A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for being patient with me, I have so many WIP that sometimes it's hard to update everything as often as I'd like. Anyway, if you're reading this, I wanted to let you know that I'm organizing a Kingdom Hearts Big Bang, based on Tumblr: kh-worldsconnected Go check it out if you like fanart or fanfic! It's going to be awesome!

Pilfering Silver
Chapter 10: Under Scrutiny

Xemnas sat at a desk in his chambers, elbows propped up, hands folded in front of his face, contemplating.

Princess Kairi had done nothing suspect in the time he'd taken to show her the library. That wasn't a problem. He was still waiting on more literature from Destiny Islands, and if there was even the slightest flaw in her background, he would find it. Then he could use the information to bend her to his will, whether it be to eject her from the palace, disqualify her as a potential wife for Riku, or, if she proved malleable enough, perhaps he could use her.

The servant she had gifted the prince was another matter. As the gift from one royal to another, there would be political consequences if he found an excuse to have the boy removed. He would prefer to avoid that, for the time being, at least. In any case, Xemnas was intrigued. Was the boy a pawn of the princess? How had he gained Riku's favor so quickly? For Riku clearly favored him. That much had been obvious when the servant had returned on the prince's second favorite horse. He knew Riku well enough to know that the easiness he'd seen in the prince that morning was unusual. That the interest he showed in the princess's gift was more than political posturing.

There was a knock at the door, and Saix's voice. "Your Majesty?"

"Enter."

Saix closed the door behind him and stood to one side of Xemnas's desk. "The Princess Larxene's reply." He held out a roll of parchment with the princess's royal seal.

Xemnas accepted it, prying the seal off and opening it. He scanned the letter's contents and nodded. "And the literature I requested?" He stood and strode over to a brazier, dropping the letter in it and watching it smoke and curl.

"The man said a week, at least, Majesty."

Xemnas's lips pressed into a tight line. He wasn't pleased, but there was little to be done to speed the process, considering the request. He nodded. "Very well." There was no rush, Princess Kairi had only been at the palace for a day, and any matters of state would take weeks to move forward. Still, he liked to be prepared. Liked to have times to set things in place as contingencies. He eyed the brazier, ensuring that the letter had fully burned, and turned back to his desk. "Bring me some coffee, Saix. When you return, there will be more messages to deliver. I expect your usual discretion."

"Yes, Majesty." Saix bowed.

o - o - o

Even with the tense silence that had fallen between them after lunch, Riku found that Sora's company brought with it a calming element, soothing away the loneliness that Riku had all but accepted as the norm. Sora had sat at the balcony for a little while, something like a pout on his face, before he'd turned his attention to studying Riku's room. Riku was at his desk, a scroll spread before him, but he'd long ago given up actually reading it. Instead, he stole furtive glances at Sora, watching him pick up the bric-a-brac that littered the room, or pause to feel the texture of some rich fabric.

The little pout on Sora's lips had turned into something more like contemplation. Perhaps if it had been another person, Riku might've wondered if he was appraising the value of the things, and maybe there was a little bit of that to it, but a part of Riku knew it was a distraction, something to keep Sora occupied as he turned over whatever was on his mind. That thieving wasn't the first thing on Sora's mind.

Riku absently traced a line of script with his finger. He wasn't sure what he'd done wrong, to cause Sora to look like that. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He knew he'd hurt Sora somehow by pushing him away. But what was he supposed to do? He'd been scared. Of Xemnas finding out—what? That Riku already knew Sora? That they were familiar, already, and that Xemnas could use it as leverage. That, though he hadn't seen Sora for years until now, he still trusted him.

He'd been scared, that he'd grow too comfortable, too complacent, with such an intimate gesture.

"What does it say?"

Riku glanced up again, to see Sora's attention on him again, head cocked to one side. He still had a subdued look about him, face thoughtful as he fidgeted with a brightly colored cushion. Riku sucked in his lip. "It's just some dull political treaty. I have better things to read, if you want."

Sora sighed. "I was just curious. I mean, I can't read, so." He shrugged, dropping the cushion back in place.

Riku stared down at the scroll in front of him. If Sora was sticking around, he would have to be able to survive court life. If he wasn't, well, there wasn't any reason why he couldn't learn a few extra skills to take with him when he left. Maybe even find some respectable work. Despite the momentary lapse, Riku had no delusions about his country's literacy—or lack thereof.

The thought of Sora disappearing from his life, for good, made Riku frown.

"I could teach you. To read. And write."

Sora gave him a measuring look. "To be your scribe?" It was wry, accompanied by a little twist of his lips. The look was brief, quickly replaced by a smile, but Riku had caught it. "Sure."

Riku took a deep breath and opened his mouth, and realized he didn't know what to say to Sora. He'd been out of his element since Sora had snuck into his room a few nights ago. So there was a thread of irritation in his voice as he muttered, "It's a useful skill. I won't teach you if you don't want to learn."

"Yeah, I'll learn." The smile turned lopsided and he took a step towards Riku. "When do we start?"

"Well, there's still a couple hours until dinner. We can start now." He moved the weights holding down the scroll and let the document curl into itself before he tucked it away. How had he been taught his letters? Riku retrieved a quill and a pot of ink, and some clean parchment, and began writing out the alphabet, making the letters large and neat. He tried to ignore Sora, who'd come around to stand next to him, and was watching the quill move over the parchment.

Once he'd finished, Riku stood. "Here, sit." He gestured to the chair and waited until Sora had sat, and then pointed at each letter in turn, naming the letter and giving the sound. As the hour went on, Riku found himself leaning over the desk, close to Sora, as he instructed him. It was stiff, at first, but as his focus shifted to the task, the awkwardness fell away, until the short distance between them felt natural. Natural, but Riku was still acutely aware of just how near his friend was, and he had to take a breath when their arms brushed.

