The Royal ball had already started. Annabel Fate, the guest of honour for the ball, had not yet arrived. Bean, Zog, Derek and Oona. Zog, Oona, and Derek wore the usual royal formal wear, while Bean wore a beautiful, dark blue, lavish dress. Bean was huffing, puffing, and tapping her foot on the ground with her arms crossed. Zog looked over at Bean, annoyed.
"Will you take that look off your face, Bean?" Zog ordered.
"I don't understand why we gotta wait for every princess to arrive!" said Bean. "I could be inside having a good time right now."
"It's called having manners, sister," said Tavish as he walked outside wearing purple formal wear with silver laces going up down the vest. "If you want to do more for this kingdom, I suggest you learn it."
"I suggest you piss off," Bean snapped.
"HEY! What did I say about the bickering?" Zog glared. "Both of you shut up!"
The drawbridge had opened, and a white and gold carriage came, followed by a few of Skyland's best knights. One of them was Timothy, who participated in the knights' festival a few months back. He opened the carriage door, and out came Annabel. She wore a beautiful white silk dress that was slightly revealing around her waist and thighs.
Tavish takes a deep breath, exhales and puts on a charming smile as he walks to Annabel and holds his hand out to her. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Annabel. It's a pleasure for you to attend this royal ball." He takes her hand and kisses the palm.
"Oh, Tavy," said Annabel. "If it means being with you, I'll do my best to be there." Her cheeks flushed with red colour as he kissed her hand.
Bean would scoff and roll her eyes at the two of them. Tavish would gently grasp her hand and lead her up the steps. Annabel would bow slightly to Zog and Oona. "It's wonderful to see you again, King Zog and Queen Oona," she said politely. Annabel looks over at Bean. "Hello Princess Tiabeanie…you look…fair," She gave her an innocent smile.
Bean glares at Annabel, "And you look-" Zog elbows her. "Wonderful…Annabel.." She lied.
"I know," said Annabel, smirking at Bean as she and Tavish entered the castle.
Bean growled, and her face turned red with anger as she entered the castle. Elsewhere, Elfo and Tess were standing at the dressing room entrance. Elfo was staring down at his feet. Tess kneels, "You ok, Elfo?" She asked softly.
Elfo looks up at Tess. "Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine," He said.
"You sure?"
Elfo smiles at her. "I am, don't worry. Thanks, Tess,"
"Of course," said Tess, smiling at him.
"There you two are," said Koga. He wore a dress shirt with a brown vest, and his hair was tied in a ponytail. "Everyone will be entering the ball individually for some reason. You two are going on last."
Tess reached down and picked up Elfo, placing her in the palm of her hand. "Ready to go, handsome?" She asked.
Elfo's cheeks flushed. "Yeah!"
…
The Royal Ball was off to a magnificent start. Nobles of all kinds gathered in the ballroom to enjoy the festivities and food, which spread across neatly decorated tables along with multiple wine bottles poured for them by the castle maids. Luci was in the ballroom and had a table with beautiful women surrounding him. All of them were taking turns petting him, which Luci was enjoying immensely. Harold would enter the ballroom and clear his throat.
"NOW MAKING THEIR GRAND ENTRANCE! SHE'S THE QUEEN THAT HOWLS AT NIGHT AND THE KING THAT ATE ALL OF THE SHRIMP BEFORE YOU GOT HERE! KING ZOG AND QUEEN OONA OF DREAMLAND!"
Everyone gave applause to Zog and Oona as they entered the ballroom. "Make room on the dance floor!" He called out to them. "I need to lie down…" He placed his hand around his stomach.
"NEXT! SHE IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN OF THE SKYLAND KINGDOM! SHE IS THE FAVORITE CHILD OF THE FATE SISTERS! YOU CAN LOOK, BUT YOU CAN'T TOUCH! PRINCESS ANNABEL, ACCOMPANIED BY HER DATE, PRINCE TAVISH OF DREAMLAND!"
Everyone gave Annabel and Tavish a much larger applause. Annabel waved at everyone. Her other arm tightly grasped around Tavish's. "Thank you all so much for welcoming me to Dreamland! It's good to be back!" She looks at Tavish and giggles. "And it's great to be reunited with my wonderful future husband."
"AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST! SHE'S 18 FEET TALL AND WEIGHS IN AT 'NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS' SHE'S GIANTESS TESS! AND OUR JOLLY ELF ELFO!"
Everyone didn't applaud but gasped as Tess entered the ballroom with Elfo in hand. Tess looked at everyone gawking at her and began to laugh nervously. "H-Hi everyone!" She greeted. "Thank you for having me!"
"An Elf…and a giant? How in Odin's beard is that supposed to work?" said Annabel.
"I'd rather not think about it," said Tavish.
