He would have probably stayed home if it had been any of his other friends inviting him. A room full of people tended to make his hands clammy and his eyes cross, but as soon as the music played, Shawn felt at home.

He needed to hear her play forever.

Even though he should be struggling with amino acids for his final exam, he suited up to come and show support.

It was what friends did.

Well, he at least hoped they were a bit more than friends.

He wanted to leap from his seat and change the world for the better. The music made him feel alive, whereas he normally felt stagnant.

In truth, he'd only come because his lab partner for Biochem invited him. She was in the viola section, whatever that was, and it was the last concert of the year.

Shawn had never been to an orchestra performance before. Of course, he'd listened to classical music before in passing, but this was something else entirely. The music didn't make him want to dance, but it moved him in an entirely different way. His soul was touched by the music played.

At that moment, he wasn't listening to music; he was living an experience. He always felt a connection to music, but this was different. It was like the notes leapt from the page to the musician's fingers, and into the air to touch the hearts of the audience.

It wasn't easy working for someone who definitely should have people rebelling against her.

Yasmine walked back to the castle, thinking about how she even ended up here. A few years ago, she graduated from uni with top marks. Now, she was the Queen's errand girl.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

As a bounty hunter for the crown, there were very few guidelines on what her job truly entailed. Most days it meant doing anything the queen wanted.

Today, it was "destroying rebels who want to end her" which was an over-exaggeration, but fit in well with the overdramatic nature of the queen.

Knocking them out and tying them up should serve as enough of a warning to the rest of the "rebel" cause.
Yasmine called into the castle and detailed where she left the captured rebels and how to find them. Booking and bringing in prisoners wasn't her job.

The attack was over in seconds. The “rebel alliance” wasn't much of an alliance at all. The “alliance” was only about five people huddled around the tent on the edge of the city. Yasmine didn't even have the heart to kill them, so she set her weapon to the stun mode and went to work.

“I’m sorry,” Shane said, wincing as she healed his black eye. “You just don’t understand how it feels when people talk about mom,”

"I don't care. We both know mom's a lunatic. Next time, just pretend you don't hear them." Darla sighed. "Or at least next time don't lose"

Shane grinned, "I won."

What made matters worse was the fact that her powers were coming in while he would have to wait another few years. So far, she could heal, control plants, and she swore she was stronger than most people her size, but it was hard to tell. It was possible another one or two abilities would come soon.

"You can't keep picking fights with the other kids at school," Her little brother had a habit of doing the opposite of what she said and being 7 years apart, Darla was closer to being a second mom than a real sister. When the school couldn’t get a hold of their mom, they called her to pick him up.

When he lifted his head, Darla barely recognized him for the bruises that covered his face. With a sigh, she felt the power rush through her fingertips and begin to flow into her little brother’s face.

"We talked about this Shane" Abigail sighed, turning his face to see more of the bruised spots.

He certainly didn't think that she would want to continue their little arrangement once the king got back, but she was persistent. He enjoyed their times together, but it wasn't worth losing his head over.

Either he'd flee the country, or get used to being a boar with an apple in his mouth.

The king was away with his army, and the queen stumbled into his chambers under the illusion of wanting to talk. Okay, perhaps it wasn't entirely an accident. The queen had been looking at him like he was a prized boar, and she was a huntress for weeks, but he didn't think it would go anywhere.

It took a lot of care and a general lack of self-preservation to get the court to laugh at the king. He enjoyed his work and even more so enjoyed the company of the king. It was more recently that he started enjoying the company of the queen as well.

It started as a complete accident, really.

She was kind, smart, and had a body that he wrote sonnets about. She was perfect except for the fact that she was married… to the King.

It wasn't easy being the court jester. Only so many people could get away with saying half of what he did.

Thomas waited until her husband was out of the room, then he opened the closet door. He heard another door slam before he emerged entirely with a sigh.

That had been a close call.

He wasn't in the habit of sleeping with married women, but Angelica was different.