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Chapter Text

Once again Taranza opens his eyes and finds himself tangled in the sheets of a bed that’s way too big for him. He doesn’t know why he still finds it so strange. He’s been living in Dedede’s Castle for almost five years, and each day of those five years he’s woken up in the same bed, in the same room, in the same castle, in the same kingdom. It’s not like anything is going to change.

Taranza sat up in the sheets and rubbed his forehead. “another morning started with a headache, oh joy” he thought as he tossed the sheets off of himself. He stretched his floating hands as far as he could reach and took a few breaths. He drifted to his closet and picked out an outfit.

“it’s not like anyone will see what I’m wearing” he thought again “I rarely go outside”

After lazily putting on his outfit he took a moment to look into his mirror.

“yep, it’s still me, nothing special”

He turned back to look over the room he has been living in for the past few years. After Sectonia was defeated Dedede offered Taranza to stay in the castle for as long as he needed, or even live there if he had to. Taranza ended up accepting the King’s offer to live in the castle, because, well, where else was he supposed to go? He could go back to his home in Floralia but he doesn’t know how he would get there. Even if he were to return home, what would the residents think? How could they welcome him back after what he had done to aid Queen Sectonia in her cruel reign? They couldn’t. Taranza, of course, didn’t know that for sure, but he wasn’t planning on taking chances.

In all his time spent living in Dedede’s Castle he never really did anything. He would only really leave the castle to take short walks or grab something to eat, and even then the castle was large enough and had enough chefs to supply both of those things indoors. Taranza could never find a reason to go outside. He didn’t have a job to go to or any important tasks to tend for. Sure, he had made plenty of friends in dreamland but he rarely speaks to them. Meta knight is always busy, Dedede has kingly stuff to do, speaking to Daroach was like talking to a brick wall, Susie didn’t talk much, Bandana Dee had his own things to do, Marx was a jerk, and Kirby can’t speak. The only person he ever has time to talk to is Magolor.

Magolor is Taranza’s closest friend in dreamland. When Taranza has a lot on his mind Magolor is always willing to listen, which was often because Taranza always had a lot on his mind. Taranza would often dump gallons of unrelated feelings on Magolor just because he would actually listen. Magolor didn’t always have advice to give, but the fact he was willing to at least lend an ear was enough for Taranza to feel just a bit better. But after years of dropping bombs of emotions on poor old Magolor, there was one problem that would always arise during Taranza’s emotional rants. That problem was his ongoing grief for Sectonia.

Even after five whole years the death of his dear Queen, Sectonia, effects him everyday and torments his every thought. Taranza cursed himself for this. Years of people telling him he would move on did nothing and his heart still aches like her death was only a moment ago. He always told himself that it was his fault. If he hadn’t given her that Nova-forsaken mirror none of this would have happened. She wouldn’t have transformed into that cruel, narcissistic monster. She wouldn’t have put her people’s lives in danger. She wouldn’t have been defeated by Kirby. She wouldn’t have died, and it was Taranza’s fault that she did. He didn’t understand why he still mourned her after this many years. Maybe it was because of the feelings he had for her. He knew Sectonia before she had become Queen, and they were the closest friends. After she became Queen and Taranza became her right-hand assistant, Taranza began to notice how he really felt. Now that she had become Queen, he couldn’t tell her how he felt. Not only would it be unprofessional for a Queen to be in a relationship with some random assistant, but it just felt wrong. He also didn’t want to ruin the friendship he already had with her.

After Sectonia died he realized that he missed the only chance he had to tell her how he felt. To fall in love with someone and always be free to tell them how you feel but never doing so is one thing, but to fall in love and lose that person forever before you could show them how you felt was another thing. In all the time Taranza had spent by her side, his heart craved for her to be his, but now that she’s gone for all of eternity, his heart still craves her without the reassurance that there was still a chance for them to be together.

Because Taranza almost never spoke to anyone outside the castle, most people probably think that he’s moved on, except Magolor of course. Taranza couldn’t bring himself to share his feelings with anyone else, because he fears that they might look at him differently if they knew just how severely the death of his dear Queen had hurt him. They also didn’t know her like Taranza did. They only saw the wicked and twisted version of Sectonia that the mirror had made. They never saw the sweet and beautiful spider Queen that Taranza had fallen in love with.

Without anyone to talk to, a place to go to, or a purpose to fulfill, Taranza really had no reason to leave his room in the castle. It’s not that he didn’t like the castle, it was actually quite beautiful and very spacious. He would sometimes be invited to events and he always forced himself to go even if the event in question didn’t seem very interesting. He figured it was the least he could do for himself with the state he’s in. Going to random events would also give him time to talk to the friends he’s always kept away from, so that’s a plus too. Today was another day he would be given one of those opportunities.

Taranza had sat down at his vanity to comb his hair. While 2 of his floating hands were occupied with his silver hair the other four were slipping on some gloves that he kept in the drawer of his vanity. Just as he was about to finish he heard a knock on his door and got up to check on it without bothering to put the other two gloves on first. He hovered over to the door and instinctually looked downward once he had opened it. Sure enough, there was a Waddle Dee staring up at him with a letter in its little hands. Taranza hovered down to its level and held a hand out in which the Waddle Dee gently placed the envelope.

