This Strange World Needs A Kicking! – Ch. 25
By Laura S. Fox
Copyright © 2021 Laura S. Fox
All Rights Reserved
Gay Romance
Intended for Mature Audiences Only
This story will contain graphic depictions of sexual intercourse, strong
language and it is not meant for readers who are less than 18 years of age.
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Chapter Twenty-Five –
Your Deepest Wish
He would disappear under
the cover of night. About getting to Uxilan, it
couldn't be that difficult, right? Following the smell of ash that was now
everywhere was a piece of cake. What wasn't a piece of cake and could turn
badly was going against those dark magic jerks all by himself. Pepin was right,
of course, to consider that he needed help, but then, the chances of someone
else getting hurt grew exponentially and that he couldn't live with. Not when
he was an OP prince with ice magic – which he couldn't use – and the protection
of a goddess – which, again, was no longer there.
But, but, but, he
continued to reason to himself while scratching his head and trying to figure
out how to saddle his horse, he was still a master swordsman, and, according to
Pepin, Sebastian had managed just fine when he had fought those bastards. All
he, Kai, needed to do was let nature do its thing, and Sebastian's body react
appropriately each time dark magic got anywhere close to him.
It sounded like a sound
plan, only that Kai really didn't like the way it sounded when he was telling
it to himself for the umpteenth time. Not that he remembered ever being
incredibly courageous, but the moment he had heard about other people getting
in trouble over a possible invasion from the House of Uxilan,
who, again, were notorious jerks, he had thought himself suddenly brave.
Not that it was hard to
do that while in the body of an OP character like Sebastian. But his reaction
had come from somewhere deeper, surprising and not surprising him at the same
time. Back then, when his dad had asked him to be brave, he hadn't done it, not
because Kai hadn't wanted to make him proud, but because he hadn't been able
to. Tani and his mom had no idea, but during those
days, when they were all at the hospital, he had lied about being ill only so
that he didn't spend, like them, all his waking hours there.
He hadn't been brave. His
dad had only asked him that, and he hadn't done it, feeling like such a huge
coward but incapable of pushing back the tears and the anger at the world for
not being fair.
Now he was given a second
chance to prove that he wasn't just a kid who hurried to hide only to stay away
from pain. And second chances, not that he was some philosopher or anything,
couldn't often come in people's lives.
Plus, he encouraged
himself, he had nothing to worry about since he had the gift of getting to use
the body and abilities of a super-duper character like Sebastian.
"How is this even
supposed to work?" he mumbled as he stared dubiously at the leather straps that
had to go over the horse's belly but somehow didn't behave the way they should
have.
"Why aren't you in bed?"
Kai squealed in a very
non-Sebastian fashion at the sound of that voice. Conrad was standing in the
door and watching him with judgmental eyes. Seriously, he needed to defeat the
House of Uxilan and return home because people here
were all starting to get a little on his nerves. "Why? Is that an invitation?"
he shot back and then bit his tongue when Conrad's golden eyes flashed with
something he didn't care to dissect at all right now.
"We're marching against
the enemy tomorrow," Conrad said in a voice that brooked no contradiction. "You
should be resting."
"Not really, no," Kai
said quickly. "I never sleep before a test, I mean a quest."
"This is not a quest,"
Conrad replied tersely. "It is a matter of life and death, and I get the
feeling that you're thinking of going alone despite your cousin's and my
advice."
Damn, why did he have to
be so transparent about his plans? And why the hell didn't Sebastian know how
to saddle a horse? It wasn't rocket science. Well, probably he had people to do
that for him –
"You're not going alone,"
Conrad interrupted his train of thought.
"Are you sure you can
stop me? I can always use my magic on you."
Conrad crossed his arms
and covered the stable entrance with his entire body. "You are free to try it.
Will you?"
"You're incredibly calm
for someone who should know how much that thing hurts," Kai warned, but he knew
that he wouldn't be able to cause Conrad any pain, not consciously. Sending
Pepin to his room was one thing, but hurting Conrad was too much. "All right,
all right, I'll go to bed. Happy now?"
"No. I'll sleep with you
to make sure that you don't try to sneak out again."
"Um, I'm sure Pepin
wouldn't like that at all. I mean, come on, we're like practically engaged,"
Kai blabbered on. "It would be like cheating if I slept with you now."
