IN MEMORIAM TO SIR STABBY, A NAME I WILL NOT TYPE AGAIN. I know it's the dudes name but the name is just stupid.

Travelling with Higgs was. . . Tense, she seems so independant, acting as if I wasn't with her at all. She always decided to pick the harder and tricky paths to travel, small scrubs and paths on an incline. Why is she like this? I didn't hurt her that bad. Independent. Confident. Scary. This is my new impression of her. Well. . . Maybe. . .

'So. . . Hows your err, squire. . . Ing?' I asked.

'Did I say I wanted to talk to you?' rhetorical, almost everything she says is made to cut.

'I'm just trying to stay awake, please I'm just curious.' She continued on, unfazed.

'My "squiring" is to the highest standard,' she began, along the trail was a fallen log, she jumped up and walked along it, 'since our little. . . Bargain hunt, I had to raise the bar.'

She jumped off onto the ground in front of me, she turned to me.

'. . . How's yours?' she asked.

'What? Wasn't it you who said I wasn't a real squire?' I asked, surprised.

'Well. . . We don't have many topics up for debate.' she stepped to the side and leaned back on the log.

'. . . Well. . . Lately I'm much less of a squire and more of. . . A charity case.' I said as took place next to herher.

'. . . What's a charity case?' she asked, turning to face me.

'Its like. . . Someone that needs help.' I answered.

'What is it. . . you need help with?' she asked, something different in her tone.

'Well. . . I dont. . . It's just I feel star felt obliged to give me attention as her friend, but. . . It is throwing off her relation with to Tom- another friend.' I answered, feeling heavy, 'to be honest, I'm happy for her, but. . . I guess I just feel-'

'Jealous, Nerd?' she said with a smirk.

'Heh. . . Yeah.' bonding over my suffering? Guess this is how she makes friends.

'Well,' smack! I felt her hand smack against the back of my head, 'were almost there, let's go.'

'Ya know, you kinda remind me of Heckapoo.' I said as I started to follow her.

'Who's Heckapoo?' she asked.

'Someone who played hide and seek across different dimensions with me.' I began, 'she. . . was the one hiding.'

'. . .Ha, sounds fun.' She mused.

After another hour of travelling in the dark, with more topics to talk about, we eventually arrived outside a dwelling. It was hard to tell with torch light, but its walls were white, with blue around each window, a thatched roof and a blue door.

'Were here.' She declared.

'Wow, nice place.' I complemented, the house seemed to belong in a fairy tail.

'Wait for it. . .' she said as she stepped up to the door, she pushed it open and sighed, 'Yep, Slicer's not here.'

'How can you tell?' I asked as I stepped up beside her to peek inside to see overturned furniture and mess everywhere over the wooden floor, 'What happened?'

'Well he's either been kidnapped. . .' she put the torch onto a perch beside the door, 'or he's annoyed that I didn't finish my chores. . .'

'Well, what do we do?' I asked, she walked inside and tried to lift up a cupboard.

'Clean, nerd.' She stated as she gave the cupboard heave, but it didn't budge, 'A little help, nerd.'

As we got to work, we fixed up all the out of place furniture, sorted the piles of discarded items. With that done, Higgs lit the fire in the main room and brought out sections of armour and tossed me a piece.

'Get to it nerd.' She ordered, sitting down by the fire to work.

She threw me a gauntlet, looking at her I can see she had the other. I couldn't help but watch her work, the care and attention she put into her work, but there. . . Was something else. . . She seemed to work, not for praise, or. . . Admiration. . . She gave the piece a final wipe over before she examined it. I thought she would put it away for Slicer's inspection when he would get back from whatever happened, but she examined it before she slipped it on her right hand.

'Ready for a fight.' I commented.

'Yeah, I guess. . . ' she stared at it on her hand, admiring it, before she pulled it off and placed it in her lap, 'once you finish that, we can go to bed.'

'What about the rest?' I asked.

'It can wait,' she said as she stood up, 'besides Slicer wont be back for a while.'

She walked out of the room without another word. I stood up, walked over and placed the gauntlet beside the other and left. I looked around for Higgs, taking in the house layout and found there was only one bedroom. I finally found Her in a small room besides the kitchen.

'Higgs?' I walked into the dismal room, to find the wooden floor has vanished past the door frame, the paint on the wall has all flaked and fallen to the ground, and Higgs was sitting on a pile of rags on the floor, 'Is this your room Higgs?'

'Yeah, it is.' She answered.

'This place. . . You shouldn't live in a place like this. . .' I told her, but she merely shrugged at it.

'Well nerd, this is the real world of squiring, you would suffer when you do it for real. . .' she rebuffed.

'. . . No one should suffer. . .' I told her, she yawned and stood up.

'That's not the way it is,' she put her hands on my shoulders and she dragged me down, 'ok this is your spot, move from it and die.'

She forced me to have a quarter of the pile of cloths next to the wall, facing away from her. I'll have to sleep like this, how does she do it? No, why? Why does she put up with it all? I reached around and pulled my cape around to cover me as I tried to get comfortable. If she puts up with it. . . I. . . have to.

'Goodnight Higgs.' I said as I closed my eyes.

'. . . Night.' She responded.

The night stretched out, Higgs room had no windows, nor any natural light. But my watch says it's still close to the middle of the night, and it seems everytime I check time gets slower. Its unbearable. . . How does she put up with it? Shes right. . . She is a real squire. . . And I'm just- my train of thought was thrown off track as an arm wrapped around me.

'Higgs?' I whispered.

'Yeah, just. . . Don't move. . . Your warm' slightly jolted by the statement, it was hard not to react as she pressed herself closer to me.

All I could do was sit there still as she nuzzled into my back, gradually squeezing enough to choke. No matter how I moved she clinged to my body, with no intention of releasing me. After a while, there was a comfort in this, her body against mine and. . . I accepted her for this time. I tugged on my cape and threw it behind me, hopefully it covered her, providing some comfort. To think she's lived like this for. . . However long she has, it really hurts to think she refuses to give up, to get hurt so much.

'Higgs?' I asked, no response was given, 'Higgs your right, I'm not a squire, or a knight, or even a man. I have no strength to do what you do, I'm. . . I'm just a-'

'A nerd.' She interrupted, 'but. . . A sincere one. . . Thanks for that at least. . .'

'. . . You know, I don't think I can keep squirming for Star this rate, but. . . Maybe you can.' I suggested, I felt her arm squeeze me tighter.

'Yeah right. . .' she joked.

I grabbed her arm and turned to face her.

'Higgs, seriously,' I began, staring into her eyes, 'you don't have to put up with all this, and. . . I honestly don't want to see you like this.'

'Why? All I've done is threaten to hurt and insult you, nerd.' She rebutted.

'Well, you are helping me now.' I answered.

'. . . I really can't do that, I've put so much time, almost all of my life into the job, and I don't think I can just throw it away-'

'You want me, if you serve Star, you will be giving her the best service and life will be alot better for you, Higgs come with me, and stay at The Butterfly Castle.' I promoted, hoping she would accept.

'. . . With you?' she asked.

'Yeah. Always.'