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Sophie was completely silent on the carriage ride to the capital. Actually, she had been completely silent to everyone but her parents for the last few days. 'Practice' she would write down for those who asked 'for my imminent future of being forced into silence forever,'
Needless to say, she wasn't taking this whole arranged marriage thing too well.
As she stared out the window, her dad spoke up.
"Kiddo, I'm really sorry about this whole thing. I promise we'll try to reason with him, but I don't know what we can do."
"I know, it's not your fault I'm a freak."
"Sophie!" Her mother chided. "I know you're upset, and you have every right to sulk as much as you want, but don't call yourself that."
"All I'm saying is that it's the only reason I'm getting chosen for this."
"Maybe so, but you still aren't a freak. You're extraordinary and no matter what they say you have to remember that. Ok?"
"Ok, Mom."
She went back to staring out the window, ignoring her parent's concerned faces.
~*~
A member of the royal guard led them into the king's throne room. They lowered themselves to their knees to show respect, but Sophie would rather spit in his face.
"You may rise."
They did.
"The prince will be here shortly."
Edaline did what most people wouldn't, talk back to a king.
"And then we may negotiate the marriage?"
"What is there to negotiate?" He wore a smile, tight and awkward, it sat unnaturally on his face.
"Much," Edaline wore no smile.
Just then, a blonde boy who looked like he wanted to be there about as much as Sophie did walked in.
"Keefe, this is Lord and Lady Ruewen and their daughter Sophie."
"A pleasure to meet you," The boy bowed, but it felt half-hearted somehow. "My apologies, but I was of the belief that you would not be visiting for nearly another week and a half?" He seemed to cringe at his own words.
"Yes," Grady said, "That was the original plan, but unfortunately things came up."
"More important things than your daughter meeting her future husband?" King Cassius' smile wavered a bit, like he wanted to sneer but wouldn't let himself. Sophie did it for him.
Edaline jumped in to explain. "Well you see, we're getting a new griffin very soon. It's vital that we stay with it for the next few weeks until it is properly integrated into the shelter."
Cassius seemed upset that her parents valued an animal over his schedule. He sighed before restoring his awkwardly tight smile.
"Well, how about the children go to the lawn and talk while the adults discuss the marriage?"
Grady didn't return the smile.
"Yes, let's do."
The king waved them out of the room, Keefe went first and Sophie followed. A servant shut the door behind them.
"So..."
"Please don't talk to me," Sophie walked to the outer doors as fast as she could, the prince followed.
"Wait!"
She got outside before Keefe caught up and positioned himself in front of her.
"Look, Sophie right?"
She nodded.
"I don't want to do this either. Can we just...talk? For a little bit?"
She thought for a second.
"I'm listening."
He waved her to walk alongside with him, and she did.
They were silent for a while until they got a good bit away from everyone else.
"So, how'd you get looped into this mess?"
"You should really be asking your father that question. All I know is that we got a letter from the king saying I would marry you. You don't say no to a king," She was angry, but throwing any kind of tantrum wasn't an option. A rock sat in her path, she attempted to kick in away, but it was apparently much more stuck in place than she thought. Her toe made a sickening crunch sound.
"OW!" Her eyes started to water in pain.
"Oh gosh are you ok? Do you need to go to the infirmary?"
"No, no, I'm fine, don't worry," She managed to squeak out.
"You...you sure?"
"Mhm," she mumbled, despite her very painful, definitely broken, toe.
"Okay," He seemed unsure.
In an attempt to change the subject and hopefully distract herself from her aching foot, she decided to try to carry on the conversation.
"So, what do you like to do?"
"Well, art mostly, I guess. I like to paint and stuff. You?"
"Ugh, I train too much to have hobbies."
"Train? For what?"
She only then realized her slip. Maybe coming right up front with 'I'm genetically modified by an organization that's been trying to take you guys down and also fight the other organization going against both of us,' wasn't the best idea.
"N-nothing. I've said too much."
They both went silent, Sophie awkwardly trying to keep up with the taller boy's gait while limping.
"If you tell me whatever your dark secret is then I won't take you to the infirmary, pinky promise."
She thought for a second, she really didn't want to go to the doctor, but she definitely didn't want to tell him about her whole trunk full of issues.
"No. Just take me to the infirmary then."
"That serious, huh? Alrighty then, it's right this way."
~*~
Sophie awkwardly hobbled into the hospital wing. At a desk stood a man dressed in eccentric clothing with what looked like some form of glasses on his head, although they were much more complex looking, kinda like something her cousin would make.
At least there was someone familiar in the castle, she wondered if she would see Dex anytime soon. They were bound to run in to each other at some point, after all she'd be spending the rest of her nearly infinite life in this place.
"Go ahead and sit on one of the beds over there, I'll get to you in just a second," The man turned around and flashed a smile, it was much more natural on his wide-set face than it was on the King's.
After a moment he walked over and did all the basic examinations before getting to her injury.
"Ah, nothing to worry about Miss. Just a simple broken toe. We can't really do much about it, just go easy and let it heal."
Going easy wasn't exactly her style, she tried not to let her disappointment show.
He stepped away from the bed, removing his strange glasses.
"My assistant will be with you in just a moment. She'll get you the elixirs you need to promote the healing process."
"Thank you, Elwin," Keefe said while Sophie was still lost in thought.
"No problemo."
Then, Elwin walked out of the infirmary, leaving Sophie with Keefe.
"So..." he said, perching on the bed frame. "Why're you so intense? Like...all the time."
"Intense?"
"Yeah, your emotions. I can feel them from here. My father said something about you having a complicated past, and he really wasn't kidding, apparently."
If one empath could feel her emotions, chances were another could.
...which meant the king probably felt everything.
Shit.
Keefe was still looking at her, she had to say something.
"It's...hard to explain."
Telling him was risky but, well, he seemed trustworthy enough? She wouldn't have to go into details, just a quick explanation.
"If...if I tell you, do you promise to not tell anyone? At all."
"I won't tell anyone, I promise," His face was steeled.
"You sure?"
His face promptly un-steeled.
"I'm sure I'm sure that I'm sure I'm sure," His smile was goofy, definitely not one that a prince should have. It made her more comfortable. She giggled.
"Okay, fine."
Her face fell, remembering what she was going to have to tell him about.
"It uh...well it has to do with my mom, and my dad I guess, but I don't know him."
Keefe motioned her to keep going.
"You know the Black Swan?"
"No shit. I can't say I'm a fan after they're attempted take over of the government."
Goddammit.
