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The Majesty of Choice

Forever

Gerard sits with Frank in a tavern, Gerard had been calling it a bar but apparently, it’s a ‘tavern’ because the Giants don’t want to give off the impression that they get drunk a lot. However, as Gerard has witnessed, this is false advertisement. Giants quite enjoy being drunk. Or rather, Giants don’t overly enjoy being sober.

The tavern is very large, to accommodate the Giants, and on what he supposes is the counter of the bar, is where the human bar actually is. There’s a long staircase leading up to it, and there’s several people all walking about out on what Gerard has a hard time grasping is actually the Giants bar counter. There’s no way to put into perspective how large the space is, it seems so big that it’s practically outside. The Giants are just too big, it’s incomprehensible. They’re all smiles and dancing in the bar, which eases Gerard’s mind a little bit, but he’s still worried.

Gerard faces a lot of inquiring stares from both humans and Giants alike. Everyone wants to eavesdrop and spy on the Prince, because he’s the Prince. No one knows why the heck the Prince is here. And even if that wasn’t on everyone’s minds, he’s still the Prince, and there’s been murmurs as the two of them have walked past which leads him to believe that the Prince being in town isn’t the only piece of gossip flying. People also want to talk about how the Prince was kissing someone. And how that someone was a guy.

After being noticed, the original Giant who had looked down at them had taken them into the bar to have a discussion, and Frank’s hands have been sweating uncontrollably since. The Giant, who introduced himself as Koopooduk seems rather official, though who he is doesn’t necessarily seem important, because right now he’s the one who’s going to determine how the Giants treat them. Right now, what matters is that he likes Frank. He does at least seem to be a person of importance, so his opinion of them is very big, as it may very well determine if they’re allowed to live or not.

“So you see,” Frank says nervously, because he hasn’t been able to get many words at all out so far. “It’s not that I… I’m not, I don’t, disrespect, or like, dislike Giants. That’s not it, because, well, I mean, I’m just not very informed. I’m kind of, unprepared. I don’t know anything about my own Kingdom, not much about the world at all, because… or, and I’ve been learning a lot about different people, and different cultures, just by, like, I don’t know like trekking across this place, which I really, I should have done sooner, because I’m going to be in charge of this Kingdom someday, like this is a land I’m going to rule, and I’ve been, I’ve been an idiot not to know anything about it. But I only found out recently, that my Uncle, he, well he believes in segregation. He likes to, I don’t know, he likes to, well, he thinks he’s keeping people at bay, and you know, up until recently, I just kind of accepted that, we don’t talk much, he’s not, like very, I don’t know empathetic? So, I just sort of went along with what he said, because I didn’t, I didn’t know any better.”

“You’re going to have to slow it down, or get to a point, because I’m not getting how any of this relates,” Koopooduk says. He speaks rather slowly, and Gerard, after hearing him speak more, realizes that this may not be on account of him being drunk, because he seems to be perfectly clear headed. It may rather be because of how large he actually is. His functions, and every day actions are inherently slower than Gerard’s, a human. It’s not that the Giants speak slowly, or that he as a human speaks quickly, it’s simply that the sheer size difference between them makes their interactions more difficult.

“I’m sorry, I’m nervous, I rant, when I’m nervous…” Frank says.

Gerard rolls his eyes and decides to step in, “listen, so this is how it goes. I met Frank, or, uh, the Prince, a few weeks ago, and he was, honestly, let’s be honest here, I was on the same page as you, like I get it. His Uncle is a colossal piece of shit, I mean, enormous, like, you can’t get worse than that guy. What a dick. Just a waste of space. So, I met Frank, and I thought, well he must be like his Uncle, right? They are family, hell, his Uncle practically raised him! But then I actually talked with him and realized I kind of put my foot in my mouth, because Frank’s actually like, a decent person. Don’t get me wrong, he has his flaws, but I think his biggest strength is that he is willing to learn. He actually does care about his people, unlike his Uncle, who just cares about making people miserable, but Frank, is actually a good person. And I know that sounds hard to believe, because I have a generally negative view of royalty, but look at his father, I mean, he was a good King, he was the best King, we’ve never had a better one. And this is his son. Frank is not a product of his Uncle, but rather of his father, and when you look at his father, it’s easier to see how it’s possible for him to have a heart, because, honestly, Frank, he’s got a heart. A really, really big one. He’s a little dim, and a little rude, but he is so concerned and honest and just willing to listen, to just take it, take constant criticism, and he’s good about it. He actually wants to better the lives of the people in this Kingdom, even if that means you just relentlessly insult him, and he wants to start with those who his family has wronged.”

“And who are you exactly, to say all these things?” Koopooduk asks Gerard.

