The next morning, Feldspar blinked awake to find himself cocooned in soft sheets, lying close to his boyfriend. The sun was shining through the large window at the far end of the room, reminding him that he was in the castle rather than back at the barbarian camp. He sighed gently, brushing the hair from his face. He rubbed at his eyes and stared out the window for a moment before curling back into Tweek's chest. Memories from the night before were slowly coming back to him, and he had a lot of questions.

It didn't take long for the barbarian king to stir, hazel eyes lazily blinking open as little hands rubbed at smeared war paint.

"You really shouldn't wear that to bed," Feldspar whispered, smiling to him when their eyes met.

"Good morning to you, too," Tweek laughed, kissing him on the nose before playfully pouting. "I didn't hear you last night… did you sleep okay?"

"Mmm?" Feldspar blinked a few times, trying to remember. "I think…I think I had a dream…" He trailed off, unable to remember what happened. It probably wasn't important. "I did get up in the middle of the night though... took a little walk through the castle to clear my head."

"Oh?" Tweek looked curiously at him, shifting a little in the bed.

"Yeah." Feldspar rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling. "I ran into the Elf King while he was on his way to comfort Clyde from his own nightmares." He had asked him about that room…

"Did he say anything?"

"Well…before that, I saw something strange." He rolled back over, thinking. "I saw Kenny coming out of a room down the hall from the gardens." Feldspar stopped, suddenly feeling anxious. He had sworn not to tell anyone about the princess' secret. "I mean… it wasn't that strange. Probably just another guest room… Never mind." He let out another laugh, forcing a smile.

Tweek frowned, feeling hurt. He still wasn't letting up about what happened in the gardens. "Um…okay."

Feldspar slowly exhaled, sitting up. He'd have to figure this out on his own. If anyone knew, the two kings would freak out and the kingdom would be sent into yet another mass chaos. They didn't need that, not with the ceremony being tomorrow. "I'm gonna go down to breakfast, are you coming?"

"Yeah, I'll be down in a bit, why don't you go ahead?" The barbarian slowly rolled out of the bed. "I just gotta touch up my paints."

"Okay, beauty queen, I'll see you in a couple of hours then." Feldspar quickly dressed himself, blowing a kiss before leaving the blond to his routine. He always was slow in the morning. It took him no time to get back down to the dining hall. Several breakfast items had already been set out for them to eat.

Jimmy was already wide awake, sitting at the otherwise empty table with his lute in hand. "Morning, F-Feldspar." He glanced up for a moment before going back to quietly plucking the strings.

"Do you go anywhere without that thing?"

"Nope." The bard smiled, setting the instrument on the table. "It keeps me c-c-company."

Feldspar sat himself at the other side of the table, lazily leaning back. He hadn't really gotten a chance to talk to the elf alone yet, since dinner had been so quick the night before. He grabbed a roll from the table, quickly gulping it down. "How are things in the forest? I haven't been back there since me and Tweek left towards this castle to get the Stick."

"Mmmm… it's been alright." Jimmy pressed his two fingers to the bridge of his nose, seeming annoyed. "We've had a lot of h-humans passing through for the f-first time in y…years. It's causing a bit of upset, I'm af-afraid. We've already got so many funerals going on from the b-battle."

Feldspar frowned, looking the other way. He couldn't help but feel guilty. The casualties from the elven faction could have been avoided if he had stayed away from the forest.

"Don't be guilty," Jimmy interjected, looking up. Feldspar shook his head, snapping to attention. He had forgotten the bard's amazing perception. "It was necessary f-for all to fall into p-place."

The thief's gaze fell back on the lute, noticing a scrap of yellow tied around the arm of the instrument. He remembered the brilliant yellow dress his sweetheart, Leslie, had worn before she was shot down. "Did…"

Jimmy nodded. "She's already buried."

The tense silence lasted for only a moment more before Jimmy spoke again. "Feldspar… is something t-troubling you?"

