Dave

A loud banging comes from the front door, and I wake up with a start. I look at the door and can see who it is through the cracks in the door. Skaian police.

"Open the door, thief!" An officer shouts. "We can see the Dersite prince we know you have him!"

Roxy appears in the doorway of her room, looking petrified, her mouth hanging open in surprise. She looks at me, her eyes pleading and scared.

"We will give you three seconds and then we're breaking down the door!"

Roxy scrambles to grab seemingly random things, including the first aid kit and the burn cream, a bottle of whiskey, and a small box.

I slowly pull myself off the couch and onto my feet.

"Three, two, one!" The officer counts way too fast, and Roxy rushes to my side.

"Take a deep breath!" She yells, grabbing my arm.

"What?" I say stupidly, gaping at her.

Suddenly everything's dark. Well, I guess not dark, but there's no light. I suppose there is an absence of light, but it isn't dark. It's just kind of not.

All I feel is Roxy's hand gripping my arm like a vice, but I can't see her. I wonder briefly if this is what it's like being blind, when all at once there's light flooding my eyes again. Were they closed? My feet hit ground. Was I floating? I take a huge, painful breath. Had I been holding it? I fall to my knees, feeling Roxy's hand withdraw.

"Sorry. Drifting is hard at first, I should've warned you." She bends down next to me as I slowly catch my breath, panting like I'd just run a marathon. "You did good for a first Drift though. All your limbs and everything!"

"What?" I sputter, looking up at her. "What just happened?"

"I'm a Rogue of Void. I control the void, and all that passes through it or some shit. I used my powers to bring us here." She answers, patting my back.

"Bring us where?" I look up and feel even more disoriented than a second ago.

We're in the middle of a field of purple flowers that shine and sparkle in the sun. The slight breeze makes them flutter, and I wonder what makes them look so crystallized. The sky is bright blue with the usual amount of clouds and small birds thrown in. There isn't a sign of Roxy's house, or any civilization at all for miles.

"Yeah. It was a little extreme to go so far, but I couldn't risk gettin' thrown in jail again." She jumps and covers her mouth like a child who's said a bad word.

"Again?" I look at her questioningly.

"Well... I don't have the best track record with the Skaian police..." She looks down, twiddling her thumbs. "I'm kind of wanted by the military for lost of stuff, too much to count, but whatever."

I decide it best not to question her on that. Instead, I go for something worse.

"Do you remember me?" I ask abruptly, catching her off guard. She stares at me in bewilderment.

"Wuh?"

"Do you remember who I am, who I was before you met me a day ago."

She's quiet and guarded for a long time, looking like she's debating leaving me here or thinking really hard.

I let her take her time and move to sit more comfortably in the flowers. A closer look at the iridescent plants tells me that the flowers seem to be infused with Onyx, or some type of dark purple or black gem. It's really gorgeous to see all these flowers glittering in the sunlight.

"Yeah." Roxy finally speaks up, breaking the silence with a sigh. "I 'member you..."

"Yeah?" I don't look at her, choosing to look out at the seemingly endless field.

"Yeah."

It's quiet for a while after that. The only sound is the wind and the flowers rustling in it.

Soon the light sound of thuds on the ground meets our ears, and it gets louder fast, and soon we can even feel it. Roxy springs up, ready to act, but falls short when a horse zips by her.

But the horse wasn't riding alone, and soon we were surrounded by them.

And it wasn't just horses. There were men decorated in extremely detailed suits of armor, as blue as the sky and as white as the clouds the sky befriends.

One soldier, though, seemed different in demeanor.

That same soldier removed his helmet to reveal golden blonde hair, and striking orange eyes. He looked at me, then at Roxy. Then back at me.

"What on earth happened here." Is all he says, before raising a hand and giving a signal to his troop. They all began riding off through the field toward seemingly nothing. "Are you alright, Dersite Prince?"

I blink, confused and in shock.

"Don't bother, he's starstruck. Just like everyone who meets you..." Roxy looks like she just let a secret slip again, looking like she wants to slap herself.

