Ethereal ◆ Shoto Todoroki x Reader

10 | The Plan

It's dinner time at the Todoroki palace.

And you couldn't be more nervous.

Shoto's father is scary and stern, and you have been avoiding him as much as possible. But you can't avoid him at the dinner table.

You sit down next to Shoto, glancing at him nervously.

His father hasn't yet arrived.

The atmosphere is calming and quiet, which eases your nerves slightly, until he comes barging through the door.

Enji Todoroki.

He sits across from you, disregarding Shoto. He claps twice and the maids rush in, carrying trays of food and setting them down.

"Itadakimasu!"

The king picks up a turkey leg and stuffs it in his mouth, chewing slowly, watching you.

You slice the food, carefully placing it in your mouth, maintaining eye contact.

Shoto glares at his father.

You sweat nervously.

"So," the king says, swallowing, "have you decided anything about the wedding?"

You wipe your face and shake your head. What Shoto said pops in your mind.

"Of course he won't start to hint at it until after the wedding, but just be prepared."

He must want the wedding to happen as quickly as possible.

You smile. You've always been good at lying.

"Well, your Majesty, me and Shoto here-" he looks surprised at you using his son's first name-"might need a while to prepare the wedding. It must be extravagant, don't you think? Fit for a king, you must understand."

The king hides his grimace, but you can basically read his mind just from his expression.

He doesn't care.

Shoto looks at you, also surprised. 

You glance at him as you slice the turkey, smiling.

The King clears his throat. "Well, yes, but you should wed as soon as possible. I will hire someone to make sure of it."

Shoot.

"But," you come up with a comeback-"I should meet the people first. Bond with them, no? It would be better for the kingdom, knowing their future queen."

You shoot daggers at the king with your eyes, willing him to comply.

He nods. "Perhaps. Fine then, but it must be done in a month's time."

You inwardly celebrate, looking at Shoto once again.

One month is more than enough time to dethrone King Mizuki and expose his plan.

Shoto smiles at you, nodding slightly.

You survived dinner, now you must survive the night.

◆

The castle is dark and the sky is darker.

You're sneaking through the hall to Shoto's room in the middle of the night, but not for some naughty purpose.

You need to make a plan.

You're good at planning and strategizing, and you thoroughly enjoy it, as boring as it seems.

The thrill of knowing exactly whats going to happen at exactly what time? Addicting.

You sneak through the quiet halls, surprised at the lack of guards. Your heart is pounding, filling your ears.

You knock on Shoto's door, hoping he's awake at this hour. It creaks open.

Shoto is sitting at his desk leafing through the pages in a book, a small light on beside him. 

"Ah, hello," he whispers, looking at you.

Your instinctively cover yourself. You're wearing a very revealing nightdress.

"H-hello."

He waves at you, telling you to come closer. "Look."

He points at the book in front of him and you quickly and quietly read the page.

"Who are you?" asked the little prince, and added, "You are very pretty to look at."

"I am a fox," the fox said.

"Come and play with me," proposed the little prince. "I am so unhappy."

"I cannot play with you," the fox said. "I am not tamed."

"Ah! Please excuse me," said the little prince.

But, after some thought, he added:

"What does that mean--'tame'?"

"You do not live here," said the fox. "What is it that you are looking for?"

You smile. "I know this book! Hiro used to read it to me when I first came to the palace."

You think about the book as he puts it away, and the short lines you read.

"You do not live here, what is it you are looking for?"

It's ironic. I don't live here. I don't live anywhere anymore. Yet I don't know what I'm looking for. You think to yourself. What are you looking for? To be a good queen?

Shoto smiles and starts to speak, interrupting your thoughts. "Yes. The Little Prince. My mother read it to me, long, long ago."

His eyes, lit up by the small lamp next to him, are full of longing. For what, you do not know.

"Do you miss her?"

You don't know much about the Todoroki family, but you do know that Shoto has siblings, somewhere. And that his mother is constantly with a doctor. People say the queen is insane.

Shoto sighs. "I do not deserve to miss her."

"What did you come here for?" He says, his eyes no longer showing emotion.

"We have to make a plan," you say to him, changing the subject. "I don't want my father to rule anymore."

Shoto raises his eyebrows. "Nor do I." 

You nod. "Both of our fathers are corrupt, in one way or another. I feel like they have some ulterior motive."

"Yes, I agree."

So you two spend the night thinking, brainstorming, coming up with a plan...

...to dethrone the kings and be free again.

◆

(just to clarify, the lines from the book The Little Prince  are not mine. It is indeed a real book that I have read and enjoyed.)