"So you're from that new family, huh?" Craig asked.
"Um, I guess so," the boy said. He was young. Probably about Craig's own age but stockier and, healthier compared to his own malnourished self. The boy's brown hair was messy, but it was shiny. He wore a red shirt, unlike the usual dull brown sack cloth that was all that could be afforded by most of the people of Sundorham.
"You don't seem like the rest of us," he commented, "I don't get why someone like you join our village."
The boy looked confused, scared even. Too much so to answer.
"I mean if you don't want to talk and fit in that's your problem, new kid," Craig shrugged and turned back around to his own place.
"I'm Clyde," the boy suddenly called out, trying to stop Craig from leaving.
"I didn't ask who you were," Craig turned around, "I asked why you're here."
"Why are you here?" the boy questioned back.
"I was born here, obviously," Craig raised an eyebrow, amazed by how seemingly empty headed the other boy was. "Most of us are born here and don't have a choice. Not that it's any of your business, but my mom's an exception. She came here because she liked my dad or whatever. She had a reason. What's yours?"
"Um," the boy thought, "I guess because my mom died. My dad wanted us to have a safe, steady life or something."
"That's dumb."
"How's it dumb?" Clyde scrunched his face offendedly, "Who are you to say I don't belong here?"
"Chill out," Craig rolled his eyes, "I didn't say you don't belong here."
"You said our reasons were dumb."
"That's different," Craig shrugged.
"You seem like you don't like me being here," Clyde frowned.
"Nah, it's a small village, hating you would just cause trouble," Craig explained, "And there aren't really other boys our age, so I should probably get to know you. You should learn to not offended by everything I say when I'm just trying to ask you stuff."
The other boy's face lit up, "Does that mean you wanna be friends?"
"I haven't decided yet. If you don't annoy me too much, maybe."
"Oh thank god!" the boy's face instantly became flooded with tears of joy, "I was afraid I was going to be all alone here."
"I said maybe."
"You promised!" the crying girl grabbed his cloak where it wrapped around his neck. Her grip was so tight that it choked him.
"Bebe, you know that I-"
"Feldspar, don't even give me that shit," she rushed forward, grip still tight on him pushing him until he fell backwards. Her grip tight, she fell with him and pinned him down as she landed on top of him.
"Bebe," Craig let out weakly, using his elbows to try and support himself on the dirt road of the alleyway.
"You promised you'd protect him," she sobbed, tears running flowing from her blue eyes. Her face, usually pale and blemishless was bright red from all the sobbing.
"Bebe, how do you think I feel right now?" Craig found himself yelling, "You think I didn't want to protect Clyde? You think this isn't-" He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.
"How do you think I feel?" she yelled back, pulling him up by his cloak, putting a lot of strain on his neck, "Two people I care about. Gone."
"I'm sorry."
Craig couldn't remember the last time he apologized for anything. But that didn't matter to him. A wave of guilt and melancholy flooded him.
Bebe loosened her grip. She continued to sob into his chest.
"I'm sorry, Bebe," he felt his voice crack, "I'm so, so, so sorry."
He sat still as he let her sob into his chest for a good amount of time. He wasn't sure how long. It felt as if all time had stopped anyway.
Craig didn't return to his apartment until it was already dark. He didn't really want to go back. He hoped a lightning bolt would strike the place down so he would never even be able to go back. At least if it was dark, he wouldn't have to look at it as closely.
Still, he did. He walked up the same unstable stairs and opened the same shoddy door. It was a full moon, so it was far more lit than he had hoped. He wouldn't be able to get any sleep with his mind like this. He sighed, reaching for a candle for him to light on the middle table. In a small one-room place like this, a single candle illuminated it all too well. Clyde's side of the room was still just as he had left it the previous morning. One of his spare shirts was draped over his bed. It was red. Ever since they were children, he always liked wearing red.
Both of them were naturally messy people. Craig was the one who usually ended up cleaning, but it wasn't in his nature to do so.
He wasn't sure if cleaning up the mess Clyde had made would make him feel better or worse. Should he go through Clyde's things? Should he leave them just as he left them? Clyde didn't really like Craig going through his things, after all. To be fair, Craig felt the same about the reverse.
