Then a voice echoed out from the void.
"Are you there?"
Frederick's eyes flew open.
"Are we connected?"
He doesn't reply, opting to ignore it and continue to drift through the sea of shadows. But a bright red glow emanating from his chest made him take more interest in the dream. He lifted his head, a movement that was oddly difficult, and saw a red heart shining through his bed clothes.
"Excellent."
"Very excellent."
With great effort, he turns his head, trying to locate the source of the voice.
"This will be very interesting."
He tries to open his mouth but finds he cannot.
"You are a most interesting subject."
"A being that continues to live."
"Despite being so despised."
Wha- Is this my inner voice again?
Despite being so underestimated."
No…. This is different
"Despite being treated with such apathy."
This voice… isn't mine.
"You continue to show such….. Determination."
That tone grated on his skin like a spur making his blood freeze. He tries to move, thrash, scream, or something.
But he can't.
The heart continued to glow in his chest; he was starting to feel like he should cover it. Shield it away from whatever was out there talking to him.
"You'll be an excellent variable in my experiment."
Experiment? What experi-
Suddenly, the darkness begins to brighten turning into white space that spreads across as far as he could see.
He heard the voice say something faintly.
︎□︎□︎ ︎ …. ︎◆︎ ︎?
His eyes fly open; for real this time.
To find that he was no longer in his room.
Instead he is lying in a circle of pale blue light; the light source seemed to emanate from the ground itself. Houses of shadow surround him all twisted and bent like they were quickly penned by a child's unsteady hand. Frederick spied a few shops behind him; a building that seemed to be made up of a plethora of stitched up fabric; a tailor shop maybe. Another building in the shape of a mug titled with the name Cafe in cursive. And finally, a brightly colored building called the Party Dojo; whatever that meant. Much like the ground, the warped village glowed with the same otherworldly blue light; it streamed out of windows, outlined the edges of buildings, and twinkled above in the stars.
Frederick sat up and looked around, head turning slowly. He pinches his arm then his neck, trying to wake up from this freakishly realistic dream. After a minute of not waking up, he took a deep breath and shouted.
"WHERE THE HELL IS THIS!?"
His question was answered by a slowly growing din of voices and shuffles. Then the doors of the twisted houses opened to reveal the oddest creatures he had ever seen.
The teen, now thoroughly frightened, jumped to his feet and backed away, only to find more creatures surrounding him.
"Who is that?"
"Did the Lighteners come back?"
"But they don't look like any of the Fun Gang."
"A new Lightner then!"
"Where did they come from?"
"Why are they here? All the fountains are closed."
Frederick's head swivels about like a top trying to process all the peculiar faces around him. Where was he? What were these strange creatures? They didn't look like anything like the creatures or fae he'd seen in the books he'd read. And this place….. So dark and yet glowing with light that didn't feel like regular sunlight. Then a horrible thought came to him.
Am I dead?
Before he could pursue the thought further, a voice rang out over the crowd.
"MOVETH OUT OF THE WAY, WORMS!"
Frederick's gaze turned to the spot where the voice originated from. Suddenly the crowd cleared and a tall humanoid figure stepped toward him. He had skin the color of shadows cast by moonlight, hair as white as snow, and eyes that gleamed with a stern yet taunting nature. He wore a military jacket that blended in with his skin and high heeled black boots that clicked with every step he took.
"YOUST WORM! WHERE DOTH THOUST HAIL FROM?"
Frederick, dumbfounded by the odd man's appearance and his (quite egregious) old English, couldn't find the words to reply.
The white haired man took a huge step closer.
"HELLO?! DOES THOUST HEAR ME!?"
The sudden movement startled the teen enough to reply.
"Y-yes… I can…. you don't have to yell."
"WHATST WAS THAT, WORM!? SPEAKETH UP!"
"I SAID I CAN HEAR YOU AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO YELL!"
The man's mouth widened in outrage; it seemed to be melted at the left side.
"THOUST DARE TO TALK BACK TO ME!? THE DUKE OF PUZZLES!? WHAT GALL THIS WORM HAS!"
"But…. you told me to talk louder….. I just did what you said." the teen replied, the ridiculousness of the situation chasing away some of his initial fear.
