° The Pea Test ° LAVA

° Chapter 3 ° The Pea °

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Seliel woke up the next morning with a smile on her face. Soon, she would have a new sister-in-law and would be free to pursue a husband for herself. Prince Kai was a nice-looking man. However, he really hit it off with Cole. They had stayed up rather late talking and laughing. Princess Nya practically had to drag Kai away. While Seliel would love her future husband to get along with her brother, she wouldn't want him to like her brother more than her. But at least the prince wasnfun to look at.

Seliel shrugged into a dark pink gown and practically skipped to breakfast.

"You seem happy," Cole said when she reached the kitchen's where the family liked to have an informal meal in the morning.

"And you look like you haven't gotten any sleep last night." She observed.

"I slept just fine." He lied.

"Princess Nya is pretty, don't you think?" Seliel prodded.

"I guess..." Cole said.

"You seem to get along to get with her brother."

"I did. We got on rather well. But should I marry a woman when the thing I like the most about her is her brother." Cole asked.

"I'm sure if you get to know Princess Nya, you will find that you would get on well with her too."

"Maybe." Cole conceded as the King and Queen strolled into the kitchen.

Shortly after that, Princess Nya arrived.

"How did you sleep, dear?" The Queen asked.

Nya stretched. "Absolutely lovely." She said, looking at the Prince and Princess of Terra.

They wore opposite expressions. Prince looked relieved, but Princess Seliel wore a look of pure heartbreak.

Princess Nya bit her lip and hoped her plan would work.

"Are you sure you slept well?" Seliel asked, desperation laced her voice.

Seliel had gone to Nya the night before and told her all about the awful marriage tradition preventing Seliel from marrying until her brother did. As much sympathy as Nya felt for Seliel, she could not marry Prince Cole. Not at the cost of her own dreams. So, Nya came up with a plan that she hoped would make the most people happy. But the plan had its own risks.

"I had a small issue at first." Princess Nya said.

"Oh really?" The King questioned, sitting a bit higher in his chair.

"The room you gave me was a little drafty."

"Oh." The Kings face showed disappointment.

"So, I switched rooms with my brother. He likes the cold." Nya smiled as her brother strode into the kitchen almost as if on cue.

"How did you sleep last night?" Nya asked her brother, who wore a frown on his face.

Kai looked at the King and Queen when he answered the question. "Thank you for your hospitality. I wish not to offend. However, the mattress that I slept on had a small lump in it last night. It was hard to sleep."

"He passed the test..." Seliel said, confused.

"Test?" Nya widened her eyes in mock surprise.

"It was Cole's final marriage test." The King explained.

"Since Kai passed the test and Nya is his sister, I think it is safe to assume that she too would have passed the test and should become Coles wife."

The King and Queen agreed with Seliel, but Prince Cole looked defeated.

"I don't agree." Princess Nya said. "Kai passed the test, so Kai should be the one marrying the prince."

The King and Queen gasped in surprise at Princess Nya's suggestion. Seliel looked at her brother in shock and saw something on his face that she had never seen before. Hope.

Seliel looked at Prince Kai and saw the face of a man who adored her brother. "Kai, if a wizard put a maiden in a tall tower and cast a spell proclaiming that no man could enter the door, how would you save the damsel in distress?"
"I would send my most trustworthy knight," Kai said, looking at Nya. "For my knight, would be no man, but she would be my sister."

On her son's face, the queen saw everything that Seliel saw. "Your hair is Chocolate Brown, and your eyes are Amber?" She asked.

"Yes." Kai said his Amber eyes gleaming.

"He is neither too fat nor too skinny." Seliel said.

"He is the right weight for his height." Princess Nya said.

"It sounds to me that Kai passed all the tests and should be the one to marry Nicholas." Seliel said.

"Preposterous." The King said.

"I agree with them." Cole said, looking at Kai. "If he will have me, then I want to marry Kai."

The king looked from his son to Prince Kai and back to his son, shocked into silence before finally speaking. "I don't understand."

"Father, I've always thought that I was broken. I never cared for the company of the Princesses. I never felt desire for them, not like what I feel for Kai." Cole tried to explain.

"Do you feel the same way, Kai?" The King asked.

"I do," Kai said. "I've known that I was attracted to  oys for a few years now. But no other boy has made me feel the way that Cole does."

"I can't believe this." The King said, shaking his head. "What will we tell the neighboring kingdoms?"

"Papa, we'll tell them love is love,"Seliel said, gently patting her father on the arm.

Nya's heart raced as the King opened his mouth to speak, sure that the king would not support the union. "If this is what you want, then I say, kiss the groom." The King replied.

Cole stood a smile, finally planted on his face, and kissed his future husband satisfied that he finally picked the right person, and they made Seliel wear the pea at the wedding.