Of A Prince and His Lost Knight
Pairing: Eridan<>Karkat
Length: 3,201 words.
For some reason, you find yourself sitting outside. Itâs a cold Alternian morning and as the sun disappears entirely beyond the watery horizon, you wrap your cape tighter around you. The sand is cold and you scoot back from the icy water that began pooling around your feet without notice. Itâs an important day and someone was coming. You canât remember who though, and as you strain your eyes to watch the tiny boat floating towards you, it gets harder and harder to remember. You can make out a figure, short and with a scruffy mess of hair on top, but you canât remember who he is. Is it Sollux? No. Kanaya? No, still wrong. It started with a K, you know that. KâŠ.KaâŠ.KarâŠâŠâŠ.
âCaptain Ampora! Captain, thereâs someone here to see you.â
You wake up with a jolt, seeing the jolly round face of your loyal olive-blooded cabin boy.
âWwhat, wwho is it, wwho's here?â You reply drowsily, trying to rub the sleep out of your eyes.
âI donât know, sir, but he said he was a friend of yours.â
âWwhat wwas his name?â
He pauses awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck, âWell, um, sir, I didnât reallyâŠ..catch itâŠ.â
You sigh in response, a little disappointed, but itâs fine. Youâll meet up with whoever is visiting.
âSorry sir, I apologize. If itâs any help, it started with a K.â
You raise an eyebrow, thinking of your fast-fading dream.
âTake me to him.â
Your name is ERIDAN AMPORA and you are 10 sweeps old. You also lead a large fleet of imperial ships under your command and in the name of Her Imperial Condescension(Title change pending!), Feferi Peixes. You assisted your Empress in claiming her throne, battling your way through the Imperial Flagship with the girl by your side. A few others helped of course, and after a hard day of battling, your team won both the flagship and the throne. After that, it was only a matter of time until control spread to the rest of the fleet. For commanding a rather large fleet, you rarely have more than one ship travel together. Going along with Feferiâs plans on changing troll society, the fleet was spread out to share the news of the rise of the new Empress, along with a list of new changes she was enacting upon the empire. It would take sweeps for the changes to finally take full effect, but you wouldnât be surprised if you lived to see the complete results. Seadwellers lived a very, very long time and these changes would uproot the foundations of troll society.
Your name is Eridan Ampora, captain of the Imperial Flagship and right hand man to Her Imperious Condescension Feferi Peixes. Descendant of the feared and legendary Orphaner Dualscar and impressive in your own right; unfortunately, as is expected, you really take after your ancestor. Eridan Ampora, ten sweeps old and on top of the world, a young adult troll who has everything. Almost everything; like your ancestor, you canât seem to keep quadrantmates. And while the rush to fill quadrants wouldn't be as enforced under Feferi's rule as it had under the previous reign, the social stigma against highblooded seadwellers with few to no quads would be a lasting thing. You had grown up with Feferi and the two of you made an attempt at the pale quadrant. This didnât last too long, only a few sweeps. The biggest obstacles in your moirallegiance were your personality, your flush crush on her, and a pale crush that formed towards another friend. Regarding that friend, the two of you were great friends, though you stopped talking a few sweeps ago. In fact, you hadnât heard from him since the both of you were around seven sweeps. He would always listen to your problems, and in turn, you would do the same. Now that you think about it, it was a better moirallegiance (as unofficial as it was) than what you had with Feferi at the time(Though no one would have been surprised). In fact, the last time he talked to you was on your seventh wriggling day. â-carcinoGeneticist[CG] began trolling caligulasAquarium[CA] at 13:23-
CG: HEY CG: ERIDAN, WE NEED TO TALK. CG: ERIDAN? CG: GODDAMMIT, I KNOW YOUâRE THERE SOMEWHERE. CG: SERIOUSLY, FUCKING ANSWER. CG: THIS IS IMPORTANT. CG: OH MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?? CG: I KNOW YOUâRE AT LEAST ON LAND, YOU LIMP-GILLED FISHFUCK. CG: UUUUUUUGH. CA: hey kar wwhats goin on CG: AND SUDDENLY THE CLOUDS PARTED AND THE GLORIOUS HAND OF WHATEVER CRUEL DIETY THREW US INTO THE UNIVERSE AND SAID CG: FUCK. CG: KARKAT YOU GRUBFISTED MORON JUST GET ON WITH WHAT YOUâRE TRYING TO SAY. THERE ISNâT ENOUGH TIME RIGHT NOW FOR LONG WINDED METAPHORS. CA: kar just spit it out wwhats goin on CG: FIRST, ERIDAN I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY. CA: wwhat CG: HAPPY WRIGGLING DAY AND SHIT. HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD ONE, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. CG: SORRY IF THAT DOESNâT SEEM SINCERE, IâM JUST A *LITTLE* RUSHED HERE. CA: kar its fine i took it as entirely sincere and thanks CA: youre a good friend CG: SHIT. SHIT SHIT SHIT CG: ERIDAN, I HAVE TO GO. I RAN OUT OF TIME. CG: IâLL TALK TO YOU LATER.
