VII. AN AWAITED TRUTH
“I didn’t lie to you that first day; I told you my real name.” You look up from where you usually sit at the dinner table with pleading eyes. Seeing the transparent honesty in your expression and mannerisms, Andy nods when Steve looks to him for confirmation. That was all he needed. Over their time spent together on missions, Andy had become a reliable human lie detector. He knew what signs to look for in people they needed to interrogate or seek knowledge from — he worked with Ransom for quite some time until he was able to impart his knowledge to the Beta, who used it alongside his charm on overt missions.
“It doesn’t explain who you are,” Lloyd huffs, still openly belligerent towards you that it makes you flinch. If he saw the effect he had, he didn’t draw attention to it; his gaze narrowed as much as his mind.
“I understand your hostility, but I was only trying to escape and start a new, peaceful life for myself.” You avoid everyone's eyes, ashamed of your origins despite your ambitions of ruling one day and helping your kingdom thrive. Which had all now been tarnished by someone you didn’t dare cross while growing up.
“... what do you mean by that?” Steve asks quietly, worry involuntarily spiking within him and making his chest ache. Were you in danger? That was the singular thought on everyone’s minds, and they simply couldn’t believe it— rather, they were in complete denial of the fact. Apart from the omissions of your true identity, you were a sweet, loving and kind individual, they can’t picture you wishing harm upon anyone. Nevertheless, because of the work they do, they cannot simply let it slide that they don’t know more about your background anymore, especially with the behaviours and knowledge you’re displaying, all of which aren’t typical of any normal person.
“I-It’s hard to explain.”
“We have the time,” Andy says gently in an attempt to comfort you. However, there isn’t a significant change in your stiff posture, rather, you remain all the more rigid. Curtis, offering his silent comfort, reaches for your hand, where it rests on your lap beneath the table. In return, you muster a small but still rather stiff smile.
“I’ll make some tea first. It’s all too tense here, and our angel can’t comfortably talk to us if that’s the case.” Ari stands from his seat and easily moves to the kitchen, where he goes about putting the kettle on.
“O-Oh umm… I made a relaxing tea blend earlier,” you helpfully point towards a small tin at the corner of the kitchen counter.
“What’s in it?” Ari asks curiously, opening the tin and taking a moment to smell the blend.
“There’s lavender, apple, chamomile and vanilla. It goes well with honey.” You smile as Ari turns to you with approval written on his features, quickly closing the container again.
“It smells really good.” He turns to the team. “Who else wants tea?” Everyone except Lloyd raises their hand and Ari scowls. “Majority vote, eh?” Ari smirks at their grump of an assassin, “I’ll just make tea for everyone then.” Lloyd huffs, tensing his already folded arms.
“Why did you even bother to blend such a tea?” Lloyd asks without thinking and is caught off guard by your thoughtful response.
“Everyone was looking a little tired recently, so I was hoping to invite you all for some tea after dinner. Hopefully, you’d be able to have more restful sleep with it,” you admit softly, looking down and playing with Curtis’s large hand in your lap. The silent giant of a man manages to smile warmly at you and lean forward to press his face into the side of your head. It’s a small, affectionate gesture that makes you look at him with gratitude and squeeze his hand in silent thanks. He’s a man whose actions speak louder than his words, and you hope that by engaging in his silent communication, you’d be able to understand him better.
“Thank you for your consideration,” Andy expresses from across the table, sitting beside Steve, who looks conflicted but grateful for Andy’s utterance. The captain doesn’t feel as though he can comfortably voice his opinions right now, and not until you’ve revealed your true identity and that they can confirm you bring no danger to them. You’ve been a great presence to have around the cottage the few days you’ve been here, and you’ve made such a positive impact on everyone, but he just can’t risk the safety of his pack. He just hopes that, when the dust is settled, and you turn out not to have bad intentions, you can forgive him for raising his voice. He’s ashamed for doing so towards such a gentle-mannered lady like you. For now, he isn’t Steve, he is the Captain and the leader of his incomplete but complete pack. He needs to keep a level head to make the best decisions for his team.
“Yeah, thanks a lot, princess!” Jake cheers positively from where he’s sat. “You’re always so considerate and sweet. Not like anything we’ve known.” Lloyd clicks his tongue and looks away, finding offence in such an innocent and truthful statement. He’s going to stand his ground on this, he knew you were too good to be true. There’s just no way someone could be so kind without having hidden intentions, he needs to nip this in the bud before the rest of his idiotic, whipped pack gets negatively impacted.
“It’s alright.” You smile sweetly, and everyone waits in silence as Ari prepares the cups of tea. It feels slightly odd that you weren’t the one serving everyone for once. No matter how short your stay is, you’ve already become accustomed to the routine of attending to the men here. You weren’t complaining, though; you enjoyed helping them unwind after a long day, and they were all very sweet to you, too. Hopefully, they’ll be willing to let you stay after your explanation. It saddened you that it has to come to this, but it’s only fair that if you want to stay longer, there needs to be trust on both sides, and that means being honest with each other.
