By: Heidi and Heather Lane
I
don’t own any of these characters, I don’t make any money off this, it’s just
for fun. J The shows that I
borrowed the characters from are: “West Wing” and “Kung Fu: The Legend
Continues” (for teachers) and “Magnificent Seven” and “J.A.G.” (for
students). There are a few original
characters, though I admit to borrowing the idea of Sam having been married and
having a daughter from another fanfic writer.
Special
thanks go to my twin, Heather, who wrote the Ezra-Clay parts in this
story. She’s a lot better at
characterizing them than me. The poem I
used as Vin’s song is also her’s (she’s talented, my twin). It’s called “The Church Family”.
If
you want to comment you can write me directly at [email protected].
By: Heidi and Heather Lane
Today was the big day. Vin could hardly believe it had come so fast. The start of the Spring Festival, with its big concert and gala, was here at last. He threw on his best over-tunic and darted out the door. Before he got very far down the hall he noticed J.D. sitting in the window embrasure staring outside.
“Howdy,” Vin called, “Beautiful day,
perfect for the Festival.”
“Hi, Vin,” the younger boy called
back, “Yeah, it is nice out. Still
feels kinda strange. All my life, this
time of year we start travelin’ again, this year I’m stayin’ put.”
“Yeah, That would be strange for
you,” Vin said.
“It’s alright though, I like it
here.”
“Me too. Me’n Ezra are goin’ to the cafeteria for breakfast this morning –
‘cause there’re no classes today. Wanna
come?”
“Sure, it’s that or hot cereal,”
J.D. replied, grabbing up the large-brimmed hat that he invariably wore. The two boys bounded down the stairs,
greeting Casey on their way by.
“Mornin’, Mistress Nettie. Mornin’ J’siah,” Vin called as he entered
the dining room. “Ezra tell you we were
goin’ out for breakfast?”
“Yes, he did,” Mistress Nettie
replied. “Don’t forget, string ensemble
has a rehearsal this morning. If you’re
late Master Toby won’t be pleased.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Vin said, rolling his
eyes. He knew what a perfectionist
Master Toby was. This was the first
time the Spring Festival, with its royal patrons, had been held at this campus
of the Bardic Academy in nearly 20 years.
Everything had to be perfect.
“Maybe I’ll come with you,” Josiah
said, bringing Vin out of his reverie.
“Fine by me. We’re bringing J.D. too,” Vin grinned up at
the journeyman. “Where’s Ez?” he continued, wondering aloud.
“Probably still in bed,” Casey said
bringing bowls of hot cereal into the dining room for her aunt and herself.
Vin shook his head and, grinning,
said, “Be right back.” He bounded back
up the stairs and took the hallway that lead away from his room and towards
Ezra’s. Very quietly, Vin opened the
door. He softly padded over to Ezra’s
bed and untucked the sheets at the foot of the bed. Smiling, he reached up and ticked one of Ezra’s bare feet.
“Bloody –!” Ezra exclaimed sitting
bolt upright. “Vin!” he cried seeing his friend. “Why are you disturbing me at this ungodly hour? I was under the impression that we had no
where to go.” Yawning, he started to
lie back down.
“It’s not that early. It’s the eighth hour. If we don’t hurry, there won’t be any good
stuff left in the cafeteria and we’ll have to eat hot cereal.”
Ezra sat up, almost glaring at his
cohort, “I abhor that… that substance that can scarcely be termed ‘food’.”
“Then get your lazy self moving
before that’s all there is left,” Vin said, retreating out the door. He bounded back downstairs with a shout of,
“He’s comin’.”
“Vin, I’ve asked you not to shout
through the whole house,” Mistress Nettie said quietly as he re-entered the
dining room.
Vin looked sheepish and said,
“Sorry, ma’am.”
“For what? Bellowing throughout the entire building or bringing all of the
older wards to the cafeteria for what may be considered, at the risk of
insulting our fair Warden, finer repast?”
