A/N: I'm developing a ficmix for this story. I'm adding songs as I write and find them, feel free to review with a song you think would fit.

http: / / www. playlist. Com / playlist / 22008360715 (without spaces)

The forest just outside Hattania was thick and full of shadows. The occasional rustling in the brush was just as likely a harmless bird as a murderous ogre. It put everyone on edge, especially Sir Castle and Joshua- they weren't as used to this as the others in their party were, with all their Dragon-fighting experience.

At one point, there came a louder tromping very near them that not even Esposito could ignore. "What was that?" said Castle, nervous.

"Relax," said Princess Kate. "It's probably just-" A man dressed in red and yellow stumbled onto the path in front of them with a jingle of bells. "A drunk jester," she finished. The jester swayed, and collapsed to the ground looking miserable. They stood at a silent impasse.

"Can we just step over him?" whispered O'Ryan after a moment. Kate sighed and dismounted Serenity, weaving through the ferns at the edge of the path towards the man on the ground. She didn't look up as Castle hopped down to follow her.

"Excuse me?" said Kate, leaning down. "Are you okay?"

"You called me drunk," he said. "I'm not drunk, I'm sad."

"So…" said Castle, "not okay."

"Seven years I entertained people in that castle, and king just kicked me out like… like I wasn't the kind of person you don't kick out," said the jester.

"I didn't ask," shrugged Kate, offering a hand to help him up. He didn't take it. "Look, I'm trying to get to Hattania, it'd be nice if you could get up."

"Name's Random," he said, seemingly oblivious to what she was saying. "Given name, didn't even change it. It's like I was born to be a jester, and they just throw me away."

"Alright…" said Kate, uncertain as to how she should proceed. Obviously, he didn't want their help. "Well, I'm going to go… you should try not to get eaten." He made no sign that he heard her. She looked at Castle and shrugged, then they both got back at Serenity and went around Random, continuing their journey.

The disgruntled comedian wasn't the only encounter they came across in the woods. They also met a red-headed sprite named Lex, a female Genie that Sir Castle had been married to once upon a time, and a glamorous sorceress called Margaret. The most troublesome to run into, however, was the troll guarding the drawbridge that spanned the chasm between the forest and the cliffs of Hattania.

His name was Mutter, and while he didn't seem too intimidating or even malevolent, he was bitter, annoying, and altogether grumpy. He would not let down the bridge for them, no matter how much they asked.

Kate sighed and started digging in her bag until she found her tiara, and shoved it onto her head. "Lower the bridge," she commanded. "By order of the Beckett royal family." Mutter glared at her for a second and then, grumbling, lowered the bridge. "Alright, let's go," said Kate. She, Joshua, Sir Castle, Esposito, and O'Ryan crossed the bridge and entered the land of the dragons, and the home of the monster that had killed Queen Johanna.

Beckett twitched in her sleep. Castle and Josh leaned forward in almost synchronization, hands flying outward as if they could help her. Her eyelids jerked, and then she settled down again. After a minute, the two men returned to their seats.

"Probably dreaming," said Josh.

"That's good, right?" said Castle. "Dreaming means mental activity… means…" He didn't want to finish his sentence.

"Yeah," said Josh, but he didn't sound convinced. With a sigh, he ran his hands over his face and through his hair, like he was trying to peel away this awful situation. "I hate being a doctor," he said. Castle stared at him, surprised. "I hate that I know and understand exactly what's going on, that I'm in the know. I know that 10 percent of coma patients never wake up, I know that her nervous system isn't responding to stimuli, I know that if it doesn't get better she'll need assisted breathing…" He clenched his fists, unclenched them.

Castle was shocked. All this time he'd been wishing to understand exactly what was going on, but now he realized that Josh's medical schooling might be more a curse than a blessing, at least when it came to sitting by Kate's bedside. Castle said nothing- he really didn't know what to say.

"I want ignorance," admitted Josh. "I want the sugarcoating, and I want to believe it. I want to believe that everything will get better instead of knowing… that it won't."

"Faith," answered Castle. "The facts don't matter if you have faith."

Josh glanced up at him, a bitter smile on his lips. "I'm an atheist."

"I didn't mean faith in God," said Castle. "Not necessarily. Just faith. It's like in that movie we watched- 'I don't care what you believe, just believe,'" he quoted. He looked down at Kate. She was pale and still, and yet, there was still something in her expression, some kind of air of defiance, of strength. An essence that she carried even in a coma. "Believe in her."

"I do," said Josh. "I believe in her. I just hope that it's enough."