At The Nightingale

By Abstruse Blue

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author's note - kind of late, but i had so many distractions. anyway here's my freak-of-spade's February challenge. it was for your version of a fairy tale basically. i did The Nightingale but in a sort of futuristic sci-fi fantasy setting. yeah it's also not exactly the same storyline but some similar aspects. i don't know if i like exactly how it came out but i hope you all enjoy it regardless. please leave a review, it would be much appreciated.

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Miu, the singer – Japanese for beautiful feather

Rajan, the king – Indian for king

On the star planet Tinvu, deep in the dark city slums and red-light district of Calluna, there was a small night club. The façade was innocuous and drab with a holographic sign that flickered like a nervous twitch. If carefully scrutinized, The Nightingale was seen in flashes. Named after an extinct Earthian bird whose song could capture hearts, the club was by far the most famous in all of Calluna. All sorts gathered in the heart of this smoke-filled and dim-lighted establishment at the bar and cluttered at silvery round tables. There was a stage dead center that provided for a variety of acts to tempt the eye and move the soul, most of them musical.

However, most came for one in particular. That was the prize of The Nightingale Miu, a most beautiful “songbird”.

Miu was an orphaned humanoid left out in the rain in a bundle of cheap synthetic rags not making a single peep. A priestess on her way home from the market found him and took him home to the orphanage she lived and worked at. All the other priests and priestesses welcomed the new addition. The orphanage and temple was very humble and small but safe and the watchers of the children offered not only knowledge but their love as well.

They knew Miu was special from the very start. His light tawny skin, large dark soulful eyes, deep thick auburn hair, and scattered concentrations of soft little reddish brown feathers, was nothing compared to the magnificence of his singing voice. Even just humming could make any person pause and get lost in the sweet song. His voice was captivating but other than song the boy was completely mute. He had not spoken in all his years, only sung and hummed.

On the eve of his fourteenth birthday, a wealthy aging woman came to the orphanage in search of potential slaves and entertainers for her night club, anyone with the least bit of talent or beauty. She called it adoption but that was hardly what the old coot was doing. She picked and nicked through all the young ones who stood in straight line with fear and uncertainty in their innocent eyes. As she surveyed the merchandise, a soft melody drifted into her ear. It captured her instantly and she followed the sound till she stopped beneath a large knotted tree, the only one in a bare and cracked courtyard. Nestled between branches was a small boy, perhaps too small for his age, singing an old folk song one of the priestesses had taught him. He had been frightened and singing was his way of making everything okay, protecting him.

Madam Lucia, as she was called, merely smiled wickedly up at the child. She had found a treasure in the dank dumps of the city. All she saw was the amount of credits or money she could make with this little slum rat.

Some years before Miu came to the world, The King and Queen of Tinvu had a son, Prince Rajan. He was a rascal as a child with black as raven feathers hair and snow fair skin. He grew up in privilege with his destiny already laid out before him. Of course he had always had a strong rebellious side. When his ill father passed away, he assumed the throne and became King Rajan of Tinvu, he was only seventeen then.

As time went on he became more accustom to the life of a King and all the duties it came with, however he could not fully assimilate and had frequent disguised trips into the city. He found a since of freedom and less obligation out there. It was his little secret getaway and only a few of his trustworthy servants knew. Rajan would normally just walk the streets of his people and do various activities or experience new things he had never had in the Palace life. One night however he had found himself in the red light district of the city and came upon the run down establishment known as The Nightingale. He had apprehensive at first but something called to him. It tugged at his gut and told him that he should enter the nightclub. It would be his first time in a night club.

It was considerably larger on the inside and the contrast between the decrepit exterior to the fantasy wonderland interior was truly significant. He was a wide-eyed babe in the smoke filled pulse of music and laughter and cheap booze. It was apparent in that first experience how sheltered he had been even though he was given all he desired. There was a bar along one side with every drink imaginable, scattered round tables and half-circular booths hosting a multitude of seedy aliens, square platforms here and there with beautiful dancers that one could admire but not touch due to a cylinder force field, and the most magnificent construction was the stage illuminated by glorious lights where talented aliens performed nightly.