"Glad to see you haven't changed at all, sister." He sneers at her. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"What do you mean?" She looks innocent. Probably faking it.

"You left for Derse not two months ago, and now you're here and toting around Derse's prince, burned and bruised?" His tone and face are challenging.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She turns away from his piercing gaze.

"Oh?" His horse huffs impatiently.

"Yes, so why don't you run back to mum and-..." Roxy actually smacks herself this time, muttering a rather loud "fuck" to herself.

"Aha. So you do remember." The soldier's face looks prideful and triumphant. "Come then, let us see mother."

He leans down and grabs my arm, helping me up and onto his horse.

"There's room for three." He says, watching her reaction for anything to poke at. "I am Dirk, by the way."

The last part is directed at me, and I nod in acknowledgement.

Roxy reluctantly climbs on behind me and we set off in the same direction the rest of the soldiers went.

The ride is long, since we can't go much faster than a trot with three people on the same horse. But eventually we arrive at what looks like the Skaian Palace. Well, there's no real guessing about it. It's the Skaian Palace.

Dirk leads us in from the front after we dismount from the horse.


Dirk walks us through the palace entrance, where there are literally hundreds of stained glass windows lining the walls. They're tall as fuck too, towering at the height of most likely twenty very tall men.

"This is the entrance hall." Dirk's works echoed through the huge building. The sound made me wonder if God's voice had the same echo. "Many people pass through here to pay respects to the king, the priest, and even the Master Librarian. They all contribute to Skaia's order."

Roxy looks worried and slightly scared, glancing at the windows before quickly turning her gaze away.

"This is the Glass of the Priest." Dirk motions to one of the tall windows, and I gape in awe at the detail and amazing colors.

The window depicts a Troll-like figure, with dark hair and small horns, and there is a halo around his head, like you would see in old paintings of Jesus. He wears a long robe, decorated with flowers and a small sash. He holds a tome in his left hand, and is raising his right up toward the sky, like he is blessing someone, or praying.

"Why is it a Troll?" I ask, tilting my head to the side.

Dirk stills.

"What do you mean?" He asks, narrowing his eyes.

"Why is a Troll your priest? How could you let that happen?"

"Dave I think-..." Roxy starts, but Dirk's venomous gaze stops her.

"Dave, on Skaia, we do not discriminate. Why do you find it so weird?" Dirk crosses his arms.

"Because on Derse and Prospit, my people are treated as cattle." A voice interjects.

We all turn and look in surprise. The very Troll depicted in the window stands at the end of the hall, walking toward us. He looks very different, yet the same.

"On Derse and Prospit my people are not considered people." He speaks again.

"Kankri!" Dirk exclaims. "I thought you were in the study?"

"I was." He stops next to Dirk. "But I sensed I needed to be somewhere else, so I made my way to the disturbance."

He turns his gaze to me, and for the first time, I see a Troll who is more powerful than me. Who's gaze rakes over me like Rose's used to. Who's nose twitches at what I wear, like Rose's used to. Who's head is held higher than mine because he knows I can't do or say anything to sway him, just like Rose.

"I see my arrival is warranted." The Troll- Kankri, smiles at Roxy. "Welcome home, Rogue."

Roxy bows and keeps her head down.

Then he turns to me again.

"I assume you are Dave, Knight of Derse?"

It takes longer than I'd like to admit to realize he was asking me a question, and waiting for an answer.

"Y-yes..." I mumble, looking down too.

"Come now, there's no need for that kind of behavior." He puts a hand on my shoulder, and a hand on Roxy's. I feel him squeeze my shoulder, almost as if it's a warning. "I am a simple priest, there is no need to act like you're being scolded."

I look at him and see he's staring right at me, with eyes brighter than the Skaian sun, and a menacing gaze that would kill me if it could.

"Besides," He starts again. "seeing as our Rogue is back, and the fact that we have the Dersite Knight, we can now carry on with the king's orders."

Dirk seems to activate at that thought, and suddenly looks distracted.

"Oh yes yes, I need to contact Cronus about this and see if he can set up..." Dirk's quiet mumbles fall to background noise as he walks off toward the gates, leaving me and Roxy with Kankri.

