Chapter 9 - Angus and Luka

(Alicia)

I’m in my apartment warming up an uninspiring mac and cheese when the thought hits me. Someone in my family must marry a woman from another species too. That’s how the exchange works. You give one away, you gain one.

And just like that, my curiosity is piqued. Which of my half-brothers are being compelled to offer up the chance to find true love by binding themselves to a stranger for ten years…?

Surely, it wouldn’t be crown prince Daniel who’s currently betrothed to one of councilman Galewing’s daughters. If I had to place a bet on it, it would be one of the twins… but which one? Archer, being a minute or so older than Angus, is the official ‘spare’ and therefore too precious to have tied to an inter-species marriage. Which means it must be Angus.

Whipping out my new phone I type off a quick text message to him. R U IN IT TOO? THIS 200-YR SWAP?

My phone pings about ten minutes later, as I’m licking the cheese sauce off a spoon. It’s a series of emojis, from the full-on crying and the red-faced devil ones to the swearing and the poo emojis. I’ll take that as a yes, then.

WHO? I text back, with at least four question marks.

He sends back a photo of a beautiful dark-haired girl that must be around my age. She has big brown eyes and that slightly upturned nose that’s distinctive to the fairies.

SHE’S HOT. FAIRY? I ask just to make sure I’m not making a racial assumption. I get a thumbs up emoji as a reply, no comment about her hotness.

Still curious, I send another text. DID U VOLUNTEER?

This time there’s no answer, but it doesn’t take a genius to know what the answer is. Of course he didn’t. Father used his powers on him too.

It was only when I crawled into bed after some random human disaster movie that I saw another text from Angus. WHAT DOES HE HAVE ON U?

I contemplated lying to him, or at least not saying anything about Luka. It’s not as if I have ever been close to any of my other siblings. Except Luka. But we’re kind of in this together, Angus and I, and he may have some information that could be used strategically somewhere down the line. I reply with: LUKA. U?

That’s when my phone rings. It’s Angus.

“Hey,” I answer and wait for him to speak. Angus was not a man of many words, so getting a call from him meant he really did have something to say.

“That’s fucked up,” he says. No greeting or pleasantries needed.

“Yes. Yes, it is,” I reply. There’s a short breath of silence on the other side before he asks: “do you really think he’ll hurt him? Luka? His own son?”

I sighed inwardly. There was an ocean of unspoken experiences and knowledge about exactly what our father was capable of, but Angus doesn’t know that. None of them do. They’ve never cared enough to know. So what do I tell him?

I decide to stick to the bare bones of the truth, no elaboration or coloring-in of the picture.

“Yes, Angus, I know he would.”

There’s an anguished noise on the other side of the line. Angus doesn’t question how I know, or why I’m convinced of my viewpoint, but it’s obvious that he believes me wholeheartedly.

“He has someone you care about, doesn’t he?” I ask, and there’s a silent sniff in reply.

“I was going to propose to her next month. She’s pregnant,” he says brokenly, and my heart clenches at the anguish in his voice.

“Who?” I prompt gently.

“Angelica. We’ve been together for just over six months, and I love her. She’s going to have my baby…”

“I’m sorry, Angus. I truly am,” I say, but it feels so inadequate. He sniffs again, and I sense he wants to say something else.

“I… I’m sorry too, Alicia. I will protect Luka, I promise… if you want to... pull out, I mean.”

He sounded so genuine, but I know that he’s emotional right now and not quite thinking straight.

“Thanks Angus, I appreciate that. But if I pull out of this, nothing and no one will be able to protect him. Trust me, I know. Please do look after Luka regardless. If I could help you with Angelica I would, but we both need to go through with this. I wish we didn’t have to, but there’s no other way.”

More sniffles on the other side.

“Look, it may take a while, but I’m going to find a way out of it for us so that you can be with Angelica and Luka can be safe. Unfortunately, we would have to make the sacrifice now for the long-term gain. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

More sniffles, but eventually he croaks out a ‘yes’.

“Now, be strong. Do whatever they want you to do, and have patience. Personally, I think it would be good to be upfront with the faerie girl. Who knows what her own situation is? But don’t give away too much. We’ll need to be allies in this, okay?”

“Okay. And Alicia? Thank you.”

My mind spins and my heart aches as I plug my phone in to charge overnight and pull the covers up to my chin. It aches more for the innocent little baby that Angus created with this Angelica chick than for anyone else. I know what it’s like to be a royal bastard. The child will forever be a pawn to get its parents to toe the line.

For goodness’ sake, Angus, you should know better. Couldn’t you just have kept it in your pants?!