Dorothy Cane and the Boys

"Grandmama!" Red shouted in relief as she returned to her grandmother's apartment.

"Red sweetie! I was beginning to wonder where you went off to." The old lady said.

She was hesitant to tell grandmama what happened. Would she believe all those hocus-pocuses and how she almost ended up getting shot by a miniature bitch with a water gun? Or that the guy who she was with was her sworn protector and would give everything he has for her to win the crown (which she was apparently one of the few chosen candidates for).

When the herald motioned for her to come forward with the moon dust they gathered, it announced that of all the candidates, Red had been able to gather the most moon dust and by default won the first trial. It was either pure luck or she was actually destined to succeed even at a huge disadvantage; she was euphoric with how things turned out.

"Ummm… Night life?" she made an excuse that was totally out of shot. She never did like going out at night socializing. Heck, she didn't even actually socialize much. And who would go out on a stormy night to have fun anyway? She was such a terrible liar. "Sorry I left without telling you."

"It's ok sweetie. Archie here kept us oldies company during the blackout." Grandmama said waving her hand towards the living room where surprisingly Archer is.

The young lad had checked in on the elder tenants when the powers shut down due to the sudden storm surge. Apparently, a fuse got short-circuited and busted the powerlines so the generators were the only source of electricity in the whole building.

"I see you have met my older brother." He said as Arikyer followed suit of Red inside the small flat.

"Hello Granny Cane." Arikyer smiled as Red turned to him in disbelief.

They all knew each other?

"I thought Archer lived alone upstairs?" she whispered to grandmama.

"The landlord didn't exactly say I can't have visitors, Red. My brother is no exception."

"Oh, so we're on first-name basis now?" she retorted.

"One, you called me Archer first. Two, I called you 'Red'. Your first name is Ruby second name Rose. So technically you were the only one who called me by my first name." he shot back.

Was he really this smug? Where was that dreamy guy who gave her flowers after catching her when she slipped?

Red spun back to Ari hoping to get some kind of back-up. He definitely wasn't paying attention to their bickering and had moved to the farthest corner of the living room, picked up a book from the shelves and pretended to be reading.

He was like, 'Go on children, squabble all you want. I'll be here watching. No biting ok?'

"Oh ok just go read a book, amazing you can understand it upside down!" Red said in exasperation.

"What on earth happened to both of your clothes?" the old lady said in horror.

"Slipped on a puddle that's all! And Ari here- hey tell her what happened with you." Red made another sloppy excuse to explain how dirty her cloth was and Ari's burnt shirt. Not to mention their hair did not dry well and began to frizz.

Ari glanced away from his pretend reading and simply said, "Red controls fire magic. We won the first Faey Queen Trial."

What the actual fuck?

Red's mouth dropped open in shock that he easily divulged such information. She tried so hard to make excuses (sloppy excuses) and there he goes just casually telling them they won a magical trial and that she has powers over fire.

She turned to grandmama who sat at her favorite lounge and she nearly thought the old lady would think they'd gone nuts because of the rain.

Instead, Dorothy Cane wiped a tear from her left eye and smiled. Then she burst out laughing.

Red assumed her grandmother had actually took what Ari said as a joke but then the old lady laughed so hard, she started to snort like a pig.

"Oh dear… the look on your face." She said, "Its ok Red sweetheart I know. I knew from the very beginning."

And then it dawned crystal clear to Red.

What was that Archer said earlier?

And as if he knew what was going on in Red's mind, he went to stand together with Arikyer. Side by side the height difference and physical built was an undeniable contrast. Yet the shape of their eyes spoke volumes.

Piercing and mysterious.

No wonder she had thought of Archer when she first met Arikyer at the rooftop.

The gears started to turn and it dawned on Red the facts that she just missed in plain sight.

Archer and Arikyer.

Brothers.

So that means…

"You are Faey as well?" she said facing Archer.

"Bullseye!" he pointed his fingers pretending it was a pistol. "Although I wasn't born to be a star pupil like Arikyer here; your sworn protector."

She'd pay to get her fist smashing that face.

"We were waiting for so long for you to wake dear." Grandmama knew all along. But how come?

Ok that's it.

She's tired of not knowing everything.

She felt left out and deceived.

They should be giving her one – no – many reasons not to be furious she wasn't told about this and perplexing her so much.

She looked at Arikyer and he closed his book and said,

"Before you burn us all, let me explain."