sic semper tyrannis

mea culpa

The breeze on the balcony was soft and light; Kaveh was pressed against the handrail again, watching the city below. People, carriages, and animals moved about as the sun beat down upon them, turning the morning into a hot summer day. The feather behind Kaveh's ear rustled in the wind along with his hair. It was rare to see him so still, and Alhaitham tried to open the balcony door as quietly as possible to keep from disturbing him.

Despite it, his king lifted his head and turned around with a wide smile. "Haitham," he greeted, almost as if they were strangers. Almost as if that night a few days ago hadn't happened at all. He placed his palms back down on the railing behind him, tilting his head to one side. "Do you need something?"

"No," Alhaitham answered. He made his way across the balcony and put his own hands on the railing beside him. He peered down at the city below and the sounds of its usual hustle and bustle shouted back at him, but at least there were no protestors in the streets anymore.

"No," Kaveh repeated, "then what is it?"

Alhaitham just hummed in response. He could tell Kaveh was staring at him, ruby eyes scrutinizing his every move. He wouldn't look back; there may not have been any protestors, but it changed nothing.

"The people are still upset," he settled on, because it was true.

Beside him, Kaveh huffed. He turned around again to stare at the city with him once more, then placed a hand over Alhaitham's and squeezed. "I know," he whispered. "Haven't I told you? I don't know how to fix it."

"I know," Alhaitham replied. With Kaveh's hand on top of his, he could feel how his palm was moist with sweat, though from the sun's heat or nervousness, he wasn't sure. If anything, it was probably both. There was never a reason for him not to be nervous anymore.

"Then why bother bringing it up at all?" Kaveh's voice wavered as he said it and Alhaitham finally turned his head to look at him. He pulled his hand back suddenly, refusing touch any longer, and pulled it to his chest with another huff. "It feels like sometimes you just want to remind me of things I already know I'm failing at. I know I'm not doing a good job. I know everyone's mad at me and the Sages are planting ideas of revolution in everyone's head. What am I supposed to do about it? I'm powerless in every sense of the word."

"You're certainly not powerless," Alhaitham objected, his brows furrowing. "What do you mean about the Sages?"

Kaveh scoffed at that, rolling his eyes. "Don't pretend you don't know. They hate me and who else could it be? The lower class certainly shouldn't have a problem with me; I've been trying to fix everything for them, and yet—" He groaned, running a hand through his hair.

The clips that held it together stayed firm, but the feather fell from his ear and would've floated away in the wind if not for Alhaitham reaching out to grab it quickly. He spun it between his fingers, then offered it back out to him.

Kaveh took it quietly, though he crossed his arms and averted his gaze the moment it was held firm between his fingers. "You didn't have to do that," he mumbled.

"It would've been long gone if I hadn't," Alhaitham replied, though it wasn't hard for him to see that Kaveh wasn't being literal this time. Perhaps he wasn't being so either—perhaps, if they really wished, everything could stay in this realm of metaphor where Kaveh told him time and time again that he didn't deserve a thing and Alhaitham would tell him in return that he deserved the world.

Every little kindness anyone could give him, he deserved.

Kaveh sighed, twirling the feather between his pointer finger and his thumb. "I know you said the Sages wouldn't want to kill me because it'd be difficult to replace me, but I don't think they particularly care. Maybe they've already decided how they'll do it and, if it's a revolution that kills me, they can swoop in afterwards and be the heroes again. I don't know; I'm just guessing here, but it's clear someone is trying to encourage the people against me and if it's not them, I don't know who it could be."