“You!” Nora and I screamed back as Dan’s face appeared when we opened the door to the lounge. “You cheating rascal!” He directed his gaze to Nora.
Nora quickly hid behind me and stuck her tongue out at Dan. He looked irritated and was about to say something more when Ace blocked his path.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Ace dropped the shopping bags on the floor and cracked his knuckles. “Are you bullying my sister?” He demanded.
“Of course not.” Dan said in a deadpanned tone as he heard Eltur and Darem laughing behind his back. Dan jerked a thumb towards them. “It was your older brothers who were bullying her. I heard they were teaching her things that kids shouldn’t know. I won’t tell you what it is. You should ask them yourself.” Dan smirked when he saw horrified looks on Darem and Eltur’s face at the moment.
Ace took one good look at their guilty and shaken form and knew that what Dan said must have been right. They must have involved Nora in something sketchy again. “Hey, you two. I want to talk.” Ace stalked towards them menacingly.
“Brother, you must be tired.” Darem says.
“Yes, you should go and take a rest.” Eltur suggested as both the older elf princes took a step back.
“Why should I when I want to talk to my dear brothers?” Ace says.
While Ace was busy taking care of his older brothers, I saw Dan laughing evilly in satisfaction. “Serves them right.”
“And here I thought it was the vampires and werewolves who don’t get along.” I commented. “But I guess it’s actually wolves and elves?”
“Sister, this is just a bit of a personal matter. And now.” He says while grabbing my arm. “You must be tired. Why don’t my BROTHER escort you back to your room?”
“No!” Nora protested and grabbed my hand. “Wose, stay with me.”
Dan chuckled and crouched down so that he was leveled with her. “Hey shrimp, bugger off. You guys have cheated enough. Even using your childish charms for this.”
“Dan, stop fighting with a kid.” I scolded him. “If you know who gets back, you’re dead.”
Nora and Dan looked up at me before returning their gazes back at each other. “Tell you what,” He says to Nora. “Let’s agree not to fight in front of this blonde over here.”
“Deal.” Nora agreed and then they suddenly shook hands.
“By blonde, are you guys referring to me?” I asked. Nora and Dan simply looked back up and me and stared. I scrunched my face at them. “Okay, fine. I know when I am not wanted.” I grumbled and started to head out.
I suddenly heard the door behind us open once again and a very familiar voice spoke. “Wow. You guys are still as lively as ever. Thankfully I reserve this whole wing for you guys.” I fought the urge to scream as I look back and saw Fred.
Fred was removing his gloves and handing them to a nearby butler. He was dressed in white with golden buttons. He has a double-clothed cape with the white side facing out and the red side facing him, giving his look a pop of color. He unclasped it and handed it to the butler as well.
He gave me that same warm smile that I always find comforting when he saw me. “You’re looking well, Rose.”
“You too!” I smiled like a fool and heard Dan clicking his tongue to my side in disgust that I kicked him.
Fred looked down and noticed Custard. “Wow, he’s new.” Fred crouched down to see Custard better. The butler beside him let out a word of protest for this behavior but he simply dismissed him with his hand. Fred offered his hand for Custard to sniff. “What’s his name?”
“That’s Custard. He simply took on a different form.” I explained.
He was scratching Custard’s belly when he looked at me. “I guess you all went on another adventure?” He suggested.
“A pretty long adventure.” I admitted. “I have another familiar, but he went on ahead to go and visit Gija. Hopefully, he will be back before we leave so you can meet him.”
“Is he a wolf?”
“A fox actually.”
“I do hope I get to meet him.”
“Hey, Prince Fred. Or should I say, future king?” I pouted and glared at Nate for interrupting our conversation. The vampire simply stuck his tongue out at me before returning to face Fred back again.
Fred laughed when nodded his head in greeting when he saw Ace and Ren coming over to our side as well. “Seeing you all here makes me feel like a prince and not a future king, to be honest. So, anything new that I should know about?”
Dan got up and raised his hand. “I stepped out of the competition.”
“Prince Dan, you were never interested in the crown in the first place.” Fred pointed out.
“True.”
“Have you guys eaten?” Fred offered. “We can talk while eating to catch up. Just like old times.” As soon as Fred said it, the butler cleared his throat.
“Prince Fred, I am afraid that you cannot stay and eat long enough to chat. You have a lot of preparations to do for your coronation.”
