Nygmobblepot One Shots

(Royalty AU) The Kingdom Will Fall For A Songbird

Title (approximately) taken from a song. "How Long?" - Hadestown.

SUMMARY: Edward Nygma, attempting to be crowned under the identity of the Riddler, takes recreational drugs to deal with her stress. The resulting hallucinations leave her less than comforted.
CW: Drug Use, Murder, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Injury, & Decomposition, Emetophobia (Vomiting), Mentions of Asphyxiation, Attempted Suicide, Mental Health Issues

A/N: OK AU STUFF so remember when oswald was mayor WOW ilove politics Yeah make it MONARCHY! takes place post attempted murder of oswald cobblepot in like. mid-season 3 i think? when ed shoots oswald & then yk she starts hallucinating oswald dead & sopping wet. But make it Royalty ! also this is a lot of violence & hatred & self-hatred!? & its kinda freaky idk. read at your own risk

Edward Nygma rubbed at her temples, forceful and irritated, leaving them red as if beaten once she'd removed her trembling hands. She inhaled deeply, trying to swallow whatever frog crept into her throat, but found no relief, only an exasperated sigh in release. Her eyes darted around her chambers, illuminated by dimmed lamplight and candles. She should, by all means, be calmer, but reason seemed out with her tonight. She looked out her window, at the sickly moon hiding among dark clouds above Gotham, and cursed it with a quiet hiss through her teeth.

The day had been long. The people still mourned for the deceased queen (may she rest on high, wherever she is, Ed couldn't say!), irritatingly simple-minded and one-dimensional, like walking scarecrows. The lot of them were stuffed with straw, while she bore the curse of a flesh and blood being. When her arm twisted right, she saw proof of bones beneath her muscles, veins beneath her skin, and if pricked, she bled. If only she had bones of wire and was made up of hay, she might not find this grieving ritual so tedious.

Of course, if she hadn't killed the queen, she wouldn't have been bothered by it anyway. But the past is in the past, and dead Queen Oswald Cobblepot is dead, where the serpents feast on her poisonous tumor of a heart and the dagger lodged in her stomach begins to rust, matching the color of her dried blood.

Nygma shook such thoughts away. Harrowing were her icy eyes, dead before death, as much of a slaughterer as slaughtered. She needed to focus on getting the crown she so rightfully deserved, but the world turned away from her in all of her greatness and utter competence. A lady fit to rule should come around, but, of course, nobody should care. Isn't that so Gotham?

She needed something strong tonight. The Riddler was a seed waiting to blossom, and she had to nurture it with all her power. It only seemed natural to pull back the hidden cubby of a drawer and pull out her trusted bag of small, ivory white pills. She poured herself a cup of water, downing one, but choked slightly on her drink as it took hold near immediately. Ed set the cup down quickly, knocking it over in her haste, and gripped the edge of the counter she retrieved the items from, pulse quickening. Lights danced behind her eyes, shut tight, and a shrill ringing pierced her skull as it ran through her ears like an arrow striking its bullseye.

"Good evening, your majesty," a mid-ranged voice mocked, with a slight tinny quality that made the words echo in Edward's head. She opened her eyes, seeing Oswald Cobblepot bowing down in an elegant curtsy, dress thoroughly drenched and petticoats drooping even in her efforts. Her crown, her wretched crown, still sat comfortably on her head, even warped and rusted as it may be. Edward stared, speechless, but her face must have shown her disapproval somehow.

"I thought you'd be happier to hear that. Especially from me of all people, Ed—oh, I apologize. Aren't you The Riddler?" She said the name with such humor that it mocked the very essence of Nygma's being. Or, The Riddler. She couldn't bother with the distinction, now, with this horrible apparition in her room. "Why are you here?" She growled, voice low and harsh.