"AND YOUST SASS ME AS WELL?! WHERE ON EARTH DOEST THIS PUNY INSECT GET SUCH CHEEKINESS!? SUCH BRAZENESS!"
What is this guy's problem?
Then the duke let out a cocky laugh.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU WILL REGRET BEING SO FRESH WITH ME! ROUXLS KARRD, LORD OF PUZZLES!"
Someone in the crowd groans. "Oh, boy. Here he goes."
Frederick's anxiety started to creep back as the crowd began to back away. Rouxls Karrd smile widened, like a cat spying his next meal.
"PREPAREST YOURSELF, SASSY WORM!"
Crap…. This guy is clearly insane! What should I do?
Rouxls reached into his jacket. Frederick braced himself for whatever weapon he was going to pull out. With theatrical flourish, Rouxls threw a paper card at the boy followed by a pen that hit his forehead.
"Ow! What was that for?" he yelped.
"SILENCE, CHEEKY BUG! AND BEHOLD!"
Frederick leaned down to pick up the paper. It was a nearly done tic-tac-toe game.
What?
Rouxls, continuing to grin, replied. "A PUZZLE THAT ONLY THE BRIGHTEST AND BRILLIANT CAN COMPLETE. I HAVE ALREADY MADE MY FIRST MOVE AS THE X BUT WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT! IT SEEMS LIKE YOUR O'S HAVE NOWHERE TO GO! WHAT EVER SHALL A PITIFUL, DULL WORM LIKE YOURSELF SHALL DO?"
As Rouxls continued to gloat, Frederick had already spied a place to put his O; it wasn't hard considering that the stranger had put an O in the middle making it an easy win. Using the pen, the prince scribbled in his O and drew a line through the three on the grid.
"TREMBLE! GROVEL! PLEAD FOR MERCY! BEG FOR FORGIVENESS AND-"
Frederick turned the card to him, showing he'd won the game.
Rouxls went quiet, mouth frozen in a smile but eyes teaming with shock and embarrassment.
The crowd whispered and snickered.
"Did he seriously give them a half finished tic tac toe game as a puzzle?"
"Yep. That sounds about right."
"Is this on purpose or is he really that dumb?"
Rouxls continued to stare incredulously at the card.
"God. Damnit."
It was the first time the prince heard him speak at a regular volume.
Then a green blur dashed in front of the white haired knight.
"That's enough Rouxls!"
Frederick's guard went back up at the appearance of this new stranger. They wore a wide brimmed hat that hid their facial features in shadow. Their hat and tunic was leaf green and their scarf, which whipped around them like a living thing, was pink. The stranger turned to the teen, removing his hat as he did.
"Kris and Susie are our friends, Rouxls! You-"
The stranger and Frederick face each other, both parties gasping. Now that the hat was removed, Frederick could see that the stranger was a goat-like creature. He wasn't very tall; the tips of his horns barely came up to his chin; and his once brave stance shrank when he saw him.
"Wait! Wh-Who are you? You're not Kris or Susie!"
Now that the teen had a chance to talk, he was struggling to find the words. His head flitted through the multitude of questions that popped off in his head like firecrackers.
What was this place?
Who were they?
Why was everything dark?
Was this hell?
Was he….. Dead?
His ears perked up at the chatterings of the crowd and he found himself mimicking the goat boy's shyness.
"I… I…. I have no idea what's going on. I just woke up here after having a weird dream and….."
The goat's eyes softened and he approached the teen.
"Don't be afraid. You won't be harmed. I think….. It'd be best to take this conversation back to the castle."
He took the teen's hand, prompting a jolt from the latter. Ralsei paused, wondering if he should have reached out with no warning like that. Frederick stared at the fuzzy paw grasping his own. The way the goat creatures held his hand was gentle and cautious, seemingly taking great lengths to avoid hurting him. Frederick took one last look at him and grasped his hand back.
"Alright."
The goat boy seemed to relax.
"Ok. We won't have to go far."
As the goat led him out of the town square, Frederick had a chance to really look at the town's residents. Some reminded him of game pieces and card suits while others looked otherworldly; those kinds sported bodies of different geometric shapes and colors. As he scanned them, Frederick remembered Rouxls Karrd and tried to find his face but to no avail.
