[Raleigh never wanted to be king. Never expected to be either but no one sees a freak accident coming, one that claims the life of the country's newly crowned monarch. There's an investigation and conspiracy theories but in the end, it was an honest mistake. A mistake that Raleigh walked away from with ringing in his ears, blood in his eyes and no feeling in his left arm and a country looking to him to be their leader.
He tries. He really does but of the three of them, Raleigh's the least suited for it and he stumbles through it for the better part of a year before he meets her. Mako Mori. A foreigner, no title, no money, by all standards, someone that Parliament and the general public won't let him marry because they won't let her be Queen because of tradition and bullshit he doesn't care about.
Maybe he was thinking about doing it anyway and Mako just gives him the excuse to actually sign the papers. Maybe that's not entirely healthy either, there's this weight on the decision that she's it, they're together forever because who gives up their crown to marry someone they end up divorcing ten years later. Exactly.
Raleigh's sure of two things though. He's not making a very good king and he loves Mako more than anyone. He set his lawyers on the task of drawing up the papers before he retires for the evening, calling Mako the second he's gotten rid of all of his followers. No one warns you that when you're king, you're surrounded by people all the time and that's really the last thing that Raleigh wants and it's amazing really, how much that really grates on his temper.]
[ They hate her. The media, the journalists, reporters, politicians and the people of this country, this empire that had been under royal rule for millennia. Mako is nobody, a woman who had been divorced once before -- an enterprising engineer, smart, intelligent and accomplished in her own field with not a drop of royal blood in her veins, and the abhorrent status of having once been married.
The romance had flared to life, kindled by their personalities, their compatibility, and perhaps -- the fact that she'd been there at the right time, unknowingly tugging him out of his unhappiness. She knows he'd been unhappy, downtrodden ever since the death of his brother, she knows he disliked the throne, understood its trappings the way no one else did, and addressed him without the starry-eyed wonder of sycophants.
To her, Raleigh is Raleigh, and that's all that mattered.
But then their romance grew into a flame that threatened to consume everything in its path -- the opposition had been unanimous when he'd made up his mind to marry her, the different states and governors had voiced their fierce refusal of having her as its queen; Mako was lowly born, and she had been once-divorced; no king of an empire as vast as this ought to lower himself to such a level, and no woman like her can be queen.
And Mako understands -- it's ancient law, written into the Constitution, and she witnesses the chaos, the strife, the confusion and the storm that Raleigh creates with his advisors, the turmoil of a country who adored its king.
It doesn't matter whether he makes a good king or not -- the people love him, he's the heart of them, the soul and the jewel of their lives, and no matter how much Raleigh wants to be with her, no matter how much Mako loves him, she knows the right thing to do.
The manservants fetch her to him, but Mako enters his vast chambers alone, unsurprised to see that he's unattended. He looks lonely, she thinks, young and lonely and unhappy, caught in this fantasy world, a gilded bird in his jeweled cage, and she knows, to her bones, that there are no such things as fairy tales. ]
Raleigh. [ Mako says, and she keeps her distance. The world is falling apart all around them, this country is about to be in a shambles, its very Constitutions rocked, because the choice is clear: either Raleigh renounces her for all time, or he abdicates the throne, and leaves the home that he loves. ]
...Raleigh. We cannot do this anymore. [ It's gone too far, don't you see? His people still need him, and Mako cannot help but be overwhelmed by the attention, the taunts, the mobbing, the mocking headlines, the constant barrage of the media, the Woman Who Stole the King. ]
[She might understand but he doesn't. He doesn't understand how people can look at her and not see what he sees. Not see an amazing woman, one who is strong and brilliant and he can't do this on his own, he just can't and she's the one that he wants to support him. Mako might be the first woman who's ever looked at him and seen not the next in line to the throne, the brand new king but just a man and sure, yeah he used to eat that attention up but he was a different person before the accident too.
