A-marriage-of-convenience (bxb)

Six

The Dinner Table was quieter than normal tonight. It was around 8:30 and everyone was silently eating. It was weird out of all the time I ate with them. Dinner is normally the most bubble time out of all. Everyone's normal laughing and joking and talking but not tonight, tonight nobody even dares to breathe let alone speak. "I have stage four cancer, I'm dying" the queen's blunt voice cut through the deadly silence that crowded the room. And all you could hear was when a spoon hit the table. Eyes and heads shot up to see prince Logan. He's nolands cousin. He's only sixteen and quite close with the queen. Hell he and noland were practically her sons. After nolands parents died Logan was put on the back burner because he was born on the same day they died so his day of birth was a day where his mother didn't even wanna look at him knowing he was bright into this world when someone she loved dearly was taken from it. When I started working here he was 5 and loved art. when we first meet i caught him sketching me, big brown eyes full of concentration,but the sad part was those eyes no longer held that determination and concentration. Just shock. "Mother don't be dramatic you don't have cancer"
Elaine says exhausted while her husband just rolls his eye and exhales. "Your prob-" but befor she can finish test reports go out on the queens medical exams every one but the kids get one. It was clear anyone with half a brain could understand the results the logan didn't open his he just asked to be excused and was granted his request by his mother if you can even call her that when it comes to him, i watch as he leaves before turning my head to noland who sat there unfazed he actually looked kinda like stone how he didn't change i sat across from him so i tapped him jently with my foot he just glanced at me and rased his right eyebrow with a tint of rage in him and it was like we where talking with our eyes and i knew when to leave a conversation and 3 minutes into it i looked away the rest of dinner we silent and awkward it ended at around 9:30.

*****

I was in my room brushing my wet stringy curls. I wasn't doing it very gently so I could hear the strands of a noded curly mess of my hair snap and break as i broke though it and then i heard a small broken voice "you shouldn't do that" i look into the vanity mirror and logan is standing in my door way i had my door cracked open because after this morning's fainting incident nolad wouldn't let me go home so he made me stay here in my room. My room was a wired thing to think about still and nolad gave it to me when i was 16 i never really told people i had my own room in the castle and it was in the main building i stopped zoning out and turn to logan i smile and rap my hair up in a towel and gather the pillows from my bed and couch and throw them on the carpet in of my bed with a blanket and sit on the floor "come, come littlest prince" i look up at him and he walks over to me in his black sweat pants and white tank top he sits and lays his head in my thigh and i smile simply because Jaxson was my baby but logan was MY boy i started working here when he was 5 he trusted me and i trusted him. I rubbed his head moving the hair from his eyes over and over again until his spoke "thank you..." a silence sat between us "for.." i keep pushing the hair back and he chokes out the next words " for helping rase me when my mother pushed me away and they only ones that tried where noland, grandma and grandpa... thank you for loving me kegan" and i smiled softly And leaned down and kissed his head "oh baby i would do it all again" i say as i hear little foot steps and see seven little heads poking through the crack of my door "come on little ducklings" i whisper out and they run to our little cloud of pillows and cover and lay around us and i grab the book on the edge of my bed and start to read..

***
when they fall asleep i get out from under them to go check on things in the castle i walk for about 45 till i hear pounding and harsh breathing coming from the exercise room when i take a few steps inside i see noland hitting the punching bag hard with no gloves or any kind of rap on just bloody knuckles "your hurting yourself" i whisper and he doesn't reply i walk up behind him and place my hand on his shoulder and he just freezes his arms drop to his side and he drops his head "alec" i whisper his nickname but he doesn't move. doesn't breathe, nothing..

I reach down and his left hand and intertwine our fingers and kiss his bloody knuckles, and he exhales long and deep and then peers over his shoulder and we lock eyes and i watch and tears flood his eyes and he lets go of my hand and drop to his knees and sits on his ass with his legs to his chest i go down right after him and rap my arms around him and he leans into me as he raps his arms around my abdomen pushing his face into my neck and cries not a little cry but a real true cry i stroke his hair sitting on my knees holding him "im here... im right here" i kiss his head he tries to apologize though sobs but i just shush him after about 20 minutes of him crying he is quiet and then mummers "she will be gone and i will have no one" I know he is talking about the queen. I just pat his head "lilly,lana,jaxson,logan,oliver,maximus,kerosene and me, you have us" and he meets my eyes "you have me..." i whisper and get up "let me show you something" i say and take his hand after he stands up and i start walking back to my room "we only live once noland, ONCE. And in this life and the next I believe that me and you were meant to know each other... For what reason i dont know but what i do know is i wouldnt have changed any part of the day we meet because if i changed anything i wouldn't have this" i say and we step into my room and see the pile of kids and blankets and pillows "and neither would you" I reminded and he just smiled softly and then goes to the left and lays down and i go to the right and we looking at each other for a moment as we lay there "good night" i mutter and close my eyes after about 5 minutes i feel a hand on my back and im being pulled in it doesn't take me long to realize its noland and i smile as all the kids make soft exhales as he pulls us together... that little action puts me to sleep.