Royally Screwed

When Vic went to visit Kellin that night, he had his arm behind his back which made Kellin tilt his head to the side curiously.

"What have you got there?" Kellin asked, barely able to contain his smile which just grew wider when Vic revealed that he had a bouquet of roses with him. The prince knelt on one knee and gave Kellin the roses and Kellin took them graciously. They were beautiful, they were rid of thorns and they were big, Kellin noted. These were the biggest roses he'd ever seen. Vic sat beside him on the bed and Kellin looked up at the prince's face which was looking right at him, love and adoration filling those warm brown yes.

"Why did you get me these?"

Vic chuckled silently and took Kellin's hand, brought it up to his lips and kissed it, "Because I love you. I can't stop thinking about you."

Kellin blushed and looked down because he was smiling wider than he should be, "Thank you. They're beautiful."

And when Kellin looked at their hands linked together, he noticed cuts on the prince's hand. "Did you pick these yourself?" Kellin's asked, looking back up at the prince.

"Well, yeah. . .It's no big deal though; they're just small cuts. It was worth it to make you happy," Vic said, holding Kellin's hand tighter.

"No, no, no. I'm not having you getting hurt because of me. Good thing they packed my first aid kit," Kellin said, rushing over to a corner of the room with a small drawer.

"From Florida? Why did you need a first aid kit?"

"Jenna used to, uh, hit me when I didn't do something she asked sometimes," Kellin said sheepishly. He took the kit out of the second drawer and quickly sat back beside Vic on the bed. He opened the small red box and found his little pack of bandages there. There were only a few left.

"Hit you? She used to hurt you like that? Oh, when I see her again, I'll-"

"Calm down, please. It's no big deal. It's all in the past," Kellin said softly, getting the bandages and putting them over the little cuts on Vic's hand.

"Yeah," Vic sighed, "you're right. You're here, you're with me now and I won't let anyone hurt you. Ever. You know that, right?" Vic looked at him with a small smile.

"Yes, and thank you for that but I won't allow you to get hurt either. Next time you want to give me roses, be careful," Kellin said, linking their fingers together.

Vic rolled his eyes and pressed his lips to Kellin's. Kellin could never get over the feeling he got when the prince kissed him, there were butterflies going crazy in his stomach and it felt like his head was in the clouds. It was just the best feeling ever. It was like his heart was caught in his throat and he couldn't breathe, it felt like all he could do was kiss back. Vic deepened the kiss and used his free hand to hold Kellin by the waist. Kellin put his hand other hand on Vic's chest and he kissed back just as hard. They just sat there kissing for what felt like an hour, their lips pulling away and reconnecting. Eventually, Vic pulled away and then hugged Kellin, holding him close. The younger boy couldn't help but admire how perfectly their bodies fit together.

"Please, please, don't be doubtful that we'll be together someday. I can't see a future without you. Kellin, I love you so much," Vic said sincerely and he held Kellin tighter as if he were afraid that someone was going to tear them apart any second now.

Kellin felt like he was going to burst into tears though he didn't quite know why. Instead, he held on Vic tight and he surprised himself when he found that he believed himself when he told the prince, "We'll be together someday. I love you too."

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Kellin sat in tutoring, barely able to pay attention because he was so excited for he and Jaime's trip to the Rapunzel tower. It was just fifteen minutes left until tutoring was over and the woman was babbling on about something, about the history of Miridian music, he thought. Jaime said he'd be right outside when tutoring was over and then they'd go by limo to the location of the Rapunzel tower. He was ecstatic to see what it looked like and maybe they could even go inside-

"Kellin, are you listening?"

Kellin yelped a little in surprise and averted his eyes to his tutor who was looking at him with a frustrated look in her face, "Uh. . .No, I'm not. I'm sorry."

The woman sighed and put the book down on the table, "We only have a few minutes until class ends anyway. I'll let you out early, okay?"

Kellin smiled wide and got up from the chair, "Thank you, thank you so much, ma'am! I promise to do better next session."

The tutor gave him a small nod before he ran down to the door and opened it. Jaime wasn't there yet, of course, it wasn't time for him to be yet. He decided to wait in the main entrance of the palace so that he could see Jaime just when he arrived. He walked rather briskly to the big majestic double door that led to the front of the palace. He opened it and sat outside on the white steps, taking in the fresh air and the beauty that was the neatly trimmed lawn of the palace. A few minutes later, he saw a limo pull up in front. He stood up quickly but sat back down when it wasn't Jaime who came out but Rian and Vic.

Rian climbed out first and opened the door wider for Vic to come out. Vic looked up and saw him and the prince's whole face lit up. Kellin saw Rian glare at the prince and say something to him, he couldn't hear what it was from up the steps but as soon as Rian said it, Vic looked at his advisor and gave an eye roll.

The two walked up the steps to the palace and Vic smiled at him as he passed him, mouthing an "I love you." Kellin beamed and blushed at the prince and watched as Rian opened the doors and they both stepped inside, the door closing behind them.

It still made Kellin's heart flutter whenever Vic told him he loved him and Vic was still able to make him so flustered and well, he might as well be blushing permanently when he was around the prince.

Kellin thought hard about the events of last night and he could see that Vic was just so in love with him, he could see the longing and the affection and the absolute love in Vic's gaze and he couldn't believe that someone he loved could love him back so much. Someone that in love wouldn't give up until they had the person they're in love with and it took a rather long internal debate for Kellin to realize it.

He and Vic would be happy together one day.

He felt sorry for Jaime, he really did, but if only Jaime could see how Vic looked at him. If only Jaime could see how he looked at Vic. If only Jaime could see that Vic was very determined to have Kellin be his forever then maybe, just maybe, Jaime would understand that he and Vic just couldn't be together.

