Chapter Twenty-Six:
The Fiction of Euphoria
Dmitri
The following morning, the sun was well into the sky when I became somewhat coherent of the sounds around me. At some point in the night one of us had opened the balcony door, so the cool December air made the room crisp and fresh, but I honestly couldn’t remember who had. Gwen was tucked into my arms with her cheek smooshed into my collarbone, her hair swept over her face. I opened my eyes long enough to kiss her temple and pull the covers over us better. Just as I began to fall back asleep hushed voices echoed in the hallway, followed by keys clanking. “I think you’re reading too much into this…?” Aveline sighed.
“No, Ave, really… They were, like, full blown about to do it!” Martha squeaked.
“Would you two shut up so I can find out?” Stefan snarled, unlocking the door and turning the knob. He hesitantly peeked inside, only to see us under the covers and our discarded clothing covering the floor around my bed. The forgotten condom wrapper sealed the deal for him, and I was incredibly grateful I had properly tossed out the actual condom before he came into the room.
He slammed a hand over his mouth and fingered for Michael, who he ripped forward violently. “Holy shit…!” Michael squawked.
“Did they, did they…?!” the girls peeked in the room, “They did!” They cheered softly.
“Can I ask what you four are doing?” Andrew said from somewhere behind them, making them shriek and slam the door shut. Gwen stirred a little at the sound but didn’t bother trying to find out what was going on.
“H-Hello your majesty! W-w-e were just… Um… I needed to get something, so Michael had to let me into the room!” Stefan laughed.
“I do believe you live here as well, and have a key, Stefan?” Andrew mocked.
“I, uh, lost it! I lost it, yes, lost it, ha, silly me!”
“Uh huh…? Well, have you seen Dmitri? Slane was expecting him for a checkup a few hours ago, but he didn’t show up for breakfast, so I'm assuming he’s still asleep?”
“HE IS!?” They yelled.
“What the heck is going on?” Riley laughed as he joined the idiots.
The group fell quiet for a moment before Aveline finally blurted, “Dmitri and Gwen had sex last night!?” like a total schoolgirl.
There was a pause before Andrew violently ripped the door open, which made everyone screech in horror. He blinked in shock at us, then giggled hysterically and shut the door again. “About time, I’d say!” He cheered, “If that’s the case, then you should leave them be. Besides, you all have to pack for Christmas break, don’t you?”
“We’re going, we’re going…!” they cried, dashing down the steps innocently, though Riley and Andrew continued to cackle to one another about how to torture me later for this.
Gwen slowly pulled herself upright, shaking her hair out like a dog before sighing deeply, “Damn, what time is it…?” She turned the alarm clock, then gasped horrifically, which made me jump, “It’s twelve-thirty!” She bawled, darting up to run to the other side of the room. I flopped into the bed playfully, burying my face into the pillows and rolling my eyes as she darted back around and started dialing the clinic’s number in the room phone.
“What’s the big deal?” I asked in the comforter.
“Slane’s gonna kill me! She wanted to get lunch today, and I slept right through!”
“She’ll live; I missed a meeting with Andrew.”
She turned to me in shock, “Dmitri! I… Why am I freaking out?” She hung up the phone and squirmed back under the covers to smoosh her face into my chest.
“That’s what I thought,” I chuckled, kissing her once. She sighed happily, giggling as I nibbled her neck, “Can you believe I have another meeting? On a Sunday as well?”
“You could just… Skip it and find something else to do?” She taunted sexily.
“Damn, I must have done one hell of a job last night.” She smacked my arm, blazing bright red as I laughed obnoxiously, “You haven’t denied it?”
“And unfortunately, I can’t,” she kissed me passionately as she crawled over me and pinned my arms down with a wicked smile, “And if you didn’t have a meeting, I’d be asking you to stay the night shift, double overtime…” she slyly whispered.
“Eh, I’ll just never go home.” I cackled. She purred loudly, which made me blush, “Ok, ok, I really have to get ready for the meeting…” I sighed.