-carcinoGeneticist[CG] stopped trolling caligulasAquarium[CA] at 14:10-â
You messaged him several times per day, for weeks after that. You didnât think much of it when it happened, but you became progressively more worried. However, sweeps pass, memories fade, and only emotions and vague remembrance remains. You can't even remember his name.
You hadnât thought about him much in a few sweeps, but the reoccurring dreams had you thinking, and now there was a mysterious visitor wanting to see you. You clean yourself up, dressing in the uniform Kanaya made for you. Slimming pants paired with a high-collared button up jacket(and half-cape of course, you requested her to fit that in) and glossy black shoes with a point, all in purple and golds with tyrian trimmings, the uniform cut quite the figure. As you stride confidently out of your respiteblock, you make sure to move your shoulders in a way that causes your cape to sway regally, if not a bit exaggerated in movement; you loved doing that, always trying to make an impression. You take the lead down the corridor, dismissing your cabinboy to his usual duties. Trolls of all castes straighten up and salute as you pass, temporarily dropping whatever theyâre working on. When you were younger, situations like this were but a wondrous dream; you donât dislike it though, it feels very satisfying. You have changed as youâve grown to realizing that everything doesn't need to be focused on you, but this still sends a slight thrill of adrenaline to rush through your chest. You don't feel much of a need to tell them to cease, but despite how it makes you feel you would prefer if they didn't drop everything to salute your way and stand at attention. After all, dropping their duties for even a few seconds could be detrimental to this new empire and the effort everyone was making to reform it. As you head towards the docking station, you pass the throne room. Itâs a large room, lined with computers paired with crew members to communicate with the rest of the fleet and draped in bright Tyrian. Itâs a little off-color when compared to Feferiâs blood, but she doesn't mind. It's nothing but leftovers from the former occupant and redecorating the entire room to match her exact hue was a low priority. She was buzzing about as usual, flitting about the room and checking up on each crew member. She worked to keep the morale up with the shipâs crew, and was constantly asking them how things were progressing. Her throne sat at the back of the room, directly across from the archway leading into the place. It was a narrow, tall throne, exuding a certain coldness that made her a bit uncomfortable. She didn't usually sit in it, instead choosing to keep her Helmsman company. It hurt to look at him, the pain he had felt for thousands of sweeps etched deep into his face. You had even suggested putting him out of his misery, but Feferi had quickly squelched that idea and chose to befriend him and try to ease his suffering. He was in constant pain, but the three of you had done what you could to help him. The third person was Sollux, who led the communications crew in the throne room while also dealing with any sort of technological issues they encountered.
You hadnât spent much time conversing with the Helmsman as you were normally far too busy most of the time, but you did like listening to his stories when you got the chance. He was hesitant to interact with any of you at first, especially Feferi, and he didn't really open up until she had dragged Sollux to meet him. The throne room wasn't always the communication crewâs HQ, as Feferi had decided to move it when they were cleaning up the ship. The leftover bodies and blood stains wouldn't clean themselves up, after all. The original communications hub had been in the large control room at the tip of the ship where you usually stayed, barking orders and keeping everything in check. When Feferi decided to move it no questions were asked, and Sollux began working silently near his ancestor. The both of you were honestly shocked that he was still alive, the shock being mixed with slight repulsion and pity. His body was worn and tattered, but his mind had only been slightly dulled over the thousands of sweeps of torture the previous Condesce had put him through.
After he had met Sollux, an awkwardly silent meeting where Feferi had to push Sollux near the old troll and ending with Feferi forcing everyone to leave the room and give them time to become aquainted, he would occasionally tell some of the crew members tales of his life before he was forced into becoming a Helmsman. Grand tales of an ancient rebellion, pioneered by a mysterious troll who didnât have a sign nor a caste, rallying many to his cause for equality and treating everyone with kindness no matter who they were. You found these tales fascinating and held them with a certain skeptical and wondrous outlook. Being the history buff you were, you had never read about this troll and his doings. Odd, you thought, considering how many historical records you had access to and how big his influence had been. You brought this up to the old Helmsman once, and he stared at you with a sort of sad fondness. He talked about how the Condesce had personally seen to his downfall, and it wasnât surprising to him if she had destroyed every mention of him in history, until his tale was but a whisper in the wind; a mere fanciful epic spread in whispered tones among trolls who took interest in urban legends and the like. And eventually, even that would be forgotten. With how you talked, he supposed it had.