He doesn't care what people are saying. People have been saying shit about him and his family before he was born and nothing he does is really going to change that. The country needs a king that will actually care about what happens and he does care but not enough to be able to keep his temper in check, to ever feel comfortable surrounded by dozens of people all the time, to think rationally and not impulsively.
It wasn't supposed to be his crown. It was supposed to be Yancy's. It was Yancy's and he's been the heir apparent his entire life but he's never, not once thought about being king himself until it was thrust on him and he find that he really. Really doesn't want it.]
Don't say that. [If she thinks he hasn't seen today's headlines, then she's wrong. He just doesn't put any weight into them. Raleigh frowns at her, because what is she trying to do.]
Please. Don't unless it comes actually from you and not a reporter.
In the eyes of his people, she's That Woman, the one who stole him away from the throne -- whether he's a good king or not is irrelevant; even as they speak, so many right now are speculating on them, on the hooks that she's got in him, on how she's the woman beneath royalty, and yet. This is a fairytale and an insult to the throne -- and it doesn't matter what their King thinks.
Mako steels herself, because she loves him and her heart is breaking and she ought to be the one to tell him, right? Where will he go, once he goes through with whatever he plans to go through with? They can never be married, and the people will never accept him. ]
Does it matter where it comes from? [ If he gives up his throne for her no matter the reason, she will be nearly universally hated. Mako crosses her arms around herself; she's capable of a good many things, but as a recipient of so much dislike and mockery just because of her love for him? And him -- what is he going to do when he isn't King anymore? Why does he want to push through with this? ]
You and I, Raleigh -- we're only courting disaster. Renounce me, and everything will be all right.
[It's insulting, is what it is. If his people think that she's just using him and he's not capable of seeing that or choosing a good, strong woman, then he doesn't give a shit what they think about him or his relationship with her. Maybe Raleigh doesn't want to be king of people who don't trust his decisions because if they can't trust him about his wife, then why would they trust him about anything else?
This is why Yancy was supposed to be king. Because Yancy was charming and understanding and everyone followed him without question, including Raleigh.]
It won't. Mako, I hate all of this and you know it. [He gestures around the room as if to include everything he has to put up with as a monarch and she has to know him well enough that it's really just a matter of time before his temper snaps and that has nothing to do with her and how much he loves her and how much he hates this spot he's been pushed into.]
I'm abdicating and I want to be with you. That's what is happening.
[ And how can she, in her right mind, ever say no to that? Mako knows that he's trapped -- that this life would sooner drive him mad than make him happy, but they're headed down a terrible road and she doesn't know how to stop it.
Public opinion is a very funny thing, isn't it? They can adore their king and yet hate the choices he makes in a life partner, and it has nothing to do with his decision-making at all; rationality has little part to play where emotions are concerned.
Mako is silent for a long, long moment, fighting not to look as lost as she feels. He's giving it up, he's giving it all up and she doesn't know what to do about that. ]
[Fuck the public and their opinion then. If anything, Mako would make him a better king, would give him the patience to do what he's supposed to, would make him smile, would actually give everything she had to being queen and doing it well and right.]
He won't say it but I think it's pretty obvious he thinks I'm terrible at it and he could do better.
[Which really, Jaz is probably right about that. Jaz doesn't have the same aversion to being social that Rlaeigh does, is actually rather good at the publicity thing and stubborn enough to hold his ground when he needs to.]
[ Mako can't quite stifle a laugh despite dire circumstances, and she shakes her head at him. Raleigh is stubborn to a fault, obstinate and pig-headed and she can't quite help but love him anyway.
With a quiet sigh, she leans against the dresser. ]
[That's all he wants, really. He wants to be with her and not have to worry about the crown anymore. To deal with something they all know he's not capable of doing for much longer.]
[ Mako looks away, because doesn't he know what an impossible thing he's asking? It's not simple at all. To his people, to the world, Mako is going to be the woman who took him away, because such is the nature of fairytales, where the conditions of the king doesn't matter -- where he exists only to give them hope, a living fantasy of what can be.
They are both prisoners, but they have no other choice.
