#and his rough childhood would become much sadder ig

[sanktnikolais]

Unknown King

A/N: me and @wafflesandkruge​ have synergized again for like the 90387459th time on a new project and here’s some TIDEMAKER NIK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Time to rewrite canon and have more Tidemakers bc Leigh never gave us any Tidemaker aside from Council of Tides who didn’t even make an appearance in SoC/CK i’m super salty

This is set pre-KoS tho

Word count: 2630

Nikolai Lantsov wasn’t a man with a lot of secrets. Being someone of a royal bloodline meant little to almost no privacy, and along with it were rumors sometimes dangerously close to the truth while others were just downright absurd. But perhaps he understood why people would talk; they loved having something to pique their attention. Even if it was something strange and impossible—improbable, as he preferred—they would twist the ‘truth’ to their own liking and satisfy their belief.

         There were many things the people could handle. The one thing they could never manage was the truth.

         And for the current king of Ravka, him being Grisha wasn’t something anyone could accept.

---

Staring blankly at the cup of coffee in front of him, Nikolai didn’t mind the rising voices from his Commander and some duke from Ivets. Or was it Os Kervo? Arkesk? He didn’t remember. But wherever he came from, the disrespectful tone he was currently using with Zoya was starting to make Nikolai’s ears ring.

         “I have sworn fealty to the crown,” the duke was telling Zoya. Nikolai had even forgotten his name, which was new. He always remembered names. “You do not get to talk to me about issues of loyalty, because my kind had never turned against the throne.”

         It ticked something in Nikolai’s attention, making him look up from the mug in front of him. He raised an eyebrow in the duke’s direction, but the latter seemed to be focused on trying to overpower his General.

         There was a shift in the mood, and the atmosphere had become colder. “What did you say?” Zoya said, her voice quiet and laced with underlying anger that was begging to be released. “I didn’t quite understand what you meant by that, Duke Reznov. May I ask you to repeat that?”

         “I believe I didn’t stutter, General,” Reznov replied. “Don’t presume we’ve forgotten who created the Fold that affected us for centuries.”

         Zoya’s hand twitched, and she lowered it to her lap to hide her now clenched fist.

         “No one is forgetting that, Sir Reznov,” Nikolai said mildly. He remembered the man now. The duke of Os Kervo—Ravka’s port city. He tried to offer a smile to the duke, hoping that it didn’t look forced to give away his rising temper. “But can I request you to watch your tone? You are still speaking to the General of Ravka.”

         He knew Zoya wasn’t the type to have someone defend her as he trusted her to be able to do it on her own, but their current situation deemed it necessary.

         “I was wondering when you would speak, Your Highness.” Reznov gave him a polite smile, his expression changing as if he weren’t just trying to insult the General a moment ago. “Should we get to the actual business?”

         Nikolai had already anticipated the direction the conversation was going, and yet he still found himself slowly getting peeved. Perhaps he himself wasn’t that pessimistic and expected the better from the duke. He shouldn’t have set his expectations that high for someone of West Ravka.

         “We were already talking, Duke Reznov,” said Zoya. Her voice had lowered to a much deadlier tone. But if the duke noticed it, he didn’t bother acknowledging her. “Maybe you should—”

         “Maybe I should make it clear that you are  on my property, Nazyalensky, and you are not the king,” Reznov said with enough spite to make Nikolai’s almost nonexistent rage resurface. He was trying to look neutral, but a look of disgust was evident in the duke’s eyes. “If you want something from me, I will speak only to the king, and the king alone.”

         The whole room became silent, and there was no denying the sudden tension that spiked in the air. Tamar, who was guarding the door alongside the duke’s head of security, almost looked like she was ready to lunge at Reznov the moment Nikolai allowed her to. She turned her gaze to him, but he only shook his head lightly, and Tamar relaxed.

         It wasn’t the time to let emotions get the best of them. Business was business. And if the duke would continue to be the donkey’s ass Nikolai knew him to be, then he should probably give him a hindsight of what he knew.

         He glanced at Zoya out of the corner of his eye. This was one of the rare times he would allow her to act out her anger and cut the air out of the duke’s lungs for a moment—a warning of what she was capable of. She had every right to, after everything Reznov had said to her. He wouldn’t let one of his close confidantes be talked down by someone of lower rank than her.

