Brady ran into the throne room, letter in hand.
"Mikayla. MIKAYLA!" he screamed. He paused. "TARANTULA PERSON!"
Mikayla came sliding into the throne room, machete at the ready.
"Where?" she asked looking around.
"No where, just needed you," Brady answered.
Mikayla gave him a look like 'don't waste my time' as she slid her machete back to its place at her side. "What?" she asked.
"My insane ex-girlfriend is coming with Rebecca on the next balloon and I don't know what to do. She was horrific! She tricked me into dating her the first time," he explained.
"So?" she said, "tell her no."
"That won't work," Boomer said coming down the stairs. "Emma was horrific. She doesn't take no for an answer. She wears these geeky glasses and keeps a blog on whatever guy she's infatuated with and if you try to break up with her, she posts embarrassing pictures or facts about you all over her page. Last time Brady broke up with her, she…."
"No need to go into details," Brady interrupted. "Anyways, the only thing is she has no interest in a taken guy, so I was wondering if you….."
"Oh my gosh. I am not going to be your girlfriend just so you can avoid some other girl," she said.
"It doesn't have to be real," Brady said, "unless you want it to be."
"Brady," Mikayla said.
"Please be my pretend girlfriend, Mikayla," Brady begged. "Just while she's on the island."
"Brady," Mikayla started again.
"What if it was for my safety?" Brady proposed.
"Well if it was for your safety, I guess I have to, but" she paused his celebration, "There will be limits."
"I don't care, as long as she's off my back," He said, picking her up and spinning her around.
"Put me down, Brady," he set her down gently. "Wow, now how am I suppose to explain this to my dad so he doesn't kill you while she's here," she mumbled as she turned and marched off towards her dads room.
"Thanks for backing me up, Boom," Brady said, turning to his brother.
"No problem," he replied. "So what's the letter say?"
"Here," Brady said, handing it over.
My sweet Bradykins,
I overheard Rebecca talking all about how my boo became king of an island. That's so cool! I've decided I will join her on her next visit so we can be together again! This is totally fate! Does that make me like a queen! I know how excited you must be right now, but I can't wait to have you back in my arms! I miss you soo much! See you soon!
With all my love,
Emma
XOXO
"Holy cow! You've got a death wish coming, Brady," Boomer exclaimed, looking up to see his brother no longer in the room.
The next day, Mikayla woke the kings up bright and early.
"Mikayla, I'm sleeping," Brady said, rolling over to look at the clock. "Dude, it's 10:00 am! Why so early?"
"Do you want to pretend date me?" she asks.
"Yeah, but," he started.
"Then get up," she demanded. "Take a shower, with soap, brush you teeth, and meet me, dressed, in the dining room in 30 minutes."
"But," he started.
"Or lose your pretend girlfriend."
"Fine," he said, rolling out of bed. He headed to the showers as she turned to lecture Boomer as well.
After 25 minutes, Brady strolled into the dining room, freshly showered and dressed, trying to hide the fact that he had gotten lost 3 times on his way here. He took the seat next to Mikayla and a servant placed a plate of scrambled eggs in front of him.
"No waffles?" he asked, disappointed.
"Too messy. You need to know how to eat with silverware. If this girl is as bad as you say she is, then the last thing we need is her spreading how incapably dumb you two are.
"Hey, we aren't," Brady started.
"Your job is to eat and listen," she interrupted. "Not talk."
"Yes mam," he said, taking a bite of his eggs.
"Alright. I will play the part of your girlfriend only in front of this Emma girl, so don't expect anything extra."
"What if she catches us and we don't see her?" he asks.
"You are the king. You have plenty of guards and servants. We will know exactly where she is at all hours of the day."
"Okay," he took another bite.
"Second, don't go crazy," she said, looking him deep in the eyes. "This is not going to be a big make-out show. We can hold hands, hug, whatever, but you are not going to throw yourself at me every two seconds. Civilized, okay?"
"Got it," he answered.
"You will also do your king duties that you and Boomer never do," she said.
"You mean all that paperwork you and Mason normally do?" he asked.
