A/N: Yes tis I, utter trash. I promised myself I would update at more over the break, but here we are. Don't worry though, folks! I plan on finishing this bad boy. Please enjoy!
Determination and confidence coursed through Brady, along with the warmth of Mikayla's blessing, when he burst back into the dining hall, where dignitaries and elders were still waiting, severely pissed off.
"Where have you been?" demanded the leader of the elders, "It's been hours!" everyone else grumbled in assent. Brady flushed, embarrassed he'd forgotten about the party.
"Well, we came to an agreement," He said sheepishly.
"After a lot of planning and coordination. That's why it took so long," Boomer's voice rang out as the doors opened with a bang. He strolled in leisurely, taking no notice of the angry people in the room. Boz followed, but he was considerably more sympathetic, stopping to murmur an apology to each disgruntled dignitary. Once everyone was seated, the elders stood up suddenly.
"Well? What say you?" One of them asked, rather rudely. Brady rolled his eyes at the tone but stood regardless.
"We've decided that I will take the throne, but Boomer and Boz will stay as princes and advise me," he explained. This sent the elders into a flurry of angry whispering. This was an unorthodox plan, because the elders were usually the only advisors to the kings.
"This is madness! We put up with a lot from you buffoons, but this crosses the line! We forbid it!" Cried the elder with wild feathers weaved into her headdress.
"Never has a king appointed his own advisors," Explained Mason quietly. Brady's eyes lit up.
"Kings can make proclamations right, even without being coroneted?" he asked. Mason raised an eyebrow.
"No, but since all three of you are in charge still, you could make a proclamation together," Mason suggested. Perfect, thought Brady. He beckoned the brother's close and explained his plan.
"What are you whispering about?" the elders asked angrily. The kings pulled away from each other to face the room at large.
"Here ye, hear ye, we bout to make a royal proclamation!" Boomer announced. Brady cleared his throat.
"We declare that Kings must appoint their own advisors, and they may include the elders. That being said, you guys are invited to be my advisors too," he said, containing a smile at their flabbergasted faces. They all began talking at once, crying out in outrage at this new proclamation. This meant a serious loss of power for the elders.
"Also, Mason, you're fired," Boz added nonchalantly. The Sasquatch's mouth dropped, and he began to sputter.
"Don't interrupt, Mason, that's very rude," chided Boomer, "He was gonna say you're invited to the board of advisors too," Mason's eyes widened and he fell silent.
"Board of advisors?" Mikayla asked amusedly, quirking an eyebrow.
"Girl, can you go two minutes without your negative vibes ruining everybody's day?" Boomer asked. Mikayla threw up her hands; she could never win when it came to the kings.
"What Boomer forgot to add, is that we're promoting you to head guard," Brady told her with his best smile. Mikayla froze, touched by the gesture.
"Thank you," she told him sincerely. He winked in response and wild butterflies erupted in Mikayla's stomach. She blanched at the sensation, but no one was paying her any mind; they were all absorbed in the elders' reactions to the changes. Mikayla tried hard to rid herself of the feeling, by it wouldn't subside. That didn't mean anything, did it? It couldn't mean anything.
Right?
"Okay, is everybody down?" Boz asked, forever the people pleaser. The Elders grumbled their assent.
"Kinkow really is changing," Commented Queen Iris, who had only recently taken over the Island of Cornea after her father passed away. "Could I do that?" she quietly asked her own advisor. The man sputtered quietly, trying to think of reasons to tell her no.
"Why not?" Boz answered her. "We did"
"Yeah, and you seem very eyes—ah, I meant wise," Brady blushed at his blunder, but Queen Iris took it in stride.
"We are having a meeting when we get back," she informed her advisor. The twin queens of Sununu, Hesta and Desta, nodded in agreement.
"Screw tradition," Hesta started.
"We can finally invoke some of the ideas we had!" Desta finished. Their advisors threw dirty looks to the kings, but they went ignored.
"Me too?" asked the boy king of Milindu. The kings shared quick glances among themselves.
"Uh, maybe when you're older? For now just listen to your mom," Brady smiled kindly at the exhausted looking Queen Nani, who smiled gratefully in return.
