For trope_bingo.
Sep. 19th, 2017 05:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyofleithianTitle: The Prince, the Knight and the Dragon
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a prince, a knight and a dragon. This is their story.
Prompt: AU -- Fairy Tale/Myth
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there lived a king, a queen, and their son, the prince. The prince was terribly lonely growing up except for one friend -- the son of the Queen's friend who dreamed of becoming a knight. Together, they grew up, even with the prince learning various magics from his uncle, a wizard.
The Queen herself was not a witch -- her son had inherited it from his grandfather, a formidable wizard, and the Queen feared him as a result. She feared and hated her late father, for he was one of the most destructive forces that ever lived and one of the most wicked, and she feared that it would pass on to her son -- who she named Ben, after one of the men from her childhood who had assisted her adoptive father in a great war.
As Ben grew up, he was shunned and disliked by many thanks to his perceived oddness -- his magic being a great part of it. He had a select few friends, the first being the Queen's friend's son, Poe.
From the shadows, a dragon watched. Unbeknownst to the King and Queen, the dragon had played an additional, magical role in Ben's conception, having made sure that he had Dark magic as well as Light. The others did not know about the details of Light and Dark magic, save for Ben's uncle Luke, but they knew oddness when they saw it, and so they were afraid of Ben.
The dragon watched from the shadows even as Ben grew up, and bided his time.
***
It was as Ben got older that he grew more beautiful, and there were women at court seeking his hand. He could only assume that it was because he was the prince, not because he was particularly beautiful. It was around this time that he noticed that Poe, who had become a Knight by this time, had a sort of melancholy look in his eyes, a sort of jealousy that Ben couldn't say why he had. After all, what could he have to be jealous of?
What could there be to be jealous of, really? Ben had to admit that he had his moments of wondering if Poe felt the same for Ben that Ben did for him. These strange, fluttery feelings that his mother cautioned
***
To say that Sir Poe was in a state of distress was an understatement. He sat out in the fields with his hound BB by his side, stroking his head as he thought about the prince. He had been friends with Ben since childhood, but these feelings that were arising were stronger than he thought he was capable of. As Ben got older, he only got more enchanting -- his hair dark and curly, his lips full and soft, his eyes dark and expressive, too expressive. Some of the others called Ben odd, in appearance as well as demeanor, but Poe found him the most beautiful man he had ever met. The wittiest, the kindest...Ben was some sort of angel in human form, and Poe doubted that Ben could ever truly be his.
It was with the help of BB that he found a way to declare his love. They picked flowers from the riverbanks, and even heading in to show Ben them, when others were asleep, feeling suddenly very shy. He wasn't a shy man, and yet he felt shy in that moment, hesitant.
"They're beautiful," Ben said, and Poe felt something in him lift. Just the fact that Ben found them beautiful...
"My prince, Your Highness -- "
"We've known each other our whole lives," Ben said. "Just call me Ben."
Poe hesitated. How was he going to tell him? Then, "I shouldn't tell you this. I don't think it's even allowed, loving a prince. But I love you, Ben."
Ben's face showed surprise first, and then delight, if worry. "Poe. I didn't think that you would feel the same. I admit I am afraid."
"What could there to be afraid of?"
"Everything." Even thinking about it was enough to scare and exhilarate Ben all at once. He didn't know what was going to happen. But he and Poe loved each other, and that was what mattered most.
***
It was in shadows they met, and in shadows that they loved each other. Poe's arms, Poe's touch -- Ben already yearned for them during the day and it felt unbearable when they were apart. But being in Poe's arms felt like home more than anything. Home. Home, where Ben hadn't felt as much in the court.
During this time, Ben gave Poe a necklace with a rare crystal, and took some time to think about what he felt. His mother had warned him about falling in love, as well as his uncle, which made no sense at all considering the women who courted him. Maybe they didn't actually expect love from him, or from them. Not like what he felt for Poe. You could marry someone for convenience, but you couldn't love them.
All of it, all of it, was too new for Ben's liking.
