Disclaimer: They’re not mine

Note: This is an extended scene from my story Traitor. You don’t have to read it to understand, at least, other than this takes place before Fiyero goes to Shiz. I actually wrote it because I had a line I liked when writing Traitor that never got mentioned.

The night started off normally enough, with Fiyero heading to the Nearby Girl’s College to pick up his date, a black-haired Gillikin sorceress-in-training named Trina Elmmedows, if I remember correctly. Crope kept on putting a pink bow in my hair, which I kept on pulling out.

“It makes you look manly, Servant Boy,” Tibbett said. “Comfortable with who you are without anyone telling you otherwise.”

It was at that point I pulled it out for the seventeenth time and stuck it in my lapel. Crope and Tibbett pouted.

“That’s exactly why I didn’t put it in my pants pocket.”

“Servant Boy isn’t fun,” Tibbett said.

I sighed. “My name is Avaric. I was in those papers three years ago because of the whole Fiyero fiasco.”

“I don’t read papers,” Tibbett said.

“I only read ‘Fiyero found in the Emerald City’ and zoned out,” Crope added. “But at least I don’t call you that, Av.”

He had a point, despite the fact I hated that nickname with a passion.

“Hey ‘Ric!” Fiyero said, running over to us. “I got Trina, you and Crope and Tibbett ready?”

Trina was cute enough, she actually was lucky enough to get a second date with him, but I suspected that was because he was running low on girls he wanted to say “Yes” to letting tag along on our outings.

“So where are you going this time?” Trina asked.

“To celebrate Yero possibly slowing down a bit,” Crope said. “How about a dinner at Aquamarine?”

“Swankified,” The girl replied. “Lucky I have His Majesty to help pay for me.”

“You sure do,” Fiyero replied, kissing her cheek. One of the token moves he had with all the girls.

Like most of the times we ate out, nothing of interest happened. A few girls came to flirt with Fiyero, who just wrapped his hands around Trina, who giggled shyly each time. Crope and Tibbett were Crope and Tibbett. Sometime during the meal, Tibbett managed to steal the pink bow without me noticing and putting it in my hair, causing Trina to giggle again.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Master Maelson,” She said, using the fake last name Fiyero’s father gave me (That I had adopted as my own for reasons of not identifying with whatever Estate my father had power in before fleeing to the Vinkus). “You… um… have a…”

“Pink’s not my color, is it?” I asked, taking the bow out of my hair. I handed the bow to her.

Crope and Tibbett pouted visibly.

“Next one’s going to be even worse, Servant Boy,” Tibbett said. I rolled my eyes, knowing they probably didn’t bring another ribbon with them.

Dinner went pretty normal after I finally got rid of that stupid bow. Fiyero even tied it around Trina’s braid.

“Pink goes lovely with your black hair,” He said, causing Trina to giggle and blush even more.

After dinner we headed to one of Fiyero’s favorite clubs, simply titled Verdigris. Unlike what the name implied, it had little gimmick in the name; it was simply called that because the word sounded fun and it happened to be in the Emerald city.

Fiyero immediately pulled Trina onto the dance floor, spinning her around. Both of them were having fun.

But it had to go downhill sometime.

“You thirsty Trina?” He asked, concerned about her after several consecutive songs dancing.

“Yes, would you please get a smoothie, Your Highness.”

“C’mon, Trina, it’s the second time I said yes, call me Fiyero.”

She blushed “O-okay, Fiyero, please get me a smoothie?”

He smiled brightly. “Of course I will.”

Crope and Tibbett were still dancing, and I was lucky to just get a free barstool on this crowded night. Trina sat against a wall, trying to catch her breath. Some men ended up coming and talking to her. I don’t know the exact conversation, but from how she looked, I guessed they were asking for the dance. People were running over to see what was going on. I got there when one of them pinned her.

“C’mon baby, just one dance without your boytoy won’t hurt. You’ll like it, I bet. Hell, I’m probably better than him.”

“I would let you if I was the one that asked her,” Fiyero said, shoving through the crowd. “But since she asked me on a date, I think it’s clear we both know who she wants to be with.”

One of the other boys held onto Trina while the leader turned around. “Oh, so you’re a one-night stand. You know you don’t have a chance after tonight with him.”