"Yeah," Sophie said, looking down. She felt embarrassed. "I have the pleasure of being one of their experiments. I can't disclose much else."
And she didn't want to. She learned in her short 16 years on this planet that spilling your tons and tons of baggage to someone on the first day you meet them isn't a good method to make friends. She had made that mistake a few too many times. It was a wonder her parents went through with her adoption.
Suddenly, a voice came from seemingly no where.
"Did someone say elixir delivery?"
Keefe didn't seem startled at all.
"They did not."
"Eh, I tried."
A dark skinned girl with lightening-like scars across her face appeared in front of them. Sophie very nearly jumped out of her skin, but Keefe seemed totally fine with a random girl popping up out of nowhere.
"Biana, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that...unless it's Fitz, because then it's hilarious."
Biana threw up her hands, well the one that wasn't holding a tray of elixirs anyway.
"Ok, ok, I won't."
She held out the tray to Sophie, a kind smile on her face. She was quite close and Sophie's face flushed.
"Thank you."
"Oh, nearly forgot. Take the blue one with food..."
She kept explaining but Sophie barely heard it. Part of it was anxiety, part of it was her still throbbing foot, and part of it was that there was a very pretty girl very close to her face.
Then, a servant burst into the room.
"The king as requested to see both Prince Keefe and Lady Sophie immediately. They have settled your wedding date."
Keefe seemed to deflate at this news, his easy smile turning into a grimace.
Sophie got up, her gait still uneasy. Biana quickly assembled the elixirs into a bag with a handwritten note of instructions.
Biana smiled and waved as they walked away. Sophie waved back, tripping a little on an uneven tile. Biana covered her laugh and Sophie's blush just got deeper.
~*~
Sophie fell back on what was apparently going to be her bed.
Well, for the next 3 months, anyway. Until she had to get married.
Ugh.
She wanted to cry, scream, throw up, and jump out the nearest window all at the same time.
Maybe she could escape. She was just on the second floor, she could survive the fall. Run away to Atlantis, leave a note for her parents, get a new identity so the royal guard wouldn't find her. The brown eyes would be an issue but enough elixirs could fix just about anything.
A knock at the door distracted her from her prison break plans.
She was hesitant, it was the middle of the night after all. What if she was met with some creepy dude? Nonetheless, she opened it.
In front of her was Biana, no longer in a physician's uniform but in a simple night dress.
"Hey, I'm sorry to bother you so late but um, I just wanted to make sure you're taking your elixirs."
"Oh, yeah, come in."
Biana strolled over to the bed and sat on the edge, picking up the bag of medicine sat on the nightstand. Sophie sat next to her.
As she unpacked the bottles, she started talking.
"I know it's none of my business, but, how are you feeling about this whole wedding thing?"
"To be perfectly honest, absolutely horrendous. I never wanted this."
"I get it. That's why I became a physician's assistant, my father kept threatening to send me away to get married off, so we all got out of there."
"Wish I could do that."
"Yeah, I'm sorry, that was probably insensitive of me." Biana's face seemed to flush, barely showing up on her face.
"No worries."
They went silent and Sophie immediately became aware of how close together they were sitting.
"Oh um, medicine, sorry."
They were both quiet for a while as Sophie downed her elixirs.
"Um...well certainly it's not all awful, right?"
"Yeah," Sophie sighed. "The food is good, and so is the healthcare."
Biana smiled. Wow, her smile was pretty.
"Thank you, we try."
"Yeah, and I mean Keefe doesn't seem too excited about everything either. So at the very least it's not a 'wife is forced into the place of a submissive woman by husband' sort of deal."
Biana made a noise of agreement as she packed up the empty bottles.
"Tell me if you need anything, anything at all. I'm a floor up, first door on the right at the left end of the hall."
Sophie just nodded as Biana got up and walked to the door. She turned back for a moment while she held her hand on the knob.
"Oh, and Sophie?"
"Hm?"
"If you get hungry, the kitchens are on the ground floor near the throne room. They usually have some extra cakes. If a guard sees you, just say you were sleepwalking, works for my brother."
Sophie smiled.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
And with that, she opened the door and literally vanished as it shut. The sound of her shoes clacking on the stone the only tell that she had left the room.
~*~
Over the next few days, Sophie didn't see Keefe.
At all.
Honestly she expected her betrothed to be a bit more persistent, but she wasn't exactly complaining. He seemed...nice. But at the end of the day, Sophie would really rather hang out with most other people.
Most other people included Biana, who she'd seen quite a bit over the last few days.
She saw her every night for 3 nights, to deliver Sophie her meds for her broken toe. She was suddenly very thankful for her own clumsiness. Every night she was there longer and longer, they talked about just about everything.
Biana had two brothers, but the oldest one ran away, if rumors were to be believed it was to join the Neverseen. Her family lived in the Eternalia, they were prominent apparently, dad worked as an emissary for the council. Her dad was already bad, he sent both of her brothers off when they were way too young to search for some random mysterious girl, (apparently working for an organization "going against the council"), for his "work". (Gee, wonder who.) But then her dad started getting worse (she didn't elaborate, just "worse'") and walked out on them. He came back for a short time, threatened to send her off to get married, and then her, her brother Fitz, and her mom Della ran away in the night and got jobs in the castle.
Sophie was much quieter about her past in their nightly visits.
She revealed that she had been adopted, twice, and never knew her real parents.
(Technically, she knew who her mom was, but that seemed too hard to explain at the moment. She also didn't reveal that she was basically a genetically modified weapon, and she held a lot of angst towards her biologically mother for LETTING HER BE FUCKING GENETICALLY MODIFIED!)
She revealed she had a little sister she still talked to, even though she wasn't supposed to.
(Unfortunately she had to lie about the reason. She said it was because of their class difference, that her old family were peasants and that now she was a noble. In actuality, her creators had whisked her away and put her in a more protected home because the Neverseen may want to abduct her, and they couldn't talk for their own safety.)
She talked at length about the Ruewen's animal reserve. About wrestling the dinosaurs and getting bright green feathers all over her clothes and about riding the alicorns and accidentally teleporting with them to the top of a mountain that on time. About her pet imp, Iggy, she had at home and how badly she missed him. Even his awful burps.
On the fourth night, Sophie's toe was healed completely and she was worried Biana wouldn't come again.
But she did.
"I um... I just wanted to make sure you were healing properly," She said, looking down.
"Come on in."
She blinked in and out of view as she clacked her way over to her normal spot on Sophie's bed.
"So, any horrendous pain shooting through your foot?"
