Notes:
This one contains quite a bit of talking between characters, but honestly it was one of the more fun ones to write. In the similar way to the last chapter was one of the shortest ones, this is probably one the longest ones. I'll have more to say about this whole thing in the end so please do read this one.
Reviews:
bolightning - Thanks for all your comments! It's really nice to see that someone is really enjoying this story! :D
SuicideGuy - I'm not gonna lie, I couldn't understand your review, but it cracked me up laughing with your last few words - "my to think they did the do dah" I don't know why I found that so hilarious but thanks :)
zeldex72 - I didn't even know if anyone from the earlier day was still reading, you've been here a while and I thank you for your patience :) I'll try my best to keep up the good work.
*** FYI - This chapter has semi-important ending notes.
Enjoy~
Dining Hall – Morning
The time was about 8:12 AM. Most of the royals and the chosen were enjoying their breakfast meal. Al and Matt were sitting next to each other, "Where's Marco?" Al asked, slightly worried since he had only been given the fact that the Diaz was doing something which could get him executed.
"I don't know." Matthew quickly shot back, he himself was on edge from the fear of what could've happened. The boy hadn't heard anything from his partner in crime since he left his room last night.
"Why are we missing one?" River demanded to know, despite being so early in the morning – the King had already helped himself to a glass of wine. Also, the royal had noted that the Chosen that was missing was the same one that he bumped into on the staircase.
All the servants were standing around the edges of the dining hall, that was when Emilia spoke up. "If I may your majesty," She started, waiting for a signal to continue with her speech. Em herself was pretty frightened at what could've happened to her temporary master because of the fact that she last saw him heading for the royal quarters with an audiograph. Nonetheless, she had to make something up in order to potentially save her boss.
"Go on." River sternly replied.
"My lord was feeling ill yesterday, when I arrived at his quarters this morning, he felt extremely under the weather. I've asked the castle Nurse to have a look at him, he should be joining us by mid-day." Truth was, she hadn't actually checked on his room in the morning, Marco had been insistent on the fact that he was capable of taking care of himself – so he said that Emilia could sleep in more instead of waking him up.
The other two teens looked at Marco's servant when she spoke out, both querying in their minds as to whether this was the truth or not. Marco had seemed in almost perfect health yesterday, it was hard to imagine that he had taken such a turn for the worse overnight.
The tension in the hall was paramount, it seemed as if most of the other chosen also took an interest into why one of their competitors had been missing from the start of the day. All attention was directed to River, but no one had made eye contact with him. "Hmmmm." He started, Al and Matt froze in their efforts to eat, Al was terrified of what the outcome could've been. Matt on the other hand was preparing to have to help his friend out of whatever situation he was in.
Emilia had started with a strong resolve, but as it dawned on her that she had just lied to the most powerful people in the country – her stare started to weaken and her gaze fell slightly down. 'Please accept it.'
"Very well. Not much we can do to stop an illness. Make sure he gets better soon." The King left it at that, to him, the lie was probably backed up by Marco's fumbling around and need to 'freshen up' when the King last saw him.
Emilia walked back to the side of the room and took a deep breath inwards. The two teens at the table also released a sigh. 'I'll check on him when the service has finished.'
Marco's Room – 14 Minutes Later
There was a double tap of knocks at the door, but no response came from inside the room. The servant waited a little while and then retried the summoning, but still no answer. She quickly became impatient and decided to open the door with her own key. She missed the keyhole once but managed to slip the key into its home on the second try. A satisfying *click* resounded from the mechanical contraption.
Emilia hurriedly opened the door knob and walked inside, she spotted a lump near the covers of his bed – however, once she approached the mass of body, Emi began to notice that it wasn't one mass, but two. Her throat seized up as she approached closer to the bed. That's when she noticed that her temporary master was spread out over the bed, with ruffled hair, with a blonde girl resting her – similarly roughed up hair – on Marco's right shoulder. Emilia also observed that the girl's top had been slightly ripped near the shoulder, revealing part of her undergarments.
A confused look struck Emilia's face for a moment, before she shrieked out "What?!"
At the rude awakening, Marco jumped up, consequently causing Star's head to fall and hit the bed, a whimper escaped the Butterfly's mouth as she cooed her both hungover and now slightly thumping head. The Diaz positioned himself into a straightened sat-up position, eyes wide and looking into his knees. That's when he became more aware of his surroundings and so became aware of his faithful servant standing to his right.
A moment passed without any words being uttered, a mesmerising silence that neither party wished to end. Marco had to clean up the misunderstanding though, he decided to take the initiative. "It's not what it looks like." He blurted out, making direct eye-contact.
"It's not what it looks like?! You're a Chosen! You can't be bedding other women, IN THE CASTLE, no less!" Emi's hands were mimicking one another, creating a slow grasping motion.
"I-"
"He-"
"Wasn't bedding me/her!" The two teens both scream in unison at the servant. Right after, Star quickly bounced up and sprinted for the toilet where the door slammed shut and a vomiting sound came erupting from the toiletry. The other two presences were gazing over to the source of the sound before looking back at one another.
