Previously on The Otherworlders: At Prince Julian's palace, a lavish gathering of the Vampyric elite holds court. Sebastian does his best to prepare Jake and Cameron so they can successfully navigate the sea of protocol and politics that rules the event.

As they await the prince's arrival, Cameron and Jake struggle with their "fish out of water" status as well as their growing appetites, and do their best not to trip up by saying or doing something that will tank their mission before it even starts.

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All three boys, as well as Sebastian's family, have been standing in the welcome line in the Throne Room for an hour and a half, waiting to greet the prince.

Exhausted, Jake scrubs his hands over his face and mumbles to Cameron, "Gods! I'm trying my best to stay awake, but I don't know how much more of this I can take!"

"Tell me about it!" Cameron says as he rolls his neck and shoulders, and then stretches his back, hoping beyond hope to keep his body from going numb.

Jake, on the other hand, is blinking rapidly and furiously, shaking his hands in front of him in a bid to get his circulation going.

He shuffles on his feet, more for the sake of keeping his body moving than anything else. "Seriously," he says underneath his breath. "This standing in line to meet some pompous, high-class, fancy-pants Vampyr is downright painful." He leans in closer to Cameron. "Dude, if I asked you to shoot me and put me out of my misery, would you do it?"

"Man," Cameron shakes his head and chuckles. "I can't. Because if I shoot you first, then you can't shoot me and someone's got to because, good gods, this is painful!"

Jake lets out a boisterous laugh, catching Sebastian's attention.

Sebastian looks over at them, annoyed. "Seriously?" he says. "After just 10 minutes getting the crap kicked out of you in Master Achebe's class, you're going to pretend like this is an unbearable hardship?"

"Yes!" Jake lets his head fall back and sighs, heavily. "Dude... I'm soooo bored!"

Sebatian rolls his eyes, and then turns to face prince's dais. "Well, it looks like my family is up next, so your suffering should end any minute now."

Right at that moment, a page comes forward to announce the family.

"And next, Your Highness," the page calls out, his voice booming throughout the room, "I present to you, Sir Geoffrey and Lady Brigitte McFadden, of House McFadden, First Family of Clan McFadden of Kinnaird and Furness, protector of the Manor Rolls and Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland for the King."

Lady Brigitte approaches the dais where Prince Julian, a regal looking man in his late thirties with long, dark hair and piercing grey eyes, sits next to his fiancé, a mousy girl of twenty, her plain features lost in a sea of expensive clothes and vintage jewelry.

Prince Julian smiles and spreads his arms wide. "Brigitte, my dear! Don't you look ravishing!"

Lady Brigitte beams as she curtsies deeply, then rising, giggles like a smitten little girl. "Oh, My Prince—"

Prince Julian leans forward and wags his finger at her. "Ah, ah, ah! You're family. It's Cousin Julian to you." He sits back as if making a proclamation. "And since you're family, I would like to invite you and your guests to stay the night in one of our guest suites."

Thrilled by the compliment, Lady Brigitte rests her hand modestly on her chest. "Oh, Cousin Julian, you are so kind."

And then suddenly remembering that she's not alone, Lady Brigitte gestures with an air of gravitas towards her husband. "And you remember my husband, Sir Geoffrey, don't you?"

At this, Sir Geoffrey stiffens. He sandwiches his abdomen between both arms and bows deeply, as is customary. "Your Highness," he says solemnly.

Prince Julian gives him a welcome smile in return. "Geoffrey! You're looking quite good these days." He tilts his head. "And what is this I hear about you doing some back-room campaigning for a seat on The Council?"

Flustered, Sir Geoffery replies, "Well, I just thought I'd communicate my interest to a member or two. That is all."

Prince Julian's lips quirk up knowingly. "Mm-hmm... I'm sure that's the extent of it." His smile widens, practically endorsing Sir Geoffrey's not so secret agenda.

Sir Geoffrey quickly steps aside and Lady Brigitte gestures towards Sebastian, who comes forward. "And this is our First Son, Sebastian."

Sebastian, like his father, bows deeply before the prince.

Prince Julian claps his hands and laughs. "Sebastian! Oh, my goodness! The last time I saw you, you were — what? — six-years old?" He leans over to his fiancé who has yet to utter a word and says. "Sebastian, here, was such a terror as a child. He had this awful habit of bashing up all of his siblings' toys in fits of anger and frustration." He turns back to Sebastian, amused. "Isn't that how you got your nickname, Sebastian? Your siblings always called you Bash." Prince Julian throws his head back and laughs, recalling all the many hijinks of the McFadden brood.

Sebastian's cheeks flush hot as he closes his eyes, mortified.

Really? The prince of all the Vampyrs is going to call him out for his bratty behavior as a child in front of his Parents? And Jake and Cameron?? And the entire Vampyric court???!

Sebastian gulps, resolved to suffer his night of degradation in silence. He forces a smile and laughs the comment off awkwardly. "Your Highness, I might have been a bit impatient at times in my youth, but that was such a long, long time ago."

Prince Julian arches a brow. "Well, it's good to know that you've grown out of it." He looks up. "And who do you have with you now?"