“uh, thank you” Taranza responded as politely as he could

The Waddle Dee nodded and turned away to walk back to wherever it came from. Taranza always thought that was strange. He knew Waddle Dees were capable of speech, how else would his friend, Bandana Dee, talk to him? Then again, Bandana Dee didn’t serve King Dedede anymore, so perhaps it was a code thing. Like how Knights are required to offer any unarmed opponent a sword before every battle.

Taranza caught himself over thinking again. He shook his head and brought the letter to his vanity to read. He opened he envelope as gently as he could and slipped the letter out of it. It was from Adeleine.

It read:

“Dear Friend,
Hi! It’s me! It’s such a lovely day today and I would just love to invite you to a picnic! Feel free to bring your own food (Ribbon and I are making cookies so make sure you save room for those!! ^-^) we’ll meet in the daisy field at 3:00 PM. Sorry about the late invitation, I didn’t know it would be so nice out today so I JUST made these!!! Have a sun-sational day!! I’ll see you later if you decide to come :3

Your friends, Adeleine and Ribbon”

The letter itself was covered in doodles of suns, flowers, and hearts.

Taranza looked up from the paper and to the clock on the wall.

“it’s 10:30”, he thought out loud. “I’ve still got a while before three o’clock”

With that, Taranza set the letter on his vanity while he sat down to finish combing his hair. Afterwards, he slipped on his remaining two gloves and sprayed a few puffs of perfume. He grabbed a random book off his shelf then sat down on his bed to start reading and pass the time.

Not before taking a quick Aspirin, however.

That headache was still killing him.

Chapter Text

Taranza found himself dashing out the front door of the castle. The time had passed faster then he had thought. If he keeps up the pace he shouldn’t be late. Taranza only stopped to look up at the clock tower.

“2:45… “, he thought out loud whilst trying to catch his breath, “I can make it, it’s not that far away”

“Running late I assume”

Taranza jumped at the sudden voice behind him. The spider whipped around to see his friend, Meta Knight.

“Why do you always have to sneak up on me like that?”, Taranza said to the knight, sounding a bit more aggressive then he wanted to.

“I’m not sneaking up on you, you just never pay attention to your surroundings”, Meta Knight responded in his iconic monotone voice.

Taranza sighed and collected his thoughts before looking back up at the swordsman.

“Well, thanks for giving me a heart attack as usual but I’m in a bit of a hurry”

“You’re going to Adeleine’s picnic, correct?”

“Uh, yes, were you invited too?”

“Indeed”

Taranza was a bit surprised by this. Meta Knight was almost always busy training or doing patrols around the castle.

“Are you actually going? I thought you had, well, knight things to do… “

Meta Knight put his hands to his hips, “I’m not the only Knight in the castle! We have shifts like any other job, and it just so happens that mine is over”

Taranza blushed, embarrassed he didn’t consider that.
“Ah- of course. Well, uh, would you like to walk with me? To the picnic?”

The knight nodded, “That was my plan”.

With that the two speed-walked to the daisy fields where they would meet their friends for the picnic. By the time they reached the field they still had a good few minutes to spare. Taranza considered he may have overreacted about the time. A short distance away, some familiar faces were sitting on a blanket under a tree. Daroach was there, sitting calmly in the grass a few feet from the blanket. Magolor and Adeleine were unpacking food, and Kirby and Ribbon were playing tag on the other side of the tree. Taranza and Meta Knight made their way to the blanket and found their places. Meta Knight took a seat by the tree’s roots and pulled out a book from…..well somewhere. Taranza sat by his closest friend, Magolor.

Magolor immediately looked up from what he was doing, his cat-like ears perking up.

“Hey Taranza!”, Magolor greeted his friend excitedly, “I’m so glad you could make it!”.

Taranza grinned for the first time in a while
“yeah, I’m glad too” he breathed, still a bit out of breath from the power walk to the destination, “I really needed to go out more, it helps me feel a little less pathetic”, he laughed.

“Oh don’t be like that”, Magolor said with some concern in his voice, “I know you’re in a tough position right now”.

“I’ve been in this position for 5 years”, the spider responded, now looking downward.

Magolor put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “Hey look at me, you need to stop talking like that, OK? I might not be able to give the best advice but I’m here for you, and I’ll help in anyway I can. You need to start thinking more positively, I know that’s difficult but it’s the least you can do for yourself”, Magolor remove his hand from his friend, “lets just enjoy what’s going on now, OK?”.

“Y-yeah you’re…… right. Uh.. “, Taranza smiled weakly and tried to change the subject, “So…… you, Daroach, and Kirby are the only other people that showed up huh?”

“Yeah… Susie and Bandana Dee were busy and inviting Marx would probably be a bad idea after what happened last time we invited him to something”

Taranza shuddered at the memory of the arts and crafts session they had last month with Marx invited. They’re still cleaning the glitter out of the carpets……….. and the ceiling.

“But uh.. “ Magolor began, snapping Taranza out of his thoughts, “I brought you something”.

Magolor pulled out a small tupperware container from his cloak and handed it to Taranza. Taranza peaked through the clear container and saw dozens of shiny green beetles.

“Aw, Magolor, you didn’t have to do this”, Taranza said, looking up at his friend.