***
It was around this time that Ben met the dragon. He had stormed away after a terrible fight with his mother over the matter of Poe's possible exile for fraternizing with him, and he was too angry to consider that he had stormed into a giant gold dragon.
A dragon, of all things.
Ben looked up at the dragon, the dragon that seemed downright massive, magnificent, with vast golden wings and dazzling gold scales. Everything about the dragon was gold, except oddly, for his eyes, which were as blue as a summer sky. His hand trembled on his sword, and the dragon looked down at him, its mighty head regarding Ben with a sort of calm, like he was the one in control in that moment. Finally, he said, "I am not just a creature for you to slay, young prince. I am much more than that."
"Who are you?" Ben said. "I felt you before."
"My name," said the dragon, "Has long been lost to history. And it deserves to be lost as such. But if you want something to refer to me as, it is Snoke."
Ben tilted his head. "I've never heard of a dragon named Snoke."
"It is a title. In the language of my people, it would be unpronounceable to human tongues."
"I'll...take your word for it." Ben looked at the dragon. "What are you doing here?"
"I've heard rumors of your prowess, young prince. And your destiny has come. You've certainly looked around you -- it is abysmal, is it not? Humans have ravaged that which they own. Gluttony, callousness to the suffering of others, cruelty, pettiness...it is a miserable state."
Ben shook his head. "Humans aren't all like that," he said.
Snoke laughed -- it sounded like two rocks grinding together. "You are too optimistic," he said.
"Poe Dameron isn't like that," Ben said.
"Ah. Him. I've observed you -- the both of you have been so stifled, haven't you? Unable to express your true feelings for the other in daylight. The others would laugh and scoff at the idea -- a prince in love with his knight."
"Yes." Ben reached over to scratch the back of his neck. "Let alone...someone like me."
Snoke tilted his head. "Someone like you?"
"Where I come from," Ben said, "Others think me odd."
Snoke dipped his head this time. "No son of mine could be odd," he said.
"Me? Your son?"
"In a manner of speaking. I had a hand -- or rather claw, in your conception. You never wondered why you were considered odd? They misunderstood you. Where there was genius they saw something to be feared. Where there was uniqueness they saw distorted views of you." Snoke nudged at his hand. "Fly with me, Ben. Fly with me, and I'll show you everything."
Ben hesitated. Should he be going off with this dragon, this dragon who claimed to know things about him that he didn't know existed?
He nodded.
Once they got to the dragon's fortress on Milara, the dragon Snoke told Ben everything, and it felt like the last puzzle piece clicked into place. It all made sense. The way that his mother treated him, the way that his uncle treated him, and plenty more.
"You're trembling," said Snoke.
"It all makes sense," Ben said. "It shouldn't, but it does..."
"You were kept from me for most of your life," said Snoke. "But it is far from too late. We can begin again. You can truly belong, Ben. You can make things right in the land. You won't have to hide your love for the Knight any longer."
Ben, after a long while, spoke. "What do I have to do?"
"I have a mantle that I need you to take up, Ben. It may involve great pain, receiving and causing in equal measure, but it is fundamentally necessary."
***
From there, wreaking revenge was all but easy. Even looking down at the burning villages, Ben felt sick. His mother had been the survivor of a village burning, as had his uncle. And here he was, doing the same. He turned towards Snoke. "I think we've done enough," he said.
Snoke looked thoughtful. "You wish to stop?"
"There could be innocents there," Ben said.
Snoke looked melancholy in that moment. "You know not what needs to be done in war," he said. "But you will learn."
***
Years passed, and Prince Ben was presumed to have disappeared. In the meantime, Sir Poe never stopped looking for him. All the while he remembered the necklace that Ben had given him, and he made sure to wear it at all times. Close to his heart, where Ben belonged, and always would belong.
He searched far and wide, on his horse, Ebony, for Ben, his faithful hound BB with him. But there was no sign of Ben, not a word of him. It was as if the townspeople were keeping a terrible secret. Was Ben dead? Poe couldn't bear to think of him as such --
It was eventually in the village of Tuanul that he found the man known as Kylo Ren. Cruel, ruthless, vicious, this man was a man to be feared. And it was there that Poe confronted him. It was after he killed Lor San Tekka that Poe stepped out of the shadows.