Sebastian turns to the boys. "Your Highness, these are two of my schoolmates from The Otherworlder Integrated Academy — Cameron Baker, who previously attended The Bartleby School for Enchanteds, and Jake Nebahe from the Shifter Academy."

Cameron steps up and gives Prince Julian the deep and reverent customary bow, just as Sebastian taught him. "Your Highness." He rises and moves back towards Sebastian, clearing a path for Jake.

Well, this is it. Jake's moment of truth.

Mentally, he debates the best way to handle the situation. He knows that he has to follow suit as part of his mission. But even though phones and cameras have been banned from the Throne Room, what if someone snapped a shot of him bowing deeply before a Vampyr prince?

In seconds, it would be all over social media and his people would probably find it insulting. And who knows? It might even cause an international incident!

Okay, that's probably overdoing it a bit, but still!!

Jake stands, frozen, staring mutely up at the prince while an uneasy whisper crackles, like wildfire, throughout the queue of guests behind him. The air begins to feel so heavy and charged with anticipation, he's finding it difficult to breathe.

He swallows hard and reaches up to loosen his tie, sweat beading slowly on his brow. Squirming, he can feel the heat of the crowd's eyes burning into his back like a concentrated laser beam.

Gods! How is supposed to handle this greeting? What does he do?!

Fighting the urge to be defiant, Jake sighs. It's so tempting to stand his ground, especially after that snide werewolf comment Sir Geoffrey had made earlier. Given that, wouldn't bowing deeply in public before a Vampyr prince be akin to groveling?!

The whispers of the crowd grow louder and much fiercer, and Jake can sense Prince Julian losing his patience and Sebastian's family panicking off to the side.

The mission. The mission. It's all about the mission!

Jake sucks in a girding breath and straightens his back. Holding his arms tightly by his side, he bows his head slowly, respectfully, and far more deeply than he did for Sir Geoffrey, doing his best to honor his culture while still showing the prince a sufficient amount of respect.

"Your Highness," Jake says, in all sincerity.

But as his head comes up, a collective gasp breaks out throughout the room.

Crap! Clearly it wasn't enough.

In Vampyric culture, not properly bowing or curtseying before royalty is one of the worst transgressions a guest can commit. Essentially, it's like flipping the prince the bird.

Sir Geoffrey grunts in frustration as Lady Brigitte, humiliated, cups her face in her hands.

Prince Julian, in confusion tilts his head, his eyes narrowing on Jake, his fingers snaking around the arms of his throne. He leans forward as an angry frown ghosts his lips.

Jake's mouth drops open like a beached fish, and as hard as he tries to say something and explain himself, it's useless. His throat is so parched, his voice just comes out in a squeak.

And as disparaging murmurs bubble up from the crowd, Sebastian — eyes wide — steps forward and takes his place by Jake's side.

"Your Highness," he says deferentially. "My friend here..." he rests his hand lightly on Jake's shoulder "...he's a Shifter. And in his culture, a bow of the head is the customary greeting, as well as an honored sign of respect."

Sebastian tenses as he finds himself tempted to turn around and glance at his parents, just to see if he's screwed up and managed to bring total and utter disgrace upon his family.

But instead of looking back at them, he refrains. He holds fast and decides that it's time he learns to commit, grow up, and learn to do whatever it takes to quiet the doubts swirling furiously inside his head so he can get the job done. Yes, it's time he finally learns how to trust himself.

So Sebastian goes with his gut instead. He moves a little closer to the prince and says, "You see, it's a matter of culture. Our manner of greeting before royalty means something very different than it does for Jake's people. And he would actually be insulting them if he were to do as we do. Please know, though, that he means no insult to you whatsoever. None at all. I can assure you of that."

A moment of tense silence hangs heavy over the room, broken only by the soft creaking of Prince Julian's throne as he leans forward and scowls. Looking suspiciously at Sebastian and his Shifter friend, he considers whether or not he should make a scene by reprimanding them for such insolence. Orr perhaps it would be better if he took the high road and chose to use this admittedly awkward moment as a symbol of Otherworlder reconciliation instead.

After an achingly long moment passes, Prince Julian shifts gears. He relaxes back in his throne, and in a gesture of good will, bows his head towards Jake, ever so slightly, choosing to ignore the shocked gasps coming from the crowd.

"Well then," he says in a tone that hints at an almost genuine sense of appreciation. "I am honored, young man, to have you visiting my court and hope that you find our hospitality warm, welcoming, and entertaining."

At this, Jake, Sebastian, and the entire McFadden clan breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Not wanting to push his luck, Sebastian quickly loops his arms through Jake and Cameron's and escorts them all the way over to the other side of the room, and as far away from Prince Julian as possible.

Because, thankfully, with this last annoying sociocultural hurdle cleared, the boys can now finally, finally focus on their mission.

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A/N - I did not get much sleep last night so there may be errors in this chapter. Please forgive me and feel free to point them out. I plan to go through it again tomorrow when my brain a little less fuzzy and fatigued.

~ Paula ❤️