Demons, Witches, and Toads (BoyxBoy) - Chapter 94: Chapter 94

Night had fallen by the time the six princes made their way into the tavern. With hoods pulled up over their heads and their faces smeared with dirt, they could only hope they simply looked like a group of travelers.
The tavern was packed to the brim as they slipped inside, lively conversations and laughter filling the air. Osmund's gaze fell to a red-haired barmaid carrying a tray of drinks. She leaned forward as she placed the tray on a table, revealing just how low cut the neckline of her dress was.
Osmund's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "That's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," he gasped.
Avery gave him a nudge. "You should talk to her."
Osmund's face went bright red. "What?! Me?! I couldn't possibly!"
"Well then, let's get you some liquid courage." Avery flung an arm over his brother's shoulder, waving a hand at the woman. "Oi, miss! Can we get a round over here, please!"
The redhead smiled at him, giving a small nod before turning towards the bar.
Osmund buried his face in his hands. "Why'd you do that? You know I can't talk to girls!"
"C'mon, it's not that hard," Avery said with a smirk. "Besides, if you don't, she'll end up leaving with Wheeler."
"What?!" Wheeler squeaked. "Why would she leave with me?"
"Oh, come on. We've all seen the size of your hands." Avery gave him a hearty slap on the back. "Everyone knows you're packing."
Mortified, Wheeler shoved his hands behind his back, suddenly feeling incredibly self conscious about them. "My hands aren't that big," he mumbled. "And I'm not even interested in gir-- I mean, uh..."
"Oh, I get it," Bartram said, adjusting his glasses. "She's not your type."
Desperate for a way out of this conversation, Wheeler nodded frantically. "Yes! Exactly!"
"Oooooh," Avery cooed, wiggling his eyebrows. "Then what exactly is your type?"
Crap, out of the frying pan, into the fire.
"I guess...err..." Wheeler squirmed under his gaze. "Uh...maybe someone rude and snarky, but secretly super caring, and could both physically and verbally beat your ass, and you'd just say thank you after, and..."
The other princes were staring at him, confused. Wheeler's face paled, realizing with horror that instead of saying a type he'd just started babbling traits of a certain demon.
"Uh...but y'know," he stammered, "that's just, err...a preference. I guess, um...blondes are cool."
"Yeah! Blondes are the best!" Avery cheered.
Wheeler sighed in relief.
"Here's your drinks, boys," the redhead said, returning not a moment too soon. As she handed glasses to the princes, Avery gave Osmund a little shove forward.
"Um...h-hello, miss," Osmund stammered, his face going pink. "I just, um...I wanted to say...I think you're very pretty!"
"Awww," the woman said with a smile. "Now aren't you sweet." Her gaze flickered to the cup she was handing him, suddenly holding it up, out of his reach. "I'm so sorry, dear, but you're too young to drink this. Maybe I could get you some apple juice, instead."
Osmund blinked. "I'm twenty three."
"Oh my god," the woman gasped in horror. "I'm so sorry." Frantically, she handed off the rest of the glasses before immediately scurrying away, leaving all parties, especially Osmund, looking absolutely mortified.
"Okay," Osmund mumbled. "So that was a bloody disaster."
"Maybe we could get you stilts next time," Bartram suggested, proceeding to take a long sip of his drink.
Wheeler brought his glass to his lips as well, mimicking the action. The moment the bitter liquid entered his mouth, he nearly choked.
"First time, huh?" Avery asked, arching a brow.
"Yeah," Wheeler coughed. "I'm, uh....not really the party type."
"You gotta just chug it," Osmund said. "Like this." He threw his head back, downing the entire glass in one go.
Wheeler's eyes went wide in shock. "Wha...oh my God!"
Avery smirked. "If that's enough to impress you, wait till you see Roland and Radley drunk. They're a blast!" The older prince finished his drink as well, throwing up his hand to flag down the barmaid. "Oi, miss, can we get another round?" He grinned at Wheeler, glancing at his glass. "You better finish that up before she gets here."
"Uh...right," Wheeler stammered, glancing at Roland and Radley who'd emptied their glasses as well. God, how were they all so good at this?