"Um… excuse me? Where did that white haired guy go?"
"Oh, You mean Rouxls? He usually dashes off after people solve his puzzles. You'll probably see him later but he won't do much other than give you a new puzzle."
"... What's your name?"
"Oh, wow! I'm so sorry! I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Ralsei, Prince of the Darkworld. What's your name?"
"I'm Frederick."
"Nice to meet you, Frederick. Oh, we're here!"
In the Dark castle kitchen, Ralsei set the kettle on the stove and dashed over to the fridge.
"The tea will be ready in a bit but we can have some cake while we wait."
Frederick kept his eye on the goat creature watching for any delayed movements or blind spot.
While he found Ralsei to be friendly and nice he wasn't naive enough to eat something a stranger served him; he'd read too many stories on the subject of 'gifted sweets'
Ralsei placed two slices of yellow cake slathered with a thin layer of white icing on the table.
"I just made this yesterday. Do you like butterscotch?"
"I'm not very hungry actually."
"Oh, Ok. I can get you something else….."
The teen shook his head, prompting the prince to look a little frazzled before sitting down
The goat prince shyly tucked into his own slice of cake. A long silence stretched between them as the minutes ticked by. Ralsei gazed up at the teen. When Frederick met his gaze, his cheeks flushed pink and he averted his eyes back to his slice.
Why is he being so shy? This is starting to feel less like an intrusion and more like an awkward first date.
"Ummm…. So…. You're another Lightner?"
"Lightner?"
"Yes. Lighteners are what we call people from the word where the sun shines. I'm just confused because…. The prophecy didn't mention any other Lighteners coming."
"Wha- A prophecy?"
"Ah, right. You're still confused about everything. This is the Darkworld, a land of darkness. We live in harmony with the Lightworld, where both Monsters and Humans reside. Here, in the Darkworld we have a legend. About how the balance between the Light and Dark world would be destroyed and bring a great calamity. The dark fountains would be opened and they'd shatter the earth. The only ones who could stop it were a Monster, A Human, and A Prince Of the Dark.
But that's all over and done with. So I was really surprised to see you here…. But not in a bad way! I think it's great that more Lighteners can come here. I haven't seen Kris or Susie in a while and…. They're the only ones that talk to me….. Lancer thinks I'm boring and….," Ralsei's ramblings come to a stop, fur getting redder than a setting sun.
"I'm sorry! I'm talking way too much and haven't even given you a chance to talk. I'm just so used to Kris and he doesn't talk all that much and doesn't mind me taking control of the- AH! I did it again."
"No! No! It's fine! I get it. I was actually processing everything with the Land of Darkners and Lightners. It sounds really cool."
"Really? You….. think it's….. Cool?"
"Well, yeah. I love stuff like that. Learning about legends and mythologies from other lands, that's always been interesting to me."
Ralsei stares at the teen, his eyes exploding into stars of joy.
"I….. Nobody's ever said that to me…. Susie says that it's 'nerd talk'."
Frederick rolled his eyes. "Ugh, she sounds lame. People just say that because they don't get why you enjoy it and want to make you feel bad for it."
"Well, to be fair, I do have a tendency to drone on when talking about stuff like history. So the comment is fair."
The teen crossed his arms. "Well, she doesn't have to be such a jerk about it. Why don't you just tell her to cut it out?"
"It's… It's not that bad and I know she doesn't mean it when she says those things. She's just playing around."
"But it's clearly bothering you. If she's your friend then you should be able to talk about it with her. If you don't then it'll-"
Frederick paused. His mind backtracked to his first visit to the Pastel. To what he said about his first crush in a fit of frustration and the mess it had caused. It had been two months since it had all happened.
The Proposal.
The Plaid Invasion.
Without knowing, his hand clenched into a fist.
"It'll bubble and boil over until it explodes….. And your friendship will either end or never be the same."
Ralsei was a bit taken aback by this, not expecting such a sad response. But the stranger's words had a hint of truth to them.
"That…. Makes sense. But….. What if she gets upset? It was really hard to get through her tough shell and I don't want to jeopardize our friendship over something so menial."
The teen felt a hot burn singe the inside of his chest.
