Chapter Text
When Saparata first met Fluixon, he thought he was going to die.
He’s eight years old, an orphan working as an assistant at a small, shady, probably illegal construction shop, and he’s currently emptying out the trash of the day in the back alley. He’s hauling the heavy bag, much too heavy for someone his age, when he comes face to face with the third heir of House Aculon.
He has only seen the prince a few times throughout his life, but it’s unmistakably him. Wavy black hair, clothes adorned with more gold than Saps would ever see in his life otherwise, and deep purple eyes indicating Enderian lineage.
I’ve done something wrong, the boy thinks anxiously. Is the shop getting shut down?
Saps is young, but he knows the authoritarian regime of the Aculon Empire well. He knows that if the shop is found in violation of any regulations, as it most likely is, everyone involved will be executed.
And here the prince is, sitting against the wall of an alley like he had no care in the world.
“Um…” Saps hopes his voice does not betray his fear. It does. “Hi there…”
I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die.
He does not end up dying, miraculously. Instead, the prince grabs him by the wrist and pulls.
“Hey!” Saps drops the bag he was holding as he’s yanked to the floor.
“You-” the prince puts a hand over Saps’ mouth. “Cannot tell anyone you saw me here.”
Saps blinks, and then nods.
The prince draws his hand back and brushes it on his coat. “Good.”
The two are silent for a moment. The prince looks at Saps expectantly.
“I’m Saparata!”
The prince scoffs. “I don’t care what your name is. Are you going to leave, or what?”
“I could. But you seem lonely.” Saps’ fear from merely a few seconds ago has apparently dissipated. The prince is just a kid like him, after all, and it seems like he isn’t accompanied by anyone else from the palace.
“Lonely?” The prince draws back in shock. “How dare you! I could have you executed for speaking to me in such a way!”
Maybe he could, but something tells Saps that he doesn’t want to go back to the palace right now.
“Could you at least tell me your name?” he asks. “I’ll go if you want, I promise.”
“You have some nerve…” the prince mutters. “Fine! I’m Fluixon, but everyone calls me Flux. Are you happy?”
“Nice to meet you!” Saps holds out his hand, which goes ignored. “I’m Saparata, or did I already tell you?”
“You said that already, dumbass.” Flux rolls his eyes. “‘Saparata’ is a stupid name. Do you have a nickname or something?”
“Well…” Saparata decides to ignore the insult. “My boss calls me Saps, but I think that’s just because he forgot my full name.”
“Saps it is.” Flux says. “Now what do you want?”
“Um…” Saps hesitates. He doesn’t want to provoke the boy any further, but he was curious. “You ran away, right?”
Flux bristles. “What’s it to you?”
“You’re pretty noticeable with those clothes.” Saps points to his gold-adorned jacket, small silver earrings, and soft silk pants. “If you don’t want to be found, you should probably change.”
Flux narrows his eyes. “And why do you care?”
“Well…” Saps shifts from his crouch into a more comfortable, crossed legged sitting position. “If you ran away you probably had a good reason, right?”
“I ran away,” Flux grumbled. “Because my father is an asshole.”
“Well, is he looking for you?”
“Of course he is, idiot. You think he wouldn’t send out a search party for me?”
Saps frowns. “You don’t need to be mean. Do you want me to go get you a change of clothes? Maybe a hood or something, to hide your face?”
“You… want me to wear the clothes of a commoner.”
Saps doesn’t know what to say to that.
Flux seems to reconsider, because he relents after a moment. “Fine. Go fetch the clothes.”
“Okay!” Saps stands, but turns back before he leaves. “Wait, do you have a place to stay?”
Flux is silent.
“You can stay with me!” Saps offers. “I have to finish the day at work, but you can come with me once it’s evening. My house is pretty small, but there’s plenty of room for a friend.”
“Sorry,” Flux says, “a friend?”
“Well… do you want to be friends?”
“I do not make friends with commoners.”
Saps nods. They’re totally going to become friends.
____________________
“This is your house?”
