"Red, you're back!" Rachael exclaimed, plucking the little bird from the ground and spinning him around.
"Whoa! Okay…" Red stumbled for balance when the sow finally put him down, his wing grabbing Leonard's arm for support.
"Looks like my cousin finally did something right," the woman stated, smirking at Leonard.
"I asked Red to be my queen, and he agreed," the king informed her.
The sow clapped her hooves in excitement. "That's wonderful news. I have everything arranged. Shall we hold the ceremony tonight?"
Leonard raised a brow. "Shouldn't we get our new ambassadors settled first? And invitations sent out to both family and the neighboring islands? A royal wedding is a momentous occasion."
"Done and done. Uncle Harold is schmoozing with the ambassadors of Fox Island and Sheep Island as we speak. And I do believe that the ambassadors from Rabbit Island and Goat Island will be here in a few hours," Rachael answered.
"What if… what if I hadn't returned with Leonard?" Red suddenly asked. "What if the hatchlings and I had stayed on Bird Island?"
Rachael leaned down to loudly whisper to him, "Well, if Leonard had returned alone, I would have wacked him over the head and sent him back to Bird Island immediately — along with another shipment of grapes and an impressive bouquet of flowers." She threw her cousin a disappointed look as she continued, "Because, in that scenario, it's obvious that he would have said or done something stupid to break your heart."
The petite avian's eyes widened in amazement. She would have done all that — for him?
Leonard rolled his eyes, grumbling, "You have such confidence in me, cousin." They were interrupted by the arrival of a certain yellow bird racing up to them. Behind him, the triplets waddled up from the lower cabins, followed by Bomb.
"What did we miss? Who's this new guy?" Chuck asked, his rapid voice betraying his enthusiasm.
"Leonard's cousin, Rachael. And she's a girl," Red told him.
"Really?" Chuck swept his gaze over the new pig, and then stage-whispered to Red, "It's hard to tell when they're wearing clothes."
Leonard sighed and rolled his eyes to the sky. "Our new ambassadors will need training."
"So it seems," his cousin answered, although she was clearly amused.
"Auntie!"
The triplets raced up to the sow, and began to dart around her legs. She reached down and swept her hooves over the tops of their heads in greeting.
"Awwww… I wish we could have kids," Bomb said, sighing happily at the sight.
"We should head back to the castle. We still have much to prepare," Rachael suddenly announced. She gestured to the buggy that was waiting for them. "I'm afraid I wasn't planning for such a large party. Would one of you like to ride with the driver?"
"I will!" Bomb said, happily settling into the front seat.
"Pft! I bet I could beat you guys back to the castle. In fact, I could probably get there and back three times before you'd even arrived at the city," Chuck boasted, preparing to prove himself.
"Nope," Rachael commented, putting a hand on the little bird's head. "We don't want to startle the other ambassadors too quickly. They've never seen birds before. We're going to try to sneak all of you in through the back door, so we have time to get you all dressed appropriately for the ceremony."
"Ross, take the birds to the baths. I will take care of the final preparations for the ceremony," Rachael insisted. "Leonard…" The sow looked her cousin up and down, before sighing. "Nevermind. You go, too. I'll have your wedding attire set out in your room when you are finished. And no, you may not see Red after he's dressed. It's bad luck to see the bride in their wedding outfit before the ceremony."
"I think he may be more comfortable in the silk robe from Fox Island. Remember? The ones with the cherry blossoms," Leonard told her. "It should be in his closet in the Queen's Suite."
"Really?" The sow considered this, before nodding her approval. "I'll have a tailor pop in to adjust it then. The jewelers are already working on a new crown for the occasion. Oh, and the stylists will be around to make sure that Red is looking his best."
And so, after a quick trip to the baths to wash up after their trip, the group separated into their various rooms. At Rachael's insistence, the hatchlings were put under the care of Chuck and Bomb until the ceremony.
Now alone in the hallway, Red glanced up at his lover, giving him a shy smile when their eyes met.
"See you at the ceremony, Red," the king said, returning his smile.
Red nodded, and turned away, only to freeze when he felt Leonard come up behind him. "And don't forget…" A kiss was placed to the back of his neck, making Red shiver pleasantly. "I love you."
The avian suddenly found himself at a loss for words. "I-I'll see you there," he said, fleeing into his room.
Leonard smiled. He was sure that Red would stay those words back to him one day — he just had to be patient.
Red was staring into the mirror, his stomach churning with anxiety, when a voice from the hallway caught his attention.
"Uncle Harold, you can't go in there!" Rachael was saying.
