houseofcards_rp | [OTA] Rhapsody in Spades

Sophie gave her the idea, actually, before they'd even gone to Santorini. They'd both been talking about how they missed playing piano - which, actually, was kind of odd, for Zoe. She played it well, but piano was fraught with memories of hours of training. Repetition after repetition of Beethoven and Bach's piano concertos until she reached a level where Charlotte Kattalakis had been satisfied.

Which took a while, to be honest. So music hadn't really been fun except to listen to. Zoe hadn't even considered bringing her piano with her when she switched Suits. It'd been left behind for whatever Six or Seven got her old rooms at Heart Castle.

Still, she did miss it for some reason. She'd started picking at teaching herself some old music on her piano last fall - she'd gotten the sheet music for "Stardust" last October, a birthday gift from her cousin Jessie, and then she'd taught herself "Summertime" last winter before she left. And now she was working on Rhapsody in Blue, which Sophie had mentioned at her party. It's eighteen minutes and not exactly the easiest piece to play, especially if you haven't touched a piano in five months.

But all in all...Zoe's doing pretty well.

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She shrugs. "Well, I wanted to see Mister Chives and Mister Ace of Spades, but I can't seem to find them right now. But I've found you, and that's exciting, too!" Lisa, busy? Never. Friends first.

She's not entirely sure Chives really understands how children work, honestly. And she's fairly sure Julien only really gets Eileen.

Who isn't actually a child, despite chronological technicalities.

"So...you and Julien made friends?" Zoe quirks an eyebrow at that, because she's...pretty sure Julien's only friend was the last Jack of Clubs, and that only by the broadest definition of the word friend.

"Well, no, but. Mister Sean said that everyone needs love." And prickly Spades are no exception!

"He can be a tad bit..." Were there even words for this. "Brusque."

Brusque. That's a word she wasn't quite familiar with, but she'd assume it meant prickly, like she'd been calling him all day. "Mister Ace just needs hugs, that's all. He's like the plants in the gardens. Like a rose bush! It's prickly, but if you water it and sing to it enough, it'll be too pretty for the prickles to matter, and you can have one of your own and it won't hurt you very much at all." She sounds completely convinced of this.

That was...an interesting simile, Zoe thought. Don't mind "Moon River" ending a little discordantly, Lisa, it's just that there's only so much surprise you can take. "A rose bush." Really. She wasn't sure what to do with that one. "I don't think Julien would appreciate either the comparison or the hugs, Lisa."

Lisa just. Stares. "He's prickly. He'll be okay."

It wasn't exactly him Zoe worried about, but she recognized a losing battle when she saw one. So she smiled at Lisa. "Do you have any favorite songs?"

Her frown fled and was replaced with a bright smile. "Can you play the Moonlight Sonata? I love that one. And Waltz of the Flowers."

Ah, Beethoven. If there was a bane of her piano-playing existence, it was Ludwig von Beethoven. But the Moonlight Sonata was beautiful, so she nods. "I know it," she says. "Both of them, actually." But it's the sonata she starts with. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tr0otuiQuU) "Have you been taking music lessons?"

Happily swaying to the music, she shook her head. "No, Miss Zoe. I dance, though. Daddy is making sure I learn ballroom dancing, and Miss Cayden is teaching me ballet." But she'd always wanted to learn flute.

"Ballroom is an essential Deck skill," Zoe says. "So we can cajole boys into dancing with us at parties." And she'd taken ballet, too, though she and Cayden were of an age, so she'd gotten her lessons from a Diamond. "You should ask, if you want to learn something."

She giggled, shaking her head. "No, silly, it's not for the boys. It's for us. So we can be good at things."

Aw, Miss Zoe. How did you know? "I don't know who to ask, but. I want to learn to play...the flute. I just don't know anyone who plays it."

She added an extra flourish to Moonlight Sonata that wasn't really supposed to be there, and smiled. "But there should be a use for it beyond just being good at things." That had been while she'd been piled with Things to Learn, after all, and how useful was ballet for her these days?

"The flute..." Zoe tipped her head to one side. There's a...Six, I think, in the Hearts, who teaches wind instruments. King Ceiro would know who I'm talking about."

A small frown creased her brow. "But it isn't enough to do it because it makes people happy and it makes you happy?" That's why Lisa did everything she did: making others happy by her actions made her insurmountably happy.

"I'll ask Daddy Kingy, then. He likes it when I learn new things aside from my butler training." She tipped her head. "Why do you play piano, Miss Zoe? Other than being good at it, why did you learn? What...use does it have other than making people happy?"

Not in Zoe's experience, though she knew her experience wasn't exactly the way it's supposed to go. So she...didn't answer at first. Not until Lisa asked her about the piano.

And then she looks down at the keys, and her fingers moving across them. "Well," she said slowly. "My mother is a court musician for the Hearts." For the love of God, do not take music lessons from her, Lisa. "So she wanted me to learn an instrument. And you can use it to challenge up in rank. I'm not sure why she decided I should learn piano," she added, smiling down at Lisa. "I was only five when I started lessons."

Five. Did that mean Lisa was too old to learn? That would be terrible! How could she impress Daddy Kingy and Papa Elisha with music if she was too old to learn?

"Do you think...someone will still teach me, even though I'm not five anymore?" She looked up with big eyes, hopeful. Don't disappoint her; you'll never forgive yourself if you do.

"Hmm? Oh, of course they will." Honestly, five had probably been a little too young. And it'd been years before she'd had fun with it. "You're never too old to learn an instrument, I don't think so. Definitely not at eight."

She perked up, a smile creeping back onto her face. "Really? Well. Well, I'll ask someone, then! Oh, Miss Zoe, thank you so much."

[OTA] Rhapsody in Spades

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This girl wants to do all the things. :|

I think it's an eight year old girl thing. I wanted to be a ballet dancing lawyer on Law and Order.

She wants to be the Butler Jack. B|

Butler Jack Ballerina Flutist. :|

Jack of All Trades. :|

Jack of Hearts. She'll take Athena's spot.

only if Athena resigns or dies first. she has no desire to challenge that woman.

It's good to know she has some sense of self-preservation. Somewhere in there.

It's not fear of Athena. It's just that she doesn't want to usurp her Face Cards. <3