"Tap!"
"Tap!"
"Tap!"
The sound of her heels hitting the marble floors could be heard as she strode towards Aiden with a confident catwalk.
Soon, she was within arms reach of him, and when she reached him, she removed a white handkerchief from the inner pocket of her attire.
In one smooth motion, she moved to wipe Aiden's cheeks while asking. "Why did you move? You ended up hurting yourself, if you had just died then you wouldn't have to feel such pain."
Saying this, she finished cleaning Aiden's cheek and discovered to her surprise that his wound had already healed, and with that she looked up to Aiden who was a head taller than her, an innocent look in her eyes as she tilted her head.
Seeing this Aiden who had remained still the entire time, finally spoke. "You really are insane."
His words made Medusa frown, the aura around her rising slightly as she squinted her eyes. "I find you daring, but you'll have to come up with something more original, I hear words like this every day, some say I'm possessed, some say I'm an emotionless freak, and some like you say I'm insane?"
"Well I can see that they're right about you, I walked out on you and your first reaction was to hurl a knife at me," Aiden said calmly as though he was talking about the weather.
Rolling her eyes at Aiden, Medusa responded. "How is that true? Are we not all possessed in some way or another? Ideas instilled inside us from a young age shaping our very nature. I chose not to be confined to those ideas and I see that you're a kindred spirit."
"I don't know about being a kindred spirit, but I can tell what kind of woman you are just by looking at you," Aiden said prompting Medusa to raise her brow as he continued. "Family issues, a few screws loose, you're an obsessive freak."
"An obsessive freak that you somehow don't fear, you are aware that I'm your superior." Medusa intoned.
"Hmm," Aiden suppressed a chuckle before saying. "Fear is irrelevant."
"I'm sure you say that to all the ladies, but I know your kind of person, everyone fears something, the look in your abysmal eyes, I can't just tell what it means," Medusa argued.
Her words made Aiden turn silent, and after a second he said. "So where are you going with all this mindless bantering, do you plan on keeping me here?"
"Haha!"
Medusa suddenly suppressed a short laugh making Aiden raise a brow. "What is it?" He asked as he moved a bit closer.
His question prompted Medusa to forcefully suppress her laugh before saying. "I just realized something, a few screws lose,' 'obsessive freak,' you don't really mean any of it, you're just venting, you know you can't beat me so you're venting. How cute."
"I told you, I like this one," Landon's voice abruptly sounded out in Aiden's head his tone mocking.
At the sound of Medusa's words, Aiden remained quiet, but his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Haha, did I damage your male ego or something, come on you're not so petty are you Mr. Aiden?" Medusa asked as she watched Aiden.
The both of them remained quiet with Medusa patiently waiting for Aiden's response, unfortunately, she received none from him.
Aiden felt a bit embarrassed, he wasn't scared of Medusa, but something about not being a match for her in combat bugged him for some reason.
Seeing the nonexistent blush on Aiden's face, Medusa spoke again. "How about this, a new deal, I have to perform soon, all you have to do is join me and the tag is yours, last time I checked you played the violin right?"
"Hmm." Aiden hummed in shock, his healed tilting slightly.
Smiling at Aiden's reaction, Medusa whispered in a playful tone. "What? You didn't think I wouldn't look into you?" She said as she lifted her finger and poked Aiden's chest.
"A foreign energy has invaded your body, the energy has been devoured, your soul energy has recovered by 12%." Landon's voice sounded out.
Hearing Landon's voice made Aiden widen his eyes. In that moment he jumped backwards creating some distance between him and Medusa.
Seeing Aiden's abrupt response, Medusa raised a brow, in the next minute she straightened her posture and shrugged her shoulders. "It doesn't hurt to try, what a pity," she said.
Her words made Aiden frown, staring at Medusa's innocent face Aiden couldn't help but note. "This is her second attempt at my life, she actually has me on edge."
"Badump!"
"This woman." Aiden thought. He felt his heart fluctuate at the feeling this woman gave him.
She didn't just overwhelm him with her strength, she gave him a feeling of uncertainty, something that sparked his interest, much like Miss Lotus, The Syndicate, The Order, Hunters, The Holy Gate, and most of all that strange realm.
Aiden suddenly felt a strange sense of ease at such a familiar feeling, he preferred this to the safe and bustling city life he was confined to, straightening his posture he said. "Why don't we go inside."
His response surprised Medusa, she knew all too well that she had tried to kill him twice but his composed response didn't reflect fear or caution, he seemed to be at ease.
"I knew I wasn't wrong about you," Medusa responded with a smile.
With a whirl, she turned back, her heels tapping the marble floors as she made her way to the main dining area of Vin's Parlor.
Without a word, Aiden followed behind her, his hands in his pockets as his hair swayed slightly.
Meanwhile, Maya who sat in the reception area felt as though she'd just witnessed a scene straight out of a drama, her eyes widened as she thought. "What was that?"
As Maya pondered in confusion, Aiden was busy following behind Medusa, and after passing through a series of open doors, they made it back to the main dining area.
Medusa didn't speak to anyone, she didn't mind the curious eyes of the rich people around her neither did she respond to their flowery words, instead, she walked towards the middle of the room, her gaze locked onto the platform housing the piano and violin.
As this woman walked, the guests noticed her intent steps clearing the way for her as she moved, it didn't take a guess to figure out what Medusa was up to.
"It seems our star guest is about to perform!"
"I've never heard one of her pieces in person!"
"She does have quite the name in the music industry!"
