Chapter Text
This was supposed to be the best night in Kaveh’s life. But instead of feeling happy as he sat at the tavern after his celebration over finishing his Magnum Opus, the Palace of Alcazarzaray, he couldn’t help but feel empty. It was already late, the music had stopped a couple hours ago, leaving only the voices of the people still left in the tavern to fill the silence of the night; but even those had started growing sparse, until they became nonexistent. Kaveh wasn’t sure when it was that he was left all alone.
The last conversation he remembered having was not much of a conversation at all, but a passing comment made by Dori on her way out.
“You might wanna go easy on the drink there, Kaveh.” She smirked, “After all, we wouldn’t want you spending all the money you still owe me on alcohol.”
People had already started leaving before her, so the party was not in full swing when she soured his mood for the rest of the night, making it so that he couldn’t really enjoy himself anymore. Of course, that didn’t stop him from asking for more drinks, if anything it made him want to drink even more.
It’s true that while building the palace he had paid no mind to the amount of mora he was spending, after all how many chances did one truly get to build something huge, something extraordinary, something timeless. No price was too big for him as he stared down at the blueprints, making sure it was perfect; it had to be everything one could dream of a legacy.
And it was, he thought as he looked up at his completed masterpiece in awe, the palace standing tall before him. He stared at it for what felt like hours, noticing the way it both stood out like an art piece in the walls of a museum, and bled into its surroundings like a part of the forest that was always meant to be there. Every small detail about it was a love letter to everything Kaveh was, he had poured his heart and soul into it, and he couldn’t help but feel like every moment in his life had led to him standing there before it.
And well, it wasn’t until he heard Dori’s comment that it finally hit him, as he stared at the bottom of the empty glass, the situation he was in. He had given everything he had to that palace and was now left with nothing. His most precious piece of work was done, and it upturned Kaveh’s life as it ended.
“We’re about to close.” The man behind the counter interrupted his thoughts, he looked at Kaveh with a worried frown, which was understandable, sitting there sad, drunk, and alone he made for a pitiful sight, “You should go home now.”
Home. Throughout the duration of the project Dori had provided him with a place for him to stay near the construction site, something else to add to his seemingly never-ending bill. He had been so preoccupied with the palace he didn’t think as far as finding a place of his own for when it was all over. Truth was a part of Kaveh never really expected it to end or, more accurately, didn’t want it to.
Kaveh stared at the bartender as he took his glass from the table and started washing it, contemplating his options. Even if he wanted to ask Dori to let him stay another night (which he most definitely didn’t) the place was pretty far from the city, and it was already late. He could have stayed at a hotel, but he had already blown through most of his remaining savings that night, when he still felt like the world belonged to him. But he was harshly thrown back to reality and here he had nowhere to go.
With a sigh he stood up, leaving a couple of mora on the table as a tip. “Thank you.” He called out as he walked through the door. The cold air greeted him as he walked out into the streets, which were practically empty at this hour; only the whistling of the wind and the sound of crickets were left to make him company. It almost felt like mockery how beautiful the night was, with clear skies and a full moon to light up the streets of Sumeru City.
He fixed his cape and started walking with no real destination in mind, until he heard a voice behind him.
“I was starting to think you’d never come out.” He turned to see his junior, Alhaitham, stand from one of the tables outside the tavern, the place completely empty aside from him. He closed the book he was holding and walked over to where Kaveh was standing.
“Alhaitham.” Kaveh greeted him in surprise. Out of everyone in Sumeru he was the last person he would ever expect to see here, late at night at a tavern… waiting for him? That didn’t make any sense, why would Alhaitham be here for him?
“I heard you finally finished building your palace.” It was stated as nothing more than a fact, the same way someone would point out the color of the sky.
“I did.” Kaveh replied warily, Alhaitham was not the kind of person to make small talk; and after the way things ended last time they saw each other, he didn’t think he’d particularly care about congratulating Kaveh on his achievements.
He hadn’t seen Alhaitham ever since a project had them on the verge of drawing their blades at each other. Kaveh was not a violent person, but with Alhaitham’s disregard towards everything he stood for, his constant fighting against his ideas, and his refusal to see any value in Kaveh’s contributions, it felt like a fuse being lit within him counting down every condescending look and rude comment until he finally exploded. They finished their work and never spoke to each other again. It was sad, at least for Kaveh, who did see Alhaitham as a friend, or at least as much as one could with a man like him, who did not usually care for what other people had to say, didn’t show any kind of affection towards anyone, and considered anything outside his interests and academic pursuits a waste of his time.