“I know”, Magolor responded gleefully.

Taranza’s species evolved from regular spiders and, therefore, retained a few of their primitive traits. One of these traits was the species’ taste for insects. While Taranza’s species does not require to have bugs in their diet, their instincts will often lead them to crave insects. Taranza would only eat bugs as a treat, and when he did he would try to do it discretely. He would often get stares if he did it in public, which was understandable. One time he made poor Kirby burst into tears when the baby puff caught Taranza eating a butterfly, it took around twenty minutes for Taranza to get Kirby to calm down. His friends don’t judge him for eating insects (though they might tease him from time to time) but he still prefers to eat them only once in a while.

Taranza popped a corner of the lid off the container and gasped when he saw a beetle’s leg beginning to crawl out.

“I know you like them live”, Magolor laughed.

“Oh, thank you so much, Magolor”, Taranza responded before taking the entire lid off the tupperware and starting to crunch beetles.

For the next half hour or so, the friends at the picnic chatted about whatever came to mind and and watched as the sky began to turn from a brilliant blue to a light orange. Adeleine pulled out the sugar cookies that she and Ribbon had made for the picnic. Kirby stopped whatever game he was playing with Ribbon at the mention of sweets and practically rolled to the blanket to get his stubby little puff hands on one. Taranza turned down the offer of a cookie since he already ate his fill on bugs, and Meta Knight only took one because Kirby was practically shoving one in the swordsman’s face. After another half hour of smalltalk, the group turned to see a waddle dee skidding through the fields. The waddle dee came to a halt once he reached Meta Knight, not taking any notice of the other creatures on the blanket a few feet from them. The king’s servant whispered something inaudible to Meta Knight.

“So they can talk?” was Taranza’s only thought during the event playing out in front of him.

Whatever the Waddle Dee said made the knight nod, put away his book, stand up, and run off alongside the waddle dee without a word. The group was mostly silent until Adeleine sighed and said what the rest of them were thinking.

“Ah well, I didn’t expect for him to stay long anyway. He has an important job, I can’t blame him”, she turned to look over the blanket, “It’s getting late anyway, we should pack up”.

With that, the rest of the group helped Adeleine clean up, excluding Kirby because he wasn’t entirely sure how to.

“Thanks for inviting us!”, Magolor, said to Adeleine once everything was packed.

“Thank you for coming!”, Adeleine responded, as Ribbon flew over to her to hover by her shoulder.
Everyone had said their thank yous and goodbyes to Adeleine and Ribbon and began to head home. Taranza gave his friend, Magolor a hug and started on his way home too.

Taranza shut the door behind him and immediately glided to his bed and flopped onto it. Why did going out and doing things have to be so tiring? It’s not like the activity in question required any effort. Just as Taranza was about to get ready to go to sleep he heard a rapid knocking at the door. He groaned and practically fell off his bed trying to roll out of it. He turned the doorknob and saw a rather panicked looking waddle dee. The waddle dee shoved a letter in Taranza’s direction, which the spider took feeling rather confused. Once the letter was in Taranza’s hands the waddle dee turned on it’s heel and ran down the hall. Taranza was a bit shaken with the sudden turn in energy, his drowsiness wasn’t helping.

Taranza shut the door and tore the royal wax seal from the envelope. The pulled out the paper and dropped the envelope onto the floor.

The letter read:

“Taranza,

Your presence is requested in the conference room. We request that you be as urgent as possible”.

Chapter Text

Still feeling dazed, but without a second thought, Taranza swung the door back open and glided down the stairs as fast as he could. His mind was like a beehive, buzzing with chaos.

“what could they possibly need me for?”, he began to think, “what could be so important that I’m being called to the Royal Conference room? Will they make me leave the castle?”

Before he could continue his panicked thoughts, he found himself at the conference room door. Taranza had never been to the conference room before. The door was massive and intimidating, which wasn’t helping Taranza in his frantic state of mind. He looked to each of his sides and noticed waddle dees guarding the two sides of the entrance, each armed with a spear. The two guards took one look at the spider and began to walk to each of the two handles on the door to pull it open. They appeared to struggle with the weight of the door but managed to pull it wide open.

Taranza gazed into the large room as he made his way in. The conference room was filled with chairs all facing a long table. Seated at the head of the long table in question was none other then King Dedede. Taranza had expected the king to be there, however, what he didn’t expect was for Dedede to be accompanied by people of Floralia. The 6 rainbow fairies to be specific.

Taranza immediately halted in the middle of the room the moment he caught sight of the familiar fairies. He was stunned. The yellow fairy noticed his shock and gave Taranza a sincere smile.

“Hello, Taranza”, she greeted calmly, “I’m so sorry about surprising you like this, you must be terribly confused”.

“Uh, let us explain”, the blue fairy said, interrupting Taranza’s panicked stuttering.

The fairies turned to face King Dedede.

“Well uh… “, the king began, looking almost as confused as Taranza, “an airship landed by the castle today, so we sent in all our knights and guards to check it out. Ya know, makin sure they weren’t tryin to attack us or somethin”.

“that’s why Meta Knight left early”, Taranza thought.

