Royally Screwed

"Kellin!. . .Kellin!

"Kellin! Kellin! Kellin!"

"KELLIN!"

The black haired boy awoke with repeated shouting of his name and aggressive knocks on the door. Kellin groaned and pushed the warm blanket that covered his pale, skinny body upwards. He was still too deep in his sleepiness to match the voice coming from the other side of the door with a name so he hoped whoever it was would go away soon. After a few more knocks and shouts of his name, he heard the turn of a doorknob, the thud of his bedroom door hitting the wall beside it and the clink of high heels on wooden floors. Suddenly, he felt the blanket that enveloped him be pulled abruptly away from him.

"Where is my dress, Kellin?! I need it today! God, how lazy are you?! GET UP!" came the shrill voice of his stepsister, Jenna. He opened his eyes a centimeter, not wanting to expose them to the piercing rays of the sun that shone down from his window just yet. He did see Jenna's face though and might he say that she looked pretty angry.

"It's down in the laundry room. I washed it yesterday," Kellin said. He knew he'd be yelled at to get up soon. It was alright. Kellin was used to it by now.

"Well then go and get it!" came the blonde's expected reply. She crossing her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.

"Okay," Kellin muttered. He heard the door slam shut as Jenna left. He yawned and stretched, hearing his joints crack. He rubbed at his eyes and wasted no time in going to the laundry room to get Jenna's dress. He knew she'd have a fit if it took him more than three minutes. He opened the door to the laundry room and felt the wall for the light switch. He took the dress off its hanger in the far left corner of the room. It was so showy, in all honesty. It was floor length with bright, colorful ruffles adorning the front and big rubies around the waist part. It must have cost a fortune. Jenna got it yesterday though Kellin didn't know why. Jenna would go dress shopping sometimes but the dresses she usually bought were casual and knee length; not grandiose like this one. He hurriedly jogged up the stairs to the where Jenna's room was. He knocked thrice before entering.

"Here's your dress, Jenna."

"We'll it's about time!" Jenna snatched the dress from his hands and admired it. She held it against her body and looked at her reflection in the full sized mirror. Kellin tried to stop himself from asking what it was for but he really couldn't help it. "What's happening today that you need to wear that dress?"

"It's none of your business. Now, shoo. Daddy told me he needed to talk to you so go. I don't need you here." Kellin rolled his eyes but complied. He left the blonde's room and headed to his stepfather's study.

It was a rare occurrence that his father 'needed to talk to him.'The last time his stepfather 'needed to talk to him' was when he was told that his mother had died. Kellin wondered what could be the reason. Maybe it had something to do with why Jenna needed the dress. The door to his stepfather's study was hanging open and inside, he saw the man talking on the phone with someone. When he saw Kellin, he made a gesture that told him to wait outside so he did. Kellin wanted to listen in to the conversation his stepfather was having but he couldn't understand what the man was saying from outside the study. A few minutes later, he heard him say, "Come in."

And so Kellin went in to be greeted by the sight of his stepfather sitting on the big, black swivel chair behind a dark mahogany desk. His intimidating stare followed Kellin as he stepped closer to the man to ask why he had wanted to talk to him.

"I need you gone today. Jenna and I are. . .To attend to important business later. Go elsewhere."

"But why--" Kellin was interrupted by a monotone ring coming from his stepfather's cellphone. The businessman picked it up and started the conversation with a clipped tone, "James."

Kellin couldn't hear clearly what the person on the other line was saying but he did happen to catch the word 'lunch.'

"Drive Taylor over here so she can get Jenna's hair done. We'd want her to look her best if she's going to be a candidate for princess. It's not everyday we have a prince around here so make it snappy, " he said into the phone.

Kellin's heart started thudding. There was a prince coming? But he couldn't meet the prince if his stepfather was kicking him out of the house for the day. Maybe if he asked to stay or even begged to stay, he'd be allowed. Besides, he's been doing work for his stepdad and Jenna for the longest time and he's never asked for anything in return. He might be allowed this one little thing, right? He wanted to meet a prince ever since he was a little kid. The prince must be young if Jenna were a candidate for princess. He wondered what the prince would be like, maybe tall and broad shouldered and handsome, of course. With blond hair and. . .Blue, yes. Blue eyes. The prince would see Kellin and fall in love with him and whisk him off to his castle where they'd live happily ever--

"So, as I was saying, Kellin--"

"Can I meet the prince?"

James gave a short, sarcastic laugh, "That's a preposterous question. Of course not."

"But why can't I? Jenna will be meeting him so how come I won't?"

"You better stop acting like a child. I won't have an immature little boy like you coming anywhere near royalty. You don't get to meet the prince, that's final," the man said in a stern voice. Kellin didn't argue any further. Once something was 'final' to his stepdad, that was it. You couldn't change his mind anymore, not a chance. Kellin frowned and left the room.