That first evening, Rajan had settled at a lone table near the front of the stage nursing a cheap strange purple drink. For a while they had just been playing electronic beats overhead and he had been absently watching one of the many dancers with no strong interest. However that music faded and the dancers disappeared. Then a strong beam of light illuminated the stage and grabbed the attention of everyone in the club including Rajan. It was obvious some sort of special performance was going to take place. Really special if the complete silence that took over was anything to go by.

Soon an announcement was made from somewhere no one could see.

“Ladies and gents, The Nightingale is proud to present its very own star song bird…Miu!”

Suddenly there was an uproar of hoots, claps, whistles, and cat calls that died when a figured appeared on the upper level of the stage.

As cliché as it was, his heart stopped—or had it skipped? In any case, at the very least it quivered briefly at the sight before him and even more so when beautiful plump painted lips opened to reveal such a mystical sound.

It was as if this ornately dressed being had a put a spell not only on him but the entire club that was how powerful his voice was. Rajan could not for a second tear his eyes away from such magnificence. He watched as the young light feathered humanoid made his way down the steps to the first level of the stage as he sang. His movements were so graceful it was almost a dance or ballet the way he took each step. Eventually he made it to a couple of feet from the edge of the stage.

Miu was garbed in a gown similar to a kimono with sleeves that dragged on the floor and slipped off his tan shoulders. It was a brilliant jade in hue emblazoned with white and darker green birds of some sort that fluttered up from the hem. Those impossibly long locks of rich red auburn hair was piled loosely up with golden hair pins where dangled jeweled ornaments. His pretty round face was painted with lipstick, shadows, and kohl that accented what needed to be. All in all, this creature was wickedly beautiful. It was really almost painful to observe. Or was that the song bewitching all who happened to hear it?

Miu’s dark reflective eyes scanned the crowd but that got sticky and locked with a pair of blues. Rajan’s whole being had a jump start of pure lust in that very instant their eyes connected. The sensation tingled and rushed through his veins like liquid fire. His desire grew as Miu continued to sing as if the song were for him. He knew then what he wanted. Rajan wanted him, wanted him more than he had ever wanted anything before. This couldn’t be denied. Suddenly it wasn’t so bad to be the king because he knew as such he could achieve anything he so wished. The tawny and auburn singer would be his within a week, no more no less. Carnal desires were what started it all, but would that be how it ends?

Rajan didn’t approach Miu that particular night. He did come to every performance the boy did for actually more than a week. Miu began to recognize him and even look for him in the crowd every time he sang on stage. The orphan also felt lust for this mysterious man. He did not understand why but he felt a burning in the pit of his stomach that spread to his loins and chest. It somehow made his voice all the more powerful when he sang, fueling his irresistible magic. Rajan noticed the progression but had not realized he was the cause of it. All he knew was the time had come to capture what he desired most. He wanted Miu to sing to him and only him.

Madam Lucia was notoriously possessive of her possessions. She could be the sweetest old woman or a barbaric hellion. She was tall, leathery, gray, and had sharp yellow eyes. At one point she may have been an extraordinarily beautiful woman but time hadn’t been that kind. Perhaps because time was cruel she became so as well. Of course Rajan didn’t know all this, nor had he known that Madam Lucia owned in a sense the pretty singer till he asked a bartender one night.

It seemed there was no way to personally speak with Miu unless he went through Madam Lucia and an “absolutely not” was almost always guaranteed. However, as desperate times called for desperate measures, and he was desperately in lust, he decided he would play the royal card.

On a day Miu wasn’t performing, Rajan went into the city as the King in a private hover shuttle. Madam Lucia lived in a Manor not too far from the club. It looked ancient at least for the standards of a star planet in a neighboring galaxy of the milkyway. He entered the building not knowing what to expect other than what he must do. It would be simple. He would first ask or rather demand a private audience with Miu then afterwards discuss—purchase? He was King after all he shouldn’t have to, should he?

It seemed Rajan would join Madam Lucia for supper in the dining hall, because that was where she was when he found her. But it seemed even though Madam Lucia was a tyrant in her own way, she was humbled before the King of Tinvu.

Madam Lucia stood up immediately and bowed graciously. “Oh your majesty, I am so pleased that you would visit me tonight.”

The woman was wearing gaudy expensive clothing and heavy make-up. She would almost look like a clown if she wasn’t who she was. In truth, the old witch looked rather scary. Even her golden hair looked suspiciously like a wig. “I’m sure, Madam Lucia.”

