I have to thank my friend LittleLinor for this idea. She totally made my day when she reviewed and we started talking.
This one's for you, LL.
If I owned Origins, all of my oneshots would either be true, or outtakes at the end. so I don't own.
King Ladekhan sighed as he watched his best friend walk away.
'I'm sorry, Gib… It wasn't supposed to be this way…' he thought miserably.
The castle seemed bigger, emptier, lonelier, now that Rambari and Gibari were both gone. Oh, they were two different types of gone, but the hurt was the same.
What bothered him most, however, was that he couldn't get the face out of his mind. That older, crueler, more sculpted face. The man was an Imperial, Ladekhan was sure of it, and at least thirty, if the boy-king had to guess. Far too old for a boy of thirteen, at any rate. Still, though… no matter what Ladekhan was doing, no matter what he was trying to focus on, that face still tormented his thoughts and took over his dreams.
The hours bled into days, and the days blurred into weeks. Sagi and his friends had been in and out a few times, but never with Gibari or Palolo.
'Or that Imperial,' his mind whispered darkly. The boy-king fought down a girlish blush and shook his head. Traitorously, his thoughts turned to images of the well-dressed man. Thankfully, his musing was interrupted by one of his most trusted messengers.
"Your Majesty!" the man announced. "I bring urgent news from Master Sagi!"
Ladekhan grinned. "Tell me!"
"The battle is won, both Shanath and Baelheit are dead!"
Ladekhan stopped dead, the smile vanishing from his face.
"What were those names again?"
"Shanath and Baelheit, sire!"
Shanath. That was the name of the glorious, intoxicating, addicting Imperial that had consumed his every waking thought. He felt his throat constrict with some unnamed, yet powerful emotion.
"Th-thank you, you may go," he choked out. The messenger bowed and left. Ladekhan couldn't stop the tears that rolled down his face. Shanath was dead.
'I'm sorry, Shanath…' he thought brokenly. 'It wasn't supposed to end that way…'
Then he straightened up and wiped away his tears. It wouldn't do for a king to be caught crying.
There. Here's my attempt at Shanath/Ladekhan for you, LL. Did I do it right?