Dreamland (Includes the Sequel)

Chapter 16: Twin Flame

June 1st, 2017 - 9h35 pm 

The king takes me to a secluded room, away from the cameras.

Evil king: Crystal, I am happy to see you tonight. I hope you are enjoying your birthday. 

Crystal: I am, thank you. 

Evil king: I also wanted to say thank you for being a great friend. We're practically family now. You're gonna be a great mother. I wish I would have had the chance to... I mean I'm gonna be there for my niece. 

Crystal: Thanks. 

He comes a bit closer and puts his two hands on my belly.

We can both feel a kick and for the first time I hear the king laugh. I think we just shared a friendly moment here. She likes her uncle already. 

Nathan: I did not expect that. Someone will know how to kick some asses, eh? She's gonna be a fighter. I wonder who she gets that from. 

We both laugh at that one. 

 He catches me by surprise and lets his hands slide down to my waist. 

Crystal: Nathan, I am with your brother. Babe.

Nathan: I am so sorry it was an accident. I mean it I didn't do it on purpose, I swear. I would never try to put myself between a couple. It won't happen again. It just... 

Crystal: He's the father of my child. 

Nathan: I know. You want to do what you feel is right, I understand. I wasn't thinking. 

There's a long, uncomfortable pause. 

In that moment, I realized that my head and my heart was torturing me. Am I just with Gabriel because he's the father of my child, while I'm aware that my twin flame is just in the corner? I'm confused. I do love Babe, but I think I may be falling in love with the king, day after day. And what about Antoine? I felt a connection with him too. What's with me and the Darkanen? What's wrong with me. I'm probably just confused and love the attention because I'm not used to it. I should focus on my growing family, my priority. It's probably all in my head anyway. I'm just not used to receiving love and they know how to manipulate me. Besides, I fear the King is only using me for his own benefit. He's the king of evil, after all and he keeps mentioning some sort of ''favor''. He could be a sociopath with a hidden agenda. Darkanen are known for having those traits. Maybe not. Or maybe I'm just too naive. 

The king: What do you want for your birthday? I mean, as a gift? 

Crystal: This party was already a gift. I don't need anything else. Why did you want to see me in private anyway?

The king: Oh, I forgot. Ugh. I really forgot. Sorry about that. 

He lets out a shy laugh. 

The king: You know, you're a great employee... When you actually do your job. 

Crystal: Which means? 

The king: Telling me about what you find. You're supposed to tell me about your findings, not keep everything to yourself. In a team, communication is key. You need to talk to your superior more often, you know. 

Crystal: Dude, we're not supposed to do an employee review on my birthday. Besides, I already told you, I work for MYSELF. I moved in to look pretty and give you company cause you're bored. You suck too, you're just there in the corner, alone, creeping on people. 

The king: Yes, cause it's my job as a king of evil. 

Crystal: I rate you 1 out of 10. 

The king: You're not supposed to rate me. I'm the one... 

Crystal: Hey, sit down mister. I wear the pants here. I'm the lady of the house. 

He just started laughing. In that moment, I knew we were officially friends. I used to be so intimidated by him, now I let a little bit of that barrier down. Not completely though. I'm still intimidated by him sometimes, but I'm not gonna let him see that.

The king: But for real, you are supposed to live a double life as my spy, you're like a VIP in a way, no? You can live your normal life, with your own identity most of the time, with your friends and now your family, inside a luxurious castle with free food, rent free and once in a while some gifts are included. You get a sugar daddy and the only thing you need to do is bring him some information but yet you stay silent. Joanna, I mean my mom, does the same. You guys still don't trust me? Do you want me to ship you to the Darkanen planet instead, where it's super hot and people don't talk? Since you don't seem to like talking. 

Crystal: Are you seriously giving me a speech on my birthday? 

The king: Yes

That guy can be so twisted and serious. It's my birthday, he could have waited before ruining my mood. Maybe he really has an evil side to him. 

Crystal: Thanks for ruining my mood 

The king: Okay 

He's now serious, in a business mood. It's like he has a wall. I guess I crushed his dream so he's taking his revenge out on me or something. Well, first of all I have a boyfriend and my family needs to come before my part-time job that I didn't even want in the first place. That guy cannot understand that it seems. Usually he's a big softie, a bit cold at times, but apparently tonight something triggered him or he's just cranky. 

Crystal: Why are you acting like this? 

The king: I needed to say it, that's all. Are we going back there? 

He's mad at me, I can feel it. 

The king: I'm the one who command. I'm not your friend. I'm your boss, the evil king, your boyfriend's step-brother and your future child's uncle. We can joke, but do not EVER cross the line, ESPECIALLY in public or you're more than dead. 

He's not like this usually. We go back to the dancefloor. He killed my mood and even scared me.

My family is in a great mood still, but their faces drop when they see mine. I'm dealing with the evil king after all, what did I expect. I never wanted to be in the middle of all this, but I'm having a Moon child, so I'm kind of stuck here, whether I like it or not. 

Babe asks me to dance. He helps me turn my mind away from the king's weird mood swings. He's not far from us with his arms crossed, looking towards us like he's in disgust. Melody doesn't hesitate to show off her sexy dance moves. Dad, as expected, doesn't shy away from commenting. My earth family, as religious as they are, I think it's useless to say that they are a bit traumatized. My brother Jessy likes it though. My grandmother steals Gabriel from me for a couple dances. It's so cute. 

Later in the evening, the king comes back around. He pulls me apart again. He even asks me to dance and apologizes quietly in my ear. 

Evil king: We can't be friends. There's some rules we need to follow or else it could turn out to be dangerous. Just because it's me doesn't mean it's different, I still have a role to play and I'm a Darkanen, Crystal.  

Crystal: I know... I'm sorry too. 

I put my head down and leave. I join my friends back on the dancefloor. 

Babe: What does he have to say that is so important today? That guy is so secretive. 

Crystal: You mean your brother. 

Babe: Half. He's ruining your special day. 

Crystal: He apologized. 

Babe: I hope so. I love you sweetheart. 

He kisses me softly and Nathan leaves the scene again. 

Babe: Seriously, what's up with him. He's acting so strange today. 

At least it's not just me who sees it. I end up spending the night with Babe, singing karaoke and drinking hot cocoa. It was still a special day after all. Just strange. And messy.