Thodek's Song

“Hurry up, Eldrin! We’ve got to get there before all the good seats are gone!”

My best friend Amber was pulling me through the streets towards the local tavern. We lived in a small town called Rigaforth, and there usually wasn’t too much excitement in the day to day. Amber was a human from a farming family, and I was an elf from an artisan family. We grew up together, and we’ve been best friends for as long as I can remember.

Now that we were both in our older teen years though, my feelings for her had started to change. All I wanted to do was spend time with her. Recently her beautiful smile that I knew so well had started to make me blush, her gorgeous, joyful laugh would make my heart flutter, and the touch of her hand as she pulled me excitedly through the streets was electric.

Some of the other townsfolk have noticed my change in feelings too. I guess I don’t hide it as well as I’d like to. My brothers are always telling me to date her, and the lady in the flower shop has started calling me in and giving me huge discounts in an effort to get me to tell Amber how much I like her. I always tell people that they’re confused and that me and Amber are just friends, but no one seems to believe me.

They also all tell me that Amber is head over heels for me too, but I just can’t be sure. It’s so hard to know! They tell me that I need to confess my love for her, and that we’d be such a lovely, happy couple. But Amber is my best friend and has been my whole life. What if she doesn’t actually like me back? If I told her I loved her, and she didn’t feel the same way then I’d throw away the most important relationship in my life. I just couldn’t risk it. So, I figured I’d continue to deny people and continue to keep my mouth shut. If Amber told me she loved me I would be ecstatic, but I was definitely not the one to make that move.

“Eldrin, you’re lost in thought again!” Amber playfully shoved me, and I saw that we were already at the tavern. “Look, there’s still two seats right up front, let’s go take them!” Amber grabbed my hand again and pulled me to the front of the crowd to the last two empty seats in the front. I would have preferred to have stayed a bit more discreet in the back, but if sitting at the front made Amber happy, then it was well worth it.

“So, who’s performing tonight?” I asked. “Gerald?” Gerald was the local bard, and he was well past his prime. Although he was a nice guy, he could never remember the details of the stories he told, and he couldn’t hear his lute well enough to know it was out of tune. I typically tried to avoid the tavern on the nights he was there.

Amber laughed. “No, it’s not Gerald! It’s a travelling bard from far away. I don’t even know the name of the place he comes from, but he’s apparently a legend! The older townsfolk have seen him perform here once before, years ago, and they said that the way he weaves stories together makes you feel like you’re actually there. They said that the emotions he makes you feel are stronger than anything you’ve ever felt. They said his songs are life changing! I can’t wait!”

I couldn’t help but smile as Amber spoke. She was so excited! Her joy and excitement were contagious, and soon I couldn’t wait for the new bard to perform either. Hopefully he was as good as she said.

We sat there and talked for another 30 minutes or so before the innkeeper came to the front of the room. The crowd hushed down, and the innkeeper spoke. “Thank you all for coming today!” I looked behind me and was shocked at how many people were there. It looked like the entire town had crowded in to see this travelling bard. The innkeeper continued. “It is my pleasure to welcome to our town, and to present to you tonight, Thodek, the famous traveling bard!”

We all clapped, and a short, stocky, middle-aged dwarf with drabby looking clothes walked to the front. He made a big show of looking at all of us, then grabbing a chair and standing on it so we could all see him. He didn’t look like the typical young, colorful, travelling bards I was used to, but he obviously had a sense of humor, and we all laughed as he got on the chair. Amber grabbed my hand with excitement, a massive smile on her face. I quickly prayed to the gods that this bard would be as good as Amber expected, because I wanted nothing more than for her to have the time of her life tonight.

Thodek cleared his throat, and then without saying a word he started plucking a simple yet beautiful tune on his lyre, a small harp-like instrument. After a few moments of setting the tone with the music, he started singing a story:

“In a kingdom long ago

Lived a princess kind and fair

Though she loved her palace home

She was so lonely there

She’d look out oft beyond the gates

At the villages nearby

And dream of finding her true love

While to herself she’d cry:

“I love a man who’s brave and strong

He’s handsome and he’s kind

Intelligent and gentle too

He’s always on my mind

He loves me more than life itself

He completes my duet

The only problem with him is

I haven’t found him yet.”

Down below her childhood friend

The lowly stable boy

Would whisper “girl, just look down here

To find your love and joy”

But she was on her tower top

And he was on the ground

More than meters split them up:

Within their classes they were bound.

So weeks went by, then months and years

Each singing their sad song

Until the day the dragon came

Magnificent and strong.

He snatched the princess from her loft

And flew her far away

The people cried “what can we do?”

