This Strange World Needs A Kicking! – Ch. 29
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.
Consider making a donation to Nifty by clicking the little blue button
on the front page, as they help us all enjoy so many great stories, while
aiding authors like me to display their work.
Chapter Twenty-Nine – The
Deceit
This felt like that time
when he had landed in this fantasy land, but worse, much worse, because his
entire body hurt, and he was crying out in pain. Kai squeezed his eyes shut as
he couldn't keep them open, the light around him, so gentle before, now aggressive
and all-powerful. Somewhere close, Pepin was shouting for him, and there were
all kinds of noises, unbearable to his ears.
All of a sudden, the pain
intensified, and he found himself being pulled forward like a magnet. If he
were to describe the sensation, it appeared as if he was getting out of his
skin, which was a terrible thing even to envision. All the horror mangas he had ever read rushed to mind; clearly, soon, he
would be a walking skeleton with all the skin and flesh ripped from his bones.
If that were some kind of
necromancy, the only solace would be that, as a skeleton, he had a chance to
have a very long life, provided that he stood out of the way of more powerful
undead creatures.
Before he could concoct a
new strategy for living his life as a skeleton in a fantasy land, the pain was
gone, and he was rolling down the floor. For caution's sake, he continued to
keep his eyes closed when he finally stopped. Eternity wasn't going anywhere
while he remained like that for a couple more moments, lying on his back.
"Seb!"
Someone called out loud in a high-pitched voice.
Kai opened one eye. "Tani?" he asked as he recognized the voice right away. Was
he back home already?
His sister appeared above
him right away. "Seb, where the hell are we?" She grabbed
him by the front of his shirt and shook him.
"Get away," he said as he
tried to swat his sister with his hands. "And who are you calling Seb, you little--"
Oh, that kind of made
sense... Kai blinked hard and looked above. Hell, they were still at the Shimmering
Cavern as the crystal ceiling told him right away. He grabbed his head,
surprised to find his short curly hair instead of long strands of silk.
"I'm back!" he yelled.
"I'm back into my own body!"
"Where are we, Kai? What
is this place?" An anxious voice asked, also from above.
Kai's jaw fell when he
saw Milo. "What are you doing here?"
"Seriously? That's what
you're asking me?" Milo, who was usually uber chill,
looked downright panicked. He was swinging his body like he couldn't decide if
he wanted to stay put or break into a run.
"Are you really my
brother?" Tani shook him some more.
"Who else? Ah, right, so
Sebastian was in my body while I was here... Where is Sebastian?"
He pushed himself on his
ass, and together with him, Milo and Tani turned toward
the rest of the people in the room.
"Ha," he barely managed
as he noticed Sebastian standing tall in the middle of the cavern, his back to
him, his hands turned into fists by his side.
***
Sebastian still felt his
body trembling from the effort that must have been his transitioning back to
his true self. Why were they at the Shimmering Cavern? Breathing low and
steady, he took in the scene around him quickly. Behind him, Tani and Milo were making a ruckus, as they had to be
scared by being pulled along with him into his world. They were already tending
to Kai, as it seemed. Why the three young people were here was a problem that
would have to wait.
The Shimmering Cavern.
The place he had avoided like the plague for so long. His mother or whoever was
behind this strange situation had a taste for irony. It had to mean that he had
been dragged there for the ritual. Only his mother's patience reaching its end
could explain what was happening right now. Galien
and Conrad were there, probably as witnesses. And of course, Pepin, who stared
at him wide-eyed while clutching something in his hand.
Sebastian's eyes set on
the object protected by his servant like he had to hold on to it for dear life.
"Pepin," he hissed, "what is the meaning of this?"
To his surprise, Pepin
set his chin high. Not that the servant didn't have the habit of becoming
defiant on occasion, but there was something new in his eyes.
Pepin closed his hand
over the item even harder. "I'm having Kai's child!"
"What?!" That was Tani. "Mom is so going to kill you when she finds that you
got a boy pregnant, Kai. And it's really that kind of BL novel?"
"Shut up, butthead," Kai
told his sister. "Pepin's not pregnant. He just holds on to a thing."
"What kind of thing?"
