Mingle
Bean slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing that she saw while her eyes adjusted was the bright light that shone through the curtains. The feeling that Bean felt as she began coming to was warm and comforting. She didn't feel exhausted or drained. But she did feel a cold, wet cloth over her head. She rises, removes the damp cloth from her forehead, and notices the chair at her bedside. The first person that came to her mind was bunty. 'Taking care of me since mom passed like always, huh bunty?' The princess thought as she pulled the covers off, got out of bed, and left her room. Bean walks down the stone hallways and enters the dining room. Elfo and Miri were sitting at the table, eating chocolate chip cookies.
"Hey guys," said Bean, yawning.
Elfo's eyes gleamed when Bean stepped through the door. "Bean, you're finally awake!" He said joyfully. "Oh my god, I was so worried about you!"
"Elfo, I keep telling you that you don't have to worry when I pass out like that. It's normal after going through four mugs of beer," Bean replied while she sat next to Elfo at the table. "And what do you mean, finally awake?"
"You've been asleep for two days," said Miri.
"Well, that's a new record," The princess chuckled.
"You don't remember what happened a few days ago?" Elfo asked.
"I don't know a majority of things that happen to me after I black out," said Bean as she grabbed a cookie from the jar and ate it. "I mean, the only thing I remember Is arguing with Tavish. But I think I went to the bar after that."
"Oohoho…" said Miri. "Nooo, that's not at all what happened…"
Bean looks at Miri and then at Elfo. "Ok…what exactly happened?"
"Well, Fuscu possessed your body," said Elfo.
"WHAT?" The princess sprang from her seat.
Elfo explained Fuscu's desire to overthrow Satan using the magic she and Tavish possess. "And after that, Luci tried to stop Fuscu, and he kept using your body to punch him—well, he used your hand to punch your face, which was somehow hurting him? I don't know how that worked,"
Bean rubs her cheek. "So that's why my face is so sore—Ouch!" She flinched.
"Then, Tavish stepped in and used his finger lighting to yank out Fuscu!"
"Tavish?" said Bean. "He saved me?"
"Well, yeah! Koga, Luci and I couldn't do much because we didn't want to hurt you. But thanks to him, we were able to save you," said Elfo.
"I see…" Bean whispered. The memories of her argument with Tavish began returning to her. She remembered how angry she felt at him and the hurtful words they tossed at each other. But it wasn't just the recent fight; all of the fights they had since their relationship had taken a wrong turn. She couldn't think of one good recent memory of them sharing a nice moment. They hadn't had one since they were kids.
"Bean, are you ok?" Elfo asked, noticing that she zoned out.
"Huh?" The snowy-haired princess snapped out of her gaze and stared at the Elf. "Oh, uh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm still waking up, is all.."
"Oh yeah," said Miri. "There's another thing that happened recently."
"What?" Bean asked.
"Heeeere kitty kitty kitty!" Turbish called out. "Come out, little kitty!" Bean, Elfo and Miri looked towards the door's entrance and saw Turbish holding some food in his hand. "Where did you go, little kitty?"
"Turbish, did you get a pet cat?" asked Bean.
"Oh, Princess, you're finally awake! I was just about to come and kiss you to wake you up!" said Turbish, smiling at her.
"You-You what?" Bean shivered.
"But to answer your question, I don't have a pet cat. I'm looking for the one that came to the castle with the others!" The blond knight looked at the stone ceilings. "Now, where could he have gone?" He continued down the halls, calling out for it. Then, a small demon peeked his head into the room and snickered. The demon would climb up the walls with great speed and disappear.
"Luci?" said Bean.
"That wasn't Luci," said Elfo. "You see-"
"GODDAMN IT NOT AGAIN! WILL ONE OF YOU STUPID KNIGHTS GET THESE DAMN CATS OUT OF MY THROWN ROOM? THEY'RE ALL OVER THE PLACE!" Zog bellowed. His booming voice fills the castle.
"Wait…" Bean turned to Elfo and Miri. "No way…"
Elfo and Miri nod slowly.
