Chapter Text
“Can we start training in the afternoons instead?” Beta swipes her arm across her forehead to mitigate the sweat there.
The sun has nowhere to go in the cloudless sky, and Beta swears the closer it gets to noon, the more the heat vibrates off the paved stones of the training grounds. Since she arrived here in Meridian about two weeks ago, she and Aloy have been sparring and practicing weaponry in a far off section that the Sun-King’s soldiers graciously leave open for them each morning.
Beta figures she should keep some kind of training regimen. After the Zeniths were eliminated and she could live life freely, Beta began that life by following her sister, learning things about the tribes, the world, and how to be, um…human. That included training and learning to use weapons and fight, because the world she lives in now requires it.
Before coming to Meridian, and after various travels at Aloy’s side, Beta spent a few months stationed in Hidden Ember. Erend is still posted there, so both sisters felt comfortable with Beta staying without Aloy, and thus began her introduction to the world as an individual.
Being among the Oseram, Beta learned more things than just the beginnings of fighting machines; about tinkering and building weapons and tools, Oseram history and social structure, and how to hold herself properly (mostly) in conversation. Beta also learned some things that perhaps Aloy wasn’t counting on — how to analyze the odds to make a good bet, for example; how to belt an Oseram drinking song at the top of her lungs (almost), and how to hold her ale, among other things.
Erend told her she has a “freer spirit” than Aloy does. Beta is familiar with the phrase; the Old Ones used it as well, and she isn’t sure how well it applies to her, but the Oseram seem to like her well enough.
Once she learned all she thought she could with the Oseram, Erend suggested for Beta go to Meridian and stay for awhile. Kotallo visits regularly there, as does Aloy — and apparently, according to Erend at least, Meridian is a beautiful city bursting full of things to do and learn. Eventually Beta suggested the plan to Aloy, and off they went.
Bringing her to today, melting in the sun.
Aloy holds out her hand to take Beta’s training spear and return it to the weapons rack, squinting. “Can I ask why?”
Why? Because the only place in Meridian Beta has felt comfortable so far is the library in the Palace of the Sun. In Hidden Ember, everyone was so friendly and laid-back, Beta never had the opportunity to feel shy. They forced it right out of her.
Meridian is different. Very. Nobles stick up their noses at you, and the Oseram here are not like the ones collected in Hidden Ember; they’re all worried about getting a shard or two off of any person that looks their way. In the library, Beta hopes to study and learn things that can’t already be found in Aloy’s large database on their focus network. Unfortunately, there is one rather annoying problem with being there in the afternoons and evenings.
Apparently the Sun-King enjoys a bit of light reading. After she and Aloy get in some training practice, eat at midday and rest, whenever Beta enters the quiet, should-be-calming place she often finds his stupid head in his stupid crown sitting at a table, a scroll or book in hand. The hall is tall-ceilinged and long, and though there are tables hidden behind bookshelves, Beta always seems to be in view of the Sun-King no matter where she tries to hide.
The Sun-King himself doesn’t really cause a bother. It’s everyone else who does. The Blameless Marad will barge in, removing him for last-minute duties. Any palace staff who happen to pass by will make conversation — he seems to be popular. And the worst part; because he has yet to name his Sun-Queen, delegations of eligible ladies come to try and capture his attention with conversation or flirts.
Do these people know a library is meant to be quiet? A place of study? And if Sun-King Avad took himself anywhere else, Beta wouldn’t have to deal with all of it.
Or, to guarantee herself some peace and quiet, she could train in the afternoons instead and avoid him.
“You know why we train in the mornings, right?” Aloy continues, as Beta gets lost in her thoughts of annoyance that have to do with more than just the belting sun. “It’s to avoid the heat. I’m trying to help you.”
“And I’m trying to help myself,” counters Beta. “All I want to do is use the library in peace without his radiance crowding the room.”
Aloy chuckles, her pinched smile holding in her mirth. “Alright, I get it. But I don’t want to hear any complaining about the heat. We’ll start tomorrow.”
“Thanks.”