“I’m nobody. I couldn’t have cared less about Frank until the past few days, really. I’m poor, I’m a peasant, I live in a tiny town that’s inconsequential, and no royalty in their right mind should ever view me as anything but a nobody with no thoughts, but Frank, the fucking Prince, he’s one of the only people to have ever given me the time of day. And that’s more than I had come to expect from people who grew up in the same town as myself, so there’s a lot of power in my saying that. Frank, like, he actually, cares about me. More than I think almost anyone does. And I’ve spent a lot of time with him recently, and I think that I can honestly say, knowing him as well as I do now, that I actually care about him as well. If you knew me, like really knew me, you would know how absurd that is, because I just hate royalty, I hate the higher class, and yet, one of the people I care the most about is the most important person in the entire Kingdom.”

“Alright,” Koopooduk nods, looking like he’s willing and ready to listen.

“I don’t mean to speak for him,” Gerard says, “it’s just that, he’s very nervous right now. He knows, understands your pain, and someone close to him has caused it, which has really weighed in on him. He feels guilty, because it’s his Uncle’s fault that the Giants are so mistreated. You just need to understand that he is willing to listen to you. He wants you to tell him what needs to be done, because this is going to be his Kingdom soon. Frank is honestly trying, and he genuinely wants to know what you have to say, so please, just, give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“What have you to say?” the Giant asks, looking at Frank.

“I- well, I mean, Gerard knows me better than anyone I guess,” Frank says, and Gerard looks at him for the first time to see that he’s so pink that it’s almost worrying. “But, in, like, in summary, my goal is to make this place a better place to live. It’s never been great, and I mean, I don’t think I can change it singlehandedly, because I have recently seen, firsthand, just how awful life can be in some parts of this Kingdom. Like, I’ve seen people living on the street, I’ve seen people being disregarded, I’ve seen people afraid of their own homes, and it’s, it’s my family’s fault, I’m partially to blame, I deserve the blame. It’s been a very sickening experience for me to have to see what the conditions are like, because I, I grew up in luxury, I was just, I’ve been so privileged but I’ve also been isolated so as not to see that privilege, and up until now, I did not know that there was a problem. But, my world has changed, and Gerard is predominately to thank for that, because, like I see it. I see the problems, I see the concerns, I see the misery, and just the hatred in the eyes of my people, and it’s completely warranted. Some of them, they couldn’t care less about policies, it’s about a figurehead, but people like the Giants, like elves, and Ogres, you’re the ones who really deserve to have my attention. You deserve better. It’s my problem if you are having issues, and I want to know what it is that I can change, what I can help with. I owe you that.”

Koopooduk looks pleased with this, and Gerard whispers to Frank, “if you don’t mind, I would like to go find Brendon now.”

“What?” Frank asks, and then he looks nervous. “Oh, well, um alright.”

“What do you speak about?” the Giant asks, looking at them, because he is very large, and the two of them are very small, so he can barely hear them when they speak at full volume.

“I’m looking for… a friend,” Gerard says, “that’s why we’re here in Giantville, so that I can speak with this guy.”

“You may look for you friend if you wish, but I desire to speak with the Prince still,” the Giant says, and Gerard thinks that this is a reasonable request, but Frank looks very nervous.

“You’ll do fine,” Gerard reassures him, and Frank nods, though he does look completely terrified.

“Yeah, yeah,” Frank says, and he takes a deep breath, before looking up and Gerard can see his jaw strengthen as he looks up, trying to find his own confidence. As much as Gerard would like to be his moral support, Frank still has to learn how to do this. He has to learn how to address his own people, and ask them about their problems. He can’t have people speak for him all the time, because this is part of his job. That’s not Gerard’s place. Frank is the future King, not him. Or at least, Gerard doesn’t know that it is to be his fate.

Gerard walks back the way that he’d come, looking at some of the faces that are all eyeing him with intent. Some look wary of him, others look curious, but Gerard wants to speak with someone more official. He makes his way over to the barkeeper, who is standing behind the human bar, which takes up almost no space at all of the Giants bar.

“Excuse me,” Gerard says, feeling as nervous as Frank had looked.

“How may I be of service to you?” the woman asks him, and she stops pretending to clean the bar to look up at him. She had of course, been spying on him as everyone else had been doing.

“I’m, um, looking for someone,” Gerard says. “A fairy. By the name of Brendon.”

“A fairy?” the barkeeper asks, “We’ve had several of those recently, there was a weddin’ for ‘em here last night.”

“Yes, I thought as much. I’m looking for one of the attendees. He looks about my age,” Gerard says, because Brendon didn’t look that old, on account of his eternal youth, “and he’s got brown hair that’s kind of, I don’t know… swoopy?”

Gerard tries to imagine him in his brain, and he wishes he could pull out Mikey to show the woman a picture, but Mikey is with the rest of their luggage, with Pete and Patrick. She looks unsure of which fairy Gerard is talking about so he knows he has to go on describing him until he rings a bell.

