New chapter! And guess what? We learn something major about John! You guys probably saw it coming though :P. Again, this chapter was co-written by Winged Illusion! Enjoy!
Be the 22 year old soon to be King.
You stare out of your balcony, dreading what will happen in less than 24 hours. Tomorrow you will be crowned King of Alternia, and you are freaking the heck out. Not about the coronation though. Well, not as much about the coronation anyway. You've known since you were old enough to talk that you would eventually be crowned king and would have to take your dad's place. No, what you are worried about is the pressure you are going to be put under to choose a queen. You can't even fathom being stuck with another person for the rest of your life. Don't get you wrong, there are plenty of perfectly sweet, charming, eligible young ladies at court. And you are sure that any of them would make a wonderful queen for the kingdom of Alternia. However. You are also sure that these same girls are mostly a vapid, superficial bunch that you can't stomach being around for more than the duration of one of the rare public affairs you do attend. There are only three people who you can put up with for extended periods of time: Jade, Jake, and of course, Dave. And even among the three of those, only Jake knows about your powers. You can't risk endangering another individual by forcing them to be around you all the time, especially since you won't be able to reveal your powers to them until after you are engaged, if at all. Plus, once you are engaged, you won't be able to spend as much time with Jake and Dave anymore. You'll be married, and have…. husbandly duties. Eurgh. You'll be expected to produce a new heir to the throne! Your stomach churns a little as you think about that, and you flop onto your bed facedown and try to forget about the upcoming ceremony and what it will mean for you.
You groan loudly as you hear a knock at the door and Dave's voice calling your name. "Go away Dave." You yell into your bedcovers, but in typical Strider fashion, Dave ignores you completely.
"John." He opens the door and walks over to your bed, standing over your prostrate form. "John. Get up."
"No," you respond back impudently."I don't wanna"
"You're acting like a whiny teenager."
"Maybe I am a whiny teenager." You shoot back petulantly, your face still pressed to the covers.
"You're 22 years old. You knew this was coming. Why are you so freaked out all of a sudden?" he asks, concern coloring his voice. It would be imperceptible to anyone else, but he's one of your best friends. Hell, he's one of your only friends, so you pick up on the shift in tone easily.
"I- I just- I don't know!" you wail, finally flipping over so you're laying on your back looking up at him as he stands over you. "I just am, okay?" You stare at him long and hard, eyes locked, before flipping back over onto your stomach and proceeding to ignore him again, hoping he would leave you to wallow in your self-pity. He doesn't. Instead he sits down on the edge of the bed beside you and rubs your upper back idly, trailing his blunt nails along and around your shoulder blades. You relax under his touch, sighing softly.
Dave slowly opens his mouth, starting to speak. "You know…. I…." You then hear the door open and look to see Jake walking in with a large bundle of clothes, cutting off whatever it was Dave was about to say.
"Your highness, you need to try on the robes for tomorrow's ceremony." Jake states simply. Dave stops rubbing your back, causing you to frown slightly, and he waves slowly before walking out. You begrudgingly stand up and you pull off your tunic, slipping it over your head, before realizing that Dave left the door to your room wide open. "Hey, Jake, you wanna shut that?" you ask, gesturing towards the door with a jerk of your chin as you unlace and remove your comfortable leather boots. You then pull off your leggings and step out of them, leaving them in a heap on the floor, and you shivering in just your drawers in the middle of your breezy chambers. Jake, returning from closing the door, then starts helping you put on the new clothes. "You excited about tomorrow?"
"No… Not at all." You reply.
"Why not? You worried about your powers? You know we've been working on-"
"It's not that." You interrupt. Jake looks up at you a bit surprised.
"Then what is it?" He asks. "Are you worried about finally becoming king?"
"No, it's not that either," you sigh. "I mean, i've known my whole life that I was going to be king one day. I've been preparing for it since I started talking. It's-" you pause looking over your shoulder at Jake, then think better of it. "Nevermind. It's too embarrassing."
"John. I've known you since you were three years old, and been your closest confidant since you were eight. I highly doubt it's any worse than anything you've told me already." He sits back on his heels and looks up at you, amused.
"Fine! It's just…. Once I'm coranated, I'll be expected to…. you know. Choose a queen," you mutter out, blushing. Jake raises a brow a bit.
"That's true. And there are plenty of lovely ladies just waiting to be your bride." Jake says.
"That's not the problem! I mean… Not only will I have to keep my powers secret, but, I mean, look at me! I'm not even half as attractive as you or Dave!"
"Wait wait wait a moment." Jake says, stopping you with a wave of his hand. "You think Dave and I, are attractive?"
"Well, yeah, duh." You look at him confused. "You're more attractive than most of the women at court, as far as I've seen. I'm just this wimpy noodle, and lets face it, my facial structure sucks . I've basically got the face of a 13 year old girl. And don't even get me started on Dave! He's just…." your blush deepens, and you make firm eye contact with the ground. "Well, you know! I mean, have you seen him? And on top of all that, when I DO find a fiancee, I'll be expected to produce an heir. And that involves-" your face screws up in disgust as you pause, unable to even put coherent words to the thought. "doing stuff down there. which is just gross! I mean, kissing and stuff is bad enough, but…. Eurgh" you break off, shuddering. "I don't get why people want to even do… that. It just sounds gross." The entire time you are talking, Jake is staring at you with an unreadable expression.
"John…. I don't think your problem stems from your lack of interest in, those things…. But… In your lack of attraction to girls all together."
"What do you mean?" You ask.
Jake explains slowly. "John, at the last, public occasion, did you think anyone in particular was… attractive?" You begin to think.