"Okay! I do believe we have a party to plan!" Boomer announced, rubbing his hands together excitedly. Rebecca laughed at the childlike way his eyes lit up.
"Come on, baby, I'll help," she told him, tugging him from the room.
"Meeting adjourned!" Boz called out, though everyone had already begun to leave.
"Ooh, I want to help plan the coronation!" Britt said, scrambling over to Rebecca and Boomer.
"Don't tell me anything! I wanna be surprised!" Brady cried, clamping his hands over his ears and squeezing his eyes shut. The remaining brothers chuckled at that.
"Better get started on the guest list then," Boomer said, already thinking of all the cool things he could do to make the coronation into a slamming party.
"We have to tell all the other citizens of the island! I could do a press thing!" Boz said excitedly, eager to contribute. Mikayla dawdled for a moment in the conference room, until it was just her and Brady, who had talking to the other rulers on their way out.
"So, not just your run-of-the-mill coronation, huh?" she asked him. Brady smirked.
"Nah, I've already had one those. Anyways, didn't you get the memo? We're shaking things up around here," Brady told her playfully.
"Not everything I hope, I'm kind of a big fan of some of our traditions," She replied. Her skin prickled and something warm burst across her ribcage at the way Brady smiled at her.
"Only the things that need fixing," he assured her. A strange feeling settled over the pair, strangely sweet but awkward. Brady scrubbed a hand over his face.
"Well, you should go supervise the party planning committee, make sure there are no fire hazards," Mikayla laughed, and Brady found himself trying to remember how to breathe.
"Yeah, alright," she agreed and made her way out of the room, pausing only briefly to touch Brady's cheek. He froze at the contact, but it was gone as fast as it came.
Mikayla only realized what she'd done far too late to take it back. She was completely unsure of what had possessed her to do something so out of character. She was sure it had nothing to do with the adoring smile he constantly threw in her direction. The guard girl was confused; she had always found King Brady's affection annoying and suffocating, but now, it was sweet and filled her with warmth. She couldn't like Brady, could she? Mikayla blanched at the thought and stuffed it far into a corner of her mind, where she wouldn't reach for it. Quite suddenly, she found herself outside the King's bedroom door, unsure of how she got there. She shrugged, Brady had asked her to keep an eye on his brothers anyways. She forced a smile on her face and knocked. There was a beat of silence, and then Brittney opened the door.
"Hey! How goes the party planning?" the island girl asked. Brittney smirked.
"Come and see for yourself," she stepped aside to reveal Boomer and Boz surrounded by crumpled paper and smeared with ink. Rebecca was sat in between the boy, unhappily rubbing an ink stain on her cheek.
"My Kings! That kind of marker stains! And you're getting it everywhere!" Mikayla chided the boys. Boomer gave her a knowing look.
"Doesn't everything stain?" he asked in a sage voice. Mikayla resisted the urge to roll her eyes and snatch the markers away from them. Thankfully, Rebecca seemed to be one step ahead, and gathered the markers while the boys were distracted.
"Hey!" cried Boz, "Boomer, control your girlfriend," Boomer opened his mouth, but withered under Rebecca's fierce stare.
"Maybe we should use a pencil instead," he offered meekly. Rebecca rewarded him with a dazzling smile and a quick kiss, which perked Boomer up considerably.
"Do you ever get tired of dating a 5 year old?" asked Brittney, rolling her eyes at the childish mess on the floor.
"Aw, come on, we're not that bad!" Boz protested, pleading his case with a sweet smile. Mikayla blinked. She hadn't noticed the chemistry blooming between Boz and Brady's new friend. The more she looked, the clearer it became. They sat almost as close as Rebecca and Boomer did, with the blonde perched on the arm rest on Boz's side of the couch. Boz angled towards her and straightened every time she looked at him, which was a lot. His ears burned red, turning a shade to match his ginger locks. Brittney batted her eyelashes playfully at him and pouted almost subconsciously.
"Are you just going to stand and stare, or are you helping?" asked Boz, noticing Mikayla's scrutiny.
