The emperor made his way to the dining room with a furrowed brow. After he had finished spying on his daughter and Diogo, he hurriedly sent out letters to every royal he could think of. He made sure that the letters were presented as urgent. He had to find her a suitor that would successfully charm her before that yellow moron did.
That was also why he was so tense when he walked into the dining room. He took a seat before the table with a neutral expression. This expression was to mask his inner frustration. When he sat down, he exhaled a stream of smoke through his nostrils. He could really use another cold bath.
As the servants brought out the different foods, he glanced at Trollex before picking up his chopsticks. He released a quiet growl before beginning to work on his food.
Lien looked up and glanced over at her father. "You seem very tense, father...did something happen?" She asked with furrowed brows.
The deep red troll looked up at her...before shaking his head. "Nothing important. I have a lot on my mind." He said while reaching for his small tea cup.
"Oh." Lien said while she turned her gaze elsewhere, purposefully not asking him what was wrong as she went back to her food.
The emperor nodded at that before turning to Trollex. "King Trollex. I hear that you have a suitor problem. I wanted to let you know that my daughter is available if you are out of options."
Trollex nearly choked on his tea. "Eh...well...I'm not exactly built for this environment and it's…" He looked around with a blink.
"We can have new bodies of water installed." The emperor said with a blink.
"It's too quiet?" Trollex responded with a blink.
"That can be arranged." The emperor said once again.
Trollex quickly thought of something to try and escape this conversation while Suki...was busy trying to learn how to eat with chopsticks. "Well-err-umm-the-the Funk Trolls have two princes..? On top of that, I think Lukas is single." He brought out with a nervous smile.
The emperor nodded at that. "I am aware. I have sent messages to the Funk Trolls and have sent for Lukas." He looked back down at his food.
Trollex wiped his brow in relief. He leaned back in his chair...while Suki still tried to utilize her chopsticks.
"...I will keep others in mind, but it would be cruel to take King Trollex away from the ocean." Lien said quietly while she sipped at her tea.
Trollex smiled a bit at that. "I really love the reef. It's...special to me." He glanced at the emperor.
Long Wei released a silent yet displeased growl. "Very well then." He said with a nod. "...Anyone is better than that yellow idiot." He silently grumbled to himself.
Lien glanced at her father before shaking her head. "You may do what you wish, father." She said while she went back to eating.
The emperor turned his gaze toward his daughter. "And if it is okay, I would like to have a word with you shortly after dinner."
"Alright." Lien merely said with a nod.
That was when Suki finally spoke up. "...Does someone have a fork?" She said with a pout on her face.
After dinner was over, the emperor walked with his daughter.
He turned to her look at her while he walked. "I wanted to let you know that I have had the yellow one removed from your room." Long Wei said with a nod.
Lien frowned for a moment before she inhaled. "...I was merely caring for him. He was looking for food and I grow fruit on my trees. He passed out from a mixture of exhaustion, hunger, and thirst, so I placed him on my bed and got him a proper meal. After that, I healed his wound and told him to sleep so he could gain his strength back." She explained with a neutral expression.
The emperor kept his gaze forward. "You have healed him and gave him food. Good. Your job is done. Your focus should be elsewhere."
"My focus is on my duties and the people." Lien said as she kept up her calm facade.
"The yellow one can handle himself." The emperor said with a halved eyed gaze. "Why not concern yourself with the more vulnerable guests that need your assistance like...the pink one. More specifically the king. He's a nice and impressive young man." He said, clearly suggesting something.
"He also has a kingdom in an environment that is much more suited for his aquatic body." Lien stated as she laced her fingers together. "And Suki is doing fine, if she needs me she knows where my room is." She added on with a nod.
The emperor's eyes halved even more at her response. "Why are you so interested in the yellow one? He is a walking disgrace."
"I am not interested...and he merely messed up. That doesn't make one a disgrace." Lien said as she exhaled calmly despite the situation.
"What he did is worth generations of shame and dishonor upon one's family. A person that you should have nothing to do with. Knowing him he'd shame you as well." He looked to the side, noticing his door. "I will take a bath. Occupy yourself with others. The yellow one is fine." He said, turning to walk into his room.
