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Lucas didn't know why, but since they heard the soft melody from afar, they needed to know its origin. By its fine tune and the clearness of the voice it was singing it, they knew that it had to be someone who clearly had talent to sing, or maybe had a lot of practice before. The melody was magnetic, luring them in like the sirens used to do in the stories they used to read with their sister a long time ago. They didn't fight the curiosity rising in them to discover who was singing, and without noticing, they were already at the door of the library, from where the song was coming from.
Carefully, they opened the door, almost feeling scared that if they moved too quickly, they would scare whoever was singing inside. Just right after entering and closing the door again, they took a moment to admire again the voice in its total greatness, now free of any impediments that dwindled its sound, and it was then when they finally recognized the voice as Dorothea's, the former songstress in their class. She wasn't in sight, so they took a moment to search for her, again in silence, to allow them to keep hearing the beautiful song.
Finally they found her, standing near a table, carelessly pouring her soul into a song meant for no one, just for herself and herself alone. It was so strange to them, watching her so carefree, since they knew that she was trying to secure her future here in the Academy. They kept staring at her stunning figure for a few minutes, unable to move from their hiding spot just beside her, just out of her vision, and feeling their heart harmonizing a different tune that they didn't quite understand.
Her song came to an end, and, without realizing it, Lucas came out of their spot and started applauding the performance of her classmate. Quickly after hearing the sound, Dorothea snapped her head towards them, and they felt their face heating up and getting redder, conscious that they weren't meant to hear what they just heard.
"Oh?", Dorothea started, leaning her head to the side and raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, Dorothea, I-...", Lucas stuttered a bit, but they were able to continue, "sorry! I wasn't stalking you! I was just doing something outside, but then I heard a voice coming from here, so I wanted to see where it was coming from, and I found you here, and I couldn't stop listening. Sorry if it was creepy for you!" Their face was now totally red, and they were doing anything they could to apologize to her.
Suddenly they felt something wrapping around their hands, and when they looked at them, they saw that Dorothea's hands were wrapping around theirs. Stunned, they turned to look at her face, and they found her smirking, clearly amused by this whole situation. "Hey Lucas, calm down a bit?" Her smirk now disappeared, and instead they found a soft smile. "Follow me, okay? Breathe in, breathe out. Do it slowly, okay?"
They did as she commanded, and soon they found themselves more relaxed. "Thanks, Dorothea, I...don't know what happened there, sorry again."
She giggled softly before speaking again. "Don't worry about it, it didn't bother me at all that you were listening, but, I'm sure I was alone when I started, when did you come in?"
Lucas froze again, and heat was starting to rise up his neck again. They took some time to find their words, but they finally came. "As I told you in my ramble, I was doing some things nearby, and I heard a voice singing, I felt attracted by it and I started searching for its origin, and that's how I found you singing."
"Really? My singing made you feel that way?" Dorothea seemed to be shocked after their words "Don't get me wrong, I know it can, it's just that I was singing to myself, just that, I didn't mean to."
"Don't worry about it." They chuckled lightly after seemingly turning the tables on their conversation. "It was just...so different, you usually are always running to one place to another, and to see you so relaxed, singing that song...it was really nice to see you like that, you...forgive me for what I'm going to say, but, you looked really lovely then, Dorothea."
"Are you being serious right now? That's so sweet of you, Lucas. Thank you, really. Now, if you excuse me, I have to bring this books to the Professor, but, would you like to meet to have some tea other day? If you don't mind, of course."
"Oh, sure! I would love to!"
"Great! I'll let you know when I'm able, see you!"
Dorothea made her leave, then leaving Lucas alone, as they kept hearing their heart sing a different tune.