Chapter 25

Music notes float through the evening air like dandelion seeds in a summer breeze. A sad melody fills the entirety of the room, making such a beautiful place feel almost empty, so lonely, and cold. My master looks defeated, just as I felt on the floor of the auction house when I found out that my father had been murdered. With my heart in pain for him, I wish I could comfort him somehow.

As I turn to go down the stairs, the appearance of Anna walking up behind him catches my eye and stops me in my tracks. I look at Elise who holds her finger to her lips and then my eyes are drawn like magnets back to the scene about to take place beneath the balcony. Anna comes slowly up to Master's back and hugs him from behind. Upon contact, his fingers stop playing but he doesn't move. He just keeps looking forward, staring into his miserable abyss.

"Who gave you permission to touch me?", he asks her, in his usual cold monotone.