You continue past the throne room, making a mental note to visit those three later; with everything happening today, it might be nice to wind down by listening to one of his stories. You pass dozens of rooms and travel through multiple elevators before finally reaching the ship dock. It was a monumental room at the bottom of the ship, filled with smaller ships used for scouting and small group trips to different planets. These were more than necessary because, while piloting the ship was difficult on its own, landing it would be a nightmare. It wouldn't be as hard if you let the Helmsman drive, but that was one of the things the two of you decided against when planning out the running of the ship. The old troll had been through enough already and deserved his rest; the ship could power itself easily, it just took several dozen crew members to pilot it. As your gaze travels across the ship dock, you pick out the ships of your guests. Mainly ambassadors and stray adventurers, even a few curious souls who had been neutral on the whole ordeal and wanted to see what was going on. As soon as your Empress was crowned she began taking in visitors and anyone who wanted a place to rest. However, you spot one tiny ship that looks incredibly out of place. It was a poor excuse for a spacecraft, you take a moment to wonder how it can even stay in space without falling to bits. It looks like it had been through a lot and was under the care of a neglectful owner, so you walk closer to inspect it. Walking around the tiny ship, you take note that it looks to only fit one. A small âoneâ, though. You jump back as it starts to creak and screech and the door begins to open, sounding as if itâs in pain. You feel kind of bad for it, but your attention is quickly diverted to the scruffy troll trying to get out. You stare for a moment as he clambers to the floor, looking up at you disdainfully. He looks incredibly familiar, and you want to punch yourself for not being able to figure out who it is. He looks to be around your age, with a squat face and chubby wriggler-cheeks. He has a ridiculous an overbite showing off a row of rounded teeth and deep, deep shadows below his eyes. Heâs about a head and a half shorter than you as well, and you find yourself stooping to greet him. His hair is a fluffy mass of black, entirely uncombed and hiding his nubbyâŠ.were those really horns? They were awful small, and as quickly as he drew your attention away from the ship his eyes draw your attention away from the rest of his features. Bright cherry red lines his pupils, and like your eyes the color hasnât entirely filled in yet.
You hold out your hand, trying to find something to say, âYouâŠwwhoâŠ.â
He rolls his eyes and reaches up, grabbing your fins to tug you down to eye-level, âDid you seriously forget me, you moronic fish? When I said I'd talk to you later, I fucking meant it.â Ignoring the pain that shoots through your fins and up your neck, you stare at him in complete bewilderment. All at once, it hits you. The name you were trying to remember, Karkat. Your speech is loud and rushed, your accent causing you to stumblr over words twice as bad. âKar! Wwhat the fuck wwhat happened to you, I wwas wworried and you nevver evven contacted any of us, jackass!"
He gives your face a hard âPAPâ with his right hand, releasing that fin. âI wasn't exactly in the right position to contact anyone. I was lucky they didn't track down your trolltags to make fresh troll ka-bobs with those fucking culling forks they loved so much. And trust me when I say that those didn't exactly feel too great to associate with." Youâre gripped with a sudden rush of emotions and your knees nearly buckle; it had been sweeps since you had last heard from the guy who you considered your best friend and the guy you had been hopelessly pale for, even though you had Feferi as a loyal moirail at the time. The sudden shift in emotions is incredibly apparent on your face as you grapple for his hands and hold them to your face, grinning ear to ear. You want to hold him and gush about everything that heâs missed, asking endless questions about where heâs been, how he became so intimately acquainted with a culling fork, and how he got every single one of the light scars that covered his body. You resist, and end up looking like a huge dork anyway. Besides, you donât even know how heâd react to your actions.
âWell?â he half-whispers, trying to sound gruff and irritated but heâs grinning as well, nearly as wide as you. He's only a bit better at not looking like a huge dork than you are.
âKar tell me evverythin. I wwant to hear evverythin that happened to you an Iâll tell you evverythin thatâs been happenin here and oh my god Iâm just real happy to see you again Kar. After wwe had our last convversation on your wwrigglin day I kept sendin you messages an I wwas so wworried but noww youâre here and justâŠ.howw?â
He moves one of his hands, gently and without shaking your grip away and shooshes you. âI will. In due time, I guess. Right now I'm tired, I'm so fucking tired Eridan. I just want to rest. Iâve been running for sweeps, and let me tell you, it felt way longer than what it actually was. It feels like I just emerged from my trials in the brooding caverns and got to see the moons for the first time as my reward." You mumble something about delivering his nubby horned-head to Kanaya so she can dress him properly instead of the rags heâs currently dressed in. He mumbles something back about how his old clothes are just fine and he doesnât take too much of a shine to being dressed up and used as a squeal pig for Kanayaâs fashions. You retort by saying that sheâd be thrilled to see him, and he would have to face it eventually. All of you did, you point out, motioning to the way youâre dressed. He inspects your uniform and declares that you look like a complete gaudy dumbfuck but he didnât expect anything less from you. To which you say that you certainly didnât expect to see him arrive dressed in a pair of moth-eaten jeans and a shirt that barely qualifies as clothing, adding that you plan on stealing both of them while he sleeps to replace them with something better. He asks what you consider better and you tell him that your old cape would look better and be more suitable as an outfit if it was wrapped around him. He rolls his eyes and laughs, the both of you turning and hooking your arms together as you pull him through the ship and to your respiteblock, where you let him rest while you go about your duties with a large dose of excitement added to your day. You can't wait to spread the news to your friends.