"What? No." He forced yet another laugh, trying to clear his mind. Jimmy couldn't know, he couldn't possibly-

"I'm sensing s-something about the p-p-princess. Shame on you F-Feldspar, you've already got yourself a m-mighty fine lo…lover."

"What?!" he squeaked, jumping. "Dude!" Where the hell was he getting that vibe from? That wasn't the case at all.

"I'm only teasing," the bard laughed, waving his hand. "I do s-sense something about her though."

Feldspar shook his head while he flushed, embarrassed at his outburst. "We went for a walk last night in the gardens. Just been thinking about that."

Jimmy pressed no further as the High Elf entered the dining hall, donning his familiar bright robes. "Good morning, gentlemen!" Clyde wasn't far behind, hiding quietly behind him.

"Good morning," they both replied, watching as he took his seat at the head of the table. His child sat beside him, still seeming oddly timid and reserved.

"So, Feldspar…" The king smiled to him, resting one arm against the table. "You asked about the spell room last night. How come?"

He felt himself freeze, trying to think of an explanation. "Oh, I was just curious. I saw it from the gardens last night when I was walking with Kenny and I wasn't sure what it was."

"Mmm, yes. I was so brief last night, I apologize." His gaze turned to Clyde, who had grabbed onto the sleeve of his robe, still silent. "I was…a bit too busy to answer properly."

"It's okay," Feldspar said, also staring at Clyde. It was so unlike him to be this quiet. Usually he would be talking nonstop, bouncing around about something. This was unnatural. "Is…he okay?"

Kyle bit his lip. "He's just… having a rough morning." He pat his son on the head, looking concerned. "I know he can be a bit childish, but he hasn't been this clingy since he was a tiny little thing..."

Clyde only buried his face in his sleeve, hiding.

"Gooooood morning," came another voice as the door to the dining area flew open. The Grand Wizard entered, looking groggy despite his obnoxious entrance. "Mornin' Kyle, mornin' Clyde…" he paused as he passed the two of them, meeting eyes with the elf. "What's up with him?"

"Don't be so insensitive, Eric," Kyle hissed, instinctively putting his free arm around Clyde. "He was up all night."

"Sorry, jeez…" The wizard rolled his eyes, heading towards the other end of the table and sitting in his chair. He began stuffing his face full of whatever he could reach on the table, much to the other king's disgust.

"Anyway…" Kyle perked back up, trying to ignore him. "I was just about to say, perhaps we can show you around the spell room since you were asking." His eyes darted to the other end of the table, suddenly becoming very stern. "You'll do that, won't you, Eric?"

"Me?!" The wizard scowled, placing his hands on the table. "Why do I have to?!"

"Our guests are going to be waiting around the castle for an entire day before the ceremony tomorrow. We need to be good hosts and entertain them. Isn't that what you told me?"

"Yeah, but by entertain them, I thought you were gonna do it." The king leaned back in his seat, kicking his feet onto the table.

The elf scowled, refusing to acknowledge his act of defiance. "Don't argue in front of Clyde, and especially not our guests."

"I ain't arguin'."

"Well then, that settles it!" The Elf King awkwardly clapped his hands together, his son still clinging to his robes. "Eric will give you all a tour this afternoon."

Before the wizard could protest, another voice was coming from the doorway of the dining hall. "Sorry I'm late!" In came Kenny, breathing just as heavily as the night before when they met at the balcony. The only difference was-

"Kenny, are you…green?" Feldpar gawked at her, a baffled look on his face. He didn't mean to stare, but he could swear she looked different than when he had last seen her.

"You're right- are you feeling okay?" The Grand Wizard stood up from his seat, walking over to her and studying her face. "You do look kind of green."

"Oh? I…" she seemed alarmed, but quickly began to appear woozy. "Oh yes, I'm… feeling a bit strange."

"Are you ill, Kenny?" The High Elf frowned, looking her over.