Finally, Ari returned with eight cups of tea, a teapot if anyone wanted to refill their cup and a jar of honey so that anyone could sweeten their drink to their liking. Jake and Curtis were the first to reach for the honey pot. Words of gratitude for Ari’s gesture were muttered around the table, even from Lloyd, despite having no intention of drinking from his cup.
“Take your time,” Andy assures you once again whilst everyone (except Lloyd) sips at their tea, and you give him a look of gratitude. It took a while, but your nerves finally calmed, and you felt as though you could speak again without stumbling over your words.
“I am the princess of this proud kingdom...” You deduce that it’s best to just come out and say it as it is. It will make it easier to explain everything else as soon as everyone’s reactions have settled.
“Th—… that can’t be…” Steve utters, eyes wide with disbelief as he takes you in. Ari collapses into his chair as Andy runs his fingers through his hair. In your lap, you feel Curtis’ large hand squeeze around your own, and when you look up, it’s hard to read his eyes or expression.
“I’ve been calling you princess all this time—” Jake stumbles over his words, looking lost and confused, “I didn’t even...” he shakes his head and tries to distract himself by stirring more honey into his tea.
Ransom furrows his brows at you, his eyes searching, “It must be a lie.” But when you shake your head and give him a solemn look, he bites his lip and looks away, muttering incoherently to himself.
“Isn’t the princess a myth? The King never had a daughter, did he?” Lloyd breaks the tense silence in stubborn denial of your truth, but you know it’s just a hard fact to process; the queen made sure your existence faded.
“That’s just what she wants you to think.”
“By ‘she’, you mean, the current Queen?” Andy asks and hums when you nod in confirmation.
“My stepmother, yes.”
Andy tuts in disgust with a shake of his head. “Her ambitions are too high.” He meets eyes with Steve, who takes on a pondering stance, covering his mouth with his fingers and rubbing at his chin. This was a turn of events he was not expecting.
However, with your words and the bits of information he’s piecing together, Steve begins to speculate, “Then was the King actually killed in battle?...” or was it murder?
You sigh, “I don’t know... the war did happen, and my father did participate, but I never found out whether my father’s death was a fated event or one that was manipulated into a reality.”
There was another silence as everyone digested your existence. They want to deny it for how preposterous it sounds, but as they pondered deeper, it all began to make sense. You know things normal people couldn’t so easily divulge, and when asked to explain why, your default explanation is that you’re a well-read person who fostered knowledge from books available to you. However, such knowledge couldn’t possibly be obtained from readily available books found in common libraries — even their tech genius, an expert in all things magic-related, couldn’t match your understanding of magical artefacts and their history. From your warm lunches, they know that you have a high affinity for magic and can use it safely and consistently — a trait found in most high-standing people, especially the nobility. You’re articulate, and your mannerisms are too elegant for a normal individual to have; you move with a grace and presence that is gentle but powerful all at once.
Of course, you’re the princess. It makes too much sense that you are. On the other hand, there are also traits to you that aren’t typical of a royal. Primarily, you know how to do common chores, cook, clean, do laundry and repair clothes. High-standing people, especially the nobility, wouldn’t know how to do any of these things as they had servants for such minimal tasks.
Despite that, it can’t be denied that you had the traits of a princess. But that begs the question of why you’re all the way out here and not at the royal palace.
“Then what was your life at the palace like?” Lloyd interjects eyes hardened into a disbelieving stare, “How did you survive under someone who clearly despised your existence?—”
“Lloyd!” Ransom hissed at his fellow mercenary’s harsh words and kicked his shin beneath the table, but Lloyd continued, undeterred.
“Surely the Queen wanted you gone, especially when you finally reached adulthood. How did she even manage to keep your existence a secret for that long?”
“I had already come of age and was hoping that I’d finally be able to inherit the throne,” you confessed, biting your lip from how naive you had been in retrospect. Your 21st birthday wasn’t even grandly celebrated as it traditionally should have been, but then again, you were never able to make your debut into high society between 11 and 15 years of age. You shouldn’t have set your expectations so high. “But it was foolish of me to think in such a way.” They wait for you to continue with bated breath, not wanting to stress you out even more when it looks like you would collapse from just having to relive what you had to go through. “The staff took care of me after my father died, ensuring that I was well educated and kept up with noble practices despite the Queen standing strongly against my education and development as a royal. She made sure that I wasn’t treated like a princess by giving me chores around the palace, making me sleep in staff quarters and constantly overlooking my presence despite having many eyes on me, reporting back to her regularly. Slowly, she had turned me into a common maid.” Andy shook his head in disbelief and met eyes with Lloyd, whose expression looked unreadable — even the assassin couldn’t begin to comprehend what he was hearing.