“It’s her second time,” Fiyero said, smirking. I heard Crope and Tibbett cheering. Fiyero had gotten quite a bit of the confidence he needed in the past few months. “And even if I don’t date a girl more than once or twice, I respect her. Far more than you do.”

“How funny you say that.” The man punched Fiyero. Fiyero didn’t get hurt and delivered a kick, a move he said he was taught when hunting for disabling an animal, a move that he used against a human. It landed on the side of the man’s abdomen. The man fell to the floor and the others came to make sure he was okay. Trina ran to Fiyero.

“Let’s go,” She said frightened.

“Sounds good, Trina,” He replied, taking her hand and heading to the crowd.

“You’re not going anywhere!” The man said, grabbing Fiyero. “Your whore can if she wants to, but you need to answer to me.” Both of his goons grabbed Fiyero and pinned him to the wall.

Fiyero let out some cries in the Arjiki language. By his generation, it had become mostly dead, but he taught me all he knew, the curses. And he used every single word he knew in that language.

The man punched him in the face. “That’s what you get for ruining a near-successful pick-up.”

Crope, Tibbett, and I all nearly laughed, despite knowing our friend was in danger, at the irony of the line. The other two realized what a danger it was and ran up. I tried too, but the crowd was too thick where I stood. I tried to find a place to move, struggling.

The man kept hitting Fiyero, for any perceived slight, and just because he felt like it. The man needed an outlet for things he couldn’t understand. Trina started muttering something and making gestures with her hands. I realized she was trying a spell. Last time Fiyero asked her out, she could barely make the sparks that show ability.

This time, she managed to let out a small bit of flame that she flung at the man. She missed, nearly hitting Fiyero in the process.

Fiyero cursed and shouted her name.

“Sorry, Prince Fiyero,” She said. “I’m trying.”

“We know you are,” Crope said, struggling to pull one of the thugs off Fiyero.

“Now if only Servant Boy will help,” Tibbett added.

I was still pushing my way through the crowd.

Trina cast another fireball and threw it at the man, this time it worked, hitting the man on his shirt, causing him to run from the situation.

I got through and helped Crope get one of the thugs off Fiyero. He punched the man while we helped Tibbett. Once he was off, the five of us left in silence.

“I want to go back to my school,” Trina said about five minutes of wandering later.

Fiyero brought her back to her room. It took a long time. He said some of the girls had heard and didn’t trust him, then he had to calm down Trina, and he wanted to make sure she was fine.

When we reached his room, he collapsed, starting to freak out.

“Dad is going to kill me,” He said. “UCE is going to kick me out, I don’t know how he’ll handle it.”

“UCE will not kick you out Fiyero. You didn’t do more than defend her and yourself.”

He panicked a while longer, before passing out on his bed exhausted.

Fiyero was right, he was kicked out of school for fighting. Crope and Tibbett weren’t, but were reprimanded. Fiyero was upset, but it was the only time he was.

His father was very upset when we showed up. At least, that’s what Fiyero told me. I was only told to keep a closer eye on him when he went to his next school, Empire University. He told me what to say, what to do, and how to act.

“He was gentler than I expected,” I said. “He trusts you. Don’t ruin it. Maybe you should play down what the press thinks about you.”

“You think I give a fuck about that ‘Ric?” He said to me. “When I care, shit happens to me. I got Trina hurt when I did it too much. Next time, I shouldn’t care so much about my dates.”

“If you didn’t, you’d be like him. Your father says you’re going to Empire next.”

“Sounds good. New school, new me.” He said it more to himself than me.

I didn’t know that at the moment and smiled. “This will be great, Your Majesty, the girls better keep their hands on me.”

“No, I don’t mean that. New school, new girls, ‘Ric. New girls who know my reputation. They’d be heartbroken if I said I wasn’t like what they read. I’m playing it up, and I won’t care what the press thinks of me because I’m playing them. I’m sure I’m going to have a lot of fun at Empire. And all the other schools Father will send me to.”

I was scared at the time, but he seemed determined, already donning the new mask he made to hide the pain. The Prince became a walking Scandal. He crashed and was reborn as the Scandalicious Prince.