Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This is the story of how I died.

Yeah, I know–spoiler alert–but I die in this story. But to be honest, it isn’t exactly just my story–I mean, if you stick around to listen, I’ll explain. It all begins with two rainbows.

Two rainbows crashed together after a great storm and caused a piece to fall off, land on the ground below, and grow a flower. Yeah it’s strange but it actually happened–so this flower had all the colors of the rainbow on each of its seven petals and none knew of its existence for quite sometime.

Meanwhile, a kingdom close by started up and grew bigger over time. Piqua was not just any kingdom–it was known to be supportive of all creative and imaginative minds, rivaled only by a pretty good education offered to the children of the kingdom. It was a happy, safe place, where families would move to in hopes for the best and for their kids to have a good childhood.

Unfortunately the much beloved Queen Grace had fallen ill to the point there was nothing anyone could do–not even the alchemists or magic folk–and she was pregnant with her first child.

A heavily pregnant blonde haired woman who was resting in her bed was pale and feverish as she tried to stay awake to listen to what one of the magic folk had to tell her while holding up an illustration of a flower. “We’ve tried everything, but nothing works.” The woman apologized. “This would have to be an absolute last resort. The only problem is that there is only one of it’s kind and if it indeed exists, we cannot be able to help others with it, nor be able to access the powers of creation it can grant to others.”

Grace struggled to look at her husband who looked as if he barely had enough sleep from the stress of the situation. “If all else fails,” Grace panted “You will save my child.”

“I don’t know if this ailment effects the child too. Or what the flower could do to them if–”

“I don’t care... as long as my child is saved... I will not fear death.”

With time running short, the kingdom could only turn to a fairytale as their only hope to save the queen they loved and respected very much. Everyone worked together to try to find the legendary flower. Unfortunately....

*****

In the dark of the night a hooded figure moved some fake bushes out of the way to reveal a basket which she upturned to reveal a flower that resembled a lily with seven different petals–each taking on a different color. A wrinkled hand pulled her hood away to reveal an incredibly withered looking face that would make tree bark look young and pretty in comparison. She began to sing in a deep, raspy voice and reached a hand out to the flower.

“Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine.” The flower did exactly that, with each petal taking on a lovely jewel tone. “Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine. Heal what has been hurt, change the fates, design,” Gradually the woman’s hands and face began to smooth out and once stringy white hair began to fill out and take on a strange blue color. “Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine, what once was mine.” Her voice was less raspy, but it was still deep and not pleasant to listen to–a startled cat or a croaking frog would have sounded more melodic.

Yeah, I agree with you, person whose actually writing this story. Now see that old lady that did that magic trick? That’s Tara Ribble. Get it? Tara Ribble. Terrible? Anyway, Ribble was a witch who found the flower and discovered how to use it through singing, but instead of sharing it, she used it’s powers for herself, even if she’d lose out on making a lot of money and she used it to make her stay young and alive for a lot of years. She got so addicted to it that it began to mess with her mind over the years–maybe she was a nice person at one point, but I don’t know. She had no intention of sharing its powers to the queen or the powers of creation because creative people were annoying and a waste of life to her, but especially because they could think of things no one else could. In her mind, only she could be the most powerful in the kingdom, but I guess she was just jealous or something like that.

“Whose there?!”

Ribble cursed and tried to put the basket back over the flower, but when she made a mad dash out of the area, she accidentally knocked the basket over. It wouldn’t have worked anyway, for the flower still glowed for a few more seconds.

A man dressed in royal uniform rushed to the sound of the strange singing, but instead he found the last thing he could have expected as the glow of the flower began to fade. “Holy–HEY!” He hollered. “Someone get a shovel, I think I found it!”

Within moments, he and the others began to dig up the flower.

*****

The next day a young woman brought out a plate of freshly baked cookies for a group of children. “Here you go!” She set them down next to a book on a wooden bench. “It’ll be awhile before they cool off.” She brushed her dark hair out of her face to reveal both her stunning blue eyes and a pleasant face that had a sprinkle of freckles upon it. She had a larger figure than most women, but it was well kept and added to her natural beauty.

“Oh I can’t wait!” One girl hungrily eyed the cookies. “You always make the best treats when you watch over us!”

“Continue the story please?!” A boy begged her. “Pretty please, Miss Edith?”

Edith chuckled as she sat down and opened the book. “So where was I? Oh yes–soon the Beast realized that his behavior was making Beauty miserable and alone, which was something he understood all too well. Although she accepted her father’s punishment on his behalf–which was something the beast didn’t anticipate–it had been a huge price to pay for her. The Beast began to visit her more often, but this time he made sure to try to be kinder and softer with Beauty and he spoke with her to ease her own loneliness. Over time, Beauty began to see that although the Beast had indeed possessed a horrible temper and was terribly ugly, he was also awkward, yet considerate and surprisingly knowledgeable about many things that she herself happened to enjoy, such as reading.”

The children were paying close attention, but neither they nor Edith noticed three figures glaring from the second floor of the house as they fussed over their hair. They were dressed in gaudy clothing and too much makeup, which only made their facial features (such as their huge eyes and thick lips) unappealing to look at. They saw a man getting close to the house and they did not like the way he stared in awe at their youngest sister (who was far more modestly dressed in comparison) when he was close enough to see her face. Jealousy blackened their hearts and they sneered down at the oblivious young woman.

On the other hand, a couple also watched Edith and her little group from the first floor of the house through their living room window. The woman looked like an older version of Edith and had her blue eyes while her husband had the misfortune to look like an amphibian with huge eyes and odd misshapen face (like his older three daughters). Yet it was clear by the smiles on their faces and that they were holding hands that they were happy and content with each other and took pride in their youngest daughter for watching over those children while staying on task with her work. They hoped that one day she would be reading to children of her own, but for now they wanted her to take her time until she was ready.

“For despite the Beast’s temper and ugliness, Beauty could see that under those rough and jagged layers was a lonely soul with the heart of a kind prince who wanted to treat her as if she were like a princess but also saw her as an equal.” Edith sensed her parents looking at her and she turned to wave at them with a smile, which made her already pleasant features look radiant in the daylight.

It would be nice to one day find romance of her own–her parents found happiness despite their many differences. Their love had taught her that it was important to look beyond the surface of others and try to see the good, much like this particular fairy-tale she read to the children.

“Hey did you hear the good news?” A friend of the man watching Edith rushed up to him. “They actually found the flower! They’ll actually try to use it on the queen!”

Yeah, we will be getting back to this lady in a minute. She’s going to be important pretty soon. Anyway, one magician turned the flower into a potion, which the Queen drank. She completely recovered as if she’d never been sick a day in her life and a month later her firstborn came into the world.

*****

It seemed like the queen getting sick nearly a year ago was only a bad nightmare.

Now there was a nursery filled with all sorts of toys and a painting and many watercolors upon one wall, along with a woman with a head of fluffy looking blonde hair and someone very special to her in the crib in the room.

Inside the crib was a small, smiling infant who giggled as he looked up at his mother who smiled at him. “Hello Harold.” She smiled as she tapped at the green hat on his head before picking him up. “Whose my little boy?” She gently cooed and when he let out a huge smile, she couldn’t help but smile back and repeatedly kiss his cheeks. She thanked the higher powers that they both survived and that she was able to see her son. “Happy first birthday.”

Moments later in the front of the castle courtyard, she stood by her husband who held a green paper lantern that was already lit and upon it was the kingdom’s crest–a sun with each flame a different color as if it were creating rainbows instead of fire. The queen smiled at the king and then smiled at her son, who reached out towards the lantern with a delighted open mouthed smile. She gave the infant one moment before she and her husband lifted the lantern up into the sky. Soon everyone standing in the courtyard with them also lifted their glowing lanterns into the air with each one being a different color and some even had children’s drawings on them. Many citizens were in awe at the sight of so many lanterns rising in the sky, and especially all the young children.

No one noticed the heavily cloaked figure in the shadows scowling at the royal family.

It seemed like it would be a wonderful time of peace. Only the bitterest of hearts wouldn’t have been happy–which was the case with someone in particular, but he’s not going to be important just yet–and everyone was happy for the royal family. Sadly this was not to be, because Ribble was pretty mad about the loss of her flower and without it she was aging into an old crone. It took her awhile, but soon she had an idea as to where the flower’s magic went.

*****

That evening, Grace took the hat off her son and frowned at the sight of his hair. For some reason, every strand was a different color–almost every one of the seven colors of the flower that saved both their lives. “I hope one of the magical folk can explain this.” She sighed and kissed her sleeping son’s cheek before tucking him into the crib and covered him with a red blanket with black polka dots on it–a gift from a fortune teller who said that he might like it and he certainly was drawn to the playful pattern. “Here’s your favorite blanket.” She smiled. “I’ll be back in a few moments to read to you.” She then left the room and closed the door behind her.

Moments passed before one of the windows opened on its own and a curtain was shoved away to reveal that an incredibly ugly old woman had intruded into the nursery. She headed to the crib and sure enough she saw a sign that her theory was correct–the prince’s hair was colored exactly like her prized flower. The child was chewing on the blanket in his sleep, causing a bit of saliva to get on it, and he was oblivious to the stranger.

“Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine,” To Ribble’s wicked delight, the infant’s hair began to light up like the flower did, though she was so focused on his head that she failed to see that his saliva was also glowing and infusing a bit of the magic into the blanket. She took out a pair of scissors and reached out to snip off a few red strands. The moment she touched his hair, her hand began to smooth out and she eagerly snipped the stands off.

To her shock, both the strands that had been snipped off and what was left of them on his head changed from a bright red to a dull blonde color and they lost their glow at the exact moment her hand became withered once more.

The witch scowled as she realized what had to be done; without thinking too much on it, she roughly pulled Harold out of his crib. The action startled the child and to her annoyance he let out a loud howl of a cry and he waved his arms in protest.

“HAROLD?!” Grace threw the door open upon hearing her son crying. It was only upon seeing a wizened figure in a dark cloak by an open window that she knew why, but when she saw her son still wrapped up in his blanket and crying in the hag’s arms, her fear became something far worse than anything one could ever imagine–something that no one should wish upon another and would be too hard to describe.

“NO!” She shrieked and tried to race after Ribble, but the other woman vanished behind the window and when Grace shoved the curtain away and looked around, there was no trace of her or her son or the figure to took him.

Grace’s frantic screams alerted the whole castle as she bursted out of the nursery and raced down the halls. “THEY TOOK HAROLD! THEY TOOK MY BABY!” She howled in frantic despair.

Within minutes, all the knights and members of the Royal Guard went out to seek the young prince in the dead of the night. Unfortunately they would not even find the small red blanket with black dots–without the child it once protected, the harsh wind carried it off into the night air to parts unknown.

*****

Many tried to find Prince Harold. The queen was so desperate that she turned to the magical folk, but many had grown afraid of recent events and left the kingdom out of fear that they would be locked up. Those who stayed tried to use their magic to find the prince, but the nasty witch thought ahead and placed an enchantment upon the place where he was hidden so that none could find him.

Also, remember that woman we saw earlier? Unfortunately her parents passed away some time after the prince was born and her sisters decided to be really nasty to her during that time. The lazy trio were jealous of her for her beauty which drew men to her, and for having their parents’ love, though honestly it was because she was nice and hardworking and not obsessed with appearances, unlike those three who wasted everything on themselves. They took away her rightful share of their inheritance and cut her off from everyone else–even the children she adored–and forced her to do all the hard work in the house with a bath only once a week or so, and denied her the chance to see the prince on his first birthday. So yeah, a classic Cinderella situation, but sadly her eventual freedom from that house was only a trade for a nicer prison.

The once pleasant looking house now suffered from a yard overgrown with weeds and the eldest of the three sisters eagerly accepted the bulging sack of money from a heavily disguised Ribble. “Oh I promise she’ll be more than willing to do whatever you want from her.” She told her.

The other two sisters laughed as they forced Edith out of the house by her arms. The poor girl now wore tattered rags and her hair was now messy and unkept as it covered half of her face. What little that could be seen of her face was now dirtied and her visible eye was almost sunken-in and dull looking.

“Guess you got a fairy godmother after all!” One of the sisters taunted Edith as she clutched only one bag that contained very few personal possessions with hands whose skin was cracked from lack of care. “Now you get to live out those stupid childish fairytales you enjoy so much!”

“Maybe if you’re lucky, she’ll let you go to a ball at the castle! If she doesn’t mind you showing your dumb face there that is!”

All three older sisters laughed as Edith was forcibly pushed towards Ribble, who merely grunted in approval. “All she’s good for is housework and watching over kids.” Another sister laughed. “We made her do all the housework since our parents kicked the bucket so she’s very qualified. You can do whatever you want with her and she’ll do it.”

Edith didn’t even speak up for herself or raise her head. She couldn’t believe what was happening–she was being sold off like she was an object to her sisters. How could they treat her like this when their parents died and when she did nothing wrong? Even when she tried to see things differently and tried to talk to them, they still treated her as if she were lower than dirt itself. They took everything from her to the point that even if she could have escaped, she would be without money and be turned out onto the streets no matter where she went. It all didn’t make sense anymore and she couldn’t even bring herself to cry as she stared at the stone pathway that was being taken over by moss.

Ribble grabbed Edith by the arm and pulled her away from her childhood home which had turned into a prison. Edith didn’t fully understand who she was in the company of until she was lead away from any gazing eyes in the depths of the woods and found her sight clouded by a puff of smoke without any warning.

Then all of a sudden, Edith found herself inside a completely unfamiliar room and the air was filled with the sound of a crying infant. “First off!” Ribble barked as she let go of Edith and then pointed to the child in a battered looking crib. “You’re going to take care of that child! I’m not changing him or putting him to sleep! From now on you’re serving me and I’ll tell you more when he finally shuts up!” She then stormed out of the room and shut the door before Edith could say anything or ask a question.

Was I sold off to a witch? Bewildered by how fast everything was going, Edith stared off into space for a few moments before checking on the infant. She was startled to see that his hair was multi-colored, but she realized he was in great distress and she quickly set her bag aside.

“Shh, shh, shh!” Edith picked him up and tried to gently rock him. “Hey it’s alright, I have you.” The poor child was miserable and Edith could quickly tell by a few clues that he was in a desperate need to change his diapers. Fortunately the strange woman had the sense to get some in the otherwise empty room with one window and when the process was done, the boy was happily content and smiled at Edith before touching her face with his tiny hands as if to thank her. It was the first gesture of any sort of kindness or love she had felt in a long time and she couldn’t help but release her tears as she hugged the child and sank to the floor.

*****

Away from everyone else was a tower and in this tower was where Ribble hid Harold, along with the girl she forced to take care of him was well as the tower itself and every chore she could throw at her.

She didn’t just take Harold for the sake of the power to heal–she knew that with the powers of creation, he could bring joy to others if he discovered them, including young children which she didn’t like at all. He might even encourage other children to be creative to the point that maybe one day someone would overpower her, which she especially did not want.

Though of course as you saw a few scenes ago, a bit of those powers went into something, but that won’t be important until later.

“Save what has been lost.” A now four year old Harold sang as his hair glowed and Ribble absorbed its healing powers by holding the strands. “Bring back what once was mine, what once was mine.”

Once Ribble felt herself a few centuries younger, she let go off the child’s hair. “Alright, now go.” She ordered and the small boy dashed out of her room, along with a long trail of curly–almost poofy looking–rainbow colored hair. It wasn’t until he was gone that she shut the door and sighed. “Until I can figure out how to get the magic from him, I’ll have to deal with the brat for a little longer.” It honestly annoyed her and while she was thankful she had another to do the dirty work associated with children, it only meant one more person to be cautious of. One day she could get rid of them both.

“Edith!” Harold raced to Edith’s room where the woman was working on knitting some socks for them on her bed while one of her books rested beside her. Her room was not as lavish as Ribble’s, and though most of her possessions were old, worn, or cracked, it was much more well lived in and had more color–such as the quilt that Edith made for herself–which made it more inviting. “I’m done! I want to hear more of the story!”

Edith smiled at Harold as he closed the door behind him and climbed up beside her as she set the knitting aside to pick up the book. While she looked a bit more healthier than when in the company of her sisters, her confinement had done nothing to heal her broken soul and in some ways prolonged her suffering. It was only Harold who was the true light of her life now–the only thing that kept her going throughout the years.

Edith wrapped an arm around him as she resumed the story. “‘Stop foul beast!’ Don Quixote cried as he took up his lance and charged at the windmill. ‘My lord, tis only a windmill!’ Sancho cried, but his master paid no heed and with a vigorous cry, the old knight made his steed gallop to the windmill with lance out and ready. ‘I shall smite thee!’”

Harold giggled at the image of the delusional hero in Edith’s storybook. He concentrated on the image and his hair glowed–suddenly there was an illusion of the hero and the windmill between them and the door, though they looked much more like as if a child had drawn them out. It was still pretty impressive.

“You think one day I’ll get to meet a real hero like Don Quixote or Robin Hood?” Harold asked and the illusion quickly faded and his hair stopped glowing.

“I hope so.” Edith sighed as she tried to not think of their situation–she didn’t want to explain it to him and risk destroying his hope as well as what little remained of her own. “It would be nice to have one come for us someday.”

Years had passed and the broken hearted Queen had it so that those lanterns would be sent into the night sky on Harold’s birthday so that one day he could return to her. She sent them up to let them know that she would never stop looking.

Some weeks later, Edith quietly snuck with Harold out to the main room of the tower where they silently, yet carefully opened the biggest window of the room to reveal the forbidden outside world. In the far distance they could see what almost looked like little colorful dots glowing in the night sky–it was a sight that happened only on the night of Harold’s birthday and it was always his favorite part of that day.

The small child sighed in delight as he rested his arms on the window sill and wished with all his might that he could get closer to see what they were. Perhaps when he was older, Ribble could let him and Edith see them–if she could leave the tower, so could he. The world couldn’t possibly be that dangerous like she always told him. Unfortunately, without the means to get to Ribble’s secret route out of the tower, there was seventy feet of stone between him and the ground below.

He heard Edith let out a deep sigh and he turned his head to see that she looked very unhappy for some reason. He closed his eyes and concentrated–imagining up something she might like–and his hair glowed a bit. Seconds later, Edith was surrounded by a ring of pink and red glowing flowers. She was startled by this, but then she relaxed as her hand went to touch one, only for it to pass through. She then looked at Harold and smiled before drawing him into a hug–as long as Harold wanted to see the lights, she had a reason to keep going and hope that they both could be set free.

Every year without finding her son filled the queen with despair and although she was later able to give birth to a daughter who didn’t have any of her brother’s powers, her husband–who was ready to move on and was angry at how the queen was stuck in the past–left without saying a word. The queen loved her daughter, but she could never forget her son and made sure her daughter was well guarded and protected in the castle so that the tragedy could never repeat again. In fact, it was so easy for her to focus on finding Harold while trying to manage the more important stuff in the kingdom that she began to forget the other children that needed help, and the support for the arts and other activities for fun was running low because of this. It made it easier for the really mean adults to be harsh on the children–the same adults also didn’t care that she was still in mourning for her lost son and took advantage of her neglect.

For a long time, it seemed there would be no happiness for everyone in the kingdom, except on rare occasions. There was no symbol of hope–there was no such thing as a fairytale or a hero to inspire anyone, especially for all the children. It was like all the happiness was taken away when the prince vanished. For Harold this was also the case the longer he stayed stuck in that tower with no sign of being allowed to go out.

Every year passed... until....

*****

Harold sighed as he stared out the window–nothing exciting ever happened outside besides the strange lights which would happen again on his upcoming tenth birthday. By this point his hair had grown so long that it was longer than his own body, and he almost wished he could cut it off so it wouldn’t be a bother to brush it all out.

He hummed as he looked down to see the green and brown ground several feet below him–if only there was some sort of device to help him get down there! He took a spyglass nearby to try to see if anything changed or if there were nearby animals doing something, but no such luck. He sighed as he lowered the glass–maybe it was too much to ask for, but maybe there was something he could observe to draw later.

Then an unexpected but incredibly joyful, deep and glorious sound shattered the silence.

“TRA-LA-LAAAAA!”

Harold raised his head in alarm to see something flying across the sky in the far distance. He quickly used the spyglass to take a better look at what it was–it looked like a person.

A person was flying in the sky.

A huge bodied person–a man–in what looked like a bright red cape with what looked like black dots and nothing else except for a huge pair of white underpants.

Harold was so stunned that he didn’t do anything. He couldn’t even make out the man’s face (he had never seen a man before) and he kept watching the person flying in their underpants until he flew out of sight.

Harold let the spyglass drop to the floor before he bursted out laughing and fell onto the floor. He laughed so hard he could barely breathe and cried actual tears–he just saw a person flying in the sky in his underwear! He had no clue how, but it was one of the best things that he ever saw in his whole life!

Who was that person? Harold hoped he’d see the strange flying man once again–something about him gave the boy a good feeling, like his life might change for the better.

Little did Harold know was that what he saw in the sky that day would lead to a change of fate for him. Because as weird as this will sound, that strange flying person in the sky in nothing but a cape and underpants would play a part in him finally getting his freedom... and lead me to finding my best friend.

Chapter Text

Harold hummed to himself as he painted on the wall of his bedroom–it was only one of two rooms where he was allowed to do any artwork because for some reason Ribble didn’t like art that much. Being stuck in a tower for most of your life meant you had to be creative with your time and Harold’s most favorite activities usually involved painting and drawing as well as an occasional prank or two. He finished his work and drew back to smile at the blue and grey dolphin he painted under his window–he saw it in a book once and liked the creature very much to the point he made it quite often.

He then turned to the painting of the strange flying man he saw–a grinning, egg shaped figure in white underwear and a cape with red and black dots was carefully hidden behind a stack of books. “Next time I see you, I’m going to yell ‘Tra-la-la’ right back.” He promised the figure before heading out of the room with his messy hair trailing after him.

The tower was designed to have three floors and Harold hurried to the small green house-like room where boxes of dirt in the floor allowed certain plants or herbs to grow and a huge window in the wall and the ceiling allowed sun to come through, and he went to pick a few strawberries from a potted plant. He and Edith worked on growing most the plants in this room together, though there were also plants that Ribble grew that were strictly off limits–only she would tend to those plants.

He headed to the small kitchen area near the main room and it was there that Edith took a pie out and set it out to cool. She cracked her neck and sighed as she took her yellow mitts off and that was when Harold had an idea.

“Hey Edith!” She turned around and almost jumped out of her skin when she saw that the boy was holding up what appeared to be a strawberry that was twice his size over his head. It was only upon closer inspection that she saw his hair was slightly glowing and she realized that he was pranking her. “Oh you got me good!” She laughed and Harold made the illusion go away before dropping the strawberries on the counter. “You want to help me make some bread with those? It’s too bad that one wasn’t real or else we’d be set for a week.”

“Alright.” Harold smiled before looking at the strawberries again and noticed the black seeds embedded in the red flesh. “They kind of remind me of that man’s cape.” He turned to her. “Would you like me to draw a picture of him for you?”

Edith chuckled. “Oh, if you can find a spot on my wall that you didn’t paint over, I wouldn’t mind if you hang it up there.” The walls of her room and even her dresser were covered in paintings and pictures of things she liked and deeply missed with all her heart, like certain flowers or a secret waterfall in the woods–she had to explain everything to Harold since he had no idea what they looked like. She wished it were possible for the child to create an illusion so real that she could touch the roughness of a tree bark, the crunchy cold of the snow, or feel grass and dirt under her feet again, but she did the best she could.

She was the only one Harold told about the strange man and he liked how his tale lifted her spirits and made her chuckle at the time. For her it was nice to have something to believe in again or at least imagine to be real no matter how crazy, even if for a small moment.

“Also, since my birthday is coming up I’m alright with whatever you make for me. A cake or even something else just as good will do.” Harold eyed the embroidery on the white apron tied around Edith’s waist and the brightly colored threading that made all sorts of flowers, swirls, and other pattens at the edges and on the pockets. Because she had too much time up here, she had a lot of time and patience to make such things to make her otherwise worn out attire look nice. Ribble always gave them old or second hand clothing and because neither of the two had a reason to wear shoes, this also meant no socks, which Edith was forced to knit along with whatever else they would need to survive the cold weather when it struck. Usually she knitted or embroidered things to make additional money for whatever either her or Harold wanted and needed, but Edith highly doubted Ribble would ever give her credit when she took them to sell them off. She probably kept most of that money for herself.

“I promise I’ll surprise you.” Edith smiled, though with her hair covering half of her face, it was tricky to see the sweet smile in its entirety.

“You know.” Harold played with one of the strawberries. “Maybe since I’m turning ten this year, she’ll let me get out of here. Maybe she’ll let you go with me and maybe we can see the lights together. Are you really sure you don’t know where they are?”

“I’m sorry, but I have no idea.” Edith sighed as she went to get some sugar. “But I’d like that very much. If we ever get out of here, we’ll go see everything.”

Key word being ‘if.’

Harold smiled. “We will. If she won’t, maybe that man will come back to find us and get us out of here.” He went to grab an apron for himself. “Anyway, can you tell me more about the castle and the town?”

*****

The main town of Piqua was also where the castle was, by a huge lake on one side and with mountains and the woods on the other. The castle itself was large and beautiful to look at, with white walls and roofing of mint green or rusty red. Meanwhile, the town was in a great activity to get ready for the coming festivities, though sadly those involved were among the few most joyful and pleasant of the citizens. Other citizens who were not so busily working towards the festivities scowled at children or teenagers who were either playing in the streets or were just trying to run errands.

In the town plaza, a librarian and his grandson were in a fight with a guard, though unknown to any of them was that a small figure was watching from the roof of the library.

“You can’t close the library!” The librarian protested. “The citizens need a chance to further their education and knowledge! The chance to escape the real world and into adventures they couldn’t be able to have!”

The guard let out an unkindly laugh as he showed a paper to the librarian. “Well according to the captain, these books are discouraging children and teens from focusing on work! They’ll make them all lazy and give them ideas!”

“Perrault and Cervantes do nothing of the sort!” The grandson protested. “Shakespeare doesn’t encourage us to rush into things without thinking and Voltaire says we need to cultivate our gardens both literally and metaphorically!”

This hurt the guard’s head and as he tried to wrap his mind around what he had just heard, the figure from above readied a small cloth bag. “You see!” He recovered and pointed at the boy. “This one thinks he’s a know-it-all! This place will raise a handful of others like him–” The bag was thrown onto the guard’s head and an explosion of sticky purple jam bursted out and fell upon him.

The guard let out a squeaky yell of surprise as the librarian and grandson watched in amazement, but the young boy looked up in time to see a figure dart across the roof of the library. He grinned as he grabbed his grandfather’s hand and looked at the messy guard.

“Then again, perhaps it’s not the books you should worry about.” The librarian smirked at the angry guard.

Later a couple of girls were playing with their dolls near the streets when a tavern owner slammed his door open and yelled at them. “YOU TWO ARE ANNOYING MY CUSTOMERS! GO BACK HOME WHERE WE CAN’T SEE YOU!”

The girls flinched at this but one of them saw the figure stop in the shadows between the tavern and another store. Noticing what was happening, the boy took a slingshot out and put an egg (about a few days old) in it before aiming it at the man’s head. He ran away before the object cracked against the man’s head, but the girls were treated to an adult with egg yoke and egg shells splattered on his face as he screamed and tried to locate his attacker while his nose was attacked with a foul smell.

Some time later, that figure who defended the library and came to the aid of the girls found himself upon the roofs of the castle. It was a young boy who was between nine and ten who was waiting to leap down upon a balcony and as soon as he was sure no one would be around to see him, he grinned and leapt down onto a large bush in a pot.

“Perfect!” George whispered in delight as he got out of the bush and brushed himself off. The dark skinned child wore clothing that was easy to move around in, including a red and yellow tie around his neck, and he had a satchel stuffed with items perfect for pranking and for making a quick escape. There was one spot in the castle that he had in mind to be subjected to some pranking.

*****

George giggled to himself as he filled a few boots with acorns and thistles in the meeting room of the Royal Guards and put a toy snake on the ground for a good measure. He then went to the sign on the wall and erased the message before doodling a new one upon it. He turned to one wall to see a wanted poster of himself, but he quickly went over to give his image horns, buck teeth, and whiskers and took an extra poster to stuff in the satchel for his later amusement. He then added something onto the wall as an additional insult to injury. Finally he took a box out of his bag and shook out a bunch of bugs and spiders onto a certain table in the corner.

He laughed when he went out of the room and carefully hurried down the halls, only stopping to hide behind something or hide in a nook or cranny when it seemed that a castle maid was coming. He hurried down a certain hallway, but as he reached a door someone turned a corner and appeared on the other side, causing him to freeze up in alarm.