“The Queen guaranteed my existence was wiped from public knowledge by imprisoning the staff and swearing them to secrecy. She went so far as to develop a new knight order who were loyal to only her and had them replace my father’s original order of knights. Thankfully, not everyone on the staff wanted to be ruled by her, and they rebelled silently by supporting me behind the scenes.” A small smile grew on your lips as you recounted fond memories with the staff while the mercenary group looked on with a tightness in their chests. “I will forever be grateful to those kind-hearted, courageous people, who I’ve grown to see as my own family. They truly only wished the best for me, and yet—” you couldn’t bring yourself to continue and face the reality that you had been forced to abandon the one true family you have grown to know since young.
“You said you had to escape and build a peaceful life for yourself.” Ari begins, seeing that tears fill up your beautiful eyes and approaches the topic gently so as not to upset you further. “What do you mean by that?”
“My 21st birthday passed without celebrations, and I believed I wouldn’t be acknowledged at all in the months that followed. The world had gotten so dark, and my false hopes had resulted in failing my people; I didn’t know what to do. But it all came to a head when the Queen sent me out with Sir Remfrey, a huntsman of the palace who was loyal to me in secret. He had been tasked with killing me somewhere secret.” The group sucked in a breath. Unbelievable. Jake couldn’t believe what he was hearing and sought Ransom’s hand beneath the table for comfort. Thankfully, the Beta complied without complaint; admittedly, Ransom also needed comfort after knowing the terrible fate that had been orchestrated for you. None of them could believe someone could have such bad intentions for someone as kind and sweet as you. But that was a reality their occupation fulfilled, and the actualisation of it was harrowing.
“Sir Remfrey took me to the outskirts of the city, under the guise that he would escort me for my first excursion outside the palace in belated celebration of my recent coming of age. He was meant to bring my heart back as evidence of his deeds. Thankfully, rather than follow through on her orders, he set me free with a basket full of essentials collated by the staff — my family. I will forever be grateful to Sir Remfrey and the staff for the second chance they have given me... a chance at a new life, a peaceful one.”
Steve meets your eyes when you look up at the end of your explanation, and his heart clenches painfully. He readily ignores it, however. As the captain, he needs to be the responsible one who weighs out all sides before making a final decision, even if that means being black-hearted, leading up to a settlement. Remaining silent and keeping his thoughts locked, Steve turns to Andy and Ransom with a pointed look; they would know if you were telling the truth or not. Andy nods solemnly. Ransom follows with a stiff nod of his own.
So this was the truth.
“And in your escape from the palace, you happened upon our cottage,” Steve asks, meeting your eyes once more to watch as you nod affirmatively.
“I really didn’t mean to stay as long as I did but—“ you give a bashful look and stare down at your lap once more, thinking it best not to explain further.
“No need...” Steve raises his palm and offers a soft look, happy to finally be able to comfortably lower his guard again. At that moment, he realised how wrong it felt to be guarded around you. “We’re partly to blame.”
“It was great coming home to a warm dinner each night,” Jake grins widely, eager to dispel the thick tension of your interrogation. “And you’re so nice and kind, we love you!” he blurts without thinking, making his teammates tense up as they wait for your response.
Ransom’s glare conveys his thoughts at the Beta clearly: You’re so stupid, Jake! You can’t just say that! What if she gets weirded out and leaves us for good?! But Ransom’s glare is cheekily ignored.
They don’t expect your sweet smile, but it makes their shoulders relax instantly. “I love you all too.” Lloyd looks at you with a frown, fully expecting to be excluded due to his harshness but is surprised when you take a moment to meet his eyes as well, your loving expression unchanging. And as much as Lloyd would hate to admit that he enjoys the image of you looking sweetly at him, he looks away with a huff, his mind conflicted but his heart warm.
“Thank you for your honesty.” Steve begins, fixing you with a soft stare as he silently solidifies his resolve on a significant decision. Now, it was a question of how he should go about approaching it. “…Now that you’ve been honest with us, it’s only fair that we be honest with you as well.” The implication of his words has all of the mercenaries snapping their heads towards their captain, Lloyd is the most vocal in his protests but everyone else remains silent, eyes wide and mouths agape; silently pleading for some sort of explanation.
“Captain,” Andy cautiously starts, looking at Steve with somewhat narrowed eyes, “are you sure about this?”
“Of course, I am,” Steve hums. “Trust goes both ways and I believe in her, don’t you?” From across the table, Steve takes a moment to meet eyes with each of the pack. It was a silent, two-way communication that waited for gradual acceptance of his decision for the team; slowly, they gave their consent in a small nod. Lloyd is the most defiant in his narrowed stare and stiffened stance but he doesn’t outright refuse, he only looks away grumbling. He’s seen that everyone but him has already come to match Steve’s resolve, all he can do now is trust in his pack, even if every cell in his body is stubbornly screaming to go against them. It would be for their own good that Lloyd protest but would it really, when they feel so strongly towards you?
“Wh…what is it?” you ask in a soft voice that barely rises above a whisper.
“We’re more than we appear.” Steve’s statement comes off a little cryptic and you don’t quite know how to comprehend it.