"The map to Skywalker," said Kylo Ren. "Where is it?"
Poe drew his sword. Kylo Ren looked him up and down. "You seek to fight me?"
"To protect the village," Poe said.
Kylo Ren drew his sword in turn, and it was then that Poe froze. This...this was Ben's sword.
"It can't be," he said, and already, he knew that Kylo Ren couldn't have done anything worse than if he stabbed him.
***
The duel between the two of them seemed almost like the duels that they had when they were younger, but now it was far too real. Eventually, Kylo Ren managed to overpower Poe and as he lay on the ground, gasping for breath, Poe spoke. "I...I love you, Ben."
And Kylo Ren paused. It couldn't be. Poe couldn't still love him after all these years. There was too much wrong in him, too much damage. He had done so much; he didn't deserve any of this. He, dragon-spawn...
The sword fell from his hand. "You can't. After all this time..."
"I do. I came...looking for you."
Kylo stood there, speechless along with the crowd, along with his fellow knights. And for a moment, it seemed that the rest of the world stood still.
"It's too late."
"It isn't." Poe stumbled to his feet. "It can stop here. There's always a chance for redemption."
Kylo paused once again. It would be so easy to kill Poe where he stood, but he couldn't do it. Even after all these years, he loved him.
Even after all this time I love him so...
"Help me." he said.
"I will."
***
It took some doing, but Poe persuaded Kylo Ren to come with him and together, they confronted Snoke. They slew him, and it was in his final moments that Snoke admitted that he may have been wrong.
"I did you too much wrong," said the dragon. "I did this land too much wrong. I thought I was protecting it, but I was wrong. Go home, Prince Ben. Rebuild. Don't make the same mistakes I did."
The prince did. And it was from there he built his own kingdom, where wizards were accepted and not shunned, where Poe ruled by his side as his consort, and they ruled wisely and well.
And they lived happily ever after.
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a prince, a knight and a dragon. This is their story.
Prompt: AU -- Fairy Tale/Myth
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there lived a king, a queen, and their son, the prince. The prince was terribly lonely growing up except for one friend -- the son of the Queen's friend who dreamed of becoming a knight. Together, they grew up, even with the prince learning various magics from his uncle, a wizard.
The Queen herself was not a witch -- her son had inherited it from his grandfather, a formidable wizard, and the Queen feared him as a result. She feared and hated her late father, for he was one of the most destructive forces that ever lived and one of the most wicked, and she feared that it would pass on to her son -- who she named Ben, after one of the men from her childhood who had assisted her adoptive father in a great war.
As Ben grew up, he was shunned and disliked by many thanks to his perceived oddness -- his magic being a great part of it. He had a select few friends, the first being the Queen's friend's son, Poe.
From the shadows, a dragon watched. Unbeknownst to the King and Queen, the dragon had played an additional, magical role in Ben's conception, having made sure that he had Dark magic as well as Light. The others did not know about the details of Light and Dark magic, save for Ben's uncle Luke, but they knew oddness when they saw it, and so they were afraid of Ben.
The dragon watched from the shadows even as Ben grew up, and bided his time.
***
It was as Ben got older that he grew more beautiful, and there were women at court seeking his hand. He could only assume that it was because he was the prince, not because he was particularly beautiful. It was around this time that he noticed that Poe, who had become a Knight by this time, had a sort of melancholy look in his eyes, a sort of jealousy that Ben couldn't say why he had. After all, what could he have to be jealous of?
What could there be to be jealous of, really? Ben had to admit that he had his moments of wondering if Poe felt the same for Ben that Ben did for him. These strange, fluttery feelings that his mother cautioned
***
To say that Sir Poe was in a state of distress was an understatement. He sat out in the fields with his hound BB by his side, stroking his head as he thought about the prince. He had been friends with Ben since childhood, but these feelings that were arising were stronger than he thought he was capable of. As Ben got older, he only got more enchanting -- his hair dark and curly, his lips full and soft, his eyes dark and expressive, too expressive. Some of the others called Ben odd, in appearance as well as demeanor, but Poe found him the most beautiful man he had ever met. The wittiest, the kindest...Ben was some sort of angel in human form, and Poe doubted that Ben could ever truly be his.
