A King, A Captain, A Mess

03 The Plan

"No!" My stepmother yells at my father before storming over to me. "My son is not as common as your little bastard!" She yells, pointing up at me. I don't think she's called me that in front of Father before. We must have really ruffled her feathers.

"You do NOT call him that!" Father roars shutting her up in an instant. "I am the king here, and I am done letting you turn our son into a pampered lap dog! Ethan is now in charge of Trevor, not you. You will only see him when he has earned the right to visit. He will become a man worthy of my throne, or he will never sit upon it!" The last part is so low it rumbles through us all, causing her to back down.

"Father, please!" Trevor begs, sobbing his heart out.

"Dry your tears, boy. This is not the time or place. Hug your mother and pack a bag... better yet, Ethan! Go wait in your brother's room. I want you to teach him how to pack a tight pack. He should have learned ages ago." I walk over to my father and whisper in his ear.

"You were the one to teach me. Does my brother not deserve the same respect, my king?" I ask, making sure only he hears. He looks me in the eye before nodding.

"Evangeline, clean yourself up and make yourself presentable for when we see the boys off." Father tells my stepmother before patting my arm and turning to Trevor."Come along, son. You have much to learn."

"This is your fault!" My stepmother hisses as soon as Father closes the door. "We were fine until you started this mess with the pesant girl."

"Your son started the mess. It's my job to clean it up. Speaking of which..." I turn to one of the guards. "If I am not back when they are done packing, inform them I went into town to put out some fires before we leave."

"Yes, Captain."

I make my exit quickly to avoid simi-maternal interface. Father made an announcement a few hours ago that he was taking the matter seriously and would announce his decision in the morning. Which will also be when we set out.

I walk to the bakery in town and knock on the door.

"She's not taking visitors. Sorry, Captain."

"Simon, I need to talk to her. You know I would never intentionally hurt her. She doesn't have to see him but we need to speak." I see the man's shoulders hunch in defeat.

"Okay." He steps to the side to allow me entry.

"And would you mind making us some cookies? You know I miss your cookies, Simon. Haven't been able to enjoy one in years with all the warrior training." I ask  trying to keep him busy.

"Sure thing, Captain." He sighs, heading into the kitchen as I go upstairs.

"Melony?" I call out as I knock on the door. I open and leave it open as I enter the room. I take a seat in plain view of the door as I look at the poor girl. Her face is red and puffy, but the tears seem to have stopped.

"I'm taking him away." I tell her. "Hopefully, I can turn him into a man you will be honored to call mate."

"He rejected me!" She yells "publicly!"

"I know... he doesn't deserve your forgiveness. He didn't officially reject you, however, so you are still mates. I can't promise to fix him. If I succeed, though, he will be a completely different man. I won't ask you to hold out hope because there is little. I won't ask you to forgive him so easily. All I will ask is you judge him for the man he is when we return. Should you choose to reject him, then I don't think anyone will blame you."

"He rejected me." She mumbles.

"Just think about it... and try not to be too bitter. You're too beautiful for that. Should things not work with Trevor, I'm sure you will find an amazing chosen mate and be very happy." She doesn't look at me, so I turn to leave. I won't waste words on those who won't listen.