"Your Majesty," Conrad
said sternly, "I wasn't suggesting anything untoward. But seeing your
determination for going alone against the House of Uxilan,
there is no other choice. Why did you send your servant away? The guards at his
door are having a terrible time."
"Like how?" Kai asked,
curiosity getting the better of him.
"Their ears are red like
tomatoes. They change shifts every two hours. Apparently, your fiancé," Conrad
said, emphasizing the word, "has the tongue of a harbor harlot."
"Ugh, who, Pepin? C'mon,
the guy's like the sweetest... I mean, he can be a hardass
when he wants, but still. I don't remember him ever talking smack."
"Maybe he learned it from
you." And that was Galien, who appeared behind Conrad
like there had been a war council called down at the stables.
"I don't think so," Kai
replied, miffed that he had been discovered so easily.
"I shall also sleep in
your room," Galien announced. "It appears to me that
you don't understand how important you are for Ifigia."
"No way I'm going to be the meat in your hunk sandwich," Kai
declared.
Galien
pushed Conrad away to step inside the stables. Kai had made the mistake of
lighting a lamp that was there for the purpose, so he felt as good as naked
under Galien's scrutinizing stare. "Sebastian," he
said in an authoritative voice, "this is not a matter up for debate. Stop
playing only the role that your mother gave you. Aren't you your own person?"
Kai had no idea what Galien was saying but didn't care to find out. As things
looked, he was supposed to find another way to ditch everyone and go to war alone.
"Stop it with the faces,"
Galien warned again. "I know you're thinking of how
to sneak out and go fight on your own. Get it through your head. That is not
going to happen."
"Ah, damn it," Kai
expressed his frustration. "We're all going to fail just because I'm incapable
of saddling a horse."
"No, we're not going to
fail," Galien contradicted him. "Sir Conrad, would
you be so kind to help our esteemed ruler to his bed?"
"My pleasure," Conrad
replied.
Kai groaned as Conrad
grabbed him by one arm and Galien by the other, both
pulling him away despite his protests. That was how Pepin must have felt when
the guards had dragged him away. He struggled a bit against the tight hold,
but, quite surprisingly, he didn't manage to budge much.
Maybe he really needed some
sleep, after all.
***
Sebastian counted through
his teeth as he pushed his body up for the one-hundredth time, using nothing
but the force of one arm. Strength, agility, endurance were all things he
needed to master in the shortest of times. Chet and his posse were a danger
still, regardless of how all over the place their methods were, and he would
have to exact punishment rather sooner than later if not for another reason
than that he had to ensure that Milo was in no way exposed to their foul ways.
Half an hour later, he
was in bed. As much as he wanted to continue training all night long, it had
soon occurred to him that muscle strains were something happening to regular
people, so injuring or overexerting himself was out of the question.
His eyelids grew heavy,
but sleep came to him accompanied by the strangest apparitions.
In his dream, he appeared
to be himself, and for a moment, his heart jolted at the thought that the curse
had been lifted, and he was now back into his own skin. But no, he realized,
even as his body was immersed into a deep slumber, it had to be nothing but a
dream. Even more, it felt like a memory, although in his state, he couldn't
tell if he just imagined it to be so.
He was at the Shimmering
Cavern, the ice goddess Reya explaining to him yet
again why it was important to choose Pepin as the one in his bed and by his
side.
"I am the Protector of Ifigia. But this is not a thing I'm willing to do," his
dream version replied to her insistence.
"And why not, Sebastian?"
"Because I grew up with
him, and I would never consider him a lover."
Reya
threw her arms up. "You do not have to consider him a lover if it's that much
of an inconvenience to you. Where is all this stubbornness coming from? You've
always suffered from it."
He threw her an oblique
look. "Indeed, I wonder," he said wryly. "Did Luna Celeste put some new crazy
thought in your mind? That woman is nothing short of a lunatic."
Her gasp of indignation
didn't impress him. "She is capable of reading prophecies and telling the
future. She saw yours and told me clearly that only love would save you, in the
end."
"Love," he pronounced the
word, feeling its taste as alien as always. "I fail to see where Pepin fits in
all this. I don't love him. I care about him, indeed, but toward him, I can
nurture no feelings as the ones Luna Celeste keeps blabbing about."
