A/N Posted as an early birthday present to myself. Thank you to Moondancer without whom I could not have gotten this far. Enjoy!
The crown of the uneven towers glints in the morning light, still sitting in the box that Opeli offers up towards Ezran.
Ezran studies it.
The last time I saw this, Dad was wearing it.
Bait croaks at his side, and Ezran looks up to find Pip sitting on one of the nearby windowsills.
The Songbird caws, staring at him with large yellow eyes.
Ez clucks his tongue at the bird, grinning as it swoops down, landing gracefully on the edge of the throne. It looks at the box with the crown, then back at Ez.
Ez gets the sense of you can do this, it is your duty, pride, joy, anxious, a flurry of emotions that is difficult to sort through.
Opeli is watching him, patiently waiting.
"You are King now, your Majesty," she says simply.
"I know," Ez says, "I just didn't think it'd be so soon."
"None of us did," Opeli says.
Ez closes his eyes, pressing his hands to his eyes, biting back the sudden rush of grief.
"I miss Dad," he says thickly.
"We all miss him," Opeli says, and then she is hugging him.
Ez breaks down into tears, crying into her shoulder.
"It's okay to grieve, Ezran," she murmurs.
Ez sniffles, "I know," he chokes on the words. "I just miss him so much."
"I know," Opeli says, "I know."
It takes Ezran some time to collect himself, thankfully Opeli remains at his side through it all, even handing him a handkerchief and sending a messenger to the kitchen for some tea.
"I was in your father's court when he ascended to the throne," Opeli says after Ez has dried his tears and is holding a mug of steaming jasmine tea. "He was older than you, but he was so devoted to serving his people, something your mother was equally dedicated to, despite not being born into nobility."
"I don't remember Mom much," Ez says, "all that I have of her is distant, and what Callum has told me of her."
"Queen Sarai was kind, very much like you," Opeli says, "she'd stop in the middle of whatever she was doing to help someone in need. I remember, that she once dragged your father out of a meeting to help a nest of poor rabbit-squirrels that had gotten stuck in a pipe," she laughs at the memory.
Ez smiles. "I think Dad told me that story once."
Opeli smiles back at him. "If you want," she says quietly, "you can appoint a regent to rule until you come of age."
She picks up the crown, weighing it in her hands.
"This will be waiting for you until you are ready."
Ez looks at the crown, his father's crown, his crown.
"When I'm ready," he says softly.
Bait nudges his side and Ez scratches the glow-toad's head, smiling at the happy grumble Bait makes.
Pip, from his spot on the bench on the opposite side of Opeli, flutters to the floor, stretching his wings before he hops over to Opeli and grabs the crown in his beak, wrenching it from her grasp.
"Pip!" Opeli scolds as the bird darts over to Ez and settles on his shoulder, dropping the crown onto Ez's head in the process.
Pip croons, rubbing his cheek against Ez's, clearly delighted.
Ez laughs.
"Crowned by a bird," Opeli says, shaking her head, "That's a first for Katolis's monarchs."
"One for the history books," Ez quips.
The crown is...surprisingly light.
"It's lighter than I thought it would be," he says.
"The crown is actually the third one that the kingdom has had," Opeli says, "the one before it was so heavy it actually dented the floor when one monarch accidentally dropped it. You can still see the dent in the stone by the throne."
"Is that where that dent came from?" Ez asks. "Callum always said that it came from some dignitary dropping a really ugly vase when he and Mom first moved here."
"That vase was ugly, I'll grant you that," Opeli says, "Some strange southern style I think. All cubes and triangles jumbled up with an absolutely hideous yellow background."
Ez snickers.
"Gren wanted to talk to you when you had a minute," Opeli says as Ez drinks his tea, "He's doing much better."
"That's good," Ez says, "Did he shave the beard? He looks weird with it."
"He did shave the beard," Opeli confirms. "General Amaya has received word on the situation and has sent word that she will be returning in a week or so after she's set up a proper border guard."
"What should we do about Viren?" Ez asks after a moment.
"He's still in the dungeon, and we've searched his quarters. He'll be questioned further about his actions and then he will be judged," Opeli says flatly. "He betrayed the crown, imprisoned anyone who spoke against him, and used dark magic against others without reason. The punishment for treason is...harsh, King Ezran."
"It's...death, isn't it?" Ez asks.
"Yes," Opeli says, shifting off her seat to kneel down before him, so they are eye-to-eye. "Viren is a dangerous man, my king. As long he lives, he will be a threat."
Ez bites his lip, looking away from her firm gaze.
"Can we just...keep him imprisoned for the moment?" Ez asks. "I-I can't decide on this now."
"Yes, we can do that," Opeli says, "We've doubled the watch on him, though he hasn't tried anything."
"Okay," Ez says, sighing.
He doesn't want to consign someone he's known all his life to death. Even though his contact with Viren was more or less distant, and he doesn't know the man well, Ez's grown up with Claudia and Soren and Viren is their dad.
He doesn't want to take anyone's dad away from them.
Ez sighs again, rubbing his eyes.
He hopes Callum and the others are having an easier time than this.