Royally Screwed

The way someone wraps up in a blanket was how Kellin was wrapped up in a story, never wanting to be disturbed and never wanting to be out of the grasp that it held on him. He was curled up, back leaning against the large shelf of books just waiting to be read but he was currently still trying to get through the book he first picked up. These tales he never heard of before, coming from different countries and different customs he wasn't familiar with. Yet, they were all so wonderful and Kellin fell in love over and over again with each tale, with each prince and their love for their princess. They were all heroic, all brave, the last tale dealing with the prince fighting a tricky dragon that had prisoners and in the end, married the emperor's daughter. These were the princes that Kellin was familiar with. . .so unlike the Fuentes family's princes. He sighed, turning the page and continuing to read the tale he was currently on quietly.

As soon as the Sun began to change his quarters, the prince snuck back into the castle. He walked into the grand foyer and up a flight of staircases to his bedroom but to his surprise, the princess, his bride-to-be, was--

"Hey," he heard someone whisper close in his ear. Kellin's eyes widened, his hands gripping tight on the large book and swinging it to his left in a scare. He felt the book come in contact with something, a loud cry of 'OUCH!' following, Kellin pulled the book back close to his chest, Vic rubbing the side of his cheek and giving Kellin a little pout, "Well if you're going to be hitting me now that I scare you, maybe I won't do that any more," he said and Kellin blushed.

"Well maybe you--" Kellin began to hiss but Vic raised a finger to his lips, shushing him and Kellin bit his lip, "Well maybe you shouldn't," Kellin whispered. Vic gave a tiny smile.

"But it's fun to scare you."

"Some prince you are," Kellin said, turning attention back onto his book. He felt Vic scoot in closer to him, looking over his shoulder to smile at the text.

"What are you reading?"

"A story," Kellin said simply, trying to focus and he could feel Vic rest his chin right in the crook of Kellin's, giving a content sigh. Kellin felt his cheeks begin to flush red and hot, his grip on the book beginning to tremble as Vic pointed at the illustration.

"What's going on right here?" he asked and Kellin pointed at one of the men.

"Well, that's the prince right there," he said and then pointed to a girl, "That's the princess." Kellin's eyes tried to find the place where he left off in the story but Vic held his arms out and took the book from Kellin's grasp.

"I'll read it to you," Vic said, smiling.

Kellin smiled back and giggled, "Why do you even like reading to me?"

"Because," Vic said, "You're cute when you listen to me read."

The younger boy blushed, he couldn't contain the smile on his face. Vic stuck his tongue out and then looked at the book. "Alright, now which part were you in?"

Kellin pointed at the first word of the last paragraph of one page and Vic nodded, proceeding to read to Kellin in a smooth voice that the latter found incredibly comforting.

"'Now, now' the princess said, "Let's not get attached to the maidens down by the village." The prince was deeply sad, he'd wanted to see Lorelei by the lake the next day.' Wait, wait. Who's Lorelei? What exactly is happening here?" Vic said, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Kellin sighed and shook his head, "Lorelei is a girl from the village that the prince loves, see. But the prince is engaged already to the princess against his will. He wants to marry Lorelei but he can't. The princess noticed he was spending a lot of time with Lorelei and she's calling him out on it."

Vic frowned, "The prince is so dumb. I would have left the princess and married Lorelei instead."

"But that would hurt the princess' feelings."

"I don't care." Vic said, giving a wave of his hand.

"Which is why you are nothing like the Prince Charmings in these stories," Kellin said and Vic pouted.

"Cheeky," he commented, hand going up to tickle Kellin's side and Kellin squeaked in surprise. Vic smiled, "Cheeky and ticklish, huh?" he said with a toothy grin, hands beginning to tickle and touch and prod at Kellin's sides and his stomach, Kellin squealing and laughing loudly as he lolled off to the side onto the floor and Vic climbed on top of him, not letting up in the slightest and laughing along the boy beneath him.

"V-Vic-haha, Vi-Vic st-hahaha-stop it! S-St-hahahaa," Kellin laughed, trying to roll and throw Vic off but the prince had him firmly planted, his fingers running up and down Kellin body to discover all of the boy's ticklish areas. His stomach, his sides, his rib cage and every time Kellin couldn't stop laughing louder and louder.

"Found you."

