The Kindness of Kings

by Chelsea Ballinger

“Nice timing, Brother,” Sedgwick said sarcastically to his little brother as he walked towards him.

  “Oh come on, Sedgwick. I’m sure Father didn’t miss me,” Louie replied.

  “You would be correct,” King Caius said, walking towards his sons. “I wouldn’t because without your presence, my birthday celebration would go smoothly.” Caius gave him his signature disapproving look and walked up to him. “But since you decided to grace us with your presence, don’t embarrass me.”

  Louie glared back at him and flashed a forceful smirk. “Of course, Father.”

  ‘Be nice tonight, Louie. It’s his birthday,” Sedgwick said as they watched their father make his way towards his throne.

  “You know Sedgwick, it is a little bit hypocritical to ask so much of me, yet you don’t bat an eyelash to Dad about his behavior towards me.”

  “I’m just trying to keep the peace in this family.”

  “Oh and what a peaceful family we have become.”

  Louie looked at Sedgwick who sulked thinking about their family’s problems. All he wanted was for his father and brother to get along and he knew that his father’s lack of parenting was the reason, as much as he did not want to admit it.

  Louie felt guilty. He sighed and smiled at his brother. “Come on,” he said, gripping his shoulder. They walked together towards the two thrones that their father was between. King Caius sat in his tall red and gold cushioned seat and the two Princes sat in their blue and gold cushion seats that were smaller than the King’s. The only throne that was missing was the Queen’s. This missing piece never went unnoticed when all three men sat on their thrones.

  Everyone cleared the main floor and sat in their seats surrounding the symbol for Serenity, a dove that represented peace, humility, and ultimately, Serenity. A host appeared in the middle of the floor and smiled. He bowed to the King and his sons and clapped his hands. “Your Highness. The Crown Prince has decided to gift to you a wonderful fabulous show brought to you by the lovely ladies of the University. I give you… ” he stretched out his hand towards the entry, “your golden doves.”

  The sound of drums blasted through the speakers and everyone focused on the two sets of tall double-wide doors as they opened to reveal young women with sparkly costumes with golden wings attached to their backs. They glided down the stairway, swaying their hips side to side to the rhythm of the beat that was intense and added to the excitement of the partygoers and the King. Sedgwick side-eyed his father, nervous at what he would think, but his worries were soon displaced when he set eyes on the young woman in the middle of the dance floor, the main attraction, the true golden dove, Sedgwick thought. And he wasn’t the only one; his brother sat up and eyed his brother’s lover, Mina, in her tight costume, the same as the other girls’ plus a headdress. She raised her arms and hip rolled as the other dancers surrounded her, reaching their arms out for her. Mina jumped closer towards the three men and danced contemporary, a type of dance she had taken up when she was thirteen. People watched in amazement as the dancers jumped, flipped, and glided across the floor with smooth rhythm, in sync with the music and each other. They also found Mina completely enrapturing as she moved her entire body with fierce elegance. As she dropped to her knees and flipped over to the side where Sedgwick was, she winked at him. He smiled and chuckled to himself. Louie noticed it as usual; he always noticed the little moments between his brother and Mina, little moments that felt like nuclear weapons bent on destroying him from the inside.

  As the music climaxed, the dancers backed away from the King’s throne and flapped their golden wings, reaching their right arms to him and bowing to their leader. The music stilled; after a brief pause the King sighed with a blank expression. Sedgwick swallowed, nervous that his father did not like the performance, but that worry dissolved when Caius smirked and clapped. Everyone followed, cheering for the girls. Sedgwick stood up and clapped, gazing at Mina as if she was the only one in the room. Louie clapped slowly, pretending not to be moved by the performance, but he was more than moved. Caius called his assistant Bryan to him.

  “Bring the red head to my room after all this is over,” he whispered, patting his shoulder.

  “Yes, Your Highness.” Bryan left as Caius sat back in his seat. Louie chuckled to himself and couldn’t resist his comment.

  “Oh, Father, still sampling my leftovers are we?” Louie knew the red head from school. Her name was Megan and she had been to the castle many times to see him.

