The Kindness of Kings

by Chelsea Ballinger

  She laughed to herself and Louie looked at her, confused. “What’s so funny?”

  She propped her head in her hand and stared down at his body, admiring him and thinking about what they had just done. “That was so fun.”

  Louie laughed at her and she responded by kissing his chest and slowly working her way down.

  Chapter 21

  Bliss and Downfall

  “We still didn’t make it to the bed,” Mina said as she laid on her side with her eyes closed. Louie traced his finger from her neck to her thighs.

  Mina was referring to their current situation. After the piano they had hurried to Louie’s guest room, but immediately fell to the floor once they reached it, making love the whole night on the floor. Louie didnt reach for the comforter until they were too tired to get up.

  “Beds are boring,” Louie said as he licked her waist.

  Mina giggled. “That tickles.”

  Louie snickered and stopped leaning against the foot of the king-sized bed. Mina propped her head on her elbow and stared at him, smiling and puting her feet on his chest. He gripped her foot and held on, playfully tugging.

  “Stop!”

  “Get your dirty feet off me.”

  “My feet are not dirty.”

  “They stink too,” he mumbled.

  She playfully kicked him in the chest. “My feet do not stink!”

  They laughed and continued staring at each other like two teenage lovers after their first time. It was a good feeling they were both scared of losing.

  “So tell me,” she said, folding her arms flat and laying her head on them. “Why are you crazy about me?”

  “I’m beginning to feel like you’re using me for your own ego.”

  “No, I’m not. I’m serious. I want to know everyhting.”

  Louie smiled and sighed. “Well, I knew I was in love with you when you broke my nose.”

  “What?”

  “I was fourteen and I called you a horrible name for no reason. I just wanted you to talk to me, show me attention and you did by punching me in the face.”

  “You deserved it.”

  “I know... and I’’m sorry, but I knew the reason I was satisfied as Jezebel plugged up my bloody nose with tissue was because I was in love with you. I was just cheesing and Jezebel knew too; she just shook her head and called me a silly boy.”

  “Crazy more like it.”

  “Crazy for you. When we were in high school, I would know your whole class schedule. I would be there in the hallway everytime just so I could tease you.”

  “How?”

  “I had the royal guards hack into the school system.”

  Mina laughed, then paused. “Wait, are you serious?” She sat up with the sheet wrapped around her.

  Louie nodded and shrugged.

  Mina shook her head in awe. “You could have atleast changed my grade in Calculus, you know.”

  “Naw, I know you. You don’t want anything you haven’t earned.”

  “And how do you know that?”

  “You wince everytime something nice is given to you. Every time Sedgwick gave you a gift, you got this uncomfortable look. Like the time my mom gave you those diamond earings or when you started at our school when your aunt started working for us. That’s why you work hard at everything now. One of the many things I like about you.”

  Mina smiled as her heart delighted in Louie’s adoration for her. She was amazed by him, the selfless man he was and the compassion he felt for her. She leaned forward and laid across his lap.

  “Tell me more,” she said as he stared at her.

  “Um... I love the way your leg shakes and you bite your thumb when you’re nervous. I love the way you just speak your mind. You’re not afraid of my father. You see the beauty in simple things. Your eyes light up on Christmas. You hate Halloween.”

  “Thanks to you.”

  Louie laughed. “One time. It was so obvious that I had on a fake wolf mask!”

  “Whatever.”

  “You want to change the world. You believe in equality like Mother did. You loved my mother. You looked up to her and that just made me love you more. You embody perfection to me.”

  “You shouldn’t put me on a high pedastal Louie.”

  “Oh, I don’t. My definition of perfection is opposite. You’re stubborn, a horrible loser, oblivious at time, and you snore.”

  Mina laughed at him.

  “But you don’t pretend to be something you’re not.”

  Mina had enough of his list, she just wanted him. She sat up and kissed Louie. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. He broke the kiss just to look at her.

  “So this is what it feels like,” he said.

  “What?”

  “Bliss.”

  Mina’s heart broke for a moment for Louie. His eyes were the shape of a lost child who had finally been found. Louie had never felt Bliss, and she was happy that she could give it to him.

  +

  Caius watched as Bryan’s face fell while on the phone with King Kenneth’s assistant, Mrs. Crawley. Bryan ended the call and faced the King.

  “Your Majesty... it seems that Prince Louie succeeded in his venture.”

  Caius rose from his office chair. “What do you mean succeeded?”

  “King Kenneth has agreed to supply us with thirty percent of Magna’s resources. A very generous offer, I might add. The Queen is also donating two million to the Serenity Foundation to Ms. Farren and they say it is all due to your son.”

  “Louie?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  The King’s jaw twitched as he stared into space. He shook his head and looked at Bryan. “Doesn’t matter. We will stick to our deal with Gibbeth.”

  “But Sir, breaking a peace treaty with a country that has supplied us with more will cause tension not only from the people, but from the Republic.”

  “The Republic has no order over me.”

