When Kieran told Elena that the day had come for him and his siblings to prove their bravery, she thought the trial they were to go through would be very tough. He had told her it was a matter of life, death and honor, and Elena's mind raced with possibilities of what it was. It sounded downright terrifying, and it definitely frightened her, whatever it was.

So when she stood next to Prince Lukas as the Hammedatha siblings sat their dining table, her expectations were crushed to the lowest level when she discovered that it was drinking.

The Chugging, to be exact.

"They're always so freaking dramatic about this," Prince Lukas said to her.

"I expected slow walking on red hot coals while balancing an egg on a spoon in your mouth," Elena said. "Or wrestling a buffalo."

The Prince looked at her and grimaced. "Exactly what do you think the Hammedathas are made of? That's going overboard, Elena."

"This drink is no different from that scenario, sister-in-law!" Ray yelled. "Luke, you are downplaying The Chugging."

Prince Lukas rolled his eyes. "Please. It's just an herbal concoction."

At once, all the Hammedatha siblings, plus Lady Alyssa, hooted.

"An herbal concoction that messes with your senses," said Aira. "But forget it. I don't think you'd be man enough to take it anyway."

There was another bout of hoots, and Elena's mouth formed an 'O'.

Prince Lukas let out a harsh laugh. "Are you challenging me, Aira?"

Aira crossed her arms over her chest. "You know I always am, pint-size," she said. "I should start looking for new nicknames now. Will lily-livered mole rat do? Spineless ostrich?"

Prince Luke gritted out, "Shut up."

Aira slammed her palms onto the table and leaned forward, her eyes blazing with dare. "Make me."

"Mama Kieran!" Prince Lukas called, still holding his glaring contest with Aira. "Pour me a cup."

Elena was enjoying all the hullaballoo. She watched giddily as Lady Alyssa poured 'the elixir' from her jar and into a cup next to Kieran's on the table. Elena's jaw dropped as a slimy ball of green fibre plopped into the cup.

Ray burst into laughter. "Ha! You ended up with the chunk this time! It really does land on the last person!"

Prince Lukas grimaced slightly. Clearly his bravery had been a tad disrupted.

"Backing out already, Luke-of-spine?" Aira taunted. She pronounced Luke as something between 'lock' and 'lack'.

"Do not be ridiculous. I am the future king," Prince Lukas proclaimed, shifting his weight from one foot to another. "I will not be defeated by plants. In fact, I shall be the one to call it."

Kieran, who sat infront of the prince, cocked his head back to look at him. "You sure about this, bud?"

"If he wants to call it, let him call it," Aaron said. "The one who calls it is the bravest, and it's always been Kieran. If you fail to chug when you've called it, you become the lowest of the low."

"The most cowardly," said Ray.

"The prissiest," said Joshua.

"You are no longer a man," Aira said, smirking.

The Prince gulped. After a while of silence, probably debating his options, he said, "I will call it."

Kieran shrugged while his siblings wore devious smirks. Elena could not help but feel something else was up; a mutual scheme amongst them.

Prince Lukas cleared his throat and stepped closer to the table. "Hands on."

They all grabbed onto the filled cups in front of them.

"Hands up," Lukas commanded.

They all lifted their cups, and Elena grinned in anticipation.

Thus, the last order was ushered.

"Chug."

They put the cups to their lips and started to gulp down the contents. It was not long before Prince Lukas retched and spit the slimy fluid back into the cup.

Everyone else roared at the action, and all havoc broke loose.

There was a significant amount of name-calling as Prince Lukas yelled back to defend himself, his defence being the slop was 'too disgusting for human consumption.' The Hammedathas were having none of it. And Elena's ribs ached from laughing too hard.

"Hold him down!" Aira screeched, and a scuffle followed, of which Kieran detached himself. He did have an injured arm, and could not be part of the struggle to force the Prince to 'swallow his chunks.'

"This wasn't part of the deal!" Prince Lukas hollered as Joshua and Ray pinned him in a chair.

Kieran stood next to Elena to witness the scene, and she leaned against him for support as she laughed. Her laugh wasn't even audible anymore. Not because of the noise - it just wasn't. But she was laughing.

After the whole commotion had died down, Kieran led Elena away from the loony bin that was his family.

Aira flicked Luke's forehead with her fingers. She was seated cross-legged on the table, infront of him.

"You are no longer a man, Lukas Forsyth," she sneered.

He glared back. "I don't care what you say. You're just a little girl. There are others who have attested to the virility of my manhood. Bigger girls."

In response, he got two knocks on the head from Joshua and Aaron while Ray kicked him under the table. Lukas groaned out in pain.

"I really will sew that dirty mouth shut," growled Joshua.

