Chapter Three

Kalin and Radley collaborated on breakfast, deep in thought about all they had been learning. It was strange and overwhelming and very confusing. Why were they having so many dreams and so much success finding information? Was the supposed battle close at hand?

And why had Kalin been the first to start dreaming of anything involving the legend? The dream he'd had about the garden had been several months ago. Was it because he was more receptive to the concepts than Radley was? Had he dreamed of it first to ease Radley into the ideas?

Radley looked lost in thought too. It was so hard for him to accept the reincarnation possibility in general, and neither of them liked thinking that they had died before. But the thought of being given a new chance at life in order to be happy together . . . that was something that meant the world to them both.

". . . I wonder about the Bunch, and Yusei, Jack, and Crow," Radley suddenly spoke. "If we lived in this other life, were they with us too?"

Kalin paused, pondering. "Maybe they were part of our courts or our families?" he suggested.

Radley laughed. "That would be a big family for me. Part of the courts might make more sense. Only . . ." He sobered. "The Prince was lonely for friends. If the Bunch was there, it sounds like they weren't close."

". . . Maybe they were townspeople," Kalin suggested.

"Or maybe it's all loco talk." Radley finished cutting up bacon and added it to the omelettes they were building. "It's all been coming at us so fast. I've scarcely had time to process it or really make sense of it. Suddenly we're princes and we're finding articles and paintings and discovering that my family knew all along and kept it secret from us both."

"Who was that professor who posted the article anyway?" Kalin wondered.

"I'd never heard of him," Radley said. "But the website had just been updated. Maybe that's why it was fairly easy to find in the search results. I should've asked Grandmama if she knew about that. Maybe he asked her for an interview about the family legend or something. . . . Probably not, though. I think she would have mentioned that to me."

"And if he was suddenly interested, why?" Kalin frowned. "Maybe this battle is going to be coming at us right away. That would make it make more sense that we're having dreams and other people are writing about the legend all at once."

"Yeah." Radley sighed, resting his hands on the counter before going for the cheese. "That's what I'm afraid of."

". . . So what are we going to do?" Kalin sounded serious, even a little lost.

"Well, after we eat and tell the Bunch, I'm calling Grandma and letting her know we have to know everything she knows," Radley said. "We need to see all the paintings she has and try to learn everything out there about this evil force or being or whatever it is. As much as I don't want to believe this is real, it would be stupid to hide from it. We have to be prepared."

"Are we going out there then?" Kalin asked.

"Probably," Radley said. "Or we could get her to give us a virtual tour, but it wouldn't be as good as seeing the paintings in person."

". . . Do you still think you're not the Prince?" Kalin sounded unsure of both their feelings.

". . . I don't know," Radley said quietly. "I know it looks like I must be, and that you must be the other one, but . . ." He shook his head. "I can't just change my entire worldview in a few hours. Like you said, we'll probably never know for sure. All I know is that I'm me and you're you and we want to be together forever. This legend adds a new layer to 'forever' and I like that, but there are other things about it I don't like and never will."

Kalin nodded with a frown. "I wonder if any of my family knew about the legend."

"Further back, they probably did," Radley said. "It's hard to picture your father knowing about it."

"I know," Kalin scowled. "If he did, he'd just mock it saying I'd never be any kind of prince."

Radley wrapped the omelettes and wiped his hands before hugging Kalin with one arm. "And that, of course, isn't true," he said firmly.

Kalin had to smile a bit. "You and Yusei always see more in me than I see in myself."

"Because we love you even when you don't love yourself," Radley smiled back.

"Do I ever love myself?" Kalin deadpanned.

"Probably not," Radley sighed.

They sat down to eat, enjoying the peaceful meal. It was nice to just have that time together to relax and not worry about the future or about talking to Lucia.

The Bunch arrived before they finished, since the meal had been delayed. "Hey! What's up?" Scotch asked as he led them in. "It smells so good in here!"

Radley chuckled. "We're having omelettes."

