Chapter Text
“En garde!”
Wooden swords clacked loudly and broke the evening calm of the castle rose garden. Amid the groomed hedges and trellised flowers, Sora hefted a wooden practice sword nearly equal in length to his height, and tried to mimic Riku’s pose. The older boy smiled and watched him.
“C’mon, Riku! I said, ‘ en garde !’”
“You say it, but you can barely lift that thing.”
“Yes, I can!” Sora adjusted the sword, angled the tip up like Riku demonstrated. His arms strained under the weight, and the wooden blade wobbled. Before he could drop it, Sora swung wildly and missed Riku by a great distance. The tip of the blade dug into the ground, pushed up a divot of earth, and upset Sora’s balance. The prince toppled over the blade onto the grass.
“Oof!”
“Sora! Are you alright?”
Riku dropped his wooden sword and knelt by the prince. He expected tears and crying, but instead Sora laughed and tackled him. The unexpected attack was just enough to take Riku by surprise and let the smaller boy overpower him.
“Got you!”
“Oh, yeah!?”
Riku retaliated, and their laughter filled the garden as they wrestled until both boys collapsed on the grass, winded and grinning. Energy spent, they lay side by side and watched twilight take over the sky. Thousands of stars emerged, winking awake as the dusky violet glow faded to inky blue night. Fireflies appeared around them, little glowing lights bobbing lazily around the roses and gardenias.
“Riku? Do you remember when we used to come out here to watch the stars?”
“It wasn’t that long ago.”
“Do you remember when we saw the falling stars?”
Riku grinned.
“You mean, the night you got scared?”
“No! I wasn’t scared!”
“You were!”
“”Riku! Stop laughing!”
Sora pouted. His cheeks turned pink and lips pursed, while Riku laughed so hard that he held his stomach and kicked his legs in the air. But his humor faded quickly when Sora’s eyes filled with tears and his lip wobbled.
“Hey, Sora?” Riku sat up to comfort him. He patted Sora’s wild hair gently. “I’m sorry I laughed at you. What were you gonna tell me about the falling stars?”
“That I made a wish,” Sora sniffled. “On one of them.”
“What’d you wish for?”
“That we can always stay together.” Sora met Riku’s gaze for a moment. Then he looked away, and wouldn’t turn again. “I know, someday you’re gonna be a knight but I won’t get to see you as much then. And we won’t get to do things like this together.”
“Sora…” Riku shifted a little closer to Sora and reached for him. “I’m gonna be a knight, but you’re gonna be the king someday. Maybe we won’t be able to do stuff like fencing in the garden-“
“Or look for shooting stars.“
“-but we’ll still be together. I’m going to be *your knight*, you know.”
“It’s not the same, though,” Sora whined.
“It will be. I said-“
“No! I mean- oh, just forget it.”
Sora huffed and flopped back on the grass, facing away from his friend. Riku knew that the mood would likely pass quickly and let the prince have a few moments to stew over his feelings. He turned his gaze back up toward the twinkling, distant stars while he waited.
“You’re talking about what you said when you were really little, right?” Riku said quietly when his thoughts were in order. “When you said you were gonna marry me?”
“Maybe,” Sora muttered, still not facing him. “That’s not what I mean now, though. I’m not a little kid anymore.”
Riku reached over to ruffle Sora’s hair.
“But, you are still a little ten year old princeling!”
“Hey!”
Sora’s mercurial moods often changed swiftly, and soon Riku had the prince laughing again as they rough housed in the grass, making an utter mess of their clothes. During the play fighting, Riku saw a light streak across the sky by chance.
“Sora, look! A shooting star!”
“ Where?! ”
They both stood to watch the sky for more. Riku glanced at Sora to check on his mood, and brushed stray pieces of grass from his hair. The prince’s gaze was fixed on the night sky, blue eyes wide and dark and sparkling with reflected starlight.
“There’s another!” He cried suddenly. “That one’s mine! I get to make a wish!”
“Fine, but I get the next one.” Riku smiled as he watched Sora close his eyes and scrunch his face to make his wish. When Sora opened his eyes, he grinned at Riku.
“What did you wish for?”
“If I tell you, it won’t come true.”
“You just told me about your other wish, though.”
“Oh! Oh no… well, that one was from a long time ago. Maybe that’s okay.”
“That doesn’t make any sense! If telling means it won’t come true-”
Another star fell, this time so close that the boys saw the flicker of flames in its trail instead of just twinkling light. They stared transfixed as the light arced over them and winked out far in the distance.
“Wow! Did you see that?”
“Yeah…” Riku nodded, though he did not share Sora’s enthusiasm. Shooting stars were common enough over Destiny, especially in the spring and fall, but he had never seen one so close or large. It unsettled Riku, and he picked up his wooden sword for comfort.