“We don’t work on fraud cases.” Jake provides, referring to your earlier conversation when discussing replicas of magical artefacts.
“So, what do you do?”
“We’re private hires.” Lloyd snaps firmly, looking at you with daring eyes. He dares you to challenge his words, dares you to look shocked, dares you cower in fear. Lloyd isn’t the type to feel ashamed of his and the pack’s occupation; it’s what’s kept them alive, after all, it’s also the reason why they’ve bonded so closely. No, he will never be ashamed of the truth, and he isn’t about to let the pang of anxiety in his chest consume him entirely. “Mercenaries. We’ve been hired to do many bad things in the past, Princess. And we have a lot of blood on our hands because of it.” Ari doesn’t know why Lloyd is acting so hostile but doesn’t step in, no one does. They all seem to silently agree that giving you the harsh reality of their true background would be for the best — there’s no use sugarcoating things. “Are you sure you still wanna stick around? We’re dangerous, cold-heartedmercs, this cottage is no place for a Princess.”
The expression you hold is unreadable. It’s as if you don’t know what to say, and while you contemplate what you should say, time slows to a painful pace for the tea. Being transparent with you means many things to them and different things to each person. Unanimously (even Lloyd), however, they cherish your presence; it gives them a break from their harsh way of life because you make them feel like they deserve more than what the world has so harshly given them. You’re their reprieve, a safety and peace they have no hope of finding elsewhere. You’re the final missing piece of their incomplete pack — their omega. It would be hard to let you go if that’s what you choose, but this is why Steve chose to be transparent with you and why they agreed. It’s to give you a fair choice and a rightful say. This is how it should be, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t secretly hoping you make one decision over the other. Holding their breaths, their hands clench into fists as they await your answer. Even Curtis has slipped his hand out of your hold so that his touch can’t influence your final decision.
“But… did you not give me a safe place to live while I was seeking refuge?” you ask, and they don’t quite know if it’s a rhetorical question or not. Regardless, all of them are too stunned to even answer you. What were you getting at? “Did you not treat me kindly during my stay? Did you not share your food with me? Did you not give me a warm place to sleep?” they watch as your beautiful face slowly brightens with a smile. “I’m afraid I can only judge you on what I’ve been able to see thus far. Regardless of the truth in your occupation, that is not your defining factor, and I can see that you don’t let it be the defining factor, either. Of course, I’d love to stay for longer… as long as you’re willing to have me, that is.” You look adorably bashful by the end, and most can’t believe their ears or eyes at the sight. You truly couldn't care less about their background.
Jake laughs, bright and loud, cutting through the tension, making it evaporate with hardly any effort. “Of course we want you to stay! You can stay as long as you need and want!” the tech genius turns to their captain with shining eyes and a wide grin, “Isn’t that right, Cap?”
Chuckling lowly to himself, Steve nods, eyes glowing with affection as he looks at Jake before trailing his eyes to you. What a relief this all is — things went better than expected; Steve fully believed you would take the chance to pack your things and leave. “That’s right, Jake.” Steve sees you flash him a grateful smile and his chest warms with affection.
“Great!” Ari laughs, the weight on his shoulders and chest immediately lifting. It looks like you were here to stay. He couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. “This is the best news we’ve had all day!” Ari gets up from his seat and makes his way over to stand behind your chair. With a self-satisfied grin, he leans down to meet your eyes as his voice drops into a low whisper. “Greedy as we are, I’m glad we get to have you all to ourselves for longer, sweet angel—” As Ari turns his head to speak directly into your ear, you turn to give him your full attention and unintentionally meet his lips with your own.
Gasps echo about the room as everyone freezes in place, unable to comprehend what’s happened. They’re all waiting for someone to react some way and break them all out of their shock. Unable to resist, Ari is the first to respond and leans into the kiss further, his hand coming up to hold your chin in place as his eyes close slowly, urging you to do the same and get lost in the kiss with him. You don’t know what comes over you, but it’s far too easy to reciprocate — it just feels right, somehow. Ari feels it, too, and smirks into the kiss from the amount of glee he feels in that moment. He was right. You’re destined to be theirs. And, them, yours. You complete their pack; you’re their missing piece, their omega! Their luna!
“Ari! You can’t do that!” Andy shouts, rising from his seat but it’s clear that Ari isn’t eager to let you go anytime soon, rather, he angles his head to deepen the kiss further and hums with deep satisfaction when you wrap your arms around his neck. It seems you haven’t registered the chaos that has broken out around you.
“Unfair!” Ransom huffs, “How come you get to kiss her first?“
“This isn’t about who goes first or not, Ransom!”
“Let her go,” Curtis growls lowly but is ignored and intensifies his glare at Ari’s broad figure. Oh, if a look could kill a man…
“This is not how things are supposed to go, Ari!” Steve protests through clenched teeth. He had been fully on board with potentially making you a part of their pack, finally completing their circle with a worthy Omega. However, with the discovery of you being the princess, Steve had hoped to discuss this with Ari— a vocal supporter of the decision —a little longer before taking any action.