"Nope, all my pain is right up here."
She tapped her head as she fell backwards onto the bed. Biana laughed her lovely laugh.
"Soph, did you sleep at all last night?"
"Nope, that damn clock at the end of the hall ticks so loudly I can't stand it."
"Hm...one second."
She disappeared out the door, a moment later the constant ticking and tocking stopped and she walked back into the room.
"That shouldn't bother you anymore."
"What did you do?"
"Nothing illegal."
Sophie raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing too illegal," Biana said, looking away.
"Don't elaborate, you're my friend but I am not going to be an accomplice."
Biana laughed, then went silent for a moment as she sat down.
"I'm your friend?"
"I mean...yeah. I think so. If that's okay with you."
"Yeah, more than okay. I haven't had a lot of friends before."
"Me neither."
Biana continued looking down, twiddling her thumbs and unconsciously blinking in and out of sight, as usual.
Sophie desperately searched for something to fill the silence.
"So, how was your day?"
"Eh, normal. Two more new trainees for the royal guard got hurt somehow today. One had a broken leg and one had cuts from a real sword all over them. Someone has got to tell Fitz how not ok it is to give a 15-year-old boy a sword and go 'have at it!'"
Sophie laughed.
"How was yours?" Biana asked, turning towards her.
"Also normal. I had a dress fitting, it was miserable. They tried to put me in this giant cage skirt thing, it looked absolutely ridiculous and it had these pearls and lace all over it, ugliest thing I've ever seen. And I don't even have a free day until the end of the week."
"That's sucky. Do you know who's doing your makeup yet? I heard there's this mega old lady who always does the makeup for the royal weddings and let's just say she's stuck in the 200's."
Sophie almost shivered at the thought of the eyes of the old paintings that lined the halls of the castle feeling like they were following her. She had passed those paintings of historic royal ladies with blue paint all over their eyelids, thin black eyebrows (no matter the hair color), the pinkest lipstick you've ever seen, and the brightest red orange rouge all over their cheeks. In fact, she saw those paintings almost every day, they haunted her nightmares. Thousands of years old woman screaming at her about her unavoidable marriage with their horrid makeup and high-collard gowns covered in pearls. Needless to say, she really didn't want to look like that on her wedding day.
"Oh jeez, anything but that."
Biana gasped excitedly at a sudden realization.
"I could do your makeup for you!"
"Wait, really? You'd do that?"
"Yes of course! It'd be my honor. I could practice on your free day if you'd like?"
"Yeah, that sounds great."
"Awesome. I should probably go, I'm sure I'll have to repair more sword wounds tomorrow. You get some sleep, you have no excuse now."
"Thanks, Biana. For everything."
She smiled. Bright and beautiful, as usual.
"No problem."
She made her way out, disappearing as the door closed.
~*~
Sophie got sleep that night. She dreamed of being free, riding the alicorns of Havenfield over mountains and rivers. She wished she had ridden Silveny one last time before she had to leave. Her dreams would have to suffice.
When she walked out of her room that morning, she saw a bunch of people (presumably technopaths) surrounding the grandfather clock at the end of the hall. She heard some mumbling about "It's missing all of its gears." "What the hell? Why?".
Sophie just smiled to herself as she walked down to go to breakfast. Light destruction of government property was a very sweet gesture, in her opinion.
~*~
Biana walked towards Sophie's room, her (currently invisible) hands wringing her (also invisible) skirts.
All she could think about was how close she would have to be to Sophie to do her makeup. Just the thought of it made her heart flutter in a way she wasn't used to.
As she walked (slowly to procrastinate), she saw Keefe running down the hall. She swerved left as the prince slid to a stop, nearly running into a wall, before turning a corner and regaining his speed.
Weird to outsiders perhaps, but that was just Keefe. She considered asking where he had been the last week, but decided against it as he was obviously in a hurry.
At last, she reached Sophie's door. Heart absolutely pounding now, she knocked on the door.
She reappeared as Sophie opened it. Biana avoided eye contact, she was scared that once she started looking at Sophie's beautiful eyes she wouldn't be able to pull herself away. She had never seen eyes that shade before. Almost dark as night, but when they caught the light they got these little gold flakes in them.
"Sorry I'm late," She said, still looking down. "You know, I never knew that someone could chip a tooth while picking apples but here we are."
Sophie giggled. Biana couldn't take her eyes off of her.
"Makeup!" Sophie said, clapping her hands together.
"Yes of course," Biana glided over to the vanity. "I mean, you won't need much, so this should be pretty easy."
"Thank goodness, once my mom tried to put makeup on me for a party and it was so cakey it gave me a panic attack."
Biana giggled lightly. "No need for cake, your skin is pretty perfect anyway so I don't even think we'll need foundation unless you want it."
If Biana had turned around in that moment, she would've seen Sophie's face go as red as her dress, however she was preoccupied with raiding the vanity drawers of all its products to see what she could use.
Biana made a motion for Sophie to come and sit on the chair in front of the mirror and she did. She stood behind Sophie and laid her hands on her shoulders, thinking as to how in the world she could make such a naturally beautiful girl feel any prettier.
"So," Biana started, "what are we thinking?"
"Literally anything that doesn't look like I'm some grumpy 5,000-year-old woman stuck with the last name 'Sencen'."
"Incredibly valid," Biana said with a tilt of her head. Inspiration suddenly struck and she grabbed a pigment compact from the table and got to work.
She tried to focus on doing the makeup, she really did, but it was hard when she kept noticing little things about Sophie. Like how she had a light spattering of freckles across her nose that you couldn't see from far away. Or the way the gold flecks emerged from her nearly black eyes when they caught the light. Or the rosy tint to her cheeks, she convinced herself that she was only imagining that it got deeper when Biana leaned in closer to do details.
"Ok, last bit here, what color for the lips?"
"Is blue an option? I think that'd make the in-laws squirm."
"Unfortunately no," Biana said through a laugh, "but there is a very bright red." She pointed towards the red pot of wax.
"Perfect."
Biana let Sophie apply it herself. Biana had nearly burst into flames when applying the kohl around her eyes and decided not to risk it again.
"And you're done!"
"Wow," Sophie muttered softly as she leaned in to get a closer look. "You made me as pretty as you."
"You're already pretty."
"You think?"
Suddenly they were cut off by a knock at the door. Sophie ran to open it.
"Oh, lovely, you're both here," Keefe stated. He looked quite red in the face, like he had been running ever since Biana saw him in the hall. "We have to talk. Meet me up in the library in about an hour. Sophie, Biana can lead you there."