“Go ahead; I'm going to go get dressed and head back to my room.”
I sat up and stretched painfully before grabbing something to wear and rounding the bed, “I’ll see you later, beautiful; make sure you’re packed for tonight?”
“I will be, don’t worry,” she assured as I kissed her and went out the door.
“THERE HE IS, THE MURDERER LEAVING THE SCENE OF THE CRIME!” Stefan yelled at the top of his lungs as he jumped out of the shadows. I screamed like a little girl as he shook my shoulder, making everyone in the foyer laugh until they cried. “And where have you been, missing a meeting!?” He accused.
“Uh, I got drunk?” I tried.
“More like you got laid!”
“Goodbye, Stefan,” I laughed, shoving him away as I went downstairs towards the clinic.
“The time has finally come! Our boy is a man!” Michael screamed victoriously, causing cheers to erupt as I slammed the door shut with an eye roll.
╬
That night, just as the first snow of the year began to fall from the dark clouds above, my friends and I stood at the front steps of the castle. In the round driveway three trucks were lined up, waiting for The Cavalries to get inside. They were dressed in formal coats and gloves, while I was wrapped up in fuzzy pajama pants and a big pullover. Martha sighed loudly as she shut the trunk on her truck, coming back to join us with. “Well, kiddo, it looks like we’re all packed up?” She sadly said.
“I sure am going to miss you guys, but I'm happy you get to go home for a bit.”
“We’re going to miss you too, buddy. You sure you’re gonna be alright?” Michael asked.
“Oh, yeah, I’ll be fine. Andrew and Cerelia are pretty excited to have a big family Christmas, and now that Riley is here, he and I have quite a bit to catch up on. Besides, you’ll only be gone two weeks…”
“You make sure to cause lots of trouble while we’re gone!” Stefan giggled.
“Of course; I already rigged the flour bag to explode the next time someone opens it.”
“That’s my boy!”
Everyone laughed hysterically as I smushed him into a hug with a big smile, “You guys should get going; I don’t want you to get stuck in the storm…” I sighed into Stefan’s hair.
“It’s hard to do that when you won’t let go?” He joked, making me giggle as he squeezed me back lovingly, “Alright, you. We’ll call as much as we can, promise!”
“I’ll be here, don’t worry,” I hugged each Cavalry before leading them to their awaiting rides. Martha waved from the window and blew us all a kiss before her car left for The South, which would be a four hour ride, but they weren’t expecting the snow we were. Michael and Stefan went into their own truck, and Michael made a bet with me that I couldn’t lift the hundred pound weight in the gym by the time he got back. I accepted the offer, and promised to keep the room clean while they were gone, before they rode off towards their own homes.
“And then there was one,” Gwen sighed, turning to smile up at me and take my hands from my pullover pocket, “I'm going to miss you so much… If you get too lonely, don’t hesitate to call me, ok?”
“I promise I will; you need some time with your mother, so don’t worry about me. I know you have that big gift planned for her, and I'm so excited to hear about how it went.”
Gwen sighed happily, “Yeah, I'm excited too. She’s been trying to pay that damn house off for years, and she’ll be so relieved when it’s over. It took a lot of saving, but now I don’t have to feel guilty living up here anymore.”
“I also want a picture of your cats.” I snapped, which made her laugh and kiss my nose.
“I’ll bring pictures, don’t worry.”
I tilted her chin up and kissed her as lovingly as I could, making her cheeks brighten a little from the gesture. When I broke it, I tucked her hair behind her ear and poked her snow kissed nose, “Have a Happy Christmas, love. We have a lot to look forward to when you come back, so enjoy your time away as much as you can.”
“I’ll try. Make sure Cerelia takes photos of your Christmas for me, ok?” She pushed my glasses up, her eyes glowing in the street lights, “I love you?” She said as if she was worried I wouldn’t return the gesture.