Craig decided against it, at least for now. He instead decided to sit at their table. Not to eat anything. He didn't think he could physically hold down food at the moment.
It was as he sat down that he noticed a speck of green poking out from under Clyde's blanket that had been half tossed on the floor. Craig stood up and picked it up. It was the stupid hat Clyde had gotten for him that he rejected.
Craig took off his own blue hat and tried it on, looking in their dull mirror. It looked absolutely ridiculous on him. It made the corner of his mouth twitch into a smile. As dumb as the hat was, he decided he would keep it. Never to wear it, but hold onto it.
Craig did a back flop onto his bed.
"What are we gonna do Clyde?" Craig asked.
The room remained silent.
"C'mon dude, I know you can't still be pissed at me," Craig continued, "We gotta figure this shit out."
"I dunno, I've been kinda always looking to you for the plans."
"Yeah well, what if it doesn't work out?" Craig's voice unexpectedly cracked.
"Wait, are you saying you're doubting your own plan?"
"What if you were right?" Craig squeezed his eyes shut, feeling wetness leak out of his eyelids, "What if I don't know what the fuck I'm doing?"
"Craig, you're like the only person in this world I trust completely. More than Bebe, more than anyone. We're in this together."
Craig's chest hurt, and his pounding chest made it feel like he had just run a marathon. It hurt. Everything hurt. He couldn't breathe.
"I can't do this Clyde."
Craig had never felt so alone. It was a crushing feeling. Like the negative space of the entire world was pushing down on him from all sides.
"Feldspar, open up!" was what Craig awoke to the next morning. He hadn't remembered falling asleep. His head hurt as if he were hungover, but he hadn't drinken anything the night before.
"Bebe?" he asked with an involuntary yawn.
"Hurry the hell up already!" she pounded the door harder. He sat up, rubbing his eyes worn out eyes. His body felt stiff from his unnatural sleeping position so he stretched himself before he stood up.
He tried to intentionally divert his gaze away from Clyde's side of the room. His gaze drifted to it for a split second, but he quickly snapped his head away and bit his lip.
He started to open the door slowly but Bebe swung it open and pushed right past him, making her way into his home. She had a forcefulness that completely disregarded him, like she had a plan.
Not only that, but Craig noticed that she was dressed differently than normal. She wore a red dress, which wasn't odd as red was her favorite color like Clyde, but it was much more simple and less intricate than what she normally wore. Yet despite that, the materials looked heavier, like they were far more expensive. Her long golden hair that she usually had down with frilly, intricate braids and headbands was now tied back in a single simple, yet elegant braided bun.
She was clearly dressed for formalities. Dressed to impress someone.
"We don't have time," she announced, "Get ready."
"What are you talking about?" Craig asked, ruffling his fingers through his messy bedhead.
"We're going to talk to the princess."
"The princess?" Craig asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We're going to ask her to pardon Red and Clyde."
"Isn't Red already-" Craig found himself trailing off. Red's execution was scheduled for yesterday afternoon. It made his heart sink more than he thought it would.
"I don't know," Bebe bit her lip, "But you'd think if they did, she'd likely have a public execution. But there hasn't been one. So maybe…"
"Wait, hold up a second," Craig brought himself back to reality as he grabbed his hat that fell on the floor as he slept, "Even if she's not, you can't just get an audience with Princess Kenny like nothing."
"Yes I can."
"No you can't," Craig scoffed as he fitted the hat on his head. He didn't really care that the unwashed floor dirtied his hat.
"Yes I can," she frowned, sitting at the table defiantly.
"Bebe, pretending she's not royalty for a moment, have you seen the princess around the city lately?" he sat back down on his bed, "Has anyone seen her? Especially since the Grand Wizard pretty much forced Princess Karen to get into some strategical marriage on the other side of Zaron."
"She loves Karen," Bebe looked down at her hands solemnly, "And she was far too young to get married. But the Wizard-"
"See that's the thing!" Craig found himself standing back up, "The Wizard is the one with all the power. He keeps Princess Kenny all locked away and out of sight so he can be the one to be king. Why do you think despite her age she's still only a princess?"