Kenny looked to the elf before her eyes drifted to Clyde, who had peeked out a bit from his hiding spot. The child let out a frightened shriek, burying his face back in the king's robes.

"Clyde, what the hell is with you this morning?" the Grand Wizard demanded, turning back to the table.

"Eric, I told you to be sensitive!" Kyle angrily stood up from the table, the boy quickly scrambling to get behind him. "Eugh, come along, Clyde…" The two of them left the dining hall in a hurry.

"YOU CAN'T BABY HIM FOREVER!" The Grand Wizard called out behind them, angrily stomping his foot. As soon as the door slammed shut, he sighed with defeat. "I'll…go take Kenny to lie down. I guess I'll see you all later for the tour I've been so graciously appointed." With that, he led the princess out of the room.

"Jimmy?" Feldspar slowly turned to the bard, a confused look on his face. "Can you make anything of this?"

"Unfortunately, not even I can f-figure out what's g-going on." He smiled, pushing his seat back and grabbing for his crutches. "Although… I get the feeling y-y-you know more than a…any of us." With a light laugh, he exited the hall, leaving the thief to eat the rest of his breakfast in tormented silence.


A few hours later, the four heroes found themselves waiting by the door of the tall tower. The Grand Wizard still hadn't arrived yet, which didn't surprise him- he had made it perfectly clear he wasn't in the mood.

"So what exactly is this again?" Token asked, leaning against the wall. "I heard it was something about magic… I'm actually kinda curious."

"It's the wizard's spell room," Feldspar corrected, staring at the door. His hand was intertwined with the barbarian's as he stared curiously at the door into the tower. Finally, maybe he'd get an idea of what the princess had been up to. She seemed sick this morning… perhaps it had something to do with what was up there.

"Alright, I'm here," called the wizard, finally showing up ten minutes late. "Don't stare, I'm perfectly on time."

"Sure," Jimmy teased, causing the others to laugh.

"EY! Shut your mouth, elf." The king rolled his eyes, frowning. "Just 'cause you're one of the heroes doesn't mean you can talk shit about me."

"Yes, your hi…highness. My apologies." Jimmy didn't look remorseful in the slightest.

With that quickly settled, the wizard opened the door, looking up into the tower. "Alright… be warned, this is a steep trek. You gonna be alright, elf?"

"I'm stronger than I l-look," Jimmy corrected, pushing the king aside as he squeezed into the stairway. He immediately began to climb, making faster time than any of them could have.

"Hey, Jimmy, wait!" Token quickly began to climb after him, darting up the stairwell.

"Guess that leaves us," Tweek sighed, beginning to lead the way. The Grand Wizard followed close behind as they all began to make the long ascent. With each agonizing step, Feldspar began to realize why the princess was always out of breath. Heading up and down the stairs for whatever she was up to must have been exhausting.

Finally, all of them reached the landing at the door to the room. Once everyone was gathered, the Grand Wizard began to speak, sounding incredibly winded.

"This is the room where I work on most of my magic. I keep all my spells and books here, out of reach." He grabbed the handle of the door, swinging it open. "Hey- wait- Kenny? What are you doing up here?"

Everyone rushed to the door, looking inside to find a confused princess standing in the middle of the room. She let out a gasp, looking surprised. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Uncle Eric… I was just seeing if there was anything in here to help with my illness."

The wizard shook his head, softening a little. "Sorry for scaring you… if you needed something, you should ask. It's dangerous to be up here by yourself." He walked over to her, taking her gently by one of her hands. The other seemed to be curled up tightly, as if she were holding something. "Why don't you head downstairs, back to bed? I'll bring you something later."

"Yes, Uncle Eric. Sorry to disturb you." She pulled her hand away, resting it on her forehead woozily. She began to leave the room, hand still balled up tightly and looking even greener than at breakfast.

Feldspar took note, staring at her the whole time as she began to descend. Something wasn't right here…something wasn't right at all.