The king said “don’t dismay.

I’ll make a proclamation

And send it far and wide

‘Whoever saves the princess

Will have her for their bride’”

The lower nobles in the land

Rejoiced at the decree

For if they saved the princess

They could satisfy their greed

They didn’t care much for the girl

The fearsome dragon stole

Just the riches that would come with her,

And the kingdom to control

So one by one they went to fight

The fiery flying beast

Though everyone who reached its den

Became the dragon’s feast

Dozens tried and dozens failed

The dragon reigned supreme

Could anybody slay the beast

And thus fulfill their dreams?

The stable boy, who loved her still

Decided he would go

Did he have what it took to be

The kingdom’s new hero?

The people laughed as he went off

They said he’d never win

A peasant couldn’t win her heart

Or kill a great dragon

But he loved her and he believed

That she must love him too

So he traveled far and long until

The dragon was in view

The dragon saw the peasant come

Without a shield or sword

And wondered how he planned to win

The princess, his reward

The dragon said “my boy, I see

You come from humble birth.

I suppose you want to kill me now

To become a man of worth.”

The stable boy shook his head no

And bowed upon his knee

He said “I do not wish to fight

Nor wish to make you bleed.

I haven’t come to win great wealth

Or to gain a crown

All I want is my true love,

The princess that you’ve bound.”

The dragon slowly smiled

Then he broke out in a grin

“My boy,” he said, “the girl is yours

For true love always wins”

The dragon then released the girl

She walked out of its den

To see the man who saved her life

Was none other than her friend

Seeing the man she knew so well

And now the future king

Her heart was full, her mind was clear

And she started to sing:

“I love a man who’s brave and strong

He’s handsome and he’s kind

Intelligent and gentle too

He’s always on my mind

He loves me more than life itself

He completes my duet

You’ve been my true love all along

I just never knew it”

The stable boy then took her hand

And gave her an embrace

He said “our love can soar at last

We’ve no more barriers to face”

To the kingdom they returned

Walking hand in hand

The people threw them celebrations

All throughout the land

They got married shortly after

Happy as could be

Their love grew brighter every day

For all eternity

This story has now reached its end

A happy ending too

Now let’s discuss the story’s theme

For those seeking love true

When you’re looking far and wide

And your hope begins to sink

The one true love you want to find

May be closer than you think.”

I sat there in stunned silence with the rest of the town as the bard finished the song. No one moved for a full minute, all of us entranced with the story, the music, and the magic that was so clearly in the air. I looked over at Amber and saw tears falling down her cheeks. I could feel it too. The music was beautiful, the story was incredible, and the message was perfect.

Suddenly someone from the back started to clap, and the rest of the town quickly joined in. We all gave Thodek a long standing ovation, and then he jumped off the chair and went to get a drink before performing his next song. As we all sat back down in our seats to wait for the next one, I looked at Amber and gave her a smile. “That was pretty good.” I said.

“Pretty good!?” Amber laughed. “That was amazing!” She was so overcome with emotion that she gave me a huge hug. “Oh, Eldrin, I loved it! It was so beautiful! Wow wow wow! It was just so good!”

I had a huge smile on my face while she spoke. I wasn’t as good at expressing my emotions as she was, but I couldn’t agree more. I also couldn’t shake the message that the story delivered. The poor stable boy went years without his true love because he didn’t know how to tell her his feelings for her, and because he was too afraid to try. It was only when he faced his fears that he won her in the end. I knew it was just a story, but I decided right then that I wouldn’t allow myself to go years making the same mistake. It was time to face the dragon now.

I pulled out of Amber’s embrace to look her in the eyes. I grabbed her hands and said with more sincerity than I’d ever spoken with, “Amber, I love you. I love you more than I know how to express. You are my best friend, but you’re also my one true love. I love you.”

Amber’s mouth dropped, and for a split second I was afraid that I had made a terrible mistake. But then she started to laugh and cry, and she hugged me again, so tight I that I almost couldn’t breathe. “I love you too, Eldrin!” She said. “I love you so, so much! Oh, I’m so glad you said something, I’ve been waiting for so long! I want nothing more than to be with you!” I hugged her back, and we both sat there in stunned yet joyful silence for a moment, taking it all in.

In my ecstasy I looked up and saw Thodek standing in a corner with a drink in hand. He was looking right at me, and when we made eye contact, he gave me a smile and a wink. He then looked around the crowd, saw someone else in need of his magic, finished his drink and walked back to the front of the room to perform his next song.

I’m sure his next piece was beautiful, but I don’t remember a single word from it, because all I could hear the rest of the night were the words “I love you too, Eldrin! I love you too!”