HEY GUYS LISTEN UP THIS ISN'T THE FINALE! THERE'S A CONCLUSION WHICH MEANS ONE MORE CHAPTER! :O
I LIED THIS ENTIRE TIME! THERE IS ACTUALLY 15 CHAPTERS!
So I had my school's career day today and I might have lots of big opportunities coming up. Fingers crossed that everything goes to plan. Only luck will guide my way now.
Anyways, enjoy Chapter 14 of Kingdoms Lost!
SotC: I Don't Wanna Love Somebody Else - A Great Big World
Mitch's POV
Jerome nodded. "It's all over," He then whispered, wrapping his arms around my torso. "It's all over."
"I'm sorry," I told him, embracing his gracious hug.
"Don't apologize. You did what you had to… I'm sorry…"
I shook my head in disbelief. "You did nothing wrong!"
Jerome mumbled to himself but loud enough for me to hear. "I handed over my father's kingdom to a man who threatened to kill you…"
"Ryan was a douche. But remember it's not your dad's kingdom anymore. It's yours."
"Oh. Yeah. I'm King now," he replied hesitantly.
"You're ready," I assured the former prince.
"But…" He glanced away, but still held my hands in his. "It shouldn't have ended like this… You should've been with me since we were little… and I shouldn't have become King at only 20 years old…"
"It's just the way life is. I learned that the hard way."
By this time, the confused rebels had shuffled out of the castle and back onto the streets. These young men were only attached to Ryan because they thought he would succeed. Once my fake brother killed himself and ultimately failed, his once loyal followers left and began to start their own lives. They all had bright futures, and I knew at least some were more scared of Ryan than supportive of his monarchial ideas.
Meanwhile, Matt, who had just gotten up from the ground of the tower, looked towards Jerome and I. He coughed loudly, distracting Jerome from his train of thought. "Jerome… your mom."
Jerome's jaw dropped in shock. "Oh my gawd! Come on, Mitch! We've gotta make sure that my mom and Lady Elizabeth are okay!" He hurried past and met up with Matt. The two ran for the staircase leading to the castle interior.
"Who's Elizabeth?" I stopped in my tracks to thoroughly inspect the name I'd just heard. However, Jerome and Matt had already run downstairs to search for the queen and her lady.
I eventually joined them in the hallway, listening nervously to shouts of names as if these women had vanished from thin air. In retrospect, they had. "Mom?! Lady Elizabeth?!" Jerome anxiously yelled while running down the empty castle corridors, hoping to find his parent. If he had lost two family members in the same day, I would've felt extremely sorry for him. Quickly losing hope, Jerome turned towards Matt and almost burst into tears. "They're gone!"
"They're not gone. They're probably just hiding…" Matt guessed as calmly as he could, continuing to open doors and cabinets accessible to a human. "Your highness?!"
Being the brave soul I was, I sneaked around the corner from Jerome and Matt, trailing a dark and abandoned hallway. It seemed a bit too quiet for my liking. However, I walked forward anyway, despite my gut feeling to turn back.
"Jennifer!" I heard an unfamiliar woman's voice whisper, "Come over here…" Once I stepped forward onto the creaking floorboard, the voice silenced.
"Hello?" I questioned, "Is someone here?" As I walked closer to the corner of the hallway and began to peek my head around the wall, I was interrupted by an unexpected surprise.
A woman with long blonde hair, wearing a long elegant dress with a white bodice and a green skirt jumped out from the corner, held the tip of a thin fencing sword to my throat. Startled, I jumped back and lifted my hands up in surrender. "Don't take one step closer!" The woman snarled, trying to defend someone or something.
For a few moments, I stared towards them for a few moments. "Uh…" A quiet older brunette in a ankle-length black dress with red lining at the waist and neckline revealed herself from the shadows. She paired the dress with a shimmering golden tiara on her head. Upon seeing the crown, I then came to an obvious conclusion. I called out behind my shoulder as my attention remained on the blonde. "Jerome! I think I found them!"
"What?" Jerome, stunned, hustled into the hallway while grasping one tight hand onto a torch. Once noticing the brunette woman, he wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his suit jacket and ran into the arms of the woman. I watched them from a few steps away. The blonde smiled and placed her hand on Jerome's shoulder.
"I'm so proud of you today, son," the brunette, who I assumed was Queen Jennifer Aceti, Jerome's mother, told him.
Jerome bravely lifted his head and turned it towards me. "It wasn't just me. Mom… Elizabeth… this is Mitch. The Mitch."
The blonde woman snapped her head in my direction. Her eyes sparkled with a look of regained hope. Tears fell from her eyes as the sword dropped from her hand. It make a loud clank on the polish granite flooring. "Mitchell?"
I stammered on my words, attempting to match the face with a name. "I-I'm sorry… I don't remember you… if-if I should…"
Jerome grinned, "Mitch, this is Lady Elizabeth Hughes… wife of Lord Tyler Hughes… and your mother."
"Oh…"
Elizabeth began weeping, placing her hands over her mouth, "I could've never thought you'd come back… If your father were here… He'd be so relieved… I've missed you so much." She released her hands and took deep breaths, recapturing an aspect of the determined woman I encountered only ten minutes earlier. Elizabeth smiled friendly and took small steps closer to me. "Where have you been for the past twenty years?"
"The McNulty's," Jerome angrily replied for me, since he could tell I felt uncomfortable.
After hearing that dreaded name, my mother growled and rolled her hands into fists, "Why didn't I realize before?! They were the only ones who could have done that to Tyler and me! If I had just pushed Jason not to invite Antvenom that night…"
"Don't blame yourself," Jennifer coolly told her, "There was nothing we could do."