Bean, Elfo and Miri leave the dining room and head straight to the throne room. Once Bean entered, her jaw hung open in shock. Demons had utterly overrun the throne room. They covered the throne seats and occupied all the walking space and the steps leading to the King, queen, prince, and princess chairs. Zog stood in the middle, red in the face and nearly tripping over them. Oona was kicking off a few demons, trying to crawl up her legs. Koga, Pendergast, Mertz, and other fellow knights attempted to rid the throne room of all demons, except for Koga, who was watching, chuckling the whole time.
Koga looked over at Bean and waved at her. "Well, look who finally got out of bed," He suddenly gasped, and then a grin appeared. The wanderer asked, "Oh my god, did Turbish kiss you?"
Bean slit her eyes at Koga. "No, and I'm guessing you put him up to that?" She crossed her arms.
"What, no, why would you ever think that?" Koga looked away innocently.
"Beanie! My sweet angel is finally awake—GODDAMN IT MOVE!" He kicked a few demons out of the way and shuffled over to Bean, bringing her into a big hug. "I was so worried about you, Beanie! For a second, I thought you'd be joining the corpses in the plague pit!"
"Y-Yeah, I was just exhausted, is all," said Bean, nearly being squeezed to death by her father. "What's with all of these dem—I MEAN, cats! Yeah, what's with all of the cats?"
"I have no idea! One minute, the castle was quiet, and the next, the throne room, the outside, the kitchen AND the cheese room were full of cats! I don't know what happened!" said Zog angrily as he turned to his knights. "One of you go fetch a bunch of cucumbers! I heard that drives them crazy!"
Elfo tugged on Bean's leg, and she kneels. "When Fusuc got captured, all of the demons flocked to dreamland. They've been here for days," He whispered.
"They aren't so bad, though," said Miri. "If they pee, they go outside, not on the stone floor. So no mopping up demon pee."
"Jeez," Bean looks around at all of the demons. "Wait, where's Luci?"
"No idea," Elfo shrugs. "I saw him with this lady demon before Miri, and I went to the dining room."
"He's over there," Miri points behind Bean.
Bean turned around and saw Luci sitting with the demon named Stacciane. Stacciane was going on about her day, gossiping about her friends and what bow they were wearing that was out of fashion. Luci looked like he was suffering. Bean walked over to them, and she kneels. "Uh, hey, mind If I interrupt?" She asked.
"YES!" Luci shouted, hopping into Bean's arms.
Stacciane gasped excitedly. "Oh heeey, you're that girl that Fuscu was possessing! How are yooou?"
"Uh, I'm fine. Are you Luci's girlfriend?" Bean asked.
Stacciane laughed. "Oh no, we're just friends! I mean, we went on one date buuuut, eh," She shrugged.
Luci whispered in Bean's ear. "Worst-date-ever."
"Anyways, I need to go meet up with my girlfriends. Byeee, Lucciii!" Stacciane wiggled her fingers at Luci before she sprouted her wings and flew out of the throne room.
"UGH! I thought I'd never get away from her! She kept talking and talking and talking!" Luci rubs his face.
"Well, you're welcome," said Bean, smiling. "Come on, let's get out of this stuffy throne room. Bean shuffled through all of the demons, and along with Elfo and Miri, they walked out of the throne and entered the hallway. "It's crazy how we have our personal hell here in Dreamland."
"Minus the fire and brimstone," said Elfo
"Dreamland was already hell without the demons," said Miri.
"This is a load of bull," said Luci bitterly. "I was supposed to be head honcho around here. Now everyone's just freeloading."
Elfo raised a brow. "Isn't that what you're doing?"
"Shut up, Elfo, no one asked for your opinion," Luci glared.
"Well, it's tru—OW!" Elfo yelped. He reached into his pants and pulled out a tiny demon with sharp teeth. "What the hell?"
The sharp tooth demon named Chops licked his lips. "You have tasty skin!"
"Aww, thanks—HEY!" Elfo held the demon away as he tried biting at him again. "Quit trying to eat me!"
Chops snaps his jaws at Elfo but quickly stops and gasps. "The demon prince!" He hops out of Elfo's hands, sprouts his wings, and flies away.