"Details, now." Emilia demanded from her young Lord. Marco, realising that there was no other way out of the situation had to cave in to the overwhelming presence and tell her everything. He occasionally got sharp pains through his skull because of the alcohol, only imagining what Star must be going through in the opposite room.
Little While Later
"So," Emilia took a deep breath, "Let me get this straight. Three teenagers, one being the rightful heir to the throne, tried to blackmail and overthrow the current heir to the throne: Which is Ophelia? And you had to get shit-faced in order to accomplish that?"
"I mean the part about being wasted wasn't planned."
"NONE OF IT SHOULD'VE BEEN PLANNED!" Emilia screamed, pacing around the room, what a mess they've all found themselves in now.
"What's the problem?! You can just deny being involved and go on your merry way!"
"You think it's that easy?!" The two started to get into a more heated argument now, Star had still been MIA in the bathroom. "I can't just say I'm not involved anymore, you've made me involved!" The two began to breathe heavily.
"If we're both involved already then why are we even having this argument!?" Marco shot back.
"I don't know!" Em shouted back. The two remained in an awkward silence for a while. It lasted until Star eventually crawled out of the bathroom, face as white as a ghost.
"Please… Just shush you two. My head…" She groaned. The other two looked at each other before apologising for getting so angry.
"So, what's the plan now? It's a bit late to stop at Ophelia isn't it? This web of madness you've spun has caught too many people in it." Emilia told Marco.
"The plan…" Marco emphasised, "was to get revenge at Ophelia for hurting however many people she's tormented over her pitiful years of existence. It wasn't to bring down a monarchy."
"My lord. Look around, this isn't real. This is a fantasy-land where those who sit at the top eat banquets of food and those at the bottom scrounge up discarded food."
…
"Have you been talking to Matthew?" The Diaz asked, hands closed together – sitting cross legged on his bed.
"Matthew?" Emilia asked, "You mean Sir Timmings? No, we servants are forbidden from interfering with one another's Chosen." Marco didn't know what to do, at first it was him and Star against Matt in terms of what they should do. But now, it was 2:2. There was only one person he could ask to break this tie: Al.
He had promised to tell him everything had the teen survived, so now would be as good a time as any.
"Say, Emilia." The brunette perked up, "Could you grab Sir Dolittle for me?" The teen solemnly asked, slightly afraid of what Al's outlook on the situation could be. At first it was 3 people vs a Monarchy. If Al said to go through with taking on the royals, they'd have 2 peasants, 1 noble, a hidden princess and a servant. Against pretty much every government force in the entire country. The odds weren't exactly great.
16 Minutes Later
Star had picked herself up the ground and grabbed a glass of water, she near-enough inhaled the liquid. "Rough night?" Marco asked.
"Oh haha, you're funny aren't you." She bitterly replied. The two shared a good-humoured laugh afterwards, that's when the third knock of the day came on their door. It opened to reveal Alfonzo and Marco's assistant.
"Marco?" Al asked, "You look like crap." The boy observed, "Who's that?" He asked whilst pointing towards the Butterfly.
"She… Is part of the reason I called you here. And why I've been so secretive." Marco replied as he went on to explain the entire story, and at the end, their dilemma.
A While Later
"I say…" All present listened in closely to the Dolittle's announcement. "We tear it down." The Diaz sighed heavily. "Listen to me," Al continued, "If you were to blackmail or get revenge on Ophelia what good would it do? It might feel good for a day or two, but then she'd just have you executed, or the King would. You'd be doing half-assed job and not finishing it, this is one of the few moments in history where we have a choice to change everything. This is our shot, and I say we take it."
…
…
…
"Ok." Marco announced. Emilia and Al smiled, Star simply stared at him for a moment before asking.
"You sure? We'll probably die trying."
"Hopefully not if we do it smartly." The Diaz replied.
"What's our first step, leader?" Al asked while looking at Marco.
"Uh…" It seemed like whatever coldness had clouded Marco's eyes had left yesterday. He did change though, for the best? Who knows.
"Our first mission should be to make use of whatever connections we have. We can't win against the monarchy's influence overnight, if we are to win this. We need to set the groundwork so that when they eventually find out – it'll be too late for them to do anything. So, Star – go ask Glossaryck for any help he can provide or books on the Phillodeion War. Al, go inform Matt of our choice and make sure he's alright after last night." Al hadn't any idea on what occurred to Matthew yesterday night, but he took his leader's orders seriously. "And Emilia, just try to get any information you can from other servants, details on what's happening when, if any royals are leaving or going, literally anything."
Once the three had been given their orders, simultaneously they cried "With pleasure."
Today was the first day in which Ophelia would send someone home.
Last Night – Matt & Ophelia
Matt had been given the order to commence operation Counter-Viper. Or at least, that's what he was calling it – the name helped get him in the mood to stay motivated. He left to find Ophelia, most likely she'd be prancing around in the garden as she usually is. It was fairly late now, the other Chosen were most likely having dinner – but it wasn't mandatory like breakfast was.
