It seemed like the high court shined down upon Danny more with each passing day. There was just a glow about his life. People were friendlier. Music was more pleasant to the ear. Most of all, sisters were great. Sure, they had their faults, like her current complaining, but they couldn’t help that, could they?

“Lords, what use are you Danny? Practically been a blithering schoolgirl these past few days, and that’s me, an actual little girl telling you that,” Jov spoke with a touch more vehemence than was necessary. After all, didn’t she know life was great? “Hey, are you even actually listening? No, of course, you are not that’d be stupid to think you’d be listening. Hello, Danny? I’m going to lead you to the river if you don’t say anything…”

Yep, that settles it, Sisters were just plain adorable. Danny couldn’t even muster the will to be mad at Jov but knowing the jokester she might follow through on her lark, so he mustered a groan of acknowledgment. Or at least as close an approximation of one as he was willing to try. After all, Danny had more important things to contemplate.

Like Joan.

He couldn’t stop thinking of her. Of the way her cheeks crinkled when she laughed. Of that wickedly clever wit and sarcasm. Of how meticulously she cared about presenting herself appropriately. Of how beautifully she wielded language. Joan could just as easily boost her friends as tear down her enemies. Often, she did both at the same time to the same person. That was the one thing Danny didn’t understand about Joan, her insatiable desire for drama.

Oh, he did get just how beautifully she shone when engaging in gossip. The fire in her eyes. The grin hidden on her lips. It was a tapestry so breathtaking in its perfection that Lady Life must have blessed her herself.

Morcar was right, there was just so much more to women. To people in general really. It was by far the greatest lesson he had been taught by the old fool. However, the song he helped him write was a close second.

Danny had everything all planned out. Tomorrow, he'd strike swiftly and win Joan's heart.

---

It felt strangely comforting to have the battered lute case between Danny’s legs despite the looks he was receiving. Made for something substantial, familiar to grab ahold of when Danny was struggling to keep his breakfast. Didn’t even bother to attempt lunch. It took a lot of convincing to allow Morcar to even part with it during the day; Danny had to break out in what he’d dare say was quite the moving speech about true love to get it. He just didn’t feel comfortable performing without it in his hands. As much as he would loathe to admit it, something was calming about idly strumming arpeggios.

When the tower bell rang at the end of class, Danny nearly shat himself with panic. Quickly patching that hole in his stomach, he hurried over to Joan who was making her way out of the classroom with some friends following with her, chatting about the latest gossip. Having to strong-arm his way through the mob of eager to leave students Danny called after her. It seemed to work as the entire group paused, waiting for him in the busy courtyard several classes connected it to.

The courtyard was a drab affair; the ground is a practical mix of hard-packed dirt with ice that could have once been a garden, but now only a stone bench or two hinted at its once calm visage trampled upon by generations of students. Though possibly it was always dry dirt now that Danny considered it being used for physical exercise now and then by his class. Having gotten his stalling accomplished, Danny sucked in a cool breath of air and let the words tumble out before his nerve was lost.

“Joan, I wrote a song and was hoping you would listen to it.”

“Certainly Danny, I’m sure we’d be happy to hear it,” Joan gestured to her friends, “We’ve all heard so many stories from you about playing at that tavern, so I’m curious as well. Especially with you carrying that big thing around.”

Danny eyed her fingers pointing at the case. Feeling a bit like a drowning sailor, Danny took a second gulp of the lifegiving air and settled the case on a bench before dexterously settling the lute into his arms. A touch of tuning and an arpeggio later, Danny sat on the bench surrounded by the girls and a few curious onlookers. Okay, here goes nothing.

“Oh when I see your gaze,

My heart feels like its gonna erase,

It beats just a little bit faster,

When I hear your laughter,

I can’t seem to find a way out of this maze,

My mind is trapped spending time thinking of you.”

Danny could feel the awe in the silence surrounding him. He couldn’t take the time being glued to Joan’s face, the sheer shock evident on her face. She must be blown away by how sweet and romantic this is. Danny nodded reassuring to himself as he finished singing and then approached her. Drinking in the silence he spoke patiently like he wasn’t bearing his heart publicly, “Joan I like you,” Danny felt his voice crack a little, “Will you go to the ball with me?”

“Um...well, you see, uh, t-the thing is…” Danny could feel how badly Joan was struggling for the right words. That settled it. This was the right thing to do. Joan collected herself before continuing, “Look, Danny, I think your a real swell guy, but I kind of only started talking to you because I thought you were asking me to the ball on Alric’s behalf.”

Danny could feel the hot tears of shame well up within his eyes. It felt like his heart was seized by the frigid winter air. It was the gazes of the crowd that stung the worst. The derision and contempt were frustrating, but it was the pity Danny saw in everyone’s eyes that made him want to curl up in a ball and die.

Quickly packing the lute, Danny was a cornered animal searching for an exit. Hold it in, don’t let them see your weakness. Not bothering to say anything to Joan, Danny muscled his way through his classmates for the second time that day.

Everything was falling apart. Why did he have to be such a blasted fool? The tears came unbidden in a blur of emotions. Danny didn’t know what he was doing. He didn’t think about Jov leading him to the Squeaky Hinge. He felt the tears flee along with his heart, leaving only an empty husk of a man. Why couldn’t Danny have seen that sooner? It was always Alric. He was the hero in this story, the one who gets the girl and saves the day.

The worst part was that Danny couldn’t even bring himself to be angry at his brother. Alric had no part in how Joan felt, he hasn’t even been in blasted school for a year. He couldn’t help his upbringing made him naturally the center of attention wherever he went, not to mention what that insane training did to him. However, as much as Danny tried to rationalize it, he still couldn’t cut the sting. Was he forever doomed to play second to Alric? Why couldn’t he have realized this sooner? He was used to everyone thinking of him as Alric’s lackey, why would his crush be anything different? Even thinking that felt crushing to his core.