“I love you too,” I cooed, kissing her one more time before she got into the truck. With a sweet wave she pulled off into the night, leaving me standing in the snowy driveway. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and trudged back inside, kicking the wet snow off my boots before walking through the foyer.
“Is that my Snake in fuzzy pajamas?” Zachary joked as he came downstairs.
“I thought you were leaving?” I snapped as he threw an arm around my shoulders.
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“I am, asshole, thanks for the warm goodbye.”
“I need a break from you,” I giggled as he pinched my cheek roughly.
“I haven’t been home for Christmas in five years, after what happened to the last Cavalries, so I definitely am happy to head back…” he said with slight sadness in his voice.
“Well, I hope you have a good holiday; everyone can use it.”
“You know, I haven’t left because I didn’t trust anyone to protect the royal family while I was away. But this year, I think everything will be fine without me.”
“Are you saying you trust me?” I scoffed in pure disbelief.
“After what you did for Riley, yes, I do. Keep up the good work, Snake, but at the same time, enjoy your vacation. You’ve really earned it.” He ruffled my hair before grabbing his suitcase and going out the main doors.
My jaw was on the floor as Cerelia snuck out of the kitchen, giggling at the look on my face. “Everything ok?”
“Um, I guess? I think Zachary finally likes me!” I exclaimed in disbelief.
“About time, that old prune,” she nodded to the lounge, “Want to sit with me?”
“Sure,” I chirped, following her into the room. The television was flickering with a Christmas movie, and lights decorated the beautiful ornate walls. Cerelia curled up with a big bowl of macaroni, which she had doused Gwen’s sauce in. “I take it you like that?” I laughed as she shoved a huge forkful in her mouth.
“Like it? It’s amazing! What a sweet gift… She was absolutely right to say she knows how to make some good sauce. It’s definitely curing my home sickness.”
“I'm sorry you can’t go to Italy this year…” I pouted.
“Oh, it’s fine. We’re going to try and ship my parents here sometime early next year, so long as everything goes well. I’ve been patient this long. Besides, I have you all, and Andrew. He’s all I need to have a beautiful Christmas,” she sighed happily.
“You guys really love each other, don’t you?” I asked with a big smile.
Her lips curled into one as well, “I can never express to you how much we do. Sometimes I think my heart only beats because of him. This kingdom he’s created… It’s like living in a fairytale. Everyone here is just so… happy. Our castle is full of amazing people, and our citizens are the light of our lives. It fills the void, of not being able to have children…” her voice fell, and she sadly frowned.
I slipped my hand through hers and squeezed it lovingly, “I'm so sorry, Cerelia. I know how devastating it is for you two…?”
“We live vicariously through our citizens, who are the best present in the world to us. Speaking of, mister, what do you want for Christmas?” She asked, tapping my shoulder.
“Oh, nothing, really. I have everything I could ever want…” I tried.
“Don’t pull that nonsense on me! Surely there’s something you want!?”
“What more am I supposed to ask of you? Because of you both, I am truly happy. I'm finally fighting for the kingdom I wished for, I get to live with you and my brother, and I made incredible friends. It would be so selfish to ask for anything more.”
“Well, be selfish for a moment. In a perfect world, what would make your Christmas the absolute best? Anything at all?” She asked, shifting to balance her cheek on her hand.
I leaned back into the couch and rolled my lips, tucking my legs in crisscross, “In a perfect world? I mean, if I'm going to be honest… I want to know my mother is alive. I don’t need her to be with me, but I just want to know that she’s safe and away from Alexei…”
“I miss your mother so much…” she sadly sighed, “She truly was my best friend. I mean, I enjoy my sisters-in-law’s immensely, but Morgan was so special to me. I remember when you were little, and I mean a year or two old, she would bring you here whenever we had a meeting. You were so well behaved as a child, except when someone put you down; then you got angry. Every time Morgan set you down, you would run back and grab onto her skirt, and give her the cutest little puppy dog eyes. She was immune to them, though, as any good mother would be. I, of course, caved every time. You were a little devil, too, because you knew if your mother said no that all you had to do was run up to me, flash those little google eyes and sport a tear or two, and I would melt!” She cried, tickling my side to make me laugh.