“Not to the Princess, Ari! This has to be treason!” Jake’s whining cry reaches your ears and you finally pull away, panting slightly. You were already quite flustered from the sudden intimate act but the image of Ari licking his lips and giving a pleased grumble at your lingering taste on his lips makes your chest want to explode. Now that your lips are no longer attached to Ari’s you can fully comprehend the havoc of the room and gasp silently at the amount of attention fixed on you.
“I-I think I better get started on dinner,” you smile at everyone shyly before hurrying to the kitchen, but not before Ari catches your hand and brings your knuckles to his lips.
“Thank you for letting me be the first to kiss you properly, darlin’.” He whispers with such affection against your skin that you can barely speak up in response. The only thing you had the strength to muster was a hurried nod before pulling away to distract yourself with dinner preparations. Glimpsing the clock face on the wall, you sigh in relief — just in time, not too late but not too early.
Ari was subsequently scolded and glared at by many of his pack mates, but he doesn’t care. It was all worthwhile. Honestly, he didn’t expect to steal your first kiss with them in such a way, but it still went better than he could ever imagine — perhaps the surprise element was a contributing factor. Nevertheless, Ari could, at least, put up with this much, especially when still on a high from the taste of your sweet lips. He’s never tasted a sweeter candy in his life and, as much as he loves his pack mates, he already knows it’ll be hard to share you.
“You’re a pig, Ari!” Ransom snaps at him, huffing and sulking away to a corner with Jake when Ari does nothing but look smug in return — he’s unfazed with taunting eyes that say, ‘I know you’re just jealous, Ran~’. Away from Ari and the other alphas, the two Betas get lost in their respective books, both pouty and sharing in the feeling of unfairness. They couldn’t even blame you for it because everyone could tell that it was an accident.
Lloyd is nowhere to be found, but by the shout that comes from their back garden area, followed closely by the familiar sound of an axe hitting a tree, Ari can hazard a guess as to what may be happening. “I will join him,” Curtis announces in his usual low voice, deep and mellow but the irritation behind his words are tangible. It should make Ari feel, somewhat, guilty since Curtis is usually the stoic type but he just couldn’t. No, Ari could never feel guilty when it comes to you.
In the far corner, Steve and Andy were discussing something heatedly. There’s a tug in Ari’s chest that pulls him forward and urges him to join the discussion. “You’ve put us in a difficult position, Ari,” Steve sighs as Ari smoothly slots himself in between the two.
“Oh yeah?” Steve and Andy narrow their eyes at Ari’s laidback attitude and smug grin.
“And you’re happy about that, aren’t you?” Andy sighs, eyeing you in his peripheral as you potter about their kitchen.
“I have no regrets. But you can’t blame me, it was an accident. And weren’t you accepting of her becoming our Omega?”
“Yes, but that changed when we found out she’s the princess,” Steve hisses under his breath, his mind racing with potential future scenarios.
“This can go one of two ways, either she continues running away from the throne—” Andy starts, aided by Steve with helpful remarks along the way.
“—which she seems reluctant to if given the option to return to rule rightfully,”
Andy nods at Steve who leans against the living room wall with his arms crossed, brows furrowed in thought. “Or she returns to the throne after banishing the Queen.”
“If it’s the former, we can make her our omega but if it’s the latter, she cannot.”
“Don’t most monarchs rule better when in an established pack?” Ari argues, receiving a pointed look from the two.
“Yes, but it’s not appropriate when we’re mercenaries, and she’s the Princess and future Queen. She deserves to be surrounded by a decent council of high-standing nobles as bachelors, to be supported by a pack who are familiar with that type of word. We aren’t that, Ari.” The emphasis in Steve’s words cuts through Ari’s chest. Maybe he was being too optimistic, but he couldn’t let the feeling go. It feels too right to have you in their lives, it feels too right to have you in his arms, it feels too right to be kissing you. He just needs to make them see it too.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
The evening ended with full stomachs and a warm atmosphere, while the next morning began with grumbling stomachs and a quiet peace. It appears as though everyone has decided to carry on as normal. The group have unanimously agreed that it’s a blessing to have you in their lives like this despite knowing their background and occupation. They weren’t going to spoil the one good thing in their lives for something as little as their own insecurities. It’s a good thing you were willing to go along with them on it too, oblivious to the silent turmoil in your eyes.
As much as you were happy to extend your stay with the group, you had been tossing and turning the whole night. When left in the quiet alone with your thoughts, your mind couldn’t help but return to the topic of the 'Mirror of Aleth’ replicas. It didn’t sit well with you that they were being created in the first place, and it was a fight with yourself to bring the topic up or not. Yes, you can only speculate on the intentions, but there’s never a good, moral reason for their creation no matter how speculative your conclusions. The issue needs to be addressed with the same amount of importance as the truth of your identity — this underground scheme poses a great risk to your kingdom and its people.
