Larkin watched as the flames of the beacon fire danced, as if sensing the anticipation of the day to come. She tore her eyes away just long enough to scan the room. Everyone had gathered, save for Jett and Scoril.
"He's late," Ulf growled. The ceremony was supposed to have started half and hour ago. Beside them, Koraki huffed.
"I guess I better go see what the rascal's gotten himself up to. He should know better than this," Koraki extended his wings and, shooting Larkin an exasperated look, flew out of the throne room.
"You know, its not to late to change your mind," Ulf pointed out in a hushed tone.
Larkin shook her head. "This is for the best," She responded.
"You've met Jett. You're telling me you really believe that?" Ulf challenged. Larking didn't respond.
She glanced at Age. She was with that mirror again. Accident. She knew, deep down, her daughter would make an incredible queen, and it felt like a betrayal to Topaz's memory to fail to pass on the throne to his chosen heir, but this was what Age had chosen. A normal life. Something Larkin had never really had, and she didn't have to heart to take that from her. Of course, until Jett had any children, Age was second in line for the throne, so she wasn't free of the grasp of the crown, but this gave her time. Time to be ready.
"Larkin?" Ulf asked, worry sparking in his green eyes. Larkin smiled sadly.
"This is the way it needs to be," She confirmed.
"And nothing I say is going to change your mind?" Ulf asked.
"Nothing," Larkin said, focusing her gaze again upon the beacon. Where was Jett? And what was taking him so long?
"Oh, you should have seen the look on his face!" Jett laughed. Beside him, Scoril was incapacitated with peals of laughter.
The two friends were hanging out in Jett's quarters. With all of Scoril's training, they had hardly been able to spend any time together lately. Falcon had given Scoril the day off for the coronation, and she had come over early that morning so they could hang out.
Unfortunately, the pair were interrupted by a knock at the door. Koraki didn't even wait for an answer before swinging open the door.
"Really?" The corven exclaimed, looking upon the scene in utter disbelief. "You know, I would have thought that on your coronation of all days you'd have the good sense to actually show up on time!"
"Relax, don't get your feathers in a twist," Jett rolled his eyes. "I was just spending some time with my friend, what's so bad about that?"
"What's 'so bad' about that is that the rest of the clan has been waiting for you to show up for the past half hour," Koraki huffed. "Do you even
want this crown?"
"Hey, chill out there," Jett said, getting to his feet. "There's no need to get all dramatic, I just lost track of time, that's all. I'm coming."
"You better be," The corven shot a glare at both Jett and Scoril before leading them towards the throne room. He continually looked back to shoot them dirty looks as they make jokes and giggled the entire walk. Jett didn't fall silent until he entered the throne room, and was suddenly hit with the realization that this would all soon be his.
"Ah, Jett, there you are," Larkin said tersely. "Now we can begin."
As the tundra began a long speech, Jett found his mind wandering. What was with all these formalities anyways? Everyone knew he was going to be king, why not just give him to crown?
After some time, he realized that everyone was staring at him.
"What?" Jett asked.
"I said, do you vow to serve this clan, to promote the well-being of its inhabitants, and to do everything in your power to continue the legacy of this kingdom?" Larkin asked, clearly a bit irritated at his apathy.
"Yeah, sure, whatever," Jett shrugged. At his response, Ulf turned to glare at him. To any other dragon, it would likely be intimidating, but Jett didn't really care what the others thought of him. He was going to get the crown regardless, then no one could tell him what he could or couldn't do. They all knew that it was his destiny anyways. Who could fight destiny?
"Very well," Jett could tell that Larkin wasn't all to pleased with his answer either, but she couldn't do anything about it. "Jett, with this crown, you are now officially the king of The Forgotten Kingdom. Use your power wisely."
Jett lifted his head as the crown was lifted from Topaz's statue and placed on his head. The weight of it felt oddly satisfying, and he felt a thrill of excitement course through him. This was the day he was born for.
