FRIDAY 6 AM

The coronation wasn't until later in the day, but by no means was Danny free. Briar dragged him out of bed at too-early-o'clock and together they went to the throne room. Danny felt chilled, looking at the chair at the back of the room. Clockwork's time mirror and its visage remained burned in his head. But he couldn't get cold feet now.

Clockwork, as though hearing Danny's thoughts about him, showed up a moment after they entered the room. Dorathea came blazing in not long after. She couldn't stay long as she had much else to do, so they needed to speed-run this thing. Briar and Dora (mostly Briar) drilled Danny on the proper procedures.

They ran through the whole event at least 6 times, having to work around last-minute preparations as they did. People ran here and there, though were largely careful to stay out of Danny's way. And definitely didn't impede Clockwork. Speaking of Clockwork, they seemed more disinterested than normal. They had a far off look in their eyes for the entire session.

Danny learned last minute that he was expected to make a short speech, something that sent spikes of anxiety right straight through him.

"That's something Ghostwriter was supposed to cover." Dora said, looking troubled. Yeah… Danny seemed to have a penchant for getting Andrew off-topic. Makes sense he would've missed a few things.

Clockwork finally showed interest when Danny said he didn't know he had to make a speech. Like he'd been waiting for it, almost.

"Think about what you want to represent." Clockwork advised.

"You're a leader. What do you want for the people you need to lead." It should have been a question, but Clockwork posed it as a statement. What did Danny want to do as a King? He'd been so wrapped up in himself that he hadn't even stopped to consider how this would affect other people. He was helping the Ghost Zone, he knew that. It needed him to function, or it'd just keep dissolving. But what about the ghosts- people, who live here?

"I couldn't have put it better myself." Dora replied, seemingly pleased.

"It should come from the core. It's a promise, one that can't be broken easily." Dora emphasized the importance. Danny suddenly wished he'd had more than just a few hours of warning.

"Like it actually, physically can't be broken, or it's just really serious?" Danny asked.

"Is it a ghost thing?" He added. Dora cringed.

"It is a ghost thing." She relented.

"Why don't we get back to practice? You can think it over in the meanwhile. Your fidgeting needs work."

With that, they were back on track. They ran through the ceremony another handful of times. Danny could feel Clockwork's eyes on him half the time (even though they had no pupils to reveal where, exactly, they were looking).

Danny couldn't help but wonder what Clockwork was thinking, and if they were having the same thought about the ideas bouncing around in Danny's head. After all, they weren't entirely omniscient. As far as Danny knew, exactly.

FRIDAY 9 AM

After all was said and done in regards to practice, Danny was rushed through a quick lunch and then back to his room to get ready. Danny declined having any maids help him get ready. Dora tried to insist, but Danny reminded her that that wasn't really a thing in the present day, so she reluctantly gave up. Sam and Tucker were elsewhere, he wasn't sure exactly where they could be but they weren't in his room. They were probably getting ready, themselves. Or maybe they were still asleep. He wouldn't blame them.

Regardless; Danny prepared for the biggest moment in his half-life. Alone.

Or at least, he thought so.

When Danny entered his closet, Sam was there. She was still in what had become her 'typical' wear. She sat in the small lounge chair within the closet and was doing something on her phone. She looked up when Danny opened the door.

"What- why are you here?" Danny asked, not unkindly. He looked for a moment but didn't see Tucker.

"I wanted to give you something before… the thing." Sam danced around the topic. Fair enough, Danny didn't really want to call it out either.

Sam took some things from her pocket. She held them out for Danny to see.

"They're rubber band bracelets. I grabbed my old loom from middle school on a whim when I was packing." Sure enough that's what they were. They were just the simple kind, with one strand. One of the bracelets was yellow, while the other was purple.

Sam showed her own wrists, which had a neon green and a yellow.

Green, yellow, purple. Danny, Tucker, and Sam.

"I already gave Tucker his, purple and green. So we each have each other's colors." Sam explained. Danny almost started to tear up.

"So it's kinda like we each have a piece of eachother, even if we aren't togeth-" Sam was cut off by Danny wrapping her up in a hug. She relaxed into it after only a moment, reaching a hand up to card it through his hair.

Sam was warm. Her breaths were soft, but Danny could hear her heart beating slightly faster than normal. She made no attempt to break the contact. Now, the tears did fall from Danny's eyes.

"Danny," She said quietly.

"I'm here. Whatever you need, I'm right here."