The cellar was dark and damp and it was hard for Judy to see. She wished in that moment she had Nick's night vision. But remembering what he said to her, she had to press forward. Hopefully because she was delivering information about the secret passages, that would convince Nick that he could still be a hero for the resistance…just not in the way he thought.
Luckily, she was able to spot a torch and lit it.
"This way," said Duke as he touched a panel on the wall and a passage came into view.
"Where does the passage go?" she asked.
"To the throne room." he led the way.
As they walked on, she noticed two small holes shining light coming from the wall and investigated by looking through the holes. Little did she know she was peeking through eye-holes that were attached to a portrait of Princess Fru-Fru. They were looking out to a hallway where a certain rhino guard was standing guard.
"Come on!" Duke called back in a near-whisper.
She step away from the eye-holes and followed after the weasel.
Nick carried the soup bowl to the barracks to find Judy, but she wasn't there. Then he tried the training hall and the infirmary, but she wasn't there either. With his concern growing more, he went to the strategy room where Bogo and Big were going over plans.
"Big, have you seen Judy?"
The shrew furrowed his brow, "I thought she was with you."
"No, and she's not anywhere on the base!"
Big rubbed his chin, "That is most concerning. I pray that she'll be back soon."
Sooner, I hope… Nick thought.
Duke pushed a small wall forward that was actually the back of a bookcase. But he didn't push it all the way out, given they heard voices coming from the throne room. Judy peeked in to see the mouse sitting on a tiny throne with a shrew in pretty clothing next to him looking unhappy.
The mouse said to the female black sheep that was holding many colored fabrics.
"We shall have orange and green for the wedding colors and my suit shall be made of the same colors."
The sheep replied, "At once, Your Majesty." She bowed and left the room.
The mouse turned to the princess, "Are you looking forward to the ball, dearest?"
Fru crossed her arms, "As a matter of fact, I am not. I'm only doing this so you can stop hurting my subjects."
Judy held a paw over her heart and admired the princess's sacrifice of her own happiness for that of her people's.
"You always did have a soft heart, my dear. But don't worry. You'll come to love me."
Fru turned away from him and said, "I would like to go back to my tower now."
The mouse sighed, "Very well, dear. Guard!"
McHorn entered and took the princess into his hand. Once they left, Judy and Duke shut the bookcase.
"Is there a passage to the tower?"
"There is, but it'll be hard to get to. Why?"
"Now that I've seen the princess, maybe I can help her escape from here and then there would be no reason for Godfather to hold back and Jack and Skye could defeat the Mouse King!"
"That's… brilliant!" Duke proclaimed.
"So which way do we go?"
Duke smirked as he gestured her to follow.
They climbed up a stairway, and just as Judy thought they would never make it, Duke came to a wall and pressed on a panel. It opened and Judy went in to see an empty tower room with nothing but a spinning wheel in the middle.
"Where's the princess?" she questioned.
Duke shrugged.
Judy was about to leave when the spindle started glowing green, causing her to be mesmerized by it. She slowly lifted her paw toward the needle…
Nick was pacing back and forth. Something was wrong, he just knew it. He stood by the railing as he kept watch for Judy. He didn't know why, but he had a terrible feeling in his gut like someone stabbed him with a sword. He kept on pacing, hoping the feeling was merely indigestion.
Mortimer examined the bunny that had collapsed to the floor. He turned to the weasel, "Well done, my spy. With Miss Hopps out of the way, the chances of her and Nicholas bringing about my defeat will be none."
"But what about the other rabbit and fox?"
"Oh, I got a special spell just for them…" The mouse struck his scepter, "Which is why I'm having the ball. I knew Big wouldn't have been able to resist trying to save his daughter before it was too late, so when they begin the attack tomorrow, I will have finally captured the last of the rebels and Big himself! From there, no one would dare challenge me again and I will finally be the rightful ruler of the Land of Sweets!"
"So, um, what are we going to do about the bunny?" he pointed to the unconscious Judy.
"Don't worry. A simple teleportation spell shall bring her back as a warning to all who go against me." He waved his scepter and Judy disappeared.
Nick decided he couldn't wait anymore and went down to the ground to see if he could spot her. But just as he was about to move forward, something appeared before him in a flash. When it was gone, he gasped.
"Judy!" he rushed to her limp form. "Judy! Wake up!" He slightly shook her and patted her cheeks, but nothing he did made her stir.
In minutes, he got her to the infirmary where the doctor overlooked her while Big, Bogo, Clawhauser, Finnick, Jack, Skye, and Gideon watched on with worry.
Nick was right by Judy's side and held her paw until he felt something wet and noticed blood coming out of her finger.
"Doc, what do you make of this?" he inquired.
The honey badger examined it and stated in a solemn tone, "She pricked her finger."
They gasped with Clawhauser saying, "You mean to say she's under the sleeping curse?!"
The doctor nodded his head in sorrow.
Big shook his head, "It's a powerful spell, and only Judy's true love can break it…"
Bogo, Gideon, Finnick, and Clawhauser ended up staring at Nick.
The red fox asked, "What?"
Clawhauser motioned, "Come on, Nicholas. You and she have been inseparable since you two got here!"
Gideon said, "You always talk together at mealtimes."
Fin pointed, "More than with me, I might add."
Nick sputtered, "Oh, come on, that means nothing! That's what friends do!"
Jack spoke, "Yes, it is, but… In the last couple of days since we came here, we've seen how close you and Judy have been."
Skye nodded, "It's true. You two may be friends, but there's something else, too…"
Nick looked at his comrades, who slowly nodded.
Big said, "Nicholas, you could be our only hope of saving her."
Nick looked down at the sleeping Judy and thought about all they had done together. He wanted to believe so badly that he was Judy's true love, but he was afraid that if he kissed her and she didn't wake up, then he would feel shattered of never having Judy as his own.
He slowly backed away and ran out of the room.
Fru stood in front of a mirror as she was trying out her wedding dress, but she found no joy in it.
She uttered softly, "I always thought my wedding day would be the happiest day of my life… My father would have walked me down the aisle and into the arms of my true love… But now…" She started crying.
The sheep that had been showing the fabrics handed her princess a small handkerchief, "Things will work out, Your Highness. I bet your father will storm the castle any second now and rescue you from this awful fate."
"At this rate, he's going to need a miracle."
"Yes, a miracle would be wonderful right about now."