Lien merely let out a breath and nodded. "Yes, father." She simply said before she continued to talk down the hall at a slow pace.
About ten minutes later, Suki and Trollex came through. The pair smiled as they talked over a few things while they explored the palace. When they were exploring, they walked past Lien's room. The chipper troll was now sulking on her bed. This caused Suki and Trollex to frown.
Suki looked at Trollex. "What's wrong with Lien? Is she feeling well?" She whispered to the techno king.
Trollex shook his head in confusion. "The last time I saw her, she was okay. Maybe we should go check up on her?" He looked at Suki.
The pink troll nodded before entering the room. "We shall." She smiled at that and entered the room.
The two of them entered the room. Suki smiled at the red troll. "Hey there. What's up?"
"Nothing. Did you need something?" Lien asked with a hollow tone as she stared aimlessly out into her garden.
Suki shook her head. "No. We just wanted to talk. You're...kind of down." She sat down on the edge of the bed.
Trollex nodded at that. He sat down on the floor. "Is this about dinner? No harm. No foul." He shrugged a bit.
"...You should not concern yourselves with me. You are my father's guests and I am merely his daughter." Lien said rather simply as she didn't look back at either of them.
Trollex frowned a bit before saying, "I'd like to think of you as more of a friend."
"You have bestie potential." Suki said with a small smile. "And if one of my potential besties is down, I want to be there to help them get up."
"...You needn't do that." Lien glanced at Trollex before she cleared her throat. "And if you wish to stay out of the suitor business, it would be wise not to stay close to me. If you do, you are showing interest." She said as she made her way off of her bed and walked towards the open doors leading to her garden.
"The life of a royal is hard. We both know that I don't want to marry you but royals have to stick together." Trollex offered her a glowing smile. "To make things easier for both of us...we can chill when your dad is not around."
"...But someone is watching me at all times. Meaning they are even watching now. My father ramps up the...spying, when a suitor is here. That way I can't hide my reactions or feelings by talking in places he can't be in." Lien said after a moment, stepping out into her garden, not noticing her currently drooping wings drag a bit on the stone beneath her.
Suki frowned a bit at that. "Trollex..?" She tilted her head at him, asking him for a private moment with the princess.
Trollex blinked at that before nodding. "Well-I'll see you guys tomorrow. Then we can finish up that tour." He offered one last smile before zipping away.
When Trollex left, Suki walked out to where Lien was standing. She looked the troll over, noticing her saddened demeanor. "...It's gonna be okay." She reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"...You can't say that." Lien said while looking down at the ground with a frown.
"You are stressed?" Suki tilted her head. "...If my aunt called me out like that, I know I would be pretty embarrassed. That's just me, though." She put her hands in her jacket pocket.
"I'm not embarrassed." Lien replied while she shook her head and frowned a bit deeper.
Suki looked elsewhere with a blink. "...I was just saying that's what I would feel." She said with a slight frown.
"...Suki, you shouldn't worry yourself about me. You are a guest, meaning you should enjoy yourself." Lien said as she walked up towards one of the large fruit trees with an empty look in her eyes.
Suki sighed...before she went up and hugged the princess. "But you are my friend and if you are sad, I am sad. Don't you have friends?" She parted to look at the red troll.
"...I am only supposed to befriend others of my own rank. Royals." Lien said while glancing back at her with a small frown. "Besides, we only just met and you are here for protection, not friendship nor fun." She added on as her eyes flickered back down to the ground.
"Well...do you have any of those royal friends?" Suki asked with a head tilt.
"...I haven't had one in a long time. Royals only see me as the future empress and the key to my family's riches. The one I did befriend...was merely named another suitor for me." Lien stated while she looked up at the tree she was standing in front of.
"Sounds like I am the best you've got then." Suki said with a blink. "Where I am from, we make besties within hours of meeting. So...this is not that bad for me, but if you don't want to be my friend I can leave you alone." She offered the other troll a small smile before heading back to the door.
Lien was silent before she sighed. "I do want a friend...But too many things are at risk. If you do something to me...even on accident, you will bring shame and dishonor upon yourself and my father will not let you see me. It is why he hates your jungle friend, because Diogo did something that shamed himself...and he has all but told me to forget your friend." She said with furrowed brows as she turned a bit.
