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Post by fae on Mar 27, 2008 0:12:21 GMT -6
Seated upon a stone bench amidst the blooming flowers of the garden sat the Royal Bard and Herald of Skye. It was midday and the sun was lost somewhere betwixt a pair of fluffy clouds that drifted lazily across a cryztal azure sky. She had her tall golden harp brought out with her, which was placed infront of her. Her hands on each side with slender fingers gracing the thin strings. She had just been for a large portion of the morning within the castle. Making recordings and documenations of courtly business. And to appease her mind she'd decided to break in the garden with her harp for awhile.
On her slender frame fitted an elegant pastel sage green dress with lace trimmings and wide sleeves. Oh she could fancy herself a Lady of the court, but only for so long. She was versatile and able to mold herself into various fashions and manners, but it all returned to the insatient need for music. To create music, to hear music, or to be music. It was the language of humanity, the connection of all spirits. Words were a wonder, but such a fickle thing. It was music that spoke much louder, and what could be understood universally.
Delicate hands that were soft and supple graced with long and sinewy fingers plucked and caressed the strings. Thick lashes were bent halfway over the eyelid to give an aloof impression on her lightly freckled face, with blue-green eyes resting on the instrument. Her mane of red curls was pulled in an updo of sorts with the rest brought in a long side pony tail to spill over one side of her shoulder and over the sage green dress. The music of the harp glistened over the garden, like the sound of falling stars or trickling water. For awhile she was subdued by the Harp's voice, playing a well-known Scottish folk song. Until she was so inclined to join her beloved harp and sing along;
"Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes,
Flow gently, I'll sing thee a song in thy praise;
My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream,
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.
Though stock dove whose echo resounds thro' the glen,
Ye wild whistling blackbirds in yon thorny den.
Thou green crested lapwing thy screaming forbear,
I charge you, disturb not my slumbering fair.
How lofty, sweet Afon, thy neighboring hills,
Far mark'd with the courses of clear, winding rills;
There daily I wander as noon rises high,
My flocks and my Mary's sweet cot in my eye.
How pleasent thy banks and green valleys below,
Where, wild in the woodlands, the primroses blow;
There oft, as mild evening weeps over the lea,
The sweet-scented birk shades my Mary and me."
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Post by wilhemiaschleitz on Mar 28, 2008 10:19:43 GMT -6
The young woman was moving about the halls, the kitchen overwhelmed at the moment with more then just help. With the army having moved out and the Lord and Lady gone.. Willa actually found herself with a bit of freetime. The quiet steps had made their way down halls as she paused to look out one of the windows. The melody caught her attention as the simple blue eyes flickered about a moment before catching sight of the bard.
The young woman held her place there a moment in the hallway, before slipping down to the first floor then out into the garden itself. She remained silent until the last note was played. and even then she held her applause for a moment. The small one blinked as though bespelled by the song and music. With a little shake of her head as she clapped quietly , then when the bards attention shifted, Willa offered a small bobbed curtsy.
At least she was getting somewhat better at them..she didn't trip this time,
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Post by fae on Mar 30, 2008 20:48:54 GMT -6
"Thy crystal stream, Afton, how lovely it glides,
And winds by the cot where my Mary resides;
How wanton thy waters her snowy feet leave,
As, gathering sweet flowerets, she stems thy clear wave.
"Flow gently, sweet Afton, amang thy green braes,
Flow gently, sweet river, the theme of my lays;
My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream,
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream." Finished with the words of the song, Faeren beckoned the harp to play a while on. The strings shuttered a sheer rainbow of notes, easily bespelling any of those that stopped to listen. She was not aware of anyone listening though or watching from above, however when she finished her song and rested her palms on the strings to still them she noticed then the girl standing before her. Her hands fell to wrap around the wooden body of the harp, tilting her head some as she observed the younger girl with a smile encroaching her lips. "Well, hullo there," She spoke in the light and soft accent of the Irish that dipped and dove gently in it's own number of grace notes and had a lyrical sound to it. "Where ye just listening, or have ye a message for me?" Her red brows inclined slightly, tilting her head. The question only because sometimes younger servants were sent to her to summon her or pass on a message from Bess on terms of her Herald business. [/color] |
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Post by wilhemiaschleitz on Mar 31, 2008 7:09:56 GMT -6
Willa merely stood watching the woman, then looked rather sheepish as she glanced down and shook her head. " No missus.. I ain't gots naw message er nothin.. I heard ya from up dere. " She turned and pointed to the window she had looked down from. " Ain't realla all that often ya gits ta hear someone likes yerself play. So's I figured I'd snip down fer a minute. " She shifted a little as her hands immediately went behind her back. " ya ain'ts cross wit me are ya? I means I didna knowed iffin ya wanna be left by yerself and all. " She babbled when she got nervous.