"Leave him be. I don't get his riddles anyways," Aira said, dismissively. "If you're to make a comeback, make one that I actually understand."

Lukas stuck his tongue out at her and she did the same.

"Enough horseplay," Ray said, releasing Lukas' hair. "We need to get a move on on Operation: O."

"Operation: O?" Aira echoed.

"Operation Observation," Ray clarified. "Or it could be Operation: OKAL. Observe Kieran and Elena. Or just plain Double O, for Operation Observation." He beamed. "What do you all think?"

Joshua grunted. "Shut up, Ray."

"The name doesn't matter," said Aaron. "But yes, we need to get moving."

"Alright then!" Ray rubbed his hands together. "Employing stealth form begins now!"

***

The five of them followed Kieran and Elena wherever they went. In whichever part of the manor, each of them paid the couple a visit in intervals, faking emergencies. It was with the aim of separating Kieran from Elena.

When Aira showed up with an emergency, he said, "Talk to Joshua."

When Joshua came up with an emergency, he said, "Talk to Ray."

And when Ray showed up, he said, "Talk to Aaron. If Aaron's got an emergency, all four of you should just huddle up and handle it, Okay? Now quit disturbing my peace."

By the end of the day, they hadn't reached any concrete conclusion.

"He brushed us off so he could stay with sister-in-law," said Ray. "Maybe he does love her."

"Or!" Lukas turned on his heel to face the siblings. They were all standing near the lake. "Or he simply saw through your façade and didn't want to waste time doing something that wasn't real."

Joshua, standing with his arms folded, frowned. "It is hard to tell his feelings."

"Hard but not impossible," Luke said, wagging a finger at them. "They're getting engaged in about three weeks, right? We have until then to crack this puzzle. The sooner we solve it, the better. I don't want to be on tenterhooks for too long."

"Neither do I," murmured Ray.

"Alright. On three." Lukas put his hand forward, and the other four joined their hands in.

"One, two, three-"

"Observation!" They chorused.

*****

One and half weeks later:

Lukas and Enoch, together with Kieran's siblings stood in the upper lawns of the Hammedatha Manor in a line. They glared at the couple settled on a quilt in the lawns near the gazebo and lake as they had their afternoon picnic.

Lukas narrowed his eyes as Elena fed Kieran some grapes.

Next to him, Joshua huffed. "Close to two weeks, and no conclusion," he said. "We've tried everything. We even tore his favourite sweater and put the blame on her, and he let it go. It was his favourite sweater. He would have blown up on us if he'd discovered we were the perpetrators."

"Doesn't that mean he loves her?" Enoch asked.

"Well, Kieran also said he doesn't want to see Elena every day," said Ray.

"That's not what he said," Aira countered. "He said he doesn't have to see her everyday and can hold off not seeing her for a few days."

"I think when you love someone, you want to see that person daily," Ray mused. "It's not the same for Kieran, though."

"So...he doesn't love her," Enoch concluded.

Everyone else collectively groaned.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Aaron explained. "But look at them now. The only thing I see is a couple in love."

Lukas glared at the said couple. Elena pulled out a woolen maroon sweater from the picnic basket and gave it to Kieran.

"Oh, no wonder she agreed to follow through with our blame plan!" Aira chirped. "She'd made him another sweater already!"

They all hummed and continued to 'observe' the scene. After a few exchange of words, Kieran leaned in and first nuzzled his nose against hers, then placed a lingering kiss on Elena's forehead.

"He so loves her," Aira purred.

"I get forehead kisses all the time. It's no big deal."

Everyone at once turned their heads to Enoch, who'd uttered the statement.

Lukas was most curious. "From whom?"

Enoch's eyes darted to each of their awaiting faces. "I have girl friends too. They think I am cute."

Ray sighed. "Whatever. We need to crack the puzzle soon, and Operation: O is getting us nowhere. I think I hid in a poison ivy bush when we followed them to the waterfall the other day. I've got these red blotches on my-"

"Shut up, Ray," Joshua groaned. "But he is right. Lukas, we need a new game plan. You're pretty cunning. Got any tricks up your sleeve?"

Lukas, with his arms folded, walked two steps forward and turned on his heel to face the others. "As a matter of fact, I do."

"What is it, non-man?" Aira asked.

Lukas shot Aura a scathing glare, but still replied, "Operation: Indirect Questionnaire."

*****

The next morning, Aira walked into the sitting room with Ray and Joshua following close behind. Their mother was going over the accounts with Aaron in a settee while Kieran sat in a sofa, reading. Aira, Ray and Joshua slowly occupied a settee opposite Aaron's, with Aira in the middle.