Suki glanced around before shrugging. "I'll be careful. On the bright side, I don't plan staying here. I have a great journey ahead of me; trying to get back to Pop Village. I have a short time here. I won't get a chance to mess anything up." She waved her hand. "When I get back to the village, I'll write to you, though."
"What is the purpose of making another temporarily happy? The last friend I had...we wrote so often until my father and some advisors stopped the flow because I was chosen as future empress. They told me it was improper to continue to talk with someone who could be my future husband." Lien shook her head and sighed softly. "They will put a stop to all letters unless they are from other royals or their advisors." She added on while her expression slowly shifted to a downcast one.
The hot pink troll frowned a bit at that before nodding. "...If you ever need anything, I'll be here. I won't forget you even when I do return home." She said before heading back into the palace.
Lien watched her before she sat down on the ground and merely brought her knees to her chest as she tried to keep her calm facade up while she closed her eyes and exhaled shakily.
In the early hours of the morning, when the sun had yet to rise, Diogo was wide awake. The colorful troll sniffed around with a smile on his lips. He felt much better since he had gotten some food and water into his system. Now he just had to escape the Dragon Dynasty and get out of there. First, he needed something to eat.
The yellow troll hopped from tree to tree as if he was a lemur. All of that caused the branches to shake and the trees to stir. Diogo stuffed fruits and nuts in his mouth. Storing them in his cheeks, he moved on to find more food. He quickly jumped to another tree, prompting a few branches to fall near the sleeping princess.
Lien began stirring after a particular branch landed and poked her. The princess warily looked around with half-opened eyes as she moved her hand and removed some of her hair adornments. "...Who's there?" She asked, sniffing a bit as she slowly looked up...before she tilted her head as she noticed Diogo. "Why do you look like a chipmunk?"
Diogo stared at her with wide amber eyes. "...Umm...bweakfasss..?" He glanced to the side.
"...You could have woke me up...I would have gotten you some fresher food." Lien said, keeping herself curled up a bit as she looked at him.
Diogo held up his index finger as he took a minute to chew. When he swallowed most of everything, he spoke. "I didn't want to wake you. Any princesa that falls asleep on the ground is tired. Besides, I can handle my own, you know?" He met eyes with her when he used his feathered tail to hand upside down from the branch.
"I merely fell asleep out here after speaking with Suki." Lien said, her eyes flickering away as she frowned before she glanced at him. "As for the other thing...I know, but even with all my fruit it won't be enough for your journey." She said with a shake of her head.
Diogo looked to the side. "Don't worry about me, princesa. I know how to get food. There are a variety of trees, roots, insects, and animals that I know how to work with." He said with a small smile.
"...Wouldn't it be faster if you had food already?" Lien asked, still sniffing a bit as though something else was on her mind.
"It may spoil." Diogo said with a tilt of his head. "The jungles are hotter and more humid." That's when he noticed how glossy her eyes were. "Something bothering you?"
"...Just the conversation I had last night...That's all." Lien said as she looked down to hide her face.
Diogo looked around the garden. His eyes squinted. He dropped down before her, landing on all fours. "Need someone to listen? I'm all ears." He rotated his ears before sitting down beside her.
"...Suki thinks that we are friends...When my father has all but stopped letting me mail letters. He intercepts the ones I get...and already has made me lose one friend." Lien said with a soft sigh as she wiped at her eyes.
Diogo nodded at that. "And this bothers you? Was it the fact that you lost your friend or the fact you can't have any more friends?" He asked with a head tilt.
"...It's more along the lines of...that I can't befriend anyone who isn't a royal and the one friend I have...dad named him a potential suitor. He thinks because we were friends that it will all work out." Lien said with a frown as she looked up at him.
Diogo squinted his eyes in thought. "My cousin? Oh, that's how everything became so awkward." He blinked a few times. "Sorry. I am not an expert at all of the royal stuff. I'm just the cousin of the royal family." He shook his head.
"Well...My dad has tried...a lot of times to convince him to be my suitor. It just feels...weird since we were friends one day and the next possible suitors for each other." Lien said with a weary sigh as her eyes glossed over a bit.
"You miss him, don't you?" He asked with a head tilt.
