It couldn't be, Craig told himself again. Not that asshole. Anyone but him.

"I've been w-waiting for you," his coy smirk grew.

"What did you just call him?" Tweek asked.

"Oh did he not tell you?" he laughed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tweek replied. He turned to Craig. "Do you know who he is?"

"No," Craig said, "No no no no no. This isn't happening. I don't accept this."

"Aw, c-c'mon now. Don't be like that," he joked, "Why don't you take a s-seat before your food gets c-c-cold?"

"Who is he?" Tweek asked again, voice more concerned.

"Who is he?" Craig practically let out a single laugh, "He's a fucking shitty ass spy is what he is!" He turned towards him, "You know Red is dead, right? Remember her? That girl whose tavern you were hanging around in? She was fucking murdered because of you!"

His coy smile faded. "No," he shook his head, "Red was captured because of the Wizard."

"No, because you got her involved in your bullshit!" Craig found his hands balling into fists, trying his best to refrain from going over punching that smug bard directly in the face, "She was always sticking her nose into other peoples' business, always looking for a fun story, and you took advantage of that! You got her involved in something she should have never been a part of and if you didn't she'd be-she'd still be…" he found himself unable to finish.

"There's a lot you c-c-clearly don't know," Jimmy sighed in a still serious tone, "Please, s-sit down."

Craig didn't want to sit, but the doors behind them suddenly slammed shut. It was clear he wasn't going anywhere, so he reluctantly sat in one of the chairs, Tweek following suit immediately after.

"Who is Red?" Tweek asked.

"She's-She was just some girl I knew in Kupa," Craig answered in a low voice, "An innkeeper's daughter who ran the pub. She was annoying and nosey, but…" his voice suddenly grew louder, "this person here was a spy who snuck into Kupa City and tricked her into housing him. Which, you should know, got her killed. I saw it."

"Like I s-s-said, that's not true."

"And why exactly should I believe a word you say?"

"W-Well, would you look at who you're s-s-sitting next to?" he shrugged, gesturing towards Tweek.

"What?" Tweek asked.

He grinned at Tweek, "When I first met him, I told him you Barbarians were as nice as can be. He, on the other hand, acted like I was crazy. Said you guys were barely human, I do recall."

Tweek frowned. "He did seem to be under that impression when we first met, yes," he admitted, "But he doesn't...He doesn't think that way anymore."

"Did he even tell you his real name?"

Tweek didn't respond, merely looking to Craig, clearly unsure of how he should respond.

"Where the hell did you learn that name?" Craig demanded.

"You'd be s-surprised."

"Well, whatever. I don't even care," Craig found his heart pounding in his chest, "Regardless, I'm sure you know this is a...a very sensitive mission I'm on. I don't have any fucking clue what your weird game plan is or where you heard that name-that I did tell Tweek by the way-but regardless, you are not going to fucking ruin all that I'm working for by bringing up my old identity."

Jimmy started laughing hysterically.

"Do you think that's fucking funny?" Craig found his face turning hot with anger, "Lives are on the line here!"

"Everyone here knows your r-real name, Craig."

"I didn't turn Red into a t-tr-traitor," he explained, "She had been a spy. For years."

"You're lying," Craig said again.

"I'm afraid I'm n-n-not."

"You're lying," Craig said for a third time, "I have no idea what sort of fucked up mental game you are trying to play, but it stops now. There's no way in hell she was a spy, and especially not one that would...I'm not anyone. I'm a fucking thief. Okay, maybe I was from a serf village, but hell that makes me even more of a nobody."

"Do you really think that?"

"I don't understand," Tweek shook his head, "Yes, Craig told me about his life as a serf, and how he ran away. But I-from all accounts, he's telling the truth. He was just a normal boy in a poor village who happened to be lucky enough to escape. Why would you know his real name?"

Jimmy let out a laugh. A disgusting, nauseous feeling grew in the pit of Craig's stomach.

"Get us outta here," he stood up, voice shaky.

Tweek's expression grew worried. "Craig-"

"I can't deal with this right now," he cut him off, "Get me the fuck out of here. I don't care where. Lock me in the fucking dungeon if that's what you want. I don't care. I just don't want to see your face or hear any of this right now."

"I was warned you wouldn't take this well," he sighed, "Alr-r-right, we'll let you go on your way for now. But you're still going to have an important things to do later on today."

