The Chronicles of Caspinar Family Matters -- (Author) Caspinarian

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Author: Caspinarian
Timestamp: Jun 13, 2018 at 1:41 PM
Content: This is the second in my Caspinar series centered on the "Pampered Princes" Bastian and Noah. If you haven't already, you may want to read "Lost and Found" first, which is posted here.

Family Matters
Chapter One
Business as Usual
The ambassador stood in front of the crowd, speaking passionately. The audience listened quietly, hanging on his every word, and applauding from time to time. Here and there among the assembled faces were slight smiles that signaled welcome and acceptance, although some showed only polite attention and tolerance. Noah’s was among those faces. He had no idea what the ambassador was talking about because he’d stopped listening long ago. Whatever it was, it would be above his understanding, anyway. It always was. That was what he hated most about these ceremonies: everything was for the grown-ups. Grown-up problems, grown-up solutions, and grown-up words describing all of it. There was nothing of interest or concern to him, but, as always, he was forced to attend, simply because he was a prince of Caspinar. His parents Prince Alexander and Princess Eleanor told him that attending these functions was one of the responsibilities of the royal family, and he needed to get used to them and learn the protocol involved in them because he would attend many more over the course of his life. He would usually sigh and sulk as his nanny dressed him up in his little suit and tie. His twin brother Sebastian seemed to take it in stride, but he had been going to these things ever since he was little. Noah, on the other hand, was new to them because he had been kidnapped as a baby and raised by another couple for eight years before he’d been discovered and returned to his real family, so it was difficult for him to sit still for such a long time without any distractions. His only escape was to let his mind wander, paying just enough attention through his daydreams to applaud along with the rest of the audience so that it looked like he was listening.

Finally, he sensed people rising around him, so he snapped back to reality and followed suit, clapping energetically. Only this time, it was sincere – he was glad it was over. Prince or not, a political speech is no place for a nine-year-old! The ambassador waved to the crowd as he walked off the stage, and the royal family’s guards escorted them from their seats and out of the hall. They piled into the car waiting at the curb and headed home.

“Well, he made some excellent points,” Ellie said as the car left the curb.

“Oh, yes, he made a lot of sense,” Alex replied. “If only Parliament would take some of that to heart.”

“But when is someone going to talk some sense into the workers’ unions?” At eighteen, Ava had a rather keen interest in politics, but she disagreed with her parents on a few issues.

“Darling, we’ve been over this,” Ellie sighed and launched into another lecture.

The twins and their sixteen-year-old brother Lukas ignored the conversation and instead blipped away on their handhelds. They’d been hearing it for the past few months as tensions had started to rise between the unions and the corporations their members worked for. The workers were pressuring their companies for living wages and better hours, with some people accusing the Lords of protecting the corporations. Alex and Ellie, who helped run the family’s company Emistat, sided with the workers because they had seen success with the sort of policies the unions were calling for. Ava, however, had no work experience at all and believed that the companies, as the job creators and providers, should look out for the interests of the businesses that employed so many people. Although Noah sided with his parents, he and his brothers long ago lost interest in the debate, so they had learned to tune it out.

Once they were home at Vaskerton Palace, the twins ran upstairs to their apartment, where they found their nanny putting away some freshly-laundered clothes.

“Hello, Your Highnesses. How was the speech?” Sigrid asked.

“Boring!” they answered in unison.

“Well, that’s to be expected, especially at your age. So, who’s first to be changed?”

“Bastian can go first,” Noah said. The boys’ urge incontinence had been exacerbated by a virus some months ago, and they had been wearing diapers ever since as nothing had been found to alleviate their lack of control, although it never seemed to bother them. While Bastian laid down for Sigrid to change him, Noah walked into his closet and stripped out of his suit, picking out some jeans and a T-shirt. He slipped the shirt over his head and carried the jeans back to where the nanny stood waiting for him. Once she’d removed the thick, soggy diaper and replaced it with a thinner Pampers (the boys’ favorite brand for its softness and lack of bulk), she put his jeans on for him, and he went off to join his brother for a lesson with their tutor.

Their lessons were generally short, with regular breaks between them to prevent burnout and allow the boys time to absorb what they’d just learned, so Professor Cornell only kept them for a couple of hours, teaching them history, math, and biology. When it was over, it was nearly dinner time, and the twins rushed to get ready. Their dad’s cousin Count Theodor Adelhime and his wife Penelope were joining them that evening, and Noah hoped this would distract his parents from the union discussion.

Fortunately for him, Theodor had not visited since Noah’s homecoming, and although they had heard the story, he and Penelope asked to hear it again because a story has a greater impact when it’s told in person. They listened with rapt attention while Alex, Ellie, and the twins recounted everything that happened between the boys’ meeting on the streets of Tayune and Gustav’s invasion of the palace to reclaim the boy he’d raised since infancy.

“Oh, my god, how horrible!” Penelope exclaimed. “To have that man in your house like that! Weren’t you boys scared?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Bastian answered. “I had nightmares for a long time after that.”

“I wasn’t scared at first,” Noah said. “When it happened, I was just mad to see Gustav about to hurt Bastian.”

“I’m sure,” Theodor said. “And it was very brave of you to charge him like that.” He turned to his cousin and said, “You’ve got quite a boy here, Alex. You must be very proud.”

“I am indeed,” the prince beamed as he winked at his little boy across the table.

Noah smiled back. He was pleased with the way the conversation was going, and he still ate up his family’s attention, although he no longer needed it quite as much as he once did.

“So, how did the speech go this afternoon?” Theodor suddenly asked.

His hopes dashed, Noah fought the urge to roll his eyes as two new people joined in the same old conversation. He listened as well as he could, but it was mostly beyond his understanding, so he dismissed it all as stupid nonsense. Theodor and his wife had little to contribute that Noah hadn’t already heard, so much of the rest of the dinner was one long tiresome bore for him. He absorbed himself in his food, which was delicious as always, and was rewarded for his patience when a beautiful flan was served for dessert. At last dinner was over, and Ellie told the twins that, as long as they stayed nearby, they could go and play while the grown-ups continued talking over coffee in a little parlor off of the dining room. Bastian and Noah scampered off to an old office they had recently taken over, where they pretended to be business executives making important decisions and giving little speeches of their own.

“And from now on,” Noah said, addressing his imaginary workers, “we will have fresh-baked cookies in the conference room every day.”

“Noah,” Bastian said in a suddenly serious tone. “I know Mummy and Daddy are right about the unions, but is being a worker and having a job really that bad?”

“Oh, yes! Gustav always hated it. A lot of times, he would be really mad when he came home from the factory because of something the bosses did. He worked a lot, and he worked very hard, but we never had any money because they didn’t pay him much. And because he drank a lot. But those were the times when the beatings would be really bad.”

“So if he had gotten paid more, maybe he wouldn’t have hit you as much?”

Noah shrugged. “Maybe. All I know is that I never had any nice things before I came to live here.”

There was a knock at the door, and they looked up to see a butler named Herbert standing in the doorway. “Your Highnesses’ parents asked me to fetch you to come and say goodbye to your guests. Please come with me.”

The boys left their things and went with the butler to the little parlor where their parents stood talking to Count Theodor and Countess Penelope. “Here they come,” Ellie said with a smile. “What were you boys doing?” Grown-ups are always interested in kids’ games because they find them amusing.

“Playing businessmen,” Bastian said.

“Oh, how cute!” Penelope remarked.

Theodor smiled at them. “Have you boys taken an interest in Alex’s business?”

“No, sir,” Noah said.

“We’re just pretending,” added Bastian.

“Well, you should go along with your dad to work one day. One of you might inherit the company when your dad’s gone. Or both of you. Who knows? You might even solve this labor squabble for us.”

“That’s not a bad idea, Theo,” Alex agreed. “Maybe we should do that one day. What do you say, guys?”

“I guess.”

“As long as it’s not boring.”

Everyone laughed and at last said goodbye and wished each other well, and Theodor and Penelope walked out to their car. Once they were gone, Bastian and Noah were sent to get ready for bed, thinking less about their possible future with their dad’s company and more about the immediate future of the next day when they would have another chance to run and play and be little boys.

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Author: Caspinarian
Timestamp: Jun 14, 2018 at 3:02 PM
Content: Chapter Two
The Trouble with Spies and Football
The next day was sunny and warm. The grass was all green, and the palace grounds were dotted with brightly-colored flowers. The birds, squirrels, and rabbits had come out to play, and, having finished their lessons for the day, so were the princes. Lukas and his friends were kicking a ball around on the football pitch, while the twins had taken to the gardens and paths to become soldiers fighting a desperate battle. There was a bit of a breeze that flowed through their long, dark brown hair as they ran.

“Bastian! Slow down!” Noah called as he panted along the path.

“Come on, sneaky snail!” Bastian said with a laugh. “We’ll never catch the spies at this speed!”

“Stop making fun of me!” Noah whined as he caught up to his brother. “I know you’re faster!”

“I wasn’t making fun. It was just a joke.”

“Okay,” Noah said rather sourly. “Fine, let’s just get those spies.”

Bastian hesitated for a moment, carefully eyeing the other boy warily as he ran on ahead. Noah had been getting very angry at times here lately, snapping and sometimes even yelling at the staff and his family. He’d been reprimanded and then punished with time-outs and restrictions, but he continued to act up. This looked like it might be the beginning of another of those episodes. “Do you not want to play anymore?” Bastian asked.

“Of course I do! I said let’s go get them, didn’t I?”

“You just seem like you’re not having fun.”

“Oh, no!” Noah said in a sarcastic tone. “There’s nothing I like more than watching you show off how you’re faster than me!”

“Okay, maybe I was showing off a little. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

“All right, fine,” Noah said in a sulky voice.

“Hey, if you’re tired of this game, we can go do something else.”

“I said it’s fine! Can’t we just play? First you show off, and now you keep asking if I want to play or not! Here’s a hint, Bastian: I WANT TO PLAY! GET IT NOW?”

“Well, if you’re going to yell at me, I don’t!” Bastian wheeled and stormed off.

“Fine! Who wants to play with a stupid idiot like you, anyway?”

This stopped Bastian in his tracks, and he turned sharply to look at his twin, his expression a mixture of surprise, anger, and hurt. They had been having a lot of arguments like these lately, but this was the first time that Noah had insulted him.

Noah saw the look on his twin’s face and, realizing what he had done, started to apologize, “Bastian, I—” But it was too late. Tears formed in Bastian’s eyes just before he turned back around and ran, not stopping until he’d reached the house. Noah felt horrible, knowing that he had really hurt his brother’s feelings, and, on top of that, he was probably about to get in trouble again. He slowly started the long walk back, trailing behind again.

By the time Noah caught up to his brother, he was already talking to their mum. Bastian wasn’t ordinarily a tattletale, but the way Noah had been treating him lately had really been upsetting him. He’d heard and even been called unkind words before, of course, but no one in his family had ever talked to him like that. As nobles and celebrities who lived in constant scrutiny, Alex and Ellie had raised all of their kids to trust and support each other, teaching them that only their family could understand them and their unique situation. They had never allowed such harsh, disparaging talk between any of the kids, nor had they ever spoken to each other like that in front of the kids. So when Noah spoke to him like that, it was not only against the rules but also a betrayal of a very serious trust.

“Bastian, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to say that!” Noah said as he walked into the room.

Taught to be honest, direct, and unashamed to express himself, Bastian replied, “You hurt my feelings! I don’t like someone talking to me like that, especially you!”

“I said I’m sorry!”

“All right,” Ellie said, stepping in. “Noah, you know that your dad and I don’t allow that kind of talk in any of you kids. What you said was very mean and disrespectful. You insulted and belittled Bastian, and you had no right to do that. If you were upset or angry with him, you should have told him that. He heard your apology, but you’re both still upset right now, so you need to leave him alone for a while and let him calm down. I want you to go into the next room for a few minutes, and then I’ll come and talk to you.”