Flux wrinkles his nose in disgust as he looks around Saps’ house. Well, house is a strong word. It’s technically an abandoned storage room in the basement of some larger building, but it functions well enough. Saps keeps it relatively clean, there’s a small window towards the top of one of the walls to let in some light when it’s daytime, a lantern he keeps on the floor, and he even has a few pillows and blankets. It’s a bit cold in the winter when layers of snow coat the streets- Aculon winters are notoriously brutal- but it’s comfortable the rest of the year.
“I make four emeralds a day,” Saps replies. “I can’t afford food and a nice house.”
Flux rolls his eyes. “I suppose,” he says with reluctance, “that it’s my only option. I can’t believe I’m actually going to sleep here.”
“It’ll be great!” Saps says. “We can go to the market and get food in the morning, I think I have enough emeralds. You didn’t happen to bring any money when you left, did you?”
Flux sighs. “Unfortunately not. I was so mad, I wanted to leave as soon as possible. I didn’t make any sort of plan of what to do.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I found you!” Saps steps into his house, lights the lantern on the floor, and begins arranging his pillows and blankets. He takes half of them over to the other side of the room, and lays them out for Flux. “Here, this is where you can sleep.”
Saps takes Flux by the hand, but the prince pulls away. He makes a show of wiping his hand on his coat, and shaking off whatever invisible dirt he thinks Saps may have gotten on him.
“Okay, now that’s just rude.”
Flux ignores him. He undoes the many straps and buckles on his fancy boots, puts them against the wall, and sits down on his blanket.
“Well, this is certainly where I wanted to be when I woke up this morning.”
Saps sits on the floor next to him. “Hey, I didn’t have to help you.”
“Yeah, you didn’t!” Flux exclaims. “I didn’t ask you for anything, so don’t act like I owe you.”
“You don’t owe me,” Saps protests. “But you don’t have to be so mean!” He’s been ignoring the blatant insults and disrespect this whole time, but it’s starting to sting. “It’s not my fault I’m a commoner. If you didn’t want to talk to any of us, you shouldn’t have come into the city in the first place.”
Flux is silent.
“Look,” Saps continues. “I just wanted a friend. I’ve never had one before, and you seemed like you’re the same age as me. I…” Tears start to prick at his eyes, and he sniffles. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to be friends.”
Saps rubs at his eyes, and stands up.
“Wait!” Saps is startled by a hand around his wrist, and he looks down. Flux’s face is red, and when he speaks it sounds like the words are causing him physical pain. “You’re right. I…”
He hesitates.
“I… I’m sorry.”
Saps grins, wipes away the last of his tears, and sits back down on the blanket next to him. “I accept your apology! So, does this mean you want to be friends now?”
“I am the prince of the Aculon Empire. I do not make friends.”
Saps looks down at his hands in sadness.
“But…” Flux sighs. “We can be allies. How’s that?”
Saps tilts his head. “What’s that mean?”
“It’s like…” he makes a vague gesture with his hands. “Someone you can ask for help if you need it, and then you have to help them if they’re in trouble. Father and Turkey are always talking about making sure we keep good relationships with our allies in other empires.”
“Alright,” Saps says. It seems like about the same thing as friends, but he won’t push. He also has no idea who Turkey is, but that seems less important. “I accept!”
The two sit in happy silence for a moment. Well, Saps is happy at least. He has no idea what Flux is feeling.
“So… why’d you run away anyway?” Saps asks. “Being a prince doesn’t seem all that bad.”
Flux rolls his eyes. “My father and I had a huge fight. He was being a dick.”
Saps gasps in shock. “You can’t say that about the king!”
“Well it’s true!” Flux puts his head in his knees in frustration. “He acts like I’m the single largest disappointment of his entire life. Just because I’m not as strong as Ender or as smart as Cynikka. I’m perfectly smart, I just don’t waste my time with useless information!”
“Are those your siblings?” Saps knows about the other prince and the princess, but he never learned their names.
“Yep. Ender’s 15 and Cyn’s 12. They’re the only people I can kind of tolerate in the entire world.”