Here eye twitched a bit before she offered him to sit and they moved into a moment of relative silence as a meal was presented for them.

“So what reason have you graced us with your presence, my king?” The club owner had finally broken the silence.

“I have heard you have a great treasure of a singer, Madam Lucia, is that rumor true?” He’d dare not speak of his incognito rendezvous’ to the club for the past week or so.

Lucia seemed to hesitate before she offered a fake smile, “Perhaps, what have you heard?”

“That this songbird can leave any individual breathless and weak at the knees,” he smirked and sipped some wine.

Lucia chuckled, “That sounds like Miu. Oh, I suppose it’s true, your majesty. But why do you ask of him?”

Rajan had set the wine glass down and put on a serious face and looked directly into the old woman’s eyes. “I wish to have an audience with this Miu.”

“An audience?” Lucia quirked a painted on eye-brow.

“Yes, alone,” he answered with a bit of emphasis on the alone.

Madam Lucia seemed to consider this for a while. What would the harm be? He was the King after all and she knew in a matter of seconds he could have her arrested or worse. He could also be good for business and perhaps some day she could gain something from dealing with the King. On the other hand Miu was her most prized possession and she was very much attached. The former outweighed the latter though.

“Very well, my king, when do you wish to have this audience with Miu?”

“Tonight, now if at all possible,” he drained the rest of the wine.

Madam Lucia narrowed her eyes briefly before she put on a fake smile and snapped her bony clawed fingers. An inconsequential man approached and she whispered something to him. He nodded and left the dining hall.

“We shall set up a room and when my servant returns you may have your time with him,” her voice grated on his nerves and he was impatient to see Miu.

Finally, the same man from before returned. He guided Rajan out of the dinning hall and down a corridor to a room with a large ornate door. He opened the door and bowed, Rajan dressed in an expensive and a stiff small golden circlet stepped into the room. The room itself was obviously a large bedroom decorated ornately to match the door. There was a sitting area with fur carpets, a sofa, a couple of chairs, and a glass coffee table. There was a fireplace adjacent and a strange painting of a Tinvu landscape on the mantel. A magnificent bed with golden spires and a huge canopy stood against the far wall. There were two other doors in the room aside from the one he just stepped through. He assumed they led to a closet and a bathroom. Between these two other doors was a large vanity with lights around the mirror and piles of perfumes and make-up on the table top.

Rajan scanned the room once more after the initial survey and found what he was looking for sitting at a bay window. Miu stared wistfully out the window unaware of the other occupant of the room. He wore a less complex kimono style dress this time, powder blue in color with a few pale flowers at the hem. His very long rich auburn hair was only partially pulled back from his face by an old ivory clip.

Rajan peered over his shoulder to see the door closed. He might have locked it if he wasn’t sure it locked from the outside. Facing forward again, Rajan found that he had finally attracted Miu’s attention. The young singer now gazed at him from his spot.

“Hello, Miu, I am Rajan,” he paused, and then added, “King of Tinvu.”

Almost immediately, Miu stood up and then fell to his knees. Rajan smirked at this reaction, quite used to it, before he made his away over to the kneeling songbird. He bent down and placed his large hands on the small shoulders of Miu. Slowly he made the boy stand up, but Miu kept his eyes on the floor.

“Come now, no need to avert your eyes,” Rajan pressed but Miu just shook his head.

Rajan frowned before he raised a hand to remove the circlet from his crown. He tossed it to the floor with a sharp clang. Miu couldn’t help but let wide eyes flicker from the tossed little crown to the face of the king. The widened even more if that was possible when he realized who he was looking at. He knew instantly that this was the man who had come to The Nightingale every time he performed. The man he had searched for all those nights. He couldn’t look away in that moment.

“Do you remember me?” Rajan asked.

Miu nodded slowly. Rajan smiled at this and brushed a loose strand of hair from Miu’s face. Miu flinched before he could stop himself and his tawny cheeks turned rose colored. Rajan sighed at this and observed his face. He wore simple and less make-up than he did on stage. He let a thumb brush against some of the small reddish brown feathers found near the corners of his eyes. They were soft as silk or down feathers. Miu was also a little over a foot shorter than the king.

Rajan pulled away and sat down at one of the plush cushioned chairs in the room. He settled his blue eyes back on Miu and smiled seductively. “Won’t you sing for me?”