It was with the help of BB that he found a way to declare his love. They picked flowers from the riverbanks, and even heading in to show Ben them, when others were asleep, feeling suddenly very shy. He wasn't a shy man, and yet he felt shy in that moment, hesitant.
"They're beautiful," Ben said, and Poe felt something in him lift. Just the fact that Ben found them beautiful...
"My prince, Your Highness -- "
"We've known each other our whole lives," Ben said. "Just call me Ben."
Poe hesitated. How was he going to tell him? Then, "I shouldn't tell you this. I don't think it's even allowed, loving a prince. But I love you, Ben."
Ben's face showed surprise first, and then delight, if worry. "Poe. I didn't think that you would feel the same. I admit I am afraid."
"What could there to be afraid of?"
"Everything." Even thinking about it was enough to scare and exhilarate Ben all at once. He didn't know what was going to happen. But he and Poe loved each other, and that was what mattered most.
***
It was in shadows they met, and in shadows that they loved each other. Poe's arms, Poe's touch -- Ben already yearned for them during the day and it felt unbearable when they were apart. But being in Poe's arms felt like home more than anything. Home. Home, where Ben hadn't felt as much in the court.
During this time, Ben gave Poe a necklace with a rare crystal, and took some time to think about what he felt. His mother had warned him about falling in love, as well as his uncle, which made no sense at all considering the women who courted him. Maybe they didn't actually expect love from him, or from them. Not like what he felt for Poe. You could marry someone for convenience, but you couldn't love them.
All of it, all of it, was too new for Ben's liking.
***
It was around this time that Ben met the dragon. He had stormed away after a terrible fight with his mother over the matter of Poe's possible exile for fraternizing with him, and he was too angry to consider that he had stormed into a giant gold dragon.
A dragon, of all things.
Ben looked up at the dragon, the dragon that seemed downright massive, magnificent, with vast golden wings and dazzling gold scales. Everything about the dragon was gold, except oddly, for his eyes, which were as blue as a summer sky. His hand trembled on his sword, and the dragon looked down at him, its mighty head regarding Ben with a sort of calm, like he was the one in control in that moment. Finally, he said, "I am not just a creature for you to slay, young prince. I am much more than that."
"Who are you?" Ben said. "I felt you before."
"My name," said the dragon, "Has long been lost to history. And it deserves to be lost as such. But if you want something to refer to me as, it is Snoke."
Ben tilted his head. "I've never heard of a dragon named Snoke."
"It is a title. In the language of my people, it would be unpronounceable to human tongues."
"I'll...take your word for it." Ben looked at the dragon. "What are you doing here?"
"I've heard rumors of your prowess, young prince. And your destiny has come. You've certainly looked around you -- it is abysmal, is it not? Humans have ravaged that which they own. Gluttony, callousness to the suffering of others, cruelty, pettiness...it is a miserable state."
Ben shook his head. "Humans aren't all like that," he said.
Snoke laughed -- it sounded like two rocks grinding together. "You are too optimistic," he said.
"Poe Dameron isn't like that," Ben said.
"Ah. Him. I've observed you -- the both of you have been so stifled, haven't you? Unable to express your true feelings for the other in daylight. The others would laugh and scoff at the idea -- a prince in love with his knight."
"Yes." Ben reached over to scratch the back of his neck. "Let alone...someone like me."
Snoke tilted his head. "Someone like you?"
"Where I come from," Ben said, "Others think me odd."
Snoke dipped his head this time. "No son of mine could be odd," he said.
"Me? Your son?"