"Tyler is gone because of that man!" Elizabeth screamed. Every nervous thought in her mind finally exploding after what seemed like years of hidden stress, "And Jason is gone because of his power-hungry son! I lost mine to that atrocious family… They kept him hidden for TWENTY YEARS. I will never forgive myself…"
"You have to. Mitchell is back. You have the rest of your life to make up for lost time…"
"She's right," I commented. My mother faced me, tears staining her cheeks and red marks shading her sparkling blue eyes. "I've only known you for a short time… but I've had experiences where I've fallen in love with people I've only met." My gaze fell directly towards Jerome, who was still wrapped in the arms of his loving mother. "Trust me."
"How did you find Mitchell… or should I say, Mitch?" Jennifer questioned her son, wondering how I showed up in the castle after so long.
He giggled and romantically glanced my way, "Well, it's a long story."
As Jerome started his story, Matt sprinted down the hallway, exhausted. His face was burning red from the heat and , "I… searched… the entire… castle… Why did you… not… tell me?!"
"Matthew, glad to see you again," The queen mentioned, slightly nodding her head in respect. Matt nervously chuckled, backing away from our conversation. "Continue, Jerome. Please."
"Okay… so… Mitch and I met in the marketplace one day… he was being mistreated by a guard for stealing…" Elizabeth gave me a harsh glance as if I'd spent my life in her care. I tensely shrugged. "I saved him and then forced him to come to the gala as my date. He showed up late and went into the party… yada yada… then Ryan came… he left… I was banished… we came back… Ryan fell off the tower… I got the kingdom back. Now I'm King Jerome Aceti. And he'll be King Mitch Hughes."
I straightened my spine, confused about the ending of Jerome's story. "Wait a minute… I'm not related to your family," I explained, "How would I be King?"
Jerome walked away from Queen Jennifer and strolled over to a spot only a few steps away from me. He held my hands in his. "Mitch, over these past weeks, I have learned so much more than I would've ever thought. I learned that true love can be found anywhere… even a marketplace… and that you have fight to get what you want and what you need. I love you and you've taught me to live my life every day at a time. But I want to live every day of my life with you right next to me." The King pulled out a small box from his a pocket inside his suit jacket. He laughed and stared at the box for several seconds. "I've been keeping a hold of this all night… hoping to ask you during the gala… I think it's better use now." Jerome got on his right knee and looked up into my brown eyes. He opened the little box to reveal a shimmering diamond ring. "Mitch Hughes, will you give me the pleasure of having your hand in marriage and thus becoming the second King of Star City?"
"Yes. Without a doubt, yes." I softly yet spontaneously started to sing my song.
"Don't wanna be alone
Not here without my bro
Remember our love
In the Endstone…
Remember our love…
In the Endstone…" I leaned in and planted my lips on Jerome's. Jennifer and Elizabeth applauded. I could even peek over and find Matt slowly clapping, a slight grin on his face.
Even though he wasn't a big fan of the boy who interrupted his friendship with Jerome, I knew he cared for the King and wanted the best for him. If the best for him meant meeting me, Matt was okay. Honestly, Matt was a good yet witty guy, and I respected him for that.
Ryan had taught me to not believe and have hope in someone who influence me in a bad way. Once realizing I was stronger and braver than I imagined, I strove to be a greater person than he, and with that goal in mind, I succeeded. In contrast, Ryan got himself killed and left a terrible legacy for his namesake. Antvenom had actually left that legacy, but Ryan could have turned around. Unfortunately for him, he grew up thinking that bigger was better. That wasn't always true. Especially when it came to love and trust.
Jerome was the first person I met who made me feel special. He made me feel belonged, and finally part of something important. The Prince of Star City loved me for me, and I loved him for being him. I didn't love him for the title he held or the loads of coins in his safe. I didn't love him for the clothes he wore or the expensive parties his parents held. I didn't love him to get close with his father or to become a nobel-man. I loved Jerome for being a courageous, fearless bacca with a heart of pure chicken nugget butter. I actually quite like that term. Chicken nugget butter… Oh! I could call my relationship with Jerome… MEROME. Merome it is.
I also want to thank that guard. Quentin. Whatever his name was. He indirectly introduced me to Jerome. That's all I have to say.
The power of true love and friendship can impact two completely opposite lives.
One lived in prosperity, getting everything he could wish for. But in his heart, he needed to be free of his many duties.
The other spent his lonely days in captivity pushed around and treated like nothing, wondering when he would be free.
Our story has only just begun.
Jk this actually is the last chapter. Happy April Fools Day everyone! Maybe I got you, maybe I didn't. I tried.
Hope you guys all liked Kingdoms Lost, my first Merome fanfiction! There might be a sequel, but it's all up to you guys. Leave #KLSequel in the reviews and comments!
Final question of the story:
1) What is love? (Baby don't hurt mehhh) (No but seriously. Answer the question :P )
Ok... here's the credits! It just tells who was who in case you were confused.
Mitch - BajanCanadian
Jerome - JeromeASF
Ryan - xRpMx13
Matt - NoochM
Natalie - ZombiUnicorn
Quentin - HuskyMudkipz
Alia - Ali-A
Preston - TBNRFrags
Rob - Woofless
Vik - Vikkstar123
Lachlan - Himself
Pete - PeteZahHutt
Jason - TrueMU
Tyler - Logdotzip
Antvenom - Himself
Grail - Grailmore
Elizabeth - NinjaMaster220
Jennifer - Kittyjen1337
Kenny - TBNRKenworth
Jordan - CaptainSparklez
See you all in my next story whatever it may be!