AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, I’m older than both of you, and I still like to play hide and seek,” Yasmine said. “Should we go find your music teacher before he gets too worried?”
Pia nodded and dashed out of the room.
Yasmine hurried after her, realizing it was a good thing she had been doing her Tai Chi, this child was going to be a challenge to keep up with.
Pia moved down the corridor, but slowed down to tiptoe on the stairs.
Yasmine followed suit and they crept carefully through the Center Hall toward the north wing of the house, finally arriving just outside a large archway that revealed a lovely music room with a massive vibraforte. The whole back wall was a window overlooking a fountain that appeared to have metal horses leaping up out of it.
The music teacher sat on one side of the vibraforte bench, looking a little sad.
Pia put her finger to her lips and motioned for Yasmine to wait.
Yasmine watched as the little girl flattened herself to the near wall and crawled behind furniture, disappearing and reappearing behind sofas and chairs along the way, until she reached the instrument.
“Surprise,” she yelled, popping up beside it and smiling at her teacher.
Yasmine held her breath, hoping the man would respond in a positive way. After all, she hadn’t needed to drag Pia down here by the ear, she had agreed to come back willingly, that should count for something.
“Olympia, you’re okay,” the teacher said in a tone that conveyed absolute delight.
“I didn’t mean to scare you, Teacher Anfree” Pia said.
“It’s okay,” he told her. “I know playing the vibraforte isn’t your favorite thing. Do you want to look at music notes in our book today instead?”
Yasmine could have hugged him.
But Pia shook her head energetically.
“What do you want to do?” the teacher asked.
“I want to play,” Pia said, scrambling up on the bench beside him.
“Are you sure?” he asked, sounding surprised.
“If I play, Yasmine will play hide and seek with me after,” she told him, with a big smile.
“Ah, that sounds like an excellent bargain,” Teacher Anfree said wisely.
He began talking quietly to Pia as Yasmine moved to one of the chairs near the back of the room to watch the lesson.
The space was lovely for performing music, wide open and bright with acoustics that seemed to lift and amplify the sound of the music.
And the instrument was gigantic. Yasmine had never seen one in person before, but the size was impressive.
Altogether, it looked like an incredible set up and a great opportunity for any child to learn to play like a professional.
But if Pia liked to hide…
Well, this was definitely the opposite of hiding. Pia was exactly right.
Yasmine could sense the child’s discomfort as she wiggled on the bench and tried to play quietly, resisting the teacher’s instruction to tap the receptors with a brisk, clean motion.
Yasmine’s instincts told her to call off the lesson and talk with the Ruler immediately about finding something else Pia might enjoy as an activity.
But she was brand new here, it wasn’t her place to decide which activities his child should participate in
After a few minutes, Pia seemed to settle in, and the music rose.
