3 Stepbrothers

The Kingdom Has Fallen

"It's short too." FooFoo sighed. "What will we do Shawn?"

I shook my head. "Don't look at me. Sir LanceVicTovan is the king."

"But you're the Royal Joker."

My lips curled in the smallest smile. "I travel to much. The Princess was...a sister to me."

FooFoo smirked slightly. "It's funny really...you, the King, the Scholar. All so close. All of you are treated with the highest respects in the Kingdom. Then, the Princess comes. You favor her, the Duke favors her, finally the King takes to his liking. After that, the whole Kingdom loves her."

I shook my head. "I can't believe the Chocolate Elk were in the way while she was riding. It was the horse that lost control. She wasn't holding onto the reins and now look at her..."

We both looked at her lifeless body. It was decorated with flowers that surrounded her like bushes. There was a bouquet of flowers in her hands as she was laid back on a small boat. It was also decorated with beautiful carvings on the sides and flowers floating behind."I'm going to miss her." FooFoo looked down a huff escaping his muzzle. "I was starting to like her Ninja guards. They made me laugh."

"Her Kingdom will fall into despair." I watched as they sent the boat with the Princess' body out into the Sea of Fairies. Everyone watched as it sailed against the still water. It was only the wind that was carrying it away from us. "She has a little sister though."

"She's too young." FooFoo and I watched the boat until it was merely a spec on the water. "Besides, the Prince isn't in any shape to take over. He was suppose to join the King's army in a while, now all he does is sulk in his room. They're keeping a close eye on him. Before he does something stupid."

"He truly loves her." My voice caught. "I truly love her as well."

"She will be ok." FooFoo nudged his muzzle into my shoulder. "She's with your father now."

I woke up when I heard the monitor ring. It was the long short beep signifying no heartbeat. When I looked at the screen, my stomach turned at the flat line. My breathing got heavier and I felt the bile in the back of my throat. I couldn't move. All I could do was stare. Blake was already up, he shouted something but I couldn't hear. I was too busy hyperventilating in my chair to do anything. I told myself a thousand times she'd be ok. That she'd make it out of this trance.

My cheeks became wet with the tears falling down my face. If my dream wasn't bad enough, waking up to this was. Tori couldn't leave me. She's my sister, my best friend. She's helped me through so much. Her brilliance helped me with math when I was failing. She helped me think of a date with Emily. She helped get Em and I back together when we broke up. She was the best thing that could have happened to me. Tori was the reason I wasn't stuck as Blake's shadow. The reason I became more independent. She couldn't leave.

"Shawn we have to go." Blake grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. My knees collapsed below me as I watched the nurses and doctors rush in. "Shawn!" Blake shouted in my ear. I hated it when people yelled at me. Especially in a situation like this. All it does is make me stress more and feel like my skull is shrinking around my brain.

I closed my eyes and started sobbing. Tori can't leave me. She's my everything right now. Dad and I were never as close as Tori and me are. She played games with me, she was part of my life, my life. I wished I had met her before we became siblings so we could have been the best of friends. She was a combination of all of us. She had an attitude like Blake. Smart like Cole. And crazy like me. We were all able to bond with her because of that. I didn't want to leave her, I wanted to stay by her side and hold her hand. I wanted her to wake up. My body wouldn't move though, I just wanted to crawl under the bed and cry. Cry all day and night.