The royal ball continued once all of the special guests had arrived. Bean was by herself, drinking two cups of wine in each hand. She did this while watching Annabel surround herself with a bunch of admirers. Annabel talked on and on about herself while she had a grip on Tavish's arm. She chugs her wine cup while glaring at Annabel. Pendergast, who wore a red vest and tied his hair in a small ponytail, approached Bean.
"Princess Tiabeanie. Now that we're courting-"
"Don't say courting," said Bean. Not taking her eyes off of Annabel. "We're not courting."
"Well…umm…I was wondering if you would like to dance-"
"You can go get me a drink, " said Bean, handing him the empty glass.
"But you, never mind," said Pendergast as he took the empty glass and hurried off.
Tess and Elfo were slow dancing on the dance floor. The two didn't take their eyes off each other the whole time. "Sorry you're doing all of the work," said Elfo, softly chuckling.
Tess giggled. "I'm just going in circles. Don't worry about it,"
"Oh, thank god. I cannot dance to save my life," said Elfo, laughing.
"Neither can I," Tess laughed along. "If I did try, everyone here would think I'm going on a rampage. And I do not want to feed into that stereotype."
"Oh, trust me, I understand. Everyone thinks that Elves are supposed to be jolly all of the time, and they eat nothing but candy. Well, some do, but I certainly don't," said Elfo. His voice grew with frustration.
"Tell me about it. It's hard distancing yourself from people's expectations of you because of who you are. It's also annoying when they expect you to do said stereotype," said Tess. Her voice grew with the same level of frustration as Elfo.
"Well, if it means anything to you, Tess. You're the nicest giant I've ever met. You're sweet, know what to say, and you're not a rampaging brute with a short temper," said Elfo, smiling warmly at Tess.
Tess returned the smile to Elfo. "Well…I can be if you piss me off," She chuckles. "But thank you, Elfo…that does mean a lot to me."
Elfo placed his eyes onto Bean. She conversed with Koga while downing her fourth glass of wine. Bean looked over at Elfo, and she waved at him. Elfo's smile would grow small as he continued to stare at her. He let out a small sigh. "Oh man…hey Tess…can you let me down please?"
"Sure," said Tess, as she did just that.
Elfo walks over to Bean and Koga. Bean greets him, "Hey Elfo! Are you and Tess having fun?" The Princess asked, tipsy.
Elfo rubs the back of his head. "Uh…yeah, we're having fun. Hey, Bean…I need to tell you something."
"What's up?"
Elfo took a deep breath and exhaled. "Look…I lied….Tess isn't my girlfriend,"
"W-Wait…what?!" Bean's eyes widened.
"I KNEW IT!" said Luci, popping out of nowhere. "I CALLED IT! I KNEW SOMETHING WAS FISHY!"
"B-But my vision! In the den of wonders, I saw Tess sprout out of this mushroom, and the giant bleeding heart floating above the mushroom and-ooooh woooow drugs are baaaaaad…" Bean burps as she comes to the realization. "But I don't understand…why did you go through all this?"
"I…I didn't want to admit that I tried to kiss you…and I didn't want to prove Luci right…and-" Elfo places his hands across his face. "Oh my god, I am a loser…"
"Damn right, you are," Luci nodded but was kicked in the butt by Bean. "OW!"
Bean would sigh and begin to speak. "Look…Elfo, I'm flattered that you like me, and it's sweet that you wanted to kiss me, but being embarrassed about it doesn't make you a loser. I mean, look at me! I do embarrassing things all the time. Sometimes, on purpose. I don't remember others till someone tells me when I come to, but…you're not a loser, Elfo, for liking me. You're one of my best friends, Elfo…you do a lot for me…even though you can dial a lot back a bit."
Elfo removed his hands from his face, and a smile would appear on his face. "Thanks Bean…"
"Of course, Elfo," Bean lowers her hand to rub the elf's cheek.
"I pictured more laughing and mocking, ugh," Luci groaned as he grabbed a wine bottle off the table and chugged it.
"Well, It's nice to know all of that turned out ok," said Tess.
"Yeah. It did!" said Elfo happily. "Sorry for putting you through all of this, Tess."
"Nah, it's fine. I'm not going to lie; I had a pretty good time!" The Giantess exclaimed.
"Wow," said Elfo, in awe. "Everything turned out ok! Nothing can go wrong at all today!"
"TESSSSSSSSSS!" The castle shook as a mighty voice echoed through the castle.
"What the hell was that?" said Bean.
"Oh no…I know that voice…" said Tess, looking towards the ballroom's entrance.
The walls to the ballroom entrance exploded, and rubble flew across the room. Five giants entered. The one in front had short brown hair and a sharp jawline. Everyone in the ballroom had retreated to the back of the room. A few women were screaming as they looked fearfully at the five giants. The giant's eyes fell on Tess, "Tess! I found you!"