"...We were close when we were both kids...Not in a romantic way, more of the best friend kind of way. It hurt when my father told me that we could no longer meet...or even send each other letters." Lien said, laying her head back on a rock.
Diogo nodded at her words. He took a moment before removing the sparkling red bandana from around his neck. "Here. For your tears." He offered it to her with a small smile.
Lien blinked and looked up before she accepted it with a small smile of her own and a sniff. "Thanks." She said while wiping at her eyes and dabbing a few tears away.
"No worries." Diogo said before tapping his foot as he looked away in thought.
Lien continued to handle her tears before she looked over at him. "...I should have told you sooner that...Lukas and I were close friends. I recognized you from a description or two…" She said with a small smile. "I guess that's why I...haven't turned you in for stealing my cherries repeatedly." She added on with a soft chuckle.
Diogo scratched the back of his head. "Yeah...sorry. Don't worry about the other stuff. You didn't tell me you knew my cousin, I ate your fruit-we're even." He offered her a smile as well.
"I suppose we are…" Lien paused before tilting her head. "When are you planning on leaving?" She asked with slightly furrowed brows.
Diogo looked down at that. "As soon as possible. I was getting food when you caught me. After that, I was planning on taking off." He tapped his fingers together. "Who will repel the dangerous animals in my absence?"
Lien chuckled and smiled a bit at that. "Just...be careful. Okay?" She asked with a soft tone.
Diogo laughed at that. "I can't make any promises. Especially if the caimans return." He shook his head at that. "Their skin is like gravel, teeth as tall as a Funk Troll, but they have two weak spots. That would be the belly and the eyes. I like to sling shot them right in the eye…" He said, pulling his slingshot out of his multicolored feathery hair.
Lien smiled a bit wider. "Wow...We don't have any creatures like that...especially ones with such large teeth." She said, gaining an interested look in her eyes as she looked at the slingshot.
"There are a few...there also happen to be alligators that are like the caimans." Diogo squinted his eyes before snapping. "Oh! There are huge snakes. They are as quick as lightning-really. Suki nearly ran into one before I took her to the city. The largest one I've seen is a boa. They are longer than...about three Bergans." He tapped his chin as he thought.
"I have never seen a Bergan...How big are they?" Lien asked, her tears stopping as she tilted her head.
Diogo hummed at that. He climbed up the tree a bit before stopping. "They are usually around this height." Then he climbed much higher. "A boa snake can get all the way up here!" He called down to her. "Their fangs are insane!"
Her eyes widened as she looked up at him. "...That's amazing." She said, completely focused on him at this point.
The yellow troll glided back down to the ground with a smile. "They are beautiful. Snakes that big don't usually make trolls a meal since we're too small. However, they do trample over homes and such. So I have to divert them from the city every now and then."
"So...Like a guard of sorts?" Lien asked with a curious blink.
Diogo nodded at that. "I...think so. I also saved someone's father from the den of a goliath bird eater tarantula." He explained as he put his slingshot back in his feathers.
"Whoa...Was it really big?" Lien asked with curiosity written all over her face.
"It's not called bird eater for nothing." Diogo said with a shake of his head. "They are so big...they eat birds. One of the biggest spiders known to troll. It was so quick. It lunged at me and the ground was sticky and covered in webs. My speed was affected too. I was slowed every time I stepped on a web!"
Lien looked even more fascinated as she gaped. "How did you survive?"
Diogo nodded at that. "Sim. The spider-it hissed-it turned from me to the father who was already wrapped in webs. It brought out it's fangs that were half the size of our bodies. It was going to suck his juices like a fruit punch pouch! I used this as an opportunity to grab a jagged stone and rip a part of the web to make a makeshift sling. I worked fast-slinging the stone over-hitting the spider. It was really mad at me by then. It turned from the poor captured troll to hiss at me. I stared at him. We circled each other for what felt like forever-all while I was crafting a bow and arrow with a dainty twig and the spider web sling." He told her with squinted eyes. "When the spider finally launched at me, I flared my feathers and opened my wings. That gave me the time I needed to shoot the spider in mid-air!" Diogo smiled a bit at that. "After making sure it was completely dead, I cut the father free and had him sent to the hospital."