And that was when Vic stopped tickling Kellin, that was when Kellin's cries and laughter began to calm as Vic looked over his shoulder and Kellin tilted his neck to find Jaime standing there looking at the two of them, face not pleased at all. Vic smiled nervously, "You found me. . .yay?" he said and Jaime huffed, walking over and crossing his arms.

"Your Highness, I thought when you said we were going to play 'Hide and Seek' that you would remain on the palace grounds. Not take a secret passageway and have me still looking for you outside for two hours," Jaime complained and Kellin's eyes widened. Two hours? He began to squirm underneath Vic, the brunette getting off and pulling Kellin into a sitting position before looking at Jaime and giving a sigh. He stood up, rocking on his heels and giving an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry for what I did then," Vic said, sad little tone and Kellin just saw the how Jaime gave a sigh and almost melted, smiling at Vic and stepping forward with hands going to pull Vic by the waist closer to his body.

"It's alright. . .it's very cute," Jaime flirted and then smiled even more, "But since I found you, that means I won so I get my prize." And Jaime closed his eyes, puckering his lips and Vic turned to look around, eyes nervous and then landed on Kellin. Vic rather rudely pushed Jaime's face away and the tall boy's eyes popped as Vic raced over to Kellin.

"But Kellin is playing too!" Vic said quickly.

"What?" Kellin and Jaime asked in unison, Vic getting up and smiling brightly.

"Yep! So the rules changed. Now, you need to find me before dinnertime and whoever finds me first gets, uh. . ." Vic trailed off, tapping his chin to think of a prize.

"A kiss!" Jaime suggested, a handsome grin on his face.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Remember, count to fifty and no peeking!" Vic said with a grin and began to run, turning on his heel and dashing to the left. Kellin sat there, confused and still very much embarrassed. A kiss from a prince? Why, it was something Kellin dreamed and wished for so many times when he was little but now the thought of it made his heart do flops and his palms begin to sweat. He looked up, seeing that Jaime was looking at him, upset and Kellin hugged the book closer to him.

"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to interrupt your date. . .again," Kellin said, shakily trying to open the book and return to the page he was on but the book was quickly snatched from his hands by Jaime, the marquess turning it over to look at the cover.

". . .'A Book of Princes and Princesses'?" Jaime asked and Kellin blushed, nodding and feeling his body was stuck right where he was. Jaime scoffed, "So my father was right about you."

"R-Right about what?" Kellin stuttered and Jaime smiled, setting the book in an empty space on the bookshelf behind him and crouched down to his level.

"That you are His Highness' little princess he just had to rescue from America," Jaime said, babying tone and Kellin frowned.

"I am not Vic's princess," Kellin said sternly and Jaime smiled more, taking Kellin by the hand and pulling Kellin onto his feet. Jaime's hand was big and warm, firm and thumb going to rub over the top of Kellin's milky pale wrist.

"Oh but he must think of you as one. Frail, innocent, in need of rescuing," Jaime pulled Kellin close to him, other hand tilting Kellin's blushing face up towards his own, "And very, very pretty. I'm sure if you had a royal title attached to your name, I would have done the same."

Kellin broke away, frowning, "I'm not a princess! And I'm not frail and I don't need to be rescued!"

"You're a feisty one, aren't you? And still cute all the same," Jaime said with a smile and Kellin shook his head. What was this guy trying to do? Insult him one moment and then compliment and charm him like a prince the next. Jaime sighed, "Princess or not, His Highness needs to think wiser if he wants to keep Miridia thriving."

"Oh, and you think you are the best choice for him?" Kellin asked and Jaime nodded, adjusting his tie and smiling.

"Yes I do. None of those women are qualified to be able to become Queen and rule next to His Highness. None of them know the true inner workings of our country and I do. Plus, this head was made to wear a crown."

Kellin's eyes widened, "You are trying to steal the crown!"

"Steal it? No, I'm not. I'm trying to win His Highness' heart, not steal the crown."

"Yes you are! What else would you be trying to do?!"

Jaime laughed, "God, you are too cute, Princess."

"Stop calling me that!" Kellim shouted in frustration and Jaime laughed again, stepping closer and wrapping arms around Kellin's waist.

