Status: Finished.
Unlawful
Act I, Scene II.
Gabriella floated into the music room gracefully, after hearing a haunting tune echo from the piano stationed in the centre of the grandiose room. "Excuse me," she spoke softly, startling the player, causing him to stop and whirl around on the bench, standing up quickly upon noticing it was the princess.
"I'm so, so sorry," he spoke quickly. "The door was open and...I couldn't resist. Please don't punish me." He bowed down slightly as he was told to do in front of all royalty and hoped for the best. Gabriella only just realised that it was one of the servants who usually worked downstairs until she took a good look at his apprehensive face.
"What was that tune?" she asked after another moment of observing his slightly tattered clothes and overall unkempt appearance. "The one you were just playing; what was it?"
His head cocked to the side slowly, as he tried to figure out why she wasn't yelling and screaming for the guards to take him to the gallows or something like that; they were pretty heavy on the punishments for almost anything here, he'd noticed. "I've no idea, I'm sorry, my lady. It's just a song that my mother taught me when I was a boy." He would have run his fingers fondly over the ivory keys, but he was too afraid to.
She just nodded and stepped forward. "What's your name?" she asked him, seating herself at the piano bench, waiting for him to sit down next to her.
"Gerard," he uttered after a moment. "And I know I really shouldn't be up here, but downstairs gets bleak after thirteen years, I'm afraid."
She nodded slowly in bewilderment, as he finally sat back on the seat. "Thirteen years? That would have meant when you came you were just a boy, no?"
He nodded his head. "My family needed the money and no one else was fit to come and work here at that time. My father needed to look after the farm we had, just past the village and over the wall, and my mother was terribly ill and too needed to look after my kid-brother."
"I'm Gabriella," she said after another moment, watching Gerard finally begin to touch the keys lightly with his pale, work-worn hands. "I know you already know that, but I like to think we know each other on a more personal level now, Gerard."
He gave her a small smile, unable to stop himself, even though he knew that she was a princess and he was scum, and even talking to her could get him killed.
Shockingly enough, he was more than willing to take that chance.
"I'm so, so sorry," he spoke quickly. "The door was open and...I couldn't resist. Please don't punish me." He bowed down slightly as he was told to do in front of all royalty and hoped for the best. Gabriella only just realised that it was one of the servants who usually worked downstairs until she took a good look at his apprehensive face.
"What was that tune?" she asked after another moment of observing his slightly tattered clothes and overall unkempt appearance. "The one you were just playing; what was it?"
His head cocked to the side slowly, as he tried to figure out why she wasn't yelling and screaming for the guards to take him to the gallows or something like that; they were pretty heavy on the punishments for almost anything here, he'd noticed. "I've no idea, I'm sorry, my lady. It's just a song that my mother taught me when I was a boy." He would have run his fingers fondly over the ivory keys, but he was too afraid to.
She just nodded and stepped forward. "What's your name?" she asked him, seating herself at the piano bench, waiting for him to sit down next to her.
"Gerard," he uttered after a moment. "And I know I really shouldn't be up here, but downstairs gets bleak after thirteen years, I'm afraid."
She nodded slowly in bewilderment, as he finally sat back on the seat. "Thirteen years? That would have meant when you came you were just a boy, no?"
He nodded his head. "My family needed the money and no one else was fit to come and work here at that time. My father needed to look after the farm we had, just past the village and over the wall, and my mother was terribly ill and too needed to look after my kid-brother."
"I'm Gabriella," she said after another moment, watching Gerard finally begin to touch the keys lightly with his pale, work-worn hands. "I know you already know that, but I like to think we know each other on a more personal level now, Gerard."
He gave her a small smile, unable to stop himself, even though he knew that she was a princess and he was scum, and even talking to her could get him killed.
Shockingly enough, he was more than willing to take that chance.