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At first, Scott doesn’t notice the tapping on his window. He’s too busy crying onto the pages of his journal. The salty water soaks the pages and smudges his messily written letters. Scott doesn’t mind. In fact, he wants it this way. His journal is the only place he’s really able to feel and process his emotions.
The tapping gets louder, and when Scott finally looks up, he finds himself facing a boy made of gold. He looks like he came straight out of a dream. Scott isn’t scared, quite the opposite.
The child motions for him to open the window, and Scott obliges without hesitation.
“Hello.” the child smiles. Scott has never felt safer.
“Hi. Who are you?”
“I’m Jimmy! You’re Scott, right? Wanna come play with me?” Scott just now notices that the boy’s feet aren’t touching the ground.
“WOAH!! You can fly?! That’s so cool!!!” In all of his excitement, the young prince leans so far out the window that he almost loses his balance.
“Do you wanna fly, too? I can take you and we can play! Please?”
Scott can only excitedly nod his head. He doesn’t waste a single second thinking about his parents or doubting Jimmy. He just reaches for the hand the boy outside extended to him and holds on tight. They both slowly start to rise and begin to move away from the castle, first very slowly, then quickly picking up the pace. Scott laughs. He’s free like the birds he always wished to be. For the first time in his life, he feels like he belongs right where he is.
If someone were to look out of one of the southwest windows of the Rivendellian castle, they would have thought to see a shooting star dancing through the night sky.
The two boys are in the air for no longer than a few minutes, but the young ruler would have told you it was an eternity. When he feels solid ground under his heels, they are in a small clearing surrounded by cliffs, forming a circle. a quiet river cuts through the middle, and the whole area is covered in wildflowers. Most impressively are the poppies, which are the only ones still in full bloom despite the late hour.
“It looks so pretty.” Scott whispers in complete awe. Jimmy lets out a small giggle.
“I know, right?”
“How did you find this? Do you live here?”
“No silly, of course I don’t!” Jimmy laughs, he has a slight lisp as he says the words “I found this when I was exploring! It’s my secret place.” The golden boy’s grin is wide and toothy. He has a gap between his front teeth, and his freckles light up when he smiles. Scott finds it hard to decide what’s prettier, the clearing he has found himself in, or his new friend.
“Anyway, do you wanna see everything? There's so much here I could show you! There’s cows here we can pet, or the stone on that hill with the writing I can’t read -oh, maybe you can read it- or the two little fairy houses I found, or…”
They do all of the things Jimmy had suggested. Scott doesn't get tired, not cold, never exhausted. and when both of them fall into the flowers, still giggling from playing to their heart's content, the young elf has never been happier.
“This is so much fun with you. I never get to play like this at home.”
"Aw. Why not? Doesn’t it get really boring when you can’t play?”
“My parents never let me play. I have to spend all my time studying and learning how to be a prince. I’m only allowed to speak with my teacher, but I don’t like him. He's old and stupid and ugly and he never lets me play.” For the first time all night, Scott feels cold seeping into his bones.
"Oh. I’m sorry.” They fall silent. The sounds of their thoughts are only accompanied by the gentle rippling of the stream and the flowers gently swaying in a light breeze.
The flight home is more quietly pleasant than the first time round, and Scott can’t help but feel disappointed that he couldn’t just have stayed in the clearing with Jimmy forever. When they touch down on Scott's fluffy light blue carpet, it feels like a twisted version of the soft grass they were laying in earlier. Jimmy, as if feeling his pain, silently tucks a poppy behind his ear. This was real.
Now Scott stands there, in the room that’s way too big for a child, furnished with things he hates, and feels utterly defeated. He'll have to go back to being perfect now.
When the elf turns to say goodbye to Jimmy, he’s heartbroken to find nothing but a trail of gold specs. The curtains sway softly in the wind. He preserves the poppy in glass. The only warm colour in his room. He feels like The little prince, only even lonelier.
Jimmy visits again the next night. Scott thought he would never see Jimmy again. “The poppy is an anchor! So I can find you again!” Jimmy explains. Scott doesn’t care what the poppy is, he’s just glad that his friend is back.
The Poppy never wilts. Every night, Scott sits in front of his window, and every night Jimmy comes to visit. He often gives him flowers, and Scott starts calling him ‘petal’ for it. The two boys visit a lot of places in different empires. Scott starts bringing his sketchbook to take notes on the people they encounter there, make drawings of the creatures, and even cartographing some areas. His sudden interest in these subjects is not only a pleasant surprise to the royal teacher, but also to Mrs. and Mr. Major.
Scott finally feels like he has his life under control.
But the place they always find themself returning to is the clearing. It feels like home. A place to catch your breath. It’s a constant through the passing years. It feels like peace.
But today, it feels different. Something is changing. Jimmy is nervous. He tries to be his usual carefree self, but it’s clearly a front this time. Scott can tell. He knows his best friend. His questions are avoided, so he drops it. The stream is running dry, and the night is cold. He finds himself more anxious than he ever was when talking to his parents.
When Jimmy brings him back, he asks again. Jimmy is silent. Instead of answering, he turns to the poppy on the Windowsill.
“Hey, my star, remember when I first gave this to you?” Scott can hear a soft smile in his voice. and sadness. “I told you it was an anchor. But that’s not the full truth. It represents my thoughts. As long as this flower blooms, I am thinking of you. Always remember that.”
And with that, his petal is gone. Scott hates it when he does that.
Rivendell is at war with the Grimlands. And Jimmy doesn’t come back. Scott doesn’t know how to process either of those things.
So he doesn’t. He distracts himself by drowning in his studies. Day in and day out, Scott sits at his white mahogany desk (ashy white, WW 140) and silently breaks apart behind his books. No one checks up on him, not like they would know the difference anyway. He feels like Jimmy left and took all of his hope with him. The only thing keeping him going is the Poppy, which never ever wilts. He never stops waiting by the window, hoping to see a flash of gold.
Scott is barely an adult when his parents are assassinated. The pointless, over 20-year-long war, something that started over a petty comment being blown out of proportion, comes to an end the moment the bullets leave the chamber.
There were rumors that it was done by none other than the first prince, who had been fighting on the front lines himself before being disowned for misdeeds in war. Investigations were started, but the perpetrator was never confirmed.
So Scott is ripped from his broken, but quiet life, and suddenly forced into leadership. The people cheer for him. He gets praise, he gets hate, he gets advisers, he gets a crown and robes and dresses and his tailor-made elytra, and Scott has completely given in to derealization.
Treaties get signed, alliances are made, damage gets rebuilt. Scott still feels unhappy.
The Poppy becomes the official Rivendellian flower. He sees them everywhere now. It's not as comforting as he’d hoped.
Scott slowly gets used to everything. He doesn’t like being emperor, not by a long shot, but he can accept the fact that he is.
The poppy in the glass case is healthier than ever, though it goes unnoticed by the new Emperor.
At first, Scott doesn’t notice the tapping on his window. He’s too busy crying onto the pages of a trade deal. The salty water soaks the pages and smudges his beautifully written letters. Scott doesn’t mind. In fact, all is forgotten when the tapping gets louder. Scott finally looks up and finds himself facing the boy made of gold.