Miu hesitated for only a second before he took a step forward and opened his pretty plump mouth. He sang his little heart out even as it pounded so heavily in his chest. He wanted to impress this man, his king so badly. He sang in an old Tinvunese dialect about a princess who fell in love with a candy maker. It was one that was often sung to little children but for some reason it was the only thing he could of to sing for the other.

Rajan was mesmerized. His lust and desire grew with every verse of the song. Before long he could hardly stand to just sit there. Without warning, he had stood and walked straight up to Miu as he still sung. He grabbed hold of Miu’s face and planted a fierce kiss on those lips where such sweet melodies came from. Miu stiffened then struggled half-heartedly at first but eventually he gave in. His eyes closed and he felt himself melt against his king. His slender fingers gripped the lapels of Rajan’s suit as his mouth was devoured by him. Rajan’s tongue swept across Miu’s lips till he was granted access and allowed to explore the wet warmth of his mouth. He removed the clip from Miu’s hair and buried his hand in it while his other wrapped tightly around the small frame of the boy holding him close to him. Rajan could only think how delicious Miu was. His groin burned with need.

The two made out till Miu’s lips were slightly swollen and red, and when Rajan pulled away he saw a bit of saliva slip from the corner of Miu’s lips. The boy’s dark eyes were glossy and half-lidded as well. It turned Rajan on even more. Miu was using Rajan to support him up because his knees and body felt so weak from lust that he could barely stand. His cheeks burned too but he didn’t care. That had been Miu’s first kiss and what a kiss it had been. Rajan wanted to ravish this boy so badly.

Rajan had noticed a lack of technology in the room except for a few not so hidden video cameras. Miu it seemed was closed off from most of the world but obviously spied on. How perverse it all was.

He chuckled then scooped up Miu bridal style and the young man clung to Rajan’s neck in surprise. Rajan dropped Miu onto the bed and he bounced unceremoniously. Now sprawled on the bed, he looked up shyly at the handsome face of his obvious number one fan. He was frightened but at the same time increasingly excited. It wasn’t as if he was completely naïve though still a virgin to intercourse. He had at some occasions pleasured himself and as of recent his fantasies had been filled with the very man looming over him.

Rajan knelt onto the bed and hovered over Miu. He admired the splay of hair around him and the line of his jaw to his neck. His hunger amplified. For a moment, Rajan though he saw more than lust pass over Miu’s ebony eyes. He ran a thumb along the other’s lips before he bent down and whispered, “I don’t love you. It’s just that your mouth is very pretty. Don’t confuse this with love…” Miu felt an ache in his chest at those words but he nodded because his body could not be persuaded to back down then. Right after, Rajan captured Miu’s lips once more.

Rajan had difficulty removing the obi-like sash around Miu’s waist and pulled away from the boy’s generous mouth to grumble his frustration. He tugged on it and Miu actually laughed out loud at this. Rajan stopped and looked at him surprised. It was a beautiful sound, different from when he sang, but never the less beautiful.

Miu pushed Rajan up gently and slipped out from underneath him. He set up on his knees the kimono spread out around him, and faced the older man. He smiled softly and began to carefully undo the sash. Underneath was a thin rope that kept the robe of the outfit together, he removed it as well and tossed it aside on the massive bed. Rajan watched transfixed and mystified by what he saw. After a moment though, Rajan moved forward and carefully slid gentle fingers underneath the fabric near Miu’s shoulder. He brushed against his skin and slid the material off. It slipped into a pool around Miu’s knees and lap. Miu wore no underwear. He was bare as a new born baby right then. Rajan noted the trail of those reddish brown feathers from his navel that bled into a nest of auburn pubic hair around Miu’s sex. Rajan’s own was straining viciously against his pants.

The king’s mind raced and he reached for the rope that tied the robe together. He pondered its uses before he returned his attention to the naked singer. “I have an idea,” he said.

Miu tilted his head curiously but there was a strange uncertainty in his eyes whenever he looked at the rope.

“Hmm, so it seems the bartender was right about you being mute sans when you sing,” he smirked. “Well I plan on making you scream my name.”