"As a kid Princess Kenny always said she preferred the sound of that to Quee-"
"Bebe, she's a grown ass woman now."
"Listen, I know," Bebe bit her lip again and furrowed her pretty brows, "But Kenny was a good friend of mine. The Princess, Wendy, Red, and I were all friends growing up and..."
"Then why doesn't Wendy do something? She is some high and mighty knight."
"You know she doesn't have that power or else she would," Bebe glared at him for the insinuation, "But the Crown Princess under Kupa Kingdom laws does. Kenny must still remember all our times with Red, she wouldn't just sit back and let the Wizard...Anyway, she must value me enough to help with Clyde-"
"Okay, say she does want to help us," Craig walked over to Bebe, "Say she can. How do you plan on getting an audience with her under the Grand Wizard's nose? He's the only one who sees her."
"That's not true," Bebe smiled, "There's one other person who we can get to her through."
"Okay, who?"
"Her paladin."
"I can't believe you're going to see the princess of all of Kupa wearing that," Bebe groaned at him as they headed towards the castle.
"This is what I always wear," Craig looked down at his outfit. He wore his normal mousey brown tunic shirt, brown cape that had the edges ripped from his altercation at the baker's, and recently stitched up black pants. He had his utility strap around his torso and the weapon he stole from the knight attached to his hip, just in case.
"That's what I mean," Bebe rolled her eyes. Craig scoffed. He even had new boots and red gloves that weren't cheap-if he actually paid for them, that is. Which he didn't.
"Does it really matter? I don't think the princess will refuse to help us out because she doesn't like my outfit."
"Well then, you've clearly never met her."
"Sounds like I'll hate her already."
"I actually think you'll like her," Bebe trailed off, "She's a very...nontraditional princess."
"Like Shelly Marsh?"
"Hell no," Bebe laughed, a surprising sound coming from someone so solemn that day, "She's very. Well, free spirited I guess. She didn't care about any of the rules of being a lady or a princess, but not like Shelly. Kenny wanted to dance around, drink with the men, and flirt with all of them too. She likes frilly princess things like taking care of her garden and her pet unicorn, but she also doesn't mind getting dirty and cussing like a sailor. Behind her pretty looks, she's actually really scrappy. Not to mention probably the best archer in the kingdom."
Craig blinked. All the imagery of the Princess Kenny was of a poised, proper, and extremely beautiful young lady.
"People aren't always how they appear, I guess."
Bebe looked back at Craig and gave another judgeful look at his clothes. "Seriously, you do always appear like you don't give a fuck. Like what's this ugly cheap rock around your neck." She examined him closely, reaching for his pendant, "You should really get something better-"
"Don't touch that!" Craig smacked her hand away with more force than intended.
"Wow geez," she retracted her hand with a glare, "I didn't know it was important to you."
"It's none of your business."
Bebe sighed and continued walking in silence. The mood fell once more, grimly reminding Craig of the reason they were on this trek in the first place.
"I'm glad you're willing to stick your neck out to try and help Clyde," he finally let out, "I guess I underestimated you."
"I love him, you know."
It was then they reached the base of the castle. Technically, the entirety of the city was surrounded by walls and, by extension, the castle itself. However, at the far end of the city laid the distinct castle structure made up of the tallest, widest, and most intricate towers. It was where the Royal Family lived. Once upon a time the family was large and expansive. Now, of course, Princess Kenny was the only member.
Naturally, the Grand Wizard took up most of it. It was here that Clyde had to work the few days he lasted with him. It was here that Clyde would have been banished.
"Who are you?" a knight guarding the entrance asked as they approached the front gate.
"I am Bebe of House Stevens and this is my friend Feldspar," Bebe curtseyed. She kicked Craig under her dress to give him the hint to bow. He didn't want to, but he complied.
"State your purpose," the knight demanded. Craig could tell that the tall, foreboding knight was a total no-nonsense woman. Not the type who would be of much help.
"We wish to speak to the Paladin Leopold Stotch," Bebe said in an uncharacteristically diplomatic voice.