Ezra asked entering the room.
“May have been my idea; but you
ain’t protestin’,” Vin pointed out.
“You aren’t protesting,”
Josiah corrected quietly
“I wouldn’t, it was my idea,” Vin said,
grinning. Glancing aside, he noticed
J.D. grinning and winked at him. “Ez,
J.D. and Josiah are comin’ too.”
“Fine by me,” Ezra replied, with a shrug. “And Vin, please do not call me ‘Ez’. I do not care for that particular moniker.”
Vin shrugged in reply and tugged Ezra out the door,
shouting to their Warden that they’d be back for lunch.
*****
“Hey, Vin,” called a voice as he entered the
cafeteria with his food. Vin looked
around and saw Chris waving at him.
“Howdy,” Vin called to him, grinning. He walked over and sat down next to the
older boy. Looking across the table he
waved at Buck and Nathan. He glanced up
as Ezra, Josiah and J.D. joined them.
“Are you all as excited about the festival as I am?” he asked them.
“Of course,” Chris said, grinning at his friend.
“Nervous too. It’s not every day that a
bardic apprentice performs before royalty.”
Vin blushed and looked down at his pancakes. “Don’t worry,” Chris
continued, “You’ll do fine.”
J.D. shook his head and said, “I’m nervous too. Buck, I’m not sure I’ve got those fingerings
quite right. Can you help me with them,
when we’re done eating.”
“Sure, J.D.” the older boy said grinning, “Maybe when
we’re done practicing, I can introduce you to that pretty new apprentice,” he
added suggestively. J.D. rolled his
eyes at his irrepressible friend.
“Really, Apprentice Wilmington,” Ezra said, “Can you
think of nothing but pretty girls?”
“Well, they are worth thinkin’ about,” Buck replied.
“I have an engagement at the Graphics Arts building
this morning, so I’ll leave you now.”
Ezra said gathering up his things and setting his tray in the cubby made
to contain dirty dishes.
“That reminds me,” Vin said, also standing, “Gotta
do some research. Have a project due,
day after we start back up.
“That’s not for a week and a half,” Buck pointed
out.
“No point waitin’ ‘til the last minute,” Vin
replied, taking off in the direction of the library.
*****
“Okay, I’ll give you one free measure. One…two…three…four,” Master Toby said,
setting the pace for the song. Vin
tried to follow the music but was distracted because he knew they’d be
performing before the Royal Family in a few hours. Though they’d practiced this piece many times in the last month,
he lost his place in the music. Master
Toby held up his hands as a signal for the ensemble to stop playing. “Problems?
Anyone? A few of you fell behind
there. Kay, had you practiced this
slower?”
“Yes, sir; but I think I have it now,” a pretty
blonde girl who Vin didn’t recognize replied.
“I guess I’m nervous,” Vin added, shrugging.
“That’s alright,” the older bard said
sympathetically. Talking to all the
students he continued, “Try not to think about who’s gonna be in the
audience. Lose yourself in the
music. Think about only that. Most importantly: count! If you count to yourself it might help,
especially if we get to a section where you aren’t playing. They won’t see your lips moving; they’re too
far away.” The last comment caused a few apprentices to chuckle, which was just
what Master Toby wanted. “Okay, relaxed
now?” At the scattered nods, he raised
his arms to begin again, “Pick up to measure 8; that’s the violin
mini-solo. One… two, and three…four.”
This time Vin found he could relax and follow the
music. It felt like a few moments and
their rehearsal was done. “Great job,”
their teacher said, “a few of you have other rehearsals to get to, some of you
haven’t eaten yet. So, get going. Concert’s in two and half hours, promptly at
three. Remember, white tops, dark
bottoms.”
Vin picked up his violin and as he started out of
the chamber he heard someone call his name.
Turning, he saw it was Chris. He
smiled as his friend caught up with him.
“Where’re you goin’?” The older boy asked.
