Disclaimer: I don't own The Loud House, the brand, as well as all of its characters and settings belong to Chris Savino and Nickelodeon, all rights reserved.
Chapter 9: Doubt.
- Ok, This is just weird, I mean… She did call me Triton before… There's no way she doesn't see that character as me… but it's just fiction… perhaps she doesn't understand the implications? I mean, she's only 7… but… - Lincoln's thoughts entered a turmoil state as he started to look down and avoid eye contact with his sister, who had a very distressed expression in her eyes while awaiting for her brother to say whatever he had to say.
- … what? – Lola managed to say in a quiet manner, snapping Lincoln out of his thoughts and making him look at her in the eyes while still trying to come up with a less disturbing interpretation of her work.
- … You do know what a prince is to a princess right?... or what a King is to a Queen? – Lincoln finally managed to form a coherent sentence among the absolute whirlwind that was his mind at that point, but regardless, he inquisitively asked his sister with a raised eyebrow to clear out a few misconceptions that could be leading to the darker implications that he was desperately trying to avoid.
- … Y-yes, I do – Lola reluctantly answered in the quietest voice possible , barely audible, while Looking away from her brother with a crimson blush on her face. - B-but I told you Linky! Please don't judge ok? It's just a story, those are fictional characters and I just wanted to come up with a reason to have them both on the quest f-for the chaos diamonds – she immediately replied while looking back at the albino with an extremely nervous face, a sight that Lincoln would have found dangerously adorable if it wasn't for the conflicting feelings that he had upon realizing where the story was going.
The explanation, while phony and clumsy, still did its job at convincing Lincoln that his little sister viewed this story as nothing more than fiction, which was enough to calm him down a little, retiring his stern, questioning look and his accusative stance at her, but regardless, he still had issues in regards to how he would follow up on this story, knowing that it was still very much difficult to separate this DeLola character from the almost indistinguishable person that she is based off, even down to her (not very original) name.
More importantly, how could he think of what a character like Triton, that has to act like him, would do and say in regards to this situation, without disappointing Lola…
- … Can you please finish reading and then we can talk? – Said a now impatient Lola, who gloomily watched Lincoln as he became trapped in his own thoughts while looking at her with a blank expression.
- Sorry! I'll keep reading… - Said a surprised looking Lincoln after being snapped out of his thoughts by the blonde's request, who started reluctantly reading where he left off, praying to himself that no more compromising moments between the pair happen, for he still wasn't ready to fully detach himself and his sister from them.
Into the story:
"… The truth is, that she had come to see her personal guard as a prince of sorts, as her prince, who would go on to become the king of this land and rule it with an iron fist by her side, forever, yet she knew that as long as he had business outside of this planet, they would never be together, she had even thought of leaving the crown and abandoning her people to run away with him and have all sorts of fun adventures together, but she knew that she was stuck, as she had far too many responsibilities, more importantly, despite being the maximum ruler of her kingdom, only behind her parents, King Lynnester and Queen Margarita, she knew that there were some social standards to whom Royalty was allowed to marry, outsiders being notoriously NOT among them.
The beautiful princess's eyes suddenly acquired a determined look in them as she decided to hold back the tears that were starting to form, looking at her beloved knight with a renewed smile.
- Then let's get going! – she said in an excited voice, reflecting Sir Triton's adventurous spirit, for whatever had to happen, it would be a super fun quest anyway! and if they were to find all 7 Chaos Diamonds…
Well… at the very least, she knew what her wish would be now."
Back in the real world.
- …so, what do you think? – Lola was the first to talk after seeing Lincoln finally put the notebook in the bed, signaling that he had finished reading, holding a concerning blank expression the whole time and making her fear the worst.
- I Think… - Lincoln started to talk while holding his chin in a thinking pose and looking back at her, his expression unreadable. - … that it's amazing! – He finished his train of thoughts, catching Lola off-guard with the extremely sudden change of demeanor, as he now bolstered a genuine smile of satisfaction.
- so… you don't think it's weird? I-I mean we can change that part if you don't like it we can.. – Lola started rapidly shouting in an embarrassed demeanor, desperately trying to correct things that she herself thought off as inappropriate but just couldn't stop herself from writing.
- No! don't worry Lols it's fine – Lincoln quickly intersected her rant before she got noisy and made everyone in the house wake up – I mean… I'm the one that thought about it the wrong way, I kind of had an image of you when thinking of princess DeLola so it weirded me out hehe… - Lincoln continued while putting his hand behind his head in embarrassment – I actually think you made a really cool story! I don't know if I could come up with a better idea myself, we could have a lot of fun coming up with interesting stuff to add to the quest, In fact I think I already have some ideas! – He excitedly added, cheering Lola up and making her forget about the tense situation that they were at a few minutes ago, the older brother then changed his expression again to a more shocked one as he took a peek at the clock in the wall.
- Dang it! Look how time flies by! I think it's time to sleep Lola, mom's going to ground us if she finds out we're up this late, guess I'll leave my part of the story for another day haha – Lincoln said as his eyes landed on the hour pointer of the clock which marked that it was about 2:00AM, by now, he already knew that there wasn't going to be much sleep time and he wasn't looking forward to being woken up at 6:00AM by the noise of the Loud Family doing a line for the "right" to use the bathroom, moreover, he knew it was an even bigger deal for the princess, as he has a degree of experience to what happens when she doesn't sleep well (Spoiler alert: Nothing good for anyone).
- Yeah, I guess you're right… - The small blonde responded with a boring look on her face, as the realization that her time of having fun with her brother had come to an end, she none the less started yawning as if the physiological response of her body for some well-deserved rest had become activated upon seeing the also tired look in Lincoln's face, for once, she wasn't mad at the fact that she had basically skipped her essential beauty sleep, though it's also possible that she already had it while "waiting" for Lana to arrive.
- Good Night Lols! –
- Good Night Linky! – The pair of siblings exchanged one last look with half-lidded eyes and a smile before Lincoln turned the switch of the lights off and laid on his bed sideways facing the opposite direction to where Lola was laying. Lola too decided to calmly rest her head in the shared pillow and turn sideways, she however, decided to face Lincoln's back, as many lingering thoughts were flowing through her head, ensuring that she wouldn't be sleeping right away.
Lincoln had an easier time being consumed by the spell of Morpheus, with only one lingering thought in his head.
- I think I know what kind of "wish" she has in mind, but can I actually continue that kind of story? -