King Benjamin was Mateo's age. His skin was a little lighter than his, but he shared his black hair, although it was longer.
Everyone in the briefing rose out of their chairs and bowed to him.
Evie knew things were serious when the king got involved. She had never met him before, so seeing him up close was rather breathtaking. Like Mateo, he was quite handsome. Benjamin, though, was not the king she expected him to be.
John offered the young man his wings. "Bro!" he announced again.
"John!" Ben lifted his fist. He and John fist-bumped. John used his foot. "I've missed you, man," Ben continued.
John turned on a thinking face. "When was the last time we saw each other–the Battle of Pinta Mountain? Aw, who am I kidding? I know it was at the banquet we threw for Mateo."
Mateo cringed. He never wanted to hear of that banquet again. He looked over his shoulder at Maria. She looked graceful kneeling to the king. He moved his eyes from her to Ben and said, "Sir, I don't want to hear of that banquet."
Ben chuckled. "But, bro, it was your twenty-first birthday. What, did you do some naughty stuff afterward?"
With each passing second, Mateo looked even more embarrassed.
Evie gave him a funny look.
Mateo got up from the floor and said, "Excuse me, your Majesty. I need some air." Without another word, he left the briefing.
Evie watched him go. Hm, she wondered something.
***
The briefing ended soon after King Benjamin's big entrance. The Brook family, though not happy about it, prepared for their hike to find the Green Guardian. Well, it was a lot more arguing rather than working together.
Keegan said to Charlotte, "We've been married for twenty years. Why did you never tell me you had a sister?"
"Oh please. She's not my sister anymore," Charlotte scoffed. She tightened the straps of her hiking backpack. By that time, the Paperblank villagers had cleared out, leaving just the Brook family, Sam, John, and Evie's group members.
Maria returned from the clearing's bathroom, stuffing her face with some chocolate. She craved it lately. She stopped at Ms. Brook and asked with a full mouth, "Ms. Brook, have you seen Mateo?"
Ms. Brook sat in a chair, as far away from her sister as possible. She peered up at the young woman and said, "No, I haven't, dear." She smiled when she saw what she ate. "Oh, you're already starting to get some cravings?"
"Me? Of course not. This is just a midday snack." Yet, Maria blushed.
Evie was with her group members three rows behind Ms. Brook. The children had adjusted their seats, so they sat in a circle.
Evie tried to find a comfortable position on her chair. It jiggled slightly under her. She gestured at Maria with her head and whispered to her friends, "I think she's pregnant."
"What makes you think that?" Ashlynn whispered back.
"Well..." Evie counted on her fingers. "That's the fifth time she's gone to the bathroom, and she's craving chocolate. Did you also notice that when the king mentioned the banquet, Mateo looked at her?"
Ashlynn waved her hand. "That doesn't mean she's pregnant."
"Oh, come on, Ashlynn. I wasn't wrong about Mateo."
She had a point. Ashlynn still felt bad that she didn't believe her friend.
"Speaking of which..." Evie's eyes roamed. "Where is the king?"
"I think he went to look for Mateo," Amanda replied.
***
King Benjamin pushed his way through the village, with his hood back over his head. He dodged children but bumped into some barrels. They tipped, and berries splattered all over the villager who owned them.
"Sorry," Ben apologized. He and John were very alike. They were both clumsy.
Mateo returned to his group's cabin. Just being alone with his thoughts in nature, he felt a little better. He sat at the picnic table under the cabin. The wood was rough under his hand, and he got a few splinters, but Mateo ignored them. Currently, he wasn't worried about splinters. He took his glove off his right hand and was shocked to find that the rash had moved up past his wrist. Mateo gripped it and whispered, "Oh no," under his breath.
"Ah, I thought I'd find you here."
Mateo jumped at the sound of Ben's voice. He quickly put his hand under him.
Ben just reached the end of the bridge next to the cabin. There was a beautiful view of other Paperblank treehouses behind him. He ducked under low-lying tree branches and joined Mateo at the picnic table. The two boys were across from one another.
Ben took off his hood. He propped up his head. "Oh, come on. Don't you want to spend time with your amigo?"
Mateo glared. "Ben, I already told you, I'm never having another drink."
"So you admit you did some naughty things after the banquet," Ben replied. A cheesy smile crossed his young face. "What, is Maria pregnant?"
Blushing, Mateo asked, "So what if she is?" He quickly got up and slipped his glove back over his hand. He stormed over to one of the wooden pillars holding up the cabin. Mateo glanced forward to the tree he swung from overnight. Crossing his arms, he leaned against the pillar. The reaction alone was enough to tell Ben he was right.
He swung his legs out from under the table and got up. His tall boots clicked up against the concrete as he approached Mateo. "Don't you think you're moving a little too fast?"
Mateo threw his hand back. "It was an accident! I was drunk."
"Oh, I know you were," Ben cooed. "Which is totally fine. You were just celebrating your twenty-first birthday."
Mateo stressfully rubbed his temples. He had a searing headache, but it wasn't just from Ben's uncomfortable prattle. The guilt was killing him. "We weren't supposed to have kids until we turned twenty-six," he said.
