Thread: The Prince's Plight

When Lox was once more patched up and moved into his nicer room he was surprised to find a bath awaiting him with fresh cloths and something to eat for lunch. Stripping out of the grimy, bloody, and hole filled clothes he was currently wearing Lox bathed quickly while the water was still hot, and changed over into the clean cloths they had provided while devouring a hunk of cheese and a large loaf of still warm bread. There was passable wine with the food, and though Lox left his chicken and the rest of his meal at the small table beside the window he sighed with satisfaction and sat down at the piano. The thought of how pissed off the whore would be knowing he was being treated thus might very well start another fight between the two, with with practiced fingers Lox began playing the piano softly and letting the music calm him for a moment. For a time the guards standing outside of his room seemed disturbed and terribly frightened by such delicate and beautiful music being played by the beast prince, for they thought of it as a manner of his to lull them into complacency until he had the chance to attack. And worse for them when the king had finished his lunch he had decided to come up and check on weather not the piano had been destroyed yet only to look in confusion at the music being played. The soft melody of the piano drifted down into the garden, and since gossip spread like lightning in the castle many of the servants began whispering excitedly at the idea that the beast could do tricks. But for Lox his troubled mind could not be lulled for long, and while his thoughts turned dark once more the intensity of his playing increased until it seemed that three were playing the same piano with the speed of the play. The songs passed and some were playful and happy, others sorrowful and intense, and still more reflecting his anxiety and feelings of being trapped until everyone within hearing stopped to turn and look towards where the playing was coming from. For all of his intensity and the mastery of the instrument being played when he ceased total silence followed not just in his room but from everyone who had been listening and staring in that direction. Then all at once more rumors began flying around where people questioned what mad beast had been locked up in their castle, and why hadn't someone so apparently insane been left anywhere but the dungeon? A man could not be that savage and still yet command such a mastery over an instrument and still be sane. There was something terribly wrong with the beast prince they kept in the castle but none could question the king. And the king him still still standing outside the door of the prince's room with the guards stared as all his men did in silence at the door wondering. The king was at first amused by the savage prince, infinitely entertained at how the man lashed out even when death was assured with impunity and rage, yet for the life of him he didn't think the man had the ability to do anything with an instrument besides break it... Was this why Corovia wanted their prince back so desperately? It was one thing to be respected out of fear and the pure savagery you expressed towards your enemies but another thing entirely to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were capable of patience, artistry, and mastery as if it had always been there and was simply expressed. The king felt that the prince was once again a stranger to him that he knew nothing about, and smiled at the prospect of seeing just what the beast prince was truly capable of and weather or not he couldn't squeeze more out of Corovia for his return. If he proved to be more valuable it might even be prudent to marry one of the lesser nobles off to the beast to cement their relations and prevent future war but that was for another time. For now he'd enjoy the escapades provided by his new favorite prisoner as he stepped away and wandered out of the hall to leave the guards still looking suspiciously at the door.