"And so, the Princess lived with her beloved Prince happily ever after," Kenny says as he closes the book in his hands. "Time to tuck up and sleep tight, Karen."
"Okay…" Kenny's sister, Karen, says quietly and pulls her favourite blanket over herself. Suddenly a question pops up in her mind, so she calls her brother back, who is about to switch off the lights for the night. "Hey Kenny…?"
"Hm? What's the matter?"
"Will I ever get to meet my own Prince Charming?" Karen asks.
"Yes, you will, Karen. You will find your prince in real life when you grow up." Kenny smiles warmly as he returns to his sister's bed, soothing her hair softly and kisses her good night. "Sweet dreams, Karen."
"You too, Kenny. Good night!"
Kenny nods and leaves the room swiftly without causing any noise that may disturb Karen. He loves his sister and his love for her is unconditional. He will do almost anything to make Karen a happy girl, despite the fact that they are both from the poorest family in South Park. Money does not buy life-long happiness, but if it can at least make Karen smile for a split second, he will, with no hesitation at all, earn as much money as he can.
The next day, Karen returns home from school with puffy eyes. That breaks Kenny's heart tremendously. Kenny asks what happened at school instantly and hugs his sister tightly.
"Tricia says fairy tales are just lies to children; they aren't real," the poor little girl replies as she breaks down into tears again. Kenny pats her head gently in hope that it can make her feel better.
"Well, she is not completely wrong. But," Kenny holds Karen in his arms and carries her to her room. He helps her with her schoolbag and fetches her a cup of water, and a few pieces of napkins. "But it doesn't mean you can't find your prince."
"Really?" Karen sniffs and wipes off her tears. She tries to stop herself from crying, for she remembers her guardian angel telling her to stay strong. "Guardian angel said I have to stay strong. He told me he will be with me all the time."
"Yes, I am sure he will be with you, always. You are growing up, Karen. I am very proud of you," he gives Karen a kiss on her forehead and reaches his hand to get her brush. He gently tidies up Karen's hair and ties it into two cute pigtails. "You are the most beautiful little girl I could've ever had for a sister. You will definitely find your Prince Charming like all the princesses in the fairy tales I've read you before."
"Which fairy tale are you going to read me tonight?"
"What do you want to hear?"
"Um… You've read me Cinderella last night. I heard Snow White and the Beauty and the Beast last week…"
"Do you want me to read Rapunzel tonight?"
"Yes please!"
"Alright then, I will go get the book ready. You do your homework first, okay?"
"Okay!"
The day ends well and amicably for the McCormicks. The next day, Kenny goes up to Craig and confronts him about the matter with his sister.
"Craig, you seriously have to look after your sis."
"What does Tricia have to do with you?"
"She told my sister that fairy tales aren't real and stuff."
"I don't see she's wrong or something."
"She upset my sister."
"So?"
"You tell her to stop upsetting my sister!"
"Why do I have to do it for you?"
"Because you're her fucking gay brother."
"Whatever," not wanting to continue the crappy conversation, Craig flips Kenny off and walks away. To prevent Kenny from nagging him every day onwards, he talks to his sister that evening before he forgets Kenny's words.
"Tricia."
"What," Tricia responds, but not bothering to look up from her phone, which is full of yaoi pictures of his brother and Tweek drawn by some great Asian girls, and some other fourth graders, like Stan and Kyle.
"Why did you upset Karen?"
"Karen whom?"
"Karen McCormick."
"What do you mean by me upsetting her?" Realizing that the conversation is about Karen, Tricia finally raises her head and looks at her brother in the eyes.
"I don't know, but his brother spoke to me today and told me you upset her."
"Jesus Christ, she must've taken my words out of context."
"Yep, and you have to take care of the problem yourself because I have nothing to do with Karen McCormick."
"Fair enough." The two flip each other off before returning to what they were doing. Meanwhile, at the McCormick's residence, Kenny is preparing dinner for Karen, for he has no idea where their parents and Kevin went.
"What are we having tonight, Kenny?"
"Um… Well, we can't have really, really good food, but I'm not letting you have frozen waffles again tonight," Kenny says as he takes out some macaroni and a can of chicken noodle soup that he has been saving for a while secretly from the cupboard. "I'm going to make some noodles and macaroni for you."
"Where did you get these?" Since their parents barely make food like this, Karen asks her brother.
"Oh… I've been… Working somewhere and I figured out after getting you that new doll, I'd buy better food just for you."
"Then, what about you?"
"I'll have frozen waffles."
"No, you're not! We're sharing the food!"
"Karen, you are such a good girl. I'm so blessed to have you, you know?" Kenny beams warmly and starts cooking the macaroni and soup. "I really wish you can get out of this household and find a great other half when you grow up…"
"Why can't I be with you?"
"Well, didn't you want to find your Prince Charming?"
"Oh, yes, I still do. But I can't just leave you behind!"
"It's okay, Karen. I will figure that out myself, but before that, I want you to live a better life and get a good spouse first."
"Oh… Okay then. But for now, I'm not letting you go."
"Of course," Kenny seasons the soup with a bit of salt a bit to make sure it is not too bland. "The food is ready to serve."
"I'll get the bowls and utensils!"
Later that night, the rest of the McCormick family returns and everyone turns in for the night peacefully. Kenny does his storytelling routine for his sister again before going to bed.
"Sweet dreams, Karen."
"You too, Kenny."
The next day, Karen is called upon by Tricia. She turns around and looks at Tricia with a bit of concern on her face. She has no clue why Tricia called her. She hopes it is nothing bad again.
"Karen. Look, the day before yesterday, I told you that you can't possibly find your Prince Charming."
"Yea…? What is the matter?" Karen tilts her head a bit, as she knows well that Tricia does not usually repeat what she has said. Why is she bringing up the topic again now?
"What I actually meant is, there isn't a Prince Charming for every single girl, but you can still find your Knight Charming. You know, the number of knights is always larger than princes… God, I don't know what I'm saying," Tricia starts losing her patience but refuses to go mean on Karen deep inside. She does not want to upset Karen at all. That moment when her brother told her that Karen was saddened by her words, she got worried. She wanted to clear things up that instance, but she knew she could only do it until now, at school.
"Umm… So, you mean I can still find a Charming in my life?"
"Uh, yeah! Duh, you're so cute and gentle… Not like me, you're way more well-mannered and stuff…" It is then Tricia notices that she is complimenting Karen a lot more than she should. Her face turns red and she starts to stutter. "But, yea, you know. You will find your perfect boyfriend or girlfriend or something in the future… I don't know, but yea."
"Thanks, Tricia," Karen smiles softly at Tricia and gives the other girl a warm embrace. "I never thought you'd think of me that way."
"I, I always think of you that way! Wait a minute, no. I mean, those are pure facts!" Tricia stammers and returns Karen a small hug. "Whoever thinks of you poorly, I will beat the shit out of them."
"Aw, you don't have to."
"I, I'm going to class now…" Tricia hangs her head a bit and turns around. "Wanna join me?"
"Sure!"
The two girls stroll to their classroom together, but not having much to say on the way. Despite that awkward silence, Tricia swears deep in her heart, that she will become that Knight Charming one day.
