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War was nothing like Foolish had expected. How could it be? He was hardly even an adult when he got the crown and none of the training sessions his father gave him as a child could have prepared him for this.
Still, the gunshots and screaming rocked his head, bringing him halfway into the past in a way that was only supposed to people who were already traumatized from war.
“Ow- father, you hit me, it hurts!”
“Get up.”
“I can’t- I’m bleeding! Father, I’m bleeding, I'm gonna die!”
Foolish was not traumatized - he’d never been in a war, or even a small battle skirmish before. This was the first time, and it made no sense to be making him cower in fear the way he had as a tiny child. It was nothing like his childhood.
It wasn’t .
There was a lull. The area was quiet, full of smoke and dirt and the scent of blood. It was terrible for Foolish’s lungs, and he nearly coughed himself to death before he could even make it back to the throne room to regroup with the others.
“My King-” an arm under his, hoisting him up against June’s shoulder, jostled him just enough to get a few breaths of clear air in. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” That was probably a lie, but June just hummed and pulled him further inside, with the others who had come back to the castle to get bandages and food.
“Who was with you?” June helped him to the side, a bit away from everyone else where he could rest. “You can’t just go out alone, Foolish…”
“I was trying to help.” Foolish winced, scowling when June started to inspect a gunshot in his thigh. “It- it only grazed me, I’m okay.”
“It’s just a flesh wound, you’ll have to take more than that without crying like a baby if you want to be the king.”
“I don’t want-”
“You do.”
If there was one thing he knew how to grit his teeth and push through, it was a nonlethal gunshot. Hurt like a bitch, yeah, but he’d dealt with worse - this was honestly easy if June would stop touching it.
“We don’t have time for this.” Foolish tried to get up, but June was bigger and stronger than him and pushed him firmly back to sit against the wall. “Hey!”
“You’re wounded, sit still.”
“It’s just-”
“You’re wounded.”
He kept saying it as if that statement alone was enough to make Foolish stop trying to do his job, to lead his people, he-
“Trausi, do you have bandages?” June snapped over his shoulder, holding Foolish still with one arm as he pulled out a dagger, slicing through the leg of Foolish’s pants.
Ah, man, he’d liked those pants.
“I’m really-” Foolish winced, then coughed, lungs seizing up on themselves. “I’m fine . Help someone else, one of the-”
“What is this?” his tone had shifted, from his usual firm yet calm tone to… what, was he angry? Foolish let his head drop against the wall, but glanced down to try and figure out what was upsetting him. “Foolish- King Foolish, what is this?”
“Ah… it’s a gunshot wound. Grazed me, I think it was Coconut or someone? I…”
“Not that.” The ruined pants were pushed to the side, revealing puckered scars and other healed injuries from years ago. Many of them gunshots themselves, leftover fragments of all the times Foolish had gone to the colosseum with his father. “What is this ?”
“Get up and smile, we’re not done.”
“But it hurts-”
“Get. Up.”
“Uh…” this had to be some kind of prank. June pranked him sometimes, maybe he was… what? It was obvious what they were. “Sc-scars…? They’re not really an issue anymore, though.”
“Bandages,” Trausi appeared, looking over June’s shoulder only to put on a matching angry scowl. “What is that?”
“Who did this to you?” June demanded, snatching the bandages from the other advisor and starting to dress the current wound.
“...Coconut? I already…” Foolish didn’t know what they were asking. “We’re literally in an active war, and you’re asking who specifically shot me? I don’t know! He was over there, I think.”
“The old ones, Foolish,” Trausi crouched to get a closer look. “Those have to be… god, a year old? Older? This is your first time in combat, or at least I thought it was.”
“If you can’t take this, you’ll be useless when it comes to any battle. Rusty Bones will fall apart, all because of you.”
“It is.” Foolish winced, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out as the bandages were tightened around his leg. “I-I really don’t see how this matters right now. I need to- to rally the troops, we’re not done here yet. Where’s Boulder?”
