Chapter 84: Research (2)

Adrien was bent over the desk as he furiously wrote, scratched out, and rewrote down the notes and original arrangement to a few songs he knew by heart. After he had five pieces written down, he looked at them before slowly arranging them into a different scale, one to fit a violin.Mikyle laid on the bed, his head propped up on his hand as he watched Adrien work in a flurry of concentration.

Adrien tapped the pen against his lips as he looked down at what he had. Ink smeared against his hand, turning the underside of it a different color. Now all he had to do was to try playing them aloud. But first. . .

Adrien stretched out his stiff fingers. They ached and complained.

A soft chuckles sounded from behind him before the shadow fell over him. "You’ve worked hard. Take a break." Mikyle then took Adrien’s hand, and his long, thick, calloused fingers began massaging Adrien’s hand and fingers.

Adrien’s fingers pop and an instant relief fills him. Mikyle gently rubs the tender and tensed skin, before kneading in between each finger.

As relief fills him, a small burning heat takes it place. That same burning heat that always washes over him whenever Mikyle touches him.

Before the burning turned into an all-consuming inferno, Mikyle slowly pulls away. "Shall we grab something to eat?" Mikyle asked, his eyes staring hungrily at Adrien’s lips.

Adrien laughed as he stood up. "I could go for some food." He then placed a hand against Mikyle’s chest. "Actual food."

Mikyle’s lips curved up slightly and his eyes brightened, though they did not lose that insatiable glint. "That’s what I meant." He then leaned down and pressed his lips against Adrien’s ear. "I’ll have my dessert after." The warm breath spanned across Adrien’s ear and the lower half of his face, causing his neck and cheeks to flush a healthy scarlet color as a different kind of heat overcame him.

"Why are you always like this?" Adrien asked with a hiss that was on the verge of turning I to a helpless groan.

* * * * *

The butler sat a tray of sandwiches and sweets in front of them. He then poured each of them a cup of freshly made team. Aefre paid no mind to the steam drifting up from her cup, nor did she even notice the tray of snacks in front of her.

Aefre was sitting in the parlor room of their capital manor. Inside the room with her were her sister and Lady Silva. She was holding several music sheets in her hand and a paper with a rough idea of what Aisley and Lady Silva wanted to relay in their lyrics.

Aefre looked up at the butler and kindly asked him to bring Aisley’s violin to them. Just because Aefre could mentally picture the way the song would sound just by looking at the sheet music didn’t mean that there was no need to physically listen to the song. She needed to gain a better understanding of the sound if she wanted to write the perfect lyrics for their piece for the performance that was quickly approaching.

Aisley and Lady Silva sat across from her. Both girls looked proud but his an underlying nervousness in their gestures. Aefre could understand why her sister was nervous since this was the first time that she had written a song that was entirely her own. . .well, mostly. It was a song that all three girls would have contributed to in making. But at least it wasn’t a remastered version of a song that already existed.

The butler soon returned with Aisley’s violin and handed it to her. Aisley took it, and with a slight tremble in her fingers, she began to shakily play the song. After a while, the music became sturdier and less shaky.

Aefre listened with her eyes closed. She let the melody wash over her. When the performance was over, lyrics formed in her mind naturally. She grabbed the quill pen and a blank sheet of paper and quickly wrote everything down. When she was done, she leaned away with a critical eye. She scratched out a few words and changed them for something better.

"Read this over," she said after she was done. "Let me know if something needs changed or if something sounds better."

Sometime later, long after the forgotten tea had grown cold, the three girls were leaning over their finished piece. "Well, we’ll never know how it sounds until we play it aloud," Lady Silva said.

They decided to move to the music room. Aisley handed Lady Silva her violin while she went and sat in front of the piano. The two girls then looked at Aefre with an expectant look.

Aefre resisted the urge to shake her head. She looked down at the final version of the lyrics and quickly read over them. Once she was done, she looked up at the girls. "I’ll start on your cue," she said. Soon, the soft sounds of the violin filled the room.

With a deep breath, Aefre began singing. Not long after, Aisley started in with the piano, giving depth to Aefre’s voice.

* * * * *

Adrien came back after taking a shower. His body was tired but his mind was clear. He sat down at the writing desk and looked at the music sheets he had written down.

Looking over each sheet, he corrected any mistakes he saw. Mikyle watched him silently from where he laid on the bed, a soft smile on his lips and an even softer light in his eyes.

The light outside the window gradually grew dim before turning dark. Adrien looked up with a daze when he realized that it was so late. He had only made a few corrections, so he had realized that it had taken him as long as it had.

He looked over at Mikyle and his heart gave a little jump when he realized that Mikyle had been watching him. . .that he had probably been watching him the entire time.

Adrien put the pen down with a slightly guilty look. "Would it be alright for me to play some of these and get your opinion on them?"

The small, unconscious smile that Mikyle was wearing grew. "I would love hearing you play, Kitten."

Mikyle sat up in the bed while Adrien grabbed his violin. While looking over the music sheets, he began to tentatively play.