New York Royalty

By: PrinceOfNewYork

Chapter Nineteen: Smells like Heaven

Summary: In the world people are viewed in several different ways. Some are leaders, some are followers, some are somewhere in the middle, and some just get power through possessions. The concept of royalty can take on more than just one form.

Disclaimer: Most of these guys are mine, except for the few that ain't. And, if ya don't know which ones those are then you better go watch Newsies again.

A/N: Alright, this is my first shot at a Newsie fic, but I've been messin' with this character for over a year now, and it's about time she had her story put down (before I completely forget it all!) Thanks a bunch to all of ya who read this!

Once again, I borrowed the characters of Collin "Red" Russiani, and Daniel "Ace" Cardoni, from a fellow author of mine: AmbrLupin who has an account on this site under that name. So, if you're interested in this character go to her for info, and thanks to her for loaning him to me!

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A blanket of snow still covered the sleeping New York City as Avalanche nudged Prince in her bunk. "Hey… hey… heeeeeeeeeeeeeeey," he said giving her a longer shove. "Youse gonna wake up or what? Come on, dis is da day dat kids live for, an' youse ain't even up yet!"

"I dun wanna get up Avalanche…" Prince said as she covered her head with a blanket.

"Ya say dat every day."

"Yeah, an' yet ya make me get up anyway. It's down right cruel."

Avalanche laughed at his smaller feminine, yet masculine friend. "So now I'm jus a cruel leadah?"

"No… jus too… happy in da mornin'," Prince said as she took the blanket off of her head to look at him. "G'mornin'."

"An' da same ta you. Now… I know youse wanna sleep in b'cause dere ain't no papah taday, but ya should get up anyway. Keeps ya on schedule. B'sides, ya promised ta help me bake cookies, remembah?"

"…no," she lied, obviously.

Avalanche knew it was a joke. "Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaase," he said giving her one heck of a charming smile.

Prince sighed. "Alright, fine, I'll help you make the stupid cookie men…" she said throwing back the covers. If anyone in the lodging house was excited about Christmas it was Avalanche. All the other boys didn't near as much about it as he did. He was one who'd really get into the spirit of the holiday while the rest of the kids just missed their families, if they'd had any, or dream of what a Christmas with their unknown family would have been like. Prince tried not to think about her mother. So, Avalanche tried to get everyone else in the spirit of the holiday by being overly jolly, and it usually worked.

She got out of bed and slipped on her usual newsie attire, and placed the hat firmly on her head, but left her hair down. If she stepped out of the house all day she'd put it back up, but it was unlikely that was going to happen, so she decided not to worry about it for the time being.

The two of them went down to the kitchen, and started whipping up the cookies. An hour later they were near finished as the boys began coming down the stairs smelling the sweet scent of gingerbread, and sugar frosting.

Keys peered into the kitchen his mouth wide open, but from a yawn. "G'mornin'," he said, though barely understandable. "What smells like heaven?"

"Gingerbread. Interested?" Prince asked.

"Am I ever! Can I have some?"

"Soon enough," she said with a smirk. And soon enough came rather soon as she and Avalanche took the men out into the main room for the boys to eat.

They stayed inside most of the day simply because it was warm. They were baking, and cooking, and playing cards, sitting by the fire, and singing Christmas songs. Since Christmas was all about family, and these kids had none, they used each other as family, so they spent the day together. Some went outside, but always came back to the warmth of the rooms, and others, like Prince, Avalanche, and Dash, stayed inside all day, for they had no desire to be flung into white cold snow, or have it flung at them for that matter.

Presents were also not a norm at the lodging house. Since all of them had little money to spare what was usually done was the boys would give some money to Will a few days before, and he'd go out and buy extra food, and things so that they could have a really good Christmas dinner, which Avalanche and Prince helped prepare as Dash led the boys in a few hands of cards. However, Avalanche was feeling charitable.

"Heya, Prince," he said walking over to her. She was standing at the counter looking over the things they could use to cook with. Prince raised a hand as a sort of greeting, but didn't take her eyes off the counter. "Lookin' good?"

"Lookin' great. I think we'll be all set. Should be pretty darn tasty," she said with a smirk. "What cha think?"

"Yeah, it should be good. Hey… look, this bein' ya foist year and all, I thought… well I gotcha somethin'. Thought it might help the home sickness. Since ya won't get much dis year." Avalanche handed her a bag with newspapers stuffed inside of it. "I know, it's not exactly your thing any more, but I thought maybe ya'd like it," he said with a shrug.

Prince looked at him. "Ya know, dis ain't fair. I didn't even getcha nothin'."

"I didn't say ya had to, now, did I?"

"No, but-"

"Jus open the dang present," he said with a playful smirk.

Prince smiled back at him and took away the crumpled up newspaper. Inside she found two bottles. One was a light pink, the other was a light purple.

She pulled out the pink one. Before she had a chance to read the label Avalanche explained. "It's… well that one is soap. It smells real good, like roses or somethin'. The other one's shampoo, supposed ta smell like lilacs, I think."

"What… do I smell bad or somethin'?"

"No, no, I jus thought, if ya evah wanna use it, ya know, ya dun really getta be a goil much anymore. I thought this was a subtle way for you to do that, if ya wanted to."

Prince smiled at him a little. "Awww," she said making fun of him just a touch, "ya too kind. Thanks Avie," she said using her favorite pet name for him, and giving him a hug. "Nollaig shona duit."

"What's that… wait… lemme guess. Merry Christmas?"

"Yep!"