With a deep breath, you interrupt breakfast with a soft call for their attention. Despite how gentle your voice comes, all movement stops, and the attention turns to you without question. It’s a similar respect they demonstrate towards Steve, their captain. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have something important to say.” They nod firmly as Steve silently urges you on with an encouraging look, “I understand that it’s not my place, but I have a horrible feeling about the replicas Jake mentioned yesterday. Would you mind telling me more about them? Maybe I can offer some assistance…” your voice remains soft and, somewhat, shy but not hesitant. There’s a firmness in your words as you break the peaceful silence at the breakfast table. The mercenary pack share a look but there aren’t any outright protests to your question, not even from Lloyd. It appears as though he and Curtis had quite the productive talk the evening before, bonding as they threw axes at trees together. Even going so far as to cut more firewood for the fireplace together.
“We were hired by the King of Okisha to retrieve the stolen magical artefact, the mirror of Aleth.” Andy provides after sipping his morning coffee.
Your eyes widen in horror. “It was stolen?”
“That’s right.” Lloyd cuts in surprisingly, his focus remaining on the plate of breakfast before him. “And, judging by the high security surrounding their royal vaults, it was done by a skilled individual.”
“Do you have any suspects?” You ask, tone serious and eyes hardened by the gravity of the situation. It was an appearance the mercenaries weren’t used to seeing on you but it was a welcome change. They can discern your education and royal class through that look alone and it was comforting, in a sense. Andy’s sure that you’d be proud to know such a trait has become a permanent mark on you despite the struggles of oppression you’ve faced in your own palace.
“Our investigation so far points us to the current Queen of your kingdom, your stepmother,” Steve announces but you’re not shocked. Rather, you only appear to grow more worried, the food on your plate remaining mostly untouched.
“And those replicas… are they related to her too?”
“We don’t know but they might as well be,” Ari answers this time as Jake hums in additional confirmation.
“If it’s not too much to ask—” the entire pack give you their full attention, even Jake stops chewing on his food. “Please may you destroy all the replicas you’ve found? If my stepmother is truly a part of this, I don’t think it would bode well for her to get her hands on a successfully made replica.”
“What are your suspicions?” Steve asks, curious as to how deeply you think the Queen’s association will go.
“If she is involved, it must mean she was the thief. That’s a guarantee, knowing her.” Your eyes wonder as you contemplate deeper, your mind flashing with memories of the Queen’s somewhat unusual behaviour leading up to your attempted assassination and eventual escape. “I remember her beginning to spend hours in a singular room at the palace leading up to my escape with Sir Remfrey. Yes, she likes to be on her own and rule fully independent of the royal council, she doesn’t even have a pack to rely on — she’s very self-sufficient. And while many of the staff knew her to spend hours alone, across various rooms, this particular room was located in the depths of the palace, somewhere isolated and barely touched by the staff. It was ominous but no one dared to question her, she’s the Queen after all.”
“What do you think she wants from the mirror? What truth does she seek?”
You give a weak shrug of your shoulders, your brows furrowing further, “I don’t know… but she must have realised that she can’t make the true mirror work. Though I’m not sure she’s fully informed on the reasons why. Abraham was always reluctant to impart his knowledge on ancient, magical artefacts because he had always sensed that the Queen was, somewhat, unwell.”
“Unwell?”
“Abraham didn’t elaborate on it further, but I suspect it concerns her psyche. He was only adamant about withholding as much information from her as possible, that was what was important to him as the royal mage. Thankfully, he’s been able to get away with it using the excuse that, although she has lived past my father, she will forever be the Queen Consort only, meaning that she remains lesser than a Queen and will forever be without full constitutional power. That would also include knowledge of things that would be otherwise confidential. Only I am allowed those privileges as the rightful, living heir.”
“And these replicas?” Jake asks, searching your eyes for some kind of answer. If they can pinpoint a firm motive, it’ll kick their asses into better gear for tackling the assignment swiftly. They’re already feeling the drive from the precious intel you’ve provided them atop the current conversation. The sooner they complete the mission, the sooner they get to their retirement.
“Replicas can’t function as well as the original. I don’t think she’d settle for a half-truth or a truth that’s told in a roundabout way. I think that, as long as she can get one, coherent truth out of a replica, she’ll be satisfied.” You conclude and the boys have to hand it to you, your theory makes sense. If she doesn’t know the truth about how the Mirror of Aletha works and that it only answers to true descendants like you had told Jake the day previous, she must be pretty desperate to go searching for that truth elsewhere, squandering the royal funds as she does so.
“You want us to destroy those replicas then?” Steve deduces, his eyes becoming firm with resolve when you nod your head.
“Please…”
“Sounds easy enough,” Lloyd comments as Curtis hums in agreement beside him.
With one firm nod, Curtis’s eyes also become focused on the decision. “We will do it today.” The pack’s designated assassin and guard turn to each other and share a similar look. It appears a commodore has been reached between them.