"For what purpose?" the knight eyed her.
"Personal business," Bebe explained.
"He's busy," she responded curty. Craig opened his mouth to object, but Bebe elbowed him.
"Well, he might be upset if he knew you didn't tell him that I came by," Bebe cut Craig off, "The princess might be upset to. We go wayy back you see."
The knight scowled, but she slowly turned towards the entrance. "Wait here," she ordered.
"Is there something I should expect?" Craig whispered to Bebe as she disappeared.
"Nah, not with Butters," Bebe let out a strange grunt-laugh.
"Who is he exactly?" he asked. He didn't really care about his personal details, but given that two lives were on the line, he figured he should have a basic background.
"He's a Paladin. Basically, like, Princess Kenny's personal knight and bodyguard. He's been that since they were little kids. He's not really some strong, brave knight who you'd expect for the title of Paladin or whatever, but Princess Kenny likes him and thinks he's cute, so he's always stayed. Not to mention he's very easily manipulable, something that puts him in favor of the Grand Wizard."
"Couldn't that mean he would side with whatever the Wizard said?"
"Nah, he's pretty universally manipulable. Not just with the Wizard."
Craig didn't know how to take that information, instead silently waiting for the few minutes before the knight returned.
"Oh gosh, hello Bebe!" the paladin emerged with the knight, "It's been an awful long time since I've seen you around here. Why don't-Why don't you all come in?"
"Hey Butters," Bebe said in a tone Craig couldn't read. She grabbed Craig by the arm and followed him into the entryway of the castle.
The paladin-Butters-was a relatively short, meek looking man with puffy yellow hair. He had a teal and green outfit on that looked to be a uniform, but was one Craig had never seen before. He could only guess that given what Bebe said about him being one of only two people who had regular contact with the princess that he must be important. Yet as he tripped over his words with Bebe as the two caught up, he found that hard to imagine.
The interior of the castle was far grander than any of the noble towers he had been in. It was decorated with grand art from all over the world, portraits of the McCormick dynasty for hundreds of years, with an alarming amount of art featuring the Grand Wizard.
But Craig didn't have time to care about those things. He was there for a reason.
"We need to speak to your princess. Immediately," Craig blurted out. Bebe glared at him.
"Oh gosh," Butters looked alarmed, "I'm not sure that's a real good idea."
"What do you mean?" Craig asked, "We need to see her. It's important."
"Well, you see, the princess hasn't really been seeing anyone lately-"
"Not even me?" Bebe asked, "We were such good friends, you know."
"Oh hamburgers," Butters stopped in his track, his face extremely full of concern, "I really shouldn't be saying anything. I-I'll get in a whole mess of trouble."
"Butters, are you being serious right now?" Bebe looked him dead in the eye, clearly completely done with his attitude, "One of my best fucking friends and the love of my life have been fucked over by the Grand Wizard and the only person who can help us out is my good, dear friend Princess Kenny."
"Oh boy," Butters bit his lip.
"Butters, I'm not playing," Bebe's voice cracked, and tears started forming around her eyes, "This is our only hope. Their only hope. You can't...You have to take us to her."
Butters stood still for a moment, nervously fondling his cape. He thought long and hard silently before he spoke.
"Alright fine," Butters finally said in the boldest tone of voice Craig had heard him use, "But don't come crying to me if you, um, don't like what happens."
The paladin's warning words sent a deep concern through the pit of Craig's stomach.
"Thank you," Bebe smiled slightly, wiping her tears with her wrist. Craig didn't get how she seemed so relieved.
Something about this didn't feel right to him.
"Okay, then uh, follow me," Butters said, signaling for the two to follow him down a new direction. He guided them not towards the grand staircase in the center of the grand, lavishly decorated ballroom that presumably led to the designated royal family's personal chambers. No, instead Butters led them down a hallway that was far less lit or decorated. He opened a regular wooden door containing a dark spiral staircase going up a tower.
"This way," Butters announced, about to ascend the stairs.
"Why is Princess Kenny up there?" Bebe asked puzzled.
"We're going to her lady's chambers."
