"We're ready!" Risále called. The others looked excitedly as Mina, Lumina, and Fenix came out after helping the two.
Risále came out first. She was wearing a stunning beige, long-sleeve top with a few sequins on it, with a black, flared skirt that looked like a shortened gown. The look was finished off with fishnets and black heels. They'd also agreed to temporarily dye her hair brown since it would stand out less than her blue hair.
"And now for the main course," Risále grinned.
"Risále, I told you not to call me that!" Kaedan's voice could be heard from the other room.
"Wait, so are you just a snack because I think I wouldn't have any room for a main course—I mean…" Leon started off bold and Xander had to give him credit for at least trying to keep his composure getting all flustered again, his face red.
"Should I be concerned about...That?" Xander leaned over and whispered to Fenix while pointing discreetly at Leon.
"Nah, he's more interested in the snack," Fenix grinned, "It's funny, he's actually not bad at flirting usually, it's just that his brain goes a bit haywire when it comes to her."
Xander raised an eyebrow, "And how do you know he's not bad at flirting?"
"...Shut up. Again, it was ages ago and I actually thought he was cool back then."
Risále was a little surprised but looked amused when Leon began to turn bright red towards the end of his sentence, "Anyways, Kaedan, you can come out!" She yelled back.
"I'm pan!"
"Get out here before I strangle you, Kaedan Ryal Hernandez!" Mina yelled, clinging to her sanity for life.
They all stared at Kaedan as he walked out. He was wearing a navy blue dress with a sweetheart neckline which was shorter in the front, up to his knees, and longer in the back. The dress puffed out a bit, making it look like a gown. There was a mesh net covering the neckline of the dress up to his neck. He also was wearing a blue wig which had been styled into a waterfall hairstyle with accentuating braids. He really looked like a Princess.
"So, do I look like the Princess of Sector 1 or what?" Kaedan struck a pose.
"Listen, I'm a lesbian but damn, Xander, your boyfriend is very hot," Lumina said.
Kaedan shrugged, "Well, if the lesbian thinks I'm hot, then I think I've achieved my goal."
"Suffer with me, A'Li. Suffer," Xander groaned to his cousin, "And you look great, by the way. You look great in anything, Kaedan and you use that to your advantage way too much," Xander pulled Kaedan in for a kiss.
"You do look great," Risále chimed in, "Now stop sucking his face off, Xander. I get it, I think he's hot as well, but you'll have plenty of time later. Let's go, Kaedan." She said, grabbing his arm.
"Okay, firstly, you think I'm hot? Secondly, Risále, where are you going? You don't even know the plan yet," He looked at her.
Fenix shrugged, "I mean, she's not wrong, Kaedan, you are hot. I'll be the first to admit that I lowkey had a sort of 'celebrity crush' on you when we were first getting to know each other. And then I actually got to know you."
"...I don't know whether to be offended or flattered."
Leon looked at Fenix, "Okay, wait, so you'll easily admit you thought Kaedan was attractive and somehow you're ashamed of me?"
Fenix blinked, "Obviously. Look at him and look at you."
"You motherfucker—"
Xander leaned over to Fenix, "You know, you might want to keep an eye on your own Hernandez," He said to him quietly, a joking threat but also a signal for him to look at Owen, who was staring at him with an unimpressed look on his face. Fenix wasn't quite sure why Owen looked like that but he wanted to make him smile so he walked over and rested his head on the younger boy's shoulder looking up at him.
Owen simply sighed and rolled his eyes before patting his head.
"I mean, what plan are we talking about?" Risále asked innocently, and Kaedan sighed, burying his head in his hands and muttering something under his breath.
"Okay, I'll say this now, I think we're screwed," Nia shook her head. Risále hit her on the head.
While the others discussed, Leon turned to Nia, "Do you think something's up? It feels too easy."
Nia hummed quietly before responding slowly, "Nothing ever goes right for us, so keep an eye out. I'm a bit suspicious as well."
Leon nodded jerkily, stiffening slightly.
A short carriage ride later, the horses completely stopped. "We're here?" Risále asked as she stepped out of the carriage. Owen stood outside, looking into the castle.
"Welcome to Rowlock Manor," Mina said, deepening her voice so it wasn't as noticeable. Mina and Owen ended up deciding to escort them, Mina knowing the layout of Rowlock Manor and Owen wanted to stay with his brother.
