The Misplaced Prince[COMPLETE]

A Real Kiss

"...the audacity of her...arriving in my castle unannounced...getting reckless...never would have dared it before..."

"Who the hell was she? The Queen of Faeries?"

"No. Not the Queen, Joshua. But the Queen was there for the ride, the bitch. Always sends her dirty minions to do her job..."

"For the ride? What the hell do you mean?...And can she really do that? The gift of a day?"

A soft humorless laugh, followed by a furious, "I don't bloody know. Reckless waste of power, even for her..."

"The gift? What is he talking about?" a new voice joined the furious conversation. Kasey shifted, uncomfortable, rousing as if a deep slumber.

"Don't worry about it." The King's voice replied shortly, "Dispatch your men--I want to know how the bitch got in. I want everyone responsible brought to me. If our defense is weak, double it. If there are spies in the castle, they will be dealt with. I will spare no one who compromises the safety of my people. No one."

"Yes...but what about the gift?" the voice reiterated.

"It's none of your business." Joshua returned, his voice moody. There was a sound of pacing, following by a burst of, "If one puny woman of the Faeries is this powerful, how the hell do you expect to defeat them anyways? Seems like a lost fight to me, even with your magic. Didn't you all spawn from a mix of faeries and humans? Well, how can you possibly defeat people who have several fold your abilities? Some of you don't even have proper magic!"

"Not 'you', Joshua." The King corrected calmly, "Us."

Joshua's voice let out an impatient snort before the pacing continued.

"Sebastian, I need to know if something might harm him. What is it about this gift?" The third voice demanded.

"Shrader--" The King started.

"Stay out of it." Joshua cut in, "What the hell are you doing here anyways? What is he doing here?"

Kasey gasped, her eyes flying open, and jerked up in a sitting position, looking around wildly. The chatter around her died, and two pair of footsteps hurried towards her.

"Good, she's awake." Shrader said absently, not having moved to her from his position near the windows. He lifted a curtain with one long finger, frowning at the scene outside, "Most people outside have come to as well, Sebastian. They're creating chaos. I'll deal with it."

He left. Kasey looked around blankly. It appeared someone had moved her from the ballroom.
She was now in a private chamber connected to the stairs that led to the ballroom where the royals convened before making an appearance, with the King and Prince Joshua peering anxiously at her. The King straightened once he verified that she was alert and well, but Joshua continued to study her closely.

"Are you alright?" he murmured. His face was too shadowed in the dim light for her to see properly, but he sounded...bothered.

"What...happened?"

She remembered the vile beautiful woman waltzing in, tittering smugly, conversing solely with the King as was expected of her, but soon everything had blacked out.

She must have hit her head on the way down because her cheek throbbed viciously.

Her head reared up, and she studied Joshua keenly, worried, "Are you alright? Did you lose consciousness as well?" she reached up to absently touch her cheek where it hurt, but Joshua tugged her hand away, grimacing.

"We need a physician." he snapped over his shoulder. Ordinarily Kasey would have gasped with horror--or suppressed a scandalized laugh to see him barking an order at the King as if he were a mere errand boy. However her current confusion was great enough that she barely blinked as the King turned to leave, but not before sharing a mild smile with Kasey.