This Strange World Needs a Kicking! Ch. 18

"I see something," she said while thinning her eyes.

"Hey, you said it wasn't a crystal ball!"

"No, it's made of glass, I told you," Luna said and waved like he needed to keep quiet.

What would Sebastian do if he were there, in his rightful place? Probably he wouldn't take kindly to being dismissed like that even by a charming lady. But Kai had no idea how to act royal and arrogant without risking insulting Luna and come across as rude.

"Who is Milo?" Luna suddenly raised her head and looked Kai in the eye.

"Milo? Milo's my best friend!" Kai clamped his mouth shut, but it was too late. How could Luna know about Milo? So she was a witch, after all.

Luna threw him a confused look and stared into her crystal, no, glass ball some more. Kai didn't see anything in there. "What country is he from? His attire is quite unusual."

Kai jumped to his feet. "That's it, I'm going. The parfait was great, but I need to go now."

"Wait!" Luna called after him.

He was in big, big trouble. Nonetheless, he stopped. "What?"

"Remember," Luna said, "the Shimmering Cavern is where you must go to complete the ritual."

"What ritual?" Well, he was curious.

"To make your soul whole. Take your friend Milo," Kai could bet Luna was laughing a little as she said that, "there, and complete the ritual together."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Luna shook her head like she couldn't believe he was this uninformed. "Your soul, Sebastian, must combine with his, there."

"And what will happen after I do that?" Kai asked, his ears all perked up.

"You will return home and live happily ever after."

Just like in fairytales, Kai thought. Then, right away, something crossed his mind. "You mean, if I do the ritual, I'll return home?"

Another puzzled look from Luna was the reply.

"Ah, so this is it. But what happens if I go with Pepin?"

Sebastian's mother's wish was for him to unite with Pepin to become a single soul or whatever. The Shimmering Cavern had to be a portal of sorts, and if he went there, Sebastian's soul would finally travel back to his body and Kai's soul to his. That was the answer he had been looking for! What Milo had to do with all that, he had no idea. It was probably because Milo had confessed right that moment --

Whatever, he got it now. But, unfortunately, he was so lost in his internal scheming that he missed what Luna was asking him.

"Why would you go with Pepin?" The lady repeated the question.

"Isn't he the one mom wants for me?" Kai said airily.

"What about this new friend, Milo?" Luna asked, the same quizzical look in her eyes.

Kai waved. "He really is just a friend. Pepin, on the other hand, has the sweetest lips ever. Gotta go, bye." He hurried out the door before Luna had a chance to question him some more.

That was it. Sebastian needed to combine his soul with Pepin, obviously, and that meant that the moment Kai would be at the Shimmering Cavern, the switchback would occur. Easy-peasy lemon-squeezy.

"Your Majesty," he heard himself called. Pepin was rushing to him. He stopped and bowed a bit excessively. "I forgot to get breakfast for you! Please, forgive me."

Kai felt pretty good about solving the quest regarding how he would return home. He grabbed Pepin, straightened him up, and kissed him on both cheeks. "Don't worry. Luna gave me a parfait. It was quite delicious."

"Luna Celeste?" Pepin asked, his voice a bit high-pitched. "She was here?"

"What do you mean, 'she was here'? She was in her quarters. I just happened to wander about and stumbled upon her."

"She appears only --" Pepin choked on his own words for a moment. "Your Majesty, did she remind you of the Shimmering Cavern?"

Kai puffed out his chest. "Of course."

Pepin was the one squeezing his arms now while looking at him wide-eyed. "Who are taking there?"

"Who? Really, Pepin, how can you be so silly?" For once, Kai knew something the servant didn't. That was one great reason to feel good about himself. "You, of course."

He yelped when Pepin threw his arms around him and kissed him hard on the lips. Kai had a mind to protest, but Pepin's lips on his were way too pleasant to do that.

"Well, I had no idea you wanted to go that much," he said once he was allowed to breathe.

Pepin began laughing. He didn't let go of his neck and kept staring Kai in the eyes. "There's nothing else I've ever wanted more."

Once they went there, he and Sebastian would switch back, and Pepin would be happy, on top of it all. It was totally a win-win situation. Only that, Kai thought, maybe they wouldn't go right now. First, he wanted to have a little more fun with dragons and whatnot.

"Well, we'll arrange something, but maybe not this month, okay?"

"All right," Pepin agreed, a bit hesitantly. "Is there a reason why you want to postpone it?" His eyes were turning sad.

Right, he was selfish for only thinking of how he wanted to play the prince a little longer. "Don't worry, we'll go. And I just want to get to know you a little better, first. We'll be united and stuff, right?"

Pepin nodded, and a small, secretive smile caressed his lips. "As you wish, Your Majesty."

TBC