Thank you guys so much for the reviews! :) They made me extremely happy.
As I said last chapter, I haven't read the books... so I don't really know what Avaric's character is like in them (he's always portrayed as sleazy in fanfictions though, so I presume thats what book Avaric is like). But this is musicalverse, and I am going to shamelessly take liberties and alter his character to fit what I need him to be for the story. Sorry if that bothers anyone.
Well, here's chapter 2.
Chapter 2
"You have nothing?" Avaric looked doubtfully at Fiyero. "Seriously?
Fiyero turned out his pockets.
"See? Absolutely zilch. My dad's cut me off completely."
Avaric groaned as his friend leaned against the walls of the Indigo coloured shop, exasperatedly running his fingers through his dark blonde hair.
"Why has he cut you off now?" He demanded.
Fiyero shrugged vaguely, "Because he says I'm not responsible or whatever."
"But you graduated, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but just barely. And dad says if I'm going to inherit the throne I'm going to have to start working and take on more responsibilities and all that shit."
Fiyero looked into the window of the shop, adding thoughtfully, "Do you think we could just steal it?"
Avaric shook his head. "We tried that once before, remember? We got in trouble with the cops."
"Oh yeah." Fiyero grimaced at the memory, "Dad had to bail us out."
Avaric snickered, "He looked so ridiculous with those royal robes in a prison."
Fiyero ignored dwelling on the memory in favour of trying to come up with a solution to their dilemma, but he had nothing. He considered giving up and telling Avaric to just forget the whole thing, but decided against it; after the lecture his parents had given him that morning about how 'it was time he got his act together', he really needed alcohol in his system.
"I can't wait for that tour thing," Avaric said, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket. "It's going to be off the hook."
"Yeah," Fiyero agreed. "Plus, it's going to be my last month of freedom, before I come back here and dad forces me to start working."
"But at least he's allowing you to go."
"That's true... he's not overly strict in that way."
The extent to which his parents put up with his reckless behaviour actually did surprise Fiyero. His father had once told him that it was because he knew what Fiyero was going through. There were pressures that went along with being a crown prince, the King had said, and if Fiyero's way of dealing with those pressures was getting drunk and skipping classes, so be it. He said he knew that it was unfair that Fiyero was born into this almost pre-determined way of life - full of rules and expectations - and to make up for it, the king was willing to extricate him from whatever situation he got himself into. Not only that, but the king had also striven to insure that Fiyero stayed out of the papers as much as possible, so that he could have something akin to a normal childhood. Sure, Fiyero's face did occasionally appear in the Ozian Times and yes, occasionally people did figure out that he was the Vinkun Prince and began treating him like he was nothing short of the Wizard of Oz... but usually when he was outside of the Vinkus all he would get was some curious looks, as though people were trying to figure out whether they knew him or not.
When Fiyero was a child he loved the attention that his royal status got him and cursed his father for attempting to keep his identity hidden, but over time he'd come to appreciate his parents' venture to keep him out of the spotlight. He enjoyed nights like this, where he could just be a normal twenty-something year old and hang out with his friends and do 'normal youngster things'. But Fiyero knew that soon, all that would change. In a few years he was going to inherit the throne... and even though his father had excused his rash behavior in the past, the king had decided that this tour was the last thing he would allow his son to do before he began intensive training on 'how to run the kingdom'. In a way, Fiyero realized, this tour was a farewell to his young, irresponsible ways.
"Man, if I had been expelled from the amount of schools you have been expelled from, I would never be allowed to see the sun again," Avaric was saying as he lit his cigarette, inhaling deeply.
Fiyero shrugged but said nothing in response.
"So I'm picking you up in my carriage on the way to the train station on Thursday, right?"
"Yeah." Fiyero said distractedly, shooting the store window another longing look. "It's really stupid that we have to take a train to get to another train though. I mean, why can't the tour train just... pick us up along the way, or something?"
"The Vinkus is the almost last stop," Avaric reminded him. "Relax. Between you, me and Boq the train ride to Munchkinland is going to be awesome."
"I guess." Fiyero scratched the back of his neck agitatedly. "Man, I really need some beer."
"Find a way to get money and we'll buy some." Avaric said, simply.
Fiyero sighed, but wrinkled his brow trying to come up with a plan, when he spotted a middle-aged man in a long red coat getting into a carriage across the street. Fiyero watched him intently, noting the way he walked, his well-tailored clothes and his neatly-oiled hair.
He's a gentlemen, Fiyero decided, Someone with an important job.
It was only when he noticed the gold fob watch hanging from the man's pocket that his face lit up with a sly smile.
"I've got it. Follow my lead."
Fiyero shoved his hands in his pockets and put on a miserable expression before heading dejectedly towards the carriage. Taking the hint, Avaric threw away his cigarette and imitated him, even mussing up his own hair to enhance the illusion of seeming frazzled. He wasn't sure exactly what Fiyero's plan was, but knowing that the prince had a plan was enough for him. There were a lot of things Fiyero wasn't good at, but Avaric had to admit, the one thing he was brilliant at was reading people. He couldn't count the amount of times Fiyero had come up with some ridiculous idea which had ended up working because he had made a correct assumption about a stranger. Of course, there were several times when their plans did end up failing miserably, but in those cases, Fiyero's royal connection was usually enough to get them out of trouble. Either way, Avaric always had a story by the end of it.