There was something scary about that declaration to Miu but a small portion of him craved for Rajan to do so. To take him and do what he willed. He wanted to scream the king’s name. Though Rajan might not have, Miu was almost sure he was in love with Rajan. All those times he locked eyes with him at the club, he felt an attachment grow inside of him. He slowly over course of a couple of weeks fell for the mysterious stranger but to know that he was the king of Tinvu. Well it was rather overwhelming for him and romantic, the sort of romantic he’d read in fairytales when he was allowed to read.

“Hold out your arms,” Rajan commanded and Miu readily obeyed. Using the rope, Rajan bounded the boy’s wrists together tightly but not too tight. Miu only stared at this strange turn of events.

Rajan grabbed Miu’s bound wrists in one hand and the other arm wrapped snuggly around his slim torso. His flesh felt heavenly.

He slowly turned Miu around so that his back was pressed up against him. Rajan glanced up to see that there were these little brass hooks near the top of the posts of the bed. How convenient he had thought. He lifted Miu and carefully hooked the rope onto the hook between his wrists. He ran his fingers through Miu’s long hair then removed himself from the bed. Miu followed him with his eyes as he hung there exposed. An unintended blush swept over his body and he felt ridiculously warm. He pulled on the rope with a strong need to cover up but he was rather stuck. Besides, Miu had not wanted to upset his king. All he could do in that moment was watch tensely as Rajan slowly began to remove his suit and undergarments.

Before long, Rajan stood before the end of the bed just as naked as Miu. There was a strange since of being in this state. It was like being stripped of his crown and he was just a man before his beautiful young lover in for a night of passion and fun and ecstasy. He thought that if circumstances had been different, that moment could have been exactly that instead of two horny strangers. A king and a singing slave.

Rajan noticed Miu’s evident arousal. He smirked at the sight and then climbed back onto the bed behind Miu. He inhaled the sweet perfume of Miu’s soft gorgeous hair burying his nose in it. He tangled some of it between his fingers and let his other hand to caress down Miu’s neck and shoulders then to his side and chest feeling the soft flesh and feathers. He gripped the singer’s hair and tightened the grip around his middle. Miu was flushed against the man, absorbing his heat and wishing his hands were freed. He wanted to return the touches so desperately, but he hadn’t been too opposed to this being tied up thing. He wondered if that was strange but at the moment he could hardly care. He just wanted Rajan to keep touching him. He was the first though many had tried to touch him this way. If he had had the choice he wouldn’t have chosen differently.

“Sing,” Rajan whispered in his ear. “Sing for me again.”

Miu started humming at first but slowly moved into a song about love and passion. It had been fitting for the situation, no? He felt Rajan’s sex brush against his back and sung louder nervously but at the same time with anticipation. His body ached strangely and he wasn’t completely sure why but he had an idea.

Rajan let Miu’s voice guide his hand. He caressed every contour, teased his nipples, and worked his way down to Miu’s hard penis. He chuckled at the discovery that Miu wasn’t circumcised having not noticed till he actually began to stroke. Miu fumbled in his song till he completely stopped and pressed his forehead against the post. He hadn’t moaned yet. Rajan moved faster, urging Miu to vocally release something other than song. Miu’s fists tightened but he still spoke not a word except for a few pants.

After a while of that, Rajan pulled his hand away and caused Miu to whimper but no more than that. He brought that same hand up to Miu’s mouth, “Suck.”

Miu didn’t hesitate that time and sucked two fingers into his mouth. He twisted his tongue around the digits moistening them with saliva. While Miu used another natural talent that made Rajan’s cock twitch, he nipped at his ears and marked a few spots of flesh between his shoulder and neck. After Miu had lubed up three fingers, Rajan retrieved his hand and prepared for the real show. He slipped those wet fingers between small supple cheeks and grazed Miu’s entrance. The boy shivered at the touch. Slowly Rajan began to work one, than two, than three fingers into the tight hole.

Miu made a small grunt but nothing more. Rajan finished stretching the singer’s entrance and removed his fingers. He shifted some on the bed to get comfortable and positioned properly. He didn’t really want to hurt the pretty young mute. “Ready, my sweet songbird?”

