Up two flights of stairs and down a very long tunnel lined with doors older than James' great-grandparents, Kiara finally came up to the one to which she had been bound by schedule. That door in particular was made of leafen-green wood, with vines and leaves of shimmering silver laying in meticulously chosen distances from each other and a just-as-silver doorknob at its very centre. Of course, Kiara could not properly appreciate the door's colour and its shine on account of her darkly lensed mask. She did, however, manage to appreciate, fully, the sensation which then tickled her ears. Sieving through the gaps all round the door was music; a wonderful music of a Lyrical Lord at his instrument. And the Lord himself was singing with the tune in a magnificent duet. This was the song Kiara heard as she approached, opened, passed and re-shut the leafen door in as quiet a manner as she could muster:

There was a tax collector

Who hid behind a rock

And when no one was looking

He whipped out his little-

Leather bag of money

It really made him sick

That they'd pay him that much money

Just to be a-

Public mathematician

Who never worked past four

With a girl who'd take his money

To dress up like a-

Lady of the city

And schmooze the upper class

His fellows, they all liked her

Cause she let them ride her-

Trophy-winning pony

Who'd never made a buck

But still he won three tourneys

And no one gave a- Huh?

"Finish the lyrics, coward!"

It was not very hard for her to sneak in. Although the room was soundproof, the sound inside was loud enough that Kiara could not even hear her own stomping- and she did start stomping after a while just out of sheer curiosity. But when she stopped, she saw an opening far too delicious to pass up. She had come in some time around, "It really made him sick", and she knew the song at an instant, having browsed through her tutor's lyrical sheets, so she spent much of the time after her entry going through one-liners and quips to write on a note to slip atop his stand. In the end, she wasn't fully satisfied with the line but the song was nearing its end so she made do. Other possible candidates included "I'll bet the nobles love that one" and "If only Lady Gibbs could hear your true masterpiece" but she didn't pick those.

I might have guessed. Good morning Madame Nurse.

By her bow, she said "good morning" in return and hopped up beside him on his seat so that they were arm-to-arm. In this way did the lesson begin and, right from the beginning, Smith put away the song he had been playing, much to Kiara's dismay.

This one?

Out of his collection, he presented to the girl an old favourite of his- one which she had played fairly fluently many times before. It was called "Tiding Clouds" and it was more precious to Smith than it was to his pupil. With a shake of her head, she gave her "no" and he gave another guess.

Well... what about this one?

"This one" was called "the Emperor and the Moon" and it was a favourite of Kiara's. However, she was hardly in the mood for such a song which was full of longing and mourning and regret and sorrow. With an almost disgusted look, she shook her head all the more violently and slapped the air in front of her as if to say "another" and so her tutor obliged.

: I know! This one! Yes! This one!

And so he produced another guess. His next try was called "Kingdom of Stallions" and it was a playful melody where the notes jumped and pranced and soared in the manner of sprinting (you guessed it) stallions. But still, Kiara shook her head, albeit in a softer fashion. She neither liked nor disliked the song with any passion but this was the sort of song that made her pinky ache for the whole day after and which made the tip of her thumb very flat by the tenth bar. Since she did not have nearly enough sentiment toward the song to make such a sacrifice, she gave her "no" and so John put the song away and breathed a heavy sigh.

What are you looking for then?

With a shrug, Kiara feigned a wandering gaze while her hands found their way to the lyrical and began to play a little of the song she had earlier heard- albeit with mistake after mistake before even reaching the sixth bar. It was, after all, a rather difficult song which she had never been taught. Smith, recognising the tune, rolled his eyes and said...

Alright, but don't tell your Mama.

Excitedly, Kiara brought out her notepad and quickly, but carefully, wrote "Tell my Mama what?" before presenting the page to the Lyrical Lord. She did so with a most innocent smile- without the slightest hint of mischief -which could have easily deceived someone uninitiated. Promptly, Smith produced the sheets for the song and they began to play.

When they had played for half an hour, they took a much-needed break. And while they were taking their break, Kiara saw Smith's face fall as he looked at the empty wall where a portrait once hung. The portrait was of the whole household: The Gibbses- James and his father and his mother and his sister -alongside the servers- John, Marge, Charlie, Rick, Henry, Beth, Vicky, Minnie, Tess, Jane, Eddie, Tom, Dick, Anna, Harry and many others -in the glory that was the old ballroom. Smith had taken it down when less than half of the subjects remained. When Kiara asked why, he said...

I have to work here everyday. I think it's better if I don't have to look at it while I do. At least for the happier songs. (with a weak laugh) Might bring it out when I'm playing the sad ones.

When he said this, it made sense to her. However, as the weeks crawled by, Kiara began to doubt the effectiveness of the tactic. It seemed that simply looking at the missing painting- at its shadow -was enough to wound the lyricist's heart. And part of the reason why she knew that to be the case was simply that it was enough to wound hers. And this in spite of the fact that the painting was put up before she was even born. Even then, simply looking at the empty space made Kiara's heart ache. While she knew Eddie as her brother and Della as her sister, the week of Tom's and Minnie's departure, along with their parents, was perhaps the most deeply saddening part of her life as Kiara Nurse until then. The very night after her first day with neither of them at the breakfast, lunch or dinner table, she did not even get a drop of sleep. She cried so much in the dark of night that she had to remove her mask- not that it made much of a difference in the dark of night with Anna far too deep in sleep to be a companion to the voiceless girl.

Not bad for your first bout.

He had caught her staring at the empty space and thought to take a crack at snapping her out of it. It took her a moment to swallow his words but when she did, her expression gave her away: Wide eyes and a crooked smile, all preluding a slow but sure scratching of the back of her head.

I see.. So that wasn't your first bout!

