Royal Screw-Ups: a Keefex Story [Pre-Unlocked]

Chapter 3

A/N: Hey folks! This chapter is a longer one (about 1,700 words, which is a l o t for me) and it's a little different in its format but I hope you'll like it! It was pretty fun to write

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Keefe flopped down on his bed face-first. It had been 3 days since he was told who his wife would be and he wasn't any happier about it.

Maybe he just needed a walk, some fresh air would clear his head. Maybe help him understand why he had to have a wife rather than a husband.

Walking through the grounds, he found himself slowly drifting towards the servants homes. He wasn't even supposed to be outside right now, much less hanging out with servants.

But he couldn't stop himself. Soon enough he was standing outside Dex's door.

With a look in the window (well, actually it was more like a hole in the wall but Keefe wasn't one to judge) he saw the family sleeping on their beds. The whole house was about the size of his bedroom.

Suddenly, one of the figures got out of bed. The familiar red-headed boy shuffled to the small bucket of water in the corner and took a sip from a tin cup.

Keefe knocked on the window gently.

Dex turned, confused, and his eyes went wide at the sight of the prince.

Keefe waved with a wide smile on his face. Dex furrowed his brow and shook his head in a 'what the hell are you doing outside my house at midnight?' kind of way.

Keefe motioned him outside and he hesitantly creeped towards the door and walked outside.

"What the hell are you doing outside my house at midnight?"

"Couldn't sleep, you're the only person I thought might let me bother them."

Dex sighed. "Yeah, ok, you're right."

Keefe beamed. "Fantastic, in that case, follow me."

After around 5 minutes of walking in awkward silence, Dex's voice filled the void.

"So...where are we going?"

"It's a surprise, I think you'll like it."

As they turned a corner, there stood two guards talking by the castle wall. Keefe quickly grabbed Dex's arm and pulled him back so they guards wouldn't see them.

Even though it wasn't his intention, the contact revealed his emotions to Keefe.

Flustered, a touch embarrassed, and mostly anxious.

No, don't get hopeful. It was probably just a weird fluke.

Another peer around the corner revealed that the guards were now walking off to complete their rounds. Keefe ran ahead and waved Dex forward.

Dex panted as he ran along beside him.

"Why are we running?"

"The last guards just got done with that part of their round. That means the next set of guards are coming soon."

After only a minute more of running Keefe saw what they were looking for.

"There it is!"

~*~

Dex rolled out of bed, rubbing sleep from his eyes. It was the middle of the night so as he crept out of bed he had to be quiet.

As he made his way to the corner of the room and took a sip of water from the bucket in the corner, he heard a light knocking by the window.