Chapter Text
Every guard in the castle was on high alert tonight. Darkness had washed over the kingdom and caution filled the air. Charlie remained locked in his room for his own safety. He looked down at the village to see more light than usual. More people roamed as the news had spread throughout the kingdom. He hoped that whatever was going on wasn’t bad. Right now he didn’t know anything and wouldn’t know anything until morning.
His mother was quick to dismiss the plan that he and Nick had come up with, but after some convincing, she hesitantly agreed.
“We have to lay this trap, Mother,” he pleaded. “We’ve seen no other way to catch them.”
“I will not invite danger into our home by exploiting a flaw in our security and further putting us in danger,” she spoke.
“We have to try,” Charlie said back with some force. He stood his ground on their plan. With no risk, they would never catch someone so mischievous.
“Your Grace,” Nick said, speaking up. “We respect your decision but it’s in our opinion that this will work and you can lead this capture. We’ll be ready this time.”
She stayed silent for a minute and paced around her quarters, thinking. She looked at Charlie and stopped. “What is it you would have me do then? Exactly.”
“Let slip a rumor into the kingdom that the King is stirring and he is expected to wake soon. If the bounty hunter is still in town, they will most definitely attempt to sneak back in and finish the job. This is where we’ll be ready with the King moved somewhere else secure and a station of guards hiding in his room.”
Uneasiness spread across her features. Her position was a difficult one but it wasn’t the first time an unsavory choice had to be made in this castle. “I’ll spread the rumor immediately. My contacts in the kingdom will start whispering this news in the morning. With luck, we may have good news tomorrow night.”
Maybe it was foolish to put all their eggs in one basket but their eggs were breaking and they didn’t have many options left. Charlie figured he should probably just sleep until morning but drowsiness evaded him and he couldn’t shut off his mind. Everything was being laid out tonight and he couldn’t help but worry about the status of the plan.
His mother no doubt was in a worse state. She demanded that if caught, the killer be contained and that she be alerted right away. Charlie on the other hand was instructed to be kept in his room until morning under all circumstances. It was part of the terms to her agreement in the plan.
He continued to pace about his room while his mind caught up. What else was there to do but wonder? He thought about his friend’s well being. It had been some time since he’d seen them and he felt bad about that. He told himself that his main distraction had been the safety of the castle but of course he was lying to himself. Nick had been at the center of his mind for so long now that it seemed like commonplace to think about him. Though now, he didn’t know where they stood and it plagued his mind.
He sat on his bed and the whispers from a few days prior in the exact same spot tickled at him.
“I think she took that pretty well,” Nick said. He and Charlie left the Queen’s quarters, walking together back to Charlie’s room.
Maybe now wasn’t the time or place but his mind still wandered to the thought of Nick with Imogen. He was curious about them and couldn’t help the thoughts.
“Do you like Imogen?” He asked, flat out. He didn’t mean to be so blunt but it just slipped out and it was too late to take it back now. He looked at Nick to gauge a reaction but all he read was surprise.
“Oh,” Nick said, still looking surprised, then confused with his face scrunching up in thought. “She’s really nice. Do you think she likes me?” He avoided the question almost entirely.
“Seems like she might,” he replied. “I was just curious if you were interested. We don’t normally talk about these things and I wanted to give you the space to do so.”
It was a half truth technically. He really did want to allow Nick to express his feelings, but then, he hoped there was nothing there to talk about.
They reached the stairs up to Charlie’s room and started to climb them one by one. “You suddenly want to talk about girls and boys? Not very Charlie Spring of you,” Nick said with a small laugh.
“Shut up,” he said smiling. “Maybe I’m feeling sentimental.”
They entered Charlie’s room and closed the door behind them, sealing them in a bubble of privacy.
“Sentimental?” Nick asked, his tone changing afterwards. “I just thought, you know after…Ben, you wouldn’t want to talk about our crushes for a while.”
Charlie’s smile slowly faded. Nick was right but the second part of his statement made him blush. “Our crushes?”
Nick looked nervous very quickly. His cheeks reddened and his eyes grew in size. “Um, our crushes. The crushes we hav— might have. For other people, I mean. I thought maybe if you did have a crush on a boy, you wouldn’t really want to talk about it.” Nick sat down on the edge of Charlie’s bed and sunk into himself a little bit.
