HEADS AND TAILS ⇝ MASHTON [✔]

dix-huit

                                                        [5 MONTHS LATER.]

italics = flashback

regular font = present day 

"are you sure this is going to work?" ashton frowned, crossing his arms over his bare chest as he stared pointedly at his best friend. 

"trust me, if we remember all of the research that we've been doing, and that we put extra caution in this, then everything will turn out fine," ryan replied, laying out the traditional green tunic, along with the blue surcoat that was soon to be worn around him, the coat of arms shining under the sun reflecting in the water. 

it was time for coronation day, as ashton has already met the fulfilled requirements to become the rightful king of lesgrove. he was racking with nerves, although he has done enough acting in public to deem it quite unnoticable. 

the merprince sighed quietly, hoping this will all be worth it once he gets to see michael again. months and weeks of research and planning about better not go to waste.

--

it was a fine saturday morning of about two months ago, and ashton quickly slipped into the library before his father's personal servant will come and find him again. 

ever since the day that ashton was caught by his parents, his father managed to corner him with piles of extra work, and forcing the merprince to travel with him when needed. it was an added effort so that ashton won't be able to try and slip past the guards to sneak off somewhere. not that it would actually happen though, the royal guards seemed to double everytime he ever took a glance at the entrances to the castle.

it was his lucky day howver, as greta didn't seem to spot him anywhere. making his way down the grand hall, he spotted the double doors of the royal library and wasted no time in entering. 

ryan was already there by semi-secluded spot, his forehead creased as he read ancient textbooks that seemed to be over a thousand years old. 

"did you find anything else?" ashton asked, sliding into the seat next to him and examining the other books in front of him. 

"besides the other stuff that we already found and barely gives kelp? no," ryan sighed, rubbing his hands over his face and closing the worn out book. 

they were currently trying to find information on nicholas irwin. nicholas was the black sheep of the family, as he stepped down from being crowned on his coronation day and never being seen again. however, it was hard to know about his whereabouts since there wasn't much information on him. he was vaguely mentioned in history books, but they all give the same basic overview about him.

ashton stood up from his seat, going to check the reference shelves for even a tidbit more information on this nicholas irwin. he passed a spare glance at the one shelf full of forbidden books, hesitation coming over him.

on one hand, if he even touched one of the books when he wasn't careful, the whole castle, including his father, will know what they are up to and his punishment will get worse. on the other, ashton liked to think he was careful and good at being sneaky. seas, he's been going to the cove since he was sixteen years old, and he never got caught once.

before doing anything incredibly risky, he tried to read the titles on the worn spines of the books. it didn't help that most of them were unreadable. 

eventually, the merprince gave up and just decided to get the one that had the word 'HISTORY' vaguely spelled out on the spine. it didn't take long for him to find another book that looked nearly the same, as the pages wear out faster over time since they were underwater.

taking a deep breath of courage, ashton quickly but carefully did the old-fashioned switch around that he's seen in one of those movies he watched with michael. the merprince was surprised that it actually work.

holding the heavy book between his arms, ashton quickly swam back to their secluded table. ryan didn't even spare a glance at the book he was holding, thinking it was just another history book.

opening the pages, ashton cringed a bit at the mold growing on the corners, but he still went on to the index at the very back. his doubts creeped up again once he saw that nicholas irwin could only be found on one page; page 212.

avoiding touching the mold as much as he could, ashton quickly turned to the designated page and skimmed through the passages until he spotted the name.

'-his name was nicholas irwin. stepping down from the crown when he was nineteen years old, the whereabouts of his still remain unknown. however, he did express the reason to why and how he managed to leave to a very exclusive press. 

"i saw a book in the archives," he explained, "it read 'the official rules and regulations for the lesgrove royalty bloodline. to sum it up, i saw this one specific rule for stepping down, and it stated, 

those that have decided to not be crowned as the new ruler of lesgrove, MUST have a trusty second-in-command or advisor to be ready if thee is an only child. parental consent is not needed, as thee is of age and therefore capable to make decisions for themselves."

"it was like a miracle that sprouted in my hands," he continued, "i loathed the anticipation for becoming king, because it wasn't what i was destined to do. i truly felt like i couldn't handle the responsibility and it would mess up not only myself, but the whole kingdom also."

there was more, but ashton was too focused on telling ryan about their newfound plan coming into action. 

we'll leave out the part where ryan slapped him because he got a book from the restricted section.

--

"remember the plan, okay?" ryan noted, patting his best friend on the back.

"of course i remember, but are you alright with this? becoming king and all?" ashton asked, turning to face his friend for the last time for a long while.

"i'll be okay, i promise, besides i can always contact you when it's needed. did you forget about your bracelet again?" ryan remarked, smirking a little.

a slight panic overtook him, searching his pockets everywhere but yet he still couldn't find it. 

"oh poseidon! ry, where did i put it!? our plan is going to be ruined, and it's all because of me-"

"it's on your wrist, ashton."

he blushed, looking down at his hand which indeed, did have his bracelet wrapped snuggly around his wrist. the merprince has gotten so used to wearing it that it felt like his skin now.

"oh right, i knew that."

"shut up, just remember what to do okay?"

"okay."