Kingdom Hearts fic: Fractured Moments - Day 18 - "Misfit"
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museficSummary: The council in Hollow Bastion tries to convince Riku to step down before Kairi takes the throne.
[Set sometime before "Ornament," before Kairi becomes queen of Radiant Garden.
(This one touches on a few of the places where my fic differs from canon. Such as the reason Kairi was sent to Destiny Islands as a child, and that I consider Hollow Bastion to be the name of the castle in Radiant Garden, so both names are still in use.)]
“It’s just that, well, I think it’s relatively obvious that you stepping aside would be the best choice for everyone. And it will fall to you to make that decision.”
The three councilmen had all but cornered him in the hall.
“You want me to step aside?” Riku repeated.
The councilman in front of the other two pressed his lips thinner, but when he spoke again, it was still with impeccably level tone. “Yes. It is clearly the best decision for the kingdom. Princess Kairi will have to name a king for Hollow Bastion and, well, she obviously can’t choose two.”
“I wasn’t aware she was going to name a king,” Riku said mildly. In fact, he knew perfectly well that she didn’t intend to.
The councilman scoffed. “Radiant Garden may have a queen, but there is always a king in Hollow Bastion.”
“And you expect that it will come down to her being forced”—he stressed the word deliberately—”to choose either Sora or me?”
The councilman’s expression was starting to appear strained. “Yes. But wouldn’t it be best to simplify that decision? To gracefully concede, for the stability of the kingdom? Rather than continue to take advantage of whatever sense of obligation she feels to you?”
Riku locked eyes with him. “You act like it’s a competition, and you just realized you made a bad bet.” Riku judged all three of their expressions, to exactly which degrees they let displeasure show. The lead councilman was definitely the worst, his face turning red.
“This has always been orchestrated, did you know that?” the councilman snapped. “We may not have been able to foretell the whole of the disasters that befell your home world, but we always knew that a Keyblade master would awaken there. Sending our princess away as a child was for her own safety, yes, but ensuring she was in the right place to make a favorable match to be our future king was also significant.”
“And now you don’t like the way it turned out?” Riku allowed the smallest hint of a smile, though he wiped it away quickly.
“Originally, it was meant to be you,” the man spat. One of the other councilmen put a hand on his sleeve, but he shook it off. “You were meant to arise as the chosen master of the Keyblade, but you weren’t worthy. Imagine, giving a position of power to someone who fell to the darkness. Princess Kairi can and has done better than a- a misfit like you.”
He flung the word ‘misfit’ like it was truly the worst curse he could think of. Riku thought about how those words could once have gutted him. How a year or two earlier, someone saying something like that to him would have made him retreat into himself. He set that aside.
He did allow himself a smile then, though anyone who knew him would recognize it as a dangerous one. “Heir apparent Kairi is fully capable of making her own decisions, and does not require me to make them for her. Or you. I know she has already considered the options ahead of her. And I look forward to you finding out what she’s decided.”
With that, he pushed past the sputtering councilmen. Some of this was absolutely information that Kairi needed.
[previous chapter] [next chapter]
[Set sometime before "Ornament," before Kairi becomes queen of Radiant Garden.
(This one touches on a few of the places where my fic differs from canon. Such as the reason Kairi was sent to Destiny Islands as a child, and that I consider Hollow Bastion to be the name of the castle in Radiant Garden, so both names are still in use.)]
“It’s just that, well, I think it’s relatively obvious that you stepping aside would be the best choice for everyone. And it will fall to you to make that decision.”
The three councilmen had all but cornered him in the hall.
“You want me to step aside?” Riku repeated.
The councilman in front of the other two pressed his lips thinner, but when he spoke again, it was still with impeccably level tone. “Yes. It is clearly the best decision for the kingdom. Princess Kairi will have to name a king for Hollow Bastion and, well, she obviously can’t choose two.”
“I wasn’t aware she was going to name a king,” Riku said mildly. In fact, he knew perfectly well that she didn’t intend to.
The councilman scoffed. “Radiant Garden may have a queen, but there is always a king in Hollow Bastion.”
“And you expect that it will come down to her being forced”—he stressed the word deliberately—”to choose either Sora or me?”
The councilman’s expression was starting to appear strained. “Yes. But wouldn’t it be best to simplify that decision? To gracefully concede, for the stability of the kingdom? Rather than continue to take advantage of whatever sense of obligation she feels to you?”
Riku locked eyes with him. “You act like it’s a competition, and you just realized you made a bad bet.” Riku judged all three of their expressions, to exactly which degrees they let displeasure show. The lead councilman was definitely the worst, his face turning red.
“This has always been orchestrated, did you know that?” the councilman snapped. “We may not have been able to foretell the whole of the disasters that befell your home world, but we always knew that a Keyblade master would awaken there. Sending our princess away as a child was for her own safety, yes, but ensuring she was in the right place to make a favorable match to be our future king was also significant.”
“And now you don’t like the way it turned out?” Riku allowed the smallest hint of a smile, though he wiped it away quickly.
“Originally, it was meant to be you,” the man spat. One of the other councilmen put a hand on his sleeve, but he shook it off. “You were meant to arise as the chosen master of the Keyblade, but you weren’t worthy. Imagine, giving a position of power to someone who fell to the darkness. Princess Kairi can and has done better than a- a misfit like you.”
He flung the word ‘misfit’ like it was truly the worst curse he could think of. Riku thought about how those words could once have gutted him. How a year or two earlier, someone saying something like that to him would have made him retreat into himself. He set that aside.
He did allow himself a smile then, though anyone who knew him would recognize it as a dangerous one. “Heir apparent Kairi is fully capable of making her own decisions, and does not require me to make them for her. Or you. I know she has already considered the options ahead of her. And I look forward to you finding out what she’s decided.”
With that, he pushed past the sputtering councilmen. Some of this was absolutely information that Kairi needed.
[previous chapter] [next chapter]