"In a manner of speaking. I had a hand -- or rather claw, in your conception. You never wondered why you were considered odd? They misunderstood you. Where there was genius they saw something to be feared. Where there was uniqueness they saw distorted views of you." Snoke nudged at his hand. "Fly with me, Ben. Fly with me, and I'll show you everything."
Ben hesitated. Should he be going off with this dragon, this dragon who claimed to know things about him that he didn't know existed?
He nodded.
Once they got to the dragon's fortress on Milara, the dragon Snoke told Ben everything, and it felt like the last puzzle piece clicked into place. It all made sense. The way that his mother treated him, the way that his uncle treated him, and plenty more.
"You're trembling," said Snoke.
"It all makes sense," Ben said. "It shouldn't, but it does..."
"You were kept from me for most of your life," said Snoke. "But it is far from too late. We can begin again. You can truly belong, Ben. You can make things right in the land. You won't have to hide your love for the Knight any longer."
Ben, after a long while, spoke. "What do I have to do?"
"I have a mantle that I need you to take up, Ben. It may involve great pain, receiving and causing in equal measure, but it is fundamentally necessary."
***
From there, wreaking revenge was all but easy. Even looking down at the burning villages, Ben felt sick. His mother had been the survivor of a village burning, as had his uncle. And here he was, doing the same. He turned towards Snoke. "I think we've done enough," he said.
Snoke looked thoughtful. "You wish to stop?"
"There could be innocents there," Ben said.
Snoke looked melancholy in that moment. "You know not what needs to be done in war," he said. "But you will learn."
***
Years passed, and Prince Ben was presumed to have disappeared. In the meantime, Sir Poe never stopped looking for him. All the while he remembered the necklace that Ben had given him, and he made sure to wear it at all times. Close to his heart, where Ben belonged, and always would belong.
He searched far and wide, on his horse, Ebony, for Ben, his faithful hound BB with him. But there was no sign of Ben, not a word of him. It was as if the townspeople were keeping a terrible secret. Was Ben dead? Poe couldn't bear to think of him as such --
It was eventually in the village of Tuanul that he found the man known as Kylo Ren. Cruel, ruthless, vicious, this man was a man to be feared. And it was there that Poe confronted him. It was after he killed Lor San Tekka that Poe stepped out of the shadows.
"The map to Skywalker," said Kylo Ren. "Where is it?"
Poe drew his sword. Kylo Ren looked him up and down. "You seek to fight me?"
"To protect the village," Poe said.
Kylo Ren drew his sword in turn, and it was then that Poe froze. This...this was Ben's sword.
"It can't be," he said, and already, he knew that Kylo Ren couldn't have done anything worse than if he stabbed him.
***
The duel between the two of them seemed almost like the duels that they had when they were younger, but now it was far too real. Eventually, Kylo Ren managed to overpower Poe and as he lay on the ground, gasping for breath, Poe spoke. "I...I love you, Ben."
And Kylo Ren paused. It couldn't be. Poe couldn't still love him after all these years. There was too much wrong in him, too much damage. He had done so much; he didn't deserve any of this. He, dragon-spawn...
The sword fell from his hand. "You can't. After all this time..."
"I do. I came...looking for you."
Kylo stood there, speechless along with the crowd, along with his fellow knights. And for a moment, it seemed that the rest of the world stood still.
"It's too late."
"It isn't." Poe stumbled to his feet. "It can stop here. There's always a chance for redemption."
Kylo paused once again. It would be so easy to kill Poe where he stood, but he couldn't do it. Even after all these years, he loved him.
Even after all this time I love him so...
"Help me." he said.
"I will."
***
It took some doing, but Poe persuaded Kylo Ren to come with him and together, they confronted Snoke. They slew him, and it was in his final moments that Snoke admitted that he may have been wrong.
"I did you too much wrong," said the dragon. "I did this land too much wrong. I thought I was protecting it, but I was wrong. Go home, Prince Ben. Rebuild. Don't make the same mistakes I did."
The prince did. And it was from there he built his own kingdom, where wizards were accepted and not shunned, where Poe ruled by his side as his consort, and they ruled wisely and well.
And they lived happily ever after.