"I'd be delighted," Biana said, glancing towards Sophie.
And with that, Keefe was on the run again.
"Hm," Sophie said, closing the door. "A week of him going missing and then that."
"Yeah, you tend to get used to it. He and my brother are best friends, so I have to put up with him more than the average castle worker. He also gets hurt a lot, once Elwin suggested we should relocate his royal portrait to the infirmary wing."
Sophie laughed. Biana loved it when she did that.
"Well, with my record so far I suppose I should be right up there with him."
Biana genuinely considered it, being able to look at Sophie every day at work would be very nice, she had to admit.
She glanced at the clock on the wall.
"Crap. I'm sorry, I have to go, I promised my mom I'd eat lunch with her. Be back here in an hour though, to go to whatever Keefe is dragging us to."
"Okie dokie, see you then."
After Biana vanished, she glanced behind her to get one last look at Sophie before walking out the door.
~*~
Sophie looked blankly at Keefe as he rattled on, only occasionally sharing a "what the fuck?" look with all the others. Even Dex was here, for some reason, as all the other people seemed to be nobles. She had only gotten to wave at him as the moment they were all in the library Keefe began his rant.
"...and THEN if we all just stay really, really secure in our objections then we legally can't get married!"
"So what you're saying is...we're crashing your wedding," Said a man she didn't know the name of, perhaps she would if Keefe had let them make their introductions.
"In so few words, yes." Keefe said, finally sitting down on the floor after his presentation. "Any questions?"
"Quite a few, but I'm still trying to decide which one to ask first," Biana said from the corner.
"Look, it's really simple-"
"What about this plan is simple?" Said a girl Sophie didn't know.
"Well you see-"
"It's never going to work," A different girl said. "All it will do is anger the king, we're all dead if we even try."
Sophie was already thinking. The plan was...faulty at best. They were dealing with a king here, a king known to just hang his problems to make them go away. They needed something stronger than relying on the legal system to get them out of this.
"If everything goes perfectly well then just maybe-"
"Keefe!" a boy said, standing up from his chair. He seemed to be Biana's brother, Fitz, the family resemblance was strong. "It's not going to work. This is a waste of time and possibly incriminating. I love you, Keefe. You're my best friend. But this...this just isn't going to work, Fee."
There was a long silence.
Keefe seemed like he was about to walk out, but Sophie decided to speak up.
"I... I can make it work."
All the eyes in the room went to her. The stares made her anxious and she started talking so fast the words were simply stumbling out of her mouth.
"Well, you proposed they all object and then just let the legal system handle it, which is good, but what if we made it bigger? We can start with the objections, and then make some chaos. Like...inflicting on everyone-"
"The only inflictor is Councillor Bronte," Fitz pointed out. Sophie gave him a dirty look.
"No he's not. And then Dex could make something to destroy the venue, he's great at that kind of thing."
Keefe threw a questioning look at Dex.
"Cousins," He muttered.
Keefe nodded.
"And then after that if we hide someone that made an objection, they can't clear it. In theory, all the parties have to be present. But if they're not" -Sophie waved her hand to the side- "no marriage."
"Foster you evil genius," Keefe said with a giddy look on his face.
"I'm sorry can we go back to the inflicting thing?" Fitz said.
"It's a very long story for another day."
The only one in this room who knew about Sophie's full weirdness was Dex, and she intended to keep it that way for a while.
Keefe got up again and clapped his hands.
"Same time next week?"
The group nodded and went their separate ways, Sophie briefly stopped to hug Dex and make plans to join the Dizznees for dinner that night before walking to her room and flopping down on her bed.
Adrenaline ran through her.
In three months she would either be a free woman...or perhaps dead.
Either way, she would not be getting married.
The thought made her want to dance.
~*~
"Wow Soph you're gonna be a real princess?" Lex asked as he ate Juline's celebratory pudding with his fingers.
"Yep," she replied, sharing a look with Dex across the fire pit.
"Well, Sophie I think you'll be an amazing queen," Uncle Kesler said as he stirred some kind of elixir over the fire. "You've always been a great leader, there's nothing to worry about."
"He's right, dear, there's nothing to worry about," Juline said as she braided Sophie's hair. "We've kind of almost met Keefe a few times and he seems like a great kid, he and Dex are friends!"
"Oh?" Sophie said, arching a brow at Dex.
"Yep!" Bex exclaimed excitedly through the pudding in her mouth. "We almost tackled him and he didn't seem like he hated us!"
The family laughed. Sophie stared at the dancing flames as she felt her aunt brush through her hair. Just the feeling made her want to cry a bit, it reminded her of her mom, well both of her moms, and how they would comfort her until she fell asleep on bad nights.
When she was little, with the Fosters, it was normally because of storms. But her mom would always hand her Ella and hug her until she fell asleep.
More recently with the Ruewens it was because of the stress of well...everything. Eda would hug her and trace shapes on her back until she could rest.
Now, she was stuck without either of her moms. Sure, there was Juline, but Sophie wasn't supposed to leave the castle unsupervised, she couldn't make seeing her family a habit.
The tears started coming now, but she wouldn't let them spill over. They stayed welling in her eyes as she tried to avoid having to wipe them.
"Sophie, what's wrong?" Kesler said, looking up from his elixir.
"Oh it's uh nothing, don't worry. Just uh something in my eye."
No one seemed to believe it, Sophie was a horrible liar, but they didn't ask any more questions.
~*~
"Don't you think all of this is overkill?"
"Foster, I'm just working with my resources here. Which I have a lot of. And I intend to use them all."
It was another way too late night of discussing the Awesome Wedding Destruction Amazingness Neato Greatness plan (a working title naturally made by Keefe, the A.W. D.A.N.G. plan for short).
"Okay, but come on, first I inflict on everyone then Dex blows up everything, and on top of that we basically blind everyone and start a fire? And all that after the only part that's super necessary, hiding the objector so it can't go through."
"Now, now," Keefe tsked, "there is always a method to my madness. My method in this case is to make as much chaos as possible, which I am very good at."
Sophie rolled her eyes.
"Oh c'mon Foster. Just imagine the look on my dad's face when everything goes so badly that none of the guests ever want to set foot in the castle again. I mean, even if everything goes wrong you'll never have to deal with my Auntie Gene's cheek pinching. And Cassius will be humiliated."
"Hm. Upon reflection, I think this is actually the exact right amount of killing."
All the other half-asleep teens scattered across the room chuckled.