Dedede continued, “So these fairy people were on the ship. They said they didn’t want to hurt us so I let them in. Then they started asking to see you and uh... “, Dedede turned nervously to the colorful fairies, “I think it’s best if you guys tell em this part”.

Yellow nodded and turned to Taranza, “You see Taranza, after Sectonia was defeated, Floralia was left without a ruler. Our kingdom began to crumble without a ruler, as no one in Floralia is fit for the position”.

Taranza took a few deep breathes to gather his thoughts and looked up towards the yellow fairy.

“W-what do you need me for?”, he stammered.

The six fairies exchanged glances for a moment before Blue spoke up.

“Taranza”, Blue began, calm yet firm, “we want you to be our king”.

Taranza froze. Did he hear her correctly? No he couldn’t have. But he did. He could almost feel his blood leaving him. He felt dizzy. Oh no was he going to faint? This can’t be happening. This isn’t real. He felt like the room was spinning, but he was as still as a statue. King Dedede stared down and Taranza, who looked like he was about to drop dead.

“I think ya broke em, girls”, Dedede said flatly.

“Taranza, a-are you okay?”, Yellow said, now sounding worried.

Taranza blinked a few times and took another few deep breathes, “I-I’m s-sorry, but, w-what did you say?”

“Floralia needs a ruler and we think you should take the position”, Blue repeated.

So he did hear her correctly.

“with all do r-respect ma’am”, Taranza began, finally starting to pull himself together, “w-why me?”

“Well, as we said before, no one else in Floralia is qualified. We can’t go searching for a new ruler for too long because we need to find one as fast as possible. But… “, Yellow paused, choosing her next words carefully, “we don’t just want you to lead us because it would be convenient, we want you to lead us because we know you would be an excellent king”.

“B-but I can’t! I can’t be a king!”

“Yes you can”, said the purple fairy, “if we knew you couldn’t be a king we wouldn’t have come to you. We want you to lead us, Taranza”.

Taranza looked at the floor, his hands shaking.

“You want me to come back to Floralia… “, he began hesitantly, “e-even after… w-what I did?”.

“Oh… Taranza… “, Yellow sighed, “that’s in the past”.
“But you wouldn’t be in this position if I hadn’t helped her… “
“Taranza”, Yellow said again, more firmly, “we know you aren’t a bad person, you clearly aren’t the same person you were then. You have a good heart Taranza, that’s why we’re coming to you now. There’s no bad blood here, we need you”.

Taranza looked up again, and felt something. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it felt like… hope? Confidence.

“I… “, he couldn’t find the words.

“I know this is a lot to process Taranza, you probably need t-“

“I’ll do it”

Taranza’s heart nearly stopped when he realized what he just said.

“What the Termina did I just do?”, was the last coherent thought he had before his brain began to fill with panic like water in a bucket.

Yellow blinked, seeming just at shocked at Taranza’s answer as Taranza himself.

Then she smiled, “oh, thank you Taranza. It means so much to us that you would take on such a responsibility our kingdom. We promised you won’t regret your decision”.

Taranza found himself stunned again. Before he could get any words out the pink fairy piped up.

“That’s wonderful to hear, Taranza! I don’t mean to rush you but we must hurry back to Floralia. You can pack your things and we’ll wait for you outside!”

Taranza barely had time to process what was happening before he found himself leaving the conference room to pack. Once Taranza had pretty much finished he stared at his small suitcase and finally took a moment to think.

“Why in Nova’s name did I say that?”, he scolded himself, “I can’t be a king! That’s insane! This whole situation is insane! Am I insane? Probably!”

He stopped himself to breath, “Okay okay, pull yourself together”.

The more Taranza thought over his situation, as well as the situation of the Floralian people, he realized that he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. His only option was to go with them. His only option was to return to Floralia. His only option was to become their new ruler.

Taranza took his suitcase and glided to the door. It was only when he reached for the doorknob that he realized his hands were shaking. His journey through the castle to the outdoors felt like a blur. The 6 fairies were there waiting for him at the castle doorstep. From there they kindly lead him behind the castle to a massive airship. The sheer size of the ship was enough to make Taranza pause for a moment, Yellow smiled at his awe. The ship was decorated with bright colors that reflected the multicolored fairies themselves, and the colossal sail had a simple yet gorgeous depiction of the dreamstalk’s flower.

Taranza was brought inside and lead to a brightly decorated room.

“The trip home will take a while, so you can sleep here till morning”, the red fairy explained before leaving alone Taranza in his new room.

Taranza dropped his suitcase onto his bed and made his way to the window on the other side of the room. After a few moments the faint rumble of the ship’s engine could be heard and Taranza watched as dreamland got farther and farther away. Taranza gripped the windowsill.

There’s no going back now.

Chapter Text

Taranza opened his eyes and gazed around the unfamiliar room. He didn’t waste time trying going to sleep yesterday. He rolled out of bed and realized he had slept in his day clothes. He turned to his bedside table that now had a dish with tea and a note on it. Taranza yawned, rubbed his eyes and reached for the note.