He pushed June off, and thankfully this time he was allowed to stand on his shaky legs and peer through the crowds and settling dust. He needed Boulder to check the fortifications and the walls before the next wave of fighting began- and he needed to check on Miyoung and Tina, oh god where were they…
“The Queen and Princess are being treated over there,” Trausi said, gesturing to a thicker group of people. “They had minor injuries, nothing close to yours or worse.”
“Mine was minor.” Foolish muttered under his breath. Oh, he was so… so tired. After this was done, he just wanted to play piano and go to sleep. “Can you find Boulder? I-I just need a second to catch my breath.”
“I-”
“I’ll stay here.” Trausi interrupted, and June huffed a bit before stalking off into the crowd.
Foolish sighed, leaning on a pillar just to think. He was baffled and distracted by whatever Trausi and June were upset about, and his head still hurt from the gunfire and explosions and screaming -
“It hurts- it hurts, father, it hurts please stop please-”
The phone rang. Foolish cringed, head pounding, but he turned and started towards it. Trausi caught him before his leg could give out, helping him the rest of the way without a word - thank god.
“Hello, this is Rusty Bones.” Foolish tried to sound as cheerful as possible, hoping to intimidate… whoever this was.
They said something or other about a temporary truce - postponing all fighting until after the sun rose and the clouds cleared away. Trausi murmured advice and Foolish echoed it shakily, thankful for the umpteenth time to have such a smart person at his side.
Foolish was, clearly enough, not very smart. But they secured a night of peace, giving time to gather supplies and food and patch up their wounds far better than anyone had been allowed to so far.
By the time the call ended, June had returned with Boulder in tow, and Foolish was somehow convinced to sit down again, while his chest wracked with pain and his voice started to rasp away.
“I- I need you to… to rest,” he said first, taking in the bandages around Boulder’s arm and chest. “And then we- I just need to make sure the wall is stable, and you’re the best there is. Can you do that?”
“Of course, my king.”
Oh, Foolish hated how everyone was looking at him right now. He’d gotten hit once, maybe twice- he wasn’t sure. Other people had been so much more injured, he did not need their pity right now he just needed them all to work together here.
“Thanks, Boulder.”
And then he was gone, and the chattering grew quiet as people bedded down for the night, and Foolish toyed with the idea of pushing back any royal speech for the morning.
“You’re staying here,” June said in response to the look on Foolish’s face. “They can wait, or they can hear from your sisters.”
“Your sisters don’t want this, but you do. You are my son, and you will be the king, and you will learn to fight.”
“I’m-”
“You’re wounded, and you’re the king.” June snapped, sending a look to Trausi, who still stood behind Foolish with his arms crossed. “We have all night, Foolish. Who did that to you and when ?”
“Are- are you fucking serious right now?” Why couldn't he let this go ?
“Those are scars from gunshots. And stab wounds, and- god, I don't even know some of them. If this is your first time in battle, where the fuck did you get those from?”
“Th-the colosseum.” Foolish was too tired for this, his head hurt. “A few years ago, I went a lot to- to train.”
“You only just became of age, children aren’t allowed in the colosseum,” June said skeptically. “I-”
“Who let you into the colosseum?” Trausi interrupted him, calmer, but his voice still carried some edge to it that Foolish didn’t understand. “What idiot would let the heir-”
“My Father .” Foolish snapped, and both of them fell silent. “I don’t know what your guys’ issue is, but those are old wounds. You treated my current one, and I’m fine .”
“You’re fine, stop whining like a child. You don’t get to be a child, you get to be the king.”
He didn’t want to talk about this. Fuck this, he wanted to sleep.
“Your… father.” Trausi finally repeated, slowly, like he was trying to learn a new language. “The late king? May he rest in peace- that one? That father?”
“I’ve only got the one.” Foolish rolled his eyes. “He’d take me there all the time, ever since I was little. Taught me a lot. Is that explanation good enough for you now?”