“Got another rehearsal, for the song I wrote,” Vin
paused, confused, “Don’t you – I mean we’ve all been practicing it.”
“We’ve been rehearsing the choral version, Vin. That’s for the… um, Anniversary Gala.”
“Yeah I thought it was for this too.”
“No, I don’t think so. Wait, what teacher have you been rehearsing this with?”
“Master Jed.
So?”
“Not just Mistress Karen?”
“No, but I figured…” his eyes widened in shocked
comprehension, “I’m singin’ the piece solo for this, ain’t I?”
“Have you been practicing the melody?” His friend
asked.
“No, the harmony.
I’d’ve figured it out sooner if I was practicing different parts in
Choral.”
“What’s the arrangement look like?”
Vin paused in thought, “Three part harmony, Chris,
same as we’ve been practicing in Choral.”
“Well, you’d better get to rehearsal.” Chris patted Vin on the back as he scampered
off to his next rehearsal. Turning
around he spotted Ezra leaving the chamber with his new friend Clay.
“Ez, Clay, did you know that Vin’s singing
that song he wrote for the festival,” he called to them.
“Yeah, didn’t you?”
Clay asked. “My sister’s singing
the alto part.”
“I didn’t know and neither did he. We figured that the masters would perform it
for the Royal Family.”
Ezra shook his head, “Master Samuel says it’s better
if the songwriter performs the piece.
That’s why he’s letting us perform ours.”
“I wonder who else he’s singing with,” Chris said,
thinking out loud.
*****
“Hello, Vin.
You’re a little late,” Master Jediah said as he entered the Voice
Chamber.
“Sorry,” Vin said, pulling out his music and setting
his violin down.
“That’s alright.
Vin, you already know Abigail, this is Kayleigh. She’s just transferred to this campus. She’s the one who wrote the music for your poem. She’s going to be performing with you and
Abby.”
“I thought Master Griffin wrote it,” Vin said,
confused.
“He was going to,” Kayleigh said. Vin suddenly recognized her as the new girl
in the string ensemble. “But, he got
busy with other pieces and found something I’d written. My teacher had sent it to him, for the
festival. The two pieces seemed to go
together. That’s what he told Father
anyway.”
“Well, let’s get started. Vin, this is you,” the voice master said, hitting a key on his
piano. “Abby, this is your note.” He hit another key. “And Kay, this is you.” He hit a third key. “Got that?” he asked. When they’d all nodded he played the
introduction to the piece. “Do you hear
where your notes are in the introduction?”
Again the students nodded, then they began to sing.
Vin grinned and lost himself in the music, just as
he had during the ensemble rehearsal.
He enjoyed the way that his voice and Kayleigh’s blended. The notes would be in harmony with anyone
singing them, but it seemed to Vin that there was another level of blending
with their two voices.
“Well, that was great,” the voice master said when
they were finished. “Sam was
right. You two have the same tonal
quality in your voices. You make a
perfect pair for a duet.” Vin grinned
and glanced over to his partner, who was grinning back at him. “Well, Vin I know you have another
rehearsal, and I don’t see any reason to mess around with this and possibly
tire out your voices. So you two can
get going. Remember, white –”
“White tops, black bottoms, Performance starts at
three, promptly,” the students said in unison.
“Yeah, get going,” Master Jediah said waving his
hand in a dismissive gesture.
The apprentices scampered down the hall towards the
concert hall, which was near the exit.
“Do you want to meet my friends, Kayleigh?” Vin asked, taking her hand almost unconsciously.
“Sure, Vin.
You can call me Kay, all my friends do.”
“Alright.”
Soon they entered the hall.
“Howdy y’all. This here’s
Kay. She’s singin’ with me and Abby. Where’re Ez an’ Clay?”
“They aren’t here yet.”
“They’d best hurry.
We got a performance in… one hour,” Vin said looking at his watch. “Where are they?”