The wizard reclaimed their attention with a cough. "Sorry about that…silly Kenny, always getting into things she shouldn't. What a funny girl, she is." He looked around the room, seeming troubled. "Hmm… it's been forever since I was up here. It's messier than I remembered." A finger traced along a cauldron, looking rather dirty. "I'll have to clean up after our little tour."

He began to go over each of the magical items and books he possessed, explaining them each in painstaking detail. Token enthusiastically touched and held everything he could get his hands on, commenting how amazing they would be for his medicine and healing. Everyone else just groaned in boredom.

The tour slowly began to wind down as the wizard showed them the last of his items. Before they left, he grabbed a few herbs and threw them into one of the cauldrons, quickly fixing something up for Kenny (to Token's extreme amusement). Finally, the party was escorted back down the stairs into the main hall of the castle. The heroes thanked him for the tour and each went their separate ways, leaving Eric to his business.

As Tweek and Feldspar walked back down the hall, they passed the garden's large, double doors.

"You sure you don't want to tell me?" the barbarian asked, looked at his boyfriend.

"Nothing happened." Feldspar just turned his gaze the other way.


The rest of the day had passed peacefully. Another large dinner was held in the dining hall. Kenny was still resting in her room, haven been given the Grand Wizard's medicines. Clyde had also been sent to bed by Kyle, who insisted he was falling ill as well due his strange behavior.

Back in their room, Feldspar paced the floor, looking troubled. Tweek sat quietly on the bed, trying not to look too worried.

"I don't understand what's wrong, Craig," he said softly, trying to coax him to come lie down. "Why don't you just talk to me?"

"There's nothing to talk about. I'm just…" He quickly thought of a lie. "I'm worried about the ceremony tomorrow."

Tweek grimaced. "Don't remind me of that."

"Sorry." With a sigh, Feldspar walked back to the bed, collapsing on top and crawling closer to the barbarian. "I'm sorry I've been ignoring you…I know you're struggling right now too."

Tweek brought him into a tight embrace, huddling under the sheets. "I promise, it's okay. I think…I think I'm starting to come to terms with it, you know?" Tweek brushed the dark hair from the thief's forehead, kissing it softly. "Being here in the castle has started to help me move on. You were right… Douchebag is gone, and there's nothing to be afraid of. Tomorrow is the ceremony, and although I really don't want to go, we'll get it over with and then we're done, right? All of this will officially be behind us. We can move on from this chapter in our lives and just…" he trailed off, hazel eyes meeting blue. "It'll just be us, okay? No more hero business."

"No more hero business," he echoed, although something in his gut warned him that it was far from over.

"Good. Now, let's get some sleep."

Feldspar whispered his goodnights before curling closer, taking slow, calming breaths. There was absolutely nothing to worry about, nothing at all…

Darkness surrounded him as he drifted, the sight making his heart pound. Here he went again- what would the strange presence say today?

But as he waited in the familiar darkness, nothing happened. Nobody grabbed him, nobody forced him to speak. It was just…silence.

His feet met a solid surface as he stopped floating. Finally, in this strange dream, he could perhaps walk around and escape the blackness. Determined, he began to move, unsure of where he was headed. Far in the distance there finally came a light, prompting him to begin to run. Finally, finally maybe there was escape…

The light got closer and closer until it enveloped him, forcing him to close his eyes in the sudden brightness. When he opened them, he found himself in a familiar garden, surrounded by roses.

"…why?" he asked himself, looking up to the sky. It was still pitch black like the familiar dream world, the void still threatening to envelop him once more. As he stepped along the hard stones of the pathway, he found himself venturing closer and closer to that secret spot the princess had shown him the previous night.

A sound suddenly startled him, causing the thief to dart behind a set of bushes, finding a hiding spot as a shadow loomed closer. He peered out to the path again to see the princess, still looking horribly green, far past the excuse of illness. She had covered herself in a thick cloak, holding tightly to a glass vile full of something equally sickening in color.