Garden
It took the boy quite a while to spot the seductress, eventually though he found her crouched over by some flowers. "Hey there." He called out, the girl whipped her head around to find a 5 foot 8, short-brown haired young man with slight stubble beginning to from on his chin.
"Oh, hi." Ophelia tried to put on her good-girl act, that was until she realised who she was talking to. "Aren't you that kid that's always hanging around Diaz?"
"Oh so you remember me?" Matt replied casually as he closed in on distance. The sky was dark out now, the last embers of sunset were drifting slowly into non-existence. "For a beauty like you to remember me, that's pretty flattering."
"Heh. Well," Ophelia moved in a little closer to Matt, she was about 5 foot 5 – so still no match for his height, but the power she emitted was far greater, "flattery with me won't get you anywhere."
"I'd be pretty annoyed if you were that easy." Matthew coolly shot back.
"You don't think I'm easy?" She asked, a smirk formed on her lips. "I think you're easy."
"Oh really?" He replied with a smirk of his own.
"Yeah I do. And I bet I could break you." She left on some strange emphasis with the 'break' part. Who knows if she meant for that to be dirty talk, wouldn't be strange for her.
Oh no… This isn't going well already.
The two were interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching along with some mumbling. "Hide." Ophelia demanded and dragged Matt's hand away and flung both herself and him into a nearby bush. She ended up on top, they could just about see the newcomer. It was Marco.
Oh no… Matthew thought to himself, if Marco was here – and waiting for someone. The only person that could be would be…
***** MINOR WARNING: This next part is going to be a bit, on the edge of 'T' rating. If you don't want to see it, scroll down until you see a message like this. ******
"Oh hey look, it's your friend Marco. Why don't we invite him to join us in this position?" Matt's façade had started to break down, he was trying to play it cool but honestly, he'd never been in this position with a girl before. Her crotch was pressed up against his, he could feel all her weight on his legs – the innocent boy tried to squirm around a little, not wanting to be distracted and succumb to her teasing.
"Oh ho ho?" She asked with a certain kind of rhetorical-ness. "You want to do something like that right here? With your friend just a little bit over there? You're pretty bold."
"No—that's not what I - What I'd like is for you to get off me." He demanded, but his demanding tone wasn't really getting across since he could feel a change in his body. GOD DAMMIT PUBERTY! Ophelia started to act more and more teasingly given Matt's situation, the girl knows no boundaries. They literally started talking like 5 minutes ago and she was already crawling across his body.
Her hand made its way up his chest and across his face, her right index finger traced his bottom lip. The two remained in this entanglement for a while, a small bicker that could be easily discarded as wind making strange noises.
***** ENDING OF BORDERLINE CONTENT *****
After a bit of time passed, they noticed another pair of footsteps heading towards them, it was Star. Oh f***.
"Oh, a new member has entered the party. Can you hear what they're talking about?" 'Phelia asked the boy that laid beneath her.
"No, I can't." I'm sorry Marco. But there's only one way I can think of to keep her distracted for another couple of hours.
In a moment of desperation to keep Ophelia's attention away from the two, Matt decided to take the initiative – something that has probably never happened to Ophelia before and grabbed her by the waist, pulled her down and locked her lips into a ferocious clash with his own. I guess it's too late to turn back now.
The guy threw caution to the wind and pleaded for entrance to her mouth with his tongue: The minx couldn't help but allow this turf-war to continue, she fought back and the two remained in this standoff for some time. Only breathing when absolutely necessary.
"Well." 'Phe started, "I must confess you've really made me excited." A wicked, slightly wet smile crept on her face as she licked her lips and pounced back on Matt for another round. Eventually, the two standing near them left for the gate and so Ophelia dragged Matthew out from the bush and they made their way to the castle. Matt had some coloured stains on his face from where lipstick had been printed on it.
Ending Notes: IMPORTANT
Yes, this one was a little bit... er... SPICEY if I do say so myself. Two important things:
1) I might have to change this story to 'M' in the future since I might want to push the boundary a little bit too much with some of the descriptions later on, and I'd rather have a safe story - than a story that gets deleted! :)
2) I'd like to know your suggestions, I could go either way with this story now - it's as much my story as it is yours. So you have a vote, I can go down a darker route, that's probably more realistic, gritty and drama-filled with twists everywhere. OR, I can keep going the way I am, make a story that follows a heroic tale. I can go either way, OR I can finish up this story with one route - and make a spin-off where I explore the opposite idea.
Other than that: There's not much else to say, did you enjoy it? I wanted to add a little something since it felt like a bland chapter otherwise - so I thought I'd show you some of Ophelia and Matt's 'fun'
Review! Constructive criticism, Suggestions, Praise or anything of the sort, it lets me know you're enjoying it - or not - and that you're reading! :D
Peace~
vK