"I could never date him as long as he is this immature king," Mikayla said.
Brady ran from the scene. He was so sure that it was their time. After the way she kissed him yesterday, he knew she had feelings for him. He ran faster than he ever had in his life. He had to get away from her.
When he got back to the kingdom, he rushed up the stairs and threw his stuff in a duffle bag. He was going back to Chicago. He left his brother a note on the bed, but took his ring with him. It was the only thing from Kinkow that he would take with him. The island had given it to him, so it would become his reminder of what he was leaving. He grabbed his bag and guitar and left. He took one look at the kingdom before stepping into the hot air balloon he hoped wouldn't crash.
He set off into the night, hoping the map he had would help him find his way.
"Lock up the castle!" Boomer yelled as he ran down the stairs, note in hand. "Brady's gone!"
"Your highness, be reasonable," Mason said. "He's around here somewhere. He doesn't go anywhere with out you."
"Yah," Mikayla inserted, "Yall don't even go to the bathroom without each other."
"Read," Boomer said, thrusting the note towards them.
Dear Boomer,
I am going to make something of myself. I need to learn to be mature and figure out how things need to be. You were always the better king. You will be fine without me. I'll miss you. I love you, Boom.
Love,
Brady
P.S. Don't come looking for me.
"But why would he leave you?" Mikayla asks. She stops, breathing in a breath of realization. "That was him behind the bushes."
"Mikayla," King Boomer says, "We don't have time for what happens behind bushes! We need to find my brother!"
"No your highness," Mikayla says, "He left because he heard me tell Candace I would never date him as long as he was an immature king."
Brady pulled the rope and tried to direct the balloon to the ground. After falling in the middle of the woods, he managed to climb out, grab his stuff, and begin the long walk to civilization. He missed his brother terribly. He started to wonder if he made the right choice. When his thoughts drifted to Mikayla, he knew he would do everything in his power, (even if he didn't have much now,) to get her.
After three days of walking and sleeping in the woods, he finally found civilization. With the little bit of money he thought to bring, he bought a train ticket and was on his way back to Chicago.
Back at KinKow, Mikayla was hacking her way through the woods. She felt so guilty for all this. She had no idea how she felt about King Brady, but she knew that she really missed him right now. She knew that kiss gave her butterflies like nothing before. Was this really for the best? Should she honor the king's wish and stay? Or should she go after him and bring him home. She sliced the Waka waka in front of her in half with her machete. She was not in the mood to deal with whatever problems came with that stupid bug. She was upset and confused. Well, she always wanted his flirting to stop, didn't she?
Brady rang the bell of his aunt's apartment. As the door opened, he heard a shriek and then arms were engulfing him.
"What are you doing here? Where's your brother? Are you okay? Is he okay?" his aunt exploded with questions.
"Yes, everything's fine," he said. "I just needed to get away from the island for a little while.
"Are yall fighting?" his nosy aunt asked.
"No, no," Brady assured her, "It's just me. I have some things I need to sort out."
Brady settled back into his old life with a few minor changes. He went back to high school, but he never cheated. He studied, and worked hard to catch up with the class. He still did extracurricular, but instead of role play, he enrolled in a fighting academy. His electives now consisted of classes about running a business instead of art or theatre, or any other blow off class. He learned a lot, and became top of his class at both school and in the fighting academy. He was surprised at how easy it was for him to learn to use the sword. Back in Kinkow, he had to use the machete at certain points, but he never actually knew what he was doing. When a tarantula person showed up in his room in the middle of the night, it was a breeze to take care of himself. He learned to cook and get dressed on his own. He stopped joking around and became serious about everything. He didn't make friends, but he wasn't bullied either. He walked around like a shadow, and the only sign of any emotion was a small look in his eye when he gazed at the pictures of him and Boomer and Mikayla sitting on his nightstand.
Tarantula people continued coming after him. The woods behind his apartment had them buried everywhere. Brady was beginning to get tired of his old life following him around everywhere.
One day when walking down an alley, he suddenly could smell her, Mikayla. He turned around in a flash, hoping he wasn't going crazy. No one was there, but her sweet smell of vanilla was. He was wary as he continued walking, ears pricked for any sounds. He heard a crack and whirled around, coming face to face with a tarantula person holding a machete to Mikayla's throat.
The tarantula person said something to Mikayla in his native tongue, and then nudged her to translate for the king.
"Brady," she paused, a look of longing in her eyes. The tarantula nudged her again, harder this time. 'The tarantula people are after the king rings. They have King Boomer, Dad, Lanny, and many of the peasants captured, including the guards. He says to give him your ring and he won't kill me, but Brady, you don't have to. Save yourself."
Brady stood there thinking a moment. He scanned the area, looking for a makeshift weapon. He reached down to his ring and made a move to take it off. The tarantula person threw Mikayla at a wall and she was knocked out. Brady grabbed the broken pool stick peeking out of the dumpster and fought for their lives. This one was stronger than the ones that he's been fighting for the last month. Brady maneuvers Mikayla's machete from the tarantula's hands and finally backs him against the wall, ending him with a stick in the stomach. The tarantula slumps to the ground and Brady runs to Mikayla to make sure she's okay. He finds a pulse and see's all she has is a bruise on her head.