Unable to look either of them in the eye, Noah did as he was told, closing the door behind him. Knowing that it was wrong to eavesdrop, he didn’t try to hear what his mum said to Bastian, so he sat down and waited, realizing just then how wet he was. While he waited, Ellie did the best she could to explain that Noah had learned this behavior from Gustav, that he really didn’t mean to hurt Bastian’s feelings. Although she had no formal psychological training, Ellie knew that abuse can often repeat itself in patterns, and so she told her little boy that Noah simply did not know how to express his anger properly, having been taught from a bad example that this yelling and insulting was the way to do it. Several minutes went by, and the door finally opened. But before Ellie could step through the doorway, Lukas appeared behind her.

“Mum! You can’t let him do this! Football is all I care about! It’s what I want to do!” he said, clearly angry.

Sighing, Ellie turned. “Lukas, I agree with your dad. He and I talked about it, and we don’t think it’s a good career for someone of your status.”

“Because it would be unseemly for a Caspinarian prince to be running around a pitch and kicking at a ball?”

“No,” she said firmly and with a certain amount of obvious irritation. “That’s not fair, Lukas. You know that we’ve never put our image before your happiness or well-being.”

“Then why? Why can’t I try for it?”

“Two reasons. One, it would be unsportsmanlike for a prince to play on a professional team.”

“See? It IS our image!”

“No, it isn’t. The problem would be your team’s image. It would be seen as an unfair advantage, and everyone would suffer for it: you, your team, and the sport as a whole.” He fumed, not knowing how to respond to that, as she continued. “Second, it would create a security risk. Again, not just for you but for your team, your opponents, and anyone who was attending any match you played. And you know this.”

“That’s not fair! Everything revolves around our position! I never asked to be a prince!”

“Asked for or not, it’s your lot in life to learn to live with,” she replied, raising her voice. Then she softened. “And we will do our best to help you do that. I’m sorry, darling. I know you want to play football, but it’s just not a good career option for you.”

“Great. Maybe you can just pick out one that would be good for me.” He turned and stormed off.

Ellie sighed heavily and shook her head as if to shake off her irritation before finally turning her attention back to Noah. “I know that you were angry, but that does not give you the right to yell at your brother and use insulting words,” she said as she stooped down to look him in the eye. “You are not to play video games for the next three days. Understand?”

He nodded, wiping fresh tears from his cheeks. “I’m wet. Will you change me?”

“Of course. I’ll have someone bring us a bag.” She pressed a button on a nearby intercom and asked the palace dispatcher, who was tasked with keeping up with the various members of the staff, to send someone to the room they were in with a diaper bag. After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door, followed by a butler carrying a satchel with everything they needed. Ellie took the bag as Noah laid down on a sofa, and the butler left them.

Noah stared up at Ellie and said, “Mummy? Am I still good?”

She saw the vulnerable look in his eyes and said, “Yes, sweetie. You’re just very angry lately for some reason. And you know that everybody does bad things, even good boys.” She taped up the dry diaper and pulled his pants back up, then bent and kissed his forehead. He knew what he’d done was bad, but it didn’t change the way she felt about him, and he needed to know that. “All better now. You can go play. But no video games!”

Knowing that Bastian didn’t want to be around him at the moment, Noah didn’t go back to their apartment because he knew his brother was probably there. Instead, he found himself roaming the hallways, wishing he knew why he had such a terrible temper lately. He realized that he had wandered into Lukas’s and Ava’s wing of the palace. Their apartments were kept away from the twins and their parents to give them the privacy and independence that teenagers are so fond of. Noah thought about the exchange between Lukas and his mum, and he felt like they were both in the same boat at the moment. Feeling somewhat alienated and not understanding this, he wanted to connect with someone he thought could relate to, so he walked up and knocked on the door to Lukas’s apartment.

“Yes?”

Noah opened the door and peered in. “Hi, Lukas.”

“Hey, little bro! What are you doing here?” There was a note of surprise but no irritation.

Noah shrugged. “I don’t know. Bastian’s mad at me, and so is Mummy.”

“Yeah? Come in. What’s going on?”

Noah walked in, closing the door behind him, and recounted the row between the twins and the conversation with his mum to his big brother.

“Wow. That wasn’t cool, Noah.” There was regret but no judgment in Lukas’s voice. The older prince knew that his mum had already handled the situation, and there was no need for him to add any more criticism.

“I know! I apologized to him, but he’s still mad.”

“Don’t worry, he’ll get over it.” But then a more worried look came over Lukas’s face. “Why are you having these blow-ups here lately?”

“You got angry too! I was there! I heard you!”

“Yeah, but I didn’t yell at Mum or insult her. See, it’s okay to be mad and express yourself, as long as you don’t put someone down while you do it.”

Noah sighed. “Well, I don’t know why I do it. I just get so mad, and I can’t help it.” He glanced at the TV and noticed the black-and-white movie playing. “What are you watching?” he asked in a surprised tone. He couldn’t believe that, with everything available to them, Lukas would choose to watch some old movie that wasn’t even in color.

“It’s called ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers.’ It’s an old sci-fi film about aliens taking over people’s bodies. It’s not too scary – want to watch it with me?” He felt bad for his little brother. He’d had such a hard life and now had this temper that he didn’t know how to control. Bastian was mad at him, and he could clearly use a friend just then.

Noah shrugged. “As long as it’s not scary,” he said as he plopped down beside his big brother.

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Author: Caspinarian
Timestamp: Jun 15, 2018 at 5:05 PM
Content: Chapter Three
Misplaced Anger and Male Bonding
“And, of course, Prince Sebastian did get over it.”

“Yeah, everything went back to normal later on, and we started playing again.”

“But these incidents keep happening.” Dr. Lune didn’t phrase it as a question. The chubby, middle-aged man was seated in a large armchair across from Noah. He was usually very cheerful and friendly, but his expression was serious, concern subtly knitted on his brow.

“Yes.”

“I see. I think this sounds a lot like Gustav’s behavior. Now, I want you to understand that I’m not comparing you to him, Your Highness.” Dr. Lune raised his eyebrows and nodded his head slightly to emphasize the point. “But these angry outbursts remind me of the ones you’ve described Gustav having. See, generally, we follow the example set for us by our parents, even if it’s a bad example. So, what often happens in homes where children are abused is that the child learns the parent’s behavior pattern and eventually copies it. I think that’s what has happened here. This is not your fault. It was Gustav’s job as your parent to teach you appropriate behavior, so it’s his fault. But now that you are aware of it, you have an opportunity to face this problem and change this behavior before it gets any worse.”

“But I don’t know how,” Noah replied. “I want to stop getting so mad, but I can’t help it. Someone will do something I don’t like, and I just can’t stand it.”

The doctor nodded. “I didn’t say it would be easy, but it is possible to make a change. I have seen many people do so successfully, and the younger they are when they start, the better. Do you remember how you were when we first started talking? You were so quiet and sad. It was a chore for me to get anything out of you. Now, you talk freely, and I’ve seen you become so happy with your family. You’ve made wonderful progress in recovering from the trauma you experienced. But you still have some progress to make. When someone suffers abuse, they may go through different stages. First, there may be sadness, depression, and withdrawal. The victim incorrectly believes he deserves this mistreatment and accepts it. But once he realizes that he doesn’t deserve to be treated like that and never did, he may grow very angry over what was done to him. This anger is caused by and mostly directed towards the abuser, but sometimes when it isn’t expressed properly, it winds up being accidentally directed towards other people who have done nothing wrong. This misplaced anger is very often at the root of abuse, and it repeats itself from abuser to victim. What’s going on with you right now is that you feel a tremendous anger at Gustav, but you haven’t expressed this anger to him, so you’re looking for reasons to express it to other people. You don’t mean to do this; it happens on a lower level of your mind where you’re not aware of it, the subconscious. You’re yelling at your family and your staff over small things as stand-ins, replacements for Gustav and the big thing that he did because your family is available and safe to yell at, whereas Gustav is not.”

Noah wasn’t sure that this made sense. Why should he think of someone as a stand-in for Gustav? He certainly didn’t compare anyone in his real family to his fake dad! But
Dr. Lune explained that he had a lot of pent-up anger towards Gustav that needed release, and his subconscious mind looked for opportunities to do that, picking up on any irritant or perceived injustice and exaggerating it, allowing him to direct his anger onto anyone who was present at the time. After a few minutes, it started to make sense, and the prince accepted that what Lune was saying was true.

“But what can I do about it?” Noah asked, almost pleading.

“You can find another outlet for your anger. Something healthy, another way to express the way you feel without shouting and belittling.”

“Like what?”

“Oh, there are many things you can do. You can draw pictures, you can write about your feelings, you can play sports, you can even observe other people expressing similar feelings and I think you’ll find that you’ll feel they’re speaking for you. Whatever else you do, you must continue to talk to your family and share your feelings with them. They can help you get through this, and you must get through it. You must find a way to put all this past you. The pain, the anger: you must let all that go. That’s the only way to move forward and live a healthy life.” Lune glanced at his watch. “Now, Your Highness, our time is up for today. Let’s go greet your family, and then I’d like to speak to them for a few minutes.”

Noah thanked the doctor for his time and left the little office where they had their sessions. When Dr. Lune heard about the row between the twins, he asked Alex, Ellie, and Bastian to meet with him to discuss what he learned from Noah’s session. They had all been sitting just outside, patiently waiting to see what the therapist had to say.
Lune walked out behind Noah, smiled at Alex and Ellie, and said with a gesture towards the room, “Would Your Highnesses join me? Prince Noah, if you will please wait here, we should only be a few minutes.” The doctor waited until they had all walked into the office, then stepped back in himself and closed the door again. Everyone sat down, and Lune wasted no time in explaining what he thought about the young prince’s behavior. They were troubled by what they heard at first – could their little Noah ever be like that monster Gustav? But what Dr. Lune said made sense, and they were reassured by his assertion that Noah wanted to change and that this was possible. “He feels a great deal of remorse for what he has done. He knows that he has hurt people and doesn’t want to do it again, but he needs helps controlling and expressing his anger. It will help him if you encourage him to talk and share what he’s feeling, even if it’s negative. He may get critical, and that is where things get a bit dicey. It’s important that he is able to talk about his feelings, but this should not give him license to use abusive language. If he does, it is important to discipline him because that will reinforce that this behavior is unacceptable. But I believe that it’s most important that he find a healthy outlet, some activity that lets him express his anger without hurting anyone. Now, are there any questions?”

“What sort of activity might help him?” Alex asked.

“There are many options that often have therapeutic value in these cases. Art, sport, really any physical activity will help him get his aggression out. Music is another option. Ordinarily, I would suggest drama, but I’m not sure that would be appropriate for Prince Noah. It may also help to get him out more, take him on some outings. That will let him have new experiences so that he may not dwell on the old ones quite so much. All that matters is that he enjoys it and that this thing allows him to express how he feels.”

“Is Noah going to turn into Gustav?” Bastian asked.

“No,” Lune said flatly. “Your Highness’s brother may have a bad temper right now, but he is too thoughtful and considerate to let that continue. He has told me so much of how close you two are and how important you are to him, how grateful he is for everything you’ve done for him, and how important it is to him to treat you with the same kindness you’ve shown him. I don’t believe that he will ever be like his former guardian. I think that, with some effort, the little prince will go back to his old, good-natured self as if nothing had happened. Anything else? No? Well, if Your Highnesses will excuse me, I must get back to my office. The workers’ rally will be starting soon, and I hope to avoid the traffic.”

“Of course,” Ellie said. “Thank you, Doctor.”

They all left the little office and rejoined Noah. Dr. Lune shook hands with everybody and said goodbye as an usher walked up to lead him back through the maze of passages in Vaskerton Palace.

