Chapter Text
Prince Taako of Neverwinter is – well – not really a prince.
He’s no fraud, of course, he’s been appointed his nobility. But “prince” is much less awkward and far more regal than “ward,” and Taako didn’t argue when the palace staff started calling him that.
He doesn’t mind– it’s a title he likes, though the rules that come with being royal aren’t all that favorable to him. He’s always being told what to do, where to go, what meetings to attend (which, luckily, isn’t many since he’s not the immediate heir to the throne), etc. It’s all so boring .
Taako still isn’t all that used to it, even after a year and a half in the palace.
He can’t remember much of his life before he was taken in by the king, only that it wasn’t very fun.
He remembers being on caravans. Cooking for them, doing odd jobs to get some coin. Sometimes he was with a group of mercenaries, sometimes thieves; Taako isn’t picky. As long as he has somewhere with a roof over his head. He even started a cooking show, at some point– This half elf, Sazed, had an intriguing pitch and a cart ready to go for a travelling act. Just needed a cook to fill the slot. It was a cushy gig and Taako earned more money in his first show than he did in his years running around from caravan to caravan. So he stays. And he and Sazed get pretty close.
The show was his , though, and the fact that Sazed kept trying to encroach on his image was unnerving. It was no surprise that his partner tried to poison him, but it’s still terrifying nonetheless. So he went back to live on the road, deciding the fame just wasn’t for him. At the time, he was…45? 55? It’s hard to remember.
That’s when he met a knight from the Neverwinter court, who asked for him by name, and he’d been immediately on guard. Lied his ass off, until he realized that the knight wasn’t falling for it at all.
-
Taako’s on his own tonight, the caravan he’d been on having left without telling him, and so he’s settled into an inn for the night. He’s having dinner at the inn’s dining room when the room goes silent. He lifts his head up from his (subpar) stew and sees a knight standing in the doorway, eyes searching the room before they find Taako and they rush over to him. Taako’s heart stops, his eyes searching for an escape; he doesn’t know what he’s done to gain the attention of the royal family, but this can’t be good.
“Hail and well met, friend! Are you Taako? The elf from Sizzle it Up?”
“Uh…no? I get that a lot, though, uh--” Taako’s hand reaches discretely for his wand, but this guy is huge and has a fucking sword so like if this goes south he’s fuuuucked. “Nope, I heard that guy actually died, maybe, so--”
“I know it may look it, pal, but I’m not stupid. You aren’t in trouble. The king has sent me to collect you ‘cause he has a proposition for you.”
“Me?” Taako raises an eyebrow, his hand dropping from his wand. “I’m just a simple idiot wizard, bubbula, I’m not gonna be able to, like, raise the dead or anything for ‘im.”
“Oh, no, nothing like that! I don’t think. I dunno. Uh--” The knight pulls out a roll of parchment from somewhere and hands it to Taako, who takes it hesitantly. “The king would love to see you as soon as possible. I know it’s late, so I can come back in the morning to escort you to the castle myself if you don’t want to go tonight.”
Taako reads over the parchment, sees a summons from the king, and it looks legit. He sighs, standing from the table. “Nah, I’ll head over now I guess, get this over with. Is this going to be a long thing, or can I leave my stuff here?”
“I’d, uh...I’d bring it with.” The knight says, and Taako wants to run. This is, like, 100% a getting-arrested thing and he has no idea what he did for that to be the case. He would run, but the knight follows him to his room after giving the innkeep a sack of gold and he’s really not gonna shake this guy, is he?
-
Surprisingly, he wasn’t in trouble, though.
An older woman who he would come to know familiarly as Lucretia (though she doesn’t like to be called that at all), head of the royal advisers, introduces him to a stoic-looking king Davenport of Neverwinter (who doesn’t speak, which is creepy as shit). He’s offered to be taken in as a ward of the court, as the king had heard of his misfortune with Sizzle it Up With Taako and had loved his show. The entire situation is really fucking weird, but he’s being offered free room and board so he won’t argue the semantics of it.