"BOB?" Tess gasped.
"When I heard that you got captured, I sprung to my feet and gathered my best men to rescue you!" said Bob. He examined Tess's attire. Her fixed hair, makeup and dress had surprised him. "What's going on here? You don't look like you're a hostage to these humans!"
"I can explain all of that later! Come on, Bob, let's go home and-"
"YOU!" Bob growled, pointing at Koga. "IT WAS YOU THAT TOOK HER WASN'T IT?"
Koga stared up at Bob. He looked behind him.
"I'M POINTING YOU KOGA!"
"ME?" Koga faced forward and pointed at himself. "I'm just standing here! I'm not doing anything!"
"Bob, stop it. Koga didn't do any-"
"I knew from the moment I saw you you weren't meant to be trusted. Humans have always been trouble!" Bob ranted on.
"Bob, listen to me!" Tess begged, trying to get his attention.
"Not now, Tess! I'm in the middle of monologing before I kill this human along with the rest of them!" Bob waved her away.
"NO! You will not kill anyone here! I won't have you rampage around like you did in the 80s! This is why people fear us giants!" Tess grasped his shoulder.
"Are you really going to nag me while I try to save you? This isn't the time for this Tess!"
"Nag? Is that seriously what you think I do all the time? Every time something minor and inconvenient happens, you rampage. We ran out of beer, YOU RAMPAGE! If a restaurant gets your order wrong, YOU RAMPAGE! But god forbid when I get upset, It's nagging, I overreact, 'Oh hey Bob, what do you think of this new dress I got? 'It's fine.' When I want support for body positivity, you barely show any support…and when I get angry at you…I need to calm….dooown…" She glared at Bob. The last words she said had venom behind them.
Bob looked fearful of his lover, and so did the other giants. "I…well…I…" All eyes were on Bob. He placed his eyes back onto Koga. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" He roared.
"Oh please," said Koga, rolling his eyes. "I'm not the one who's a terrible boyfriend. And also, your name is Bob. Who the heck is named Bob? You know your parents did not care about you."
In a matter of seconds, Koga was sent hurdling across the one with a punch by Bob. He crashed through the dinner table, and food flew into the air, splattering all over the stone floor.
"Ok…now I'm pissed," said Koga. He pushes the broken table off of him, springs to his feet, and with great speed, he sprints towards Bob, jumps into the air, and dropkicks the giant in the face, sending him crashing through the ballroom entrance and falling flat on his butt.
Bob shakes off the pain in his face and glares at Koga, who is charging at him. Bob raises his arm and throws heavy right towards him, but Koga hops into the air, dodges the punch, lands on Bob's hand, runs across his forearm up to Bob's face and punches him several times in the jaw, causing Bob to go "OW! OW OW! STOP IT!" He shouts before grabbing Koga and chucking him down the stone hallways.
Koga flips into the air and lands on his feet with ease. "Come on, you big ugly bastard! Is that all you got?!" He taunts.
"You puny-" Bob gets to his feet and charges after Koga.
Tess, along with Bean, Elfo, and Luci, steps out of the ballroom to watch Bob and Koga fight. Tess would cry out, "STOP! THE BOTH OF YOU STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"
"NO! KEEP FIGHTING! THIS IS AMAZING!" Luci cheered on.
The four of them would hurry after them. Bob and Koga would continue their fight in the courtyard. Bob was relentlessly attacking Koga. Koga was dodging Bob's mindless attacks with ease. He hops into the air and uppercuts him in the jaw, dazing him and making Bob wobble on his feet. Koga would leap into the air and punch Bob in the face, knocking him back and making him fall on his back.
"Ooooh…" Bob groaned.
Koga would walk across Bob's chest until he was face to face. Bob stares at Koga and closes his eyes. "Do it...finish me off…I'm a disgrace," He said.
"And why in the world would I kill you?" Koga asked.
"You have bested me, a giant! And you've taken my woman! Why else would I want you to kill me?!"
Koga rubbed his face and sighed. "I'm not with Tess, and I'm not going to kill you!"
"Then why was she kidnapped?!"
"That's a long story…but the point is, Tess is fine, and I'm not trying to take her from you. If anything, you're the problem!"
"Me?" Bob said, confused.
"YES! Hell, when Tess saved me months back and we started talking more, she was venting to me how much YOU don't appreciate her. You don't listen, throw temper tantrums, and disregard her feelings. But besides all of that…she still loves you!" He turns his head slightly to look over at Tess. "Look at how she's looking right now."
Bob lifts his head and looks at Tess. Tess's expression was of worry. Bob frowned as he stared at her lover, and Koga continued speaking, "She doesn't want me to hurt you. She loves you. All you need to do is treat her right…"
"I…I…you're right…" said Bob. "I…I do try to be better but…It's hard for me to express myself correctly without being so oblivious…"
A sombre expression replaced Koga's look of anger. "Yeah, I can understand that…" Koga nods. "Let's end this stupid fight and set everything straight. Sound good?"
