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“Ready or not, here I come!”
Riku hid a chuckle behind his hand as the kid toddled past him, eager to find his younger friend who had gone hiding behind the barrels near the wall. They reminded him of simpler times, before wars and fallen kingdoms and lost memories— a time when he and his best friend played in the courtyard of a kingdom now lost to time.
However, it appeared the friendship remained. As well as the hide and seek.
Finally, Riku spotted a shape move towards the eastern side of the wall. It moved slow and would have been nearly inconspicuous if Riku didn’t know what — or rather, who — he was looking for. The hood hid most of the figure’s hair, but one familiar spike poked out.
“Your highness,” Riku said, loud enough to startle the figure, but enough to draw attention to themselves. “Do you or do you not have a meeting with the advisors at the morning bell?”
Prince Sora of the Destiny Isles jerked at Riku’s question before turning to meet his gaze with a beguiling smile. “Maybe?”
Hands on his hips, Riku met Sora’s smile with a smirk of his own. “I don’t recall that meeting being in town… change in venue?”
“C’mon, Riku!” Sora whined, “Morning bell’s hours away still. I just wanna—”
“I’m supposed to keep you safe,” Riku pointed out. “Is that not what you hired me for?”
“Well, yeah, I hired you because you’re strong and brave and true,” Sora teased, poking a finger at Riku’s chest after every descriptor, “and you keep me safe by coming with me. Like always.”
Riku sighed, shaking his head and placing a hand to his forehead in fond exasperation. But Sora was right. This was the usual routine. Riku would catch Sora trying the sneak out of the castle grounds, and Riku would usually follow him. “Remind me again why we don’t just use the gates?”
Sora whooped quietly, knowing that he won. “Because, then the guards will tell their captain, their captain will tell the Steward, and then the Steward will tell the Duke! And you know just who the Duke will tell— The advisors! And then I’ll have to sit through their dumb logic as to why I can’t go see my people.”
Riku shook his head. “Their logic isn’t dumb. It’s reasonable, especially since you’re now regent while your father recovers. And the last time you were vulnerable in public you—”
“Yeah, but that was before I had you on my side,” Sora said, already climbing the wall using the familiar handholds. Riku followed close behind. “You won’t ever let someone hurt me like that again. Right?”
Riku gazed up into blue eyes, feeling his heartbeat a little quicker. Coming from anyone else, it may have sounded like a taunt or a threat but from Sora? It was an earnest question like he needed Riku’s reassurance that Riku would never let him fall.
And Riku never would. It was a vow he took long before he became Sora’s personal Knight.
Unfortunately, Sora didn’t remember that. An attempted poisoning led to gaps in the prince’s memory and he forgot about his childhood friend— a young prince to whom he was engaged.
Which was fine with Riku. He also wanted to forget about his former life.
Riku had arrived on the Destiny Isles about a year ago, which was a year after his own life was destroyed. In his dreams, Riku could still smell the smoke, his father’s rough hands as they shoved him over the bridge that connected their home to the town and Riku fell into the dark river below. He broke the surface just in time to see the castle— his home — catch fire, the orange glow lighting up the night, and his father nowhere to be seen.
The river’s current carried him far and fast, despite his best efforts to fight it. By the time he reached calmer waters, he was exhausted and it was all he could do to reach shallow water before collapsing. Upon his wake, he found that the castle keep had fallen, the king had died, and the usurpers now in place. A death warrant was already on his head, and the kingdom was nothing like Riku remembered.
So he left.
To provide cover during travel, he signed on to guard refugee caravans as they headed out of the kingdom, fleeing the very Darkness that had invaded the hearts and minds of his people, causing them to turn on each other and their government. The last Riku had heard in the port city of Atlantica, his once flourishing kingdom was now in the midsts of chaos and anarchy. And Riku couldn’t bring himself to care. He would be able to defeat such darkness on his own, and fighting would just reap more. Other kingdoms were already stepping into the power vacuum left behind— perhaps it would be best for the exiled prince to simply disappear.
So, instead, he boarded a ship and worked as a deckhand. Soon he managed to put his past life out of mind. He cut his hair, changed his clothes— but he never let his sword: Braveheart, out of sight.
However, after reaching the island kingdom of Destiny Islands, his past came creeping upon him in the form of a smile as bright as the sun, and a necklace that flashed in the early morning light.
Sora.
