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Princess Piper was exhausted. Having turned 16 last month, her life has become excessively busy. Her once copious amounts of free time have been taken up by lessons on how to be a “proper lady”, her duties as a queen and dozens of other things like unpleasant matching sessions with suitors. In fact she was just coming from one. The boy was nice enough, his name was Frank Zhang and he was in the same boat as her. His family and hers had a long history together, they were often allies and supported each other in times of need. The two royal families had intermarried many times throughout the centuries. She would half-heartedly write him on the list of possible partners, and tell her mother she didn’t like him all that much and be the royal disappointment she always was.
A tinkle of bells startled her out of her wormhole of self-pity. A bright smile graced her features as she recognized the familiar jangle.
“Leo!”, she exclaimed happily, running up to greet him. Leo was her family’s jester and her childhood best friend.
“Hey, Piper,” he waved. “How was the- Oof!”. Piper flung herself into his arms, making him lose his balance and knocking the both down with a thud and the clanking of Piper’s jewelry and Leo’s bells. He groaned and pushed her off him. “Geez Piper, all that royal get-up added a hundred pounds on you”. He got up and dusted himself. She grumbled and continued lying on the ground. A maid shot a judging look at her. Piper glared back. Leo looked at her, “Wow, that bad?”. She shook her head.
“No, he was fine. Had the same circumstances as me. He was actually the nicest guy so far”
“That isn’t very high standards considering that all the guys are annoying assholes like Dylan and Octavian”. Piper winced at the mention of them, she had yelled at Octavian and stormed off and punched Dylan. She had gotten an earload from her mother for that. “Who was the dude anyway?” Leo asked.
“His name is Frank Zhang”.
Leo’s eyebrow creeped up with recognition. “Oh, Zhang! Well thank goodness you didn’t pick that guy, he has no account for taste”
Piper raised her eyebrow, “Does he now?”.
“Yup,” Leo replied, popping the p, “Greeted him when he got off his chariot. Told him one of my signature jokes. And nothing! No laughter, no good-natured chuckle, not even a smile!”. Piper was about to say something, probably a sarcastic retort but someone beat her to it.
“How dare he”, they joked.
Leo whirled around and blushed a dark shade of vermillion which perfectly matched his ugly point-toed shoes. “Jason!” he gasped, “You scared me for a second there big guy!”. Jason smiled one of his blinding smiles. His visor covered it but Piper could still tell because of the way his eyes crinkled into slits. He looked down at Piper and she realized she was still sprawled on the ground.
“Do I want to know what’s going on here?” Jason offered her his hand. Piper grabbed his hand and he pulled her up.
“Stupid situationships is what’s going on”. Jason winced in sympathy.
“I know what will make you feel better” Leo chirped, “Breaking some rules!” Piper beamed.
“Guys no!” Jason objected, “That’s-”
“Against the rules?” Piper interrupted, “C’mon Jace, it’ll just be small stuff like playing pranks on the mean maids and being in places we aren’t supposed to be”. Piper had what many called a silver tongue and with enough sweetness and pleading she could get someone to do just about anything. She never liked using it despite her mom’s wishes because it felt like manipulation. But it wasn't for anything bad so it was fine. Jason wasn’t bought though.
“I don’t think we should do it, it seems like it’s a bad idea.”, Jason murmured concernedly.
“Of course, it’s a bad idea!” Leo piped up, “But it’s fun!”. Jason frowned. Leo spun to face Jason and then faceplanted right into Jason’s chest which Piper applauded him for, it could not have been comfy to drop face-first into a breastplate. Jason's cheeks warmed up to a rosy pink and he spluttered. “Please Jason”, Leo begged. The side of his face was smushed by Jason’s chest and the rest of his features were scrunched up in a pleading look.
“It isn’t going to work” Piper thought, “Even my voice didn’t work, Leo’s puppy dog face won’t stand a chance”.
“Fine”, Jason grumbled, to Piper’s surprise. Leo whooped and punched his fist into the air.