Across the hall was a tiny, well dressed girl of six with fluffy looking blonde hair and a stuffed black dragon toy in her arms and when she saw George, she froze up and gapped at him. It didn’t take a genius to know who the child was since she looked like an adorable miniature version of her mother.

“Oh no,” George gulped, but the princess’ eyes lit up and she ran towards him with a big smile. “I know you!” She whispered in delight when she caught up to him. “You’re George Beard aren’t you?! The one the captain of the Guard really hates? It’s ok, I don’t like him either!” She scowled. “If you came to play a prank on him, he deserves it.” This surprised George, but he grinned–he already liked Princess Heidi within the first few seconds of meeting her.

There were sounds of two people talking that was growing louder on one end of the hall–both children recognized growling, snappy tones of one in particular. “Quick hide!” Heidi opened the door and shoved George through before the other two could show up. George looked around in alarm–it appeared he was shoved into some sort of royal treasury. There was so much temptation for a good prank in here, but he valued his life more and so he darted towards one particular pedestal so that he could be able to listen to the conversation while also having a good hiding spot. He did not see the crown on top of the pedestal–a bronze adornment with peridots, topazes, and rubies upon its center–and had he known, he would have chosen another hiding place or at least bothered to close the flap of his very open satchel.

“Is it really that necessary to have these ridiculous festivities and have all these children go running around like they own the place?!” A man’s voice demanded from outside in the hallway. “It’s bad enough that they can’t mind their business and go causing havoc! You know we’re still trying to catch that one kid–he’s making me and the others into the complete laughing stock of the kingdom!”

“My son would have wanted tomorrow to be one of joy and laughter for the children of Piqua.” A woman’s much more calm, yet wistful voice responded and made George nervous when he quickly knew who owned it. “I would not cancel it just because you aren’t so fond of children yourself. And as much as your... dedication has been of help to me this past decade, I can’t agree with all of your demands.”

Outside in the hallway, Heidi watched as her mother calmly stared at the captain of her Royal Guard–neither of them really noticing her. In the princess’s opinion, the man seemed ill fitted for such a title or the uniform–he was large bodied, but he was also overweight and looked like a giant in her eyes. His obviously fake hair made it look as if a hairy black spider was stuck on the top of his head, but what the princess especially didn’t like was how his face was almost always stuck in a scowl with narrowed brows, lines that made him look far older than his actual age, and how his eyes seemed cold and cruel with no hint or shine of kindness in them. “Do you have any idea how many bad influences there are in your kingdom, along the boy we’re trying to get?!” He demanded to the queen and Heidi rolled her eyes at this.

“Does this include the ever elusive, and I quote ‘flying moron in his underwear that has no sense of decency or order, encourages children to be crude and just as idiotic, and is getting misplaced respect from a few citizens for some reason or another?’ Which despite all your claims, you or your men haven’t actually caught or brought to me? Because I have heard a some compliments amongst the many complaints from varying citizens about this individual and I see no problem with him–”

Without any warning, the man let out an animalistic growl and slammed his fist against the wall, creating a huge dent in it, and which startled George to the point he bumped into the pedestal, causing the crown to wobble and fall right into his satchel.

The queen stared in shock at what just happened, as did her daughter, and both watched as the man who barely had much control over his anger (despite being so obsessed with control itself) pulled his face into something tight and ugly and almost inhuman with sharpened teeth for one second. He soon realized what he had done and moved his hand away while grumbling something for a few seconds before he huffed “Well can you at least cut it out with the lanterns?! Those are a complete waste of–!”

“DON’T YOU DARE!” The woman went from stunned to angry, which made the man almost jump out of his skin and fall over in terror. “YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TELL ME TO STOP! I WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO FIND MY SON AND LET THE WORLD KNOW THAT I WILL NOT STOP LOOKING! IF YOU EVER SUGGEST SUCH A THING AGAIN, I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD ON A PLATTER!”

The queen stormed off as the captain stared after her. It was very rare to get the queen that angry and being the cause of it almost made him scared for his life.

“You know,” Heidi couldn’t help say with a smirk. “If my brother isn’t found, I’m still going to let the festivals continue and you can’t tell me otherwise either.” The man shot her a glare but she continued. “You won’t have any control over me, especially if you aren’t around.” The captain scowled at the princess and wanted to snap at her, but instead he stormed down the opposite part of the hall. He didn’t want to risk the queen getting even more mad at him than she already was.

“Is he gone?” George whispered to her from the door moments later. Heidi smiled as she opened the door and grabbed the boy’s hand. “Yeah come on!” She took him down a hall, away from both the queen or the captain. “You know, I’m totally going to fire him if I get the throne. He’s such a jerk!”

“You got my full support!” George grinned at Heidi. Eventually she lead him to the kitchens where they stopped. “You know, you could sneak out with me if you’d like.” He offered. “I know your mom doesn’t let you leave that often and there’s a place all the kids like to escape to in the woods. You’d love it.”

“I want to, but–” The princess was torn by this. “I don’t want to get you in trouble. I don’t want mama to get mad at you and have a reason to lock you up.”

George hesitated before holding his hand out to her. “Well, maybe the next time I come by for a prank, I’ll pay you a visit, ok?” The little princess smiled and shook his hand. “Be safe, alright?” Heidi waved as George went off to escape.

As George went through the kitchens, he had a risky thought before swiping a sugar cube from a tray and made one quick stop to the stables. He looked around when he got there until he saw a pretty, but powerful looking black and white draft horse and he went up to her.

“Here you go.” He handed the sugar cube to the horse, who happily accepted it. In a way it was a bribe for a future encounter, but he didn’t care–he doubted the horse was ever allowed to be treated as more than a horse. “It’s too bad a sweet girl like you has to have a pain in the butt for an owner.” He patted her nose and hurried off to get back into the town without realizing what ‘souvenir’ he was accidentally taking with him.

Meanwhile, the captain of the Royal Guard was growling to himself as he headed down to his meeting room. “Stupid... dumb... idiot... thinks he’s got the queen wrapped around his finger along with all those kids and–” His shoulders began to tighten and he barred his teeth. “If I ever find that annoying little prankster, I’ll–”

There was a loud shriek that made him flinch as well as make his heart stop before he ran to the meeting room where it originated.

A handful of his men were trying to stand on the tables while swatting at some bugs that somehow got into the room. One was yelping in pain as he took his boot off and out came a bunch of painful looking things that somehow got in there while some stuck to his sock. “Get them away, get them away!” Another kicked the toy snake, which made the captain yelp and back away before he could recover himself. “WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!” He demanded before something caught his attention–the message on the wall. It was supposed to say ‘DON’T TAKE BRIBES. MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS IF IT’S NOT JOB RELATED. ALWAYS KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.’

It now read. ‘DON’T WASH WITH A SPOON. EAT YOUR BOOGERS. KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR HAIRY TURTLE BABIES.’

“Wha–what-what the–?!” The captain gapped in disgusted confusion at the sign before noticing that the only wanted poster for a child in the kingdom had been ruined and there was a sign on the wall that said NICE TRY TRYING TO GET RID OF THE LIBRARY, JERK!’ Then it hit him–there was only one individual who would be daring enough to do all of this and somehow he snuck into the castle undetected. His confusion turned into anger and he gritted his teeth as he looked more like a volcano about ready to burst than just an angry middle aged man.

“BEARD!” He roared as he stormed down the hallways. “WHERE DID YOU GO?!” Meanwhile, another guard ran to the queen. “Your Majesty, the crown has been stolen from the treasury!” He panted as Queen Grace’s eyes widened in alarm. She ran down the hallways until she came to the treasury and threw open the door–sure enough, the crown that was meant to go to her son when he would come of age and take over was gone.

The queen could only stare in wordless shock–the sight forcing her to relieve unwanted memories.

Who would do such a heartless thing?!

“WHERE IS HE?!” The captain yelled as he turned down the hallway before noticing the queen by the treasury as a guard ran towards her. “Your Majesty!” He ran towards her, hoping that she’d actually be on his side in this case. “That brat snuck into the castle!”

The queen continued to stare at the empty pedestal before she could be aware of her surroundings. “Someone... took my son’s crown.” She could only say, which shut the man up before he could try to get her attention again.

Her anger began to rise–was there no justice or respect in this world?

“Krupp, you and the others are going out to find whoever it was that took it.” She turned to her captain with a cold glare in her eyes. “And you’re going to bring them to me alive so that I can make an example out of them to the kingdom and everyone else around me.”

Stunned at what he just heard, Krupp’s eyes went wide until he formed a huge, yet wicked grin that almost seemed to take up his entire face. “Oh with great pleasure.” He promised as he felt giddy with delight.

George Beard–the hugest thorn in his side for almost four years–finally did something stupid enough for him to get the queen’s side on this issue at last!

*****

George hummed as he rode on the back of a wagon that was going off into the woods and he finished snacking on some nuts. He wished he had been there to see the stupid look on Krupp’s face when he realized that the castle was no longer safe from his side of the ongoing war against him. He wished there was someone who he could share in such fun, but alas this had to be a one man job. It would make a good story to the other kids at the special spot they all went to–hopefully he could be able to stay there for the night.

He wished there was a place he could stay at forever–the orphanage was too dangerous now that Krupp and his goons were after him. He was lucky to survive winter this year and that involved a lot of luck, timing, and some manipulation.

Unknown to George was a nearby group of four teenagers and their leader was trying to flirt (and horribly failing at it) with a teenage girl. “Look, I’d rather spend tomorrow with my family.” She tried to get away from him with an uncomfortable look in her eyes that none of the boys noticed.

“There’s so many better things to do than be at that stupid festival.” The teen rolled his eyes. “Besides, everyone will all be there and it leaves every other place to ourselves–”

“Yeah, like I’d want to spend time with the same person and his jerk pals who were picking on my little cousins and destroyed the snow fort we were working on together.” The girl spat and stormed off. The teen growled and made to go after the girl to have a few choice words with her, but one of his pals grabbed his shoulder and pointed to the wagon which revealed George as it came in view.

When George got far enough, he leapt off the wagon and went on his way, though he failed to see that he had been spotted by the small group who–upon seeing him–laughed maliciously to themselves before quietly following him.

George sang a song he heard from a bard that he liked as he traveled through the woods alone. He took in his surroundings of the lush greenery of the plants and the blues and gray of the stones and the yellow and purple of the flowers–all of it would be perfect to write about as a conclusion to his recent tale. Too bad he didn’t have the artistic skills to capture and recreate it to share with the world–it would have been nice to find an artist, but that meant putting his complete trust in someone, which he couldn’t afford right now.

“BEARD!” George flinched and turned around to see a gang of four teenagers standing by a tree–each one was not appealing to look at in his own way and they all gave him nasty grins. Of the four teens, the reddish-brown haired one with a key around his neck and a piggish nose identical to his uncle’s, was the smuggest looking one of them all.

“So you finally did something stupid enough to get the queen mad at you.” Kipper–the one with the key grinned. As the captain of the Guard’s nephew, a blind eye was frequently turned to his bullying towards children. None of the children (and even other teenagers) liked him for tormenting them and for getting them in trouble to get himself out of danger and this meant that he was a favorite target of George’s, who showed no mercy to him since he was a five year old.

“Yeah, didn’t I hear something about that, only it was you that got her mad Kipper, not me?” George shot back. “Something about sneaking into the lost prince’s room or picking on the princess?” The look of absolute terror on Kipper’s face made the boy smirk–it was common knowledge that the teen was not a favorite of the queen’s for something he did to offend her in the past.

Then the teen resumed his grin. “Heard you stole something from the castle, Beard. Care to show us?”

“Yeah, whatever your uncle said, it was probably an exaggeration.” George rolled his eyes as he slowly reached for the tie around his neck.

“What does he mean by ‘exaggeration?’” The dumbest of the teens asked.

“That’s not what the town gossip said.” Another teen grinned. “Come on, what’s in the bag, kid?”

George laughed as he moved his hand away from his neck and reached into his bag and grabbed whatever was inside. “Nothing that a bunch of dummies like you would–” At this point he had pulled the object out and he turned his head to look at it, only to come to a complete stop when he saw that it was not a journal or an object to use for pranks, but an actual crown fit for a king in his hand.

“H–how–?” George stammered as he felt his heart stop.

He was worse than a goner now.

“Oh no.” Was all George could say as the teens were just as dumbfounded at the object before Kipper let out a nasty grin. “Once I get my hands on you and turn you in, I’ll be a hero and get into the Royal Guard.” He cracked his knuckles as he began to approach George. The boy panicked as he stuffed the crown back into the satchel and made a run for it. “GET BACK HERE, BEARD!” Kipper ran after him.

“You know, that would include us to, right?” One teen asked as he and the others followed after Kipper. “We also get into the Royal Guard?”

“Yeah sure, whatever–NOW GET HIM!”

“No, no, no, no!” George raced around trees and rocks as he heard the teens go after him. When he had to make a jump off a rock and onto the ground several feet below, he had to brace himself so that when his body would fall over, he could be able to launch himself back on his feet. He raced across a log that served as a bridge over a gap, and he slid down a small dirt hill before forcing himself to go wherever his feet could take him.

George heard the teens laughing behind him as he came closer to part of the winding pathway in the road. He then saw a person leading a cow down the pathway and, with quick thinking, he darted right under the cow before getting right back up and he continued to run.

“HEY STOP!” Kipper snapped and the person stopped and looked at the teen and the boys in confusion as the cow also stopped. “MOVE YOUR DUMB COW!” Kipper snapped at the man who simply just shook his head, forcing the teens to run around him. “Stupid teens.” The man grumbled to the cow, who mooed in agreement.

Because of the time delay, the group lost track of George and they soon came to a tall wall of earth which said boy had been able to climb up, thanks to some rocks.

“WHERE’D HE GO?!” Kipper snarled as George peered over the wall. Grinning, the boy took a small bag of flour out of his satchel and threw it right upon Kipper’s head where it exploded into a white cloud.

“I CAN’T SEE!” Kipper shrieked as the others flinched in alarm and left the leader to flail his arms like woobly windmills as the flour cloud left him in a state of confusion and panic.

George giggled with a hand to his mouth as he continued to make a run for it. “That was so worth the few seconds!”

His happiness was short lived when he began to cross another dirt pathway and he heard the sound of horses in the distance. “Never mind, it wasn’t!” George panicked and began to race back into another section of the woods.

“You’re in so much trouble kid!” Anthrope (one of the guards) hollered as they drew close to the boy.

“You aren’t getting away this time, you little punk!” Meaner (another guard) laughed.

“Ugh, this day isn’t going to get any worse, is it?!” George pleaded to the high heavens as he darted under an oddly angled fallen tree. Just as the sounds of the horses got louder, he noticed a vine hanging off a tree, a noticeable gap, and a ledge on the other side. With quick thinking, the boy ran to the vine, grabbed it, and swung across before the guards could reach him. In fact, those he ditched had to stop their horses before they would fall over.

“YOU’RE DEAD MEAT, KID!” One of the guards yelled and George didn’t care which as he made the landing and raced into the bushes.

George laughed, though his sides were hurting and he just wanted to stop. He could see a clearing and he raced towards it until something back, bronze, and red came right into view.

“YOU!”

Before he knew it was happening, George found himself getting yanked into the air and he came face to an uncomfortably too close and very scowling face with the last person he wanted to see, and who also happened to be his least favorite person in the entire world–Krupp.

It was pretty well known that the captain of the Royal Guard seemed to hate all children with an intense passion, though as to why was anyone’s guess. He hated anything to do with them laughing, singing, playing, being creative, or having fun in general. He was unfairly harsh to any child who was unfortunate enough to cross his path, especially in the town where he had the most control over everyone. With the queen unable to pay close enough attention to what was really happening in her kingdom, her captain was free to impose unofficial and very strict but harsh rules upon children that made it almost near impossible to play outside or be able to enjoy school, for what was the point of having fun if it would only get in the way of learning? Many adults actually took his side as it not only freed them from what they perceived to be ‘little nuisances’, but it allowed them to have more fun without the children to bother them. The nicer adults who tried to protest or who were also victim to Krupp’s nastiness were often ignored or treated far harsher than they deserved.

Understandably, almost all children either hated or feared Krupp, who was currently holding the boy up by the back of his vest as if he weighed a mere five pounds to him.

“I didn’t even have to do anything this time.” Krupp gave the boy a nasty grin that made George’s skin crawl–it was never a good thing when Krupp smiled and it was further proof of how ill suited he was of his title and of the uniform which only made him intimidating instead of respectable or even heroic. “You actually did something dumb enough for the queen to take my side on this.”

“Look, that was an accident I swear!” George was nervous as to how this was going to go down and even though he wasn’t a huge fan of the queen, he knew she was someone he couldn’t afford to get angry. “I admit I pulled those pranks, but the crown must have got into my stuff when I was hiding! Look, I can just give it back to you if it upset the queen so much!” He even made to reach into his bag for the crown.

The mean adult only laughed and shook his head. “Oh you really think I’m just going to let you go off scott-free, bub?! I’m taking you in and I’m going to enjoy every second of whatever punishment awaits you! You’ve given me four years of headaches and pains from all the stupid shenanigans you pulled off and for encouraging all the other brats to misbehave, and that’s only the tip of the many things you’ve done to me!” He shot George a dark glare at this as he snarled at him. “You’re going to pay for ruining my life and making me a complete joke to the whole kingdom!”

George thought for a second and looked around before grinning. “You know, telling me all that wasn’t a smart idea. All I have to do now is say the word and then he can fix this all for me.”

“What are you–?!” What was left of the wicked smile dropped off Krupp’s face when he realized what the child implied. “No–no you wouldn’t.”

“There’s another person you really hate and he’d be more than willing to help a poor defenseless child like me.” George grinned as he slowly raised his hand so that Krupp could see it.

“NO, DON’T YOU DARE!” Like lightning, Krupp let go off the boy and he slammed his hands over his ears and that was when George took his cue to dart around him. “GET BACK HERE!” Krupp yelled as George raced towards the clearing, forcing him to run after him.

“I’m sorry, I doubt you can hear whatever I say with your ears plugged!” George taunted as he turned his head to grin at the overweight adult and raised his hand again.

“DON’TYOUPLAYYOURSTUPIDGAMESWITHMEI’MGOINGTOGETYOU!” George laughed at how much distress he was causing to Krupp and how foolish he made him in mere seconds. He continued to run, until he found himself running downwards towards a tree that was growing out by the side of a cliff with nothing but several feet to the ground below.

Alarmed by this, George tried to stop himself, he ended up stumbling and stopping in the middle of the very narrow, very skinny tree. “Oh no.” He turned around in alarm to see Krupp racing towards him. “NO WAIT A MINUTE, STOP!” A terrified George held a protesting hand out as he realized what was going to happen–he himself might have been an exception, but there was no way the tree would be able to support someone that large.

Unfortunately for Krupp, he realized too late where George was and by the time he tried to stop himself, he ended up stumbling and crashing almost face first right onto the tree that he quickly grabbed onto and which weighed far less than he did.

The loud cracking and shaking of the tree told them both what would soon happen.

“Aaaaand you just killed us both.” George snarked at Krupp as he looked up with a face of complete white faced wide-eyed terror that would have been funny in other circumstances that didn’t involve mortal peril.

Then the tree cracked and popped out of the earth and sent the two falling down to their possible deaths.

“AAAAAHHHH!” George screamed as he held onto the tree for dear life.

“AAAAAHHHH!” Krupp screamed as he also held onto the tree for dear life.

They were so fixated on the rapidly approaching ground that neither one saw the huge rock sticking out of the cliff. The moment the tree collided into it, it split right clean in half and sent the two individuals flying off to different sides.

George lucked out in getting the side with branches and leaves, which cushioned him when his share of the tree crashed to the ground and he was completely unharmed, save for a few scratches and a furiously beating heart. Krupp on the other hand had lost his grip at one point and crashed right down to the ground on his back from a great height, yet as if by some crazy miracle this didn’t cause any serious injury to anything besides his huge ego.

George quickly scampered off his share of the tree and raced away as fast as he could while Krupp struggled to get up right while the black toupee was now crooked to the point that most of it was on the right side of his head.

Krupp was still trying to recover from the shock of the event as he felt his heart pounding and his body shaking with nerves. The adult eventually turned around to look at the slight dent he made in the earth as he struggled to understand that yes he was still alive after that awful ordeal.

Which only added more fuel to the fire to go after George.

Which a determined scowl, he forced the toupee back in its proper place and he got up–though he stumbled and fell over in an ungraceful heap in the process. Krupp growled and forced himself back up once more before storming after George (wherever he might have gone) though his legs were still shaking and he had about as much grace as an awkward goat trying to dance a waltz.

He should have gotten rid of that annoying child and sent him out of the kingdom when he had the chance all those years ago–if he only knew how much misfortune the boy would cause him! How much the brat ruined his life!

George had darted behind some rocks a distance away and he took a moment to try to rest against a nearby curtain of vines–only to fall right through the vines and into a secret tunnel. “Whoa!” George almost fell over until he caught himself, but he quickly darted into the tunnel and waited with a nervously beating heart.

“I’M GOING TO FIND YOU!” Krupp’s enraged declaration was pretty close by. “NOTHING IS GOING TO STOP ME FROM CATCHING YOU AND YOU WON’T GET ANY HELP WHEN THAT HAPPENS! YOUR LUCK’LL RUN OUT AND I’LL BE THE ONE LAUGHING IN YOUR FACE WHEN THE QUEEN PUNISHES YOU! YOU HEAR ME, BUB?!”

George made a dash for it down the tunnel and towards the light on the other end. When he saw what was on the other side and was out in the sunlight, he came to a complete stop.

It was a huge area surrounded by walls of earth and stone, and a small waterfall came down to create a creek that wound its way towards another small tunnel. Plants grew in abundance, though the area was also mostly grass and dirt and there were only a few trees. There was however a spot where several patches of bluish gray thorns with white flowers were growing and it was the only ominous looking thing in the area. Yet none of this compared to the enormous stone tower with a top like a house with reddish brown roofing that oversaw everything else.

“Whoa,” Awed and impressed by what he was seeing, George hurried towards it.

Chapter Text

Harold finished the drawing of the strange flying man for Edith and he smiled at it before setting it aside. He then turned to the open space of the main room of the tower, which had a few comfy chairs, a fireplace, and a huge mirror upon the wall among the things inside it. He focused on the space in front of him before shutting his eyes and tried to imagine up something, which caused his hair to glow.

An illusion of a dolphin soon floated in the air before him and it didn’t look exactly like the one from the book, but it was still a good dolphin and he smiled in delight at it. He tried to think of what a dolphin would do and the illusion did as exactly as he thought–it jumped, it danced, it crawled, but what was swimming? He tried to think of so many ways it could do such a thing, but this caused the dolphin to do everything at once and gradually it became distorted and twisted up into something less appealing than its original state, causing the child to flinch away and the dolphin vanished.

Harold let out a disappointed sigh. Sometimes the illusions wouldn’t stay intact since he always had a lot of thoughts in his head or if he couldn’t understand what he was trying to make. Without some sort of guidance, the images would get messy and ugly and it made him feel discouraged.

Looking for something else to do, he took a book that was next to him and then threw most of his hair out the window so it wouldn’t get in his way. It took him awhile to learn how to read since Ribble seemed against it and though Edith tried to teach him, he always lost attention due to how long and frustrating the process was. Edith did everything with him from sounding out the words, tracing the letters with his finger, and putting the letters together. She also helped him learn how to write and do math and though it took a long time they finally managed it and he was able to read alongside her.

He allowed himself to get lost in the story of heroes who fought to do right and to aid those who needed it. He was so invested in the story of one who stole from the rich to give to the poor that he had no clue that a boy his age was right outside his window.

Meanwhile, George looked up in awe at the tower which seemed to pierce the heavens. He had tried looking around for an entrance, but could not find one and he really needed a place to hide for awhile until he could try to return the crown back to the queen. Or at least find a way to get it to her without getting caught.

There was a high possibility that Krupp could find this place, even if the man had moments where he wasn’t as smart as he wanted to believe.

George went through his satchel before he found what he was looking for–a special bow that he ‘borrowed’ from a family of alchemists that could fold up in half in his satchel. He set it up so that it could be open before finding a special metal arrow and a hook that he could attach onto it, along with some rope. He put everything together and when he was ready, he moved away to get a good view of the window–this would be risky, but it would at least be his first option for hiding.

George then frowned as he noticed something dangling out of the tower–something long and rainbow colored. Was that there before? “Eh, just my imagination.” He shrugged as he readied his aim. “Don’t hit me on the way down.” He pleaded as he pulled as hard as he could before letting go.

The shock of the arrow being released knocked the boy onto his back as the arrow with the hook went flying upward at an unnaturally fast speed and gravity seemed to be a complete joke for it.

Moments later, the hook went through the window and latched into a corner of the window sill, causing Harold to look up and almost drop the book when he saw it. “What the–?” Harold looked out the window and to his surprise he saw a small figure on the ground by the long rope that was attached to the strange arrow. The person was not Ribble, but someone he never saw before.

Harold had no clue what to do and was frozen with curiosity as he moved his head back in to avoid being seen.

George got up and shook his head before examining his handiwork. He let out a whistle–impressed that the device actually worked–and after putting the bow back, he grabbed the rope, tugged at it to make sure the arrow wouldn’t fall out, and after grabbing on and putting his full weight on it, he held on and started to climb up the tower.

It was a long and tricky task because the boy knew that there was a good chance that the arrow would fall out and if he landed on the ground–well, there were better fates than being locked up forever, wasn’t there? On the other hand he repeatedly (yet frantically) told himself “Don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t look down!” as he went higher and higher upward.

Meanwhile Harold occasionally peaked out a little by the window to see what appeared to be someone climbing up towards the window and he was too stunned and at a loss to know what to do. It was literally the fourth person he ever saw in his whole life and he had no clue what their intentions were. He could easily pull the hook out, but that would lead to them falling down to their doom which Harold did not want.

Not knowing that someone up above was watching him, George struggled as he felt his strength dwindle and his arms grew sore. He found himself wishing that he had super strength and as much as he wanted to let go, he knew what would happen. He soon came upon what he saw earlier–strange strands of many different colors hanging out of the window. Without thinking too much about it and desperate to stay up, George wrapped his hand in them until he had something additional to hold onto to keep him from falling before he continued on his way.

Harold felt something tugging at his hair and he looked out the window again before seeing that the person–who looked to be a boy his own age–still climbing up with a hand wrapped around his hair, but he hadn’t looked up to see who was at the window just yet. Harold’s panic only increased as he hid himself and tried to figure out what to do.

At this point George didn’t want to take any risks and also grabbed the hair alongside the rope before putting his full weight onto it before resuming the climb. Harold fought the urge to yelp in pain when he felt the tug and he had to grab onto his hair and anchor himself as much as he could before he could get pulled out the window.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, George was able to reach the window sill and struggled to crawl upon it, but he managed and found himself tumbling into the main room of the tower. His arms felt like they were in pain and he was sure he had blisters on his hands, but he was finally safe. He let out a breathless laugh and got up, but failed to see the other boy around his age looking around before noticing an object on the kitchen counter and carefully–quietly–walked towards it.

“Finally!” George let out a sigh of relief. “It’ll take him days to find me now!” He looked around the room–whoever lived here had some impressive stuff and some of which looked like a nobleman would own. He stepped backward for a moment before his shoe stepped on something that almost made him slip and when he looked down he saw that he stepped on the edge of a drawing with a very familiar figure upon it.

George bent over to pick the drawing up while not realizing that someone was coming up right behind him and he studied it with a smile. Whoever drew the figure was really good and was probably a child around his age, but what gave him hope was that whoever lived here would probably show him kindness or be friendly. After all, why would they draw a picture of–

WHACK!

Harold slammed a heavy frying pan into the other boy’s skull and he collapsed into a heap upon the stone floor as the drawing fell out of his hands.

Harold dropped the pan and stared at the young intruder. He had no idea how to react and he could only do the first thing he could think of.

Harold cautiously approached the boy and knelt beside him before flipping him over to get a proper look at him. He had never seen a child his own age before and the new change was so strange and sudden that he wondered if he was dreaming. The child had a dark complexion and short black hair, and he wore some sort of strange yellow and red tie around his neck, but he also had a brown bag beside him.

Something around the boy’s neck was poking out of the boy’s shirt and Harold couldn’t help but grab it to take a look–it was a silver pendant with a moon etched onto it. He felt something on the back and flipped it over to find a message: ‘With all of our love.’

Who was this boy?

“Harold? Harold what was that sound?” He turned around to see Edith come out of a hallway and she began to walk down the stairs until her eyes found the boy on the floor.

Edith let out a surprised scream and backed into the wall.