“Thank you.” You speak with such sincerity and with the sweetest smile on your face that Lloyd has to look away. He couldn’t bear the sight of you. And he only had himself to blame for that. He had been too impulsive and aggressive — the typical, doltish alpha who acts before he thinks. Many believed that the pheromone suppressant jewellery current laws required the public wear, helped individuals conquer their secondary gender’s instincts but Lloyd was not one of them. He has to accept that truth. His talk with Curtis the previous evening was a much-needed one. That was the most he’d ever heard Curtis talk, but he appreciated it — not that he’d openly admit the fact, but that’s why Curtis was the perfect one to have such a dialogue with. Lloyd didn’t need to say anything because he could tell that Curtis knew what he wanted to say. The stoic giant of a guard was a man of few words himself, so he understood the fundamentals of body language and often expressed more with his own body than with his words.
‘Thanks,’ was Lloyd’s silent message that night.
‘Any time,’ was what Lloyd could comprehend from Curtis’ stoic but kind stare.
“Even if the replicas are incomplete or said to not work, destroy them all.”
“Roger that!” Jake grins, doing a small salute as Steve huffs a light chuckle to himself. Many others about the table also give a short laugh, grinning wider when they see the curious tilt of your head to one side. You would have laughed too if you knew the teasing jab Jake had made at Steve’s last name.
“They can do all of that while I stay behind with you, Angel~” Ari smirks and winks at you from across the table as glares swiftly point at him.
“What do you mean, Ari?” Andy asks with furrowed brows. Admittedly, the group’s appointed negotiator was mainly protesting because of what had happened the night before and had become overly cautious (and jealous) about how close Ari was getting to you. “We need you out there to help locate the replicas.”
With a simple shrug, Ari leisurely leans back into his chair and smirks, “Jake knows everything I know, I even made sure to write it all down for him. Besides, don’t you think our princess needs to be protected while you’re all away? Especially after what the Queen had planned to do with her?” That was a reasoning Andy (and everyone else) couldn’t argue with and he could do nothing but sigh in defeat.
“Gear up; it’s time to leave.” Was Steve’s only instruction as he moved away from the table and prepared for the day ahead, quickly followed by the rest of the team.
As was routine, the group prepares to leave as soon as breakfast is finished. Despite the civil atmosphere, however, Steve didn’t want to get too hopeful as he finished lacing up his boots by the door. He was the first ready to leave as always and yet, you weren’t by the door for the usual farewell. It was too optimistic a thought to expect things to continue as they were after the frightening confrontation he had put you through the day before. Steve was, at least, grateful that you were willing to pack them lunches again, though he doubts they’ll still be receiving your sweet notes. Looking at the faces of his team, it appears as though they were coming to the same realisation and acceptance as him. Only Ari appeared unfazed as he stood behind.
The confrontation was a much-needed one but Steve admits he could have handled it much better…
“Right, we’re off,” Steve announces before eying Ari directly, “Keep her safe.” Turning, Steve reaches for the door with his lunch in hand, determined to follow through on your request. It would be the beginning of his apology. Once he’s done that, he would be able to face you sincerely with a proper apology — his behaviour the day before was appalling; even though that was how he felt like he had to act, there was a better way. Determined, Steve already configured a solid plan for how he wanted the team to go about dealing with today’s assignment, and his shoulders straightened from the resolve behind it.
“Wait! Steve!” Frozen in place, Steve can’t bring himself to turn and meet you. What were you calling him for? He waits stiffly by the door with a racing heart as you hop up beside him.
“What about our usual goodbye?” you ask with pouty lips. “You can’t leave without it, none of you can.” A sudden wave of timidity comes over you at Steve’s obvious hesitation and lack of response. “A-as long as that’s okay with you, that is… it’s quite the routine now so…"
Steve’s body takes over as he turns his full body to face you despite his slow-to-comprehend brain. “No no, you’re right. It’s routine now.” he gives you a soft look and leans down, “It feels wrong to leave without our usual goodbye.” Smiling once again, you cup Steve’s jaw and hold him in place as you press a lingering kiss against his cheek. Although it was nice to feel you this close for a little longer than usual, Steve couldn’t help but be suspicious of the oddity in your kiss ‘farewell’. Usually, it was a quick peck and he was swiftly on his way after. But he doesn’t complain. Just as you ease up, he finally leans away but is caught off-guard, yet again, when you suddenly wrap your arms around his neck and pull him close enough to place your lips beside his ear.
“I forgive you…” You whisper before pulling away to look at the mercenary captain with a gentle smile. Shocked, Steve didn’t know what to do. For once, the captain was stunned into silence, his entire world coming to a stop at the sight of your beautiful smile and sweetness. You didn’t even let him say ‘I’m sorry’. But you must have been able to sense it coming from a mile away. Steve’s awe turns into a smile of gratitude, and kissing your temple before he leaves. The same way you allowed your lips to linger on his cheek, he allowed his to linger on your temple. As he steps through the door, the warmth of his lips remains imprinted on your skin.
