His Violin

The cools breeze blew gently, rustling the leaves of the trees and causing the flowers to sway slightly, the sight beautiful to behold. The royal gardens were truly a spectacle, carefully tended to by the gardeners as the fulfilled their day-to-day duties.

A small boy sat on one of the marble benches, in his hands a violin which one could tell at one glance came at a hefty price due to its craftsmanship. The boy sat with his back hunched, his eyes a lovely shade of grey, holding a gloomy air that was quite abnormal for a child his age. The little five-year-old boy lifted his little violin, playing a note before taking a slight pause.

The servants in the gardens halted their work, all paying attention to the young prince who took no notice of their presence, nor would he care that they were watching. The young prince resumed playing, his movements swift and captivating as he played a fast-paced classic, the melody and rhythm powerful as he progressed.

Every crescendo pulling at the listeners hearts as their heartbeats accelerated, holding their breaths as the piece got progressively faster in an accelerando. It was as if they were in a trance, all attention on the prince and his violin, the view enchanting as the wind blew softly in the young boy's long, brown curls, temporarily revealing his face, his little pink lips pursed together looking as if he was pouting, his eyes closed as he was lost in the music he played, capable of bringing tears to any bystanders eyes. It was beautiful.

The piece after its climax hit a diminuendo, gradually growing softer and slowing down, easing the pull it had on the servants as they watched the prince end the music piece. They all released a breath they were unaware they were holding, the whole garden stunned into silence. Not even the chirping of birds could be heard as if the birds couldn't help but recognize the young boy’s playing. Some servants wiped the stray tears from their eyes, sighing as they thought of the prince’s playing.

“The second prince is quite talented,” said the butler as he approached the boy as he was the first to regain his composure.

The young prince simply glanced at him nonchalantly, giving the butler a curt nod before turning to look at the flowers, his face expressionless. The butler felt a knot forming in his throat, patting his chest to calm his emotions as he looked at the gloomy little prince who sat alone.

“Does the young prince wish to return to his chambers?”

The boy made a low, short hum, slipping off the marble bench and holding the butler’s outstretched hand. The middle-aged butler sighed, used to the prince’s detached temperament, leading the small boy into the place building.

“Poor Prince Claudius, it must be hard having a father who neglects him and focuses on the first prince, with his mother solely attentive to the young princess,” the servants whispered amongst themselves.

This was true, the first prince, James, stole all the king's attention from the very day he was born, the birth of the second prince, Claudius, was a big disappointment as the king simply glanced at the baby boy with no emotion before returning to tutoring the first prince.

“I already have an heir and a perfect one at that, I have no use for him,” said the king at the time.

The queen had shown some care and affection for the little prince until a year later when she gave birth to the little princess, completely ignoring the second prince. It was only natural for the young prince to develop a gloomy temperament, watching his siblings receiving all the love and affection from their parents whilst he had none. Even his father managed to spare some time for his little princess, spoiling her almost as much as he did for the first prince but never him.

He seemed to be the ghost of the palace, ever-present but invisible to all but the servants who felt pity towards him……

The lonely Second Prince of the Abraicia kingdom, Prince Claudius Arden.