“Wh-wha–” She stammered as she pointed to the boy. “H-how did–what–who–?!”

“I don’t know, he climbed up the tower and came through the window!” Harold pointed to the window where the hook was still attached to it.

Thinking fast, Edith rushed to the window and when she saw the rope, she looked at the arrow it was attached to and tore it out as Harold’s attention went to the satchel. “Oh this is bad, this is bad!” Edith moaned as she wound the rope up. “She’s not going to like this if she finds out!” Harold reached in and pulled out the first thing he grabbed, which happened to be a crown.

“Whoa, look what he has!” Edith turned around to see Harold holding up the crown before placing it on his head–it was a bit large for him, but he didn’t mind. “A crown!” He rushed to the mirror to check himself out. “How did he get it?!” He grinned at his reflection–the crown looked pretty good on him.

“How indeed?” Edith glanced back to the boy who was clearly knocked out. She couldn’t understand how such a young person was able to accomplish an impossible task, but he did. How exactly did he find the tower?

What would happen to him if Ribble found out?

“He’s not dead is he?” Harold took the crown off as he approached the boy. “I hit him with the frying pan.” He frowned with dread as he realized what he might have done. Edith’s eyes went wide, but she quickly checked the boy’s pulse in his neck with her fingers. “No, you only knocked him out.” She sighed in relief upon feeling the beating pulse.

“HEY I’M BACK!” A shrill voice yelled from outside, causing the two to freeze up in fear. “THAT PIE BETTER BE DONE!”

“What do we do?!” Harold panicked and tugged at his hair. “We can’t let her find out!”

“Get the satchel and follow me!” Edith scooped up the boy in her arms and struggled to get him to her room as fast as she could while Harold did as she told, but not before quickly taking the crown and the drawing of the figure in a cape and underpants with him.

Edith set the boy down on her bed and when Harold brought in the satchel, she pointed to her dresser–“In there!” She commanded–and he threw it in, along with the drawing and crown–both of which he placed in the satchel for safe keeping. The poor child on the bed looked close to being skin and bones and needed a proper meal, which Edith knew she’d have to fix when she had the chance.

Moments later, a door in Ribble’s room swung open and the woman herself came out with a heavy basket of items and a face that was worn out by the amount of walking she had to do to get up the tower. She shut the door behind her and went towards the main room without having to worry about locking the door to the stairs–it was enchanted so that only she could come and go through it while rejecting anyone else who would want to come in or–more importantly–out.

She slammed the basket down on the kitchen table. “Edith!” She shrieked. “Come down and put this stuff away!” Within moments, Edith emerged out of her room as Ribble helped herself to the pie without even thanking its maker and went to sit down to eat a slice. She didn’t even notice the nervousness in Edith’s visible eye, or how she fidgeted with her hands as if hiding a secret.

As Edith went through the items for cooking, she noticed some things were missing. “I don’t see the ingredients I asked for to make dinner tomorrow.”

“I’m not going to be here tomorrow, so there’s no point in making anything new.” Ribble dismissed. She only needed to feed the other two so that they could survive for her own reasons and not live in luxury every day. She had no reason to waste money on them for newer, pricier clothing, while she herself wore stylish dresses–usually in dark purple.

Edith was used to making things for Ribble that she wanted or enjoyed, but she rarely bothered giving them ingredients to make the foods that she and Harold wanted, or especially enough so that they could also enjoy whatever Ribble wanted. However she had wanted to make a specific dish for Harold that he had wanted to try for his birthday, but there was something more important that she had asked for that was missing from the basket.

“There’s no chocolate!” Edith was dismayed. “I needed it to make Harold’s birthday cake!”

“Yeah, well life’s tough, isn’t it?” Ribble snapped.

“But it’s going to be his birthday tomorrow!” Edith pointed out as Harold quietly peered from outside the door to her room. “Shouldn’t he have something he would want? I wanted to be able to give him more art supplies–”

“Yeah, well he’ll have to wait because I’m not going back to get any right now!” Ribble was getting angrier at the younger woman who kept interrupting her moment of peace. It had been almost ten years since the girl was taken in as a dirty and miserable looking creature, yet despite the ten years and lack of luxuries, Edith still had a youthful look about her and if it wasn’t for the fact that she was so awkward or wore shabby clothes, she could of had someone falling head over heels at her feet with her looks alone. It annoyed Ribble so much that she wondered if perhaps the girl was using Harold’s powers on herself.

Speaking of which–

“BOY!” She barked up at Harold, who flinched. “Get down here and sing!”

Harold nervously looked back into Edith’s room where the sleeping child was before leaving it and closing the door. He and Edith shared a knowing look– please don’t let her find out –before stopping in front of Ribble, who grabbed his hair.

Unfortunately for Ribble, she still was nowhere near finding a way to take the magic of the flower away from the boy or at least anywhere near making a potion that could do the same as the magic. Which meant that she still had two captives to be concerned about, and the longer they were here, the more rebellious they would become–especially once the boy would get in those god-awful teen years. “What are you looking at?!” She barked at Edith, who flinched. “Be useful at something!”

Edith looked away and kept her eyes trained to the door to her room as she heard Harold sing the song. She didn’t want to imagine what would happen to the other child in the tower if Ribble found out, and considering how powerful the witch could be when she wanted to, the child could be in for a nasty fate.

“Alright, you can go.” Ribble let go of the hair when she felt rejuvenated and Harold pulled it away from her as fast as he could–he knew there was a reason Ribble kept using its powers on herself, but he didn’t like her touching the hair. Something about it made him uncomfortable, like she wanted to possess it for herself.

He waited a few more minutes as Ribble resumed the pie. He had no clue how he would be able to hide the boy from her and it would be near impossible, but he had to try. On the other hand, he looked out the window and remembered the lights in the sky. Maybe if she could let him out just once, maybe they could help the boy escape soon, rather than wait until night time.

The lights... where the outside world was... where he wanted to be.

“Um, I was thinking,” Harold nervously began. “I can wait for the cake, but... well, since it’s going to be my tenth birthday and I haven’t asked for a whole lot the past few years... maybe you could let me and Edith go see the floating lights in the night sky?”

“The what?” Ribble sharply asked as she looked up from the last of her pie.

“The lights that float in the night sky on my birthday! They always show up every year and I want to see them up close!” Harold told her. “If I can have just one thing this year, I want it to be that! I won’t even ask for anything else for the next five years!”

Ribble stared at the boy before letting out a loud, raspy laugh. “You’re saying that you want to leave the tower?!”

“Well, yeah, but–”

“Even just for one day?!”

“Yes–”

“You know what they do with kids like you?!” Ribble snapped as she got up from her chair. “You’d be looked at as a freak with that hair! You’d be laughed at! And a lot of adults out there hate kids and don’t want to look at you! Never mind all the dangerous stuff out there that could get you killed or people that’d kidnap you for your powers! You know how you got into my care?!” She demanded as she walked towards Harold with a scowl and the boy slowly cowered away from her. “Your ungrateful parents handed me to you without a care because they didn’t want someone like you in their family! They didn’t want a strange child who can’t behave and wastes time on stupid drawings!”

Harold was used to Ribble saying harsh words and he never once heard her take any of it back or even say a word of thanks for anything. He was used to hearing her say that adults hated kids and that his family abandoned him and it was all to the point that it was just part of life. This? He didn’t even know how to react.

“Tara!” Edith protested–horrified at the cruelty of such words as she tried to get to Harold, who was trying not to look hurt but was failing at it. “He just wants to see the lights! Why are you being so harsh on him?! If it’s such a big deal, why not let him go in disguise?!”

“You’re a living example as to why he shouldn’t go out!” Ribble snarled at the woman with an accusing finger pointed at her, causing her to freeze. “Your sisters sold you off, remember?! They only saw you as free labor when your parents died! You were a dirty, ugly miserable thing when I found you and they had no problem with getting rid of you for an enormous amount of money that you still have yet to pay off! No one wants a clumsy, awkward thing like you around! What makes you think you can look after one child out in the harsh world on your own?!”

Edith was about to protest when she remembered that horrible day. “Th-that’s not true.” She stammered as she felt herself cave in. Even after all those years, those memories still hurt her and Ribble’s cruel words still shook her to her core.

“As long as you live under my roof, you work for me until that debt gets paid and no one has to see your face!” Ribble snapped at Edith, causing her to grimace and back away. Seeing this made Harold snap out of his spell and made him angry as the older woman continued. “Your stupid, childish face with the head of a child who still insists on feeding dumb stories to the boy! You’re the one whose been encouraging him with all those stories behind my back, aren’t you?! Trying to teach him how to read and–!”

“STOP IT!” Harold’s hair glowed as he rushed to Edith and wrapped his arms protectively around her waist as several monsters were conjured up in the room around them, but only one human illusion stood in front of the two.

Ribble let out a yelp and flinched when she saw an illusion of a strange looking man in a red cape with black dots and undergarments standing protectively in front of Edith and Harold with his arms thrown out and a great scowl was on his face. She turned around and almost had a heart attack when she saw the several monsters in the room, but especially at what appeared to be a great big black dragon who growled at her, which made her stumble, trip on her feet, and land on her back.

Harold let out a laugh at this as Edith tightened her grip on the boy while the illusion of Harold’s hero remained standing in front of them.

Ribble struggled to get up and was almost terrified at the sight of all the creatures, but then she took a closer look at them–they all looked childish as if sculpted by a child. She turned her head to face the illusion of the man in front of her captives–he was the least realistic and most stupidest looking of them all.

She slowly got up before facing Harold. “What did I say about your powers?” She growled.

Harold realized the mistake he made and his grip tightened on Edith, who returned the hold.

“What did I say about wasting your powers to create these stupid things?!” Ribble snapped which made Harold flinch, as did all the illusions. He tried to stay calm and maintain them, but they began to start looking as if they were candle wax melting down into nothingness. “This is why adults don’t like kids! Wasting their time on stupid things! This is all childish, inappropriate, and especially disgusting!” She pointed at the illusion of the hero who tried to stay in place the longest, but he too began to lose his shape. “And you say you want to go to the outside world?! And do what?! Try to win everyone over with cheap tricks?!”

The illusions all vanished and Harold’s hair had ceased glowing, but the hurt and fear in his face remained.

“You know what?!” Ribble snapped at him. “Maybe I should leave for a week and let you last on whatever’s around here! Maybe I shouldn’t bring you anything back! See if that’ll teach you a lesson! And you!” Ribble pointed at Edith who only tightened her grip on the boy, but glared at the older woman with barely contained anger. “Maybe this is also why you were sold off in the first place, because you encourage such behavior! He’ll never leave this tower and so long as you’re in debt to me, neither will you!”

She stormed off to her room. The two heard her furiously packing her things away before there was the sound of a puff of smoke to signify her disappearance.

It took a few long, agonizing moments before either could react.

Edith let out a deep sigh and sank to the floor. “Harold, I’m sorry.” She gripped the poor boy’s trembling shoulders. “I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing to me?” Harold protested as he grabbed the woman’s hands. “I’m the one who brought up the lights to her! I’m the one who pranked her! I’m the one to blame!”

“I helped make her mad!” Edith gritted her teeth. “No I–I should have done something to help us get out of here after all these years! I could have made a ladder or something! Anything!” She held her face in her hands. “I can’t even rip that door open! I’ve tried so many times, it never works! I’m so sorry Harold! I can’t do anything right!”

Harold looked at the window again as he thought over what Ribble said. She had no intention of setting him free, no matter how much he could try to get on her good side. The longer he and Edith would stay here, the longer they would suffer, and no amount of trying to be nice would change a thing. If that didn’t work, then he would somehow need to do the opposite–to be naughty.

“Maybe there’s still a way.” Harold realized as he thought of the child in Edith’s room. “If that kid got in here, maybe...”

He gave Edith a determined look. “Maybe there’s still a way out of here. No door required.”

*****

When George finally awoke, he noticed two things. One was that his head felt as if he had been whacked over the head with something heavy. The other was that he could barely move because something was wrapped around him. He moaned as he tried to come to until finally he shook his head.

Then he noticed a strange woman looming ominously over him.

“AAAHHH!” He yelled and tried to sit up, but instead he flopped back on the bed. “WHAT THE HECK?!”

He took a moment to recover and when he looked again, he had a better look at his surroundings. He was in some sort of room with drawings and paintings upon the walls and a huge closet. The paintings looked as if they had been made by a child and he was quick to recognize the art style being identical to the drawing of–

“Are you alright?” The woman shyly, awkwardly asked and he turned to her again. A window had been opened, which played with the shadows of the room and almost made her look scary, but George now saw that she was actually quite the opposite when she moved closer to the beam of light. Her dark hair covered the right side of her face, but what could be seen of her face included a bright blue eye and freckles that gave her a pleasant, youthful look. Her clothing looked about a couple years old–the green skirt and the pink vest over the white shirt had faded quite a bit–but her apron was adorned with colorful embroidery with bright, jewel like threads, with the blues especially bringing out the blue of her visible eye.

“Where am I?” George demanded. “And what is–” He looked at what he was wrapped up in and recognized it as the same stuff he used to climb the tower. “What the–?” He grabbed some of it. Come to think about it, this stuff felt familiar, he realized while failing to notice that the woman was mouthing at something.

“You’re in the tower.” The woman’s eye darted to the closet. “Um, why are you in the tower?” The woman asked.

“I needed a place to hide.” George winced as he recalled the exact reason. “I got in a bit of trouble.”

The woman paused and glanced to the closet, or whatever was behind it. “How exactly did you find the tower?”

“I was trying to get away from someone.”

“You weren’t seen by an old woman on the way here, were you?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Are you... uh, from where the floating lights are?”

“The what?”

“The floating lights in the sky? You know the lights?”

George tried to think. “Uh, you mean the stars?” He raised his eyebrow at her.

“No, the lights–once every year? Do you know where they are?”

“Miss, I have to admit that could mean anything!”

“She means the lights that’ll happen tomorrow!” A new voice–a boy around his age–cried out in frustration. “The colorful lights?! You know how there’s red, blue, and green and all kinds of lights that appear in the night sky once every year?!”

George hesitated. “You mean the lanterns they do for the lost prince’s birthday?” He frowned. “Hey who are you?”

The woman backed away as a small figure slowly came out of the shadows and into the light. It was a boy who was also dressed in clothing that had seen better days, with green and white stripes sewn together for sleeves for his vest. Yet what caught George completely by surprise was that the child had at least seven different colors in his messy looking hair... which was pretty long looking... and very familiar looking.

George adjusted himself to see that the stuff he was wrapped in went down to the ground... towards the boy and up his head.

“AM I WRAPPED UP IN YOUR HAIR?!” He yelped in disbelief, causing the boy to flinch.

“I had to in case you were up to something bad.” The boy finally said, except George could now pick up a shy, guarded tone in his voice as if he was afraid of him, yet curious at the same time.

“Wait, so let me get this straight–did I use your hair to climb up part of the tower?! How did your head not pop off?!” George didn’t know whether to find this impressive or gross.

“Yeah you did and it was terrifying. I mean you climbing up the tower was impressive and all, but how do I not know you’re after something like my hair?”

“Why would I–?” George pulled a face at this. “No! I was trying to get away from someone and I think you know who!”

“Uh, no?” The boy tilted his head in confusion.

“You know who I am, so must know who I’m talking about!” George protested. “Big, grumpy old looking guy with the fake looking hair and doesn’t smile that much?! Really hates kids?!”

“I don’t know who that is.” The boy confessed, causing George to drop his jaw. “I’ve only seen one man in my life and that doesn’t sound like him. And I don’t know you, but–alright, you what? We’re getting off track.” He shook his head as George was getting increasingly confused by the strange kid. “You got really lucky that you weren’t caught by the person who owns this tower, so you owe us for saving you.”

“This is saving me?” George pointed to the hair around him and pulled a face at the boy.

“Look, here’s the thing–Edith and I need to get out of this tower, but we need help getting to those lights. So we need a guide to help us out, and that’s where you come in. You’ll take us to the lights.”

“No way, I can’t! I was trying to get away from that place!” George protested. “I–” He realized the satchel was missing. “Where’s my satchel?”

“I hid it.”

“You didn’t hide it under the bed, did you?”

“No, but it’s somewhere where you can’t find it.”

George moaned in dismay. “You looked in and saw the crown, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Look, I didn’t mean to take the crown, it was an accident, but they don’t believe that! That’s why I ran away from the castle and the town! That’s why I need to lay low until Krupp can calm down! Though knowing him, that would take weeks.” George added and muttered under his breath before continuing to protest. “And now you want me to go back! Do you know what they might do to me?! I could get locked up! Or worse!”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about, but I need to get there by tomorrow night and you’re the only one who can help us!” The boy was getting frustrated as he crawled onto the bed and moved closer to George and threw his hands out. “Look, like it or not, you have to help us because your own life might be in danger if you stay here for too long and we can’t stay in here! This could be our only chance to escape! And I promise that you’ll never find that crown, and you can tear this tower up brick by brick or send a horde of monsters on it, but you’ll never find it!”

“I can’t go back! You can’t make me!” George growled. Good lord this kid was persistent even in the face of danger. That or he was stupid.

The boy looked at the woman in frustration and she began to think. “This crown... what were you planning on doing with it?” She asked.

“I want to return it so that the whole kingdom won’t be after me! Honestly, I’m not going to sell it! I’d be a wanted man for life!”

“And how long would it take to get to the castle?”

“About less than a day, provided you take shortcuts and don’t get side tracked.”

She thought for a moment. “Well, I guess you can have the satchel back, but I guess the crown will have to be hidden until you fulfill your end of the bargain. Then you can have it back when we return to the tower.”

“Are you two nuts?!” George looked between the two. “What if I get caught?! They won’t let me return the crown back! They want to lock me up!”

“Well, we can’t trust you to run off with it.” The boy gave the woman an uneasy look.

“If something happens,” The woman added. “We will stick with you and talk to whoever is giving you a hard time. I promise we won’t make your life more difficult than it needs to be and we can talk to your family if it’ll help.”

Both of them saw that George went silent at this for a moment and shifted his gaze to his chest. He took a deep breath and looked up. “Alright, I can at least take you to the outskirts of the town and then I need to lay low.”

“There we go.” The woman smiled at both boys. “That wasn’t so bad, was it? Oh, I don’t think we caught your name.” She smiled kindly at George. “Mine is Edith.”

“It’s George.” George was almost taken by surprise at the woman’s kindness–it was so rare to find a nice adult, even if this one was unknowingly adding to his frustrations and current problems. “And?” He looked at the strange kid, who suddenly went quiet.

“Uh, it’s Harold.” He finally answered as he finally looked George in the eyes. “Just Harold.”

“So then,” George began “Can you please get me out of your hair?”

*****

As George took out the arrow by the window sill, Harold shyly watched the boy from Edith’s side. He had only spoken with two people in his life before this boy came and now that everything was calming down, he had no clue what else to say to him. He tugged at Edith’s sleeve as she finished packing some food in her own bag and had a yellow shawl over her shoulders.

“How can we get in to get the crown?” He whispered into her ear when she was at his level. “If Ribble finds it, she’ll kill us.”

“I’m not taking that risk.” Edith quietly reassured him as she patted her bag. “And it sounded like he was in a lot of trouble, so I’ll hold onto it.”

Understanding dawned upon Harold. “Oh!” He grinned at her.

“I have to admit, I don’t know if the arrow will be able to hold her weight.” George looked back at the two. “Honestly it’s a miracle that I was able to climb up in the first place.”

Harold tried to think and then he had an idea. “Wait a second.” He grabbed a knife out of the kitchen and quickly ran to his room to grab the top blanket off before rushing back.

“Uh, what are you doing?” George asked as the boy jammed the knife into two sides of the blanket to make holes. As he watched the boy tie two different sections of hair around the holes, he understood. “Oh you got to be kidding–are you serious?!”

“I don’t have any other choice and we can’t leave any evidence behind, so we can’t just leave the rope here!” Harold protested. “Plus, I’m not leaving without Edith! She’s been stuck here as long as me!”

“Oh my gosh, you’ll get yourself killed.” George sighed as he hooked the arrow into a place where it would stay secure before he made to climb back down.

“Harold, it might be too risky.” Edith tried to console the boy as he finished his handiwork. “It’s alright if it’s only you that goes.”

“No way!” Harold protested as he handed both ends of the blanket to Edith and looked out the window to see George climbing down.

He felt his heart begin to race–he was seriously doing this. He was going to escape and go out into the outside world that he always looked at but could never be a part of. He knew full well he might get himself and Edith killed, but he had no desire to live the rest of his life up here.

After a few moments, George let go of the rope and looked up. “Ok, are you both coming?!” He called up.

Harold took the arrow out of its hold and watched it fall to the ground with the rope. He climbed onto the window sill and waited until Edith also got on and wrapped her arm around his waist while her free hand grabbed the blanket. She looked as if she was trying to calm down and tell herself that she wasn’t about to do something extremely reckless.

“I’m ready when you are!” Harold grinned at her.

She finally looked at him and nervously nodded her head, cuing him to grab the other part of the blanket as he wrapped his free arm around her.

She finally pushed them both off and into the air.

“I can’t look!” George moaned and hid his face in his hands–they were going to make a nasty red mess on the ground, and he knew it!

The rushing air made the blanket open up and it became the makeshift parachute Harold intended it to be.

Harold opened his eyes and when he saw what he had accomplished, he grinned. “It worked!” This caused Edith to open her eyes and stare in awe at the fantastical sight. They were not going to die–they were going to land on the ground.

George let go of his face to dare look up. “It... actually worked?!” He gapped.

Within moments, Harold and Edith landed on the ground and the woman had to rest her back against the brick of the tower to calm her nerves. “Oh never again!” She let out a laugh of relief and when she let go of Harold, she clutched her chest while barely acknowledging that her bare feet were touching the ground for the first time in nearly ten years.

Harold stared at his surroundings–this time from a new perspective. “Hey, are you alright?” George asked, but he was ignored as Harold glanced down on the ground to see his bare feet standing upon grass and dirt–the last time he tried this in the small green house, he got punished so badly that he didn’t dare stand or play in the dirt ever again. He lightly stomped a foot on the ground and brushed it against the grass, which felt ticklish and pleasant. He collapsed to his knees to feel it all with his hands and savored every sensation.

“This is real.” His eyes widened. “It’s all real.”

“There you go.” Edith finally freed the boy from the blanket, which she quickly wrapped up in her arms since she knew they would have to do something about it.

Like lightning, Harold darted towards the water and charged at it. He laughed as he felt how cold it was and how it splashed around his legs–how it rushed against him but couldn’t knock him over. He slammed his hand against it and made it splash out before laughing again and hurried out of the water and back onto the ground. Everything was happening all at once! Everything that was new and forbidden he could now finally experience!

Then he saw it–the tunnel Ribble always took to get in and out of here. With a breathless cry, he ran as fast as he could towards it–with so much space before him, he could run in a straight path as long as he wanted and he could feel the wind rushing against him, but it couldn’t hold him back.

He bursted through the vines and found himself in a wooded area he had never seen before and it made him excited.

“FREEDOM!” He yelled in delight at the top of his lungs, making all the birds fly up into the air. He placed his hands on his head and laughed as he felt the sun beams that broke through the trees above him and warmed his body. He did it! He was finally outside!

“Hey, wait up!” He turned around to see George racing up to him. “Wow, you run fast!” He panted when he caught up to Harold and moments later Edith also emerged, but the poor woman was a little more winded from running since she hadn’t the same amount of energy as either child.

“Sorry!” Harold beamed. “It’s just all exciting, you know!” He grabbed George’s shoulders and shook them as he jumped up and down. “You have no idea how amazing this is!”

George nervously laughed as he looked at the easily excited boy’s hands on him. “Well don’t get too comfortable because I can’t promise it’ll be an easy time.” He gently forced the hands off of him. “Also, you do realize that you’re dragging all that hair through the ground and water, right?”

Harold looked back and saw that the long trail of hair already gathered up a bit of dirt and leaves, and a lot of it looked wet from the water from earlier. “Oh... wow,” He winced before grabbing it and started to wrap it all diagonally around his body.

Seriously, what’s the deal with this kid? George thought once more before letting out a sigh. Well, hopefully he won’t get me in too much trouble–maybe I can ditch them by the town and hide in the woods when it’s all over by sundown. What’s the worst that could happen?

“OK, lead us off!” Harold cheered when he was done and most of the hair was wrapped around him.

As George lead Harold and Edith out of the area–one of them taking in everything that was all new to him, while the other took in sights she thought she’d never see again–he had no idea just what he was in for and that some of the troubles ahead were just beginning. Like the fact that his wanted poster had accidentally gotten out of his satchel and was lying on the floor back in the tower.

Chapter Text

While Harold had waited for this day for almost all of his life, he had no idea that he would also have some serious doubts and guilt over what he had accomplished. “I did the right thing, right?” Harold asked himself as he sat on a rock while George watched on in confusion. “I mean it was all so sudden and I had to take the chance when it came, right?”

***A few minutes later***

“NO REGRETS!” Harold screamed with joy as he tumbled down a grassy hill. “NONE AT ALL!”

***A few minutes later***

“Oh gosh, why?!” Harold moaned as he laid face down in some flowers. “I’m a horrible person! I got us in so much trouble... she’s going to kill me. Then she’ll kill Edith and then she’ll kill me again. I should go back!”

***A few minutes later***

“I’m never going back!” Harold hollered and raced though a creek as he threw his arms up in the air.

***A few minutes later***

“But there’s no way to get back in the tower so we can’t sneak back in and pretend it all didn’t happen.” Harold quietly moaned to himself in a cave, and though George was at the mouth end of the cave, he couldn’t hear this. “What if she uses her magic on us? She’d turn us into frogs! Trap us in a pit of snakes! Make snot come out of our ears instead of our noses!”

***A few minutes late–wait, I did this gag before...***

“BEST! DAY! EVER!” Harold used his hair to swing on a low hanging branch while George just stared and had no clue what to do.

***Oh yeah, it was for one of my Legend of Zelda fics***

“Argh, what if everything goes wrong?! I’ll–oh, what’s that?!” Harold was snapped out of his thoughts when a butterfly flew past him.

***Kid, you’re making me do so many page breaks, geez!***

“What am I even doing?” Harold moaned with his face in his hands when George approached him.

“Uh, hey?” George asked. “So I see you’re having some issues. A lot of regret over leaving?”

“You don’t know the half of it!” Harold shook his head.

“No I totally get it. You’re upset with your mom, or whoever it is that you don’t like that lives with you, and you and your older sister, or whoever she is, want to get out and have an adventure. Or crush the soul of someone who you think is being unfair, so you want to teach them a lesson. Or you got sick of being told that you were a stupid kid and wanted out. I won’t judge.” George shrugged. “But honestly, do you want to continue with this, or should I take you back–?”

“No, I want to keep going!” Harold protested as he got up and bushed the back of his pants. “This is my only chance! Let’s keep going!”

George paused before noticing something. “You have a lot of twigs and leaves in your hair, you know that?”

“Huh?” To Harold’s shock, there were indeed many sticks and leaves jammed in his hair. “Oops.” He sheepishly began to pick them out one by one. He was not used to being outside, so he didn’t really anticipate that this would become a problem for him.

George thought for a second before grinning. “Wait, you gave me an idea!” He opened up his satchel and took a slingshot out. “You could stuff some things in your hair! Like this!” He jammed the item into Harold’s multi-colored hair and it barely showed.

“Wait, what are you–?!” Harold protested, but George kept going. “Here, add this!” He stuck a pencil into the boy’s hair. “Maybe this too!” He hid a small satchel of pellets into the boy’s hair and did it so that it was hard to tell that anything was trapped in the tangled mess. “There, now we got a few things in there in case of an emergency!”

“Oh!” Harold grinned as he caught on. “I never thought of that!”

“Yeah, it might come in handy considering what we could be up against, and I might need to add more stuff.” George looked back in his satchel as Harold wound his hair around his body again and he was startled to see that the drawing from before somehow got into his satchel. He couldn’t help but stare at it and observe the details for a moment, including the smiling face of the familiar man on it.

“Did you draw him?” George asked as he glanced at Harold and showed the drawing to him.

“Oh yeah, I did!” Harold beamed as he looked at it. “I saw that guy flying outside the tower and I–” He hesitated as he remembered Ribble’s harsh words. “Uh, never mind. You probably don’t want to hear about any of it.” He nervously stared at his feet.

“No I do!” George grinned. “I can’t draw as good as you! You made it look almost exactly like him! I’m more of a story-teller, but I’d kill to be able to do illustrations too! You’re one of the best kid artists I’ve ever come across!”

Harold was stunned. “Th-thanks?”

“You’re welcome!” George playfully patted Harold on the shoulder.