Sora didn't seem to notice, his brow furrowed in concentration as he recited the letters. He was, as ever, an apt learner: while he was by no means ready to read, he was quick to pick up what Riku was teaching him. He'd even taken up a quill and attempted to scrawl out a few of them, the shapes of the letters messy, but discernible.

Riku raised an eyebrow in amusement when Sora laid the quill down, examining the ink that had smudged on his fingers. Sora glanced back at Riku's hands. "So what's the trick?"

"The trick?" Riku smirked. "To what?"

Sora caught Riku's writing hand in a quick motion. "Not get it all over?"

Riku pulled his hand back and turned his attention to clearing away the writing supplies. "There's no trick. It just takes practice." He pointed to a bowl of water that had been set out while they were at lunch. "You can wash up there."

Sora was quiet as he cleaned the ink from his hands. His voice was low when he spoke again. "I'm sorry."

Riku glanced up; Sora was looking at his hands again, maybe ensuring he'd washed away all of the ink. Riku had that queasy feeling in his gut that he'd had earlier, when he'd essentially pushed Sora away; he pressed his palms flat against the desk. "About what, Sora?" He sounded weary, even to himself, because he knew he should be the one apologizing, though about what, he still wasn't sure.

Sora lifted his shoulder in a shrug and buried his hands in the deep pockets of his pants, eyes on his feet. "I guess I didn't really know what it would be like, here. What you would be like. I mean," he lifted his eyes to Riku again, finally. "I didn't consider that you might not even want me here."

The feeling in his stomach rose to his chest. "Sora—"

A knock on the door interrupted him. "I'll get it," Sora murmured, already moving to the door.

"Sora!"

Sora opened the door to the young errand boy, who informed them that dinner would be starting shortly.

More of the same, Riku knew, just another court dinner in the cycle of visitors, where he'd know what to say and how to act. He almost looked forward to it, for once. To routine. It had all gotten twisted since Sora arrived.

But. "I never said I didn't want you here."

"You don't have to say it." Sora offered him a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "But it's okay. At least you're feeding me. I swear, I haven't eaten so well since…ever, actually! We should go, we don't want the food to get cold."

Riku bit his lip. The fear from earlier was back. He thought he could say something to assure Sora that he did want him here, and that he was just getting used to having someone to talk to. To confide in, if only he could bring himself to say the words. But it had been a long time since he'd felt free enough to speak his mind.

He envied Sora, in that respect.

Sora flanked Riku on the walk to the dining hall, and in his silence, Riku realized that Sora was just as alert to their surroundings as he was. Blue eyes surveying the guards, and the exits, peering out at the corridors that branched off from their path.

"So are you a better swordsman than the guards?" Sora's tone was casual, but it brought Riku back to their times in the streets again, and playing at being palace guards.

"Our young prince is an excellent swordsman. I would say the best in the land."

Riku schooled his face before he could react to his uncle's sudden appearance; if Sora had been surprised, he didn't show it. "I think you give me too much credit, Uncle."

Xemnas's lips turned up in an oily smile. "If you insist, my prince." His amber eyes lingered on them as they entered the dining hall together.

Dinner was exactly as Riku expected: another display of wealth and culture, and cool, courtly manners. Riku was spared from conversing much as Kairi shared another story from her homeland in a lull in the entertainments. Sora, he saw, was rapt with attention, though whether it was the story or the princess that caught his interest, Riku wasn't sure. He tried to tell himself it didn't matter, but knew that for a lie.

Kairi turned to Riku at the end of the meal, before he could take his leave. "I saw some beautiful art hanging in the library earlier. Are there more in the palace?"

"Of course, Princess." The sultan smiled at her. "Tomorrow, Prince Riku would be happy to show you around, to view our collection."

"Yes, Father." Riku bowed. It was normal, to have his every day planned and scheduled and dictated by the sultan.

He told himself that, and still felt a twinge of irritation at being forced into yet another morning with the princess, even one as pleasant as Kairi, when all he wanted was a moment to himself, to think, to examine the strange feeling in his stomach that was caused by Sora.

He wanted to be alone. And yet, he wanted to Sora's company. The two things were contradictory.

"I'm going for a ride," Riku announced, once they'd returned to his rooms. He threw open his wardrobe and chose a set of riding clothes.

Sora winced visibly, probably already feeling sore from the ride earlier. "Aren't you tired? I'm tired."

Riku shrugged. "Not really." He stepped behind a screen as he changed. "If you're tired, sleep. The day is over."

"You're going by yourself?" Sora plopped down on the couch, stretching out and staring at the ceiling.

Riku raised his brows at the question. "Yes. Stay here and stay out of trouble."

Sora snorted. "Okay, Ku."

"Look, Sora, if anyone suspects you're anything but a gift from Princess Kairi—"

Sora turned on his side and propped his head up on a hand. "It's fine, I won't do anything. Okay?"

Riku gave him a dubious look, and then shook his head. "Okay."

o - o - o

The sun was low in the sky as he saddled up Star Seeker, the air already beginning to cool. He breathed it in, clearing his mind as he let the breath out. It had been fun, to ride with Kairi and Sora earlier. It had felt like they were normal, just a small circle of friends having a day out to themselves.

It had felt free, like sneaking out into the streets to play with Sora and his friends.

He wondered if he could ever hang onto that feeling for more than a day at a time. Sure, his father loved him, but their duty—both Eraqus and Riku—was to their country first.

As soon as he reached a clear enough path, Riku nudged his horse into a gallop, so that the wind roared in his ears and his hair whipped behind him. At least he had this. If, when, Sora and Kairi disappeared, and Riku was left to his destiny, he could always ride, and let the wind erase his troubles.