"Well yes, that's part of it," she said, "but it won't be as bad as last time. I'm only requiring you to do 30 minutes of paperwork a day, and I'll be there to help you."
"Fine," he said, "but what do you mean part of it?"
"You also need to go to the village each day and check on the peasants, check the food amounts being grown and sold, make sure the dark side isn't growing, and the tarantula people are somewhat happy enough not to bother us. You also need to set the dinner menu for the week in the castle, and you need to personally help three of your subjects with some type of favor."
"Each day?" he gulped.
"Some of it, yes, but not all of it. Some of it is only once a week," she paused. "Relax, my king. "I'll be there to show you how to do all this. Oh, and they fixed the king cruiser, again. I suggest you stop launching and crashing it though."
"You are no fun, Mikayla," Brady said as he finished off his plate.
"Come on," she said, shifting her clipboard to one arm so she could haul him up with the other.
They started off with the 30 minutes of paperwork. Boomer came in with Mason to do his share just as Mikayla and Brady were leaving. Next, they rode into the village. Brady greeted his people as he and Mikayla strolled down the street. He only managed to help two subjects today, but that was fine for his first day. They found the darkness hadn't moved at all. Back at the castle, as Brady ate a late lunch, he chose an appropriate menu, with Mikayla's help, for the week.
That afternoon, King Brady was free to do as he wished. He took a nap, played a few rounds of pool with Boomer, and even went to the dungeon to play a few songs with his prison band.
After dinner, he joined Mikayla for her patrol around the edge of the light side.
"Brady, you do realize that I will be playing the part as your girlfriend when Emma is here. I won't be on guard. No machete, no fighting, no saving your butt."
"Yah, so?" he asked, confused because these were his terms.
"That means that you can't wimp out over every little thing. You must be brave and responsible and God help us, mature!"
"I got this," he assured her. "You have no idea what I'm capable of," as he then proceeded to hide behind her when a waka waka bug flew near them."
"Oh I think I have an idea," she said as they backed away from the bug and headed back to the kingdom. "Well, goodnight. I'll see you in the morning." She turned to head to her room as she secretly watched Brady head to his. Professional, she reminded herself. This is all professional.
At 9:30 am, Mikayla and Mason walked into the King's room.
"Up, up, up," she said. When neither king rolled over, Mikayla took the pleasure in dumping them both on the floor.
"Owww," they moaned in unison.
"Showers, hygiene, dress. 30 minutes. Let's go! I'll meet you in the dining hall."
"Where's that?" Boomer asked, having previously eaten all his meals in the throne room.
"I'll show you," Brady said, "We ate in their yesterday."
"We did?" Boomer asked.
"Mikayla and I did," he answered, ignorant of the stupidity of their conversation.
Mikayla rolled her eyes and walked out yelling, "Thirty Minutes," over her shoulder.
At 10:02, the boys stumbled into the dining room out of breath. Brady's hair was sticking up, still wet from his shower.
"You're late," Mikayla said as she approached Brady. She reached up, combing his hair into place with a soft caress.
"Lost," Boomer breathed.
"In your eyes," Brady finished, grinning at her. Mikayla forced herself to tear her eyes from his without smiling.
"Sit and eat," she said, returning to her seat.
Brady sat in the same seat as yesterday, right beside her and Boomer found the chair opposite Brady. Servants placed plates of scrambled eggs and toast in front of them.
"What is this?" Boomer asked, clearly outraged.
"Responsible food," Brady explained. "We have to eat politely and non-messily so Emma doesn't get any embarrassing pictures that can ruin our image back home or here on the island. "
"I'm impressed, Brady," Mikayla said, looking up from her clipboard to smile at him.
"It's a new day," he said as he finished his eggs. He got up, offering his arm to Mikayla. They walked to the plaza to await the incoming balloon. Boomer and Mason followed close behind.
As the balloon came into view, Mikayla turned and handed her clipboard to Muhammad. She unclipped the belt hanging around her waist holding her machete and handed it to her dad. As she did, what they thought was a cute pink shirt, dropped down, flowing just past her shorts with designs around her neckline and waist. She reached up and pulled the ponytail from her hair, letting it fall around her shoulders.
