Chapter Text
Practically everyone in the Kingdom of El Rapids had heard of the alliance their king formed with the Kingdom of Manburg.
An alliance in the form of marriage.
Quackity was the gardener for the castle in El Rapids, so he had heard of it fairly quickly. Princess Niki was to be married to Prince Schlatt.
Now, he had never actually seen Schlatt, but he could make a guess by the way people talked about him. He seemed like every other suitor he had seen.
Stuck-up, egotistical, and rude.
Quackity liked to keep his distance from the royal family drama, despite being quite close with Niki. But this was only because he had caught her sneaking out around town at night.
He swore that he wouldn't tell anyone. Quackity even offered to help cover her. She had thanked him profusely and said she would ask her father to give him a raise.
He had to keep himself from bursting into tears right then and there.
Being a hybrid, it was already hard enough to find a job, let alone one at the castle; he was forced to keep his fluffy, yellow wings under his clothes.
"Big Q!"
The voice snapped Quackity out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Tommy, pulling a tired-looking Tubbo behind him.
"Hey, Toms! What can I do for ya?"
"Do you think we could borrow some flowers? Tubbo 'n I wanna attract bees!" Tommy explained, hand still clutching his brother's.
Tubbo gave Quackity a small grin, "If you could, that'd be great. You don't have to though." He said, clearly nervous.
These were two brothers out of the four that Philza had running around. Wilbur and Technoblade were the oldest, and also twins.
Wilbur had a son. Adopted. They lived somewhere on the edge of town, close to Phil's cottage.
Techno, on the other hand, was slowly rising in the ranks in the King's Guard. The guy was terrifying and extremely difficult to land a hit on.
If he managed to get a higher position, it would be a big day for all hybrids.
The two younger brothers had Quackity wrapped around their fingers. He'd do anything for the little brats.
"Come with me, purple flowers attract bees the most, so you'll wanna take some of these..."
•~•
Schlatt had absolutely not been looking forward to marrying the Princess of Shell Captids or whatever the fuck it was called. But his dad said that this alliance was crucial, and whatever the king said, went.
So, here he was, getting yet another outfit made by the seamstress, Minx. Despite being his age, Minx had a knack for stitching and sewing. She was better than any other seamstress he'd had.
"Would you stop poking me?"
"I wouldn't be poking you, if you would stop fuckin' moving."
"Maybe you should hurry up a bit."
"Maybe you should shut the fuck up."
Schlatt stared at himself in the mirror and Minx not-so-subtly picked up the pace. As much as they bickered, she was quite scared of the power he held.
They were best friends, and she knew he would never get her fired or demoted, but the threat was still nerve racking.
"Do you know anything about this girl?" She asked, making conversation.
"Barely. I only know what they've told me and what everyone knows."
"Bet she's pretty." She said, voice slightly muffled by the pin in her mouth. "Arm up."
"As if that matters. I just hope she's not fucking annoying. Remember that one bitch from the Alpine Kingdom?"
"Janice?"
"Yes."
"Dude, she would not leave you alone. I got annoyed for you."
The two snickered and Minx dropped a few pins into a bowl. "That's all. Go ahead and get changed, Lover Boy."
"Fuck off."
•~•
Quackity entered the Craft home, wincing at the sudden noise. He narrowly dodged a stick thrown by Tommy, who smiled sheepishly.
"Tommy, what have I told you about throwing things in the house?" Phil said, exasperated. He turned and smiled at Quackity, "Hey, Q, how was work?"
He shrugged, "Eh. Same old, same old." He sighed, pulling off his shoes and plopping on the couch next to Techno, who was home for the weekend.
"Hey, Tech."
"Hey, Feathers."
Phil set Tommy down on the couch in between Techno and Tubbo. "Dinner will be done in a few. Take a shower, Q, you need it." He said, wandering back to the kitchen.
Quackity groaned, "I guess I do need one, huh?" He said, catching a whiff of his own stank.
Techno snorted, flipping another page in his book. "Yeah, ya do." He said, looking at Quackity over his glasses.
"Oh, fuuuuu-" He glanced at Tommy and Tubbo, "rrrrick you."
"Nice save." He heard Phil call.
"Whatever."
~~~
After a well-needed shower, Quackity stumbled back to his room. Phil had let him move in after Wilbur left and Quackity's dad left on a business trip.
Don't get him wrong, his dad wasn't a bad person or a dead beat, the guy was just really fuckin' busy all the time. He visited at least twice a month, sometimes three if he was lucky.
Phil hadn't wanted Quackity to be alone, so he invited him to stay with the Craft Family. So, of course he'd accepted.
His hand drifted to the necklace his dad, Sam, had made for him before he left. Q had never taken it off, and he never will. It's too important.
As he got dressed, he thought about the prince that would be arriving tomorrow.
What did he look like?
He was a hybrid, right? So why did the King agree to this?
Would he even like Niki?
He shook his head from the thoughts as he made his way back downstairs for dinner.
•~•
Schlatt and Minx shared a carriage on the way to El Rapids. She was coming in case he need adjustments (and maybe some moral support).
"So, are you nervous?" She asked, smirking.
Schlatt scoffed, "No, of course not. I'm never nervous." He said, crossing his arms.
"Uh-huh, sure."
•~•
"You! Gardner! We need more roses!"
"Yes, of course. Right away."
Quackity raced to his wheelbarrow of flowers the decoration committee had asked him for. He pulled on his leather gloves and picked up a bunch of roses.
He turned swiftly, carrying them back to another person on the committee. They thanked him and immediately got to work on setting them up in vases around the place.
The whole castle was bustling with nerves and excitement. After all, the prince from another land was coming to El Rapids. A prince from a kingdom no one has seen before.
Quackity himself was a bit excited. Phil had been reluctant to let him go to work, but Q had explained that the castle needed everyone there. Just then the door opened, the king's messenger stepping in.
"They're here! Places!"