Bob would agree. Koga hops off Bob's chest and walks over to Tess. He stood before Tess, looking embarrassed as he nervously rubbed the back of his head. Tess would ask, "Are you ok?" She asked. Bob would reply. "I'm fine…I'm fine…Tess…I…I'm sorry for how I am towards you. I try to be better, but…it's hard…I'm not used to expressing myself properly. I love you, Tess. I truly do. I'm trying to do better, I promise. "
Tess looked into Bob's eyes. She softly sighed as she placed her hand on his cheek. "Thankfully, you don't have any bruises. I'd hate for this cute face to be all messed up."
Bob chuckles lightly. "I don't think I'm that cute…"
"Well, you are. You're an idiot…but you're my idiot," Tess kissed Bob on the cheek. "Let's go home, dear."
Bob would swoop Tess off her feet, holding her bridal style. Tess would look over at Bean, Elfo, Luci and Koga. "Well…I guess this is goodbye, guys." She said to them. Bob would then say, "Sorry about beating up your guards and crashing through a wall."
"Uhh…don't worry about it," said Zog, gulping and sweating. "Just as long as there's no hard feeling about anything, we're all good."
"I'm sorry about all of this again, Tess," said Elfo. "I do hope we can meet again someday."
"So do I, Elfo," Tess replied. She then placed her eyes on Koga. "It was nice seeing you again, Koga."
"Same to you, Tess. You two lovebird's place now," Koga smiled.
And with that, Tess, Bob, and the giants were gone. The ball was over, and everyone who attended was now leaving. Tavish had walked Annabel to her carriage and began apologizing to her.
"I'm so sorry if you were terrified, Annabel," said Tavish, cupping her hand.
Annabel laughed. "Are you kidding? That was amazing! You have such an excellent knight, Tavish. For someone to fight a giant with his bare hands was incredible!" She gleamed. "I won't be too happy for Timothy to go up against him in the next knights festival." She snaps her fingers at Timothy. "Timothy! Next time you battle a troll, fight them with your bare hands! If you lose, I'll have your nails peeled off and rubbed with a lemon!"
"Y-Yes, your highness…" said Timothy. He opened the carriage door for Annabel.
Tavish turned to Annabel. "Have a safe journey back home, Annabel," said Tavish.
Annabel grabs Tavish by his shoulders and brings him into a deep kiss. She breaks away and says, "Write to me, ok?" She asked cutely.
"O-Of course…" Tavish stuttered.
Annabel winks at Tavish as she boards the carriage. Timothy closed the door, mounted his horse, and they left. Tavish let out a deep and stressful sigh while rubbing his face. Tired, he glides his hands through his hair and walks back into the castle.
Bean, Elfo, Luci and Koga all watched everyone leave. Koga crosses his arms and clears his throat. "So…I'm pretty sure the three of you learned a valuable lesson through all this?" He said.
"There's a lesson to be learned from this?" Luci asked. "
"Don't intake so much drugs," Bean nods. "That's the lesson."
"NO!" said Koga. "Don't do drugs," He looks at Bean, "Don't be an asshole," He looks at Luci, "And most of all, tell the truth!" and lastly, he eyes Elfo.
"Ummm…yeaaah being an asshole is my job, so that's a no-go," said Luci.
"And drugs make all of my problems go away," said Bean. "Well…for a short amount of time."
Koga groans and rubs his head. "Ok…I'm going to bed…" He starts making his way to the knight's barracks.
"And I'm going to take this dress off and head to the bar," said Bean. "I need a drink bad." She and Luci made their way to the castle. Elfo was following along before he turned around and looked over at Koga. "I'll catch up with you guys in a second." He hurries after Koga. "Hey, Koga, wait up!" He called out to him.
Koga turns around. "What is it?"
"Hey, um…thanks again for covering for me. I appreciate it."
"It's no problem. Just make sure not take anything Bean's drugged-up visions show you, ok?"
Elfo chuckled. "Yeah, that's true. Umm…hey, I was thinking. Can you and I hang out sometime? We can go on some wild adventure or something?"
"Just us?"
"Well, yeah, I mean, I know we're in a friend group and all, but I thought it would be a nice change of pace if it would just be us for once," Elfo explained.
"Yeah, that makes sense," Koga would think about it. "Sure, why not? But not tomorrow. Mertz's mom's birthday is tomorrow, and he's making everyone in the barracks come with him. I am not looking forward to that. We can hang out this weekend."
"Sounds like a plan!" said Elfo, happily.
"See you later, Elfo," Koga waved to him as he left.
Elfo would return with Bean and Luci as they head to the bar.
The ball was a topic of conversation for many in Dreamland.