         But more than two years of having to endure people still being hostile around his Grisha Triumvirate had made her an expert of putting on a neutral face. Even though her jaw was set and her eyes were burning with fury, she only huffed, leaning back in her chair. He could already hear her sharp tone in his head, when she would go off on a tirade of insults in the confines of their war room or his chambers.

         More patience was needed than he expected. Duke Reznov was all too smug and egotistical for his own liking, and Nikolai decided to take matters into his own hands.

         “Very well,” Nikolai said. He leaned back in his chair, mustering the calmest look he could offer and smiling subtly. “Let us indeed talk, Sir Reznov.” He took the teaspoon on the small plate on the side and began mixing the coffee in his mug again. “Perhaps we should start with the taxes you somehow were able to evade for the past three years?”

         Reznov’s face became pale, and Nikolai had to fight a smirk on his lips. There was a reason he made Tamar the head of intelligence. Her network of spies always did wonders when gaining information.

         “Is this a threat?” asked Reznov, his voice rising an octave. He huffed in disbelief as he looked at Nikolai, and then at Zoya. “Is this because I refused to talk with your General?”

         Nikolai shrugged. “Maybe.”

         “And then maybe I should make it clear that I do not negotiate with her, Your Highness,” the duke said, emphasizing the word in disgust as if it were some lowly scum begging for scraps. “I do not negotiate with Grisha.”

         The coffee in the mug suddenly erupted, its contents spilling on the table as the cup tipped sideways. Nikolai felt his jaw twitch with suppressed fury as he tried to calm himself down. He felt everyone’s attention on him. It didn’t help. The fear of them knowing the truth caused his thoughts to fall into shambles. He could feel his control slipping away with each second.

         Quick. His hand was still holding the teaspoon, and he focused his attention there.

         Our abilities are like our emotions, Your Highness, Tolya’s voice during their time on the seas echoed in his head. If we prefer to not show it, then we should learn how to control it and separate it from feelings.

         He wished he hadn’t let his anger take over that one morning when he was eight. If he knew even before, would it have been different?

         Nikolai nothing.

         His late brother’s voice overpowered the voices of Tolya and Tamar trying to remind him to regain control.

         The young Nikolai had been consumed by anger back then, the immediate force of his power rushing through his blood, and the peaceful waters of the lake were disturbed and he was directing the waves towards his older brother.

         He would never forget the look of horror and disgust both his father and brother gave him when they knew of his abilities.

         A gentle nudge on his arm jolted him out of the nightmare, and Nikolai turned to see Zoya staring at him with a mixture of confusion and concern. She jutted her chin down, gesturing to his side. He blinked, and it was only then he became aware that his other hand clenched in a fist was trembling badly. His mind panicked.

         Did she come to realize it was him?

         But when she didn’t do anything else besides letting go of his arm, he figured she hadn’t caught up yet.

         Good, he thought. No one else needs to know. She didn't need to know.

         The twins were some of the few people who knew about his secret, and they had been a huge help to him when he was learning how to manage it again. But he figured maybe his abilities were just too tied with his emotions to separate them.

         Nikolai looked forward again, his gaze returning to the duke, who still had a bewildered expression on his face. He offered him a smile. “My apologies, Sir Reznov,” he said, unclenching his hand at his side. Deep breaths. “I believe my hand suddenly had a mind of its own and decided to tip the cup.”

         Reznov's eyes were hard, but his tone was calm and composed when he said, "That is no problem, Your Highness. Please leave it, the servants will take care of it later."

         Movements from the door caught his eye, making Nikolai look up, and he met Tamar’s narrowed gaze as if she were saying, what was that. He almost felt guilty for forgetting all the things they taught him. With a small grimace, he gave the guard an apologetic look.

         He could feel Zoya’s gaze on him as he turned his attention back to the duke, who was now looking at him with hostility that he only gave Zoya earlier. Maybe it was time to remove the mask of the considerate king and show the manipulative persona he had developed after years of traveling the seas.

         “Then let’s get back to business, shall we?” said Nikolai. He ignored the look of protest on Reznov’s face. “I will get straight to the point, Reznov.” Time to drop the pretense of being calm. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. “I do not take lightly to people who are trying to deceive the crown and its people. What you’ve done is a serious offense, and the sentence is how many years in prison again, General?”

