Chapter Text
KON
From the moment Kon heard about the Selection he had a bad feeling. It hadn’t been long since the former Crown Prince Dick Grayson-Wayne had given up his duties to marry the love of his life, Queen Koriand’r of Tamaran. In the time since that scandal, there had been questions about who would succeed the current King Bruce. Eventually it had become clear that the most suitable choice was Prince Tim Drake-Wayne. He had been adopted a decade prior by the king and trained in politics from a young age by his late parents who had been distant royalty themselves. It was unclear to the public whether the decision was an easy one, or whether there had been resistance from the parties involved, but the result remained the same.
The future king had to find a spouse, and within a few weeks, the chosen few would be sent to the palace to undergo the process of courting a prince.
The news had arrived as Kon had been studying for his Media Law and Ethics final, and he hadn’t bothered to think about what it meant. His focus had been slipping lately with regards to his schoolwork, and he knew that he needed to study hard to do well on this final. He was nearing the end of his four years at Metropolis University and had little to show for it. The least he could do was put everything into his classes.
There was only so much he could tolerate relying on his dad and Lois to get his foot in the door. He appreciated their offers to help or provide references, but he knew that if he wanted to be respected in the industry, he needed to do it for himself.
His laser focus could only last so long though, and eventually he had to come up for air after sorting through his notes on ethical sources for the last time. When he did so, the first thing he noticed was the news story on the tv that his roommate was watching with an atypical level of interest. His roommate Logan was not the type of guy to watch the news. He was the complete opposite of Kon who had to stay up to date for his major, and refused to spend his time learning about current events when he could be hanging out with his frat brothers or watching the chick flicks he pretends he’s never seen.
“Yo dude, come check this out!” Logan yelled while waving Kon over.
Kon made his way to the living room slowly, hesitance clear in every step. He wondered absentmindedly if he needed to prepare for some kind of disaster with the way Logan was staring so intently at the screen. Once he got the couch, however, the headline had his own mouth parting in shock.
Crown Prince Tim Drake-Wayne to Hold his Selection by Randomly Choosing 20 Citizens Between the Ages of 19 and 23.
The announcement itself wasn’t a shock as everyone knew this had to be coming soon, but Kon was thrown off by a few other elements. Typically the Selection wasn’t random but rather between members of nobility or the upper class. Also, the fact that they were including both women and men was worth noting. There had been rumors about the new Crown Prince, but Kon supposed that they had just been confirmed.
“Hey Kon, what are the odds that we get chosen?” Kon was thrown off by the excitement in Logan’s voice, but then he remembered all the times Logan had gushed to him about what Prince Tim had been up to and suddenly it made sense.
“I mean, they’re only choosing 20 people and millions of citizens fit that requirement so it’s unlikely.” Seeing that his words had not been received well, Kon cringed and went to correct himself, “But I mean it’s possible…”
“Nah man you’re right.” Logan smiled sadly and went back to watching the news story on the TV in silence. Kon stood there awkwardly for a moment before he decided his studying was not in fact done.
With that uncomfortable encounter Kon avoided thinking about the Selection until the day came for the participants to be announced. He found himself once again in the living room of his apartment next to Logan. He couldn’t help the nerves that he felt while they waited for the announcement, and began fiddling with the fraying edges of their cheap couch which was barely big enough for the two of them.
“Hello, welcome everyone to the much anticipated announcement of the participants in the Selection to one day become the consort of Crown Prince Tim Drake-Wayne. We are lucky enough to be joined this evening by His Royal Highness himself to talk about his feelings on the upcoming Selection.”
Kon cringed at the overly fake enthusiasm of the reporter, but found himself focusing on Tim once he appeared on screen. It was far from the first time that he had seen the prince’s face, but he took the opportunity to pay attention to things he hadn’t noticed in the past. The crown prince didn’t look upset or annoyed at his situation, but something about his smile ate at Kon’s instincts that all wasn’t well. It’s likely Tim wasn’t exactly happy being in this situation in the first place. Kon didn’t blame him.
“Hi Vicki, it’s nice to see you again.” He flashed a polished smile to the camera, and Kon could see how he had grown up trained for the media. “Thank you for having me. I’m very excited to meet the participants in the next few days and look forward to starting this process.” He sounded sincere, but Kon wondered how much of that sentiment was wanting the whole process to be over with.
“Of course, your highness.” Vicki’s smile had reached blinding levels. “The public seems to be equally excited for the process and the opportunity to meet and court yourself. One thing they’ve taken notice of is that the selection includes both men and women. Would you care to elaborate on that choice?”
Tim chuckled lightly at that comment, the media smile still on full display. “Why yes, that has been a popular topic of discussion. It’s simple. I enjoy the company of both men and women and didn’t want to restrict myself to a Selection with one or the other. Especially so, when I could have a better chance of finding a future consort well-suited for the role this way. I simply wanted to keep mine and the country’s options open.” He spoke very matter-of-fact but left no room for suggestions against his decision. Kon could see how he would be a strong and decisive leader in the future.
The interview continued, but Kon zoned out as he lost interest in the questions being asked. He would rather be watching the real news and hearing about the state of the country than listening to the reporter fruitlessly dig for answers to questions the prince wouldn’t be acknowledging. Kon didn’t know much about the man, but from what news stories he’s seen the crown prince chose to keep himself separate from most controversial issues. He mostly spoke on international relations prior to gaining his current position.