Ben hooked his fingers behind him. "Well, sometimes starting early isn't always bad." An awkward silence followed. It was so quiet that the cicadas started to chirp. Finally, Ben asked, "Is it a boy or a girl?"
"We don't know yet," Mateo answered. "It's still too early."
"How far along is she?"
"Eight weeks. Ben, I'm not ready for kids." Mateo felt the panic rising in his body. His breathing intensified. He was on the verge of a panic attack.
Seeing that, Ben said, "Hey, hey, everything is going to be okay." He took Mateo's shoulders.
"I'm such a bad person," Mateo sobbed. "Maria doesn't deserve me. I'm nothing but a big, fat baby."
"Now hold on a second!" Ben turned his friend toward him. "You, my friend, are the greatest ranger in all of Pinta Country! Heck, I envy you. I don't want to hear you're a bad person. We all make mistakes. No one is perfect, not even a king. But you, Anthony Mateo Brook, need to calm down and enjoy being a young adult. You're living like you're middle-aged." He released his shoulders. "Are you scared the Union will fire you if you ask them for a break?"
Mateo fell silent. He slipped his hands into his pockets and peered down at his shoes. He nervously rubbed his toe across the floor. After a bit, he gave Ben a small nod.
"Rubbish," Ben scoffed. "The Union's not going to fire a great ranger like you that easily. Maria needs you more than ever now, and you're just going to abandon her?"
"Please stop talking," Mateo begged.
Ben shook his head. "No, no. I want to know what makes you think this is a good idea. After all–" He shrugged. "–you were the one who got her pregnant."
"Just stop!" That wasn't helping. Mateo felt something rise from his tummy up toward his throat. His forehead burned. He shoved by his friend and quickly climbed the stairs of the cabin. Mateo rushed into the bathroom. He slammed the door behind him. It was just in time, too. He threw up his entire breakfast in the toilet. He felt like somebody was ripping out his intestines for fun. Tears poured down his cheeks. "I'm sorry, Maria," he sobbed.
Mateo's head spun. He saw three toilets instead of one. He tried to flush it, but his hand missed the handle. He didn't get it until the third time. He knew he had a fever, but he refused to give up. The Paperblank Forest needed him.
Mateo whipped his shirt up over his tummy. His injury was getting worse. His belly was now slightly swollen and as red as a tomato. Even the bruises were growing. It wasn't just the sickness; there were definitely some internal injuries as well. Stupid pebble. Still, Mateo refused to see a doctor. What he needed were those berries. He decided to make that his main mission on the hike.
***
Ben waited patiently for him outside. He put his feet up and placed his hands behind his neck. His deep brown eyes scanned the area: the treehouses, bridges, and canopy. He had been to a lot of places in Pinta Country before, but none compared to the beauty of the forest. Even his noble steed, Joey, enjoyed the journey to it.
A flapping sound snapped Ben out of his doze. John the Red-Crowned Crane landed next to him. "Dude, what are you doing?" he asked. "We're ready to get going. The stable boy's already got Joey tacked up." He hopped onto the picnic table. His claws tapped the uneven wood.
Ben removed his hands from his head. "I'm just waiting for Mateo," he replied. "I tell ya, John, he is one messed up kid. We need to find a way to show him the beauty of being a young adult."
John nodded, to show he agreed. He paced back and forth in front of his friend. "I think that's why the Ranger Union set this up. Tell him to hurry. The Green Guardian is waiting. The sooner we befriend her, the sooner we can defeat the basilisk and give him a break. His fiancée needs him."
Right when he said that, Ben saw Mateo jogging down the cabin's stairs. He had changed into his ranger uniform. Except, he held his hat in his hand, and he fanned himself with it. His walkie-talkie-like device was in his other hand.
He met up with his friend at the picnic table. In a low voice, he said, "Okay, I'm ready." His eyes then landed on John. "Oh, hi, John. Let me guess, Ms. Julie sent you here to get us?"
John scratched his breastplate. "It was actually Evie. The little booger cares a lot about you, you big baby." He lifted into the air and gently took Mateo's cheeks in his claws. John shook them slightly.
Mateo made haste to remove the bird's feet from his face. His claws were rather sharp. They dug into his burning skin.
King Benjamin grinned. "Well, let's do this." He hopped down from the picnic table. "It's time for the adventure to begin."
Mateo shivered. He slouched his shoulders and sighed. "Fantástico." He honestly wasn't looking forward to a huge adventure with his dysfunctional family. He continued to fan himself with his hat.
Ben gave him a concerned look. "Are you feeling all right?" he asked.
"I'm fine," Mateo hastily answered. "It's just a hot one today."
John ruffled his feathers. "I think the temperature is rather comfortable. It's a perfect day for a hike: not too hot and not too cold." He had the urge to fly around the whole forest.
"Don't worry about me," Mateo said. "Let's just get this over with." The only problem was, he had no idea how long he would last. Hopefully long enough to find the berries and kill off the excruciating pain in his abdomen. That would certainly make the journey to find the Green Guardian a little easier unless he dropped dead on the trail. Personally, Mateo half expected that. He was dying; he knew he was, but he wanted to die honorably. Although, he asked himself what would happen to Maria, his mom, Evie, and the baby if he did. Ugh, why was being an adult so hard?