Inside their shared quarters, Beta and Aloy retire for midday to cool off and eat. They have a small seating area adorned in red and gold tones, with two bedrooms that lead off either side. The seating room is simply decorated with short couches, a table, and several mirrors of various sizes the reflect the light coming in from the curtained balcony.
Aloy sits on one of the couches and eats off the platter of food that was sent to their quarters. Beta fans herself, pacing, before joining her.
“So Beta,” Aloy starts. “I’m planning on leaving in the next few days, if that’s alright.”
“Oh.” Beta stops fanning and sits on the opposite couch.
“I know you don’t know many people here yet…but I can talk to Avad to include you on things, if you want something to fill your time. I can ask Talanah to help with your training. And — Erend said he would come check on you soon.”
Beta considers all of this. “Is there a specific reason you’re leaving?”
“Um…if you mean a mission, no…” admits Aloy. “But I guess there is a real reason. I miss Kotallo.”
Of course she does. Their whole squad knows by now that the two of them have had a whirlwind romance that they poorly attempted to keep secret at first. They have never quite announced they are together, but it became obvious over time. It makes sense, Beta supposes, for Aloy to feel lonely without her lover. It makes sense, though Beta can’t necessarily empathize.
“Don’t let me keep you here,” insists Beta, who knows nothing of love.
“I’m not,” laughs Aloy in a way that suggests some tension is leaving her. “But I’ll be back soon. And if you need me here sooner — just call. I’m just a Sunwing flight away.”
“When is Erend coming?” Beta asks curiously.
“Call him,” shrugs Aloy. “I’m sure if you want him here sooner he’ll come. What’re you up to this afternoon?”
“Library.” Beta’s lips curl into a smile. “The last afternoon session, fortunately.”
“Well, enjoy yourself,” says Aloy. “I’ll go meet with Talanah and ask about training.”
So, Beta will be an individual once again. It won’t be so bad. Talanah has been nothing but nice, and seeing the goings-on of the Sun Court might be interesting. Beta sets her jaw.
***
There she is.
Avad has begun to see the Savior’s sister’s presence as a welcome part of his daily routine. She has all the beauty of her more worldly sister but the demure attitude and interest in study that more befits a future queen.
Not that he is considering that as an option.
His advisor, Marad, has marriage on his mind at all times, it seems. Despite many conversations — truly, Avad will tell anyone that asks and listens — revolving around the fact that Avad is only Sun-King out of necessity, and he fully intends to retire when Itamen becomes of age, his advisor won’t let the issue rest. A Sun-Queen, Marad harps on. An heir. The thoughts are in Avad’s head like stickpaste, and now every eligible lady he encounters is assessed momentarily before he stops himself.
Hasn’t he made a fool of himself enough? He encouraged Aloy to stay in Meridian with him more than once, and despite the multiple rejections, Avad hasn’t felt empty or dejected.
His true love has already come and left him. Anyone who came and brightened Avad’s vision after Ersa was merely a placeholder, a temporary ease of pain. She’s been gone almost two years now, but the hole she left at his side remains.
But Marad’s incessant comments also remain…Beta is an eligible lady. And so Avad assesses her.
He and Beta have only actually spoken twice. The first time was when they were introduced by Aloy; Beta was courteous but quiet. Avad himself was curious, wondering how he didn’t know of the existence of a sister to Aloy who looks nearly identical to her.
The second time they spoke was when she happened to be reading a book he needed; it was relevant to his court proceedings in some capacity, and he approached her reading table in the library with a benevolent smile.
“Hello, Beta.”
She had been courteous enough during their first meeting, but when he talked to her this time she was different. Beta had a look of apprehension and shock plastering her face that made him feel almost guilty for talking to her, as if he was a burden; an annoyance.
Focused on her studies, he thought at the time. I respect it.
“Do you need something?” she asked, her eyes flashing up at him but her head staying decidedly buried in the book.
Avad remembers smiling in shock at her open disapproval of his intrusion. It reminded him of someone…and of course, it was quite obvious who. So the sisters were alike not only in looks. He decided to approach her as if she was Aloy.
“Yes, I do, in fact,” he said. “That book…I regret I need it. So sorry to interrupt.”
Avad can admit, even now, that he gets a kick out of irritating Aloy with his brutally good manners, but it didn’t have the same effect on Beta.