“I'm sure Mom loved when I did that?” I joked.
“Morgan used to constantly yell at me for giving in, but I knew she didn’t really care. Whenever you used to wrap your little arms around me… Oh it was the sweetest thing in the world. You gave the best hugs, and always seemed to know when I was having a bad day. Do you remember when I had my first miscarriage?”
“Very well,” I sadly remarked.
“Had you not said what you did that day, I don’t think I would have ever been able to recover from it. I still remember, word for word, ‘Don’t cry, auntie, everything will be ok. I’ll always be here with you’,” she choked up, blinking back a few tears, “You promised you would be by my side, and here you are once again to protect me. I wish I could protect you the same…”
“Cerelia…?” I whined, pulling her into my arms as she giggled at my tone, “You gotta let this go? I'm not mad at you, and I don’t want you to hold onto this guilt. We have so much to look forward to, and I want all of it to be positive, ok?”
“I know, I know… I just can’t believe that Joshua did what he did to you. That video he sent us was just, horrifying. I’ve seen many horrible things during this war, Dmitri, but nothing has come close to how gruesome that tape was. How you survived that, let alone are able to smile, absolutely amazes me.”
I snuggled into her shoulder with a sigh, “Well, you guys surely helped a lot, especially Ramah. He and I had a talk a few weeks ago that kind of snapped me back into reality.”
“About what?” She questioned.
“I, guess I kind of vented to him a little, about everything. He told me that there’s no reason to be so closed off; not while living in this kingdom at least. That you all truly are just, nice people, and I have to learn to trust myself as well as others. I'm starting to open up a little, at least I’d like to think I am. It’ll take a little while, but hopefully we’ll have plenty of time to practice together.”
“It also helps when you have a sexy little girlfriend to keep you company,” she snickered.
I broke into a giggle fit, which made her eyes light up, “I mean, yeah, it definitely does.”
“I can tell that you love her dearly. What she did in the dining room yesterday just, amazed me. I know you two have been sneaking about for a few months now, but I didn’t realize the extent of your relationship. I'm happy you finally made things official.”
“I'm definitely the blame for it taking so long. I kind of just assumed we were together, instead of blatantly asking her. I never meant to be so secretive, but at least she was patient enough to stick around.”
“Well, I definitely hope things work out well for you two, and that no kids spring up anytime soon.” She accused, which made me laugh.
“How immature do you think I am?”
“Every guy gets too into the moment and forgets, and then you have little Dmitri’s running around my castle!” She sang as she shook me wildly.
I snorted loudly, “Please, I am not interested in having kids in the middle of a war. After, I definitely would like to, but I should also get married first.”
“That tends to help…” she stiffly stretched, then suction cupped a kiss to my cheek before standing, “The Committee is coming tomorrow to hold a meeting with everyone. I would have told you sooner, but I didn’t want you to worry the entire time you recovered. It’ll be the three royal families only, though. Jeremiah was very serious about it being a Mortimer family thing, but I don’t think it’ll be anything too scary.”
“Well, I suppose it was bound to happen eventually.” I said as we headed into the foyer.
“We got you something nice to wear, so try it on and be at breakfast by nine, alright?”
“Of course” I chimed, waving, as I walked the steps. I paused and looked over my shoulder, wearing a loving smile, “Um, Cerelia?”
“Yes?” She asked, turning back to me.
“I love you.” I simply said, though she knew my words were far from simple.
Her eyes widened in pure awe, but she hid her surprise with the joyful smile she blessed the world with every day, “I love you too, my darling,” she sang, blowing me a kiss before we parted for the night.