“Yes!” He crooned. Piper grinned.
“Thanks, Jason!” Jason rolled eyes in fond exasperation and let the tug him along.
It was a blast. They snuck into the kitchen where they had raided the royal cupboard. The sweets were amazing, they were just the right amount of sugary and they melted on her tongue. They stockpiled the sweets. Piper dropped some into the many frills in her dress and Leo stuffed some in his puffy balloon sleeves and his curled hats. Jason didn’t take anything and was absolutely adamant about it but Leo goaded him into eating at least a few. After that they (read: Piper and Leo) rigged up a sweet prank that resulted in them “accidentally” spilling a bucketfull of soapy water on the maid who was judging Piper. They ran before they could face the wrath of her fury and wound up in a restricted part of the castle they definitely weren’t supposed to be in. Jason started freaking out and scolding them but Piper convinced him it was fine. (“No one has been here for years, it’s super old anyways”). They found an attic stockpiled with old trinkets. Leo put on an odd hat that Piper had seen sailors wear along with a bunch of jewelry and started acting out a comedy. Piper joined in and a little while later they were all laughing so hard they were all crying to some degree. It was really fun, Piper had barely felt the time pass. Which made sense why a servant threw open the door and scolded the 3 of them for being in a restricted space. He pulled Piper out saying that her mother wanted to talk to her.
~2 hours later~
Piper rushed out of the throne room. That meeting with her mother had been quite draining. She’d lamented about how Piper was going into places she wasn’t supposed to be and doing things she wasn’t supposed to be doing. She then sighed and wondered why Piper couldn’t be a proper, refined young lady who could just pick a suitor and not be immature. Piper nodded to it all and gave short, clipped answers when needed. Now all she wanted was to find Leo and Jason and complain to them for a little and then continue doing something fun. She really needed it. Speaking of Leo and Jason, there they were. She was about to call to them but something made her stop.
They were in a secluded place overrun with foliage where it would be unlikely for someone to waltz right in. Jason looked antsy and it seemed like Leo was trying to comfort him. “Leo,” Jason hissed uneasily, “Someone’s going to find us”
“Calm down, Baby,” Leo soothed, “Nobody is going to see us because the only two people in the castle that are dumb enough to stand in a bunch of mystery plants are right here”
“Leo, I’m being serious right now!”. Jason broke away from Leo’s hold and started hyperventilating. Leo looked like he was about to crumble, lips pursed in that way Piper knew he was trying to hold back tears. Piper wanted so badly to run out of her hiding place, engulf both of them in the biggest hug and fistfight the thing that's making them so dam sad. But she suspected it won’t be so easy and they would only freak out more if they realize they’re being watched without knowing. Leo huffed, grabbed Jason’s face and pulled him toward him until their foreheads touched.
”Jason, mi corazón, te amo, I love you so, so much”. Jason sniffled.
“Really?”
“Yes, really. I’ll say it until I can get it through your thick head and when it does, I’ll keep saying it because I love you. I really, really do”. Jason smiled shakily and leaned down and kissed Leo.
“Okay”. Piper thought her jaw was going to unhinge and drop so low it would clear the first path to the Earth’s core. She blinked, and blinked again trying to process what she saw. The adrenaline rush faded and she was left confused and absolutely wiped. She also felt bad for intruding on their moment. She should go. She opened her squeezed shut eyes just to immediately snap them back close.
“Ugh,” she groaned disgustedly. Jason and Leo were truly her bestest friends and she loved both of them to bits but she really didn’t want to see them making out. She smiled to herself as she snuck away. She loved them a lot and she would be sure to make them know that when they told her, whenever they did. After doing that she would mercilessly tease them because afterall, she was their best friend. She briefly wondered how to tell them that she had witnessed their heart to heart but quickly dismissed the thought. That was a problem for future Piper. Right now she just wanted those sweets she stockpiled and to sleep for 12 hours undisturbed.