Milo shouted. "What is going on? Oh, god, I must be hallucinating!"
"A thing that's like a
baby," Kai explained. "Well, it's more complicated than that --"
"Quiet!" Sebastian
thundered.
Galien
and Conrad seemed just as flabbergasted by the whole scene, and their eyes were
jumping between him and the group behind him. "Sebastian, is this truly you?" Galien asked.
He hadn't seen his cousin
in more than three years, if he recalled correctly. Seeing how Galien had always insisted that he should listen to his
mother more, it wasn't like there was a time too soon for them to meet again.
"Yes. Would you like me
to blast you where you stand to prove it to you?" he asked in an icy tone.
Galien
scoffed but right away schooled his face into a neutral expression. "No need
for that, Your Majesty," he said and took a short, barely polite bow. After
their last fight, three years ago, Sebastian had demanded his cousin, in a
manner that brooked no contradiction, to be addressed according to his station.
That day, he had lost a friend, but Galien had been
at fault, too, always siding with Reya for the sake
of Ifigia, as if Sebastian wasn't doing so much
already.
He grabbed Pepin by the
arm. What could have been in his servant's mind to do a reckless thing like
that? "You should have thought twice before acting so foolishly," he said
through his teeth.
"Hey, that's not how you
treat a... pregnant dude," Kai protested, after a short hesitation to find his
words.
These people, these
foolish young people, had no idea what would soon descend upon their heads.
Sebastian let go of Pepin and turned toward Kai, the boy who had clearly made a
big mess of everything, just as expected. It was so strange to look at that
face that he had seen in the mirror over the last weeks. And the dark eyes were
wide as they stared at him.
Sebastian threw a look
around and grabbed his sword. In a few steps, he was towering above the boy. He
pointed the sword at him. "I should cut right through you for what you've
done," he said through his teeth, the anger boiling inside him making him
tremble. This boy had taken a difficult situation and turned it impossible!
"Wow, wow, wow," someone
intervened.
Sebastian was surprised
to find himself pushed back. His gaze met a pair of green eyes that stared at
him with undisguised fury.
"Hey pal, who the hell do
you think you are to threaten Kai like this?" Milo asked, and without any
consideration for his safety, he continued to push Sebastian back with both palms
pressed against his chest.
"Milo, stay out of this,"
Sebastian warned.
"How the hell do you know
my name?" Milo asked, shielding Kai with his body by placing himself firmly
between him and Sebastian.
"Because he's been your
boyfriend for the last weeks, duh," Tani intervened.
"Tani,
quiet," Sebastian ordered.
"Yeah, like I'd stay
quiet now," the girl riposted. "And why are we here? Weren't you and Kai
supposed to switch back? I mean, I don't think that's how it was supposed to
work!"
Milo was blinking and
staring at him, clearly not understanding an iota. From time to time, he turned
toward Tani, but then his eyes traveled back at
Sebastian like he couldn't afford to have him disappear from his sight.
Sebastian pursed his lips
hard. He needed to rein in his anger and couldn't continue to look at Milo like
that.
"Milo and I didn't even
want to travel to some isekai land," Tani continued. "Not that this cave isn't very pretty, but
I have homework to do, and mom is so going to kill me and Kai when she sees
that we're not home when she returns from work tonight. Kai, this is all your
fault," she added, this time turning on her brother.
"How is it my fault?" Kai
protested. "I didn't ask for this!"
"Yeah, sure, because
you've never thought," Tani said and continued in a
weird voice, "oh, how cool it would be to get trapped in an isekai
anime and become the hero, and get all the girls."
"The girls?"
Sebastian turned,
somewhat disconcerted, toward Galien, Conrad, and
Pepin, who seemed to be in particular dumbfounded by that last phrase in Tani's speech, above all else.
"Pepin, I swear, that's
not true," Kai began. "About the girls, I mean. My sister's a moron."
Galien,
to make things worse, began chuckling. "As much as this situation appears to be
complicated beyond belief, I have to admit that it is just as incredibly
entertaining."
"Pepin?" Tani got to her feet and looked to one side to see the
servant as Sebastian was trying to block the view. "OMG, Kai, is that my
brother-in-law? That bishie? I totally forgive you.