“Are you going home?” Alhaitham asked after the silence had stretched out uncomfortably.
Kaveh sighed. “I would if I had one,” He looked down as he rubbed his neck, avoiding Alhaitham’s gaze; he didn’t know if it was the alcohol or the sheer hopelessness of the situation that had him being honest with Alhaitham of all people, but he figured he really gained nothing by keeping his predicament a secret. It’s not like he’d care anyways. “I’ll probably have to sleep on the street tonight.”
Alhaitham scoffed. “That’s not a very dignified thing for the Light of Kshahrewar to do.”
Kaveh balled his hands into fists. It truly was incredible the quickness with which Alhaitham could drive him mad. “Yeah well, I don’t really have any other, more dignified, options. So, if what you came here to do was make fun of me consider it done and leave me alone.”
He turned to leave when he heard something truly unbelievable come out of Alhaitham’s mouth. “In that case, you can stay the night at my place.”
The sheer speed with which he turned back made him stumble, the alcohol in his system making him a little dizzy. But the second he planted his feet back on the ground he gave the man before him the most bewildered of looks. “What?”
“I don’t like repeating myself.” Was all he was given in response.
“I don’t have any mora to pay you back.” Kaveh said, because surely Alhaitham could not be doing this out of the kindness of his heart, Kaveh wasn’t sure he even had one to begin with.
“Yes, I know. I believe you would not consider sleeping on the street otherwise.” He stated like it was obvious, and maybe it was but there was really no other reason Kaveh could find that would have them in the position they found themselves in.
“What do you gain out of this then?” He asked, the mistrust clear in his voice.
“Nothing, but if you really would rather sleep in some random bench be my guest.” He said, walking away from Kaveh, the conversation over because he simply didn’t deem it worth it to continue despite the fact that Kaveh had never felt more confused in his life.
It’s not like the idea of sleeping in the street excited him, but he was not sure how much he could really trust Alhaitham. They were strangers at best, and acquaintances who hated each other at worst. He was sure they didn’t like each other, and as far as he was aware Alhaitham was not what could be considered a kind and selfless person who would just open the doors of his home for someone who had nowhere else to stay.
It wasn’t until Alhaitham turned the corner and disappeared from his sight that his body made the decision for him, running after the man. He was not walking particularly fast so catching up to him was easy enough, despite his drunken stumbling. He didn’t turn to look at Kaveh as he started walking by his side; but Kaveh did look at him, trying to find anything that would give him some sort of answer. All he was met with was a completely impassive face, not a hint that any of this phased him.
None of it made sense to him, but every time he opened his mouth he found himself unable to formulate any questions. There was no reason why Alhaitham would want to help him, there was nothing Kaveh could offer him. And yet, here he was, walking after him on the way to his house.
Was it pity? Did he really look pathetic enough that even a guy like Alhaitham was willing to help him out?
He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn’t notice when Alhaitham stopped walking, standing in front of a door and digging into his pockets for the key. He crashed into his back and fell on his ass. Alhaitham turned to look at him but offered no helping hand.
Kaveh stood back up on his own and shot him a deadly glare. “What a gentleman.” He muttered under his breath as Alhaitham opened the door and walked in. Kaveh walked right behind him just in case he tried closing the door on him, calling the offer off as a joke.
That didn’t happen, and Alhaitham waited until he was inside to close the door. He looked around, the house itself was pretty traditional, with the walls decorated with ogee arches and stained-glass windows in various shades of green. The living room where they stood was a bit bare, only a couple of green couches with a wooden table between them, and a bookshelf on the far back of the room, filled to the brim with books.
“I’ll lead you to the guest room,” Alhaitham said and Kaveh trailed behind him. The room he led him to was even more bare than the living room, with nothing but a bed made with white sheets in the corner and a small desk next to it, the only decoration found in the small blue lamp on said desk. “The bathroom is the door to the right, if you’re going to puke, please try and do it there.”
Kaveh stared at him, waiting, he was not really sure what for but he knew this couldn’t be it. Alhaitham looked back at him for a couple of seconds, as if expecting him to say something; Kaveh didn’t, afraid that whatever he said would have him back on the street. After a couple seconds of staring at each other, Alhaitham simply walked out of the room without another word.
“T-Thank you.” Kaveh called out before he closed the door but received no response.
He took his cape, belt, and shoes off and ungraciously flopped down on the bed, like a puppet whose strings were cut off. He hadn’t realized until then, but he was completely exhausted. The bed was surprisingly comfortable and as soon as his head touched the pillow he passed out.