"Like hell I will!"

"I don't believe you have a say in the matter."

As promised, they were finally let go. Craig was too sick to his stomach to eat any of the breakfast, though Tweek insisted on taking some with them for later, insisting quietly that he would eventually get hungry. Craig himself didn't care if he starved to death as long as he got to be away from all of these assholes.

Unfortunately, however, he quickly found that being "let go" didn't mean that they were without supervision, as they found a familiar face standing there waiting arms crossed in the middle of the wide hallway.

"Goddammit," Craig groaned, "Not you."

"Hey, I didn't ask to get a babysitting job, either," Stan frowned, "But after that temper tantrum, we can't just let you roam free, even with your prince friend here."

"Aren't you the king's right hand man?" Craig asked, "Why are you assigned to what's considered a babysitting job?"

"Don't play dumb."

Craig didn't respond. He didn't know if he should take Jimmy's vague words to heart. He had no idea how much they actually knew about him. It would be better for him to presume they knew as little as possible.

"Where are you taking us?" Tweek asked.

"The king thought it would be nice to give you a nice walk around our kingdom," Stan answered, "Or whatever."

"Can't you just lock me in the dungeon?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"Why not? I'm literally asking."

"I told you, king's orders."

"Even if I do something illegal?" Craig asked, "I can cause a big scene here and now."

"Stop it!" Tweek scolded him.

"I'm serious," he shrugged. Tweek groaned in disapproval.

"Just come on," Stan sighed. They walked down the long hallway towards the grand entryway until finally he led them out of the entrance of the castle, into the city's cool morning.

It was a nice day, he had to admit. The autumn breeze felt nice after the stuffy feeling of being forced to share breathing space with that bard. A very odd breeze, too. Though he couldn't figure out why.

Still, it didn't really calm him down. How could he expect to? He was in the middle of enemy land, unsure of how much they knew, what they were going to do to him. Perhaps he shouldn't have acted impulsively and listened to what Jimmy knew about him, as now he would be forced to wait wondering. He could ask Stan. Yet he knew even if he wanted to, the words wouldn't come.

A gust of breeze blew again, blowing with an almost sing-songy sound. It felt as though it wrapped itself around him, hugging him. It truly was odd. Though he quickly dismissed it. He was just on edge, was all.

"Where specifically are we going?" Tweek asked suddenly.

"You'll see," Stan shrugged.

Tweek bit his lip and asked something in High Elven. Stan paused to think for a moment and said one word Craig did understand. "Zjur." The High Elvish word for "no". Tweek merely nodded his head in understanding and followed along.

They walked down the grand front yard of the palace towards the city streets. There wasn't a very large gap between them. The people of the High Elven Kingdom were already up and out for the day as they passed through the main street going down from the castle. The citizens wandered the magical torch-lined streets minding their own business buying things from local stands along the street and chattering away in their sing-songy language. Some would pause and stare upon seeing the three humans pass by, but otherwise they seemed generally unconcerned.

"This is our main market square," Stan gestured towards the surroundings in his bored, fake guide voice.

"You're really doing this?" Craig asked.

"I told you, I was told to show you around the kingdom."

"Yeah but like-"

"A lot of our commerce happens here," Stan completely ignored him, "Not just local goods-we also have things from all over Zaron. Though maybe not much from most of the human kingdoms. You know how things are."

"I don't care."

"Some diplomat you are," Stan snorted under his breath. Craig scowled, but otherwise ignored him.

He took them down the busy street, weaving them in between the elves making their way. Despite what Stan said about there being other humans, he hadn't seen any others, only the three of them. Four if Jimmy was to be included.

The elven city seemed to have more in common with Neunbruck than Kupa. Although the architecture was more sculpted and pristine compared to the very wood reliant Neunbruck, both were incredibly well maintained and organized. Both were clean. Both had people who seemed far...happier.

Tweek greeted a few of the local elves passing by in Elvish because of course he would. They'd always look at him strangely for a few moments before nodding politely and responding something simple back.

"You're not like most Barbarians, are you?" Stan commented after he did this.

"That's what I always said!" Craig frowned.

"Well," Tweek shrugged, "If he's not going to be a good 'diplomat' then maybe I should be." Stan gave a small amused smile and chuckled slightly under his breath.