He really never was going to get his happily ever after, wasn't he? He'd never amount to anything unless he removed himself from all these fairy tale fantasies. His stepdad was right, he thought. He was acting like a child, holding on to dreams that he knew wouldn't ever come true. He had to grow up whether he liked it or not.

Kellin sighed and went to his room, the smallest in the house, considering it used to be the attic before he moved into it. He grabbed his book of fairy tales from the drawer beside his bed where he kept it. His shoulders were slumped as he went out of the house and across the street, through the old fence with a hole small enough that only he could crawl in. Through it, there was his sanctuary, a small garden. He went here to read when he didn't have chores to do. The little garden had small bushes of lively, colorful flowers. It had a single tree and Kellin didn't really know what kind of tree it was but it was big and tall with just a few branches and it grew these small blue flowers that smelled so nice when springtime rolled around. The garden also had an old, rickety swing set. The little place was a wasteland when he first discovered it but he started taking care of it. He tried repairing the swing set but it really was no use. It was too frail to be fixed.

Kellin sat down on the patch of grass near his favorite flower bed and placed the book on his lap. He pondered on whether he should continue reading. He'd just be stopping himself from growing up since that book was where it all started in the first place. Kellin decided to at least finish the book though. It was all he had left of his parents who he still missed so very bad. He still had dreams of his mother and father; dreams that they were happy and together and whole again. There were only two places where Kellin could escape from his terrible life with the Mcdougalls and those were when he was dreaming and when he was reading the book he loved so much.

He trailed his pale fingers over the title engraved on the book's cover: "The Golden Book of Fairy Tales." He smiled softly as he flipped to the page he had bookmarked last. He unfolded the page and picked up where he left off, lost in another world where all was perfect. The story so far was about a beautiful siren who sang on top of a big rock. She caught the attention of a passing prince and they fell in love though their difference in species was a big obstacle that they must overcome. Kellin wondered that maybe if he sang, he'd be heard by a prince who just happened to walk by.

He giggled at the idea but he started to sing, his voice sweet and high-pitched, carrying throughout his little haven. It was a simple worded song with a slow, sweet melody. In the middle of the it, he heard the creak of a fence and a thud muffled by grass. There was someone going in, he realized. But who could it be? Whoever it was must be pretty small to be able to crawl in through--

"Hello."

Kellin was startled, he yelped and closed the book shut. He looked up to see a man with kind brown eyes smiling at him with pearly white teeth. He didn't look much older than Kellin. He looked maybe 18 or 19.

"I didn't mean to scare you or anything, I'm sorry," the man said, tucking his shoulder length brown hair behind his ear.

"Oh, no, it's okay. It's just that nobody ever comes here and--"

"Was that you singing a while ago?" The man asked, a playful smile adorning his rather handsome features. Kellin blushed at the thought that the man had heard him. No one had ever heard him sing before so Kellin didn't know if he sounded good or not.

"Uh, yes, i-it was me."

"You sounded beautiful," the man said, sitting on the grass beside him. Kellin turned red at the man's compliment. He also noticed the huge backpack hugging the man's red hoodie. Kellin wondered what was in there. What if there were drugs in there? Or a bomb? Or a gun? The man didn't look like someone to be carrying any of those things. But looks can be deceiving.

"Thank you. Uh, if you don't mind me asking, how did you get in here? The hole is too small for someone like you to crawl into, especially with that backpack you're carrying."

"I climbed over it. It was pretty hard to, I think I got a few scratches but I heard your voice and I just had to see who it was. And then I saw you in here with that book," the man said, his tone pleasant and conversational.

"Yeah, uh, I've had this book since I was little." Kellin didn't know why he was telling this man that. There was a certain aura about him that made Kellin want him to stay.

"Really, now? What is it about?"

Kellin was a little embarrassed to say. What would he think of him if he said it was full of little children's stories? He would probably laugh at his face.

"Do you promise you won't laugh if I tell you?"

"I swear not to laugh. Can't be that laughable considering it's such a big old book," the man joked.

"Okay. Well, it's full of fairy tales, see. Little children's stories. It's okay if you think I'm weird," Kellin admitted, face flushed.

"No, not at all! I'm quite fond of them myself!" The man's very slight accent told Kellin that the man wasn't from around here.

"Are you from here?"

"Oh!" The man exclaimed, "Well, I uh. . .No, I'm not."

Kellin raised an eyebrow, "Where are you from, then?"

"I'm from, uh. . .Canada," he answered.

Strange, Kellin thought. He was much too tan to be from Canada which, he knew, experienced harsh cold weather.

"So you're new here in Florida?"

"If you're asking if it's my first time here, then, yes."

"Oh. Cool, who'd you come here with?"