She sat up straighter, her annoyed expression evening out. “Okay. Here you go.”
Ah, Oseram trade routes it was, he remembers now. Avad was puzzled at the time why Beta would be interested in such material; even he doesn’t enjoy to read such bland historical documents in his spare time. Aloy certainly never would have bothered with it.
“Thank you,” he told Beta, accepting the book with a small nod.
Since that day, Avad admits, he’s more than a little curious about this sister of Aloy’s. He doesn’t know much about her. She doesn’t wear Nora garb — really, her dress hardly qualifies as armor.
Beta is usually found in some combination of Oseram gear; loose pants, boots, bleached cotton shirts and leather accessories. Is she Oseram? It would hardly make sense. Does she feel a kinship to their people? Her personality, little as he truly knows it, doesn’t seem to suggest it.
Today at her table in the library Beta wears a short leather vest, and Avad can see the marks left behind by sweat on the cotton of her shirt; he knows the sisters train almost every morning. He can usually take a good moment to observe her, as she pays him absolutely no mind.
It’s quite refreshing that Beta ignores his very existence. The library is a place Avad goes to desperately search for some semblance of privacy. Of course, things don’t usually work out that way. The library is a known hideout of the Sun-King, and unfortunately, that means people know to find him here.
But he does have a more private, more secret place. As he dreads the approach of the Blameless Marad, whom he sees rushing through the entrance currently to whisk him away, Avad finds himself looking forward to hiding away in that place later tonight.
***
Avad’s stay in the library was short today, thankfully. Soon after Beta settled in, the Sun-King’s advisor came and pulled him out of the still-calm hall. Beta was able to focus on her reading, and by now she has reconvened with Aloy in their quarters to have a late evening meal.
Meals in the Palace of the Sun are like nothing Beta has ever seen. Endless variety, and nearly everything is fresh and delicious. A far cry from the machine-printed basic meals she enjoyed aboard the Zenith’s ship. She pours herself a generous drink, deciding what to eat first.
“I have a suggestion,” says Aloy.
“Hm?” Beta swallows deeply of the sparkling fruit juice in her goblet and hardly tries to mask the quiet burp that leaves her.
“Fire and spit,” groans Aloy. “Even I have better table manners than you.”
Beta only shrugs. “Erend doesn’t mind. He’ll even have a contest with me.”
“That’s…repulsive,” responds Aloy with distaste. “I never knew sending you to live with a bunch of Oseram would have such an effect on you.”
“It isn’t only that,” insists Beta. “You had someone to teach you table manners.”
“While you could eat hunched over and nibbling like a rat in the dark.”
If Beta didn’t know Aloy better, she might be offended, but she senses the sarcastic humor lacing her sister’s words. Beta chuckles happily. “I guess so. I spent a long time alone, Aloy. But anyways. What’s your suggestion?”
“After we eat, you should walk around Meridian on your own a little. You’re bound to have more unfilled time when I leave soon, so try to get comfortable while I’m still here to keep an eye on you.”
“And go where?”
“Anywhere that seems interesting,” Aloy shrugs. “Take some shards with you, visit some vendors’ stalls.”
To compare Meridian to Hidden Ember once again, Beta did spend plenty of time on her own while she was still there. But it was also a much smaller and close-knit place. If Aloy is a quick focus call and a jog away…maybe Beta could try to venture out alone, though.
Beta’s explorations after their meal take her to backroads. Not abandoned dark ones, but less populated ones. There are vendors, but they serve foreign food or boast collections of rare objects that don’t seem to interest most of Meridian’s citizens. This trail eventually leads her back to the Palace of the Sun, much less bustling in the evening, where she gives up her venture for the day and crosses the bridge to return for the night.
Unless…maybe she can explore the palace instead. The architecture is amazing and intricate after all, and she wouldn’t mind just walking along and admiring it. Beta doesn’t even worry about getting lost as she wanders, eventually ending up on a path that seems suited for palace staff.
She follows unadorned, uncarpeted hallways, a bit surprised — but delighted — that no one is stopping her. Eventually the halls lead to the bottom level of the palace, and through a wooden door Beta finds herself exiting the palace proper and standing at the edge of the mesa it sits upon.