It read:

“good morning Taranza! The ship should be landing in Floralia later today. I left you some tea (lavender tea, your favorite!), but you were asleep when I came in. Hopefully it’s still warm when you wake up! Don’t stress yourself out, I know this is really crazy but we’re here for you! Enjoy your tea :)

-Pink”

Taranza turned to the tea and finished it rather quickly. Afterwards, Taranza went about his regular morning routine still feeling half awake. Once he finished he sat down in his newly provided vanity chair and sighed. All he could do now was gaze at his reflection in the mirror and continue to think. He was thinking all of yesterday and kept himself awake for hours last night. At this point he wasn’t even sure what he was thinking about anymore. All he could do was repeatedly go over the events that led up to this, moment by moment. Like a the needle of a record player bouncing over a tiny obstacle only to end up in the same place it was a second ago.

After thinking over the entirety of yesterday for the millionth time, Taranza finally decided to put a roadblock on his looping train of thought. There was a question to be asked here, he just wasn’t sure what the question was. What should he be asking himself?

“what does this mean for me?”, he decided was the right question.

“well…I’ll be taken to Floralia and made king…”

No there’s more to it then that.

“I’ll probably never return to dreamland again”.

No there’s something else.

“I never got to say goodbye to my friends”.

That’s not it either but nice job on making a new reason to be miserable.

“The people of Floralia aren’t mad at me...?”

Close…?

Taranza was tightly gripping an item on his vanity that he grabbed without noticing. There’s something he’s not getting. Something was off, but it didn’t feel wrong. It felt almost right. Like a relief.

And like two pieces of a puzzle, it clicked.

“After years of living aimlessly… not only am I being welcomed back to the place I’ve been longing to see, but I’ll… become its ruler… I’ll have a purpose…”

Taranza loosened his grip on the item, which he now noticed was a random perfume bottle.

Taranza began to feel something that he hasn’t felt in years. Like the chains holding him in his pit of sorrow were snapped with a single tug. He was bursting with energy now, like he couldn’t stay seated any longer.

For the first time in what felt like a millennia, he genuinely smiled.

All the problems that were holding him back vanished in a single day. It felt far too good to be true, and normally he would feel more suspicious or worried about that, but this moment was just to perfect to be tarnished by worry.

A knock was heard from across the room. Taranza bolted to the door and seemed to bounce in place as Yellow peeked inside.

“Good morning Taranza, you look like you’re in a good mood!”, The fairy remarked.

Despite Taranza’s newfound excitement, the positive energy was still no match for his social awkwardness.

“uh, yeah, I uh, had some more time to… think over what’s going on and I think I’m a little less nervous”, he replied. Although he was happy his smile was definitely forced.

Yellow grinned, “oh, that’s great to hear, Taranza! I know this is all pretty hectic but we all believe in you alright? We’ll be landing in Floralia in half an hour so make sure you get everything you need together. Blue will come let you know when it’s time to leave”

“Thanks, ill start getting ready then… “

Yellow nodded and closed the door.
Taranza spun around and started getting his things together, his body and mind filled with pure joy. He resisted the urge to dance while packing his things, he may be alone but he still tried not to make a fool of himself.

He pressed his hands against the window like Kirby in a candy shop. The thick clouds were beginning to fade and tall colorful buildings came into view. The clouds fully cleared and it was finally visible, the bright purple castle that he had spent so many years living in and so many years apart from. Surrounded by large, powerful gears and sat atop an island made of clouds, despite the many years that the castle was left unruled, it never lost even a touch of its majesty.

The kingdom grew closer as the ship started to find a place to land. Taranza’s heart was pounding, he remembered why he was so terrified before, but that didn’t take away from the excitement boiling in his chest.

The ground drew near as even more familiar buildings came into view. It was like nothing had changed since he left. It was almost disturbing how untouched everything seemed. Surely there would have been some kind of decay?

Taranza’s thoughts were interrupted by a loud thud and the heavy shaking of the ship. The white fairy appeared at the door a few moments later.

“Sorry about the rough landing”, White began, “we’re ready to head out when you are!”

Taranza grabbed his bag and turned back to White.

“I’m ready”, he nodded confidently.

With that, White lead him off the ship and to the outside where the rest of the fairies were waiting. Taranza looked down at the ground made of clouds. He felt like at any moment he could wake up in bed and find that this was all a dream. But it wasn’t a dream, it was more real then he could have ever imagined.

The group drew closer to the buildings that made up the kingdom of Floralia. Citizens began peeking through windows and poking their heads out of doors. The moment they saw Taranza and the fairies making their way through the center of town they all eagerly left their homes and flocked around the arrivals.

It was then that Taranza saw that despite the kingdom itself seeing no changes, the people with no ruler had clearly gone through some rough times. They all looked exhausted, and their clothes were stained and torn. Despite their sickly appearances their faces seemed to light up when they saw Taranza.

They all waved and cheered as the group lead him forward.

“Taranza! It’s Taranza!”

“It’s him! They really found him!”

“Our king is here, there’s hope again!”

“Welcome back!”

Taranza was stunned.

Yellow turned to him and smiled, “we told them we would try find you, you were our last hope after all. They’ve been waiting to see you for a long time”.

Before Yellow could get any more words in they had arrived at the door of the castle. Red looked to the watch towers high above them. The second the guards on the towers saw the group they quickly had the door opened.

The doors slowly swung open with a powerful creak as wind gusted inwards with the force. Before Taranza was both his old home and his new purpose lying deep inside, waiting for him to claim it.