"You bring lovers to your
bed and send them away after less than a month," the ice goddess continued to
scold him. "What are you looking for in them? Pepin is your destiny."
What was he looking for
in his long string of lovers, indeed? They were a means to an end, a way to
pass the time between military campaigns, but he wouldn't be crass to explain
to Reya about any of that. "Pepin," he said through
his teeth, "is but a brother to me."
"He loves you, and he's a
Lelian. Do you have any idea how rare they are, and
through what pains I went to secure one for you?" Reya
appeared to be losing her composure over his stubbornness, but he had no
intention to indulge her. This was about his person, not the fate of Ifigia, and that meant that as little as that mattered, he
had a say in it and intended to use his influence to push back all her
insistence.
"I do not care. I have no
intention to use his ability or whatever that is called."
"Stop being so flippant."
Sebastian winced as a few
shards of ice passed by his cheek. He raised one hand and was surprised at the
sensation under his fingertips. One of them had cut through the most
superficial layer of skin, bringing out blood. "Why am I here?" he asked.
Reya
turned on his heels and sat on her throne of ice. "Ifigia
is in danger. Do you really believe you have time to fool around?"
The sudden change in her
voice and the different topic brought forth took him by surprise. "Fool
around?" he asked.
She was slowly turning
into ice, just like the rest of the cavern. "Yes. Finish here. You're needed.
And that boy is not the one for you, or else Luna Celeste's words would make no
sense."
"What boy?" Sebastian
insisted, annoying at how she chose to return to her hibernation whenever it
fitted her whim.
He couldn't hear her
voice anymore, but the way her lips curled around the words left no room for
interpretation. Slight pain in his palms made him realize that he was digging
his nails into the skin.
***
"Could you guys move away
a bit? You're too hot," Kai complained.
"Any more distance
between you and us, and we'd be in danger of falling on the floor," Galien chided him.
This was nothing like
when Pepin and Conrad had crowded him in his royal bed, but he was more
uncomfortable than that time. Mainly because both Galien
and Conrad preferred to sleep naked by the looks of it. As much as it pained
him, he had opted for a nightgown and felt like a giant doll succumbing under a
sea of frills and lace. Pepin would have loved it, most probably, but Kai could
swear that he had seen nothing as sophisticated and complicated as that in his
entire life.
"You must sleep, Your
Majesty," Conrad warned him. "Or perhaps, you would like me to help you exert
yourself a little so that you can finally do so?"
"No, no, absolutely not.
I know what you're thinking, but come on, Galien is
here, and I don't want him to watch or anything."
"You could send him
away," Conrad said airily.
"Like I would allow such
a thing," Galien shot back.
"Hey, don't fight. And I
thought you two were into each other. I mean, liking each other."
"That is impossible,"
Conrad replied in a haughty tone.
"Why?" Kai asked. "Galien is handsome and has a round ass, doesn't he? And
aren't you into asses, anyway?"
He was blabbering, but he
didn't feel like sleeping, and getting rid of these two seemed impossible.
"It takes more than a
perfect behind," Conrad said through his teeth, "to convince me to like someone
the way you suggest, Your Majesty. And Sir Galien's
rotten manners, with all due respect, cannot be overlooked."
Galien
snorted. "Are you sure you're one to talk, Sir Conrad? I think we're much
alike, after all. Which means, without a shadow of a doubt, that there is no
risk in our getting together and enjoying ourselves and each other. We are both
very much aware of our respective rotten manners, so, in the end, no one would
get hurt. Am I right?"
"Totally," Kai replied.
"Oops, you were actually asking Conrad. My bad. Ah, by the way, Conrad," he
decided to change the topic since he wasn't sure if those two didn't want to
start either fighting or something else over his very much alive body, all
dressed in frills and lace.
"Yes, Your
Majesty?"
"Isn't this like the
perfect opportunity for you to turn against me? I mean, there's a war incoming,
and you could just side with the enemy or whatever."
Conrad stared at him for
so long that he felt compelled to turn his head and stare back. "Uxilan is a scourge upon this world," Conrad said through
his teeth. "I would never side with them."
