mother knows best

[powershines]

Rapunzel doesn't sleep well, and she does wind up wrapped up in her hair overnight like a golden-cocooned butterfly. She's still dozing fitfully when the sun comes up.

Comments

[hisowninvention]

"Well, I don't think you're going to need to go that route."

[powershines]

"Yeah. It doesn't seem like it."

[hisowninvention]

"Which is nice."

[powershines]

"Yeah."

When they get back to her guest room (and the guards park in the hall outside of it) she pulls her piccolo out of her bag. "Do you want to hear? You can tell me if I'm any good."

[hisowninvention]

"Sure."

[powershines]

So Rapunzel plays a little something. It's an original composition, by someone who was loosely influenced by but not marinated in prevailing musical fashions. She's technically perfect on the notes - either that or manages to make it look and sound like she meant to do that every time she misses one - but loose and fluid about timings; it would be hard to pick out a consistent beat to the tune.

[hisowninvention]

"Huh," is his conclusion. "Well, I like it. It's weird, though. Not sure I can place exactly how, but - weird."

[powershines]

"...I could play something else and you could see if it's the same kind of weird?"

[hisowninvention]

"Okay."

[powershines]

She plays another song. It's different from the first one, but still has loose, almost improvised timing. There's a long trilling run at the end and she gasps for breath after she caps it off.

[hisowninvention]

"It's the same kind of weird, but I don't know what the word for it is. I'm not a musician or anything."

[powershines]

"I know some things from sheet music too -" And then she plays a commonplace ballad, which is recognizable, if a little sloppy about emphasizing the notes that are supposed to be emphasized.

[hisowninvention]

"Yeah, I know that one. I think it's not as weird as the other ones, but still weird compared to how I've heard it before."

[powershines]

"Huh. Maybe I can get a proper music teacher and they'll be able to tell me."

[hisowninvention]

"You're a princess! You can absolutely do that."

[powershines]

[hisowninvention]

[powershines]

"You're doing it again."

[hisowninvention]

"Yeah, I am."

[powershines]

"I'd start writing about the - thing but I don't think I have time to get very far."

[hisowninvention]

"Yeah, probably not. After the festival, I guess."

[powershines]

"Yeah. It's so strange though."

[hisowninvention]

"Sorry. ...Maybe not completely sorry. Slightly sorry?"

[powershines]

"What, why?"

[hisowninvention]

"Well, on the one hand, I keep smiling at you and giving you weird inexplicable feelings that you don't have time to figure out yet. On the other hand, you don't seem to be entirely complaining about the feelings, just somewhat about their characteristic of being weird and inexplicable. And I like smiling at you."