WE ARRIVED at Kavan within an hour of dawn. Méabh and Kingsley gathered the few belongings they brought and observed their surroundings as we all stepped off the boat after docking in the harbor.

Kavan may have been a bigger Kingdom, but the docks were small.

A single wooden pier stretched far out into the sea, with small docking slips lining either side. Boats of all sizes were coming and going. Kavan itself was known for its gloomy outside appearance.

The sea mist settled around us, looming over us like a cloud. The actual clouds rested low to the ground, giving the illusion that all you had to do was reach out and you'd touch them. The clouds looked heavy with rain, their fresh tears ready to fall.

The loud footsteps of the seamen and my own crew shook the dock heavily, and the sound filled my ears. Men ran around like chickens without heads, yelling commands only years on a ship will teach you.

One by one, everyone made their way down the gangplank. Starting with me and ending with Arius.

Mèabh looked at me with a bored expression as she stood next to me. Evander and her have been at each other's throats since they met. I couldn't help but snicker every time. It may have been torture for her, but it was entertaining the rest of us quite nicely.

He may be a prince, but he underestimates everyone around him. Either that, or he overestimates himself. It's always fun to see him get put back in his place.

Kingsley reached us and stood next to me as well with a tired, hardened look. As long as I've known her, she never slept well on ships. She maybe got 2-3 hours of sleep max. You could see it was affecting the way she was acting. Even the ever-optimistic August could tell.

He kept asking if she was okay and he always got the same answer. Whether or not he was satisfied with that answer, I wouldn't know.

Leland has been sick as a dog for the last couple of days. I couldn't help but feel worried for his health. I tried my hardest to make sure he was taking care of himself.

Blakely-Rose and Grey have been attached at the hip since day one, and none of us blamed them. They were shy, but cute together. Let's hope his mom won't mind too much.

I watched Blakely-Rose's face light up with excitement. She sprinted past all of us, leaving us in a dust-cloud of confusion and shock.

"WILLOW!" She yells. I turn my head and catch a glimpse of his crimson hair.

"BLAKE!" He yelled in return, opening his arms for her.

She latched onto Willow, wrapping her arms around his neck and legs around his waist as he closed his arms around her. They both had huge smiles on their faces that did nothing but melt my heart.

In the corner of my eye, I saw Grey's smile falter and he stiffened. I mentally chuckled.

We all made our way towards them, and on our way I noticed three other figures coming up behind them.

Queen Aria, Princess Senara and Prince Koa appeared out from the spacious grey fog with smiles on their faces.

The Princess and I made eye contact and I could help but smile; her smile is contagious. Her pace quickened until she was running down the dock in her heels.

Her muted pastel blue dress acted like the waves as she ran to us. The fabric bounced back and forth, and up and down. Clashing against itself violently. Salmon pink and White flowers decorated the blue fabric leaving behind their dark grey stems. Her caramel skin simmered in the light grey lighting of the clouds.

As she drew nearer, I expected her to come to a full stop, or at least slow down, but instead she kept running until she ran into me.

It took me a full two seconds to process what had happened.

She had her arms wrapped around my waist and was squeezing me with all her might.

I immediately tensed at her hug, not liking to be touched by people I don't know very well. I felt uncomfortable but didn't want to push her back and risk hurting her feelings. So I wrapped my arms around her loosely and gave her a quick pack on the back.

"You're back!" She beamed as she released me from her death grip.

"I want some love!" Grey pouted, sticking his arms out like a child asking to be picked up. She giggled and jumped into his arms.

I caught a glimpse of Mèabh and turned to her. Her gaze was hard set on Evander, a ghost smile on her lips. I looked towards Evander to see the same smile Mèabh had, but towards his little sister.

I turned around to look back at the Queen and soon to be King. They had reached us in no time.

Queen Aria wore a dark green dress that dropped to her ankles. Baby pink and White rose-like flowers with their green leaves were scattered everywhere. Her long arms were covered by a thin green mesh. Her dark cocoa skin shone as if it was covered in a layer of coconut oil.

"Queen Aria." I acknowledged, nodding.

"Oh hush! It's Aria to you," She gave me a loving smile and opened her arms as well, "I'm going to hug you now." she warned. I chuckled and returned her hug stiffly.

We parted and I made eye contact with Prince Koa. He had a light smile but it didn't quite reach his eyes. I can always tell a fake smile from a real one.

"You okay, Prince Koa?" I asked genuinely.

He nodded, smiling wider, "Of course, why wouldn't I be?" The smile still fell short of his gaze. I looked at him through narrowed eyes, but didn't question him any further.

The laughter of Willow reached my ears and I couldn't help but look over at the two. Blakely-Rose had reluctantly been placed back on the ground but they were still in each other's arms.

I raised my hands around my mouth and yelled, "Get over here!" They both looked up and made their way over.

When they reached us, Willow brought Mèabh, Kingsley and I into a group hug. We all laughed.