Lien smiled and clapped a bit. "That sounds so exciting, nothing like that ever goes on around here." She said with a hint of excitement in her voice.
Diogo looked at her with a chuckle. "It is definitely exciting. Adventures that make your blood rush through your body one minute...then admire the beauty the next." He said with a sigh.
"Sounds nice...Lukas always had fun stories as well since...nothing happens here. It's the same stories, the same food, the same...everything." Lien said with a soft chuckle as she shook her head.
"...Have you ever tried one of our dishes?" The yellow troll raised an eyebrow with a small smirk.
"No...Do they taste good?" Lien asked with an interested blink.
Diogo smiled brightly at her. "You are gonna tell me. I am going to make you some. Only one of us has eaten today and...I can always eat."
Lien chuckled and nodded. "Okay. I'm up for that."
The yellow troll stood up at that. He grabbed another red bandana out of his hair and tied it around his neck. "Okay, then. To the kitchen!" He ran off...before running back to her. "Where's the kitchen?" He scratched his head in a bashful manner.
"Oh, I know a shortcut. Follow me." Lien said as she stood up and smiled.
Diogo nodded and followed after her.
When they finally made it to the kitchen, Diogo looked around at the traditional environment with a deadpan. "Time to shake things up a notch." He told her before getting to work. "Would you like to help?" He grabbed a few things before laying a few things out.
Lien blinked before smiling. "Sure. I...haven't been allowed to help out in the kitchen in awhile." She said with a nod as she walked over to him.
Diogo smiled at her with a nod. "Okay. Hand me that spoon over there." He pointed to the spoon.
After about an hour and a half of cooking, there were two dishes that were complete. Diogo looked over the food with a smile. He took the food out to the table. There was a platter of some type of sandwich and another unknown dish. He smiled at Lien before looking down at her chopsticks with confusion.
"What are those?" Diogo blinked at the sight.
"Oh...they are chopsticks." Lien said with a head tilt as if it were normal.
The yellow troll tilted his head at that. "Well...you won't need those. The moqueca is a stew, so you use a spoon. The pork sandwiches are...sandwiches. You...eat them with your hands." He finished with a small smile.
"Ah, okay." Lien pushed the chopsticks away. "I will admit...My father would have a fit seeing me eat with my hands." She said with a chuckle, looking at the sandwich as she took a moment to figure out how to pick it up.
Diogo waved it off before he sat beside her. "Just blame it on me." He offered a smile before picking up a sandwich himself. He bit into it, growing a smile at the taste then gestured for her to try.
Lien smiled a bit before taking a bite. She didn't react at first...but a few seconds later she smiled and looked up at him in amazement. "...It doesn't taste like anything we have here...or that I have ever tasted." She said, obviously trying to keep her manners before she gave up and took a larger bite.
Diogo blinked in surprise at that before chuckling and taking a large bite himself.
That's when Trollex and Suki entered the room.
Trollex blinked at the sight before he chuckled. "I knew I smelled something familiar. Good morning, guys." He waved at them and floated over.
Suki, on the other hand, went over and took a sandwich with a grin. "Diogo, you did not! I love these things." She licked her lips at the sight.
Diogo pointed to the nice sized bowl of stew. "Try the stew. It's on point." He gave a thumbs up. "I like to dip my sandwiches in the broth." He said with a smile before doing just so in his own bowl.
Lien copied him and tried it and smiled. "You're right." She said with a nod, seeming more focused on the food at the moment.
Trollex grabbed a sandwich of his own. "Dude, you have to teach me how to make these before we part ways." He looked at him with humor.
"Sim. For five bucks." Diogo said with a small smirk.
"Hey!" Trollex said with a laugh.
Suki swallowed before she blinked. "Five bucks?! Make it ten! These things taste amazing." She took another large bite.
"Double hey!" Trollex shook his head in amusement.
"Ten bucks it is!" Diogo smiled at all of them. "I'm glad you guys like them. I don't think I make them right." He spooned some of the stew in his mouth.
"I think they taste perfect." Lien said with a chuckle, looking at her stew now and starting to spoon some of it into her mouth.
"If you think mine are perfect, my mother's were better." Diogo glanced at them with a small smile.
