The Rejected (Book 3)

Chapter 1: Baking Soda

"Jasper!"

A maid's poor cries rang through the castle as I swiftly ran away. I wanted to test out how baking soda worked. Apparently it worked very well from the way the maid was yelling. Stuffing my hands into my pockets I continued to patrol the halls looking for something else to do. A beautiful melody played in the air, my legs unconsciously led me to the music room. Entering through the backdoor, I leaned against the wall watching the princess play the piano. She had always played it so beautifully. Anyone near would just stop and listen to the magic she produced. Her talents had always left me in awe.

Cecelia stopped playing as she jotted down something on the papers in front of her. She was composing again.

"Has anyone ever told you that you are like a siren?" I asked stalking my way towards her. I leaned against the piano waiting for her to look up.

Cecelia didn't lift her head as she continued to compose. "Yes, you have. Multiple times. Remember that one time my father heard you?"

"Ah," I let out a sigh of recognition. "All too well I am afraid."

One of the many times the king threatened me for trying to "seduce" his daughter. I would never try to seduce Cecelia, she was my only friend, why would I want to ruin that? But it was always fun to drive her dad slightly insane. He made it too easy.

Finally finishing, Cecelia looked up at me. She narrowed her eyes at my face before scrunching her nose.

"Is there something on my face?" I asked reaching up to clean whatever she was looking at. I wiped around my lips but did not feel anything.

She shook her head with a light laugh before standing up. She was always taller than me as children but one year I suddenly grew very tall and kept growing.

Bringing up her hand, Cecelia wiped my chin with her soft thumb. "Yes, trouble. What have you done this time?"

I gave her a guilty smile. "Just experimented with some baking soda, I would be happy to show you some time."

Shaking her head again, she sat back down but this time made space for me on the bench beside her. "I do not think my servants would like that very much. They do as much work as it is chasing after you."

This time I was the one laughing. It was true, I did cause a lot of trouble but only because trouble was what gave me a rush. "It is called having fun darling."

"Ah yes, or as my father calls it dancing with the devil," she added before we both laughed.

"Oh that would have been correct if I danced," I said. Never had I tried dancing. Well all except that one time when I was fooling around with Cecelia. She said she had wanted to know what it was like to dance in the rain, so I took her hand and we messed around under the rain. A few twirls and dips, a few slips here and there, and a lot of laughter in between. When we went in covered in mud and dirtied the hallways, we got a big earful I could still hear ringing in my ear.

"All except that one day," she said smiling at the thought remembering just as I had. "It was an inspiration for one of my songs."

Ah yes, the next day she was going to work composing a new song. I was one of the few people to know that Cecelia's music was like her diary. All her thoughts and emotions, her greatest and worst memories, she made them into songs. That was why her music was so moving, because with every note there was an emotion and a story behind it.

"What's todays song?" I asked. I could never read sheet music for the life of me. Cecelia had tried teaching me it countless times but it just wasn't one of those things I could learn.