Hidden Under a Crown (a Pack ff) *DISCONTINUED*

Chapter 4: The Fluffy is VERY Fluffy

Preston's POV

Jerome, Lachlan, Mikey, and I were just sitting in my room, waiting for the people from the Icenoan, Nadern, and Starae kingdoms. Apparently they're supposed to come too, but they're just a little bit late. Like, two hours late.

"So..." I drummed my fingers on the floor. "Jerome, I thought baccas were... extinct."

Jerome shrugged. "No one really gets to see me. The king is my adopted dad, and my mom WAS the queen of the baccas before we were hunted."

Lachlan raised an eyebrow. "So your dad spared you?" he asked in a thick Triastarian accent. "I thought he was the one leading the bacca hunt all those years ago."

Jerome shrugged. "He said at first he was going to keep me hostage, since I was the prince of baccas. But he ended up growing attached to me instead, so he raised me as a son. My adoptive mom didn't exactly approve of it first."

Lachlan, Mikey, and I nodded and we all sat in silence. My mom and dad were weird too. They didn't really like the Dahlbergs, even though the dad was the top general of the army. Plus their son, Sky, is supposed to be able to control wind. I have no idea if it's true or not because we don't have any proof.

My parents also won't let me go near the river. They say that if I fall into it, I can't swim and I would drown. But if they didn't want me to drown, they could have taught me how to freaking swim!

Parent logic.

Then someone knocked on the bedroom door. "Prince Preston, the other three princes are here."

That was the maid Noelle. She acts so regal it's disgusting. Rumor has it that she used to be queen of Nadern before she got divorced and kicked out of the castle. Is that true? I don't know. I'll have to ask the prince of Nadern that's about to walk into my room.

Noelle opened the door to reveal three kids my age. The only way I could tell they were the princes was their crowns. Their outfits were torn and muddy. They had scratches all over themselves, and in some spots there was dark, non-human blood.

Noelle left us, closing the door. I looked at the new trio wide-eyed. "Sooo... what happened to you guys?" I asked.

The one with the checkered hoodie looked down, while the one with a blue sweater and the one with darker skin glanced at each other. "Wolves in the forest," the two answered in unison.

Mikey raised an eyebrow (holy magikarp I almost he was there). "Which forest?"

The one in the blue hoodie answered. "The Hutt forest. And these wolves were really weir- WHAT THE HECK IS THAT A BACCA?!"

Jerome chuckled at the other prince's reaction. "Yup, that's me, the probably last bacca left in the world!"

The one in the checkered jacket looked up at Jerome. His eyes went huge. "Dude," he said. "Are-are you fluffy?"

Everyone exploded into laughter, including the checkerboard guy. Jerome wiped his eyes. "I don't know. Would you like to feel my fur?"

Checkerboard guy nodded, his eyes glassy from laughter tears. He reached out and softly touched Jerome's fur. "Jeez, you ARE fluffy!"

That made us explode like a volcano of laughter. Then I remembered that I didn't even know the new guys' names. "So, uh, what are your names? I'm Preston of the Mycetain kingdom, as Noelle said," I introduced.

Lachlan raised his hand. "I'm Lachlan of the Triastare kingdom."

"Jerome of the Necto kingdom," Jerome said, raising a paw.

Mikey threw his hands up. "I'm Mikey, and I'm not prince anything!"

The one with dark skin glared at Mikey. "Gosh dang it, stop making us laugh like crazy people! I'm Vikk of the Starae kingdom."

"Rob of the Icenoan kingdom," the one with a blue sweater said.

"And I'm the majestic Prince Mitch of the Nadern kingdom!" the prince with a checkered hoodie announced, trying to look all regal and everything. He failed. "And I never knew my mom decided to become a maid for King and Queen Frags."

"So the rumors ARE true!" I exclaimed. "And you three need to get clean. My mom will actually faint at the sight of you," I added, gesturing to Rob, Vikk, and Mitch.

Mikey started pushing Vikk and Lachlan towards the bathroom. I pushed Rob to the bathroom. "We are washing your cuts no matter what the fudge you say, Roberto," I said over the complaints of Rob.

An hour later

"Okay, that's kind of better. Are you sure you guys don't have a change of clothes?"

"Oh my gods, Preston, you're not our mom."

"You're right, I'm your papa. Now hurry up or my dad will start yelling at us. Trust me, you don't want that to happen."

We started walking down the stairs to the dinner hall. Rob, Vikk, and Mitch's skin was free from blood, but there was nothing we could do about their clothes. Oh well.

"Hey Mom. Hey Dad." Mitch waved over at Noelle and the king of Nadern, who were arguing with each other. They didn't notice their son. Mitch sighed. "Well, I tried."

Jerome shrugged as we continued to walk towards the table. We all chose seats next to each other- Me on the far left close to my mom, then Rob, then Lachlan, Vikk, Jerome, then Mitch on the far left. The rest of the adults continued to situate themselves in front of their children.

It was sort of an understatement to say it was an awkward time.

The adults were glancing at each other like they were having some weird, silent conversation. Us sassy preteens were just waiting impatiently for the food to come, 'cause we were hungry as the Nether.

I locked eyes with my dad, who was for some reason staring at me. I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat, waiting for him to look away. After an eternity he did, and he addressed everyone currently at the table. Well, mostly just the princes.

"Alright," Dad started. "I am King Samuel Frags of the Mycetain kingdom, which I am sure you all know."

We nodded, confused. Dad continued, "You kids are probably wondering why we are all gathered here tonight."

Rob and I shared a look. Actually, yeah, we were. Is there something important going on or...

This time Vikk's mom spoke up. "We are here to discuss your futures."

Hoo, boy. Why did I have a feeling this would end up with them arranging our marriages?

"The prophecy given by Nikolai to stop Haletor was not speaking about those children Ian, Adam, Tyler, Jason, Quentin, and Seto," Mitch's dad said.

What...

My mom decided it was her turn to talk. "It was talking about you six that are gathered her in front of me."

WHAT?!