"Poppycock! I'm the groom's Father. I should have a chance to meet my son's love interest before he gets hitched!"
Red's attention shifted from the conversation beyond the door to his inner thoughts. Leonard's love interest… Leonard loves me! I know he said he loved me, but I didn't really think about it…
The bird in the mirror was smiling like a lovesick moron, but Red couldn't bring himself to care. His heart was beating frantically beneath the delicate folds of his silken robe, threatening to overwhelm his normally stoic facade. Squeezing his eyes shut, and covering them with his wings, the avian took in several deep breaths to try to calm his excitement. Nope, not working. This wasn't good! He couldn't go out there grinning like a loon!
I'm not crazy, he thought to himself. I'm just in love… Red's eyes widened behind his wings as he came to that stunning realization.
I'm in LOVE with Leonard!
"Are you alright, my dear?"
The avian shot up in his seat, his golden eyes darting to the strange pig leaning over him. He looked a great deal like Leonard, just with hair on his upper lip, and a small patch of a beard on his chin.
"I'm fine," Red blurted out, instantly aware that he was talking to Leonard's father. He must have come in without him noticing. "You… you look like Leonard." Oh, Mighty Eagle, that was a stupid thing to say!
"Why, thank you. And you must be the infamous Red I've been hearing about. Rachael told me all about you, but she failed to mention how adorable you are. Such a huggable size," the elder pig said, winking flirtatiously as he pulled up a chair.
Red blushed, and ducked his head.
"Probably for the best. If I'd had a chance to meet you sooner, I might have had to challenge Leonard for your wing in marriage," the former king sighed, making Red nearly squawk in disbelief.
"Uncle!" Rachael admonished through the closed door.
"You can stop eavesdropping now!" the pig called over his shoulder. "Your winged beauty is safe from my advances!"
These pigs… they were really too much sometimes. Red found himself frozen in his chair when the larger male's attention returned to him.
"Oh, I do believe I've forgotten to introduce myself." The pig got to his feet again, and announced, "I am Harold Mudbeard XIV, former king of Piggy Island." He ended his words with a deep bow toward the avian, before reclaiming his seat.
"Red… I'm just… Red," the bird answered, awestruck.
"No last names on Bird Island? How curious," the pig said. "Now tell me, my dear, how did you meet my son?"
Red's eyes narrowed as a frown came over his beak. "He crashed his stupid ship into my beach house."
By the end of his tale of how he and Leonard met, the former king was laughing and slapping his knee in amusement. "Like father, like son. Did you know that his mother punched me when we first met? I ruined her vineyard, and she didn't care that I was a prince. No sir. That sow had a mean right hook. I went home with a black eye that day," Harold remembered fondly.
Red couldn't help but smile. Leonard never talked about his mother, but she sounded like an interesting woman.
"In the end, I made sure to right my wrongs, and she finally agreed to be my queen," Harold stated, grinning.
"Well, Leonard did, finally, repair my home. And upgraded it," Red said, rolling his eyes. But there was a fond smile on his beak, as well.
"Wonderful!" the elder pig laughed, clapping his hooves together. He was about to say more when they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" Harold asked, glancing away from the avian.
"We're the stylists, your majesty," a feminine voice called out.
"Ah, I should take my leave. It was lovely meeting you, my dear," the pig insisted, getting up from his seat. Reaching down, he lifted Red's wing to his lips, and kissed the back of it. "I'm glad my son found someone special to spend the rest of his life with."
"I'm not special," Red denied automatically, averting his gaze.
A gentle hoof under his chin tilted his head back up. Red's golden eyes widened as he found himself meeting Harold's intense gaze.
"I don't believe that for a second, my dear," the former king all but purred, pressing a last, lingering kiss to his wing, before letting himself out of the room. Red didn't have time to think about what had just happened, as he was suddenly surrounded by three new pigs that were at least a head taller than him. Two were clearly female, but the third… he wasn't quite sure.
"Oooh, such lovely feathers."
"You look marvelous, Queen Consort."
"We are here to make you even more lovely."
Ah, the last one was a male, then. Wait, what did they mean by MORE lovely?
Leonard gazed at his reflection in the mirror. He was dressed in the traditional male royal regalia of Piggy Island. It consisted of a long, royal blue tunic that ended mid-way down his thighs, and a black belt that rested around his hips. A small, ornate dagger in a sheath of gold and jewels hung from the belt.