"Yes, this is right," Their mother said, peering at the thick book. With a satisfied nod, she closed the book and handed it to Aaron.

Ray pinched Aira in the side.

"Mother?" Aira squeaked out before the lady of the house could stand up.

She looked up. "Daughter?"

"Uhm..." Aira glanced at Kieran, whose nose was in his book. "I want to ask you something."

Her mother leaned back in her seat. "Go on."

"How does it feel to be in love?"

Her mother raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Aira, are you in love?"

At that point, Kieran lowered his book to gaze at Aira. "Who's the boy?" he demanded.

Aira fought the urge to roll her eyes. Once, a lord's son had written a love letter to Aira when she was thirteen. Her brothers had gotten a hold of that letter and called the boy for a meeting in Kieran's study.

Aira never heard from the boy again.

"No, I'm not," Aira replied. "I'm just curious. Maybe one of my brothers is."

Aira observed Kieran's expression to be an emotionless one. "Why would you be curious about something like that?" he inquired.

"Well...." Aira stammered as she struggled to find a reply. "Ray told me he could be."

Ray pinched her side again and gave her a glare before beaming at their mother. "That's right. I really need to understand my own feelings," he said through gritted teeth.

Their mother regarded them with her sharp brown eyes for a very long while. Aira was almost sure she didn't buy any of what they conveyed.

To her surprise, she nodded and said, "Alright then. Let's see..."

Aira glanced at Kieran. He had resumed reading.

"When you're in love, you are predominantly happy," Their mother continued. "Good moods blossom out of nowhere, and you find yourself smiling for basically no reason at all. You also smile when you think of your beloved, or hear her name."

Aira noticed a small smile form on Kieran's lips. He raised his book higher, so his face was out of view.

"Got you," she thought.

**

"I'm telling you he does!" Aira argued with her brothers later that evening in the foyer of Hammedatha Manor.

"Because of one little smile?" Joshua scoffed. "That's not a sure deal."

"Ugh. You were there when mother was explaining to us, weren't you? That sign especially applies to Kieran!"

"Well, I didn't see him smile," Joshua told her. "Evenso, he could have been smiling at something he read."

Aira pulled at her black hair and let out a groan of frustration.

"He did smile, and I believe it had something to do with what mother said," Aaron spoke up. "He does love Elena."

"I also saw him smile but I'm siding with Josh," said Ray. "We can't know for sure whether it correlated with mother's words."

"But it's too much of a coincidence!" Aira nearly shouted. She was getting more and more agitated with each word her two brothers uttered.

Lukas clapped his hands once, loudly, to gather everybody's attention. "Why are we fighting about smiles? Seriously!"

"What the heck is up with all of you?"

They all froze at the new voice. They turned and found Kieran giving them suspicious eyes. He had had his sling removed by noon, and Elena had been around to see it. He'd just come back from escorting her out of the house.

"You all have gotten really close over the past several days," Kieran noted, arching an inquisitive eyebrow.

"What are you saying, brother? We've always been really close," Aira said, trying to dismiss whatever suspicion or curiosity he might have harboured.

Kieran turned his gaze to Luke. "And why are you always here, huh? Don't you have provinces to run and meetings to attend? Are my siblings your new best friends?"

"That's crazy talk." Luke grinned. "You know no one can replace you."

Kieran was not amused. He murmured a "whatever," and continued through the corridor to the sitting room.

Aira turned to the men. "We're running out of time, and honestly, I've run out of patience. It's been one and half weeks now and Kieran's sling has come off. I can't take the suspense any longer."

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but we'll have to throw in the towel," Luke said, frowning. "I feel like I'm going to explode if I don't know the conclusion within the next minute."

Joshua tapped his foot anxiously on the ground. "So...should we ask him?"

They all exchanged glances as a silence clouded the hall.

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Definitely."

"We should."

"Mm."

And with that consensus, they all scrambled through the corridor and spilled into the sitting room. The commotion made Kieran look up from his book, his eyebrows furrowed in perplexity.

"We need to ask you something, Kieran," Luke started. "And you have to answer us truthfully because-"

"Do you love Elena or not?" Aira blurted out. She was tired and terse, and only wanted the answer gotten over with.

Kieran merely stared back at them as they all had their eyes widened and ears perked in anticipation.

"Oh," he drawled and nodded his head in a slow, pensive motion. "So that's what all this was about. All those hushed talks in your little huddle were all because-"

"-we were trying to find an answer so just tell us already!" Ray finished, his tone testy.

Kieran shook his head this time, in a motion that indicated his clear disappointment. "Do you really not know the answer? I mean I expected you to-"

"Oh, shut up, Kieran!" Luke snapped. "It's a darn simple question that requires either yes or no so just answer it! Do you love Elena or not? Huh!"