  +

  While Caius decided what to do next, Mina and Louie said goodbye to the King and Queen they admired so much and headed back to Serenity. Once there, Mina was not ready to break apart from Louie just yet, so she kept him company while he unpacked.

  "Is this thing heavy on your head?" Mina asked Louie, looking at his halo crown in his velvet chest in his bedroom.

  "It was at first when I was younger. It always itched, but it became easier the older I got."

  "You mean the bigger your head got," Mina laughed.

  Louie with his arms folded, leaned back against his bed post and watched her.

  "What?"

  "You never asked Sedgwick about the crown?"

  "No," she realized.

  "You want to try it on, don’t you?"

  "No," she lied.

  Louie smiled, still staring at her.

  Mina smacked her lips. "Ugh! Fine, yes, I do. Sedgwick never let me try his on."

  "Go ahead then."

  "Really?"

  "Yeah," Louie shrugged.

  Mina bit back her smile and gently grabbed the crown from the chest. She faced Louie and watched him as she slowly placed his crown on her head.

  "What do you think?"

  "Perfect."

  "Perfect enough for a woman that isn't a true queen?" She meant it as a joke but regretted the words at the sight of Louie's frown.

  "I didn’t mean it." He said and she approached him.

  "I know... even though you’re right."

  "No."

  "Louie, it’s not like I want to be royalty."

  "I know, but still. Hear this now, Mina," he paused. "You are the truest of truths and in some alternate universe where people could be whatever they wanted, you would be Queen."

  "I already am." She placed her hand on his chest. "In you I am. I know that now."

  Mina kissed him softly on the lips and walked over to his bedroom door, closing and locking it. She faced him and pulled down her straps, letting her dress fall to her ankles. She stepped out of it
and a grinned slyly.

  "How may I serve you, Your Highness?"

  Louie grinned and licked his lips as Mina walked towards him. Louie gripped her bottom and lifted her up. Mina laughed and wrapped her legs around his waist, holding on to the crown on her head as he walked them over to his bed and gently laid her on top. Mina watched as he took off his shirt and kissed her on the lips slowly. He bit her bottom lip and planted kisses on her neck and shoulder, then her breast, and lastly her stomach. He peered up at her underneath his long eyelashes as he kissed the spot that was anticipating his return.

  Mina gasped and gripped the comforter of Louie's bed, closing her eyes and enjoying the pleasurable gift Louie had granted her while she still wore his royal crown on her head.

  +

  With every blessing there is something bent on destroying it, and for Mina and Louie, that was Bryan. He was out walking when he saw Mina leaving Louie's bedroom. He knew the truth the moment Louie stepped out of his room in just his boxer briefs, grabbing Mina's wrist and spinning her back into his arms and kissing her passionately.

  "I'll see you tomorrow," Mina said against his lips and backed away still holding his hand until she was too far, letting her fingertips be the last touch he would feel before it went downhill.

  Chapter 22

  Everything Has Meaning

  For the first time in his life, Louie woke up without worry, anger or dread. For the first time in a long time he reveled in the unexpected. He was so happy that he did not pay attention to the missed phone calls on his cell phone on his couch. He left his room for Mina's cottage, not wanting another moment without her.

  "Louie!" He heard his father call.

  He grunted and responded. "What?!"

  "Come here for a minute. I have a surprise for you."

  Louie rolled his eyes and went to his father's office. His father didn’t look up from fixing himself a drink.

  Louie entered the office and could feel another person in the room. He turned his head and there he was.

  "Hey little brother!" Sedgwick was gleaming with joy as he greeted Louie who said nothing. All he could do was stare at his brother, hoping for a redo of this moment.

  "Well, aren’t you gonna say ‘hey’ or what?"

  Louie blinked excessively and cleared his throat. "Hey."

  Sedgwick approached his brother and wrapped his arms around him, embracing the brother he had left behind, the brother he had missed.

  After the embrace, Louie looked at his brother who seemed different, from the facial hair on his chin to the strain in his eyes.

  "What are you doing here?" Louie asked him.

  "Well this is still my home, isn’t it?" Sedgwick laughed, confused at his brother's uneasiness.

  "I know... I’m just... shocked that you’re here."

  "Yeah, well I was shocked and pleased to hear about what you did for us in Magna. It’s not enough, but it’s a big step Louie, and it’s all because of you."

  "I didn’t really do anything," Louie laughed nervously.

  "Nonsense, it’s a new beginning for us. I am going to appoint you as my high council along with father, and you will be a liaison for us and other countries."

  "Wait, wait. What is going on?"

  "Your brother has great news," Caius intervened, while staring at Louie. "I will be stepping down as King and your brother will take over."

  "What?" Louie was shocked at his father's early retirement.

  "I'm going to be King, and I was as shocked and confused as you, but God works in mysterious ways especially... when it comes to love."

  Louie's heart dropped at that word from Sedgwick.

  "Love?" Louie repeated. From the smile on Sedgwick's face and the victorious grin on his father's, he knew what Sedgwick was about to tell him.

