💎A Collision of Fates💎 (Straight to Gay) (MxM) (18+)

60 - Landel

Landel pulled on his shorts. The band slapped across his waist.

The weather was turning. Recently, mornings had been full of chilly dew and frosty air, afternoons had become gusty and cloudy. The sun was slowly shifting. It's position in the sky changed day-by-day.

Today, the sun was large and bright. It shone down from the blue sky, unimpeded by the few clouds in the air and unaccompanied by any sort of breeze.

It was hot.

So, truly, it might've been the last gasp of heat before the cold set on, and Landel was determined to make sure it was a deep, long gasp.

They would've been crazy not to spend the day at Hullit's Lake. Even in the palace, Landel could practically feel the cool waters on his fingers, around his legs. He yearned for the refreshment, for the chill of the lake.

And, besides that, it would be a good way to take Adam and Chris's mind off of what had happened the night before.

"He's being weird with me, right?" Adam said, leaning against the edge of the window and staring out over the town. "He's acting different."

Landel sighed silently. "Who?"

"Dad." Adam's eyes shifted from street to street, from area to area. "Did you see him at breakfast, he could barely look at me. Things are different."

Landel scooped up a loose, white shirt from his bed and slipped it over his head. He walked up to Adam, rubbed his back gently, and joined him in his vigil. "Things will be different." Adam turned and looked up at Landel, eyes narrow with confusion. "Just because it's different now, doesn't mean it can't get better," Landel explained. "You've all changed. You're all different. Things are going to shift between the four of you and that's fine. He'll get over it, just like Mark will get over it."

Adam stared off into space, eyes directed at Landel but still distant. "I wish I had you're confidence."

"He's going to fall in love with a man too. That's what the Goddess said. So... eventually he's going to have to get over it."

Adam cringed, smiled slightly, and turned back to the window. "Even that. I'm having a hard time believing that that is actually going to happen."

Landel slapped his hands together, grabbed Adam by the shoulder, and tugged him away from the window. "Now let's get going, before we waste the day worrying about trolt we can't change."

Adam smirked. He walked up to Landel's closet and opened it, peering inside. "Got any towels?"

"Yeah. I should. We just got back and Maxil usually takes care of my room personally. He wouldn't miss something like that." He leaned over Adam and looked into his closet. Usually, there was a nice, clean stack of fresh towels on the bottom waiting for him.

But there was nothing. He had been at The Academy for weeks now, and there was nothing there.

A little prick of annoyance wormed into his chest. Something had been going on with the servants lately. Landel wasn't a picky guy, but for the last few days, since they had come back, he had noticed his bed wasn't being made, his water wasn't being refilled, his goblets weren't being emptied and polished. It was starting to grate on his nerves.

"Maxil must be slacking," Adam said. "I don't see anything."

"That's weird." Landel stepped back from the closet. "I'm sure he's in the middle of doing it right now. Maybe the launderers have been delayed."

"Maybe." Adam nodded. He closed the closet door. "Should we go ask them?"

"Let's just go to Maxil's office. It's on the way anyway, and we'll ask him what happened."