The balloon landed and Brady had to force himself to pull his eyes from Mikayla. All of a sudden,
"Bradykins!" he was shoved to the ground by a large mass of Emma. She was built fairly heavy, but she wasn't fat. She had shoulder-length blond curly hair and pink glasses. She wore a royal blue dress with a gray belt that didn't flatter her shape.
Rebecca didn't make a fuss. She walked into Boomer's waiting embrace with a look of relief on her face. They all knew she was probably tortured by this girl for quite some time now.
Mason had a grip on Mikayla's arm. When Emma ran towards Brady, Mikayla immediately went to protect him, but that was not her cover. It took everything in her and her father's grip to keep her from shoving this girl off her king.
Brady had some of the guards lift Emma off of him and help him up.
"Hey Emma, How have you been?" he asked politely.
"Great! Especially now that we can finally be together again!" she answered in a hyper manner.
"Before we go anywhere, Emma, I'd like you to meet a few people." Brady walked towards each person as he introduced them. "This is Mason, royal advisor and head guard." Mikayla winced as she heard her title given back to her father. "This is Muhammad, if you get attacked, you can call for him. "This is Sarah, your chambermaid while you are on the island, and this," he paused, pulling Mikayla into his arms, "This is my beautiful girlfriend, Mikayla. I don't know if I would ever make it here without her."
"Girlfriend?" Emma asked, stunned. She crossed her arms, "Since when?"
"Since I got here," Brady said simultaneously as Mikayla said, "Recently."
"Uh huh," said Emma.
Mikayla placed her hand on Brady's arm and smiled at him softly to let him know she had this. "He's been asking me out since he arrived at the island, but it's only been official since recently. We made a month two days ago to be exact." She smiled sweetly. "And it's an honor to meet you. I've heard so much of you."
"Wish I could say the same," Emma sneered,
"Brady draped his arm over Mikayla's shoulder. "Sarah will show you to your room. Rebecca, the usual?" he asked turning to Rebecca.
"Yes, my king," Rebecca said, curtsying with a small smile playing on her face.
"Muhammad," Brady said, "Take Miss Dawson's stuff to her room please."
"Yes, my king." He said, following out behind Sarah and Emma.
"What am I missing?" Rebecca asked, knowing this is not the boy's normal behavior.
Mikayla cracked a smile, "Come on, not here."
Together the four walked into the throne room, each king hand in hand with his girl. Mikayla typed in the code to let them into the secret room beneath the throne. They slipped in, paying extra attention to make sure they locked it behind them so they didn't have any unwanted visitors.
"Whew," Brady said. "It's hard work being sophisticated." He propped his feet on the table and leaned back in the chair.
"Now that's the kings I remember," Rebecca laughed as Boomer mimicked his brother.
Mikayla pushed Brady's feet from the table, resulting in an "Ow" from both of them. She placed the paper work in front of them and the stamps in the middle.
"Get to work," she said. She stood behind Brady, saying yes or no occasionally. As the guys did their work, Mikayla explained what was going on.
"Ahw, I thought you two finally got together, until you screwed up your anniversary. Then I knew something was up. Might want to get your facts strait," Rebecca said. "And when can we get rid of her? She's driving me INSANE! Ever since she overheard me talking to my girl friends about coming to visit Boomer…" she shuddered.
"I'm sorry you had to deal with that, Rebecca," Brady said sympathetically.
"She's your problem now," Rebecca replied. "I feel bad for you and Mikayla."
"We'll be fine," Mikayla assured her.
"We should probably get back before she makes assumptions," Rebecca said.
"Good idea," both kings jumped up, but Mikayla pushed them back into their chairs.
"Oh no. You still have 15 minutes of paperwork." Mikayla said, glaring at them. "Rebecca and I will occupy her until you're finished. Oh, and Brady,"
"Yes?" he asked, hopeful of something exciting.
"That's a yes," she said, pointing to the paper below him. Brady groaned, switching the stamp in his raised hand.
Mikayla and Rebecca stepped out of the vault just in time to meet Emma coming down the stairs.
"Where are the guys?" she asked.
"Boring King Paperwork," Rebecca answered.
