This Strange World Needs A Kicking! – Ch. 24
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-Four –
You'll Be The Hero
Pepin closed the doors
quietly behind them, and Kai could easily tell that there was something on the
servant's mind as he had kept silent all the time on their way back from the
war council room. As of now, he had to start preparing himself to march against
the House of Uxilan, whatever that meant.
"Pepin, are you worried?
Do you think the same thing as before might happen?" he asked cautiously,
trying to find a way to gather information from the servant without appearing
too suspicious and un-Sebastian-like. He had no idea why that even concerned
him at this point since there were so many other more important things at
stake.
He turned to look at
Pepin and froze at the sight of those lovely eyes swimming in tears. "Hey,
what's wrong?" He had no idea what to do. Was he supposed to offer his
handkerchief? Galien had done that for him when he
had cried over exchanging lollipops with Pepin and making a mess out of it.
Pepin surprised him again
by rushing over and hugging him tightly.
"Pepin, you're suffocating
me," Kai complained. "What happened last time when I went against those jerks
that you're so emotional right now?"
What were the rules of
dealing with an emotional boyfriend? He had no idea because he had never had a
boyfriend before. But he hadn't been OP before, either, so he just had to get
used to it and do the right thing.
"You almost died," Pepin
said while sobbing. "I thought I really lost you."
"Come on, for real? I'm
OP, I mean I'm so powerful and I can freeze anyone, right? You don't have to worry
so much. Tell me what happened then that you're so messed up right now." He was
basically using Pepin's feelings to get information out of him, but it was for
a noble cause, and he had no time to spare on regretting his methods.
"They took your magic away,"
Pepin said and buried his head into Kai's chest while violent sobs racked his
body. "Don't you remember?"
Oh, shit. Kai hadn't
expected anything like that, and now he could feel his entire body getting
stiff and his feet cold. "How the hell did they do that?"
"They're dark magic
wielders," Pepin explained while pressing his forehead hard against Kai. "I
don't know how, but they did."
"Then how did I win
against them?" Kai murmured.
"You crushed them with
your sword and wits alone. And there was also..."
"What was?" Kai asked
impatiently, seeing how Pepin had stopped talking.
"The protection magic
your mother cast on you shortly after your birth," Pepin said and began crying
harder.
Well, that wasn't so bad.
If he had a protection spell cast on him and Sebastian's incredible martial
skills on his side, he could still win even without ice magic. "Then I'll be
fine this time around, too," he said simply. "You don't have to cry your heart
out over a simple thing like this."
"Sebastian, how come you
don't understand?" Pepin raised his tear-filled eyes and stared at him. "Even
your mother could only do this much. You no longer have her protection. It was
gone the moment they tried to kill you. And why do you have me remind you all
these things? Do you enjoy seeing me suffer?"
"Maybe I should get her
to cast another," Kai replied, ignoring Pepin's emotional speech, but he no
longer felt so sure of himself. "But why did Galien
call it a whim of fate when we were in the war council room?" As much as Pepin
could start getting suspicious of him, he needed to ask all the right questions
and get the correct answers.
"Because your mother
didn't think you should ever need it, and it was only because a vulture tried
to hurt you in your crib while she still cared for you as a small child that
she cast it on you."
"For real? Why did she
think I shouldn't need it? Because of my OP... my ice magic?"
"No." Pepin shook his
head. "The people taking care of you once you were brought here, to the castle,
they said... They all say that your mother is cruel. That she believes that
should you fail, it will only be your fault for not being as strong as she made
you to be."
"And as soon as she
thought that, I was about to become a vulture's breakfast," Kai said
matter-of-factly. No matter what the people around believed about Sebastian,
the prince couldn't have had it easy with a mother like that.
So, the chances were that
the House of Uxilan would leave him without his ice
magic, and he was minus protection spell from mother dearest, anyway. That left
him with nothing but the ability to hold a sword, so all in all, he no longer
felt as OP as before. Damn, why did Sebastian's enemies have to be even more OP
than him?
That wasn't very nice of
them.
He took Pepin by the
shoulders and made him sit with him on the bed. "Pepin, I will have to do
this." He hoped that the ice goddess wouldn't let her own son be defeated so
easily and that she would chip in at the right time. Well, it was a slim hope
seeing how cruel she was, indeed, but at least when her son had been about to
get devoured by a predatory bird, she had decided to protect him.
That was everything he
had, and he needed to put it to good use. It didn't matter that his feet felt
like lead, and it appeared that coordinating his limbs was a feat even as he
did as little as hold Pepin by the shoulders to provide him with the assurance
he needed right now.
"You could always tell
them that you changed your mind," Pepin said. He looked at him with eyes full
of hope. "Master Galien's plan is much better. He is
an excellent strategist, and even you said that on numerous occasions. He held
the border of Kelonia without losing almost any
people all these years."