And so the little 'tour' went on. Stan kept guiding them along, always keeping them in sight, especially when it got crowded with people. He took them down some side streets, though gradually he gave up putting up some act to explain everything to them. Craig noticed that the side streets Stan kept choosing to continue on weren't random-he was taking them somewhere specific.

It became more obvious as they began to go to sparcer and sparcer areas. Of course, it made sense-he was their guide showing them around. Still, there was a very odd feeling in Craig that only grew larger and larger. One that he couldn't really explain.

The wind blew again, a gust of breeze once more wrapping itself around Craig.

They were heading down a quite empty street that seemed to be at the very edge of the built up city. If they continued down, they would be going into open land.

"Where are we going?" Tweek asked.

Stan paused, turning around. Interestingly, he didn't look at Tweek, but at Craig. "You'll see," he simply said before turning back around.

"This is weird," Craig grumbled under his breath, but continued on. Tweek nodded in agreement, out of Stan's line of vision.

Before long, they reached the end of the buildings, leaving the paved road for the soft mossy natural ground-not unlike that of the rest of the elven forest, although without the trees.

It was actually quite a wide open space. Moss and flowers grew, but trees were noticeably absent. It almost reminded him of Kupa's plains, but he had to admit to himself that this was far more beautiful. Even the sky seemed to be bluer somehow.

Yet from the distance, however, he could see among the beautiful landscape an imperfection in the moss. A large black gash in the ground, like a wound. Stan was leading them right for it, making Craig wonder if this was the specific reason he was bringing them all the way out there. The uneasy feeling grew more and more as they got closer and closer.

"Have you ever heard about the Great Elven Tree?" Stan asked, as they approached the edge of the scorched ground. It was round and incredibly long in diameter, with black lines snaking from it, almost like roots had once been there.

Tweek opened his mouth to speak. "Ye-"

"Sorry, not you," Stan cut him off, "Him." He pointed directly to Craig.

"I don't think so," Craig shook his head.

"It was an incredibly powerful tree. One said to have-"

"Wait, I have!" Craig cut him off, "A long time ago. Something about how it had all the power in Zaron or something."

"Good," Stan nodded, "Then you probably knew that it had been destroyed a long time ago."

"Well yeah," Craig gestured to the pitch black ground, "Sure seems to be."

"Anything else you know?" Stan narrowed his eyes.

"Well," Craig thought about how he should respond, "Actually...there is a legend about it that made its way around Kupa. That a stick from it managed to not be destroyed. That said stick, coming from this powerful tree is said to be-"

"Incredibly powerful," Stan cut him off, "Yeah. It is. The most powerful thing in all of Zaron. Can break the laws of magic. All of that."

"So it's real, I guess? Amazing," Craig feigned ignorance. Stan frowned.

"It's an honor to be in the presence of where it once stood," Tweek pondered, "Even though we Barbarians reject magic it's still fascinating. Something once so large and so powerful...gone."

"But how does that make you feel?" an unfamiliar voice asked from behind them, causing Craig to jump slightly. He turned around to see who it was.

Before him stood an elf he had never seen before. He was tall for an elf-being what was about average human male height. Yet the large pointy ears peeking out from impossibly thick, curly red hair gave it away. Upon the top of his head of red hair was what appeared to be a wooden crown made of hardened vines, intricately woven together to form what almost appeared to be a halo with bright green leaves as vibrant as emerald still on it.

He wore long robes that trailed behind him as he approached that were blatantly High Elven in design. It was a burnt red color and intricately woven from what must be impossibly expensive fabrics, complete with deep golden thread work that patterned it without flaw. Craig would have been more surprised if he had found out that the thread wasn't woven from real gold.

He had seen his fair share of fancy clothes and nobles who dressed themselves up, but he had never seen anything quite like this. Those clothing, that crown-even if only made of mere vines-made the clothing he had seen on nobility day after day in Kupa look like rags. Not to mention the way he carried himself-far more graceful than the heavy steps he'd see the Wizard stop around with.

"Your highness," Stan called out suddenly. He dropped to one knee in front of him, crossing a single arm over his chest.

The elf smiled kindly towards him. "Stan, you know you don't have to address me like that all the way out here," he said in his elegant elven accent.

"Why not?" Stan looked up from his formal positioning, "After all, we have these people here."

"Just stand up," he laughed, reaching out a hand towards Stan.

