The mouse king paced back and forth. There had to be some way to force that princess to marry him. Big was that much closer to returning to power, especially since he saw him in that bunny's house. He was hoping to conquer more lands, but in order to do that, he needed more allies. He was hoping to recruit the bunnies that owned that land, but Nicholas - the traitorous fox - and Big were already there preventing that from happening.
He went to a window that oversaw the entire Land of Sweets and an evil thought occurred to him. If he could not force the princess's hand, then maybe her subjects could…
He called for his guards and said, "I need you to scour the lands and bring in mammals from all around. Set them to work in the mines and fields until the princess gives her consent to be my wife."
Mchorn was on the verge of lashing out, but remembering the last orders given to him by his captain, he held his tongue and obeyed the little tyrant's command.
Nick and Judy trotted through the snow, but as much as their fur was able to keep them warm, they needed to get out of the cold soon since it was almost dark. The two spent the day either in silence or bickering, given they were forced into this in the first place. The prophecy didn't help as it was just a reminder of why they were together in the snow right now.
But luckily, a manor came into view and Nick declared, "There it is!" He rushed ahead as two wolf guards guarded the entrance. They glared at the fox, but their faces softened when he said, "Tell Lord and Lady Otterton that Nicholas is here."
A white wolf went inside, and when he came back, he permitted the fox in. Judy tried to follow after, but the wolves blocked her path. She called to the fox, "Uh, Nick?"
He looked back, took in the scene, and stood there.
She glared, thinking, He's going to leave me out here, isn't he?
But he surprised her when he said, "The rabbit's with me, boys. Let her pass."
Her eyes widened in amazement. Once the wolves moved aside, she went up to the fox, "For a second there, I thought you were going to leave me out in the cold."
He smirked, "The thought crossed my mind, but it would have meant big repercussions later if Big ever found out."
"Ah," was all she said as she thought, Of course he was only doing it to save his tail from Godfather's wrath… He doesn't care about me.
But at the same time, Nick secretly thought, As tempting as it was to leave her out there, I couldn't do it. She's a cute bunny, after all, and wouldn't last a night out in this cold. And as much as I fear Big for what he might have done to me, the thought of her of being dead and frozen in the snow is worst…
When they walked into the warm foyer, two otters dressed in regal clothing came down to greet them.
Lord Emmitt and his wife had lived in the manor with their two young children, who were currently getting ready for bed as their parents went down to greet their guests.
"Big told us that you were arriving with company, Nicholas." said Emmitt.
"She's hardly company. Big told me I was forced to work with her."
Judy grumbled, "Same here."
Lady Otterton went up to the rabbit and held her paws, "What is your name, dear?"
"Judy Hopps." she smiled at the kind otter.
"Well, you are just chilled to the bone, Judy. Come, I shall have the servants serve you up some hot soup and tea and then we'll get you to a nice warm bed for the night."
"Thank you, ma'am." She was then led away by the otter.
Once the girls were out of sight, Nick questioned, "Where is the base? Big told me it had to be moved again."
"About a day's journey through the Rainy Woods."
"Great…"
"Why did Big tell you that you have to work with a rabbit? What's going on?"
Nick sighed and ran his hand over his face before telling the otter, "Apparently, there's some kind of prophecy that says: Predator and prey alone are they when ancient grudges set them apart, but not for those who have the same heart…"
Meanwhile, Judy was finished telling Lady Otterton about why she was stuck with Nick and was now telling about the prophecy her godfather told her about. She said the last sentence, "…A fox and rabbit may seem wrong, but united, they'll stand strong."
"That's amazing…" Lady Otterton uttered, "And Big believes that the fox and rabbit are you two?"
"Yes. He gave his reasons, but I think he's mistaken. Nicholas and I hate each other, so we could never work together to fulfill the prophecy."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that. I know Nicholas may seem mean, but give it time and you'll be surprised how kind he really can be…"
"That's what Uncle Big said…"
The lady smiled, "He's a wise king, but he can also have a temper. Lots of mammals may seem what you see them as, but they can have this whole other side to them you never knew about. Take my Emmitt, for example. When we first met, I thought of him as this shy otter until he recited me poetry and gave me exotic flowers. He was very romantic, but he also had this daring side to him. So you see, never judge someone right away."
Judy thought it over and hoped that the otter was right.
Emmitt had shown Nick his guest room after he told him about the prophecy, Big's plan, and his own personal doubts of how it could work.
"So you believe this bunny and you aren't what the prophecy spoke about?"
"She would never like me for what I am…"
"A fox?"
"What else?"
"How much do you know about this bunny?"
"Her name, where she lives, and that she has a smart mouth, that's it."
"Then how can you know for certain that the prophecy won't work? She might actually come to like you."
"How?"
"By spending time with each other."
