Dinner

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His hand holding yours, Japeth led you to the dining room. There, you met his brother, the new king, Rhian.

"This is the... girl you've been talking non-stop about?"

Japeth moved his arm to around your waist, "Of course, isn't she pretty?"

He brought you to the table and pulled the chair out for you. The two of you sat across from Rhian, in front of you was an empty seat intended for the Queen.

You kept your head down as you felt the eyes of both brothers' on you. "She seems alright, I suppose." The first course was brought out and you quietly muttered a 'thank you' to the person who set it down. "And docile as well."

With that, everyone started to eat. You remained silent while the two talked about what Lionsmane's first tale should be.

"Lionsmane's first tale should instill fear."

"Lionsmane should give people hope. People like you and me who grew up without anything."

"Mother is dead because she believed in hope."

"And yet, Mother's death is the reason both of us are in this room. I- look at her."

You felt their eyes on you once again.

"She's just like us too. Aren't you? You didn't grow up with much too, right?"

Taking a gulp you looked at Rhian as he looked back expectantly. Then you glanced towards Japeth as he too awaited your response.

You bit your lip slightly before you replied, "I...Yes, I suppose. Though I'm sure it was nothing to what you two had to go through."

Rhian relaxed in his chair as he held his hands out towards you, "See? Your little darling is the perfect example of who Lionsmane's tales should be for. She has worked for the kingdom for years, yet I doubt this is the first time she's been able to sit at this table."

You felt Japeth grab your hand from under the table and squeeze a bit. Looking over at him, he seemed to be lost in thought. He was quite handsome.

"Supporters of Tedros are protesting tonight in Camelot Park. We should ride in and kill them all." His grip on your hand tightened ever so slightly, "That should b Lionsmane's first tale."

Okay, he was also quite scary.

"Killing protestors will lead to more protests, that's not the story I want to tell."

"You weren't afraid of bloodshed when it got you the throne."

"I'm king. I'll write the tales."

"It's my pen."

"It's your scim."

You inhaled sharply as they spoke. So even that pen was all apart of the plan. Were these two even King Arthur's  kin? Well they had to be, after all, Rhian pulled out excalibur.

You were brought out of your thoughts as a flash of something blinded you for a second. Looking towards the door, you caught a glimpse of blonde hair.

'Sophie?'

"Speaking of he minx," Rhian set his utensil down as he too stared towards the door along with Japeth. "I heard guards pounding on the Map Room door, Sophie. If you can't make it to dinner on time, then your friends in the dungeon won't get dinner at all-"

Two pirate guards stood behind her completely perplexed. Looking towards the brother's faces, you found that they had the same expression, Japeth's also looking somewhat angry.

You thought Sophie's dress was absolutely stunning. The way the ruffles hung above her knees and the way she accessorized pieces of paper into her hair. Even her makeup looked quite fetching. Perhaps you would have to ask her for some lessons of sorts?

"Leave us." At Rhian's command, the pirates left the dining room.

As soon as they did, Japeth let go of your hand and abruptly stood up. "That was our mother's dress."

"It still is. And I doubt she would have appreciated you gussying up girls you've kidnapped." You glanced down at your dress and wondered if this also belonged to their mother. It was  quite big on you. "The real question is why you asked me to wear this dress at all. Is it to make me feel like you own me?"

Oh no, is that what Japeth intended for you when he gave you this dress.

"In any case, you told me what to wear. Not how to wear it." Then she gave a little shimmy. You hated to admit it, especially since it made Japeth so angry, but you wished you had the talents to modify your dress as well.

You heard Japeth let out a small growl like noise from beside you, "You dirty shrew."

Sophie didn't back down, instead, she got closer to him. "Snakeskin is a specialty. Imagine what I could make out of your suit."

Japeth then lunged towards her before you could stop him, but it seemed that she was capable of stopping him all by herself.

Holding out a palm, Sophie spoke calmly, "Ever wonder what map ink is made out of?"

That made Japeth stop.

Sophie continued to speak, but you were once again lost in your thoughts. Was she implying that that substance on her could hurt Japeth. Did you want that to happen?

"Your tongue!" Japeth's voice brought your attention back to what was important. And right now, it was whether Sophie was going to survive or not.

His scims shot off his body and went straight towards the blonde's face, but then a gold light stopped them.

Looking towards Rhian, it looked as if he was trying to surpress a smile. His finger had a dim gold glow as he refused to meet his brother's gaze.

"She needs to be punished!"

"You have to admit...the dress does look better."

You wanted to agree, but considering that you now share a room with Japeth, that didn't seem to be the smartest option.

"Careful brother, your horns are growing." Japeth kicked over his chair and grabbed onto your wrist roughly.

You had to lift up the edge of the dress to make sure you didn't trip while trying to keep up with Japeth's quick pace. You made eye contact with Sophie, and she looked at you as if just now noticing you were there. She looked quite concerned, but you knew she wasn't going to call out to you. She had Rhian she needed to take care of.

And you needed to do the same with Japeth.

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