“Riku! Another one!”
The next star was even lower, following close behind the third. It was no small thing; a blazing core of flame that trailed sparking light, and when it went out of sight beyond the treeline the boys heard the crashing impact. Silence followed the sound, animals and insects quieting as the night air suddenly grew heavy and still. As they watched, more stars passed overhead both high and low. Some streaked low enough to strike within the kingdom’s borders.
Sora grasped Riku’s hand. They held on tightly for a moment, then Riku pressed the prince’s sword into his other hand. He knew this wasn’t right, and a queasy feeling of dread unsettled his stomach. If something dangerous was happening he was the only person there to protect Sora, and they were far out in the gardens, well away from the castle. Neither boy moved until one of the stars flew so low that they could feel the searing heat in its wake, and watched in helpless horror as it crashed into the castle. The terrible sound and fiery impact spurred Riku into motion.
“Sora, hurry!”
He pulled the prince further into the garden, away from the castle as screams and an alarm from the guard rose in the distance.
“Riku wait! Why are we going away from home?”
“It isn’t safe!”
“But everyone-“
“Just hurry!”
At the end of the garden Riku pushed Sora through their secret passage in the stone wall; a hole the size of a few missing stones, just large enough for a child to squeeze through, and camouflaged by a bushy green hedgerow on both sides. From there they could go east into the open fields of farmland, or north into the woods. Riku hesitated and considered the options.
‘ The fire came from the south. ’ Riku already cast aside thinking of the flaming lights as harmless shooting stars, and instead treated them as a threat. ‘ That’s toward the coast. If it really isn’t stars, there could be ships out there. There’s less cover in the fields though, and Sora hates the forest… Which way do we go? ’
Heart thundering in his chest, Riku made his decision and again pulled Sora along by their clasped hands. as he turned them north.
“Let’s go.”
“Are we going into the woods?”
“Yes, to hide.”
“But why are we running away?”
“To protect you!” Riku’s anxious fear bled out into voice, making the words come out more harshly than he intended, but it succeeded in quieting Sora’s protests. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise. But, you have to trust me, okay?”
Though on the verge of tears, Sora nodded and followed Riku into the dark, ancient woods without further protest.
-
Hours later, after a long frightening walk through the dark forest and after the streaks of light stopped flying across the sky overhead, Sora’s strength finally flagged and Riku was forced to find them shelter. They crouched together in a little cranny between rocks hidden by a cluster of trees. Once they settled Sora clung to Riku and cried.
“It’s alright,” Riku said quietly and patted Sora’s hair again to calm him. His other hand still clasped his sword. “We’ll be safe here. I’ll protect you.”
“Promise?” Sora’s voice trembled as he forced the word out.
“I promise.”
“Even if a monster comes?”
Riku realized he had not considered the forest itself as a threat, and though he felt a little chill trickle down his spine, he nodded bravely and said
“Even if there’s a monster.”
“Okay.” Sora sniffled. “What do you think happened?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll stay here with you no matter what.”
“Okay. Thanks, Riku.”
Neither boy slept. Sora was too frightened of the forest and Riku too worried about Sora and their home. After hours of sitting in the unnaturally silent, dark forest, another light appeared and startled them. Instead of high in the sky it glowed and wavered right in front of them, a golden swirl of light that quickly grew into a shimmering man-sized disc before Riku could get to his feet and heft his sword. He brandished the wooden blade protectively when a figure stepped through the magic portal, a tall man wearing a familiar tall hat and pale blue robes.
“Yen Sid!” Sora cried out, tears once again filling his eyes as he moved to hug the wizard.
“Master Yen Sid,” Riku lowered his sword and bowed respectfully. “What’s happened at the castle? How’d you find us?”
“Both questions that are better answered once you boys are home. Come along now, we must not dally.” Yen Sid ushered Riku and Sora into the portal, then followed behind him. The magic corridor brought them to the wizard’s study, high in one of the castle’s towers. It escaped damage, but with just a quick glance through the window Riku saw crushed stone and smoldering billows of smoke below.
“Master Yen Sid, were we attacked?”
“That remains to be determined,” the old man grumbled as he unlocked the door and led them downstairs. “It’s the very task I was handling when Her Majesty requested I find the two of you instead.”
“Oh,” Riku said quietly. At his side, Sora agreed with the sentiment.
“ Oh . Oh no. Are we in trouble?”
“On the contrary. I think young Master Riku is to be congratulated.”
“Really?! Even though we went into the forest?”
“Indeed,” Yen Sid’s voice rumbled and he inclined his head, and said no more of the matter as the trio trouped through the castle halls.
“The prince is here!”
“His Highness is alive!”