Over the next few days, Alex and Ellie began to help their little boy explore his interests as they looked for some new hobbies for him. Like their dad and older brother, the twins were drawn to football, occasionally watching matches on TV, so Alex asked Noah how he would like to go and see a match with his dad and brothers. Noah loved the idea, and so did Bastian and Lukas as the four of them had never had an outing like this before. So on a bright, warm afternoon, Alex had a car brought round while Sigrid got the twins ready for their outing. This, of course, meant thicker diapers than what they normally wore to cut down on the number of changes they would need and looser fitting pants to cover the extra bulk. Once she had changed and dressed them, Sigrid escorted them to meet their dad and Lukas on the drive at the side of the house, where they all piled into a limo with their guards. They left the palace with another car in front of them and drove through Ordan to Blacking Stadium, where the Ordanian Ogres were playing the Valinkirk Vikings. The car parked outside the stadium, and the princes were quickly escorted by their guards to their private viewing box looking directly over the pitch.

They took their seats and were handed snacks and sodas. While they waited, Alex chatted on his phone, Lukas tapped out text messages, and the twins took turns watching each other play games on their handhelds. But all devices were put away about half an hour later when the teams took to the pitch. The Ogres won the coin toss, and the game started. The princes munched on crisps and sipped their sodas as they watched the players kick the ball back and forth, excitedly cheering whenever a goal looked likely. They were all into the game, even the nanny and the guards, who were able to relax a bit inside the safety of the box. About twenty minutes into the match, the Vikings scored a goal with a strong kick that sent the ball sailing past the Ogres before they could react, a thunderous roar erupting all over the stadium.

“Oh, come on, wake up!” Lukas yelled. “It went right past you!”

As if they’d heard him, the Ogres seemed more lively and attentive after that goal, coming back and playing harder to even the score by half-time. The Ordanian fans cheered loudly for the hard-fought tie, and a tremendous din of shouts was heard on both sides as the teams left the pitch for the break. Alex and Lukas both took the opportunity to use the bathroom in their box, while Sigrid checked on the twins. Noah said he could wait, but Bastian wanted a change, so the nanny took him to the bathroom to take care of him. They returned shortly before the second half started. After a while, Noah began to regret not getting changed at half-time because he was starting to feel pretty soggy, but he endured the feeling because he didn’t want to turn his attention from the game. Besides, he reasoned, he was wearing a thick diaper, and all that padding had to be good for something. He did slow down on the soda, though, and kept his eyes glued to the pitch below. The Ogres continued to fight hard and were able to control the ball quite a bit, almost scoring several times. However, just a few minutes before full-time, the Vikings scored another goal, and the Ogres couldn’t recover in the little time that was left. The roaring was louder than ever as the two teams left the pitch and fans started to exit the stadium. The guards had the princes wait a while before leaving the box to give the crowd some time to dissipate, which gave Noah the perfect chance to get changed. He found that he’d been right about the extra padding: his diaper was soaked, but it hadn’t leaked. The guards finally let them leave, and Alex watched with amusement and pride as all three of his boys excitedly chattered and ran about the hallways to the chagrin of their guards. Once they reached the car, he suggested that they get some ice cream before going home, and they all agreed.

The limo pulled up to their favorite shop, and their entourage trooped through the doors and up to the counter. Everyone recognized them as soon as they walked into the shop, and the workers were all excited to wait on Caspinarian royalty, some of them asking for autographs or pictures. Alex allowed the autographs and one picture with the shop’s manager and all of the princes. With that out of the way, they made their orders and took their cones outside, where they ate their ice cream on a picnic table to enjoy the fresh, warm air. Finally, they piled back into the car and rode back to the palace, the boys all happy about their outing, even after the loss of their team. Alex and Ellie took special notice of Noah’s good mood in spite of the Ogres’ defeat, and they felt like they had taken a step in the right direction for their little boy. Noah didn’t have any outbursts for the rest of the day, and there was no trouble at all from any of the kids that day. In fact, rather than running off to play by themselves, the twins stuck to their older brother, who didn’t seem to mind having them around, even joining in some of their games as the three of them talked on and on about football.

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Author: Caspinarian
Timestamp: Jun 16, 2018 at 2:53 PM
Content: Chapter Four
Quality Time
The next morning, rain pelted the palace, and the weather forecast called for it to last all day. This disappointed Bastian and Noah, who were still a bit excited about the game the day before and wanted to burn off some of that energy running around outside. Fortunately for them, they discovered that Lukas wasn’t going out with his friends, and they hoped he’d let them hang out with him. The boys had always been generally impressed by their big brother. Tall, athletic, funny, and kind, they looked up to him, but although they each had a good relationship with him, they had never quite connected with him the way they had the previous afternoon. They felt as if they had won his approval, although they had had it all along, and made a brand-new friend that they had always wanted, whether they knew it or not. This emboldened them to think that if they couldn’t play outside, their new friend might be willing to entertain them, at least for a while. They latched onto him at breakfast, sitting on either side of him at the table.

“What are you going to do today?” Noah asked him.

Lukas glanced through the windows at the rain falling from the darkened sky and shrugged. “I think I’m just going to hang out, play some games, watch a movie or two.”

“Cool. Is it okay if we come along?”

The older boy smiled. He didn’t mind his little brothers tagging along. They made things fun, and the way they were excited just to spend time with him made him feel good. “Sure.”

“Nothing inappropriate for them!” Ellie said from across the table. “And only after your lessons.”

“I know, Mum.”

So, after breakfast and the boys’ lessons, Bastian and Noah ran along the corridors to Lukas’s apartment, where they found him already playing an Xbox game. They quickly grabbed a controller and joined in. The three of them played until just before lunchtime, when Bastian started fidgeting and said with a little half-squint, “I think I need a change.”

Lukas chuckled slightly. “It must be nice not to have to take bathroom breaks.” He tousled Bastian’s hair and added, “It’s almost time for lunch, anyway. You guys go get changed, and maybe we can play some more after we eat.” But after lunch, he didn’t feel like playing anymore. The rain had stopped late in the morning, only to pour harder than ever in the early afternoon. “I think it’s time for a good, old scary movie.” The twins weren’t sure about this, but they sat down beside him, anyway, as he started surfing through the channels, muttering “no, nope” as he went. “Jackpot!” The screen settled on a goateed man in a wheelchair talking to some people in a room full of dummies. “’House of Wax!’ You can never go wrong with Vincent Price.”

“Is it scary?” Bastian asked.

Lukas thought for a second. “All right, if you guys get scared, let me know, and we’ll find something else. Okay?”

The twins agreed, and they all settled in for the rest of the movie. It was an old movie, so it wasn’t very violent or gory, but there were a few moments that made the younger boys tense up a bit. Worse, thanks to the dialogue and makeup effects, it seemed rather dated at times.

“Why do you like movies like this, Lukas?” Bastian asked, feeling a bit bored.

“I don’t know. It’s just cool, the way this guy, this artist comes back for revenge after he was attacked and his work was destroyed. It’s the kind of thing most people want to do sometimes, but we know it’s wrong, so we don’t. Well, in a movie, you get to watch someone else do that thing, and you get the satisfaction of seeing it without having to do it. And it’s the perfect thing to watch on a day like this.”
“I like it,” Noah said. He couldn’t have told them why; he just thought it was fun for some reason. Of course, the wax figures were part of that, molded to look just like people and posed in snapshot scenes of historical crimes and events. Even Bastian liked that about the movie, but he didn’t enjoy it as much as his brothers. Lukas and Noah each began to think that they may have found another common interest, something else they could do together, while Bastian was simply glad to spend some time with both of his brothers.

The three boys began to hang out more after that. If Lukas wasn’t out with his friends, he was often with the twins, playing video games or watching football (and sometimes playing it during nice weather). Of course, there were also times like the rainy day when all he wanted to do was watch a scary movie, and Noah, having discovered how much he liked fright films after Lukas had introduced him, would often watch with him. Someone else might occasionally join them, but the world of monsters and deranged killers shown in monochrome and grainy color was generally one that only the two brothers occupied. Their parents at first didn’t like Noah’s new hobby because they were worried that he would get scared and start having nightmares again, but that didn’t happen as long as the movie wasn’t too intense or gory, so they didn’t fight it. After a while, this began to pay off when the young prince’s outbursts grew less frequent, and Alex and Ellie realized that he may have found the outlet Dr. Lune had talked about. So, in finding a new friend in his big brother, Noah became more like his old self, and he began to have fewer blow-ups.

What really surprised them was what Lukas got out of their new connection. “I think I might get into making movies,” he told Ellie one day.

She managed to keep herself from sighing, laughing, or even rolling her eyes. “Movies? As an actor?”

“No, I know I couldn’t do that. I probably wouldn’t be any good at it, anyway. But maybe I could direct, produce, or write. If nothing else, I could finance pictures. It would be a lot of fun to be involved in telling stories like that.”

Ellie thought for a moment and smiled. “You know, it’s unconventional for a prince, but that might not be a bad idea.”

There were also fewer fights between the twins, and in fact, things were going so well between the boys that their parents agreed to let Lukas take his little brothers to a football game, just the three of them (and their entourage, of course). Irina was on duty that day, and she was very excited as she got the little princes ready for their outing.

“I don’t know how long it’s been since I saw the Ogres, but it’s been too long!” she said as she changed Bastian’s diaper.

“I’m glad you’re working today so you can go with us,” he replied.

“If I’d known about the other match Your Highnesses saw, I would have swapped days with Sigrid to go.”

“We would’ve invited you if we’d thought about it. We know how much you love football, but we were so excited about going ourselves.”

“That’s all right,” she smiled down at Bastian. “I’m getting to go today, and for free! I certainly can’t complain!”

Once the boys were ready, the three of them hurried downstairs to the car, the middle-aged nanny walking with an obvious spring in her step. Lukas and his guard Fritz were waiting for them, along with Bastian’s guard Roland and Noah’s guard Adrian, who the boys called Bull. This time, they didn’t ride in a limo but a less-conspicuous SUV that was large enough to carry the princes and their staff. They arrived early before the crowd packed into the stadium and settled into their private box, watching TV, talking, and playing games until the match started. Everyone cheered when the players took the pitch, the boys and their nanny all jumping to their feet to shout for their team as they faced the Denmire Dragons. The Ogres played harder than they had against Valinkirk and won an early lead that they kept through the remainder of the first half. Having learned from previous experience, Noah didn’t hesitate to get changed at half-time, and both boys were comfortable and dry when the second half started with a goal by the Dragons to tie the score. But the Ogres were in top form and soon scored again, holding their lead for the rest of the game. The princes jumped excitedly, their cheers and shouts drowned out by the roar outside. Fritz, who was in charge of security for this outing, wouldn’t let them leave the box until most of the crowd had cleared out. The twins, happy and energetic over their team’s victory, tackled Lukas, and they all passed the time wrestling on the floor. When they got home almost an hour later, they were still celebrating the Ogres’ win, feeling like they had also won something as they thanked their parents for letting them go.

“I’m glad you guys had a good time. Maybe you’ll let me go next time,” Alex smiled.

Noah replied, “You went last time, and we lost! You’re bad luck, Daddy!” Bastian giggled.

“What?” Alex asked in fake shock. “I’ll show you bad luck!” He lunged and started tickling Noah, who exploded with laughter. He was still laughing when Alex got Bastian as well, and both of the twins wound up rolling on the floor and giggling fitfully.

Things continued to go well after that day, so much so that Alex and Ellie began to discuss taking a trip that they had been planning for a while. Running Vaskerton Palace and all of their various enterprises was very stressful, and they wanted to get away and have some time to themselves. This hadn’t been possible while Noah had been acting up, but now that he was getting better, it looked like the time might finally be right. They told the kids about it at breakfast one morning to see what they all thought.