“You like to write?” George let out a yelp and turned his head to see that Edith was watching them with a smile. He completely forgot about the woman and honestly it almost scared him. “Jeez!” He clutched his his chest and after a moment of calming down he nodded. “Y–yeah. I mean not as much as I used to–long story.” He stammered and let out a nervous laugh. “Anyway, we should probably get going.” He continued on his way. “There’s some people out here that I don’t want to run into. We’re also a bit lost, so it might take me a moment to figure out where to go.”

Harold and Edith began to follow George. As they did, Harold realized something. “Wait, you know who the man in my drawing is?! He’s actually real?! Really real?!” His eyes shone with excitement.

George turned his head and gave Harold a strange look as if he grew a second head. “Uh, yeah? I’m kind of surprised you don’t know. Almost everyone in this kingdom knows who Captain Underpants is.”

Harold’s eyes widened before he let out a laugh. “I knew I didn’t make him up!” He grinned at Edith. “He’s real! He’s real and his name is–” He realized what the name was and then burst out into more laughing. “That’s really his name?! Captain Underpants?!” He laughed some more as George let out a laugh of his own.

“I guess you must be new here.” George decided. “But yeah, that’s his name.”“Can you tell me more about him?” Harold pleaded.

“Uh, not here.” George nervously looked around. “Maybe the less I talk, the better. There’s someone I’m trying to avoid and he could be anywhere close by. He could hear me at any moment if I’m not careful.” He snickered. “I bet he got himself lost in the woods.”

*****

“WHY AM I LOST IN THE WOODS?!” Krupp angrily yelled at the sky. “WHY COULDN’T THIS HAVE BEEN IN TOWN?!”

Krupp’s mood had been growing worse the longer he was unable to find George or the pathway back into town. He was getting fed up with this stupid, annoying search which got him stuck in this awful place where everything looked the same and it made his head spin! He was getting sick of seeing green almost everywhere he looked, including the bushes and branches he was now heading towards!

“The moment I get my hands on him again–!” Krupp growled as he felt himself strangling something in the air before trying to smack the bushes and branches away–one of them smacking him right in the face. He let out a yell and grabbed the whole branch before ripping most of it away and tossed it to the side.

Minutes later, he finally came across a familiar spot that was close to the main road. He let out a deep sigh of relief as it seemed that something finally went right. “Wait,” He realized he completely forgot something. “Where did I leave my horse?”

*****

“Oh dear, are you lost?” A woman came up to the black and white draft horse who was lost in the woods. She noticed the kingdom’s crest on the animal’s saddle and frowned. “HEY DID ANYONE LEAVE A HORSE BEHIND?!” She yelled. She waited, but there was no response. She sighed after a few minutes and grabbed the horse’s reins. “Come on, let me take you home and I’ll let the guards know about you when we get the chance. I can’t have you out here alone, you poor creature.”

*****

Realizing he made a stupid mistake, Krupp’s anger rose back. He began to tense up and he gritted his teeth–why did everything have to keep getting worse for him when he thought he had it under control?! He looked up and for one second he thought he saw George, but it was only a wanted poster attached to a tree. Even if it wasn’t the real deal, the image of the boy with the mocking smile was able to drive him to insanity with little prompting.

“ARGH!” He stormed up to the poster and pointed a finger at it. “I can’t find my horse or my men! What do you have to say for yourself?! You think my suffering is funny?! Huh, bub?!”

The poster didn’t respond back because it was a poster.

Krupp let out an enraged yell, ripped the poster off the tree, and tore it to pieces before throwing it in the air. “WHY?!” He screamed at the heavens. “WHY CAN’T I CATCH ONE STUPID KID?! THAT’S ALL I’M ASKING FOR! IF THERE’S A GOD UP THERE, WHY DON’T THEY COME ON DOWN AND ANSWER ME OR AT LEAST GIVE ME SOME SLACK?!”

*****

“Hmm,” The writer of the story looked down from the heavens with a thoughtful look. “Nope!” She shook her head before looking to someone else. “Hey, you helped me create this story, what say you? Should we help him?” She asked as he pretended to think.

“Nah, he doesn’t need our help.” He shook his head. “Plus, he’s got the wrong person–neither of us are Pilkey.”

*****

“RIGH!” Krupp screamed and slammed his fist into the tree and managed to cause a dent in it. He then let out a yell of pain and drew his hand back and had to squeeze it to stop the intense throbbing sensation.

He suddenly sensed that someone was behind him. “WHAT’DYA WANT?!” He snapped at a woman with bluish looking hair, who wore glasses, and who was dressed for traveling. She flinched at his outburst, but then she sneered.

“NONE OF YOUR BEESWAX, YOU WEIRDO!” She snapped right back. This caused Krupp to flinch before he retorted back as politely as he could in that moment.

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?! I’M THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD!” He jabbed a thumb at himself. “AND RIGHT NOW I COULD USE SOME RESPECT!”

“Yeah, because yelling up at the sky to someone who isn’t there like a crazy person demands respect!”

“I’M TRYING TO CATCH A KID I LOST IN HERE AND I’M HAVING A BAD DAY! YOU THINK I WANT TO GO RUNNING AROUND IN THESE STUPID WOODS LOOKING FOR AN INSOLENT BRAT?!”

“WELL SORRY, BUT I DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR STUPID WORRIES! I GOT MY OWN LIFE PROBLEMS TO DEAL WITH!” The woman growled, but then she paused. “Wait, how many of you are running around in the woods?”

“Too many for something like this!”

The woman hesitated. “And there’s someone you’re trying to find... whose in the woods.” She looked around for a moment as a look of worry crossed her face. She turned around and darted down the same way Krupp went while the man went from angry to incredibly confused.

“What the heck was that about?” Who the heck was that strange woman? He shook his head and decided to walk down one part of the pathway. He honestly didn’t care if it had nothing to do with him or with George, and she didn’t offer any help so what was the point?

*****

While Ribble could care less about the fact that the crazy man with the ridiculous nose was someone important, the fact that he and a bunch of other guards from the castle were so close to the tower was far more concerning.

She didn’t bother running all the way to the tower and used bit of her magic to just transport herself right at the foot of the tower. She had to limit just how much magic she could use because she was not as powerful as she used to be, especially when the effects of the flower didn’t last as long as it used to. It was the least of her concerns as she yelled up “HEY ARE YOU TWO STILL UP THERE?! ANSWER ME!” at the tower window.

No response.

“HAROLD?! EDITH?! ANSWER ME RIGHT THIS SECOND OR ELSE YOU’LL REGRET IT!”

Moments passed and still no response.

She headed towards the carefully disguised back door and raced up the steps as fast as she could, though her body tired out sooner than she liked and she found herself panting for her life when she got to the door. After a long moment of recovery, she threw the door open and slammed it behind her when she reentered the main part of the tower. “YOU BETTER ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW!” She hollered.

She looked everywhere, expecting the brat to be ruining the walls of his room or the mousey woman to be trying to make something edible, but to her alarm neither of them were in any part of the tower. It was as if they vanished without a trace.

“How?!” She stammered as she looked around the main room. The door kept them from leaving and to go out through the window guaranteed death at this height! She could care less about the woman, but it was the boy she was terrified about the most. Without him, she had no way to keep herself young and alive or to get his powers back for herself.

A piece of paper by the window sill caught her eye but what made her stare at it was the fact that she had seen it many times before outside of the tower. Quickly she went over to it and snatched it up to come face to face with an illustration of a smiling, mischievous boy who appeared to be around Harold’s age.

GEORGE BEARD. WANTED FOR PUBLIC DISTURBANCE, PROPERTY DAMAGE, ETC. SUSPECTED RUNAWAY. ESTIMATED TO BE AROUND THE AGES OF NINE TO ELEVEN. NOT TO BE TRUSTED AND KNOWN FOR TRICKERY AGAINST OTHERS. IF CAPTURED, SEND TO THE ROYAL GUARD WITHOUT HESITATION.

How did this wanted poster get in the tower? Ribble recalled what that strange man said–they were trying to capture a boy who ran into the woods. There was no way this poster could have gotten into the tower and she would have never brought it in with her... unless someone else brought it with them. Someone from the outside.

Ribble growled as she crumbled the poster in her hands. Whatever happened, she could not let her captives go free–if either of them figured out Harold’s real identity and he returned to the castle, she would never be able to access his powers again.

If that ungrateful slave had a hand in this, she was going to suffer horribly.

“You’ll both regret setting a foot outside this tower!” Ribble snarled before preparing herself for the search.

*****

Elsewhere, the guards were also lost after trying to find the young thief and they all hung out in one spot with their horses close by as they tried to think things over.

“This is like trying to find a needle in a haystack!” Rected complained. “Why couldn’t this kingdom have been in a flat place with a bunch of fields or in a desert?! It’d be so much easier!”

“And deal with the heat?” Meaner asked. “It’s bad enough when summer kicks around, but all the time? No way!”

“At this point we can’t tell which one is harder to catch.” Anthrope grumbled. “One stupid little kid who can hide out in the woods, or some moron who can fly.”

“Hey, uh, do you even know what the queen is planning on doing with the boy?” Fyde nervously asked. “Considering what he stole, that’s going to be a really big deal, don’t you think? She hasn’t been doing well these past few years.”

“It doesn’t matter as long as we finally get the kid.” Anthrope spat. Seconds later, they all heard a rustling sound and turned their heads in alarm, only to see that it was the captain’s nephew and his friends.

“Hey, are you guys all trying to get George?” Kipper asked. The teen had gotten most of the flour off of him from his previous encounter with the boy by this point, but some of it still clung onto his clothes and it didn’t help with his mood. “We tried to get him earlier–”

“Kid, as much as we appreciate it, we doubt you’ll get into the Royal Guard unless you actually hand the brat over to us.” Meaner sighed. They were all aware that the teen wanted to take the easy way into their group, but there was some agreement behind their captain’s back that his nephew had yet to actually do anything to prove himself.

“He’s pretty hard to catch, what with always having a trick up his sleeve.” One of Kippers pals admitted. “But he’d be easier to nab compared to that other guy.”

“Yeah, the stupid guy in his underwear.” Kipper snickered at this. “He’s worth a good laugh or two. I always wanted to see if we could pelt him with some rocks and hit him the next time he flies near us.”

“He’s pretty dumb.” Another one of Kipper’s friends agreed. “You’d think they’d bounce off him because he’s so fat, or would he bleed?”

“He’s as bad as Beard!” Anthrope snarled. “Keeping us from doing our work! He’s always on the children’s side and they love him to the point that they refuse to turn him in! You’d think their parents would have taught them to stay away from freaks like him! He’s probably not even right in the head!”

“There’s also the fact that some of the townsfolk actually like him because they always say he helps them out however he can and he’ll never ask for anything back!” Rected threw out. “How does flying a cow from one spot to another count as a good thing?! I mean I admit that’s impressive, but that makes us look bad and we’re only human! He probably isn’t!”

“I think we should lock him up in an insane asylum the moment we catch him!” Meaner laughed. “He’s such an idiot we’d probably be able to trick him eventually! I’m with Krupp–we need to get rid of him sooner or later! He’s funny for awhile, but then it gets annoying when he actually starts messing with us!”

“Hey, out of curiosity,” Fyde began “I know that Krupp wants to catch him more than anything–more than Beard, considering he’s a lot angrier at him–but have any of you found it odd that he’s never actually been with us whenever we were close to catching him? I know he’s busy and all, but considering how much he doesn’t like him, you’d think he’d be right with us.”

“Well, I’d like to be there when you do catch him.” Kipper grinned. “I can’t wait to see him get dragged across town or locked up for everyone to look and laugh at!” He and most of the others laughed at the mental image of a grown man in his underwear being forced to do exactly that. The only one who didn’t laugh was Fyde, who only frowned and shook his head at this.

“WHO SAID I GAVE YOU ALL TIME TO SLACK OFF?!”

Almost everyone looked up in alarm and shut up when they saw Krupp glaring at them with his arms crossed against his chest and a deep, ugly scowl on his face as he looked as if anything could set him off. Kipper was the only one who smiled and waved at him. “Oh hey Uncle–”

“NOT NOW!” Krupp furiously spat at his nephew which was something the teen was not expecting and it made him flinch. “I’VE LOST BEARD, I’VE LOST MY HORSE, I’M LOSING MY PATIENCE, AND I’M NOT IN THE MOOD FOR ANY STUPIDITY OR GOSSIP ABOUT SOME KID’S DUMB IDEA FOR A HERO IN THIS KINGDOM!” He paused. “Wait why are you even here?!” He looked back at Kipper in confusion.

“We tried to go after Beard for you?” Kipper nervously answered.

“We only needed a brief break.” Fyde meekly explained. “We can’t be on look out all the time you know.”

“Yeah, he’s got a point.” Anthrope admitted.

Krupp pinched the bridge of his nose as he rested against a tree and tried to calm down, but his annoyance was still present when he was finally ready to speak a few moments later. “If any of you can make my day and tell me something good that can help me out, I’d really appreciate it. I want this kid to suffer for all the troubles and misery I’ve faced.”

The adults were silent and could not think of anything that could be helpful. Something came into Kipper’s head and he grinned. “Actually, I have an idea of what you could do.” He turned to his uncle. “You know how the kids in this kingdom like going to one spot in the woods? I think I know where it is.”

“How is that going to help me?” Krupp looked up. “It’s not like the brat’s hiding somewhere in particular or if the others would–” Then it hit him “–if the others would know where he is or are trying to hide him.”

None of the kids were willing to rat out George Beard that easily and he knew this from multiple attempts to get them to cooperate or by threatening them, but that never worked and especially if their parents got involved. If he played his cards just right, maybe–

“Do any of you have those cuffs I asked for?” Krupp demanded.

“Yes.” Anthrope got up and took a pair out of the pouch of the saddle of her horse. Unlike regular handcuffs, this kind had a metal shell that also covered the hands of whoever had the misfortune to wear them.

“That’s, uh, a bit much isn’t it?” One of Kipper’s friends was surprised at the strange design–whoever wore those wouldn’t be able to do much with their hands.

“No it’s not ‘a bit much’ it’s plenty enough!” Krupp snapped at the teen as Anthrope handed the cuffs to him. “These are specifically for whoever I want them for and George gets the highest honor!” He looked at the cuffs and cracked an unpleasant smile as he imagined the moment they’d finally trap the boy. “And once these get on him–” He couldn’t help but let out a nasty sounding chuckle. The kid’s luck was about to run out.

*****

George moaned as he felt his stomach growling and let out a deep sigh. “Hey are you alright?” Edith noticed.

“It’s nothing,” George tried to wave it off, but then his stomach growled a little too loudly for his liking. Realizing the problem, Edith reached into her bag for a cloth and unfolded it to reveal some of the strawberry bread that she brought with them. “Here, have some.” She offered with a smile.

The boy stared at her in surprise. “Are you sure?” He asked. Normally he had to rely on kids to give him food, to steal only what he needed, or else trick unsuspecting adults with a sob story to get a bite to eat.

“You look like skin and bones, you poor thing.” Edith tore a piece off and handed it to the boy. George stared at it as if it were a treasure before he quickly devoured it. “Slowly, don’t choke!” Edith protested as she worried for him, while Harold also grabbed some bread to eat.

“This is so good!” George moaned in delight in between bites.

“She makes the best food!” Harold threw in with a huge smile. He waited as George finished off the bread before he added. “So can you tell me about him now? About Captain Under–?”

“No, no, not yet!” George protested through the food in his mouth as he waved a hand out before he could swallow and continue. “Trust me, now’s not a good time. A lot of the adults really hate him, and I don’t want to risk it.”

“Alright then?” Harold found this odd. “Well, can you tell me about the lights?” He asked as he ate his own piece of bread.

George thought for a moment as he brushed his hands on his pants and shrugged before picking a rock up and played with it. “Not much to it, to be honest. There’s a festival tomorrow and they do the lights at night every year because the queen thinks they can bring her son back to her. Word has it that he was kidnapped when he was just a year old and no one has seen him since.”

“He was taken away?” Edith looked up at this in surprise. She recalled that the queen was pregnant with a child before her parents died, but she never learned enough details about the child or even what his name was since her sisters–she shook her head. She never wanted to go back to those memories as they were too painful for her.

She missed so much, but to find out that the child that the queen carried while ill was kidnapped was awful. She pitied the poor woman for that terrible misfortune almost instantly.

“Yeah, but I wish he wasn’t.” George scowled. “The queen got so obsessed with finding him that she lost her attention on us kids. And that huge jerk she calls her captain of the Royal Guard is making our lives miserable any chance he gets and she’s not doing anything about it! She doesn’t care about us no matter what she says or does–nothing is getting better! Sure you got other kingdoms to worry about, but what about us?! What about the little guys?! I almost wish the prince didn’t exist in the first place, so none of this would of happened!” He threw the rock as hard as he could into the bushes.

Was it Harold’s imagination, or was there a trace of sadness in George’s eyes during his outburst?

“The bottom line is that you can’t trust adults in this world. There’s too many bad ones and not enough good ones. It’s like they all forgot what it’s like to be a kid.”

“I guess,” Harold recalled Ribble’s fury from earlier. “But not all adults are bad.” He looked at Edith. “There’s good ones out there, right?”

George turned his head to look at Edith. “I don’t–” He hesitated and looked around. “I mean I–Wait, I recognize this area!” He suddenly grinned. “There’s a place we can stop at!”

“Oh thank goodness, my feet are killing me!” Edith sighed in relief.

“Yeah mine too!” Harold added and quickly stopped caring about what George was going to say.

“We didn’t go that far though.” George was puzzled at this as he looked back at the two before noticing that something was off. “Wait, why didn’t you guys bring shoes with you?” He pointed at both their feet which were bare and dirty.

“We don’t own any.” Harold replied as Edith bit her lip and grew uncomfortable at this. Walking on grass and dirt without shoes wasn’t a problem, but it would be once they reached unforgiving ground to walk on.

“Oh well,” George thought this was odd, but didn’t think too much on it before he darted through the bushes. “Wait!” Harold hurried after the boy, along with Edith.

Moments later, they found George waiting for them with a smile before he turned his head and pointed at something in the near distance.

It was what was probably supposed to be a two story house or cottage, but a huge tree was growing into part of it to the point that it seemed to be either pressing against it and a branch or two stuck out of a window or roof. However the building looked as if it had seen better days to begin with because of the faded paint, old wood, and worn out looking stones, and it looked as if no one had lived there in several years. Even a sign that was nearby to advertise what it used to be was now faded and barely hanging off the hinges of a post. Some sort of wooden tower or miniature fort had been built onto one of the huge tree branches and that part looked new in comparison to the rest of the premises, but that was it.

“Whoa!” Harold was in awe as Edith struggled to remember if she had seen such a place before.

It took her a moment before it all clicked. “This used to be an inn.”

“You know that place?!” Harold was surprised, as was George.

“I remember seeing this place in its heyday when I was younger than either of you–my father had a business partner who owned the place–but then it closed for some reason.” Edith could not believe how easily the memories started coming back to her. “It has to have been closed for almost twenty years by now.”

“Well, it’s not an inn anymore.” George told her. “We’re at the only place in the kingdom that’s completely safe for kids. Every kid who wants to escape from the adults and just want to hang out and be themselves and have fun always comes to The Crusty Sandbox.”

Chapter Text

“What do you mean it’s completely safe for kids?” Harold was puzzled by George’s words, as was Edith.

“It’s one of the only places where the queen’s guards won’t bother looking into because it’s old and run-down and in the middle of nowhere away from the main town.” George explained as they went through the bushes. “Also they think we’re talking about an actual sandbox when we talk about this place. Which means its the only place where kids can be kids. We’ll be safe here and besides,” He grinned “Everyone here likes me.”

“Wait, does this have anything to do with this person you keep mentioning?” Harold stopped. “The one you’re trying to get away from?”

George stopped. “Uh... kind of, but it’s a long story. He’s been after me for a really long time but I, uh... may have done something to make it personal.” He let out a nervous laugh. “Then again, he hates everything I do!”

Unknown to George, there was someone in the wooden tower and when they saw him as well as the other child and (more importantly) an adult following him, they dashed down into the old inn as fast as they could.

“So there’s other kids here now?” Harold was both excited and nervous as they approached the building and he could hear many strange sounds coming out of it–one of which included what sounded like music being played on many instruments at once.

“Yeah, but uh,” George looked at Edith. “They might not take well to her since she’s an adult, so just let me do the talking, ok?”

As they approached the door, Harold noticed that, for some odd reason, there was a huge mountain of cloth on one side of the building that was barely in view. The cloth had a very familiar pattern of a vibrant shade of red with black polka dots, which rose his curiosity, but before he could ask about it, George swung the door open and Harold’s eyes turned to what lay within The Crusty Sandbox.

The old inn was crowded with several children who ranged from six to even a few thirteen year olds–all of whom were engaged in an activity, be it playing a card game, playing musical instruments, drawing, reading, talking about whatever they pleased–if you could name it, they were doing it. The walls were covered with scores for games and drawings, there were crafts on tables, there were shelves of books that children were normally discouraged from reading, a map of the kingdom on the wall, trinkets and toys hiding in nooks and crannies, instruments stored in one corner, and the tree branches that managed to get into the building were adorned with more drawings, dart boards, and what not. There were bowls of candy, fruit, and other snacks on the countertops that were on one side of the room, along with jugs of water and juice that the kids poured into cups for themselves. Finally, to Harold’s biggest surprise, there was a dog and a small kitten hanging out with the children–both of which he had never seen before.

“JACKPOT!” An eleven year old girl in viking clothing named Noréll slammed her cards down on the table before happily grabbing a few trinkets from a pile to the dismay of the other players.

“We’re not finished yet!” A twelve year old boy in a strange golden like outfit and who had strange tattoos painted onto his face named Kai warned as he tightened his grip on a staff with a dragon upon it.

“Yeah, I need some of that!” An eight year old named Keisha jabbed a finger at Noréll as she held up a book. “One more round and I’ll throw in this book that I managed to snatch back from the guards!”

“Are you done yet?!” A eleven year old girl with a scar on her left eye and tattoos painted onto her face named Sasha posed for a painter as she triumphantly held her dagger out, though she was getting rather fidgety from waiting for too long. “I want to practice my fighting skills!” She jabbed her dagger several times into the air for emphasis.

“You can’t rush art!” The thirteen year old artist who was one of the older residents–also known as Linda–was carefully recreating the other girl on her canvas as she added some blue to the background with her brush–her palette and paints rested on the table next to her.

A smaller group of kids cheered as two kids were fighting each other in an intense duel as they blocked each kick and punch they threw at each other while trying to throw one of their own.

“You’re getting good!” The oldest fighter–a thirteen year old boy named Dev with unusual spiky hair and who had what looked like a sword in a sheath on him–complimented the other fighter as he had to dodge her fist.

“Come on, bring out your weapon!” The ten year old girl whose name was Jayde and who happened to have a mix of green and brown colored eyes took out her staff.

“Uh, maybe that wouldn’t be a smart idea.” Dev hesitated as he eyed the weapon. “It’d be too dangerous in here. What if we hit someone?”

On a small performance stage, that familiar red fabric with black polka dots was used as curtains for the background. On the stage, a girl of twelve years named Meredith played on a beaten up, yet still well tuned piano while a younger nine year old girl named Iya, accompanied her with a flute. Another girl was also playing a viola alongside them, but she was in the shadows so it was hard to see who she was. A brown haired boy of nine years named Tommy was listening to them, alongside a seven year old named Rose and another girl of about six years named Kira, who happened to be Keisha’s younger sister.

“I want to paint flowers and cookies on my lantern for tomorrow!” A nine year old girl named Sugar talked to a boy who dressed like a warrior.

“I’m going to paint dragons on mine!” The eight year old boy named Lloyd grinned. As he said this, one boy of ten years was explaining what the two were talking about with sign language to a seven year old boy.

“Marco says he’d paint the stars and some ships on the sea on his.” The translator–Ravi–interpreted what the other boy wanted to say to them.

“Whose a good wolf-in-training?” A girl of twelve years and dressed in wolf-like clothing named Luna petted the brown dog. “Whose going to help me lead a wolf pack one day?” The dog responded by joyfully licking her cheek, causing her to giggle and pet his face. “Aw shucks Greg, of course you will!”

“WE GOT A BLUE WARNING!” A voice boomed out over the noise and all eyes turned to see a twelve year old girl with weapons on her from the top of the wooden staircase that lead to the look out tower. The girl–Arwyn–had a horn in her hand that she used to give out the warning. “WE GOT A BLUE WARNING AND AN ORANGE WARNING! GEORGE IS HERE WITH AN ADULT AND SOME KID!”

All eyes darted to the trio by the door and almost immediately everything went silent as all the activities stopped and even the musicians ceased their playing. Some children looked at them with great curiosity while others were more guarded and tense. It made Harold scared, partly because he had never been around so many people and partly because he didn’t know what was about to happen. How would they react to him?

The only being who was excited for the new arrivals was Greg the dog, who bounded towards George and threw himself on him, almost knocking the boy over. “Whoa, easy Greg!” George laughed as Greg licked him all over his face. “Good to see you too!”

Greg barked with joy before rushing to Harold and sniffed him all over, making him take a step back. “It’s ok, he just likes greeting people.” George reassured him. “Go ahead and pet him, he won’t bite.”

Harold hesitantly petted the dog, who stuck his tongue out and licked his hand, which made Harold laugh and reach out to pet the animal some more.

“Oh, uh, hi guys!” George nervously waved when he remembered what was going on. “Fancy a few more visitors? Wait.” He paused as he realized what Arwyn just said. “Orange warn–uh, wait is that the warning you guys made up for me? When did I get a warning?”

“You shouldn’t be here Beard.” Dev growled at George. “After what you did today, you’ll get us all in trouble!”

“You should go.” One of the kids who had watched Dev and Jayde fight scowled.

“Yeah, we don’t want Krupp coming here after you.” Linda frowned. “No offense, but–”

“Did you really steal the crown?” Sasha asked George in delight. “How did you do it?! How did you get out of the castle?!”

“I heard you got away from Kipper and the other bullies!” Rose grinned.

“What’s she doing here?!” Meredith pointed at Edith. “Adults aren’t allowed! Rules are rules!”

“Whoa!” Iya rushed to Harold and glanced at his hair, which was still wrapped around him. “Is that your actual hair color?!” Iya asked as he drew away from Greg and nervously backed away from her and into George. She then noticed just how long it was and her eyes widened. “It’s so long! That’s so amazing!” She beamed at him.

“Uh, thanks?” Harold gave her a shy smile as other kids near him marveled at it.

“Can I touch it?” Sugar asked as she approached him. “It looks so fluffy looking!”

“Hey, this doesn’t change anything!” Linda yelled. “George’ll get us in trouble! We should throw him out!”

“We can’t do that, Krupp will punish him!” Lloyd threw out. “You know he’ll do it!”

“Yeah, we aren’t that mean!” Kira shuddered in horror as other voices spoke out.

“But he’ll track him down!”

“He’ll make him hang by his toes!”

“We’ll lose our hideout!”

“He’ll make him file down his fingernails and clip his toenails!”

“EWW!”

“He’ll tell all our parents!”

“We can’t be as bad as him! That’s so wrong!”

Without warning, there was a loud banging sound and all the arguing ceased when everyone turned to two children who stood side by side on the stage. One of them was the girl who had played the viola and her free hand was engulfed in red magical sparks while a boy in glasses beside her held his hands up in the air as blue sparks of magic shot out of his hands.

Harold was stunned at the sight of the two, who looked to be about his and George’s age. They just did magic. He realized with awe. Whoever they were, they seemed to command respect from the others to the point that no one said a word.

“One thing at a time.” The boy–Billy–calmly began. “Starting with the blue warning.” He turned to Edith, as did the other children. “Why is there an adult with you?”

“Yeah, who is she?” One of the girls shot a suspicious look at Edith. “No adults are allowed!”

“Uh,” George looked at Edith as she glanced around at the children–some of whom seemed scared of her, which greatly confused and hurt her a little. “She’s with Harold here.” He gestured to Harold. “But she’s ok, she’s one of the good adults!” He quickly threw out. “She gave me food and Harold insisted that she had to escape with him when I met them, so she can’t be all that bad!”

“We have some quick questions for the adult.” The girl–Lisa–looked at Edith. “How do we know you won’t rat everyone out? Or George for that matter? You know that the guards are after George, right? That they’d probably imprison him to teach us all a lesson?”

“Yeah, if you get one of us in trouble, you’ll have to pay the price when you least expect it.” A boy warned.

“Uh, well he mentioned something like that.” Edith now felt a bit scared by the children–the first time she could remember being scared of a child in a long time–as she tried to answer Lisa while tightening her hold on her bag. “But don’t your parents know where you all are? Out in the middle of the woods? It’s pretty far from the nearest town as far as I can remember and I’d be worried sick if I didn’t know.”