He scoffed, "Please. We can hardly stand to look at each other, let alone stay in the same room together."
"What other choice do you have? Big wouldn't have resorted to this if he didn't believe it could work."
"Well, he's wrong. Personally, I think he's losing sanity because he's lost his kingdom and daughter."
"And yet you want him back on the throne."
"He'll find some other way to return to power, so as long as it doesn't involve me, I could care less."
The otter could only shake his head, knowing the fox was just hiding his true feelings.
When Lord and Lady Otterton were getting ready for bed, they went over what Nick and Judy told them.
"The prophecy calls for them to work together, but I can't help but think there's more to it than that," said Lady Otterton.
Emmitt said, "And they both think that the prophecy won't come true."
"Oh, Emmitt, just the fact that they both think alike tells me that they could get along if they would only try."
Emmitt chuckled, "If they were a couple that would guarantee that they could work together and fulfill the prophecy."
She gasped, "Emmitt, that's it! They need to fall in love!"
"What?!"
She recited the foretelling, "Predator and prey alone are they when ancient grudges set them apart, but not for those who have the same heart… A fox and rabbit may seem wrong, but united, they'll stand strong."
"But how can you tell that means they need to fall in love?"
"Because we are of the same heart, Emmitt. We love each other so much that we are united and we stand strong together. That is what needs to happen to Nicholas and Judy. Not even a day and already we know that they were meant for each other. Big chose them because he knew them, so he must have figured that they were a perfect match even before they met."
Emmitt pondered on this before his eyes widened in realization, "You're right, my dear, but now the question is how do they fall in love?"
"That's very simple. We'll keep them here for a few days so they can talk and get to know each other better and then we'll send them on their way."
"But how do we keep them here? Nicholas will want to go to the Rainy Woods to find the base."
"You just leave it to me…"
The next morning, Judy had woken up to find new, fresh clothes on her bed. It wasn't like the nightdress she wore last night when she arrived at the manor. Instead, the clothing was a tunic and leggings. Judy was grateful for such practical clothing, given she was in a strange land and she had no idea what they were going to encounter. A dress would have been too hard to wear.
Once she had changed, she went down to the dining hall where Lord and Lady Otterton were already up with their two children.
"Ah, Judy, good morning." said Lady Otterton.
"Good morning to you, too. And who are these sweeties?"
Emmitt gestured, "Our children, John and Michael."
"Hello." they both said.
Judy smiled, "It's nice to meet you, too."
Suddenly, a yawn came and she turned to see Nick was wearing a simple green tunic and pants compared to the uniform he wore last night. This attire made him more ruggedly handsome. Then she shook her head for thinking such things, unaware that when Nick saw her in her outfit, he was impressed by how much curvier she was, but reminding himself that he wanted nothing to do with her, no matter how good-looking she was.
"Did you two sleep well?" Lady Otterton asked.
They gave their answer at the same time, "Yes/No."
Emmitt asked, "Come again?"
Judy spoke first, "Yes, I did sleep well. The bed was very comfortable."
"Well, lucky for you…" the fox muttered. "I had it pretty rough last night and getting up this morning wasn't easy. Then again, foxes don't sleep well at night anyway because we prefer to sleep in the day. Mind if I go back to bed?"
"And miss breakfast?" questioned Lady Otterton. "As long as you are up, you might as well stay and eat."
Nick took a seat that was across from Judy, and the two avoided eye contact as much as they could as breakfast was being served to them.
"It snowed pretty hard last night, didn't it, dear?" Lady Otterton addressed her husband.
"It certainly did. I don't think it would be wise to travel until the snow has melted a little."
That got Nick's attention as he said, "Oh, come on! You mean I have to be stuck with this…" He caught himself, knowing there were children listening, "…this… bunny longer?!"
Judy frowned and replied, "I'm not exactly jumping for joy here, either."
John turned to his mother, "Mama, can we go ice-skating later?"
"Of course, sweetie, but you'll have to have a chaperone with you."
Michael looked at Judy, "What about you, Miss Judy?"
Judy questioned, "Me?" Then she beamed, "If you really want me, I can be your chaperone." As she thought, Anything to avoid Nick since he obviously can't stand being near me. Might as well stay away as much as possible.
John asked, "Do you know how to ice-skate, Miss Judy?"
She smiled at the young otter, "I do."
Nick let out a snicker.
She glared back at him, "What?"
"You? Ice-skating? I find that hard to believe."
"I'll have you know that my family and I skate every winter! I'm not saying I'm spectacular, but at least I can stay up and not fall down once!"
He gave an amused smirk, "I would love to see that. I bet you can't stay up for more than an hour!"
"I can and I will! In fact, I'll stay up for two hours!"
"You're on." he held out his paw and they firmly shook on it.