“Aren’t you going to miss them, then?”
Flux looks away, embarrassed. “I’m… I’m not gonna stay away forever. I just wanted to scare my father. I want to see if he actually cares enough to get me back.”
“Oh…” This surprisingly vulnerable confession catches Saps off guard. “I- I’m sure he cares! He’s your dad, after all.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
Saps doesn’t know if there’s anything he can say to this.
“Hey,” he asks eventually. “You wanna go to bed? It’s getting really dark, and you’re probably tired.”
“Yeah…” Flux mumbles. “That would be nice, thanks.”
“Of course!”
Saps turns off the lantern, heads over to his side of the room, fluffs out his pillow, and tucks himself under the blanket. This is likely a far cry from what Flux is used to, but Saps hopes the boy is still comfortable.
“Goodnight, Fluixon! See you in the morning!”
Flux doesn’t reply, but Saps smiles anyway.
_______________
It’s only a few days before Fluixon is found.
The two kids are playing in the street, throwing a cloth ball back and forth and (barely) avoiding running into other people walking by. Saps is chasing Flux, both of them giggling up a storm, when he runs straight into a man wearing a long hooded cloak.
“Sorry!” Saps exclaims. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
“It’s quite all right.” The man smiles, and helps Saps to his feet. He has kind eyes, though undeniably sharp, and dark skin and hair. Wait, has he seen this man before..?
Saps is being forced to run before he can finish the thought.
“Flux!” Flux has taken Saps’ wrist in a bruising grip, and the two bolt down the kingdom streets. “Flux, what’s going on?”
“That was Turkey!” Flux shouts. “My father’s right hand man!”
Shoot. That’s why he recognizes him. He’s seen the king’s right hand plenty of times, as he often interacts with the public. The man is easily memorable from his large wings, even if they’re currently covered.
The duo run through the streets, Flux unrelenting in his grip on Saps’ wrist. They run around people, down alleyways, and over carts of various supplies and food. They run down a hidden alley between a tavern and a store-
And it’s a dead end.
“Prince Fluixon.”
Flux whirls around to face the voice. He trembles slightly, but steps in front of Saps.
“Turkey.”
Despite what seem to be his best efforts to sound brave, his voice shakes.
“Flux,” Turkey sighs, stepping closer. “Do you have any idea how worried your father has been?”
Flux backs further against the wall, and lifts his hand ever so slightly in front of Saps. “Don’t lie to me, I know he doesn’t care. He said I’m useless.”
“He didn’t mean it,” Turkey insists. “He’s been tearing himself up with guilt over the last few days. Come home, and the two of you can talk.”
“Oh yeah?” Flux says with a venomous glare. “Then why are you the only one he sent?”
“Of course I’m not the only one he sent. There’s an entire squadron searching the northwestern district. They’ll be down here in a few days, but I figured I’d scout ahead.”
Saps’ friend is silent.
“Flux…” Turkey says. “Who is this boy?”
Flux steps further in front of Saps. “He’s my ally. He has nothing to do with this, leave him alone.”
“Do you realize,” Turkey says quietly, “what your father will do if he finds out this boy has been helping you?”
“He…”
“He’ll have him executed, Flux. Did you think about that?”
Saps feels cold dread wash through his veins.
“No!” Flux yells. “He can’t!”
“I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t have involved a commoner.” Turkey draws his netherite sword, and for a split second Saps can see Flux’s terrified face reflected across the blade.
“I- I didn’t-” Tears start to form in Flux’s eyes. “I didn’t think-”
“You didn’t think,” Turkey says harshly. “You never think. This is why your father is so harsh on you, Flux. He loves you, but he needs you to start being smarter about your actions.”
“I am smart!” Flux cries. “I’ll show him! I’ll fucking show him-”
Flux’s shouting is cut off by a sob. “Please…” He wipes his eyes on his sleeve. The sleeve of one of Saps’ shirts. “I’ve never had someone to play with before. I really like him… Please…”
Despite the horrifying situation, Saps feels his heart flutter.
