Chapter 42 – Party at Number One Castle Drive Part 1
"A party at the castle?" said Hilda, shocked.
"Yeah! My dad will go out of town for a meet-up with the King of Skyland! And he will be gone till Sunday!" said Bean.
Hilda laughed. "Wow, a party at the big castle of yours? That's going to be wild!" said Hilda, grinning.
Both Bean and Hilda were sitting at a table at the bar. The bar was packed as always on a Friday night, filled with its usual rowdy patriots. Bean was on her third beer mug while Hilda was still drinking hers. "It is going to be wild!" said Bean excitedly. "I'm going to throw the biggest party Dreamland has ever seen! I want this party to go down in history!"
"Well, if it's your party, it will be talked about for years!" Hilda chuckled.
"Do you want to come?" Bean asked.
"Me?" Hilda looked at Bean, surprised. "I don't know, Bean. I'm not too big parties."
"Oh, come on, Hilda, it'll be fun! You can even invite your weird friends, too!"
"You say my friends are weird, but you have an Elf and a talking cat for friends," said Hilda sharply.
"Ok, ok, fair point, but you can still come!" said Bean, chugging her third beer bug.
Hilda thought about it for a moment. "Umm…will Tavish be there?"
Bean placed the mug on the table and burped. "Tavish? Uh…I honestly don't think he'd even consider my party. Why do you ask?"
"Oh uh…" Hilda's cheeks went red. "I-I was just wondering, is all. I haven't spoken to him in a long time."
"Wait…do you have a crush on Tavish?" Bean asked, her eyes widened.
"W-what? No, I don't, Bean! I just wanted to speak to him!" Hilda replied, flustered.
"Oh, come on, Hilda, I'm not new to this. Anyone can see that you have a crush from a mile away. But on Tavish?"
Hilda sighs, and she rubs her hands through her bright pink hair. "Well…ok, yes, I have a crush on Tavish. I've always liked him since we were little. I've never had a chance to tell him that. But before I knew it, I never saw him for a long time."
"Oh…" Bean lowered her eyes to her half-empty mug of Bear. Bean didn't want Tavish anywhere near the party at all…but… "Well…I can try to get him there if you can make it."
"Really? Oh, thank you, Bean!" Hilda gleamed. "Oh, my goodness…I'm going to need a dress! And I need to fix up my hair!"
"I can get you a dress if you want. I am a princess, after all."
"No, I can get my own dress, but thank you, Bean!" Hilda said with a smile. "Speaking of crushes, what's up with you and that Koga bloke?"
"Huh?" said Bean. It was her turn to blush.
"He's going to the party, isn't he?"
"Yeah, he said he was coming," Bean's heart started to pound as she thought about Koga.
"Soooo…are you going to do it?"
"Do what?!"
"Don't play dumb, Beanie, you know what I mean! Are you going to ask him out?" Hilda asked eagerly.
"I-I-I I don't know, I might…I think…maybe," Bean's cheeks were bright red as she spun her mug around with her fingers. "I'll worry about that when the party is off to an awesome start! And…when we're alone somewhere in the castle…like in a room…with a bed…"
Hilda laughs and ends up snorting. "Damn, Bean, you move fast!"
"I can't help it! He's so freaking cool!" said Bean, laying her head on the table.
"I only met him once and saw his strength in the knight's festival. I can see why you're falling for him," said Hilda. "I do wish you luck on that, Bean."
"Thanks, Hilda," said Bean, raising her head from the table. She chugs the rest of her beer and gets up from the table. "Well, I better head back to the castle and see how the invitations are coming along. I have Elfo and Luci working on them!"
"Alright, Beanie, have fun!" said Hilda, waving at Bean as she left the bar.
As Bean strolled down the cobblestone streets of Dreamland, she couldn't help but think about Hilda's crush on Tavish. "Jeez, of all the people she has a crush on, why him? Does Tavish even think about relationships?" She said to herself. Even when they were little, she had never seen Tavish have a crush on anyone. But Bean would worry about that later. All she was concerned about was ensuring the party would be perfect as she arrived at the castle. She walked down the stone hallways to her room and opened the door. Luci was sitting on the couch finishing the last invitations, and Elfo was not there. "Where's Elfo?" She asked.
"Sorcerio took him to draw more blood," said Luci.
"Ugh, Of course they are!" said Bean, sitting on the opposite couch.
"Hey, I wanted to ask, when you said you didn't want to invite any Dreamland guys, did you mean the ones you locked lips with in the past, oooor?"
