RANSOM OF A KING
Short story by DARTHOOM
Featuring: King Godverse (Koavire Ideel)
Koavire sits idly as his staff attends to his every whim and need; across the miles of forestry his royal guard searched and ravaged the forest floor for any sort of clue to his crowns' disappearance. As an incomprehensible being of vast authority, easily he may find the culprit for the theft on a mere whim, but wouldn't do such a thing; the thief had the audacity to steal from his turned back. Koavire respected the sheer bravery, no matter how pretentious of a scheme.
As a reward, he'd let them get as far as they could before unleashing his might across the lands. Somewhere out in the fields, a small form of a struggling frisk headed away from the forest, using both of their hands to drag a large leather bag. In this bag, sat the green crown of King Godverse. The Frisk had taken the crown, desperate for divine attention, and publicity, and desperate to make a profit. The small child knew King Godverse had a sense of fair play, which would at least buy her some time to find a way to escape the forsaken desolate fields. As she dragged the bag through the mud, she kept her focus forward and on the sky. The weather of the King was rumored to change with his mood. Her uncle and told her the stories of the realm of Koavire, weaving stories and fashioning myths to tell tall tales. Perhaps, if she used the weather as a guide, she could track the mood of King Godverse and use it to help evade him.
The sky was calm, blue, and slightly cloudy. Unnerved at the lack of activity, the young Frisk began to doubt the stories told by her father; surely the King would be upset, no matter how slightly, over the theft of a prized artifact such as his crown? If the sky wasn't stormy or showing any activity, perhaps he didn't fear or worry? If he didn't fear or worry, he might already have seen her? She gritted her teeth and started to move faster, shaking her head free of all her worries and negative thoughts that clouded her judgment. They'd do no good to her, as she couldn't turn back now. The damage had already been done, and the punishment for theft from the Godverse Nobility was incomprehensible.
She kept moving forward. Traversing the desiccated farmland was a laborious task; dragging a heavy bag, under the looming presence of an fiction-wide almighty with nowhere to hide, and suffering from the hopeless despair with no structure or shelter to offer any level of comfort. It was completely devoid of hope for escape. She wouldn't let that stop her, reaching and fumbling for the magic potion stored in her patched leather coat most eagerly. Temporarily releasing the bag, and letting it fall to the ground, allowed her to quickly catch her breath. As she pulled out the bottle from a hidden pocket from the inside of the leather coat, her eyes glanced toward the horizon she had came from. Out in the distance was the faint outline of forestation. She had to get farther if she was to escape without notice.
She drank from the bottle quickly, eagerly downing the vile hot pink liquid. It had the consistency of pudding and produced an awful cherry flavor with a chemical aftertaste that triggered her senses. This was a vile potion, but if she was to reach the extraction point, she would need the extra boost of stamina, endurance, and strength it provided. Without it, she might as well lay down, and let Koavire's royal guard find her. Downing the last few drops of the potion she felt a strange tingling sensation all throughout her. The heavy load behind her started to lessen in weight and her aching body began to feel stronger, and faster. Her mind was more alert and sensitive to her surroundings.
She had forgotten about the full effect the potion had on her mental strength. It was fortunate that Asriel mentioned taking it after embarking on her adventure. If she was to get away unscathed, she would need to move faster. Without another moment to spare she hoisted the bag over her shoulder with relative ease and pressed onwards over the desiccated terrain. The sun started to set in the direction she was traveling, just as planned. With the sun ahead of her, she might not see where she was heading. However, at least she could use its rays to hide from the sight of the Royal Guard. It was odd how calm the King seemed; the wind and sky were slightly cold and strangely jarring. Suddenly the sun began to rise again, reversing its course from sunset to daytime. She opened her mouth in shock, startled by the sudden change. Soon the sky, but not the sun, would become darker. She couldn't comprehend what was happening. She immediately dropped the bag and stared at the fantastic scene from above with awe.
The landscape darkened around her, as the light of the sun began to narrow its width. With a night sky in view all around, the sun's light shone only on her. She stood there, staring at the sky with wonder. Her aquamarine eyes widened as the sun suddenly turned into a bright blue orb. The blue orb moved to the side as a red orb appeared. The starry sky was filled with a face and form comparable to a celestial body; a black and white face was watching her from orbit. The head of Koavire was visible, accompanied by his neck, with the rest of the body unseen through the horizon "Shit." she whispered, still staring with wide eyes at the sky "You're Koavire aren't you?" The face in the sky doesn't answer her and instead continues to frown. He didn't seem angry or distressed, for he seemingly conveyed.... uncertainty? The way he was peering down at her suggested he was trying to figure out what to make of her.
She attempted to sound confident in order to hide her unease "I almost got away, maybe you should encourage your small guard not to be so easy on thievery. It makes a terrible example-" the face drew closer above her, peering down at her with an overwhelming intensity of focus "-for others to... follow... I... I uh.." she struggled to find the right thing to say as her stomach twisted into a knot. She was used to the pretentious lot of gods and goddesses in the Godsphere of the Godverse, but Koavire was different. Koavire was the baddie in charge. Now that biggest baddie is staring down at her from orbit, probably deciding her fate. Will she get imprisoned? Executed? Tortured? Anything was possible, with each possibility more gruesome than the last. Maybe if she kept talking, she could buy her some time to- "No." A voice said.
Koavire interrupted her train of thought, his voice remarkably disproportionate to his size. His voice sounded normal, almost as if he was near her and not out in orbit "You stole my crown. Why?" He asked. Frisk automatically said, "I don't know." in response. She was frightened. Koavire's eyes continued to stare into hers. "If you give back my crown, I'll let you go." The concerned Frisk thought for a second: he could easily take it by force, and he could easily wish her away on a mere whim. Maybe he does have a sense of fair play "Is this part of some sort of game?" "No, no game." Her eyes narrowed suspiciously "Is this a trick?" King Godverse was still seemingly uncertain about her. He wouldn't answer that question, but not out of deliberation for a deceptive act. Frisk would respond immediately once she realized the exact nature of her situation.
"It really wouldn't matter if it was a trick, would it? Look, I wanted your crown for money. Thought you played fair, so I wanted to... play on that." "If you give me back my crown, I'll let you go." He repeats, relaxing his expression. He just looked down at her, displaying no outward emotion through his facial expressions. Frisk winced. "Just like that?" Koavire didn't answer. "Huh, okay. Sure. You'll let me go? Scott-free?" "Yeah." No emotion. Frisk looked down at the bag she had dropped, and then back up to Koavire. "So... it's yours, I guess? Take it." The bag vanished, and Koavire vanished.
Soon, she was staring at the night sky, blinking in confusion. The event has been erased from time and space, with Frisk suddenly away back to the Adamapshere where she belonged. As she was set on a completely new timeline, with alterations made to satisfy whatever financial gain she required, King Godverse would quietly ponder the thief, taking away his being and body to once more exist outside the realm of physical existence. Outside of Godverse, retreating to his own narrative to ponder. King Godverse may have seen no point in the interaction, but being cruel earned nothing but problems. Giving her that life would create no problem, and sticking to committing morally acceptable practices, and levels of tolerance should add stability to his rule