She makes a soft, bitter noise, but she's not angry at him, no. Rather, their circumstance. ]
And here we are, living a golden dream that hundreds of thousands would kill for.
[Wouldn't it be better to have a better king, one who actually cared about the inner workings of the state, who wanted to make it better. Raleigh cares but he doesn't like being hounded, fights it when people try to make him do anything and he has a stubborn, impulsive streak a mile wide and they all know it.
Jaz would be better suited for it. Yancy was the best for the job, but Yancy's gone and Raleigh can't wait to throw his crown to someone else.]
[ Mako tells him, because she knows that there's no convincing him otherwise once he sets his mind to things. It's something that endears and aggravates her both, and right now she's torn between the two.
She steps closer, finally, moving to wrap her arms around his waist and hold him close. ] What if you regret it? The world's not like what you know it to be -- you've always been born to luxury.
[He just smiles, a smile that almost reaches his eyes when she calls him reckless. Yeah, that's true, that's him. Once he sinks his teeth into something, he doesn't let go of it very easily. And that definitely applies to her.]
You'll just have to teach me. [Raleigh leans into her a little.]
[ She sighs, and holds him tight when he steps into her embrace, unwilling to let go even despite her reservations. It's a huge, terrifying step that he's taking, and she can't help but fear for him, and what the future may bring for them both.
The news will be splashed all over the world, and anyone who didn't know their faces sure would now -- the scandal of the century. ]
Raleigh, I'm serious. What if you regret it? What's done can never be undone. [ And what if he comes to resent her for it? ]
[Raleigh could never resent her for it. Not when it's his idea. She didn't make him fall in love with her, she didn't plant the idea of abdicating in his head. He came to this decision all on his own, that's why he told his advisers to start writing up the papers before he even told her what he was thinking.]
I never wanted to be king. That's never going to change. If anything, you are giving me the chance to escape it.
[ Mako wishes she could shake him, you know, shake some sense into him, or the Constitution that seems so hell bent on making everyone either miserable or envious.
She closes her eyes briefly, unable to keep a pained expression from flickering over her features. ]
You will escape yours, Raleigh, and trap me in mine.
[He doesn't have an immediate answer to that, looking away from her after a moment. He doesn't want the crown and he wants her, why does it have to be so complicated? Why does anyone have to suffer?]
Do you really believe that? Is being with me really like a prison?
[ Mako hesitates. No, not in that way -- she loves him so, so much; but to be together exacts such a high price from the both of them. ]
I love you. I love you very much; but there won't be a single media entity who wouldn't condemn us for what you're about to do. [ Because think about what it looks like, Raleigh; a king abandoning his throne, his people? ]
[Yeah well-- fuck the media, how about that. Raleigh's had a hate/love relationship with them his entire life, edging towards hate almost every time except for when he was this stupid eighteen year old kid and lapped up the attention.
It's definitely in the hate side of things now. And it has him rolling his eyes, and sighing and people are going to be saying shit about him, them for their entire lives, no matter what he does. That's just how it is.]
Damned if we do, damned if we don't. You can't play to win with them, at that game, because you never will.
[ It's one thing to say 'fuck the media', it's another to deal with it because never has her privacy been so thoroughly breached, never before has she been thrust so suddenly and unpleasantly under the spotlight, named as the woman who had taken their people's king away.
Others are lauding it as a fairytale of a lifetime, and Mako wishes she could tell them it isn't so. A king's love is overwhelming, terrifying -- a king's love is wonderful and sweet and everything she'd need, and yet. ]
Then what are you planning to do? Ignore them all your life?
More or less. [Raleigh shrugs. It's easier for him to say that, for that to be his plan because he's used to the camera clicks in the background, the microphones shoved in his face, and so it's nothing new. He's not really thinking about how hard it is for her though, because she's not like him, she wasn't born into this, she didn't ask for anything of this.
He sighs a moment later and reaches out to touch her cheek with the back of his knuckles.]
You can do it. I know you can. You're stronger than anyone I know.
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royal au.