“We would only be gone for a few days, and Ava would be in charge until we got back,” Ellie said.

“I think it’s a great idea, Mum. You guys need to get away,” Ava said.

Lukas agreed. “We’ll be all right here for a few days.”

“And what about you two?” Alex asked the twins.

Bastian shrugged slightly. “It’s all right with me.”

Ellie laughed. “I’m glad we have your permission.”

“I didn’t mean it like that!” the little prince replied defensively.

“I know, sweetie; I was only teasing. What do you think, Noah?”

They all looked at him, and he was conscious of being put on the spot. He felt uneasy about the idea because this would be the first time his parents would be away since he came to live with his real family, but he was embarrassed to say so. “It sounds okay to me.” When his dad asked if he was sure, he insisted that he was, so it was decided that the trip would happen.

But everyone could tell that Noah wasn’t sure, so Ava whispered to her mum that she would talk to him. She caught up to him after their meal, sitting beside him and smiling as she looked down at him. “It’s all right to be nervous about Mum and Dad going away for a while. You can talk to us about these things, you know, and you should. Now, what’s bothering you?”

Noah sighed. “What if something happens?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, something bad.”

“Lukas and I will be here, and so will most of the staff and security. It’s not like they’re going to empty the house when they go. There won’t be anything that we can’t handle. Besides, Mum and Dad need this. They love you, they love all of us, but they’re under a lot of stress, and they could use some time off, just a few days. And, you know, ‘something bad’ could always happen whether Mum and Dad are here or not. It’s no good to not live your life because you’re afraid of what could happen.” Noah frowned, his head drooped a bit. “Hey,” she said softly, and he looked up at her. “Everything will be fine. Lukas and I will take care of you and Bastian while they’re gone, and if something does come up, they can always fly right back home.”

“Really?”

“Of course!”

“I guess I can be okay with them going away, then.”

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Author: Caspinarian
Timestamp: Jun 17, 2018 at 3:24 PM
Content: Chapter Five
Travel Arrangements
The next week was very busy as everyone got ready for the royal couple’s holiday. Many preparations had to be made any time Prince Alex and his wife would be leaving Vaskerton for more than a day. Their travel arrangements and itinerary had to be set, and the staff had to make sure that the palace would continue to function smoothly while the heads of the house were gone. Alex and Ellie decided on a skiing trip to the French Alps, which would be far enough away from home to give them a break but close enough that they could return quickly if needed. They were to leave in only a few days, and they spent that time deciding where to stay, what they would do on their trip, and what the kids would do while they were gone. In light of the recent problems with Noah, one hard-and-fast rule they set right away was that, while it would be fine for Ava or Lukas to go out one at a time and visit their friends, the twins were not to leave the house except in case of emergency, and at least one of the older kids must be home with them at all times. Ava and Lukas also were not to have any guests at the palace during their trip, a rule to which they both objected, but their parents wouldn’t budge. So they both took the opportunity in the days before the trip to see their friends.

Elias Reeth was a boy Lukas had met recently, and the two had quickly become friends. The same age as Lukas, Elias was the son of a prominent shipping magnate and was a bit wilder and more mischievous. He had been to Vaskerton a couple of times before, so he was familiar with the protocol of the palace, which he ignored at every opportunity. This irreverence was one of the reasons the teenaged prince liked him, but of course, it didn’t endear him to anyone else. The two friends were kicking the football around the pitch one day when the twins decided to join them.

“Hey, here come your brothers.”

“Yeah, do you mind if they play?” Lukas asked.

Elias frowned. “Are they any good?”

“Yeah! They’re not too accurate, but they’re fast.”

“Okay.” Elias turned as the younger boys walked up. “Hey, you guys want to play?”

“Sure!” Noah said enthusiastically.

“You guys think you can keep up?” Elias asked.

“Just watch!” Bastian fired back. He dashed in and kicked the ball out from under Elias’ foot, sending it across the pitch to one of the goals, which the older boys immediately moved to defend. Noah was already in motion and got to the ball first, propelling and controlling it across the grass with small kicks. The teenagers chased after him, slowly gaining on him with their longer legs, and just as they were about to catch up to him, Noah suddenly stepped in front of the ball and kicked it across to his twin and away from Lukas and Elias. Bastian caught it with his foot and started dribbling towards the goal as the older boys wheeled around and started towards him. They soon reached him, and Lukas kicked the ball away from his foot, but the smaller Noah stepped in almost under the teenagers’ legs and stole it back, moving it further towards the goal as the larger boys were again forced into pursuit. Noah gave one final forceful kick as they closed in on him, and the ball flew through the air and landed in the net several meters away.

“Good play!” Elias said a bit breathlessly as the four of them stood panting on the grass.

“I told you,” Lukas said. “They’re fast, and they know how to work together. It’s the twin thing.”

Elias and Lukas redoubled their efforts as the ball was put back into play, and the four boys spent quite a while scrambling back and forth on the pitch. They were all shouting and laughing, enjoying their favorite sport and the endless energy of their youth in the warm summer sun. During one especially intense play, Bastian’s shirt rode up a bit, exposing the top of his Pampers.

“Are you–?” Elias asked. “You are! Why are you wearing a diaper?”

Bastian turned and saw that Elias was talking to him and felt embarrassed. He started to explain about his incontinence, but the older boy’s laughter cut him off.

“That’s a baby diaper, isn’t it?” he howled. “Aren’t you potty-trained yet?”

“He has incontinence, and he can’t help it!” Noah yelled. “And neither can I, so leave us alone!” He lifted up his shirt to expose the top of his own diaper.

Elias laughed even harder, but Lukas cut him off. “Dude, don’t laugh at my brothers.”

But the other boy didn’t hear him. He kept laughing as he said, “A matched pair! But who let you out of the nursery?”

“SHUT UP!” Noah screamed as he stepped towards the older boy. Bastian, who was more embarrassed than ever, looked scared as he saw how angry his twin was.

Lukas moved between his brother and his friend, facing Elias. “Stop. I said don’t laugh at them. They can’t help having a bladder problem, and I don’t like you making fun of them. They’re not babies; they’re little kids who feel bad enough about having to wear diapers without someone trying to make them feel worse.” Elias stared at him for a moment, trying to decide what to do next, so Lukas added, “Don’t think I won’t hit someone who makes fun of my little brothers to their faces.”

Elias wasn’t exactly afraid of Lukas, but at that moment, he decided it was best not to push his luck. He held his hands up, palms outward. “Sorry. You’re right, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t tell it to me,” Lukas replied.

Elias looked past his friend to the two younger boys. “I’m sorry for laughing and making jokes. I’m not used to seeing kids your age in diapers, but it’s not your fault that you have to wear them. I won’t do it anymore.”

Bastian gracefully accepted his apology, but Noah was still angry. He turned and stormed off, his twin trailing behind him to try to calm him down.

While the kids were enjoying the last of their freedom, Alex and Ellie were ironing out the details of their trip and preparing the staff and Ava for their absence. This was the first time they were leaving her in charge while they were gone, and they had a lot to go over with her, so some of her social time was sacrificed. They reinforced the rules against the kids having friends over and any trips outside the grounds for the twins, forbade any visitor of any kind who had not been to the palace before, set limits on the sorts of activities that would be allowed around the house, established rules of behavior for the twins, laid out instructions in case those rules were broken, and set limits for the twins’ playtime and diets. The discussion wasn’t all about rules and regulations, though. The prince and princess told Ava to allow the boys to have fun and to join them in their games. They suggested a number of activities and detailed the things the boys liked to do. In fact, the rules and limits Alex and Ellie set for their absence were considerably more permissive than the ones that were usually in effect, except for the rules relating to security, which were much stricter. They knew that letting the twins have more fun would make their time away from their parents easier.

Finally, all of the preparations were made, and the arrangements were set for the royal couple’s trip. On the morning of their departure, Alex stood in their bedroom watching a news report on the continuing debate about workers’ pay and rights as his wife was gathering the last of her things. He shook his head and said to himself, “Those people probably need a holiday more than I do.” As the controversy had grown, he had checked with his business manager Sergei Polstoff more than once, and Sergei, a highly trusted, long-time employee, had assured him that Emistat’s policies were in line with the worker-friendly ones that Alex had established, that the turmoil was only a result of rabble-rousers spreading misinformation. Ellie walked up behind him, and he remoted the TV off.

Downstairs, they both hugged all of their children and kissed each of the twins. Not surprisingly, Noah teared up a little as they said goodbye, which made Ellie’s eyes water as well. She wiped the tears off of his cheeks and said, “We’ll only be gone for four days, sweetie. You’re going to have a lot of fun while we’re gone, and we’ll be back before you know it. I’ll miss you, though.” Looking up at the others, she added, “I’ll miss all of you. Have fun and be safe.”

With that and one final “I love you,” they walked out to the car that would take them to the airport, trusting their kids to take care of each other while they were gone.

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Author: Caspinarian
Timestamp: Jun 18, 2018 at 4:08 PM
Content: Chapter Six
Ava in Charge
Noah was still sniffling a little as the kids watched their mum and dad’s car drive off, so Ava sidled up to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

“It’s all right, Noah. Lukas and I will take care of you. We have the run of the whole house in the meantime. And it’s a beautiful day out! So, what would you guys like to do first?”

“Let’s go play in the pool!” Bastian said. “Come on, Noah, what do you say?”

“All right,” said the other boy as he wiped his eye.

“Fine by me. Are you up for it, Lukas?” Ava said. When he said yes, she turned to a nearby page and instructed him to fetch all of their swimsuits and meet them in the dressing rooms that let out to the pool.

The princess and her brothers then walked through the corridor to the dressing rooms and waited only a few minutes before the page walked in and handed them their suits. Swimming was always a rather novel experience for the twins because it was the one time, outside of showering, that they didn’t wear diapers. Their normal diapers would quickly swell up in the pool, making it hard for them to swim, and swim diapers are not effective at containing urine, which was neutralized by the chemicals in the pool. They stepped into one of the dressing rooms, shucked their pants, and untaped their diapers, leaving them on the floor for the page to dispose of, then pulled up their trunks. Once they were all dressed, they stepped through a door made of clear, sturdy glass and onto a large patio paved with ornate, pale gray stones. Situated around a corner of the house, the pool was large and irregular with rounded edges with chairs and a bubbling fountain under the shade of a couple of large trees on an island at one end.

They all jumped in, the boys wrestling and splashing each other while Ava tried to organize them into some games. She eventually succeeded, but the twins lost interest after a while. Without their diapers, Bastian and Noah felt unencumbered, able to move more freely. Just for a little while, they got to pretend to be like every other nine-year-old boy. The kids stayed at the pool for a couple of hours, sometimes getting out to sit in the sun for a bit before jumping back into the water again. The twins enjoyed even that quite a bit because it was the only time they got to sit on anything without a layer of padding under them. They finally decided they’d been there long enough when they all started to get hungry.

“What do you guys want for lunch?” Ava asked.

“Pizza!” said the twins in unison. Lukas agreed.

Ava turned to a page, a young man named Rolf, who had been sitting by the pool and instructed him to call the kitchen staff on the mobile phone he carried and have them prepare a large pizza for the boys and a salmon for her. They got out of the pool and wrapped their towels around them, drying their bodies in the sun’s rays for a few minutes before going inside to the dressing rooms. Fresh clothes had been laid out for them, as well as a couple of Pampers for Bastian and Noah, which they had never put on themselves before, and they had no desire to try. Rolf was the only servant on hand, and he wasn’t among the servants were trusted with the delicate job of diapering the young princes. The job, then, fell to the older kids.

“Lukas, do you think you can get Noah’s diaper on him?” Ava asked as she steered Bastian towards one of the dressing rooms.

“I don’t know. I’ve never put a diaper on anyone before,” he said.

“Oh, it’s easy. The tapes go in the back, and you bring the front up through his legs and tape it shut. You’ll figure it out.”

