Thank you so, so much to my lovable beta reader threateningmysins (you can find her on AO3)! This story would only be half as good without her support!

Also a big thanks to you guys, your being great! I loved every comment/fav/suscribtion! =D

Please excuse me for the long wait, could be even longer till the next chapter though, I'm afraid.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything and I therefore I shall not earn anything.

So thing will be going down in this chapter, hope you'll enjoy it.

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13. There were thirteen tables in the hall; eleven of them perfectly round while the two largest, which were situated in the middle of the room, had the shape of half moons. If everything went according to plan those two would be joined together to form one, reducing the amount of tables to a perfect twelve.

"How symbolic", Gabriel thought with a snort.

His gaze swung over to his elder brother, who was silently sitting next to him at one of the crescent tables. Michael ought to be listening to King John's speech about the importance of his and Dean's impending betrothal, but he had a far away look on his face. His eyes seemed empty and Gabriel noticed that he hadn't touched his glass of wine at all.

Gabriel, on the other hand, had had several already and was starting to experience a tingling sensation in his fingers as well as toes. He wasn't used to wine. His country was famous for its mead, wine however, was rarely encountered on their territory. He felt a bit giddy due to the large amount of the unfamiliar alcoholic beverage.

Usually he was able to hold his liquor fairly well, but today his head was swimming. He perceived everything in slow motion and more intensely than normally. Minutes seemed like hours, and apple pie quickly advanced to become his new favorite dish.

He was in far too good a mood to worry about his brother's distant expression. Even in his sober state, though, Gabriel wouldn't have been able to guess Michael's ominous thoughts. Thoughts that would sink the world as he knew it into irrevocable chaos.

.

King John concluded his oration with an expectant smile towards Michael, giving him a sign that it was his turn to take action.

Decades later historians would still dispute amongst each other about what exactly happened in the following moments, with only a handful of people ever being certain of the truth. Gabriel was one of these people.

He observed his king as he looked down at their late grandmother's engagement ring - legend had it she had forged it herself - twisting it around between his fingers in an unusually nervous gesture. His vision regained its normal clear and focused appearance, chasing away the remains of the peculiar, lost look.

Michael stood up and let his sight wander to the opposite table, where the Winchesters were seated. He cast Gabriel a last look, which Gabriel's intoxicated brain managed to interpret as being apologetic, but before the younger man could question the reason behind it, his brother had already left their table to make his way over to the royal family.
Gabriel inwardly cursed the alcohol that currently circulated in his veins for slowing him down. He had a feeling something significant was about to happen.

.

A smile blossomed on Michael's lips, and it grew larger with every step he took towards his future in-laws. His feet carried him to Dean … and beyond.

A collective gasp went through the room as Michael kneeled down in front of Adam.

Everybody seemed to be shocked into silence. It became so eerily quiet that one could have probably heard a fish's breath. The collective anticipation was almost palpable, the tension so thick it could probably be cut with a knife. Every single person appeared to hold their breath while waiting for Michael's next move.

Had he perhaps not realized his mistake? Would he stand up again and excuse for his obvious error?

Gabriel's sibling took Adam's hand in his own for the second time this evening. His other hand expended towards the youngest Winchester as well, presenting him the ring he had previously toyed with. Gabriel couldn't recall ever having seen such raw hope in Michael's brownish green eyes.

Adam's incredulous facial expression mirrored best what Gabriel felt on the inside. He swore to himself never to touch wine again for the remnant of his life. It was making him see things, for what he saw couldn't be anything but a hallucination.

"Adam Milligan", great, now he was starting to hear things as well. Michael, his responsible, obedient brother, who always put his country's needs before his own, couldn't possibly be the one starting a proposal to the wrong person.

"Would you do me the honor of becoming my husband as well as my king, of sharing your life with me; therefore uniting our countries by/in mutual love and respect?"

Those were the right words, the ones he had rehearsed on their journey to Star Country, but directed towards the wrong person. But in this short moment before the world started crumbling, neither Adam nor Michael seemed aware of the gravity of the situation.

Adam's mouth was hanging slightly open, his eyes open wide and his cheeks were slowly but surely turning scarlet.

"Yes. Yes, of course. Yes, yes, yes, I do, I will, I mean, I would, I … yes."

The stuttering teenager's blue orbs filled with tears of happiness as Michael proceeded to tenderly put the ring on his finger. Gabriel's king then kissed his new fiancé's knuckle and caressed his hand lovingly.

For the duration of a heartbeat the panic which had gripped Gabriel tight loosened its hold as he saw the expression of pure bliss adorning his brother's face. He seemed to radiate with joy, his features illuminated by an honest smile and his eyes sparkling with happiness.

The newly betrothed were lost to the world around them; they smiled at each other as if all was well. Adam raised his free hand to caress Michael's cheek and Michael leaned into the touch without hesitation.

Who was this love sick fool his brother had been replaced with? Who was this stranger who wore his king's face? Wore it with a smile too bright to possibly be the real Michael, the Michael he had known his whole life.

.

They were so entranced by one another that they were deaf to King John's accusing screams of treason and dishonor, but thankfully Gabriel was not. He started to stumble towards his brother as King John's guards were being ordered to lock Adam in his rooms and throw Michael out of his castle.

Gabriel's heart was racing and he cursed himself for enjoying foreign drinks so much. He could hear the blood rushing through his ears. His traitorous stomach choose this precise moment to start cramping up so much he felt like he was going to be sick at any moment. Those feelings were only partly due to alcohol though, the fear for his brother's well-being dominated his every thought.

He ran to Michael as fast as his intoxicated state allowed him and managed to reach him just as the guards arrived by Adam's side. They grabbed the young man's arms, heaving him up and away as Gabriel gripped Michael's shoulder, yanking him back.

.

"Adam!", his brother yelled as the Winchester's hand was yanked away from his violently.

"Michael! Michael!", the blond in turn called out for the fiancé, he was forcefully being separated from. His hands were stretched towards Gabriel's brother as if in grieving for the abrupt loss of contact. With only Michael's name he managed to express all the desperation he was feeling as the situation around him deteriorated.

In the background King John's angry shouts about how Michael had dared to shame his trueborn son in favor of a mere bastard were still ringing loudly. Gabriel's sibling however didn't acknowledge any of his words.

It was an almost impossible feat to contain Michael within his arms in order to prevent him from chasing after Adam's rapidly disappearing form. The light which had illuminated his eyes just moments ago was quickly fading, and was replaced by a heart wrenching look of despair.

.

Gabriel felt for his brother, he truly did, but his priority was and always would be his safety. With all the strength he could muster in his tipsy state he dragged his struggling king away from the shouts and guards. He called for their own guards as well as the little banner man they had taken with them.

Gabriel didn't know how he had managed to navigate both himself and his eldest brother out of the castle without drowning in the turmoil around them. By what seemed to be God's mercy he managed to heave Michael, who appeared to have fallen in some kind of trance, on his horse.

He couldn't recall ever having ridden with such speed. Everybody rode as if the devil himself was on their trail. The sound of the hooves hitting the ground rang like thunder in Gabriel's ears.

He glanced over to his brother. Michael was clutching his reins in a vice like grip, a sinister expression marring his beautiful features.

.

Michael, ever the dutiful one, the only sibling he had never expected to do anything unwise or imprudent. Out of the four of them Michael was the most reliable.

Michael, his strong, righteous big brother.

What about this Winchester boy had enamored him so greatly that he had been willing to act so foolishly?