Ashlyn, still seated where Vincent had left her to his room, she felt bored and wanted to go home but she knew she needed rest. Leaving this place now, she would have to return back to working so she decided the best option was to stay here for the day and go home later when the sun's down but what was she going to be doing here.
"Miss," She heard Brandon's voice and she turned her head towards his direction. "If you're waiting for my boss, he has gone to take a nap. Do you mind if I show you around the house to keep you busy till he wakes?"
Ashlyn smiled sweetly at Mr Brandon. I guess she finally found what to do to keep her entertained. Maintaining her smile, she stood up. "Sure, I'll love that." She said and Mr Brandon returned her smile like a professional butler that he is.
Walking side by side, Brandon guided her through some corridors leading to doors of different rooms. The first room he took her to was like a mini hall filled with musical instruments of different kinds and Ashlyn eyes widened in surprise at the sight. She was a lover of music but to think that someone like Vincent would love music she couldn't help but get surprised.
"So he loves music?" She said softly.
"This was one of Mr Yong's favorite place in this mansion. He usually comes here and would stay here for hours playing the piano." Brandon said and gave a bitter smile which did not escape Ashlyn eyes. Noticing his words were all in past tense, it was obvious that something happened to have made him stop coming here.
"When last did he come here?" She asked and he replied her almost immediately. "About a year ago."
Moving her feet, Ashlyn walked towards the piano, opened the cover and slowly ran her fingers on it. If they was any musical instruments she was very good at, it was the piano. She had learned it when she was in high school and loved playing it whenever she had the chance to. Pressing two keys with her index and middle finger, the sound filled the room and she giggled.
"You do know how to play it?" Brandon asked as he stood behind her and she nodded before seating down on the stool and pressing another key. "Whenever I play the piano I feel peace in my heart. I feel myself light as a feather and transported to a world of serenity." She smiled and started playing the piano with her fingers.
Each of her ten fingers had their work in producing a beautiful melody, though, not at the same time, she knew when one was needed as she kept on playing. Ashlyn felt her head clear, she felt her worries disappear as she was getting soaked in the melody. She was playing her favorite song and her heart felt relaxed as she closed her eyes to enjoy more of the pleasure she was getting from the sound. The world around her felt so still with only her moving and she couldn't hear any other thing except from what she was playing.
The melody not only filled the hall but the whole mansion as the servants all got curious as to who was playing the instrument. In their different post they started saying words like....
"I thought the boss has slept?"
"Is the boss finally playing again after so many months?"
"Wow! I guess the boss must really missed playing. This is different than what he usually plays."
"Ah! how I've missed this."
Meanwhile, Vincent who was in his room laying on his bed with his eyes closed trying to force himself to sleep, immediately he heard the sound he opened his eyes and the sound stopped. Thinking he was hearing things, he closed his eyes back and almost immediately he heard the sound again. For the second time, he opened his eyes, climbed down from his bed, slipped into his black slippers and walked out of his room. He knew exactly where the sound was coming from but what crossed his mind was... Who was playing it?
Drawn to the sound, his feet led him to where the sound was coming from and he stood at the door and took a deep breath before opening it gently and slowly. Immediately the door was fully opened, his eyes saw the woman behind the melody and he stood amazed while watching her. He never imagined it would be her of all people and she played it so well. He watched her get lost in her world and he couldn't help but walk quietly towards her.
"You're awake. I'm sorry sir, if she disturbed you. I was...." Brandon tried to make an excuse for Ashlyn because he knew how his boss could get if disturb especially lately that he's noticed his boss wasn't getting enough sleep but instead, Vincent gestured him to stop talking.
Brandon looked at his boss expecting anger but to his surprise, he saw his calm and collected boss and he sighed. "Thank goodness, I thought I had put miss Ashlyn in trouble." He said inwardly with relief visible on his face and he turned his attention back to Ashlyn who wasn't aware of the added pair of eyes watching her.
Vincent stood on his spot staring at her back as she played and a memory flashed through his mind. The memory of the one woman who loved him but yet he couldn't satisfy his thirst no matter how many lives he took to avenge her, he felt they were not enough. She was special not just to him but to the whole kingdom and yet was killed without mercy. The one woman that always smiled just to make everyone smile no matter how hurt she was. Her memory flashed before him and he saw the woman at his front as her.
Just like Ashlyn was lost in her world, Vincent was swept away with the melody and he entered his own world and he found himself walking towards the woman behind the melody. On getting behind her, he called slowly almost in a whisper. "Mum,"