"You know, I look real damn good in this. Like yes, I never liked dresses before but wearing one as a man just feels...empowering," Kaedan said, looking down at his clothing. Risále held back a laugh, resorting to patting him on the shoulder.
It was easy to fool Mina's parents, although Kaedan's eyes narrowed as he watched her mother fidget. She kept her mouth clenched shut as the king's grip on her arm tightened so much that Kaedan could almost feel the bruises.
The four of them walked out quickly, eager to get away from prying eyes.
"Hey, you. Guard," Mina turned. It was Julian, calling out to her, "The princess of Sector 1, let her know that with her grand return, there will absolutely be talks of an engagement. Sector 2 would like nothing more than to lend its support to Sector 1 after the…Incident…A few years ago. Let her know that I am always open to discussion," Mina wanted to laugh and at the same time, slap him. She didn't like he said the word "discussion".
"Of course, Your Highness," She wanted to gag, this man deserved absolutely no respect from her whatsoever.
"Hm. She was close to my older sister, was she not?" Julian asked, taking a step closer to her. Mina could feel the panic rising.
"Yes, and what about it?" She bit back, trying to make sure she didn't sound as angry as she felt.
"You don't happen to know where she is, do you? If Her Highness really cared about her, then she would know that the best outcome for my sister would be to stay quiet when I become King. However, if the princess would like to take her place—"
"It's not my place to say, but I get the feeling she definitely would not. However, the princess makes her own decisions. And why should your sister return? If you plan to...Marry...her for the crown," Mina almost threw up a bit in her mouth, "...What stops you from killing her the moment you become king?"
"If she decides to stay in line and step aside for me, then killing her would just be a waste of time to me. I don't care for the actual marriage itself, after all, plenty of rulers have had their fair share of lovers. But it would be the easiest way for me to take the throne, as long as she decides to stay quiet and hand over her claim to the throne," Julian said nonchalantly.
"And if she doesn't?" Mina asked, almost fiercely, but his words stuck with her. Mina had left Sector 2 many years ago, but she still had a claim to the throne?
"Well, then," Julian said, leaning in towards her, "There would be nothing stopping me from killing her the day after I'm crowned."
Mina shoved him back, disgusted at the amused look on his face, "You're a psycho, all the rumors about you are right," She growled.
"Alright, then I'm a psycho," The man simply said, a dark glint in his eyes, "And yet, I'm the one who's most likely to take the throne."
Mina knew just from the look in his eyes that Julian knew it was her. He was goading her, and damn it, she had to bite back.
"It's a dying monarchy anyways. Have fun while it lasts. You're not as untouchable as you think you are. After all, look at what happened to Sector 1," And with that, she spun on her heel, getting away from him as fast as she could.
Risále was waiting for her, a confused look on her face, "You alright? What happened?" She asked, checking Mina over.
"He knows," Mina gritted out, "We need to work quickly."
Risále didn't hesitate before leading her into the room where Kaedan and Owen were, out of sight of Julian.
"Oh god, he's going to do what? I'm going to kill him. I'm going to actually murder him," Kaedan growled, still hugging Mina after he heard from her what Julian had said, "Oh, that is so gross, girl, I am so sorry."
"I'm okay, Kaedan. I'd be more worried about yourself," Mina rolled her eyes, patting his back.
"Oh, I think I can handle him. He's like a kid, isn't he? How old is he again, like twenty, right?" Kaedan grinned.
"You know, now that I think about it, I don't even know if he's straight. Obviously, I couldn't exactly ask him when we were kids as he was trying to stab me. Either way, the last time you met him, he was a kid to you. However, think of it like this. He's older than Risále and Leon, which means he also probably gained a lot more resources," Mina pointed out, "The worst part is that he's actually smart. Crazy and smart together just means bad news for us"
"Right," Kaedan shuddered. He seriously wondered how some of these lunatics were related to Mina of all people, "He wants to marry me? Really? I don't know, I honestly thought he would have heard that I was trans by now. I thought that would probably turn him off if anything," Kaedan tapped his chin, thinking.
"Kaedan, are you kidding me? That kid loves attention, I sincerely doubt he cares where it comes from. Besides, you're really hot. Any straight guy would go gay for you. Hell, if I didn't know you since we were kids, I'd go straight for you—"
"If it weren't the fact that you are absolutely in love with Lumina," Risále snickered. Mina only sighed and dropped her arms, smacking them against her legs.