The knight-slash-palace-guard who originally came to find him, Magnus, becomes one of Taako’s closer friends in the palace. Or, rather, they find each other often out of pure luck. Magnus actively looks for reasons to hang out in the kitchens to watch his girlfriend instead of doing his duties, and Taako likes to spend time in the kitchen. Magnus isn’t that bad of a guy– funny, and far too kind for his own good, and Taako’s able to use “body guard” as an excuse to hang out with him. Even though he technically doesn’t need one within the confines of the castle, only when he goes outside, Lucretia seems to not mind the idea much. They often get into quite a bit of trouble in one way or the other, which Lucretia doesn’t seem to like much, but you win some you lose some, right?
They find themselves getting in such trouble one day, after Ren’s kicked them out of the kitchen.
Taako decides he needs some potions ingredients, so they wander into the gardens to get some, though Taako doesn’t technically know if he’s allowed to take the herbs and flowers he needs. They do their best to sneak around head gardener, Merle, who’s out on his daily rounds watering the plants; the dwarf isn’t bad, just weird. They’re cordial, if a bit jokey, within the castle walls at dinner and such but Merle takes his job as gardener very seriously. And the way he talks to the plants is a bit creepy, but he doesn’t like to think about that-- so they tend to sneak around the gardens when they know he’s out tending the grounds. Their luck runs out towards the end of their little venture, however, and Magnus easily distracts Merle while Taako tucks the items gathered into his satchel. He’s able to easily fit himself into the conversation so as not to seem suspicious, and gives Magnus a thumbs up behind his back to signal that they can leave.
As they’re leaving, though, Merle’s gruff voice calls over to them, “Just so y’know, your majesty, don’t seem very princely to steal. Next time just ask. You cut the parsley too short!”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about, old man!!”
Magnus and Taako stay stoic until they’re out of sight, giggling like schoolgirls. Their laughter is cut off only by a stern cough from Lucretia, and they both freeze. Magnus goes stiff and stands at attention, and Lucretia just shakes her head and waves him off; immediately, he relaxes and tries to explain himself.
“Uh–”
“We were–”
“We were just– We weren’t doing anything bad –”
“I already know you two were tormenting Merle again. I’ve just come to retrieve prince Taako, as it seems he’s forgotten that he has a meeting with the royal advisers today.” Lucretia does her best to keep her face neutral, but a small fond smile tugs on her lips. “You can get back to hanging out with Julia until they start making dinner in the kitchens, Magnus. Thank you for watching prince Taako for me.”
With a wink at Magnus, Lucretia places a hand on Taako’s back – which he immediately arches away from, no touching Taako, thank you very much – and leads him back inside and down a few hallways until they’re at the usual meeting of the royal advisers. Taako’s always hated these meetings, as they’re dreadfully boring, and it seems like everyone else does as well. King Davenport must find them lame too, because the guy is never at them. Lucretia insists she fills him in on everything that happens, but Taako has his doubts that the guy is even real. They’d only met once, after all, and Lucretia did all the talking then.
“It won’t be a long one today, everyone, promise. We just need to talk about prince Taako’s upcoming birthday and then we can go.” Lucretia says, and there’s a resounding groan. Birthdays among royalty are known to be a big nuisance, as everyone insists on having big parties and week-long celebrations.
Flashy as all hell, and very Taako-like in so many ways, at least what everyone thinks, which is why it’s such a surprise for them all to hear–
“Yeahhh, I’m not really down for any big celebrations. And how did you guys even learn my fucking birthday? I don’t think I told anyone.”
“…You don’t want to celebrate your birthday, your majesty?”
Taako leans back in his chair, skirt riding up enough for Lucretia to smooth it back down with a grimace, which makes him grin; he loves acting not-royal, the informality really seems to annoy Lucretia and it’s fun to tease her. “Yeah, uh– I mean, a party seems cool , but I’ve been to other celebrations and stuff for other royals and it seems like a loooot of work– and it’s not like it’s a big birthday, anyways. I’m only turning, like, forty-se– fifty-som– It’s not a big one. But if I’ve gotta do something , I’m chill with, like, a big ball on my birthday and that being iiiit if that’s cool with you lot.”