After having gone and visited the town square .. and the lists.. there was enough hubbub going on inside. Willa had gone through wars before.. the waiting and all. It was a lingering sorrow in the servants halls though.. one Willa had thought to hide from.. hearing the music where else would be a good place to hide?
" I'm sorra iffin I be interuptin ya. "
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Post by fae on Apr 1, 2008 1:27:45 GMT -6
Faeren pushed the harp away so the body of it was no longer leaning against her shoulder and instead standing upright on the ground.
"Oh no, no," She shook her head and extended her hand, waving to beckon her to come hither. "Ye were nae disturbin' mea a'tall, please," The hand dropped and patted the empty space next to her on the stone bench, "Come an' sit," A warming and inviting smile spread over her lips and kindled in her eyes that many people found hard to resist the Bard's company. "It is ye who I am here for, after all. Ye an' everyone else. Me music is fer the people." To relax them in times of anxiety, to comfort them in times of sorrow, to encourage them in times of battle, to commemorate them into legacies, and to be their voice and their history.
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Post by wilhemiaschleitz on Apr 1, 2008 7:07:44 GMT -6
The small smile was given as she gave a little nod and moved over to the bench. A little nervous, but then nearly everyone in the castle seemed to be on pins and needles. " I'm Willa.. I work in da kitchens. Doh it seemed a bit ta crowded in dere taday. " She introduced herself. She absently tucked a bit of hair behind an ear as she looked over the gardens. The quiet sigh left her as she lost herself for a moment in thought before looking back to the bard. " Where'd ya learn ta play? " it seemed a perfectly safe place to start a conversation.
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Post by fae on Apr 1, 2008 22:17:20 GMT -6
"Well met Willa, I am Faeren." She smiled and in the brief pause that took place between the two, she looked around the area of the garden as well. Her face turned towards her again when she voiced a question.
"Well, I've been playin' the harp since I was a wee girl. Me da played, so, it came with learnin' tah walk an' those things." A fond smile touched her lips, allowing herself to reminisce on those golden days of youth. "As I got older, I played a variety o'instruments. Like the lute an' the bodhran and the violin. Then, when I was 'bout yer age I think," If Faeren could judge age by looks well enough. "I joined some Gypsies an' played only the violin for a number o'years." It was hard to not think of music or some sort of instrument when reflecting back on her life. Or to think of Faeren at all.
"Do ye know how to pay anythin'?"
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Post by wilhemiaschleitz on Apr 2, 2008 0:15:30 GMT -6
The young woman watched the woman as she spoke. The hands absently fidgeting with the skirts of the dull brown. The blue eyes widened a touch as she heard the word Gypsy. " Ya knowed Gypsies? " she seemed a bit less certain of the woman now as she shifted a bit " ain't they ya know.. evil.. stealin babies an da like? " She asked in a hushed tone. It was not to insult the woman in the slightest, but well everyone knew that Gyspies were the closest thign to demons on the planet. Or well so she had been raised to believe.
" An aye.. my Momma , she was ratherin insistant on me learnin da violin. Though it gots burned when they burnt da house cause o' plague. " She answered with a small shrug. Honestly since her mother had past those years ago..s he hadn't touched one since. She hadn't really wanted to.
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Post by fae on Apr 3, 2008 23:04:38 GMT -6
At the young woman's stereotypical belief on Gypsies, Faeren had to laugh. Not to insult her, but it never ceased to amuse her what the gaje believed on what they knew so little about.
"Yes I knew Gypsies," She infact was one, but if this was Willa's impression, she did not want the girl to distrust her. She shook her head next. "People always fear wot they don't undarstand. Since Gypsies have no home, they are wanderers 'till the end o'time, Gaje, which are non-Gypsies like ye an' all the people here, are suspicious of them. An' suspicion can spread like wild fire, m'dear, an' sprout equally terrible rumors." She paused and would begin to explain, feeling a very insistent need to defend the people and culture she loved and had been apart of for a majority of her life, and was still part of it today. "We," She said absent-mindedly, "do nae steal babies. Tha' is certain. As for stealin' an' such...in wot type o'society do ye nae have thiefs an' cheats hm? No where. But, it will be mostly blamed on the Gypsies because o'wot I said before; bein' nomads we are distrusted since our way o'life is so different from yers an' theres. Am I sayin' there are no thiefs at all within the Gypsies? O'course not. Bein' nomadic people, ye have to understand...we don't have a consistent income. We life off of wot the Gaje pay us for our entertainments. An' some Gypsies, if havin' nae enough may have to result in thievery. Others, do it just because other folks may do it. An' then others, like myself an' how the most of my clan had been...we often time dun need to steal. Our talents should bea sufficient enough where we earn all that we need." Stopping in her speech, she looked at Willa carefully through narrowing eyes. "Do ye understand?"
