Chapter Text
In spite of the crowds of people all through the city, the throne room was quiet. No one had needed to come this way all night, the ballroom accessible through the halls from the main entrance, and even the staff hadn’t been by to light the torches. Evan sat on the steps leading up to the throne in the near darkness, silvery-blue moonlight the only light he had. He pulled his knees up to his chest, resting his chin on them and sighing quietly.
It was all too much. There were too many people, too many needs and wants and hopes to handle all at once. It was too loud and too crowded and too—everything. Everyone was happy, and he was glad for it, and he was proud of Nella for having pulled this off on such short notice, but it was just too much.. Dancing with Tani had been fun, but once she’d left his side and he’d been accosted by nobles from Dell asking what he planned to do next…it had all been too much. He’d needed space, air, quiet. At least he hadn’t had to run back to his bedroom. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d needed to do that.
With a sigh, Evan uncurled a little. Reaching up he pulled his crown from between his ears. It was so light he’d gone the whole day without really feeling it, but holding it in his hands now felt like holding the weight of the world. So many people were relying on him for so many things…would it always feel like this? Gods, he hoped not. He had to hope that things would get easier as he got older, as the whole world settled into the idea of being one united realm. If they didn’t…well.
He wasn’t going to think about what would happen if they didn’t. He wasn’t—he was. With a groan, Evan buried his face in his kneecaps.
“That doesn’t sound good,” Roland’s voice came from the door that lead back to the ballroom. His bootsteps were soft on the carpets as he walked closer. “Do I need to have someone thrown in the moat?”
“No.” Evan said into his knees. He lifted his head just enough to watch Roland walk closer. “I’m alright,” he said, and Roland raised an eyebrow. Soft concern rang through the bond. Evan shook his head. “Really. I just needed a moment, that’s all. There are so many people…”
“City’s full to bursting,” Roland agreed. “And it seems like everybody’s after your attention at the same time. It’s a lot to handle all at once.”
“It is.” Evan agreed. He lifted his head a little further, no longer speaking into his trousers. “How did you handle it?”
“A lot of delegation,” Roland replied, “And I was already grown when I took office. It’s a little…” he paused, tried again, “A lot different. You got thrown into the deep end all of a sudden. It’s normal if you’re feeling overwhelmed by all of this.” Stopping a few paces away he added, “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Mm.” Evan hummed noncommittally. He looked down at his crown, turning it back and forth in the moonlight. It gleamed softly, the gem catching the light. He rubbed his thumb back and forth over it. “It’s just…everyone seems to need something from us all of the time. Broadleaf and Hamelin are still one argument away from a fight, Al-Mamoon has to abandon their home due to the monsters in the area, and things between Mousekind and the Grimalkin are still strained!”
Not that he could blame them for that, but. His ears folded back as he fought back a furious, frustrated hiss.
“I thought that working together meant that they would be able to work things out amongst themselves, not just that they’d rely on Evermore for a solution to all of their problems…”
“That’s how people are,” Roland said, “No matter how strong they think they are, we all want someone who knows more to tell us what to do. As far as the world’s concerned, Evermore’s the one who knows what they’re doing and can tell them what to do.”
“But—” Evan looked up at his adoptive father. “We don’t know more than they do! We’re—we’re making things up as we go as well!”
“We are, and that’s normal, too.” Roland nodded, crossing the remaining distance between them and sitting down at Evan’s side. “No one really knows what they’re doing when it comes to this kind of thing, but they’ll settle down with time. Once they find their footing, they’ll calm down.”
Would that really settle things down? Evan wasn’t entirely sure. It would be easy for the other nations to keep relying on Evermore, after all; they’d led the charge through the past year without slowing down! Everything from saving Goldpaw to evacuating Hydropolis to keeping Broadleaf from going critical to preventing a war with Dell to stopping Doloran! It had all rested on their shoulders for so long that even now the weight of it threatened to crush him. His chest tightened and he had to pull his legs up, making himself smaller.
“I hope so,” He said quietly, resting his chin on his knees. “I just…” He took as deep a breath as he could manage in his compressed state. “…Does it ever get any easier, Roland?”
