Chapter 17

He found the neatly stacked instrument cases in the closet, some of them as bizarre as what they were designed to contain, and had them moved out when the girls returned. The white cat was riding on Pandora's shoulders as if she were his personal butt bearer, a smug look on his furry face.

Gabriel shook his head, smiling. "I have a feeling I'm going to be carrying everything here."

"Huh?" Pandora looked blank for a moment, then said, "Oh, you mean Amadeus. He can walk, he just doesn't like to. It musses his fur." She smiled at him, her face filled with affection and pride. "Isn't he beautiful?"

He nodded. "He is. And he's looking forward to the mice."

"What? Oh ... but I hadn't asked yet..." She looked at the smug creature on her shoulder with a touch of confusion.

"We had a talk earlier."

"You can hear him?!" A delighted smile rewarded him.

Gabriel nodded. "Yeah. He wasn't too happy with the idea of me stealing his human."

She giggled. "I guess I should have warned you. I've had him for three years, since he was a tiny, tiny kitten. His mother wouldn't nurse him, and the breeder was just going to let him die." She bit her lip, reaching up to cuddle the cat close. "Mom threw a fit ... she wanted me to get one of the show cats, of course. Not a runt. But ... well ... I talked her into it."

Tandi snorted. "Bribed her, you mean. I remember that talent show she made you enter. And the guy who trapped you backstage and nearly raped you, too."

Gabriel shuddered. "God."

Pandora looked down, giving a tiny shrug. "It was worth it. He needed me."

Tandi looked skeptical for a moment, then gave in and reached up and scratched behind Amadeus' ears. "Eh. Maybe."

Gabriel shook his head. "So ... how do these go in, anyway?"

Pandora smiled at him, then unwound the cat from her neck and set him on the bed. She unlocked the case, and started showing him how to pack the various flutes, pipes, and small stringed instruments. Some of the things were quite odd ... there was one which looked like two flutes stuck together at the mouthpiece. Another was shaped in a loose spiral. They'd packed most of them when Tandi jerked her thumb at the wall and asked her sister, "What about the Strad?"

Pandora bit her lip, looking up at the violin. "I ... don't know. If they come back and he's gone, they'd freak. But ... I hate the thought of leaving him here, too. He's so fragile..."

"Aw, go on and take it. You know you'd like to play it for him," Tandi said, smiling. "Take your gypsy skirt, and hey, it'll be just like it was for some ancestor ... standing under the moon and playing for an elf-lord, hoping he only takes her virginity and not her soul."

Gabriel shot Tandi a look. "I've already got everything I want. Well, except the marriage license."

"Yeah ... I'm curious how you think you're going to manage that. Unless you're not familiar with the laws and actually think it's possible?" she asked.

"I don't know." He sighed. "We may just have to wait a couple of years."

"So you weren't intending on knocking her up for it. Good."

"Tandi! Behave," Pandora said, standing up and stepping into the closet. She took a case from the top shelf and brought it out. It was metal, shiny and incredibly tough looking, with two built in locks and internal hinges.

Gabriel shook his head. "She's too young for that. Maybe in a couple of years ... I don't want her to get hurt."

Pandora lay the case on the bed and smiled at him. "I wouldn't mind, really. It's not as if I'm not built for it," she said, patting one curvy hip. "And that would really get Mom to kick me out."

"Well, Amadeus thinks you'd make beautiful kittens," he said.

She laughed. "I hope he's wrong. Think of the poor doctor if I did!" She opened the case, smoothing a bit of dust from the black velvet lining before almost reverently reaching for the violin on the wall. She held it for a moment, caressing the smooth wood, and the strings vibrated ever so slightly, a faint, musical purr.

"Is that... ?" he asked.

She carefully checked the strings, making sure they were tight, before laying the instrument gently in the case. "Isn't he beautiful?"

"Is that a Stradivarius?" he asked, voice soft.

She looked up, face soft and dreamy. "Mmm?" She smiled, closing the case gently and spinning the little wheels on the locks. "Yes. He's not a Golden period piece, of course. Even if they could afford it, I'm not willing to do what it'd take to get her to spend that much, but he's still better than almost anything out there. He sounds so sweet, such beautiful tones..."

He smiled. "Maybe in a couple of days you can play him for me."

Pandora smiled at him. "Anytime. He's one of my favorites." Then she stood and fetched the cases for her lap-harps. "Tandi ... will you take the Egyptian out of the music room and put him in yours? He likes you."

Tandi looked startled. "You sure? I mean, he's your newest. I know you don't like anyone touching them for a while."

"I know, but ... he does like you. He sounds prettier when you're listening. And we don't have cameras on him yet like we do the King Louis, so he's not safe out there, but I know he will be with you."

"Well ... alright. Not sure how I'd explain it to Mom, though..."

Pandora grinned. "Tell her you're taking up music..."

"No fucking way! Not when she might catch me showing some bit of talent, anyway."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow curiously.

Pandora laughed. "Just teasing. I know. But ... it's still a shame. You should at least be able to enjoy playing if you want to."

"Yeah, and someday I will. Just not when it might get me turned into an exhibition piece like she did you," Tandi answered.

Gabriel nodded to himself, enlightened. "Is there a reason you don't want to bring it with you, love?"

She smiled up at him. "It's too big, Gabriel. It's taller than I am."

Gabriel nodded. "Right. Well, um ... we could get it after I get my new ... whatever I decide to get."