16 December 2022

I changed Nella’s name to Naomi. Nella didn’t have quite the right feel to it for the character. Also, I’ve always been fond of the name Naomi. It’s just a very pretty name.

There’s a lot I might eventually change about this. For example, an early version of the myth had a blind, a lame, and a deaf child all left behind by the piper (either because they couldn’t keep up, or couldn’t hear the music to get charmed by it), and they’re the ones who told everyone else. If Naomi knows and hangs out with them, she could leave them a message. I’d have to be careful, though, as they would never reappear in the main story, so I don’t necessarily want to build them up as being important…

Naomi nodded, and the piper began to play. And oh, how he played! It felt like joy itself flowed out of his pipes. The music carried the piper away and he began to dance. It took but a moment for Naomi’s tears to vanish, replaced by a great toothy smile as she clapped along.

The piper had more tricks up his sleeve, though. He began to throw out small colored flags, and flowers of every kind. Naomi couldn’t figure out how he did it, as she never saw him take his hands off the pipes.

By this point, a sizable crowd had gathered around the fountain, but the piper kept his eyes on Naomi. He danced and twirled, faster and faster, until Naomi couldn’t keep track of what was what. For half a second, she even thought she saw hooves instead of the worn boots the piper wore.

He finished with a flourish, and swept off his hat and bowed to her. “And what did you think of my performance, fair lady?”

Naomi could only applaud. “It was amazing, Mr. Piper! How did you–”

“Naomi!” Out of the crowd, a tall man in a cassock glared at the girl. The wrinkles on his face were evidence enough that he wasn’t prone to smiling.

Naomi’s smile vanished, and she shrank into her shoulders. “G-good evening, Father Monroe.”

“And what is good about it, pray tell? And what are you doing idling away here? Have I not taught you that an idle mind is the devil’s playground?”

Naomi shrank herself further, and found herself wishing she could disappear right into the earth. The priest continued, “And worse, cavorting about with this… foppish peacock!”

The piper frowned for half a moment, then flashed Father Monroe the biggest smile Naomi had ever seen as he bowed. “Goodman Pietr at your service, Father! Gleeman, piper, and ratcatcher all in one.” He rose and smirked at the priest. “I believe it was you who called for my services, was it not? A thousand coin, to rid this fine city of a rampant infestation of rats, wasn’t it?”

Father Monroe looked as if he’d just eaten something phenomenally bitter. Naomi barely noticed, however; she was to busy trying to catch her breath. This was the ratcatcher? Was he going to take Barton away? She scooped up the rat where he’d been sitting and turned away from Pietr.

After a moment, Father Monroe asked, “You are Goodman Pietr?”

“Indeed I am, good sir.”

“And you can resolve our rat problem?”

“Indeed I can, good sir.”

Father Monroe scowled, then looked over where Naomi was trying to creep away. “Very well. You can start with that one.”

Naomi shrieked and backed away, but the piper just shook his head. “Tut, tut, tut. Now, now, good priest. You do not see me trying to tell you how to preach your sermons, do you? You tend to your duties, and I shall see to mine, you have my word.”

The priest choked back a thousand scathing replies. “Every rat, Goodman Pietr. If you want full payment.”

Naomi never heard Pietr’s reply, because at that point, she broke out of the crowd and hid herself away.

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