“Not-”
“I see.” Trausi was stubbornly stopping June from speaking, and it would be amusing if Foolish wasn’t so tired. “And who did you train against? Your brother?”
“Yeah right.” Foolish cast a wary glance toward the tower. If he was a bit sickly, Q was… oh, he’d been in and out of a terrible sickness for weeks now, stuck asleep in bed most of the time. “I trained with my father, just the two of us.”
Good old father-son bonding.
“Are you telling me that your father shot you ? When you were a child ?” June blurted, far too loudly for Foolish to be comfortable with it, as he shoved Trausi’s hand off his mouth.
He did not need the entire kingdom to know about that.
“If they see your weakness, they’ll abandon you. Stand up, smile, and take it until you can’t anymore.”
“I don’t know what either of you want me to say.” Foolish said miserably, rubbing his eyes. “My father did a lot for this kingdom, and for me. He wanted me to be the best I could be, that’s all . I’m grateful to him, I’m ready for this war now because… well, I’m ready-er.”
“King Foolish, you can’t seriously-”
“Oh, I can’t what ?” Foolish snapped. June’s eyes widened, and he took a half step back. “I don’t want to hear another word about any of this, from either of you. The past is the past, my father is dead, and everything he did was for the good of this kingdom so I will not have you disrespect his name. We are in an active war right now, and I need everyone to be as on top of their game as possible. I’m sorry if my scars are distracting, but you Have. To. Focus. I-”
A round of coughing cut him off and he doubled over in pain, but all he could do was let it run its course. By the time it had, and he could sit up and scowl at his advisors again, neither of them seemed eager to start the conversation back up.
“I’ll find you some tea, my King.” June bowed briefly before turning on his heel, gone within moments.
Tea sounded wonderful, thank god.
“Is-”
“Rest your voice, King,” Trausi said gently. Foolish narrowed his eyes, not sure if he was being pitied or- “Most of the citizens are already asleep, your sisters are getting ready for bed as well. We’ll plan more in the morning, but rest for a few hours.”
“What if-”
“I’ve already assigned the healthiest men to a watch cycle, we’ll know if anyone from Team Rocket or the Village approaches.”
“Oh.” Foolish was… tired. “Good. Okay. Th-thanks.”
Tea arrived a few minutes later, along with an extra bedroll that June set up to make it more comfortable for him to sleep against the wall. Lying down made his sickness worse, on days like this, so Foolish was thankful that he’d remembered such a thing. Of course, Foolish could sit up against any cold stone wall and sleep just fine… but it was nicer to be comfortable.
June was taught like a trap ready to spring, every movement he made seemed to be with such intention and force that Foolish wondered what exactly he was thinking in there.
He had no reason to be so angry at what he’d just learned, about Foolish’s father or what had happened so long ago. Foolish didn’t understand the rage he saw, but he was glad June was containing it. Tomorrow he could shoot their enemies and get it out of his system, so maybe it was a good thing.
He fell asleep with a sore throat and aching lungs.
King Foolish, still a child in many ways, fell asleep under the watchful eyes of his advisors, and friends.
Asleep, he could not hear their whispered conversation, or their renewed vow of loyalty not just to the concept of a throne, but to the specific person who slept beside them. He could not see the way their hands shook in anger, and he didn’t hear them try to recount years of memories late into the night - searching for the signs they should have seen whenever the young prince was taken out on a day trip with his father, alone.
They found too many instances to count, none of which had seemed suspect at all, until now.
What would be suspect about their king spending time with his son? Foolish had always gone so happily, after all, walking beside his father with a skip in his step and a smile on his face.
Like a sacrificial lamb, whose only true desire was to be placed upon the altar to die.
It took far too many hours to come to their conclusion, and neither advisor got much sleep. Both, however, would go into the next day with a loyalty to their leader most kingdoms did not have.
Because, after all, Foolish was right. They couldn't change the past, no matter how desperately they wanted to. They could not protect the child their king had once been.
But they could protect him now.