Lapilius

Note: Excuse me for being a forever changing and stuff... Just wasn't really happy how this chapter ended, so I edited it =D

The door's click rippled through the apartment, along with the muffled sound of his steps on the floor.
"I see you forfeited the window sill for the comfort of the couch." I looked up to the kitchen naturally, finding him in an instant making his usual afternoon instant coffee.
"Why do you always drink instant coffee in the afternoon while you can just as easily use the espresso maker?"
"It's a waste of quality coffee to drink in the afternoon. Instant coffee is good enough." Disappointment simmered lightly as he made a beeline past me towards the wardrobe room. I sighed deeply and followed him.
"Can you get a piano?"
"Why?" He was trailing his hands over his collection of suits, inspecting them carefully. "Have you seen my black suit with deep purple lining?"
"It's hanging on my side. You signed me up for piano lessons. My teacher is complaining about me not practising enough." I waited for his answer as he continued his inspection on the collection of silk ties. His fingers caressed each of them, letting them slide through his long fingers slowly. He lingered on one of the black ties for a moment. "I've never seen you wear that one." He smiled, but his eyes did not light up in delight. Instead his eyes clouded over as if he was reliving the memories attached to the silk he held in his fingers.
"Ties are not just objects we use to adorn our necks. A tie is a tie. Just like rings." An image flashed through my mind. She would sit in her rocking chair in front of the fireplace. The light of the fire playing on her simple dress, casting long shadows into the dark living room. I would sit as close to the fire as possible, watching her, listening to her. Her finger would slowly turn the simple silver band around her finger on the left hand as she recounted memories of the past.
"A symbol of a promise of eternity, for the ring has no beginning and no ending." He looked up. "That is what my mother said." He smiled and let go of the tie. I followed him as he left the room and to the door that had always been locked till now. He drew an ornate key I had never seen before from his pocket. It was a true masterpiece of glass and metal, twisting into its function only where it was necessary. Glass curls flowed and morphed into metal. He stuck it in the keyhole and walked away, leaving me standing in front of the still locked door. I stood there frozen till the apartment door clicked shut and listened to the sound of his steps on the concrete floor outside. I carefully touched the glass and felt his warmth still in the material. The lock turned smoothly and I gently pushed open the door. The room looked similar to the other rooms of the apartment: the same floors, walls and blinds decorated it. I felt for the light switch as the vertical blinds blocked out all the light. My eyes grew large as the light filled the room and I set my eyes on the magnificent structure in the middle. A glass grand piano stood in the middle. The casing shone brilliantly in the artificial light, casting vividly coloured reflections on the white floor. I carefully lifted the transparent key cover and carefully traced my fingers over the translucent white keys and the black stone keys. An intricate pattern of coloured glass made up the lid, colouring the white room in a myriad of colours as the light filtered through it. I carefully pressed down a key and saw the mechanism work before a clear tone rang out softly. The sound vibrated through the room and was similar to a normal piano but had a clearer and crisp sound to it. I slowly lifted my finger from the cold key and swallowed harshly.

"Can you get a piano?" He drank deeply from his whisky, letting his thumb brush the rim of the glass where a drop of the liquid remained as he set the glass down slowly. Too slow.
"What is wrong with the one we have now? It's a damn piano, play it." I smiled and nodded my head to one of my clients as she passed by, holding the arm of her partner, an older boy who surely was a lapilius or even a young gemma. The boy's face paled as he noticed our interaction and quickly tried to coax her into moving to the other side of the ballroom. His reaction delighted me and I could not resist adding a charming smile to the exchange as she waved me goodbye.
"Nothing is wrong with it, it's just too precious to really use for practice."
"Very well. It's a shame though. It hasn't felt such feminine touch for a long time. And stop toying with the poor guy, he has bad nerves."
"Never heard you play the piano. I did not even know there was one in the apartment." He chuckled and signalled for another round of drinks.
"Then he has done you wrong." I looked up to see two of the other guests standing at our table. I recognized the lady in front as Emra, the deceiver we had shortly engaged with at the first visit to the Registrar. I could not see who was standing behind her, but I determined that girl must be Emra's apprentice.
"I do hold the right to play or to not play for my own lapilius." Emra laughed, her laugh sounded intentionally fake and ended abruptly as her face retracted back to the grime of boredom. I noticed the similar grimace on my Master's face and could not help but smile as I recalled him saying to never trust other deceivers, especially female.
"I see your pet is growing up, aren't you boy?" I smiled politely, not wanting to speak, fear I would pick the wrong words and cause a disaster. "How has he been treating you? Any lecherous intent yet?"
"Well, isn't that your apprentice? I see you have been over doing it again."
"We need to talk. Boy, stand up and let this lady have a seat. You youngsters go dance. It's a beautiful waltz just now." My master nodded and I left my seat. I bowed and kissed the hand of my dance partner and froze when I saw her face.

"I knew we would run into each other someday." I felt the eyes of my master following me everywhere, but every time I stole a glance at him, he would be in a heated discussion with Emra. "How have you been? I've been hearing awful things about your master."
"So have I. How are you? I haven't seen you since the market." Her emerald eyes lit up and sparkled in the chandeliers' light.
"I've been so good. You remember how I always used to say I would find someone I love and be happy?" I smiled warmly at my sister. I had always thought she was a dreamer whenever she said those words, but now she did look so happy and content, I could only be glad for her.
"You found your happiness?" She nodded. "But enough about me, Mistress always says all these bad things about your master. Is he treating you well?"
"Yes, he is quite fine if you get to know him. I get the feeling your mistress and my Master don't like each other."
"That is not just a feeling, they openly hate each other. I heard from the older lapilius that they were trained under the same master and he turned out to be a Grand Master and she didn't. She blames her master for loving him more than her."
"But how someone turns out isn't just the work of the master they train under, isn't also determined by talent?"
"Yes, that's why people invented various rumours to justify their rivalry. Some say it's a love triangle. Something about your master sharing the bed of their master and unanswered love of my Mistress. Some even say my Mistress was rejected by your master, but that is probably all fake. I mean, what is so good about your master that my Mistress would even faintly like him?" I kept silent for the rest of the dance while Emrin continued chattering about how her life is and how much she loves her lover. I could not help wondering whether those rumours she had mentioned were true or not. As he had always said rumours are never truly without an underlying truth.

I woke from my daze to a semi dark room. One glance to the sky told me it was almost dawn, the time we retired to bed after a night's work. The waking sun cast red light on the grey blue clouds which soon will be coloured pink and a soft shade of grey. I turned my head slightly and watched him sit on the edge of the bed from the corner of my eye. The bedside lamps cast a soft yellow on his pale skin, accentuating the various lines of his bare torso. Images flashed before me of him holding that woman, her hands scratching his back in throes of passion. I felt my face colour at the thought and quickly pulled the covers higher, hiding most of my face under the cold silk. His weight shifted and the lights faded out slowly.
"Rubin? I know you are not asleep." Silence fell as he waited for me to answer his call. I turned to face him.
"Is it true?" The light that slipped past the blinds made his eyes shimmer in a dark red hue and for a moment I saw a hint of fear flicker. "You loved him, didn't you?" He shut his eyes for a moment, frowning slightly as if in pain.
"Remember this Rubin, hold this forever in your heart. In our profession, there is no love. What seems like love is merely a tool to achieve our goals." I turned away and felt his arms slip around me like every other night. His warmth enveloped me and I started to doze again. Just before falling asleep a thought emerged from my mind: If love is just deception, I would gladly life a lie if every night could be like this one. He kissed my ear, although I barely registered it, and whispered softly, almost inaudible: "I share this without intentions, with you only."