A Moonlit Sonata

Lidiya Savakis

It was probably almost midnight and good children would be in bed at this time. A law-abiding citizen and rule-stickler to no end, Lidiya rightfully should be in deep sleep under the fluffy down covers in her dorm room. Or at least not disobeying curfew. Instead she was here. Out at the edge of the tree line next to the lake. In the middle of winter with at least a few inches of snow covering the ground.

But why was she out in the middle of the night next to a frozen lake in a snowy forest? And why was she carrying a giant cloth covered object that was taller than her?

The simple truth was that Lidiya was homesick and couldn’t sleep. And while she could have just stayed inside the dorms and lay in bed silently or listen to music with headphones in her bed, she instead (in an unstable emotional state, as she would rationalize later) opted to follow the pull of nature and the forest that always called out to her (especially when she was feeling more emotional) and snuck out of the dorms. Sneaking out with her harp (and the stool, and blanket, and the first aid kit that was perpetually with her) was a difficult task, but she manage and was now standing under the trees staring out at the full moon reflecting off the frozen lake.

Clearing out an area underneath a large pine tree, Lidiya spread out the double-sided waterproof picnic blanket (at least she was prepared) and set up her harp. Letting out a sigh, Lidiya sat down at the harp and began to play a song that reminded her of home. (The Pan of Vivillion’s forest had always been a bit of a gamer and had enjoyed playing tunes for Lidiya whenever she came to play)

Music always helped to soothe her, and this time was no different. Immersed in the music, Lidiya could feel her melancholy fade into the background as she plucked the strings of the harp.

She was so absorbed in the melody that she didn’t notice the presence of the boy coming near. Then again he was floating and not saying anything, so it would have been hard to notice anyways. What did alert her to his presence was the addition of the sound of the ocarina being played.

Briefly startled, Lidiya stiffened up a bit and missed the next few notes. But the ocarina continued to follow the melody and Lidiya relaxed into the music (as she always did when any music was played around her) and found her place again. The impromptu duet reverberated across the frozen clearing and filled their corner of the lake and forest with gorgeous harmony.

And all too soon the last notes echoed off the clearing and silence reigned again.
At which point, Lidiya looked up at the trees where she had heard the ocarina from. Breaking the silence, she called out, “Thank you for playing with me. You’re very good, and I really enjoyed this. May I ask for your name and to see your face?”

Maybe they would be able to play some more music together when they got to know each other?

Lidiya was unperturbed as a boy slowly floated down from the tree branches in front of her. In fact, looking closely, she felt that she had possibly seen him somewhere before? ‘Ah! The hot chocolate incident! I don’t believe I got his name then… I wonder how the other girl is now?’ The sound of the other teen speaking snapped Lidiya out of her thoughts though. At the compliment on her musical skills, Lidiya flushed slightly (though it could easily be mistaken for reddening cheeks due to the cold nippish air) and a small smile graced her lips.

Now that he was fully down and in front of her, though still hovering above the ground, Lidiya was perturbed. By the lack of clothing the thin boy was wearing, and how light the clothing he did have on looked! There were no visible sign of the cold affecting him as he bowed elegantly and introduced himself as ‘Laetus Oberon, King of the Fairies’ (and then proceeded to quickly wave off formalities).

“My name is Lidiya Savakis, Your Majesty. I have no titles other than that though,” Lidiya let a small grin slip out as she joked with Laetus, standing and proffering a graceful curtsy herself. It was such a rare occurrence for her to make a joke as well. The lovely music and tranquil location must have relaxed her enough to let loose a bit. She would love to play some more songs with him if he'd allow it.

A light breeze blew through the clearing and Lidiya shivered a bit, the cold of Italy or Greece had nothing on Manta Carlos. Looking at the entirely unappropriate-for-winter clothing Laetus was clad in, Lidiya decided to offer up one of her coats. In particular the deep forest green woolen over cloak she was wearing. She happened to be wearing another thick winter coat underneath (and warm fleece pajamas underneath that. She wasn’t that great with cold and always over prepared anyways) so the absence of the cloak wouldn’t bother her much. She wore it mainly for the memories it offered (and the fact that it made a great impromptu blanket if needed) as it was a gift from her friend back in Italy. Shedding the cloak, Lidiya held it out to Laetus, “It’s much too cold to be out in just those thin clothes. You can wear my cloak if you want. It’s very warm.”

Lidiya smiled as Laetus laughed at her jest and teased her back. ‘Charming brand of comedy’. Well he certainly was a charmer himself with all the compliments he was doling out to her. But fortunately he wasn’t sleazy and arrogant like the playboys that Lidiya hated (and honestly feared). Additionally his musical skills were wonderful and they had been able to match up in a duet so well. (And Lidiya highly valued musical skills in other people, and just music in general.)

When he declined her cloak Lidiya briefly considered insisting further (her motherly instincts flaring) but he honestly did not look cold at all. In fact ignoring the surroundings, he looked as if he was relaxing on a sunny spring day instead of being out in the midst of negative degree weather in winter. Donning the woolen cloak again, she was greeted with a light wave of heat from an odd golden hoop that appeared out of nowhere next to Laetus. She vaguely recalled his appearing out of a similar, if larger, circle the first time she had met him.

“Are those teleportation circles? I remember you coming out of one when we got hot chocolate. Can all fairies like you do that?” She inquired politely. There weren’t many fae/fairies in Greece, to her knowledge. The closest counterpart she could attribute to the English style fae would be the many nymphs she had played with when younger. Italy did have an abundance of elemental spirits like sylphs and undines though.

The golden ring that Laetus pulled out had that sort of magical aura that powerful magical items tended to give off. Judging from the state of the ring, he probably took very good care of it (or it was the type of magical object that always shone with power and looked perfect). But considering it was a going-away present from his mother, Lidiya guessed it was probably a mixture of both. He really seemed to love it, and he was quite adept at using it.

Letting out a light giggle at the ‘trade secret’ that Laetus had stage-whispered to her, she whispered back to him, “I’ll take your secret to my grave!”
Laetus was so easy-going and fun to talk to that Lidiya felt more like her age than she usually did. Lidiya briefly wondered if he would ask her to pinky-promise over the secret like she would do with her best friend back in Italy. Which reminded her, she should mail out the letter to her soon.

Returning her thoughts back to the boy in front of her, Lidiya inquired further about his ring, “So are you able to open portals to anywhere?”