There were so many things
he didn't know about his cousin, Kai realized. So it could be that Sebastian
had left Galien to take care of his duchy and not
pushed him away so that he wouldn't steal his lovers, as rumors had it. Or, it
could be both, and what did he know, anyway?
"Yes, I know, his plan
was sound," Kai admitted. "But I don't want anyone to get hurt."
Pepin turned away from
his touch. "Anyone but you? Is that what you're saying, Sebastian? You've
always been like this, rushing in the face of danger, like... like I don't even
exist!"
"Pepin," Kai said
sternly, "don't tell me you're selfish. Don't you care about all these people
who could lose their homes, their families, their lives?"
"I do, but do they care
about anything else but themselves? They say `all hail Prince Sebastian' while
gossiping behind your back, saying that you're cruel and that your heart is
made of ice. Their mean eyes fill with glee each time you part with yet another
lover, celebrating behind closed doors and feeling proud that they can have
what you cannot."
"Ugh, Pepin, you kinda lost me. And I'm not talking about nobles, but about,
you know, the knights and the troops that will have to go to war."
"They've trained all
their life for it. Why shouldn't they go to war?" Pepin said in a strained
voice. "And everyone thinks the same, everyone! They know they are protected by
you. And at the same time, they hate you because you're so strong, superior,
above them all. Yes, they all think that, all but me!"
"Now, now, Pepin, don't
overreact," Kai tried to reason. "And Galien cares
about me, and Conrad, too. Not everyone's bad. If there's even one soul that
deserves my protection and OP-ness, then it's enough. And that soul is you," he
added.
Pepin turned to look at
him again. "If it's for me, don't do it, Sebastian. I want you here, with me,
alive and well. I don't care about anything else. Even though --" he choked and
sobbed.
Kai sighed. "Do you want
me to hide behind these doors, while people are fighting outside? You know
that's not who I am." He honestly hoped he sounded as much as Sebastian right
now as he could.
Pepin nodded. "I do know.
But it is still worth trying to change your mind."
"Sorry, Pepin. I know you
wanted to go see the Shimmering Cavern, but that's not going to happen anytime
soon."
Pepin looked down,
seemingly in defeat. "Then there is only one way. You will take me with you."
Kai snorted. "Yeah,
right, no. Getting a dragon's tear was one thing. Fighting against assassins
with dark magic and poisoned blades is on a whole different level. It's endgame stuff, and you're only like level four or
something even if you're great as a support and all."
"You cannot keep me from
coming with you. And now I know --" Pepin stopped again.
What? Kai suddenly became
curious. Now and then, Pepin acted strangely. "What do you know?"
"You're not him," Pepin
said brusquely. "I've wondered for so long... but now I'm sure."
Holy.
Shit.
Kai stood from the bed
cautiously and pretended that he needed to check on the state of his sleeves
which were totally fine. "Um, what do you mean?" Maybe, just maybe, there was a
chance that he misunderstood everything, and Pepin was talking about completely
something else.
Pepin's eyes were clear
when he risked a look at him. "I don't know who you are and why you are here,
but I know you're not him. So you have to let me come with you because I cannot
let you die now that I found you. Sebastian is not the only one who got his
future told. And I know I'm to be loved."
"Uh-huh, you don't make
any sense, you know? I am Sebastian, no need to talk about me, to me, in third
person."
All right, so it looked
like he had a huge problem on his hands right now. Kai began walking slowly
toward the door. Of all the times Pepin could have said something, he had to
choose the moment when he needed to play Prince Sebastian for real and go
against a nation of dark magic wielders.
Pepin walked toward him
purposefully. "I must protect you. You cannot stop me from taking me with you."
"Actually, I can." He
hated to do this, but it wasn't like he had a choice. The last thing he needed
was for Pepin to start shouting off the top of his lungs that he wasn't the
real prince. Also, whatever was happening right now, it was no longer child's
play, and he couldn't have Pepin hurt in any way. And all that stuff, with
Pepin figuring out everything, it had to wait.
"What?" Pepin asked.
"What do you intend to do?"
"I think it's quite
simple since I'm the prince," he said, trying hard to believe that. He walked
to the doors and pulled them open. "Guards!" he called, hoping to sound royal
and convincing. Two armed men hurried to him. "Take Pepin and escort him to his
room," he said, fighting a crack in his voice that he hadn't known to be there.
"Make sure he stays in there until I return from Uxilan."
"Your Majesty, you
cannot!" Pepin jumped to his feet.
If Pepin started shouting
that he was an imposter right now, he would be royally screwed.
"Oh, yes, I can," Kai
said and bit his lips to stop them from their slight trembling. "Guys, take
him," he told the guards.