*****
“The others are already expecting us at the concert
hall,” Ezra said softly.
“I know,” Clay replied softly. “It’s just…”
“Clayton?” interrupted a voice from behind the two
boys.
Clay turned and a smile spread across his face. Ezra followed his line of sight and saw a
beautiful woman with light brown hair standing in the doorway with a sandy-haired
man. Turning back to Clay, he
sighed. Judging by the huge smile that
his friend now wore, they had to be Clay’s parents. Clay’s next words confirmed Ezra’s suspicions.
“Hello, Mother.
Hello, Father!” he greeted happily.
“I knew you’d be here!”
Neville shrugged. “The Royal
Family is here, so I had to come,” he explained, smiling at his son. “Master Samuel told us that you are going to
perform something you wrote today…”
Clay nodded; then turned to Ezra. The southerner was staring down at his feet,
trying his hardest not to look at the happy family reunion. He cursed the tears that filled his eyes as
he thought about the fact that his mother had not yet arrived. He’d really hoped she’d be there for this,
if not his birthday.
“Ezra?” Clay called softly. Stepping closer, he whispered, “You
alright?”
Ezra sniffled and nodded; then forced a smile. “Just nervous,” he lied.
Clay’s brow furrowed and nodded slightly. “Yeah, right,” he replied. He knew Ezra was lying and he knew why. Deciding to let it go for the moment, Clay
turned to his parents. “Mum, Dad, this
is Ezra Standish. We, um…wrote the song
together.”
Clay’s mother smiled and said, “You’re Maude’s
little boy.”
Ezra blushed and Clay rolled his eyes. “He’s not a little boy, Mother! He’s older than I am by almost two years.”
“Two years?” Neville repeated.
“He’ll be seventeen on April first, Dad,” Clay
explained. “I’m only fifteen.”
Neville smiled and argued, “He’s a year and a half
older than you. You’ll be sixteen on
December third.”
“Yes, father,” Clay answered, grinning.
“You know my mother?” Ezra broke in.
Porter nodded and answered, “We went to school
together and she sometimes performs at the Royal Castle.”
Ezra nodded and said, “Of course. That’s where she was last year at this time.”
Porter frowned.
“You’re right,” she said softly.
“She was at the Castle at the end of March last year. She performed at a wedding, I believe.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ezra answered softly.
Neville also frowned. “Is she going to attend the Spring Festival?”
Ezra shook his head and started, “Well, Master
Silverwebb, I honestly don’t…”
“Ezra?” a soft voice interrupted.
Ezra, and the others, turned to see a beautiful
woman with thick blonde hair and pale blue eyes standing in the doorway.
“M-mother?” Ezra asked in disbelief.
“Hello, darlin’,” she replied, grinning broadly.
“You came!” he exclaimed. Before she could reply, her son had thrown his arms around her in
a rough embrace. “You came!” he
repeated softly.
Maude smiled and tentatively laid a hand on his back. “Of course, I did, darlin’,” she answered
softly. “I know how important this is
to you. You’ll be performing your own
piece of music in public for the first time.”
Ezra finally stepped back and wiped at the tears in
his eyes. “Who…who told you about
that?”
Maude smiled.
“Mistress Nettie called me a few days ago and told me that if I missed
the Spring Festival this year she would track me down to the ends of the world
and have her satisfaction.”
Ezra dimpled at his mother and said, “Mistress
Nettie can be somewhat insistent.”
“Yes,” Maude answered, straightening Ezra’s
hair. “I’d noticed that. Anyway, when I asked her why it was so
important that I attend the event with you, she explained that you and a friend
had composed an original work.” Blue
eyes locked with green and Maude added softly, “I am so proud of you, Ezra.”
Tears came unbidden to Ezra’s eyes and he breathed,
“Really?”
Maude smiled and pulled a handkerchief from her
pocket. Handing it to her son, she
said, “Yes, darlin’, I am truly proud of you.”
