Judy and Nick stared at the rabbit, who was male and had three dark lines on each of his cheeks of gray fur. His comrade was an arctic female fox with icy blue eyes. The both of them wore tattered clothing and looked exhausted.
Big explained, "I found them on my way here. They were hiding in the woods as they were on the run from the guards that were on patrol."
Jack spoke up, "We were living in the Gingerbread Village when they began ransacking the place and made arrests."
Skye said, "We managed to make a break for it. I wish we could have saved those mammals from being taken to the castle, but there was too many of them."
Nick noted, "Judging from the clothing you're wearing, I take it life in the village wasn't all that good anyway."
Jack huffed, "Not everyone can afford fancy threads like you, Baron."
Nick crossed his arms, "Ex-Baron."
Skye motioned, "We were working in the mill even before the Mouse King took over. Jack and I are orphans, so we spent our whole life there. We managed to pay our way out, but there are so many other orphans that are forced into servitude that we stuck around to help."
Judy touched her heart in awe. That caused a smile on Jack's face, which Nick took to notice much to his displeasure.
Big proclaimed, "Come, I must tell Captain Bogo of this latest development."
The large cape buffalo gaped, "There's two of them?!"
Big replied on the desk, "That would be correct. Only… one pair is the key to defeating Mortimer while the other pair is mistaken."
Bogo asked, "Well, which pair is which?"
The shrew answered, "That is what the seer was unsure of. I'm afraid at this point, only time will be able to tell us, but I fear there won't be enough of it. As I was traveling to the soothsayer's place, I noticed more of my subjects were taken captive. I was afraid that it was a plot to get my daughter to cooperate with the marriage."
Bogo sadly nodded, "I'm afraid it is, sire. Sir Mchorn managed to send word to me that the Mouse has given your daughter until the end of the week to decide."
The shrew declared, "Then we haven't a moment to lose." He turned to the foxes and rabbits. "Tomorrow, we shall test you on how well each pair works together. The duo that passes will likely be the rabbit and fox that the prophecy spoke of."
Later that night, Fru gave a sigh as she sat on the bottom of her cage; her lady's maid was fast asleep on a straw mattress of the tower. Suddenly, the tower door carefully opened as the Mouse King entered the room by himself and had the cage lowered so he could face the princess.
"Time is running out, Your Highness. You only get one more day to make your decision."
She bitterly replied, "I am well aware of that, thank you very much."
"As each day went by, I had more mammals working in the mines or fields. Some of them won't last for very long, given their age."
"Age?" she questioned in concern.
"Some of them are elderly and the rest are children."
She gasped, "How could you?!"
"Oh, what does it matter to you? Unless… you are willing to change that by becoming queen and setting them free…" He grinned maliciously.
Fru couldn't take it anymore and covered her eyes to release her tears. She couldn't stand by and let children and elders get hurt any further.
I'm sorry, Daddy. I tried giving you more time, but now… For the good of the kingdom, I must do this…
Once she stopped with the tears, she faced the mouse with her head held high as she said, "As long as I have your promise to not hurt anyone anymore and to stop with the arrests, then… I will marry you…" She gave a curtsy.
The mouse smiled in a wicked way, "You have my word. Tomorrow morning, I will announce to the entire Land of Sweets that you shall be my wife. We will have an engagement ball the following night and then, the wedding."
Judy could hardly sleep as she thought about all that had happened earlier that day. She was so thrilled to have beaten the captain in the duel and it made her happy knowing Nick was right there watching, giving her the confidence she needed to win. She was so sure that they could defeat the Mouse King as the prophecy had said, only now… there was another fox and rabbit that could be the ones instead.
Skye said so herself that she and Jack knew each other since they were young, but Nick and Judy only knew each other for a short time. Could they pass the test without that long period of time?
Nick was also having trouble sleeping on the other side of the barracks and slowly got up to go outside. The Rainy Woods covered most of the moonlight, but that didn't bother the fox as he had night vision to see clearly. He leaned against the railing as all thought went to him and Judy. He didn't believe in the prophecy at first, but with each day he spent with her, he slowly thought that they could work together and make the foretelling come true.