“Oh we have our ways, lady.” Noréll adjusted her viking hat. “We have our ways.”

“We’ve never seen you or the rainbow haired boy before.” Ravi translated what Marco signed and both boys frowned at Edith. “Are you from another kingdom?”

“She seems alright!” Rose pipped up. “She’s not trying to be bossy or trying to kick us out! Not like Krupp or any other–!”

“Ok seriously, whose Krupp?” Harold finally asked, making all the kids stare at him as if he grew a second head.

“You don’t know?” Kira asked. “Are you really not from around here?” When Harold shook his head, she explained. “He’s supposed to be the captain of the Guard, but he’s no hero. He’s really scary and mean.” Many kids shuddered at this, including the older ones who had much experience with him.

“Captain of the–? Oh wait, you mentioned him before!” Harold realized as he looked at George. “That’s who you were trying to get away from?”

“Yeah, he is.” George grimaced. “He’s hard on everyone, but us kids get it the worst.”

“Especially if you’re an orphan!” One girl sighed.

“Krupp hates kids!” Kai growled and pointed to a drawing of an incredibly overweight and ugly looking man with black scribbles for hair, fangs for teeth, and what looked like a pig’s snout for a nose. “He doesn’t think we should have fun and he thinks schools should be tough on us! He almost got rid of the town library today!”

“Yeah, he expects us to behave, but we can’t do that if everything we do bugs him!” A boy added. “Even just singing or laughing makes him yell at us!”

“He’s a bully and a coward!” Luna scowled as she jabbed a thumb at her chest. “His heart is all shriveled up and cold and hard as a rock! And he always sets up stupid curfews and laws for us for no reason! How is six o’ clock late for us?!”

“He hates fun!” Keisha spat as she picked up the small orange kitten who rubbed against her legs and she began to pet him as Kira shuddered and hugged her big sister.

“He’s probably not even human! Sometimes his teeth will change and look sharp like he’s a monster!” Jayde scowled.

“I’m scared of him.” Tommy nervously huddled into a ball. “I try to avoid him if I can.”

“So any ally of him isn’t welcome here!” Arwyn told Harold from her spot as she placed her hands on her hips. “But George has done something pretty dumb that could make life harder for us all, so I don’t think we should let him stay!”

“But he’s out there right now looking for me in the woods!” George began to panic as he realized that he was not going to get help. “Look, just let us use the secret passage and we’ll get out of your hairs!”

“And let an adult we don’t know learn all our secrets?!” Arwyn stared at Edith. “No offense lady, but we don’t know whose side you’re on!”

“Ok, ok! I get it!” Harold had enough as he stepped forward and threw his arms out. “You don’t want George to stay here because he got someone mad! He’s in trouble with an adult and I know what that’s like! I know what it’s like to be around a mean adult who hates fun and won’t let me do anything! But you can’t kick him out because I need him to take me to the floating lanterns tomorrow and I’ve wanted to see them for so long and I’m so close to finally seeing them! You have no idea what it’s like to always see them from a distance year after year but never get to go! Don’t you guys have dream you’d fight for?! Something that you would do whatever it takes to make it come true, even if it’d get you in trouble?!” He pleaded, hoping that they’d understand.

All went silent as the kids stared at Harold and even the young spell casters let their magic die out as they thought over his words.

“You think none of us have a dream?” Meredith finally spoke up after a few seconds before gesturing to her piano. “I want to be a pianist, but none of the adults give me a chance. My friends are my only audience I’ll ever get until I leave the kingdom or until Krupp finally croaks.”

“Same here.” Iya added as she glanced longingly at her flute. “Krupp hates music, so it’s either here or at my house.”

“I want to be a dragon master like in the stories!” Lloyd added as he gestured to a drawing of a teenager on a black dragon that was on the wall near him.

“Me too!” Kai added. “They exist and I’m going to find one some day!”

“And I’m going with them!” Noréll grinned as she raised a cup into the air.

“And me!” Arywn threw in when she finally smiled as all around George, Harold, and Edith, many children confessed their deepest desires.

“I’m going to be an awesome fighter!” Sasha stabbed her dagger into the air a few times, forcing Linda to quickly move her canvas out of the way. “And I’m going to be an artist as good as the greats!” Linda added as she showed her image of Sasha to Harold and George, who admired it together along with Edith.

“I’m going to be the first kid to lead a wolf pack!” Luna smiled dreamily. “Imagine rushing through the woods at night and howling up at a full moon with them!”

“I’m going to learn as many languages as I can and become a scholar.” Ravi declared. “And Marco wants to be a sailor.” He added when Marco signed for him and held up a toy ship for emphasis.

“See, they’re all like you!” George grinned to Harold who was amazed at hearing all these things. “We all got a dream!”

“I’m going to be a martial arts champion.” Jayde beamed as she held her staff out.

“And I’m going to be a martial arts teacher and teach other kids when I get better at my skills!” Dev swung his sword out. Jayde quickly smacked the sword out of his hand and she laughed as he shot her a displeased look. “Got ya!” She grinned.

“Wait, isn’t that like from that one story with the black and white bear?” Noréll asked.

“I want to be a baker!” Sugar sighed as she looked at some cupcakes she made that were still cooling down.

“I want to travel to as many places as I can!” Rose pipped up.

“I don’t honestly know what I want yet.” Tommy admitted.

“Those are all wonderful dreams!” Edith was amazed. “It looks like you all are working your way towards them! It’s nice to see that you all support each other!” She gave them all a kind smile.

“Ok, you know what?” Billy smiled back at Edith. “You actually are a nice adult! That’s not something we hear every day.”

“Actually, yeah.” Keisha was amazed. “She’s actually being nice to us.”

“Hey, what’s your dream?” Harold turned to George. “You’ve never mentioned yours.”

George lost his smile. “Uh... about that...” He shifted his eyes and bit his lip. “It’s not important.”

“You want to be an awesome storyteller, don’t you?!” Lisa called out to George and gestured for him to come to the stage. “Come on up and share something with us! Tell us of your accomplishments!”

“Yeah!” Sasha grabbed George by the wrist and pulled him towards the stage. “Tell us something good, story boy!”

Within moments, George found himself near the young spell casters and musicians while facing several waiting eyes–especially Harold’s who was curious to know more about George. He looked around and when he realized he had nowhere to go, he gave in.

“Well, uh, I guess I’m the local Robin Hood around here.” He began. “But instead of stealing from the rich, I prank the adults who are mean to us. I throw rotten eggs into their rooms, I drop bugs onto them, I rearrange their signs–you name it, I can do it.”

“Like how you dropped jelly on that one guard today!” Lloyd laughed and the kids all cheered as Harold listened in awe and Edith set her bag down near a red and black polka dot curtained window, along with her shawl.

George grinned as he felt his own excitement grow. “And I’ll keep doing it as long as there’s mean adults in this world! I’m going to have so many big adventures with no one to stop me and I’ll write about them all! And one day soon, I’ll be just like Robin Hood and put an end to our local Sheriff of Nottingham’s reign once and for all with twice the laughs and twice the fun!” There was more cheering from the kids as George grabbed a pile of drawings nearby.

“See I snuck into the castle to pay a visit to the guards’ rooms! I put thistles in the guard’s shoes, bugs on the tables, and wrote a bunch of stuff on their walls while doodling on wanted posters!” George excitedly began as he showed a poorly drawn picture of the castle as Harold laughed. “And as I went down the hallway, I overheard Krupp arguing with the queen, so I hid in the treasury!” He held up a very badly drawn version of the captain of the Guard–complete with the fangs, scribbles for hair, and pig-like nose–causing all the kids to boo and hiss at it. “And by accident–and yes, I mean it was completely an accident, as if someone up above wanted to mess with me–the crown somehow got in my bag. I might have bumped into the column I was hiding against when Krupp got really angry, so I guess the crown landed in my bag, which must have been wide open for that to have happened.”

“How did you escape?!” Keisha asked.

“I... well I encountered Princess Heidi and she helped me escape through the kitchens.” George confessed, causing some kids to either be amazed or stare at him in disbelief. “But she’s totally on our side! She hates Krupp as much as we do!”

“Anyway, when I headed towards the woods, Kipper and his goons somehow found out!” He held up a drawing of a badly drawn group of boys. “And when they bugged me about it, I opened up my bag to prove them wrong–but to my horror, I found the crown inside!” George continued on with recounting his story and Harold listened to it all as he pictured every detail in his head. He could clearly see it all as if he were right there besides the young story-teller. He wished he had been there–all this talk of adventure, pranks, and escaping from danger sounded like a lot of fun.

“And then Krupp grabbed me!” George eventually got to that particular point of his tale.

“RARGH!” George flinched and turned around to see that Billy was right behind him and was dressed in poorly made armor and had a messy wig made of black painted strips of paper glued together on his head. “I GOT YA, BUB!” Billy–pretending to be Krupp–grabbed George’s wrist. “I’M GONNA LOCK YOU UP UNTIL YOUR HAIR TURNS WHITE!”

“BOO!” Jayde hollered at ‘Krupp’ along with the other kids while Harold laughed. Even Edith couldn’t help but crack a smile at Billy’s acting.

“He told me that he wouldn’t let me return the crown and apologize to the queen, but when I made to–err, I mean when I bit his wrist, I got away and he chased me down a hill and onto a tree!” George pretended to bite Billy and he chased after George who proceeded to run away. “Hey get back here, ya little punk!” ‘Krupp’ growled at George. “I’m going to hang you by your toes!”

“The tree was growing out of the side of the hill and it was able to hold me just fine, but it wouldn’t hold up someone as big and fat as Krupp! It snapped and we went falling to our doom!” George collapsed onto the floor, as did Billy, causing the audience to gasp. “But then it snapped in half on a rock!” George shot up with a gasp. “And my half went flying away from Krupp and he was sent flying elsewhere!” He flung himself to the side of the stage. “And that’s where I left Krupp! He’s still on the look out for me even now and if I’m lucky he’s still lost in the woods!” He finished with a flourish and pointed at Billy as Billy grinned and ripped the wig and armor off. Meredith had dashed onto the stage at that point and played out a few mocking notes on the piano for the mean adult as all the kids cheered and clapped.

“And even if Krupp does catch George, we all know who will come in to help save the day!” Lisa grinned as Billy went towards a red and black polka dot curtain that was laying on a nearby crate. He tied the ends at his neck to make a cape and he struck a pose with a hand on his hip and a finger pointed straight into the air. “TRA-LA-LA!” He triumphantly cried out in a deep voice as all the kids cheered even more.

“Captain Underpants!” Sugar cried out in joy.

“Hurray for Captain Underpants!” Lloyd cheered.

“He never lets the guards or the other adults ruin our fun!” Kai cried out.

“He’s always going to be on our side!” Tommy beamed.

“Yeah, he’ll catch wind of what Krupp did and pummel him good!” Sasha cried out as she smacked her fist into her hand. “He’ll help George give the crown back to the queen!”

“Uh, yeah he would.” George let out a nervous laugh. “I guess he would.” He then noticed Harold. “Hey Harold! I’m going to show these guys your drawing of him!” He pulled out the drawing of Captain Underpants out of his bag and all eyes went to the drawing.

“Whoa!” Linda’s eyes widened at it.

“You made that?!” Billy asked Harold as some kids began to push the startled boy to the stage. Harold yelped when he was forced up and when he found himself standing beside George, he felt himself blushing. “Er, yeah?” He admitted. “I mean it’s just a drawing. Nothing special, right?”

“No it’s good!” Linda went over to get a better look at it. “It looks like him! It’s the best drawing I’ve ever seen of him!”

“Yeah, you’re really good!” Kai gave the boy a thumb’s up.

Harold could not believe what he was hearing. All these kids were actually telling him he was a great artist–no one was shunning him like Ribble said they would! “You actually mean it.” Harold let out a breathless laugh and smiled. “You guys like my drawings!”

From her spot, Edith smiled. It made her happy to see that Harold’s first time around children his own age was turning out alright for him. That nasty woman was completely wrong–all these children were impressed and kind towards him.

“You know what rainbow haired kid?” Iya beamed. “You’re one of us now! Welcome to The Crusty Sandbox!”

“TO THE CRUSTY SANDBOX!” Lisa cheered as Meredith began to play out a cheerful, lively tune on the piano. Lisa and Iya quickly picked up their instruments and joined the pianist.

“Come on, let’s dance!” Noréll laughed as she grabbed Tommy’s hand and began to spin him around.

“HECK YES!” Jayde grabbed Luna’s hands and forced her into a dance. Soon many children hurried to the center of the spacious room as close as they could and they all started dancing. None of it was perfect, but they were having so much fun that they didn’t care how awkward or crazy they got.

“Come on, dance with us!” Rose grabbed Edith’s hand and tugged it. “Pretty please?!” She begged.

Edith let out a laugh. “Well why not?” She let the girl lead her to the center of the room and she danced alongside the child. She missed the sound of music and being around so much merriment, so this was especially fun for her.

Many others saw Edith dancing with Rose and their liking towards this unique adult grew a little more. Then before Edith knew it, another child was switched with Rose and she found herself dancing with Ravi instead. She smiled and curtsied to him before continued to dance with the boy for a few moments before he was switched out with another.

“Come on!” George laughed as he took Harold by the hands and spun him around–for one moment he could completely forget about his troubles and just have fun. As for Harold, this day could only get better for him. He escaped the tower and now he met so many others who liked him and were being nice to him. It was the most fun he ever had in his whole life and he was enjoying every second of it.

“To George Beard for outsmarting Krupp yet again!” Lisa hollered as she gestured to the boy.

“And to our new friend Harold for being an amazing artist!” Billy added and gestured to Harold.

“HERE, HERE!” Many kids threw their hands into the air and clapped as Greg barked with them and the small orange kitten beside him mewed out in happiness.

*****

Eventually things calmed down and all the kids moved onto other activities, while Arwyn switched with Dev at the look out tower. Many of them were curious about both the boy with the rainbow hair and the nice woman who didn’t try to discourage them and some whispered about them in secret. On the other hand, some just cared about having a burping contest after drinking enough juice and they did their best to show off.

George drank some juice as he sat next to Harold and a few other kids as the kitten from before began to rub himself against Harold’s feet. He saw Harold looking nervously at it before he said “Hey it’s ok, Lil’ Petey just wants to get to know you like Greg did.” He watched as the boy held his hand out for the kitten, who sniffed it before rubbing his head against it. Harold beamed and petted Lil’ Petey, causing the kitten to purr in delight.

“I’ve never been around animals before.” Harold smiled at Lil’ Petey. “They’re both so friendly and soft!”

“So how did your hair get like that?” Tommy asked Harold. “I’ve never seen hair that long or have so many colors.”

“Yeah, are you one of the magic folk like Lisa and Billy?” Noréll asked.

Harold felt himself grow nervous at this–his hair was still wrapped up around him, but he hadn’t unleashed his powers yet, nor did he want to. “Uh, I was born with this hair–at least I think I was.” He let out a nervous laugh. “But other than that, there’s nothing magical about me! No, not one bit!”

“Oh ok, because if you were magical I’d suggest being careful in town if I were you.” Noréll continued as George gave Harold a thoughtful look. “The magic folk and most of the adults don’t exactly get along, especially not with Krupp or the Queen.”

“Yeah, it’s not just us.” Ravi added as Lil’ Petey went from Harold to George, who proceeded to pet him.

Meanwhile, Greg had been watching a couple of kids playing with darts and throwing them at the drawing of Krupp when all of a sudden he rose his head at one of the windows that was covered with a red and black poka-dot curtain and he let out a deep growl. This made the nearest child–Luna–turn around in alarm. “What is it boy?” But the dog let out a couple ferocious barks at the window. This made Luna get up to check to see what was bothering Greg and she went to the front door as the dog let out another bark.

“Uh, so why exactly is there so many red and black curtains around here?” Harold asked George as he watched what was happening with Greg.

“Oh, that’s from practicing magic with Lisa.” Billy answered as he passed the boys. “We found this old blanket with that pattern on it last year and we tried to make a new one one, but we ended up with a bunch of curtains instead for some reason.” He frowned at this, but then shrugged. “But hey, they all came in handy, right George?” He pointedly asked George, causing the boy to hesitate.

“Uh... y-yeah.” George stammered and nodded. “It does. I mean it’s not like you guys have a bunch of red and black polka dot curtains conveniently placed here in case someone needed one, right?” He let out a nervous laugh. “I mean, it’s good for decoration! Totally good for decoration!”

“I suppose.” Harold slowly began. “But isn’t that the same pattern as Captain Underpants’ cape–?”

“JACKPOT!” One of the kids interrupted the boy as they cheered upon winning a round of cards at the same time Luna came back into The Crusty Sandbox.

“Hey, what was bothering Greg?” George turned to Luna as he looked at the dog. Greg still watched the windows as if anticipating that whatever he sensed would come back.

“I don’t know.” Luna shrugged. “He’s not always like this. Maybe he smelled a squirrel.”

Poor Greg wished that he could be able to speak to the children–he had sensed a great danger behind that window. It was not like those guards or that one human that confused his nose, but something worse–something ominous with ill intent. He did not want it to get near any of the children.

Meanwhile, Edith had been getting along with a few of the children. She remembered those days where she’d tell the stories to a whole group of children like these ones and it made her happy to do it again. She was rather worried about how much could have possibly changed in the kingdom if the children had been so intimidated and uneasy around her at first, but that eventually left her mind as Sugar talked about her cupcakes while Marco admired the embroidery of Edith’s apron.

“These look delicious.” Edith smiled at Sugar before tucking her hair out of her face to eat one of the girl’s cupcakes. She took a bite and Sugar watched as Edith slowly, yet thoughtfully ate it. “Hmm... too much sugar, but using blueberries was a good idea. Maybe next time use less sugar and let the sweetness of the blueberries do the rest?”

Sugar’s eyes widened as Rose and Kira thoughtfully stared at Edith before they talked to each other with hands covering the sides of their mouths. “I knew I used too much!” Sugar exclaimed. “But I’ll remember that for later.” She added.

“You think maybe he’d like her?” Rose whispered to Kira.

“Well he’s done so much for us.” Kira whispered back. “We should do something back for him as thanks.”

“Yeah, she seems like his type and she’s really pretty–he’d probably like that.”

Edith smiled as Rose and Kira laughed and Rose turned to Edith. “Hey, Miss Edith?” Rose began. “You’re not only one of the nicest adults we know, but you’re also pretty. Like, really, really pretty!”

“Especially your eyes!” Kira added. “They’re a beautiful blue, like the ocean or the sky!”

“Yeah, you’re as pretty as one of those fairy-tale princesses in the storybooks!”

“Aw shucks.” Edith blushed as she held her face in one hand. “But that’s awful sweet of you to say that. Thank you very much.” She smiled.

“Are you single by any chance?” Rose added. “Not married or dating anyone?”

This surprised Edith and Harold turned his head to listen to this as George drank some more juice while petting Lil’ Petey. “Uh, well I haven’t seen anyone in a very long time, but I’m kind of focusing on keeping an eye on the boys right now.” She confessed with a blush. Good lord, it had been so long since she thought of dating or settling down, but it was never easy to talk to a man because she had no clue what to say or do half the time. In fact, she hadn’t been able to come up with many romantic thoughts for a long time because of her imprisonment over the years.

“Because we know someone who you might like.” Kira added. “He’s a nice adult like you and he really likes us kids too! He’s sweet, funny, and brave!” This made a few more kids turn their heads as they tried to figure out what she was talking about.

“Wait.” Linda frowned. “Are you... you aren’t seriously suggesting who I think you’re suggesting, are you?”

“Oh come on, Linda!” Rose protested. “Don’t you want to do something back for him? We want him to be happy too!”

It took a few seconds for Kai to pick up who they were talking about. “No offense, but I don’t think a guy who runs around in just a cape and underwear would make good boyfriend material.” He told them.

Edith’s eyes widened at this and Harold was also taken by surprise at the reveal of the suggested suitor, but no one’s reaction was as epic as George’s. He spat his juice out and practically jumped out of his spot, forcing Lil’ Petey to dash away from him as other kids stared at him in confusion. George coughed, forcing Harold to try slapping his back as hard as he could until the boy recovered and began to laugh.

“Are you alright?” Harold frowned as George struggled to compose himself.

“Yeah, I’m–” George forced himself to calm down before facing the girls. “Ok, that was–I mean that’s funny, but that’s–not–I wouldn’t–argh!” George grabbed his hair in frustration while trying to find the right words and settled with “I wouldn’t match her with him if I were you. Trust me, that won’t end well.”

“Why not?” Keisha joined in. “Maybe they’ll like each other. Maybe they won’t. They’d probably get along as friends.”

Harold finally began to realize that, for some reason, George had been acting very strange about something in particular, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. In fact, it was as if there was some big secret he was trying to hide from the other kids as well as from him. George tried to continue with “Look, believe me when I say that–”

“RED WARNING!” Dev practically shrieked out in a panic as he rushed down the stairs. All the kids stopped what they were doing as they went pale faced with horror upon hearing the warning they had hoped never to hear. “KRUPP IS COMING! I REPEAT!RED WARNING, KRUPP IS COMING!”

Chapter Text

There were many warnings that were created in The Crusty Sandbox and each one was a secret meaning for one thing or the other, from adults (a ‘blue warning’), guards (a ‘green warning’) or for something so insane that it had to be seen to be believed (a ‘pink warning’). Of all the ones created, each child dreaded to one day hear ‘red warning’ uttered out, but unfortunately the day they finally heard those words was today.

Terror gripped at the hearts of the children and the older kids and almost all of them scrambled around the room. Some like Arwyn, Jayde, and Sasha began to hide their weapons, while others like Keisha made a mad scramble to hide the books and toys or to tear down certain drawings–especially the dart board with Krupp’s face damaged by the darts.

“Oh crumbs!” George panicked as he hopped off his spot and hurried towards the countertops, but not before grabbing Harold by the wrist. “We got to get out of here, now!” He warned as loudly as he could to Harold over the chaos and pulled him through the sea of frantic children and towards the countertops.

“Wait a minute–Edith!” Harold turned to face Edith, who was desperately looking for him.

“Harold!” She hurried towards the countertops and after the boys. “The bag!” She gasped as she came to a stop and remembered her bag and the crown hidden within it and she turned around to get it.

“Over here!” Two brothers–an eight year old with scruffy brown hair and brown eyes and a seven year old who looked identical to the older boy, except that he wore glasses– waved to George and Harold. The eldest–Owen–ran to a barrel behind the countertops while the other hurried to one part of the building that was behind the countertops and barely in view.

“My siblings and I worked on these tunnels and made some dead ends to throw intruders off.” Owen shoved the barrel out of the way to reveal a painting of a beautiful green eyed, blonde haired young woman with flowers in her long braid, and he moved it out of the way to reveal a set of old tap handles and he pulled the leftmost one. The boys turned to see that a trap door in the wooden floors in a hall behind the countertops opened up and Jay was right beside it as he quickly got one of the many lanterns on a shelf ready for them. “Your best chances of escape are either the town or the dam!” He saluted to them before dashing back out.

“Hurry!” Jay frantically gestured to George and Harold.

Right as Edith was about to reach the boys, the door swung open and crashed against the wall with a loud ‘BANG!’ and a loud series of startled gasps and yelps erupted from everyone. This also forced George to pull Harold down to the ground behind the countertops with him and Edith’s instinct was to drop to the floor on the other side, with only the legs of many children and a huge barrel keeping her from being seen by the newcomer.

Meanwhile, all the young regulars of The Crusty Sandbox flinched or backed away in fear as a huge, ominous shadow blocked out the sunlight from the door and they came face to face with the very bane of their young existences.

At the door frame was none other than Krupp, who glared at all of them in all his imposing glory. The irritation of how his day went, and the anger that was ready to be unleashed at a moment’s notice, was all too clear in his scowling face and narrowed eyes.

He glanced around at all of the children–some of whom were staring at him in wide eyed fear, while the older ones stayed as firmly as possible in front of the much younger ones while nervously glancing at him. Some he recognized as being especially annoying or disrespectful when given the chance, while others were so timid or afraid of him that he could easily scare into submission if he wanted to.

“So this is where you all go to behind my back.” He began as he entered the room and slowly walked towards the center with his hands held behind his back and his heavy footsteps being the only thing that pierced the silence. Those nearest to him, like Ravi and Marco, quickly backed away as if he were dynamite, and even the others who he got close enough to moved away from him. “I didn’t expect all of you to be law breakers, but then again I can’t really expect much from a child who doesn’t know their place or isn’t capable of learning it, can I?” He scoffed as his eyes drifted towards Keisha and Kira–the youngest sister clung to her older sister and buried her head into her body to avoid eye contact while Keisha tightened her hold on Kira as protectively as she could.

To the increasing horror of the children, there were guards that came barging into The Crusty Sandbox with unpleasant grins or disgusted grimaces. To their further dismay, Krupp’s much hated nephew and his friends–who were very often responsible for placing false accusations on them, or threw blame for crimes they committed to cover their tracks in addition to their bullying ways–also came in with smug smirks on their faces.

“See, I told you!” Kipper grinned. “They all have a hideout out in the woods where they like to get into trouble!”

“Says you!” A rather brave Sasha snapped at Kipper, causing some kids to shoot worried glances at her. “You don’t have any proof that–!”

“DID I SAY YOU COULD TALK BACK?!” Krupp loudly snapped at the girl, causing her to flinch and back up into Dev, who put a protective arm around her. Krupp’s outburst made all the children flinch, if truth be told–being in the presence of Krupp was no better than if an irritated dragon were to suddenly barge into town and you didn’t know which house he’d torch first. No matter what you could say or do, he wouldn’t listen and would respond back with twice the force.

The older children were not the only ones who were being protective of the younger ones. Luna had to try her hardest to keep her arms around Greg, to keep him from lunging at Krupp as the dog tensed up and growled in anger at him while a scared Lil’ Petey was trying to scoot under Greg’s front legs. The normally friendly dog did not take too kindly to certain adults and Krupp was one in particular.

Krupp took another look around the room to see that the children managed to hide many things that he had tried to discourage for almost ten years–books, drawings, and somehow against all odds they squeezed in a huge piano in this battered old building–but there was no sign of George and he had no time for waiting. “You all are just a bunch of future problems to society waiting to happen! All of you are wasting your time on stupid games or stupid drawings instead of doing anything remotely beneficial!” He tore one drawing off a wall and crumbled it up, and artist who drew it–Linda–had to do her hardest not to stop him, though it pained her to see him doing it. “You’re no better than Beard!” He threw the drawing over his shoulder as he scowled at the kids. “At least with him, I don’t have to deal with a set of angry parents that I’ll have to face from almost all of you!” This made a few kids shoot Krupp rather dirty and very offended looks.

Meanwhile, George was peering from around the countertop, along with Harold who could see the infamously cruel adult for the first time. While it was the second time he had ever seen a grown adult man, he knew without question that he disliked him–no, he utterly despised him. It was like with Ribble all over again, but there was something about this individual that almost made him worse than her. He could see how terrified some of the kids were–Tommy had managed to somehow squeeze himself into a ball and was shaking under one of the tables and Kira was still hugging her sister as tightly as possible. Even the older kids like Arwyn were trying to keep an arm out to protect Noréll or Iya and though it was clear that they wanted to lash out, it just wasn’t in their power.

“That’s him, isn’t he?” Harold whispered in anger. “Can’t we do something–?” George’s instinct was to clasp a hand over Harold’s mouth, but he nodded as he tried to think.

“I take it you all know what he did earlier today.” Krupp began as he looked around the room. “He thought it’d be funny to steal the lost prince’s crown, but Her Majesty didn’t. I didn’t because I’ve had to chase him down into the woods and the longer I’m doing it, the quicker I’m losing my patience and unfortunately for all of you, it’s almost completely gone. I know you all have a misplaced liking in him, so you all know something I don’t. So, where is he?”

All the kids remained silent. Some tried really hard to look away, including Owen and Jay’s thirteen year old sister Samarra, who tightened her grip on Owen’s shoulder as they avoided looking at the exact location where the boys and their youngest sibling were hiding. None dared to speak out or reveal where exactly George was, which made Krupp’s anger slowly rise the longer he waited.

He let out another unpleasant scoff and shook his head. “So your little idol means that much to you? Seriously though, where is he?” He narrowed his eyes at them. “You know this’ll only get harder if none of you confess. I can easily make it so that you all can’t go to the festival tomorrow and I don’t even have to arrest any of you to make that happen.”

Harold gritted his teeth in frustration. He wanted so badly to try to create another illusion to scare the adults off, but he also remembered the warning about how this man didn’t seem to like magic folk, and that would put two of the children in too much danger if Krupp thought they were responsible. In fact, how did he know if his powers would put all of the kids in danger?