╬
I opened my eyes to the ceiling of my bedroom in The West. Outside the room was large amounts of commotion, and a moment later, the door opened. Joshua darted in and shook me, making me blink heavily to him. “Come on, you! Time to get your suit on!” He cried.
“My, suit?” I prompted.
“Did you forget? Today is the big day!” He smiled and grabbed a formal king’s suit from the closet, lying it on the bed as I sat up groggily.
“Um, what’s going on?” I asked nervously.
“Your coronation of course! Get ready, and be downstairs in fifteen!”
“Coronation?” I breathed in horror as he shut the door. Confused, I did what I was told, and got dressed before quietly going down the steps to find my family. When I went out the main doors, my jaw dropped, and a cry escaped my lips at the scene. Riley was seated on one of four thrones that had been brought out onto the main steps. He and my brother were both dressed in their own suits, one red, one purple, while mine was green, and all three matched the colors of the thrones. Joshua wore a blue one, and took his own seat in the blue throne with a smile.
“There you are! Excited for the big day?” Riley laughed.
“Come along, everyone is waiting,” Alexei snapped, pulling me around to stand before the green throne. Citizens were all dressed in their kingdom color, cheering loudly as Maxwell stood before a podium. “Good morning, everyone! Welcome to the coronation of our new kings!” he called, making the crowd scream. Riley waved proudly, and Alexei blew kisses to screaming women as I blinked in horror at the scene. “Let’s begin, shall we!?” Maxwell set a gold sword into my hands, smiling lovingly. “Let’s start with Joshua; oldest to youngest!”
“Oh god, no!” I bawled as guards dragged Gerard and Julia onto the stage. Both were gagged and bound, beaten, and screamed in horror as Joshua approached with a mad smile.
“Our new king of The East, Joshua Eckles!” Maxwell declared as Alexei smiled hungrily at the scene.
“Joshua, no!” I screamed as he sliced Gerard’s head clean off, following with his wife. The crowd exclaimed in joy as blood caked the stage, and their heads bounced grotesquely to a halt against the podium.
“Riley, it’s your turn!”
“What the hell are you doing!?” I cried as he did the same to Adelaide and Ethan, throwing his arms up proudly to the crowd’s delight. Adelaide’s lifeless eyes stared emptily at me, and made me gag violently. Finally, Alexei watched as Andrew and Cerelia were dragged before me, I trembling violently as I watched Max set them up before me.
“Alright little brother, you’re the last up!”
“Are you insane?!” I cried, making the three men blink.
“What do you mean? You can’t have cold feet now; you already obliterated their army?” Joshua joked, making the crowd laugh.
“Zachary, Ramah, Slane, The Cavalries. Even your parents! Oh, you evil boy, you! It’s time to take your victory, and become the true king you were born to be!” Riley cheered.
“No, this can’t be real!” I yelled.
“Here, let us help…” Alexei hissed, he and Riley taking my arm. I screamed in horror as they made me swing the sword back before slamming it into Andrew’s neck, sending his head off and flying into the crowd.
╬
I shot up in bed with a terrified scream, and skidded out before slamming into the floor. My side table rocked, and any belongings that were atop spilled over my lap. I was shaking so violently that I bounced underneath the covers I had torn off the bed with me, and my teeth felt like they were going to snap right out of my mouth. I shuddered horrifically and wound my arms around myself, my lips quivering as I tried to collect myself. “Just a dream… Just a dream…” I hiccuped as I clutched either side of my face to try and center myself.
It was my fourth nightmare that night.
The clock read seven thirty three, though I had spent five of the seven hours in bed awake. The sun had just broken through the clouds, though the day was still cold and muggy. The snow had stopped, and left a few inches that coated the castle grounds. I walked out to the balcony and laid my hand on the powdery substance that coated the rail, trying to calm my shaking fingertips.
How many more nights would these horrific dreams rape my mind?
How many sleepless hours would I spend contemplating what was reality and imagination? When would this end? When would I be free of not only Joshua, but of the constraints of my own subconscious…?