Love, Distrust, and Fairy Dust

I See Fire

Jacob whined again. Mr. H was going to be no help. He sat up and dialed the phone.

Click, "Hello, this is Mat's Palace. Home of the best pancakes in the kingdom. This is Wendy how may I help you?"

"Hey Wendy, thank god."

"Jacob, we missed you this morning. Jenny is getting antsy waiting for you to show up."

"Hey, can I speak to her?"

"I'd love to dear but we have a full house this morning. Can I take a message?"

"It will have to do. What time does her shift end today?"

"1:30, give or take."

"Please tell her that I need her to come over to my place right after her shift."

"Hun, is something wrong? You sound troubled."

"I wouldn't use those words exactly, but I do need to see her."

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No. But thank you, Wendy." Jacob hung up.

Maybe Jenny would be able to help keep the Princess off of him. That left him... two to three hours with Lilliana. He would have to sit down and talk with her at some point, and get her to play along with the lie he was going to tell Jenny. He didn't like lying to Jenny, but the truth was something even he was struggling to believe.

Jacob walked over to the closet, and swung the door open. He grabbed his guitar and walked over to the couch to tune it. He really needed something to clear his head. A few songs would do just that. In the meantime, he could refine the story he would tell Jenny. It wouldn't be hard he was good at stories.

The strings were still perfect. He put the fingers of his left hand over a chord and strummed. The thrum of the notes together instantly sent shivers of familiarity through his soul. Two more chords and he already felt a song coming on. He strummed and picked through the chords in a melody that filled the empty apartment with a presence that erased all the worries of the world. He stopped the strings and sang the first verse of Ed Sheeran's 'I See Fire.'

Oh, misty eye of the mountain below

Keep careful watch of my brother's souls

And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke

Keep watching over Durin's sons

His fingers knew where to go in the dance of strings and words. Chords and melody's mixed. It was a somber melody, but a little soberness was needed right now. Jacob closed his eyes and lost himself to the music.

Once he was finished that song he flawlessly played the theme song for Pirates of the Caribbean, and then proceeded to something more upbeat. Tiny Chemicals, by Frank Hamilton. He replaced the F-bomb in the chorus with something else, considering that there was now a lady present. The song sure brought a certain amount of spirit back to him. It also sobered him when he sang the song with a very particular person in mind.

The door to the bathroom door opened, Jacob could smell the familiar warm humidity that came from the shower running, and the subtle womanly fragrance that tried to curl around his senses. That scent would be met with an iron will that would not be swayed.

Jacob continued to sing with his eyes closed as he heard the footsteps come down the hall. He peeked to make sure that Lilliana was fully clothed and to his relief, she was.

He played the last verses and opened his eyes to find Lilliana leaning over him and inching toward his face. Jacob took his hand off the strings and covered her face with it, stopping her before she could get any closer.