  “Remember Louie, women always settle for the joker… but they long for a King,” Caius smirked at his son and rose from his seat to congratulate the girls one by one.

  Louie clenched his jaw and fists, watching him gloat as Sedgwick rose from his seat and walked over to Mina. He was careful not to embrace her in the way he wanted to in public. Mina nodded her head towards the exit and made her way there. Sedgwick waited for a moment and followed. He found her in the wardrobe room where the girls had gotten dressed down the hall from the ballroom. As he entered she had just taken off her costume and was wrapping a purple silk robe around her. He closed the door and leaned against it. He smiled at her and she blushed with excitement.

  “You were amazing,” Sedgwick told her.

  She grinned from ear to ear. “Thank you.”

  They stared at each other for a moment, allowing their hearts to settle down from all the jumping they did when they were together. Sedgwick approached Mina and wasted no time showing his affection by kissing her softly on the lips.

  While Mina and Sedgwick embraced their alone time, a distant Louie stared at the closed door of the wardrobe room from down the hall with Sedgwick’s security guard, Thomas.

  “Make sure no one goes in there for at least ten minutes, okay?”

  “Yes, Your Highness,” Thomas said, walking to the door and standing in front of it.

  Unbeknown to most, since he was a kid, Louie dubbed himself as some sort of hidden protector of both his brother and Mina. He was in love with his brother’s girlfriend, so why did he do this? It was the only way for him to feel better about wanting what he couldn’t have. His brother’s happiness was far more important than his, as Louie had learned from his father. As much as he rebelled, he truly believed that his divine birth right and duty was to make sure the Crown Prince was happy. And as a brother to Sedgwick, he just wanted to be a good brother. He wanted to get something right.

  +

  After Mina finished getting dressed and everyone had enough to drink, they settled down at the long dark oak royal table that sat about fifty people in preparation for dinner.

  “So, Sedgwick what are your plans now that the summer is about to be over?” asked General Goodwin of the Serenian Army.

  “Well, I’m probably going to take over Jax Corporation downtown for a while. Father wants me to be in charge of the finances and accounts,” Sedgwick replied.

  “That means you will be working with my father. I’ll have to stop by and visit more,” Ivy said, shamelessly flirting with Sedgwick.

  “She might as well stamp the word ‘whore’ on her forehead,” Christina whispered in her friend’s ear. Mina snickered while Sedgwick gave Ivy a polite smile, ignoring her comment.

  “Good. I’m sure you will do well. It will be great preparation for your future leadership duties. What about you, Louie? What have you been studying?”

  Louie hated when people asked him what he was doing. He enrolled at school but didn’t really go to class.

  “I will be traveling, General, mostly around Europe,” Louie said, raising his glass to take another sip of wine.

  “That’s good. So, you’re going to be a liaison for your father with the international corporations after you graduate?”

  “No, Sir. Just traveling. And not after I graduate. In a couple of weeks. I’m taking some time off from school.”

  “Louie would rather waste his time doing child’s play instead of taking the responsibilities of a man,” Caius rudely pointed out.


  “Yes of course, the nothing will continue doing nothing,” Louie shot back.

  It was quiet amongst the table as Louie took another sip of wine. The King looked like he wanted to strangle him. Sedgwick looked at his brother and father, hoping their anger wouldn’t get anyone killed. Mina grabbed Sedgwick’s hand, gently reassuring him. This gave Sedgwick comfort.

  “So Mina, what about you? You graduated, didn’t you?” asked the General’s wife who was dressed in the ugliest dress you could ever imagine, Mina thought. It was blue and very glittery with purple fur lining.

  “Yes Ma’am, I received my degree in Social Sciences. I plan to probably get involved in Serenity Charity Foundation,” Mina answered.

  The Serenity Foundation had been created by Queen Serene to help the less fortunate in Serenity. Mina loved volunteering at the centers of the capitol with Queen Serene when she was younger. After the Queen’s death, the King gave the foundation to the first spoiled woman who wanted to look good in front of the community, raising her status in society. A few years later, they became abandoned buildings that didn’t provide the best support. Mina wanted to bring it back, one more reason Louie and Sedgwick were in love with her. The King was bothered by Mina’s answer. He didn’t want anything that reminded him of Serene to be brought to light.