Charlie walked over slowly and sat next to him, less than a foot away between them. “Does that mean you do have a crush on her?” He asked.
Nick looked everywhere but Charlie. The room felt warmer than it did two minutes ago and everything seemed to slow down. “Well I didn’t say that.”
Like a flip of a switch, he swung his head up to lock eyes directly with Charlie. His eyes were slightly glossy and he looked somewhat nervous. Charlie’s own heart rate increased at the uncertainty of the situation. No other noises entered the room and for a few moments, nothing else existed.
“Someone else then?” Charlie asked. “Do I know her?” They were treading dangerous waters now, scratching the surface of a highly explosive box that if detonated, who knew what would happen.
Nick looked back down at his hands in his lap. “Not her,” he said. Again his gaze snapped back up to Charlie and he flashed the smallest of smiles for reassurance.
His heart skipped a beat at his words. Was this a hint? A trick? Whatever it was, his mind had narrowed in and he felt laser focused.
“Are they not a girl?” He asked. For the first time, he felt a real glimmer of hope.
“Um,” he stammered, shrugging. He didn’t say anything else other than that. The fear in his face mixed with embarrassment as well, yet Charlie knew there was no reason for it.
“Would you…,” Charlie started. He felt a surge of confidence rush through him now. “Would you kiss someone who wasn’t a girl?”
“Maybe,” Nick said, meeting Charlie’s gaze. “Not just anyone.”
“Someone like me?” He asked. This was it, all his chips on the table now and he was either going to win big or lose it all.
Nick nodded his head slowly and carefully, looking like at any moment he might take it back, but he continued to nod. Charlie slid his hand a little closer to Nick’s that sat next to him on the bed. His fingers were millimeters away from Nick’s. He noticed the advance and copied the movement with his own hand until their fingers were touching. Charlie made the next move to lift Nick’s hand into his until he was holding it, giving it a light squeeze.
If there was no electricity yet, there was about to be. They locked eyes again, only darting back and forth to steal glances at each other’s lips. Then, like a moth to a flame, Charlie slowly and confidently leaned forward to plant a kiss on Nick’s lips. Nick met him halfway and before he realized it, they were engaged, lips touching lips and eyes closed.
The rush sent jolts through Charlie’s torso, his arms, and down through his legs as they started to kiss each other with a calm tenderness. Everything about it felt right and the sparks that fired inside his mind were enough to launch a rocket.
They pulled back after a few seconds and looked into each other’s eyes again, each of them not knowing what to say. Instead, their thoughts connected and they both leaned in to share another kiss, except this time quicker and more confidently. Charlie brought his hand up to run it through the back of Nick’s soft hair.
They kissed with more passion this time, Nick getting more into it and feeling more calm. Everything about it was bliss and only a few seconds felt like an eternity where they would never split from this position. Eventually, human anatomy won out and it was time for them to breathe so they pulled away.
For a moment, they just sat there and smiled at themselves like awkward teen boys do, neither wanting to acknowledge what had happened for the sake of embarrassment.
“Um,” Nick said. “That was—”
And then he was cut off, not to finish his thought by a guard knocking forcefully on the door. Nick hopped off the bed quickly and walked over to a different area of the room, separate from Charlie.
Nick looked at the door then back and Charlie, smile gone and face suddenly much more red. He looked down in embarrassment and muttered “sorry” before turning and opening the door, almost running into the guard that stood in its arch. He was gone quickly as the fleeting feeling from their kiss and suddenly Charlie was left alone and confused. He didn’t know what to think of what just happened, but the worst thoughts pushed their way through before the reasonable ones.
The guard had entered his room and started talking but Charlie couldn’t comprehend what he was saying and just nodded along. Instead, his mind was a raging storm that wanted to break free and start to drip through as tears. He knew it was good to be true and it was a huge mistake to be so forward. They had crossed into uncharted territory now and things would never be the same.
Now, sitting in the same position as before, he rubbed over his lips as the phantom feeling of Nick’s lips returned. He’d tried his best not to try over this all since obviously things were still confusing but he had failed once or twice and decided to let it out. It was healthier that way considering he didn’t know when the next time he might be able to talk to Nick was with everything that was going on.