"Thirty minutes a day everyday they have to slip away to do the not so fun stuff," Mikayla explained. "Did you find your room comfortable?"
"It's fine," she snapped back. "I have some questions for you, Mikayla.
"Ask away, Mikayla smiled sweetly.
"So are you a servant?" she asked.
"Of course not!" Mikayla answered, clearly offended.
"So a peasant, then," she asked.
Mikayla responded with a quick "No," before thinking about it. "My social standing lies under the royal family but above the rest of the islanders. Does that answer your question?"
"Yes," she says. "And does that place Rebecca in the same category?"
"Not exactly," Mikayla responded. "Rebecca is a king's honored guest, as are you."
"Uh huh," she mumbles. "How long have you been on this island?"
"My entire life," Mikayla answered easily.
"And how long have you known Brady?" Emma pushed.
"It is said that King Brady and I were friends as toddlers, but as far as my memory goes, the 2 years and 4 months they have been back on the island."
Mikayla heard the vault begin to open and moved so Emma would look the opposite way. The kings locked and hid the vault before announcing, "We're done."
Rebecca found her spot at Boomer's side and Mikayla easily found what was becoming familiar as hers. Brady pulled her close, placing and arm around her waist.
"How's it going ladies?" Brady asked.
"Mikayla was just telling me a little about herself," Emma answered.
"I hope everyone is getting along well," Brady said as he shot Mikayla a worried look. "But Boom and I still have a few things to do. MASON!"
"Yes, my king?" Mason said behind them, making everyone jump.
"Could you split up the tasks on Mik-hammad's clipboard?" He barely caught himself in time. "We will be going out in two groups today. Could you accompany Boomer and Rebecca?"
"Of course, my king," he said, slipping to find Mikayla's clipboard.
"And what about me?" Emma asked.
"You may choose to go with either group or stay here in the kingdom until we return," Brady said, knowing good and well that she would go with him and Mikayla.
Mikayla was pleasantly surprised by the professional way Brady had been handling everything all morning. She was extremely proud of him, but she worried about him giving off an impression that he was more inferior to King Boomer, whom showed not a care in the world.
"I would love to accompany you and Mikayla," she answered as they knew she would.
"Very well. I'll have them ready the King's cruiser," Brady said as he pulled Mikayla in to a hug, kissing her on the forehead. He walked off to find a servant to prepare the car.
Mason decided that King Boomer would handle measuring the dark side, checking to make sure the tarantula people were presently satisfied, and helping at least two peasants. King Brady would handle going to the village to check on the peasants, checking the food supply, and helping two people as well.
Minutes later, Brady, Mikayla, and Emma met in the plaza and were faced with a problem. The King cruiser had only two seats. After thinking it over, Emma suggested she could sit in Brady's lap.
"That's a good idea," Brady said, "For Mikayla." Emma's face grew to a scowl as she climbed into the passenger seat.
Brady slid behind the wheel and Mikayla gave him and unsure look. He grabbed her by her hips, pulling her on top of him. She settled into his lap, back to Emma, legs by the open door. She leaned against Brady's shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck. As soon as Brady got situated, they were off.
In the village, Brady and Mikayla acted like a giddy couple. They held hands with Mikayla leaning into his warmth. They tried on silly things they found on the street corners, and he even bought her a simple silver bracelet that was perfect for her. He took the girls out to eat for lunch after checking the food supplies and receiving a small nod of approval from Mikayla. Brady managed to help 4 different peasants, one including a small boy whose brother was sick and couldn't find the Shaman.
A group of 10 year old girls ran up to the King, carrying a guitar and begging him to sing for them. He sat down and they surrounded him as he sang the familiar song of "Live Like Kings," Mikayla joining in at the chorus and Emma looking surprised at his melodious voice.
When they finally headed back to the castle, it was near 2:30. Boomer, Rebecca, and Mason had long been back. Boomer was fast asleep by now and Rebecca was sitting on the couch talking to Candace.
Mikayla began to freak out, worried Candace would say something about them in front of Emma, but Rebecca had graciously filled her in.
"Hey lovebirds," Candace said with a smile when they walked in the room hand in hand. "And who's this?" she asked, trying not to make a face at her untidy appearance.