"Now that the unhappy couple has stopped bickering," Marella called from her place draped across a love seat, "can we go to bed? I may not need my beauty sleep but you all sure do."
"Hey!" Linh called from her place on the floor.
"Except for you, darling."
"Yes, yes, you all can go," Keefe said, making a waving motion towards the door.
And they did, except for Dex, who Sophie noticed stayed in the library with Keefe. She supposed he probably just had to finish up his work on the device for the day. After all, the wedding was in just a month, and making a bomb small enough to fit in a pocket but powerful enough to blow up the ceiling without raining glass on everyone couldn't be easy.
She had faith in him though, Dex was the smartest person she knew.
...at least mechanically. There was that one time he tried to ride Verdi and ended up with a broken ankle and a face full of dinosaur fluff. But otherwise, very smart.
The sight of Biana broke her train of thought.
"Hey, I think I left something down at the infirmary and the castle is kind of freaky late at night, wanna come with me?"
"Yeah, of course, no problem."
"Awesome," Biana said, grabbing Sophie's wrist and leading her towards the stairs.
As they walked Sophie noticed she didn't let go of her wrist, Sophie thanked whatever was out there that the castle was so dimly lit at night no one would see her burning face.
The halls were eerily silent, walkways normally bustling with servants were empty and cold. Sophie had avoided going out at night practically at all costs for the last 2 months, but she would do most things for her friend.
There didn't seem to be any guards in the halls, at least not down the way to the infirmary through the hall with all the royal chambers, which seemed quite unsafe if Sophie was honest.
A sudden creak made them both jump and Biana pulled Sophie against the wall as a door was pushed open and candlelite spilled out.
King Cassius walked out from his chambers, he looked anxious, not the overly cocky and annoyingly calm man she had met prior. He paced back and forth the few yards in front of his door, muttering to himself, not seeing the girls in the shadows.
"Yes, yes, yes, it will all the perfect," he said to himself, "then I can leave... I can leave, finally..."
Biana leaned in close to Sophie's ear.
"Do you think he's sleep walking?" she said quietly.
"WHO WAS THAT?" the king turned around frantically, staring at the shadows but still apparently seeing nothing. He stared for another few moments more before wordlessly slinking back into his chambers and closing the door behind him.
"No, I don't think so," Sophie finally whispered back.
They both emerged from the shadow and hurried down into the infirmary wing, nearly running until at last they reached Elwin's office. They quickly shut the door behind them and Biana began lighting the candles.
"So," Sophie said as she sat down on one of the beds, "do we tell Keefe that his dad is crazier than we thought?"
"No, I don't think so," Biana replied, putting out her match. "I mean...he's stressed enough. I think we just keep it to ourselves and tell him after everything goes perfect at the wedding-" here she sat down next to Sophie on the bed "-which it will."
"And if it doesn't?"
"Then I call first to the gallows. I have a few choice words to share with my father and I doubt he'll be patient enough to stay too long."
Sophie just shook her head, recognizing the joke but not having the heart to laugh.
"Oh, c'mon," Biana said, bumping Sophie's arm with her own, "everything's gonna be fine. The plan is practically perfect."
"Yeah but..." Sophie didn't know how to put her feelings into words so she just shook her head again.
Biana grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently, Sophie squeezed back.
They sat there in silence for a while, Sophie contemplated.
2 months ago she was willing to do anything to get her freedom, and if that included taking a few strangers that offered to help to the gallows with her, she wouldn't particularly mind.
But now these people were her friends. She spent hours and hours with them, yes they planned, but they also gorged themselves on sweets stolen from the kitchen and talked about their lives and bonded over their powers.
Granted, they still didn't know exactly Sophie's deal, just that she was an inflictor that had some involvement with the Black Swan, but still.
She wouldn't let these people, these kids, die for her sake.
She had a backup plan.
If everything failed, as it seemed likely to do, she would be the first to run to the king. She would stand in front of him and tell him that she planned everything, that she threatened to hurt everyone involved if they didn't comply and claim she was with the Neverseen. If anyone tried to say otherwise she would say she brainwashed them or something, whatever it took.
And if he didn't believe a 16-year-old could do such a thing, she might as well inflict on him too, for good measure.
She was brought out of her thoughts by Biana suddenly standing up.
"Oh! My thing...that I lost," her voice got quieter as she began to mumble as she searched blindly around the room.
"Oh yeah," Sophie started, following her in getting up, "What is it? I could help look."
"It is um...a- a bracelet."
Biana continued to blindly open and close drawers.
"Ok, what does it look it like?"
"Well it um," Biana turned around from the drawers to look at Sophie, "well it's fine I-I'll just find it tomorrow. I um I wanted to bring you down here to say-"
The door opened suddenly, making Sophie jump.
She breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Elwin, rather than the expected royal guard.
"Hey girls," he said rubbing the sleep from his eyes, "what're you doing down here?"
"Oh," Biana said, "well I forgot something and Sophie was going to help me look."
"Alright, well you two go on to bed now unless it's real important. Bullhorn hid his favorite blanket somewhere around here and I'll have to tear the place apart to find it. He won't sleep without it, I'll tell ya' if I find anything of yours."
"Ah, thank you, Elwin," Biana said walking towards the door.
"No problem. Goodnight kiddos."
They both said their goodnights before returning into the dark hall and walking to their rooms with no further issues. Sophie absently noticed Biana was very quiet on their return, but didn't think much of it as she laid down with the intention of sleeping. She soon discovered that was out of the question, and settled for reading instead.
~*~
Sophie was pacing. She did that a lot nowadays.
It was the last meeting before the wedding day and, if she was being honest with herself, she was having a bit of a breakdown.
After deciding the pacing wasn't helping, she sat down crisscross on the floor. Soon after that, Keefe joined her.
"Alright, what's up Foster? Have you acquired a stomach bug?"
Sophie laughed.
"No it's just..." she sighed, "it feels wrong y'know? I mean... I don't want to hurt anybody."
"You're really doing the opposite of hurting people though, I mean you're making them happy."
That was technically true. They had decided on inflicting positive emotions rather than negative ones but...it still didn't feel quite right.
"Not happy, hysterical. Yeah, it can be happy, but not in the way we're doing it. Trust me, it's not fun to watch."
Keefe went quiet for a minute.
"Hey...your parents have that griffin, right?"
~*~
"MOM! DAD!"
Sophie ran across the castle lawn as fast as she could. The Ruewen's carriage was just approaching as they finally arrived for the wedding.