"Ooh! You'll make them for us at the diner, right?!" Scotch exclaimed.

"Of course," Radley said. "If you still have enough room."

"Are you kidding?! We always have room!" Scotch declared.

"Especially him," Virgil said.

Radley paused, exchanging a look with Kalin. He didn't really want to have this discussion at the diner. They would need to do it now.

Kalin gave a faint nod of understanding. Doing it here would be better.

". . . So," Radley began, feeling incredibly awkward and unsure of how to approach this problem, "we've been finding out some really loco things today."

"Like what?!" Scotch demanded, immediately intrigued.

"Well . . . apparently our families have a legend that there were these two princes from neighboring kingdoms who became great friends and died defeating an evil being," Radley said. "God promised their families that they could have a second chance at life in another time period and live together happy, which was what they wanted. And . . . my family thinks me and Kalin are those guys."

"It doesn't help that we've had dreams about the legend without even knowing the legend," Kalin said flatly. "That's been going on for a few months and we couldn't figure out why. Now it looks like we have."

Dead silence.

"That . . . is . . . epic!" Scotch gushed. "It's like Sailor Moon! Oh wow, how cool is this?!"

Radley had to chuckle. He had been right on the money as to how Scotch would react. "It'd be a lot cooler if the evil wasn't supposed to come back and get fought again," he said. "But at least the reborn princes are supposed to live through it that time."

Billy frowned, taking in everything silently before finally speaking. "So what do you guys think?"

"We don't know what to think," Radley admitted. "I've never believed in reincarnation and never wanted to. And neither of us like thinking we died before. It's all pretty surreal and hard to believe right now."

Kalin nodded in agreement. "It's hard to deny the mountain of evidence in front of us, though. We're still wondering if instead these people are our ancestors, but to be honest, I think it's more likely they were us."

"Maybe," Virgil said. He didn't look convinced.

"So what's the next step?" Clint asked in concern.

"I'm going to call my grandmother," Radley said. "We might fly down there to look at her collection. And then there's trying to get ready for the possible return of the evil being." He frowned. "I really don't know how we're supposed to prepare for that. My pendant still gives me trouble, and according to my dreams and the legend, the prince struggled with it too. It was overloading the thing to seal off the evil that caused both him and his friend to die."

Scotch didn't look enthusiastic anymore. He hugged Radley close, shaking. "But you're not going to die!" he exclaimed. "You just said living through the rematch was part of the legend!"

Radley smiled and reached to lay his hands on Scotch's arms. "That's right," he soothed. "It is."

Kalin didn't comment. He wanted to fully believe in that hopeful part of the legend, especially if they were going to believe in the rest, but they had been too hurt by disasters to not worry about something going wrong.

Radley patted Scotch's hands with a sigh. "I'd better call Grandma," he said. "Then I'll make omelettes for everyone."

Scotch sighed too. "Okay. But calling her really doesn't sound fun."

Radley had to laugh dryly. "When it comes to something she's kept from me all my life? Yeah, no." He took out his phone and dialed the villa's number. When Lucia answered, he braced himself. "Hi, Grandma."

She looked surprised. "Hello, Radley. You're calling early."

"Yeah, well, I need to talk to you about something that can't really wait." Radley moved so that Kalin was visible too. "Grandmama told us about the princes."

Lucia went sheet-white. But to her credit, she kept her voice completely even as she replied. "I knew she was likely to someday."

"Were you really just not going to tell us at all, ever?" Radley frowned.

"It is a foolish legend," Lucia calmly pronounced. "I didn't want you filling your head with nonsense like that."

"Only if you really believe that, would you have gone to such lengths to keep me and Kalin apart all through the years?" Radley retorted. "We could have been raised together as brothers! His father would have almost surely given him up if he'd been approached by the wealthy Ramon family and offered money for an adoption."

"The Ramon family is all about class and breeding," Lucia said. "Kalin was little more than a street waif. He didn't belong with us."

The Bunch all cried out with indignation.