As Ezra took the handkerchief, Maude drew out another and dried her
eyes. “Take a deep breath, darlin’, and
try to calm down,” she said, following her own advice.
Ezra smiled and wiped his eyes. “Sorry,” he whispered.
Maude smiled.
“It’s alright, darlin’. You’re
somewhat overwhelmed by the surprise, just try to get back under control.”
Ezra nodded and turned back to Clay; then glanced at
his mother and explained, “This is Clayton Silverwebb, Mother. He co-wrote the song with me.”
Maude smiled and said, “Hello, Apprentice
Silverwebb.”
“Hello, Mistress Standish,” Clay replied
softly. He grinned broadly at Ezra and
said, “We gotta rehearse if we’re gonna be ready for tomorrow, Ez.”
Ezra nodded and said, “Clay’s right, Mother.”
“Of course, darlin’,” Maude said, straightening the
collar of Ezra’s shirt. “You go
rehearse, I’ll still be here when you return.”
Ezra beamed at her and the two apprentices bounded
out of the room.
“Ez?” Maude repeated, glancing at Clayton’s parents.
Porter smiled and said, “Hello, Maude. You remember Neville?”
Maude nodded.
“Of course I do, Porter. Hello,
Neville.”
Neville grinned and answered, “Hello, Maude. Have a nice trip down?”
“Yes,” Maude replied. “Why does your son call mine…Ez?”
“Clayton likes to shorten people’s names,” Porter
explained. “He calls his sister
Abby. It’s a habit he picked up from
spending time with…Normans, I believe.”
“Normans?” Maude asked, in surprise.
“I had an assignment with the Loyalian Security
Agency a few years ago that entailed spending time with them. One of them visited the house a few times
and his children spent time with mine.
Clayton’s pick up a few…interesting habits from them. Nicknames among them. He calls himself Clay half the time.”
Maude nodded and said, “Yes, well, Ezra doesn’t seem
to mind the moniker, so I suppose it’s alright.”
Neville nodded and frowned. “I don’t think Ezra expected you to make
it.”
Maude looked down.
“I missed his birthday last year and I fear he was expecting me to
repeat the action.”
Porter nodded and asked, “Why didn’t you tell him
not to worry?”
“In truth,” Maude replied. “I’ve been somewhat out of touch of late. Mistress Nettie just happened to call when I
was near enough to answer. Ezra had
sent me several letters, as had a Journeyman named Josiah Sanchez, but I did
not receive them until after Nettie reached me.”
Neville scowled and said, “I’ll see if we can’t do
something to keep you in better contact with Ezra, Maude. You should try and cherish this time of his
life. Too quickly he’ll be grown and
you won’t be able to get that lost time back.”
“I’d appreciate that, Neville,” Maude answered
softly.
*****
Vin sighed and adjusted the laces on
his shirt for the third time in as many minutes. He stared out over the crowd gathered for the concert and
frowned. All these people and the Royal
Family, he wasn’t sure he could perform in front of such a large group. “You’ll do fine, Vin,” he heard Chris reassure
him. “The string ensemble pieces went
well.”
“Yeah everyone seemed to like it,”
Vin said as he fussed with his laces once more.
“Hey, you’re on next,” Buck said,
coming up beside his two friends.
“After these girls get done dancing.”
Buck glanced appreciatively at the dancers; glad of the excellent view
they were getting from the wings.
Suddenly he realized what kind of dance the young ladies were
performing. “Are they taking their
clothes…”
“They’ll only get down to their
leotards, Buck.”
“Are they allowed to… I mean the
Royal Family…”
“The fertility dance is traditionally
performed at the Spring Festival,” Ezra said softly as he came up behind
them. “Put your eyes back in your head,
Buck,” he added calmly.
“Wow,” Buck said softly, “J.D.,
look.”
J.D. shrugged calmly and replied,
“When we, Normans I mean, do it the girl ends up… but that’s for their husband,
for the fertility of their marriage.