Whatever he had gotten himself into now, he could deal with it in the morning.
When Kaveh opened his eyes the first thing he noticed was the way the light came in through the windows, illuminating the room with a yellow tint. The second thing he noticed was how the light made his head hurt.
He closed his eyes and groaned, feeling slightly nauseous and still tired despite just waking up.
It was the first time in a long while that he was not awoken harshly by the sounds of construction outside his window making it known that it was time for him to get up and get back to work. Instead, he could barely make out the sounds of footsteps outside the room, it was quiet in a way that he should’ve been grateful for in his hungover state, but instead it made him feel empty.
Last night was still fuzzy in his mind. He remembered his depressing crash into reality during the party and meeting Alhaitham outside the tavern. He remembered entering the apartment and practically falling asleep as soon as he was given the room. He also remembered being very confused about it all.
The smell of food entered the room, making his stomach growl. He groaned again, burying his head in the pillows. As hungry as he was, he did not feel like leaving the bed and facing whatever was on the other side of the door. If he could’ve stayed burrowed in the soft cotton sheets of Alhaitham’s guest bed for the rest of his life, without ever having to set foot in the outside world, he would’ve. But alas, he knew he had to face real life sooner or later.
So, he dragged himself out of bed. There weren’t any mirrors in the room, but he knew he was probably not looking his best and, frankly, he didn’t really care. After all, how much more pathetic could he possibly look after last night? He didn’t even bother putting his shoes on before leaving the room, which meant he could feel the cold wood against his feet with every step he took as he followed the smell of food towards the kitchen.
He stood on the doorway, Alhaitham’s back was turned to him as he cooked something in the stove. Kaveh stared at him, he was just wearing a black sleeveless undershirt and black pants. Without his usual gloves it was easier to appreciate how muscular he actually was, something that was rare for a scholar. He was aware that Alhaitham knew his way around a sword but didn’t think he’d care much about his physical constitution. Every time Kaveh saw him in the academia he seemed to have his head buried in a book, never did he really show interest in anything else.
The morning light illuminated the kitchen and bounced off the green and blue tiles on the walls. It smelled like freshly made bread and eggs which made Kaveh’s mouth water. Alhaitham was completely quiet, not making any noise besides the occasional scraping of the utensils against the pan. It was a peaceful sight, like the calm before the storm.
After setting the food into two plates he turned around, facing Kaveh. He inspected him, eyes trailing from his bare feet, through Kaveh’s disheveled clothes, all the way to his undoubtedly messy hair. He self-consciously ran his fingers through it.
“Glad to see you’re alive.” Alhaitham broke the silence with his deadpan voice.
“Can’t say I feel very alive.” Kaveh groaned, hands rubbing the back of his neck.
“I made breakfast.” Alhaitham set the plate of food on the table that stood between them. He motioned for Kaveh to sit, so he cautiously took a step towards the chair. “It will help.”
“Thank you,” Kaveh murmured and dug into the eggs and pita bread before him. It was good, surprisingly; he had not imagined Alhaitham to be a good cook, but he guessed he could add it to the never-ending list of things he knew how to do.
Alhaitham ate his breakfast leaning on the counter, even though there was more than enough space for him to also sit at the table. They ate in silence and once he finished his meal Alhaitham took his plate and set it on the sink.
“Thanks.” Kaveh said. “And, uh, thank you for letting me stay the night too.”
“You’re welcome.” Alhaitham replied dryly.
Silence fell onto the kitchen again, as they both stared at each other. Kaveh swallowed in a way that felt too loud and broke eye contact, looking out the window.
He had, by what could’ve only been the grace of Lord Kusanali herself, found a place to stay last night. But he couldn’t expect it to happen again and so he had to think about what he was going to do now. He didn’t know how fast he would find a place that would take him in, and it also had to be cheap if he didn’t want to end up paying off his debt well into his old age. He would have to stay in a hotel for a couple of nights which would probably not fare well for his finances and-
“Have you thought about where you’ll stay now?” Alhaitham broke his train of thought.
“I have thought about it, yes.” Kaveh grimaced. “Haven’t really arrived at any satisfying solutions, but I’ll find a way.”
“If you really have nowhere else to go, you can take the spare bedroom until you get back on your feet.”
Kaveh stared, mouth agape, at Alhaitham. There was no way he heard that correctly. There was no way Alhaitham was offering his home indefinitely to him now.
What the fuck?
“I really don’t have any money to pay you back and I wouldn’t like imposing on your space like that.” Kaveh replied, though really, the idea of living with Alhaitham scared him a little bit.
