Chapter Text
Dull taps echo in the sprawling, lavish throne room. They bounce back and forth across shimmering gold objects until their tapping is finally absorbed by rich purple curtains that drape done from a ceiling that melds with the sky. The king, while sitting with a domineering aura, wears a carefully composed mask of indifference to the reverberating sound, but his eyes brim with emotions of irritation, anger, and impatience.
The source of the droning sound comes just right below the simmering king, from the prince of Rovead, Shoto Todoroki. All-day he has been forced to sit through grueling hours alone with his father in the spacious room with not a single escape to keep him occupied from his thoughts of resentment towards King Todoroki. He even is forcing everyone, including Shoto, to call him by the moniker Endeavor to elevate himself. It grates on Shoto's nerves to no end. So, he thought, ‘screw it;’ if he can’t have a peaceful day then there was no way that his father deserves one, and he was more than happy to be the one to bring the discomfort. So for the last half hour, Shoto has innocently and ceaselessly tapped his ring against his grand, stiff throne in a random pattern, watching the fury rise in his father with every down motion of his finger.
Tap
Tap….Tap
Tap Tap…………….Tap
TapTap……TapTap
Tap. A muscle twitch. Tap. A slight downturn of the lips. Tap Tap. A clench of his fists.
Ta-
“Shoto!” Barked Endeavor.
“Stop this childish game, I did not make you just so that you could play around,” he booms as it echoes and overcomes the dying tap. Silence envelopes the two as Shoto glares defiantly at the origin of his agitation. King Endeavor makes no attempt to pay attention to Shoto, for his back remains pulled straight and his eyes staring determinedly forward. A few seconds pass with neither moving a muscle, locked into a tense struggle of stubbornness until it’s broken by -.
Tap.
“SHOTO!” Endeavor swings his body fully with enough force to make the gold links that drape from his shoulder to his wrist clash against each other as he rises to tower over his son. “I WILL NOT ACCEPT THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR FROM YOU! YOU ARE THE CROWNED PRINCE OF ROVEAD, AND I WILL EXPECT NOTHING LESS THAN PERF-”
“Sir! I have urgent news from the...” a messenger trails off after he took in the condition of the room after he so loudly flung open the doors.
“Um, I can come back, sir, I didn’t mean to impose, it’s my fault really,” the poor messenger nervously fidgets as he slowly backed his way towards the door. “ I’ll just be taking my leave, My Lord, and come at a better tim-”
“You will stay right where you are, you spineless idiot,” commands King Endeavor, not leaving his position of glaring over Shoto. After a moment, he turns his head and to meet the shaking, darting eyes of the messenger with his own fiery glare, “ Give me your full report, boy, I’ve been waiting all day, and I will not waste another second.”
“Why yes, mhm yes, a million apologies, My Lord, I will get right on it, the report- yes the one right here- let me just mhm-yes”
“Get on with it! My patience is running thin as it is and I don’t need a fumbling messenger to be the one who breaks it. Don’t you agree?” the king spits through grit teeth.
The messenger almost lost it then with only a squeak as a confirmation, as sweat pools around his brow and his knees begin to shake like a winter tempest even in the blistering heat of summer. He turns for support or even a pitying glance from the young prince, but all he receives is a stoic, rigid face instead. Used to his father intimidating servants, Shoto feels no need to offer any support, so he only stares back at the messenger, feeling the shy gaze fall on the nasty, bubbly scar that raked up his face into his red hairline. It shows more personality and pain than any other part of the secluded prince, and it is enough to pull the messenger back to himself. He takes a deep breath and braces himself to do his job with pride while taking numb steps forward..
“I have multiple reports of attackers in the west forest who go after unsuspecting travelers. These travelers appear to be citizens from nearby villages who have requested royal guards to come clear out the areas. Um, there are also complaints from the kingdom of Solas on the piracy issue in our southern borders; apparently, the most fearsome and troublesome pirate is from our kingdom and Solas is requesting intervention. Also, the clan leader of Fortis demands-
“HA! As if I would give anything to that young fool, he has no power to command anything from me, and if he tries I’ll put him in his place and it won’t be by whining,” Endeavor spitefully spits out.
“As for the other news. I shall deem a platoon to scour the area for the thieves, but the kingdom of Rovead has no authority over open waters, so we will not do any action against the pirates even if they were once Roveadians. Is that all, boy?”
“...Uh, no, no, sir there is one more thing,” he gently spoke as if trying to placate an angry beast because the just openly announced a thinly veiled threat of war and from the looks of it, his heart can not handle that kind of stress, especially when he looks to be hiding something.
“Our informants heard rumors about one of our enemies' whereabouts in a secluded island off of Solas. Its..It’s, umm.. It’s Dabi”
“WHAT!”
Surprisingly, Shoto was the one who yelled in shock, abruptly standing with enough force to swing his long, dual-toned hair tied in a ponytail to the front of his chest. His mouth forms a tiny ‘o’ and his eyes bulge with astonishment; he turns to his father only to see a hardened face, but in his furious eyes was there a hint of fear?