“It’s more that you get used to it than anything else,” Roland said gently. “You figure out ways to handle it, because there’s always going to be someone asking you to solve their problems, thinking that you’re the only one who can.” He clasped his hands around his knees. “And sometimes they’re right, but other times they’re not. You'll learn how to tell when they need help and when to tell someone to get their head out of the sand and deal with it themselves."
Evan blinked. That did sound wonderful right about then, but... “Just like that?”
“Just like that. Well.” Roland inclined his head. “Maybe a little more politely than just like that, but yeah. Close enough.” He smiled a little. “But you don’t have to handle it all on your own. Whatever comes our way, we’re here to help you face it.”
“I know.” Evan said. It was the one thing he was absolutely sure of. They would never leave him. Whenever he needed them, they would be there, just like he would be there for them. He could still feel them, the rapidly strengthening bond something he could rely upon. Knowing it was there, knowing they were there…it made it a little easier to breathe, even with the weight of so many lives in his hands. He closed his eyes. “I won’t forget that.”
For a while after that, the two of them sat in comfortable silence. Roland’s presence alone was a comfort, safety even if Evan didn’t really need it, and knowing the others were just a bond-press away helped to ease his frayed, overwhelmed nerves. A burst of aggravation through the Kingsbond made him laugh.
“What is it?”
“Lofty,” Evan shook his head, “I think the Higgledies stole his food again. He isn’t very happy at the moment.”
“I don’t know what else he’s expecting at this point,” Roland sighed, “You think he’d be used to all of this after nearly a year.”
Nearly a year. Evan nodded, mind whirling all over again. It was still hard to believe that it had been so little time since they’d first set out into the wilds of the Hills, running for their lives. So much had happened since then. They’d built a kingdom, come together as a family, saved the world…if someone had approached him back then and told him that all of this was going to happen, he never would have believed them! He could still barely believe it now, and he’d lived through it all! He glanced down at his crown.
“It’s still a little hard to believe sometimes,” He admitted quietly. When Roland made a pensive sound he continued, “We did it. We really did it. We united the entire world. All of the great nations, the smaller nations, their peoples…we brought them all together. We’ve truly built a nation where everyone can live happily ever after!”
“We have.” Roland agreed, his voice warm. “We built a kingdom out of practically nothing. After all of this, I can’t see anything stopping us now.” He leaned back to look up at the night sky. “Especially after what you've given us all.”
"What I've given everyone?" Evan tilted his head, ears pricked forward. There was weight behind those words, too much weight for Roland to just be talking about Evermore proper. "What do you mean?"
“I mean that everyone has hope now,” Roland said, “Hope that we can make things better for the generations to come, make our own happy endings. No one has to be held back by their pasts any longer. We can move forward, together, and make a better world.” Turning his head, he met Evan’s gaze. “And it’s all because of you, Evan. You and your dream. You never gave up on it, even when things seemed impossible.” A soft smile spread across his face. “I’m proud of you.”
The bond rang with that same pride, and Evan’s heart swelled until it felt too big for his chest. A purr rattled in the back of his throat, even as tears prickled at the backs of his eyes. Hearing that…it meant so much.
“Thank you, Roland,” he whispered, “But I truly couldn’t have done this without you, without everyone.” His voice shook a little, but this time he didn’t bother trying to hold back his emotions. “It may have been my dream, but alone? I never could have made it this far.”
“None of us would have made it here alone,” Roland said gently. “But that’s what family is for, right? None of us ever have to be alone anymore.” He opened an arm towards Evan, and Evan scooted over until he was able to lean his head against Roland’s shoulder. With a sigh, he closed his eyes. “Whatever happens, what ever’s coming next…we can face it together.”
“We will.” Evan agreed. A sharp whistle from above caught his attention; the pair of them looked up in time to see a firework explode in the night sky, a burst of bright red pushing back the stars. More fireworks followed with thunderous booms, flashes of bright light and even brighter colors lighting up the throne room as the city reveled in the celebrations. Evan couldn’t help but smile. “I know we will.”
Content in that knowledge, in knowing that they could handle anything that came their way, Evan sat back to watch the fireworks. Whatever came next, whatever challenges they faced…he was ready.
After all, he wasn’t alone. Not anymore.