"I'm not—I'm not in love with her," But it sounded as though Mina was trying to convince herself more than the others. Silence reigned until Kaedan heaved a sigh.
"Six years ago, when we met up after not seeing each other for months, do you know who the first person you talked about was? Lumina. When she left for Sector 1 to help Xander and me, you kept asking me about her. Constantly. To the point where I told you to just shut up and get your ass over there. You get flustered anytime she's near you and your heart feels ready to jump out of its place. Everything else around you fades into a blur and the only thing you can see in front of you is her. And when you see her with someone else who may like her, you feel happy that she could be happy, but most of all you feel this pit in your stomach. You want to be the one by their side, and you're scared that you might just be a placeholder because you love them and you don't want to lose them," Kaedan finished, the last line pertaining to them generally. They all stared at the man.
He's right, you know. If something happens involving her, you can't take your mind or eyes off of her. Even if you do that with everyone, you can't deny that around her, you get tongue-tied. You have always felt that way about her, and you were jealous, so jealous when you realized she had a girlfriend then, It hit Mina like a bullet train.
"Guys, I think I might be in love," She said but whirled around at the unexpected harmony.
She turned to see Owen blushing, as he had accidentally said it at the same time as well. Risále and Kaedan looked at the two of them before they burst out laughing.
"Is that all it took to make you guys confront your feelings? Oh my God, that was a two-in-one, I'm so telling Xander about this," Kaedan said, grinning.
Mina and Owen looked at the other two in despair. "Why the fuck do I know you again?" She asked Kaedan.
"Because our parents wanted us to be friends and then my parents thought they could get us married after I transitioned and then they pretended I never transitioned after we kind of told them to fuck off?" Kaedan asked and Risále and Owen both looked at him, horrified, "I know, the thought of me being married to Mina, an actual nightmare."
"God, the looks on their faces when you said, 'There are so many damn royal people, so someone explain to me how the fuck it ended up being you again.' It was priceless," Kaedan grinned. Mina was laughing so hard that she had to grab onto Kaedan's shoulder to hold herself up.
"And when you said, 'Are you going to make me marry a fucking child? I already do all the work around here, I'm not going to marry someone who can't do shit. She's like what...seven?' The pure horror on their faces. That was a time," Mina added and Kaedan was barely able to hold himself up out of laughter.
"You're—So, you're saying that you two," Risále pointed between Kaedan and Mina, "Were engaged at some point?"
"Our parents tried but let's just say, some of the things we said made them realize that it would be a terrible idea. And this engagement was set when Mina was thirteen and I was eighteen. That's all kinds of uncomfortable to start with, add on to the fact that Mina and I had grown up together so we were like siblings. That was just a big no for both of us," Kaedan explained.
"Can you imagine, though, Kaedan and I?" Mina said, almost collapsing from laughter a second after that left her mouth.
"Honestly, I can't imagine Kaedan with anyone except Xander, and I don't even want to imagine them together, so that's a big no from me," Owen said, still half in shock at the new revelation.
"Right. We need to move though. We need to get to those Wings," Kaedan said, serious again.
"Wait, how did you know that saying that would get us to realize we were in love?" Owen asked his older brother. Kaedan grinned.
"Well, someone had to do the same exact thing to me five years ago when I was in denial that I was in love with Xander. It was like, this really hot, kind of a jerk lawyer has come to save my life and make sure my parents sue me for libel and take away my birthright, but he also isn't taking payment and he's really talented and he's kind of sweet and funny when you really look past his walls and damn, he is hot—But I'm definitely not in love with him or his chiseled abs," Kaedan rolled his eyes during his last sentence.
"Wow, so you were just as bad as us if not worse," Mina giggled.
"Okay, to be fair, he was worse than me. And also, even though I struggled to admit I was in love with him, at least something was happening between me and him before that," Kaedan said nonchalantly and then winked.
Mina was quiet for a moment before she smacked herself on the forehead, "I can't believe it. That's why you abandoned me at that meeting. You were fucking him while I had to deal with your parents?!"
Kaedan shrugged, "What can I say, I don't regret it."
"Every day I get closer and closer to drowning you in Lake Myrian."