Chapter Four:
As soon as Reya comes back to join the others, Keith spoke up. " Alright, we will leave you to your business Mister..." he addresses Pops. Pops just smiles at the crowned prince and holds his hand out for Keith to shake.
" Just call me Pops, ya highness." The older man tells the prince in a very friendly tone. Luke looked worried as he sees a serious look on Keith's face but sighs in relief when he sees Keith take the commoner's hand in his. The two shook hands briefly as Pops' smile widened. " Now ya all have fun now. Ya better be tellin' me about it when ya get back, Rey." Reya didn't get to respond when Keith took her by the arm.
" Yes, thank you...Pops. " Keith replied to the older mechanic rather bluntly then looks over at Luke. " Let's get going, Luke. The sooner we get to the home the sooner we can go back to the palace." Luke nods his head as the three of them left the garage.
As soon as the three reach the town car, Luke opens the back door. " My lady." The butler politely tells Reya. Reya enters the car saying a quite thank you to the prince's employee. As she sits down, Keith climbs into the back with Reya. Luke bows his head to the prince. " Your highness." He says before closing the door.
" So." Keith starts as Luke made his way to the driver's seat. " Why do we have to stop at Liberty Halls anyway?" Reya went wide-eyed as she heard the name escape from the prince's lips. Keith's brow rose out of curiosity.
" I have to let the head of the house know that I am not gonna be working tonight." Reya explains to the crowned prince. The woman didn't look at Keith, raising the prince's suspicions on the commoner. " Plus I promised someone special to me that I would visit today. Is that a crime, your highness?"
Keith scoffs at Reya's remark. " Don't get sassy with me Miss Williams." He warns Reya while bopping the woman on the head with his knuckles. Reya rubs her head as Keith looks at Luke. " To Liberty Halls, Luke. The faster the better." Luke says a quiet 'yes your highness' before starting the car and driving towards the trio's destination.
The town car stops in front of a white picket fence that leads to a pastel blue Victorian Era mansion. The house had about a three acre yard which is littered with some toys. As soon as Luke turned the car off, Reya unbuckled herself and bolted from the car. Keith frowns at the woman's sudden actions until he noticed why she left immediately.
The door to the mansion flung open and a couple of "children" began running to the fence to open it. " Luke, you stay here." Keith orders as he exits the car as well. Luke didn't get the chance to protest when Keith went after Reya. The raven haired woman is already inside the picket fence, hugging the three "children" that ran towards her.
" Miss Rey! You came!" A boy with an unusual looking head and face exclaims happily. " We thought pirates got ya!" The boy's two companions who shared the same unusual body proportions nodded in unison. It wasn't until Keith opens the fence when the "children" notices the prince's presence. " P-Pirate!?" One of the other boys yells as all three of them hide behind Reya.
Reya laughs as Keith made an unamused face. " You guys, Keith isn't a pirate." She explains to the three boys. " Keith is our prince. He came all the way here with me to visit you. And has Roger been telling you stories again? I'll have to talk to him later..." Reya looks at Keith. " Keith, these are the youngest residences of Liberty Halls. Johnny, Bobby and Jimmy."
" It's...nice to meet you?" He says more like a question than an actual greeting. " Um...why are they here exactly? They are still children." Jimmy frowns at Keith's question and answers the prince himself.
" We not children! " he yells at the prince. " We is twenty you meanie!" Keith shoots a brief look at Reya, who nods her head to confirm Jimmy's statement to him. The prince stood there in complete surprise before turning his attention to the shorter men behind Reya.
" Boys, why don't you go inside and tell Miss Daisy that I wish to talk to her." Reya tells the young men. All three of them nod their head and then ran back into the house as Reya told them to. Keith opens his mouth to ask the woman a question before Reya interrupted the prince with the answer. " All three of them have Down Syndrome. Johnny and Bobby have the mentality of eight year olds but Jimmy is slightly worse with the mentality of a six year old. They are good boys though."
Keith turns his attention from his female companion to the pastel colored house. " Should I be expecting anything else from the residence of this place?" He bluntly asks. Reya shook her head in responce.
" This is only suppose to be a short visit, so you might not get a chance to run into everyone. I'm here to see my boss and visit someone who is very important to me. You can wait in the car if you are uncomfortable, your highness." Keith sends a cold glare at the commoner woman who just shrugs it off. For some reason, Keith is feeling quite fustrated because Reya has to stay longer just to visit her "important person".
Keith shook his head. " I am still coming with you." He said with a smug look on his face. " There is nothing you can say to make me change my mind. So don't get sassy with me." Reya shrugs her shoulders as the two of them walk up to the mansion. The inside of the Victorian Era mansion is quite different from the outside. Child-like finger paintings decorated the walls and tupperware of toys were around the house.
Reya leads Keith to an office on the second floor where there were two people waiting there for them. One is an elderly woman in her late sixties. She had her silver hair kept back into a tight bun. The woman wore a pale pink sweater and a long, brown skirt. The other person with the elderly woman is a girl with the same facial features and body proportions of the young men Keith met earlier. She had her brown hair tied up in a high ponytail but her slanted eyes shared a slight familiarity in color to Reya's. The girl stood up from her seat and smiled brightly.
" Rey-Rey!" The girl shouts and bolts towards Reya, wrapping her short arms around the young woman. " You came! Are we gonna play today? Wait!" The girl blinks and looks towards Keith. " Who is he?" Reya smiles kindly and hugs the girl back.
" I always come visit you Miranda. You know I gotta work to pay the bills." Reya tells the girl. " Miranda, this is Prince Keith." Reya looks at Keith and smiles weakly. " Prince Keith, I'd like you to meet my boss Miss Daisy and my sister, Miranda Williams."