"Fine," Stan gave a knowing smirk, allowing the elf to help pull him up. He brushed off his knees and turned to Tweek and Craig. "This is your Highness, the King-"

"Figured that out myself," Craig cut him off, "You're the High Elf King Kyle, right?"

The king blinked. "R-Right," he confirmed, taken aback by Craig's bluntness, "And your partner there is Barbarian Prince Tweek of the Lost Forest, correct?"

"Correct, your Highness," Tweek bowed formally.

"We weren't expecting you, but it's nice to finally meet you," Kyle bowed back to him, "Hopefully this change of plans will end up being for the better."

"Change of plans?" Tweek asked.

"Like I said, and like I know Stan had said to you before. We weren't expecting you."

"I'm sorry if this is an inconvenient intrusion."

"No, not at all!" Kyle shook his head, red curls bouncing as he did so, "It isn't your fault, it's just weird that I-we didn't see it coming. But you know how it is. Things rarely go as planned."

"I'd say I do," Tweek nodded with a small smile.

"You on the other hand," he pointed accusatorily to Craig, his expression suddenly annoyed, "I've been waiting for for a long time."

"C'mon, it hasn't taken me that long to get here," Craig frowned, "I mean part of it was because of the whole time getting fucked over in the Lost Forest. Not to mention going over snowy mountains is hard and-"

"Not that, before then," Kyle cut him off, "Long before then."

"I don't get what you-"

"Craig of House Tucker, we've been waiting for you for a long, long time."

The blood drained from his face. "Listen, I don't know what the hell that shitty ass bard told you, but he's a liar. He got my frien-a girl I knew killed. He doesn't actually know anything. He just likes making trouble."

Kyle rolled his eyes as he slowly walked closer to him.

Craig continued. "I'm just some normal guy on a mission. I'm not anyone, okay? Your human pet Stan there said as much-he even called me a kid, even though I'm pretty sure we're all the same age. Tweek here is a prince and all, but I'm just an unlucky one who got the short end of the stick to do this for the Wizard. Which, I'm sure you know is a good thing, getting peace and all. But I'm not-"

"Open your mouth," the king ordered as he stopped right in front of Craig.

"Excuse me?"

"Open your mouth," he repeated.

"No!" he scowled, "Why would I-?"

With an annoyed groan, Kyle rolled his eyes once more and reached his hands directly for Craig's face. Before he could even flinch, he felt the elf's two hands pry open his mouth. He tried to clamp his teeth shut tight, but before he could, the elf got his fingers around his tongue and pulled it out, nails digging into it so he couldn't pull away.

It was then he realized what he was doing. A sense of panic swept through his entire body in an instant.

"See?" he pointed at the bottom of his tongue with his free hand, "Did you know he was magic, Tweek?"

"Wh-What?" Tweek's eyes grew wide. Kyle let Craig free.

"That mark, you saw it, right?" Kyle asked, "It was put on him to conceal his magic when he was a kid."

"I-"

"So he didn't tell you," Kyle sighed, "I guess that's fair enough. I was surprised to hear he actually told you his real name."

"You're full of shit," Craig found his heart pounding in his chest, "S-So what if I used to have magic? I don't use it. I'm still just a nobody. None of this is relevant. I'm just here for a mission."

"Sure you are," he smirked, "But not for the one you're trying to insist you are."

"And what does that mean?"

"You have a mission all right," Stan rolled his eyes, "To steal the Stick of Truth to save to your friend Clyde."

The pounding in Craig's chest stopped. "What did you just say?"

"We know all about it, Craig," Kyle explained, "How stupid do you think we are?"

"Craig, what are they talking about?" Tweek asked slowly and carefully.

"Th-They're full of shit," Craig shook his head, "Don't listen to them."

"Is that what you meant by-?"

"Don't worry about it for now, Tweek," Kyle said in a reassuring voice, "Besides, we're running late."

"Late?" Craig asked.

"There's someone who has been waiting for you."

The walk back to the city was incredibly awkward. It was mostly in silence, though elves who noticed the King would frequently bow out of respect. Tweek didn't so much as look at him. He didn't seem angry just...hurt? Maybe? It was incredibly hard for Craig to tell.

Still, that was far from being Craig's biggest concern at the moment.

They knew.

They knew everything.