Shoto shakes that thought away quickly and turns back to fix an icy gaze on the trembling messenger boy. “What other information do you know? Is he still there? How reliable are the rumors? Does he still have the sta-”
“Shoto,” the king murmurs reservedly, without his normal bravado, “let him speak.”
This makes the prince shift on his heels and stare incredulously at his father, who does not seem to be comprehending the big news that has landed in their laps only blankly staring ahead. Does he not understand the importance of finding this man-this traitor? The kingdom of Rovead can finally rid itself of the dark cloud and shame hanging over them if they can get the staff back.
The messenger took the silence as a cue to continue, “The informants have said the information is reliable and one even made visual confirmation at a distance. It is Dabi. ...And, yes, he was seen carrying the staff, Prince Todoroki.”
Ducking his head down to his chest, Shoto stares wide-eyed at his shaking hands. He’s shell-shocked at the news and the implications, but there was also excitement that was starting to bubble up within him. The staff has been missing for the last 12 years, stolen by a traitor who called himself Dabi, and ever since, there has been a massive manhunt out to find him, and now it seems that all those years have finally paid off. If Rovead can get back the staff, then the burden and guilt of losing such an important piece can finally be taken off their shoulders, and they won’t be seen as the incompetent kingdom in the eyes of other kingdoms, especially by Fortis. Whoever goes out to retrieve the staff has to be capable, they have to understand the importance of having the staff, and they have to be a public figure to show the people that the monarchy still has power. So the obvious choice to who should on this quest in Shoto’s opinion is-
“Me.”
“What did you say Shoto?” Endeavor sighs out as if he had aged 10 years in the last 10 minutes. Shoto takes a deep breath and steels his resolve as he painfully pulls at his stiff shoulders back to stand proudly and stare right at his father.
“I would like to request permission to head the quest to retrieve the staff and bring Dabi to justice, My King,” he speaks with dignity and respect befitting the prince he is. Endeavor only continues to stare at Shoto, giving him a chill from the lukewarm response, so he feels compelled to elaborate further.
“I am the crown prince of Rovead, there is no other person better suited to helm such an important task than a member of the royal family; I have had extensive teaching on swordplay and tactics, and I feel confident that with a group of knights, I can be successfu-”
“No.” The king interrupts, voice leveled with an undertone of steel.
“...No? But, Father, I’m prepared for this. I’ve been preparing my whole life! I’m almost 18, father, and I haven’t gone a single Quest!” Shoto raises his voice in frustration, breathing heavily. “ What will the kingdom think of its prince who hasn’t been-
“You’re right, Shoto,” Endeavor cuts off easily, “You haven’t been on any missions, and this one is too important to trust a novice who is not even 18,” he said evenly looking down on his son, “But if experience is what you want then I shall arrange a party for you to go deliver news to nearby villages. Now, with that taken care of, Shoto, I need you to leave-”
“This discussion is not over, father,” argues Shoto testily. “Going to deliver news is child's play, usually done by lower servants and fresh knights! I want the people I am to lead in the future to see me as a capable and competent leader, not as some child that you want to portray me as. I’m ready for this responsibility; I should be the most competent person to do this quest to show my worth as future king, not a faceless knight!”
“You are too prideful, Shoto!” Endeavor barks out fiercely, finally furious enough to rise from his throne. His face is scrunched in rage and his eyes lit with a gleam of hysteria as he spoke with spit flying out and pooling on the edge of his lip. “Your delusions of grandeur cloud your judgement, boy. You see yourself as something more than what you are: a naive, incompetent child trying to be an adult!”
“...So that’s what you think of me huh old man?” Shoto huffs out, turning his eyes to look at a random granite tile on the floor. His jaw clenches painfully as he tries to gather his thoughts, secretly hoping the pause would allow Endeavor time to realize his mistake and apologize.
But it never comes.
Seconds go by, then a minute passes that stretch in the heated silence between father and son.
“I’m going on this quest with or without your permission. I will prove my worth to my kingdom even if you don’t want to see it,” Shoto venomously spit out with his eyes glaring deeply onto the floor.
“....Very well…. You want to disobey me, then so be it.” The king grinds out condescendingly. “But, if you go on this quest DO NOT,” Endeavor booms, “ do not come crying back to me if you come back with another revolting scar to match the one on your face. It wouldn’t seem very capable of you if you added another, would it?” He ends with a cold sneer.
Gasping in pain and shock, Shoto felt his head go light and all he could hear was a high-pitch drone, which seemed to pierce into his skull and run across it. He staggers off his throne’s marble platform, while not being able to see with the tears building in his eyes because he had not enough willpower to not let them fall yet. A flimsy wall met Shoto’s shoulders as his breathing quickens and he vaguely registers that it’s the poor messenger that he has crashed into.
Apparently, the messenger had just stood there, rooted in fear.
He finally makes it to the doors leading outside of the throne room, a few tears finally starting to fall freely, and with shaky hands, he flings open the doors to escape the silent room from which he came.