{ cover by @lylacxox } Prince Keefe of the kingdom of Candleshade is pretty much living proof that the life of a royal isn't all jolly jousts and happy dances. And now? The princess he's been crushing on for EVER us getting married to none other than his best friend. But what happens when Keefe meets Prince Dex, the bride's cousin? ✧✧✧ His last thought before drifting off to a blank and peaceful slumber was this: Having Dex was impossible. The mere concept was as unreal and distant as the fleeting hope of having Sophie to himself and Fitz calling off the wedding. The idea was too elusive for it to ever be real, in any dimension, at any time in the universe. 𝘈𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥, 𝘪𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘺, Keefe thought before falling asleep. ✧✧✧

Why the heck am I here, Dex questioned himself from his side of the room. Who on this whole forsaken Council thought it was a good idea to bring a nervous technology train wreck into the nobility, let alone to a very important inter-species meeting? They already tried that with Sophie, and it clearly didn't go very well. I mostly wrote this to outline one of my many headcanons and show some love for my favorite kotlc ship. For reference, this is roughly set after Legacy when some treaties would need to rewritten and our boys just need a break.

Keefe has fucked up. No, he's really, really done it this time. He told Lady Belva - who's known to be unable to keep her mouth shut - that he's seeing someone. And then he gave that someone a name. Dex Dizznee. Only thing is, it was all a lie. So what are the two boys supposed to do when she lets the information leak?

Keefe is the crowned prince of Eternalia and he seems stuck that way for the foreseeable future. He wouldn't really mind if he didn't have to choose a wife at age 16. The particularly cute servant boy he meets by chance one day certainly doesn't help anything, either.

When a prank on Dame Alina goes sideways, Keefe does the only thing he can think of to get him and Dex out of a bad situation. A sequence of misunderstandings, messy situations, and stumbling confessions follow the incident, forcing Keefe and Dex to re-evaluate what love and friendship mean to them. Basically, I thought the Keeper of the Lost Cities tag needed more Keefex so I wrote my own. Disclaimer: This story is set around the time of the first and second books and doesn't follow the exact plot of original series. I'm just having fun with Shannon's characters