He tries. He really does but of the three of them, Raleigh's the least suited for it and he stumbles through it for the better part of a year before he meets her. Mako Mori. A foreigner, no title, no money, by all standards, someone that Parliament and the general public won't let him marry because they won't let her be Queen because of tradition and bullshit he doesn't care about.
Maybe he was thinking about doing it anyway and Mako just gives him the excuse to actually sign the papers. Maybe that's not entirely healthy either, there's this weight on the decision that she's it, they're together forever because who gives up their crown to marry someone they end up divorcing ten years later. Exactly.
Raleigh's sure of two things though. He's not making a very good king and he loves Mako more than anyone. He set his lawyers on the task of drawing up the papers before he retires for the evening, calling Mako the second he's gotten rid of all of his followers. No one warns you that when you're king, you're surrounded by people all the time and that's really the last thing that Raleigh wants and it's amazing really, how much that really grates on his temper.]
Hey.
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The romance had flared to life, kindled by their personalities, their compatibility, and perhaps -- the fact that she'd been there at the right time, unknowingly tugging him out of his unhappiness. She knows he'd been unhappy, downtrodden ever since the death of his brother, she knows he disliked the throne, understood its trappings the way no one else did, and addressed him without the starry-eyed wonder of sycophants.
To her, Raleigh is Raleigh, and that's all that mattered.
But then their romance grew into a flame that threatened to consume everything in its path -- the opposition had been unanimous when he'd made up his mind to marry her, the different states and governors had voiced their fierce refusal of having her as its queen; Mako was lowly born, and she had been once-divorced; no king of an empire as vast as this ought to lower himself to such a level, and no woman like her can be queen.
And Mako understands -- it's ancient law, written into the Constitution, and she witnesses the chaos, the strife, the confusion and the storm that Raleigh creates with his advisors, the turmoil of a country who adored its king.
It doesn't matter whether he makes a good king or not -- the people love him, he's the heart of them, the soul and the jewel of their lives, and no matter how much Raleigh wants to be with her, no matter how much Mako loves him, she knows the right thing to do.
The manservants fetch her to him, but Mako enters his vast chambers alone, unsurprised to see that he's unattended. He looks lonely, she thinks, young and lonely and unhappy, caught in this fantasy world, a gilded bird in his jeweled cage, and she knows, to her bones, that there are no such things as fairy tales. ]
Raleigh. [ Mako says, and she keeps her distance. The world is falling apart all around them, this country is about to be in a shambles, its very Constitutions rocked, because the choice is clear: either Raleigh renounces her for all time, or he abdicates the throne, and leaves the home that he loves. ]
...Raleigh. We cannot do this anymore. [ It's gone too far, don't you see? His people still need him, and Mako cannot help but be overwhelmed by the attention, the taunts, the mobbing, the mocking headlines, the constant barrage of the media, the Woman Who Stole the King. ]
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He doesn't care what people are saying. People have been saying shit about him and his family before he was born and nothing he does is really going to change that. The country needs a king that will actually care about what happens and he does care but not enough to be able to keep his temper in check, to ever feel comfortable surrounded by dozens of people all the time, to think rationally and not impulsively.
It wasn't supposed to be his crown. It was supposed to be Yancy's. It was Yancy's and he's been the heir apparent his entire life but he's never, not once thought about being king himself until it was thrust on him and he find that he really. Really doesn't want it.]
Don't say that. [If she thinks he hasn't seen today's headlines, then she's wrong. He just doesn't put any weight into them. Raleigh frowns at her, because what is she trying to do.]
Please. Don't unless it comes actually from you and not a reporter.
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In the eyes of his people, she's That Woman, the one who stole him away from the throne -- whether he's a good king or not is irrelevant; even as they speak, so many right now are speculating on them, on the hooks that she's got in him, on how she's the woman beneath royalty, and yet. This is a fairytale and an insult to the throne -- and it doesn't matter what their King thinks.