“Well, he’s got, like, a really big forehead?”

A look of recognition flashes across her face, and she says, “oh yes, that one. Quite the drinker, and I’m meaning no disrespect.”

“Yeah, you know him! Where is he?” Gerard asks, excitedly. He can’t believe this is almost it, though, he’s about to ask Brendon for the thing he wants more than anything else in this world, and he’s so close. He might go to sleep tonight a free man. Gerard bites his lip, excitedly and he feels his heart beat quicken at the prospect that this might all be over soon. If his curse is taken away, he can have the opportunity to lag behind Frank, try not to trip over the fact that he’s attracted to the guy, and he won’t have to worry about being told what to do. Having the power to make his own choices is the most tantalizing prospect in the world.

“Oh, sorry to tell you, sir, but he left town not two hours ago,” the woman says, and Gerard feels his heart fall off a cliff and then shatter into a million tiny, jagged, little pieces. His face must fall because she gets a sympathetic look on her face. Gerard feels as though someone has squashed his lifelong dream though, and to an extent, that is what has happened.

“Did he say where he was going?” Gerard asks, voice wavering a little bit, because he feels as though he’s about to cry.

“I can’t say that he did,” she replies. “But you know who might know, Billie, the innkeeper.”

“Where can I find him?” Gerard asks.

“Oh, the inn is just a few streets over,” she replies. She gives him directions and then Gerard, without even thinking about telling Frank where he’s going, hurries off that way.

Gerard rushes through the town, and it’s certainly got out that the Prince was seen kissing a man, because Gerard literally hears it in passing conversation as he sprints through the town. The two human girls talking obviously don’t know that Gerard is the guy that Frank was kissing, but he feels himself turn the same pink color Frank had been, and he, even though it doesn’t seem possible, starts to run even faster. He’s kind of trying to outrun his problems, like they’re chasing him, and he knows he can’t escape them, but the faster he runs, the bigger head start he will have.

Gerard finds the inn quickly, and he sees two horses that he recognizes on the hitching post outside of it. When Gerard rushes into the inn, he finds Pete and Patrick speaking with a man who looks fascinated with whatever they’re saying. Patrick, despite being awkward, is a good conversationalist, and Pete, from what Gerard has picked up, has little to no shame whatsoever, so he’s very good at talking to new people.

“Hey, it’s Gerard!” Pete says when Gerard runs up to them, out of breath and completely exhausted. He just stops and breathes for a couple of moments before turning to the man behind the counter, who he assumes is the owner of the inn, given that he is the only person Gerard sees in the lobby apart from his friends.

“Are you Billie?” Gerard asks him.

“Sure am,” the guy says, “and you’re Gerard. I’ve heard an awful lot about you! Heard you arrived here with the Prince! Nothing quite that exciting has happened in this town in years.”

Gerard doesn’t stop to consider what Pete and Patrick could have possibly told him in the past forty minutes or so, and he also doesn’t bother to concern himself with small talk, instead hurrying into what he needs to ask, “I need help finding a fairy.”

“A fairy?” Billie asks. He’s a man with excessively untidy black hair, but he looks very kind, he’s just got one of those faces that you kind of trust even though you don’t know them.

“Yes, his name is Brendon, and he has a really big forehead. It’s beyond important that I speak with him.”

Billie makes a face, and not the kind that Gerard would like to see right about now. “Sorry to tell you, but Brendon checked out a little over an hour ago.”

“I heard, but can you tell me where he went?” Gerard asks, practically pleads.

“Oh man, with the look on your face, I really wish I could say that I did, but I don’t. I can only say what room he stayed in, but beyond that, I haven’t the foggiest where he lives.”

Gerard feels his heart fall even further, “would it be possible for me to rent the room that he stayed in?”

“More than possible,” Billie says, “I’ve only got four rooms, and your friends here have already booked the lot of them. However, I have to tell you that the room has already been cleaned, and he didn’t leave anything behind.”

“Nothing? Nothing that might indicate where he went or where he lives?”

“Sorry, sir,” Billie shakes his head, and Gerard just nods, dejectedly.

Patrick and Pete look hesitant to say anything, because they can see that Gerard looks about ready to either cry, or punch something, or both.

“I’m sorry, man,” Pete says to him, and Gerard just shakes his head.

“It’s fine, it’s perfect. Of course he’s fucking… I don’t know, of course he’s fucking gone. Because when can life ever turn out your way, huh?”

“We’re not going to give up though,” Patrick says, “we came all this way, we’ll go more. We’re not going to just not find him.”

“But what do we do now?” Gerard asks him, looking angry, and also heartbroken. Gerard then remembers his things, and remembers Mikey. “Where’s my book? Where’s the book I brought with me, the big one?”