But he wasn’t scared.

Not anymore.

Chapter Text

It was just as he remembered it.

The castle doors swung open and revealed the enormous entrance room of the castle. Tall ceilings were held up with giant marble pillars and a wide carpet with many intricate and beautiful designs served as the group's path inside. On either side of the room two staircases lined with golden railings rode up and inward to the second floor. Between those two staircases and below the second floor was a platform that hung above the ground like a floating stage. Beneath the platform was a giant door that Taranza remembered lead to the royal dining hall.

Despite everything being covered in a layer of dust, the inside of the castle retained just as much of its beauty as its outside.

Taranza's awestruck trance was broken by the sound of Yellow's voice.

"it's all pretty dusty, but us and a few volunteers are working to make it good as new!"

"It looks gorgeous...", Taranza said, still amazed at the sight.

The fairies lead Taranza to the left staircase where White turned to him.

"The crowning ceremony starts in about two hours", she began, "so if you-".

"Two hours!?!?!", Taranza exclaimed.

White nodded hesitantly, "I know this is very sudden but we simply cannot keep the kingdoms people waiting any longer. They have gone so long without the protection of a proper ruler, you understand right?"

Taranza paused, he knew this was going to be happening soon but two hours? Was he really ready for this?

Of course he was.

"I... understand", Taranza nodded.

White smiled, "That's good news. Remember, we'll be here to help you out whenever you need it", she continued, "As I was saying before, since the ceremony starts in about 2 hours feel free to explore for an hour or so and meet me here when you're done. I'll show you to your new room and we can start preparing".

Taranza thanked White and headed up the stairs.

When he reached the second floor he was greeted with a long hallway. Taranza began drifting down the hall, studying every inch of the walls. A few of the doors that lined the hall were left swung open, peering inside revealed them to be empty. Taranza figured they were cleaning the rooms out entirely.

Once in a while Taranza would pass by a painting on the wall or a stool with some kind of art piece stood on top. He came across a vase and stopped for a second. He gently swiped his gloved hand over its surface and revealed the shiny metal material underneath the years worth of grime. Taranza looked down at his gloved hand and observed the dark smudge the dust had left behind. Paying no mind to it, and being much more focused on the building surrounding him, he wiped his hand on his cape and continued down the hallway.

By the time he reached the end of the left hall he barely realized how much information he had been soaking in the entire silent walk. Just being within the walls of the castle felt so unreal to him, like a dream, and was enjoying every surreal second of it.

Where the left hall ended, it curved and looped into the right hall. Taranza began his journey down the right hall as well, absorbing every detail he could.

Near the end of the hall he halted at the sight of a peculiar door. His old room! Excitedly, Taranza reached for the knob and pulled the door open. The sweet nostalgia that washed over him was overwhelming. Everything was just as he left it. Like the rest of the castle, a layer of dust dulled it's brilliant color, but the bright fabrics and shiny gold accents still shone through.

Taranza never wanted to admit he was given special treatment as the Queen's royal advisor, but a glance over the expensive trinkets that filled would say he was at least a little spoiled. Taranza was always provided with the highest quality items. The best bed, the best clothes, the best food, and certainly the best room. As was customary of a royal advisor, they had more interaction with the ruler than anyone else, so it's no surprise they would get some kind of special treatment. Taranza would never admit it, but he knew it was true.

His eyes locked on the windowsill, where a potted flower sat dead and wilted. Looking at the flower, Taranza felt almost... guilty? After the incident with Sectontia Taranza didn't have a choice to stay at the castle and care for the plant, it wasn't even on his mind. But seeing the once beautiful flower now a dry, crunchy, husk of what it once was made Taranza's heart sink. The flower wasn't like any other he had ever seen. He first saw it in the royal garden, outshining the other plants with its brilliant colors and unique shapes. Sectonia was kind enough to let Taranza unearth the flower and keep it as his own, perhaps just another example of how spoiled he was. Not a day went by that he didn't give that flower all the attention it needed to flourish, and flourish it did. Now, looking at the decaying petals, he felt like he had done something wrong. He knew it really wasn't his fault he couldn't take care of it. He knew he had no choice but to leave it to inevitably die after 5 years without water. He knew he shouldn't feel guilty, and yet something inside told him otherwise. Why does he feel this way? It's just a plant, isn't it?

Taranza tore his eyes off of the flower.

"No, no, this isn't what I need right now...I need to think more... positively".

He thought desperately for something to take his mind off of these strange feelings.

The ceremony...?

Yes! The ceremony, that's perfect!

Taranza remembered that after a traditional crowning ceremony, a ball is held inside the castle were the new ruler can personally interact with their subjects. A social gathering like that would normally make Taranza incredibly nervous, especially since he would be the center of attention. Although he was definitely quite nervous, the thought also exited him.

Interacting with the kingdom's people in person might be fun! It had been a long time since Taranza really opened up to strangers. This could be his chance to make some new friends!

Then his mind started to wander a bit farther.

Maybe...this could be his chance to meet someone...special?

The moment the idea crossed his mind he put his thoughts to a grinding halt.

"What? What are you thinking?", he scolded himself, "that's crazy! You're crazy!"

