Interlude: CROWN PRINCE FAN CLUB 1
— Edryan Queendom, Year 7291. Season: Central.
Kái’jhan Caden or Kai to her friends and family, and president of the Crown Prince Fan Club, gazed around in pride as the weekly meeting of the Crown Prince Fan Club began. She was tall, standing about 189 centimeters tall, and the platform heels she always wore added additional centimeters to her height. Long blonde-black box braids drifted to her midsection, while her big, round, brown eyes showed kindness and companionship as she gazed at the CPC members proudly. Her freckled nose wrinkled as she noticed the expression of the young woman next to her.
Next to her, Lennox Cordon, vice-president of the CPC, kept a stern expression on her face. Lennox was 165 centimeters of pure lean muscle. She pushed her big rectangular glasses up to the bridge of her nose, then refolded her arms as she waited for the time to tick down. Her eyes were sharp as she watched for any signs of trouble. With over a thousand general members from all three grades who came to their weekly meetings, the CPC found its hands full with the differentiating opinions of the multiple students and factions within. Lennox kept her hair in a short navy blue pixie cut with wide bangs that covered her forehead. She had a wide mouth with big lips that were itching to silence the ever-loudening crowd.
On the other side of Kai was Izon Suun, who filled the position of secretary for the CPC. He stood at 180 centimeters tall, with a southern Edryan twang to his speech. He held the southernmost portion of the country’s accent, which always drew attention to him within Edrya. Most of the students within Imperius Academy were from the centralized area and the northwestern portion of the country. Izon was tall, dark-skinned, and handsome with a swimmer’s athletic build. He had a large nose ring that gave those around him the impression of a bull, with a short straw-yellow tightly curled fade and a goatee to match.
Together, the three of them made up the leading power of the Crown Prince Fan Club… they also served as the three deciding leaders of the three factions of the CPC.
“You know, if you both agreed to the traditional standards of the club, none of this would have happened,” Lennox stated sternly.
Izon rolled his eyes and responded, “Oh please,” Izon began sarcastically, drawing the S out with it. “The Boyz Love faction is eternal, face it Lennox, your strait-laced romance is old fashion and… booorrrring,” He finished with extra emphasis on the ending.
Kai giggled at his antics and Lennox, not one to take lip without dishing it back, responded accordingly. “Ugh, you and your Boyz Love faction can take the stories Karla writes and shove them where the sun doesn’t shine! Prince Lawruthian will have a traditional romance with some princess he saves as she is locked up in a tower!”
Kai’s eyes brightened, she wasn’t in disagreement, but her faction held the prince to a bit higher standard. She spoke up suddenly, her voice bright and cheery. “Izon, stop provoking Lennox, you know her Traditionalist Faction is the stubbornest of the bunch. Why don't we put aside our differences and create a union between your Boyz Love faction and my Superior Prince?”
Lennox gasped, her shock palpable, and that action drew attention from the conversing crowd below, who began to take an increased interest in the developing conversation of their leaders.
“Kái’jhan Caden, You… Wouldn’t… Dare,” Lennox exclaimed, hands moving to her hips as she turned to her best friend.
Kai’s eyes widened, and she brought a hand to her mouth as she giggled, but her big eyes kept a cheery seriousness to them as she spoke. “Try me!”
To an outside observer, it appeared the Crown Prince Fan Club was having a serious discussion… and they were , for the love path of Lawruthian Edryani was one of the most important topics to discuss in the CPC. In fact, it was the agenda of last week’s meeting.
“How can y’all not support Boyz Love,” Izon began. His attention partially turned to the crowd as the time for the meeting to start began. “Did you not see the tension between Ade Oni and our Prince? The way their muscles rippled as they began to lose clothing from the fight? Kaaaaaah,” Izon squealed at the end. Both hands were under his chin and one leg was raised back.
Shouts of, ‘Hear, hear!’ and ‘Huzzahs’ came from the watching crowd as they agreed. The faction on the left-hand side, Izon’s side, was the loudest as the Boyz Love occupied that half of the meeting room.
Lennox’s eyes narrowed, but before she could speak, Kai beat her to it. “That was nice …, but … my Superior Prince faction knows that his Highness Lawruthian will produce the same way his mother did… who can live up to his prestige?”
Lennox raised her right foot up, and a few hundred on the right-hand side followed suit. Together, their feet came down in a resounding BOOM! It silenced the hall, and Lennox smirked. Although the Traditional Prince faction was arguably the smallest faction, they were tight-knit and didn’t lose members often. It was not like how the Superiors Prince and Boyz Love traded members every few meetings. The core members of the Traditional Prince were strong in their unity.