"Demon prince?" said Bean, confused. The princess looked forward and saw her twin brother Tavish walking their way with his face buried in a piece of paper. "Tavish?"
"Tavish has been using his magic to keep the demons away from
Tavish stops and looks up from his paper. His eyes had bags under them, and it looked like he was struggling to keep them open. "Hello, sister…" He said tiredly. "I see that you're finally awake…"
"Yeah, finally…" She said softly. "Uh…have you been getting any sleep lately."
"I've been getting enough…" He replied. He is closed and slightly leans forward; he opens his eyes and regains his balance. "I've been getting enough. Wait…did I already say that?"
"It looks like you're the one that needs to be asleep for a few days," said Bean. "If you're tired, why don't you just go to bed?"
"I don't have time. We have a get-together I must attend. Annabel and her friends are coming to visit Dreamland and—" Tavish yawns. "I must get ready…"
"But Tavish-"
"You go do the same, sister. I'll let bunty know you're awake…" The prince walks past them, wobbling a bit.
"You know, I don't think there's been a day where I've seen Tavish give himself a break," said Miri. "Hey Elfo, I wanna play Skip the crab across the pond?"
"Yeah!" said Elfo as he and Miri ran off.
"Well, while you go splatter your face with makeup, I'm going to get back to being at the top of the hierarchy with these demons," said Luci, hopping out of Bean's arms and walking off.
Bean would sigh and head to her room to wait for Bunty.
Bunty was assisting Bean with getting dressed for the hangout tonight. All Bean could think of was how Tavish looked. She knew her older brother always pulled all-nighters, but he never looked THAT bad. Bunty noticed the worried look on Bean's face as she placed the corset onto Bean.
"Is everything ok, Mom?" Bunty asked, looking at Bean in the mirror. "Are you still not feeling well?"
"No bunty, I'm fine. I'm just worried about Tavish, is all," She replied. "He looked so out of it when I saw him."
"Oooh, I see," Bunty sighed as she brushed Bean's hair. "He was worrying himself sick when you were asleep for two days. He spent all day and nights taking care of you."
"Wait a second—it was Tavish taking care of me? Not you?"
"Yes, it was Tavish. He never left your side at all." Bunty said as he finished combing Bean's hair and began fixing it up. "That boy, I swear. He pushes himself so hard…I worry about how his health. I don't think he hardly eats at all. I rarely see him; when I do, he's always going out and taking care of some business. Oh, I worry how he'll turn out in the future…"
Bean frowned. "Yeah…me too…"
It was evening when Bean, Tavish, Derek, Zog and Oona stood waiting at the castle entrance for Annabel's arrival. Bean was wearing a pink dress, and bunty had fixed Bean's hair into a ponytail. Tavish had on black royal attire with gold buttons. Tavish looked visibly exhausted despite how well-kept he was. The dreamland castle gates opened, and the Skyland's carriage came in. Timothy, Annabel's knight, gets off of his horse and goes to open the carriage door. The first step was Annabel, wearing a silk white dress. The next to step out of the carriage were three of Annabel's friends. All were wearing beautiful dresses.
Annabel walked up the steps and wrapped her arms around Tavish's neck, bringing him into a tight hug. "TAVY!" She squealed. "I missed you so much!"
"I-I missed you too…Annabel…" Tavish said weekly.
Annabel let go of Tavish and stared at him. She frowned. "Oh my goodness…Tavish…you look so—" She rubbed his cheek. "You look so handsome!" She pulled him forward and pulled him into a deep kiss.
"Ugh…" Bean rolled her eyes. Of course, she didn't care about the state he was in.
Everyone entered the castle, and the hangout began. Bean was by herself, drinking from her flask now and then as she watched the nobles and Skyland guests converse. The whole time, Bean only had her eyes on her brother. He looked fine so far. She looked at Annabel's friends and saw that they were looking at her. They exchanged whispers and giggled at each other. She rolled her eyes and was about to take another swing from the flask before Zog snatched it out of her hand.
"What are you doing?" Zog asked angrily.
"Partying?" The princess replied, reaching for her flask.