A dull thud was the first thing Danny noticed about the outside world in a long while. It was a wooden cup filled with a familiar amber liquid. “Here lad, drink this. You’ll feel better after,” Morcar commanded with a gentle authority.

Probably can’t get any worse, bottoms up. Danny downed the cheap liquor and immediately started coughing. Lords, that was terrible. Danny glared at Morcar and tried to stop sputtering, “Why in the high court did you think that would help?”

Morcar grinned wickedly, “It got you to stop moping, didn’t it? No lad, believe me, you can’t find happiness at the bottom of a bottle. What you need is to get on that stage and perform.”

“Seriously, you of all people are telling me not to drink? You practically live here, and just gave me a drink!” Danny couldn’t help getting flabbergasted at the sheer hypocrisy on display, “Wait a moment, did you say you wanted me to perform? I just became the laughing stock at school no way am I going up there to embarrass myself publicly again!” He was practically screaming at this point.

Morcar was placating the enraged bull. Well, more of an alley cat than bull, “Now now, didn’t you want to be a minstrel? If you don’t get out there now, you’ll keep talking yourself out of getting onto that stage ever again, and what use is a lute player who won't perform? Besides lad, there’s something magical about playing from the heart; to lose your emotions in the music. It will certainly help you a lot more than that drink did.”

Danny knew the bastard had a point but that didn’t mean Mr. Teach wasn’t talking out of his arse at the end there. Or that he didn’t feel like someone after Josh’s ‘friends’ got ahold of them. However, he needed to be able to perform to make sure he could make money. That didn’t mean Danny would admit Morcar was right, the drunk would never let it go.

Without saying a word, Danny got up with a screech of the old wooden chair, making his way through the noisy din of the tavern to the dimly lit stage. It somehow felt familiar now but held a distance currently, like a home he’d been away from while traveling. Danny for the second time today mindlessly got the lute out of its case, did some quick tuning and strummed an arpeggio.

It was when he looked up to the crowd that was ever so slowly easing out of their conversations and giving more attention to the entertainment that Danny froze. It just came back to him all at once, the shame he felt for being such an idiot, the humiliation at embarrassing himself publicly. Mostly it just made his heartache.

Danny knew what he had to do, he just had to strum a few chords and sing the start to a song before the patrons would take care of the rest. Starting “Blaine Aledrunk” Danny felt his fingers go for the chords but it just wasn’t in him to keep up the typically fast tempo for such a song, much less an enthusiastic voice. The words died on his lips and it just felt wrong.

So Danny set about making it right. Switching into a minor key, Danny slowed down the tempo, with the notes seeming to settle into the pit of his stomach. It was better but not quite right, soon Danny’s playing became frantic with elaborate syncopation like a heart beating crazily from dread. Danny felt himself getting lost in the flow of notes. His mind was so singularly focused on trying to correctly convey what he was feeling. It was the first time Danny had ever truly felt like he was playing the lute. That he was doing more than simply performing a two-bit song; Danny’s mind was furiously combining all those blasted arpeggios into patterns that held meaning to him. The world around him grew dim, a hazy fog compared to the brilliance that he felt internally. It was only music that held anything resembling that splendor.

The longer Danny played the less his mind even focused on what it was doing, sure there was still a part of him that was dedicated to the music he was hearing but he was able to think with greater clarity now. Much greater clarity. In fact, Danny felt like this was the clearest he had been able to think about anything.

So he simply turned that clarity inwards, towards the dull ache in his heart that seemed to be beating out this music. Why was he so sad? After all, it's not like he hadn’t been rejected by a girl before. Not even the first time he’d been rejected for Alric either. So why did it sting so much?

The answer came unbidden to his mind, ‘You never bothered to get to know the girl before, to let her know you in return.’

Sometimes his subconscious needed to keep its mouth shut. Although he was smart enough to recognize the truth in it. When put like that made him seem rather petty. Sure, it wasn’t fated to be but he couldn’t help but think about how great he felt before being rejected. How much his eyes had opened to the depth of people in every aspect of life. How he was finally able to not be the boy hiding behind his friend’s shadow, even if not entirely. After all, he destined for greater than Northrend, He was Daniel Broom, the man who would charm the Lords themselves.

The music changed with his mood, once again shifting back into a major key. The once stuttering and unruly notes became sweeping and jubilant, hinting at better things just beyond the horizon. It told of those grand dreams that few dare to dream and even fewer dare to achieve.

Danny marveled at his playing of the lute, the action seeming separate from his conscious mind at this point. Why did he ever bother to learn this craft anyways? It seemed rather impulsive in hindsight. Originally Danny just thought about the lute as a useful tool, a way to get out of this hole of a town. Now, Danny didn’t know if he could ever stop. He felt truly connected to the lute like never before, a more confident version of himself. A Danny who could charm crowds and woe women all over Cyruth, sure it was just a whisper of him but it was a whisper he wanted to chase. All of a sudden Danny felt that whisper, not just as a hint of something but as a full symphony playing straight to the core of his being. There was both tragedy and majesty within its call. Danny played along. At least he tried too. It was hard to even tell he had a body anymore, so lost was he in this divine song of the very world.

Then just as suddenly the song ended, bringing Danny to a stop in its abrupt absence. He was just dropped back onto that tiny stage in the Squeaky Hinge. For the first time in however long, Danny looked at the wide-eyed crowd of patrons staring at him.

What was wrong with them?