"That's not where her bedroom is!" Bebe stepped back, "Her room was always the big one above the ballroom. She liked it because it had a view of both the garden and the stables."
"Yes, well, you see, His Excellency the Grand Wizard decided that it would be, uh, better if she took a room up in this tower," Butters stammered.
"But this is where servants always lived!" Bebe argued, her face growing in shock.
"Yes, well the Wizard-"
"Butters, cut the shit," Bebe cut him off.
"God, who cares? I really don't give a shit what sorta princessy room she lives in, I just wanna see her," Craig rolled his eyes. Bebe groaned but conceded.
"Right! So this way," Butters nervously scratched his neck as he trekked up the stairs.
Bebe looked more worried (as Craig thought she should) but she followed the paladin, carefully lifting her skirt to not trip on the dusty, worn stairs. Craig sighed and followed behind her, careful to not step on her skirt and trip both of them.
The stairs seemed to go on forever. Unlike the towers owned by the nobles such as the Marshes, there were no rooms in between, only a narrow cylinder of a tower seemingly completely covered by infinite stairs.
"Are we almost there?" Craig called out to Butters, who was quite a few meters above him. In his defense, it was due to being behind Bebe who was taking her good time with her flowy dress.
"Just a little more," he responded.
After what felt like forever, eventually the three reached a plain, wooden door a the top of the tower. Butters cleared his throat and knocked three times.
"Uh, Princess. It's me...Butters," he called, nervousness in his voice, "Bebe and her friend are here to see you."
There was no response. Butters audibly gulped and slowly pushed open the door anyway.
When the door opened revealing the room, Craig was instantly overwhelmed. It was not at all the classy and elegant sort of royal, princess room he expected. It was also not some dark dungeon sort of place he also feared the Wizard locked her up in. Instead, it looked like the princess's unicorn puked rainbows and pink shit all over it.
It was very pink and purple. The walls, the ceiling, everything. It was covered in tacky artwork with rainbows and unicorns. The bed was in the center, big and covered in blankets in various shades of pink, littered with stuffed animals. The whole room was littered with dolls and stuffed animals.
The princess was sitting on the floor, on top of a purple rug, facing away from them. Her long golden hair was tied into two ponytails on either side, with a silky white ribbon intricately braided into each, and a solid gold tiara placed on top of her head. Her gown was white and purple, made of what looked like the most expensive silk in Zaron.
"Princess Kenny!" Bebe called for her friend excitedly, "It's been so long!"
The princess continued to sit still without turning towards them. The oddness of it gave Craig chills.
"Kenny?" Bebe asked again, walking towards her sitting friend, more cautiously. Slowly, she reached out one of her arms to touch her on the shoulder.
Butters stepped forward, "I wouldn't if I were-"
As soon as Bebe's hand landed on the princess's shoulder, her head snapped around, looking directly at Bebe.
Craig was taken aback, he probably would have knocked himself over, had a wall not been directly behind him. This was wrong. This was very, very wrong. His jaw dropped, forcing himself to instantly close it.
The princess's skin was green. Her eyes, which were always famous for being the most delicate and beautiful shade of baby blue were completely grayed over and bloodshot. This wasn't normal. Something was physically very wrong with her.
Her expression was not of one excited to see her long lost friend.
Immediately, Princess Kenny stood up, her expression twisted and inhuman. She bared her teeth, unnaturally sharp and looked as though she was about to lunge for Bebe's throat!
"NO!" Butters screamed, ramming himself into the princess, knocking her down. The princess's long and flowy skirt, not at all fitting of her current demeanor, flew up as the two fell to the ground.
"C'mon Princess, don't do this," Butters pleaded, "You remember Bebe, don't you? She's your-our friend!"
For some reason, Princess Kenny's expression was softer towards Butters. Clearly, Butters had no fear of her, knowing she wouldn't hurt him. Still, she didn't answer him.
"You remember Red, right Princess?" Butters asked, "That's why Bebe's here. She wants you to save Red."
She still didn't respond. She only looked at Butters blankly.
"They're gonna kill Red, Kenny," Butters told her in a gentle yet serious voice, "Only you can pardon her."