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With the silence she wanted here, Lennox said one final statement before passing the attention back to the president. “Our prince has two lovely noble ladies who accompany him every day. It’ll be impossible for one of them not to secure his heart! Atlas, it is time for the weekly meeting to start, please give your attention to President Kai.”
Kai stepped forward slightly and all eyes ended on her. A thousand pairs and then some as their club had grown to the point of requiring several advisors to watch over it. “Good evening, the lovely souls of Imperius Academy and the Crown Prince Fan Club,” her voice sang.
“Today on our agenda we will have a discussion on-”
Sighs of comfort came to the crowd as Kai spoke. Her voice carried a natural gentleness and pleasantness that relieved the building fatigue and de-buffs on the hard-working students. {Stress} and other de-buffs were common symptoms for the students of Imperius Academy as they strived to keep their grades up and rise in the ranking system. Kai’s popularity only grew when as she was one of the few people the prince stopped and waved too in acknowledgement on the day of his coronation. Since then, the younger sister of the [Sword Saint] experienced a rise in love confessions and more. The CPC grew explosively in the male population from that event as well. It was called a ‘concert’ and it was His Highness Lawruthian who suggested they perform in such a manner.
The moment Kai finished setting the agenda, Lennox began to bark out orders. She ensured that those who were breaking out into discussion sessions and other activities were where they belonged. While this was happening, Izon gathered a few of the students, and they began to cut up cloth and sew their official event uniform.
Like this, their two-hour meeting time passed quickly, and the friends found themselves able to get a later dinner.
“Today has drraaaaaaiiiinnnned me,” Izon exclaimed as they sat with their food. The young man instantly kicked his feet up, his large boots resting on a free chair in the cafeteria.
Lennox rolled her eyes but hid her smile behind a ‘cheeseburger,’ another one of the many foodstuffs Prince Lawruthian introduced to Edrya and eventually greater Edryan as a whole. The food instantly became a hit with Lennox, and she took a large bite. Kai nibbled on some fries, and she smiled warmly, her eyes held a faraway look in them.
“Oh? Reminiscing again,” Izon asked as he noticed Kai’s state.
“How could I not… every time I’ve interacted with my prince, my life and that of my family has only improved. Since he brought the mountain range from my father, trade and other goods have exploded in the territory, so much so my father is thinking of annexing the neighbors.”
“You nobles and your war games,” Izon replied before changing the topic. “Look at our growth ever since the coronation ended. Look how far we’ve come. I’d never imagined the club would grow to something this extensive. My father’s business has exploded so much that he’s brought the neighbors.”
“Is that all you two know? Don’t we need to discuss the upcoming interview with Karla? She wants to know how the CPC began. We have to make sure our story is straight! We can’t tell them it began because Kai wanted to show the prince was just like… us .”
“Shhhh! That was a long time ago,” Kai said, her focus completely returning.
“Oh please, it was when y’all were ten and Her Majesty was having a ball,” Izon responded with mischief on his face.
Kai knew that look and she stood abruptly. Once Izon began teasing her, it would know no end. Her friends waved and watched her go. The two gossiped more about the scandalous news Kai told them.
Kai quickly found herself outside the cafeteria. Her steps light as she made her way toward her dorm room. Her platform heels gave off a unique melody as she walked. That melody came to a jarring halt as a hand was placed on her shoulder, forcing her to a jarring halt.
Kai turned, a frown on her face from being rudely stopped, yet that frown, disappeared the moment she saw who approached her. She quickly grabbed him and pulled him to the side.
“What are you doing,” Kai hissed, her expression concerned as she met the eyes of Luke Walker.
Luke stared into her eyes, his heart melting… just as it did the first time he met her all those cycles ago. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. “I’m sorry, I just… wanted to see you. You know…”
“From what you’ve shown me, yes, but we, I’m … not her. Quite frankly, I still find it difficult to believe all you’ve shown me and the Prince-“
Luke put a finger to her lips, and Kai’s brows ceased in annoyance. She opened her mouth and bit. Yet, Luke didn’t seem to notice as he cocked his head and listened to the surroundings.
“Just a guard patrol, sorry,” he said, turning back to face her. When he saw what she was doing, his heart melted once again. The shorter man opened his mouth to speak.
“Exactly like you… you did this all the time to me in the future too.”