"Get up and mingle! You're making your brother look bad!"
"I know he looks bad," said Bean, getting up from her seat. "Have you seen him lately?"
"Ain't nothing wrong with Tavish. He looks the same as he always looks," Zog shrugged. "Now get out there and stop making us look bad!"
Bean groaned, and she looked at all of the guests. She took a deep breath and exhaled. She then said, "Helloooo, everybody!" She said, putting on fake enthusiasm. "I hope everyone is having a wonderful time! Let's not forget we're all here to mingle, so don't be afraid to get frisky, if you know what I mean!" She winked at the married couple in front of her.
"Oooh," said the Nobel wife, smirking. Her husband gasped, looking at her in shock.
"Bean!" Zog growled.
"What?" She turned around to her father. "We're mingling, right?"
"There she goes…" said Annabel's brunette friend Eelena, rolling her eyes. "Grunkwitz am I right?"
"You said it," said Daphane. "No offence, Tavish."
"Huh?" Tavish looked at "Oh, yes, the weather is terrible, isn't?…haha…"
Elena and Daphane looked at each other and began giggling.
"Uh, Tavish dear, can you please get us something to drink?" Annabel smiled at him. "We need refills!"
"Oh, Of course," Tavish went to their glasses and hurried to the drink tables.
Tavish nearly dropped the glasses out of his hand before he sat them on the table. Bean walked over to him, and she and Tavish met eyes. "Bean…please behave…" He rubs his eyes and lets out a small yawn.
"How can I behave when I see my tired brother who's about to pass out on the ground is being talked down to by their so-called future wife's asshole friends?" said Bean, frustrated.
"Sister…I understand, but …please bear through it. All of this is important,"
Bean frowned as she looked into her brother's tired eyes. "Fine…" She crossed her arms and looked away.
"Thank you, Bean," Tavish looked at the glasses in his hand. "Wait…what was I doing? Oh, right…" The prince grabs the bottle of wine. Before the prince could pour the wine into the glass, he dozed off, and the wine poured onto his suit. Elena and Daphane giggled to themselves while Annabel looked embarrassed.
Bean shoots a glare at them. She watched as they laughed and mocked Tavish and continued to talk about him silently to each other. Bean made her way over to them. Tavish tried to stop her, but Bean wasn't having it. Elena and Daphane stopped laughing when Bean stood before them, scowling as her eyes darted between Elena, Daphane, and Annabel.
"Can we help you?" Elena asked.
"Go on," said Bean. "If you're going to talk trash, do it where I can hear. So please, continue trashing my brother while I'm standing here."
"Bean, stop it," said Tavish. He looked at Elena and Daphane. "I'm so sor—"
"Oh, we don't have a problem with your brother," said Daphane, smugly eyeing down Bean. "I think the problem this whole kingdom has is that they have an alcoholic princess, a fat tyrant-king, and a fish for a mom. And don't get me started on those dumb buck teeth!"
"Mhm…" Bean nods, staring at her. She took down her hair, popped her neck a few times and threw a punch that knocked Elena out instantly. Everyone in the room gasped. She turned to Dapahane, who stared at Bean in shock. "You want some, too?" Before Dapahane could respond, Bean threw a hard right punch at Dapahane, knocking her out.
"What an animal!" said a nobleman.
Zog glared at him. "What did you say about my daughter?!" He shouted and punched the Nobel right in the face.
"NOBEL FIGHT!" Someone in the crowd shouted. Everyone in the crowd suddenly began to fight with each other.
Tavish stood there watching everyone brawl. He sighed and rubs his eyes. Derek tugged on his arm, and he looked down at him. "Big brother, I would like some wine!" He asked politely as a nobleman was sent through the wine table behind them.
"No, Derek…" said Tavish. "Go to your room, the party is over…"
"Aww…" Derek frowned as he walked off.
When the brawl ended, everyone would say farewell to each other with bruises on their faces. Timothy and his knights carried the unconscious bodies of Elena and Daphne back to Annabel's carriage. Despite what happened with her friends, Annabel didn't seem upset. She kissed Tavish on the cheek and said, "It was nice seeing you again, Tavy, despite your sister ruining everything."