She had ditched her lady's maids that had been stalking her all day with a little bit of guilt-tripping. ("Oh, Marie, my parents are coming today and I just haven't seen them in so long! Three months and I just-" Here she let her tears well up in her eyes, "I just miss them so." She had grown a talent for acting.) So, she got to talk to them all alone.
The horses came to a stop and her mother and father immediately got out and ran to her, ignoring the footman that had come to assist them out, and taking up Sophie in their arms.
Before they could break away or someone else could come close enough to hear, she grabbed them in closer and leaned in to whisper in their ears.
"I need you to do something, I'll explain when we're alone."
She quickly pushed away and looked at them, putting on a fond expression.
"Mom! Dad! I missed you guys so much!"
Their expressions betrayed their confusion, only for a moment though, before putting on similar smiles.
"Don't worry kiddo, we wouldn't miss this for anything," Grady said. He had an air of nonchalance about him, but Sophie noticed his hand laid protectively on her back as they walked to the castle together.
"How about I show you all to your rooms? I practically know this place like the back of my hand!" Sophie's fake smile felt increasing tight on her face. She had to fight not to turn around, collapse in her parents arms, and beg to be taken back home.
Still, she walked straight on to the doors of the palace, up the stairs, and through the hall where the guests would be staying for the wedding and to her parents' reserved room.
The moment the doors closed behind them, she collapsed into Edaline and Grady joined the hug immediately after.
It was a while before they finally broke apart. Real tears were welling in Sophie's eyes by the end of it, but she collected herself enough to be able to explain the A.W. D.A.N.G. plan.
Her parents looked at her like she was insane for a moment before Eda grabbed her back into her arms.
"Oh my goodness that's my girl! Always a fighter."
Sophie laughed.
"So, you're in?"
Grady and Edaline shared a look before nodding.
Her dad looked less thrilled and more worried than her mother, but for once he didn't put up a fight about her dangerous activities.
"Ok! Awesome! I- I have to go now but... I'll see you there."
They joined for one final hug before the big day.
"Good luck kiddo, fight like hell."
Sophie nodded before rushing out the door and to her room before any of the maids got suspicious.
~*~
Later that night, the night before the wedding, and hopefully one of the last nights Sophie would ever have to spend in this damn castle, there was a knock at the door.
She opened it to see Biana standing there, just like always.
"Couldn't sleep," she said with a shrug.
She always had some excuse, they were normally half assed in a way that Sophie could tell she had just come to see her.
Sophie let her in and she plopped down on her spot of the bed.
"You look a little sick," she observed.
"Just anxious," Sophie brushed off.
"You know, we've got this in the bag."
Sophie shrugged before looking away.
Biana leaned forward and caught Sophie's eye.
"Seriously, Soph, it's gonna be fine."
"I know but...the plans just changed, and it's...it's scary."
Biana went silent for a minute.
"It's been scarier. A lot scarier, actually."
Sophie looked up, confused.
"Wanna know a secret? Not really secret, but kind of." Sophie noticed that Biana's leg was bouncing.
"Sure?"
She paused for a minute, fingers tracing the lightning like scars on her arms.
"When I first came to the castle, I was a part of the guard. Obviously as a tween girl I didn't exactly fit in, but I was good, so they let me stay. Then, there was a Neverseen attack and well... I suppose you can guess from there," she stared down at her arm for a moment more, Sophie wondered for a moment whether she was done talking, but she continued.
"After she- Vespera- got away, and I healed, I wanted to keep fighting. But, there was a 2 to 1 majority family vote not to let the child go to war, and so I started healing others," she shrugged, "Anyway, my point is that compared to that situation, this is like, nothing. And I know you've been through worse than my stuff, so you can definitely get through this."
"You hadn't told me that before."
"I haven't told you a lot of things," she winked. Sophie didn't do anything. "Oh, c'mon, I can't even get a laugh out of you?"
Sophie just looked away again and Biana became more solemn.
"You know, I'd say when one person shares a secret, it's customary to share one of your own, and truly you have many, I'm sure."
"I haven't the faintest clue what you are talking about," Sophie said, turning up her nose.
Biana snorted, "Eh, I'm pretty sure there's a reason Keefe calls you Mysterious Miss F behind your back."
"He does?"
Biana nodded.
Sophie paused, the inkling of a smile broke through her angst.
"Well, I do have a few, I suppose."
"I knew it! Spill."
Hmm...what was low enough that the Black Swan wouldn't kill her and high enough that she didn't look lame?
"... I'm not just an inflictor. They wanted me to be powerful, I guess, so... I have 5."
Once Biana's eyes went the size of dinner plates, she realized she went too far.
"5 abilities?"
Sophie nodded.
"Telepathy, polyglot, inflicting, enhancing, and teleporting- but that ones hard to when I don't have enough momentum."
"Sounds like you could get out of here all by yourself."
Her tone was joking and Sophie tried to laugh, but she just couldn't.
"Yeah, I could, but I think me and anyone related to me would have to flee the country."
They were both silent for a while, Sophie tried not to pull out an eyelash but the density she felt in the room was just too much.
It was almost 10 minutes when Sophie decided to break the silence, she knew because she counted.
"You can't tell me you aren't even a little scared."
Biana's brow cocked as she turned to respond.
"I'll trade you the truth for another secret."
"Deal."
"I am," she admitted. "I'm a lot scared, actually. But it's gonna be worth it, we're gonna get you out of here."
"This is a hell of a lot to put on the line for someone else."
"You're my friend. I know you'd do it for me too."
Sophie nodded.
She would.
She would do anything she had to to get Biana out of a situation like hers, but it was still astounding someone would be willing to do it for her.
There was a beat of silence before Sophie talked again.
"I still feel like everything is gonna go wrong."
When Biana said nothing, she continued.
"I mean, it's a wonder we've gotten this far. What if a servant had walked in during one of our planning sessions? What if we had a mole in our group? What if we still do, and the king knows about everything and is just waiting for the plan to start before the guard bursts in and arrests us all?"
Biana went silent for a minute.
"I have a crazy idea, but you have to promise you won't think I'm insane after I say this, okay?"
"I promise."
"We can run away together."
Sophie looked for any indication of a joke in her expression but found none.
"You're kidding."
"I'm not."
Sophie was tongue-tied.
"Look if...if everything does go wrong, I couldn't handle it. I-" she took a second, Sophie could tell she was getting choked up, "I'm not going to let some shitty king steal your life from you like this."
She then looked down, eyes trained on her lap.
"I know, this is forward, but I'm just gonna say it now. I really, really like you Sophie. If you're unhappy, then I'll be unhappy. I won't be able to sit idly by and watch you..." her shoulders drooped, "watch you get taken from me forever."