Then to her talk about the violin, something sparked within her eyes. "That is a shame. But, nevar too late to learn. I would say the violin is me best instrument, how about I teach you? I have some extras even."
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Post by wilhemiaschleitz on Apr 4, 2008 12:49:11 GMT -6
Willa listened to the woman talk as she wasn't so sure what to say to all that. She had caught the We's.. and Our.. in her words as she sat silently watching her. The blue eyes about the size of half dollars as she absently chewed on the edge of her lip. She hadn't touched a violin since her mother had passed. Perhaps it would be a good way to bring that part of her Momma back to her? The little tentative nod was given as the small mind continued to wrap around all that she had said. It reminded her a bit of what Odis had preached. " individual people are smart.. but put them in a group.. they act just as sheep do.. or worse. " She was trying to put aside that small fear.
" I think I does.. ya'll be likes them folks in Rome.. ya jus earn yer keep likes thespians? " She inquired softly. Eh.. hard to believe the little farm girl knew what they were.. but ayways.
" I dunno abouts learnin .. its been a long o' time since I played one.. " She frowned for a moment then looked up again. " Asides I gots naw way ta pays ya fer teachin me. "
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Post by fae on Apr 5, 2008 16:19:04 GMT -6
Her brows inched a little at the girls simile. To which she nodded slightly, "Aye, somethin' like that." She smiled. Gypsies were also like a racial group of their own, Gypsy Blood. Either born to it or one is given it through a ceremony of initation when being accepted in the Gypsy community.
Next she shook her head and waved her hand dismissivly, "Oh no, dun worry 'bout that. S'long as ye take the lessons seriously an' practice, that'll be all the payment I need." A soft smile spread over her lips, "Well, think 'bout it. No pressure at all. Though if ye played before, should be nae hard to pick up agayn. An' I have plenty o'school violins for ye to use."
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Post by wilhemiaschleitz on Apr 5, 2008 23:59:08 GMT -6
The small bashful smile appeared again as she looked at the woman. The idea of playing again.. while would be a bit difficult as most times it had been merely for her mother's pleasure. She seemed to have missed things like that.. though where she would have heard it? Willa had no idea.
" I'd like dat.. I realla would. " She could only nod to the rest of the stipluations as she allowed the wider smile to take place . " an I promise.. I'll practice .. an bes da bes' pupil ya evers had.. " She blurted out a bit over excited over the prospect of learning the instrument again. Of course Willa would also look for a way to pay the woman for her kindness. After all nothing in the world was free.. and those that took things without paying somethign for them? Well it just wasn't the sort of person she was raised to be.
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Post by fae on Apr 7, 2008 21:44:53 GMT -6
Faeren was a very giving person. She was one of those people that took delight in pleasing others, making them happy. She also enjoyed teaching, but was selective about her students. She didn't like to teach anyone younger then 10. Not that she didn't believe anyone younger could play, but she had little patience for younger children.
"An' thats what I want t'hear," She smiled brightly, "Well, come by any dae durin' the week either in the mornin's or the evenin's 'round five to eight. I bae busy in the afternoon an' later than nine." In the afternoons she worked as a Herald, and at night she donned her Gypsy self and entertained the people of the taverns or elsewhere in a much more casual setting. "M'room is in the tower, but ye can ask one o'the older servants to point ye in the right direction."
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Post by wilhemiaschleitz on Apr 7, 2008 23:53:13 GMT -6
The smile was given as she gave a quick nod. " Yes ma'am. " She was excited.. though one should likely wise for cotton to place in their ears for the first few lessons. She pondered how she would work her lessons around her chores in the kitchen.. but then again she could exchange with one of the morning staff for a bit..
The lass slowly stood up, she had to get herself back inside before she was missed. " Thank ya , M'lady.. I oughts go, can'ts let me chores gits ta fars ahead o' me. "
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