"Allow me to enlighten you on the ways of the Skaian government, Dersite." Kankri gestures to the window across from his. This one depicts another Troll, but his horns look like waves that reach up high, and his hair is so crazy that it covers part of his face. His mouth looks stitched shut and he holds many books in his hands. He wears a long robe, like Kankri, but his is black with a purple sash. "This is the Master Librarian. He is mute, yet he knows more languages than I can count on one hand. He is a Troll born to Skaia and has worked with the king his entire life."

Kankri points to another, and I realize just how many windows depict Trolls in this hall. More than 12, in fact.

"This is the Prophet. She was one of the most powerful Seers in Skaia, and led the king to victory many times without lifting a finger. She was blind, yet her gaze could kill. She was killed protecting Skaia from another Troll who didn't understand the true meaning of peace."

The window he pointed to has a depiction of a female Troll, who's eyes are seen bleeding a green-blue, and she wears a cloak that looks like a judge's robes, and holds the scales of law in her right hand, lifting her left up to the sky.

"Many Trolls have lived amazingly fulfilling lives." Kankri gazes at the windows with pride in his eyes. "And ironically, it was because of a Troll that my people are treated so poorly on your planet. And on Prospit."

He looks at me with pity.

"I hope one day that changes, but Skaia has current treaty with both planets that states that we will not intervene as long as you and Prospit do not threaten Skaia."

"Wait, what do you mean it was a Troll's fault we treat them like that?" I look at him with confusion.

"I can't speak about that, but I can tell you about Skaia's people. Would you like to learn?"

He grabs Roxy by the back of her shirt without looking as she tries to run away.

"Yes please." I say, nodding.

"So be it..." Kankri, takes a deep breath. "When we first came to this planet, the king's great grandfather was in power, and he welcomed us with open arms. My great great grandfather was not very smart, and he did not trust the king. He deceived him and murdered him. Skaia was plunged into war, and this war lasted for an entire generation. But after a while, people began to lose the hatred planted so many years ago. When the last of the veterans of the first generation that started the war died off, the war was declared over by the new king and emperor. They ushered in a new era of peace on Skaia. After years of peace, and years of the kingdom and empire flourishing, the Troll Emperor began to ask for more land from the king of Skaia. The king gladly obliged, and the empire grew larger. As of now, the empire holds land in the east and the west, and the base of the empire is in the north. The king used to let the empire work from the Skaian capital of Lowas, but the Emperor decided it would be better for his empire if he distanced himself from the kingdom. After that, the Emperor needed a successor and died at 93 Skaian years old. More than 1,000 years if you count by Troll years, which seems like a lot. The king then died of grief when his wife sadly died young at 40, and he died at 60. The new king was crowned just 10 years ago, and is currently ruling at the young age of 26. The new Emperor was crowned at 13 and is currently 24 Skaian years young. The current population of the Kingdom is about 60 billion Skaians, including Trolls, and the current population of the Empire is around 60 to 70 million, mostly Trolls. That is all the history I can give at this moment, because it is time to go to the feast."

Roxy looks dead, laying on the floor, staring at the ceiling. I haven't blinked since he started talking, and he drags us both down the hall toward the inner gates to the main hall.

Jesus, he certainly is a priest.


Author's Notes

Yooooooo I wrote half of this at like 2AM so I'm really surprised I got most of the spelling right.

Anyway, wow we are INTO this aren't we? I've been really happy seeing the view number and realizing that like, people like what I'm writing. And are reading it. And for some reason that's weird to me. Idk I love you guys tho.

So yeah, gotta take probably a day or two to figure out the next chapter, since I don't know who's POV it'll be in yet... Maybe Vriska or one of the Trolls...

Anyway, I'll get working on that, so I guess stick around for it!

(EDIT) Also apparently FF doesn't save all the ways I edit my chapters, so I've had to improvise. I don't know why, but it takes away lines sometimes and spaces. No fun! But I think I fixed it, so let me know if there's anything else, editing wise, that I need to fix. Constructive criticism is always helpful too!

-MKZ