The palace has quite a clever design — the only way to get to it on foot is from a heavily guarded bridge out front. Or so Beta thought.
Looking more closely now, she sees a narrow rope-and-wood bridge that spans the chasm back to Meridian proper. It begins down the cliff a little ways, and the color of the wood almost blends in with the surrounding rock; combined with the jutting tropical trees that grow from the cliffside and reach for the sun above…she can see how this bridge would go unnoticed.
Does she dare? Beta doesn’t know where the path beyond the bridge leads, and the bridge itself looks very tenuous…if it breaks and she falls she’ll be certain to die. Beta imagines Erend beside her, egging her on. Daring her to do this to prove something. Aloy would do it; no question. Beta chances a glance around and then starts down the steep path cut in the cliff towards the bridge.
It feels more solid underneath her feet than it appears. Hardly a minute of careful walking and she’s made it to the other side. The steep path back upwards burns Beta’s thighs, but she continues on. At the top, she seems to arrive behind some commercial buildings. She looks around the seemingly deserted area, parched grass and broken kegs and firewood behind the stone buildings, until she notices something interesting. Instinctively, Beta crouches behind a lone cluster of bushes; she’s isn’t supposed to be here, after all.
At the edge of the cliff, a man sits on a low stone wall and looks off down below the mesa. He’s dressed simply in silk pants and a vest — not like a palace staff member — and he has a full head of dark, shining curls.
She’s wondering just who this person might be and why he would be just sitting here, hiding away just as she’s attempting to, when his head turns in profile. Straight nose. Kind eyes. A short mustache and goatee.
“Why am I running into him everywhere?” she laments to herself in a quiet mutter. The excitement of the mystery fizzles out. What is the Sun-King doing out here, and why is he dressed down as he is?
***
Avad quirks his head. Marad is always telling him that coming out here is neither clever nor wise, and he might be proven correct this day.
The staff of the palace are aware of Avad’s occasional secret ventures out, but choose to ignore them. If they ever notice him de-robed and trying to pass as normal, which he hardly does, fortunately anyone who does recognize him chooses to ignore it and look the other way.
He’s more than thankful for the respectful relationships he has with the people he works with every day. But today, he hears the distinct sound of muttering coming from a person who must recognize him. Avad turns more towards the sound.
A peek of red hair. Poorly hidden verdant green eyes. But it isn’t Aloy.
It’s Beta.
“Beta,” he calls out. “You recognize me, obviously. Come over.”
She looks extremely cross at first, but eventually breaches the bush she was hiding behind and walks nearer. Beta doesn’t sit beside him; rather she places her hands on top of the short wall as if bracing herself, and leans forward into it.
“You’ve found my hiding place,” he says.
“It isn’t exactly hidden, Sun-King.” Beta shakes her head as soon as her words leave her. “I can’t call you ‘king’, I’m sorry. It’s extremely awkward.”
“I would insist that you don’t, actually.”Avad couldn’t hope to hide his amusement at her words. To think, the person whose every conversation is awkward would have something to say. He decides to tease her. “I would say call me anything, but some kind of decorum has to be preserved.” He makes a show of thinking about it, scratching his chin and humming. “Call me prince.”
“That makes you seem less worldly.” Beta narrows her eyes. “It works for me.”
A laugh nearly escapes him, but he holds it back with fervor. Beta will call him prince, then. When Aloy catches wind, hopefully she won’t kill him for teasing her sister.
It’s good-natured, after all.
“So what brings you down here, Beta, sister of our Savior?”
Another very cross look crowds her features. “As much as I don’t want to call you ‘king,’ I also don’t want to you refer to me as Aloy’s sister. In any capacity. Just call me by my name.”
Avad almost bristles at her blunt tone, uncaring about its implications, but he can’t. He’s too surprised. They’re so alike. “You want me to forget that you’re related? You’re…you’re practically identical.”
“We’re not.” If it’s even possible, Beta’s face appears to become even more unhappy. “Anyone who bothers to get to know the two of us could tell you that.”
There, again, is a razor-sharp bluntness that reminds Avad so much of Aloy. But he’s had his own struggles with being misunderstood.