Sophie was shocked, but managed to push out a sentence.
"Biana, you have a life here, and we... I mean, we haven't known each other for that long, and don't get me wrong I really like you too but-"
Biana cut her off by grabbing both of Sophie's hands and meeting her eyes.
"Then what the hell else matters?"
Sophie went completely silent. Her face was so warm she must've been the color of a tomato.
"You know we shouldn't," her words were so quiet they were nearly a whisper.
"Maybe not. But we could. It can be our backup."
Sophie noticed then just how close their faces were.
"Yeah, our backup," she mumbled half-heartedly.
As if her body was moving on autopilot, Sophie closed her eyes and leaned it, meeting Biana in the middle.
Her lips were soft, and slicked with a bit of balm that tasted like honey.
Sophie didn't want to pull away, but eventually had to.
The first thing Biana said after coming up was, "You know, I never got that secret."
Sophie laughed.
"How serious of one do you want? They range from slightly embarrassing to will ruin my own and several other peoples lives if they get out."
"Frankly, I like the way the latter sounds. I am very good at keeping secrets."
"Alright then. My biological mother is Councillor Oralie."
"Honestly, I don't know if you're being serious. If you are, then I can see the family resemblance, if you aren't then hardy-har-har."
Sophie really didn't see the resemblance, Oralie was practically renowned for her beauty and she was just... Sophie.
She just shrugged. "Guess you'll have to find out."
"Guess so. I guess that applies for a lot of things with you?"
"Yep."
"Hm. Well, I like a mystery."
With that, Biana pecked her on the cheek and walked out the room.
~*~
Sophie sat in silence as a maid brushed out her hair.
It was the big day, at last.
Her nerves had settled to extreme calmness, determination.
There was a knock at the door and the maid went to answer it. Sophie watched the reflection of the door in the mirror as an all too familiar blonde woman pulled the maid aside and whispered a few words to her, apparently convincing her to leave as a moment later the door shut once again, and she was left in a room with Oralie.
Sophie refused to greet her.
"Miss Foster?"
Sophie still said nothing.
"Sophie, please."
Sophie sighed internally and gave up on being stubborn for the moment being.
"Councillor Oralie. What brings you here?"
"You can just call me Oralie. And I wanted to come talk to you."
"Well, you have the floor."
Oralie sighed before moving closer to Sophie. She seemed about to speak before getting distracted by something.
"Oh, dear, your hair. They can't expect to get it done for the ceremony at this rate."
She picked up the brush and Sophie pulled away on instinct.
Oralie's voice went whisper soft as she said, "Please, Sophie."
She saw in the mirror that her normal constantly regal and serene demeanor had cracked to reveal concern and desperation.
Something about the woman she saw in the mirror persuaded Sophie to give in and let her brush her hair.
Sophie watched as she quickly and masterfully braided one side, then the other, before preparing her ribbon on a blunt needle to secure them on her head.
"Hold this braid while I sew the other, dear."
Sophie obliged.
When they were done, her hair was wrapped along on the top of her head. It didn't seem like the typical wedding style, but she supposed it wasn't the typical wedding either.
"You know, I suppose some selfish part of me came down here because I wanted to see my daughter on her wedding day. You look lovely, and you'll do fantastic ruling. But...more importantly I wanted to tell you that...that I tried."
Sophie gave her a confused look in the mirror.
"Tried to convince Cassius, that is. That this wasn't a good idea. He...he didn't listen. Threatened me with treason, in fact."
Oralie seemed to get choked up.
"Thank you," Sophie mumbled.
"No, no don't thank me. I failed."
"But you tried."
Oralie nodded, patting away some more tears.
"Well, I suppose I should go now," she said, "but I'll be there, and I'm never too far from the castle if you should need me."
Sophie nodded and Oralie walked out without another word.
To be perfectly honest, she was still mad at her. But it was nice to know she cared, Sophie supposed.
~*~
"You ready kiddo?" Grady said to Sophie, who held on to his arm.
"As I'll ever be."
The traditional wedding march rang through the glass dome as they started their walk down the isle. Not long after Oralie had come to do her hair that morning, Biana had come to do her makeup. They spoke nothing of the previous night and kept a lighthearted air, but Sophie had kissed her cheek as a thanks.
As they walked, Sophie fixated her gaze on the altar. Looking at Biana specifically in the place of her maid of honor, with her crown of brown ringlet curls she looked as if she should be the bride today. Sophie let her mind wander for a moment, imagining Biana in the place of the bride, herself standing in the grooms place. She wondered what she would wear if she had the choice. Definitely not this annoying puffy dress, maybe a nice suit, a red one. She always heard she looked nice in-
Before she realized it, she was at the altar.
Her father seemed hesitant to walk away and "hand" her to Keefe, but after a moment of procrastination he did so.
Sophie looked out into the crowd, noticing all the people involved in their plan, as well as some familiar faces. A few of which included the portraits of ladies she saw lined up on the halls, the only difference between those pictures and their current forms were the addition of high and pointy ears, everything else was the same, down to the orange blush.
She shared a brief look with Keefe, he looked more nervous than she felt, but the slight nod she tipped at him seemed to help.
The officiator began to speak, his voice so loud and booming it hurt Sophie's ears.
"Lords and Ladies, we are gathered here today to celebrate the joyous union of our young Prince Keefe Sencen and the lovely Miss Sophie Foster-Ruewen."
Ha, joyous was certainly a word to call it. Not the first thing she'd choose through, maybe something more like 'nauseating'.
"We are honored to be joined by so many friends and family. The Groom and Bride are overjoyed you all could be here to participate in this most important occasion.
"There are few greater joys in life than finding someone we truly connect with. Creatives have many names for this, a spark, clicking, but let us say today what it truly is: love."
Sophie glanced at Biana, to which she smiled slightly back.
"Love is what these two young souls have found in each other. In love, our truest selves are revealed. We open ourselves up and break down our walls. The veil we present to the public is lifted, so we can be loved for who we are, not who we pretend to be."
She fought not to snort at all the fluffy lovey-dovey wording they gave to try to seem like something so awful was A-okay and totally morally fine. Oh well, they wouldn't have to hear it for much longer.
"Over these months, our Bride and Groom have developed a strong bond. This bond will only get stronger throughout the course of their marriage. Let us revel in the joy and love displayed in front of us today. May we treasure these memories as Prince Keefe and Miss Sophie get set to begin their new life together.
"If anyone has cause to object to the forming of this union, speak now or forever hold your peace."