"This is a waste of time. This isn't going to go anywhere," Craig announced. He hadn't expected the to princess have turned into some green goblin or zombie or something. Because honestly, given his luck lately, the ridiculousness of it hadn't surprised him as much as it should have.
Slowly he looked to Bebe. Tears were streaming down her face.
"Who did this to you?" she asked through her sobs.
"We think someone tried to poison her," Butters said, still on top of the princess, "Or cursed her. But she didn't die. Instead she turned into…"
"Did you get whoever did it?" Craig asked.
"No," Butters let his head fall, "We have no leads. She won't talk. I'm the only person she doesn't outwardly try to attack."
"Even the Wizard?" he added. He noticed the word "wizard" triggered something in the princess, causing her to shake violently and resist against Butters.
"She tries to attack the Wiz-him more than anyone. Sometimes the closest she gets to words I could swear she's trying to say his name. Whenever he so much as enters the palace, even though she's far away, she loses it. He ordered us to lock her away up here."
"Well then it's obvious then," Craig said in as casual of a voice as he could, sitting down on the princess's bed, despite feeling as if a rock had been dropped into his stomach, "It explains how both the Queen and King died of mysterious illnesses suddenly only a couple years apart. It explains why he convinced Princess Kenny to completely banish Prince Kevin despite her being perfectly content with him living in the castle the rest of his days. It explains why he demanded Princess Karen get married to a prince in the opposite side of Zaron when she was only 14 years old. The Wizard attempted to murder Princess Kenny but for whatever reason she's unable to die. He wants to get rid of the entire House of McCormick so that he can claim the throne for himself."
Princess Kenny didn't shake violently like she had before. Instead, she narrowed her eyes at Craig, almost as if knowingly. It was enough to confirm the theory to him. Bebe continued to sob, her head turned away from the princess.
"So she won't be able to help us with Clyde or Red," Craig added, his blood turning ice cold. Butters opened his mouth to speak but then simply closed it, hanging his head.
"I'm sorry, Feldspar, this was a mistake," Bebe swallowed, wiping her eyes with her wrists.
"It's fine, I-"
"SHH!" Butters suddenly jerked. The princess's anger also raised.
"What?" Craig stood up.
"Oh boy, oh geez," Butters bit his lip anxiously.
"What?!" Craig demanded.
"Oh boy, the Wizard is coming here."
"How do you know that?" Bebe asked.
Butters pointed to his headband with the red stone in the middle. It was now brightly aglow, getting brighter and brighter every moment. Likewise, the princess got more and more manic.
"It's enchanted," he explained, "The Wizard had it set so it glows the closer he is to me so I know to not embarrass him when he sees me. And oh boy is he going to be furious when he finds out I brought you two here!"
"Then let's get the fuck out of here!" Craig straightened up, reaching for Bebe.
"He's already coming up the stairs."
"Then the window!" Craig was good at scaling buildings like this. Sure, Bebe would be a struggle, but it was worth a try.
"Even if you did manage to scale it, people would see you."
"Then we'll fucking hide!" Craig grabbed Bebe by the arm and looked around the room. He was a good hider from his line of work. Under the bed were already trunks and all sorts of things that wouldn't fit them and they both wouldn't fit in the dresser with all of the princess's floofy dresses. Eventually, he notice an especially large pile of dolls and stuffed animals against one corner, and pulled Bebe towards it, carefully fully covering both of them with it. There were small cracks in between that allowed the two to see out.
The princess made more and more grunts, resisting against Butters. She was very forceful, but it was clear she made an effort not to hurt him.
Finally he arrived.
Craig already knew he was absolutely nothing like the narcissistic statues and artwork made of him. Unlike artistic depictions that had him buff and tall, he was a very overweight man of probably average height, if he were to be generous. Craig wondered if his tall pointy blue hat was to compensate for that. He didn't carry himself in a dignified way that all other royals did, but instead had big, heavy steps. Two fully armored knights stood behind him, blocking the door.
"Butters, what the hell are you doing? I asked you to guard the south gate."