In the time of the Red Raids and even beyond, it was far too easy for the Carja to believe that Avad was no different than his father, the Mad Sun-King. Even when he brought his plan to fruition and ended Jiran’s life, his battle was not over; it only…transformed.
Killing your own father doesn’t exactly endear you to some. Truly, Avad is anything but a brutal man, but in desperate times, he took responsibility and did what had to be done. He had help, of course, and his plan never could have worked without it. After years now of proving all the ways he is not like his father, Avad feels that he has reached a peak of respect and trust with his people. It can possibly only be topped by one thing; the excitement of a Sun-Queen.
“In that case, I hope I get to know your differences more intimately,” Avad says.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Beta’s eyes narrow. “If you think you’ll get close to me instead because Aloy wouldn’t let you, you’re mistaken.”
Avad widens his eyes in surprise. But he knows that feeling too.
When you’re the Sun-King, or the prince of Meridian, most people who try to get close to you have ulterior motives. To get closer to the throne, to manipulate you, or learn Carja secrets, to name a few.
“You’re humbling me today, Beta,” he says, putting an open hand to his chest. “I apologize. I mean only to get to know each other better — Aloy asked me to look out for you in her absence. I understand she’s leaving us soon.”
“Yes, she told me the same.”
“So you’re more than welcome to shadow me as I complete my duties, if you wish,” Avad says earnestly. “Perhaps we may even become friends, like Aloy and I have.”
Beta turns her chin away from him and looks forlornly off the edge of the cliff. “All of Aloy’s past suitors come to me eventually for friendship,” Beta says shortly.
“Do they?”
“Erend, Petra, Teb, Drakka…” She lists off several more names he doesn’t recognize. If Avad must humble himself any more, he’d be inside the mesa and not standing above it.
“Erend is a friend of yours?” he asks, hoping to pivot their conversation into something a bit more positive.
“Yes.”
Avad leans back in his perch on the wall, eager to hear more. “He is a good friend of mine, as well.”
“I’ve heard all about you.”
His brows jump up before he can diplomatically stop them. “And…what did you hear?”
“Erend speaks highly of you.” Clearly, Beta has not made up her mind, however. “So does Aloy. And you loved both Aloy and Erend’s sister, Ersa.”
“Don’t believe everything you hear,” he points at her cheekily. “I never loved Aloy. That was mere infatuation. Misguided, I might add. And no longer existent.”
“But Ersa?”
“I did love Ersa. I still do,” he answers honestly. “At the risk of saying something too personal, Ersa is always on my mind.”
Beta’s feet shuffle beneath her, and she looks down at them. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” A long time ago, Ersa would meet Avad here sometimes, in the days where they were busy and apart. Occasionally, they even dressed him in a better disguise and frolicked the streets of Meridian without a care in the world. That rebellious, careless streak still resides inside him somewhere, but the years since her death have been filled with sadness and responsibility. Even when he sneaks out of the palace this way, Avad does nothing more than sit here and gaze, alone.
“Have you ever been in love?” he asks Beta. Maybe they can start to become friends today.
“I think this conversation is over, prince.” Beta says his new title with a bit of agitation. “Aloy is probably wondering where I am.”
The sky is darkening around them, quicker every minute. Avad doesn’t think that’s the reason she is so eager to get away, though. He struck a nerve.
“I didn’t mean to offend,” he says. “If I did, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” says Beta, backing away from the short wall. “We’ll be seeing more of each other, I guess. While Aloy’s gone.”
He’s a bit surprised she’s still willing to go along with his suggestion. “Until then.”
Avad watches Beta as she disappears down the cliffside path to return to the palace the same way she got here. After her abandonment Avad feels far more curious than he does bothered.
Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to ask Aloy for advice in making Beta comfortable. His natural approach doesn’t seem to be working. Or maybe they both misunderstand each other. Maybe Beta still sees him as some stuffy noble person; they both don’t know each other well.
Ersa always told him that his true self always shines through, even in some situations where he wouldn’t want his softer nature to be known. It’s what made her fall in love with him. Avad isn’t looking for Beta to fall in love with him, but if she sees who he truly is…maybe, they can be friends.