George then noticed the special handcuffs that Krupp had at his side. “Oh no, he actually thought ahead this time.” He groaned as he realized that his luck was running low and now he was forced into a series of choices. “Harold,” George began as he turned to Harold and let go of Harold’s mouth. “Those lights mean that much to you?” Harold nodded.

George held his face in one hand–he was going to have to reveal a big secret to Harold–a secret he was trying his hardest to keep from all the kids–if this ended up with the worst case scenario. Already he knew he would have to take a huge risk for all of these kids, but he would have to take an equally bigger one with someone he didn’t even know.

Both Lisa and Billy were also hiding and trying to stay out of Krupp’s view for their own reasons, but the moment Lisa saw George barely in sight behind the countertop, she realized she needed to buy him and Harold and Edith time to escape.

“Will I have to start arresting all of you?!” Krupp was now about ready to explode. “If none of you tell me where you’re hiding Beard, I’m going to–!”

“You really think talking big with all those threats will get you anywhere in life, don’t you?!” Everyone’s attention was now fully turned to Lisa, who stared defiantly at Krupp. George took this as his cue to lead Harold further along, past the huge open gap between the countertops while Krupp wasn’t facing them, and they crawled the whole way.

All the kids were terrified for Lisa’s sake as she stared at Krupp without flinching. The big adult instantly recognized her as well as the boy with glasses beside her–the pair of young magic folk that he almost caught once before nearly a year ago (an experience that didn’t go without consequence, he could recall)–which only increased his fury. “You two.” He growled in a low voice. “Why am I not surprised that you of all kids would be here?”

“She’s right.” Billy threw in as he glared at Krupp. “You think you can scare everyone, but you won’t be here forever. Eventually a better captain will take your place and he won’t let you get away with this.”

“We kids still have another hero to look up to besides George and you’ll never be rid of him, no matter how hard you try.” Lisa added as she looked Krupp in the eyes and grinned at him. “You’re a monster who will never be loved as much as him.”

Nearly all the guards felt their anger at the kids grow for the disrespect they showed to their leader, as did Kipper and his pals. Half the kids grew scared as they realized that the two spell casters were practically giving themselves to Krupp while the other half were in agreement with them because they knew exactly which captain they were referring to and it helped give them some courage.

Krupp however felt himself grow scared for one second and almost backed away from the two. Only he understood the true meaning of the words that the two gave to him and for one second he was afraid for what could possibly happen before he regained his composure in time. “You two want to be the first ones arrested?” He growled through his teeth as he slowly walked towards them. “Fine, I’ll gladly do it!”

At this point, Harold and George made it to the other side and they were several feet away from the trapdoor while Jay nervously waited beside it. Yet Edith still had yet to join them and she peered around the countertop to see Harold frantically gesturing her to come over. She began to crawl her way towards them, all the while praying that no one would see her.

“HEY YOU THERE!” Anthrope noticed something that looked like a person crawling on the floor and she took her sword out. “GET UP AND PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!”

This stopped Krupp from going towards Lisa and Billy and he turned around in confusion as the dread of all the children rose.

“Oh no!” Harold hissed as as he felt terror grip his heart and George himself felt his panic grow.

“GET UP AND SHOW YOURSELF!” Anthrope pointed her sword at Edith when she got closer to her and kicked her in the ankle, making the other woman wince.

Edith was scared out of her mind–what was going to happen to her and the boys if they were caught? What if she accidentally said something to get them all in trouble?

She felt her heart race as she slowly got up to her feet and glanced behind her to see Anthrope give her a confused look for one moment before growling “It’s just some woman, Krupp. No one special.” She added as she sheathed her sword.

“Wait a minute!” Krupp was greatly surprised to find out that there was an adult in this twisted, ramshackle excuse for a hideout, and amongst kids at that. He frowned as he stared at the back of someone with dark hair and who had a bag on them. “Who the heck are you?!” He demanded.

Edith lowered her head as she turned around and headed towards the infamous captain and she could see that some children like Rose were now terrified for her and some like Arywn tried to put a hand to the side of their mouth to whisper “Pretend you’re the owner.” With her hands still raised up, Edith finally lifted her head to come face to face with the first man she had ever seen within the last ten years.

As for Krupp, he was in for a surprise powerful enough to make his anger fade back for one moment.

For one split second he thought the woman was just some teenager–the freckles and the hair covering half of her face especially tricked him. Yet as he looked closely, he realized she was actually an adult–possibly in her late twenties to mid thirties, judging by how young she looked. She also had the most intense blue eye staring nervously at him and the longer she was looking at him the longer he kept staring back and was unable to tear his own eyes away. Even with half of her messy hair in her face, he instantly knew that she was far more pleasing to look at than most women he had seen around the kingdom.

“Uh,” He had no clue what to say at first, but then he shook his head a little as he remembered why he was there in the first place. “Who exactly are you?” His voice briefly lost its signature harshness and instead it sounded more genuinely curious than demanding.

George and Harold nervously watched on. Neither of them expected or anticipated this and Harold was especially worried for Edith.

Edith felt herself tense up as she struggled to think. She was dealing with a difficult situation and she had never been good at socializing with others, which was not a good combination in this case. “I uh–” She struggled to think as her eyes darted around the room and saw the impatient adults and the concerned children. “I–I–you just caught me after taking a nap–right as I was about to head out!” She quickly added and let out an awkward smile. “And it would be a shame if you destroyed such a nice establishment, considering it’s my home and all.”

“Your–what?” Krupp raised an eyebrow at this as Edith realized that she had a lie that she needed to commit to.

“Well yeah,” She smiled. “It’s part of my family’s property and I let the kids come here to play. Sure it’s far from the kingdom, but it makes it nice and quiet for others, right?” That’s right, she told herself. She knew enough from living with Ribble to know which cards to play. “I–well I mean, of course it’s run down and might become a safety hazard in a few years, but the kids enjoy it and I keep an eye on them.”

Many kids sighed in relief. “Yeah, Miss Edith watches out for us!” Rose threw in to help her out.

“Yeah, she’s like second family!” Arywn also added as other kids nodded. “She totally doesn’t mind us!”

Unfortunately, not all the adults were buying it. “Then why doesn’t she show us the deed to this place to prove it!” Rected demanded. “This place hasn’t been open for a long, long time!”

“I hate to make things harder for everyone, but wouldn’t any of the kids’ parents have informed us about this place or about her by now?” Fyde asked.

“How do we know you aren’t also hiding the kid we’re looking for?” Meaner threw in. “You have to know which one!”

George slammed a hand over his face as he realized that it was going to finally come down to something he had been dreading. It was either him or too many innocents.

“Actually, now I would like to know that myself.” Krupp narrowed his eyes at Edith, who realized that she was doomed as his voice slowly regained its harsh edge. “I’ve never seen you before, and I can recognize a face when I see it. Where’s the deed?” He demanded as he walked towards her and she took a step back.

“Wh–what do we do?!” Harold panicked in a whisper as he turned to George.

“Ok, Harold.” George whispered to Harold as he tightened his grip on the lantern. “Listen and listen good,” He turned to look him in the eye. “You cannot let Krupp catch me. If he does–if we get cornered–snap your fingers as loudly as you can at him.”

“What?” Harold’s panic turned to confusion.

“Just trust me!” George quietly hissed. “And you have to make sure he can hear it or it won’t work!” He grabbed Harold’s free hand as he took a deep breath. “We’re about to do something stupid and incredibly reckless!”

“Well, where is it?” Krupp felt his impatience come back and to his annoyance he could see the fear in the woman’s face grow, which could only meant that she was hiding something.

“W–well,” Edith gulped and stammered. “I–it’s in th–the–”

“HEY EGG HEAD, YOU LOOKING FOR ME?!”

All heads turned to see George forcing a cheeky grin at Krupp as Harold gulped upon seeing the source of all children’s woe staring right at him and the other boy. Before anyone could react, George pulled Harold towards the trapdoor and they raced down as fast as they could, with a lantern in hand.

“WE’LL GET HIM, UNCLE!” Kipper yelled as he and his pals raced after the boys and shoved away any child that was unlucky enough to be in their path.

“HAROLD!” Edith made to run after them, but she felt something as hard as iron clench down upon her wrist and she was forcibly pulled back before finding herself locking eyes with a displeased Krupp.

“So you were hiding him!” Krupp snarled at Edith with his teeth barred at her in a way that reminded her of an illustration of a monster with great sharp teeth from her books. “You’re no better than any of these brats! I should lock you up along with him!” He stormed towards the countertops and forced her to follow him.

“NO!” Edith tried to pull Krupp away as Kai and Lloyd ran over to assist her.

“Let go of her!” Kai demanded as he grabbed Edith’s arm and tried to pull her away.

“She was just being nice!” Lloyd tried with all his might to pull Krupp’s arm away from her.

“GET YOUR DIRTY HANDS OFF ME!” Krupp shoved Lloyd away, accidentally knocking him to the floor. The force also knocked Kai away from Edith and he accidentally ripped her shawl off her in the process.

“Hey!” Dev yelled as he and many other kids tried to go over to stop Krupp, but the guards were quick to grab them and roughly shove them away without even caring where they landed. Even Greg raced to bite down on Krupp’s boot as hard as he could, causing him to yelp in pain.

“LET GO OF ME, YOU STUPID DOG!” Krupp roared and tried to shake the animal off as Marco flung one of the many red and black polka-dot curtains at Krupp, but his aim was off and it ended up getting wrapped around Edith’s bag.

“LET GO OF HER, YOU BIG DUMB JERK!” Sasha yelled as she tried to pull Edith’s bag and got the curtain more secure around it in the process. At that moment, Krupp finally managed to shake Greg off of him and sent the dog tumbling in circles onto the floor. “IF I’M NOT BACK IN FIVE MINUTES, YOU’RE COMING AFTER ME TO HELP!” Krupp yelled at the other guards as he dashed towards the countertops. In the process, Sasha was slammed into one side of the countertops and fell onto the floor.

Edith cried out in alarm and reached a hand for the poor child who clutched her side in pain–Meredith already rushing to her side to help her up–as the monster in human form forced her to follow him as he grabbed a lantern from off one of the shelves and stormed down into the tunnels.

Meanwhile, both George and Harold were running for their lives down the tunnels as they were pursued by Kipper and the others.

“What if they catch up to us?!” Harold panicked as he looked behind him. “They’ll spot us with the lantern! We’re doomed!”

George had been struggling to think during this. He knew how to get to the town in these tunnels, but at the same time it wouldn’t take long for the bullies to catch up. “Not if I got a plan or two on hand!” George grinned at Harold as he took his satchel and began to dig through. “You still have those things I gave you?!”

“Yes?!”

“Good, because I’m not done with my daily pranking just yet!”

“WE CAN SEE YOU BEARD!” They heard Kipper yelling with laughter. “YOU AND YOUR LITTLE PAL TOO!”

George pulled out a small bag filled with marbles and dumped them out onto the ground before pulling Harold down a side tunnel.

“You think you can get away again?!” Kipper yelled as one of his pals got ahead of him, but none of the four saw the marbles laying upon the ground. Within seconds, the first teen stepped on the marbles and, with a terrific yell, went flying onto his back and farther down the tunnel, forcing the others to come to a stop before they became victims too.

Kipper gritted his teeth and looked around before seeing a side tunnel. “This way!” He hurried down it and the others followed.

“You think you could hit them with the slingshot?” George asked as he saw a bit of sunlight seep onto one spot ahead of them thanks to a hole in the ground.

“I could do you one better!” Harold saw some old lanterns hanging off the walls and some of which had a flat metal surface on the top, in addition to some barrels on the ground. He took out the slingshot from his hair, along with the pellets.

“BEARD!” Kipper yelled as they got close enough.

Harold stuck his tongue out as he took aim for the barrel and sent a pellet flying into it before it bounced off with a loud noise before hitting the lantern, shattering the glass and scaring the living daylights out of Kipper and the remaining three boys, who backed away.

“JEEZ ALMIGHTY KID!” Kipper yelled as Harold took the item that George gave him and took aim again. “YOU COULD HAVE KILLED–!”

Kipper was then met with a face full of flour for the second time in a row. The resulting white cloud bought the younger boys the time they needed to hurry ahead.

“Nice!” George laughed.

“Yeah, being in the tower for too long encourages lots of practice!” Harold replied.

“WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!” Kipper shrieked as he frantically tried to wipe the flour off his face.

“It got in my eyes!” One of the other boys howled before they continued on their way.

Kipper growled–he was going to be made a fool of yet again! Both Beard and the weird little rainbow haired freak would pay for it!

“SPLIT UP!” He yelled when they eventually got to a fork in the road.

“But you got the lantern.” One of the teens pointed out.

“WELL TOUGH LUCK!” Kipper ran down one tunnel and forced the other boys to go down the other one.

The teens continued to run down the tunnel until one of them got distracted by a plate of tarts that rested on a crate and Harold was standing right by it with a sack on his head and his hair covering up the lower half of his face as if it were a beard.

“Excuse me, but could I interest you in some cherry tarts?” He asked in as deep of a voice as he could manage as he gestured to the plate.

“Huh? Oh yeah sure, why not?” Too caught up in the events to realize who was actually before him, the teen proceeded to take a tart and bit down into it.

Seconds later, his mouth began to burn and he let out a horrific yell as his eyes watered up and he made a mad dash down a different corridor.

“Extra spicy pepper chunks and seeds at no extra charge!” George yelled as he shot up from his hiding spot behind a nearby barrel and grinned at Harold before leading him down another path.

“I can’t believe he fell for it!” Harold laughed as he took the sack off his head.

“Considering I’ve done that trick before, neither can I!” George also laughed. “Just don’t ask why they were there to begin with!”

“I see them!” The teen who got ditched earlier was coming back after them.

“Oops!” George grimaced but Harold smiled as he grabbed his hair. “Hey I think I got an idea myself!”

Moments later, the teen continued to try to go after them until they got to another fork in the road. “We’ll get you sooner or later!” He yelled at them, but had he paid more attention he would have seen that George was holding the end of Harold’s hair when they both turned a corner.

As soon as he got close enough, both the young boys who were kneeling on the ground tightened their hold on the hair and held it up. The teen ended up tripping over the hair and landed flat on his face as a result.

“Come on, we still got one more to worry about!” George told Harold as the boy pulled his hair out from under the teen and they hurried away from him. “I got an idea you’re going to love, but I’ll need help!”

*****

“You can’t arrest them!” Edith tried with all her might to pull away from Krupp as he hurried down the tunnels, but his near painful grip on her wrist was so tight that it was almost pointless. “They’re not as bad as you make them out to be! Harold is innocent and George said it was an accident!”

“You have no idea how much that insufferable brat has put me through!” Krupp only stopped to sharply turn his head and furiously snap at Edith, who almost flinched at how horrifying he looked when enraged while the light of the lantern casted upon his face created shadows that emphasized his unpleasant features. “They’re all insufferable brats who can’t respect the rules or keep their traps shut!”

“You’re just after him because of the crown right?!” Edith could not believe what she was hearing from him, she was thankful that she still had the crown in her bag, which was with her right now. She reached into the bag as she tried to reason with Krupp. “I know where it is! You can have it and then–!”

“I AM NOT LETTING HIM GIVE THE CROWN BACK, JUST TO WIN FAVORS WITH THE QUEEN!” Krupp roared at Edith while hating the fact that she just had to be one of those adults who chose to ignore how unbearable children could really be out of some misplaced adoration. “IF HE GET’S LOCKED UP, I’LL CONSIDER IT THE GREATEST PAYBACK I COULD ASK FOR!”

Edith’s hand stopped as he let out a nasty crackle of a laugh that made her skin crawl. “Honestly, I can’t wait to enjoy how peaceful things will finally get once he’s out of the way and when all the others have their hideout destroyed by sundown!”

There was no point, was there? She heard everything the man said earlier to those kids and none of them deserved those harsh words. She had hoped for something when she first looked him in his eyes–that he was someone reasonable who just happened to be having a rather bad day–but there had been no exaggeration in the children’s words, no matter how much she had hoped otherwise. There was not even an ounce of kindness or remorse in him, but something dark and awful. He was just another person who enjoyed making others suffer for his own twisted delight and she was so sick of that.

With a determined scowl, Edith’s hand reached for something else in her bag. “Those kids were right.” Her voice trembled with her own anger. “You really are a monster.”

She whipped the object out and within seconds, Krupp found himself getting slammed in the side of the head by a frying pan.

The moment Edith felt Krupp let go of her wrist, she made a mad dash towards the darkness ahead of her while still holding onto her makeshift weapon. Yet had she turned around, she would have seen that Krupp had not been knocked out–in fact, all that the heavy metal pan did was stun him as if his head had been made of stone.

It took Krupp one moment to register what had happened and when he saw the woman run away, he let out a growl and proceeded to run down another tunnel–if she wanted to run around blindly in the dark, fine. She deserved it.

*****

Meanwhile, Kipper was getting frustrated at not being able to find his targets. How the heck was he never made aware of these tunnels before? He thought he knew this kingdom like the back of his hand!

“KIPPER!”

He turned around to see George stand defiantly in one corner, with his lantern in one hand and his other hand undoing the tie until it pulled free and he had it out at his side.

“You know, it’s a good thing none of the older kids ever told you about where we went to, because you would have made an awful friend.” George began as Kipper grinned and began to head towards him. “You’re no better than your uncle!”

“If nabbing you gets me a spot in the Royal Guard, I’ll do it!” Kipper boasted with glee. “You can prank us all you want, but you’ll always be on your own and you’ll just get all those other kids in trouble like you did back there! You think anyone would want to help a lazy, good for nothing runaway like you after this?!”

George took a deep breath as he tightened the hold on his tie. He was used to Kipper’s taunts, and there were some that would have caused him to lash out, but that wasn’t his goal this time.

“Well aren’t you going to say something?!” Kipper demanded.

“As a matter of fact, yes.” George grinned as he held his lantern up. “Wedgie Magee!”

“Wedgie what now?” This caught Kipper off guard until his lantern suddenly cracked (thanks to a tiny pellet from a nearby slingshot) and the flame within died out. “What the–?!” He flinched and looked up, but then he saw something move behind George in an unnatural way–it looked like the lower half of a human body running right towards him in an awkward, jerky fashion that came across as unsettling than amusing.

“ARBARGHBARGHBARGHBLEHERG!” A voice boomed out as the legs got closer to the two.

“AAAAAGGGGHHH!” Kipper shrieked and dropped his lantern and he made a mad dash back the other way as the legs continued to chase him down. He failed to see that Harold was actually maneuvering the lower half of the straw stuffed pants of an old scarecrow that had been laying about with the help of some sticks and rope, and the rainbow haired boy continued to do this until he was sure Kipper wouldn’t stop and the teen had vanished out of sight.

Harold turned his head to face George, who gave him a huge grin. They both tried their hardest to keep from laughing.

“AAAAAAHHH!” Kipper continued to run in total darkness, which did not help calm him down enough to realize he had been tricked. In fact, he was so freaked out that he completely failed to see Krupp coming down one of the tunnels and the adult had to come to a complete stop and watch in confusion as the teen hurried away from him. It took him only two seconds before he glanced to where the teen had ran from and he scowled. He now had a clue as to where George and his accomplice were in the tunnel.

*****

George and Harold rushed out towards the sunlight and came outside where they found themselves upon one side of a huge dam. One huge wall of stone, wood, several beams, and whatnot kept water from flowing into what was once part of a huge river. It now looked like a small canyon with leaky waterwheels and other contraptions that carried water to who-knew-where while bridges were strung here and there and even upon a few rock pinnacles to get to the other side and back. One walk across a nearby bridge would lead the boys to complete freedom back into the woods. There was also a nearby sign that warned: WARNING! DO NOT MESS AROUND NEAR THE DAM OR TOUCH THE WALL! (SERIOUSLY, I MEAN IT! DO NOT TOUCH IT!)

The boys looked at each other before laughing. “I can’t believe it!” Harold grinned.

“We actually pranked them and it worked!”

“I know!” George snickered. “That was a lot of fun!”

“And the looks on their faces!”

“We might have traumatized them if we’re lucky enough!”

“I wish I could do that more often!” Harold calmed down and smiled. It felt so wonderful to be able to do a prank and get away with it, especially against someone who was deserving of it. “I actually want to do one to Krupp if we ever get the chance. He totally deserves it after what happened back there.”

“Oh, believe me, I’ve done everything in the book on him!” George smiled as he grew to like the strange kid with each passing minute. “But I’m open to new ideas!” He admitted as he turned to look at the sign. “Oh, so tempting.” He desperately wanted to see how it could be changed up, but instead he shook his head and turned to the nearest bridge. Sweet freedom was almost at hand for him and Harold and he was ready to take it with open hands. “Just a few more minutes and then–AGH!” Without warning, George felt a huge hand grab his wrist before something clamped around his hand.

“George?!” Harold turned around in horror to see that somehow–and against all possible odds–Krupp managed to catch up with them and succeeded in getting one part of the cuffs with metal shells around George’s wrist.

“Hold still, you little–! GET BACK HERE!” George tried to pull free, but Krupp was quick to grab his other arm and within moments he got the other part of the cuffs on George– trapping both his hands before he grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up. All Harold could do was watch in horror at how fast everything had gone horribly south and he was momentarily at a loss for what to do.

Krupp panted as he glared at the struggling boy before it finally hit him as to what he accomplished and when he did, he let out a breathless laugh. “I can’t believe it.” He laughed as he slapped a hand against his head, with eyes wide with amazement. “I finally caught him! Four years and I finally caught him!” He laughed again.

“Oh this is not good.” George stared in horror at the cuffs which did more than just cover his hands up.

“You’re darn right it’s not good!” Krupp giggled at the boy as a very unpleasant smile spread across his face–in fact it was so wide that it revealed almost all of his teeth and it almost seemed to take up more than half of his entire face, which made both boys sick to their stomachs. “You can’t do anything with those on, can you?! And now I can’t wait to enjoy the look on the queen’s face when she sees what I got!” He taunted. “She’ll be sorry that she ever let you roam free! Who knows?! Maybe she’ll give me a good promotion for all the trouble you’ve given me!”

Harold felt his anger rise. “HEY LET GO OF HIM, YOU BIG JERK!” He tried slamming himself into Krupp’s legs in an attempt to topple him over. “LET GO!” He tried to punch him in the leg, but within seconds he felt something grab him by the back of his shirt collar and soon he too was easily pulled up into the air and found himself face to face with Krupp.

“I have no clue who you are, bub, but you’re just as bad as him!” Krupp snarled at the boy as George nervously watched on and prayed that Harold remembered what he told him. “You made a fool out of my nephew so you’ll make a perfect example of how bad of an influence Beard can be!”

“Well considering that they fell for our tricks, I’d say we didn’t have to.” Harold couldn’t help but retort. “It was all him.”

George stared in surprise at Harold before cracking a smile while Krupp didn’t take that so well. “What?” He demanded.

“Also, considering how fast you caught up to us, you’re surprisingly agile for someone as large as you. Or is that all just cushioning?” Harold kicked Krupp’s chest armor with his foot. “Nope, I guess not.” He grinned. Being freed from the tower meant no punishment from talking back, and he couldn’t help but have a chance to say whatever he pleased, even if he was in a tight spot at the moment.

George bursted out laughing as Krupp felt his anger rise. “How dare you–!” He growled.

“Also, what’s with your hair? It looks like someone chewed it up and spat it back on your head. Seriously, the paper wig I saw earlier was better styled than–”

“It’s not real!” George couldn’t hold it in anymore as he felt himself about ready to cry with laughter as Krupp faced him–face growing steadily redder by the millisecond. “That paper wig was more real than this thing!” He aimed one covered hand at the toupee. “It’s like a spider wanted to crawl up and die there!”

Meanwhile, Edith (who had long put away the pan back in her bag) had heard the sounds of laughter in the cave and she had ran towards them with a relieved smile and an expectation that the boys were alright. Instead, she was horrified to see Krupp holding both of them up with his face almost comically contorted with rage as he let out a series of odd stammering sounds before he finally exploded.

“STOP LAUGHING!” Krupp hated hearing the nerve wracking sound of children laughing and especially the kind made at his expense more than anything else. “YOU KNOW WHAT?! I WANT TO SEE YOU GET HORRIBLY PUNISHED TOO!” He snapped at Harold, who flinched. “YOU’LL BOTH GET LOCKED UP!”

George then remembered what was at stake and what could still be done. “Harold–!” He tried to remind him as he lifted his covered hands up while at the same time Edith ran towards Krupp.

“Let go of them!” Edith yelled as she pulled at Krupp’s arm (which was part of the hand that held Harold) in an attempt to make him let go of both boys. The moment he saw that Edith was back and trying to stop him, Krupp felt his fury increase and used the back of his arm to smack her away as hard as he could. The woman stumbled before tripping over a rock and cried when she hit the ground–her bag with the curtain still wrapped around it fell to the ground beside her.

“EDITH!” Harold cried out before he turned to see George giving him a desperate look and waved his covered hands to try to remind him once more about their final resort. “Harold, please!” He begged. “Do what I told you earlier–!”

“Your luck is out and your equally annoying little friend is going to join you behind bars!” Krupp snapped at George, but he failed to see Harold scowling as he remembered what George told him to do and decided to take another chance with luck today. He raised his free hand towards Krupp’s face as best as he could as the oblivious adult continued yelling “You can’t do anything anymore! What else can you do while I got you–?!”

Harold finally got his hand near Krupp’s ear and snapped his fingers as hard as he could.

SNAP!

Krupp flinched and ceased speaking at the same time, causing everything to go silent, and his hands let go of both boys, who landed on the ground at his feet. His face lost all of his raw fury as well as any other emotion, and his eyes became blank as if he were lost to the world and sucked back into his mind.

Meanwhile, the boys forced themselves to sit up. “George, what just happened?!” Harold asked as he looked at George as soon as he could. What could snapping his fingers at the adult do to cause him to suddenly let them go? Instead of answering George stared intently at the adult in front of them, so Harold looked to see what George was waiting for.

Krupp still had that bizarre, dazed look on his face for only one more second before his expression changed as if coming back to life. However, instead of the anger, impatience, or suspicion, something drastically different and very unexpected came to the surface.

The cold, narrowed eyed glint in his eyes was no more and instead they came to life with a wide-eyed brightness as his posture became straighter when he stood at his full height, and a huge, genuine smile of child-like excitement began to form on his face. All the weariness and flaws from the bags under his eyes and the scowling in his face vanished to be replaced with something more youthful and alert.

Then without warning, he began to start tearing off his clothes as fast as he could.

“George, what’s he doing?” A confused Harold pulled a face as he turned to the boy who only smiled with relief. “What did I just do to him?!”

“You’re about to find out!” George shot the boy a mischievous grin. “There’s someone I’m sure you’ve been dying to meet!”

“What?!” Harold asked, before Krupp’s red shirt was thrown right onto him. “Ugh, ick!” He tore it off as fast as he could before tossing it away.

At this moment, Edith finally managed to push herself back up and recover from her tumble. “Boys? Are you–?” Her eyes went to the spectacle happening before her and they remained locked right on the man who was tearing his clothes (and more) off in such a frenzy, which came across as so random and sudden that she had no clue how to react to it. “–uuuuuuu–?” She kept looking and didn’t even flinch when he moved near her and reached out to grab the red and black polka dot curtain off her bag.

Everything gradually came together for Harold as everything came apart for the man before him, who was taking on a completely different appearance that was very familiar to him. “Wait... no... it can’t be–” He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It was someone he had seen once before, outside that tower window, who had renewed his hope for freedom. It was someone he had drawn and created as an illusion, but now he was standing before him in flesh and blood, like a story that had life breathed into it.

The man before Harold and George was no longer the captain of the Guard, despite having his face and body. He stood before them with nearly all his clothes and belongings scattered everywhere, including the black toupee that was once on his otherwise and now completely exposed bald head. He stood before them proud and tall in nothing but that red and black polka-dot curtain for a cape tied around his neck and his white underwear that was pulled so high up his humongous stomach that it almost reached his chest. A huge, triumphant smile that was so bright it would have made the sun look pale in comparison was on his face before he jabbed a finger at the sky and let out a gloriously deep, jubilant over-the-top cry:

“TRA LA LAA!”

Harold could not believe what he was seeing and George smiled as he watched the boy’s eyes get as wide as saucers. “He’s–is he–?!” Harold pointed at the man and George merely nodded to confirm it.

As for Edith, it was very hard to look away from what had to be the first man she saw nearly naked for as long as she could remember and was thus at a loss for any thoughts as a huge pink blush grew on her face with each fraction of a second.

