Work Text:
In a faraway land there lived a cold-hearted emperor and his empress. The emperor was known to be a cruel man, often having people killed in order to cover his tracks. Everyone in the kingdom knew of this yet kept their mouths shut in case they could ever be on his bad side.
However, this horrible man did end up having a beautiful daughter by the name of Goro, she was well known as the nightingale of the town as her voice brought around ambassadors and musicians from all over the world just to hear her beautiful melodic voice. Goro's parents were very proud of their daughter's gift, however, because of such a talent she was kept inside the palace for most of her life, rarely ever getting to see the outside world. This had been done so as to protect her from kidnappers or anyone who dares to get too close to her.
Goro longs to see the outside world, she had read many books that describe many wonderful places to visit and all she could do was daydream about it. Day after day she was trapped in the palace forced to do nothing but study and sing. However, one day she received a gift. This was no ordinary gift; a mere commoner would most likely never receive a gift such as this. No, this was only for the nobles. Although she did not have a way of leaving her home to go out and explore, she did have one thing. On her birthday Goro received a kind, curly-haired musician by the name of Ren.
Ren was no simple commoner; he was able to play every instrument in the kingdom. For someone without power or riches, everyone in the village knew of his name and talents, it had sparked the interest of many important people, this had included the emperor himself. Shido saw his performance and after having his daughter beg him for a teacher so she can learn to play an instrument he decided that he can fulfil her wish in a different way.
The emperor would not be pleased to see his daughter's hands become callused and undesirable by men. The emperor plans to marry her to a rich nobleman sometime in the future after all. Hence the reason why he could not allow her to go outside. Fear. Fear of having such a beautiful daughter catch the eyes of peasants. Fear of having her kidnapped. Fear of having her be injured.
Because of this Goro was not allowed to play instruments, but she was allowed to keep practising her singing along with the musician. Goro had the voice of a nightingale, she was also able to sing in various different languages. Being trapped inside her home for so long she was given the opportunity to spend her time learning various languages.
This allowed her to sing in multiple languages and impress various ambassadors from various countries. Her father Shido the emperor, hopes one of these rich and important men take an interest in her once she is of marrying age. The emperor needed a musician that can keep up with his daughter. A musician that was able to sing in multiple languages and play multiple instruments and there was no one better at that than Ren.
In the past Ren was only a mere peasant in hindsight however, given his talent he was taken in by a kind man named Sojiro, who recognized his talents and he provided Ren with teachers for various instruments. Ren travelled the world and met lots of different people from all walks of life, even picking up on a few languages and traditional songs and instruments. This had helped him look more appealing to the emperor to the point that he had no choice but to hire this musician and no one else.
When he was invited over to play during the emperor’s dinner, his beautiful voice, incredible skill on all instruments and the fact that he was able to welcome foreigners by singing in their native language. The emperor found him more than fitting than anyone to be the family's personal musician.
The only challenge was, could he trust this man to play music for his daughter? Shall he allow his one and only daughter to have this gift? He did but on a few conditions. Their singing must be supervised by his daughter's servants. The musician must have his back turned towards her, not as a sign of disrespect, but it was so that he would not look at her beauty. Ren was made to wear a blindfold whenever he was to visit Goro for their daily practise session. He and Goro are not allowed to have conversations outside of their meetings. For this, the musician was paid handsomely. He was also given a place to stay in the palace. He was to be given clean clothes and food every day. There was no reason anyone would abandon such good fortune granted to them by the emperor, especially since only the lucky few were able to work for the emperor, and only a few would dare cross him.
Goro was not so happy to hear that her father would not allow her to play an instrument, however, she did end up enjoying these musical sessions more than she thought she would. Or perhaps she simply enjoyed the musician's company more than the actual music itself. Often they would end up singing in German of all languages. Not the most romantic language but it seemed like it was the one Ren was most familiar with.
