My Half Angel

IX: The "Doll" plays again

Once Ritsuka regained some of her composure, Timber helped her walk back into the kitchen where Canterbury had finished tending to Hannah's wound. Timber lead Ritsuka to a stool and helped her sit down in it.

"Thank you...." Ritsuka said a bit weakly.

She was still shaking from earlier but it had subsided a good amount. Timber gave her a slight nod before taking the bucket from her and walked back out of the kitchen. As soon as his brother had left, Canterbury went over to Ritsuka and looked at her, along with Hannah.

"Are you alright, dear?" Hannah asked softly, kneeling in front of Ritsuka.

Even though she knew the wound was covered, Ritsuka still looked away from Hannah and nodded.

"I will be fine," Ritsuka said. "But I would like a glass of water, if it is not too much trouble."

"Of course not," Hannah said as Canterbury went to get it. "It's no trouble at all."

"Thank you," Ritsuka said.

"You're welcome, dear." Hannah said as she got up.

Canterbury came back to Ritsuka's side and handed her the glass of water. She took it from him and took a sip.

"Thank you again," Ritsuka said as she looked up at him. "Canterbury?"

Canterbury nodded his head, making Ritsuka smile a little.

"That is good," she said, "I got your name right."

Canterbury watched her as she took another sip from her glass. Hannah stood to side, watching the two interact. A small knowing smile on her face as she watched Canterbury tend to Ritsuka.

"There you are," Claude said as he walked up to Ritsuka.

Ritsuka stopped her work and looked toward him. Once she had fully recovered, Canterbury had handed her a mop and bucket of water before showing her the area she needed to clean.

"May I help you?" Ritsuka asked once Claude stopped in front of her.

"His Highness is having a dinner with his uncle and a few of his own guests later tonight. I want you to play some music to accompany the meal. Is that understood?" Claude said, adjusting his glasses a little.

Ritsuka's eyes widen a little to the order but nodded her head. "I understand," she said.

"Good," Claude said, turning around and walking away. "After all, it would make his Highness look good in front of the guests to show that he has taken in the former "Magical Angel". Wouldn't you agree?"

Ritsuka slightly twitched to the title but bit back her words before forcing out a reply.

"It certainly would make Master Alois look good in front of his guests." she said, looking down at the ground.

A small smirk came to Claude's face before he left Ritsuka to continue her work. Ritsuka tightened her grip on the mop before going back to work. A few tears ran down her face as she did.

"But look on the bright side, my lady!" Ningyou exclaimed happily. "You'll be able to play the violin once again!"

"But it will be against my will, Ningyou." Ritsuka said as she looked at her doll sternly. "Just like all of those other times."

"I know that, mistress." Ningyou said, "But you must be able to look on the bright side."

Ritsuka just huffed in annoyance to her doll and looked away from him. Since she was going to be the entertainment for the guests that night, Claude had allowed her to retire early so she could practice before then. He had also ordered for one of the triplets to go and fetch her a violin to use.

"I do wonder what kind of violin they will be bringing, mistress." Ningyou said, "If you don't mind if I change the subject, that is."

"I suppose anything will be suitable for this task." Ritsuka said, looking towards the door. "Though I am wondering what is taking them so long. Finding a violin should be simple."

"Maybe they are getting you an extra special one?" Ningyou said, trying his best to raise his master's hopes, even by a little.

"Perhaps," Ritsuka said, looking back at him. "But I am not so hopeful for this."

Ningyou let out a sigh to how his master was acting and just sat in silence with her. A few minutes passed before a knock came to her door. Ritsuka got up from her seat and went to the door.

"Yes?" Ritsuka said as she opened the door and peeked out from behind it. She quickly perked up once seeing that it was Timber at her door. "Oh, hello. Did you bring me a violin?"

She opened the door more and stepped to the side to allow him to enter. Timber walked into the room, carrying a violin case with him and placed it on the table. Ritsuka closed the door behind him before going over to him.

"May I see it?" Ritsuka asked, looking at him.

Timber nodded his head and pushed the case over to her. Ritsuka took it from him and undid the latches on the case. As soon as she lifted the lid, her eyes widen in shock. The violin that Timber had gone out and retrieved for her was painted in the most beautiful dark red color while the fingerboard and scroll were painted black. She slowly and carefully picked the instrument up and looked it over carefully. Every single detail on the violin was done to perfection.

Once she finished looking the violin over, she looked toward the case and became teary eyed once seeing the label of the company that sold the instrument. It was the same label she had seen throughout her life before everything went to hell.

"This is from my family's company." Ritsuka said as the tears flowed down her face. "I thought that they had become hard to come by. How?"

She looked up at Timber while holding the violin close. Timber continued to say nothing as he pulled out a handkerchief and wiped Ritsuka's tears with it. A small smile came to her face as he did this.

"Thank you," she said.

Timber nodded his head and put the handkerchief away.

"Would you....like to hear me play for a bit?" Ritsuka asked, hesitantly. "I could use the practice since this will be my first performance out of my "Magical Angel" persona."

Timber nodded his head once more and took a seat. Ritsuka smiled a bit more to this before grabbing the bow from the case and took a few steps back. She placed the violin under her chin and gently placed the bow on the strings. She took in a deep breath to calm herself more before she began to play.