He didn't look Pepin in
the eye as he was dragged away by the guards, shouting and kicking. As soon as
he was alone, he closed the doors and let himself slide to the floor, his back
against them. He buried his head in his hands. How the hell was he supposed to
fight those jerks? Was Sebastian OP enough just yielding his sword? And would
Pepin tell the guards he wasn't their lord and master? Would they believe him?
For the first time since
he had landed in Ifigia, Kai regretted that he wasn't
in his own body, living the boring life of a high school student whose only
worries were how to get passing grades and whether he could afford or not the
next video game release.
***
He couldn't tell he was
surprised when Galien barged into the royal quarters,
looking like he had a bone to pick.
"Whatever you want to
say, can it wait until I'm back?" Kai asked defensively. If his cousin started
yammering that he didn't believe him to be the real Sebastian, he was in it
deep.
"You mean, until you're
dead?" Galien slammed shut the doors behind him in
quite an unfriendly manner.
Kai winced and pretended
he was totally fine with that. Gosh, Galien would
soon start yelling at him, right? He couldn't stand when people were yelling at
him.
"What kind of a decision
was that?"
And... he was yelling. Kai
groaned and hid his face in his palms. "I've got enough of an earful from Pepin
on the same topic. I don't need one from you, too."
"Sebastian, with all due
respect, you are out of your mind! You know you barely survived the last time
you went against the House of Uxilan!"
Well, it would have
served to have known about the whole ice magic blocking and ice goddess's
protection spell before getting into that kind of situation, but it wasn't
prince-like to go back on his word.
"But I did. See, I'm
whole and everything, all limbs in their places." He stretched his arms to make
a point.
Galien
gave him a stern look. "I cannot let it happen. I simply cannot. I'm coming
with you."
Kai groaned and let his
head down in defeat. "Do I have to call the guards on you, too?"
"Call the guards?" Galien's stricken face was a bit funny. "And who else did
you call them on?"
Kai walked toward the
door, decided to repeat the number from earlier. But the doors opened before he
could reach them, and Conrad walked in.
"Great, this is just
great," he said and threw his arms up. "Go ahead, Conrad, give me your speech."
"If you are doing this,
I'm coming with you."
All right, so he needed
to call more than just a pair of guards to handle these two hunks because they
couldn't be dragged away as easily as Pepin, who was as light as a feather. He
brushed by Conrad to go into the hallway.
"Guards," he said as soon
as he saw the two armored men who were back at their station after they had
surely locked Pepin in his room. "Round up a few more men because you need to
take Sir Galien and Sir Conrad to their quarters,
like you did with Pepin."
"Stay where you are,
men," Galien commanded right from behind.
Much to his surprise, the
guards stopped.
"Hey, I'm the prince.
Who's paying your wages?" Kai asked, hoping that his voice would be enough to
command the guards and make them obey. Gosh, this whole prince impersonation
stuff was slipping through his fingers.
"Your prince," Galien said pointedly, "has suddenly acquired a death wish.
You will do no such thing as to stop us from helping him avoid such a fate."
"Yes, Master Galien," the guards shouted together.
"What the hell?" Kai
complained. "Guys, how are you not on my side?"
The guards looked down,
but then one of them spoke. "You've always done that for everyone, Your
Majesty. And we heard what decision you took today. Everyone here with a sword
at the hip, and even more, to the last stable boy wants to come with you."
"Hmm," Kai pondered, "so
Pepin was wrong, after all? Ha, I'm so going to rub it in his face. People love
me!" The next time he saw Pepin, the servant would expose him for the imposter
he was. And then, everyone would hate him.
He didn't waste too much
time munching around his thoughts and turned his attention on the guard. The
guy was shifting his weight from one foot to another.
"What? You don't love
me?" Kai asked, in his most princely voice, and narrowed his eyes.
"We love you, Your
Majesty," the guards shouted together.
"Yeah, that sounded a
little bit too enthusiastic to be true, but whatevs,"
Kai said. "But make sure that Pepin doesn't escape his room. I want him safe.
Now off you go since it looks like I have no authority left and everyone wants
to come to the party with me."
He turned toward Galien and Conrad. "Now let's see what great plan you two
have."
He had one of his own,
but for now, the best course of action was deceit. Sooner or later, he would be
exposed, so he needed to rush to the border, defeat the dark magic jerks, and then...
Huh, maybe that was the
final quest. After that, exposed or not, he'd probably return to his body, and
Sebastian was free to deal with all the mess.
A mess that included a
certain very much in love Pepin. Right then, the reality struck him. Pepin no
longer loved Sebastian; if his words were true... maybe, just maybe... he was in
love with...
Kai shook his head. There
was no way Pepin was in love with him. He practically looked like Sebastian;
no, he was Sebastian! That was a boatload of confusion, right there!