As he looked over his subjects, he held his head up high and a smirk crossed his face. He paused only as his gaze met Heaven's, and he couldn't deny the slight hint of anxiety that rose up in him. Now that he was king, she'd come to collect. He was in her debt, and whatever she asked, he couldn't refuse. Not when it was she who had given him this crown.
He just hoped she was truly on his side.
Age couldn't help but shiver. All of this seemed so final. Jett was king now, and that meant her father was really, truly gone. He wasn't coming back. Ever. And now Jett was king. Age couldn't help but feel she had made a terrible, horrible mistake. She might not be ready to be king, but Jet was even less so. If anything, his apathy during the coronation proved that.
Of course, she had already planned on stepping up to be his advisor. Just because he was grown up didn't mean his lessons were going to stop. She just hoped that was enough.
"Are you okay?" Accident asked, his four blue eyes deep with concern.
"I will be," Age sighed. She hoped it was true.
"Can we go now?' Accident asked, looking around awkwardly. Age knew large crowds made him nervous, so she nodded in agreement. Silently, she got to her feet and left. She herself was feeling uncomfortable, which was unusual considering how close she had been to everyone once. Still, knowing that one of the number was a murderer really made it hard to trust her clanmates.
Without realizing where she was going, she found herself in her room. As Accident looked around in awe, Age realized that she had never actually shown him this part of the palace before. She began looking at it through his eyes. Compared to his camp, her bedroom was massive. It was big enough, not only for a bed, but also a whole sitting area and two desks. Bookshelves lined the wall, and there were doors leading to a bathroom, a safehouse, and a closet that she had turned into a hideout rather than a place to store her limited number of clothes. It was made to house a couple and still have room for hatchlings, all of the rooms were. Not that anyone in the palace shared, save for the twins.
"You live here?" Accident asked, eyes wide. "Wow, it really makes my camp seem like a dump, doesn't it?"
"I like your camp!" Age protested, and she genuinely meant it. There was something charming about something crafted entirely by the hands of the dragon who lived there. She loved the trinkets he had been collecting, scavenging them from the ruins. It was a place untouched by the politics and drama of the court.
"But you get to sleep in a palace every night!" Accident pointed out. "Like look how soft that bed looks? Is it soft? I bet it's soft. I sleep on the ground every night!" The mirror rushed over to flop himself onto the bed, dragging Age behind him. "See! It's so soft!" He hit her with a pillow. "See? If I threw my pillow at you, you'd be seriously hurt because its a rock!"
"Wealth isn't everything," Age said quietly, suddenly aware of how close to the two of them were. "You're you, and that's what I love about you."
"Wait, did you just say-" Accident trailed off, blushing slightly.
"Was that too much? Oh gosh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make things awkward, I'm just so emotional after everything, and you've been such a big help I don't know how I'd have done all this without-" Age blubbered on, before Accident put his tail to her mouth to quiet her.
"Hey, it's okay! I love you too! I just thought a princess like you wouldn't be into a disaster like me. I've never really been anything to anyone before," Accident admitted, growing redder.
"Accident, I'm not really a princess," Age said, growing warm. "Not anymore."
"Age, you'll always be a princess. It's in your blood, I know how these things work. I'll always be a nobody," Accident said sadly. "We're from different worlds."
"Not really," Age said. "Besides, you're not a nobody to me. To me, you are everything."
"You don't mean that," Accident said sadly.
"I do, I honestly do. And I'm never going to give up on you. You are my best friend. You are so much more than that. I want it to be so much more than that," Age felt her face get warm.
"I want that too," Accident admitted.
Age smiled, and curled into Accident. She felt his body wrap around hers, and for the first time since her father's murder, she felt true peace.
He stayed with her through the rest of the day, and into the night. Age never wanted this to end. She wished she could close out the world and live in this bubble, but with a murderer on the lose and Jett in charge of the kingdom, she knew reality would be crashing in all to soon.
But she didn't have to do it alone. Accident was here, and that was all she needed.
So, can you guess who I put on a nest yesterday?