“Flux…” Turkey sighs. He walks closer to the two boys. Flux pushes Saps further behind him, before backing up as far as he can go. Saps grips his arm.
The king’s right hand man crouches down in front of the two children. “What is your name, boy?”
Saps tightens his grip on Flux’s arm in fear. “S-Saparata.”
He is trying not to be scared. He needs to be brave for his friend.
“And how old are you?”
“Eight…”
“Same age as Flux…” Turkey murmurs. “Tell me about what the two of you have been up to these past few days, Saparata.”
Saps is trembling too hard to answer.
“Don’t say anything, Saps!” Flux cries. Turkey sighs, and pushes the boy to the side with the hand not holding his sword.
“If you want me to spare your life, Saparata, I suggest you answer. If you want me to spare his life, Fluixon, I suggest you stay there and stay silent.”
Tears start to fall freely from Saps’ eyes, and Flux glares at Turkey with more hatred than Saps has ever seen in someone his own age.
“He… he’s been staying at my house. I gave him some of my blankets.” Saps takes a deep, shuddering breath. “I have to work during the day, but we play together in the evenings.”
He barely manages to get this out before breaking down in sobs. He wraps his arms around himself and sobs harder, digging his fingernails into his skin.
He flinches when Turkey puts a hand on his shoulder. “And have you had fun?”
Saps is crying too hard to speak, so he simply nods.
“Very well.” Turkey stands up. “As far as the three of us are concerned, Prince Fluixon has been on his own for the past three days. He talked to no one, and no one recognized him. Is that clear?”
Flux looks up with wide, shocked, hopeful eyes. “Does… does this mean…?”
“A friend may be good for you, Flux.” Turkey says. “Saparata seems like a smart boy.”
Saps is still trembling, and he doesn’t dare to hope.
“He’s not my friend,” Flux says petulantly. “I don’t have friends. But… does this mean you won’t tell father? Does this mean I can see him again?”
Turkey sighs a long, drawn out sigh, but he puts a hand on Flux’s head. “If you managed to sneak out once, I’m sure you could do so again. Ensure that no one, including myself, notices.”
Flux grabs his leg in an excited hug. “Thank you thank you thank you!”
I’m not going to die. I’m not going to die I’m not going to die I’m not going to die-
Saps lets out a long, shuddery, relieved breath. He’s not going to die. He gets to see Flux again.
Turkey sheathes his sword, straightens out his wings, and takes Flux by the hand. Flux waves eagerly as he is pulled along. “I’ll see you later, Saps!” he cries. “We’re gonna be allies forever, so don’t you dare forget!”
Saps feels something very unfamiliar warm inside his heart as he waves back.
____________________
_____________________
Saparata is 12 when Fluixon first calls him his friend.
Saps is walking through the market streets one day when he hears a startlingly loud ‘SAPS!’ He’s knocked to the ground in the middle of the cobblestone road by a blur of black, purple and gold.
“Ow…” Saps mutters. Flux is still hugging him, and he has to gently shove the boy off. “What was that for?”
Flux jumps to his feet, and pulls Saps up. “Guess what!”
“You joined an assassin team and your first job is a hit on me?”
“What? No, of course not!”
“Huh. Um… did you finally connect with your Enderian lineage and learn how to teleport?”
“You know I’ll never be able to do that.” Flux rolls his eyes. “You get one more guess.”
“Um…” Saps puts a hand to his chin in thought. “You’re… quitting your job as a prince to come live with me in my shack?” Saps had managed to save up for the materials to build himself a real house- house is still a bit of a strong word, but it’s more of a house than his previous one- in the years since he and Flux had first met.
“Close!” Flux grins. “I…”
He pauses for dramatic effect. Saps narrows his eyes.
“I got you a job in the palace!”
Saps isn’t sure he heard him right. In fact, he knows he didn’t hear him right. “Sorry, you got me a job where?”