Wide, amazed eyes – though none bigger than Lucretia’s – all look at him before there’s quick nods, clearing of throats, and shuffling of papers. Quiet “no, yeah, totally,” s fill the room. Lucretia gives a forced smile once the shock wears off. She dismisses the meeting and everyone stands to leave, but Taako is held back just a moment.
“I can’t say I expected that from you, prince Taako, I- I thought that you would like the fanfare of it all. A parade, something…But I suppose you can still surprise me, even– even…though you have such a predictable personality sometimes.” Lucretia catches herself mid-sentence, and Taako thinks maybe she was going to say something not very royal-adviser-y. He tells her all the time she’s too serious but she seems to like the dramatics of being head royal adviser, “Madame Director” of castle activities and logistics and all that.
Taako shrugs. “Yeah, well. I meant it when I said it sounded like a lot of work. Taako ain’t meant to be so formal all the time, and I don’t feel like meeting a million people and talking politics. This way I still get to party but it isn’t so formal.”
“Yeah, that’s a lot like you, huh?” Lucretia smiles that fond look she has on her face so often again, like she’s raised the prince from a young age instead of busted his ass for almost two years about his manners. “I’ll let you go on.”
Taako just gives a two-finger salute and saunters out, finds Killian out in the hall waiting.
“So you really don’t want a big celebration, huh? No parade, no festival. Always took you for the type ‘a guy to wanna go all out.”
Taako groans. “Man, if I knew you were all gonna grill me about it I should’ve just said hell yeah to a big party!”
“Please don’t say that in front of Madame Director, I know for a fact she’ll make us do just that if you do.” Killian sounds tired, probably having not recovered from their last party a few months back for the king’s birthday. Taako chuckles.
“Seriously still don’t know how you all figured out my birthday. I was able to avoid the whole party thing last year just fine.”
“I dunno, I just help run the palace guard. Madame Director knows everything, though.” Killian says. “You sure you aren’t like a clone of the real prince? I would’ve thought Taako’d want a parade.”
“Yeah, quit worrying about that one it’s still cha’ boy. I just don’t really like birthdays, is all– haven’t had one that’s felt right in a while, is all. Always feels weird.”
Killian looks down at Taako with a frown, and he suddenly feels like maybe he overshared and curses internally. He keeps his face neutral as she says, “Your majesty, birthdays are just… birthdays . A day to celebrate you ! How do they feel weird?”
“Ah, I dunno how to explain it. Just ain’t right.” Taako shrugs. He looks for something to change the subject, can’t find anything, and decides to escape. “Oh well. Maybe next year. This year I just want something quiet.”
-
For royal standards, his party is quiet. Compared to what Taako’s experienced in his own life prior, it’s– It’s fucking loud.
As much as he’d fought to get it to be a masquerade, so he could flit around and no one would know it’s him, it’s not. Taako’s dressed in one of his fancy suits, desperately trying to avoid political talk– which would’ve been so much easier if he got to wear a mask, but Lucretia called it a “security risk.” His avoidance plan is only half working, seeing as after he makes it clear he doesn’t know nor care about politics (much to Lucretia’s chagrin), the younger politicians seem to leave him alone. The older ones don’t seem to understand that he doesn’t want to talk politics, however, and that combined with the small string quartet headed by Johann in the corner playing a set that sounds familiar yet unidentifiable, adds onto his steadily growing headache.