Kieran was the only one surprised by Luke's outburst. His eyes were wide in shock, his body leaned back in the chair as if awaiting an attack.

"Yes," he replied, cautiously. "I do."

Aira's lips parted, and she nudged Luke in his side.

"Are you sure?" Joshua asked in a low tone amidst the thick silence.

Kieran sighed. He leaned forward in the sofa and looked at each of them.

"Yes, I do love Elena," he said. "I love her a lot. She is my first love and will definitely be my last. You can say she is my only love." He lowered his chin. "Satisfied now?"

Aira sighed dreamily. "Catch me," she said and fell back towards Ray. He stepped aside and let her collapse to the floor with a thud.

Luke cleared his throat. "Yes, that was...quite satisfactory," he said, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. "And you expected us to know that?"

"Yes, because I thought I made it obvious." Kieran shrugged. "You know I'm not one to tell. And now that that's out of the way-" He stood up, placed his book in the chair and gave Lukas a sharp look. "-why don't you tell me what's really going on?"

"What do you mean?" Luke asked as Aira got up from the floor and stood next to him.

"You all have been following Elena and me like shadows," Kieran said, eyeing each of them. "There's something bigger going on here, and it's not just you trying to figure out my feelings."

Aira sucked in her bottom lip and exchanged glances with her accomplices.

"No no, nothing more," she assured, shaking her head. "Plain ol' nosy sibling stuff. Nothing bigger. No wild conspiracy or something crazy like that, no."

"Ray," Kieran singled out, his voice stern and strict.

"Drat," thought Aira. Ray was the most fickle out of them all, and Kieran knew it. No doubt he'd break if Kieran used the right amount of pressure.

They were all standing in a line, and Kieran focused his hard, searching gaze on his youngest brother, who was looking everywhere else but at him.

Kieran slowly crossed his arms over his chest, and his unclothed biceps flexed with the action.

"For what purpose were you trying so desperately to find out my feelings for Elena?" he dished out the question like he was interrogating a treason suspect.

Aira silently hoped Ray would have the backbone to keep his mouth shut. Kieran didn't like it when they meddled in his personal life unsolicited. If he found out they were secretly betting on it-

"I'm going to count up to three," Kieran spoke up when Ray didn't talk.

"Please don't crack," she thought.

"Three-"

"It was a bet!" Ray croaked.

Aira squeezed her eyes shut as everyone else let out a resigned sigh.

"We betted on whether you would fall in love with Elena by your engagement but we couldn't tell if you had so that's why we were trying to figure it out!" Ray blabbered.

"You betted on my love life!"

Oh, he was angry.

"Unbelievable!" Kieran hollered. "How do you even think of something like that? Whose idea was this? Yours?"

"No! It was-" Ray turned his head to Joshua.

Joshua turned his head to Aaron.

Aaron turned his head to Aira.

Aira turned her head to - no one.

Lukas was missing.

"What the-" Her eyes widened in shock and she scanned around for him. He was attempting to climb up the stairs on his tip toes, stealth form employed.

Aira huffed a breath of anger. "It was pint-size's idea!" she screamed, thrusting her finger at the culprit.

"Lukas!" Kieran boomed and the prince made an immediate about-turn. He quickly walked back, stood next to Kieran and glared at the others.

"Hey hey hey, what on mother earth is going here? What is this 'bet' thing I'm hearing about? Were you rascals - and not me - discussing and gambling your brother's love life behind his back?" Lukas let out an exaggerated gasp, placed his palm on his cheek and shook his head. "Shame on you! You know he doesn't like that!"

"Get back in line, criminal." Kieran shoved Luke back to his place beside Aira, who stifled a laugh.

Now The Brain and his accomplices were lined up before him with their hands behind their backs, and Kieran crossed his arms again, tipping his chin up so his glower could spread to them all.

"I cannot express the gravity of my disappointment in you all," he stated, his voice low and his face pulled into a scowl.

Aaron cleared his throat. "Actually, I was never part of the bet, so I'm just going to..." He stepped forward out of line and stood next to Kieran. He mimicked his stance; folding his arms and shooting the others a contemptuous glare.

Aira snarled at him. Literally.

"I am disappointed and angry," Kieran continued. "But since this is your first betting offence, I'll let you off the hook."

Aira sighed. "Oh, thank goodness."

"Allow me just warn you," Kieran said.

"Spoke too soon," she murmured.

"If I get you doing this again, or if I simply hear about it happening again," Kieran gave them a sinister smile as he let the words hang in the air for a bit. "Let's just say your training will be a lot more colourful."

With that said, he departed from the room.

Author's note

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