Fred sighed tiredly. “Can’t we just push it back a little? I am sure that I can finish it all in time.”
“Your parents are expecting you at dinner as well.”
Fred sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Geez, I’m supposed to be the future king but they still nag me.” Fred muttered before giving us all an apologetic look. “Sorry. I know I was the one who offered dinner, but I guess I have to take it back.”
“It’s fine. It’s understandable that you have a lot of responsibilities.” Ace said.
“You can summon us any time, Fred.” Ren grinned. “Or maybe, we can all hang out after your coronation?”
A small smile spread onto his tired lips. “I’d like that. Thank you.” Fred then met my gaze and took my hand. “I’m happy to see you again, Rose.” He says and kissed my hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Make sure to be there.” I didn’t expect that he would be doing such a thing that all I was able to do at that time was let out a series of an awkward and happy giggle. Fred chuckled at my reaction before he followed his butler out of the room.
“Sly bastard.” I heard Dan grumbling before I was suddenly pushed to the side and into Ren’s arms. “Oops! Brother, it seems that the princess is tired. Get her to her room. Quickly!” He yelled as he and the elf brothers seemed to be playing a game of keep away. Eltur and Darem were trying to get past him while Liliana was distracting Nora with cookies.
“Come on, Rose. Before it gets too troublesome.” Ren says while looking tiredly at his twin. “You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I found a nice spot on a balcony. It’s perfect for gazing at the stars as well. If you want to that is.”
‘Stars!? Here!? Are they pretty!?’ Custard was asking Ren, unfortunately, Ren cannot understand him.
“Sure.” I said as I picked Custard up in my arms while I followed Ren out of the chaotic event behind us.
Ren led us to one of the balconies overlooking the sky of the wing that we were staying at . We were eating sandwiches while gazing up at the… “Where the f*ck are the stars?” I demanded as I took a bite out of my sandwich.
“This is not fair. I saw stairs earlier before I offered. REFUND MY WASTED TIME YOU DAMN CLOUDS!” Ren screamed out in the open.
“Psst, Ren. Try barking or howling at the moon. Maybe the clouds would clear off and you become a walking wolf.” I suggested and chuckled at my own joke.
“There you go again with the werewolf jokes.” Ren pouted and leaned back on the same railing that I was leaning on. “And here I was saving you from my idiotic brother and that PRINCE’s brothers.”
“Speaking of Dan.” I turned towards Ren, who was still busy eating his sandwich. “What did he mean by briefing? What did you guys talked about that was so important?”
Ren suddenly choked on his sandwich. Instead of helping him or taking a glass of water and offering it to him, I laughed. Custard was the one who guided Ren’s hand to the glass of water.
“What was that, Rennie boy? I simply asked what you were talking about with your brother and you suddenly choked!” I cackled. “What? Is it a secret scandal that I am not supposed to know?”
Ren looked at me and suddenly blushed. Then he avoided my gaze.
“No way.” I breathed and seemingly became interested. “What is it? What is this big secret?” My mind started to formulate on the possible reasons that would make Ren blush. I gasped. “Dan got Liliana pregnant?”
“What? No!”
I paused as I started to think of another reason. “You got Liliana pregnant?”
Ren’s brow furrowed in both disgust and anger. “No! Rose, what kind of guy do you think I am?”
“The guy who lost his fiance to his younger brother?” I chuckled as I saw Ren frowning even more. “I’m kidding, Ren. Don’t get too stressed about what I said.”
Ren was silent for a moment. When he looked up and met my gaze, I was taken aback by the look in his eyes. “If you want to know, I will tell you. Question is, how will you react? And what will you do?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Depends on what it is about.”
Ren paused, then he scratched his cheek, laughed nervously, and then look away. “On second thought, maybe next time.”
Now I was the one dying of curiosity. I walked over to him, grabbed his arm, and started shaking him. “Tell me! TELL ME!” I demanded. “It’s something embarrassing, isn’t it? Come on, Ren I can keep a secret.”
Ren was looking away as I continued to plead. It seems like the more I ask, the redder he becomes that he was already covering his face with the back of his hand. “C-cut it out, Rose.”
“I promise not to tell anyone. Come on, Ren.”
“It’s not about whether you keep it a secret. More like, it is not really a secret to everyone anyway.” Ren grunted and bit his lips before he hid his face from me again.