After dumping the pool stick and the tarantula in the dumpster, Brady scoops Mikayla up gently in his arms and carries her all the way to the apartment with no struggle.
At the apartment, Brady lays Mikayla on Boomer's old bed and goes to the kitchen for an icepack. As he places the cold on her now swollen bruise on her temple, she stirs, mumbling before her eyes finally flutter open. She winces as she turns to see her hero.
"King Brady?" she asks, trying to figure out what happened. "Am I in heaven?"
Brady laughed for the first time since he left the island. "No. You're in my aunt and uncle's apartment," he explains. "You took a bad hit to the wall when he threw you."
"How did we get away?" she asks.
"I fought him, killed him, and stuffed him in the dumpster," he answered.
"There's no way," she said, uncertainty in her eyes.
"Whatever," Brady said, resuming his look of no emotion.
Mikayla reached up and held the icepack herself, wincing again as she revealed a scrape on the backside of her arm. Without comment, Brady got up and walked to the bathroom, returning with Neosporin and bandages. He cleaned the scrape out and bandaged it up, not struggling once with what he was doing. A year ago, he would never have been able to doctor someone up, much less know where the first aid kit was. Now he was confident, strong, and somehow, even hotter.
Brady made Mikayla lunch and helped her until she was back on her feet, which didn't take long. They immediately set off back to the island, but found the hot air balloon had been tampered with.
"Great! Now how will we get home?" Mikayla asks. "Everyone is still in trouble."
Brady stood there thinking, playing with the king ring on his finger. Out of nowhere, he heard a click from the ring and a scroll appeared in front of him with a warning. 'ONLY A KING CAN WALK THROUGH THE PORTAL. ANYONE ELSE WILL PERISH.'
"Perfect. How will I get through?" Mikayla blurts out.
"You could stay here?' Brady suggested.
"Not an option," she growled. "I just found you. I'm not losing you again."
"What?" Brady backtracked.
"Nothing," Mikayla mumbled. "I'm just going, that's all."
The portal opened with a flash of light. Red swirls in an oval shape hovered in front of them.
"Fine," he said, "Come here."
Mikayla walked towards him and gasped as he grabbed her, swinging her up into his arm bridal style. She looked at him with a confused expression pasted on her face.
"It said only a king can walk. Well, I'm a king and you won't walk." Brady explained.
"I sure hope you're right," Mikayla said, tightening her arms around his neck and settling into his warm body. She could feel rock-hard abs against her side and was again surprised. He could carry her before, but she knew he didn't have abs.
Before she knew it, Brady was walking through the portal, walking a ways through red before walking through another oval with a glimpse of an island in the center of it.
When they walked out, they found themselves in the room where Brady and Boomer talked to the first king.
Brady put Mikayla down and led her to the frame that doubled as a door. He cracked it a little, signaling to Mikayla that there were 2 tarantula people in the room.
He pushed the frame wide open and the two of them jumped out, grabbing the machetes hidden in the lamps by the door. They easily took them both down with hardly any fight.
Mikayla looked at Brady with surprise on her face when she realized he had dealt with his enemy faster than she.
"Wow. You weren't kidding!" she exclaimed walking towards him. She slid the machete into her belt where hers normally sat.
"Nope," he said, kicking his enemy to the side.
"Well," Mikayla said to break the awkward silence. "Let's go save the others."
They rushed down the stairs, warily looking for more tarantula people. Surprised that was the only two they encountered, they burst through the doors, heading strait to the woods. Mikayla led the way, pausing when she heard Boomer's girly scream. She changed direction slightly and kept running, again impressed that Brady was keeping up with her with ease. Before he left, she would have to stop and wait for the kings to catch their breath on a walk to the village. Now he was right on her heels, with a strange look in his eyes. It was like he was trying so hard not to care, but deep down, they both knew he did.
Mikayla suddenly came to a stop, throwing her arm out to stop Brady from bursting through the clearing. Not even 5 feet in front of them, Mason and Lanny were tied to a tree. To the left, two cages stood holding peasants and guards. In the center of them all, Boomer was sitting on a makeshift throne, hands tied to the arm rest, and a tarantula person standing over him with a flaming hot metal rod just inches from the king's chest.
"He's asking for your king ring," Mikayla quietly translated.
Behind the, all, the mummy stood with the bat medallion around his neck, and the first twin king stood next to him, a scepter and crown in his possession. The evil king was dressed in black and red robes, and the two of them each wore a black cape.
Mikayla pulled her machete as quietly as she could and cut the ropes on the tree holding her father and Lanny captive. Mason, aware of his daughter's presence, felt the ropes slack, but held them in place to keep the illusion that they were still tied up.
Mikayla and Brady waited for their moment. When the leaders were turned in conversation and the torturer was just about to place the rod on Boomer's chest, Mikayla quickly grabbed Brady's shoulder, planting a well waited kiss on his lips before charging out to save her people. Brady was stunned for a moment, but quickly regained concentration and followed Mikayla into the clearing.