  "Last night father told me that I would not only be King, but that I can have my pick of any woman to marry. And that woman, my little brother, is Mina."

  Louie nodded and forced a smile, walking to the mini bar where his father stood gleaming.

  "That’s great, Sedgwick, but you guys have been broken up for a year now. How are−"

  "How am I going to make up for all the bullshit? Well I like to think that I started last night."

  Louie faced him. "You were with Mina last night?"

  "Yeah, when Dad told me, I went straight to her. Told her how sorry I was and how much I still loved her."

  Louie faced his father who sipped his cognac and stared down Louie. "Who was I to get in the way of true love?" Caius emphasized “true.”

  “What did she say?" Louie asked Sedgwick, still staring at his father.

  “She said that a lot had happened and that she would give it some thought."

  Louie's eyes closed in defeat, processing Sedgwick's question and Mina's answer. When he opened them, his father’s smiling eyes were literally spitting “ha ha” in his face.

  "Louie, you okay?" Sedgwick asked.

  Louie downed his shot and faced his brother. "Yeah, I have a meeting. I'll be back and we can celebrate, okay?"

  Louie headed out, but stopped and faced his brother. "I’m sure she’s going to say yes, Sedgwick."

  Sedgwick smiled at his brother's confident words.

  But Louie's confidence in Mina getting back together with Sedgwick had been his worst fear since the day he and her first kissed.

  +

  "So, what are you going to do?" Christina asked Mina.

  "I don’t know."

  "Well, you need to figure it out. I mean Mina you can't have, I quote you, ’the most amazing time of your life’ with Louie, then marry Sedgwick."

  "I know, and I don’t even want to marry Sedgwick."

  "Than why would you tell him you would think about it?"

  "Because I was confused. I couldn’t just tell him the truth."

  "Did you talk to Louie?"

  "He didn’t answer his phone and I can’t have Sedgwick telling him before I tell him."

  Mina and Christina's conversation was stopped by a hard knock on the front door. Mina quickly opened it and was met by Louie who had a blank expression on his face.

  "Yeah, I'll be in your room," Christina said, quickly exiting the living room. Louie brushed past and waited for her to close the door and face him. Once she did, he wasted no time telling her his thoughts.

  "You’re going back to him."

  Mina's brow creased. "No."

  "But you told him you would think about it."

  "I didn’t say ‘yes’ to him, Louie."

  "But you didn’t say ‘no.’"

  Mina shook her head. "Don't. Don’t do this, Louie."

  "Do what? I’m not doing anything. This is all your doing."

  "No, you always do this. You get something good and then when it starts getting tough, you run away."

  "Yeah, well it’s better than facing the inevitable."

  "What? What is the inevitable?"

  "You and Sedgwick. Always been you and Sedgwick."

  "How dare you? How dare you do this? What was I supposed to say Louie? The truth? About us?"

  "Why not?"

  "Don’t even say that if our roles were reversed, you would have told Sedgwick the truth."

  "No, maybe I wouldn’t have, but this is about you Mina. You could have told him that you weren’t in love with him anymore, but you didn’t!"

  "Louie, you can’t expect me to just forget everything Sedgwick and I have. And you can’t just throw away everything that has happened between us?!"

  "Then what do you want Mina?!"

  Mina paused as her eyes filled with tears. "I don’t know."

  "You don’t know."

  "I don’t know what I’m supposed to do."

  "Then I will make it easier on you, I'll leave. That was the original plan anyway and I should have stuck to it in the beginning."

  "You can’t do this."

  "Why the hell not?! You really think you could sleep with me and then just go back to my br
other like everything is the fucking same?!"

  "You can’t put this all on me! You’re the one that told me your feelings! If you thought it would end badly, why did you tell me?!"

  "Because I didn’t care!"

  They both paused as the tears fell. "Because I didn’t care about my brother and his feelings because the fact that he fucked up gave me a way out. But when Sedgwick fucks up... it’s easily forgivable, isn’t it?"

  "Louie, don’t do this."

  Louie shook his head and walked away from her.

  “Louie.” She called out for him.

  He slammed the front door behind him as she cried out his name.

  +

  The day after Louie confronted Mina, Caius held a public announcement downtown in the capitol in front of his headquarters. Every reporter from the capitol of Serenity was there to report what was considered the biggest news in Serenity. Sedgwick had asked Mina to attend, but she settled for watching it from her bedroom television with Christina, not wanting to face the conversation she needed to have with him or Louie.

  "I am sure you are all wondering why I have gathered you here today," Caius spoke into the microphone on the podium that had a gold dove carved into the center of it. "During my years as King of Serenity, I have devoted my life to helping the fine people of this country."

  "Yeah, right," Christina said as she and Mina watched.

  Mina did not pay attention to the speech Caius was giving. She was too busy watching Louie. Louie stood there behind his brother and father in his dark blue suit, staring at the crowd of reporters, photographers, and camera men who were waiting. He was so numb. His plan was to leave right after Sedgwick's crowning ceremony.