Feeling especially responsible for and close to his little brother right then, the teenaged prince agreed to try, and he quickly saw that there wasn’t much to it. Once they were dressed, the twins went on ahead to the lounge where they’d decided to have their lunch and turned on the TV. Ava and Lukas joined them just before their food was brought in, and they all dug in.

After lunch, the twins took to the numerous back passages and corridors of Vaskerton to play, darting about as if they were secret agents on a mission. They played this game for some time before wandering into the art studio, where Ava said she would be that afternoon. They found their sister at an easel, brushing paint onto a portrait of a man walking a dog, although the way it was painted made it look more like the dog was excitedly pulling its owner along by the leash.

“That’s a good one,” Bastian said. “What’s it called?”

“I think I’m going to call it ‘Attachment.’ It’s about how the things we attach ourselves to pull us in different directions.”

“What do you mean?” Noah asked.

“Well, you see how the dog is running, and he’s pulling the man along because he won’t let go of the leash?”

He nodded.

“That happens to people as they go about their lives. They focus on something and hold onto it, like this man is holding the leash, and whatever that thing is leads them in a certain direction, like the dog is leading his master.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“It could be either, depending on what the person holds onto and where it leads them.”

“What’s this one?” Bastian asked as he stared at another easel a few feet away. “I mean, what’s it supposed to be?”

“It’s an abstract. It’s not supposed to be anything that you could see or touch, just a representation of feelings.”

He looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face.

“Sometimes we associate colors with emotions and qualities. Red is anger or love, green is envy or innocence, light blue is happiness, dark blue is sadness. If we combine different colors with different shapes, it creates a kind of vague picture of something happening that makes us feel certain things. That’s what that one’s supposed to do.”

“What am I supposed to feel when I look at it?”

“You’re not supposed to feel anything specific. The idea is that different people will feel different things when they look at it.”

The twins knew Ava was an artist as she was always drawing things for them, but they had never talked to her about her art before. The way she was describing it appealed to them, made the process of drawing or painting something seem like a sort of magic, a series of spells in the form of images that conjured feelings and ideas in their viewers’ minds. The next question was predictable and inevitable.

After a quick glance at his brother, Bastian asked, “Can we try?”

Ava was happy to show them some of the basics and get them each set up with an easel and canvas. She watched with interest as the ideas in their heads took shape, crude and childish, with no apparent understanding of the concepts involved but nonetheless charming because of the interest and effort behind them. The three of them spent quite a while in that little room that afternoon, creating their own world and a deeper bond that they hadn’t known before.

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Author: Caspinarian
Timestamp: Jun 19, 2018 at 2:46 PM
Content: Chapter Seven
Facing the Night
Dinner was a bit livelier than usual that evening as the twins were allowed to play and cut up more than usual. The boys giggled and laughed as the four of them talked, and this helped to take Noah’s mind off of his parents’ absence and the worries he’d had about security. Not surprisingly, the meal took longer than usual, but they all enjoyed it.

After dinner, they all talked to Alex and Ellie on the phone for a bit, then played a few games, both on board and in video. These were all games for groups of people, fun and engaging but not violent, gory, or suggestive. There were trivia questions, light physical challenges, and drawing challenges. Lukas did the best with the trivia, while Ava excelled in drawing. The twins generally didn’t do as well, but their efforts provided the most laughter. They played until everybody had won at least one game, and they all had fun. When Bastian finally won a racing game, Ava announced that it was time for bed.

In the back of his mind, Noah had been dreading this moment. His once-regular nightmares had grown much less frequent, but that was with his Mummy and Daddy around to protect him. Without them, he was somewhat afraid to go to sleep. Ava knew he might be worried and tried to put his mind at ease.

She changed the boys, pulled the covers up over them, and read them a little of The Secret World of Og, the story of five siblings who discover a strange underground civilization of little green people. When Bastian and Noah started to look sleepy, she marked the page she was on and closed the book.

“All right, guys, time to sleep,” Ava said. “But we had fun today, didn’t we?”

“Yeah,” they answered drowsily.

She smiled sweetly at them, taking a moment to think about how cute and innocent they looked. “And we’ll have more fun tomorrow. Now, Ilsa’s in her room if you need anything, and you can send for Lukas or me if you need us.” She bent and kissed their foreheads. “Sweet dreams, boys. I love you guys.”

“Love you too,” came the reply mumbled in unison.

A black figure stood outlined by the moonlight coming through the window, his face hidden by the darkness. Noah didn’t know who this man was, but he knew he was a stranger in more ways than one, and he knew why this stranger was there. He turned to wake Bastian, but his brother was already gone, taken by the dark shape in front of the window. The shape must have heard him stirring in the bed because his head jerked suddenly as if he were noticing something. Noah rolled over towards the other side of the bed to get away, but the man lunged, landing on top of him and roughly gripping his arms. Twisting and squirming to break free, he hoped help would come as he screamed in terror.

“Noah! NOAH!”

He opened his eyes and saw Bastian staring at him, shaking him gently. It was a dream, but it had seemed completely real, and it was scary enough to make it seem like far more than a dream in that moment. On nights like this, having finally discovered a dad who loved and protected him, Noah would cry out for Alex.

“Daddy!” he sobbed. “I want my Daddy!”

“Daddy’s not here, Noah. He and Mummy are in the Alps, remember?” Bastian said.

“I don’t care! I need him here now!”

“You’re all right. It was just a dream. Everything’s fine,” Bastian said in a quiet, calm voice.

“But a man was in here, and you were gone! He took you, and he was going to take me! I want Mummy and Daddy to come home! I want my Daddy!” The sobbing continued, punctuated by wailing.

“But there’s nobody here.” Bastian turned on the bedside lamp to show his brother that the room was empty except for them, but Noah wouldn’t calm down. Ordinarily, when Bastian wasn’t able to console his twin during one of these episodes, he would do as Noah asked and send for their dad. Obviously, with Alex and Ellie out of the country, that wasn’t an option, so Bastian thought of the next best thing. “What if I sent for Lukas? Do you want me to have Ilsa bring Lukas?”

“YES!” Noah blurted between sobs.

A few minutes later, Ilsa ran into the older boy’s bedroom. “Prince Lukas! Prince Lukas!” He stirred awake and groaned in response. “Your brother sent me to get you. Noah has had another of his nightmares, and he’s asking for you.”

“Okay. Thank you, Ilsa,” he said sleepily as he sat up, blinking his eyes for a moment.

“Your Highness, please hurry. He’s very upset.”

“All right, I’m coming,” Lukas said a little shortly. His feet hit the floor as he shrugged on a T-shirt, and he stumbled to the door, coming fully awake as he walked across to the front door of his apartment. He and Ilsa walked quickly through the corridors and around corners until they reached the twins’ quarters and walked through to the shared bedroom in between the boys’ separate rooms. Ilsa stayed long enough to make sure they didn’t need anything else and then returned to her own room.

“Hey, dude. Had a bad dream, huh?” Lukas said as he stepped up to the bed. Noah, still crying, held out his arms, so Lukas picked him up, and the little boy buried his face in his big brother’s shoulder. “It’s okay. It was just a dream, and now it’s over. You’re safe,” he said as he rubbed Noah’s back.

Bastian, on his knees at the edge of the bed, held out his brother’s teddy and continued to offer comforting words. He was glad Lukas was there, not just for Noah’s sake but also because he’d begun to feel afraid once he’d had time to think about the dream. Lukas sat down on the bed, and Bastian rested his head on Noah’s back.

After a few minutes, the crying finally stopped, and Noah calmed down. “I’m wet,” he said in a whiny voice. “Will you change me?”

“You know I’m not very good at that. Ilsa’s just in her room. Bastian can get her, and she can take care of you.” Changing diapers simply wasn’t something that Lukas wanted to do, so he was hoping he could talk his way out of it.

“I don’t care. I want you to do it,” Noah whimpered.

Lukas chuckled slightly. What Noah really wanted was to know that his big brother was going to take care of him and make everything better. He sighed slightly, “Okay, buddy, I’ve got you. Bastian, can you get the stuff for me?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right back,” Bastian said, leaping off the bed and bringing back a diaper, some wipes, and some powder.

Lukas laid Noah down flat and soon had the unpleasant job done. “While I’m at it, how are you doing?” he asked Bastian.

“I’m okay.”

Noah was much calmer now, and he looked as sleepy as the teenager felt, so Lukas stood up, saying, “Well, now that that’s done, let’s all go back to sleep, okay?”

“Oh, please don’t go!” the twins said together.

Lukas looked at them and focused on Bastian. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I got a little scared by what Noah was saying.”

Sighing again and smiling just a little bit, Lukas climbed into bed between them, and they snuggled up to him as he settled under the covers. “Now, can we please get back to sleep?”

Lukas opened his eyes to a sun-brightened room that didn’t look immediately familiar, but the pressure on his chest reminded him where he was. He looked down and saw his little brothers’ heads resting there, still dreaming peacefully. As much as he’d been annoyed at being awakened in the middle of the night, it felt good to be the hero, the one who chased away the monster and made everything better. Bastian and Noah were a cool couple of kids, thoughtful, energetic, active, and happy, despite their disability. They never let it get them down. Noah especially was still very grateful for all the good things in his life, and his enthusiasm was infectious. Sure, he got too angry sometimes, but that was understandable after what he’d been through. After all, it made Lukas angry to think about what Gustav had done to his little brother.

Noah’s eyes fluttered open, and he smiled as he realized that Lukas had been there all night. “G’morning,” he said sleepily.

“Good morning. Feel better now?”

“Yeah. Thanks for staying with us last night.”

“No problem, dude. Any time you need me.”

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Author: Caspinarian
Timestamp: Jun 20, 2018 at 12:38 PM
Content: Chapter Eight
A Return and Another Departure
The next couple of days were wonderful for the twins. They played football with Lukas and painted with Ava, and they all watched a few movies. Ava even joined the boys for some old monster movies, even though she didn’t really enjoy them. After that first night, Noah’s worries evaporated, and there were no more nightmares. He still missed his parents, but he felt safe now that he knew he would be looked after even when they weren’t around. With that resolved, all four of the kids were free to enjoy their time together.

Their days were filled with games and all sorts of fun activities. They rode horses and bicycles, played with the dogs, and splashed around on the beach. One day the four of them played a game of hide and seek that spread over the entire palace grounds. The twins had a blast, and the older kids found a part of their childhood again as they all ran and laughed through the grass outside and the hallways inside.

Alex and Ellie came home in the afternoon four days after they left to find their house peaceful and their kids happy to see them. They picked their twins up and hugged them tightly, smiling broadly and asking them how things had been with Ava and Lukas.

“It was great! We had a lot of fun!” Noah said from his mum’s arms. “We swam, we watched movies, Lukas played football with us, and Ava taught us to paint! Mummy, you HAVE to see the paintings I did! I did one for you too! You have to see them!”

“I will, darling,” Ellie said with a laugh. “Just give Daddy and me time to get settled. We’re a bit tired after that trip.”

“But didn’t you guys sleep on your trip?” Bastian asked.

“Of course we did,” Alex said. “But when you get to be our age, you’ll see that traveling can take its toll on you.”

“We’re never going to be YOUR age!” Bastian retorted.

Their parents laughed, and Ellie said, “We’ll see, I suppose. Anyway, what about you two? Have you been sleeping well?”

“Well, I had a bad dream the first night you were gone, but Lukas took care of me.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah! He’s been great.”

The prince and princess looked at their oldest son, who was blushing slightly, and Ellie, grinning, decided to embarrass him a bit more. “It sounds like he’s been a good big brother, then.”

“He’s the best big brother in the world!” Noah said, unwittingly taking the cue from his mum.

Alex and Ellie barely had time to relax after their trip before Lukas broached the subject of leaving again.