Kalin's eyes narrowed. "How did Radley ever turn out as decent as he did with ideas like that being fed to him all through his life?"

"Radley always had his own ideas and desires," Lucia said. "We could do little to change him."

"Which seems to be what Prince Ramon was like too," Radley pointed out.

Lucia gripped the phone. "Reincarnation is nonsense!" she spat. "It goes against the Bible and every bit of common sense! Now my grandmother has you believing in it!"

"I still don't know what I believe," Radley said. "I just know I don't think it was right to keep me and Kalin apart because you were afraid of 'nonsense.'" He sighed. "And we really need to see your paintings and whatever else you have about the legend, Grandma."

Lucia looked ready to retort. But instead she took a deep breath, loosened her grip on the phone, and set it down on her desk. "You are both legal adults," she said in sullen resignation. "I can do little to stop you without taking drastic steps such as a restraining order. I won't go that far. It would create far too much negative publicity."

Radley gave a sad half-smile. "And maybe you don't wanna push me away again?"

She didn't acknowledge that, but said, "You are welcome at the villa any time you want to come."

"Thanks," Radley said softly. "We'll probably be out later today, if you can send the jet for us."

She gave a curt nod. "I will send it around noon."

"That would be great," Radley said. "We'll see you then."

Lucia hesitated. "Emilio knows nothing of this legend. I would rather he didn't."

"I won't deliberately set out to tell him, but I don't see how I can keep it from him either," Radley said. "He'll wonder why we're coming all of a sudden, and if I'm secretive about going to see your paintings, he'll feel hurt."

"Yes, I suppose he will." Lucia frowned. "You do as you feel best."

"Thanks," Radley said.

He hung up with a sigh. "Well, that went a lot better than it could have. . . ."

Virgil scowled. "She's still completely prejudiced. She insulted Kalin and all of us who came from lower class homes!"

Radley patted his shoulder. "At least she's willing to try, which is more than she was before," he said. "I don't like how she acts either, but it could be worse. Hey, she's actually going to let us come! I wasn't sure we could get in at all."

Kalin nodded. "She's absolutely changed. But some things are too deep-rooted to change any time soon, if ever. At least she's not letting the fact of Radley being with people from lower social classes affect whether she'll let him and us come around."

"Yeah, you know, I'm kind of surprised she didn't have a conniption when she found that we found each other again," Radley said. "It must have been a private conniption."

"She didn't give any indication that she'd deliberately tried to keep us apart before," Kalin agreed.

"I'm guessing by that point she just gave up, since it was because of her kicking me out that I'd found you," Radley said.

"Some people probably would have kept on it anyway," Billy said.

"I'm just really glad all my family is willing to welcome me in again," Radley said quietly. "I thought I'd never have that again."

"Aren't you mad, though?" Virgil frowned. "Don't you hate?"

"I hate what was done to me . . . to us," Radley said. "Yeah, I'm angry. But . . . I don't hate them."

Virgil shook his head. "I would, if it was me. I resent everyone back home who treated me and Jimmy like dirt."

"And I get that," Radley said. "I've wondered why I never have hated Grandma, at least."

"Your heart is too pure to hate," Kalin said. "Yusei is that way too. I wonder why I keep being drawn to people like that when I'm the opposite."

"To balance you out and keep you grounded," Radley said with a smile and a wink. "And because we need and love you."

". . . I wonder if the prince was emotionally disturbed," Kalin remarked. "And if he wasn't, and he is me, why was that my fate in this life?"

Radley blinked in surprise and then sighed sadly. "Oh Kalin. . . . I don't know. It doesn't seem fair, does it? I'd say that's another strike against reincarnation being real, but it's unfair regardless."

"It's more that I'm wondering because if we were given a second chance so we could be happy, why did I end up saddled with something that makes happiness harder to come by?" Kalin frowned.

"Maybe that's the proof that it wasn't supposed to happen," Radley soothed. "I can't believe you were foreordained to snap. That isn't any kind of decent destiny."

Kalin sighed. "And if I wasn't destined for that, why did it happen?"