"But it's not menial! She's making you feel like crap for liking what you like and she thinks it's funny! If she tells you that you're exaggerating then that means she wasn't your friend to begin with!"
Ralsei jumped back, not expecting his quiet guest to raise his voice or have such a livid look in his eyes; the goat boy swore that he was staring into a fire pit.
Frederick caught the dark prince's startled look and the burn gave way to shame.
"I-I-I'm sorry…. I didn't mean to yell….. I just… I…"
Why did I do that? To a stranger no less!
Ralsei's brows make a concerned furrow. "Hey, it's ok but… Are you ok? I didn't mean to make you cry."
"What? I'm not-"
As he said this, he touched his face and felt warm water on his cheeks.
"Wha….. Why am I…. Oh, God."
Frederick turned away trying to dry his eyes but it proved to be a difficult task. The burning feeling grew bigger and bigger like someone had stuffed a balloon inside him and was pumping it full of air. He clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, trying to focus on his breath like Whitney taught him.
He would usually feel this burn from time to time. It mostly happened during his meetings with the CPC or his mother's family game nights; she started them not too long after divorcing and imprisoning their father. But he couldn't figure out why. He didn't bring it up because everyone was finally moving on from their father's takeover; his mom was actually smiling; Blaine looked relaxed for the first time in years.
He didn't want to ruin that.
At that thought, that mysterious voice came back to the forefront of his mind
Despite being so despised….. Despite being treated with such apathy.
The calculative words floated across his mind, memories trailed along their edges.
The looks of contempt from the members as they pinned him to a tree.
…..So despised.
How they ran passed him when he had broken out of the dungeon to hug Laverne.
How they didn't believe him when he warned them of his father's army.
….. Such apathy.
How they didn't even ask how he was. He was trapped. In the dark. For weeks. Calling for help, for someone to answer him.
But nobody came….
The ones that did come….. Further broke his heart into pieces.
But….. Blaine apologized. He said he didn't mean it. He was trying to protect me. Father was right there, he had to say those things…He had to do it…. He….. He…. He….. He's acting like it never happened.
….. Such apathy.
The thought struck him like lightning; the burning in his heart turned icey.
The phantom man….. Was right.
He was brought out of his thoughts by a piercing whistle. His head turns to the kettle on the stove; mist spewing from its spout.
"Frederick?"
He turned to Ralsei. The goat prince's eyes shone with concern.
"Is something wrong? Did I upset you?"
Frederick opened his mouth but a tightness in his throat prompted him to shake his head instead.
Ralsei got up and made his way to the kettle, keeping an eye on his distressed guest. He removed the lid and poured the water into two cups making sure to keep his actions in full view.
He made his way back to the table and extended the cup to him.
"When I get upset, I always like to drink something hot. Maybe….. It might help you."
Frederick accepted the beverage and Ralsei sat backed down.
"We can…. Talk about something else if you want to."
Frederick nodded again, blowing at the steam rising to his face.
"You said you like… myths right? Do you have…. Any myths from where you're from?"
Frederick stared into his cup feeling embarrassed. He almost had an emotional breakdown in front of a stranger. He was certain that when he looked up there would be an annoyed expression on Ralsei's face. So he took a deep breath and glanced up. He was met with the goat boy's gentle smile and eyes pouring with kindness and concern. The sight chased away the dark thoughts that were beginning to crowd his brain; even the tightness in his throat lessened.
"Yes, we do. One of the stories I know is called the Littlest Prince…"
So he told Ralsei the story of the journey of the prince, feeling a little more comfortable to do voices and really put himself into the more intense scenes. When he was done, Ralsei was struggling to hold back tears..
"That was so beautiful, Frederick! That story was so heartfelt and the way you told it was phenomenal! It felt like I was really there!"
Frederick blushed, he'd never gotten a reaction like that. "Oh, thank you."
"You have to give me some pointers! I can use this when I'm telling my friends stories and maybe they'll enjoy it too. Please, say yes! I'll try my best!"
The eager happy look on the goat prince's face made Frederick feel a different kind of heat in his chest.
Only this was softer.
Cozy like a fireplace in the dead of winter.
"I'd love to, Ralsei."