“The football tournament is two weeks away,” he said. “Noah and Bastian want to go too now, so what do you say, Dad?”

“Your Mum and I will talk it over.” Seeing Lukas’s impatience for an answer, Alex added, “We’re very tired, son. We need some time to rest, and then we can talk it over.”

Lukas nodded and said that he understood. He didn’t have to wait long. Alex and Ellie discussed it the next day, how Lukas wanted to go to the national football championship in Majura. Alex himself wanted to go as well, although his wife wasn’t interested as usual. They had at first thought it wasn’t a good idea in light of the problems that Noah had been having lately, but the last few days had proven that he was capable of behaving, even in unusual circumstances. What ultimately convinced them, though, was hearing how well Lukas had done in their absence. They felt that he deserved a reward for everything he’d done to take care of the twins while they were gone, so they finally told him that the trip was on. In two weeks, Alex would take his three sons to see the Toura Tigers play the Radmara Reptiles in the massive stadium in Majura, where the national championship was always held.

This would not be a long trip, so it didn’t require as much planning as the Alps holiday, especially since Ellie wasn’t going. But it did require some planning, which Alex handled with Dominik, the head of palace security. All the boys had to do was wait for their departure, which was the hardest part for three young boys. They occupied themselves as well as they could, but the days dragged on very slowly for them.

The day of the game finally arrived, and the boys were all very excited. The family all had breakfast together, and then Alex and the boys said goodbye and walked over to the palace’s helipad, where the copter was sitting and ready to go. Ilsa, as the only one of the boys’ nannies who had not yet been to a game with them, was accompanying them on this trip, while most of their security had been sent on ahead and were already waiting for them at the stadium in Majura. The flight only lasted about an hour, and as the helicopter came in over the city, the boys stared down at the traffic that very obviously centered on Larkvist Stadium. This was no surprise as virtually every eye in Caspinar was turned to this game. The pilot landed, and a short, stocky guard named Otto ran out to greet them.

“Good morning, Your Highnesses. We’re on alert because we’ve just learned that there is a workers’ rally in the city this afternoon, but we don’t anticipate any trouble from that. If you’ll please follow me, I’ll take you to your box.”

Otto led them through a service entrance and through hallways inaccessible to the general public to their private box, which was much like the one in Ordan, only a bit larger and a bit nicer. The game was not due to start for a couple of hours, so the boys all sat down at a long table and started playing games on their hand-helds. They didn’t have to wait long for something to happen as there was a great deal of pageantry before the game itself, as the two teams’ bands began tuning up and then playing fight songs to get the crowd excited. The boys put their devices down and watched the crowd, which was already quite large, stand, cheer, and shout taunts at their opponents. A fight broke out between a couple of fans, close enough so that the boys could see it, but security swooped in and ejected the two men before it went on for very long. Finally, after a bit longer, the bands started playing again as the teams ran onto the pitch.

The roar of the crowd was deafening, but the princes didn’t notice it because they were making plenty of noise themselves, cheering for the Reptiles. Down on the pitch, the players were milling about, stretching, and greeting each other. Some of them were jeering at the players on the other team, trying to unnerve them as a form of psychological warfare. The entire stadium seemed to tremble with excitement. Bastian and Noah were glued to the windows, staring fixedly at the scene below them.

“Ilsa, would you take the boys and get them changed before the game starts?” Alex asked the nanny.

“Yes, Your Highness. Come along, my little ones, and I’ll get you situated.”

“Okay, but please hurry,” Bastian said in a rather pleading tone. “I don’t want to miss the start of the game!”

Ilsa chuckled softly. “Don’t worry, they’ll be a few minutes preening around down there, so we should have plenty of time.”

Of course, the nanny knew how to change a diaper quickly, so the boys were back in their seats a few minutes before the game began.

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Author: Caspinarian
Timestamp: Jun 21, 2018 at 8:57 PM
Content: Chapter Nine
The Game and the Aftermath
The Toura Tigers won the coin toss and, upon kick-off, pushed aggressively towards the Reptiles’ goal, where the ball was blocked. The Tigers quickly regained the ball with a steal and lobbed it back at the goal, where it was again blocked. The Reptiles then drove the ball towards the Tigers’ goal, but it was stolen again before a shot could be taken, then quickly stolen back. The player who had the ball saw his chance and took it, sending it sailing through a gap in the bodies on the pitch and into the Tigers’ net for the first goal of the game.

Thunder exploded through the stadium as the crowd got to its feet, cheering, chanting, cursing, and crying foul, screaming at the referees. The chaos subsided a bit as the ball started moving again, the Reptiles soon regaining control of the ball but again failing to score. The two teams went back and forth for some time until the end of the first half with the Tigers in the lead. All over the stadium, fans were shouting, and a couple more fights broke out. The throng of people was so dense and excited that security had a hard time reaching the unruly patrons to evict them. The stadium was just beginning to calm down as half-time ended and play resumed, getting the fans agitated once again.

The Radmara Reptiles came on strong as the second half began and quickly scored a goal, finally giving their fans something to cheer about. The Tigers fought back, and the two teams were hard at it for some time before the Tigers finally scored another goal and broke the tie several minutes before the game ended. The Reptiles made one last gasp of it before running out of time and losing the game. Many of their fans began screaming obscenities while Tigers fans burst into cheers and shouts, proudly boasting their victory. The princes didn’t see how it started, but a brawl had formed on the other side of the stadium as the two sides clashed, and smaller fights had erupted in other parts of the stadium.

“Your Highness, I think we need to leave,” Otto said to Alex. “before this scene gets any worse.”

“Yes, you’re right. Boys, get ready to go. Ilsa, gather up their things,” Alex said.

The atmosphere in the room had grown tenser, but nobody was really worried. They were no strangers to security risks, and contingency plans had been made for this type of situation. The guards had mapped out the passages of the stadium, and they had agreed on a way to get the royal family out quickly if the game turned violent. Within seconds, they were ready to go, ahead of most of the crowd. Otto led them out the door and along the service corridor as guards ahead of them made sure the way stayed clear. Several minutes later, they emerged from the stadium and saw their car idling ahead of them along with the standard escort of two additional cars with flashing lights in front and back of the limousine.

They walked quickly towards the limo, Otto put his hand to his ear and a minute later reported to Alex, “A riot has broken out at the workers’ rally, Your Highness. The game was all the excuse they needed, I guess. We need to move quickly to get you all out of the city.”

Guards on both sides of the car opened the doors, and Ilsa and the boys ducked inside. Alex and the guards joined them, and the driver wasted no time in pulling away from the stadium, where excited and angry fans were streaming out like an army on the attack.

“Are we going to be okay, Daddy?” Bastian asked, his voice strained with fear.

“We’ll be fine, buddy,” Alex said in a calm, even tone as he put an arm around his son. “We’re already on our way out of here.”

They watched the crowd through the windows as the car sped down the street, traffic parting on either side of the flashing lights ahead of them. They picked up speed as they moved along and rounded another turn up ahead. Suddenly, the limo was forced to stop as the brake lights on the lead car lit up, and the limo driver, who wore an earpiece connecting him to the driver ahead, glanced back. “We have to turn around,” he said. He didn’t explain why, but everybody guessed that the riot had reached the area they’d been heading towards.

With some effort, the cars turned about in the middle of the street and began to move in the opposite direction. They drove straight for several blocks before making another right to take an alternate route to the airport and their waiting helicopter. But as soon as they turned, they found themselves in the middle of a gridlock too tight to maneuver their way out. They creeped forward as the flow of traffic now moved at a trickle, the cars in front of them unable to make way for the flashing lights behind them.

They moved like that for several minutes before Otto put his hand to his ear again, his eyes widening just a bit. “We need to abandon the car. Right now! Everybody out!”

He flung open the door next to him and stepped onto the asphalt, throwing his hand up to stop oncoming cars. Once traffic had stopped, they all began to climb out of the car. Noah and Lukas had just stepped out when they heard a dull noise that quickly grew to overpower the traffic. It was the noise of many angry voices coming towards them. They looked out over the car tops and saw a mass of people running into the street, throwing rocks and bottles as they came.

“Run!” Otto yelled, and they all took off as fast as they could go. “Stay together!”

But as other people jumped out of their cars in a panic and joined their frantic effort to get away from the stampede behind them, this quickly became difficult. Before long, it was impossible as they were forced to dart left and right wherever there was space. A young guard named Kristian moved up behind the twins and grabbed Noah’s hand, yelling, “Hold your brother’s hand, as tightly as you can! Don’t let go!” Noah gripped Bastian’s hand as Kristian guided, pushed, and shoved people out of their way as he ran, clearing the way for the young princes. Bastian glanced around and realized with a dreadful shock that he could no longer see his dad or Lukas. The most frightening part of all came in that moment when he realized that he didn’t know what had happened to them or even if he would ever see them again.

Kristian led them around a corner, and they ran two blocks, turned another corner, and ran a bit more before he suddenly dragged them into a narrow alley that ran along a large, plain-looking building. They moved quickly along the wall until they came to a rusty, flimsy-looking metal door. Kristian raised his foot and kicked right beside the doorknob, throwing the door open. He dragged them through the doorway, slammed the door shut, and braced it with some metal shelving he found nearby.

They stood perfectly still for a couple of minutes, their panting and the twins’ cries drowned out by the din of noise outside. They all knew they had escaped death, but the guard knew that they weren’t necessarily safe yet. After he’d caught his breath, he drew his gun and light and instructed the boys to stay behind him as he searched the space they were in. Much of the place was in shadow as the only light came through dusty windows that were placed high in the wall above them, but they could tell they were in a small warehouse. They couldn’t see anyone else at first glance, but Kristian had to search it to make sure no one else was hiding among the boxes and crates stored there. After a thorough search that took several minutes, he was finally satisfied and seemed to relax a bit as he put his gun and light away. Now that they felt safer, Bastian and Noah began to think about their dad and brother and could only hope that they were safe as well. Kristian saw the looks on their faces and put his hands on their shoulders.

“Try not to worry. All of us guards are trained for things like this. The others would have paired up with your dad and brother and looked for a safe place to hide them just like I did with you. We can try to make contact once things calm down a bit out there. We just need to stay here and stay quiet. If anyone else comes in, I’ll do my best to protect you.”

The boys climbed onto a crate, sat down, and stared into space as tears rolled down their cheeks. Dazed and in shock, they were scared, tired, worried, sad, and both a bit wet, especially after the adrenaline surge. All they wanted at that moment was to find their family and go home.

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Author: Caspinarian
Timestamp: Jun 22, 2018 at 3:49 PM
Content: Chapter Ten
Lost in the Crowd
After a while, the noise outside began to grow fainter, and they realized that the riot was moving away from them. Kristian held his hand to his ear. “This is Kristian. I have Blue 3 and Blue 4, both secure and unhurt,” he said, using the twins’ codenames. “Anyone read me?” he asked. His eyes flickered as he stood perfectly still for a long moment. Finally, he said, “Yes, sir,” took his hand away from his ear and said, “Noel is with Prince Alex. He sustained a minor injury and needs a doctor but is otherwise all right. Ilsa’s there too. Otto was with your brother, but they were separated. He and Felix are starting to look for him now.”

The twins looked at each other, fear flashing in their eyes. What had happened to their Daddy? Where was Lukas? Was he safe? “Can’t they use the tracker on his phone?” Noah asked. He and Bastian had similar trackers pinned to their shirts that would allow their security team to determine their position by satellite if they were lost or separated from the others.

“Yes, that’s what they’re using, but it’s not quite that simple. The tracker is only accurate to a couple of meters, and Prince Lukas may have dropped his phone. There’s also the matter of actually getting to where the tracker says he is. That may be harder than we’d like it to be, but they’re going to do their best, of course.”

“What happened to Daddy?” Bastian asked.

