Chapter Text
Amon listened as Akira rattled through his schedule for the day, rubbing tired eyes. The previous day had been the departure of a foreign emissary, and the banquet preceding it had taken an excessive amount of time and run into the night. Amon did not possess much natural skill at the posturing and mind games that the royal court involved, but over his three and a half years on the throne, he had learned. One particular item on his agenda startled him out of his stupor.
"A new member of the guard?" He asked, struggling to think when he had authorized such a thing.
"Yes. He was just released from prison. You do remember Ken Kaneki, right?" Was the prompt response. Amon did in fact remember the odd knight, and the fact that he had appointed him as a knight at arms. He had not remembered that this was the day three years past, since their second unfortunate meeting.
"Right. I will have to welcome him personally." How would the knight have changed, Amon wondered? Though he had no personal experience, generally the prisons were considered a bleak and inhumane place to be. Definitely enough to crush weaker men, though from what he knew, Kaneki was nothing of the sort.
Elsewhere, a white haired knight was walking into bright sunlight for the first time in years, and also into the welcoming grasp of a small party of people. Kaneki smiled wanly at them, skin paler, body bonier, and undereye rings darker than ever before.
"Hey guys." Was all he said, as soft spoken as ever. He stumbled as a pair of girls, one about his age, and one a young teen, launched themselves at him, clinging to Kaneki desperately in a hug, mindless to his filthy, threadbare prison clothes.
"Stupid Kaneki! What were you thinking getting yourself sent to prison for the sake of a few corrupt nobles!" Chastised the older of the two, though it was clear for all to see that her heart wasn't in it.
"I missed you Touka, and you too Hinami," he said, a frail smile making its way onto Kaneki's face, placed in such a way that it seemed that the muscles were unused to forming such an expression. The second name was addressed to the younger of the two, who was crying too hard to form words besides a garbled version of what seemed to be 'big brother'.
Over the course of the next few minutes, he greeted the rest of the group, including a stately older man, a young doctors apprentice, and the wealthy heir to a trading company. The observing guards would later note that every person in the group had been connected to the rebellion in some way or another.
A reunion of a few minutes was all Kaneki was given for the moment, before the guards dragged him off to clean him and outfit him in livery suited to a man at arms in the Kings guard. After promises of a longer visit later, he was taken to a bath house, where he scrubbed the grime of prison from his skin, and given clothing sporting the colors of the royal family of Cloenia, as was befitting a knight at arms. They were woefully oversized, but he was given a belt, and returned his sword, currently decrepit and rusty, untouched for three years, before being placed back before the doors of the throne room.
Amon started as the door opened, having been talking to Akira and assuring one of his younger knights that, yes he did know what he was doing and not to call the new knight a criminal. Seidou Takizawa, the knight in question, on guard duty in the throne room, looked ready to challenge Kaneki to a fight right there and then, so Amon got up and walked forward, towards where Kaneki had kneeled respectfully in the center of the room.
"Ken Kaneki. Welcome back," he said thinking back to the last time the knight had stood there, eyes defiant and chin up. They had been alone then. Now he was bowed, luminous silver eye downturned. Amon wanted to see them again, wanted to see the idealistic and mysterious man that he admired, not this frail shell of a knight that had been presented to him like a meal on a platter, skin pink like that of a plucked chicken after being snubbed down, dressed in heavy ceremonial livery that was clearly ill fitting, in such a way to hide the protruding bones and bruises that probably mottled his skin.
"Stand, sir Kaneki. I prefer for my Knights to stand in my presence." Kaneki stood, obediently, and leveled his one eyed gaze at the king. It seemed that he had lost his leather eye patch sometime during his imprisonment, because now the puckered scar obscuring the remains of an eye was fully on view, concealed meagerly by a few strands of snowy hair.
"My lord," was all he said, voice quiet but still solid with conviction. Unsure of how to continue any sort of conversation, Amon opted to instead get on with protocol.
"This is my advisor Akira. She will tell you your duties as one of my Knights at arms," he said. Akira seemed to be attempting to stab Kaneki with her sharp gaze. Kaneki, for his part, showed not a glimmer of fear or apprehension, nodding slightly in acknowledgement and lifting his chin in response to the unspoken challenge thrown his way.
"You will be placed in the roster for the guard schedule, and report to a superior, who will report to Arima, our captain of the guard. In military endeavors, whether the threats are external or... Otherwise (she curled her lip here and everyone in the room knew which threats she was referring to) you will be expected to follow the orders of your superiors and the king and eliminate them without hesitation." She spoke all of these words icily, in a emotionlessly professional tone, and her sharp gaze never wavered. Kaneki didn't back down himself either, never wavering in his steadfast eye contact.
"Are you even gonna be able to fight properly, considering you can't see?" Snarked Seidou, not entirely liking the new addition. Kaneki cocked the eyebrow that remained above the mass of scar tissue inhabiting his right eye socket, allowing a small smirk to pass his lips.
"Would you like to test my skills personally, sir...?" He trailed off in a question, voice just barely mocking, hard and biting as steel, hand drifting towards the sword at his side.
"Takizawa, enough. I want you and Akira to leave us alone for a moment, and then show Kaneki to the barracks." Amon had the respect of his men, and he had also learned over the past few years how to use his voice and posture to the utmost in order to garner respect. Takizawa and Akira both obeyed without question, though Takizawa grumbled, and was nudged along by a stoic Akira.
Once alone, Kaneki's stance relaxed, though he still looked out of place in the stiff oversized clothing, and with his scarred eye exposed. He was raw, half a day out of prison, and thrust into the world of the king and his court.
"I'm going to assume you don't want to talk about prison? You can purchase a new eyepatch once you receive your first pay." Said Amon, breaking open the silence. Kaneki seemed startled by the statement, hand coming up to tug at his white bangs over the scar. His nails were bruised black, and looked painful. Amon didn't want to think what had caused the injury.
"Thank you, your highness. I would like to regain one, my eye isn't pretty to look at." He responded, pointedly tilting his blind side away from Amon.
"No- no that's not the issue. You just..." Amon trailed off here, not sure if he really wanted to express that Kaneki had looked uncomfortable. "Anyways, shall I call in Seidou? He can show you to the barracks, the dining hall, and the armory." Amon tried his best to deflect the awkwardness, but a flash of mirth in the silver depths of Kaneki's eye hinted that he may have failed.
"You may not want to leave him alone with me. I fear with the way he was glaring, he might just attempt to stab me, and that won't end well for anyone." The glint of humor remained, but the dark implications of the comment reminded Amon just why Kaneki had been in prison. Eager to change topics of conversation, Amon decided it was time to call Akira and Takizawa back into the room.
With them there, he issued his orders, brooking no objections. Takizawa grumbled, but led Kaneki out. Just like before, Kaneki turned, eying him with his one shining silver eye.
"I look forward to serving you, Your highness," he called behind him, before picking up his pace and following Takizawa out of the room. Amon watched him as he walked out of the room, talking to Takizawa too quietly to hear, and jerking his hand away heavily when Takizawa attempted to guide him using it. Amon barely caught sight of the slight shake to his shoulders before Kaneki was out of the room.