“If you have no money, how do you intend to stay anywhere else?” He retorted.
“Uh, well-”
“Plus, I can wait until you get back on your feet, I’m not in dire need of the mora.” He raised an eyebrow at him.
That was it, Kaveh truly was starting to feel like he was losing his mind. “What are you doing?” There was a hint of desperation in his voice.
“What do you mean what am I doing?” Alhaitham crossed his arms over his chest. From where he was standing Kaveh felt like he was looking down on him. “You have nowhere to live and I’m offering you a place while you sort your issues out.”
“But why? You don’t even like me.”
“I never said I disliked you.”
“You don’t have to say it, Alhaitham!” He ran his fingers through his hair, exasperated. “It’s plenty obvious if you just read between the lines.”
“Your skewed interpretation of my words is not necessarily the truth.” He stated. “But you can choose to believe whatever you want, the truth of the matter is, and I’m citing you here, you don’t have any other, more dignified, options.”
Kaveh sighed, hiding his face in his hands. It was true, he didn’t have any other options, but to blindly trust a man that did not like him (despite whatever he might say), was it really a good idea? Did it even matter if the alternative would have him plunging himself into even more debt?
Was he truly desperate enough to accept living with a man he could barely stand?
What a miserable situation have I found myself in.
“Fine.” He muttered. “I’ll live here with you.”
“Don’t act like you’re the one doing me a favor,” Alhaitham scoffed, “you’re free to leave if you don’t want to be here.”
“No, you’re right,” Kaveh admitted, resignation coloring his voice, “I have nowhere else to go.”
He turned to look back at Alhaitham, he was a difficult man to read, so Kaveh could not really tell what he was feeling at a glance. It was the polar opposite to him, someone very expressive that wore his heart on his sleeve.
“Thank you,” Kaveh said, “for letting me stay.”
Alhaitham uncrossed his arms, now it was his turn to look away. “You’re welcome.”
He stood up from the table. “I left most of my things back at the palace, so I should probably go get them before Dori decides to try and sell them back to me.” It was a joke, but Kaveh would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little bit afraid of it happening. Mostly, it was an excuse to get out of the house and away from Alhaitham.
“I’ll help you.” Alhaitham offered.
“It’s really not necessary, you don’t have to bother.” Kaveh replied immediately because the last thing he wanted was to walk all the way to the Palace of Alcazarzaray and back next to Alhaitham in silence, or worse, fighting the whole way. He needed to clear his head and he could not do that with him there.
Alhaitham raised an eyebrow at him and then shrugged. “Alright.”
The walk to the palace did help Kaveh’s sort through his thoughts at least somewhat.
He wasn’t sure if meeting Alhaitham outside the tavern was a coincidence, it seemed too convenient. But Kaveh couldn’t think of a single reason why Alhaitham would wait for hours outside for him, unless maybe he knew about his situation. But he had no way of knowing as far as Kaveh was aware, after all, he never told anyone about the debt he was accumulating. Dori could’ve been the one to say something but there seemed to be no reason why she would tell Alhaitham. And it would be even weirder for Alhaitham to care about it. After all, they weren’t friends, in fact, Kaveh was sure they couldn’t stand each other. There was no reason for Alhaitham to go out of his way to offer him a room, not for a night and not for a season.
And there was really nothing he could get out of Kaveh, he had no mora, no valuable things to his name and, as far as he was aware, Alhaitham was not even remotely interested in his work. Maybe it really was just a show of altruism on his part, maybe he did have a heart after all and wanted to help Kaveh.
Guilty conscience? Shit, is he dying or something?
He was not paying attention to the path as he walked past the small trek of jungle almost instinctively, the chirping of the birds making peaceful background noise for his racing thoughts. They seemed to halt to a stop as he found himself out of the trees and looking down into the palace of Alcazarzaray.
It was breathtaking.
He walked the path, as he had many times before, taking in the scenery like it was the first time he had ever seen it. Part of him could not believe that this had all come from him, everything was exactly as he pictured it, but nothing he could’ve ever imagined compared to seeing it in real life in front of him.
He walked up to the door, the palace towering over him as he looked up at it in awe.
“Mister Kaveh?” He heard someone ask behind him.
“Hi Mandana!” He replied. She was the palace gardener, a sweet girl. He spoke to her often towards the end of the construction, when they had started to add the foliage and other finishing touches, relaying all the information Tighnari had given him on how to care for the plants.
“I thought you’d be back yesterday with the Lord, are you going to stay here still?”