“Noel didn’t say exactly, only that he had a minor injury that needs attention. Judging from what he said and the way he said it, I’d say it’s just a cut or something like that.” He put his hand to his ear again and added, “Your dad said to tell you he loves you and to stick with me and do exactly as I say.” Stooping down to look them in the eyes, he added, “Everything’s going to be okay. Noel’s going to take care of your dad, Otto and Felix will find Prince Lukas, and I’ll protect you. We’ll all get out of this and get home safely.”

The boys couldn’t have been more miserable. Afraid and feeling very vulnerable, they were consumed by thoughts of how hurt their dad was and where Lukas was. Was he hurt too? Or worse? These questions weighed more on Noah than on Bastian because Bastian, having always had a good life, didn’t understand grief and misfortune the way his brother did. While both of them were afraid they might never see their big brother or dad again, Noah knew how real this possibility was and how devastating it could be for him and his family. He also thought back to all of the times he’d lost his temper and exploded, all of the trouble he’d caused his family. Had he ever mistreated Lukas? He couldn’t remember. Then he began to wonder how much he would remember of his older brother if he was gone. And how long would he remember it? Until he’d met Bastian in Marganta last year, he had never known a loving family, let alone such a large one. Having a big brother like Lukas, who never hit him, yelled at him, or put him down like other kids’ big brothers did was more than he could have ever hoped for. He was so lost in his thoughts that he only became aware of his sobbing when he felt Bastian’s arms around him.

They sat like that for several minutes until they heard Kristian say into his earpiece, “It’s an old warehouse, empty except for us. Right. Yes, sir. Okay, be careful.” The twins looked up at him, hope and tears in their eyes. “They found Prince Lukas, and he’s okay. They’re not far, and they’re coming to join us here.”

The boys both gave a huge sigh of relief and even laughed a little, but they didn’t stop worrying completely because they knew that something could still happen before Lukas joined them. But at least they had something to look forward to now. They sat and waited silently, listening for a knock, any sound that would tell them that he was outside. After a few minutes, Kristian said, “Down the alley. There’s a metal door with my footprint in it.” Turning to the kids, he said, “Stay here, Your Highnesses.” He ran to the door and waited until he knew they were on the other side and then pushed the shelves out of the way. The door swung open, and the twins saw Lukas step into the room with Otto and Felix behind him, blocking the door off again once they were inside.

“Lukas!” they cried, jumping up and running to him.

“Hey, guys!” He threw his arms up and caught them, clutching them tightly. “God, I’m glad to see you. I was so worried! And you’re okay? You’re not hurt?”

They both nodded, too upset to speak.

“It’s all right, I’m here now. Hey, we’ve got a small army here now. Everthing’s going to be fine.”

“Kristian said Daddy’s hurt,” Bastian said.

“Not badly. Dad’s pretty tough, so don’t worry about him.”

“That’s right,” Otto said. “Noel just called and said it was clear for them to move. They’re on their way over here. This’ll all be over soon.” He glanced towards the windows and added a little more quietly, “For us, anyway.”

“What happened to you in the riot, Lukas?” Noah asked.

The older boy sat down and pulled his little brothers onto his lap, still holding them tightly. “I ran onto a side street and almost tumbled down a flight of stairs. Since they were tucked out of the way, I checked them out, and there was a door where I was able to get into a little basement and hide out until Otto and Felix found me.” He laughed, “It was pretty scary. I hope none of us is ever caught in something like this again.”

“You were scared?” Bastian asked in surprise.

“I sure was. I get scared too, you know. Everybody does, and a riot is a very scary thing. People get crazy when they’re that angry.”

Noah got very quiet as that sunk into his mind and he realized how true it was. His thoughts were interrupted by a banging on the door. “Daddy!” he cried.

But the guards all turned sharply. “Shhh! Quiet!” Otto whispered sharply. “That’s not your dad.”

The banging came again. “We know you’re in there! We saw you go in! Open up or we’ll break the door down!”

They all looked at each other anxiously.

“We saw that rich boy go in there. We just want his money, and we’ll go away.”

“We don’t want to hurt you, but we’re armed, and we will defend ourselves if necessary,” Otto shouted back.

For a moment, there was nothing, and then, “You lie! If you’re armed, why do you hide? Open up, or we’ll break in and kill you all!”

The twins turned their frightened faces to Lukas. “It’s okay. They’ll protect us.”

“Your Highness, take your brothers and find a place to hide,” Otto said as the guards drew their guns.

The prince did as he was told, leading the twins by their hands deeper into the warehouse, where he found a large empty crate on the floor. “Get in here. I’ll find something to put over it.”

“But what about you?” Noah asked.

“They know I’m here, so they’ll look for me, but there’s no reason for them to find you guys. Just get in there and stay there and stay quiet.”

“But Lukas–”

“Do as I tell you!”

The twins scrambled onto the floor and into the crate, gasping as they heard a loud boom on the door outside. Lukas found an old tarp and quickly draped it over the crate where the boys were hiding, then crouched behind a stack of crates in front of the twins’ hiding spot. If the attackers did get in and past the guards, they should find him first and leave the kids alone. There was another boom, then another, followed by the loud metallic clatter of the shelves falling to the floor, and then shouting as the men rushed into the warehouse.

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Author: Caspinarian
Timestamp: Jun 23, 2018 at 4:20 PM
Content: Chapter Eleven
The Fight in the Warehouse
The boys couldn’t see what was happening, but the sounds were terrifying. Gunshots rang out, and then there were the sounds of a struggle as feet and bodies scraped the floor. There was more shouting, cursing, and grunting as the guards fought with the attackers. The boys had no idea how many people had invaded their hiding place, but there were obviously more than the three bodyguards could dispatch quickly. Among the sounds of the fight, they picked out footsteps growing louder, coming closer. Lukas saw two pairs of legs run past him and stop right in front of the tarp-covered crate. In a flash, the tarp was thrown off, and the twins were exposed, screaming as they huddled together in fear.

“Leave them alone!” he shouted, jumping up and leaping onto the two men hunched over the crate. Catching them by surprise, he knocked one of them down, a middle-aged man with short dark hair and a reddish complexion only slightly larger than himself. The man fell face first onto the crate and landed on the floor with a thud, not moving again.

The other man, a tall bruiser with blond hair, turned and stomped at Lukas, but he didn’t have the leverage to do much damage. Lukas grabbed his foot and pushed with everything he had, tipping him backwards. The large man stumbled backwards onto his rear end, and Lukas pressed his advantage, lunging and landing a solid punch to the attacker’s nose. Enraged, he hit the prince with a right hook, scrambling up as Lukas was knocked backwards.

Bastian and Noah screamed as the blond-headed man crawled toward their brother, gripping his collar. Suddenly, Otto and Kristian appeared behind him and pulled him off of Lukas. A couple of police officers and Felix also ran up, and the five of them quickly subdued the large man, cuffing his hands behind him.

“Are you all right, Your Highness?” Felix said as he reached down to help Lukas up.

The young prince rubbed his chin and said, “I think so. He’s big, but there wasn’t much force behind that punch.”

Once the man was secured, Bastian and Noah wasted no time in scurrying out of that crate and running to their brother, who wrapped his arms around them. The attackers were all arrested and hauled away, and one of the officers said it was time to go. They had tracked the princes through the signal provided to them by Noel after he discovered that it wasn’t safe to move Prince Alex and Ilsa. Several officers were in the area of the warehouse and were able to rescue Lukas, the twins, and their guards, but now they had to get out quickly because the area still wasn’t secure.

“But what about Daddy?” Noah asked as an officer herded him to the door.

“We have officers working to get to his location. It shouldn’t be long before they get to him, Your Highness.”

The boys and the three guards were all loaded into a couple of police cars and driven away from the warehouse. “Where are we going?” Lukas asked.

“To the station. It’ll be the safest place until we can arrange transportation out of the city for you,” the officer at the wheel said.

“I think I’m leaking,” Bastian whispered to his older brother.

“Poor kid. I know that must be uncomfortable. I’ll take care of you once we’re at the station. Meanwhile, at least we’re safe.”

At the station, Lukas walked into the office of Captain Ludwig Lundt to give his statement, the twins clutching his hands, refusing to leave his side.

“Before we start, Captain, I need your help and your utmost discretion,” Lukas said.

“Certainly, Your Highness. Whatever you need.”

“My brothers suffer from incontinence, and we don’t have their bag. They both need new diapers, and Bastian will need new pants. I don’t have any money, but my dad will reimburse you when he gets here,” he said.

“I see,” the captain said calmly. “I understand. I’m sure that doesn’t feel good, and it must be intolerable after an experience like what you just went through. Such well-mannered boys to wait so patiently! And in such good hands too! That was a very brave thing you did, Prince Lukas. But, don’t worry, that’s no problem at all. We have an inspector here, a very capable lady with kids of her own who should know about sizing and how to shop for you, if you don’t mind me calling her in? No? Good. Otherwise, you have my word that I won’t mention your situation to anyone else. The last thing I would want to do is embarrass Your Highnesses.” The captain picked up his phone and said, “Send Inspector Kircher to my office, and tell her to hurry.”

As they waited for the inspector, they began to recount the events of that afternoon. Lukas was talking about the start of the riot when Kircher knocked on the door and Lundt invited her in, introducing her to the princes.

“Close the door, Inspector. Our guests need our help, and this is in the strictest confidence. If it gets out, I’ll know it came from you, and there will be consequences. Our two young princes here have a medical condition. I need you to go out and buy them some diapers and a pair of pants for Prince Bastian. Be quick and quiet about it; not a word to anyone. Got it? Good.”

The twins sat on little chairs in front of the captain’s desk, tired, wet, and uncomfortable, but they weren’t embarrassed because they were used to getting a lot of attention and hearing their condition discussed to people who took care of them.

The inspector bent down and smiled at Lukas. “I just need to know the right sizes so that Your Highnesses will be comfortable.”

“We usually wear Pampers Size 7,” Bastian said. When he saw her reaction, he added, “They’re kind of tight, but they fit. We like them because they’re thin.”

“I see. As for your pants, do you have any idea of the size you wear? No. That’s okay. Would you mind standing up for a moment so I can get an idea?” Bastian stood, and Kircher sized him up as well as she could at a glance. “Okay, I think I can match you well enough. Thank you, you may sit down again. There are some shops right across the street. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

While Kircher was gone, Lukas gave Lundt the rest of his statement. By the time he got to their rescue from the warehouse, she was back, carrying a large plastic bag. She handed them to Lukas and waited until he had checked their contents before leaving.

“Well, I think that’s all I’ll need. Thank you very much for your cooperation, Your Highness,” the captain said. “You may use my office to, uh, take care of your brothers. I’ll just give you some privacy.” He walked out, closing the door behind him.

“Okay, Bastian, you’re first.” Lukas was glad to see that Kircher had even thought to get wipes and powder, so he was able to do a rather good job of cleaning the boys up before putting fresh diapers on them. With that done and Bastian in dry pants, Lukas started collecting their wet things and putting them in the bag.

“Lukas,” Noah said. “Why are you so nice to us?”

“Because you’re my little brothers,” he said.

“But other kids’ big brothers are mean to them. They tease them and sometimes hit them and do things like that. But not you. You’re nice to us. Why?”

Lukas fastened his pants and looked up into their eyes. He sighed and stooped down in front of them. “I was five when Mum and Dad told me I was going to be a big brother. They told me that I’d get to help them watch you guys and take care of you and what a big, important job I was going to have. They’ve always said that family takes care of each other and supports each other, that we can always count on each other even when other people let us down. They said I’d have two little ones who’d always look up to me, and I thought that sounded great. But when you were born and I saw how much attention you were going to get, I got jealous. I’d always been the center of attention, and they’d always taken care of me, and suddenly I saw that it wasn’t all about me anymore. I wished that you would just go away so things could stay the way they’d always been.” His eyes began to water as he went on. “So when you disappeared, Noah, I thought it was my fault. I thought you were gone because of the wish I made. And then I saw how upset everybody was.” Here, his voice cracked, and tears flowed. “Mum and Dad were– it just destroyed them. They fought a lot for a while. And, in my mind, it was all because of me.”