“What?” Pete asks, looking concerned with Gerard’s quick change of subject.

“Where is my book?” Gerard repeats, with a new flash of adrenaline in his eyes.

“It’s with your stuff,” Patrick says, because he knows which book Gerard is talking about, whereas Pete doesn’t know that Gerard happens to have a magical book. Patrick does not however know that Gerard’s estranged younger brother happens to be the book.

“I had all of your stuff sent up to the rooms,” Billie says. “They put it all in room one, figured you’d make your own room assignments.”

Billie backs away from his desk and then looks down under it for something, coming up with a shining gold key which he hands to Gerard.

“Room one, first one at the top of the stairs, can’t miss it,” Billie says, and Gerard takes it hurriedly, and then rushes up the steps. He can hear the silence of the men behind him, all too nervous to continue on with their conversation when Gerard is within earshot. Gerard doesn’t care, he doesn’t care how frantic or anxious he may seem. He needs to find Brendon, and it’s becoming more pressing by the second. Gerard’s heart rate grows ever faster with every breath that he takes, and his heart strains for freedom with ever more vigor.

Gerard makes it up the stairs quickly, opens the door and then closes it behind him, looking at all of their stuff piled against the wall. The room is small, but two beds have managed to be crammed in. From the window, Gerard can see that there’s an eatery outside, with huge, Giant sized chairs tucked under tables. Gerard doesn’t pay any of this any mind, as he finds his stuff, and grabs Mikey hurriedly.

“It’s okay, we’re alone,” Gerard says when Mikey doesn’t appear. At the sound of his words, Mikey comes into view and Gerard looks down at him.

“Good news I hope?” Mikey asks, looking nervous but optimistic.

“Not exactly,” Gerard replies. “Brendon’s gone, not here. He left a few hours ago. A few hours. Only a handful of minutes before we got here. If only we had left earlier…”

“You couldn’t have known,” Mikey says, now wanting Gerard to end up blaming himself for something that he can’t have controlled.

“Well, anyway, can you tell me where Brendon lives?” Gerard asks.

“That I cannot do,” Mikey shakes his head, “I can only show you visuals of where people are, I don’t have any records as to where they live.”

“Fuck,” Gerard groans, “well then show me Brendon, maybe I can figure out where he is.”

Mikey’s head floats in a way that suggests a nod, and when Gerard opens the book, he’s met with the man whose face he loathes, simply because of the person it belongs to. He detests the man, hates him more even than he hates Edgar. There’s this indescribable feeling of hate in his stomach, like a boiling feeling.

Unfortunately, Brendon is not in the same very distinct place that he had been earlier. He appears to just be in a building, god knows where, because it looks like it could be anywhere at all. There’s not distinct Giant features in the background, Brendon is just somewhere else, somewhere that is not here.

It also doesn’t help that he’s a fairy, and he can use magic to get himself places faster. Ray isn’t a very good fairy, so he isn’t capable of any sophisticated magic, but supposedly, fairies can fly faster than horses can run. He could be hundreds of miles away.

“Fuck,” Gerard says, closing the book.

“Man, I wish I knew what to tell you,” Mikey says, looking sad.

“I just, I want to be fucking free, you know? I don’t want to go home now, and just have to tell Ray that I failed. I just… failed. Completely.”

“We’re not giving up here,” Mikey says. “Absolutely not. No way in hell.”

“But-”

“No buts, Gerard,” Mikey says pointedly. “We are going to find this stupid fairy, and he is going to take back your curse. I don’t care how hard it will be, or how long we have to look for him. If one of us can be free from one of our curses, that’s good enough for me. There’s no reason to give up now, not when we’re this close.”

“He could be anywhere, Mikey. He could be on the other side of the Kingdom by now.”

“He could be. Or he could be less than an hour’s walk. We need to find him, Gerard, not finding him isn’t an option. You will get rid of this curse, that is a fact.”

“What if it takes forever though?” Gerard asks.

“Then we will try forever.”

Notes

I'm so sorry it took me so long to update, I know I should have written this sooner! Please leave a comment if you liked it, because it means a lot to me!

Comments

Wow. This story is so good! Even better because I've never the movie. I'm just gonna go along for the ride.
Please keep this going. Your writing is amazing!

cKayE cKayE
2/9/19

@My-FluffFrerard
It sure was.

Helena Hathaway Helena Hathaway
11/7/18

Isn’t this chapter supposed to go to All we need is Daylight?

My-FluffFrerard My-FluffFrerard
11/7/18

Oh my gosh this is amazing. I binge read all of it and am in love. Your writing is truly amazing

cKayE cKayE
10/1/18

I feel like you should rename the chapter! :'D

erinjaynee erinjaynee
10/23/17