"Apologies, Annabel, I—" But Annabel cut him off.
"I'm ready for us to get married, by the way!" She said, smiling at him.
"W-What?" Tavish's eyes widen.
"I'm ready to get married! I mean, we've been dating for months now! So let's tie the knot!"
"I…I…Of course," said Tavish, forcing a smile. "Let's…finally tie the knot…"
"YESSS!" Annabel gleamed as he pulled Tavish forward, bringing him into a deep kiss. "Oh my god, I'm getting married!" She turns to her friends. "Oh my god, Elena! Daphane! I'm getting married—oh right, you two are still unconscious. Eh, I'll tell them when they wake up" She turns back to Tavish. "I'll let my mom and dad know about us so we can plan the wedding! I'll see you soon, husband." She kissed him on the cheek, boarded her carriage, and left the kingdom.
In the castle, Zog gave Bean one of his signature loud lectures. Bean, of course, didn't care at all about what he had to say. Tavish returned to the castle, looking like he would fall over any second.
"Alright, Tavish, go ahead and give me the bad news," said Zog, rubbing his right cheek that a Nobel punched.
"Annabel and I are getting married…" said Tavish.
"WHAT?" said Bean and Zog.
Zog smiled and grasped his son's shoulders. "Well, it's about damn time, son! I thought you'd never tie that knot!"
"Yes, Father, thank you. I'm going to my room now…" said Tavish, stepping by his father and sister and heading to his room. Tavish opened the door, took a few steps and plopped onto his couch. He took a deep breath and exhaled. "Oh my god…" He groans. He was so tired…but couldn't fall asleep for some reason. So much was on his mind at that moment. It was so hard to drift off to sleep.
"Tavish?" said Bean, standing at the entrance of his door.
Tavish mumbled under his breath.
"Can I come in?"
Tavish mumbled again.
Bean stepped into her brother's room, and she sat on the second couch in his room. She looks over at Tavish, whose face is deep in his couch pillow. "So…uh…congrats?" She said awkwardly. Tavish groaned. She looked down at her hands and began fiddling with her dress. "I'm sorry about the party…I messed up again. I just…I hated them talking down to you like that when they don't know how hard you work and—"
"It's fine, Bean…" said Tavish, turning over and laying on his back. "Thank you…"
Bean looked at her brother, shocked. "Oh…uh…you're welcome. Wait, you're not mad?"
Tavish shook his head. "I'm honestly too exhausted to be angry. Besides…nothing wrong came from it. Well, not for us, at least. Annabel's friends will need to wear a lot of makeup for a while." He let out a chuckle.
Bean softly laughed. "They had it coming,"
"I didn't know you could throw such a hard punch,"
"Well…you can thank some of my bar buddies for that," She grinned. But her grin would fade as a question would pop into her head. "Hey, Tavish, Do you want to marry Annabel?"
Tavish stared at the ceiling of his room. "It's important for the kingdom Bean…"
"But what is it that you want?"
Tavish stayed silent.
Bean gets up from the couch, walks over to Tavish's side, sits on the sofa, and looks at her brother. "I hate seeing you like this…" She stared into his familiar blue eyes. "You push yourself so hard, and it's doing nothing but hurting you. When was the last time you did something for yourself?"
Tavish rises and sits upright. He placed his tired eyes on his sister. "Bean…we're royalty…we need to start thinking about the futu—"
"I don't want to hear that!" Bean glared. "Remember when you told me you wanted to live as happily as possible? You're not living life; you're—" She paused as another question approached her. "Are you happy, Tavish?"
Tavish stared at her sister. His eyes began to way. Before the prince knew it, his eyes were closed, and he leaned on Bean's shoulder. He would softly say, "I don't….know…" He then drifted off to sleep.
Bean would hold onto his brother, wrapping her arms around him as he slept. After a while She laid him down, grabbed a blanket, and placed it over her slumbring brother. She leans down and kisses Tavish on the forehead before she leaves the room and gently closes the door.
Tonight, the prince was able to sleep peacefully.