Galien
snapped his fingers in front of him. "Sebastian, where on earth are you? Quit
making faces and listen closely."
"Right, right," Kai
mumbled and ignored the pointed look both his cousin and Conrad threw him.
***
"I gotta
say, kid, you're tougher than you look," the tattoo artist said as he covered
Sebastian's arm and back of the hand with a bandage of sorts and gave him the
last instructions on how to care for the ink during the following hours, days,
and weeks.
The shirt was clinging on
his back with sweat, and he felt as if he was returning from war, but all in
all, it was a success. His right forearm now sported a red dragon wrapping
around it, his head with open mouth and fangs visible resting on the back of
his hand, a warning for anyone who ever wanted to mess with him.
"Thank you," he said
primly.
Tani
rushed to him. "We gotta get home fast. Mom texted
and asked where we are. I lied and said we're at the movies. And that we
watched like two of them. Oh, boy, I had no idea it would take so long to get a
tattoo done."
Much to his surprise, Tani had been good all the time, without complaining about
getting bored. But, in all truth, she had been on her phone a lot, and
Sebastian knew what a devourer of time that thing could be.
"That dragon will look so
awesome," Tani declared. "I have such a cool
brother," she said with pride.
Sebastian cleared his
throat and pointed her toward the exit.
"Well, did it hurt? Like
how much?" Tani asked the moment they were outside.
"Like pretty much," he
said shortly. Kai's body really needed to develop a better tolerance for pain,
and he was very much into teaching it precisely that.
"Okay, now what are we
going to tell mom?"
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"What are you going to
tell her? About your tattoo?"
"I'll tell her I thought
of getting a tattoo and that I got one," he said naturally.
Tani
grinned. "That is so badass."
He grinned, too. Yes,
that was badass, and that was what he wanted.
***
"What happened to your
hand? Why is it bandaged?" Mrs. Martin caught them just as they walked in.
Sebastian could swear the woman had a special sense in detecting any injury
sustained by her son. Not that a tattoo was an injury, but it had definitely
hurt a lot.
"Did you have a run-in
with street thugs again? Let me see," she insisted, a bit of panic evident in
her voice.
Sebastian cleared his
throat. "There's no need to fret, mother. I only got a tattoo."
Mrs. Martin stared at him
nonplussed for a couple of moments. "You got a what?"
Her voice was suddenly
extremely loud.
"A tattoo," he said
slowly. "It is spelled --"
"Watch it, young man,"
Mrs. Martin warned him. "Do not play the smartass with me now." Tani was about to sneak past her when Mrs. Martin caught
her and forced her to stand side by side with Sebastian. "And you, young lady,
where have you been this late?"
"She was with me,"
Sebastian said calmly.
Mrs. Martin made a
strange sound and then threw her arms in the air. "Who are you and what have you
done to my children? What is this tattoo business all about?"
Sebastian frowned. Did
she want him to describe the workings of a tattoo parlor? He didn't think he
was the best person for that.
"Is it at least something
small like a flower or --" Mrs. Martin pushed his sleeve up and gasped in
horror. "Does it cover all your arm?"
Sebastian thought it was
the right moment to step up. "It is a dragon. It wraps around the arm up till
here."
"And it looks badass,
mom," Tani chimed in, remembering, finally, that she
was supposed to be an ally in all this.
"Yes," he confirmed.
"Badass."
"Kai, what is happening
with you lately?" Mrs. Martin asked. "Aren't you supposed to be past your
rebellious phase by now?"
He had no idea what she
was talking about. "It is only a tattoo necessary to make me look badass so
that people don't mess with me." In all truth, he hadn't intended to share so
much, but he felt the need to put her mind at ease.
"Are people messing with
you?"
And, of course, she was
worried.
"No," he deviated the
topic, "but in this world, young men must be prepared in the event that
something like that happens."
Mrs. Martin gasped and
covered her mouth. "What do you mean?"
To his surprise, Tani intervened. "Mom, you know how easily Kai gets
bullied."
Mrs. Martin put her hands
on her hips. "No, I don't. Are you being bullied, Kai?"
He was getting a bit
weary of this conversation. There was training to be done, and he had no
intention to waste any more time. "Mother," he said sternly while resting his
hands on Mrs. Martin's shoulders, "your son will not be bullied anymore."
Whatever the meaning of that word was, it had to have something in common with
what was happening to him right then, including assassins sent to threaten him
and whatnot. "Now, I have a new boxing routine I need to master and very little
time. If you'll excuse me."
He ignored Mrs. Martin's
dumbfounded look and marched toward his bedroom. As he closed the door, he
heard her telling Tani, "Your brother is just turning
into a delinquent, isn't he?"
He leaned the phone
against a stack of books and began undressing. Delinquent or not, he would
excel against his opponents, and no one would stop him.
TBC
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