saying anything. My father seems to not like him either, so that makes things more difficult.”

“Can I ask you to take us to him?” asked Natsuo.

“I could do that, but why are you so interested in him?”

Natsuo smiled slightly.

“I have to talk with him. His talent can’t be wasted.”

Lady Eleanor didn’t understand what he was talking about, but decided to comply with his request. She accompanied the group to the internal courtyard, where Tristan used to stay alone.

The garden was dotted with flowering hydrangea trees and a carpet of bluebells covered the green lawn.

As soon as they arrived, they heard a voice come from there. They looked at the direction of it and saw Tristan.

He was sitting on the ground, leaning against a hydrangea tree and moving his hands mimicking someone who played the guitar. He was singing the melody and, even if in a low tone, they could still hear him in the peaceful silence of the garden.

Natsuo watched him as he tried to reproduce the guitar solo of the song from before. He was immersed in his world and seemed to be very invested in his performance.

Suddenly, he stopped and put a finger on his chin, thoughtfully. He probably didn’t remember how the song went after.

Sensing someone’s eyes on him, he looked up and met Natsuo’s gaze.

Natsuo took a step to come closer to him, but someone arrived first.

“You! You’ve gone crazy! What were those noises?” Lord Edward scolded him in a contemptuous tone.

“I’m sorry” replied Tristan, depressed, and immediately got up.

“I don’t need your excuses! Just stop being weird!”

Edward raised his hand and slapped him very hard.

Tristan took the hit and fell on the ground, helpless.