"Welcome back!" He exclaimed. His dyed blood red hair layer over his forehead, dripping water from the sea mist.

"What are you doing here, kid?" I asked.

"I got a letter about a week ago from Queen Aria, updating me on the current situation. So I figured you could use my help." He shrugged. "I arrived yesterday morning."

"We are glad you're here, kiddo." I removed myself and faced everyone else, "I believe introductions are in order."

"This is Queen Aria, Prince Koa and Princess Senara." I introduced, "This is Mèabh, Kingsley, Blakely-Rose and her brother Willow."

"Brother?" Grey questioned, visibly relaxing.

She nodded and softly replied, "We share the same mother. A year after Willow was born in Aberystwyth, the King divorced our mother, Ariana, for his consort, Birdie. Our mother moved to Merk, and she met my father."

"Was she not allowed to take Willow with her?"

Willow shook his head sadly, "No. My father wouldn't let her. I was raised by my older sister. My older siblings were conceived by Birdie. I was my mother's first child so I was the rightful heir to the throne, but when Birdie became queen, My oldest brother became the rightful heir."

"Such a pity he won't get it." I smart mouthed. I shuddered at the memory of him trying to touch me. They all caught my sarcasm and laughed.

Before anyone could speak again, August spoke up, "Loving the conversation, I really am, but can we go? I'm freezing and wet."

A cloud of laughter rang out from our group. Senara rubbed her bare arms as she nodded in agreement and Koa placed a protective arm around his mother's shoulders. We started down the long pier and made our way back into the protective walls of the castle.

I turned to my syndicate and Queen Aria, "Come with me to my study, we have things to discuss." I turned to everyone else, "As for the rest of you, go to your rooms and relax. Enjoy your personal time, training starts tomorrow."

"You mean to tell me that I got dragged halfway across the seven seas to get a clue that I'm not allowed to see?" Evander scoffed.

"Two heads are better than one." Koa offered. "Perhaps it would be better if we all went so there are more heads to work on the problem."

I caught Leland's eye. I knew immediately that he knew what I was going to say next. "Need to know, guys. Right now we don't need to know. I'm sure we will be informed if we can be of use." He said and started leading the group off toward the castle.

We all parted ways in the foyer and my small group made their way up the stairs. We walked down the familiar marble hallways till we reached a dark oak door. I opened it and walked into my temporary office.

Everyone filed in and Kingsley closed the door behind them. All eyes were on me. I lifted myself up and sat on the desk, my legs swinging above the ground.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the brittle peace of paper, "This is the next clue I found in Calflalm."

Mèabh took the paper from my hand, unfolded it and her eyebrows furrowed.

"What? What is it?" Willow asked.

"All it says is 'Read Between the lines' in big bold letters all on a separate line." Mèabh turned the paper over to look at the back and saw nothing. "That's it."

"May I see it?" Kingsley asked, holding out her hand for the paper. Mèabh placed it in her hand and Kingsley began her inspection.

She held the paper up to her eyes and looked at it thoroughly, inhaling deeply. I watched as she gently moved the pads of her fingertips across the paper.

She looked at Queen Aria, "Are there any matches in this establishment?" Queen Aria nodded and walked swiftly over to the desk drawer behind me.

"Did you find something?" Blakely-Rose asked attentively.

Kingsley nodded, "It's onion paper." she explained. "You can smell hints of both onion and lemon if you pay attention." she continued, offering the paper to Blakely-Rose.

Kingsley took a candle and box of matches from Queen Aria. She lit the candle and placed it on the desk. She took the note from Blakely-Rose who was sniffing it like a bloodhound and held it up to the flame carefully; close enough to be warmed, but far enough away that it wouldn't catch.

Everyone gathered around Kingsley to see what would happen. I knew what it was as soon as she asked for a match, but most people didn't know the significance of onion and lemon on an obscure note. From my vantage point on the desk I could see letters slowly appearing between the lines of text.

"There are two sides to every story."

×××××××××××××

Author Note!

Hi everyone, Mickey here!

I'm so sorry i didn't post last friday like I always do. I have a lot of stuff going on that i lost track of time and couldn't.

I'm moving again so everyone's just been really stressed out and because we are finally in summer i go back and forth from my moms and dads.

So again, there's a lot going on rn. thank you all for being so loving about it ❤️

Thoughts >

Feelings >

Predictions >

Random >

How is your day today? Was it bad? Good? In between?

QOTD: Favorite TV show?

I don't really watch tv often but some of my favorite tv shows would have to be our classics: The office and Parks and Recreation.

NOW IF WE WANNA TALK CARTOONS, that's a different story..

We got Spongebob, The Regular Show, Amazing World of Gumball, Adventure Time, Sanjay and Greg, yk the works.

DID YOU KNOW PATRICK STAR IS GETTING HIS OWN TV SHOW NOW!???

it's called the star show and it comes july 7th i think.

OUR LOVEY LADYS DRESSES





Love you all thank you for reading! Xoxox 💋💋

- Mickey ✨