How adorable.
And this is why it’s always fun to bully Ren.
“Renevier Rutledge, tell me. TELL MEEE!!!” My voice became deeper and louder that Ren seemed to snap.
His face was fully red when he looked at me. “You asked for it so you better...you better not regret it!” Ren was bitting the side of his lips and he gathered the needed courage to speak. “Rose, I love you. It’s been a while now and I’m sorry it took so long for me to say it. Also, my wolf chose you as my potential mate!” Ren immediately took a step back and covered half of his face with the back of one of his shivering hands.
‘Oh um...Master, I’ll be...I’ll be in the garden if you need me!’ Custard said and immediately ran in a panic. He fell from the table and knocking down several plates in his haste to getaway.
Ren and I’s gaze meet and we stayed like that for a few seconds before we both let out a laugh. “Oh, I see.” I placed my hands on my hips, still laughing. “No wonder Dan kept pushing me towards you. He was helping you!” I cackled.
Ren laughed as well. “Yeah. Funny thing is, he learned about it before me. Weird, right?”
“Nah. Not weird. You’re just stupid not to realize it. So, mate huh? Does that mean, we are soulmates or something?”
“Only if you accept me.”
Ren and I continued to laugh for a few more seconds until our laughter continued to slowly die. “Ren.” I said, my voice has a bit of an edge to it. “I have a question for you.”
“What is it?”
This time, it was my turn to blush. “Is that a confession!? It is right!?” I covered my face with my hands as I felt my heart starting to race. “Ren, how do I respond!?”
Ren blushed this time as well. “What?! Why are you asking me!? It’s your decision!”
“WELL, I DON’T KNOW HOW TO RESPOND! IT’S MY FIRST TIME GETTING A CONFESSION!”
“I SAID IT IS YOUR CHOICE!”
I paused. “Should I say ‘Thank you’?”
“NO! ANYTHING BUT THAT! ARE YOU CRAZY!?” Ren blushed. “Just tell me how you feel!”
I screamed out into the open air. “There! That’s how I feel right about now!”
“You just screamed!”
“Because I feel like screaming!”
“You know what? It would seem like you are shocked and confused.” Ren rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. When he looked at me, he gave me a small smile. “It’s better if you don’t give me an answer just yet. You can think about it for as long as you want. I’m...I’m not going anywhere. Besides, I waited this long.”
“Ren…”
“And since...since I confessed, maybe you’ll look at me more differently.” This time, Ren gave me a genuine smile. His cheeks were still a little red, but it would seem that he was finally calm right now. Ren grabbed one of my hands and held it over to his heart. “No matter how long it takes, whether you reject me or not, I’ll wait. A chance is all I need.”
I smiled and hugged him. “Ren, thank you. Not for the confession but for not making it more awkward for me.”
I felt Ren laugh. “No problem.”
We stood there yet again until a cold gust of wind blew and I started to shiver. Ren shook off his coat and carefully placed it over my shoulder. “I think we have enough time spending outside. I’ll escort you back to your room. We can’t have you getting sick before Fred’s coronation now, don’t we?”
I smiled. “Of course not.”
********[KINGDOM OF TEREAU]********
Kellar tied the letter to Viex’s neck and made sure to put it in a secured leather container so it wouldn’t get wet when it rains.
The sun still hasn’t risen yet. It was the perfect opportunity for him to sneak Viex out of the palace. And it was a good idea as well so that the little fox could recover his strength after healing Stella.
“Be careful on your way back.” Kellar whispered.
‘Boy, I am a royal guardian and a royal familiar. I can take care of myself. I have a better chance of survival out in the woods than you staying here.’
Kellar smiled at the fierce attitude of the fox. He wishes that he could be as fearless as him one day.
‘Boy, your black hair and your red eyes. I keep thinking about it but I just couldn’t shake the image out of my head. You’re his son, aren’t you?’ Kellar’s face paled and it was the only confirmation that Viex needed as proof of his suspicion. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll trust you. I have not sensed any malice from you. You also helped the Princess’s sister plus, you have that guy with you.’ Viex gestured at Kaya, floating just behind Kellar. ‘But remember this, if this letter of yours turns into a trap, you know who I am going after first, don’t you?’
Kellar nodded. “Yes. Understood.”
Satisfied with the young Prince’s response, Viex ran off to head back to his master, as quick as his little paws could take him.