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Everyone was dressed warmly, and having loads of fun. Some were drinking… others were already on drunk, while some held cigarettes or cigars, or in some cases, a little bit of both. Prince held a bottle in her hand, and Avalanche walked beside her, and Dash on her other side. They were passing a bottle of liquor between the three of them.

"Ya do dis every year?"

"Yeah, almost every newsie in da city comes ta dis event. Not often do we miss it."

"Engine's boys'll be there," Dash explained, "as well as Red and Spot, and no doubt dat some of Ace's kids from da Bronx'll be dere too.

"Yeah? Dat's a lotta newsies," Prince said taking a drink as the liquor went straight into her. She didn't drink often, but when she did she got addicted quickly. Not drunk, just… addicted.

They neared the edge of Manhattan as the Brooklyn Bridge was in clear sight. The bridge was a bit of a mess. Well, it was about 11:45, what was one to expect?

"Prince, youse gonna finish dat?" Dash asked.

Prince looked at the bottle for a second and handed it to him. "All yours. Enjoy," she said. "I'se gonna go see who I know."

"Okay, find me when it gets closer," Avalanche called. "I'll probably be near the edge heah."

"Okay," she called back, and dove into the crowed.

"Well well," a boy said stopping her in the crowed. "How's ya poker face comin'."

"Lot bettah then yours is, Jack." She'd gotten a bit more comfortable talking to Jack since summer. After all, she still considered most of his life to be her fault.

The boy laughed and placed the cowboy hat on his head. "Nah, youse was nevah that good at poker anyway."

"Says you, Cowboy," she said pulling his hat down over his eyes, which only caused him to move it back up and place it on his head correctly. He would have done the same to her, but any newsie who wanted to keep breathing knew never to touch Prince's hat, no matter who you were. At the time, she was still pretending to be a boy, and was still careful of her secret.

"Come with Avalanche?"

"Yeah, and Dash," she added.

"Ya have a good Christmas?"

"Shoah, good as a kid can get out heah," she said. "Youse?"

"Yeah, it went alright. Say, dat reminds me, ya hear about Spot?"

"Uh-uh, what's happenin' in Brooklyn?"

"Startin' next week Red is steppin' aside, and Spot's takin' ovah leadah position. Red said he'd stick around for a bit though. Wantin' ta make sure everythin' goes smooth for a while. But I dunno… Red's had this planned for a while. He might stick around for… a week, maybe."

"Red's done a lot in his time ain't he? I mean, seems like he's been dere forevah."

"He's done a whole lot, so we'll see how Spot does it from here. Should be interestin'."

"Do I believe my eyes…" a voice came from the crowed.

"Do you have any reason not ta?" Jack replied as he smiled at the dark haired boy who emerged from the crowed. "How's it rollin' Ace?" Ace was the leader of the Bronx newsies. It was in his family, in a way. Ace had been planning on being leader for a long time, and so far no one had any complaints on how he ran the place.

"Not too bad, hiya Jack, Prince," he said nodding to the both of them as they did in return. Ace had a strange look in his eye though, like he knew something they didn't. Jack and Prince didn't think much of it, but it didn't go unnoticed. "How are things in 'hattan?" Ace asked Jack as he folded his arms.

"Alright… quiet… nothin' interestin' to report. Same as always."

"That guy still chasin' ya all ovah town?"

"Da warden? Yeah, I dun think he'll evah give up… 'til he has a heart attack dat is," Jack said laughing.

"Here's ta hopin'!" Prince said laughing herself. Though after she said it she found it a little cruel, but hid that thought in the back of her mind. These boys didn't have much compassion for him, and she only did because she was relation, but she couldn't help it.

"How's Queens Prince?" Ace asked.

"It's alright. We celebrated Christmas recently, so dat was fun. Oddah den dat, been as slow as a slow news day, if not slowah. How's about da Bronx?"

"Same ol'," Ace said with a smile. "I almost hate to say it, but it's getting' pretty dang dull around heah…"

"PRINCE! OVAH HEAH!" Avalanche called jumping up and down.

"I think my leadah wants me, so I'se bettah go. I'll see ya latah Jack. See ya Ace!" She waved to them, and they waved back with smiles on their faces as they started looking for others as well.

Prince soon reached Avalanche's side. "Their just gonna start countdown. Youse got good timin'."

"10...9…8…7…"

"So, what do we do?"

"Just yell it when they get to one."

"6…5…4…"

Prince smiled at the faces around her. The newsies, the fellow child workers, some other just children who were friends of the newsies, but as far as she knew, she was the only one keeping a secret like hers.

"3…2…1…"

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Every kid in the place screamed it over the side of the Brooklyn Bridge and it echoed back up at them making a loud enough noise to wake the dead in China. They cheered with smiles on their faces. Everyone having a great time as the New Years party for 1897 continued.

"Athbhliain faoi mhaise duit!" Prince said to Avalanche after a few minutes..

"Uhhh… Atbhlan foey maize doot… to you too!"

Prince laughed at his awful pronunciation. But he had made an attempt, his first, and probably his last.

A whole year practically gone… and still several questions left unanswered in her mind… exactly after her likelihood as a newsie is up, what will she do? Where will she go? What will happen to her? Will her father ever find her? She can't hide forever, can't be a boy her whole life, so will she ever be found out? Will Jack Kelly ever be free of the curse she accidentally placed upon him? And she wondered… 'Where do I go from here?'

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Even though it doesn't seem like it, this story is slowly coming to a close. Honest! It's making me kinda sad. I guess all good things must come to an end I hope that everyone is enjoying reading it. Anyway, I better run, enjoy the chapter, and we'll see you all come Monday!