"Don't try to make me out for the bad guy when I'm not. I have nothing to gain other than Prince Vic's love. The Kusterbecks are just in it to get land from the Royal Family. It's all a vendetta and I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen to someone as beautiful as Vic. . .wouldn't you want that? Someone to be able to rescue Vic from this?"

"And you don't think that I can?" Kellin asked and then pursed his lips, not sure where that even came from and Jaime smiled.

"No, not really. You're the princess remember? Princesses don't rescue the prince in fairy tales, it's the other way around," Jaime replied and Kellin pouted.

"Stop calling me a princess! And I can do things on my own, I don't need Vic to rescue me all the time!"

"Uh-huh." Jaime said sarcastically, reaching up to play with Kellin's hair.

"I'm serious!" Kellin yelled, stepping away from the marquess' hold.

"Sure thing. Well, I must go find His Highness now and win his kiss before my father comes to fetch me. After all, us Preciados don't like to lose," Jaime replied and then got down on one knee, taking Kellin's hand gently into his own, "Adiós, mi princesa."

And Kellin would have shouted out that he absolutely was not a princess even if Jaime just said it in Spanish but then Jaime kissed the back of his hand, lips soft and sweet and Kellin felt his heart jump and do somersaults as a blush crept over his cheeks and bridge of his nose. Jaime looked up at him, giving one more small peck to the back of Kellin's hand before getting onto his feet and rushing past him running in the same direction Vic had a while ago. Kellin held the hand the marquess kissed, shaking his head and trying to frown but his head wouldn't stop thudding.

What a sneaky charming snake.

-------------

Kellin wasn't sure if Jaime found Vic before dinner or not, he stayed in the library finishing up that fairy tale book and placing it back on it's rightful shelf before moving onto the next one in line. Silly of him, maybe. But he wouldn't even know where to look for Vic even if he wanted to join in on the game, the prince knew all the hidden passageways and hiding spots in the palace better than he did. Kellin folded a page, marking where he was before placing that book back on the shelf and getting onto his feet. He stretched and walked down the hall to the doors of the library, exiting and making his way up to his bedroom to get changed for dinner. He walked up the stairs, down the hall and to his bedroom, going to his closet to pull out a nice suit and began to change.

Once he was in his nice black suit with a crisp white button up and black loafers, Kellim smiled and hurriedly made his way out of his bedroom down the hall and staircase to the dining hall that a couple of servants were bringing in food. He gulped, hoping he wasn't late and entered through the large doors, seeing only Vic and Rian sitting at the table and Vic looking bored as usual. Then the princes' eyes lit up when Kellin drew near, Rian turning and closing his eyes as he rubbed his forehead. Kellin sat down beside Vic, the advisor looking tiredly at him.

"Are you going to have any allergic reactions and make a mockery of this dinner?" he asked and Kellin slowly shook his head, blushing in embarrassment at the memory. Rian sighed, "Good, I have a headache from trying to find him all day," the advisor replied, pointing at Vic and the prince smiled.

"Now, the Duchess Marié is coming tonight and she is highly sensitive, her feelings are easily hurt so please please be on your best behavior, both of you."

"Okay," Kellin said and Vic didn't say anything, just sighed and began to play with the silverware. They sat and waited, the servants decorating the table with the delicious feast and gathering the chairs needed for tonight. Vic stood up the same time Rian did and Kellin quickly followed after, looking in the direction of the door as a young woman with very bright scarlet hair and light green dress entered followed by whom Kellin assumed to be her father. They bowed, taking their seats at the now smaller banquet table and both of their eyes landed on Kellin.

The boy shifted in his seat, now nervous and not seeing any more empty seats available, "Aren't the Queen and Mike-- I mean Prince Michael coming to dinner?"

"They are. In the other dining hall. . .Her Majesty wanted Prince Vic to sit with the Duchess without distractions," Rian said and Kellin bit his lip, clearly the advisor wanted him to leave.

"Well then I'll just leave you alone," Kellin replied, beginning to get up but Vic's gloved hand shot out to grab onto his and hold him back down in his seat. Vic gave him a pleading look and Kellin glanced between the duchess and the prince, giving a sigh and facing forward to his plate as the appetizer was placed in front of him. A light salad with pomegranate dressing and chicken and apple slices. "I won't talk to you, you talk to her," Kellin stated firmly, taking his fork and getting ready to eat when Vic took his hand again.