Kon didn’t think very highly of the royal family due to their general ineffectiveness at solving the country's issues, but at least Tim himself didn’t seem to be uninterested in improving the country and helping those in need. As is, Kon chose to reserve his judgement until he gained a clearer picture of the man and his goals.
If nothing else, this segment had shown Kon that the man was very capable of talking circles around even trained reporters. Despite everything said, Crown Prince Tim had given nothing away regarding the specifics of the process. It was clear from the interview that information regarding the Selection would be carefully shrouded and on a need-to-know basis. At least the whole thing won’t be overly televised, Kon mused as the interview came to an end.
“Thank you again for talking with me, Your Highness. I look forward to seeing who you choose to be your future spouse.”
For the first time there was a slight crack in the crown prince’s crafted demeanor as he twitched slightly at Vicki’s comment. “Why thank you Vicki. I look forward to meeting that person myself.”
Finally, the segment ended and the news cut to a video describing the Selection, and how the process of choosing the participants had gone. Within a few minutes the list of those chosen began to display on the screen, one name appearing at a time. Out of the corner of his eyes Kon saw Logan sit up straight and felt himself do the same despite wanting to remain uninterested. The whole spectacle didn’t sit well with Kon and he began to wonder why this felt like a sentencing when it happened.
“Conner Kent from Smallville.”
A ringing noise sounded in Kon’s ears and he felt his heart drop. Logan on his other side had stood up and started screaming in excitement. Kon could feel the other man shaking his shoulders but only one thought was repeating itself over and over in his head.
Shit.
TIM
Freshly twenty-one, the now Crown Prince Tim was suddenly faced with the reality that he would never be able to choose his own future. When Dick left to live in Tamaran the entire family fully supported his decision, Tim included. Everyone knew how Dick had been pining after Kori since they were much younger, and Dick had never expressed any interest in one day becoming the king.
In fact, most of Tim’s siblings showed no desire for the position despite being in line for the throne. Jason did everything he could to forfeit his second-in-line position from a young age and made it clear he would act as captain of the guard and nothing more. Cass’ passion for ballet remained her foremost priority and inevitable future. Damian was the only one who wanted the position, but he wasn’t going to be prepared any time soon, and so he was out of the running.
Tim was never supposed to end up in the position he found himself in now. He had been fourth in line. Even so, he smiled and clapped when Dick announced he was leaving, and accepted his new reality with little fanfare and even less complaint.
They all knew Bruce was tired of ruling. He had been king since he was eight years old and his parents were assassinated by a rebel group. It was only through Alfred’s guidance as the late King Thomas’ advisor and the new regent that the kingdom hadn’t fallen into disrepair. As it was, the power gap and child king allowed for enough corruption to make its way into the court, and to this day many of the issues hadn’t been solved. Tim understood that it would be his primary responsibility to continue the fight his adoptive father had been waging since he was officially crowned at only eighteen.
So despite Tim never desiring the throne, he found himself in position to become the king within a year's time. The only thing standing in his way was the law stating that the ruler of the country had to be married to be officially crowned. The law itself was so archaic that even Bruce forgot it existed since he was lucky enough to get out of it himself. Only due to Bruce’s unique circumstances was he forfeit from the marriage clause, but the royal council had come together and agreed that moving forward the law would need to be adhered to.
Tim suspected that there were nefarious reasons for the specific timing of the decision and chaos that would come from the Selection process, but unfortunately he was at the whims of the council in this particular decision.
As soon as the interview with Vicki Vale came to an end Tim practically ran from the room. He hated the thought of the entire process and knew that as soon as the names started coming out everything would be chaos. He wanted to be in the castle by that time.
Reporters were parked outside the building and Tim smiled pleasantly at them while waving, but upon entering the waiting car the media smile slid off his face.
“Hi Alfred,” Tim chirped.
“No need to fake excitement at seeing my face, Your Highness.” Tim smiled wryly at Alfred in the car mirror. “As I understand it you’ll want to get back as soon as possible?”
“Please.” Tim ground out, already dreading the comments and speculation that were about to commence about his life.
To his credit Alfred didn’t correct his tone for once and instead drove them back to the palace at what might have been slightly above the speed limit. When they arrived Tim bee lined up to his rooms, ready to sulk for the hour until his next meeting. Instead, upon entering his room he found his sister Cass waiting for him.
She claimed her usual spot on the hanging chair in the corner, her legs above her head as she played classical music out loud from her phone. A smile made its way onto his face at the sight and he tipped his head in greeting, waiting for her to share why she was there.
She turned her head in his direction as the door shut, and took in his ruffled appearance with a slight grin.
“You look well.” Tim rolled his eyes at her sarcasm and dramatically splayed himself on his bed in response. “The names have just been announced.”
Tim hummed in response, recalling the names that he had been shown earlier in the week. While the Selection of names was random, they still screened those chosen and Tim himself had been allowed to see the final 20 and read a short blurb on them so he wasn’t going in blind.
“The others will be starting their bets soon I suppose.” Tim mumbled and Cass huffed a laugh in response. He glanced over and the look on her face let him know they had already started. How they had, he wasn’t sure but he wouldn’t be surprised if one of them had stolen the list several days ago after he had been shown it. He went back to staring at his ceiling, dread increasing with each passing moment.
Cass stood abruptly, practically rolling off the chair and straightening up in a move only possible from years of dancing. She walked over to him and stopped with her face directly in his line of sight. “This will be good for you.” There was confidence in her voice. Surety. Tim wished he felt any of that.
“We’ll see.”