3, 2, 1.
"I object!" Stina called from the crowd, standing up. "This marriage was meant to be mine! She's just a dirty commoner!"
A small part of Sophie wondered if she really meant that last part, Stina had never wanted the marriage, but she certainly wasn't very fond of Sophie at their first few meetings.
"How dare you!" I object because I love her!" It had taken an absurd amount of reasoning to get Fitz to say that line, eventually some light blackmail from Biana had worked. Sophie had no idea what she dangled over his head that was embarrassing enough to get him to say that, but from what she could gather it had something to do with a chandelier. "Sophie is meant to be with me. Maruca has admitted her love to Keefe, let her marry him!"
Biana gasped, somewhat over dramatically. "Maruca you snake! You knew I loved him."
"You only loved his title!" She screamed, standing up to match the rest. "And Fitz, if you're so concerned with what Stina has to say about Sophie, you should hear what Wylie has to say."
Fitz walked in Wylie's direction and he stood. "Why you little-"
Then, Dex threw out his mini-bomb and the beeping started.
Beep. Beep. Beep. BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP.
BOOM.
An explosion rang out, leaving a griffin-sized hole in the glass ceiling. Sophie did what was now her only part, letting out a loud whistle to call it in.
The beast immediately complied, flying through the roof and causing the guests to let out horrified screams. It crashed into chairs and wrecked the alter as it found a place to land, before becoming stressed at the closed environment, and flying back through the ceiling, leaving a second hole in its wake.
The screams continued as the room was filled with immense amounts of light, followed by suffocating darkness.
The gang collected at the exit, with the exception of Biana and Marella, standing by at the wooden reception tables.
The darkness lifted and the guests ran out frantically. Soon after, a red glow started in the back of the dome, seemingly from nowhere. No one could be seen walking out of the dome just then, but two sets of footprints forming and unforming in the grass trailed from the door.
Linh ran up to the dome.
"Everyone back up!"
A large wave formed, putting out the fires, and crushing the dome completely.
~*~
Sophie sat in the ballroom that was meant to be used later that night. It now sat full of guests, many wrapped in blankets or slurping soup the kitchens had served.
She spotted Dex and walked over.
"Heya."
"Hi," he said, looking down towards his lap.
She sat next to him.
"I can't believe that worked."
"Me neither."
He didn't seem particularly excited, 3 hours later and Sophie was still full of adrenaline.
"What's up? You seem down."
"Eh, it's lame. And probably a little petty."
"What is family for if not to tell about lame and petty things?"
Dex snorted.
"Fine. I have a crush on someone and I don't think they like me back."
"That sucks dude. Who is it? I won't tell, you know I'm great at secrets."
"I am NOT telling you."
"Aw, you're so boring. Can I guess?"
"Go for it." Dex said, rolling his eyes.
"Is it... Fitz?"
"No."
"Tam?"
"No."
"Keefe?"
He didn't reply.
"Aw, that should've been my first guess."
"Hush, ok? I don't want to ruin our friendship."
"Alright, I won't tell him. But seriously, go shoot your shot, I bet you won't regret it."
"I'm sorry, this coming from the 'if a girl looks at me, I'll go jump into a river' girl?"
"Look you make a joke one time and it hau-"
She was cut off by the attack of the triplets.
Aunt Juline and Uncle Kesler were rushing after them, naturally, but that didn't stop them from tackling her.
"That was AWESOME!" Bex screamed.
"It was all like BOOM," said Lex, acting out an explosion with their hands, "and then it was all like WHOOSH," he mimicked the wave crashing into the building.
"I'm so sorry," Juline said, pulling the kids back by their ears. "That must've been pretty scary in there."
"It was fine," Sophie said, "no one got hurt, I think. It'll be okay."
Juline nodded.
"Well, we should get these kids home. That includes you, Dex. We came to get you."
"Fiiine. I'll meet you at the door, I have something to drop off."
He fiddled with something in his pocket, Sophie knew it to be a note to inform Keefe about the meeting tonight.
Fitz had made his rounds earlier, informing them all of the planned meeting, and Dex was to be the one to deliver the news to Keefe. They couldn't meet all together in public, it would look too suspicious, and Keefe seemed nowhere to be found at the moment.
Still she was...happy.
She was stressed, like fuck her friends were scattered throughout the castle of a murderer. They still didn't know if they had actually succeeded.
But...
Goddammit she was so close to being free.
After tonight?
She was going home.
It didn't feel real, after all this hell she'd gone through.
But she was going home.
~*~
A month later Sophie stood in the crowd of bodies at the foot of the castle, just in front of a makeshift stage. People cheered and hooted as Keefe walked on it, including Sophie.
They went silent as Oralie (ugh) began to speak.
"Friends and subjects of the Kingdom of Eternalia. Today, we crown a new ruler. A ruler to put the people first. A ruler who will not sleep until every one of his people is fed. A ruler to unite us.
Prince Keefe has shown a care for his people deeper than any king before him. In the time I have had the honor of teaching him in my lessons, he has shown a willingness to learn. An ability to adapt. And a knowledge of the system as well as its successes and failures deeper than anyone else of his age.
And yes, it is truly a shame that a king must be crowned this young, but I have no doubt that in time he will do right by our great kingdom."
She trailed across the stage to Keefe in his oversized red ceremonial robe that looked horribly heavy. She picked up the crown that a servant held on a pillow.
"Prince Keefe of Eternalia, do you promise to uphold the law and do what is right for your people to the best of your abilities?"
"I do."
"And do you promise to preserve the honor of our nation?"
"I do."
Marella's voice came from next to her ear.
"AND DO YOU PROMISE TO NOT LET CASSI-ASS BACK INTO THE THRONE ROOM?"
He cracked a smile. "I do."
Oralie chuckled too.
"In that case, Keefe Sencen of Eternalia, with this crown I deem you King of Eternalia. May you have a long and peaceful reign."
Everyone laughed and cheered and yelled and clapped for their friend.
Biana was heaved onto Fitz's shoulders and Sophie and her locked eyes, smiling, knowing they were in good hands now.
~*~
"Verdi! Down girl!" Sophie attempted to calm the huge dinosaur, she could hear her wife laughing behind her.
"Hey, I'd like to see you try to feed her fruit!"
Biana laughed.
"If we don't learn how to feed her, Grady and Eda will never let us take over here. Seriously, they need a retirement.'
"I know, I know. I'll figure it out after lunch. Last to the kitchen is a pile of gulon dung!"
"Oh, you're on!"