At some point in the night, Taako slips away from the supervision of the many guards making sure no one tries to kill him tonight and outside into the gardens. It’s much quieter out here, and he closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. It’s seriously weird – no matter how many times he gets wished a joyous birthday or some shit, he can’t seem to shake the odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. When he opens his eyes again, he lets them trail over the vast expanse of the gardens. Taako’s rarely allowed out here at night, let alone without a guard, and now he knows why. With all of the shrubbery, anyone can jump out at him, and it’s kinda creeping him out. He’s about to turn back when he sees someone wandering about a little farther into the gardens and–
“ Hatchi Matchi. ”
There’s a handsome, like positively gorgeous , man walking around the gardens– occasionally reaching up and fiddling with the leaves in the trees or flower petals. A pair of large wire-framed glasses reflect the dim lamp lighting sprinkled around the gardens, and that only adds to the charm.
Fuck, he’s cute.
“He– Hey, thug! What’s your name?” He calls, and the stranger jumps, swirling around to look at him. His eyes are wide under the lenses of those too-big glasses as he tries to make out who’s talking to him. Taako pushes up from the wall with a grin, and saunters over to him. Tonight seems to have gotten a lot more interesting. “What’s got you wandering around all on your lonesome?”
The stranger still looks a bit startled, but he’s much more composed now that he knows Taako’s not a guard coming to yell at him or something. He’s also much more handsome up close, under the mixture of moon and lamp light. He looks to be human, though he’s dressed in a similarly dramatic fashion as the many elves at the ball– black cloak over a dressy pinstripe suit, with a handful of pink opal brooches on the lapel of his suit jacket. Taako leans against one of the street lamps, smiling at him. The stranger gives a flustered smile back, the warm light complimenting his darker skin tone rather nicely.
“It’s just a bit loud in there, came out to take a break before I got too overwhelmed. You too?”
And even though that’s exactly why Taako is out here, he’s not gonna just say that. “Yeah, no. I don’t do overwhelmed.”
The stranger quirks an eyebrow, smiling at him. He offers a hand to shake, and Taako takes it gingerly, letting him do the shaking. This stranger doesn’t seem to know who he is, and it’s nice to not be treated like the prince for once. “Well, I hope you don’t mind sharing the quiet with me. I’ll be out of your hair in a few.”
“Oh, it’s no big. Serious, though, what’s your name handsome?”
“Kravitz.” He smiles sheepishly at Taako, and it’s seriously so dorky and cute Taako can’t deal . “Uh– You wanna sit down?”
He gestures to a nearby bench, smiling softly at him, and Taako nods pushing off of the lamp post and moving over to the bench. Kravitz sits a respectable distance away, how chivalrous, and Taako takes a moment to just…relax. Even though the party is rather tame, it’s still been a long night. He takes a deep breath, eyes closed, and he can hear Kravitz doing the same beside him.
“I’m not much for parties. My mother forced me to come tonight.”
Any other royal may be insulted, but Taako gets it. He hates these parties too, though mainly because he just doesn’t like putting up with some of the other royals. There’s this twin duo from another kingdom that just rub him the wrong way This Kravitz guy is alright, so far, but that’s probably only just because he has him alone; far too many times has Taako seen a different side of someone in private than they present in public. Honestly, he doesn’t get it. Doesn’t it get tiring? I mean– yeah, Taako dresses wild and does his makeup and acts up all day, but that’s just for the added flare , not the drama.
“Yeah, I get that. I like the pizzazz that comes with these things, but all the talk is so boring. They don’t even have any fun music! Johann is killing it, of course, but the rest of the strings are really sucky.”
“I can agree with that,” Kravitz says with a smile. “They’re playing some good stuff on occasion, but I don’t know how much I like their style. Too new. I don’t think I recognize any of the compositions.”
“Oh, music snob, are we?” Taako teases, laughing brightly at how flustered his passing comment seems to make Kravitz. “I can appreciate that. A guy with class.”
“Yeah?”
Taako smiles as a slow song drifts out of the windows of the castle. He stands, and offers Kravitz his hand. “Hey, this one’s not bad. Dance with me, handsome?”
“O- Oh, alright. Yeah, sure. As long as I get to lead.”