Trollex finished the last bit of his sandwich before saying, "If hers are better than yours...I don't think I could handle them." He said with a chuckle.
Suki nodded at that with a smile. "Yeah. They must have been totally and completely awesome."
Diogo glanced at them with a smile. "...They were." He spoke in an amused tone, yet there was a hint of sadness in his eyes.
Lien looked at him and patted him on the shoulder. "...I'm sure she would be proud." She said with a small smile before she returned to her stew.
Diogo glanced at her and nodded in thanks. "If you guys like this stuff, I could do this kind of thing more often? I know lots of foods that are fun to eat."
Trollex shrugged at that. "I don't see why not." He smiled, completely stuffed. "I am a happy fishy."
Suki chuckled at that. She playfully pushed Trollex, prompting him to chuckle as well.
Diogo halved his eyes at the two. "They obviously like each other. I don't say anything since watching them is entertaining." He spoke in amusement.
"I dare say it would be wise to keep quiet. My father would not be happy that a suitor is slipping away right under his nose." Lien said with humor as she shook her head.
He chuckled at that. "And you already know that anything coming from me is the worst." The yellow troll whispered with a smile.
"At least to my father perhaps." Lien chuckled at that with a smile.
Diogo's smile increased a bit...before his ears began to twitch. His eyebrows furrowed a bit. "Speaking of, I hear growling." He glanced around the room.
"Um...Maybe you should leave." Lien said with a small wince.
Diogo nodded before looking back at her. "Remember to blame everything on me." He said before standing up in his chair and hopping over the table. "Tchau!" He waved at them, bouncing from one wall to the other before leaping right out the window.
"...Can't he ever make a normal exit?" Suki said with a blink.
Shortly after that, the emperor entered the room. He growled a bit before sitting down. He stared at his daughter with a deadpan as he ate his traditional breakfast. A light stream of smoke came through his nose. He didn't seem to mind as he picked up his chopsticks.
Lien merely deadpanned back as she finished up the rest of her food and leaned back in her seat with a rather...peeved expression before she folded her arms and looked away.
Trollex and Suki...blinked at the scene.
The emperor lowly growled a bit more. He began to work on his food with another stare. His stare read, "...I told you to stay away from the yellow one."
Lien shook her head and stared back at him as if to say. "For what reason?" before she silently 'hmphed' and turned away.
The older troll shook his head as if to say, "You are a princess. You needn't waste time with him. He is no good for you." He sipped at his tea.
She stared at him and deadpanned. "He is a friend." She mouthed to him with a frown.
The dragon king sassily rolled his eyes at that. He clearly didn't believe a word.
Lien gaped at that. "Oh, not this again." She mouthed out with a twitching eyebrow.
Suki leaned over to Trollex with wide eyes. "...What should we do?" She whispered, raising an eyebrow.
Trollex blinked at that. "We should slowly and quietly walk out of here to allow them to have their moment." He slowly rose before heading out.
Suki got up to follow him...before a ton of guards suddenly blocked the door. She blinked when they pushed the blue feathered troll forward.
The blue troll grumbled a bit, brushing off his kimono. "What part of careful did you guys not under-aye!" He yanked one of his large decorated tail feathers from under the guard's foot. "For the love of…" He looked back at his tail.
Trollex stared at the other troll. "...Lukas?" He and Suki blinked at him.
Lukas, now with a large bandage wrapped around his head, blinked at them as well. "Oh, olá. Glad to see you guys made it in one piece. Dulce did a better job than I thought." He said with a chuckle, seeming relieved when the guards left.
Lien turned around and tilted her head before smiled with relief and made her way over. "...I'm glad you are safe." She said and fiddled with her fingers.
Lukas stared at her for a moment before growing a large smile. "I'm okay. The cannons missed most of the tree. We are still repairing the damages. I hit my head. Diogo almost died. A day in the life, really." He said with humor. "I am glad you are well also."
Lien nodded and paused as she glanced back at her father and slowly stepped to the side while looking at the ground.
That's when Lukas sniffed the air. "...Pork sandwiches?" He tilted his head. He didn't know Dragon Trolls knew how to make them.
"Diogo made those for us." Suki said casually. "They were awesome by the way."