“Take care, Steve,”
“You as well, Princess,”
Up next was Andy, whose earlier shock melted into a warm smile when he realised you weren’t going to hold yesterday’s hostile confrontation against them. As a man of habit, he goes over his usual farewell routine with you. He takes your hand and brings it to his lips before leaning down to savour the kiss you deliver to his cheek. At the last second, he turns his head and buries his nose into the intimate space just below your ear and whispers a soft but sincere ‘thank you’ into your hair before he follows Steve outside the cottage with an easy smile on his lips.
“Have a great day, Andy,” you call as he steps out the door, shooting you a proud grin from over his shoulder.
“And you, sweetheart,”
“I’m next!” Jake cheers as he surprises you with a hug from behind. Turning in his arms, you smile and prompt him to also lean down so you can kiss his cheek. Happily, Jake obliges but doesn’t untangle his arms from around you just yet. He quite likes the feel of you tucked up against his chest, getting on your tip toes to press a kiss onto his cheek. It makes him smile like a goof but gets pouty when you have to pull away finally. With a whine, he nuzzles the crown of your head and tries to monopolise the short moment with you for as long as possible. He would have stayed there the whole day if he wasn’t inevitably dragged away by Andy, who was prompted by Ransom’s impatient grumbling.
As soon as Jake is gone, Ransom steps up and pulls you close by the waist, where he kisses your forehead first before kissing both of your cheeks as you giggle in his arms. The twinkling sound of your laughter makes him smile warmly and aims a kiss for your lips but pouts when you turn your head, mistaking it as your turn to finally kiss him on the cheek too.
“Get home safe, Ran. Take care,” Ransom doesn’t stay pouty for long, however, not when you’re so sweet to him.
‘I’ll get home safe as long as you’re there to greet me at the door,’ Ransom is tempted to say but leaves with a silent smile and a similar greeting instead. “You take care too, sweets. Make sure to keep Ari in check, will you?” Ransom tuts, directing a pointed glare at the bearded man in question, who simply smirks at him.
“Will do, Ran!” at least the Machiavellian knows you’ll put in the effort and can leave with a level heartbeat.
Curtis approaches you next. Like the previous day, he hugs and picks you up around the waist so that you’re looking down at him and have to stabilise yourself with your hands on his shoulders. You search each other’s eyes for a moment before you finally lean down to kiss his cheek, and he takes a moment to affectionately nuzzle your neck. Ever since the day he escorted you into town and had to be calmed by your scent, he’s grown quite an addiction to your fragrance — he will take every opportunity to bring you closer and take in your aroma as intimately as possible. Never has he felt so calm and at peace than when he’s breathing you in.
“Have a good day Curt, please get home safe,” you whisper, smiling sweetly as he finally lowers you down.
“Yes, ma’am,” the stoic guard answers with a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
The last one to leave was Lloyd, who holds your packed lunch for him in his large, calloused and shaking hands. He’s no longer entitled to a sweet farewell by the door, he knows that. So he avoids your gaze and shakes his head— almost apologetically —as he gently brushes past you. Unlike your usual routine, he hadn’t taken the time to lean down or hurry you for his kiss farewell. It makes you stutter in place, not knowing what to do or make of his dismissive behaviour. Lloyd, however, cannot make it past the door because of Curtis. As the designated guard, Curtis’ stance is firm and wide and Lloyd knows that there’s no way he’s getting past him without Curtis moving aside voluntarily.
“What are you doing, Curt?” Lloyd asks, his voice sounding more tired than irate, “Step aside, we’re wasting precious daylight here — we’ve got work to do in the city!” Curtis doesn’t flinch at the rise of his pack mate’s volume and simply gestures with his eyes to whatever’s past the assassin’s tense shoulders. Lloyd swiftly turns and frowns. There you are with a small frown and downcast eyes. Never before has Lloyd or any of the group seen you look so downhearted and the aching grip of guilt around Lloyd’s heart only tightens at the sight. He knows what needs to be done, but it’s not deserved. If he leans down and you don’t kiss him, that’ll prove to Curtis that he’s only wasting everyone’s time by insisting on this.
Lloyd doesn’t let it show how happy it makes him when your expression brightens when he returns to you. He doesn’t let his happiness show when you call his name lovingly as he leans down. He doesn’t allow himself to smile when you don’t hesitate to wrap your arms around his neck and press a kiss against his cheek so hard that you're practically burying your face against his own. For once, he doesn’t sigh or protest or show any sign of disapproval. But this only makes you smile brighter once you pull away and his heart does a stupid flip in his chest over it.
“I forgive you, Lloyd,” you whisper loud enough for only him to hear, just like you did with Steve earlier. Lloyd doesn’t know what to do, freezing up as he stands before you, dumbfounded. “Be safe, have a nice day,”
“…yeah…” Lloyd replies simply, an unfamiliar expression drawing itself onto his face as he looks at your much smaller frame. His once cold eyes shine with a warm fondness as his lips stretch into a handsome smile for your eyes only, “We’ll be back soon, princess…”