There were certainly many perks to being royalty, no doubt about it. For one thing, there was no chance of going hungry, which was one of the things Wakko was most grateful for. Even more than that, was the fact that they could actually do something to fix all the problems they had seen living on the streets. Wakko had very few memories of life in Warnerstock before Salazar's invasion, but he could still tell that things were turning around already. Perhaps most of all, though, was that his siblings would always be with him and safe. He would always be grateful that that question no longer haunted him when he closed his eyes at night.
Which wasn't to say there were some things that Wakko could do without… namely, the mind-numbingly boring lessons they had to sit through. Having spent a good part of their lives in an orphanage, and then on the street, the siblings' education had been somewhat limited. To be fair, Wakko was well aware that there were some things they needed to know to be in charge of a kingdom, and he was perfectly willing to learn them. That didn't mean he wasn't going to be a drama queen about it, though.
He made a half-hearted effort to stifle a large yawn as the instructor droned on about economics, glancing at his siblings. It was somewhat gratifying to see that they both looked as bored as he was, and when he yawned Dot stifled a giggle while Yakko grinned and winked. Wakko grinned back, tongue sticking out.
"Ahem…"
All three made a show of snapping ramrod straight, looking as innocent as possible.
"My lords and lady, if you would care to pay attention…"
"Who, us?" Dot said, batting her eyes. "Why would we do anything else?"
Both her brothers snickered, and the instructor pinched the spot between his eyes, though Wakko was pretty sure he saw the hint of a smile. It was well-known that the siblings didn't make things easy for the staff, but also generally understood that they didn't mean any harm; being mischievous was simply their nature. They did their best to be nice to people and were only ever truly rude to someone if that person was rude to them or someone else.
"Unless you want me to start at the beginning…" the man said in a casual tone.
The siblings all immediately gave a jaunty salute.
"Pay attention, you got it," Yakko said.
The instructor raised a brow, looking at each of them. When none of them said or did anything, he went on with that slight smile still on his face. They were a handful and they knew it, but they did their best to be nice handfuls.
Wakko couldn't help letting out a relieved sigh when the lesson was finally over… sitting through those were always a challenge for him.
Of course, lots of this stuff's a challenge for me…
The thought was interrupted when Yakko spoke up, stretching his arms.
"Whew… glad that's finally over. Well, we've got the rest of the afternoon, sibs. What ya wanna do?"
Wakko gasped and looked up at him with an eager expression.
"Can we go to the kitchen? Can we?"
Dot rolled her eyes.
"Is that all you ever wanna do?"
Wakko crossed his arms and frowned at her.
"I do other stuff too."
Dot gave him a teasing look.
"Yeah, sure… wandering around and sleeping."
Despite himself, Wakko felt his hackles rise just a little. He knew she was just teasing, and normally it didn't bother him, but for some reason it did now. Apparently sensing the tension, Yakko spoke up.
"Okay, okay. How 'bout this… we go prank a chef, and we can get ya a snack then?"
"Okay!" Dot said cheerfully. Wakko grinned and nodded, though he couldn't completely stifle his irritation. Did they really think that was all he could do?
Is that all I can do?
Pushing it down, he was about to follow his siblings when suddenly, he heard something… a voice, a faint voice that almost sounded like it was singing. He hesitated, wondering if he was just hearing things, but then it came again… louder, and singing the same melody.
Wakko looked around, pricking his ears as he tried to pinpoint where the sound had come from.
"Did you hear that?"
He looked at his siblings, only to see them looking back at him with confusion.
"Hear what?" Yakko asked.
Wakko listened hard, but there was nothing. Finally, he shook it off and grinned at Yakko and Dot; he must have been hearing things after all.
"Nothing. Let's go!"
He raced after his siblings, pushing the odd occurrence out of his mind. It was nothing… nothing to bother them about.
Everything's fine.
…
"How about this?"
Wakko let out a sigh as his sister held up yet another pink dress, and a glance at Yakko revealed that he was just as bored.
"Dot, you look pretty much the same in everything."
The middle sibling immediately regretted his words as Dot glared at them.
"You two have no fashion sense at all."
Yakko shrugged.
"We're guys, sis… that stuff's more your department."
"Well, it has to be someone's," Dot huffed as she started gathering up the scattered clothes. "Image is important."
Her brothers exchanged an amused look; they heard that from her a lot these days. But despite the amusement, Wakko couldn't help feeling some trepidation too. Like so many things they had to do now, fancy parties were a challenge for him… it seemed like yet another thing his siblings were better at.
"Ask a maid what to wear," he suggested. "That's what I always do."
Dot gave him a knowing smile.
"When you don't ask me."
Wakko returned her smile with a goofy grin.
"If I ask you, it'll take all day."
All three siblings started laughing, but at that moment, out of nowhere, the voice came again. It was clearer than ever, and still singing that same melody. Wakko froze, his eyes going wide as he looked around. His siblings' laughter stopped too, and he realized they were looking at him with confusion.
"Wak, what's wrong?" Yakko asked. The middle sibling looked between him and Dot in disbelief.
"You didn't hear that?"
They looked at each other, then back at him.
"Didn't hear what?" Dot asked. Wakko stared at her, completely bewildered and now a little scared. It had been so clear, they had to have heard it. Was this something only he was hearing? Wakko didn't know much about how the mind worked, but he knew that hearing things no one else could wasn't a good thing. His siblings' confused looks began to change into concern and Yakko stood, walking up to Wakko and placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Wakko, is everything okay?"
The middle sibling looked up at his brother; he always felt uneasy when he gave him that searching look, and there was a temptation to tell him everything. But what would his siblings say? Would they think he was crazy? Would they even believe him? Just as quickly as it came, the temptation to tell them faded. Even if they did believe him, it would just worry them. The thought of that was all it took to convince him to shrug it off and nod.
"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine. I just thought I heard something, but it's fine."
His siblings looked anything but convinced, and the look on Yakko's face was all too familiar… he knew something was wrong but hesitated to push for information. And Wakko knew better than anyone that once Yakko's 'big brother radar' went off, he wasn't going to just let it go. Even if he didn't insist on being told right away, Wakko knew this wasn't over by a long shot.
"Okay," Yakko said slowly. "But if something's bothering you, ya don't have to keep it to yourself."
Again Wakko felt a temptation to tell them, and again his instinct of keeping things to himself won out. He smiled at both his siblings and nodded.
"Yeah, I know."
Dot walked over and gave him a hug as Yakko ruffled his cap and hair. Wakko's smile widened as a sense of comfort filled him. As long as they were fine, he was fine. Whatever was going on, he would figure it out… like he always did.
Note: In reading this story, readers should imagine that the events of Unbreakable didn't happen... this is a completely separate story in its own right. Some scenes are recycled from Shadows of the Past, and the story will combine elements from Frozen 2 and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Please review if you read, reviews make me happy and a happy writer is a productive writer.