All This Time

Bonus: #Blacklivesmatter

"You're not fit to be the King of Fódlan!"

Ah, the lovely people of this continent...were not quite so lovely all the time. Claude winced upon hearing these words. It had been a long time since him and his Teach had become King and Archbishop, but even now...

"You're a dirty Almyran! Go back to where you came from, you barbarian!"

While most people grew to tolerate and accept Almyran culture, there were still those who held onto their hate. Claude turned to the angry vendor in the street. The royal guards around him tensed, prepared to take this dissident into custody, but Claude waved them away.

"If you would take the time to even know who I am, you'd realize I have no intentions of fighting," Claude replied simply. He was used to this discrimination...but that didn't mean it got easier to deal with. Even though he hadn't heard these hateful words in a long time, they still stung. "No one in Almyra has engaged in any war ever since I became king."

"You're just waiting for your opportunity to strike!" The angry merchant screeched, her yellow eyes narrowed in hate. "Us rightful nobles know exactly what you Almyrans all want. Dirty Almyrans, get out of here! You're not fooling anyone! The nobles will rise and take back our rightful place! To hell with our King!"

"That's enough!" Ingrid interrupted, tired of hearing such slander about her king. She didn't point her spear, she only fixated her gaze upon the vendor. "I too had such misconceptions about the people of another country. But I was wrong. When has your king ever engaged in needless war? Never. If you are too ignorant to see this, then it's your own loss for missing out on the most wonderful king you'll ever see."

"All I see is a barbarian! That's all you'll ever be!"

"Come, your Majesty..." Ingrid led Claude away before he could say anything. Upon noting the distraught look on her king's face, she frowned harder. "Pay her no mind. She's foolish."

"There are still many people who think this way about my people," Claude replied, a sad look replacing his usual smile. "No matter what I do, no matter how many years it's been..."

"They are the ones missing out. Come, my King. I'm sure it will pass by. She is the only idiot out there."

———

"What is the meaning of this!?"

His Teach was pacing back and forth, a furious look on her face. She had her minty green eyes narrowed in absolute rage, her fists clenched, while Claude just sat at the table with a frown embedded on his features.

Apparently that one meeting had just been the beginning. A premonition. An organized group of...for lack of better words, terrorists had begun to attack the Almyrans residing within Fódlan. For them to strike now was just ridiculous. There had been so many years of peace, and Claude had really thought that they'd been making progress on changing people's thoughts. Mostly everyone had accepted all of the cultures by now! But this was just proof, that here and now...

Almyrans were going missing, their stores destroyed. Claude himself had received multiple death threats. The royal guard was in an uproar, working frantically to protect the people as well as their peaceful king. His Teach was in a rampage while the kids remained blissfully unaware. It was for the best, Claude thought.

"You've done everything for these people! You've provided money, food, water...you helped everyone during that awful virus going around...You fought and led a war for their peace!" His Teach continued to rant. Claude figured it was good for her; the situation was stressing her out almost as much as it was him. "Yet here they are...Labeling you as a barbarian! As if you hadn't just saved everyone's life! As if you are some sort of monster because of your race! It's unbelievable! I should match out there myself and slice them to bits with my sword-"