The thought of falling in love with someone the same way he had with Sectonia sounded impossible. And yet no matter how much he tried to fight it, the idea of being in love again made his heart flutter. Maybe it's not completely impossible...?

He pushed the thoughts away, at least for now.

He took a seat on the dusty bed. How much time did he have left? He figured he still had about 30 minutes left before he had to meet up with White. He stood up and made he way to the door. He took one last glace around the room. He began to wonder if he would have a royal advisor of his own when he became king. With that he shut the door and continued exploring for the remainder of his free time.

Once he met up with White she lead him to a section of the castle that he hadn't explored. Or perhaps he had been subconsciously avoiding it. They stopped in front of a door that he knew all too well. The room he didn't realize he didn't want to see.

Sectonia's room.

Chapter Text

Taranza had never been in Sectonia's room before.

He had stood outside of it, he had waited in the doorway, but he's never actually been inside.

Now standing before the room he felt like he was about to do something he wasn't supposed to, like he was breaking an unspoken rule.

The only reason he continued into the room was because White was standing beside him, urging him forward. Standing in the room gave him a dreadful sinking feeling. He couldn't bring himself to focus on one part of the room and his eyes darted around in random directions.

The sound of White's voice didn't erase the awful feeling, but it did ease it a bit.

"Well, I'm sure you already know what this room is", White began, looking a bit nervous herself, "make yourself comfortable and ill be back with your... Uh... 'royal attire'", she laughed, putting on a fake accent, most likely trying to lighten the suddenly unsettling mood. She backed out of the room and closed the door, keeping an eye on Taranza as she left as if he would try to escape.

Now alone in the room, Taranza felt the feeling of dread worsen. Being by himself within those walls made him feel dizzy, he almost fell over when he sat down on the bed at the far end of the room. He gripped the ends of his cape, trying to calm himself down. He didn't even realize he was hyperventilating.

He tried to clear his mind, all he wanted to do was calm down, if he could manage that then maybe he wasn't as much of a complete wreck as he believed he was.

He soon managed to get his breathing under control, slowing his breaths steadily.

"That's a start...", he told himself.

The only issue left was the horrible feeling throughout his body, which he didn't think he could do anything about. He hoped if he just ignored it it would go away.

He was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of White walking in carrying some folded up clothes. She laid the clothes down on the chair next to the vanity and looked up at Taranza.

"Well, here's your new clothes! Careful, they're expensive", she joked, "Take your time getting dressed and let us know when you're ready, we'll open the gates and let the citizens in for the ceremony, Yellow will guide you from there".

She drifted to the doorway and looked to Taranza once more, "again, take your time! No rush at all!"

The door shut and Taranza was alone with his thoughts again, which was pretty dangerous at the moment.

Taranza decided getting dressed might take his mind off things, for at least a moment. He lifted the clothes from the chair and looked them over. Like Sectonia's old attire, the robes were a royal blue with golden accents and fur trimming. A large pink heart embroidered in the center added even more flavor to the already complex outfit. The heart was complimented by a high collar of the same shade of pink. The attire was completed with white, silk gloves that pulled the whole look together. The cape decorated in a golden spiderweb pattern made these clothes look like a better version of his regular outfit, he wasn't sure if he liked or hated that.

He started with the main part of the outfit and worked his way through the rest of the accessories. After slipping on the last of the gloves he gazed at himself in the vanity mirror. Seeing himself in these clothes made the feeling of dread worsen, crushing his chest like a thousand bricks.

His hands trembled and his breath quickened, his heart started pounding so hard he could almost hear it beating in his ears. A million thoughts swept through his mind, each one slicing into him like a dagger.

"Why are you here?", the voice in his mind demanded, "you think you are worthy of this? You think you can just pretend the past didn't happen? You think they forgive you?"

Taranza collapsed onto the bed behind him, his body shaking as the voice became angrier.

"The only reason you're here is because of what YOU have done. YOU gave Sectonia the mirror. YOU didn't help her while she fell apart. YOU aided her in her cruel reign. YOU left the kingdom in ruin. YOU abandoned the floralians".

The voice grew louder, harsher, sharper. Taranza couldn't tell if the thoughts were even his anymore.

"Sectonia is dead because of YOU! It's all YOUR FAULT! YOU KILLED HER! YOU KILLED SECTONIA!"

The voice was drowned in the wave of sobs that Taranza could no longer hold in. His thoughts became blurs as his body let out as many tears as it could. His new gloves now soaked in sadness, he let his body do as it pleased, there was no point in trying to hold anything in now.

A few minutes passed and the last of his tears fell, his breath still trying to steady itself. He could still feel his heart pounding like it had been suffocating for hours. Despite him letting out as much as he could, the despair did not go away. There was a sadness in his chest that couldn't be washed out with tears.

Taranza was helpless.

A gentle knock at the door made Taranza's gaze shoot up.

Desperately wiping the tears from his face he blurted, "C-come in!", in the most confident voice he could muster.

The door clicked open and the meek face of Blue peeked in before slipping inside and quietly closing the door behind her. Looking Taranza up and down it was pretty obvious that she could tell what had happened. Taranza's clearly forced smile wasn't doing him any favors.

Blue nervously fidgeted with her hands, looking for the right words for whatever she was preparing to say.