They stopped in front of the carriage and Fiyero gave a loud, dramatic sigh.
The man paid them no attention.
Ozdammit. Avaric thought, noticing the man's stiff body posture and hard eyes. This guy looks like a hard-ass. Fiyero may have taken on more than he can handle.
But then again, Fiyero always did say that he loved a challenge.
"Hey mister," Fiyero called, putting on a strained voice, "Do you have any money to spare?"
The man turned to look at them. He was a short, stout man with shoulder-length, straight black hair and beady little eyes. His ring heavy fingers danced anxiously on the seat of the carriage as he scrutinized them.
"What do you need money for?" He asked, suspiciously.
"Our brother," Fiyero said, sniffling, "He's really sick and we need money to buy medicine for him."
"Yeah," Avaric said, jumping in, "We left our money at home."
"Then go back and get it," the man said, gruffly.
"We can't!"
Fiyero's eyes were brimming with tears.
Avaric had always marveled at his friend's acting skills, but today his mind was blown. For a second there, he almost believed that Fiyero needed the money for a sick brother. The prince must have really wanted that beer.
"Our dad will beat us if we go home without the medicine," Fiyero was saying, choking back a sob, "We're scared."
The man's expression softened.
"Can't you explain the situation to your father?" He asked, "Tell him that you forgot the money?"
"No!" Fiyero sounded completely fraught, "He won't listen! He never listens."
He paused, seemingly overcome with emotion, before turning to Avaric with an anguished expression.
"Oh, you idiot! Why did you have to leave the money at home? Dad's going to be so mad and poor little...Boq... is going to be so miserable knowing that we didn't get the medicine to ease his suffering."
Avaric struggled to suppress a giggle at the mention of their friend's name.
"I'm sorry. I'm an idiot," he said, mournfully, "This is all my fault."
"What's the matter with your brother?" The man asked Fiyero.
Fiyero's voice faltered, "He has..."
Shit.
"...malaria."
The man nodded sympathetically, and Avaric mentally jeered.
Nailed it.
"I guess I could spare something." The man muttered to himself.
Avaric could see a triumphant glint in Fiyero's eyes, but it disappeared in a heartbeat.
"Here you go," The man pulled out a few notes from his wallet and handed it to them. "I hope your brother gets well soon."
"Thank you so much sir!" Fiyero's voice trembled as he reached to take the money. "I wish you all the luck in the world for your kindness."
The man gave them a small smile, before barking instructions to his driver. They waved awkwardly as the carriage took off down the road.
"You are a genius!" Avaric cried as soon as the man had disappeared from sight, "I never thought I would ever call you that, but it's true! 'I wish you all the luck in the world for your kindness'?" He sniggered, "Did you major in bullshitting? You, Prince Tiggular, are truly worthy of the throne."
Fiyero bowed deeply, "Thank you for those kind words, sir."
"And why did you have to say Boq's name? I was dying back there!"
Fiyero grinned, "It was the first name that came to me." He shook his head, amazed. "Man, I can't believe he fell for that!"
"Beer!" Avaric cheered, as they ran into the store.
The emerged a few minutes later, roaring with laughter, their arms laden with cans of beer.
"I can't wait to tell..."
Fiyero stopped dead in his tracks, suddenly filled with an extreme disquiet, his unfinished sentence hanging in mid-air. Standing before them with his eyes flashing was the man from the carriage - the one who had given them the money. Fiyero was certain that he and Avaric were both stronger and more agile than the man, but he still couldn't stop a feeling of fright from creeping over him. For some odd reason, in their current situation, the man seemed like a figure even more threatening than the cops.
Avaric squirmed uneasily by his side as they stood in a deathly silence for the few minutes before the man spoke.
"You little brats." He spat each word slowly and harshly. "There I was, helping you out of the kindness of my heart, and you were lying to me... to get beer, at that!"
"They.. uh... were out of medicine," Avaric put in, lamely.
Fiyero shot him a shut up you imbecile look.
"I came back to give you my card," the man said, "To tell you that you could approach me for help if your parents continued beating you. But I've changed my mind. I hope your parents do beat you, because you boys deserve a good thrashing."
He swept away then - back to his carriage - his long coat flapping in the breeze, too humiliated to utter another word and too livid to hear their excuses.
Not that they had any excuses. They stood limply in front of the store, anxiously watching as the man disappeared into the darkening evening.
"Well, at least he didn't take away our beer," Fiyero said eventually, shrugging it off. "That was my main concern."
"Yeah, what else can he do to us?" Avaric snickered, "Force us to wear those hideous long coats?"
The two of them burst out laughing again as they walked away from the store, forgetting the incident faster than it took for them to finish their first beer.
The next chapter might take a while... I'm sorry. But I will do my best to finish it as soon as possible.