"Let's just make sure none of this will be a fire hazard," Mikayla told him, in lieu of answering. She spent the hour planning with the other kings and co. only to be interrupted by Brady, who stopped by to collect his guitar. Of course, he was booed out of the room and had to duck a barrage of crumpled paper when he tried to sneak a peek at the plans. At midnight, the gang called it quits and the girls cleared the room. Leaving the room, they found a sleeping Brady slumped over his guitar in the hallway outside the king's room. Brittney laughed, reaching over to ruffle the King's hair. Mikayla felt a spark of something sharp run through her. Brady woke and the kings retired for the night. Only after Mikayla had settled into bed did she identify the feeling as jealousy.
00000
The next morning brought more party planning and invitation sending and family-calling. Aunt Nancy and Bill were excited to come back, though still apprehensive of the island. Brady requested his friend Nino be invited too. Party planning went on for a few days and then invitations and hot air balloons were sent. Nino near about sobbed when Brady told him he was rescuing him from his family. They laughed and talked on the phone and Brady ordered a hot air balloon be sent to Milan immediately. The party was to be held the following week, so Boomer and Boz went wild with declarations while they were still allowed to make them. Mikayla was sure no one on the island would forget the day when 17 people were arrested for wearing plaid. Of course, the kings had them released soon after, but they still had several disgruntled citizens to deal with.
Finally the day of the party came, along with its many guests. Aunt Nancy and Uncle Bill arrived first. Pulling the boys into tight, almost crushing hugs. They spent time with Boz, getting to know him. Dignitaries from other islands came sporadically throughout the day. Last was Nino, who promptly threw up after a crazy balloon ride here. Nevertheless, he was excited to meet Brady's brothers and see Britt again.
"Hey Britt!" The blonde girl only shrieked in response and threw herself around Nino. He stumbled but held tight.
"Dude!" Brady clapped Nino on the shoulder, pulling him into a one armed hug.
"Thanks for rescuing me man!" He replied. Brady grinned at that then took him around, introducing him to everyone. Boomer and Nino got along well, but Boz was kind of apprehensive, Brady noticed, he'd have to talk to him about that. Mikayla and Rebecca thought Nino was charming and begged him to say things in Italian, to which he happily obliged. Mason seemed to scare Nino, but then again, who didn't he scare. The guests were settled in, then citizens gathered in the courtyard, ready for the ceremony to begin. The traditions proceeded without a hitch, quite unlike Brady's last coronation. The officials took their leave after the ceremony and then the real party started.
All in all, it was a really good party, with only one explosion, which was a complete and utter accident because how were King Boomer and King Boz supposed to know they'd mixed their smuggled fireworks with the emergency flares. Boz plucked up the courage to ask Britt to dance, to which she happily agreed. Rebecca and Boomer spent the night snuggled up together on the dance floor. Nino was surrounded by island girls, who couldn't seem to get enough of his exotic personality. Brady breezed around, talking and networking, while still having a great time. Only Mikayla seemed to hanging around awkwardly. Around midnight, the DJ announced the last song of the night.
"Want to dance?" Brady asked Mikayla, startling her.
"Oh! My King, I didn't see you there, you scared me!" she said, not answering his question.
"I'm sorry! Can I make it up to you with some funky fresh dance moves?" Brady offered her his arm and Mikayla took it, laughing.
"This is a slow dance," she reminded him.
"We'll just take it slow," he answered, leading her to the dancefloor. He gave a warm and sincere smile that sent her reeling. Brady as careful to keep a respectable distance between them, and kept his hands barely touching a spot right beneath her shoulder blades. Maybe it was the way Brady was looking at her, or maybe it was the atmosphere of the night, but Mikayla took a step and closed the distance between the two, looping her arms around his neck and tucking her face in the crook of his neck. She heard he give a shaky breath before he settled his hands firmly on their spots below her shoulder blades.
Yes, all in all, it was a rather perfect night.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! This is the last chapter of mostly fluff for sometimes, so get ready for actual plot! Please tell me what you liked, didn't like, concerns, and critiques in the review! Thanks guys!