"Candace, this is Emma, a friend of Brady's from back in the States," Mikayla said, "Emma, this is my best friend Candace."
Candace waved from the couch, not wanting to be near this girl. "That's cool, I guess."
"Anyway," Mikayla said, "Brady and I will be up stairs so holler if you need anything."
Brady and Mikayla walked upstairs, hand in hand, signaling for a guard to follow them. After posting the guard outside of Mikayla's room with instructions to knock once if Emma finds her way up here, they locked themselves in to talk.
"I am so proud of you, Brady!" Mikayla exclaimed. "If only you could do that everyday, like when your pride isn't riding on it."
Mason knocked on the door, asking for entrance. When he came in, he congratulated Brady as well. He reported that the dark side has actually moved back an inch and that all was well with the dark side enemies that he could tell. What they didn't know was that Emma had indeed wondered off, but it was Lanny whom she ran into.
After figuring out what was going on, Lanny was happy to spill a few little secrets. He told her last he heard, Mikayla was still denying Brady a date. He said that Brady repulsed her and that they had not done a single king's duty except for one day since they've been here. He prodded her, making her mad, just as she was beginning to finally wind down, and sent her towards Mikayla's room.
After Mason threatened Brady about getting too close to his daughter one last time for good measure, he left the two of them. Shortly after Mason left, their warning knock came. Brady jumped off the chair by her vanity and joined Mikayla on the bed, putting his arm around her quickly as she shouted come in.
"Hey you two," Emma purred. "Funny, I expected to interrupt something."
"So you deliberately came looking for us so you could walk in on us?" Brady questioned.
"Nope, I was just curious about dinner," she said smoothly.
"Spaghetti," they said simultaneously, looking at each other and laughing at the fact that it was now Brady and Mikayla speaking together instead of Brady and Boomer.
"Hey Brady," Emma cooed, "Do you think you could show me how to get to the dining hall. We haven't really had much time to catch up since I've gotten here." She smiled evilly.
"Maybe later," he said, looking at Mikayla, "We were actually just in the middle of something."
"That's cool," she said, "I can wait." She settled herself against the wall by the door, crossing her arms and looking at them expectantly.
"Actually, it's kind of private," Mikayla said, trying not to sound rude.
"Well from what I hear, there's not a whole lot of 'private talks' between you two normally," she said matter-of-factly.
"Excuse me?" said Mikayla, quite confused. "And whom are you getting your information from?"
"Doesn't matter," she said, "but my sources always check out, don't they Bradykins?"
"Carl," Mikayla called.
"Yes?" the guard said, sticking his head into the room.
"Could you please escort Miss Emma back to her room please?" Mikayla said.
"We can talk later, Emma," Brady said.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Mikayla gasped, "Now what?"
"Figure out who's talking?" Brady asked.
They walked out and made their way up to the king's room. They found Rebecca and Boomer curled up on the couch watching a movie. They joined them, telling them of what just went down with Emma. They were now all on the lookout for the snitch, knowing it couldn't have been any of them. Candace was brought up, but she loves a good story, so Mikayla was sure she was just going to let it play out. Either way, Brady and Mikayla loaded back up in the King's cruiser to go and talk to her.
In the village, they found Candace's house, a place Brady had never been before. It surprised him how different the houses all were. Some where fancy, others not so much, but neither resembled anything like their kingdom here or their apartments back home.
After sitting down and questioning Candace, they found out that after they left the room, Emma waited about 5 minutes before slipping out to go to the bathroom. Candace and Rebecca talked a little longer before Candace headed home and Rebecca went to find Boomer.
While trying to think about who would have said something, Mikayla all together forgot that in real life, she was head guard. After the kings and guests went to sleep that night, she called a meeting of her guards to find out what was going on. Greg, one of the kingdom guards, claimed to have seen Emma talking with cousin Lanny. Mikayla knew that Lanny was out to get the kings so this made perfect sense. The worst part was going to be trying to convince Brady and Boomer that their 'sweet' cousin did this to them.
The next morning, Mikayla woke the boys again, but this time they got up immediately. "Brush your teeth," she reminded them, shooting a warning glance at Brady.
