Vylad dabbed the match cautiously onto the final candle on the cake. He took extra care to follow Mom's recipe exactly perfectly, even if it was mostly from memory. The mass of sludge and grainy sugar leaned and drooped over to one side. He frantically smacked it in attempts to sculpt it back into a straight figure, ignoring the eggshell crack under his palm. "How does it look?" he asked optimistically.

Garroth was carelessly adjusting the fabric on the suit jacket. He glanced over his shoulder, almost stabbing a pin right into the angrily huffing Zane's side, "It doesn't look like how Mummy makes it."

Vylad rested his hand on his chin, lost in thought. He noticed the cake collapsing in on itself like quicksand. "I'll bake it again. Then it'll be better," he stated, confident in his abilities.

"Sure," Zane snorted. He crossed his arms and watched disdainfully as Garroth showed off the final  adjustments with a grand, "Well what do you think? Awesome right?" to which Zane sighed.

Vylad sauntered over to examine the design and his first reaction was to poke it. The five, rainbow layers of cloth made it as stiff and hard as cardboard. Faking a smile, Vylad answered, "It's very unique, brother. Haha."

"I made it almost as beautiful as me! Heughheughheugh!" Garroth laughed and stuck a piece of trim on the sleeves with a dot of the multi-colored frosting from Vylad's hands. "Hm, what about you Baby Brother? What do you think?"

Zane threw off the mess of fabric and snapped, "I think you two are idiots. Travis won't admit it but he's going to hate it. Why won't you start thinking about his feelings and make something he won't be disappointed with for his birthday? We can't do this without magic."

Garroth frowned.

"Harsh," Vylad responded, tasting his cake. The batter was okay, Zane had no idea what he was talking about. Maybe a bit undercooked... maybe a bit slimy too.

"I'm getting the wands," Zane stated, and he disappeared up the staircase with his black scarf twirling like an angsty tornado behind him.

Garroth and Vylad watched out of the corner of their eyes as the cake squished, burying the candles in the mountain of mush. "He's probably right," Garroth sulked, defeated.

Vylad gave him a pat on the back, "There, there bro. We tried."

Zane returned moments later waving the three wands mockingly in his hands. The imprint of a devious smile appeared underneath his mask and the glimmer of magic wasn't nearly as bright as the excitement that lit up his eyes. His thick eyebrows had finally unfurrowed as jets of power beamed from wands

"Zane!" cried Garroth, ripping the wands from Zane's hands and cradling them in his arms. "If we use them, we use them like the responsible mature adults we are."

"Sure."

Vylad took notice of all of the open doors and windows. He gestured for his brothers to join the effort of shutting them. Garroth went the extra mile to plug in the tiniest of little holes in the walls with cake. He stuck his hands on his hips with pride.

He then handed Zane and Vylad each a wand, excitedly. "Vylad, you bake the cake. Better this time Mummy would be disappointed. And Zane—"

"I make—"

"Clean up the house," Garroth pat Zane's head, "and I will be the designer~!"

Zane fumed. His cold, icy eyes peered into Garroth's very soul with the deadliest death glares. "You're dead to me, Brother." He turned around, sighing, and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. He aggressively flicked the wand in the direction of all of the cleaning supplies including the mop, broom, sponges, and a bucket of water. They came to life with a start, stepping down from the creaky, cobwebbed shelves, and began to clean at Zane's command.

Garroth became a graceful dancer as he twirled the ribbons of fabric in the air. He spun in circles (for extra effect of course) and formed the desired silhouette in no time. Vylad had never been so immersed in baking. He too brought the ingredients to life and presented a list of directions he'd conjured up to them. He watched with eyes full of stars as they did exactly as the words said. The flour gleefully measured itself out and hopped with the eggs and sugar into the bowl.

Pieces of furniture were lifting into the air, clouds of dust whirling out of existence. Synchronization filled the cottage in an ever so satisfying way. Zane soon found fun piloting the broom across the floor. He smirked cheekily and "accidentally" ruined Garroth's hair.

Zane would typically refrain from purposely being a nuisance but Garroth made the ill decision to color the outfit blue. It was so extremely unfitting. Yes, Vylad was right. Green was Travis' favorite but black would still be much more prestigious and sleek. Zane waved his wand behind his back. The fabric was immediately a clean, midnight black.

Garroth gasped in offended shock, "Zane!" He pointed at the outfit and ordered, "Blue!"

Zane pretended to sneeze, "AAa-black."

Garroth scrunched his face in anger, "Blue," he aggressively tapped the jacket's shoulder.

A dark laugh escaped from Zane. He tapped his wand on his chin as though thinking and then shot a ray of light towards Garroth, turning his attire black. Zane shrugged innocently but grinned evilly. He stopped abruptly at the sight of his own outfit converted to bright pink. His cheeks reddened to the same shade as he fired another round at Garroth, who quickly burst back.

Soon there was a war zone in the living room with beams of every color bouncing off the walls. Vylad broke his stare from his prized dessert with the final candle in hand. He buried his face disapprovingly in his free palm.

From a branch high in the thick treetops sat a certain large, black raven. It cawed at the sight of the flashing lights. It swooped down and maneuvered curiously through the trees, past the many lakes and ragged trunks, until it discovered a quaint little cottage in the middle of nowhere. It's large shadow-like wings flapped silently as it rose up to the chimney where beams of pink, black, blue, and even one or two sparks of green, rocketed into the sky. It poked its head in only to get splashed in the face by sparkles.