  “So Caius, when are we going to see another royal annual ball?!” asked Mr. Edison, one of Serenity’s wealthiest men, with four children, a wife, and two mistresses who were cousins of his wife. Louie had bedded one of them once.

  “I don’t know, Edison. Hopefully soon,” the King said, placing his hand on his son’s shoulder, smiling at him. Caius was planning for the next ball to take place when Sedgwick became King.

  Louie looked at his father and brother. The father he had loved and hated and the brother he loved to death, but had envied all his life. Sedgwick had it all, everything Louie ever wanted: his father’s love and respect and the woman he was painfully in love with. He watched Mina as she looked at Sedgwick like he was the perfect guy. She was right, Sedgwick was the perfect guy. He was also the perfect son and the perfect brother, and because of this, Louie could not hate him. It was very unfortunate for him, because it would have made things easier.

  Chapter 3

  They Didn’t Know

  “You guys coming?” Louie asked his brother while he and Mina were sitting at the corner table in the kitchen playing around with each other.

  “Where?” Sedgwick asked.

  “To paradise,” Louie answered with a smile.

  “I don’t know. We have to get up early tomorrow for the match.”

  “Come on, Babe. I could use some fun,” Mina insisted.

  “Yeah, come on little baby,” Louie said, pinching his brother’s cheek and giving him a baby slap. Sedgwick pulled his brother into a headlock.

  “What I tell you about that, huh?” Sedgwick said, applying more pressure.

  “Alright! Alright! You coming or what?!” Louie said, laughing in the headlock. Sedgwick released his brother.

  “Guys, we need to get going before traffic. And I want to pick up some food before we get there. I’m craving a chili dog. They got three for $4, along with large cheese fries and a large drink,” Bartleby said.

  “Bartleby, how is it that you have lost all that weight, but you still act like a fat kid when it comes to food?” Louie asked. Bartleby responded by flashing his middle finger.

  Sedgwick laughed and sighed¸ shrugging his shoulder. “Okay, I’ll go.”

  “Yes!” Louie clapped his hands while Mina jumped on Sedgwick’s back.

  +

  The Princes, Mina, Bartleby, Ivy, and Christina stepped out of their limo in front of Club Paradise. Paradise stood tall with the light-up pink sign with a palm tree at the end of the name.

  “Hey! It’s the Princes!” yelled a photographer who immediately snapped a photo of the group. The security guards blocked the camera man’s view while the gang immediately passed the long line of people that had been waiting for about two hours.

  “Greetings Your Highnesses,” the hostess curtsied. “Will it be your usual section this evening?”

  “Yes. Denise, right?” Louie smiled.

  “Um… yes. Oh my God. I can’t believe you remembered, Your Highness,” Denise said, giggling and blushing.

  “Of course! How could I forget that beautiful face?” Louie said with his signature grin and smile that had the girls down to their knees every time he flaunted it. He remembered Denise because she was very flexible in bed. “And please, call me Louie.”

  Denise blushed and led them to their VIP area, a stage balcony where they could see everything, including the dance floor.

  “Mina, come on, let’s dance!” Christina said, pulling Mina toward the dance floor. “I’ll be back,” Mina said, kissing Sedgwick quickly on the cheek.

  “You want me to order you a drink?” he asked her.

  “No, I’m good. I just want to dance.” Mina and Christina headed to the dance floor while the DJ changed the song.

  The Princes were brought the best of the best liquor to their table, including champagne bottles with brightly shining sparklers sticking out of them. Louie started pouring shots for him, his brother, Bartleby, and Ivy. After about four shots each, Sedgwick decided he should have a chat with his brother.

  “Louie, you have to calm down for Father, alright?” Sedgwick said to his little brother.

  “Listen, Sedgwick, you focus on being golden boy and I will continue… being the fuck up,” Louie said, quickly downing two more shots of vodka. “Besides, I enjoy it! Mainly because the women enjoy it!” Louie grinned at his brother.

  “Yeah, and because you piss off Dad,” Sedgwick added.

  “Yeah, that too,” Louie agreed.