“In the palace!” Flux is more excited than Saps has probably ever seen him, though admittedly that’s not a high bar. “Only if you want it, of course, but I convinced Turkey to tell one of our builders to take an assistant! He was kinda reluctant, Turkey that is, but eventually agreed since you’re my best friend and all. He thinks our friendship is good for me, or something like that. You’ll get a pretty good room in the palace too, at least better than your current house, and… Saps?” Flux waves a hand in front of the other boy’s face. “You okay?”
Saps had stopped processing anything that left Flux’s mouth after those two words. Best friend…?
“You, uh…” Flux looks a little worried now, and he rubs the back of his neck. “You don’t have to. I just thought it might be nice if we could hang out more often, without me having to sneak out. Plus, well… father’s been cracking down harder on unregulated establishments lately. I know the business you work for is kind of questionable… I just really, really don’t want you to get-”
“I’m your best friend?”
Flux’s ears turn slightly red, a quirk of his that Saps has noticed over the years. “I mean… yeah? What else would you be?”
“We’re… friends?”
It’s Flux’s turn to look shocked, and he takes a good few seconds to form a reply. “There is no way you’re being serious right now.”
“I- I’m happy, don’t get me wrong!” Saps amends with a frantic wave of his hands. “It’s just that… Well, back when we first met, you made it a point to insist that we weren’t friends. That you, and I quote, ‘don’t make friends.’ And then you never said we were until now.”
Flux’s eyes are wide, and the red from his ears starts to slowly creep across his face. “I forgot about that. I guess I just assumed since it’s been like four years at this point, we had to be friends…” he trails off. “N-not that it matters or anything! I don’t care.”
Saps laughs, and punches Flux in the shoulder. “Sureeeee you don’t.”
“Oh, you’re gonna regret that.” Flux attempts to tackle him, but Saps dodges.
“You’ll have to catch me first!”
And so, the prince and his best friend take off laughing down the street.
_____
“You know,” Flux says as the two sit around a small restaurant table a bit later in the day. “When I first met you, part of me thought you were trying to steal my clothes.”
Saps gives him an incredulous look. “And why would I do that?”
Flux crosses his arms. “My jacket alone could have bought you a small mansion.”
“True…” Saps admits with a chuckle. “Somehow I never even thought of that!”
“Well, I wouldn't blame you if you did. I… definitely would have been mad back then, though. I was a bit of an asshole.”
“You can say that again.”
“Jerk.” Flux punches him lightly on the arm, and they both giggle.
“I’m so excited…” Flux admits sheepishly. “We’ll be able to hang out as much as we want… And you can meet Cynikka and Ender! They’re going to love you, I promise.”
“I hope so,” Saps says. “I’m a little scared. They seem kind of intense from what you’ve said.”
“Oh yeah, they’re very intense. Cyn will probably grill you for 30 minutes straight, and Ender will laugh the whole time.”
Saps puts his forehead against the table. “You’re very bad at being reassuring, you know that?”
____________
____________
Saparata is 16 when he realizes he might have a bit of a crush.
Life in the palace has been great! He’s made friends with Flux’s siblings, and they’ve been getting along surprisingly well. Ender and Cynikka have plenty of embarrassing stories to tell, much to Flux’s disdain, and Saps in turn tells them stories about when they played together as smaller children.
Saps likes to think he’s grown on Turkey as well, though the man would never admit it. He’s had his hair ruffled affectionately a few times, he’s been given advice on surviving life in the palace, and he’s been lectured on safety more times than he can count. When Saps was in the medical ward after he fell from a roof under construction, Turkey even brought him a basket of sweets. Saps’ heart still warms every time he thinks about it.
His job is going fairly well, other than that. Construction was never his passion, but the old man who worked at the shady store was looking for an assistant and six-year-old Saps needed a job. He was able to get plenty of experience over the years, so he breezes through his work with no trouble at all.
And his room…
Saps never knew beds could be so soft. Or clothes could be so comfortable. Or regular sized windows could be so nice.
Sure, palace workers are monitored incredibly strictly, but the Aculon empire’s tyrannical regime is present everywhere. Saps doesn’t necessarily have less freedom within the palace walls than he did outside of them. And now he doesn’t have to worry about being executed!
