Chapter 3 - Drama Queens
Jake spent most of the night reading his novel, which he surprisingly hadn't finished until late at night, even though there was only one chapter left. Perhaps it was because he had the princes on his mind all night, but he refused to give in. He wouldn't fall in love, he wasn't going to give in – and especially not on the first day being on Derse.
In the morning, just like Dirk had promised, the older prince rapped on Jake's door and opened it when he didn't receive an immediate response.
"Yo, Jake, wake up." He said quietly. Jake groaned and covered his ears with his pillow. Dirk narrowed his eyes at him and approached him, poking his shoulder repeatedly until Jake pulled the blonde onto the sheets with him.
"Shut the fuck up and be my body pillow for a minute." Jake mumbled into Dirk's shirt. Dirk rolled his eyes but complied anyway. He ran his fingers through Jake's hair, which the tan boy unintentionally purred at. A few seconds later, Jake realized what was happening and kicked Dirk off the bed. The tall blonde prince huffed and kneeled by the side of the bed while he fixed his hair.
"Well aren't you just the kindest prince in the land." Dirk joked. Unamused, Jake reached for his glasses on the nightstand and pushed them on over his brilliant eyes.
"I'm not a morning person." Jake stretched his hands towards the ceiling and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Why are you here so early, anyway? It's still dark out."
"It's always dark here, Jake." Dirk stood up from the floor as he spoke. "Get up, I wanted to show you something."
"It better not be a picnic or something." Jake groaned.
"What? Who the hell do you think I am?"
"I don't know you yet." Jake whined and finally sat up from his comfortable position. It was warmer with Dirk lying next to him, but that didn't mean he liked it. "Do I have to get dressed?"
"Nah." Dirk lead him out the door, waiting for him in the dim hallway. Jake followed as he was told and they strolled through the castle corridors together.
"So if you're not trying to make me swoon over you, where are you taking me?" The tan prince with the British accent asked.
"Well, you seemed like you needed to relax. So that brings me to my question," he paused and opened up a set of purple doors, introducing him to a large, steamy room. "Do you have a personal spa on Prospit?"
"Yes, actually."
"What? Really?"
"No, I'm just kidding, geez." Jake laughed. "You sounded like I had just foiled your plans."
"Because you almost did." Dirk added, the smallest of grins cracking his normally boring expression.
All joking aside, Jake smiled at the room in front of him. There were servants there ready to cater to him, along with massage chairs, high stacks of hot towels, televisions on the walls that displayed the news and all sorts of Dersian lotions and foot creams.
"Well? What do you think?" Dirk leaned against the wall casually, even though Jake could see a sweat starting to form on his forehead.
"It's wonderful. I already feel relaxed… Will you be joining me, Mr. Strider?" Jake gave him a soft smile. Dirk shook his head quickly in response.
"No no, you've had enough of me; I want you to relax and have some alone time." The blonde insisted. Jake rolled his eyes.
"Come, now. I don't mind a friend joining me. Besides, I need someone to talk to. I don't speak Dersian yet, even though these workers look very kind." Jake waved to them, earning smiles in response.
After a long sigh, Dirk complied. "Fine, then. If you insist, your highness." Dirk bowed but Jake paid this gesture no mind and walked into the spa. He stripped down in the changing rooms and wrapped a towel around his waist as instructed by the Dersian servants. Fortunately, they had a volunteer to translate what they were saying into Prospitian. Jake smiled, recognizing the grumpy expression of his friend immediately.
"Karkat! I didn't know you were staying here, too!" The brit wanted to hug him but decided it would be awkward, since he was only wearing a towel.
"I'm not staying here, numbskull. Your grandma sent me to check up on you for the day." He argued. Just then, Dirk walked in on their conversation, holding up his towel with one hand and wiping the water from his shades with the other.
"Sup." He greeted.
Karkat raised his eyebrow. "Is this the one you're marrying, Jake?"
"Nope. Dirk and I are just friends." Jake quickly corrected. "I'm refusing to marry either of them, for this game is ridiculous." He added.
"Her highness will be enraged." Karkat countered. "She will make you stay here until your wedding ceremony is over."
"Well I'll be here for a long time, then. I hope she'll miss me." Jake huffed and walked away, leaving Dirk and Karkat to watch him slip and fall. The Dersians quickly helped him up and walked him to his massage chair around the corner, and Dirk couldn't help but grin.