  “Listen, Louie… I know you don’t think so, but you matter too in all this. I’m just saying, take it easy. At least for me, okay?” Sedgwick asked.

  “Hey Sedgwick” Bartleby interrupted, pointing to the dance floor. Louie and Sedgwick turned to see Mina with her arms in the air, swaying her hips sexually and flashing a sly grin at her boyfriend. The boys watched her dance to the beat of the music in a trance.

  “Go get her!” Louie said to his brother.

  Sedgwick laughed and took another shot. “Alright, but we’re not finished.”

  Louie stayed and stared at Mina who was in her own world dancing. He loved watching her dance. She danced freely and gracefully, like she was happy. He loved when she was happy. Sedgwick soon came up behind her, kissing her neck and gripping her waist. She turned around and slowly kissed him on the mouth with a kiss that deepened in a matter of seconds. Louie couldn’t stare at them and their happiness for too long. He felt too guilty for being jealous of his brother’s happiness. As he looked away, Bartleby met his eyes and passed his friend another shot. He knew his best friend was in love with Mina. He’d known it since they were kids, and the older they got, the more weight Bartleby lost and the more love Louie gained for Mina. Bartleby had never seen anything like it before. He witnessed how amazing his best friend’s love was for Mina and felt guilty himself because if someone had asked which Prince loved Mina the most, his answer would not be Sedgwick.

  Louie smirked and took the shot from his good friend. They bumped glasses and Louie downed more of the escape from reality.

  “LONG LIVE THE ROYAL BITCHES!!”

  Louie whipped around to face a group of guys standing outside the entryway of the VIP area. The black slick-haired guy with a scruffy beard looked drunk and grinned at the Prince.

  “What did you say?!” Louie asked.

  “Oh I’m sorry, Your Highness! Wouldn’t want to insult you!” the rude guy said. His friends laughed with him.

  Louie stood and headed toward them. Bartleby sensed something was about to happen and grabbed the wine bottle, noting there were five guys to the two of them. The royal bodyguards were outside the club, so of course they would not be there soon enough.

&nb
sp; “Do we have a problem?” Louie asked the guy that stunk of alcohol and was still arrogantly smirking.

  “No, we was just wondering how does it really feel to be royalty, you know? I mean you guys are just so awesome and cool. I mean you come in here, act like you own the place, and everyone just flocks to you. I mean, really, it’s pathetic.”

  “Oh really?” Louie said, stepping towards the guy.

  The guy laughed. “Yeah really. You know the only good thing that came out of your royal family was that hot-ass mother of yours. Sucks she’s dead.”

  Louie punched him in the face, knocking him to the floor. Douche number two then jumped Louie, making them fall back on the glass cocktail table with all the drinks. People in the VIP area started screaming. Douche two punched Louie, and with one swift move, Louie flipped him over, quickly got up and stomped on his face. Bartleby broke the glass bottle and pointed it toward the guy’s friends who stepped back.

  “Sedgwick!” Sedgwick broke his kiss with Mina to look at Christina, calling him and pointing at the balcony.

  Looking up, he saw his brother grab a guy by his shirt collar and start punching him over and over again, as if in a trance. Louie imagined the guy was his father. After a few more punches, Sedgwick grabbed him from the back.

  “Louie! Louie! Stop! Stop! Stop it!” Sedgwick yelled. With the help of the club’s bodyguards, he pulled him off of the bloodied guy, dragging him out through the back door, following the club hostess. Their limo pulled up and Sedgwick pushed his brother into the limo while the paparazzi ran up taking pictures. Once everyone was in, the limo quickly pulled off.

  “What the hell is wrong with you, huh?!” Sedgwick said, pushing his brother back into his seat.

  Louie laughed along with Bartleby, Ivy, and Christina.

  “Chill out, Sedgwick,” Louie said while Ivy snuggled up next to him.

  Sedgwick shook his head and Mina glared at him, disgusted with his behavior.

  “After party at our house?”

  +

  They arrived home and partied in one of the many rooms in the south wing of the castle. Sedgwick laid on Mina’s lap on the red velvet couch while Louie and the rest laid on the floor. Louie held the bottle of vodka while Ivy held him.