All in all, it’s been great.
It’s currently summer of Saps’ fourth year of living in the palace, and he and Flux are preparing to jump into a lake. They’ve snuck out of the palace for the day, on a very rare day when Flux has no responsibilities to tend to, and they trekked about an hour through the forest until they found the lake they were looking for.
“We jump together on three,” Saps says. “Okay?”
Flux nods and takes his hand, and Saps begins his countdown.
“Three-”
He is cut off by his own scream as he is pulled off the ledge.
The two plummet into the water, and the splash is deafening.
“You-” Saps gasps when he surfaces. “Asshole-”
Flux is cackling too hard to reply. Saps tackles him as they float.
“Hey,” Flux laughs. “It’s not my fault! You said jump on three!”
“I-”
He’s technically right. Saps was supposed to count up, not down.
“Fine, that was my mistake. But you could have guessed I didn’t mean we’d jump on the first number I said!
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Saps splashes him. Flux splashes back.
They’re lying on the sandy shore of the lake a few hours later, completely exhausted.
Saps hasn’t been this happy in a long while. The warm sun beats down on his skin, the water laps at his feet, and his chest rises and falls gently along with Flux’s. They had shed their outer clothes before jumping in, so they’re both only in a sopping wet tank top and shorts now. They’ll have to wait a while before they dry off and can head back, but Saps hardly minds.
“Hey, Flux?”
“Hm?”
“I just-” He can’t believe he’s actually about to say this, but he’s going to and nothing can stop him. “Man, this sounds kind of embarrassing, but I’m so glad I have you. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like if we never met.”
He turns to look at Flux, and the other boy looks away in embarrassment. He flushes for a brief moment, before hesitantly taking Saps’ hand and glancing back at him.
“You- You’ll always have me. Idiot.”
Saps’ pale skin turns bright red.
Oh. Oh dear.
___
Saps is lying in his room, hanging out with his friend Cass, when he realizes maybe he should tell someone.
Cass is a low-ranking knight, and Saps befriended her in his second year living at the palace. Flux will always be his best friend, but he's glad to have other people as well.
“Cass?” Saps asks. She’s lying on his bed next to him, though her head is on the other side, and she makes some sort of noise in acknowledgement.
“How do you know when you like someone?”
Cass immediately sits up. “Tell me everything.”
Saps buries his face in his hands. “Forget I said anything.”
“Nope!” Cass scoots over next to him, and shakes his shoulders. “You’re gonna tell me, even though I already know, and then we’re gonna make a grand plan to get you guys together.”
Saps peeks out from between his fingers. “You already know?”
“Of course,” she says casually. “Pretty obvious. Prince Fluixon, right? I always thought you guys were suspiciously close. Now, how long have you known you liked him? When did you realize? And why- don’t tell anyone I said this or I’m dead- why him?”
Saps takes a pillow, buries his face in it, lets out a muffled scream, and hits Cass with it.
“In that order,” he says, resigned to his fate. “One week ago, when he held my hand after we went swimming, and because he’s handsome and charming.”
“Awww!” Cass squeals. “I certainly wouldn’t call him charming, he’s kind of an asshole-” she lowers her voice when she says this, of course, “but if he makes you happy, then who am I to judge? I had to bet on it, I’d say he definitely likes you too.”
Saps collapses face first onto his mattress.
Cass pats him on the back sympathetically. “I have faith in you.”
____________
____________
Saparata is 22 when King Elanuelo is assassinated.
A lot has happened in the past few years. Saps was promoted quite suddenly from builder to palace mediator when he happened to stumble into- and promptly diffuse- a long-running, borderline violent argument between some official and one of the military captains. Saps was promoted to a diplomat a few years later, and he has been working in contact with other nations ever since. Aside from one close call where a young, newly appointed emperor named Schpood lost his temper, it’s been going pretty well.
Flux was ecstatic for him both times. He threw a celebration in his chambers when Saps was made a diplomat (he had wanted to use a ballroom, but Elanuelo said no) and invited his siblings, his assistants who he claims aren’t his friends even if Saps doesn’t believe him for a second, and Cass. It was a wonderful night, even if Flux got drunk and clung to Saps for a few hours.
