The Selection (Troyler AU)

♔Part XXXVII♔

So I ended up going with a time skip after the last chapter.

Also I'm finally watching Supernatural fuck all of you especially Olivia who convinced me to watch it.

Two Hours Before the Ball

Troye POV

"And. . .we are finished," I said, grinning broadly as I placed the last of the elaborate trays on top of the table, flourishing a hand toward the grand display of food.

Korey Kuhl, the Royal Advisor overseeing the staff's last minute efforts, tapped his chin for a moment before nodding appreciatively. "Looks good to me."

"And we'll get to try some for ourselves?" Caspar asked from beside me, raising his eyebrows. He knew that we'd already been promised our fair share of the prepared stuff, but I guess he wanted it to be officially reaffirmed, seeing as no one would be surprised if the King had backed out on that.

Connor nodded quickly, both pleased to be able to confirm this, and apprehensive as to what Caspar's reaction might be if he's told otherwise (I don't know how often it happens, but let's just say punishments for Caspar aren't exactly a rare occurrence). "Don't worry, everyone will have their fair share."

I smiled, elated at the fact that the King hadn't backed out of his promise. To be honest, I wouldn't have been surrounded, even though the ball commenced in just a couple of hours; but then again, I suppose of Queen Grace had been present for his commitment, then he really couldn't get out of the agreement now.

"Will all members of the Royal Family be present tonight?" Dan suddenly piped up from the back of the cluster of Servants, causing Ricky Dillon and Kian Lawley to jump, startled. I couldn't blame them. Though I don't give much of my attention to Dan Howell, it wouldn't even matter - he doesn't speak very often regardless of whether anyone's watching or not. Sometimes, he could be standing two feet away from me, and I would barely even notice, simply because he was so quiet and remote.

"The King and Queen will definitely be there, and though I haven't seen Prince Tyler for a few days, I'm sure he wouldn't miss this." Korey shifted, evidentially uneasy about Tyler's sudden absence, but kept a smile pasted on his face for the sake of everyone watching.

In other circumstances, I would've been concerned myself, but I knew the truth.

Tyler had recovered enough during that first day after to leave of his own accord. He was still in immense pain, and had to stay medicated on the novocaine to numb himself, but he was mobile, which was a huge step forward in itself.

Still, he visited me at least once a day, as a routinely check up. After three days, there's certainly been much progress - meaning Tyler could walk and sit and lie down without outwardly expressing signs of strain - but, as expected, it still looked pretty bad. I wished I could do more, and I knew that he'd probably be in much better hands if he could go to one of the medicinal technicians without having to inform them on what'd happened, but we both knew there was nothing more we could do but wait and hope for the best.

I wasn't sure where he was staying while away, but I knew he was avoiding his father. As far as I knew, neither of them have seen the other once, since Tyler came out to him. Knowing this, I had a feeling that Tyler would draw out their confrontation for as long as possible, and I supported that idea full-heartedly. There was no way in hell I wanted Tyler to even be near that dickhole, much less have to live under the same roof as him. The King had done some horrible things in the past, having had absolutely no limits during his reign of terror, but abusing your son to the point of almost dying was a whole new level. I couldn't even fathom what would make a man want to hurt anyone, much less his child.