"So. Your name is Dirk?" Karkat said once Jake was out of sight. Dirk gave him a small nod in response. "I met your brother earlier. He seemed intent on finding you and prince sassy-buns over there." Dirk almost chuckled at Jake's nickname.
"Well, don't tell him where we are. He's just going to ruin everything-"
"Dave? Where are we going?" Jake's voice echoed from down the hall. It seemed as though he purposely made it loud enough for Dirk to hear.
"Shh, Dirk will hear you! It's a surprise, just come on!" Dave tugged Jake out of the changing room once he was back in his normal clothing. Jake ran a hand through his hair and followed the younger blonde, who had gotten a hold of the brit's hand. He could hear Dirk's footsteps running after them as they escaped out into the purple streets. It was surprisingly warm out, which was the exact opposite of what Jake had expected from the dark planet.
Dave smiled excitedly as he lead Jake to the back of the huge castle. In the empty space, there was a large, grassy field that sparkled under the light of the stars. "Watch this," Dave waved his hand over the grass, making millions of fireflies float up over the field. They twinkled in his jade green eyes.
"Wow, Dave, this is…" Jake glanced back at him in awe, only to be pulled away by Dirk again. Dirk held him close and Jake attempted to break away as the taller blonde shot his brother a stern glare. The brit couldn't help but notice how quickly he had changed out of his towel and back into his clothing...
"We were in the middle of something, Dave." He spat.
"What's wrong with pulling him away to see the garden?" Dave hissed back.
"You can't just do that."
"Yeah, well you can't just scoop him up in the early morning and take him to the spa."
"Who says? He's not your toy."
"Yeah, well he's not yours, either, and he never will be." By now, the brothers were staring and snarling at each other with anger, their eyes seemingly glowing beneath their shades.
"Why don't you ask him what he thinks, then? Since you're so convinced that what you're doing is good for him." Dirk glanced down at his arms, but Jake wasn't there. He had slipped away during their discussion.
"Look what you did!" Dave blurted.
"What I did?! You mean what you did?! Do you even care about how he feels?!"
Dirk and Dave's discussions rang in Jake's ears as he headed towards the safety of his bedroom. Behind closed doors, Jake slid against the wall and curled up with his knees to his chest. He had remembered why he was here, and he seemed to be just realizing the true torture he would suffer through. He allowed tears to roll down his face until a familiar pup approached him and nuzzled his cheek with his wet nose. He looked up at his sister's dog, Bec, who was standing beside him and licking his tears dry with his strange, green tongue. Jake smiled and scratched behind Bec's white ears.
"Missed you, bud. I was wondering when you were gonna show up." Jake sniffled. He noticed a rolled up paper that Bec had dropped in front of him and picked it up. He neatly untied the green ribbon and opened up the paper so he could read it. There were little doodles in green pen on the sides of the letter that Jade had written.
"Dear Jakey,
I miss you! I wish I could come see you like Karkat did, that lucky grumpy-pants… Anyway, how are you? How's Derse? Grandma says it's beautiful, but I wanna take your word for it! Oh yeah, speaking of Grandma – I got upset because of the way she treated you and kinda trashed her room… I got grounded, but Bec still visits me. He missed you too, by the way. Make sure you give him a big hug! And one more thing – how are the princes? Are they as charming as they say? Hopefully I'll get to visit one day and smack the king across the face for making you stay there.
Stay strong and don't give up hope – you'll be home before you know it!
~ Jade
P.S. Write back soon!"
Jake dried his tears as best as possible as he read the letter. He glanced around his room and saw a quill and paper on his desk. He rose from his corner and retreated to his desk. Bec followed him and Jake gave him a hug before he began writing a letter back home.
"My Dearest Jade,
I cannot believe you trashed Grandma's room! (Even though she deserved it for sending me here). You should apologize soon. We only have one grandma, after all. Anyway, things are… strange here, to say the least. The princes are okay, I'm not actually quite sure what to think of them yet. They seem to really like me - too much, even - but I'm pretty sure they were brainwashed into thinking that way by the king – or, one of them was, at least… Speaking of the king, please do not smack him. He has good intentions, and you will get in trouble with everyone if you do something to him.
I miss home a lot. And I mean A LOT. It's only morning (I think) and I am already tired and ready to jump out the window. Karkat being here has lifted my spirits a little, because he reminded me that I'm never too disconnected from home. Same goes for Bec – but I enjoy his company more than I do Karkat's.
Please be good, and take good care of Bec. Write back soon – I look forward to getting your next letter!
Sincerely, your big brother,
Jake English"