"I came here on my own with just this backpack and the things in it. I'm trying to start a new life here, find a job and get a place. I just got here today," The line sounded memorized and rehearsed. It was quite odd. What could this boy's story be?

"May I see that book?" The man asked, changing the subject. Kellin smiled and handed him the book, blushing as the brunette chuckled at its cover which had a picture of a fairy waving around a magic wand.

"Oh, so it's a collection of fairy tales in one book. Which one are you reading now?" The man asked, sounding genuinely interested. He turned to the page with the table of contents.

"Uh, I'm reading the one called 'The Siren's Song,''" Kellin said sheepishly. The man chuckled and turned to the page with that story.

"I guess it's what urged you to sing back then, huh?"

Pale cheeks turned red once again, as Kellin recalled the earlier events. "Yeah, it was."

"Would it be alright if I read it to you?" Kellin's face lit up. It's been such a long time since someone has read to him. The man's voice was smooth and deep so it must sound wonderful to listen to if it were telling him a story. It struck Kellin's mind that he didn't know his name yet.

"Yeah, I'd love it if you'd read to me. My name's Kellin, by the way. What's yours?"

The corners of the man's lips turned upward in a gentle smile. "I'm Victor. I've been trying to get everyone to call me Vic but no one listens."

"I'll call you Vic," Kellin said happily.

"Alright, let's start reading, shall we?"

Vic read Kellin three stories before the latter had fallen asleep, using Vic's lap as a pillow. Kellin awoke an hour later flustered with Vic putting flowers from the nearby flower bed in his hair, fashioning them to look like a crown. Kellin pulled the flowers out of his hair to which Vic pouted at, saying Kellin looked quite pretty with the flowers on. They shared stories after and Vic often made Kellin laugh with his witty remarks. At one point, Vic took off his backpack to take out a jar of expensive looking cookies that they had shared. The cookies were Belgian, Vic had said. The day went by quickly for the both of them. They had a good time until Vic noticed the old swing set tucked in the very back of the garden.

"What is that?"

"Oh, that's a swing. It's not in very good shape. I tried fixing it but I couldn't."

Vic looked at the swing up and down. It was rusty and there were still bits of white paint stuck on it that weren't scrubbed away by time and it looked about ready to fall over."Do you wanna to sit there?"

"Oh no, it's too frail to sit on!"

"You've tried to sit on it?"

"No, I haven't but--"

"Well then, try! Someone as lightweight as you might be able to."

"Hey, I'm not lightweight--" Kellin was cut off when he was swept off his feet by Vic and forced to sit on the swing. Vic raised his eyebrows as if to say 'I told you so' because the swing set didn't break.

"Okay, so it didn't fall apart."

"Yes, it didn't. So go ahead and swing."

"Are you crazy? It was just luck that--"

Vic went up behind Kellin and pulled the swing as far back as he could and let go, eyes following Kellin as he was dragged by the swing into the air in a pendulum motion.

"See?" Vic said, chuckling.

"Vic, make it stop, I might break it!"

"It'll stop by itself anyway, just enjoy." Vic smiled as the other's screams turned into laughter. Kellin's black hair followed the back and forth of the swing. Color crept into his cheeks as they made room for his rose petal lips to smile wide and joy brimmed his turquoise eyes. It was quite the pretty sight. The swing, however, stopped soon and Kellin got off, hearing the metal of it creak in the process.

"It's your turn," Kellin said, a playful smile tugging at his lips.

"Goodness, no. I'm too heavy."

"It's not fair! I had a turn so you should too!" Kellin whined, jutting out his bottom lip.

Vic rolled his eyes playfully at the boy. "Oh, fine. But if it breaks, it's your fault. Now stop your pouting." Vic poked Kellin's bottom lip, making the latter blush and feel butterflies.The minute Vic sat on the swing, they heard a loud screech and down came the rusty old swing set and Vic along with it.

"Oh, now look what you've done. Help me out of here, will you?"

Kellin offered his hand and Vic took it, pulling himself up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I am. Maybe a scratch or something somewhere but I'm okay," Vic said cheerily. Kellin looked down to see that Vic still hadn't let go of his hand. He blushed and Vic just smiled, twining their fingers together. The pale boy looked up at the dusking sky. It was about time for him to go home, he thought. The prince was probably gone already, sweeping Jenna off her feet and at that thought, Kellin frowned.

"Why do you look so sad?"

"It's nothing. I just have to go home now, I think. It was lots of fun being with you today, Vic," Kellin said. He would miss Vic a lot if this were going to be their last time seeing each other. He hasn't had that much fun in years and Vic was such a nice person, he'd really like it if they were to see each other again. But Kellin didn't own a cellphone to keep in contact with. And that's when Kellin hatched up a crazy idea.