Amphitrite - Wilbur Soot

~fifteen~

"Listen, I know this is a lot," Wilbur said as we walked back to the castle, as if that would have comforted me. It didn't, by the way. "If you're concerned, there is no plan for a wedding anytime soon. At least, not for us." Phil chuckled a little in front of us.

"Speaking of weddings, I hope you don't mind accompanying Wil to Techno and Callista's wedding," Phil said, looking over his shoulder at us. "It's going to be a small celebration. They were both very adamant about that."

"When is the wedding?" I asked. "Do I need to go buy another dress?"

"It's about three weeks away. I think Callista will cover the cost of your dress." Wilbur's hand grazed mine as we walked. There was something about the feeling of his body heat emanating off of him that sent an unfamiliar feeling plummeting through my body, something about the way he periodically glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, and something about the slight pink tinge on his cheeks that almost made me think that maybe this wasn't completely pretend for him. That maybe, maybe, there was something in his golden heart that beat just for me, that maybe he-

Stop that. That's ridiculous. No one would ever feel like that towards me, especially not Prince Wilbur.

"Wil, show her to her room, please," Phil instructed, and Wilbur nodded. I followed him up a flight of stairs, through several hallways, and across a balcony until he stopped in front of two doors. One was his; I knew it by the sun decor on the door. The other door had a silver moon on its surface.

He gestured to the moon door. "That's your room. There's a door in between our rooms that connects them, just in case of an emergency. I don't think we'll need it though." He sighed. He looked tired. "Dinner is at six," he added, and then disappeared into his room, leaving me standing in the hallway by myself.

The room they gave me was spectacular. Nearly a perfect mirror image of Wilbur's room, minus the piano. Hopefully Thetis had them move my piano as well. I don't know what I would do without it. The bed was adorned with navy blue blankets and pillows, all with silver stitching. On the far wall, there was a huge window that overlooked the stormy sea below. There was also a modest vanity next to the bed with the mirror covered in what looked like a bedsheet. I had no intention of removing it. The room looked as though it hadn't been used in decades.

Knock knock. "Miss Lorelai? Anatolios and I have your belongings," Ophelia said gently through the door. I took a deep breath and opened it, seeing Ophelia smiling down at me. I let her in, subconsciously looking for Anatolios, whoever that was. Ophelia set the bags she was carrying down on the bed before surveying the area in front of the window. Suddenly, something in the air shifted beside me, and with a pop, an Enderman was looming over me. I dared not look up into their eyes.

"Oh, pardon me, Miss Lorelai," they said apologetically before stepping back beside Ophelia. One of their arms encircled her waist, pulling her closer to them. "I don't believe we've met. Anatolios." They offered a hand for me to shake, which I took politely.

"Lorelai," I said, even though they already knew who I was.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Congratulations on the engagement! We both know how long the Prince has been pining for you," they said, looking at Ophelia while they spoke. They must have been in love. There was no other excuse for such behavior.

"Thank you," I barely breathed out.

"Tolios, I was just thinking about where we should put her piano," Ophelia said. "It'd probably fit there." She pointed to the large empty space in front of the window. "What do you think, Miss Lorelai?"

"That's a good spot," I said softly.

"I'll be back before you know I'm gone," Anatolios said with a wink to Ophelia before teleporting away. After they left, there was a faint pink tinge on her face.

"I'm sorry about them. They tend to...not care whether there are other people in the room. It's their greatest quality and also their most annoying one," she laughed lightly. "Anyway, enough about my relationship. What about yours? Wilbur must really love you if he's proposing so quickly." She gushed. So she didn't know about our ruse. It's a good thing I have so much practice in the art of lying then.

I put on a warm smile. "He's very gentle with me. It was one of those things that you know is right from the very first moment. Almost like love at first sight." I nearly choked on the words.

A pop in the air, and suddenly Anatolios was standing in front of a piano by the window. My piano. My hopelessly worn out, beat-down piano whose keys didn't register in the higher two octaves. My saltwater-ruined, splintered-wood, well-loved piano.

"Is this a good spot?" Anatolios said, and their voice sounded slightly strained, as though teleporting with such a large object had physically tired them out. It probably had, actually.

"It's perfect, thank you," I said nicely. Once Ophelia and Anatolios had left, I sat down on the old and familiar piano bench and set my hands down on the keys. The music flowed naturally, but since playing on Wilbur's piano, mine sounded out of tune and thin and weak. Stopping abruptly, I went over to the door that connected Wilbur's room to mine and knocked on it, not expecting an answer. To my surprise, it swung open almost immediately.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his gold-brown eyes flitting over my entire figure before settling on my face. His hair was a mess, and his clothes looked wrinkled.

"Can you fix my piano?"

Nearly two hours of Wilbur slaving over my sad excuse of an instrument later, he stood and shook his head. He had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and with every adjustment he made, the muscles in his forearm flexed. Not that I was watching or anything.

"Where did you even find this thing?" He asked, passing a hand through his hair in exasperation.

"You're not going to believe me."

"As long as you tell the truth, I'll believe every word that drops from your lips," he said, his eyes looking straight into mine. I felt warmth start to creep up the back of my neck.

"A couple of years ago, I had a habit of searching shipwrecks for anything I thought I could use. On one of these ventures, I found this piece of junk," I said, gesturing to the piano in front of us. "It's served me well. I don't think I could stand to get rid of it."

"It must mean a lot to you."

"It's very special."

Wilbur sighed. "You're not going to like this, but it's completely beyond repair. Years of saltwater exposure has permanently damaged the strings and hammer. Not to mention the immense amount of rot in the wood. It's probably best to put it out of its misery."

"I can't do that," I blurted out. Something like surprise flashed in Wilbur's eyes, while fear bubbled in my own.

"Okay, okay. You'll just have to play on a broken piano." He turned to leave. "With every keystroke, you're just going to be making it worse." And then he left.

Who was he to tell me how to take care of my own instrument?

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beep boop coping time

boink doink metaphor time

I hope you guys are taking care of yourselves, now more than ever. be sure to drink water, eat fruits and veggies, take meds, and get some sleep. you deserve it!

I'll see you beautiful people in the next chapter <333333