But doubt was coming back as this recent occurrence had taken place. This new fox and rabbit duo had known each other for a long time while he had only known Judy for about a week. But so much had happened in that week. He got to know her a lot better and understood her hopes and dreams. But would that be enough? What would happen if they failed the test? The whole reason Judy came in the first place was to help her godfather and save his daughter, but if it turned out she didn't have to, then would she even want to still be friends with him?
That was a question Judy was pondering on that very moment. Nick didn't want to pair up with her in the first place, but as they got to know each other better, it seemed it didn't matter anymore. But will it matter if they failed? They planned on defeating the Mouse King together, but if they were the ones mistaken all along, then would she lose Nick's friendship altogether?
Both Judy and Nick didn't get much sleep for the rest of the night.
"A race?" Skye questioned the next morning shortly after breakfast when she, Jack, Judy, and Nick were called into the strategy room where Big, Bogo, and Clawhauser waited.
Big replied, "Yes. Captain Bogo and I thought long and hard last night and the only way we can test both pairs is a race around Rainy Woods. Whoever returns to the base first is likely the duo that the prophecy spoke about."
Jack asked, "When do you want us to start?"
Bogo stated, "Right now."
Nick yawned, "Shouldn't we at least pack provisions or something?"
Judy with bags under her eyes agreed, "He's right. If we're racing around the woods, it'll take us about the rest of the day to get back here."
Bogo said, "Fine. But make it quick."
They headed to the mess hall as Jack commented to the competition, "Are you sure you two are up to this? You both look tired and could pass out any second."
"We're fine." Nick lied. "Isn't that right, Carrots?"
Judy forced a smile, "Right, no worries here."
Skye gave a glance, "Well… if you're sure… Jack and I don't want to have the upper paw if you two are too drained to do anything."
Nick patted the arctic fox's shoulder, not knowing that Judy was giving a concerned look at the touch. He said to Skye, "That's sweet of you to think so, but we got this." However, he felt unsure.
In moments, Gideon had packed them rations. Once Jack and Skye were out of earshot, he whispered to Judy and Nick, "I hope you two win. Best of luck."
That brought a smile to Judy as she replied, "Thank you, Gideon." She then thought, We're going to need it.
Soon, everyone gathered at the bottom of the base as Bogo explained to the onlookers that each rabbit-and-fox team would race around Rainy Woods and the first pair to come back would be the winners. Finnick and Clawhauser were offering support as Nick and Judy prepared themselves.
Bogo called out, "Racers, are you ready?" The duos gave determined looks as the captain shouted out, "GO!"
They were off and ran straight into the woods, and it seemed that Jack and Skye were in the lead. Judy cursed herself for not getting enough sleep, making her slow.
"What's the hold-up, Carrots?" her partner asked.
"Hold-up? There's no hold-up." she denied as she quickened her pace.
Nick furrowed his brow as he asked, "You wouldn't be thinking of a certain rabbit, would you?"
She looked back in confusion while inquiring, "Certain rabbit? What are you talking about?"
"Yesterday, I notice you were giving Jack the goo-goo eyes."
"What?! No! I wasn't making any goo-goo eyes!" Then she countered, "Are you sure you're not mixing my feelings for your feelings toward Skye?"
He gaped in shock, "What?! Where did that come from?!"
"You patted her shoulder this morning. I can't help but think that it was some kind of love tap."
"Love tap?! That's just nuts, Carrots!"
"Well, you have to admit she is fairly attractive for a vixen, and you are a handsome fox, so…"
His eyes widened, "Whoa, whoa! You think I'm handsome?!"
She felt going warm as she stammered, "Well, um, in a way. Compared to other foxes I've seen, you, well, stand out…" She turned her head away in embarrassment.
Nick was stunned that Judy thought of him as good-looking. Then he asked, "What about Jack? Is he as handsome as rabbits come?"
She looked back with a frown, "I guess he is. I never really noticed." She kept pacing on.
This brought a smile to the fox's lips before wiping it off when she looked back again and started asking, "Why do you-" But suddenly, with a shriek, she fell out of his sight.
"JUDY!" he panicked as he raced to where she fell. To his horror, she was entangled in a huge spider web!