It didn't make sense. Craig of Sundorham was by all accounts dead. There were no records of him to be found. He had assumed a new name, Feldspar, and lived with it for all these years. Even if they did know it was him, how did they know about his magic?

How did they know about Clyde? How did they know what they were planning on doing?

Still, the panic subsided and grew into a more uncomfortable anxiety. If they knew, even with Tweek, why did they allow him to sleep at the palace? Those were serious crimes he was attempting, by all accounts they should have executed him immediately. Not this.

No, they didn't know everything. They couldn't. They knew about the Wizard's plan. Not Craig's real one. Not Clyde. They didn't know anything about that. Being manipulated by the Wizard was one thing, but if they knew his plans with the Dark Kingdom, there was no way they'd treat him like this.

Craig was only half aware that they were not heading directly to the palace. Rather, they began heading towards another tall building, one with spires that wrapped around and a large balcony that attached across the sky to other likewise impossibly tall buildings.

The elven guards formally greeted King Kyle as he allowed the small party. Almost immediately there was a large staircase.

"We'll all wait here," Kyle announced, "Craig will go alone."

"Why alone?" he asked, "Is this some trap?"

"It isn't," he assured him, "It's just best for you to go alone, I think."

"Al-Alright," he nodded. He still didn't like nor trust this, but he didn't really have a choice in the matter. With a deep breath and trying to ignore looking at Tweek at all, he took a deep breath and began to head up the long staircase.

It was probably a little taller than the tower he climbed to get to Princess Kenny. He never understood why they'd make towers so tall, they were only ever a pain to get up. If someone wanted to meet him so badly, why didn't they just come down? Why make him go up? It was annoying. Why didn't they tell him who it was? Was it because they knew if he knew it was someone boring, he'd never do it? That asshole elf king probably stayed behind because he didn't want to climb the stairs himself.

Still, albeit legs growing sore, he finally did manage to make it to the top. After catching his breath slightly, he swung open the door at the top of the tower, instantly feeling the strongest gust of wind yet. He sure hoped this balcony was stable. With a sigh, he stepped out, looking to see who was waiting for him.

It was a girl. She had her back faced towards him as she leaned on the side, looking off into the distance. She had a goregeous High Elven light blue dress on that swept to the floor. It was simple, yet very clearly of the highest quality. Her red hair swept back into an intricate braided bun pinned to the back of her head with jeweled hairpins.

"Hello?" Craig called out. The girl jumped, clearly having not heard him open the door. Slowly, she straightened and turned around, slowly making her face visible.

Not a girl, but a young woman. One with clear skin, dazzling blue eyes, and-

No. No no no no no. It couldn't be.

"Hello Craig," she smiled softly, "Long time no see."

"No," he shook his head, "No. This isn't real. This isn't possible."

"Well, obviously it is," she laughed an all too familiar laugh that caused all the heat in Craig's body to fade away, replaced by a cold tingling feeling.

"This is a trick," he shook his head, feeling dampness form into his eyes, "The cruelest fucking trick anyone has ever done."

"It's not a trick," she chuckled, "It's really me."

"ButI was there! I saw-I saw...You're dead!"

With a sad smile she held out her hands and took off one of her silk white gloves and placed it in a pocket in her dress. Slowly, she walked over to a lit torch and stopped, reaching her hand up to a magical blue flame.

"Hey don't-"

Before he could finish, she stuck her right hand into the flame. A The edge of her sleeve instantly descentigrated away, charring to the floor. After a few moments, she pulled her hand away and lightly tapped the remaining cinders on her clothes with her free hand. But more importantly, she walked back over to Craig, right hand reaching out to him. Instinctually, he reached out to touch it.

It was completely unscathed. It wasn't even warm to the touch.

"Back then," she smiled, "You didn't even know what you did."

"What are you saying?" he said through a cracked voice, shaking his head slowly from disbelief. His entire body felt like it was trembling, and he could barely even see her through the wetness in his eyes.

"All those years ago," she reached her hand up to his face, thumb lightly brushing away a tear that had begun to run down his face, "You made me fireproof."

He couldn't hold it back anymore. He couldn't help but feel like a river was rushing down his face from his eyes. Nor could he control himself as he wrapped his arms around her into an uncomfortably tight hug, sobbing into her shoulder. He could hear her laugh lovingly as she gently placed her hands on his back.

"Patricia."