“Oh, no, I just came to pick up my things.” He replied. “Is-is Dori home?” He did not want to see Dori at that moment. He wouldn’t say he was angry at her, not really, after all he knew what he was getting into, but Dori’s attitude towards the whole thing, a mere business transaction for her, was bound to get on Kaveh’s nerves.
“No, sorry, she’s out right now,” She replied sheepishly. “But you can stay for dinner, I’m sure she’ll be back by then.”
“Ah, I’m afraid I have other plans today,” He smiled awkwardly at her.
She smiled back. “Well, I’m sure Goshtasb will let you into your room to gather your things either way.”
“Yes, I will go speak to him, thank you,” He waved and walked toward kiosk where Goshtab sometimes overlooked the palace whenever he wasn’t standing by the door.
Once Goshtasb saw him approach he gave him a small nod. “Mister Kaveh.”
“Hello, how have things been?” Kaveh asked, he liked Goshtasb, he was an earnest guy and took his job very seriously, taking care of the palace more like a guard than a butler, but he was always polite to Kaveh.
“This very annoying reporter from Fontaine has been hovering around the palace the whole day asking all sorts of questions about the Lord,” he groaned. “I’ve barely been able to attend to my duties because I’ve been forced to keep an eye on him.”
“That sounds annoying,” Kaveh sympathized, although the idea of a reporter from so far away traveling all the way to Sumeru because of the palace did make him a feel a little bit pleased, even if he knew it was mostly to find out information on the rich and potentially powerful person who lived there.
“Well, it is my job to keep this place in order.” He sighed. “How can I help you, Mister Kaveh?”
“I was wondering if you’d let me in to get my things.”
“You’re leaving already?” His tone was a mixture of surprise and disappointment, he often relied on Kaveh for things, claiming he was one of the only few people with sense around. It was not something Kaveh heard often, and he wasn’t sure how much he believed it, but he did appreciate it.
“Yes,” Kaveh replied. “Now that the palace is done, I’ve found a new place to stay.”
“That’s a real shame,” He shook his head. “We would’ve loved to have you around for longer.”
At what cost? He wondered, but simply waved his hand.
“Don’t worry, Goshtasb, I’ll come visit often.”
“You better,” He started walking towards the small room outside the palace, Kaveh trailing behind him. He could see the reporter hanging around the area, Goshtasb looked at him with scorn as he pretended to look at the forest trees. He just rolled his eyes and opened the door.
“You know your way around,” Goshtasb told him in the threshold. “I better stay out here, make sure everything is in order.”
“Thank you, Goshtasb,” Kaveh said.
“My pleasure, and please do come again soon.”
With that he closed the door, leaving Kaveh alone in the room. It was meant to work as a spare bedroom for guests and was one of the first things to be built so that Kaveh didn’t have to go back and forth from Sumeru City. It was a beautiful room, and even though, aside from the clothes and a couple of supplies, nothing else belonged to him, it still felt like it was his. He grabbed from deep inside the closet the wooden crate in which he had brought his things over and started packing. He did not own a lot of things, and so it went by faster than he had expected.
He placed Mehrak right on top of the crate, and with that he had placed everything that tied him physically to the palace into a box. In a way, Kaveh felt like he was leaving home, even if it was never supposed to be his. There was a lump in his throat as he stood by the front door and turned back one last time to look at the now inhabited space. It still faintly smelled of the Padisarahs he had gotten a while back to place in the center of the coffee table, they were starting to wilt. He set the crate on the ground and grabbed them before finally sighing and opening the door.
As he stepped outside with his stuff in his hands he was ambushed by the reporter. Goshtasb was probably busy with something else, so he seized his chance to get some answers.
“Are you the palace Lord?” he asked, not even bothering to introduce himself.
“Uh, no, I’m the architect.” Kaveh replied, unsure of how much information he should give away to the guy.
“Really?” His eyes shot wide open as he looked at the palace and then back at him. “I have to say, I’ve never seen anything like it before, this place is astounding.”
“Thank you,” Kaveh replied bashfully, he could feel the blush on his cheeks. It didn’t matter how many times he got complimented, he wasn’t really used to it.
“So, after building something like this, what are you going to do now?”
Kaveh did not have to answer the question, as Goshtasb had seen them and promptly walked towards them shooing away the reporter who scurried away while Goshtasb reprimanded him for bothering the guests. He offered his apologies for the disturbance and wished him good luck on his way back to Sumeru City. Kaveh said his goodbyes and stared back at the palace one last time.
Beautiful, magnificent, breathtaking, astounding. Kaveh had heard it all.
And after this, what?
What was he going to do now?
How could he ever live up to this?