Hi, Pepin," she waved happily, "I'll be your sister from today on."
Sebastian stopped Tani before she could reach Pepin and pushed his servant
back, as he also seemed keen on meeting his new sister. "All of you, have you
lost your mind?"
They couldn't tell, not
as he could, but the air inside the cavern was getting colder. He had no choice
but to play this to the best of his abilities. He threw one last look at Milo.
The boy was staring at him, his mouth slightly open, and he appeared to be the
most confused that he must have ever been in his entire life.
He turned his back on the
trio and proceeded to push Pepin back. The servant was holding onto his
precious charge for dear life, and Sebastian hoped that he would be able to
fool Reya, at least until he would figure out
everything.
Conrad was looking at him
like he was seeing him for the first time in his life. Sebastian set his chin
hard. He held Pepin by the arm and gestured at Conrad. "You will stay," he
said. "But you," he looked at Galien, "are free to
leave."
The air was getting
frigid. There was no more time to waste, and the others' safety was paramount.
So pleasantries of any sort were out of the question.
Soon, she would be here.
Soon, she would see Milo. And that was something he couldn't allow.
"I'd rather stay, dear
cousin," Galien said.
Sebastian bore his eyes
into his cousin's. "If you ever thought of me as a friend, you'll do as I say,"
he let his voice drop low.
A spark of recognition
flared in Galien's eyes. But before he could say
anything, Sebastian opened his palm and moved his arm around, making a wall of
ice rise between him and the rest, except for Pepin, whose arm he was still
holding, and Conrad.
***
"What the hell? What just
happened now? I'm dreaming. I must be dreaming. I'm in the hospital, and they
put me on some serious shit," Milo continued to mumble. "I must be delirious."
He caught tufts of hair in his fists and acted like he wanted to remove all of
it from his head.
"Oh, shoot, stop being
such an unbeliever," Tani scolded him. She hurried to
him and shook him. "Get it together, man. I should slap you, but I can't really
reach you. Consider yourself slapped and come to your senses."
Kai shook off the shock
of having just witnessed Sebastian using his magic to block them from him,
Conrad, and Pepin. What were his plans? What was Sebastian going to do to
Pepin? He had fooled around these few weeks, but Pepin was now in serious
trouble because of what they had done.
And there was also the
baby! Or whatever that shard was! He hurried to the wall of ice that stretched
as high as the ceiling and began hammering it with his hands. "Hey, hey," he
yelled at the top of his lungs.
He was surprised when
someone caught his arm, and he saw Galien. "Kai
Martin from Terra, I believe you and your friends are in danger," he said in a
low whisper.
"What?" Kai mumbled.
Galien
put on a smile and gestured with his chin for him to keep quiet. "So, pretty
boy," he said loudly, "and handsome boy," he added, as he pointed at Milo,
"you're with me."
"And me?" Tani asked, jumping up and down, afraid as she had to be
that she was ignored for being too short.
"And adorable little
girl," Galien said in the same courteous voice. "You
are all invited to my palace. As it appears, the ruler of the realm has quite
pressing matters at the moment."
"You call that pressing
matters, Galien?" Kai whispered as he followed. "He
practically kidnapped Pepin."
"He also has Conrad, and
you don't see me losing my temper over it," Galien
whispered back as he pushed Milo out of the cave.
Although he was no longer
shouting, Milo was still in shock, and his voice was reduced to mumblings.
"Did you hear that, moron
of a brother of mine?" Tani said and grinned as she
grabbed his arm. "I'm adorable."
Tani's
eyes were shining too much. Kai could tell that his sister was, at least a tiny
bit, scared by the whole situation. So he wrapped one arm around her shoulders
and pulled her close. "Of course you are adorable. You're an adorable
butthead," he teased her to put her mind at ease.
"Oh god," Milo shouted
again. He pressed himself against the wall at the mouth of the cavern. "Is that
a dragon? Okay, okay, so it's just a very vivid dream."
