Work Text:
If one were to ask about the fallen Kingdom of Hearts, they would be directed to the old ruins of the palace. Even now, the ruins echo a song long forgotten. A song once performed by minstrels far and wide of the tale of the King of Hearts who once prospered in glory yet fallen from grace in the name of love. It is a gripping tale of betrayal, and forbidden love, a deadly combination that offers insurmountable allure for lovers all around. Ah yes… Even now the melody is familiar to me, just tugging at my heartstrings. Allow me, to tell a tale so important, yet now disregarded as folklore.
“There will come a soldier, who carries a mighty sword..”,
A sword so heavy, it weighs of his responsibility.
A knight whose future so bleak,
Yet so brave as he stands up for the weak.
Sir Wally Darling was born of a courtesan that was disregarded by the King, yet his attributes was as noble as his bloodline. Growing up in a village by the outskirts of the capital, he was a boy who always saw reason, finding out solutions to quell all treason. It was not until his abusive mother did die, that he had a chance to flee from his plight. One day, as Knights of Hearts swarmed his house aplenty, they brought him to the palace with no hesitancy, under the orders of the corrupt king, who sought for his heir as he comes closer to death.
“He will tear your city down…
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lord..”
And lay did his enemies,
As his sword cuts through his adversities.
Under the surveillance of the court, Sir Wally would grow to be a prince of unparalleled prowess in swordsmanship and leadership. However, his emotions were locked behind a sheet of ice, and it shan’t defrost, try as one might. He leads his army to conquer territories and expand his ruling, as requested by his late father, the fallen King. A mindless puppet, without his own direction in life.
“There will come a poet…
Whose weapon is his word..”
But all it took was a minstrel,
To turn him less cynical.
The fateful encounter of a bard who sang of his conquest, had his frozen emotions thaw without contest. As he downs his mead, his eyes made contact with the sharp tongue bard, and it was then he felt the ice around his heart start to thaw.
The bard came closer, and conversations were made. Blinded by their honeyed words, the prince fell for their charm and the rest was history.
“He will slay you with his tongue…
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lord..”
And lie did the minstrel,
Spreading his toxin into the mind of the prince.
“You trust me, right? I would never lie to you..”, were words that frequently came out of the bard’s mouth. Under his enchanting spell, the prince has not once doubted their words.
His ruling became tyrannical, yet the fault was not fully his, for the minstrel whispers promise of love and deceit, directly into his reach.
Off came the heads of those who opposes the minstrel, but their influence was culled when their life was taken during a coup.
“There will come a ruler..
Whose brow is laid in thorn..”
His regrets so deep,
None of his promises did he keep.
As he sees his people storm his castle, and the death of his beloved minstrel, a moment of clarity hits. He was a ruler whose brows were laid in thorn, try as he might, he couldn’t open his eyes from the imaginary thorns prickling into him.
It was then he realizes the thorns were the minstrel themself, covering his eyes to the truth, and deceiving him with empty promises and sweet nothings.
It was a tale so touching from his view, but it was all built on falsehoods and lies.
Everything he had done up til now, was built on pillars of salt and sand, and it was crumbling down in front of his eyes as the waves of anger crashed upon them.
“Smeared with oil like David’s boy…
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lord..”
And to the lord did he return to,
As his tale turned into a warning of taboo.
I end my tale with a note so despondent, so it may help the upcoming descendants. Who am I, you may inquire, but I am not as important as the events that has transpired. Take caution of the tale that I have told, so that you may heed the lessons and not be controlled.