“I suppose just this once,”
Kravitz stands and takes Taako’s hand with a low laugh that sends shivers down Taako’s spine, pulling him in.
They dance for a few songs, talking and laughing, and it’s probably the most fun Taako’s had all night. Kravitz is a great guy, and he’s got a cute smile, and–
“You having any fun now?” Kravitz asks, smiling, as they plop back onto the bench. Taako grins and winks at him.
“I mean, with you? Yeah, dude. Much better than dodging guards all night.”
Kravitz raises an eyebrow. “Why would you need to dodge the guards?”
“Uh…’cause I’m Taako? From TV?”
Kravitz’s eyes widen in surprise when he learns he’s been speaking to the prince he’s supposed to be celebrating and he rushes to stand up and bow– only then does Taako realize his mistake. “Y- Your majesty! I didn’t recognize you, my apologies.”
“Yeah, you don’t need to do any of that bowing stuff, even though it’s much appreciated.” Taako says. He pretends to check his nails, instead of what he’s actually doing which is checking out Kravitz’ ass.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t recognize you, Prince Taako.”
“Oh, it’s no big, boss. Came out here to avoid that shit.” Taako says. Kravitz seems to still be a bit flustered, and it’s a good look on him. “I should probably ask if you’re anyone I should bow to, though we’re a little past that now.”
He’s dressed too fancy to just be some townsfolk that got into the ball, but the name Kravitz doesn’t sound familiar.
“Oh, no, not me. I’m a member of the–” Something dings in Kravitz’ suit jacket pocket, and he groans. “Sorry. My mother must be looking for me.”
“You go back inside, handsome, I’m gonna stay out here a few more.”
Kravitz hits decline on his stone of farspeech and smiles at Taako. “I promise I won’t tell anyone you’re out here.”
“Perfect. I owe you a drink for that, man. Here, gimme that.” He takes Kravitz’s stone of farspeech and syncs up their signals before handing it back with a wink. “There. Call me some time, stud.”
“I– I, uh– O- Okay…” Kravitz stutters out, taking the stone with a flustered smile. He looks as if he’s contemplating something before he leans down and connects their lips, surprising Taako some but he isn’t opposed and even kissed back. When they pull apart, he can see a slight flush on Kravitz’ cheeks. “Goodbye, prince Taako.”
“…Right…Bye…” Taako watches Kravitz leave, raising a hand to gently brush against his lips. Yeah, he’s definitely calling him– Kravitz may be attractive, but he’s a terrible kisser. He’ll need lessons.
Taako leans back against the backrest of the bench, breathing in the fresh air for a few minutes before he goes back inside.
Almost immediately upon entering the ballroom, Lucretia and Magnus are at his side, Lucretia scolding him for managing to sneak out on them. He manages to get her to allow him to walk around without a guard at his side as long as he stays inside the ballroom, give Magnus a break.
He walks around for a good half an hour; picking fun at the castle’s scientific adviser Lucas, making faces at Magnus across the ballroom while the guard dances with Julia, and sticking close to the bar (alcohol makes everything better, and Taako had insisted on there being a lot of it). The night is nearing a close, now, thankfully, and so there’s only about twenty people in the ballroom when he sees a ploom of dirty blonde curls that looks so familiar it catches his full attention. It takes him a moment to register the person connected to the curls, because he could’ve sworn he was looking into a mirror if it weren’t for the bright red robe draped over a sparkly red dress.
The woman looks just like him, and she looks near tears when they make eye contact. She melts and starts towards him, reaching out, and opens her mouth to speak. Taako stands frozen as her voice –warm and soft, so so familiar– meets his ears.
“Ta– Taako, thank the gods, Barry and I have been looking for you everywhere. Are you– are you a part of what Lucretia did with–”
A force field wraps itself around Taako almost violently and Taako whips his head around, confused, to see Lucretia’s the one holding it up. She’s shouting orders, but he can’t quite hear her since she’s so far away and the bubble muffles quite a bit of sound. He assumes she’s calling the guards because almost immediately Magnus, Carey, and Killian are rushing the strange woman. Despite him not being able to hear well, he can hear the woman clear as day, panic filling her voice as she tries to dodge the guards lunging at her.