Even the memory of his name had brought a smile to Riku’s face, a smile that was almost painful with how little use the muscles had in the past year. But that’s how Sora was, at least, the Sora Riku remembered. He could bring a smile to any situation. Even to a long and boring arranged marriage meeting in a garden now gone. Clenching his fist, Riku remembered the feeling of Sora’s smaller hand in his own, and a vow to protect him during a meteor shower—
Well… not like Riku could protect him now. He couldn’t even protect his own kingdom and—
“Hey! That’s so unfriendly!”
Riku couldn’t help it. He turned at Sora’s distressed voice.
“I’m supposed to be your guard. After what happened to your father? To you? You’re too trusting, your highness,” someone else answered, followed by the distressed cry of a woman.
“She’s an old woman! You didn’t have to—”
“We’re returning to the castle now.”
“No. We need to help and—”
“ Now, your highness.”
Riku knew that look in Sora’s eye. Even though they weren’t little kids anymore… He knew that look. Sora was ready to both cry and fight.
And Riku couldn’t stand to see him cry.
“He said no.” The words came from Riku’s mouth before he could stop them. He hadn’t intended to get involved.
The guy turned towards Riku, and Riku frowned at the hold he had on Sora’s wrist. “Who the hell are you?”
“I— Nobody.”
“Then maybe you should shut up, nobody.” The guy growled and finally let go of Sora’s wrist to lunge at Riku.
With a quick move, Riku dodged out of the way, using braveheart to block the retaliating blow and knocked his attacker off balance. The guy fell into the mud, much to the delight of their onlookers.
“Sorry,” Riku said, holding a hand out for the guy to grab and get back up, but he was ignored.
“Wow! That was awesome!”
Riku turned again to Sora’s voice and he struggled with the urge to hide his face. What would Sora think of him? A prince who was exiled from his own kingdom? Sora probably thinks he’s weak and—
“What’s your name?”
Riku blinked. What? Did Sora not—
Did Sora not remember him?
For a moment, Riku considered giving his full name… but it was long and unwieldy, and it was never what Sora called him. Sora always called him—
“Riku.”
No spark of recognition appeared in Sora’s eyes, and Riku bit his lip, unsure how to feel about that. He decided to try and not feel anything about it at all.
“Well, Riku, how bout a job?” Sora grinned. “Unless you already have one, of course, but I would definitely appreciate it. I seem to be in need of a knight who knows when to defend me, and when to help me. Can you do that?”
Riku hesitated. He could do that, he would love to do that, but should he? He hadn’t planned on even staying in this kingdom beyond the day it would take for the ship to set sail once more, but—
His eyes caught the glare from Sora’s necklace.
He had made a promise.
“Yes,” Riku nodded. “I will.”
“Hey,” The guy shouted, finally standing up. “Don’t think you can take that honor, nobody!”
“Riku can’t take an honor you never really had,” Sora stated, his voice taking on a regal tone Riku had never heard before.
The guy growled before running off and Sora turned to Riku. “So… Sir Riku… can I just call you Riku though? I suppose we should properly knight you though. And maybe give you some uh… non-sea-faring clothes? Not that you don’t look good in those but—”
“Uh…” Riku looked down. He was only wearing the sleeveless white shirt and dark pants he had found in their last port. But…
Sora thought he looked good?
Sora laughed at his response and a thought passed through Riku’s head. A thought that he struggled to push down, no matter how much it would reassure itself through the years.
Instead, he followed Sora as they walked to the castle and Riku started a new chapter of his life and—
“Riku… you gonna hang out there all day or are you actually gonna come with me?”
Riku was startled out of his thoughts and he turned his attention down to where Sora was already making his descent. With a grin, Riku followed, managing to descend the wall even faster, despite Sora’s head start.
Sora huffed as he passed. “Show off!”
“C’mon, I thought you were faster than that!” Riku called back as he jumped to the ground.
“I am faster! Wanna see?”
Sora let go of the wall, letting gravity take over. With a gasp, Riku held out his arms and caught Sora easily. By the smug grin on his friend’s face, that had been Sora’s plan the entire time.
“See? That was totally faster!” Sora laughed, squeezing his arms around Riku's neck, lingering there for a long moment before pulling away and catching Riku's gaze. In what must have been an unconscious gesture, Sora's cute pink tongue peeked out to lick his lips, and his eyes seemed to darken.
Riku felt his face heat up as he caught a whiff of Sora's soap and natural sunshine scent. He could lean in just a bit and—
With a shake of his head, Riku dispelled those thoughts and instead sat Sora back on his feet. “And if I wasn’t here, you would have totally broken your neck.”
Sora laughed but didn’t respond and they instead walked down the path to town.