"So, it's like the
smaller of two evils or something like that?" Kai asked, curious about Conrad's
motivations like he'd never been before. Not that he could complain about
having such an ally by his side.
"No," Conrad contradicted
him. "My own pride and nothing else forced me in the path of your wrath. I
wanted to go against Uxilan by myself. You stopped me
when you marched against Estfalia. It must have saved
most of my people, and this is the first and last time I admit to such a thing.
Please, I beg you, have mercy of my pride."
"Ugh, shoot, that's heavy
stuff," Kai commented. "But why did you want to go against those assholes, I
mean jerks, I mean dark magic wielders? Do you have anti-magic or something?"
Conrad set his jaw hard.
"They are a threat to the entire world. Sooner or later, their pestilence would
have spread and conquered my country, as well. Your protection has kept them at
bay for a while, I believe."
"Hmm, that kind of makes
sense. So, we're allies, right?"
"Yes. And I will always
be in your service. And your bed, when you want me."
"I'm getting married to
Pepin, though," Kai said quickly. "I mean, he's kind of jealous."
"I distinctly remember
him suggesting another type of arrangement," Conrad said.
"Ah, well, that doesn't
really work for me. It would be too much trouble just moving from one side of
the bed to another and all that. And Pepin is just saying. He actually told me
that he'd cut me off breakfast for all eternity if I did naughty things with
you."
He was getting a bit
sweaty, and not only because of the frills. The characters in this BL world
were just so shameless, talking about things like that, and he was forced to be
just as shameless, just to keep up.
"Plus, Galien totally wants you. Don't you, Galien?"
His cousin snorted. "What
do I have to do to make things more obvious?"
"Frankly, I believe you
jest, Sir Galien," Conrad intervened. "You are still
not entirely convinced that I want nothing but the good of Ifigia,
too. I even drank that truth potion, and you questioned me quite leisurely.
What more do I have to do for you to be convinced of my goodwill?"
"Hmm, you appear to be
quite keen on getting Sebastian to bed you, although that's not necessary, now
that he has Pepin. You know Pepin is a Lelian, and
that's something you couldn't offer even if you wanted."
A Lelian?
What was that? Kai was dying to know. Pepin had said something about having
been picked by the ice goddess herself, but it wasn't like he could ask about
it. The last thing they all needed was for anyone to figure out that he wasn't
the prince when they were just about to wage war against such a powerful enemy.
"I am most loyal to the
protector of Ifigia who also saved my people from a
dire fate by defeating me," Conrad said promptly. "There's nothing else to it,
and you should stop with your insinuations, Sir Galien.
They don't become you."
"And what would you know
about that, hmm?" Galien purred. "I'd say you
wouldn't mind a ruling place by Sebastian's side."
"I am not looking to
advance and secure such a position," Conrad said, pouring acid in every word.
"Guys, guys, really?" Kai
tried to intervene.
"I am the duke of Kelonia, after all," Galien said,
completely ignoring him. "If only your ambitions weren't so high," he added,
and Kai wondered if he had ever heard cousin dearest talking in such a bitter
voice.
Conrad said nothing, but
that didn't mean that he was denying Galien's
accusations. Damn, so all this time, Conrad had just wanted to get ahead? But
Sebastian was famous for discarding his lovers like smartphones whenever
someone new and shiny appeared. Which meant... what exactly did it mean? Kai had
no idea.
"At first, yes," Conrad
suddenly said. "But my loyalty is no longer for sale. I give it freely."
"Then why do you insist
on pushing yourself on Sebastian when he's finally choosing Pepin?" Galien asked.
Kai didn't dare to
breathe. This was better than any reality show.
"Because I don't have
much else to give," Conrad replied quietly. "Even if it's little, even if His
Majesty --"
"Wow, wow, wow," Kai
finally intervened. "I appreciate the hell out of you, Conrad. And it's good to
have you as my ally. Seriously, you don't have to... you know. But Galien, maybe you should stop being so, I don't know,
pushy?"
"Pushy?" Galien exclaimed. "Anyone else would be happy to have
caught my eye."
Oh, damn. He was in the
company of two very proud men. And he sucked at playing matchmaker, so that was
it.
"And you," Galien added pointedly, "had no trouble touching my body
everywhere after you drank the wine of golden truths."