"Mainly the guys who are scared of Zog," said Bean as she sat on the arm of her couch. "But It's whatever. I have one goal for this party, and I'm confident that is going to be met!"
"To get boned by Koga?" said Luci.
"To get boned by-SHUT UP LUCI!" Bean shouted as she glared at Luci with her cheeks red.
"Hey, I suggest inviting your brother to the party. It'll be interesting having him around.?" Luci asked with a smirk. "I'm pretty sure he could rack up a body count this weekend!"
Bean let out a sigh. "Well, I'll have no choice but to get him to come now. Hilda wants him there,"
"Are you serious? Don't tell me…"
"Yup…she has a crush on him…"
"REALLY?" Luci asked, dumbfounded.
"I'm guessing that she never got over her crush on Tavish when they used to hang out a lot," said Bean, shrugging.
"Wow, there's so much love in the air. Ugh," Luci groaned.
"Come on, let's pick up Elfo and see if my dad is gone yet," said Bean as she and Luci left the room and headed for the astronomy tower.
Elfo sat on a stool in the astronomy tower room. Sorcerio extracted blood from Elfo's arm as he quietly conversed with Odval. A short woman named Miri, wearing a long green tattered robe, tan skin and long brown hair, was moping a spot next to Elfo as he was rambling on about Bean. "I just don't know how to compete with him. I can understand why Bean likes him so much. Koga is strong, has long black and gorgeous hair, and is handsome. And here I am, just a dingy little elf. I don't know what to do. What do you guys think?" He looked over at Odval and Sorcerio. "Um, hello? I'm talking here!"
"Our secret society meets up tonight?" asked Sorcerio.
"No, not till the asswipe leaves the castle," Odval replied.
"Um, hello," said Elfo, butting in. "I couldn't overhear your secret conversation while trying to seek love advice. Mind if I butt in?"
"Yes…yes we do…" said Sorcerio, sarcastically.
The door to the astronomy towered opened and in stepped Zog. "Hey, how's that Elf blood coming along? I'm not getting any younger here!"
"We're still running the usual test, sire, and we're on the road to finding a solution soon!" said Odval. "Oh, and I wish you look at the Skyland meeting!"
"Speaking of that, where the hell is Tavish?" said Zog.
"In his room as always, Your Highness," said Odval.
"Of course he is," said Zog as he left the room.
"Bye, asswipe!" said Elfo, waving at him. He looked at Miri, who was holding a peeled orange up to them. "Oh, thanks!" He took the orange and ate a piece.
"I read in Tavish's journal that oranges are good for getting the blood work back," said Miri.
"How does that work?" Elfo asked.
Miri shrugs. "Beats me. If Tavish says it can, then it must be true. He is the smartest one in the kingdom, so…"
"Fair enough," said Elfo.
"By the way, I was listening to what you said about Princess Tiabeanie. You got a big crush on her, huh?"
Elfo let a small, embarrassed groan and then quietly replied. "Yeah…"
"I can see why. When Princess Tiabeanie isn't being a stuck-up, violent alcoholic, she can be pretty sweet and beautiful at times," said Miri.
"Yeah," Elfo giggled, thinking about her. "But I don't know. She's so head over heels for Koga. I don't stand a chance…"
"Yeah, I heard a lot about Koga from the people in the castle. It's all the women here talking about him. It can get pretty annoying sometimes." She said as she moped a spot on the floor.
"See? How can I win Bean's heart if Koga already has it?" The Elf asked anxiously.
"Honestly, I don't think you can," Miri replied bluntly. "Let her be and just continue being her friend."
Elfo frowned. "Maybe you're right…but I can't stop thinking about her…I love Bean so-"
"Elfo?" said Bean, opening the door to the astronomy room.
"BEAN!" Elfo gasped loudly.
"There you are!" The Princess replied with a smile. She looks over at Odval and Sorcerio. "Alright, boys, you've had my friend long enough." She yanked the tube out of him, and blood began spilling all over the floor. "Whoops…sorry Elfo…" She said, carrying him out of the room.
"It's ok! I got an orange!" said Elfo, happily.
"Wow…thanks…now I have more to clean up…" said Miri, bitterly.
The trio walked down the stone hallways and quietly discussed how they would send invitations to the party once Zog leaves the castle. Speaking of Zog, the three would hear Zog's booming voice echo down the halls. "He's not gone yet?" said Luci. "Why the hell is he still here?"
"Wait…that's coming from where Tavish's room is," said Bean.
The three would peak from around the corner to see Zog and Tavish glaring at each other. "You need to come with me, Tavish! You can't have your reputation ruined like this!" said Zog.