During breakfast, they all had the 'responsible food' as Brady put it: eggs, grits, biscuits, bacon, or a southern style breakfast. They all managed to walk in around the same time; first the boys, who took the spots they had yesterday, then Rebecca and Emma who sat beside their preferred king, and lastly Mikayla.
Mikayla came in wearing a beautiful red dress with a silver chain around her hips. She wore the bracelet Brady bought her yesterday and silver ballet flats that Candace had found for her when complaining about her ugly guard shoes.
Brady immediately looked up as he did every time she walked in the room, but this time, the stun of her gorgeous outfit held his eyes longer than usual. She walked up to Brady, and placing her hand under his chin to direct his face her way, leaned down and kissed him. Nothing long or extravagant, just a peck, but it surprised everyone in the room, especially Brady.
She took her usual seat to the left of Brady and a servant brought her a plate. She helped herself, breaking up the silence with, "How did everyone sleep last night?"
"Good, great, fine," they mumbled, finally looking down at their plates as they realized they had been staring.
Mikayla turned to Brady, a smile playing on her lips. She took his hand in hers, bringing it near her cheek. "And how are you today?"
"Amazing," he said, smiling at her.
Emma scanned the crowd, taking notes of everyone's reactions. Brady and Mikayla might be trying to fool her, but she saw the look in their eyes. She could tell they were in love, but she knew she was being deceived. They would pay for this.
They went through the normal motions, but this time, a quick peck on the cheek here and there, his arm was over her shoulder and hers was around his back. She kept a hand on his chest and her eyes trained on him whenever Emma was around. What they didn't expect was what came from Emma next.
During their afternoon of free time, Mikayla and Brady were hanging out in the throne room talking when Emma walked in.
"You quickly kiss her, but not once have I caught you making out. You are all over each other, but not once have I seen her on your lap. I still think you're bluffing," Emma said to them one afternoon. "You still haven't really kissed her."
"You want me to put on a show for you?" Brady asked.
"I'm just trying to foil your plan," she said smirking.
"Foil this," Brady said. He grabbed Mikayla's hips and pulled her into his lap on the couch. He pulled her lips to his and he gave her the best kiss she has ever gotten. Their lips moved in motion together, his tongue tracing the outside of her lips until she granted entry. His tongue roamed her bottom teeth while hers traced his lips. It was hungry, powerful, and absolutely toe-curling. They got so lost in each other that they forgot about Emma being there. She made herself comfortable on the other couch, leafing through a magazine on the table that Candace had left there.
After what seemed like forever, they finally came up for air, staring at each other and not really knowing what to say. It wasn't until Emma cleared her throat behind them that they finally came back to real life.
"Now that seems more realistic," she says. She put the magazine down and walked out the room as subtly as she walked in.
Mikayla was still straddling Brady. She sat back on her legs, he arms still around his neck when she asked, "Are we playing her, or is she now playing us?"
Brady responded, "When the result is I get you, I don't really care."
Mikayla giggled. She knew she shouldn't fall for the king's charms, but she couldn't help herself. She had gotten so comfortable with King Brady this week, that she didn't want to go back to the way things used to be. She smiled and leaned down to kiss her king again, not giving a care in the world.
As the week progressed, Brady and Mikayla got closer and closer. What Mikayla had originally said was thrown out the window. When Emma turned a corner, they would dart into a closet, deliberately keeping the door cracked and messing their clothes and hair up as they proceeded to make out. In the town, Mikayla was all over Brady, but Emma noticed Brady didn't make a decision without Mikayla's small nod.
Eventually Lanny ran into Emma again and saw the need to share again. He told her how Mikayla was actually head guard and not the king's girlfriend. If anything happened to the kings, she would drop her role to protect them.
What nobody knew was that when they thought Brady was slipping away for his "naps," he was actually down at the beach training with Mason. Mason was teaching him to sword fight and how to correctly protect a group of people. Brady was having a bad feeling about Emma and even though Mikayla tried to explain to him that Lanny was behind his problems, he couldn't believe it. He knew there was a bigger force out there and when the time came, he wanted to be able to protect the girl he loved.
