A New Kingdom to Rule

The Boy Left Behind

———-

Iida painfully turned away from his friend. Body feeling hollow. Grief taking all that it could from him until nothing more than a shell remained. His eyes lost their colour, their hope, all purpose of the journey gone. There was no past or future only here and now in the present.

"Sho."

A mere week plea. Voice cracking as it strained to get the sound out. For the first time, Iida's composure wavered. He staggered to the metal bar doors bracing himself against them. Bile climbing it's way up his throat. His glasses threatened to slip again and he let them, until they crashed to the floor and cracked in two places.

"Shoto."

This time his voice came out a little firmer. Not much louder, but enough to warrant the King to turn his attention back to his guard. He stalked towards the cell. Face ghosting white when he confronted the shaken man before him.
His eyes scanned the guard from head to toe, torrents of questions flooded his mind. A silent conversation was held in that stare, over in a second.

They darted past to the scene behind him.

To the boy behind him.

A thick fog covered the entirety of Shoto's mind. A complicated mixture of anxiety and fury pooled in his stomach. Footsteps closer had him reeling in the realisation of what he had done and who he had done it to.
Somehow in the time it had taken Shoto to cautiously approach the corpse and fall at its feet, his mouth agape in despair with silent screams filling the void. Iida had walked behind him and rested a single hand on his shoulder. Though Shoto was in too much agony to feel it, it was nothing more than a phantom touch.
Shudder after shudder. No coherent sentence came out. Breathless cries, pleading hands, sorrow filled promises. Everything un-King like.
Hours passed.
They allowed themselves that.
Finally, as the sky darkened, and the air crisped.

"Midoriya."

Their voice was bottomless, deep and cruelly cold dripping like syrup from his tone.
The voice violently at odds with face from which it came. The hostile glint in the eyes, the paler than snow skin, and the stiff fisted hands.

"Shoto, let's get you back to the castle. Allow me to handle this with the respect and upmost care that young Midoriya deserved. I will see to it all, let's get you cleaned up. I'll have another guard look for any clues we could have missed in the interrogation room."

Soft and comforting but formal as ever. His guard reassuring as the King stood. Together they turned and walked from the cell, down the corridor in silence and out to the front gate where Shoto paused, turning to look back, his reflection caught him in one of the gate bars- a ghost of himself hoping, wanting to believe that Midoriya was following behind them. Realisation hit with its blast again, winding him.

"It's cold."

Shoto's eyes hadn't left the entrance. Iida couldn't quite place his expression but nodded simply to the statement. The temperature had dropped significantly around them but he knew that the King wasn't referring to that.
A shiver ran along the Kings shoulders, like a veil of ice. So he snapped his fingers as he continued to walk away. The entire building engulfed in a roaring and catastrophic fire. Every stone and mortar turning to ash beneath his ire.
The quiet orchestra of fire was the only sound that covered the crumbling of the building. The smell was rancid. Burning flesh, stone, and oil a combination that would assault any nose.
A weight formed in the pit of Iida's stomach as he dared to look back. He wouldn't question his Kings actions or command - it wasn't his place to.
But as a friend, he worried. He pitied the friend in-front of him and silently prayed for the one he lost. Anxiety of his own pulled at his instincts. Something about his King, the inhumane way he could switch off his emotions so drastically had them screaming.
The way he walked back towards his castle. Muttering to himself, stating irrelevant details about how his clothes were now dirty and how he would have to have them cleaned. Picking at the invisible specks of grime that had only been visible to him. Ignoring the questions and words of comfort from his guard. Ignoring the cry from the villagers, as they soon caught sight of the smoke and ran to help only to be confronted with the flames and seriousness of the situation. Believing them to be the work of the Rebels again.
Twice, he tripped on his way back. Twice his mumbling had him messing up his steps and having Iida to hold him steady. He leaned into the grip each time if only for a second before shrugging him off and continuing on again.

The walk went on for what felt like forever. Stars had risen and the moon being their light gave a solemn greeting. The sun, along with their friend had long gone.
Two guards at the door called for a butler and other house servants who ushered the King in. Escorting him to a bath that they had started to run being debriefed quietly by Iida along the way. Carefully distributing the information in private ways. Questions and condolences fell on the Kings deaf ears.

Reaching the bathroom door, Shoto was assisted with undressing, standing bare muttering away still as they prepared him for the bubbling water.
A maid had looked to Iida who was barely holding himself together, her gaze followed his to the floor before returning to her task. Her hand in Shotos as she led him to the bath, her voice melodic and sweet as she spoke instructions, guiding him to lift his feet to ebb his way in gradually. Aware of shock potentially hitting his system.

Water danced around his ankles as he stood on the first step, the maids hand still in his own, thumbing circles as she guided him further in.
His mumbling for a moment became a little clearer to Iida's ears.

"It's okay, it's warm now. You can be warm now."

"That's right your highness, it's warm, see. Let's relax now it's been a long day."

Eyelashes fluttered as the true expanse of his emotions had finally hit Iida. A hand quickly covered his dry lips before he ran out of the room to another bathroom. Vomit bursting out of his mouth into the sink, heavy uncontrollable, angered tears drenched his face forcing the normally pristine skin to become an emotionally twisted mess. It's here he stayed for the rest of the night.
Memories from hours ago being relived in violent hallucinations that caused vomit until all that was left was bile, a cold sweat and his own crying howls.
Midoriyas laughter forever seemingly haunting his ears.