He tried to convince himself that it was all just a misunderstanding but the way Nick took off so fast made him doubt everything about it, almost erasing any good feeling he held from the moment just before. It would have been easier if he knew where they stood, but he knew he would just have to be patient.
He slumped down onto his bed with a forceful plop and bounced once before sinking into it. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared up at the dark ceiling. There was nothing there but it was a place he hadn’t stared at yet so it would have to do.
Back and forth he went, closing his eyes, opening them, closing them, opening them. There was at least another six hours before morning and there was no way he was leaving his room until then. Unless he wanted to die of boredom, his only option was to sleep. He forced his eyes closed again and threatened his mind to start counting sheep if he didn’t fall asleep soon. It didn’t have to come to that though and luckily he was able to fall asleep soon to prepare for the huge day he was about to have.
_____
His eyes only opened again when a knocking rumbled through his door. He quickly got up, anxious to find out what had happened the previous night. He swung it open, half expecting to see Nick standing there, ready to fly into his arms and kiss him over and over again, but that wasn’t the case today. Two guards stood at attention in the doorway instead.
“Your Highness,” one said. “There’s been news. Please come with us to the Throne Room. The Queen has called for an assembly.”
Charlie nodded and followed the guards out. He realized then that he neglected to check his appearance before leaving his room. He scrambled to fix his clothes and hair as he walked so he didn’t look too foolish when he arrived.
As he approached his destination, his heart rate started to quicken knowing something had happened and he didn’t know if he should be relieved or in dread.
Some of the other royal families and castle members had already gathered when he arrived. Chattering voices echoed throughout the hall as more people entered. Charlie looked around to see familiar faces and saw Elle with her family and Isaac with his. They talked amongst themselves looking content which made Charlie smile. He was glad to know they were doing alright. He spotted Ben and his parents on the far side of the room as well and he immediately looked away and shook his head. There was no way he was putting even an ounce of energy into that today.
Charlie looked around for Nick but he was absent from view. The guards escorted him to the raised platform where the other members of his family stood. He approached Tori with uncertainty. His mother and Oliver stood to the side, Ollie looking timid. Tori gave no indication of knowledge on the situation.
“What happened?” He asked outright.
“She hasn’t said yet,” Tori replied. “I can’t tell if things went well or not.”
“If she called an assembly, I’d like to think at least something happened,” he said. “I pray that it was good. If this failed, then I’m afraid we’re out of options.”
The Captain of the Guard announced the royal family a few minutes later, now that they were all present. The room was quick to quiet down and all the echoes vanished.
Charlie stood with his siblings on the left hand side of the stage while his mother rose to the center. All eyes were on her as she started to speak. Charlie continued to look around the hall for Nick hoping that he had come for an important announcement, regardless of their status. Like a breath of fresh air, he spotted him near Elle looking quite clean and proper. He didn’t seem to notice that Charlie was looking at him and for now, he was grateful for that.
“Last night,” she continued as Charlie jumped back into her speech. “A trap was set to assist the castle in the capture of the bounty hunter responsible for the attempted assassination of the King as well as the murder of a guard in our castle.” She paused for a moment, then continued. “I am grateful to announce that the bounty hunter responsible for this terror, was captured last night.”
The room filled with whispers before quickly fading back into silence.
“However, once captured, in an attempt to flee, he was killed in order to prevent escape. It is a tragedy that we won’t be able to question him about his employers but justice has prevailed. This is a message to not just the people in this room, but to the whole kingdom, and the surrounding kingdoms as well. If anyone is to attempt something like this towards this family again, then they will meet the same fate with no questions.”
The Queen left that as her final word, stern and forceful. The message would hopefully serve as a shield for now and if the conspirators were ever to strike again, they would meet a worse fate.
Charlie let out a deep breath as the news sunk in. People in the hall started to wander and talk again as the Queen left the Throne. Charlie felt relief for the first time since the new year. It wasn’t a perfect picture but it was a great win for their family. There had been a dark cloud above them for so long and now it finally felt like things could start to shine again. He smiled to himself and to his siblings as they shared the excitement from finally feeling some freedom. It was enough to wash away his thoughts about his upset feelings towards his relationship with Nick. That was until he looked up to see Nick standing right in front of him.