Mikayla claimed the guards in front of the cages and her dad joined her almost immediately. Brady made a beeline for the tarantula with the rod near his brother. He kicked him back from Boomer and in a swift motion had his brother out of his ropes before his opponent had regained his balance.
Brady instructed his brother to run and hide and turned to block the oncoming rod in just the knick of time. He fought for a while, dodging and swinging his machete. He managed to get many swipes in, but only to leave scars, nothing to kill.
Behind him, Mikayla and Mason had opened the cages. The peasants were running into the woods and the guards joined in on the fight as tarantula people began to surround them.
Lanny was on his knees between the two evil leaders, begging to help kill the kings. Brady saw this and made a mental note, but didn't say anything about it. The comments about Lanny being truly evil never meant anything to him, but he saw them true now. As he finished the tarantula person in front of him off, he grabbed the ropes once holding Mason, Lanny, and Boomer and swinging one end to Mikayla. The two of them tied the leaders up. Mason grabbed Lanny, throwing him over his shoulder, kicking and screaming the entire way to the dungeon. Mikayla and Brady led the way with their captives. The guards followed behind, having no more tarantula people wanting to fight.
Back at the castle, they dropped the enemies into the dungeons, chaining the evil twin king to the wall with his neck held still between two pieces of wood. The bat medallion was retrieved yet again, but this time the mummy was put in a sarcophagus that was nailed and chained shut and buried deep in the bottom of the volcano, where he could never cause trouble again.
Lanny was striped of his title as prince and kicked from the castle forever. He was forbidden from speaking to the kings or guards unless called upon or spoken to. He was sent to live in the village as a peasant.
Brady moved back into the castle and Boomer was overjoyed, knowing he could never run a kingdom on his own. It took awhile for them to pull emotion back to the surface of Brady. He was distant at first, not feeling anything, not even when Mikayla bandaged up his cuts from the fight. He woke up, worked out, and practiced. He made his own meals and handled all the paperwork and decisions that Boomer had no intention of doing.
Mikayla and Boomer tried everything to get him out of his funk. Boomer tried to get Brady to case trouble, but Brady declined, claiming it was not in the best interest for his subjects. Mikayla tried to resume their normal cheesy flirting, but Brady wasn't giving in and Mikayla was heartbroken, secretly really wanting more.
They knew he was beginning to come around when they heard him playing his guitar again. Boomer and Mikayla stood outside the room listening to the familiar and missed chords of "Live Like Kings," that Brady sang at the Harvest Festival two years ago. The chords changed and the song slowed. They heard Brady's sweet voice wafting through the closed doors. The song was about how much he missed this place and the people in it. How the distance tore him apart, but made him stronger. Boomer got bored and wandered off towards the kitchen, but Mikayla stayed to listen.
Mikayla felt the pull to Brady so strong that she could no longer avoid it anymore. She opened the doors and walked in.
"Oh, hey Mikayla," Brady said as he put his guitar down.
Mikayla went to the couch where he was sitting, climbed up in top of him and pressed her lips to his.
Brady was taken back, but returned her hungry kiss. They molded together, her hands tangling in his hair, his going to her waist to pull her closer to him and keep her from going anywhere. He pressed his tongue to her bottom lip, asking for entrance, and she immediately granted. They could have been there for minutes, hours, or days, but Mikayla was ecstatic. The feeling in her stomach was on hyper drive, but yet it was satisfied. They were finally together.
For days after that, Brady's emotions came back when Mikayla walked in the room. He would be sitting there, frowning, staring at nothing, but as soon as she slid into his lap, his smile stretched from ear to ear as he pulled her in for a kiss. They walked around, their hands intertwined or her wrapped around his muscular body. Rarely did you see the two separated. Mason was not happy, but what could he do? If he separated them, Brady would go back to his funk, but if they were together, things got done, and Brady made a great king now.
Mikayla was happy. She loved being the center of Brady's world and he had become a great king. One night when she was up getting a cup of tea, she found Brady on the couch in the throne room. She walked to him, sitting beside him and pulling his hand between her two.
"Is everything okay?" she asked.
"I was just thinking," He responded.
"About? She prodded.
"Well, back in Chicago, I made myself swear I would never care again, that way I could never be hurt again, but when I'm with you, I can't help it, I'm so happy. I feel like all my dreams have come true." He says as he slips his other arm around Mikayla, pulling her into his embrace.
"I'm glad you feel that way, because I," she paused. "I love you Brady."
Brady turned and looked at her. "I love you too. I've loved you since the moment I set eyes on you. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me."
Mikayla smiled, "But you do know, it is human to show emotion. I bet your brother would feel a lot better if he knew you still loved him."
"I guess your right," he said tightening his grip into a hug.
Mikayla got up and headed back to her room, hauling the king behind her. She pulled him into her bed with him. She snuggled close to him, just being content knowing the guy of her dreams loved her.
That night was the best night of her life so far, just having him hold her close. The next day, Brady was back. His emotion were, and he let Boomer know how much he loved and missed him. Although he wasn't as immature as he was before he left, he was back, Mikayla was his, and he was King of Kinkow again.
Disclaimer: Characters and Setting Belong to DisneyXD and creators of Pair of Kings.