Mako steels herself, because she loves him and her heart is breaking and she ought to be the one to tell him, right? Where will he go, once he goes through with whatever he plans to go through with? They can never be married, and the people will never accept him. ]
Does it matter where it comes from? [ If he gives up his throne for her no matter the reason, she will be nearly universally hated. Mako crosses her arms around herself; she's capable of a good many things, but as a recipient of so much dislike and mockery just because of her love for him? And him -- what is he going to do when he isn't King anymore? Why does he want to push through with this? ]
You and I, Raleigh -- we're only courting disaster. Renounce me, and everything will be all right.
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This is why Yancy was supposed to be king. Because Yancy was charming and understanding and everyone followed him without question, including Raleigh.]
It won't. Mako, I hate all of this and you know it. [He gestures around the room as if to include everything he has to put up with as a monarch and she has to know him well enough that it's really just a matter of time before his temper snaps and that has nothing to do with her and how much he loves her and how much he hates this spot he's been pushed into.]
I'm abdicating and I want to be with you. That's what is happening.
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Public opinion is a very funny thing, isn't it? They can adore their king and yet hate the choices he makes in a life partner, and it has nothing to do with his decision-making at all; rationality has little part to play where emotions are concerned.
Mako is silent for a long, long moment, fighting not to look as lost as she feels. He's giving it up, he's giving it all up and she doesn't know what to do about that. ]
What does your brother say?
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He won't say it but I think it's pretty obvious he thinks I'm terrible at it and he could do better.
[Which really, Jaz is probably right about that. Jaz doesn't have the same aversion to being social that Rlaeigh does, is actually rather good at the publicity thing and stubborn enough to hold his ground when he needs to.]
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With a quiet sigh, she leans against the dresser. ]
What am I going to do with you, Raleigh?
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[That's all he wants, really. He wants to be with her and not have to worry about the crown anymore. To deal with something they all know he's not capable of doing for much longer.]
It's pretty simple, Mako.
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They are both prisoners, but they have no other choice.
She makes a soft, bitter noise, but she's not angry at him, no. Rather, their circumstance. ]
And here we are, living a golden dream that hundreds of thousands would kill for.
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Jaz would be better suited for it. Yancy was the best for the job, but Yancy's gone and Raleigh can't wait to throw his crown to someone else.]
All the more reason to do it then, yeah?
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[ Mako tells him, because she knows that there's no convincing him otherwise once he sets his mind to things. It's something that endears and aggravates her both, and right now she's torn between the two.
She steps closer, finally, moving to wrap her arms around his waist and hold him close. ] What if you regret it? The world's not like what you know it to be -- you've always been born to luxury.
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You'll just have to teach me. [Raleigh leans into her a little.]
If you can handle it.
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The news will be splashed all over the world, and anyone who didn't know their faces sure would now -- the scandal of the century. ]
Raleigh, I'm serious. What if you regret it? What's done can never be undone. [ And what if he comes to resent her for it? ]
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I never wanted to be king. That's never going to change. If anything, you are giving me the chance to escape it.
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She closes her eyes briefly, unable to keep a pained expression from flickering over her features. ]
You will escape yours, Raleigh, and trap me in mine.
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Do you really believe that? Is being with me really like a prison?
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I love you. I love you very much; but there won't be a single media entity who wouldn't condemn us for what you're about to do. [ Because think about what it looks like, Raleigh; a king abandoning his throne, his people? ]
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It's definitely in the hate side of things now. And it has him rolling his eyes, and sighing and people are going to be saying shit about him, them for their entire lives, no matter what he does. That's just how it is.]
Damned if we do, damned if we don't. You can't play to win with them, at that game, because you never will.
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Others are lauding it as a fairytale of a lifetime, and Mako wishes she could tell them it isn't so. A king's love is overwhelming, terrifying -- a king's love is wonderful and sweet and everything she'd need, and yet. ]
Then what are you planning to do? Ignore them all your life?
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He sighs a moment later and reaches out to touch her cheek with the back of his knuckles.]
You can do it. I know you can. You're stronger than anyone I know.