Miu tugged at the hook, almost annoyed at his bound state before nodding jerkily and perhaps impatiently. His body quivered in wait while Rajan gripped one hip while the other hand directed his erect cock to Miu’s virgin entrance. Inch by inch, he pushed himself inside of him. He savored how deliciously tight and warm he was, not pushing too hard despite the need to just go for it. Miu’s eyes were shut and he tightened his fists so deeply he was making little half-moons into his skin. His mouth hung open but still hardly a sound came out. It was so sharply painful he could hardly stand it but he didn’t protest. Finally when Rajan was fully sheathed he stopped his movements and rested a moment. He waited patiently for Miu to relax and when he finally did he began to move his strong masculine hips. His muscles squeezed and relaxed in time with his movements. Once he got a good pace going, his hands roamed with no exact destination. His lips grazed any patch of skin they could reach.

Eventually, as he thrusted into Miu searching for his sweet spot, he gripped that luxurious hair and pulled his head back. He was just short enough to kiss him upside down plus he angled his head some. He slipped his tongue passed those plump lips and met another warm wet muscle. Rajan was almost surprised as they fought for dominance but of course Raj won. For moment though, Rajan thought he felt Miu smile into their heavy lip-smacking.

Suddenly Miu broke the kiss when stars exploded behind his eyes and he finally moaned boisterously. Rajan laughed out loud and gripped Miu’s hips in hope of hitting his prostate again. He wanted to hear that sound again, one so different from his singing voice but still so exquisite. He pushed harder and faster, brushing against the prostate with every thrust. Miu squirmed and writhed as Rajan did so, moans escaping before he could help it. It felt too amazing and he didn’t want the man to stop. The pleasure overwhelmed him in the best possible way.

Rajan reached around and grabbed Miu’s leaking sex to finish off what he had started earlier. The boy nearly screamed and figured out that if he pushed back against Rajan with his body he could get more pleasure out of it. Soon the pair was a heated sex machine, pushing and pulling and groaning in this throbbing passion of sexual rapture. Moments later the both of them came in unison and Miu screamed rather than sang his king’s name. “Raj-an!”

The man in question removed Miu from the hook gripping him close. “He speaks,” he murmured as they panted in a pile of afterglow. It wouldn’t be long before they engaged in more sexual play sans the rope. Several times in fact till they were too spent to move and Miu’s throat was sore. Before they drifted off to sleep, Rajan said, “I want to keep you. I am going to take you away from this place…”

Miu secretly hoped that promise would come true.

However, in a months time there was no word and Miu had not seen the king back at the club. He felt his heart begin to break with each passing day. He had tried to question Madam Lucia about it but she either changed the subject or punished him for his insolence. He did not know what to do and slowly lost that hope he had. Would he no longer get to sing for the one he loved? His songs became sad ballads.

It wasn’t till many months later while he watched a group of youngsters play hide and seek from his bay window down in a garden that he heard the doorbell chime through the manor. He thought nothing of it at first, till he heard quite a lot of commotion and shouting. Startled and scared, he stared uncertainly at the bedroom door till it was busted open by none other than the king and a few of his knights. King Rajan himself and a blade in hand, face fierce with obvious anger. However, it softened when it saw Miu.

Miu immediately stood up and nearly ran up to Rajan who met him at the center of the room. The two embraced, Rajan even lifted the boy off the floor. After he set him down, he placed his palms on either side of Miu’s tender face and stared deeply into his eyes. “I am so sorry and even after I promised,” He looked terribly sincere. “Madam Lucia…That morning while you still slept, I talked with her about purchasing you. I had even got to the point of transferring credits to her account but the breakfast…She had given me a poison to erase my memory of you. The filthy witch! I didn’t mean to forget, but it seemed the potion or spell or whatever it was wasn’t strong enough to last.” He sighed and pressed his lips to Miu’s forehead.

“I remembered and knew I had to free you from her backstabbing clutches,” Rajan smiled. “You are coming to live with me. I want you to only sing for me, to be my rare Nightingale.”

This made Miu smile and his black eyes went glossy from unshed tears. “I have a confession to make,” the king continued. “I lied when I said I didn’t love you.”

This time Miu gripped Rajan’s handsome face and softly said, “I love you too.”

As they left the wretched manor of Madam Lucia, Miu noticed the woman detained by two knights with a cigarette between her cracked blood red lips. The ash drifted down to the ground, decaying like her wrinkly old body. The orphan and soon to be consort of the king stuck his tongue out at the old broad.

There after the king and his “nightingale” made music and love that was never-ending, even in death.