The Night King

Kill the Night King, the tyrant who ruled this kingdom with an iron fist, and plunged it into eternal darkness. The surrounding kingdoms were not affected, but they had still begged for the king to be dealt with. Fear was a powerful emotion, and the kings of the area were terrified the Night King would turn his fury on them.

The first thing that had tipped Hanzo off that not everything was as it seemed, was when the actual inhabitants of the Kingdom seemed happy. They had grown used to the dark, and even defended their king's decision to do so. It had been easy to dismiss this as conditioning. They had grown so used to it they forgot what the light was truly like that.

It became a little less easy to dismiss when Hanzo stormed into the king’s throne room.

Because how the hell was he supposed to kill a man who was sitting with a small child on his knee?

The child wasn’t in any distress, in fact he was laughing and looking up at the king with large adoring eyes. And the king? He looked down at the child with the most tender expression Hanzo had ever seen. A son, maybe? Hanzo hadn’t heard that the Night King had a child, but then, the stories of his exploits were muddied at best.

The child’s eyes flicked over to Hanzo. As soon as he made eye contact, the child buried his head into the King’s shirt. The King’s eyes followed where the child had looked, and all he did was huff in frustration when he saw Hanzo standing before him.

“Let me guess, another poor fool who has been tasked with coming to kill me?” The King spat, putting his arm around the child and holding him close. “Allow me to save you the trouble. That measly weapon you possess can’t harm me, so unless you want to die, I would suggest you do not bother.”

Hanzo looked between the blade of his katana and the King. It could very well be a bluff, but then again, it would explain why no one had ever come close to killing the King. Besides, even if this was a bluff and it worked, he didn’t feel right subjecting the child to such violence. He took a deep breath, and returned his katana to its sheath.

The King raised an eyebrow as he added, “finally, someone with some sense walks into my throne room.” He looked down at the child. “It is regrettable how many I have had to kill. Thank you for not adding yourself to that tally.”

“The other kingdom’s are just scared,” Hanzo tried to defend, attempting not to flinch at the dirty look the King gave him. “They fear you will spread eternal darkness to them.”

The King closed his eyes and he grimaced, and then spat out, “I have no desire to spread darkness to anywhere else. If it weren’t essential for my survival, I would have no need for it at all.”

“Essential for your survival?” Hanzo questioned, as the King pushed himself to stand up, but kept the child in his arms. The child finally peaked his head back up, looking at Hanzo weirily.

“Do you know why I am known as the Night King? It is not just because I plunged this kingdom into darkness, you know?” The King slowly wandered over to Hanzo, he looked neutral as he walked over. “Let me put it like this, your katana can not harm me, but the sun definitely can.”

Hanzo blinked, glancing towards the window as suddenly he understood.

“The sun hurts you,” Hanzo summarised, “That’s why you summoned eternal darkness. That’s why your subjects do not mind.”

“I gave my subjects the choice to leave, and they have chosen to stay.” Such loyalty. Hanzo was impressed that the King could inspire such feelings. “They know this was not my doing. The curse that was placed upon us was placed for our parent’s sins.”

“Our parents?” Hanzo questioned, before his eyes landed on the child again. He blinked slowly. So not a son? “He’s your brother?” The King made an affirmative hum, and the child blinked slowly at him. “So. He can’t go in the sun either?”

“His weakness is not the sun. It is the heat that harms him.” He looked down and pressed his forehead against the child’s. “My curse was not enough. They had to curse a baby as well. A baby. He was only a few months old. How can he be considered accountable for the things our parents did?”

There was so much pain and anguish in the King's voice. The way his face warped as he looked at his brother. God, Hanzo felt his heart clench. This was not the situation he had been led to believe it was. This was no tyrant, bent on taking over the world. This was a man trying to do his best with his circumstances.

“What is your name?” Hanzo questioned, not wanting to call him the Night King any longer.

The King seemed surprised, like no one had asked him that in a long time. He blinked a few times, before he whispered “Bi-Han. My name is Bi-Han.” His eyes flicked down to his brother. “And this is Kuai Liang.”

“I am Hanzo.” He bowed before Bi-Han, the man’s brow raised. “And I apologize for my original purpose for coming here, I was not given the correct information.”

“No- It’s- All is forgiven.” Bi-Han looked at him like he didn’t entirely trust Hanzo’s change of heart. Yet at the same time, his posture loosened slightly, and he bounced Kuai in his arms. “Would you care for a drink? It has been a long time since we entertained guests.”

“I would love to,” Hanzo replied, trying to give a grateful smile and he felt a twinge in his chest when Bi-Han returned it. Kuai on the other hand, looked put off, his hands grabbing onto Bi-Han’s clothes tightly. Hanzo offered him a little smile, and asked, “If that is okay with you, Kuai Liang?”

The little boy looked surprised to have been addressed, glancing up at his brother for support. When all Bi-Han did was look down at him with a tilted head, Kuai seemed to realize he had to answer for him.

“Y-Yes,” he quietly replied, before going to bury his head back into his big brother's clothes.

“He’s a touch shy,” Bi-Han softly said, reaching up to pat Kuai on the head a few times. He turned back to Hanzo and said, “Now then, what tea is your favourite?”

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