"You... uh... look great in those new clothes! Heh..", she said with a nervous grin on her face. "I... um.. well... I wanted to talk to you... "

She drifted closer to Taranza. Taranza shakily stood up from the bed, meeting Blue's eyes.

"Y-yes?", he stammered.

Blue looked at the floor for a moment, her eyes displaying concentration. She looked back up at Taranza, now looking a bit more determined.

"Listen... ", she began, still treading carefully with her words, "we... um... I... I know you miss Sectonia".

Taranza would have had a more shocked reaction if he didn't know how obvious his feelings probably were. He just stood there, wanting to look away in shame but refusing to break eye contact with Blue.

Blue continued, "I just... I don't want you to feel guilty. I don't want you to feel like you are the only one to blame in this", her voice started to shake a bit, "Listen... It... It wasn't your fault, okay? You didn't know the properties of the mirror, and you only stood by Sectonia in her corrupted state because you felt like you had to".

Blue's voice became firm.

"No one blames you, Taranza. No one is angry with you. We're all so greatful that you chose to help us. We're all so happy to have you as our king".

Blue's gaze softened again, "Sectonia loved you so much, Taranza. She was always talking about you, about how hard you worked and how much she cared about you. You were really one of her favorite people". Blue rested her hand on Taranza's shoulder, "Taranza, if Sectonia could see you right now, she would be so proud of you... I know I am... We all are".

Taranza wanted to speak, but what was there to say? He could only stare at Blue with a dumbfounded look on his face, searching for the words that he didn't have. Luckily, Blue spared him from forming a response as she slowly removed her and from his shoulder and glided to the door.

Before making her way out she leaned in one last time and said, "We're ready when you are... You'll do great". The door gently shut and Taranza was by himself once more.

But something was different.

The sadness in his chest had disappeared, leaving him with a new, but familiar feeling. The same feeling of boiling excitement he had on his ride to Floralia. He was flushed with fresh energy. He felt almost weightless, like the thousands of bricks on his chest had finally been lifted.

He darted to the vanity one last time to check over his appearance. With just a bit of hair brushing a deep breaths you almost couldn't tell he had a major mental breakdown just a few minutes ago! He paused in front of the door, then quickly continued on his way out, there was no need for hesitation now.

The multicolored fairies were waiting patiently in the hall and each of them turned to Taranza with an excited smile.

"Well?", Yellow beamed encouragingly.

Taranza nodded, "Open the gates!". Even with his new determined attitude, he found it hard to say that sentence confidently. Maybe it was just in his nature to be a constant nervous wreck.

The fairies looked to eachother excitedly and White, Purple, Pink, and Red rushed down the hall to begin the ceremony. Blue and Yellow stayed behind to escort Taranza to the main room. As they grew closer to their destination they heard the ever growing sound of a crowd of chattering voices.

Now at the second floor railing, Taranza looked over the sea of Floralians who now began cheering upon seeing him on the landing. Although this situation was an anxiety riddled nightmare, Taranza couldn't help but smile at the crowd.

Over on the other side of the crowd, something caught his eye. Pink was welcoming in a few more guests at the entrance. Taranza audibly gasped. His friends were here! As Meta Knight, Marx, Adeleine, Ribbon, Kirby, and even Magolor filed inside Taranza giddily waved down at them. They each looked up and waved back happily. Well, Kirby didn't exactly wave as much as he jumped up and down then fell over.

Yellow tapped Taranza's shoulder and gestured for him to follow her. Taranza stood at the top of the staircase with Blue and Yellow at either side of him. Now standing up so high and looking over the crowd, he felt a sudden wave of nausea. The dizziness and urge to vomit overcame him quickly. Blue noticed his sudden look of distress and kept him steady as he made his way down the staircase. The moment he landed on the middle platform the sickening feeling left him as fast as it came, and he was now in the center of the balcony with White standing beside him.

White's voice rang across the room, "Citizens of Floralia! The time we have been waiting for has finally arrived. After years without guidance a new ruler has come to take our dear Sectonia's place!"

Purple appeared beside Taranza and handed him a golden scepter topped with a large, pink, crystal that gleamed in the light. The Scepter was surprisingly heavy in his hand but it was light enough to easily carry. It felt right in his grip, like it was made for him. Purple backed away and let White continue her speech, Taranza returned his gaze to the crowd.

"Taranza, our old friend, has returned to be our new king! We are eternally grateful for his compliance, and we see a great future for Floralia with him as our ruler!"

Blue approached Taranza, holding a large, golden crown. Seeing the object made Taranza's heart race in excitement, he had to restrain himself from anxiously fidgeting with his hands.

White continued, "We won't keep you waiting any longer! We are honored to announce the crowning of our new ruler, King Taranza!"

Hearing his new title gave Taranza a flush of joy that only grew stronger as he felt a light weight on top of his head. He was officially crowned as king.

The roar of the crowed grew loader and louder, the emotions swimming around in his chest became overwhelming. Giving an anxious glance to his left, White nodded towards the scepter in his right hand and gave a reassuring smile. Taranza got the message and looked to the crowd once more. He triumphantly raised the scepter in the air as the crowd reached it's max volume.

The cheers rang through the castle and the crowd gave out a gleeful chant,

"LONG LIVE THE KING!"