Kai knew that Milo
couldn't just admit the truth because it was too impossible to believe for
someone as grounded in reality as his friend was. While Kai was always dreaming
wide-eyed about traveling to fantasy worlds, Milo was all about basketball,
getting into college, and all kinds of real stuff. It was totally normal for
him to lose his shit. But, at the same time, Kai couldn't just sit there, doing
nothing.
"Can you take care of Tani for me, Galien?" he asked.
"Of course," Galien replied and took Tani's
hand like it was something he did every day.
Kai grabbed Milo by the
shoulders and shook him. "Milo, my dude, look at me."
No wonder there, it took
Milo a bit to finally do as told.
"It's freakish like hell,
and you have no idea what I've gone through the last couple of weeks. But right
now, we need to get on that dragon, who's actually a lady dragon, and get out
of here," Kai said quickly.
Shit, now he was no
longer Sebastian. Maybe Adhe wouldn't be so keen on
having passengers from another world on her back. Could they get to Galien's duchy some other way?
Before he could ask, Galien gestured for them to get moving, so Kai took Milo's
hand and dragged him along. He stopped when he was close to Adhe's
head. "Adhe," he started, "it's a bit hard to
explain, but I'm not actually Sebastian. Please don't throw us off your back,
pretty please, okay?"
"I know you, young
traveler," the dragon said and looked at him with her beautiful eyes. "Your
name and appearance don't matter. You're still the one who saved my egg."
"Saved what?" Milo asked.
"Forget it. I'll wake up eventually."
At least, Milo was
getting resigned with the idea that he was sleeping and they were in a dream.
Whatever kept him from wanting to jump from the back of a dragon while they
were up in the air, Kai was okay with it.
Tani
had obviously taken a liking to Galien and squealed
in delight as she was being lifted and placed carefully on the dragon's back.
Kai hurried to climb behind her and hold her tightly. "No sudden moves, Tani. I don't want to go searching for you all over Ifigia."
"Sure," Tani said brightly.
Galien
helped Milo behind Kai and took the last place.
"What was the thing about
a boyfriend you said earlier, young lady?" Galien
asked.
"Ah, Milo got together
with Sebastian," Tani chirped happily, obviously
pleased with being treated so politely. "You know, like kissing and stuff.
Surely, other stuff, too."
Kai stole a look at his
best friend, but Milo's eyes were closed, and he looked a little pale. He
clearly paid Tani no mind.
"Ah, I see," Galien replied. "So, Sebastian found his chosen, after all.
Go figure. That said, I must beg the two of you, Kai and Tani,
that you don't speak a word to Sebastian of how I'm holding his boyfriend right
now. If he didn't look like he were about to fall, I wouldn't hold this
handsome young man so tightly in my arms."
That was quite
considerate, coming from Galien. Kai murmured an
agreement, and Tani expressed hers loudly. He held
his sister as Adhe soared into the air. His heart
grew small in his chest, as small as the mouth of the cavern that shrank
quickly behind them and was soon out of view.
***
Sebastian was aware of
how hard his fingers were digging into the servant's arm. It was a silent
warning on which many things depended.
"Let me go," Pepin hissed
and struggled to get free.
"Your Majesty," Conrad
intervened. "I must plead with you, as well." He walked toward him cautiously,
holding eye contact. "Let your servant go."
Conrad was just as
handsome as Sebastian remembered him from that night, but those golden eyes no
longer had the same effect on him. The familiar jolt of desire didn't come, and
Sebastian knew that another pair of eyes, green in color, was the only one to
make him feel anything at all.
"Know your place,
concubine," he said in a stern voice. "And not a word of any of this," he
added, hoping that none of his two current companions would be so foolish to
undermine him and his decisions at a moment like this.
Conrad frowned, and his
lips set in a grim line, but just as he was about to speak again, the room
shook, and a roaring sound awakened from the depths of the cave.
Sebastian was the only
one not surprised to see Reya emerging on her throne
of ice. Pepin paled, and Conrad almost took a step back but then reconsidered.
The ice goddess liked frost above all. Tiny icicles now covered the crystal
formations and every breath they took fogged the air around them.
His mother looked as
impeccable as ever, in her long gown adorned by pearly snowflakes. It was only
the presence of her most beautiful tiara on her head, a delicate combination of
silver threads as thin as hair and the largest diamonds in all Ifigia, that
gave away that she must have gotten ready for this special occasion.
