Rules of One's Soul

Ch6 Realizing Feelings P2

What followed was Rouxls just stepping away. He just had to get away from that situation. His soul thumped hard in his chest as he shook lightly from that. What was he supposed to say? I love you? Yes, I'm scared of you? No? Each answer could have good or bad results. It always was that way with the king. .....But Jevil wasn't the king, a part of him countered. Well, what about those heart attacks? He could've killed you! And he did! Remember your shoulder?!..But he said that was a part of this 'love game' and don't you find it strange they were all just heart attacks? Oh, yeah! How about showing up in your BED with you in it?! He made you a cake you idiot. It could've been poisoned! Or spiked with something! And he's a prisoner! He was done there for a reason!! Lancer pardoned all the prisoners except ONE you moron. And NOONE knows more about the King's wrath than you.

He faltered his walking before shaking his head and starting his pace back up.

And how di I know I can trust him? He was still down there for a reason! He hasn't tried ANYTHING to harm anyone! Yet! He's kissed you 3 times by now......How many people have you shown romantic affection for since her-

"Shut thineself up!"

A few servants stopped and looked at the Duke who had stopped in the middle of the hallway and shouted out of nowhere. He stood there and stared before giving a smile and chuckle before briskly walking away, trying not to attract anymore attention. Holy f*ck he was a wreck this morning. He really didn't want to be thinking of any old memories right now, and he REALLY just wanted to focus on finding Lancer right now. So taking a deep breath, he calmed down the rapid beating of his soul and managed to relax somewhat. Now. Lancer. He checked the throne room first sense that was the closest. Rounding a corner, he shoved his head into the large room. It was practically empty other than the King Club arguing amongst his five heads and something King Diamond was spouting. Something about decorations and cake?? He couldn't tell from the amount of talking and shouting the two were having. Rolling his eyes, he pulled his head back out, sighed, and made his way up towards the left half of the castle, where the royal chambers were. Lancer was probably playing with his toys again, or riding his bike....He glanced outside at the still pouring rain..Yeah. Toys.

He chuckled at the thought of the small boy playing with the limited toys he had. Or drawing himself as the next 'Bad Guy King' in his many drawings, with his 'Lesser Dad' as the sidekick. Honestly he's glad Lancer didn't turn out like his father. It would've been more horrible then for the outcome of the Kingdom then. That doesn't mean everything was perfect though, Lancer had much to learn as king. He lost count The amount of times he had to fix something Lancer did when he wasn't looking, but maybe that was for the best. After all he was still a chil-

"LESSER DAD!"

He barely had time to turn around before a blur of blue and white zoomed into him. Making him give off a loud 'Oof!' before the two came crashing down to the floor with a loud thud. the blue man groaned, his head swimming, before slowly lifting his head to peer at the weight in his chest. A very round child sat upon his chest and a tail thumped behind him. The blepping boy looked overly happy to see him.

"Dad! Guess what, guess what, guess what!!"

"...*sigh* Lancer tis very rude to tackle thou's subjects-"

"Lesser Daaaaad!" He pawed at his cape. "Guess what!"

He sighed. "What?"

He sat up and Lancer reached up to wrap his arms around the Duke's neck. He sighed and wrapped his arms around the boy, grunting up onto his feet with the boys in his arms.

"I get to help with the giant party this year and get to stay up late! No bedtime for me!"

He chuckled and began stepping towards the throne room. "Oh, really? And what party wouldst thou be referring to? Thou's birthday has already passed."

The child bounced again and he had to tightened his grip to keep from dropping him. "Not my birthday. Mr. Heart King Guy is planning this big party called a ball and he says we're all aloud to stay up late!...Although there's not gonna be balls or any other toys. So it doesn't sound too fun."

Rouxls chuckled. "Young Sire. A ball is another name for a giant get together or 'party' as thou calleths it. Tis more of a fancy get together of older darkners likest mineself and thou mutual kings."

"So no toys?"

"I...guess thou could bringest some to entertain thouself if you oh so wish. But as a King you should pay some respect to it."

"Oh...Ok!"

''That's my worm." He chuckled. "What exactly tis this uh- 'party' for anyhow?"

Lancer hummed. "I don't really know....Mr. Heart King Guy said it's a holiday Ex-King Dad tried to get rid of. He said it would be really fun. I think it's called.....Heart seeking??"

Rouxls gave the boy a look. "Doth thou mean Soul Matching Day?"

"Yeah! That! What is it?"

Rouxls stopped from the long walk by a door and grunted as he shifted to hold Lancer in one arm as he reached out for the door. "Well...It's basically a romantic holiday for couples, or more commonly a way for thoust subjects to meet thou's future spouse." Lancer made a yuck face, to which Rouxls chuckled at. "But thou won't findest yours until thou's much older. Perhaps in a hundred or so year. Don'tst worry non."

"Thank goodness....Aw, man. Does this mean I have to watch a bunch boring grown up mushy kissing?"