"It was nothing but a
moment of weakness," Conrad shot back. "One of which you took immediately
advantage of."
"Ha! You know nothing of
how I take advantage of someone at my mercy. I assure you, Sir Conrad, I was
nothing but on my best behavior."
Kai sighed. "Too bad I
don't have popcorn. But I'm sure this will work out if you two drop the `Sir'
thing when talking to each other and just admit it."
"Admit what?"
Argh, did he really need
to get into the thick of it? "You, Galien, should
admit that you're not actually a rake and want Conrad for real and not just for
a quickie or something. And you, Conrad, should just go ahead and say that you
like Galien and his round ass."
Both characters huffed
like he had just proposed them something unthinkable. Well, at least at that
ruckus had managed to tire him, and now his eyes were closing. Also, he hadn't
had the time to worry about what came tomorrow.
***
Sebastian had still no
idea what he was doing there, witnessing one of Milo's games when he had so
little time on his hands. But, apparently, it was a group activity, one to do
with the class and the school, and when he had tried to sneak away, Beatrice
and her gang of misfits had dragged him along.
To say that he was
uncomfortable was too little to describe what he was going through. It was
nothing but pure torture to watch the boy he liked so much, so close, and yet
so far away. Like was an inadequate word, but Sebastian preferred to use this
strange world's language as whatever he truly felt was infinitely more
dangerous for the state of his mind and soul. The dream couldn't have been
happenstance, he thought and touched his cheek where a shadow of pain still
lingered. Reya had been clear on his having to let go
of Milo and end the impossible situation he was in. She didn't have to use her
ice goddess's abilities to reach for him in his sleep. He wanted nothing more
but to return to his rightful place. What she had said, about Ifigia being in danger, troubled him.
What made things appear a
little less bleak was that Kai's body was adjusting to the new training routine
as if it were made for it.
"Have you been working
out?" Beatrice felt his arm and threw him a strange look.
"Yes," he replied, unable
to stop the gloom making his eyebrows knit into a frown.
"Your boyfriend is so
handsome," she said with a chuckle and pointed at Milo. "And he's one of our
best players, you know?"
There was no need for
anyone to remind him of how exceptional Milo was. Yet, when one of his mates
sent a ball in his direction, Milo missed it and had to run after it. The crowd
went from cheering to booing, and Sebastian began experiencing an unsettling
feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Milo hung his head low,
chin in his chest, eyes down. The opposing team had the upper hand, it seemed.
"Milo looks a bit off
today, isn't it?" Beatrice asked. "What's it all about?"
"How should I know?"
Sebastian replied brusquely.
"Well, you two are
together, right? Who else should I ask?"
Sebastian pursed his
lips. "We're not together anymore. We broke up."
"What?" Even over the
noise around them, Beatrice's voice was annoyingly loud. "Why?"
"We aren't meant to be,"
Sebastian said thickly.
On the court, Milo was
failing to send the ball through the hoop for the third time.
"I suppose that explains
it," Beatrice said.
"What?" He was getting
increasingly aggravated with her.
"That he's a mess today,"
she replied promptly. "And what's with the tattoo?" She pointed at his arm.
"It is a measure I had to
take against my enemies."
"Fuck, your life sounds
so damned complicated. Are you sure about you and Milo, though? I'm sure he
didn't agree to your breaking up by how messed up he is."
It was true, but why was
Beatrice so preoccupied with it? Sebastian wasn't used to people getting into
each other's business like that and found it incredibly irritating.
"Our team will lose
today," Beatrice added. "I really hope you had a good reason to break up with
Milo."
"Don't blame me,"
Sebastian said.
But it was the truth. He
was to blame for Milo's poor performance on the court. So, in a way, he had
done nothing to protect the boy's love for basketball.
"He'll get over it," he
murmured.
Beatrice surprised him by
hooking an arm over his shoulders. "I think you're full of it, Kai. Unless Milo
cheated on you or something --"
"He did nothing of the
sort. He's perfect in every way," he blurted out.
It was painful to watch
their team getting beaten into a pulp. The coach called Milo and yelled
something at him, but upon his return to the game, nothing changed.
And Sebastian couldn't
help feeling anything but guilt as he watched and watched.
TBC
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