         “Six years,” replied Zoya. The smugness in her tone returned, and he could practically see her fighting back a smirk. “Minimum.”

         Nikolai nodded in understanding, as if it was his first time hearing about the information. “Six years is quite a long time, don’t you think?” He furrowed his eyebrows when a thought clicked in his head. “I wonder how would the duke of Arkesk react when he learns that the person who asked for his sponsorship for the additional ports is suddenly charged with tax evasion?” He leaned back in his chair and raised his hands casually. “He wouldn’t be able to embezzle a part of the overpriced port fees now, would he?”

         By that time, Reznov had gone completely white, and he looked like a puppy backed into a corner with no way out. Nikolai regarded him with a mere raise of an eyebrow. Everything was starting to tilt back to their advantage. Perhaps the way he dealt with the situation was cruel, but he wouldn’t have laid down his cards if Reznov had been at least friendly from the start.

         “You—you have no evidence that I did it. My assistant will show you the records—”

         “Your assistant was more willing to talk than I expected.” Nikolai sneered, and then he laughed lightly. He could never forget the look on the assistant’s face when Nikolai and the twins paid him a visit sometime last week. “Didn’t even need to finish the question for him to start spilling everything. He even gave us your real financial records. I have to say the numbers were quite...unusual. So far from the fake ones you use for the sake of having a government record.”

         He could basically see the duke fuming, and if it were some other time, he was sure he would have savored the look on Reznov’s face. But Nikolai didn’t feel anything else other than resentment, and it was mostly towards himself. There was still a part of him that said this wasn’t the right way to handle things.

         Not the time to have a moral dilemma, Lantsov, he told himself. It was the only way to make it through this meeting without doing something even worse.

         The tense silence stretched in the room, with Nikolai and the duke having a stare down. Whatever authority Reznov thought he had earlier dissipated to nothing, the defeated look in his eyes slowly becoming evident as he shifted his gaze back and forth to Nikolai and his general. It only took him a few more moments of consideration until he spoke.

         “What do you want?”

         Nikolai felt a triumphant smirk twitch on his lips. “Five ports for my own ships,” he said, raising a finger when Reznov looked like he was about to protest. “And twenty percent of the total revenue of the rest of the ports will go directly to the country’s funds.”

         Reznov huffed in disbelief. “This is extortion.”

         “Tell that to honest sailors and workers that were still paying your overpriced rates. The money that was supposed to be for the people just went straight to your pockets, Reznov. This is the least you could do.” Nikolai shook his head. “Do we have a deal, then?”

         The duke of Os Kervo didn’t answer right away, the unwillingness to agree to the terms evident in his angry gaze. Nikolai knew Reznov had no choice other than to accept, unless he wanted to see the rest of his trading business shut down because of bankruptcy, so the king of Ravka did what he did best—take advantage of the situation as much as he could.

         And that was exactly what he did.

         You’re no different from your father and the kings before him, his conscience said. But he shoved it away. It wasn’t the right time to lament over things he had already done, otherwise he might risk losing control again and giving his identity away.

         People were already hesitant to trust Grisha working for the crown. What more if they knew that their king was of the same kind they were so adamant against putting their faith in?

         He had been lying to them his whole life, he could still lie for a much longer time.

         The duke’s voice came later, and when he finally spoke, it was in a begrudging tone. “Done.”

         Nikolai heard Zoya release a breath, and then he gave Reznov a smile that looked more mocking than grateful. “Thank you for consideration, Sir Reznov,” he said. “You have done greatness for your country today. Such an act won’t be easily forgotten.” He stood up and held out his hand for a shake, but the duke didn’t as much as move from his place and just stared at his hands on the table, refusing to acknowledge the gesture. Nikolai almost pitied him. He let his hand fall to his side. “Well, then. I think we’re finished here. Zoya?”

         His general stood up without another word, stepping back to let him pass first before she followed him. He knew he should be feeling triumphant, they just got a better deal than they had planned. Coming all the way to Os Kervo wasn’t a waste, after all. But he felt nothing. Empty.

         And as he walked out of the duke’s office, then out of the estate, his hands were still trembling.

         There is no place for a Grisha king.

         Nikolai was starting to believe it.