"Well…. Um…. Dave's brother, Dirk, looked nice." You say slowly. Jake opens his mouth as if to say something but he quickly closes it.
"Alright… Fair enough… Have you ever found yourself… Sexually attracted to a girl?"
"What you mean like…?" Jake slowly nods. "OH NO HELL NO!" You say quickly.
"Alright. Have you ever fantasized about kissing anyone?" You stand there for a minute. Have you? You ponder it for a moment.
"Well… When I was younger… Yeah…" He gives you the 'please continue' look. "I… I was kinda curious about what it would be like to kiss Dave… But he is my best friend!" You are quick to add defensively.
"Well other that the fact that I'm pretty sure you're gay, are you sure that's all?" Jake asks. You stare at him bewildered.
"Wait, what do you mean, I'm gay?"
"You like boys, not girls."
You stare at him a moment, totally befuddled, before it hits you. Oh. Oh. You are so gay. But what did Jake mean by 'are you sure that's all?' Did he mean…. Dave? Okay, mental checklist. Do you like guys? Well, from what Jake has said, yes. Do you find Dave hot? Yes. Heck yes. That's not even in question. Have you wanted to kiss him? Yes you just admitted that. Do you miss him when he's not around? Yeah. Do you feel calm when he's around? Yeah, he's one of the few I'm calm around. If he was in danger, would you put yourself in danger to help him? Of course! Do you get jealous when he 'flirts' with the castle girls? If you mean feel a deep pain in your chest, then yes. "Oh my gosh, I'm in love with Dave Strider." You say out loud. Jake looks at you sympathetically.
"Well, that's probably why you're so nervous."
Be the surprised, eavesdropping princess.
Oh. My. Gosh. You can't believe you just heard that! John, your brother, king to be, is in love with Dave, his knight. That's like, so cute yet sad at the same time! You feel a deep pain in your chest for your brother. As king, there's no way he and Dave can ever be together! He's gonna have to pick a queen to marry and have kids with! You hear Jake say something about going to check on something, so you back away from the door and make it look like you were about to knock as he opens the door.
"Ah! Y-Your highness!" Jake says, meeting your gaze.
"Hi, Jake! I'm here to see John!" You say, peering over his shoulder to look at your brother. He gets out of your way and you skip over to John. "Hey, John!" You say hugging him before pulling back to look at his robes. "Not bad!" You say, hearing Jake close the door as he leaves.
"Thanks. Got to look good tomorrow." John says. You nod.
"Yeah. You should see the outfit Dave is wearing." You say, nudging him in the side a bit.
"What are you implying?"
"I'm not implying anything." You say looking up at him. "I just… couldn't help but overhear you guys a few minutes ago." You see your brother's eyes widen in shock. "Don't worry though! Your secret is safe with me, John!" John sighs with relief.
"Look, before you say anything, I already know. It's impossible. I'm being crowned tomorrow and after that I'll need a queen. Besides, I'm sure he doesn't like me like that anyway. I know." John says, looking out the door to the balcony. You look at him sadly.
"If I could I'd help you, but I don't know how." He looks at you and smiles sadly.
"I know. Trust me. I know." You hug him again, tighter this time.
"At least he'll always be around, right?" You ask cautiously.
"Yeah. There's that…" He whispers.
The next day comes quickly, and even though you still hurt for your brother, you can't hold in your excitement. Today, not just a select few royals will be there, but a multitude of people will be dancing and celebrating John's coronation. You skip down the hall in your best green and black dress, Bec following close behind.
"The window is open! So's that door! I didn't know they did that anymore! Who knew we owned eight thousand salad plates!" She says, skipping through the dining hall. "For years I've roamed these empty halls, why have a ballroom with no balls? They're finally opening up the gates!" Jade says looking out the window. "They'll be so many kinds of people, it'll be totally strange… But WOW! Am I so ready for this change! Cause for the first time in forever there'll be music, there'll be light! For the first time in forever I'll be dancing through the night! Don't know if I'm elated or gassy, but I'm somewhere in that zone, because for the first time in forever, I won't be alone!" You giggle and run down the hall with Bec, before turning to look at the wolf. "I can't wait to meet everyone!" You gasp quietly. "What if I meet, the one!" Bec looks at you and groans a bit. "Tonight imagine me gown and all fetchingly draped against the wall, the picture of sophisticated grace. Oh! I suddenly see him standing there, a beautiful stranger, tall and fair. I wanna stuff some chocolate in my face!" You say before quickly grabbing a small piece of chocolate from a passing maid. "But then we laugh and talk all evening, which is totally bizarre. Nothing like the life I've lead so far. For the first time in forever, there'll be magic, there'll be fun! For the first time in forever I could be noticed by someone!" You look back at Bec. "And I know it is totally crazy, to dream I'd find romance. But for the first time in forever, at least I've got a chance." You shrug at Bec.
Be the King to be.
You stand alone, staring up at the picture of your father. Today's the day. You will become king in just a few hours. You sigh. "Don't let them in, don't let them see, be the good prince you've always had to be." You say, repeating what you've been told all these years. "Conceal… Don't feel…. Put on a show… Make one wrong move and everyone will know." You look at the nearby door, the door that leads to where the King makes his personal proclamations. "But it's only for today… It's agony to wait…." You walk out the door and yell. "Tell the guards to open up the gate!"
Be the princess again.
Hearing John order the opening of the gate, you quickly run out and rush out the gate. "For the first time in forever, I'm getting what I'm dreaming of. A chance to change my lonely world, a chance to find true love! I know it all ends tomorrow, so it has to be today! Cause for the first time in forever…" You say running past some passerby's and skipping down the street. "For the first time in forever…" You quickly step down the steps to the dock. "Nothing's in my way!"