literally nothing

my tragic love story: piano scene

The palace halls echoed around me as I rushed through them. This was an often occasion, my room was not very far from my husband's after all, and he could come in any time he wished. My husband took what he wanted from me without asking. He assumed he could take it, the spoiled brat. I wandered deeper into the halls, my dress dragging behind me.

It was far into the night, a time where most would be asleep, but I was restless. Being chained to William all day had left me with little knowledge of my new home, so the night had become my closest friend. I could go where I wanted, and if my husband could not find me in my chambers he would simply call a servant girl instead. I felt bad for these girls, but my sense of self-preservation was greater than my sense of empathy. As long as he kept his grubby hands off my Sophie, I did not care what he did.

On these nights I would often visit my handmaiden, the girl of blonde hair and green-gray eyes. She was as if the sun was personified, my only source of light in this dark and dim prison. My father had promised me a happy life here. He was always good at false promises.

Tonight, my ventures lead me to a section of the castle I had never been to before. I lit a candle, the moonlight not reaching me here. The walls, now bathed in candlelight, were a shade of dark marble. Not quite white, not quite gray. I wondered what happened here, what things went on in this dark stretch. I walked farther into the dark, the dim light from the candle lighting my way.

The doors here were all closed, after trying a few I learned they were also locked. What happened here that was so important that the Queen couldn't even go in them? As I reached for another door, I heard something that made my movements halt. At the end of the hall, there was a single door with light peering through it. The sound brought my attention to it, and it took me only a few seconds to realize what it is.

It was a piano. The song playing was one of haunting beauty, the notes rising and soaring as fear shot through me. Was someone playing? At this hour? I wondered who would be brave enough to play something this far into the night, in a castle that was not his own.

Walking towards the door, the light of my candle flickered and threatened to blow out. As I approached the door, I summoned all of the courage I could. I pushed open the door and tried to use a regal and stern voice. "Who dares to play in my castle without permission?" But when my light hit the room, no one was there.

The piano simply played on as I entered, looking for the culprit. "Hello?" I asked, my voice much less queen-like than before. The song was louder now, slowly increasing in tempo and volume. I walked over to it and nearly dropped my candle when I saw what was happening. The keys were moving, being pressed down and playing their song, but no one was there to press them. They moved on their own.

I slowly started to move backward, my shock had not yet faded into fear. I backed into a small table where another candle sat. I placed my own next to it and placed my hands on my head. The candle next to mine seemed to light itself, burning to life in an instant. I nearly screamed when every other candle and lantern in the room did the same.

Now lit, I could see the details of the room. The piano was not the only thing in there, it was accompanied by a harp, a table full of goblets, and a full-length silver mirror. The walls were a light opal, pictures of beautiful and powerful-looking women were hung on the wall. I turned my back to the mirror in an attempt to save myself the disgrace of my own person.

"You know."

It was barely a whisper, but I would have had to be deaf to not hear it. Right next to my ear, the voice whispered again.

"You know what you have to do."

I turned quickly, expecting to see someone. A guard or butler trying to make what was not a very funny joke. But all I saw was me. In the mirror, I saw a pathetic woman, one that would never compare to the portraits around her. The green of my dress stood out against the lightly colored walls, the bodice pinching in my less than perfect waist. My mother had always said I should be happy with my hips. They were wide and good for childbearing. The rest of my body, however, she was not very proud of.

When my gaze met my own eyes, I cringed. They were puffy and red, opened wide in shock. My hair fell in front of my shoulders, a mess from my and Sophies earlier activities. I smiled, but it fell quickly when I saw it. The girl in the mirror was pathetic and undeserving of a smile. I cast my eyes downward, not wanting to view the sad girl in the mirror anymore.

"Look."

The voice spoke again, in front of me this time. My head shot up, my vision filled with the sight of myself once again. This time though, there was something different. My dress had changed noticeably, the green changing to a stark white with black detailing. My lips were painted a deep red, the color of wine. Her eyes seemed to be piercing through me, as if the woman in the mirror were a different person entirely, glaring into my soul.

She nodded downwards, towards her feet, and I had the strange urge to bow. I followed her eyes down to see the splatters of red against the white of her dress, and the hand lying limply next to it. The rings on his finger were ones of immediate recognition, the emerald shining in the candlelight. Green was always his favorite color.

The chalice lying on the other side of her dress looked as if it had been thrown, or dropped. The liquid pouring out of it was as red as her lips, slowly dribbling on the floor.

"You know what you must do."

The voice was all around me, amplified as if a million voices were speaking at once. Echoes of 'you know' chased around me as I stared at the cup. I looked back at her face, in awe of the woman in front of me. The woman who was truly worthy of the title Your Majesty. I looked back down the limp hand of my husband, and I knew immediately what I must do.