"Since the Queen isn't here, guests are the ones to take the first bite," Vic whispered, gesturing over to the duchess and her father. Both of them were looking at Kellin with insulted expressions and he bit his lip, placing his fork down and looking down at his plate. The dinner barely started and he was already again making a fool and insulting the potential consorts.

"I'm sorry," he apologized and Vic gave an apologetic smile their way, Kellin hearing the man give a slightly annoyed grunt and the two took their first bites of the salad. Vic then gestured to his own fork, scooping up some salad and eating and Kellin grabbed his fork again to take his own first bite. The dressing was sweet, tangy and exploded on his tongue as he chewed, getting an apple slice in there and the crunchy taste of that making his cheeks rosy in delight.

"Your Highness," he heard the duchess say, quiet and reserved, "Would you be interested in a walk around the garden after dinner?"

". . .Maybe, okay. . ." Vic murmured and Kellin could see the girl blush before going back to picking at her salad. Poor thing, must be painfully shy and Vic's behavior wasn't going to help at all. So Kellin gave a small smile her way.

"Duchess Marié, uh, your hair," Kellin began and she glanced at him, eyes wide with slight fear.

"My hair?" The duchess said, sounding a bit scared and Kellin's eyes trailed over to her unusually grandiose and very bright scarlet hair. She must've been insecure about it.

"I-It's um, it's pretty. I like it a lot. And you look very beautiful tonight," Kellin quickly said with a reassuring smile and it seemed like she calmed a little, giving him a gentle smile back.

"Oh well um. . .thank you," she said quietly and blushed. Kellin smiled and Vic leaned forward, curiosity overcoming him as he stared at the girl. He eyed her very bright hair in particular, eyes narrowing at the sight of it.

"Is that color even natural?" Vic asked and Kellin's eyes widened, turning to look at the girl that was now flushing as red as her hair and her eyes began to water.

"U-uh. . ." The duchess stuttered, blushing almost as red as her hair.

"You know, you kind of remind me of this big, mean animal I saw in the zoo, its fur was just as red--"

She let out a sob, pushing away from the table and getting up from her seat to storm away. Her father got up, following after the girl stifling back a sob, "Your hair is beautiful, darling! Do not listen to ignorant, rude princes like that!" The girl's father ran after her but not before a cold, hard glare at the Vic. Rian stood up and ran after him, "I apologize for the princes' behavior!" Vic and Kellin heard him shout before he ran out the door to chase the girl's father.

Kellin turned to Vic, giving the brunette a hard hit on the arm that made him jump, "That was so rude of you!" Kellin shouted and Vic frowned, hitting Kellin lightly on the arm back.

"Was not! I was only joking!" Vic shouted and Kellin hit him back.

"But you knew she was sensitive! How'd you feel if someone said they reminded you of a big, mean animal?!"

"I'd laugh!" Vic shouted and then raised his arms up high and intimidating, "And then proceed to maul my unsuspecting guest," he said with a tricky smile and his hands shot down to tickle Kellin, the younger boy shouting and laughing and gasping for air as his legs cycled and kept kicking the table hard enough for it to come tumbling over.

"S-Stop! V-Vic, st-haahahaha!"

"And you were going to win a kiss, but now you're being mean so Vic the big, mean animal is going to maul you, roar!" Vic said, hands tickling up and going to Kellin's ribcage but Kellin managed to push away from Vic and look at him with shocked eyes.

"A kiss? What do you mean?"

"Yeah. . .Jaime never found me before his dad came and when you came, it was before dinnertime so. . ." Vic leaned forward, kissing the top of Kellin's silky black locks and Kellin blushed deep red at the feel of Vic's lips. Playful, he pulled away, "At least we get to have dinner together like back in America," Vic said with a big smile and leaned forward again, "That was one of my wishes."

"Vic-"

"Your Highness! No dinner, absolutely not! The both of you will go to bed right this instant! I can't believe you scared away a Duchess! Have you two no respect?!" Rian shouted, storming in through the doors he followed the Duchess' father through. His face was in a flush as he stormed over and grabbed onto Kellin's wrist and tugged him away from Vic. Kellin watched how Vic's face fell before Rian yanked him out of the dining hall and in the direction of his room, the only thing on Kellin's mind right now that soft kiss.