He kept silent as Reya stood and walked over to him, rising ice shards in her
wake.
"I see that you finally
came to your senses, Sebastian. I feel slighted that you decided not to invite
me as a witness to your communion with the Lelian. I
had to hurry here as soon as I felt your energy rising inside the Shimmering
Cavern."
The Lelian.
That was the only thing his mother saw in Pepin, his utility, and part of the
reason why Sebastian had always felt the need to oppose her wishes. His lovers
found satisfaction and joy in his arms, but he never used them more than
fleetingly. To condemn Pepin to a life reduced to nothing but being a tool for Reya's ambitions for Ifigia was
wrong.
"Yes, mother," he said
coolly.
Pepin was no longer rigid
in his grip, a sign that he was at least starting to understand that no one
went against Reya and her wishes. Sebastian feared
that it was only a matter of time until the ice goddess would realize that she
had been fooled into believing that her son had sealed his union with Pepin.
For now, it was the only way to go to protect Milo from the wrath of such a
powerful being.
Milo, with his beautiful
green eyes, filled with anger and suspicion. Sebastian chased away that recent
memory. Of course, he would look at him like that. After today, everybody would
consider him the enemy, and while others didn't matter as much, the mere
thought of Milo hating him was enough to make him feel like a hole was opening
inside his chest.
But that was the fate
that awaited him. Reya would never forget and forgive
such disobedience. Once she learned the truth, she would imprison Pepin,
destroy the shard, and make sure that Milo, Kai, and Tani
would be sent into oblivion. Even Galien, as much as
he wasn't at fault for anything, would surely fall from her favor. At best, he
would be sent into exile, to the territories to the east, constantly at war.
So, although there was
another's hand he wished to link fingers with right now, he let his hand slide
along Pepin's arm. The servant understood this much because he let their hands
wrap around one another. Hopefully, Conrad wouldn't start talking about things
that weren't his to talk about.
Much to his relief,
Conrad was silent.
"But why did you consider
it a good idea to bring him here?" Reya pointed at
Conrad without hiding the disdain in her voice.
"I did what you wanted me
to, mother. Being allowed to keep a concubine should at least be my reward,"
Sebastian said slowly, reining in with difficulty the temptation of shouting in
his mother's face and letting her know a truth or two.
Reya
pursed her lips for a moment but decided to ignore his pointed comment. "As you
wish. Lelian," she addressed Pepin, "bring it to me."
Pepin was slightly
hesitant, his hand still clutched on the shard, so Sebastian had to push him
forward. They all watched with unease as Reya took
the shard from Pepin's hand and blew her breath of ice over it.
Sebastian frowned. Hadn't
his mother always said that she had made him for herself, by herself? But was
that even possible? She must have had a Lelian of her
own, but who was that person if that were the truth? It was for the first time
in his life that he witnessed something like this, and only now the thought
occurred to him.
Reya
could choose to lie to him if that fitted her designs. But now, Sebastian was
confident that she must have used a Lelian to create
him and kept it a secret. For what reason? The ice goddess was a creature of
the proudest kind. It could be that she simply desired to be seen as the only
one capable of such an incredible feat, of creating life by herself.
Reya
returned the shard to Pepin, who took it with reverence and hid it under his
shirt. The servant pressed his palm over it to keep it warm and took a deep
bow.
Reya
no longer paid him any mind and walked to Sebastian. She caressed his cheek,
her touch as cold as ever but never uncomfortable. "I'm proud of you,
Sebastian. You secured an heir for Ifigia. Your son,
his sons, and his sons' sons will rule over Ifigia
for all eternity."
Of course, for Ifigia. Everything was for their kingdom, their lives,
their hopes, their dreams, and above all, their love.
Sebastian no longer
wished that burden. He wished he would still be trapped in that strange world
with smartphones, cringey reality shows, and flying
carriages.
And Milo. The only one he
would ever love.
TBC
If you want to
support me and read a bunch of extras I've created for my other stories, this
is the place:
https://www.patreon.com/laurasfox