Eighteen Years in the Future

Mikayla's POV

"Mikayla! Get the door!" I heard Aunt Ethel yell from the bedroom.

"Yes Aunt Ethel," I said obediently, getting up from the kitchen table where I'd been eating my breakfast and walking over to the front door.

"Mikayla!" Candis squealed as soon as I opened the door.

"Hi Candis…" I said tentatively. I hadn't seen her since the day we'd snuck into the castle, the day she'd said it would soon be time for Phase Two. That was about five days ago, so I guessed it was now time for the mysterious Phase Two.

"No need to look so worried," Candis giggled. "What, do you think I'm going to ask you to rob a bank or something?"

That actually wouldn't surprise me. I could totally see her doing that, if it meant it would get her a cute guy. Or maybe some designer shoes.

"What do you want then?" I asked, almost scared of the answer.

"It's time for Phase Two!" She announced, her blue eyes shining. For my best friend, that's never a good sign.

I groaned.

"Stop complaining!" She snapped, the dreamy sparkle gone from her eyes. "We're going for a walk, Aunt Ethel!" She called, grabbing my arm and yanking me outside.

"Alright girls! Just be back by dinner, Mikayla!" She called back.

"I will," I muttered. "Unless this lands me in jail." It could happen. With Candis, it was actually really likely. She's been arrested for getting in a huge cat fight over a pair of pumps before.

"So what's Phase Two?" I asked her as soon as we were out of sight of my hut.

She stopped walking, glanced around to see if anyone else was in hearing distance, then whispered, "We're going to abduct King Brady."

"What?!" I yelped, backing away from her.

"Shhhhh! Keep your voice down!" She hissed, grabbing my arm again.

"Candis," I breathed, coming closer again. "We can't kidnap the king."

"We're not kidnapping him, we're abducting him," she said.

"There's no difference!" I exclaimed.

"Shhhhh!" Her long, manicured nails dug into my arm. "Yes there is. Listen, we can just sneak into his room in the middle of the night, take him, and hold him hostage until he falls madly in love with you and you two get married."

I just shook my head. I had no words. How could she even delude herself into thinking that that would ever work?

"Candis," I finally got out. "That is kidnapping. And even if it wasn't, he's not going to fall in love with me if I abduct him."

"But… But… You two belong together," she protested. "Don't you love him? Don't you want to be with him forever?"

No, I didn't love him. No, I didn't want to be with him forever. But I had been thinking of him constantly ever since he'd turned the corner in that hallway and disappeared from sight that day in the castle… And I knew that I had to see him again.

"There has to be anther way," I breathed, leaning against a tree for support. Thinking of Brady- I mean, King Brady, was making me weak. Just thinking about him made me weak…

"What is happening to me?" I whispered, a tear slowly coursing down my cheek.

"You've fallen in love," Candis whispered back, her voice sounding all choked up.

I looked up at at her.

Her eyes were full of tears.

"Candis, are you okay?" I asked, another tear escaping. I tried to blink them back, but my vision was already blurring. I wiped them away with the back of my hand, and she came into focus again.

"I know how you feel," she said softly. "I've had it happen to me."
"Really?" I knew she'd chased after hundreds of boys, but I didn't know she'd ever fallen in love. "Who is he?"

For a minute or two she just stared off into space, like she was remembering something from long ago, some long-lost memory she hadn't recalled it until now. Then she straightened, blinked back her tears, and said briskly, "It doesn't matter. Now, if we can't abduct him, then how are you going to see him again?"

I was pretty put off by her sudden change of mood, but I tried my best to adjust to it. "Maybe I could go visit my dad. Since he works at the castle."

She nodded. "Good plan. Let's get moving. To the castle!" She marched past me, taking the lead down the beaten path to the castle, and King Brady.

Still unsettled by my best friend's major mood change, but not wanting to dig into it, I followed her, hoping this trip would be as successful as the last one.

~XXX~

My dad was standing right in the middle of the plaza, writing something on the official-looking clipboard. He was such a sight for sore eyes! I didn't realize until we arrived in the courtyard just how much I'd missed him.

"Daddy!" I cried, running over and throwing my arms around him in a tight bear hug.

"Mikayla!" He sounded extremely surprised to see me. But pleased too.

"I missed you," I told him honestly.

"I missed you too, baby girl," he said. "But what are you doing here?"

"I missed you," I repeated. "I want to start visiting you more often. I don't see you enough."

"Baby girl, I'd love it if you visited me more, but I'm afraid you can't. No family members of staff are allowed in the castle unless they work here too. Those are the rules."

I should have known there'd be rules. I turned to Candis, searching for help.

Stick out the lip, she mouthed.

Okay, so it had to come to begging. I guess that was a small price to pay to see King Brady every day.

"Da-ddy," I pleaded, sticking out my lower lip in a classic pout. "Pleeeeease? I miss you so much!"

"I'm sorry Mikayla, but rules are rules. I don't make them, I just follow them."

I stuck out my lip a bit farther.

He shook his head. "Pouted won't work this time. It's not my decision."

Then I remembered something he'd said earlier. "What if I get a job here? Then I could see you all the time!" And King Brady, I thought.

"I don't know, baby girl. We don't need any more servants, we got plenty of those."

"What if you hire me as a guard? I went to fight school when I was younger, remember? I was a star student. And I know everything there is to know about weapons and battle techniques and all that stuff! I'd be a great guard." Being a guard would be way more fun than being a servant. I'd actually really enjoy that.

"One of our guards, Roger, did just quit," my dad said thoughtfully. "And you always were a pretty good warrior…" He pulled out his machete and handed it to me. "Show me what you can do."

I took the weapon, then turned to face the door.

My dad took an apple out of his pocket and threw it up in the air.

I swung the blade at the fruit and split it in half mid-air.

Candis immediately began to clap. "Go Mikayla!" She cheered.

I beamed at her.

"Wow, baby girl, that was pretty impressive," my dad said admiringly. "You got the job!"

"Yes!" I cried, turning to Candis excitedly. The two of us started jumping up and down in excitement.

"And now," my dad said, interrupting us. "It's time for you to meet out kings."

~XXX~

After I'd calmed Candis down, she left and my dad left my in the Throne Room.

All three kings were already there, eating popsicles. For triplets, they sure didn't look alike. One of the kings, the one sitting to King Brady's right, was about King Brady's height, but a bit chubbier and African-American. The third king was much taller than the other two, and he had red hair and freckles. There were all kind of cute, but Brady was by far the cutest. My heart skipped a little at the sight of him, sitting there eating his popsicle. They all looked up when we came in, and I saw King Brady sit up straighter when he saw me. I felt my cheeks burning, and I desperately hoped I looked okay and not a total fashion disaster.

"My kings, this is my daughter Mikayla," my dad said. "She's our new guard."

"Hi Mikayla," the other two kings said, but King Brady didn't say anything, just looked at me, smiling.

I smiled back.
"Okay Mikayla, I had a lot of work to do, but I'm sure one of the kings can show you around," my dad said.

"I will!" King Brady said, popping up.

My dad nodded. "Okay. See you later, baby girl."

King Brady walked up to me, his hands in his pockets, and said, "So, you're Mikayla?"
I nodded. "It's an honor to meet you, my king."

He smiled at me. "The honor is all mine."