Wheeler took a deep breath. He didn't want to let them down. Squeezing his eyes shut, he forced himself to continue, gulping down the awful liquid. At last, Wheeler managed to empty the glass, causing his brothers to burst into applause as Wheeler coughed and gagged.
"Great job, kid," Avery said with a grin. "Now it's time for round two!"
"Round two?" Wheeler squeaked in horror.
"Yep!"
As if on cue, the redhaired woman returned, handing the brothers another set of drinks. In a matter of minutes, they'd emptied the tray, drinking at a mindblowing rate. Wheeler attempted to keep up with his brothers, continuing to force the drink down despite the fact that he was beginning to feel horribly nauseous. After finally finishing his second glass, he slowly lowered it, the room seeming to sway any time he moved.
Avery gave him a slap on the back. "Looks like you're finally getting the hang of this."
"Thaaank yoooou..." Wheeler mumbled, the words slurring despite his best efforts.
"Though," Avery continued, "you should probably stop drinking and get a glass of water soon. We don't want you throwing up."
"Naaah, I'm shhhure I'm fine--" Wheeler suddenly paused, hearing a song weave its way through the tavern. The other patrons did the same, falling silent to listen to the beautiful music. It was a duet, the harmonies blending perfectly together. The song was so lovely it almost brought Wheeler to tears. Desperately, he glanced around the tavern, looking for its source. When he finally found it, his eyes went as round as saucers.
Arm in arm, standing on top of the bar, were Roland and Radley. The tavern watched, enchanted, no one able to pry their gaze away.
"See," Avery whispered, giving Wheeler a nudge. "I told you drunk Roland and Radley are a blast."
"Yeah," Wheeler breathed. "They're so gooood. I gotta ask them to teeeach Mister Pumpernickel. He's still kindaaaa piiitchy." He gasped, his hand flying to his mouth as he realized what he'd just said. Quickly, he turned to Avery, wide-eyed. "Pleeeease don't tell him I said that!"
"Don't worry," Avery said, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "I won't rat you out to your toad."
"Thank yoooou, Wheeler practically sobbed, pulling him into a hug. "You're da best brother eveeeer." He had no idea why, but he suddenly felt extremely emotional.
Roland and Radley's song ended and they started up a second one, a far jauntier tune that sent the patrons of the tavern to their feet, grabbing each other by the arm as they began to dance. Out of the corner of his eye, Wheeler spotted Osmund twirling hand in hand with the redheaded barmaid.
Avery grinned, grabbing Wheeler by the arm as he pulled him into the merry jig as well. Soon they were dancing and bounding around the room along with the others.
"This is sooo fun," Wheeler exclaimed, smiling brightly. "I'm so glad we came here. Sooomtimes I feel soooo out of place at the palace."
"Hey, Wheeler," Avery murmured, their elbows locking together as they spun around in a circle. "You repress yourself a lot, don't you?"
Wheeler blinked. "Waddya mean?"
Avery let out a low breath as they continued to dance. "You act like you're happy all the time, and I imagine you really are, to some degree. But I think you accept horrible situations and force yourself to believe you're actually fine with them." He sighed heavily, finally meeting Wheeler's gaze once more. "I just want you to know that it's okay to get upset or angry about things. Bottling everything up isn't healthy. People that do it always explode eventually."
"Whaaaaa, but I don't wannna explode," Wheeler gasped.
"Not literally. What I mean is..." Avery stopped, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I start overanalyzing people when I drink too much. It's kinda a dick thing to do. I'll stop--"
As the words left his mouth, the door to the tavern suddenly burst open, revealing a familiar figure standing on the other side. Wheeler's stomach dropped when he saw who it was.
"Oh nooooooo," Wheeler breathed, attempting to duck behind Avery. "I didn't tell him we snuck outta da palace to get druuuuuunk."
Mulock crossed his arms, scanning the crowd until his gaze finally locked on Wheeler. Swallowing hard, Wheeler peeked out from behind Avery, giving him an awkward wave. The moment he did, Mulock began storming towards him, elbowing his way through the crowd.
Avery glanced at Wheeler, arching a brow. "Your advisor?"
"Yeah," Wheeler said, shrinking back. "Oh God, he's gonna be sooooo mad at meeeeeee."