Sort of a private dance.”
“How do you know?” Buck asked
incredulously.
“My ma told me.”
“Your ma told you?” Chris
asked, shocked.
“Well, she was telling me what to
expect when I settle down and get married.
Oh, they’re done; you’re on Vin.”
Vin nodded and walked out to the center of the stage where he was joined
by Abby and Kayleigh. Vin positioned
himself between the two girls and stood quietly as the introduction started up.
“A single voice cries out
for help,
So fearful and alone.”
He and Kayleigh sang, their voices
blending effortlessly. Abby joined them
for the next stanza.
Join that prayer with their
own.”
*****
“Wow. Not only is that song pretty, but they blend so well,” Master
Joshua whispered.
“She’s so much like her mother,”
Master Samuel murmured.
“You still miss her?”
“Sometimes,” he replied wistfully.
“But I’m alright.”
and our Lord hears them
clear.”
The trio sang in perfect
harmony. Master Samuel smiled as Vin
sang in his sweet tenor voice,
The girls joined him again on the
next line,
“So that they know he’s
near.”
As the group began the next verse,
Master Samuel leaned over to Mistress Ainsley and whispered, “Is that young
poet holding my daughter’s hand?”
“It looks like it,” she replied
softly.
“Why?”
“I think he likes her.”
“How sweet,” he said, closing his
eyes and listening to his daughter’s solo.
“You’d be so proud, Ellie,” he murmured. “She’s so like you.”
“What was that?” Mistress Ainsley
whispered.
“Nothing, just thinking,” Sam said
as the last note died away and the audience applauded.
*****
“They liked it,” Vin said as he
exited the stage and stood waiting for the Master of Ceremonies to introduce
the next group.
“It was very nice, Vin,” Chris
said. “Get your violin; I think we’re
next.”
*****
Maude let go of the breath she didn’t realize she’d
been holding as her son and his friends came out onto the stage. Ezra and Clay exchanged a glance as the band
began to play behind them. A smile
touched Maude’s lips as her son began to sing the verse to the song – a song
which he had written and was now performing for not only his entire school, but
for the Royal Family.
“He sounds like my brother,” whispered a softly
accented voice in her ear.
Maude jumped and turned to face the speaker. “Noah!” she whispered. “What the devil are you doin’ here?”
The man smiled and looked beyond her to the
stage. “Same as you,” he
whispered. “I came watch my son perform
an original song in public for the first time.”
Maude glanced around nervously. “You shouldn’t be here,” she hissed. “It’s too dangerous!”
Noah frowned.
“I had to come, Maude, and you know it,” he whispered. His pale green eyes softened a bit and he
brushed her cheek with his finger.
“Dear Lord,” he breathed. “I’ve
missed you and Ezra so much.” Pulling
her into an embrace, he whispered, “He’s grown up so much since the last time I
saw him.”
Maude sighed and relaxed into the warm comfort of
the arms wrapping her shoulders. “You
left when he was only five, Noah. He’ll
be seventeen shortly.”
“Seventeen?” Noah asked. “Has it been twelve years already?” At Maude’s nod, he said, “I hate that my job is keeping me from
him…from you… Someday, Maude…”
“It’s too dangerous right now,” Maude sighed. “There are people out there that want to
hurt you and they’d use Ezra to do it.”
Noah nodded sadly.
“I know,” he said. “Phillip told
me the same thing when I went into hiding, but it isn’t fair – not to me, not
to you and certainly not to Ezra!”
Maude smiled and locked eyes with her husband. “You’ve been keeping an eye on him, haven’t
you, Noah?”
It wasn’t really a question, but Noah nodded
anyway. “I couldn’t just completely
abandon him, Maude,” he said, his gaze going back up to the stage again. “There’s so much he doesn’t understand…so
much he’ll have to know before long.”
“It can wait a couple more years,” Maude whispered. “When he’s twenty-one, he’ll become a
journeyman and then we can all be together again.”
