Chapter Text
Every story has a beginning and end. This story is of a boy, and his story begins with the ending of another.
Yoru Nagatsuki was only five years old when his family’s fairytale story came to a crashing end. He was the young son of two loving parents who owned a popular restaurant in a bustling port town in the south of the great kingdom of Procella. However, it was on a warm and peaceful summer day when both of Yoru’s parents fell dreadfully ill and passed that very night. Yoru, having nowhere else to go, was sent to live with his elderly grandmother who worked as a maid in a palace far from Yoru’s cozy port town. This palace belong to one of the three great lords of the Procellarum kingdom. It was here that Yoru began to work in the palace along with his grandmother until the day she too passed, leaving Yoru with no one else his own age anywhere to be seen. Yoru didn’t mind though, he was content to entertain himself as he always had. Sure, he was lonely, but he had come to find comfort in that loneliness. Eventually, Yoru grew older and as he grew, he gained more friends as he began to connect to the people who came to work around him. Now, at the age of 21, Yoru has found a good friend in a fellow servant name Rui and is living happily tending to the gardens and produce of the palace while learning to cook like his parents once did. Currently, Yoru, dressed in his old and distressed gardening clothes, is going to tend to the herbs and medicinal flowers hidden far back in the castle’s gardens. And this is where the story truly starts to get interesting.
Yoru sat with his legs covered in dirt, and face smudged with dirt as well. He hummed softly as he plucked weeds from the patch of growing herbs, just as he did every other morning long before anyone else in the castle even began to stir. Yoru had done followed this same routine every morning since he was a child, and it was a constant stress free part of his day that never once differed from the day before. However, today, something was different. There was something louder than Yoru’s humming that Yoru could faintly hear coming from an old and overgrown greenhouse in the back most corner of the garden. Curious, Yoru wiped his hands on the back of his pants and put his old gardening hat back on his head before getting up to investigate the sound. Yoru peaked into the old greenhouse and saw the shadow of a person sitting on an old table on the other end of the greenhouse. Whoever it was, had the loveliest voice Yoru had ever heard. He was surrounded by singing and music constantly, but he had never heard a voice quite like this. It was beautiful, strong, and pure, yet it was also sad, shy, and lonely; these were all things Yoru seemed to know well. As Yoru crept closer to the source of this lovely voice, he began to recognize that the song was in a language he couldn’t understand (though that didn’t make it any less lovely). Closer and closer Yoru walked, and once he finally got close enough to make out just who was singing he drew in a shocked breath and rushed to step away. However, Yoru’s foot found itself caught on a vine sprawled across the floor and he went crashing down to the floor. Yoru hissed in pain and began to panic as the singing came to a stop and footsteps began to rush towards him.
“Are you ok?” The same melodic voice that had just been singing asked crouching down in front of Yoru. Yoru, embarrassed and ashamed, pulled his hat over his face and nodded silently.
“Why are you here? Do you work here?” Yoru nodded his head silently and heard a chuckle from the voice above him.
“Don’t speak much do you? Who’s hiding under there?” Yoru jumped a little when a hand began to pull up on his hat. Knowing that it was pointless and just plain stupid to resist, Yoru allowed his face to be revealed and allowed himself to look up to the face staring down at him. It was the face of the lord’s son, You. Yoru grew red from embarrassment and fear having accidently walked in on the lord’s son singing in what was clearly meant to be a private spot. He feared he would get punished for eavesdropping or disturbing his young master. Yoru wasn’t a high enough servant to ever be allowed to even see the young master let alone have any kind of close contact with him. To his surprise though, the young lord simply smiled and sat back in front of Yoru on the dirty greenhouse floor.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before, do you really work in the palace?” You asked playing with some stray leaves by his knee. Yoru only nodded again.
“There’s no need to be so silent, you may speak freely. In fact I think I’d prefer it over this silent.”
“I’m sorry… I was always told I shouldn’t speak to you, young master.”
“Young master? Don’t call me that, please, it sounds so weird. But you do work here? Where?” You leaned forward closer to Yoru smiling and Yoru found himself feeling a bit more at ease from the friendly smile.
“I work here in the gardens in sometimes in the kitchen, sir.” Yoru answered softly and You chuckled in response.
“I guess that explains why you’re so formal then, they like to pretend I don’t know that there are other servants in the castle or something. I don’t really understand why they make you all see me as someone to be feared.”
“I don’t fear you, sir…” Yoru answered honestly, “though, I do want to greatly apologizing for accidentally listening to your song, It was just very lovely and I never heard singing out here before and was curious. I didn’t mean to disturb you, and if you want me to leave the garden until you’re done I won’t mind!”
“Oh, don’t be sorry about it. I don’t mind if it’s only a servant like you that hears me. Just as long as you don’t tell anyone about this alright? And you can listen as much as you’d like, but for now I must get going.” You stood from the ground and Yoru quickly followed bowing his head before stepping closer to the exit.
“Of course sir! I’m sorry if I have kept you!”
“You apologize a lot, don’t you? It’s kind of funny,” You passed Yoru and began heading back to the palace before stopping and turning back to Yoru, “Wait, I didn’t get your name.”
“Oh… my name is Yoru, sir, Yoru Nagatsuki.”
“Well Yoru, feel free to come back and listen while you work tomorrow!” With those final words, the young lord You ran back to his duties in the castle. That was the first meeting between Yoru and You, but naturally, it would not be there last. What kind of story would end just here?