Tale as Old As Time [Finished]

[accalia]

"Sad then that there is no one to play so that the sweet brightness that infuses this masterpiece may not ring out through this house."

Echo takes his hand away from the dust cloth and turns once again to Siegfried.

"This one knows something of the art of playing such a work as this, might this one be allowed to play this work of art as it was meant to be played? After this one is stronger this one means, and of course outside of the silent hours."

[yamikuronue]

Siegfried hesitates. On the one hand, he'd love to hear the thing played, maybe even get some instruction -- surely twenty-five wasn't too old to learn if you didn't intend to be a concert pianist, right? But on the other hand... it might disturb Lance. The slight elation in his face fades as he resumes his normal somber expression.

"I would have to clear it with the Young Master. I suspect it would not be allowed."

[accalia]

Echo nods sadly. Perhaps it was too much to hope.

"This one has not seen such a masterpiece since this one held the 1867 Stradivarius.... such a sweet piece that was, mellow, caring.... such a bright object that was, as this piano is. But this one understands, this one is a guest in the master's house and one cannot gainsay the master of the house."

Echo turns to leave

"If this is the parlor the master dining room would be...."

Echo pauses for a moment to examine the room, the wear patterns in the carpet, and  the orientation of the room.

"...through this door here, correct?"

[yamikuronue]

"Young Master", Seigfried corrects absently. Seeing Echo's look, he clears his throat. "He prefers to be called the Young Master, as he was when he was a child. Should you ever have occasion to speak with him, you would do well to recall that."

[accalia]

Echo looks startled at the correction.

"This one stands corrected then. Is the master of this house then extant and absent, or is it a remembrance that he is so called?"

[yamikuronue]

"The Young Master is the legal owner of this property, but he prefers not to be reminded that he is the head of the household. It... reminds him of the incident that led to the abandonment of the piano you admired." Siegfried glances away, uncomfortable. "You may recall the tragedy from the newspapers..."

[accalia]

Echo looks pained, more so then before

"An unfortunate incident that was. the details were clouded in the reports, this one could not find one single story to call the truth. It is suspected that all versions carry a portion, but not the entirety of the truth."

No longer able to maintain even the semblance of eye contact Echo looks away and once again towards the piano.

"And on that day was there an end to the brightness that this household had, for a great darkness is created when such a tragedy occurs, often short lived, but not always.... this one has lingered for ten long years then?"

[yamikuronue]

"Yes," says Siegfried, his voice soft. "The Young Master never recovered his lost boldness and youth. In time, he dismissed all but the most essential of staff, shut up the house, and resigned himself to solitude."

[accalia]

"A very great darkness was born that day then... The young master sees no one then? that is a great sadness. No, we should not linger... let us move on. there is naught but pain in remaining in the past..."

[yamikuronue]

Siegfried nods. "He speaks only to me. As you wish," he says, gesturing toward, sure enough, the door Echo guessed earlier.

[accalia]

"Lead on then kind sir, this one will follow"

Speaking this Echo follows Siegfried into the next room

[yamikuronue]

Siegfried leads Echo on a tour through the rest of the house; the other rooms are mostly all shut up and covered over like the parlor, but they can access a few hidden passages and secret rooms, which Siegfried has a ton of interesting trivia about, making for a rather interesting tour.

Toward the end of the tour, they run into Rosanna, who seems to be feeling much better; Siegfried agrees to give her her paycheck a day early so she can pop into town and go shopping, and after that, he ends up negotiating with the milkman and fetching the mail. It's clear that Siegfried is the central gear around which the household turns, for all that he claims to merely be doing things on behalf of the Young Master. Still, he's an excellent cook, and after dinner, Rosanna's brought some sherry for them to share, making for a merry evening.

So it's quite unusual when Echo hears creaking on his way back to his room, as though someone were moving about... all the more so when there's nobody in the hallway.

[accalia]

Echo stops in the hallway at the first sound of movement. his normally excellent night vision useless due to too recently exiting a brightly lit room.

"This one wonders who else is about at this time of night. be it man, or mouse?"

[yamikuronue]

There's no answer; the sound seems to be coming from off to his left, where there's a wall. Perhaps in one of the unused bedrooms?

[accalia]

His night vision still poor from the recent exposure to light Echo moves carefully towards the sound, his hands brush the wall, looking fora catch, an imperfection, or even a door handle.

"This one thinks it is not a mouse, but is it a man?"