MEN WHO NEED THERAPY

That was fine; It wasn't as though the spot were his alone. He knew the troll besides; Cassin, one of the king's favorite court entertainers. Tonight, she seemed rather forlorn, staring out over the lake as the wind lapped small waves over the surface.

There was always a little sorrow in her eyes, even when she smiled. Kelainos took a step back to leave her be, but she noticed him before he could leave.

"Monsieur Angres," Cassin greeted him by his surname, a tiny smile gracing her features. "I am sorry, I know that you usually like to sit here in the small hours. I hadn't meant to stay so long..."

Her voice drifted off, and she looked back at the lake. "It is a lovely night, though."

Kelainos brushed again through the willow leaves. "It is. You've as much right as I do to enjoy the lake here."

"Ah, still, I should be mindful!" Cassin smiled as she gently chided herself, though again it did not reach her eyes. She looked to the book in his hand, tilting her head to peer at the cover. "What have you got to read tonight?"

"A collection of tales." Kelainos idly shuffled the book in his hand, tilting it so she could see the cover better. "Supposedly true, though I very much doubt it." He moved to sit in the empty seat beside her, and Cassin draped herself on the curled stone arm of the bench.

"I've never read a book before." Cassin sighed, and then after a brief pause, continued. "Do you think you could read it to me?"

Kelainos debated this, and couldn't find any particular reason to say no. "I suppose." He opened the book, and flicked through a few pages to reach the start of one story about a knight rescuing a lady, that he thought might appeal to her.

—

Cassin listened peacefully as he read the story aloud to her, and it was over soon, only a few pages long.

"You've a nice voice, Monsieur," she remarked once he finished the last sentence. "Do you sing?"

"I understand it in principle," Kelainos said. "Though not in practice."

Cassin giggled, seeming in at least somewhat higher spirits than before. "Shall I be the one to teach you something for once, then?" An idle remark on the fact that Kelainos tutored the king's heir, and knew many things besides. Though, in truth, no living troll knew half of the broad expanse of his knowledge, but that was just fine with him.

"If you've the time." Kelainos replied, and Cassin shifted to sit up ramrod straight.

"Well... It begins not in your throat, but here, at your belly." She laid a hand just below her ribcage. "You fill your whole self with a deep breath. It's a bit strange at first, but you get used to it." She demonstrated, breathing in deep and then exhaling slowly. "You try, too, you must learn by feeling it."

Kelainos did as instructed, while Cassin continued. "You have to sit, or stand up very straight so that the air can move easily through you," she said, and then she laid a hand gently on his back to correct his posture. "There, yes- Very good. Now breathe in ... And out. And when you sing, you must do this with each breath, letting your voice flow easily on the air. It will carry very far like this."

"You know your trade well," Kelainos observed. It isn't unlike breathing fire, he mused to himself.

"Our matrons took great pride in song. They said it was our natural way to praise the Mother Goddess." Cassin smiled. "You should hear sometime, how beautiful it is to hear lovely voices in the cavern chambers."