As soon as they got there, Sora ran off to the usual haunts: helping the baker move loaves from the ovens in the basement to the shop upstairs, hauling water for the women starting their laundry, rescuing kittens from trees—
And, of course, getting Riku to assist him in every chore.
“Why thank you, young man,” the old woman said as she took the squirmy cat from Riku’s arms. He was thankful he wore long sleeves that day. That cat needed a better scratching post.
As she walked away, Riku took a moment to look around town. It seemed the same as ever but—
Were there fewer people milling around?
Glancing around, Riku thought he saw fewer windows open, despite the unexpectedly cool day after a heatwave. A few of the alleyways seemed… darker than usual.
Consciously, he moved closer to where he could hear Sora conversing with the butcher.
“So… you noticed it too.”
“Huh?” Riku looked around. “Oh, hello Leon.”
“Riku.” Leon nodded and joined him leaning against the building. Head of the town guard, Leon was one of the few townspeople who technically knew of Sora’s little escapades throughout the town.
“So… the people?” Riku looked around again. There were definitely fewer people.
“Officially, illness.”
“Plague?!” Riku shouted, though he quickly quieted when Leon shot him a glare.
“Shut up, you want to cause a panic?” Leon groaned. “It’s not like the sickness plaguing the king. Or what caused Sora’s memory loss— But a few more people than usual have been getting sick with the usual flu, a few pneumonia cases— But sickness is the best way I can figure out how to explain it. They’re just… not acting themselves. They barricade themselves in their home, refuse to come out except at night. And the things they say—”
Leon shook his head and Riku’s worry heightened. He didn’t know much about Leon, except that he was a warrior at some point in his life. If even he was worried, then…
“Cloud feels it too, and I’m worried about him.” Leon’s voice turned soft at the mention of his husband. “And it makes me think that Sora shouldn’t come into the city so often.”
“You know telling him that is gonna only make him come more often,” Riku pointed out. Sora would only worry if he knew that something was affecting his kingdom.
“Yeah…” Leon admitted, then turned so he faced Riku more. “There’s something else you should know.”
Riku turned as well. “Yeah?”
Leon took a side glance to the bar across the street. “Someone’s been coming to town recently. Been spewing a lot of crap too. Stir up trouble between the townspeople… and between the townspeople and the monarchy. He’s been quieted most nights but—”
“But people are starting to listen,” Riku surmised. “Any idea who he is? You know Sora would be more than willing to listen if he has complaints.”
“I know that, but—” Leon sighed. “I don’t think he’s from… around here exactly. Or from the surrounding countryside. He may dress as a merchant, but his clothes, his mannerisms? It’s like when you and Sora visit. No matter how dressed down he gets, there’s just something noble about him... and you. It’s the same with this guy. His words are ignoble but he's definitely from the upper class. Maybe even all the way up.”
“The court?” Rebellion within the court? But why?
Riku suddenly remembered the whispers surrounding his father’s court. He had been too young to understand but— He remembered that though it was the middle and lower classes that had overrun the castle, it was the nobility who let them in before they tore each other apart.
The story of Riku’s kingdom was known far and wide. Who would want a repeat story here on the Destiny Isles? The small but prosperous kingdom was known for being one of the most peaceful kingdoms. Why sow discontent here?
Why—
Ding!
“Oh shit, Sora! We gotta—”
“On it!”
Sora was already saying goodbye to his friends and racing down the street, Riku hot on his heels. As soon as they got to the wall Sora practically ran up. Riku climbed up to join him. They managed to dodge most of the guards on their way back into the castle, but as soon as they entered they nearly ran right into the delegation of nobles Sora was supposed to be meeting with.
“Where’s his highness?!”
“Oh no,” Sora pulled Riku into an alcove before the nobles saw him.
Riku held him close, their heartbeats racing against each other. Hot breaths hit Riku’s neck as Sora tried to muffle his breathing against Riku’s shoulder. Suppressing a shudder, Riku held his breath until he heard the nobles move down another corridor.
“Okay, it’s safe.”
Sora ducked out of the alcove and then broke away from Riku as he stepped fully into the hallway. Riku missed his warmth.
“Thanks, Riku! Oh man, what would I do without you?”
“Probably have your hind tanned by the Duke for your ‘un princely’ behavior.”
“Oh yuck, you’re right.” Sora laughed.
At that moment, the sun broke through the clouds and shone through the stained glass that lined the hallway, illuminating Sora in an otherworldly glow. With his lingering smile, blue eyes, and gorgeous brown hair—
The thought that had been plaguing Riku since he became Sora’s personal guard popped into his head once more.
Oh shit— I love him.