He often rhymes words together that sound funny, even putting in a few jokes in his song. Goro would try to hold back a laugh, but she couldn't stop herself from snickering. And it would seem that although the servants were told to keep watch over them, they had no idea what they were singing to each other, they see that the princess was finally smiling after many years of seeing her gloomy face. They were happy for her.
Ren and Goro would sing to each other every day under the watch of the servant’s eyes. Sometimes they would sing each other love songs. There was not a day where Ren didn't put a smile on Goro's face. Goro herself would try to challenge him to sing with a different tune to surprise him however Ren was always able to keep up, music really did feel like it was something that was a part of him. An extension of his unwavering soul. Goro couldn’t help but fall in love with Ren and Ren could help but feel the same for Goro.
They were not allowed to communicate normally, though they managed to communicate through song. Silly jokes had slowly changed to heartfelt lyrics for the other person. Goro slowly opened up her feelings to Ren through song. She opened up about how her father is too possessive over her, that she feels like a caged bird and wishes to be free. Goro sang lyrics that had the other stay awake all night. Ren had no idea what she looked like; however, her voice and spirit was enough to have him captivated. Goro found the man silly and charming at first, but as time passed on, she became more and more intrigued by him.
It didn't take long for Goro to begin sneaking chamomile tea to her servants guarding her bedroom door. Along with her smooth and calming voice, Goro was able to put her two guards to sleep. Thanks to this she was able to leave her bedroom and find the musician's room which was not as guarded as hers. Ren was shocked when he first saw this strange woman come over to his place. It deeply hurt Goro that Ren did not recognise her until she started singing. When she did Ren felt almost entranced. He couldn't believe it; his songbird came to visit him, and she was more beautiful than he had expected.
He was finally able to see her and hold her. This continued for weeks. Goro would bring the soldiers by her room their tea and put them to sleep with a sweet lullaby. By the time they wake up she would already be in her room as if nothing had happened. Soft kisses and hugs became more intimate over time and weeks later the morning sickness could no longer be hidden, and a doctor was summoned to check on Goro.
Unfortunately, Goro could not hide her pregnancy, the doctor had quickly found out and told emperor Shido. Shido was furious with his daughter, as much as he wished he could personally beat Goro himself over this he knew better than to ruin the product further. Not many men wish to marry a pregnant woman however even less men are willing to marry an ugly beaten-up doll. The emperor decided it would be best to marry Goro to a rich nobleman as soon as possible. No one was to find out that Goro was going to have a bastard child. Luckily for him, it did not take too long to find a candidate that was willing to do so and Shido quickly began arranging a marriage.
Goro was heartbroken. Ren had heard of the news; the whole kingdom knew of the marriage that was soon to happen for their beloved nightingale. Ren was not one to give up so easily, however. He needed a plan and quick. Ren had met many people from all walks of life, he remembered a certain man that promised him that he can grant him any wish he wanted as a reward for helping him out in the past. This man was known as Takuto Maruki, a wizard living deep within the forest nearby.
Under the cover of night, Ren left to visit Maruki. Maruki agreed to help the couple in their escape from the kingdom and Shido’s grasp. The two ran away together on a cold night in November. Goro used the same trick on the guards as before however, she was stopped halfway into her escape. She was caught by a maid, who took pity on the princess and instead of turning her to Shido she instead helped her escape.
Once Goro and Ren found Maruki’s home in the forest, they were told that in order for Maruki to grant their wish they must give up their voice in exchange for being given a different face allowing them to live a new life together without having the soldiers chasing after them. They may speak; however, they shall never be allowed to sing another song together again. The couple agreed that this was what's best for them to be together and to live a safer life for their child. They agreed and Maruki was able to grant them their wish. The two then fled the empire never looking back, they arranged a small wedding for themselves and settled down somewhere no one could find them.
Goro was able to give birth to their baby girl who they named Nightingale. A very fitting name for a girl who grew up having such a beautiful voice. Ren was able to teach Goro how to play various instruments, something her father would have never allowed her to do.
The couple were still able to share their songs this way. Even though they could no longer sing together they always had their instruments and their little Nightingale.