Brady was still no expert, but he was getting better at the machete thing. It wasn't as awkward. His stance was stronger, his weight shifted correctly and he held the machete at just the right height and angle. His swipes weren't nearly deadly enough, but enough to put things off for the guards to come to the rescue. What Brady was hoping was he wouldn't have to actually use it, but of course that wasn't in his luck.
On Thursday, they were strolling through to forest together to check the dark side as they had everyday, but this time, there was a small tarantula person problem. As they were measuring the line, a guy jumped out in front of them, knocking Emma, Rebecca, and Mikayla to the ground. Mikayla managed to kick him off of them. Boomer helped Rebecca up and dragging her behind him, took of running screaming, "Every couple for themselves!"
Brady unsheathed the machete Mason had insisted he carried when he went into the woods with Mikayla. He easily backed the Tarantula back to the dark side and had him distracted enough for the girls to run. Emma took off, but stopped to crouch behind a tree far enough that she could watch from a safe distance.
Brady surprised them with his form and swordsmanship. Although he could never take Mikayla in a fight, it was skilled enough to fight the dumb Tarantula. He managed to get him back to a tree and right before he stabbed him through the stomach, he shouted something in his own tongue.
Brady turned to Mikayla, rushing to make sure she was okay. She was standing in shock at the fact that Brady had just protected her.
"What did he say?" Brady asked.
"He said he was just doing as the troll boy told him," Mikayla answered.
"Troll boy?" Brady questioned. "What troll boy?"
"Probably Lanny," Mikayla answered.
"Our sweet cousin would never tell a Tarantula to attack us. He probably can't even speak Tarantula," Brady tried to argue.
"We all speak it," Mikayla said, "It's a required subject at school."
"Oh," Brady said, still not believing it. "Well, I wonder if they all made it back."
"And I wonder what's going through Emma's head right now," Mikayla laughed. "Thank you for protecting me Brady. I didn't think you had it in you. That was excellent form though."
"Thank you," he said, as they started walking back to the castle. They didn't hold hands and they didn't act all coupley, but Mikayla had a small smile on her face the entire way back.
What they didn't know was Emma was still there, following behind them at quite the distance. When she was attacked by some animal, nobody knew about it. When they arrived back at the castle, Mason and the guards were just now rushing out to help. While Mikayla told her father about Brady saving them, no one even missed the pesky brat. It wasn't until the four were hanging around the throne room that Rebecca asked about her whereabouts.
"Did she ever come back?" Brady asked.
"I didn't see her," Boomer responded.
Muhammad was standing behind them and informed them that she had stumbled in about an hour ago with her clothes ripped to shreds and was currently in the castle infirmary.
"What happened?" Mikayla questioned.
Muhammad just shrugged, so the four of them trudged to the well visited place to find out.
When they walked in, they spotted her lying on a bed, wrapped in bandages on nearly every part of her body. When they asked her what happened, she was wary to explain.
Finally she opened up and told them that she was spying on them and followed them and was attacked by some animal. She felt extremely guilty and apologized. Brady explained to her that he was sorry but he really was in love with Mikayla, no matter how much she tried to disprove it. At least that much was true.
When the time came for the girls to leave, the kings and Mikayla stood in the plaza. Mikayla hung all over Brady still, her arms wrapped around his body. They waved until they were out of sight.
Boomer turned to Brady and high-fived him. "Dude, I can't believe you did it."
"Yah, me either. Thanks Mikayla, that was all you," he said looking down at the girl still attached to him.
"No problem," she said, reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss him again.
"Well Mikayla," Mason said, "Now things can go back to normal. Here's your machete and your clipboard," he handed everything back to her.
"Thanks daddy," she responded. She finally forced herself to let go and grab her stuff, but she got a cold, empty feeling. As much as she didn't want to admit it to herself, she really did feel something for Brady. She hated the feeling she got when she wasn't with him. She knew she couldn't deny it any longer. As her dad turned to resume his patrol, she grabbed Brady's hand and led him to her room, where she happily proceeded to kiss him for a long time. Let's just say, it's a good thing Brady already won the hunt, because this fake relationship was a never-ending real relationship.