“YOU!” The boys and Edith snapped out of it and turned to see that the Guards were hurrying out of the tunnel, but when they saw who was before them, they came to a stop. The dumbfounded looks on their faces at seeing him was almost laugh-worthy.

“Where’s the captain?!” Anthrope demanded as she and the others tried to spot Krupp, not realizing that he was right before them, but not as the person they knew him best as.

“Well if you mean me, then you have the right person!” The once gruff, sharp tones of his voice now sounded smooth, bright, and full of energy as he proudly placed his fists on his hips and grinned at them all. “Because I’m Captain Underpants!”

Anthrope growled as she took out her sword. “GET HIM!” She and the others then charged at the hero.

George scrambled to his feet and Harold followed suit as Captain Underpants’ smile briefly dropped. “Oh, it’s you all again.” He eyed the weapons as the boys hurried to the bridge. When Anthrope took a swing at him with her sword, not only did he jump out of the way, but he also started to hover in the air as if gravity meant nothing to him. “Whoa, those are dangerous to have around kids!” He protested, but Anthrope swung at him again, forcing him to fly above her.

“Get down from here!” Rected took out a crossbow and began to shoot at him.

“Whoa, careful with that!” His target protested before he was forced to dodge another weapon from below. “Huh, you guys really want to get me, don’t you?”

“Hah, finally!” George laughed when they made it across the other bridge, while Harold looked back to watch the unusual fight play out. “So long, suckers!” George threw his hands in the air in an attempt to wave, but once he did, he realized he still had the cuffs on him. “Oh come on!” He cried out in frustration.

“BOYS!” The two turned their heads back and they could see that the guards trying to get at Captain Underpants were in Edith’s way–preventing her from getting to them as she desperately waved her arms at them. Apparently none of the guards really noticed that she was even there to begin with, but she didn’t want to make things worse by jumping in and getting herself captured at that exact moment.

“GET DOWN!” One of the guards yelled as he tried throwing his sword at Captain Underpants, but he put his hands behind his back and lazily dodged the weapon.

“This gets boring after awhile!” Captain Underpants whined and stuck his tongue out at the enraged guards. He had encountered these easily angry, ‘no nonsense, no fun’ adults who always seemed so determined to get him way too many times, but at this point it was almost always too easy to get an advantage over them. He had better things to do with his time, like try to help out someone who actually wanted him around.

“Argh, we need to try to get the keys!” George groaned as he ran back and Harold followed him. “He had to have them in his pants pocket or something!” He immediately tried to scout out for the clothing that had been tossed away, but he didn’t see anything promising and most of it was getting trampled by the still clueless guards.

“There’s Beard!” One of the guards pointed to the boys. “Get him!”

George and Harold skidded to a halt midway across the bridge as one of the guards came rushing after them. “Are you kidding me?!” Harold loudly groaned as George struggled to think.

Captain Underpants was momentarily distracted when he heard Harold’s voice and when he saw the two boys, he grinned (Finally! A reason to actually be here!) and swooped towards them. “I got you!” He scooped the both of them up and reassured them before taking to the air.

“WAIT DON’T SHOOT!” Anthrope yelled at the guards. “WE NEED BEARD ALIVE!”

George panicked for one moment as Harold stared in amazement at the fact that he was now flying several feet in the air above the bridge and the frustrated guard before turning around to see Captain Underpants smiling at George. “Ah, it’s good to see you again! I see you’ve gotten into some trouble!” He then eyed the cuffs. “Well that’s not going to do you good!” He made to move one arm, forcing Harold to grab onto his arm as tight as he could before he could slip and fall, and he watched as the strange adult grabbed the chains that bound George before pulling them apart as if they were just a stick to him. “There, that’s better!” He then noticed Harold and smiled at him. “Oh hi, I don’t think I’ve seen you before!”

The boy stared in bemusement at the adult. Moments before, this guy was angry and threatening to lock him up, but now he was smiling at him with such warmth and genuine friendliness that it was almost hard to believe it was that same person from before. Even the physical features of his face ceased looking so unappealing when he seemed so happy and excited.

“So what’s your name?” Captain Underpants asked. “I’m–”

“LOOK OUT!” George yelled and Captain Underpants was forced to dodge an arrow while accidentally dropping the boys right on top of the guard below with a great crash.

“YOU IDIOT, I SAID DON’T SHOOT!” Anthrope yelled at Rected and slapped the back of his head.

“And we’re back into the fray.” George groaned as the next guard–Meaner–went after them. He laughed as he went charging forward with his sword, but the boys’ unusual aid was quick to respond as well.

“You got nowhere to go with us trapping you!” Meaner grinned a nasty grin as he readied his weapon.

“And not anymore!” Captain Underpants nearly sang as he grabbed the man by his arm and, to the amazement of the boys, he easily tossed him over his head, over them, over the other guard.... and then right into the bridge where he made a huge hole and sent wooden planks flying everywhere.

“That was our way out!” George yelled at Captain Underpants. He gritted his teeth before forcing himself to go back towards the guards and Harold had no choice but to follow him.

“Hey don’t you dare–!” Anthrope made to swing at them, but they both ducked around her and dashed around the guards as fast as they could. “GET BACK HERE!” She ran after them, but then she saw Captain Underpants flying towards the boys out of the corner of her eyes. “AND GO AFTER HIM!” She yelled at the guards before they could even lay a finger on either boy.

“GO TO THE OTHER SIDE!” George yelled at Edith, who had been mostly ignored by this point. He jabbed a covered hand at the other side of the dam where another bridge lead to freedom. The woman didn’t need to be told twice and made a run for it. “So what’s going on?” Captain Underpants cheerfully asked the boys as he flew beside them and nearly startled them to death.

“Why are you following us?!” George yelled. “Stop them!”

“We have to take another route to escape since you broke the bridge!” Harold pointed out.

“And I still need to get these off!” George waved his hands–which were still covered up.

“YOU WON’T GET AWAY THIS TIME!” Rected yelled as he took aim at Captain Underpants, which George was quick to see.

“LOOK OUT!” George yelled and jabbed a hand at the guard. Captain Underpants turned his head in confusion and barely avoided the arrow when he moved out of the way.

“Ha, you missed me!” Captain Underpants taunted the guard as he turned around–only to accidentally collide against a beam that held up a long trough that was carrying the water from the river into a different area. The resulting force didn’t break the beam, but it made some of the water splash out and right onto Captain Underpants’ head, which made him drop face first right back onto the ground with a pained yelp.

“Whoa are you ok?” Harold asked in concern as he came to a stop and watched the man try to shake off the impact, but George panicked. “Harold, snap your fingers again!”

“GET THEM!” Anthrope snapped at some guards who were already racing towards the three.

“Wh–what the–?!” The boys looked back at their savior, but his voice suddenly took on a familiar roughness as he held his head in confusion. “How the–?!” He looked back to see the guards rushing towards him and the boys before looking at them. It took him only two seconds to realize what had just happened and when he did, his face contorted into a now familiar scowl. The identity of the hero had vanished and in its place was the mean spirited adult who was after them.

“Harold, snap your fingers, now!” George panicked as Krupp began to storm after them with tensed shoulders, clenched fists and teeth, and his face growing into a brilliant shade of angry red. It would have been terrifying, if it wasn’t for the fact that he was now in just a curtain and underpants, yet Harold still panicked and did as he was told before Krupp could reach them.

SNAP!

“Well that was quite a shock!” The angry features melted back into a beaming smile and relaxed posture as Krupp’s personality became that of Captain Underpants once more.

“RUN!” George could only tell him before he and Harold were forced to do exactly that. Captain Underpants only took one look behind him before he went back into the air and followed the boys across more bridges.

“You owe me one heck of an explanation when we get out of this!” Harold warned George. “Because I am so confused right now!”

“I will as soon as I have these dumb things taken off!” George waved his arms in frustration. “HEY CAN’T YOU GET THESE DUMB THINGS OFF OF ME?!” He yelled at Captain Underpants.

“I’m not sure how, but I can try my best!” Captain Underpants optimistically replied as he saluted to George before grabbing one of his hands, forcing the boys to come to yet another stop.

“Wait, what are you doing?!” George saw that the adult was pressing his hands together around the shell.

“I’m doing as you asked!” He began to press down on the metal. “Now if you could hold still, I might be able to squish them–”

“NEVER MIND, STUPID IDEA!” George yanked the hand back as he realized that it was about to get squished, as well as the fact that the guards were getting closer to them. “I’ll just whack it on a rock or something!”

“Boys!” Edith was trying to wave at them once more as she waited for them by a water wheel on the other side of the dam–she could see the guards coming right after them and it made her fears grow. She heard a sound and when she turned around, she came face to face with Meaner, who was still dazed from the fall, but was still able to get to the other side with the aid of another bridge that was closer to the wall of the dam.

“Hey woman, how about you make life easier for all of us and turn them in?” He grinned at her. “You’ll get it off easy if you do!”

Edith pulled a face at this as she took out the frying pan, which only made Meaner laugh. “That’s the best you got?! You really are a woman, you know that?!” He regretted his words the moment he saw her charge at him with said pan in both her hands and she took a swing, forcing him to dodge. “Jeez, you really are serious!” He growled before taking a swing at her, forcing her to take a few unknowing steps back towards the ledge and to a steep drop to the ground below.

“Never mind us, help her!” Harold panicked when he saw the predicament Edith was in and pointed to her.

“That I can do!” Captain Underpants saluted before flying towards her.

Edith slowly backed away as she desperately held the pan out in defense. “D-don’t come any closer!” She stammered and tried to swing at Meaner again, but he easily dodged it and made to strike her again, forcing her to get closer to the edge. She tried hitting him again, but this time he knocked the pan right out of her hands and it landed several feet to her side, just inches from falling to the ground below.

“Don’t even bother, sweet cheeks!” Meaner growled as he stopped Edith and blocked her with the sword before she could get to the pan, forcing her to stare at him in wide eyed alarm, but then she let out a cry as he suddenly grabbed her by the wrist. “Now come on or else I’ll–!” He began to pull her away and towards him, not knowing that Captain Underpants had then appeared right beside him.

“Someone clearly didn’t teach you how to behave to a lady!” Captain Underpants scolded Meaner as he grabbed one of his arms, pulled him away from Edith, and proceeded to toss him off to the side without even bothering to look once more. The force from the pull had made Edith lose her balance and stumble backwards until she found herself standing too far on the edge of the ledge and was about ready to fall off and plummet to the ground below–not even trying to wave her arms would return her balance in time.

Luckily for her, Captain Underpants saw what was about to happen and right as she started her descent, he reached out and grabbed her wrist and within seconds she found herself crashing against the rock wall, but now there was someone leaning over the edge of the ledge and holding onto her left hand and wrist as she dangled high above the ground. “Don’t worry, I got you!” He reassured her.

“Oh shoot!” Harold and George were just crossing another bridge when they saw that Meaner was sailing right towards them. The boys doubled their pace and when Meaner crashed through the bridge for the second time in a row, they only had a split second to make a leap for it before the bridge collapsed. The guards that were following them came to a complete stop when they realized that they were stuck on the other side and the boys had gotten away once more. “Yeah, nice try!” George let out a laugh before turning to Harold. “Now get me something heavy so we can bash these off!” He waved his covered hands.

Meanwhile, Edith felt her heart furiously pounding inside her as she was pulled back up to safety and when she felt the ground under her feet again, she ended up stumbling once more. “Whoa, hey!” Captain Underpants grabbed her shoulders to steady her as she held her face in her hands. “Are you alright?” He asked in concern. “Hey, you put up a good fight just then!” He reassured her and helped her back onto her feet as the boys ran past him and Harold grabbed the pan.

“This’ll work!” Harold told George. The boy quickly laid one hand on the ground and gritted his teeth as Harold readied the pan before bringing it down on one of the shells as hard as he could. The shall cracked under the pan hard enough to easily spilt open and fall off. “Wow, that uh–worked pretty well.” George was impressed as he saw his hand once more.

“What are you idiots doing?!” Anthrope yelled at the others. “Let’s get them on the other side!” She hurried towards the first fallen bridge and began to try to climb down it. Edith had still held her face in her hands and was trying to recover from a frantic heart rate when overheard the command and unintentionally moved her hair completely out of her face and behind her ears as she looked to see if the boys were ok, before looking to see who had saved her–and unknowingly let him see her face properly.

Now while Captain Underpants had already seen Edith before at this point, he had no recollection of that. He had not expected that the woman he just saved to have the loveliest face or the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen and with that put all together, he lost all attention on anything else as his heart suddenly forgot to beat inside of him.

He didn’t know if he could describe her face as ‘sweet,’ ‘adorable,’ or ‘beautiful,’ but if there had been a word to combine all three–

“Oh, uh, thanks for earlier?” While thankful for the aid, Edith was incredibly confused by the drastic change that overcame the man before her and she had no clue what to make of any of it. Even now she was struggling with all her might to keep her eyes on his face and not on what was below–or lack of, to be more accurate, which made the blush from before return to her cheeks. What really caught her off guard was the strange open mouthed look of awed surprise he was giving her until it turned into a big smile.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have the most beautiful blue eyes in the whole world?” He told her with genuine sincerity.

Wait, what?

“What?” Edith was not expecting that.

“What?!” Harold and George both asked as Harold was about to strike the next cuff and he stopped mid-way as neither of them expected those words to be said by the man for many reasons.

“Uh–uh–” Edith stammered and was at a complete loss for words.

“It’s been an honor save you, my lady.” Captain Underpants continued smiling at Edith and then before she she knew what was happening, he took one of her hands, brought it to his face, and kissed the back of it while holding with an unfamiliar gentleness.

With that, her mind completely shut down as she stared at the chivalrous gesture with open mouthed shock and her hair fell over the right side of her increasingly blushing face.

Both George and Harold stared at what has happening for one second before George pulled a face and felt the urge to vomit and laugh at the same time, while Harold had very conflicting emotions on what he was seeing (because on one hand, it was oddly sweet, but on the other he was still protective of her after what had happened earlier with the man’s less compassionate counterpart).

Both boys heard a loud sound and looked to see that the guards they left behind were pulling a wooden ladder off the wall and were heading towards the gap.

“Oh shoot!” Harold turned back to the remaining shell and whacked at it as hard as he could–causing it to crack. However, because he used so much force on it, the flying pan went flying out of his hands, hit the waterwheel and broke a part of it, and caused some of the water to splash out, with a few droplets hitting Captain Underpants on the head while the unsuspecting man admired the pretty face of the woman with the blue eyes.

“AGH!” Krupp was returned back to his senses as he let go of Edith’s hand and flailed his arms as he moved away from her. He looked from Edith, whose face was still a bright pink, before looking to the boys and this time he saw that George’s hands were now free.

“Don’t try anything, you weirdo!” One of the guards yelled as they ran at the four from one side.

“Yeah, don’t do anything you’ll regret!” Another guard on the other side warned as he got out his crossbow and aimed it right at his superior, who was very startled and almost scared for his life at this.

“What are you idiots doing?!” Krupp yelled at them in panicked anger. “Why are you aiming at me for–?!”

SNAP!

“–Hey are you guys trying to use that ladder as a bridge?” Cpatain Underpants asked the guards as Harold moved his hand away from him.

“Ugh, is there no end to this?!” George was getting frustrated before he remembered “Oh yeah, the bridge!” He grinned as he turned to face the second bridge to freedom–only to see an arrow covered in flames hitting it, immediately setting the very dry and very flammable ropes into flames.

“Wh–what–?!” George was confused and turned his head to see that one of the guards on the other side had used a lantern and some cloth to light the arrow on fire. “Are you kidding me?!” He demanded as Harold saw a small ledge in the wall some distance away and he had an idea. “Come on!” He grabbed George’s wrist and pulled him towards it.

“Wait!” Edith finally recovered and went after them. “What are you doing now?!” Harold raced to the edge of the pathway they were on that was near the ledge he saw as he undid the hair wrapped around him. “Slide down it as fast as you can!” He told George as he tossed his hair and let it dangle towards the ledge. The boy instantly got it and he let go of Harold’s hand and quickly slid down the rainbow locks.

“Go ahead, I’ll jump into your arms!” He told Edith as the guards were getting closer to them. The women regretted leaving him alone, but she did as she was told and followed suit. Finally, just as the guards were about to reach Harold, he jumped down and landed right into Edith’s waiting arms.

“See, no biggie!” Harold laughed as he jumped out of Edith’s arms and landed in front of George.

“You know, if you wanted to go down, you could have just asked me!” All three were startled to see Captain Underpants hovering near them. “I think I finally figured it out–you all are trying to escape from the bad guys, right?” He pointed to the guards.

“Ok look, you helped us out as much as you could, but could you please leave now?” George pleaded. “You’ve done enough and this really isn’t a good place for you.” He nervously looked at all the spots where water was leaking, which meant too many ways to turn Captain Underpants back to his true self. He took Harold’s wrist and made to run for it, but they only made a few steps when another arrow was shot and blocked their path.

“You aren’t getting away!” Rected yelled as he readied another arrow. This made Captain Underpants frown before he grabbed the nearest thing–which happened to be one of the thick wooden beams keeping the dam wall up–pulled it right out, and flew up towards the guards.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” George screamed as he realized what the loss of the beam was going to mean.

“Hey, cut it out!” Captain Underpants demanded as he swung the beam at the guards, forcing them to flee. He even attempted to spin in a circle with it, but he lost his grip and the wooden beam went flying right into the wall of the dam, creating a hole that shot water out, and he was splashed with water once more.

“AAAAHHHH–!” The boys and Edith winced as Krupp came crashing down through another one of the beams–snapping it in half in the process–and crashed right down in front of them.

“Oh, I almost felt that one.” Harold winced in sympathy as he wrapped his hair around his waist again.

Krupp let out an almost inhuman yell as he looked up at them. “STOP PLAYING YOUR STUPID GAMES ON ME!” He yelled at the boys before looking up at the guards. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GO GET THEM!”

“Uh, why is Captain Underpants ordering us around?” One of the confused guards asked another. They still could not tell that he was actually their superior, who was angry at seeing those reactions. Perhaps had they been closer to him, they would have instantly made the connection. Meanwhile, Krupp was now beyond all reason and was too angry to make any smart decisions or to realize his exact surroundings.

“ALRIGHT, THAT’S IT!” Krupp got up and, to the horror of Edith and the boys, he grabbed the beam nearest to him and easily ripped it out and he ran towards them. “I’M GOING TO KNOCK YOU TWO OUT IF I HAVE TO–!”

George snapped his fingers.

SNAP!

“Tra la laa!” Captain Underpants sang as he automatically hurled the beam right into the wall so that he could place his hands on his hips. The beam shot right through the wall and caused another jet of water to escape, which thankfully wasn’t anywhere near him to cause another transformation, but by then too much damage had been done.

“Harold, run now.” George grabbed Harold’s hand and pulled him away from the wall as fast as he could and he hopped off the ledge to the ground below where they continued to run. Edith also sensed what was about to happen and she made a run for it as fast as she could.

Many of the guards could hear the ominous cracking sounds coming from the wall that prevented the water from flooding out and they could see just how many jets of waters were escaping from the wall. Realizing what was about to happen, they high tailed it away from the wall as fast as they could, all the while yelling profanities that no child was ever supposed to hear (and would likely get the writer in trouble if such profanities were revealed).

The only one who did not fully grasp what was going on was Captain Underpants. “Hey, where is everybody going?” He looked around in oblivious confusion.

George let out a frantic, yet terrified laugh as he and Harold ran as fast as they could. “We should have gone up that stupid bridge when we had the chance!”

“Is there any other escape routes?!” Harold yelled in reply.

“Hey what’s going on?” Captain Underpants asked as he flew beside the boys and nearly scared them half to death. “Why is everyone running away like something bad is about to happen?”

“BECAUSE THE WALL IS GOING TO BREAK!” Harold had enough common sense to at least figure what was about to happen, but he could not understand why the adult didn’t get it. “WHAT DID YOU THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN YOU THREW THAT HUGE WOOD THING AT IT?!”

“But there was only a couple of holes. We could easily fix them, can’t we?”

Right behind them all, the wall finally couldn’t take it anymore and it began to burst and sent a huge wave of water right into the dam.

George let out a scream and doubled his pace, as did Harold, and they both hurried past one of the large rock pinnacles.

“Boys!” Edith yelled as she hurried her pace, but without warning she accidentally stepped in a hole on the ground and ended up falling to the ground once more.

“Hmm?” Captain Underpants noticed what just happened and he flew away from the boys and towards Edith.

Harold turned back and tried to pull George back so that they could get towards her. “No, what are you doing?!” George protested as he stopped the boy in his tracks. “We got to get Edith!”

“We can’t, we got to keep going!” George pulled at Harold’s hand as hard as he could. “I mean she can swim if she has to, right?!”

“Hey, do you need help again?” Captain Underpants asked Edith as he came to a stop beside her, but by this point she had already gotten herself back up. Neither of them saw that the wave of water was mere seconds from hitting them, but Edith made to go after the boys once more.

Seconds later, the water crashed over Edith and Captain Underpants and sucked them both in.

Seconds later, that same wave crashed into the rock pinnacle, causing it to break and fall towards the boys.

George let out a yell and pulled Harold towards a nearby tunnel when he saw what was about to happen–there would have been no time to run off to the side. They both made it in time as the rock crashed to the ground and blocked the mouth of the tunnel as water continued to flow and crash around it.

Edith struggled to swim upward (it had been too long since she had swam, but her memories of those times were still of use to her) and she finally was able to return to the surface. The sound of rushing water drowned out every other sound (particularly the sound of one horribly confused and terrified man who was now struggling to stay above water some ways away from her while yelling incoherent words) as she looked around for Harold and George, but neither of them could be seen.

“BOYS?!” She cried out. “HAROLD?! GEORGE?!” She tried to swim to one of the sides of the newly restored river, but the currents were too powerful and soon one wooden plank came charging towards her and she had to cling onto it to stay upright.

“HAROLD!” She cried, but try as she might, the waters would not let her get close enough to dry ground and she was taken away towards the unknown.

Meanwhile, the boys were staring in horror at the blocked mouth of the tunnel–which turned out to be more like a cave–and the water that was starting to fill the entire place up.

“We’re so dead, aren’t we?” Harold asked with dread.

“No, it’s worse.” George admitted. “This is so much worse.”

Chapter Text

Near a book case filled with all sorts of books sat a small boy of five who eagerly wrote on some paper with a quill and ink that he borrowed off his mother’s desk. He grinned as everything that was in his head came flooding out into reality through the words he wrote down–heroes, monsters, magic, and more, in a world where the good was grand, the bad was ferocious, but it was always silly and in good fun.

He heard a loud gasp and looked up to se his mother with a collection of books in her arms, though she was about to drop them at the sight of her son using her precious ink.

“I’m sorry!” He apologized as he quickly put the quill back in the ink. “Mommy, I’m sorry! I just wanted to try your ink pen, that’s all!”

The woman hesitated before she set the books aside on the desk and went up to pick up the papers her son had written upon. “Mommy?” The boy nervously asked as she read the story that had been penned down by her son’s hand. Then she cracked a smile and laughed before she affectionately tousled his hair.

“Well I’m glad to see that my ink was being put to good use.” She knelt down beside him. “You have quite an imagination! I’m impressed with how far and well you’ve been writing at your age.”

“Well that’s because I got help from you and daddy!” He smiled with pride before frowning with worry. “Uh, it’s not silly is it? That lady who was watching me last week didn’t like my stories and said that the heroes were too inappropriate.”

“Dearest, there isn’t anything wrong with your heroes.” His mother shook her head. “Sometimes the best heroes are the ones we least expect. True heroes will always put another’s needs above their own, and sometimes they won’t be wearing a suit of armor or carry a sword. And you know what? I think there’s a hero inside us all whose waiting to help those who are in need of one.”

“Besides, that’s why we have characters like Robin Hood and Don Quixote who always want to help others.” She turned to the books. “Perhaps we can exchange stories when you’re done with yours?”

“Yes!” The boy shot up with excitement. “Please tell me you have King Arthur with those books!”

She grinned. “Why of course I do George.”

*****

“Uh, George, what do we do?!” Harold panicked as the water began to fill up the small cave. “I don’t know how to swim!”

This snapped George out of his thoughts as he jumped up and tried to search for a way out around the cave. There had to be a crack or something to indicate that they could escape! He tried to pull and claw at whatever loose rocks he could find, and when Harold picked up on this, he copied him and tried to pound at the rocks and force his body against the walls.

“Nothing’s working!” Harold freaked out as his panic increased.

Meanwhile, George tried to tear a rock out, but in the process his hand slipped and he felt a sharp pain on his palm, causing him to bite back a yell that barely escaped his mouth. He rejoined Harold who tried one last time to pound at the walls at the highest point they could stand on, but it was useless–there was nothing either boy could do.

“I’m so sorry!” Harold moaned and held his head in his hands as George squeezed his hand as he felt blood began to seep out of the stinging cut. “This was all my fault! This is what I get for leaving that stupid tower, and now I’ll get us both killed! If we don’t drown then we’ll starve to death!”

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up!” George protested, even though he tried to fight his hardest to help himself from panicking too. “This was my fault for suggesting we go to The Crusty Sandbox instead of just continuing! I should have–I should have–” He realized how everything came together. “None of this would of happened if I hadn’t gotten on everyone’s bad side.” He quietly finished.

“What are you saying?!” Harold protested as he looked at the other boy. “The other kids still like you and everyone else deserved to be pranked!”

“It’s more than–!” George snapped, but then noticed the water that was slowly filling the cave. “I’m not ready to go just...” He felt a pang in his chest and shut his eyes. “My dream isn’t to be a writer.”

“Huh?” Harold asked in confusion–he had no clue why the boy was mentioning this now of all times or why he’d say such a thing to begin with. “But you’re a good storyteller–”

“I mean one day I’d like to be, but I don’t even know if that’ll happen or not!” George felt everything that he wanted to keep inside be ready to burst and now he couldn’t stop. “My real dream is to find my parents! I want to find them and know that they’re alright, and I want to have a real family again!” He felt himself about ready to cry. “I can’t–!” He curled himself into a ball. “I just want my mom and dad back! I just wanted someone to know–someone who’d understand for a change–before I died!”

This reveal took Harold off guard.

He had been so caught up with the excitement that he didn’t really think too much about George’s background, beyond his reputation with the others. He didn’t think that this boy who was so against adults would actually miss the two most important ones of all in his life. But the way George had acted upon revealing this meant that this was a secret that he had to keep to himself and probably never had anyone to tell it to. Something Harold understood when he thought about it–there was so much he had to keep secret from the others he just met today.

“My hair can glow and I can make illusions.” He finally confessed to George. It took George a moment to understand what he heard. “Wh... what?” He asked as it began to dawn upon Harold, whose eyes began to light up.

“My hair can glow... and I can create illusions!” Harold quickly undid his hair as George got up–and just in time as the water was seconds away from reaching their toes.

“What are you talking about?” George was confused as Harold shut his eyes and began to concentrate.

Seconds later, the boy’s hair glowed with a brightness that pierced through the dark, like a rainbow appearing after the rain.

“What... the–?” George gapped and flinched back with wide eyes. There was a roaring sound and he yelped as he looked up to see a huge fire flicker above the two as the glow from the other boy’s rainbow hair was reflected upon the wall in many bright colors.

“It’s not real, it won’t hurt you!” Harold promised when he opened his eyes and saw George’s shocked beyond anything expression. “Now come on, there’s got to be a way out!” He looked down to see that the water was at his ankles. “And we got to find it now!” He felt the panic come on, making the flame flicker.

“Uh, ok, ok.” George tried to calm down and look around. “We’re by a dam and there’s more rivers that break off. Maybe...” He then noticed Harold’s hair being tugged in a specific direction. “Wait!” He hopped down and was now waist deep in water as he went towards where the trail of glowing hair was being pulled at. To his amazement, the tugging revealed that the water was seeping out through a series of rocks.

“Hallelujah, I’ve found it!” George threw his hands up in delight. “Come on, help me!” He began to pull the rocks out, despite that his hand was still in pain.

“Yes!” Harold cried with joy as he also hopped into the water to join George. With Harold helping George out, the two hurried together to rip the rocks out, yet the water was slowly raising up.

“George, I said I can’t swim!”

“Garb onto me the moment you get a chance!”

Seconds passed, the pull to the other side grew, the hole widened, the glow dimmed down, the water began to rise to the point it was touching their chins.

Finally the pull was too much and the boys were sent shooting through the hole, which bursted open completely. Harold only had one moment to grab George’s arm before they tumbled into the huge jet of water.

Seconds later, they were sent shooting out of a hole in the side of a wall of earth and rocks and into a small creek.

“Oh jeez!” George gasped when they finally had their heads above water. He pulled Harold along as he swam to the nearest bank and they both threw themselves upon the ground. “Oh jeez.” He rested his head in his arms. “Please... never... again.”