Garroth dove under a table, wielding a broom as a shield. He furiously tucked and rolled across the floorboards. He fired at Zane as he slid across the wet floor. Zane jumped off the staircase and then rolled on the ground, swiftly dodging the attacks. They pulled their wands back, each preparing a final blow when they found themselves disarmed by Vylad, who shot a three-beamed jet and transformed the jacket and pants primarily green.

"Vylad!" whined Garroth.

Zane groaned, "I was having fun making his life miserable!"

"Shh!" Vylad cried. The faint sound of crunching grass and a young boy's humming became increasingly audible in the silence.

Zane hastily returned his and Garroth's clothes to their normal color. He poofed everything back into place while Garroth set up the outfit besides the cake. They scurried to hide in the most practical place, under the table of course, as though there wasn't a single suspicious thing occurring.

"Hey! I'm back!" Travis called cheerfully as he stepped through the door. He placed the basket full of berries on the ground and looked around the room for his uncles. His smile faded. "Are you home?" His voice softened. He turned around the corner to see the most prince-fitting garments and a three-layered cake waiting for him.

Happiness flooded his face. "Surprise!" Called the brothers as they jumped up behind him.

"Happy birthday!" yelled Garroth, blowing into a kazoo that seemingly appeared from thin air.

"I-is this for me?" Travis asked, looking down at his dirt-covered tunic and feet, and then comparing them to the clothes. The smell of the cake entranced him. The sweet scent was so inviting and pleasant, he couldn't help but take a closer look.

"Of course!" Garroth beamed.

Travis smiled and hugged, or more appropriately squeezed, Vylad, Garroth, and Zane each with equal excitement. "This is amazing!" he exclaimed ecstatically. "And I have a surprise too! You're going to love meeting her!"

Zane choked on air, "Her?"

Vylad stressed, "You met someone in the village, Travis? A stranger?"

"She's not a stranger! She's beautiful and has this smile and..." Travis shifted anxiously, "We've met before once in a dream— I swear!" That sounded better in his head, he decided, after catching the shocked looks on his uncles' faces.

Garroth fanboyed and squealed, "HE'S GOT A GIRLFRIEND!"

"This is a mess," Zane muttered loud enough for Travis to hear.

"Why?" Travis looked at Zane with confusion and sincerity. He added quickly, "I'm older now. I know sixteen is kind of young but I know I can handle a relationship and I really like her."

Vylad and Zane gave each other looks of sadness. The latter took the initiative and stepped forward. Grimly he admitted the truth. "You were already betrothed by your father, Travis."

Travis' eyes widened. The butterflies in his stomach froze and died. His spinning mind was devoid of thought. Surely this could not be true. "W-What? You said my father was dead," he stepped back in alarm, "How can I be betrothed?" His heart had begun to pick up. The words were frightening, more so than he'd expected. "That's impossible! To who?"

"To Princess Katelyn," Vylad replied in a calm, sympathetic voice.

Travis blinked silently, his eyes darting around the room. "Who? I can't marry a princess. I don't know... I- If I married a princess I'd have to be—"

"A prince!" Garroth finished for him with utter excitement. He was unaware of the heartbreak that struck Travis like a sword straight through his chest. "Your father is the King! You're Prince Travis! And tonight we're bringing you home."

With those words, another creature was filled with shock. The raven's beak parted into a grin. Its yellow eyes turned to Travis, studying his white hair and green eyes before silently spreading its wings once more and lifting back into the sky.

Travis' chest heaved. He made contact with each of their eyes one after another, silently pleading for it to be a joke. "No. No, I can't. She's meeting with me tonight. I told her I'd meet her here. I can't do that to her! And I can't be a prince. I-I don't know how to be one. I don't- I can't! I promised her!"

The words played back in his mind. His father was alive. All of his life he thought his parents were dead. Maybe even killed. But his father was living, a King even. He was royalty. He was lied to.

The three guardians who stood in front of him, who protected and raised him, did not consider him at home where he'd spent all of his life. They seemed so ready to just give him away, to just hand him away into a life of so many unknowns.

How could he be a ruler? He had no idea what to do as one, or how to maintain the responsibility, or who Princess Katelyn was. Stuck in a castle, everyone's lives in his hands. He couldn't do what that took. He wanted to run back out into the woods and dance among the trees and animals. He wanted to stare into his reflection in the lake and escape into his daydreams. He eyed the door, wholeheartedly yearning to escape. Let it be a dream, he desperately begged. Please, let it be a dream.

"You can't see her again. I'm sorry," whispered Vylad.

Zane placed his hand on Travis' shoulder. "I know what it's like to be forced to forget someone you love but, it'll be okay." Though there was pain in his eyes, his voice was monotone. Travis did not trust it. It would not be okay. He would not forget her.

He shook his head and retreated backward, "No," his voice cracked. Tears started to crystallize in his eyes. He bit his quivering lip. The first hot teardrop rolled down his cheek. He blocked the hugs they offered and pushed through them. He bolted up the stairs, refusing to look back, with waterfalls flowing down his cheeks. He slammed his bedroom door behind him, curled up on his bed, and tore off the necklace that was fastened around his wrist. He buried his drenched face in his shaking arms.

Zane exhaled a heavy breath. The air was thick and tense against his lungs.

"And we thought he'd take it well," Garroth spoke solemnly.