Author note: I do not own Count Cain: Godchild or Final Fantasy III. Nor do I own the piece that inspired this drabblish oneshot, 'Song of the Caged Bird' by Lindsey Stirling.
Warning: Sort of AU, might not make sense (I wrote this on the spur of the moment while listening to this several times), implied White OwlxPrincess Sara and onesided SaraxIngus, as well as possible spoilers for Final Fantasy III. Hopefully no one is too OOC in some parts...
Constructive Criticism and Reviews would be great, and I hope you enjoy! Thanks!
Uncaged
It was not long after Luneth, Arc, Refia and Ingus (Her lovely knight Ingus) left Sasune to do as they must as the four Warriors of Light when she started hearing the music.
Princess Sara admitted the sound was lovely, perhaps even better than the court musicians could ever perform, but she wondered who it was. Every night, she was stand on the balcony and listen to the wonderful sound. There was obvious emotion put into this, and the melody made her think of the changing world around her, of bitter tears and quiet passion, of Ingus, her faithful knight. She prayed that Ingus would come back after all of this was over, safe and sound.
She wondered who the musician behind the lovely music was, though...
Rumours began to circulate around the kingdom.
A man, Sara heard the maids, the soldiers and butlers whisper to one another. A man of white hair, like a snowy owl's colouring, playing the violin every night upon the rooftops.
It's a man, Sara heard the nobles whisper to one another. A person whose playing is so enchanting and gorgeous.
Sara thinks the sound is beyond enchanting and gorgeous for sure.
It is the next night when she thought she might have seen him, while standing at the balcony.
He danced as he played the music in the courtyard, his violin gleaming in the moonlight. His short, thick hair is white, just like a snowy owl, and dark sunglasses obscure his eyes from view. His outfit is simply no colour but black, from the long coat to his trousers and shoes.
The piece he plays is just as soothing as the previous ones. And right after his performance, he took off his sunglasses, and looked up at her with eyes as clear as the full moon, grinning at her.
Sara blushed, and looked away temporarily. When she looked back at where she last saw him, he was gone.
Visitors arrived at the Kingdom of Sasune the very next day. They claimed to have lost their way, and King Sasune permitted them to stay at the castle for the time being. One was a man by the name of Lord Cassandra Gladstone, definitely a nobleman for sure, taking his generally neat appearance into account. His amber eyes appeared to flicker with every facial expression he made, as if a wolf was trying to target prey.
The other one was the violinist from last night. From the snowy-white hair, to the sunglasses that obscured his eyes, to the completely black outfit, it is definitely him for sure.
He calls himself the White Owl. She heard the servants, the knights and the nobles whisper to one another. The White Owl...The genius violinist.
"You've become enamoured with him, haven't you?"
The same day that Cassandra Gladstone arrived at Sasune, he's already brought up the White Owl to Princess Sara in practically no matter of time. They're both at the balcony, and the sun is dipping into the horizon far away.
Sara blushed. "Enamoured with the Owl? How would you assume that?" She asked, trying to hide her feelings, but Cassandra merely continued.
"Really," He spoke, smirking. "You're so easy to read. I don't need mind-reading abilities for something such as that, Princess. It's obvious from your actions towards him; your facial expressions, every little motion you make. If you're so struck with such hidden affection, why don't you actually converse with him with something other than small talk?"
Sara hated to admit it, but Cassandra might actually be right, no matter how much she feels that something is off about him.
It's nighttime again. She's still at the balcony; Cassandra departed her hours earlier to get some sleep.
There is silence. And then, out of nowhere, the sound of a violin flowed into existence.
When she looked down from the balcony, she saw the White Owl, once again playing his violin as gracefully as always.
Immediately, she bolted out of her room, through the hallways, and down to the courtyard below.
Seeing him from the balcony was one thing, but seeing him on the same ground level as him, seeing him up close was something different entirely. From the balcony, she could only focus on the music that he played, but seeing him up close here gave her something else to focus on besides the music.
The White Owl was a tall, long-limbed figure, perhaps in his early twenties or younger. His skin was pale, almost as pale as the dead, but not in a way that it looked anything creepy. In fact, he looked quite handsome, despite the paleness, but it was a fragile sort of beauty.
He soon finished the song, and she couldn't help but clap for him.
He turned. He saw her. She stood there, unsure of what to say at first, but soon spoke up.
"Hello...White Owl. It's a pleasure to finally...speak with you." She managed to say.
The White Owl merely removed his sunglasses and gave a calm smile, before speaking in response.
"It's a pleasure to finally speak with you as well...Princess Sara."
It was obvious that they got along quite well.
They would be conversing with each other, every day. They sat beside each other at mealtimes, heck, they even played music together (Owl on his violin while Sara was on the piano).
Maybe, just maybe, they could be slowly forming a strong bond between each other.
One day, she wakes up to realize he's gone all of a sudden.
Sara looks everywhere, but...
She can't find him. And even worse...Everyone seems to be missing. Everyone.
Except Cassandra Gladstone and herself, that is.
She turned to the older man and demanded an explanation of what was going on.
"They got taken away by darkness. Isn't that obvious, princess?" Cassandra responded as he pushed a lock of brown hair behind his ear. "As for your White Owl, he's left this place. He probably doesn't want to be blamed for the sudden incident."
"And why haven't you left, then?" Sara asked quickly, crossing her arms and glaring at him a little. "Are you behind this?"
"Yes and no, princess." He answered, a sliver of a smirk forming on his face. "It's necessary for me to...Get this work over with. And that includes either imprisoning you, killing you or torturing you. Or all three. But perhaps..." His smirk grew wider. "You're already tortured by the fact that your Owl has left you in a time of need?"
She slapped him in the face, before sending him flying backwards with a Fira spell. "Shut up." She hissed. "How dare you-you-"
"If you want to find him, you're going to have to find him yourself. I have no interest in associating myself with fools like you." With that, Cassandra Gladstone vanished in a flurry of shadows.
Delilah. That's the name of the organization White Owl and Cassandra Gladstone belonged to. Sara knew that such an organization existed, but...She never realized that the violinist belonged to the organization, either.
If the White Owl wasn't going to try and reunite with her...
Fine then. She'll have to go and look for him herself, even if it means uncaging herself from the role of princess and taking on the role of a traveler, looking to find the one she loves. She knows that the journey won't be easy, but...She will find him, maybe give Cassandra a solid beating and destroy Delilah in the process if she's really up for it. But..
Finding the White Owl is first priority in her heart, as well as to save her people. She's sure of that.