“But it wasn’t your fault,” Bastian said.

“I know that now, but back then, I didn’t. I felt so bad about it. I eventually talked to Mum and Dad, and they convinced me that it wasn’t my fault, but until then, I felt so guilty, and I understood what they had been talking about, how we all had to take care of each other. That was when I understood love and family. That’s why I was always good to Bastian and why I’m good to both of you now. I don’t want to ever see anything happen to either of you, and if someone did try to do something, like those guys today . . .” He stopped short and shook his head. “I’ll do anything for you guys because you’re my little brothers and I love you.”

Neither of the twins was used to that much sincerity from Lukas, and they were crying again as well. But there was another reason for Noah’s tears.

“It’s not fair,” he said in a high-pitched whine. “Why did this have to happen to me? To us? All because of that nurse, that Naomi. Why did she have to take me away? I should have always been with you guys, and you shouldn’t have had to feel bad because of what she did!”

“You’re right, it’s not fair. I wish it didn’t happen, but it did, and there’s nothing we can do about it now. But you know what? I think we’re all better people because of it. I know I am because before that, I was very selfish. After it happened, we all got closer as a family. And you, Noah, because of what you went through, you’re the kindest, most compassionate one of us all. You care about everybody! And you’re so grateful for everything you have. You’re such a good kid. You both are! We don’t have to like what happened, but we can’t change it. But we can learn from it, use it to do good things and be better people. What happened was horrible, but it’s over now, and you don’t have to hold onto it and let it make you miserable. You have a good life now. If you’ll just let go of the old, bad one, you could be so happy. And I want that for you because you deserve it.”

“But I don’t know how,” Noah sobbed.

Lukas put his arms around his little brother, and they wound up in a group hug as Bastian joined in.

“We’ll help you.”

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Author: Caspinarian
Timestamp: Jun 24, 2018 at 3:27 PM
Content: Chapter Twelve
ClosureThe police finally got to the bakery where Alex, Ilsa, and Noel were holed up and brought them to the station. The kids were, of course, all very glad to see him and Ilsa and see that they were safe. That’s when they found out that Alex had cut his arm on a nail as he was running. Noel had bandaged the cut and kept him from losing much blood, so all he needed was a few stitches. The police took a statement from Alex, then drove them to the airport, where their helicopter was waiting.

Going home had never felt so good to everyone. The guards were all rewarded and commended for the outstanding job they’d done during the riot. They all knew how fortunate they were to get out of it without any major injuries. A lot of other people had been hurt, some very seriously, and of course, some were killed. The police found and arrested as many of the perpetrators as they could, but it was impossible to track down everyone who’d been involved in the chaos. Naturally, the twins had been a bit traumatized, and they both had nightmares for a while, but they were otherwise unaffected.

Having been in the midst of the violence, Alex felt a strong kinship and sadness for all those who were hurt or killed. He got involved in the recovery effort, donating a great deal of money for many of the repairs and the medical bills. He personally visited some of the people who’d been hurt and the families of those who’d been killed. In an effort to understand exactly what happened, he also started doing some research and discovered what he believed was the main cause of the riot and of the trouble between the workers and the bosses. After months of lies, he uncovered the unethical business practices of his business manager Sergei Polstoff, who had been methodically abusing Emistat’s workers, cutting jobs, hours, and benefits to maximize the company’s profits, the majority of which went to executives and to Polstoff. A greedy man, he had also been embezzling from the company. Alex promptly fired him and pressed charges.

“I am truly sorry for the actions of my former business manager,” he said at a press conference. “I want to assure everyone, especially those in the Emistat family, that I was unaware of the policies Polstoff had enacted. The abuse that my workers have endured is detestable and intolerable, and I am personally working with our board of directors to reverse the damage that was done. You will be seeing dramatic changes to my company in the very near future.”

Things started to get better after that for Emistat and its workers, who represented a large number of Caspinarians. The employees who were skeptical of Alex’s words quickly came around, and the prosperity the company saw as a result spurred other companies and even Parliament into similar action so that the rallies and demonstrations soon ended.

Meanwhile, there had been much to discuss around Vaskerton Palace. Lukas told his parents about the conversation he’d had with Noah in the police station, and they’d been saddened and worried that their son was still troubled by his old life with Gustav. Alex and Ellie talked to Noah and finally saw what had really been behind all of his outbursts: lingering anger over the injustice of his kidnaping and mistreatment. He wanted to put it behind him but didn’t know how. They consulted Dr. Lune one day after Noah’s session.

“This is wonderful! We’re making great progress now! Your son is very close to fully recovering from the trauma he’s suffered. He has acknowledged the feelings that have caused his anger, and he has come to a desire to rid himself of those feelings. He’s ready to get closure and move on with his life. To do this, he must confront what he feels and express it. This will help him take back control of himself and his life and reclaim his self-worth. I deal with this all the time with patients who have been abused, and the best way for them to move past it is to confront their abuser with their feelings, forcing him to see the consequences of his actions.”

“You’re suggesting that Noah confront Gustave?” Ellie asked in surprise.

“Yes. That will allow him to overcome his fears and direct his anger to its proper target.”

“But how can we expose him to that man again?” Alex said.

“By accompanying him to conduct the meeting in a controlled atmosphere. That will be easy to set up. There’s no atmosphere more controlled than a prison, after all.”

“But the man’s a murderer!”

“Your Highness, I would not suggest this if I didn’t think it was safe or worthwhile. I’ve seen this done many times for victims of violent crimes, and it always helps. I think you should strongly consider it.”

They promised they would, and they did, discussing it between them for some time and eventually coming to see that Lune may have a point. They finally sat Noah down and told him about the idea. He was a little apprehensive at first, but once he heard that his Mum and Dad would be present along with Dr. Lune and a few armed guards, he changed his mind.

Alex made some calls and got everything set up, and on the day of the meeting, the entire family flew up to the prison to support Noah.

“Are you nervous?” Lukas asked him as they sat in a waiting room while the guards went to fetch Gustav.

“Yeah,” came the clipped reply.

“Don’t worry. Mum and Dad and Dr. Lune will be in there with you, and the rest of us will be right out here. You’ll be perfectly safe.”

“Thanks. But I’m still nervous.”

“That’s understandable,” Lukas said. “Either way, we’re all really proud of you for doing this, and we’re all here for you.”

Finally, a guard came in and said that they were ready. Before they went in, Dr. Lune looked at his patient and said, “Now, Your Highness, remember what we talked about. You’ve survived all of the beatings, the horrible things he said to you, all of his abuse. All he can do now is say mean things, and you know not to listen to them, that you’re better than whatever he says about you. You’re above all that. Remember that riot a few weeks ago. You got through that, and you’re all right. Facing this man in handcuffs and chains should be nothing compared to it. But your Mummy and Daddy and I will all be right there, and we’ll have guards in there with us. He cannot and will not hurt you.”

The guard then escorted the doctor, the royal couple, and the young prince all into a small, square room with one table and two chairs. In one of those chairs sat Gustav, cuffs on his wrists connected to chains bolted to the floor. He didn’t look happy to see any of them, but he’d agreed to the meeting in exchange for privileges.

“So, I guess you’re here to gloat, show off your rich clothes and whatever to the old man rotting in prison,” he sneered.

He certainly looked the part. In the months since his imprisonment, he’d lost quite a bit of weight and now looked tired and haggard. But Noah said nothing until he took his seat. He looked up at the man who had beaten him, belittled him, and felt a twinge of fear.

Alex could only glare at the prisoner, but Ellie stepped up and put her hand on her son’s shoulder. Dr. Lune knelt down and whispered, “He can’t hurt you. This is your time to say what you need to say.”

“You hurt me,” Noah finally blurted out. “Over and over. You hit me, beat me, tore me down every day I was with you. You neglected me and made me feel like I was worthless.”

“You were worthless, and you still are,” Gustav retorted. “You think all this, this title you have now, all the fancy things, you think that makes you something? You’re just a piece of trash all dressed up to look nice.”

“That’s not true. I never deserved what you did to me. I never did anything to deserve it.”

“You deserved every bit of it and more. You were nothing but trouble. I should’ve been tougher on you!”

“My family, my REAL family, doesn’t think so. They love me. And they’re not a bunch of drunks!” Noah shot back.

“So I drank! That’s what people do when they have problems! None of you has any real problems!”

“No, running a huge company and helping to run a country is a breeze! Acting proper at important functions and having to stay at home and not go out because it’s not secure and having people hate us just because of who we are? No, those aren’t problems!” Noah retorted in a sarcastic tone that would have made Lukas proud. Even his parents couldn’t help smiling at that. “I don’t care what you say, anyway. You don’t matter to me anymore. My life is with my family now, and it’s so much better than how I lived with you. I would trade my entire life with you for one day with my real family.”

“Of course you would! They live in a palace!”

“I’m not even talking about that. I’m talking about how they’ve never hit me, not once. They’ve never yelled at me or told me I was worthless. They love me and support me. I have two brothers and a sister waiting outside for me, just for me to come in here and sit and talk to you!”

Gustav flashed a cruel smile and said, “Yeah, tell your brother I said hello.”

Anger flashed in Noah‘s eyes for just a second, but it passed. “You know what? I will tell him that. Because I want him to know how pathetic you really are, that the worst thing you can do to him or any of us now is say ‘hello.’ I’m not scared of you anymore. I feel sorry for you. You drank because you were miserable, and you abused the only person you had left who could have cared about you after Sonja died. You took your mistakes out on me, and now you’re going to spend the rest of your life here in this prison.”

“Go to hell,” Gustav sneered.

Noah shook his head. “No. I’m going home. You know, to my palace. And you’re going back to your cell, where you’re going to spend the rest of your life.” He then stood up, turned, and walked out of the room.

“Be glad for this prison, Gustav,” Alex said as he fixed his eyes on the man who’d tortured his son. “It keeps you safe from me.”

In the waiting room, Noah was telling his siblings what had been said between him and the monster in the other room. He was laughing, looking happier and lighter than he’d looked in a long time. But he wasn’t laughing at Gustav’s situation; it was simply the best way to express the relief he was feeling at that moment. Bastian laughed too and hugged Noah tightly, happy for his brother. Dr. Lune congratulated his little patient on his courage. They didn’t linger in the waiting room for there was nothing left for them to do there.

As they walked out into the bright rays of the summer sun, Alex lifted Noah onto his shoulders, hearing plastic crinkling at the back of his neck, and he carried the conquering hero home.

End

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Author: Caspinarian
Timestamp: Jul 13, 2018 at 1:39 PM
Content:

CodyBaby said:

Another nice story, your writing style is very good, I know this story is in imaginary land, but I'm just curious where would it be on earth if it existed, did you even think about the location of this imaginary land, feels stupid to think of this, but I love to see where things are even if we have to redesign a world map for it.

[End of quote]

Thanks, Cody! I've given Caspinar quite a bit of thought, and I have some answers. I've started the fourth story, and I'm just now finding ways to begin incorporating some of these details. I don't want to reveal too much at a time, though, nor do I want to say something that makes so little sense that it ruins someone's experience. That said, I'm not entirely sure exactly where Caspinar would be found on a map, but that map would look noticeably different from our own. What I'll tell you is that it's in Western Europe, bordered by Marganta and some countries found in our world. Both countries are roughly the size of France, and aside from their existence (and possibly some other imaginary countries -- I haven't gotten that far yet), the continent is the same as in our world with the same countries we have, so Europe would have to be quite a bit bigger to accommodate all that extra land.