Noah smiled at her and nodded once.
Glancing around he said, “I have go.”
Noah stepped away and started to go, pausing only long enough to kiss
Maude on the cheek, before he hurried out of the room.
Maude sighed and turned her attention back to the
stage just in time to hear the last chords of the song. Her son and his friends had done a wonderful
job with the short piece. She’d have to
tell Ezra how proud she was of him…how proud his father would be. She knew she couldn’t tell Ezra that his
father had attended the festival, but he deserved to know that he’d made his
parents proud.
*****
“Well, Headmaster Orin,” King Jasper
said with a broad grin, “your students are the best I’ve seen in years. Peircival is practically beside himself,
wanting to meet those talented young people.
He’s a bard too, you know; aren’t you, Son.”
“Dad, I’m not quite to the composing
stage of my training yet,” Peircival said modestly, turning to the headmaster,
he added, “They really are impressive, Master Orin.”
“Well, you can tell them that
yourself, if you wish, Your Highness.
They’re over there getting a bite to eat.”
“Thank you, sir,” the second prince
said softly, “Dad, I’d like to meet them myself. You know… as me, not a prince.”
“Very well,” the King replied
indulgently, “but I hope you’ll forgive me if I join you shortly. I’d like to tell those youngsters how much I
enjoyed their songs also.”
Peircival made his way over to where
the other bardic apprentices had arranged themselves near the refreshment
table. He glanced shyly up at an older,
blond apprentice. “Hi,” he greeted
softly. “That was wonderful, all of
you.” The other bards murmured their
thanks. “I’m Peirce. I’m an apprentice at Northern River
Academy.”
“Hello, I’m Chris. These’re Vin, Ezra, Buck, Nathan, J.D.,
Clayton, Abby and Kayleigh. Northern
River’s a ways from here. How’d you get
to attend?”
“My parents brought me. My whole family’s here,” Peircival said
grinning. “My dad was very
impressed. He loves music.” Turning to Vin he asked, “You wrote that
song you sang? And they wrote the other
one, right? Wow, I’m not yet able to
compose.”
“I’m not sure about me composin’
either,” Vin said softly, “I just write poetry, Kayleigh wrote the music.”
“It was a simple melody,” she said
blushing.
“It’s still quite impressive,” said
an older man approaching the group. “I
hope you don’t mind my coming over now, Son.
I did want to meet these youngsters before we assemble for dinner.” Vin’s eyes widened as he noticed the older
man was wearing a cornet on his head.
“Yes, young man, I’m King Jasper.
That was a very impressive performance.
You’re all quite talented. I
think they are calling us for dinner now.
With such talented apprentices as you, I do believe the future of the
Bardic Guild is in good hands.” Smiling
at the apprentices, he motioned to his son and walked away.
“That was the King?” J.D. said, softly. “And he called, Peirce, ‘Son’, so that means…”
“He’s Prince Peircival,” Vin said,
“He didn’t seem very princely, seemed pretty normal actually.”
“It must be difficult for someone
our age growing up as a member of such an important family,” Kayleigh said
softly.
“Especially since all he really
wants is to be a bard and there are those who’d like to see him and not his
older brother as king some day,” Master Samuel said, joining them. “Ezra, Clayton, Vin, Kay, I’d like you all
to know how proud the other masters and I are of you, all of you. I believe most of your folks made it for the
festival, so you can eat with them if you’d like. Of course, the wards are welcome to sit with anyone they’d like. Vin, I’m sure that Kayleigh’d agree with me
when I say you can sit with us.”
At her nod, Vin smiled and said,
“I’d like that very much, sir.” As they
walked into the dining room for the reception dinner, Vin said softly to
Kayleigh, “You didn’t say Master Samuel was your pa.”
“You didn’t ask and I thought you
knew. Does it make a difference?”
“No,” Vin replied, taking her hand
as they moved toward their seats.
End