Ruby woke up with a sore throat. Typically. Only on the day that he was going to talk to his father. He sat up and noticed that Blake was shaking somewhat violently. He gulped quietly before running to find the nurse. He led her to Blake who was trying to get up. He looked really bad. She picked him up and took him to the infirmary. Ruby lightly sighed before getting changed and went to the dining hall. Thankfully he sat next to him. He went over and made a V on his throat, indicating that his throat was sore. His dad laughed at that.

"Only when you have to talk to me." Ruby groaned lightly before sitting down. "Don't strain yourself."

"I won't..." His voice was faint and rough. He coughed before speaking again. "I don't suppose you have any other ideas?" His father smiled.

"Indeed I do. First, I have a list." Ruby shook his head while taking the list.

"You're still trying to get me to marry Crystal?"

"I want a little bit of royalty intertwining." Ruby sighed.

"Dad... me and her don't intertwine. No matter what I try. Something is making it go a lot harder than it looks."

Platinum sat down next to him with Silver beside him. He was holding his cheek. Ruby slipped something to Platinum, who nodded and put it on Silver. He looked at Ruby, which resulted in a giggle from the others. Ruby was able to hold his back as he looked back. Silver simply sat back.

"Ok.... so no one from the list?"

"No."

"What about this-"

"If you say the Harmonic kingdom, I'm leaving."

His dad snapped his fingers and frowned. The Harmonic kingdom was the most difficult kingdom to deal with. Ruby nearly died trying to meet the royal family. He met a member, but the others were out and about and wouldn't be back until later.

"Dad... I don't know much about the Harmonic kingdom. I only met the one guy." He gulped before shuddering. "And even that wasn't fun."

From what Forest spoke, there were only three major members, and several minors. There was one king, 3 queens, one prince, and two princesses, and they were all minors. The three majors have never been seen in public. Forest somehow had a rare opportunity to meet one of the majors. His words? Never spoke of it as he had a light panic attack just thinking about it. They obviously didn't appreciate him. Forest has somewhat stopped talking about it nowadays as it was too much for him. He still has panic attacks. Ruby was starting to think that it was more than just the one major. But he didn't push Forest after the second panic attack. All they wanted was information, but he hasn't been able to get through it to tell them.

The others except for Blake (know why), and Forest (have an idea of that one) had arrived. Blake showed up looking somewhat better than before. He whispered "Thank you" to Ruby, who nodded to him. Ruby glanced at Platinum.

"If he's not having a panic attack, I'm going to find a new home." The table giggled at that. Sore throat or not, he was going to make his jokes count.

"Now it's not going to be a panic attack just because you said that." Blake murmured with a small snicker. Ruby smirked at him as he finished going through the list.

Catherine came over and touched Blake's head, who mumbled something in protest. She smiled at everyone as she checked their needs. The king made sure to have her go track down Forest. Between panic attacks and his unique style of moving around, he could be anywhere. After she left Ruby sighed.

"Dad... this list seems to have everyone that i can't stay in the same room with." His dad sighed as the majority of the table left. Blake stayed because of how late he was.

"Do you have any ideas?"

"My only idea was what you were thinking." Blake snickered lightly. "Hey." Blake rubbed his eyes.

"I have an idea. Probably not much, but what about a ball? It'll take all of the options and put them in one place and it'll make the decision easier." The king smiled at him.

"I'll figure out where those brains came from. How about it Ruby?" Ruby smiled.

"That's not a bad idea. I'm in."

{₩~♡~₩}

The two brothers were walking through the hallways of the castle. Catherine said that she couldn't find Forest, so the other 7 Synxeagogues were looking around. It didn't seem long before Blake heard something and tugged on Ruby's sleeve. The two went over and saw Forest leaning against a tree in the garden. He was shaking violently and had tear stains on his cheeks. He obviously had the panic attack sometime last night due to the light bags under his eyes. The poor boy looked like he had been attacked. The two boys went over and Ruby touched his shoulder. The reaction was something to be there for. Forest glanced at who was touching him and was suddenly hugging him. It took Ruby a moment before he wrapped his arms around him. A sniffle came as the tears returned.

"Hey.... don't cry... when did it start?"

"I don't know..." Blake helped him adjust after noticing how much he was shaking. He leaned on Blake and shuddered.

"You didn't check?"

"No."

Instinct answers. His head was in the clouds. He broke back into tears as his sanity twisted and his mind flickered through the horrifying moments. He tried to get up, but Ruby pulled him into another hug, one that was from behind. Blake pulled out a handkerchief and wiped Forest's face. He finally slumped back, the horrifying pictures disappearing. It took him a moment to process what was happening. He didn't seem to notice the other two that were there. He tried to get up, but was restrained by Ruby.

"Ruby....? You can let me go now..."

"You missed breakfast. And I know what happens when you miss that." Forest rubbed his eyes and leaned back. "You ok to walk?" He nodded weakly. He tried to get up. He collapsed instantly. Ruby picked him up. He fell asleep as they took him inside.

"So... are you excited for the ball?"

"Of course! Where did you come up with that idea?"

"Not saying. Better tell the others."

"Go tell Catherine to bring some food to the meeting so that Forest isn't hungry. We have a lot to discuss. I have a feeling."

"Alright. See you there."