Her only defence- or I should say, her only response -was that sort of open mouth anti-smile that very bored children give when they're asked to smile for a picture. It was the kind of smile where the lips did not even curve upwards and where the teeth were borne as widely as could be managed. As I said, it wasn't much of a defence but, for some inexplicable reason, it was the first thing that came to her mind.

Alright then! How many times? Once? (after a pause) Twice? (a little tilt of her head) Thrice? (Kiara only shrugged) Certainly not four? (now more laughing than talking) My dear, anymore than four and this has been a terrible showing!

For her honour's sake, the girl quickly took out her note and made an attempt at a proper defence. She wrote "It wasn't four in a row. It was one last year, twice in the spring and once more than a month ago!" but by the time she had finished writing, he was already gone to his lyrical. She chased after him and presented him with her defence but he would not read it.

Absolutely not! I will not be accepting excuses! To think that my own pupil could cheat and fail simultaneously! It is a terrible insult.

She chased him around for a little bit, with the vague aim of getting him to read her defence, until, suddenly, their game was interrupted by the very unusual arrival of Lady Gibbs. Immediately, the two shot up at attention and promptly gave the Lady proper bows. Until they had done so, Cornelia did not move past the doorway.

What do we have here?

Lyrical lessons, my Lady.

Lessons? (with a scoff) Whatever for?

She is my pupil, miss. Has been for many years.

I know what it means to take lessons, Master Smith. I'm asking, what for.

Jolly good fun? (letting out a half-hearted laugh) ...Lady Gibbs.

It certainly looks like fun.

When she had finished circling round the two- their heads both bowed in fear and feigned reverence -she made her way to the lyrical which she began to caress from end to end, letting her fingers dance all o'er its strings and casing.

Tell me, Master Smith, did you pay for this lyrical?

No, my lady.

Who did?

The good dame who was Lady Gibbs before you, my Lady.

So it belongs to the house, then? To your job, then?

Yes, my Lady.

Tell me, is my husband paying you to have jolly good fun? Is that your job?

I think he would know, better than I, his wants. Why don't we ask him?

(scoffs) I know him better than he knows himself. Such is the burden of a good wife.

Of course.

You have been given unnatural luxuries for your... station. All so you could bring an elevated atmosphere to this house, as is befitting our stock: The Noble Stock of the House of Red and Green. This time is meant for your practice, sir. Not for tomfoolery.

(snickers) I see.

Care to share the joke?

My Lady surely cares too much for her servants. Our words now taint her sacred tongue. I've never heard a noble say "Tomfoolery". Take care to hide that from your fellows.

Well I never-

And since you care so much, I'll put your mind at ease. Since you are so concerned with my practice, recommend a song- the most elevated you can think of -and I'll play it for you at once. Without delay and without error, I will play it. You have my word. The word of Smith!

(to Kiara) Away with you! Shoo!

And so Kiara left, without meaning to. All the way along the halls and stairs she said to herself "Stupid girl! Cowardly girl! Stand by your fellows, I dare you! For once, fight! Fight! Fight!" and the voice rang ever louder and louder. So did the heel of her shoes click against the walls as she braced and turned and found herself running, not towards Master Smith, but to her own father: James the Good.

He was in the drawing room then, receiving visitors with nice clothes, full wallets and important fates. In the midst of tea, their discussion wound up interrupted by a servant girl running up to the host before pulling at his coat.

By the pinky!

Kiara?

It seems the rumours of House Gibbs were not unfounded, my dear.

Indeed. Oh look! How fun! (to James) I think it wants to play with you, good sir. (to Kiara) Isn't that right? Don't you want to play with your Lord?

Kiara, quite frankly, gave them none of her attention. Her tell-tale heart and intrusively worrisome thoughts were noisy enough so that their voices were as worthless to her ears as her own voice would have been to theirs. Instead, she kept nudging and pulling at Gibbs until he finally found enough sense to realise she wanted him to follow her.

My sweet daughter, I thought we had come to an agreement.

But, of course, agreement or no, at the sight of Kiara pulling so fiercely against his clothes, James became hopelessly swollen with pity.

Excuse me, Your Majesties. It seems I have important business to attend to.

Take your time, good sir.

And so the two took their leave and Kiara led the good sir all the way back up to the music room, hoping and praying that she wouldn't find it empty. As they went, the Lord Gibbs persisted in his questioning, letting out the odd "where are we going" and "what is the meaning of this" right up until they ran right into the Lady Gibbs herself.

(helping Cornelia to her feet) My apologies, dear.

(warmly) Nevermind me, James. What's all this excitement about any- (coldly) What do we have here?

The girl came to me with a plea to follow. It seemed as though something terrible had frightened her.

I'm sure it was nothing. Children and their imaginations and all that.

Really?

Then James looked over his wife's shoulder and saw the room where she had come from- the room where Kiara had likely been meaning to go -and made his guess.

What have you done Cornelia?

What have I done? You mean "what have we done"! I am only doing what we agreed. Economies must be made, James. We simply cannot afford the lyricist anymore. You agreed to that much!

We agreed you wouldn't do it with her in audience!

And I didn't. I sent her away. It was you who brought her back.

When James looked again at his daughter, she looked back at him with eyes of pure horror- as though looking at a monster. It broke his heart. And he could look at it no more. Yet, the expression he turned to, the satisfied expression of his wife, was only slightly less horrible to him. He was still debating the merits of another roar when Kiara brushed past his arm and hurried towards the door. Beyond it, she found no one. Smith was gone and a great sheet of white covered his mighty instrument. In the distance, Kiara heard the Lady say...

Now, let us fetch us a delightful price for that toy, shall we?

On that day, Kiara decided that she only had one mother. And, although they would still rise and fall from time to time, her opinions of Cornelia and James would never reach the humble heights where they had been before that day.