Rouxls chuckled as he opened the door. "No. You could always eat the food and-"

"And be entertained, entertained.~"

A head popped from above the doorway, startling the poor Duke into giving a high pitched scream and slamming the door out of reflex. There was a loud 'OW!' on the other side as well as a loud bang from the door making contact with the person. He was clutching Lancer for dear life to his chest and giving a few quick breaths-

"Uncle Jevil!" The boy's voice was a mixture of concern, surprise, and happiness and he wriggled in Rouxls grip until the Duke dropped the boy to his feet. He bounced towards the door and swung it open much to the protests of the duke behind him. The door was opened and the floating imp was on the other side, rubbing his face. "Are you ok?"

The imp smiled and brought his hand away from his face to look at the little prince. "Do not worry, worry little king. Hehehe. I've dealt much worse, worse before."

Rouxls stood frozen behind the boy, hands figiting and ready to grab Lancer at a moments notice. The spiked up feeling he felt whenever the king presented danger crept up his spine and pooled out as some droplets of sweat and a nervous smile on his face. But a voice in his head whisperedhe wasn't the king...It didn't matter. Lancer's safety was more important. The feeling increased when the jester looked up at him and his own smile faltered for a bit...The two men stared at each other for a moment, before jevil smiled back down at the little boy.

"You know, I'm pretty hungry, hungry. Would the little king mind, mind getting me some food? You know what I like. It would ease the pain, pain."

Lancer perked up. "Yeah! I can do that! I'll be right back!" Rouxls opened his moth but Lancer bolted down the hallway before taking a sharp turn and just jumping through a door. the door swung for a bit before Lancer poked his head back out and shouted back "Don't go anywhere!" and slipped back into the room.

Leaving him. Alone. With Jevil. His stomach sunk, but at the same time his soul gave off a throb that sent a happy feeling waving through the nervous emotions. Great. Thanks soul- Something wizzed by his head and lodged itself right next to him in the wall and he froze. Jevil ever oblivios summoned a few more small hearts in his hands and held them out to him.

"What does the Duke, Duke think of my heart's desire?~ It surely do-"

"ART THOU TRYING TO ENDEST MINE LIFE!?" He shouted in a high pitched squeaky tone making Jevil freeze. Rouxls side glanced the pink heart attack- wait. Since when were those pink??- and took one giant step sideways before looking back to the shocked imp. "What doth thou nay understand of attacks?!"

Jevil rapidly blinked before his eyes widened and he thrusted his hands once again forward. "NO, NO! Not attacks! I only wish to shower, shower you with....What did Seam, Seam say it was?...Love, love and affection! Don't be scared, scared! Don't be scared please, please!"

Rouxls stood there frozen, and with a complete loss for words for the moments. Jevil thrusted his outstretched hands towards him, with the mini heart attacks still humbly floating above them. They sparkled and were a....really weird rose pink color. Weren't those white? The worm shook that thought aside when one of those clawed hands grabbed his cape in a desperate but gently way, his elf ears pinning to his head.

"Please don't run away,..away.." His voice pleaded out.

A sudden throb of his soul sent a calling through his being and instantly he felt guilt thrown into the mix of the emotions. Great! Rouxls gulped. Hard.

"W-Wha...Is thou making a...love confession towards...me?" He froze after saying that. The last confession of feelings involved him running for the hills and Jevil screaming like his soul broke in half. But right now....the joker almost looked like he would cry with how desperate he acted. "...Is this a joke?

"No! No jokes, jokes...P-Please.."

"What part of thou's game are you playing?"

"Isn't it obvious, obvious? The two of hearts of course....I don't want to go back, back to a lonely freedom." His hand holding the hearts lightly shook a bit now. "Please..."

Rouxls just stared at the smaller twitching man. What was he supposed to say to his? Yes? No? His was starting to feel dizzy with all the emotions swimming through his head at once, the sound of his pounding soul filling up his ears. Anything could lead to a worse outcome. He felt almost like fainting-

"You really, really don't....feel anything...Don't you, you?"

His soul throbbed again and he couldn't stop himself before he said his next words-

"Of course, I do."

Both males froze at what he just said....Before Jevil's smile returned full and a new hope shined in his eyes. Oh, fuck...

He let out a happy squeal and series of giggles, the hearts he was holding disbanded and his tail wagged like a little puppy. "I knew it! Knew it! Bwahahahahaha."

Rouxls flinched. "N-Now holdeth on! What happened to s-s-slow!...And what art thou doing within the castle?"

Jevil giggled again before giving a smirk. "Lancer, Lancer has been kind enough to rehire, hire my games.~ And the ruler of Hearts, Hearts has asked for my little spectacles, spectacles for the show within ten, ten days....And I'm happily, happily capable of going slow.~ I can do anything!"

Rouxls opened his mouth-

"UNCLE JEVIL!!" A flurry of feet sounded out before a familiar child bounded up to them, a sad look on his face. "I couldn't find any candy...I'm sorry. I looked everywhere."

"That's ok." He reached down and patted the boy on the head. "I'm not very hungry, hungry anymore...." He made a side glance at Rouxls. His eyes wondered the Duke's face a bit before stopping at the bags under his eyes, making Rouxls raise a brow. Jevil hummed before looking back down at Lancer. "But uh-..Did you ever happen to notice, notice something?"