It was strange though. He knew that Jaime deserved Vic more than he did. Kellin still couldn't see what it was about himself that made Vic fall so deep in love. He couldn't see anything special in him still. But Vic loved him and that's all that really mattered.

Two beeps snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked up, seeing a black limo pulled up, the window rolled down and displaying Jaime's smiling face. The marquess waved him over and Kellin smiled right back at him, jogging over to the limo. He opened the door and got in, sitting right beside his friend.

"Got out of tutoring early and decided to wait for me out here, did ya?" Jaime said, grinning.

"Yeah, I'm just so excited!" Kellin said and it showed in the tone of his voice.

"I can tell," Jaime said, sticking his tongue out and poking Kellin's side to tickle him.

Kellin let out a small giggle and looked out the window, "Is it far?"

"No, not really. We'll be there in a split second, just you wait. Want some candy?" Jaime said, grabbing a small bowl of fruit candies from a sort of bar in front of them.

Kellin took one between his index finger and thumb. He put it into his mouth. It was strawberry flavored. "Do all limos have to have snack bars with candy?"

"No, I just wanted one. Why?"

"The limo I rode in when I first came to Miridia had one too. Vic kept lots of licorice and gummies and hard candy and gum and lots of other candies I don't know. He loves candy," Kellin said matter-of-factly.

"His Highness loves candy and flowers. He's quite the romantic then, is he?"

Kellin blushed and looked away from Jaime, instead averting his eyes to the limo's shiny black floor, "Yeah, I guess he is."

The next ten minutes or so was spent just eating candy and making small talk. Kellin would look at the view outside the window every few times and he noticed that they passed a few rusted gates every few minutes. He also noticed brambles and vines everywhere, small abandoned houses and then suddenly, the scenery became quite pretty. He could see some flowers of orange and red colors growing and the sun seemed to shine brighter as they went on driving. They drove through a dirt road in which Kellin could see a few small rabbits hopping around its sides. The limo pulled up but Kellin gave a confused look because he didn't see any tower around.

Jaime climbed out of the limo and Kellin did as well, looking around to double check if there really is no tower.

"Where are we?" Kellin asked, looking at Jaime for an answer.

"The tower is just through there," Jaime explained, pointing towards an arc which appeared to be made of rock. It was curtained by vines and brambles crept up the arc. It looked like an entrance to some kind of haunted house or something, Kellin thought.

"I know what you're thinking. It's creepy now but when we get through, you'll see that it's very pretty. Trust me," Jaime said as he smiled to reassure the younger boy.

"Okay."

"Come on, I'll help you through it," Jaime said, offering his hand to Kellin and Kellin took it. He felt safe.

Together, they walked in front of the arc and Jaime parted the vines and they walked through it. Kellin had his eyes closed, just following Jaime's lead as they held hands.

"Open your eyes. It's here," he heard Jaime's voice say and Kellin did open his yes. He opened his eyes and he didn't regret it.

The tower was magnificent. It was exactly how he pictured Rapunzel's tower to look like. It was old and looked sort of run down but it was still beautiful to Kellin. Around the tower, there were colorful plants and flowers and there were big trees, some fruit trees and some not. He wanted to climb one and pick whatever fruit he'd fine once he got up and he wanted to sleep in the tree's shade and he wanted to sit on a branch and just look around because the place was so beautiful. He wanted to roll around in the soft grass The thing he wanted to dot he most, though, was go inside the tower and look out of the single window and see what Rapunzel saw.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Jaime asked, beaming.

"Yes, yes, yes. I love it," Kellin replied, "thank you so much for taking me here, Jaime. You're such a good friend."

"Do you wanna go up the tower?" Jaime asked, holding Kellin's hand tighter.

"Can we?"

"Yeah, of course! Anything you want," Jaime said and then he proceeded to lead Kellin to the entrance of the tower, a single wooden door. It creaked as Jaime put his hand on the handle and opened it. It was dark inside so he left the door open for sunlight to get in.

"Here, now we can see the steps. It's a long way up there, are you sure you wanna go up, Kell?"

"Yeah, of course I do. I'm not letting a huge flight of stairs get in my way. Come on, let's go!" Kellin said and hurriedly ran up the stairs, practically dragging Jaime by the hand. He soon got tired and slowed to a walk and then he finally reached it. The last step. Once they got up. They saw a door, presumably leading to the room with a single window. Kellin immediately put his hand over the handle, turning it but it didn't open.

"I have the key," Jaime said. He took a rusty key from his pocket and showed it to Kellin, smiling.

"Why do you have it?"

"This tower has actually been in my family for years. My great great great great great great great grandfather commanded the army that looked out here in the war. My father didn't want anything to do with is place when it was passed onto him but I liked it so he gave me the key," Jaime shrugged and he stuck the key into the lock. He turned it and heard the lock open and then he pushed open the door. Kellin let go of Jaime's hand and walked inside and Kellin thought it didn't look like Rapunzel's bedroom as he pictured it at all.

"Hey, this isn't a bedroom," Kellin said. There were boxes everywhere and it was dusty and dark, the only light was coming from the window. He could see thin mattresses strewn around and sacks of flour and up the ceiling were cobwebs. It was creepy, very creepy.

"It was used as a lookout. This isn't your Rapunzel's tower, you idiot. Get your head back into reality," Jaime barked harshly and Kellin was shocked at how the marquess was talking to him. He looked back at Jaime who didn't even enter the room, he was just leaning against the door frame with a smirk on his face.

"Why are you-"

Kellin didn't get to finish his sentence. Next thing he knew, Jaime closed the door and he heard the marquess lock it from the other side. All the breath was knocked out of Kellin's lungs and he ran to the door, banging his fists against it, "Let me out of here!"