“Sapsssssss,” Flux had whined, hanging off Saps’ shoulder and downing another glass of ale while he untied his ponytail. “You should… haha… you should let me braid your hair.”
Saps, whose face was already at risk of turning into a redstone block, had flushed even harder.
“So pretty…” Flux murmured, twirling a lock of pure white hair around his finger. “It looks good long. You should keep it long, I like it. Don’t cut it, please?”
“S-sure.” The braid Flux gave him was possibly the worst braid in the history of hair, but Saps wore it for the rest of the night. And, true to his word, he’s kept his hair at shoulder length ever since.
Saps had to endure a lot of teasing from Cass for a few days afterwards, though he was easily able to aim some of that back at her with how flustered she got when she met Cynikka. And besides, he couldn’t be too mad. It was starting to seem like maybe, just maybe, he and Flux could become something more. And who could be mad about that?
For a while, everything was perfect.
It was perfect until Ender, the eldest child of House Aculon, disappeared.
Flux’s brother vanished overnight along with about a third of the palace employees, including Cass, and an unknown number of citizens from across the entire kingdom. The official story, at least the one that the citizens of Aculon were meant to believe, was that Ender was killed by a revolution among some of Elanuelo’s officials that had been brewing. Saps and Flux were 19.
Franit, a moderately high ranking official of the Aculon court and head of the investigation, was found guilty of conspiracy and executed the following day. Elanuelo made an announcement afterwards, in which he told his citizens exactly what had happened.
He claimed that Franit, along with the officials who had vanished, orchestrated this act of rebellion. They had been planning for months to help citizens leave Aculon, and they killed the heir to the throne as a final message. Franit remained behind to steer the investigation away and ensure they would not be caught, but he was discovered.
The story never made complete sense to Saps. For one, if Franit knew where the others had fled to, why was he executed so quickly instead of being interrogated for information? And if Ender was killed as an act of rebellion against the king, why was his body taken instead of being left for Elanuelo to see?
Saps knew better than to question the king, though, so he put his doubts aside.
A military squadron was sent to the island west of Aculon soon after, a land surrounding a massive volcano known as Yggdrasil. The island was the only one near Aculon that wasn’t allied with them, and therefore the most logical place for the deserters to have fled to.
They didn’t find anything, but Elanuelo was convinced Yggdrasil’s nations were lying to him about being uninvolved. The threat of war loomed heavier over Aculon every day.
Fluixon and Cynikka were coping as best they could, but they had loved Ender deeply. Saps tried his best to support his friends, while of course grieving Ender himself and mourning the disappearance of Cass, but he was sent away to Yggdrasil for diplomatic missions so often it felt like he barely got to see them anymore.
Cynikka became the new heir to the throne, and Flux the second.
And if Elanuelo was tyrannical before, it was nothing compared to now.
Soldiers marched through the streets every day, arresting and often executing anyone who was suspected to have been involved in the rebellion. Production quotas increased, and regulation became airtight. Palace employees had to work harder to make up for the ones who left. The soldiers guarding the outer wall around the kingdom became twice as vicious. Unauthorized businesses were completely wiped off the map. Saps’ old employer was executed, along with dozens of others. Saps was run into the ground trying to mediate tensions with both Yggdrasil and within Aculon itself.
Turkey tried his best to calm Elanuelo down, and make him see reason. It didn’t work.
The assasination happens during a meeting. Two of Elanuelo’s highest ranking officials, Clover and Red, were at each other’s throats over a policy, and they were each currently attempting to get the other officials on their respective sides so they could convince the king. Elanuelo himself was unsure, but quite unhappy about the brutal fighting happening amongst his council.
And so, the king called a meeting for himself, Turkey, all twelve of his highest officials, and Saparata. Because Saparata is considered the best mediator in Aculon by a mile.
