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A royal and his friend stand together, side by side, looking out to the dark air of a still, summer night.
One is a boy, held to a pedestal, name spilt and uttered from the lips of thousands, whispered between townsfolk who weave tales, whether they may be true or false, about the young man coated in riches that lived in that grand building upon the hill. The second figure is a boy, name only known by a handful, yet still cherished by those that know it.
Despite their differences amongst the society sprawled below their garden that rose above the town, they were important to each other. Both similar in age yet their lives worlds apart, they still managed to kindle a strong-bonded friendship.
The royal’s name was Tommy. A name passed between people, a name of a young king gilding in red and gold, the weight of a gleaming aurelian crown, as yellow as the blond locks they nestled in inlaid with gems as blue as Tommy’s eyes, not nearly comparable to the weight of the kingdom passed down to him. At first, he did not expect to receive the crown at all, instead waiting (and silently hoping) it would instead be placed on top of his brother’s head.
Wilbur would have made an excellent king. A man with charisma yet still a strong leader, a perfect candidate to lead a steadily growing nation. However, his brother’s heart was whisked away by a woman with salmon-red hair, “I’m Sally,” she’d introduced herself that fateful night, capturing Tommy’s brother with two words delivered in a smooth tone. The recent death of their mother opening a wound that needed to be healed, and Sally was the salve to Wilbur’s hurt.
Wilbur was gone the next day, love driving him to elope.
(Tommy had lamented to his tutor, and father’s friend, Technoblade, about the newfound absence of his brother. Techno simply nodded and let the golden-haired boy weep the sessions away. Neither spoke of those lessons where saline drops replaced numbers and facts, instead letting those days be a form of therapy for a boy who’d experienced too much in too little time.)
Phil has been outraged, tearing the castle apart in search of his eldest son, his heir to the throne. When a wrinkled piece of parchment had been found, Phil had locked himself into his room, formerly shared with his now late wife, eyes scanning over Wilbur’s messy scrawl. When Tommy knocked on the bedroom door the next morning, the ornate wood creaked open, revealing an empty bedroom.
Techno raised Tommy from there, carrying the now king through lessons of history, science, english, music, art and other various academics, training him to be the best king he could. He owed it to Phil after all, a promise made so long ago, Techno could barely recall the ancient words he pledged to his friend.
The second figure that stood on that hill was a boy by the name of Ranboo.
A lanky towering figure who, despite his physical appearance of heterochromia coupled with vitiligo, was barely known in the empire. However, it was just his luck that the then just-crowned king was looking for a new friend and happened to find Ranboo. Invited over for tea on a quiet afternoon, he got to know the king a little better than the rest of the citizens.
He went to bed that night, heart feeling a little lighter. The next morning was heralded by a royal mailman who handed him a letter before swiftly leaving. Fresh ink upon new parchment invited him back to the castle, this time for the whole day.
Now, three years later, the two sit on dry grass, breathing hot summer air.
Ranboo breaks the silence with a question he’d asked many times in the past, “Tommy, what is it like to be king?”
Tommy replied with the same answer as he always had, “Difficult.”
Difficult, a single word loaded with so much meaning.
Difficult, a word that spoke of troubles of war and family. A word that spoke of long meetings and tired nights. A word that spoke of loss and heavy expectations. A word that spoke of so much.
Tonight, Tommy added a simple reiteration. “To be a king is difficult.”
Ranboo nodded, and turned back to the pinpricks of light that shone from a kingdom that was difficult to rule.
Tommy gave a sigh and joined Ranboo in surveying this damn difficult kingdom.
Difficult.