"Well uh, sir, I-"
"Butters, why are you so lame and never listen to me? Stand up!"
The princess was violently shaking under Butters, trying to go for the Wizard. Butters gulped, "Um, sir, I don't know if that's a good ide-"
"Butters, goddammit, I said stand!"
Gradually, Butters let go of Princess Kenny, sliding off of her. Carefully, he stood up.
Immediately after, the princess lunged teeth first at the Wizard. Without missing a beat, he raised the brown staff he had been carrying and shot out a white light, immediately freezing her in her place.
"I heard Bebe and some random other nobody tried to see you today," the Wizard lowered his staff and safely walked right past the incapacitated princess, "What did they want?"
"Um, well they wanted to see me and-"
"I swear to god Butters, you better not fucking lie to me or so help me."
"Uhh, well, they wanted to see Princess Kenny, sir," Butters nervously scratched his neck.
"And what for?"
"Uhh, I sent them away, obviously. I told them she couldn't be bothered."
"Butters, seriously? I didn't ask that. I asked why they wanted to see her," the Wizard facepalmed in frustration.
"Oh uh...um," Butters stammered, "Uh, I think something about Red. I mean, Rebecca Skeeter. Umm, they were hoping she would help her or something…I think."
The Wizard smiled, signalining to his knights. "You mean her?"
The knights turned, with a third, previously unseen knight behind them pushing forth a familiar red-haired girl, dropping to the ground a little before Princess Kenny.
Red was still wearing her usual tavern dress, but it was dirty and tattered now. Her red hair was also messy, clearly having not been washed or brushed for days. Her mouth was gagged and her hands were tied behind her back. Most frighteningly, her face and all other visible skin were littered with bruises and cuts. She had been tortured. Bebe cupped her hands over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming. Although the princess was incapable of moving under the Wizard's spell, Craig could almost swear he could see her twitching.
Yet despite what she had clearly been through, Red sat herself up and kept her chin up high, her eyes glaring defiantly. The Wizard took off her gag. Red immediately spat at him, causing him to hit her in the head with his staff. She hit the floor hard, but immediately forced herself back up into the sitting position. It was clear she hadn't been broken.
"You've always been a bitch, Red," the Wizard scowled, wiping the spit off of his burgundy cloak with irritation. Red's nose was bleeding from what looked like a very painful blow, but she still managed to smile defiantly.
"How's the zombie life treating you," Red asked the incapacitated princess. The Wizard hit her again.
"W-Why did you do this to her?" Butters asked. Craig looked over to him. He wasn't a tall man, but he somehow looked even shorter. Meak, weak, unable to know what he should do, what he could do. Craig just hoped that his supposed easily manipulated demeanor wouldn't cause him to betray Bebe and him.
"Because she's a fucking traitor, Butters. She was helping the fucking elves. She has been all along, and even helped get a fucking spy through our city walls." Red closed her eyes saying nothing, keeping her expression blank and unreadable.
"W-Why did you bring her here?" Butters continued, forcing himself to not look at the tattered girl and instead at the Wizard, "You know this'll upset Princess Ke-"
"This lying traitor was her friend. Why was Kenny friends with some lowly tavern bitch anyway? There's some really fucking shady shit going on in my kingdom lately. The elves are fucking sneaky assholes already stole my fucking stick and now want to compromise my kingdom with their shitty spies. I need to fucking know how deep this goes."
Craig felt his stomach fall. The Wizard referred to a "stick".
"You know the Princess can't-"
"I don't believe for one fucking minute that she knows nothing. I really think she's trying to be sneaky and just pretending to be some mindless zombie. I want my fucking Stick of Truth back!"
Craig was going to be sick.
Red's gaze looked sad, as she stared at the princess. Craig didn't like to be overly empathetic towards other people's problems, as it only complicated things. Yet, he could only imagine how he would feel if Clyde had this done to him. He found himself inhaling deeply.
"This has nothing to do with her," Red spoke for the first time, still looking at the princess. Her voice was dry and cracked from dehydration, but not at all weak.
"Why should I believe anything you say, traitor? Of course you would want to defend her."