A week ago, the king’s meeting room ceiling had somehow suffered water damage. It wasn’t incredibly severe, but bad enough that parts of the ceiling were starting to crack and mold. All of the palace builders were busy doing the much more urgent job of fixing one of the largest storage buildings of the palace, since it had been mysteriously attacked and almost completely destroyed, and so Saps offered to fix the ceiling. Because Saps used to be a builder.
When it’s time for the fateful meeting, Saps takes his designated seat around the large, round table.
“Good morning, Saparata,” Elanuelo says with a small smile. Turkey sits to his right, and Drew, head of the military, sits to his left.
“Greetings, my king.” Saps has talked to him plenty of times since being promoted, but it never gets any less scary.
“Let us begin this meeting by recounting the issue that brought us here.” Elanuelo says. “Clover, Red, the two of you have vastly different opinions on policy regarding our international affairs, and you are each attempting to gather support in an effort to convince me. I am liable to be swayed either way, but I do not appreciate the harsh way in which you have been disputing this. Would either of you like to-”
He never finishes his sentence.
Because the ceiling opens up, and everyone but Saps is dead.
A dripstone trap. A simple concept, yet unheard of to be constructed in such a secure place as the palace, much less inside the king’s meeting room.
For a few seconds, Saps isn’t sure if his eyes are working right.
Because everyone is dead, and surely that can’t be possible.
Surely fourteen people can’t die within the same second. Surely it isn’t possible for such an elaborate trap to be constructed inside the strongest, most secure building in all of Aculon. Surely, surely he’s not the only one in this room who survived.
Saps just watched fourteen skulls split open. He watched fourteen skulls split open, and now he’s watching pools of blood crawl slowly across the table.
It takes Saps a moment to process when guards come storming in the room.
He fights on pure instinct and nothing else. The guards overpower him, because of course they do. They have swords and armor, and Saps has his fists.
And now he sits in a dark prison cell, with one hand shackled and attached to a long chain bolted to the floor.
Blood soaks his clothes, and a few drops are still splattered across his cheeks. They never wiped it off. Saps thinks he might be shaking, but he isn’t really sure. He can’t feel much of anything right now except the frantic beating of his heart.
How? he thinks numbly. How did this happen?
If it were just Elanuelo who was executed, perhaps the reaction wouldn’t have been so severe. It’s vaguely possible, even, that some small groups may have been glad.
But Turkey? Drew? Clover? Red?
The people of Aculon loved Turkey. He’s charismatic, understanding, and always makes a point to vouch for the citizens interests to Elanuelo. And Drew… she was beloved as the leader of the military, seen as a symbol of Aculon’s strength and protection. Clover and Red, while authoritative, were widely loved officials.
And so many others…
So many people who everyone in Aculon thinks he was responsible for the death of.
He’s been framed. The realization hits Saps slowly, like water trickling down a tiny stream. Someone set him up. The broken ceiling, the meeting room, the fact that he’s the sole survivor…
He couldn't possibly look more guilty.
Tap. Tap. Tap
Saps jolts up at the sound. The footsteps get closer, boots tapping against the floor, until Fluixon is standing in front of his cell.
His face is emotionless. Saps jumps to his feet.
“Flux-” Saps grabs desperately at the bars of his cell. “Flux, I swear I didn’t do it. I swear it wasn’t me.”
“Saps-”
“You have to believe me!’ he cries. “I would never do that to you! Turkey saved my life when we were kids, I would never kill him! Please believe me, please, please-
“Saps!” Flux gently wraps his hand around Saps’. “I know.”
Saps sighs in relief. “Oh, thank- thank Ish, I was so scared. I… I don’t know what happened, but I swear I was framed. I was so scared you wouldn't believe me…” Saps exhales a shaky laugh.
Something is wrong, though. Because Flux only looks at him with an indecipherable expression.
When he smiles, there is an overwhelming amount of emotion in his eyes. Regret may be the most prominent. Fear, perhaps, or sadness. Maybe that’s just wishful thinking.
“I know you didn’t kill them.”
No, Saps thinks with slowly dawning horror. That’s not fear or regret. That’s pride.
“Because I did.”