"I suppose Yusei would say it's proof destiny isn't real," Radley remarked.

"Only reincarnation is all about destiny, isn't it?" Kalin got up with a tired sigh. "You guys get ready to leave. I need to call Yusei about this."

Radley and the Bunch sadly watched him walk out and down the hall.

"Yusei will probably try to convince him not to believe in all of this," Virgil said.

"And I can't blame him for that," Radley said. "I would rather not believe in it myself. It goes against everything I've believed all through the years. It challenges my whole worldview. And when I'm part of the situation, I'm really in no position to be able to give Kalin advice on what to do or how to feel."

"Is anyone?" Billy replied. "We all have to decide on our own how to feel. No one can tell us."

Radley gave a weak smirk. "Yeah. . . . You're right, of course." He sighed. "It's just . . . I've been here for Kalin ever since we started growing close. I don't want to think I can't be here for him now."

"I've got the feeling you're both going to be doing a lot of soul-searching," Biff said. "You're gonna need each other more than ever. Just remember, we're all here for you too."

Radley smiled. "I know."

Kalin could hear them as he went into his room and sank on his bed. He was trying to be strong for Radley, but even though his initial reaction hadn't been so antagonistic, he was growing more confused and bitter the more he thought about the concerns he had brought up.

If the legend was true, why had he been reborn to such a lowly station? Radley had been reborn to wealth. If Kalin had too, maybe they wouldn't have been kept apart.

He had tried to love the Satellite, since it was the only home he'd had. But deep down, the truth was that he had always resented it, hated it. He hadn't wanted to hurt the good people, but the bad people, and the place itself . . . he had wanted to hurt the bad people and topple the Satellite, remaking it into something fitting for him.

He had wanted to make it his kingdom.

Had that been his princely nature coming forth?

He certainly hadn't behaved like any decent prince, going after everyone both good and bad. A crazed monarch, maybe.

What if . . . what if he hadn't been decent in the past either? The legend was just a version of the story handed through the ages. Maybe the truth was much different. Who knew what had really happened back then? Maybe he had aligned with the evil being. Maybe it was even his fault Prince Ramon had died.

That certainly sounded like him.

He slumped forward, a sob choking from his lips.

He didn't hear Radley approaching until the other man had come into the room and was sitting down next to him on the bed. "Hey . . . Kalin, hey. What is it? What's wrong?"

Kalin just shook his head. "The most obvious answer is right in front of us," he rasped. "Prince Kalin was probably insane and bent on power. He probably made a pact with the evil and got you killed! I killed you in two lifetimes! Maybe I killed Yusei in the past as well!"

Tears pricked Radley's eyes. "Hey. There's no proof of anything like that," he firmly said. "Prince Kalin was loyal and loving to Prince Ramon and died with him protecting everyone!"

"That's just a legend!" Kalin swore, slamming his hand on the bed. "We don't know how much of it is even true! Just because you dreamed of the legend doesn't make it the truth! Maybe you really did hear the legend as a kid and those memories came back to you. It might not be what actually happened!"

Radley's composure finally broke. "Or maybe none of it happened to us!" he yelled back. "Maybe they're not us and we've only had this lifetime, like I've always believed!"

Kalin was shaken into silence. Radley losing his temper was a rare thing. The first time Kalin had ever seen it was when Radley had screamed at him and shook him in the mines. He hadn't seen it since; Radley's anger typically came out in a controlled fashion, even when facing deadly enemies.

He looked away, wracked with fresh guilt. ". . . What does it say about us, that only I have ever caused you to snap?" he said quietly.

Radley looked guilty too. He wrapped his arms around Kalin in a warm hug. "It says that I love you very much," he said softly. "I can't stand to see you beating yourself up over what might not even be real."

Kalin shut his eyes tightly and reached up, laying his trembling hands on Radley's arms. "I'm sorry," he rasped. "I'm so sorry."

Radley pressed his lips against the blue hair covering Kalin's temple. "I'm sorry too," he whispered.