He curiously watched her walk along the path, stopping just before the mound of dirt. The flowers they had laid on the grave were still there, petals fluttering in the soft wind. She uncapped the strange container, kissed the glass, and turned it upside down, watching the mixture hit the soft dirt and absorb into the soil.

The ground began to shake as Feldspar reached to grab for anything to hold onto, unable to take his eyes away from the sight before him. The dirt began to part as a hand burst through, clawing its way out from the earth that imprisoned it. Little by little, the figure emerged, the familiar blue hood still pulled tightly around its head.

"Douchebag," the princess said softly, voice cracking as though she were going to cry. The figure outstretched its arms, taking her into them.

"You're looking rather sickly," the hooded figure uttered, his ominous voice filling the entire garden.

"You know why," she hissed, stepping back. "Everyone's worried that something's wrong. I told you, trying to hide this hasn't been easy."

"Then why did you tell that disgusting thief where you put me?" Douchebag snarled, clearly angry. "If you wanted to keep me a secret, you shouldn't have told him."

"I'm…I'm sorry."

"At least you got this part of the job done correctly." He pushed her aside, stretching his arms. "It feels so good to be back… a little empty, but back."

"So…if you're back, then can you tell me what your plan is now?" The princess looked at him pleadingly, almost upset. "You promised, Douchebag, you promised-"

"Patience, I'm getting there." He silenced her with a wave of his hand. The princess fell silent, but looked hurt. The hooded figure stared into the garden as Feldspar tried not to make any noise, feeling faint. No, no, no…this couldn't be real, this couldn't be real! "Do you at least have the rest of the goods?"

"Y-yes, I do," Kenny said softly, reaching into the cloak, pulling out a worn green book. "I stole the recipe from my uncle, and I have a supply I already brewed hiding in the forest outpost where we used to plan."

"Good." Douchebag took a deep breath, suddenly pausing. "Wait."

Feldspar held his breath, heart pounding even faster.

"Someone is here." Douchebag moved forward, tone almost… excited. "Someone's peeping in on our little conversation, isn't he?"

Please, please, please…

"I may have to give him another WARNING." He stopped before a bush across from Feldspar, suddenly reaching out and grabbing something. The shrill, childish screams Feldspar had heard the night before could only belong to one person.

"You little brat." Douchebag pulled Clyde into the open, holding him tightly by the throat. "You couldn't just stay dead like you were supposed to, could you?"

The boy screamed and squirmed, trying to get away.

"Now you dare come to me in your stupid dreams again, you dare spy on me!?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he sobbed, starting to tire and lose steam. "Please, please-"

"Don't you utter a word about this, understand?! If you even breathe a syllable about me, I will not hesitate to come back and murder you again."

With that, he threw Clyde aside, grabbing at his hood. He slowly lowered it, revealing his hundreds of flickering faces. They slowly turned until those terrifying, flashing eyes met Feldspar's.

"That means you too, thief."

Feldspar awoke with a terrified scream, panicking and flailing about.

"Holy fuck, what the hell!?" the barbarian gasped, suddenly awake. "Craig, Craig, stop!"

"He's back! He's back!" he cried, shoving Tweek away. Somewhere at the other end of the castle, he could make out someone else's screams. Without another word, heart pounding, the thief jumped from the bed. He threw open the door to the bedroom and ran down the hall, confused voices calling out behind him. He had to get to Clyde, he had to get to him. Clyde had seen too, they had both seen…it had to be real. He had to check.

Faster than he had ever ran before, Feldspar reached the child king's bedroom, throwing open the door to find Kyle and Eric already there.

"What the hell happened?!" the High Elf cried, eyes wide. Clyde was curled up in the corner of the room, hands holding tight to his throat as he screamed out again and again and again.

Feldspar was hardly able to breathe as he met his eyes, panicked. "Douchebag…Douchebag is back."