"My reputation? And exactly how is it that my reputation is in jeopardy because of a waste of human life like finly dying?" Tavish asked.
"Because one, it happened on your watch! And two, he's the second prince that died in our castle!"
"That means to me," said Tavish coldly.
"Well, make it mean something!" Zog bellowed. "We can't mess this up with the King and Queen of Skyland. Our relationship with Bentwood and Dankmire already makes us undesirable. If we have good favour with Skyland, we can turn that around and gain all the riches we can get! And one of the Princess is madly in love with you! And here you are, trying to stop all of that from happening!"
"What did I tell you about interfering with my business, father?" said Tavish, narrowing his eyes at Zog. "The business I have with Annabl-"
"Is now our business!" said Zog, cutting him off. "What in the world happened to you Tavish? You used to be so cunning, smart, and smooth. If Bean screwed up, you were always the one I could come to to fix things. Now you're just making a mess of everything like your sister! Do you expect to run a kingdom with the mindset you have now?"
Tavish was silent. He removed his eyes from Zog's gaze and stared at the stone floor.
Zog glides his hands down his face and lets out a mumbled sigh. "I'll be back Sunday with how everything went. Make sure your sister stays out of trouble. Ok?"
"Yes, father…" Tavish replied weakly.
Zog turned around and began heading towards the trio's direction. Bean, Elfo and Luci hid as Zog passed them in the hallways.
Bean, Elfo and Luci emerged from their hiding spot, and Luci would say, "Man, it's always entertaining to see some good ol family drama! Welp, come on, dopes, let's make sure Zog is gone so we can send these invitations out!" He said as he and Elfo began walking off.
Elfo turns around sees Bean, standing still and looking toward Tavish's room. "Hey, Bean, are you coming?"
"Uh, yeah, I'll catch up," said Bean. As Elfo shrugged and followed Luci, Bean walked toward Tavish's room. She looks around the corner and sees Tavish leaning against the wall. Bean walks over to Tavish; the sound of her heavy boots fills the quiet stone walls. "Hey…"
Tavish looks over at Bean. "What is it, Bean?"
"I just came to see if you were ok…" said Bean softly.
"Is that all?"
"Well-"
"If that's all, Bean, I'd like it if you would leave me be," said Tavish irritably.
Bean let out a deep sigh and glared at her twin. "You know, all I wanted to do was check on you. Why do you have to make it so difficult?"
"I don't need you to check on me, Bean. I'm fine."
"No, you're not. You got chewed out by Zog. No one is fine after that. And you're supposed to be the perfect sibling," She began to hold herself. "And what's worse is that you haven't been looking good either. Have you been getting enou-"
"I don't need someone else to pester me, sister…" said Tavish, casting a spiteful gaze at Bean.
Bean's anger began to rise. "How am I bugging you? I'm trying to be a good sister and check on my big brother? Why do you always do this?!"
"I told you I don't need you to do that," said Tavish.
Bean took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Ok…fine, enough about you then," she crossed her arms. "I spoke to Hilda today."
Tavish's eyes widened slightly. "W-What?"
Bean noticed this. "She asked about you today. She wanted to see you,"
Tavish slowly looked away.
Bean continued, "I'm throwing a party here at the castle. Since Dad is leaving on a trip to Skyland, I thought it would be cool to have a party. I invited Hilda."
Tavish didn't reply. He looked as though he was in deep thought.
"Um…earth to Tavish? Is anyone home?"
Tavish turned his attention to the door to his room and placed his hands around the handle. Bean shouts at him, "Hey! Are you going to say anything? Are you coming out or not?!"
Tavish paused. "You know, don't want to be surrounded by people you affiliate with," He said. His back turned to Bean.
"Yeah, I know. But are you at least going to stop by to see Hilda? How long has it been since you've last spoken to her?"
"A while," said Tavish.
"Oh my god…" Bean rubs her head. "Look, Tavish, just stop by the party for a few minutes and say hi. That's all I want. It would make Hilda happy!"
Tavish didn't say anything.
"Well? Can you at least do that?"
Tavish opens the door to his room, steps in, and shuts the door.
"UGH!" Bean groaned. "YOU BETTER SHOW UP!" She yelled before walking off.
As she turns the corner and looks down, she sees Elfo and Luci standing there. "What're you guys doing?" She asked angrily.
"Soaking in the drama," said Luci.
Bean rolls her eyes. "Is Zog gone?"
"Yeah, his carriage left not too long ago," said Elfo.
"Well, come on, let's get these invitations out," said Bean as she walked forward.
As Friday was coming to a close, The big party at Dreamland was on the rise.