The room became a bit rowdier as the guests braced themselves for Medusa's performance.
Soon, Medusa was on the platform, but she wasn't the only one, Aiden had followed her up as well standing there with his hands in his pockets.
Everyone was surprised at his appearance, everyone except Blackout, Skytio, and Nightdancer who had looks of realization on their faces.
"So that's why she insisted on having a violin on stage," Blackout muttered in understanding.
"Now I really want to know who that guy is!"
"Maybe he's some kind of upcoming musical star!"
"He's got to be a Contractor right?"
The crowd continued to discourse as they struggled to discern Aiden's identity, Delia on the other hand scoffed as she thought to herself. "I forgot that this guy is good at playing the violin."
Back on stage Medusa gracefully took her place at the grand piano, her posture a picture of elegance, with her back straight and shoulders relaxed, conveying both confidence and poise.
With a gentle sway, she positions herself slightly to the right of the piano bench, allowing for easy access to the keys while maintaining a comfortable distance from the edge of the stage.
Her fingers hovered delicately above the ivory keys, ready to breathe life into the instrument with a touch that was both gentle and commanding.
Meanwhile, Aiden stood tall beside her, his dark presence commanding attention even in the stillness of anticipation.
His posture was erect, yet there was a subtle tension in his frame, betraying the nervous energy that coursed through him. "I haven't done this in a while," Aiden thought as he moved.
With deliberate movements, he positioned himself at the center of the stage, just a few steps behind Medua, his feet, planted firmly on the ground, grounding him in the moment as he welded the violin, supporting it with his chin and shoulder.
"Medusa's tears in c sharp minor Op. 1, Num. 3!"
Medusa's voice sounded out, her tone though subtle quieted down the room as the guest stopped talking.
Aiden was surprised, not because of the state of the room, but because of Medusa's declaration.
"I've never heard of such a piece in my life," Aiden thought to himself as he glanced at Medusa, he felt like hitting her.
Landon on the other hand was having a field day in Aiden's head. "She set you up haha," he laughed joyfully sounding pleased at Aiden's misfortune.
Sensing Aiden's gaze, Medusa glanced toward him, a smile dancing at the edge of her lips as she pushed down her first key.
"♩ "
A subtle quarter note resounded in everyone's ears setting the stage for what was to follow.
"♫ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ "
Another note tore through the air, creating a ripple in Aiden's heart as he thought. "I've really never heard this before."
Although Aiden thought of this, he tried to follow, listening In as he narrowed his brows in thought.
"What a melody!"
"How calming!"
"As expected of Medusa!"
The affluent guests praised from their respective sitting positions, their eyes pinned on Medusa's elegant form, her eyes closed as she played from the heart, at this moment she didn't look like the crazy woman everyone spoke of at all.
Medusa on the other hand waited for no one, her hands dancing on the keys as she delivered a calm and introspective melody to her audience.
Delia was captivated, the tunes flying through the air made her expression soften, her brows relaxed.
Like most of the people in the room she enjoyed the performance. "As expected of Medusa," she thought to herself, but as she glanced at the other person on stage, she raised her brows in confusion.
Delia wasn't the only one who noticed Aiden, others did as well, and as they stared at him subtle conversations flared.
"He looks completely clueless!"
"Is he going to play or what?"
"Is he just a spectator?"
"♫ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ "
A minute passed and Mai was still going strong, her fingers dancing without stopping, but just as she was about to push another key-
"𝄞"
A whole note tore through the air sharp and thorough in its execution, but there was a problem, it was a subtle mismatch, like a dark screech creeping from the abyss thereby disturbing the calm aura of Medusa's pitch.
The abrupt sound shocked everyone, including Medusa who opened her eyes, glancing at Aiden, she grinned and continued to play. "So that's how you're doing it?" She thought as she changed her pace.
"𝄾"
A subtle quarter rest.
"♬ 𝅘𝅥𝅯𝄾𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅯♬ 𝅘𝅥𝅮 ♬ 𝅘𝅥𝅮 ♭♬ 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 "
Followed by a symphony of complicated keys that broke the calm atmosphere completely, their execution, fast and complex.
Aiden raised a brow. "Now we're playing something," he thought.
He had been stuck, and Mai had him in a bind, their agreement was that he'd have to play with her and then receive his tag, but Aiden didn't know the song she was playing, so what did he do? He changed the course altogether, they didn't agree on what song they'd play.
Matching Medusa's pace, Aiden moved his bow, following with a series of left-hand techniques that created a series of amazing sounds.
"𝄞 C♯1 C♯1 E1 E1 G♯1 G♯1 E1 E1 D♯1 D♯1 C♯1 C♯1 D♯1 D♯1 E1 E1 G♯1 G♯1 E1 E1 D♯1 D♯1 C♯1 C♯1"
It took a moment, but the audience was thrown into a battle of complex and fast-paced melodies that triggered a filling of vigor and rush.
And as the two drew to a close Aiden's feet began to move his coat swaying with him as he performed his dance.
In that moment just as the audience had reached their peak.
"𝅗"
A whole rest, the music came to a stop as both performers glanced at one another their gaze one of interest in each other's craft.
"Haa!"
Aiden let out a short breath his figure resting slightly as she smiled.
The crowd was quiet, with no one speaking for a while, the abrupt change in performance shocked them, suddenly-
"Clap!"
"Clap!"
"Clap!"
A short round of applause spread growing in intensity. Though suddenly the performance had been a masterpiece.