The palace was quiet, awaiting their ruler. The twin elixirs were placed in front of them, the nurse at their side prepared. Ash, heir to the throne, was not. - "It may hurt," their father had said in the days before their death. "It did for me, but it is experienced different for each successor. The coronation will be split into two parts, with an elixir on each end to help the transition along. The first needs to sit for a minute and is designed to introduce your mind to the memories and thoughts passed down. It must be done for a minute, no matter how painful or peaceful that minute may pass. The second is designed to snap those thoughts into place, to line it alongside your own and make it easier to use for the future. It will change you: The weight of hundred of minds is no small burden but remember that the sacrifice of one is worth the benefit of many." - "My liege." The nurse called bringing them to the present again. Those two vials of blue sat quietly, not even consumed and already it was already making it harder to not let ghosts weigh on their thoughts. But their father's truth stuck there in their head, bitter and cold in fragments. Ash took a breath, grasped one and lifted it to their mouth. They wished themself a goodbye before taking it down, trying not to choke at the overly sweet taste. They couldn't help the tremble as they set it back down and began to count. 50 It was a strange experience to be expecting your own mind to rile against you while sitting inside a room that may as well be empty for all the comfort the nurse gave. 40 Even stranger when it happened. 30 Laughter slipping from their lips in bustling streams. What were they laughing at? Did it really matter? 20 Fondness and pride and low choking biting suffocating- 15 It was too much in their head, it rended and crushed simultaneously, nauseating and ecstatic and baffling. - They came to themself again as the nurse poured the second draught through their lips. They were exhausted, but they were glad to have hired someone to care for Ash. But weren't they Ash? It was going to be a bit before they got their head sorted straight, to define themself into what they were and were not. For now they just forced a nod to the nurses worrying questions and stood. They're kingdom were still waiting for their ruler.
I was debating posting this story on scratch, but I decided it wasn't too graphic nor mature for it to be an issue. If I was wrong about that assumption please post a comment telling me and I'll take it down.
