Diaries of a Piano Princess
By Michael Hemsworth
Diaries of a Piano Princess
Creative Families Publishing
Copyright 2012 Michael Hemsworth
Smashwords Edition
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Dear Diary
This morning I woke up to the gentle sounds of my father playing the piano. I smiled as I listened to the notes flowing through the castle and all around me like my softest blanket. Mrs. Nightengale, my nanny, appeared in the doorway. "Time to get dressed," she chimed. When Mrs. Nightengale spoke it always sounded like singing. "Your father, King Christopher, has some special news for you!"
I put on my red gown and I started down the grand staircase. The ballroom seemed unusually empty and quiet in the morning. Every night it had with no musicians and dancers filling the floor.
I hurried into the study. My father was still playing the piano. When he finally lifted his arm up from the keys it was like a curtain lifting at the start of a play. I always got excited at the start of a show and I was just as excited now. "You wanted to see me?" I asked. I ran to hug him.
"Your mother and I feel you are ready to begin learning to play the piano yourself," his low voice rumbled like the low keys on his piano. Just then, I noticed a strange looking man with rather large ears and a pointed nose sitting near the fireplace. "This is Mr. Tips," my father continued, "He will be your tutor. I am having a piano put in your playroom today."
Dear Diary,
Sure enough he did! When I returned later to the playroom there it was--a beautiful white piano with 88 smooth black and white keys. The lid opened to reveal a huge collection of strings and little hammers inside. It was just long enough to have secret tea parties underneath when Mr Tips was not teaching me dull piano exercises. In his lessons he would remind me over and over to sit up straight at the piano like a fine princess. Then he said to keep my arms level like my tea tray and to keep my fingers curved as if I was holding a delicate bubble.
When Mr. Tips was not giving lessons, though, my toys and I would go on adventures. I set up a far-away market with dancing monkey and magic carpet rides. I ran my fingers up and down the black keys to make exotic music to dance to.
Other times I would play Jack and the Beanstalk. When the giant was coming I dropped my fingers into the low-sounding keys all at once to make the sound of his crashing footsteps. The toys and I could always escape by starting at the highest keys as I ran my fingers down, down, down the white keys and reaching the bottom before the giant could follow us.
Dear Diary,
Father and Mother have been off on a long journey all week and I have been feeling very lonely. It is hard to practice at my piano when Mrs. Nightengale reminds me to each day. I try my hardest to complete my exercises and then I play my favorite sad song to match my mood.
Dear Diary,
You will never believe what happened today! As I was playing I noticed a beautiful new fairy doll on the playroom shelf. She had a dark wispy hair, butterfly wings with a rainbow streak, and a faint smile on her tiny red lips. I picked her up and noticed she also held a magic wand--only it wasn't a magic wand! It was a drum stick! She had the other one stuck into the belt of her tunic. Just as I was pondering how odd this was, the doll flew away--all by herself! She landed on the right side of the piano. The high notes chimed softly as she began to walk across the keys.
"Oh! You're alive!" I yelped. Most fairies lived far away past the village in the forest. I had never actually seen a fairy in person.
"I'm as alive as are you, silly girl," the fairy snapped, and then she paused and said, "I am sorry, I try not to be rude like that. Sometimes I can't help myself. My name is Beatrice but everyone just calls me Beat."
"My name is Rosabella,” I said. "My friends call me Rosie, so you can too." I smiled at her.
As it turns out, Beat had been sent by the Fairy Queen because there was a disagreement amongst the fairies (Beat did not say exactly who had started the big fight, but she looked pretty sad and guilty when she told me about it).
"You have a peaceful kingdom," the fairy said, "because of your piano and its music. When the King plays each day something magical fills your people and helps them to get along and not fight. The fairies need that magic now, too."
"I can't play like my father," I told her, "but I can play a little." I started playing a little waltz on the playroom piano. Soon the fairy had forgotten her troubles and we were dancing and singing the afternoon away. Beat even helped my paint each of my fingernails a different color to match the rainbow in her wings. My new fairy friend fell asleep on my pillow as I put on my nightgown. I lay beside her and I could hear her humming a beautiful, far-off fairy melody.
Dear Diary,
Something horrible happened! When I woke up Beat was poking me breathlessly. "Where did your piano go?" I sat straight up and looked at the empty playroom.
"Mrs. Nightengale, come quick!" I called. When she hurried in and saw only a rug where my piano should be she nearly dropped the tea tray. "I need to ask Mr. Tips if he knows what happened to my piano. Do you know where he is?" I asked.