The Court Composer
By Andre Figueiredo and Samara Villion
Once upon a time, there lived a great composer. He was a simple man, not born to a great fortune or with great power, but his mind was quick and his skill with music unmatched. The Composer would spend every moment writing his music, creating melodies so beautiful and entrancing that nature itself would go quiet to listen.
One day, the Composer was invited to the palace for an audience with the Emperor, a tyrant of a ruler with a cruel streak.
“I wish for my daughter to marry the man of my choosing. She has agreed, for she is loyal and dutiful, but she doesn’t love him.” The Emperor commanded. “You will write him a piece that will make her fall madly in love with him and wish to marry him of her own choosing. If you fail, or she falls in love with someone else, you will suffer the consequences.” The Composer knew he could not disobey or else he would be turned into a frog by the Emperor’s powerful curse.
“Of course, my Emperor.” He agreed. “But to create such a piece, I will need to meet with your daughter and get to know her mind. Only then can I create something that will truly win her heart.” The Emperor agreed, allowing the Composer three meetings with the princess to better understand her. The first would be during a walk in the palace’s gardens the next morning.
By sunrise, the Composer thought he’d be ready to face the day and begin his research. True, the princess was known to be the most beautiful woman in all the kingdoms, with a mind as sharp and quick as a lightning strike, but the Composer knew the penalty for failing the Emperor would be harsh. He could not fail.
With all his preparations and his commitment to his cause resolute in his mind, he was still struck mute by the ethereal beauty of the Princess. “Good day, Composer.” She greeted politely upon approaching him. The Composer could only bow, his heart racing.
“Good day, Princess.” He stammered after a moment. “The dawn and all the blooming flowers are truly no comparison to your radiance.”
The Princess didn’t seem surprised, but she did not comment. For an hour, the two walked and talked. Even in such a short time, the Composer knew he was falling in love with the Princess. Regardless, he began writing his piece, weaving in glimmers of sunlight and the sweet smell of orange blossoms into the tune.
At noontime the next day the two met in the palace courtyard, by the frog ponds. “Good day, Composer.” Once again the Princess was polite, but there was a hint of fondness in her tone. “Good day, Princess.” The Composer bowed. “The sweet trickles of water and the singing of the birds are no comparison to your beautiful voice and wise words.”
For another hour, the Princess and the Composer walked and talked and the Composer fell more deeply in love with the Princess. Though she treated him with more fondness than before, she was still more distant than any other woman the Composer had met.
That night, he wove bubbling brooks and rustling leaves into the melody and the composition grew more beautiful. On the third day, the Princess invited the Composer to dinner. “Good evening, Composer.” She greeted him warmly, a hint of a smile on her lips.
“Good evening, my Princess.” The Composer bowed once more. “Surely your kindness knows no bounds if you are to invite a humble composer like myself to dine with you tonight.”
The two ate mostly in silence, with only the rustle of clothing and the soft singing of frogs outside to accompany them. “I know my father has commanded you to write a piece for me.” The Princess said sadly when they finished. “He wishes for me to love my new husband, but I do not and I do not think I can. He intends to leave for war the day after the wedding, and I have only ever met him once.” The Composer listened with undivided attention.
“I do not love him, but I will marry him, even if my heart belongs to another.” She continued. “My dear Composer, your gentle words and attentive questions have won my heart. However, I am dutiful and loyal to my father. After today, I shall not see you again but know that my heart is now yours.” She bowed to him, then left before he could respond in kind. That night, the Composer hatched a cunning plan as he wove sweet smelling steam and laughter into his song. He knew that he was to fall victim to the Emperor’s curse, that he would become a frog by the next full moon. Fortunately, the Composer’s mother was well versed in ancient magics and had taught him well, and knew his one chance to be with his love.
He sought out a Master Craftsman, a foreign man from a far away land, to help him make the special instrument. His composition to win the Princess’s heart was to be played upon an Ocarina, so he would create something amazing. Time after time the craftsman remade the instrument until finally, the morning before the full moon he had done it. He had created the perfect Frogarina.
The Composer went back to the Emperor that very day. “I have done as you commanded, my Emperor.” The Composer presented his piece and the Frogarina. “If the suitor plays this piece on this instrument, the Princess will eagerly wish to marry him.”
“Excellent!” Cried the Emperor. “I shall ensure you receive payment once we have seen this is successful. If not, you shall become a frog and must live in the palace courtyard with the others.”
“Of course, my Emperor. Now I shall retire.” The composer left just as the moon began to rise. As the curse took effect, his human body vanished and his soul took a new form. Even if he was to become a Frog, the Composer knew his one chance to be with his Princess lay in that very fact. His soul travelled through the halls of the palace, settling itself into the Frogarina in wait.
The Suitor came and played the piece for the princess a week later. Though he lacked true ears and eyes, the Composer knew his piece was doing its job.
The Princess was moved by the piece, a song which combined everything she loved and more into a single melody, but she did not fall in love with her Suitor. Instead she fell madly in love with the very instrument he held, the same Frogarina the Composer had become. They were wed the next day, and as her wedding gift, the Princess asked her Husband to give her the Frogarina. After night fell and the palace fell silent, save for the soft singing of frogs, she snuck out of her chambers and down to the courtyard.
She knew she had to play her melody on her Frogarina. However, the moment her lips touched the instrument, the Composer appeared in its place, standing before her once more.
“My love, I have returned for you!” He cried. “My heart is yours as well, and with the curse placed by your father, I knew I would become a frog. So now I shall be your faithful instrument to play during the day, and I may be your attentive lover by night.”
The princess was moved to tears knowing her love was returned. “How long can you stay like this, my dear Composer?” She asked.
“For as long as the frogs are singing, I may remain human.” The Composer promised with a nod. They spent the night talking and walking through the palace gardens until the Princess had to rest.
Time passed. The Emperor was pleased by his daughter’s enthusiasm to marry her husband, even if he had left for war the very next day. The Princess continued to be dutiful and loyal to her father, save for her night time ventures with her lover, the Composer.
Then, one night, she was struck by a strange dream. In it, hundreds of Frogarinas were playing throughout the palace and the Composer remained human even after sunrise. She commissioned her craftsmen and so it was done.
For one week, the palace was filled with the sound of Frogarinas playing the Princess’s song both night and day. The Composer did not once return to his inanimate form, roaming the halls with his Princess and carefully avoiding the watchful gaze of the servants.
However, after a week of no rest and no peace, the Emperor grew ill and died quite suddenly. With his death, the Composer was freed from the curse, along with all the others who had disobeyed the Emperor during his lifetime, and the palace had a truly silent night for the first time in decades.
The Princess, now Empress, took the throne, vowing to never once invoke the power of her family’s curse. She was a kind ruler and everyone knew of her strength, her wit and her quick mind. Even when news reached her of her husband’s death, she did not falter with her benevolence.
And to accompany her in her rule, there was a Composer, who played the strangest and most enchanting instrument in the land: a Frogarina.