Lukas immediately perked up at that. "He-he's here?! Where?! Last I'd seen him, he was taken on the pirate ship!" He glanced around.
Suki jabbed her thumb toward the window. "He went out there." She explained with humor.
Lukas chuckled a bit. "That's my cousin, alright. Oh-I feel so much better." He said, reaching up to scratch near his bandaid.
Lien continued to look at the floor as she began twitching...at a somewhat concerning rate as she bit her lip and appeared to be trying to hold back from doing something.
Trollex, not noticing Lien's twitching, spoke up. "So...what happened to your head?" He asked with a head tilt.
"A pirate pushed me into a rock so I couldn't save Diogo." Lukas answered as he sighed through his nose. "This is the consequence." He pointed to the bandage.
"Ouch." Suki winced at the sight.
Lukas turned his attention to Suki. "You should see what is under the bandage." He placed a hand on his head.
Lien continued to comically twitch as she looked up at him. "I-I-Is it healing p-properly?" She asked, stuttering due to how bad she was shaking and twitching.
Lukas rubbed his head. "I believe so. It's still pretty new so it hurts from time to time." That was before he finally noticed her state. "...Are you alright?" He tilted his head.
Lien paused and, without warning, rushed up to him and brought him into a warm hug. "I'm fine. Oh...I am perfectly fine." She said, finally giving into a smile.
The peacock king blinked for a moment before returning her hug with a small smile. "I missed you too."
The emperor released a pleased sound at this. He approached before saying, "It is settled. This is the one you shall wed." He spoke before beginning to walk out of the room in a much better mood.
Lukas blinked at that. "Wait-what?" He asked with wide eyes.
Lien moved so she could look at her father. "What? I...I was supposed to decide. We had an agreement, father!" She said with furrowed brows and a heavily confused expression.
The emperor glanced back at her. "You have rejected nearly every man on this side of the planet. Since you couldn't decide, I chose for you." He said before walking again.
"But...That isn't fair." Lien said with a frown, looking down with shock in her eyes. "It isn't fair to either of us, father." She said while shaking her head.
"Not another word out of you." The emperor in a bored tone. "I have given you plenty of time, Lien. Your time has finally run out." He said as he walked out of the room.
"...Uh oh." Lukas said in shock.
Trollex frowned at that. "My thoughts exactly."
"Holy…" Suki glanced between Trollex and Lukas. "Did he just...he can't do that...can he?"
"He's an emperor." Trollex said with a sigh. "He can literally do anything he wants."
Lien glanced up at everyone as her breathing picked up, but before she began hyperventilating, her eyes suddenly closed and she immediately became limp, nearly falling as she passed out.
Trollex, being the fastest in the group, caught her before she hit the ground. "Whoa. Geez." He frowned before scooping the princess into his arms.
Suki messaged her temples. "Okay-alright. Put her in her room then we need to have a group conference." She folded her arms.
Trollex nodded before zipping away to the girl's room.
"Let's...go take a seat." Suki told Lukas, who dumbly nodded and allowed her to push him there.
Hey again guys! What a cliffhanger, huh?!
Expressions told by emoticons!
Lukas is like O.o
Lien is like X_X
I am trying to update every week so you guys won't be stuck with this painful cliffhanger for long. So hang in there guys!
If I get three new reviews today, I'll release another new chapter tomorrow!!!
I do have some people to thank!
Thanks Vi-Vithefangirl for favoriting and following! You rock!
Thanks to RedFuryanDireWolf for favoriting!
Responses:
Hello its meeee: Thanks! Also I surprised you with this new chapter being released right after you reviewed, didn't I? Lol
Guest: ANOTHER NEW ONE FOR YOU!!
Apple Bloom: Thank you for being concerned about my mental health and the quality of the story. Because sometimes it gets hard to do both. Thanks once again!
Jazzy: I DON'T WANT TO SPOIL ANYTHING...but Diogo and Lien totally dig each other. (And it is mating season) *wink winkAlso on Deviant art I am SuperNova Co. Pretty much the same. My picture is just a picture of a cat...thing I drew. His name is Wacky and he's my mascot lol.
I greatly appreciate all of you all's support!
How will the gang get out of this one!! Find out soon!
-SuperNova!