Lancer looked confused and tilted his head sideways. "Notice...something?"

"Oh yes, yes. Very important."

Lancer looked to Rouxls who gave the same confused look before looking back at Jevil. "Did I forget something?"


"Oh no. But uh-" He made another glance towards Rouxls before leaning down eye level with Lancer, still floating in mid air. He turned Lancer around and pushed him a few feet away from the Duke. Rouxls froze up at the sight- "Have you noticed the bags under his eyes?"

"Who's eyes?"

"Rouxls, Rouxls."

He looked over his shoulder real quick. "....Oh! Lesser Dad's always had those." He turned back to the smiling face. "He says it's something all Dads have."

"Oh! That's bad, bad!" He held a hand to his face and gave a worried look. Alerting the child.

"It is?"

"Yes, Yes. You see. Rouxls is suffering, suffering from No-sleepitis. It makes him very sleepy, sleepy and feel grumpy."

"Really?" He nodded. "Oh...He is cranky a lot. And he's been acting very weird-"

"A side, sideeffect I'm afraid. He needs a nap, nap..Soooo.How about a little break, break?"

Rouxls watched and tried to step towards them, but every step he took Jevil move away. This was starting to become worrisome and he was seriously thinking about teleporting in front of them when Jevil finally moved away and Lancer was smiling at him.

"I swear if thou tries something-"

"Lesser Dad." He little boy pointed at him. "Take a nap."

He paused. ".....What?"

"You need to take a nap. Like a lot of naps. Because you're always cranky. So I'm ordering you on...." He stopped and looked back up to Jevil. "What was it called?"

"Paid, paid leave."

"OH! Right!" Striking a pose, he pointed at Rouxls and said in a cute bossy tone. "Lesser Dad, as the new King Dad, I'm ordering a vacation for you.....And what he said. For ten days!"

"WHAT?!" He turned to Jevil with anger in his eyes. "WHAT GAME ART THOU PLAYING WITH MINE SON!?"

Jevil gave an offended look. "I like number games, games....But harm a child, child such as Lancer I would not. That is a cruel, cruel assumption for me. Did you not, not admit to feeking for me?"

"I- N-no?....I meaneth yes! B-B-But I-"

"And one must trust, trust the one they feel for yes?"

"I-I meaneth...Y-Yes! B-But we-"

"Are taking it slow, slow." He grinned. "You said it yourself, yourself. You are the one making assumptions quick, quick without knowing me first, first. You are the one to jump, jump head first as they say and consider my motives cruel, cruel.....Now. Are you sure YOU are not breaking your, your rules? Hmmm."

"Y-Y-You were the one whomst jumped on mineself a-and ....m-made contact" His face lit up a bright blue at this point.

"All within a span of hours, hours or days. You made assumptions within a matter, matter of minutes. Therefore I am moving, moving slower with things."

"Y-You- I didst not meaneth THAT-!"

"You never specified what 'things' were not under, under that rule."

Rouxls sputtered a bit more, thinking of a loophole to be found...But he found none. He gave off a growl and quickly turned to Lancer,

"You cannot be serious! I-I-....What willst thou doeth within mine help for a week let alone ten days!"

"There it is, is."

he turned back to the imp and demanded angrily, "Where WHAT is, Worm!?"

By this point the imp was laying on his back with his hands behind his head.But reached a claw out to point at him. "You pander after the boy, boy like a rabbick would her young. Yet you give, give him no trust to handle anything his own." Rouxls shut up. "How does one expect him to become king, king let alone independent if you do not, not trust him to make his own mistakes?"

Rouxls gave a silent look to the ground. "I-....I don't want him t-to....to..."

"He's not alone....There's, There's other royals and their kin. You're state of being worries, worries me-"

"I-I-It's not just Lancer!" He shouted and started counted on his fingers to list off. "Whomst is going to tend to the guards?! O-Or handle all that god forsaken paperwork?! O-Or over see thine puzzles!?"

"The Kings, Kings, secretary, and jigsawries," he stated deadpan. He went to argue again. "A game where you wear and tear, tear your body to exhaustion makes you the loser if you wear, wear it before you can intervene the bad ending. You must stay prepared for such things."

His own way of saying his mental state was unhealthy...... and implying it needed to change before things went wrong. The three were silent for a moment, before Rouxls looked down at Lancer. The boy shuffled on his feet and looked down.

"Sorry, Lesser Dad....No-sleepitis is bad for you."

Despite what was happening, he gave a dry chuckle at the term. ''C-Can you-"

"I'll be fine. I defeated Ex-King Dad with friendship power!" He struck another cute pose. "I can be a great King-With-No-Lesser Dad for a bit-"

"And he'll be back before the party, party."

Rouxls gave an eye roll. There was no getting out of this, was there? He sighed and dropped eye level with Lancer. "I'll only agree to this if thou stays away from thine dungeon until mine return. Doth thou promise?"

"Yeah! I'll be too busy making the mushy party more fun anyways!"

He didn't know whether to be relieved or not, that still begged the other question though. What the hell was he supposed to do for ten days?