Narrowing his eyes at the mirror, he adjusted the cloak around his shoulders. That particular cloak, with its neck of fake white and black feathers, had been passed down from one ruler to the next for generations. It was a family heirloom that proved that the person wearing it was worthy of praise and admiration. But for some strange reason, the cloak was not giving him the same feeling of satisfaction that he always used to have when parading about in it. His uncertainty was cut short only a moment later when his father flung open the door, and let himself into the wardrobe room.
"Leonard, my boy! I'm disappointed in you," the elder pig announced, his hands on his hips.
"Why would you be disappointed in me?" Leonard asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"You didn't even have the decency to introduce me to your darling little avian before proposing to him. He's so adorable. I just want to take him home with me," the former king sighed.
Leonard narrowed his eyes, his mouth set in a firm line. "Father, stop. Red is my fiancée, AND your future son-in-law."
"I know, I know. But really, you shouldn't have kept such a secret from your old man. I'm proud of you, son. You know, your aunt Chloe and I searched everywhere for that island, but you seemed to have no trouble finding it. Maybe you were destined to meet your lovely little bride," Harold suggested, winking at him.
Leonard opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off when voices rose in the hallway. A crimson shape suddenly fled into the room, shutting the door quickly behind him. The avian didn't even seem to notice that they were there, as his full attention was on the door he was leaning against. As the voices in the hallway drifted off, he turned around with a sigh — only to catch sight of them across the room.
"Leonard," Red said, a smile brightening on his beak only moments before his gaze landed on the king's outfit. An immediate scowl crossed over his face. "Absolutely not. That cape is horrendous. Take it off."
"But every king and queen before me…" Leonard tried to explain, only to get cut off with a wave of a crimson wing.
"It looks like something Judge Peckinpah would wear," Red said, his talons clicking against the stone floor as he made his way across the room. "Take it off."
Leonard rolled his eyes, but there was a smile on his lips as he followed his fiancée's orders. As they watched, the little bird riffled through the closet, before finding what he was looking for. "Harold, can you get this down for me?"
"Of course, my dear. You can call me father, you know. We'll be family very soon, after all," the elder pig stated pleasantly.
"Right. Sorry. I'm not used to… I don't have parents, so…" The avian's golden eyes were darting around the room as he struggled to express his thoughts.
"It's alright. Piglet steps," Harold commented, patting the adorable bird on the shoulder, before handing his son the cloak. It was a rich blue, a few shades darker than his tunic, and edges were embroidered delicately with jewels.
After adjusting his clothing, and placing his crown on his head, Leonard turned to look at his fiancée. "Well, how do I look now?"
Red felt his breath catch in his throat. His lover looked rather dashing in that outfit. Like something out of a fairytale. "I — I still don't understand why you need that crown-thing, but you look very… handsome," the avian finally said, his cheeks heating up under his feathers.
Voices in the hallway caught their attention moments before there was a knock on the door. "King Leonard, your bride has… run away," a woman admitted shamefully from the hall.
"Don't worry. He's in here," Leonard said, winking at his fiancée.
There were several startled gasps. "But that's improper."
"He just popped in for a visit," Harold spoke up. "By the way, what were you fitting him for when he ran off?"
"Earrings, your highness."
"I don't believe avians have outer ears, my dear. Best to take the Queen Consort's advice to heart in regards to his species," the former king insisted.
"Yes, your highness," the woman replied through the door.
"Guess it's time for me to leave. All this poking and prodding… Next time, just carry me over the threshold, and be done with it," Red groaned, frowning up at his mate.
"No goodbye hug?" Leonard teased, wiggling his eyebrows.
The crimson bird raised one of his own impressive eyebrows in response. "If you insist." He waved for the taller male to lean down, and proceeded to wrap his wings around the pig's neck to pull him close.
Leonard felt his lover's beak rubbing fondly against his cheek. With a good-hearted chuckle, he returned the little nuzzle. As Red pulled back, the king was amused to see that the bird's headfeathers were raised, his golden gaze slightly unfocused even as he stared up at Leonard. How adorable.
"Um… I guess I'll see you soon," the avian said, ducking his head in embarrassment as he pulled away. Making his way across the room, Red took a deep breath, and pulled open the door, grimacing at the sight of the three porcine people waiting patiently for him.
"Alright. Let's get this over with," Red groaned, sliding the door shut behind him.
"Awwww, birds have the cutest way of kissing," Harold mused aloud, as Leonard returned to eyeing himself in the mirror.
"Kissing?" The young king spun around, staring at his father in shock. "Wait! That was a KISS?"
Note: Yes, Harold has a mustache and a goatee, even if Red doesn't yet know the words for them.