“Taako, what the hell? Taako, call them off. Call them off, Taako, it- It’s Lup , your– Wha– Magnus– Ma– Maggie, what the fuck?! Put me down!” The woman, Lup , squeals a bit as Magnus, the first to reach her, grabs her around the waist and hauls her up, trying to pull her away. She kicks and struggles, and something in Taako’s mind screams wrong wrong wrong . He falls to his knees, his breathing short in the damn magic bubble – definitely because this is probably 100% an assassination thing, not because for some reason seeing her getting attacked sends his head reeling and chest tight – and is helpless to even do some defensive magic of his own.
“Magnus, what’s going on?! It- It’s me, it’s–” Lup gets her arms grabbed by Killian and she grunts, deciding to struggle against her instead of finishing her sentence. All eyes are on the struggle, and palace guards now surround the fight, shielding the crowd of guests, but Taako is stuck stagnant in place in his stupid fucking bubble .
Above the noise of his beating heart, Taako can hear Magnus begin to speak, calm and collected even in the middle of a parry, “Ma’am, stop resisting. Ma’am– Hey, ow! She bit me!”
She’s able to break free from Magnus as he reels from the bite, but one of her wrists is still gripped in an iron-tight hold by Killian as the other guards all draw their swords. Taako’s heart leaps into his throat, and he shouts out a deafening “no” but no one can hear him but himself. He doesn’t know why, but this woman can’t become a kebab. Not tonight. Not while Taako’s watching. She just can’t .
At his shout, she looks over and makes eye contact with him again. She mouths something that looks like a “sorry” before her hands catch on fire and she blasts off one of the biggest scorching rays he’s ever seen in his life.
As the guards are thrown back, she’s let go, and smoke fills the air from another spell.
When Taako is finally able to see the room again, the ballroom is a total disaster; some parts of the curtains are on fire, the flooring where she stood singed, the furniture nearby completely turned to ash. Somehow the guests are left untouched, though a fair few members of the guard look pretty bad off. What’s the most important thing to note about the room, however, is the fact that the woman is completely gone. No sign of her anywhere in the room.
Taako feels the magic around him dissipate and he collapses to the ground, not even truly caring that he looks weak. He feels weak. What the hell just happened?
Lucretia is the first at his side, wrapping her arms around him tightly, and okay that needs to stop. She’s holding him too tight, her hands are too hot on his skin right now, he–
“Taako, oh thank god, Taako. I saw her right when she was about to approach you, I was all the way across the room, I didn’t know what to do! Are you alright? She didn’t speak to you, did she? Didn’t say anything?”
“N– Nope, no threats here. Was that what the whole bubble thing was? I thought it was just a magic show.”
Lucretia’s face morphs from anxious to annoyed as he tries to brush off how serious the situation is, and she rolls her eyes as she helps Taako stand up again. “You shouldn’t joke, your majesty. This was a serious breach in castle security! What L– what that woman could have done to you, honestly, I don’t want to– I don’t want to think about it. You’re to go straight to your quarters, and two guards be placed at your door all night in case she comes back. Magnus! Carey!”
Taako doesn’t joke any more as Magnus and Carey, both a bit singed but otherwise unharmed, rush up obediently. He doesn’t even speak, not as Magnus’ hand finds his shoulder and leads him gently out of the ballroom and through the castle to his bedroom. He’s deposited in his room after it’s checked by the guards, and he just...sits at the edge of his bed a long moment, trying to process everything. Did he almost just die? The woman, she– she didn’t seem to want to harm Taako, she looked like she just wanted to talk.
He can’t get the look of utter horror on her face out of her head.
Eventually, Taako stands and changes into his sleep sack for the night. He curls up under the blankets and closes his eyes, and just…pretends tonight never happened.