Quickly they were swept into a flurry of guards and attendants, making for quite a procession as they went into a crowded ballroom. Sora held onto Riku’s hand as they looked around at the injured and bandaged people scattered among frantic guards and officials. At the center of the activity was the queen, issuing orders to several senior officials and knights. When she noticed Yen Sid and the two boys however, she dismissed them quickly.
“ Sora! ”
She knelt to embrace her son, and wept as she kissed his face.
“Mom! I’m fine.”
“So, I see. No doubt thanks to Riku.” She smiled tearfully at him. Riku straightened up, then bowed deeply.
“Your Majesty.”
She surprised him by drawing Riku into her embrace as well, holding them both tightly.
“Thank you for protecting Sora,” she said softly, voice wavering with emotion.
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
“Mom? What’s going on? What happened?”
“Don’t worry about that right now.” She hugged both boys again and then summoned one of her attendants to take them. “I’m relieved that you’re both alright. Sora, we’ll speak in the morning. Riku, your mother would quite like to see you, I’m sure.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Riku bowed again, and let Sora take his hand again when the queen turned her attention back to managing the disaster.
-
That evening, after a reunion with his mother and a nap and a warm meal, Riku was summoned by Yen Sid. Curiosity swirled in his mind as he climbed back up the tower to the wizard’s study. Though he and Sora were occasionally tutored by Yen Sid it was usually at the queen’s behest, and not because the man was particularly fond of either of them. Instead, Riku thought, the wizard was usually exasperated by them. As such, he had no idea what to expect from the meeting.
“Enter, young Master Riku,” Yen Sid called out when Riku reached the door. He let himself in and bowed to the wizard.
“You called for me, Master Yen Sid?”
“Yes. I want you to tell me about last night and whatever you were thinking when the two of you left.” Yen Sid leaned forward and folded his hands on his desk as he regarded Riku with a sharp, critical gaze.
“Me? Why? I thought I wasn’t in trouble.”
“Just tell me what you thought about and why you made the decisions that you did.”
“Well… I thought at first that we just saw a couple of shooting stars, but then more and more of them came. They were so close that Sora got scared, and when they hit the castle I thought that maybe… maybe someone was attacking us.” Riku waited to see what Yen Sid thought of that, and when the man simply nodded he continued. “So, I tried to get Sora away from the danger.”
“You ran away?”
“ No! We both had our swords, we could’ve fought! Well, we had wooden ones, anyway. But we didn’t run away!” Riku clenched his hands on the hem of his tunic as his voice rose. “I was just trying to protect Sora, but I didn’t want to go where the stars fell.”
“If it had been an attack, were you not afraid of leaving the safety of the castle?”
“So it wasn’t an attack?” Inside Riku a coil of fear released that had remained tight ever since the first strike of the falling lights made his mind race with thoughts of invasion. “I thought it might have been ships to the south. What was it?”
“As far as I have determined they are light and stone from beyond our world, indeed falling stars as you call them. An intriguing phenomenon but unfortunate that they fell where they did. ”
Riku breathed steadily through the release of his panic, and then let out a relieved sigh.
“So, I was wrong and we weren’t in any danger after all?”
“On the contrary, young man. Given the unprecedented situation, I believe you made a wise decision within a very short window of time. The Prince’s safety would be the priority of any knight of the kingdom, regardless of the threat. Sora’s explanation of the event is much the same as yours, though he would have the Queen believe you fought off an ogre and a dragon in the forest last night.”
“Oh, Sora .” Riku groaned and felt his face heat up. He was used to the other boy’s runaway imagination, but the thought of the Queen hearing such an embellished tale was just embarrassing.
“Her Majesty asked that I confirm details with you, and I concur with her suggestion of bestowing a commendation upon you.”
“ What?! ” Riku had not thought of anything even close to that as the outcome of their meeting. The idea was almost too big for him to consider. “But I’m just… I’m not even a knight yet.”
“No, but you’re of noble lineage and most importantly you earned the honor. Accept it gracefully, young Master Riku. Your days of knighthood will be upon you sooner than you think.”
“Yes Sir,” Riku bowed again, overwhelmed by the news. “Thank you, Master Yen Sid. Will that be all?”
“Hmm…” The wizard regarded him again, and stroked his long, silver beard while he thought. Riku waited patiently, though his nerves were again excited. He could not wait to tell his mother!
“There may be another matter to discuss, but now is not the time,” the wizard said cryptically. “Perhaps when you are a few years older. For now, yes, you may go. Do not mention the topic at hand to anyone however, until Her Majesty had made an announcement.”
“Not even my mother?” Riku’s excitement wilted. She would be so happy to hear the news, he could not imagine keeping it from her.
“No. Consider your secrecy on the matter as your first knightly duty, young man.”
“Yes Sir. And thank you!”