"I'm sorry the Wizard did this to you Princess," Red said, ignoring the Wizard's words, "I'm sorry we let him to you. I wish we-I could have protected you."
"That's it, you don't get to live another minute, traitor," the Wizard announced, pointing his staff to her head.
Red took a deep breath, accepting this. She slowly looked around the room, the last place she knew she was going to see.
Her eyes stopped just where Craig and Bebe were hiding. Craig was barely visible through the cracks, but her eyes widened with shock as hers met his. Then they narrowed, and she gave a knowing smile to him.
It was the exact same knowing look Jimmy had given to him back at the Marsh's place.
A moment later, the Wizard cast another bright light from his staff, killing her instantly.
Craig had to practically dive to cup Bebe's mouth with his hands to prevent her from screaming. He could feel his hands getting soaked by her tears. It was a miracle that he was able to do this without knocking down their hiding space, revealing them.
After Red fell to the floor limply, the Wizard angrily signaled his three knights and Butters to leave, the five descending back down the tower. As soon as the door slammed behind them, Princess Kenny's spell broke, limply falling to the floor. Bebe instantly pushed off all the stuffed toys and ran to her fallen friend. Craig wished she hadn't done that, in case the others could still hear, but he followed out.
The Princess was asleep, he noticed. Probably some charm. It made Craig realize that the Wizard could have done that all along for his safety. The sick asshole wanted to make sure the princess was awake and watching everything while he was there. He wanted her to see her friend Red die.
He knew the Wizard was a sick man, but he never knew just how far it went.
"Rebecca, please," Bebe sobbed to her, cupping her friend's head in her arms as she sobbed. Of course her pleas would be for not.
"I'm sorry," Craig told her. This was the second instance he was giving an apology in the past couple days.
Red wasn't his priority when he set out today. She wasn't exactly a friend, he often considered her a nuisance. She always put her nose in other people's business, which made him irritated. She always had to know everything. She always had to speak about the outside world, of happy faraway kingdoms with magic and wonder, bullshit that Craig didn't want to hear. Of course she would fall victim to the ways of some out of town spy. She probably did know he was one and did knowingly take him in.. She probably thought it was some cool adventure, like she would probably be a part of something, even if it meant siding with the elves.
Still, he didn't want her to die. He didn't hate her. Despite everything, despite his contrarian outlook, he always went back to her tavern. He always struck up a conversation with her. He never wanted to admit to himself why, but deep down he always knew.
She reminded him so much of his sister that it hurt.
"What are we going to do?" Bebe sobbed to him.
Craig sat back down on the bed, trying to clear his head. His thoughts felt like they were going a million miles a minute. He closed his eyes to try and focus.
Through the mess of everything, two things were abundantly clear to him.
First, he wouldn't be surprised if part of the reason why the Wizard killed Red in this way was because he knew they wanted Princess Kenny to pardon her. Red and her were friends. It was intentionally cruel, crueler than a public execution. Even if she wasn't the way she was now, she never could have helped them.
The Wizard was not the type of person who would help free Clyde.
Second, he nauseously recalled the Wizard talking about a stick that was stolen. He didn't want to believe that it was real. He had spent his entire life in denial that it could be, brushing it off as some silly fairytale. Official stories always said it was fake.
Yet he couldn't imagine a reason for the Wizard to say such a thing unless it was.
This meant that the Elven Kingdom that brutally murdered all of his family, his entire town, had the most powerful object in all of Zaron.
He wasn't sure which of those two facts sickened him more.
There was very little he could do about the faraway High Elf Kingdom having the Stick of Truth. As much as it sickened him, he needed to push that out of his priority list. He mentally crossed that out.
Clyde had to be his priority. He should think through his options with that.
He wasn't going to be able to save Clyde. At least not with the Wizard as he was. The Princess couldn't be of any help even if she was cured. She would only be able to be of help if the Wizard was gone.
He opened his eyes. That could be it. It was crazy, but suddenly as the rage built up inside of him, he felt like it was the only thing he wanted to do.
"Well, Feldspar?" Bebe managed through her tears.
"I'm going to kill the Grand Wizard."