He turned his head to look at Harold, who was struggling to crawl up and when he did, he sat on the bank and pulled all his hair up out of the water. Besides that, he could tell that it was getting close to sundown by the color of the sky and how certain shadows were being casted. “So,” George was now able to process what he had seen, which was still hard to believe. “Are you actually one of the magic folk? Because that... back there... I have to be honest, I did not see that coming.”

Harold hesitated. “Uh, I–I don’t know, I’ve been like this for as long as I can remember.” He admitted before realizing that he gave away his big secret. “Oh man, now you know.” He sighed and shook his head.

“Hey, it’s not bad!” George let out a nervous laugh. “Oh man, if I knew about it earlier! Think of how much better those pranks could have been!” He chuckled. “And I thought I was the one with the huge secret I was trying to keep from everyone.”

“Yeah, you still owe me an explanation about why–” Harold then realized something horrible. “OH CRUMBS, WE FORGOT EDITH!” He grabbed his hair and tugged at it. “SHE WAS WITH US AND THE WATER TOOK HER AWAY!”

“Whoa, calm down!” George finally crawled up and sat on his legs. “Look, I’m sure she’s fine! That used to be a river and I’m sure it’ll take her somewhere near the castle eventually. I think.” He added with less certainty.

“I don’t think she can swim either!” Harold grabbed George’s shoulders and shook them. “Well, she still may of had a chance to find something to hold onto!” George tried to reassure Harold.

“But she’s all on her own right now and–oh.” It hit Harold.

Edith still had the crown.

If George found out, he’d kill him.

“What?”

“Nothing!” Harold quickly shook his head. “It’s just–” he noticed the cut on George’s hand. “You’re bleeding!”

“Huh?” George looked at his hand and the second he saw the red fluid, he felt himself get sick to his stomach. “Uh,” He went pale and grimaced as he lowered his hand. “I’m going to be sick.”

“Whoa, are you ok?!”

“N–no, I–can’t stand the sight of blood.” George shuddered and moaned while looking as if the color was about to drain out of his face. “And that rock probably had germs and–ugh!” He grimaced.

Harold thought for a second before grabbing George’s hand and examined the cut.

“Wh-what are you doing?” George didn’t bother to look, but then he got confused when he felt Harold wrap part of his hair around it. “Wait, what are you–?” He looked at the other boy.

“Look, don’t freak out, ok?” Harold shot him a look of warning before finishing his task and he shut his eyes.“Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine.” He sang and George watched as Harold’s hair began to glow again and this time it seemed to make the water evaporate from his hair and turn it back into it’s usual wild mess.“Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine.”

“Heal what has been hurt, change the fates, design,” George began to feel a strange sensation on his hand and the stinging from the cut was replaced with something warm and comforting. “Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine, what once was mine.”

The moment Harold ceased singing, the glow vanished as if it hadn’t been there to begin with.

Harold took his hair off George’s hand and showed him something the boy was not expecting–his injury had been completely healed without a scar and there was no blood upon it.

George gapped at this–eyes about to pop out of his head due to how wide they got–and he began to stammer. “Wh–wha–what–what the–?!”

“Hey, what did I say!” Harold put his hand over George’s mouth. “No freaking out!”

George slowly moved the other boy’s hand from his mouth. “I... I need time to process what just happened... Maybe after we set up camp somewhere.” He got up and walked away. Harold frowned with worry, but he followed suit.

*****

Meanwhile in another part of the woods, Kipper and his friends had long since escaped the tunnels, but all of them were in a foul mood. Kipper was especially not happy.

“Argh, we could of had him if it wasn’t for that little freak with the hair helping him out!” Kipper shook his hands. “I thought I had every kid under my thumb!”

“Well look on the bright side.” One of the teens tried to do so. “Maybe your uncle actually caught him. And it’s not like he can go back to that hideout, right?”

“He could be anywhere at this point!” Kipper threw his hands up in the air. “He could be out in the woods or hiding in town! And if I ever see him, he’s as good as dead!” he scowled.

Unknown to all four teens, a heavily cloaked figure was listening to them behind a tree. “What did you say about someone with him?” She finally asked as she stepped out, causing the boys to freak out and a couple of them yelped.

“Jeez lady! You gave us heart attacks!” One of them snapped.

“You said something about a freak with hair?” She asked once more as she looked at Kipper from under her hood. The teen could not see her face, but he didn’t like how raspy her voice sounded–it almost reminded him of a frog. “Uh, yeah some kid with really long hair with a lot of colors in it.” He admitted.

The woman–Ribble–let out a curse under her breath and paused for a moment. She had a feeling she found Harold in that old inn, and if it wasn’t for the fact that it was filled with so many children, or if that stupid dog had sensed her nearby, she could have grabbed him back along with her slave. It was easy to do a locator spell to find them, but she needed that hair to rejuvenate her magic as well as herself as soon as it was convenient. Lately her magic was draining faster than usual–especially when using a locator spell–and all she was willing to use it on now was on the person she needed to find the most. She still needed to find Edith since the woman knew too much, but if she was lucky, maybe something happened to her. Being alone in the woods at night was ill advised and a certain fate that was likely to happen to her if she ran away from the others.

“Perhaps I can be of assistance to you boys.” She decided. “That is, if things go the way I think they’ll go.”

“You want to help us nab Beard?” One teen raised his eyebrow at her. “What’s in it for you?”

“That’s none of your beeswax!” Ribble snapped. “All you need to know is that I’ll let you get all the credit if you help me out!”

Kipper had a sense of uneasiness about this woman, and yet his greediness and desire to punish George was clouding his judgement. “Well ok, I’ll hear you out then.” He shrugged, causing his pals to shoot him worried looks.

“Well first off,” Ribble gave the teen a wicked grin. “That boy who was helping the one you’re after? He’s one of the magic folk–the kind who loves to play tricks–and he’s accompanied by a changeling that disguises itself as a mere woman with the bluest eyes you’d ever see.”

*****

As the sky changed colors and took on dark blues, pinks, and oranges, Queen Grace stared at the landscape beyond the town at one of the many windows.

Somewhere out there, her son was still there. She could feel it deep down in her heart–she could almost feel him in her arms once more. What was he like now? Did he grow up to be sweet and kind? Full of bravery and wit? Was he a troublemaker like she had been as a child?

“They still haven’t caught the thief yet?” Grace turned her head when she heard a couple of gossipy maids and a guard close by around one of the corridors.

“Yeah, I’m kind of surprised that he was able to sneak in and nab the crown at all. You’d think Her Majesty would of had that thing guarded, what with how long this obsession has grown.”

“Yeah, much like with the princess.” One of them laughed. “I almost pity the child.”

“Almost always under supervision–she probably doesn’t have any real friends. Her brother just had to up and vanish.”

“It would be a miracle if the prince ever returned. It’s not like the world will be right again for all of us if he’s found.”

Grace tightened her hands into fists and she scowled. How dare they...

“Tomorrow we’ll have another stupid festival with a bunch of annoying kids running around and a sky filled with lanterns that’ll end up being trash for someone to pick up.”

Grace had enough and stormed away with her head bowed low. Was there someone–anyone with a kind soul–still in this kingdom who truly wished to help her find her son? She was not oblivious to how cruel the people in her kingdom could get (some of whom worked for her), but to mock her and the memory of her son–to not respect or understand her–was unforgivable.

Whoever took the crown was going to pay. She would turn them into an example to show them all that neither she nor her sorrow nor the memory of her son was something to joke about.

*****

Heidi finished painting the last of the flowers on her pink paper lantern at her small table that was in the middle of her bedroom, and after taking her apron off and she finished cleaning her hands off, she went towards the pile of stuffed toys in the far left corner of her room. The spacious room in question was almost any young girl’s dream come true–pale yellow and white walls, a canopy bed with pink blankets and curtains (even the windows had pink curtains), water color paintings upon the walls, a shelf filled with books and trinkets, and of course, the collection of toys that she went to. She searched through them before taking out one that was carefully hidden among the others.

“Hi again!” She smiled as she held him up in the air. “Sorry to make you wait, but I’m done with my lantern now. Would you like to see it?”

It was a plush doll of Captain Underpants that she had wanted to be made in secret from one of the seamstresses (one of the few staff members who was actually nice to her and liked children). It looked almost exactly like him, complete with black buttons for eyes, and a nose and a cheerful smile stitched onto his face. Even the unusual signature attire was made to his size and there were black dots painted upon the red cloth cape that was neatly tied around his neck. Among the toys she owned, this one was one of her most prized–even above the more fancier dolls–for a very good reason.

She smiled at the Captain Underpants doll before turning to her window to recall a series of important memories. Nearly one year ago, something extraordinary happened to the little princess in this room.

*****

Heidi was playing alone with some of her toys at her table in her bedroom, pretending to serve treats to them.

“And here’s the raspberry vanilla seaweed tea.” Heidi smiled as she offered a tea cup to a pink stuffed dolphin. “Watch out it’s hot. Oh, and I didn’t forget you!” She turned around to ‘pour’ tea into the cup that belonged to her black dragon. “I added fish scales like you wanted.” She turned to a doll in a fancy dress and held a plate to her. “And here’s your... uh... spicy pepper chocolate chip cookies? They were hard to find, but I don’t want any. You can have them all.”

None of them responded, but she pretended that they heard her and were thanking her. “You’re welcome.” She nodded and turned to the dragon. “And now... now...”

She let out a sigh and looked around. “This would be a lot more fun if I had someone to play with us.” There wasn’t many children who came by the castle to play with. The most frequent one who came by was Melvin (The son of a pair of... what was the word? It was a tricky word to say.) but he was so boring and he never wanted to play games with her–he just liked to talk about things he built that she didn’t care about. Then again, she didn’t know if any of the other children would even want to play with her at all.

As if on some divine cue, there was a tremendous crash outside her room that startled her and she turned to face the windows. She hurried towards the nearest one and undid the latch before opening it to look around.

“Oh you! Hey!”

Heidi looked down and to her surprise she saw a large bodied man in nothing but a cape and underwear laying in the bushes far down below her. A huge series of cracks on one spot on the wall was in-between her and him.

“Hi!” He waved. “Is this the castle? I’ve never been to it and I wanted to see it for myself!”

Heidi stared at the man in stunned confusion–why was there a man in his underwear in the bushes?–but to her surprise he flew out of the bushes and continued to fly up until he was at level with her. “This is the castle right?” He asked while still hovering in the air.

“Wait a minute,” Heidi quickly realized who this was after putting everything together. “Are... are you Captain Underpants? The Captain Underpants that everyone talks about?” She heard a lot of adults complaining about him or making fun of him in the castle lately. They thought he was weird, dumb, and annoying, but Heidi thought he was the funniest adult she ever heard about.

“I sure am!” Captain Underpants grinned as he placed his hands on his hips. “There’s only one Captain Underpants and I’m him! Unless there’s someone who also happens to have my name, which I admit would be very confusing for everyone.”

“Hurry, it came from this way!” A voice yelled out from below, causing the princess to panic. “Quick, in here!” She gestured for the man to come into her room without thinking too much about what she was doing or if the man was safe. He quickly squeezed in (it was a tight squeeze) and stood before her when he was inside.

Heidi stared up in awe. The man was fat and large and she felt as if she was no were near the same size as his legs–she felt so tiny compared to him. He looked down at her in curiosity and though Heidi knew that he was a stranger, she felt no fear towards him. “Uh, you probably shouldn’t be here.” She began. “Mama would throw a fit if you were found in my room, and Krupp really wants to get you. But they’re probably looking for you right now.” She went to the window and sure enough she could see some guards coming and pointing at the indent in the wall. She quickly shut the window before they saw her.

“But I wanted to meet the queen!” Captain Underpants protested. “Seeing as I want to help keep the peace in her land, I felt it right to pay her a visit. Wait,” He hesitated before beaming at her. “Are you her?!”

“Uh, well I–”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty!” He gave the child a deep bow. “And I apologize for the property damage that I just caused. I can fix it for you if it made you mad.”

“Oh no!” Heidi protested. “That’s fine, but the thing is I’m not the queen! The queen is my mama! I’m her daughter!”

“Huh?” Captain Underpants was confused by this and looked up to carefully study the girl. “You’re the princess?” His smile grew even wider at this. “That’s even better! I heard the queen had a daughter but I didn’t think I’d meet her! Look at you, so tiny and adorable!” He knelt down to her level to get a better look at her. “Are all princesses supposed to be as adorable as you?!” He asked as he rested his chin in one hand. Heidi couldn’t help but giggle as she held a fist near her mouth. This adult was strange, but funny and already a lot more fun than most other adults.

“Heidi?!” There was a knock on her door. “Heidi are you in there?!”

“Oh no!” Heidi panicked and looked around. “Hide!”

“Hide?” Captain Underpants asked. The princess spotted the mountain of plush toys by the wall and she grabbed the adult’s hand–or to be more accurate his thumb since his hand was ginormous in comparison to hers–and lead him to the plush toys.

“HEIDI?!”

“In a second!” Heidi yelled before turning to Captain Underpants. “Sit down and don’t move or talk!” She commanded and when he did, she tossed all her plushies upon him.

“HEIDI, YOU OPEN THE DOOR RIGHT THIS MOMENT!”

Heidi frantically scrambled to cover the hero with plushies and when she could not see him, she hurried to her door and opened it to see the panicked face of her mother before she hurried in and looked around.

“Mama?” Heidi nervously asked.

Queen Grace turned to face her daughter and gave her an odd look before sighing in relief and she knelt beside the child to kiss her forehead. “You didn’t see anything, did you, sweetie?” She asked. “Did anyone try to come to your window?”

“No.” Heidi lied with as much of an innocent face as she could manage.

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely!”

Grace stared at her daughter, who waited with her breath held in until she gave up and got up. “Maybe it was elsewhere.” She muttered to herself as she went out the room.

When the door was finally shut, Heidi sighed in relief. “Alright, you can come out now.” She turned to address the mountain of toys.

In response, Captain Underpants leapt up and sent all the stuffed toys flying everywhere, making the child laugh. “So was that the queen?” He asked.

“Yup!” Heidi nodded. “That was my mama.”

“Why didn’t you introduce me to her?” He began to head towards the door, but the child quickly grabbed his hand again with both hands. “Wait, no!” She warned him as he stopped and look down in confusion. “You probably shouldn’t, she might do something awful to you! She’s really protective of me and probably thinks you tried to kidnap me!”

“I’d never do such a thing!” He gasped in offense at this. Him, kidnap a child? Never! “I promise!” He even held one hand up in the air with the other on his heart for her on the spot.

“I believe you.” Heidi smiled before she bit her tongue. “But the guards will be looking for you and you should wait here for a bit. I even have a bathroom if you need it.” She pointed towards the door to the room in question.

The adult hummed in thought. “Well, there’s no telling what evil is lurking out there that I may need to take care of. But on the other hand, it would do me no good if I were caught and if your mother thought that I was the bad guy. It would be bad for my reputation.” He then smiled. “I see why not. But uh, what could I do while I’m waiting?”

Heidi thought for a moment. “Maybe you could–” she stopped.

“Could what?”

“Uh... could... play with me?” She shyly finished, but she knew it was a silly thing to ask and she dreaded hearing his answer the moment she said it. Melvin never wanted to play with her and the castle staff didn’t bring their children along long enough for her to make any friends. Almost none of the adults wanted to play with her and her mother was almost always too busy to play. “Never mind, forget I asked–”

“That sounds like fun!” Captain Underpants beamed as he knelt in front of her once more. “I don’t know too many games, but maybe you could teach me some!”

Heidi could not believe her eyes or ears. An adult wanted to play with her? “You... you actually want to play with me?”

“I don’t have anything better to do right now, and I don’t think I can say no to someone as sweet and considerate as you.” He replied with a genuine sincerity and warmth.

Heidi’s eyes widened in awe before she turned to her tea set and the stuffed animals. “Uh, well I was having a tea party, but we could always use more guests.”

From that day on, the princess finally had her first real friend. She never knew when he would show up at her window, for she learned that he was not very good at arriving when he was supposed to arrive, but she always looked forward to it. She taught him all the games she knew and while he was not good at some of them (he accidentally broke one of her windows with a ball) they enjoyed them regardless. In return, she decided to help him out with helping others.

“So this is a map of our kingdom.” Heidi brought out a map that she was saving for Captain Underpants one day and rolled it out for him to see on her table. “Maybe it could help you out.”

“That would!” Captain Underpants grinned. “Thank you very much!” He reached out and ruffled the princess’ fluffy hair, causing her to giggle and automatically reach for her head, but grabbed his hand instead. “You’re welcome!” She grinned back at him.

It wasn’t just the map that she used to help him out. Heidi knew and overheard things that no one thought she’d know of. Every plan Krupp and the other guards had against an innocent townsfolk or child, she’d always gave it to Captain Underpants if he came by in the nick of time. She told him every weakness certain guards had, including those of Krupp, and gradually she began to hear more of her friend’s deeds of helping the others while those who hated him were either scratching their heads or seething in anger. She took a secret delight in being able to give the guards so much trouble by helping someone they were after.

She dreaded the day Krupp would ever catch Captain Underpants. He hated the mere mention of the hero–almost more so than a certain boy he was after–and Heidi was worried as to what could happen if he ever found out about her secret friendship with the hero. It was a miracle neither of the two possibilities happened, but she knew she’d protect Captain Underpants from Krupp if either would happen.

She quickly learned that Captain Underpants wasn’t very bright, so she tried to help him learn a few things as best as she could through her games with him. One in particular was where she pretended to be someone who needed saving and it took a few tries in order to teach him that she needed to be placed safely on the ground away from danger and not be placed up onto her dresser or in a tree or near any monster or danger in general.

“Ah, the scary monster has me!” Heidi mock cried as she hugged a huge stuffed bear. “He’s taking me to his fortress!” She hopped onto her bed and hid behind a bunch of pillows and blankets that served as a make-shift fort. “Grr, you can’t stop me!” She tried to deepen her voice as she held the bear up and waved it at Captain Underpants.

“Not if I have anything to say about it!” Captain Underpants grinned and made to fly at the ‘monster,’ but Heidi started to pick up some more animals. “I send my minions at you!” She growled and began tossing them at the adult, who was forced to quickly dodge each one as fast as possible. All the while, he was edging closer and closer to her table, where a cup of water for her paintings was still resting.

“You can’t do anything!” Heidi shook the monster. “I’m In–invinc–uh,” Heidi struggled to recall the word. “I’m invisible!” Yeah that was it, it was ‘invisible.’ The moment the superhero got close enough, she ‘attacked’ him with the bear. “Rawr, rawr, rawr, rwar!”

Captain Underpants laughed as the fur tickled his face, but then he grabbed it out of the princesses’ hands and tossed the bear over his shoulder. “Ah-ha!” He put his hands on his hips as he cried out in triumph before turning to Heidi. “Uh, now what?”

“Uh...” Heidi struggled to think. “I think I either give you a thank-you kiss, or you ask for a kiss for a reward. It’s in all the stories mama reads to me. But she says if it’s only for someone you actually like or if they’re nice.” She quickly added.

Captain Underpants hummed in thought as he lowered himself down. “Well, I guess I wouldn’t want to go kissing everyone I–” at this moment, he accidentally stepped on a ball and the amount of pressure he put on it made him roll and fall over with a yelp and flailing arms.

“Captain!” Heidi cried out and reached her hand to him, but it was too late and he bumped into the table as he landed on the floor, causing the cup to fall over and spill water onto his head.

“Ack!” He shot upright into a sitting position and grabbed his head. Heidi gasped in horror and hurried off the bed with a blanket in her hand as the adult took in his surroundings with great confusion. “What the–?! What where am–wait, Your High–?!” Heidi cut him off and he let out a cry of protest as she threw the blanket on his head and tried to get the water off of him, while rubbing his bald head as hard as she could on accident. She moved away and took the blanket off him before he could stop her. “There, good as new!” She smiled and snapped her tiny fingers before she could see the exact expression of confused anger on his face.

SNAP!

“I’m sorry, what was I saying?” Captain Underpants gave her a smile.

“Uh... oh!” Heidi remembered and set the blanket on the table. “Well, I guess you could always kiss their hand.” She held her hand out. “That’s more polite, right? But maybe don’t kiss everyone!” She added. “Save it for damsels in distress or someone like that.”

She had this–she could help him.

One day, as she struggled to read a story from a book for Captain Underpants (who was patient and very encouraging the whole time) she looked out the window and had an idea. “Hey, maybe you could take me outside!” She grinned at him. “Mama always keeps me in the castle and I always have to have someone with me whenever I leave! Could you fly me away somewhere for a bit? Uh, please?” She added.

Captain Underpants’ eyes lit up at this and he turned his head to the window, but then he hesitated.

“Is something wrong?” Heidi asked, but he didn’t respond. “Captain Underpants?”

“Would that get us both in a lot of trouble?” He asked quietly, and it was probably the first time he sounded more like the other adults (the nice ones at least). “I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. I’ve been told that I do that, but I don’t mean to.”

She wondered who would say something mean like that to him, but at the same time she realized she had gotten her hopes up–even being free to go outside was too good to be true. “Oh.” She set her book down. “Well... I guess I don’t want you to get in trouble either. Other kids need you too.” A part of her wished that she could be out there so that she could see him more often. A part of her almost wished that she could have him to herself, but she didn’t want him locked in all day like her. It wasn’t nice or fair.

Captain Underpants stared at her with deep regret in his eyes. He tried to think of a way to cheer her up and then it hit him.

“But I have another idea!” Captain Underpants smiled as he stood up, reached out, and picked the girl up by her sides. Before she knew what was happening, he began to fly off the ground a few feet in the air and lifted her up. “Could this work?” He asked as he looked up at her.

To his relief, she beamed at him and held her arms out. “Tra-la-la!” She cried out. He smiled and proceeded to fly around the room with her high above the ground. He even did a few tricks in the air for her and tossed her up and down at one point–everything to make her happy without seriously harming her.

She couldn’t stop giggling and smiling the whole time–maybe she didn’t get to go outside, but this was just as good. She finally knew what it was like to fly and how many kids could say that?

Eventually they both got exhausted and soon the hero was resting on his back in mid-air with his arms crossed under his head. When he moved his head up, he could see the little princess sleeping on his massive stomach and chest while clinging to him at the same time. She rose up and down each time he took a breath, but he could also feel her breathing against him too.

With a smile, Captain Underpants carefully held Heidi in his arms as he went right side up and landed back on the floor, so that he could walk up to her bed. Heidi cuddled up closer to the adult’s body, which felt so warm and squishy and soft to her. By the time the hero placed her gently upon her bed, she was completely asleep.

Captain Underpants then went to one of the windows and opened it to reveal that the sky was raining. He took one last look at the princess before he proceeded to fly out.

Heidi was too deep asleep to hear the terrified scream or someone crashing into the bush below the window a few seconds later.

One day, Heidi had been thinking of her brother–the one who was missing for so many years and who she never got to meet. She wondered if he would have played with her like Captain Underpants did. She wondered if her mom would be more happier if he were around, or if her father had stayed.

She didn’t know what it was like or what it meant to have a dad, to be honest. Would it be like whenever Captain Underpants came by?

“Is something the matter?” He asked and she was snapped out of her thoughts.

“Oh it... uh,” Heidi thought for a moment. “I was thinking of my brother. You know about him, right?” She asked.

“Hmm, I heard something about a missing prince.” Captain Underpants admitted as he sat cross legged in front of her. “Something about your mother trying to find him?”

“He was kidnapped as a baby, and no one knows where he’s gone.” Heidi explained. “Mama still hasn’t given up looking–that’s why we always have that festival with the lanterns, so that he’ll come home some day. No one knows what happened to him, but... I don’t know. Maybe if he was found, mama could be happy again, and maybe she’d let me go out to play with others. It would have been nice to have known him and maybe if he comes back, I’d get to meet him.” She added. “But I don’t know what he looks like. He could look like mama or my father, but I’ve never met my father either.”

“How many people are still looking for him?”

“I guess a lot of them gave up.” She sighed. “I don’t think any of the adults care anymore–they like bossing others around and they think mama is wasting her time trying to find him. I guess they’d only do it if mama gave them money as a reward.”

Captain Underpants momentarily frowned in disapproval–was it her imagination, or did that frown look a bit familiar to her?–but then he smiled and straightened up. “Well I’ll go look for him! No matter how long it takes, I’ll be on the lookout and keep my eyes and ears open for any sign or word of him!” He put his hands on his hips. “No matter what, I’ll do whatever it takes to bring him home to you!”

“You would?” Heidi asked in amazement as she stood up.

“Of course! Helping others is what I live for, and that includes your family too! You helped me once, so I should return the favor right back!”

Heidi beamed with delight and she threw her arms around the hero’s neck. “Thank you! Thank you so much!” She hugged him. “I promise I’ll pay you back–”

“Hey, there’s no need for that.” Captain Underpants laughed and carefully hugged her back. “If I bring him back and everyone is together again, that’ll be a reward enough for me.”

Heidi let go and moved away. “Oh, I almost forgot! His name is Harold!” She informed him as he stood up. “A lot of kids go by that name, so be careful, alright?”

“I will!” He saluted to her. “I’ll do whatever it takes to find your baby brother–!”

“Oh, no, no, no, no he wouldn’t be a baby anymore!” Heidi panicked and quickly shook her head. “He’d be about nine or ten pretty soon–he’d be older and bigger than me!”

“–Your older brother!” The hero corrected himself on the spot before heading to the window and opened it. “Until next time!” He waved before leaping out and he let out a glorious “Tra-la-la!”

Later that evening, Heidi smiled while thinking about her friend as she sat on her mother’s lap in the library as the queen was forced to listen to her captain of the Guard ramble on about things that had been happening lately while a few of his men were by his side. At one point he had talked so much that it drove him to exhaustion and it made him get some nearby water before he could resume his rant again.

“What are you smiling about?” Grace ignored Krupp when she saw her daughter smiling and she whispered to her.

“Oh nothing.” Heidi smiled mischievously as Krupp scowled at the child and made to finish his drink.

“You know that underwear guy is going to be a bad influence on kids, right?” One of the guards asked the queen. “How would you feel if you’re daughter started copying him?”

Grace sighed as Heidi shot the man an annoyed look. “Don’t you have better things to complain about?” She asked. “No offense, but at this point a dog would do better at your job.”

“At least a dog would be smarter.” The other guard pointed out. “This guy’s a full blown moron.”

“He’s not a bad influence and he’s not a moron!” Heidi snapped at them without thinking about it. “You don’t know him! At least he’s friendly and nice! At least he’s trying his best to help!”

“See?” The first guard pointed at the princess–none of them realized that Krupp had been unusually quiet during this, but his scowl grew worse. “It’s already happening! She’d probably want to knight him before you know it!”

Heidi couldn’t help but smirk and say something she meant as more of a joke, but there was still some honesty in it. “I wouldn’t mind having him as my new dad.”

Everyone’s reaction wanted to make the princess laugh. The queen just froze and had no clue what to say or think, the two guards just gapped at the princess with wide eyes, but the most hilarious and oddest reaction possible was from Krupp, who performed a spectacular spit take and dropped his cup as his eyes almost bulged out of his head. He coughed and gave the princess a bizarre look of disbelief before hurrying out of the room like he had an urgent need to use the bathroom.

For the first time in a long time, Queen Grace had to cover her mouth and try and fail to contain her laughter as Heidi smiled with pride.

*****

Heidi sighed as she hugged the doll version of her friend to her chest and stared out the window. She hoped to see him once more–the time in between his visits were too long for her liking. Hugging the doll eased her desires, but she always missed getting hugged back from the actual version–his hugs always felt so warm, soft, and protective.

“Please find my brother.” She pleaded to the hero, wherever he was now. “Please find him, so that mama can be happy and everyone can stop being mean.”

*****

The boys had walked as far as they could until they were exhausted and they rested under the protection of a large tree, but by then the sky was pretty dark with the moon in the sky and a small silver of daylight still remaining. George had set up a small fire and right now he was trying to completely remove the cuffs off his hands with a hair pin that he kept on hand.

“Hair pin, don’t fail me now.” George began to carefully dig at the keyhole on the cuff around his right hand with the campfire giving him much needed light. Meanwhile, Harold quietly looked at everything George had taken out of his satchel to dry out. There were numerous items for pranks, a few tools, a strange bow, pencils, nuts and apples, and there was a few journals which George had taken out of the satchel as fast as possible and had wanted Harold to dry it out with his hair.

Harold took one of the journals and opened it up to reveal that the words in pencil hadn’t been wiped away by the water and he began to read the story inside. ‘A long, long, long time ago, there was a dog named Greg and a knight named Sir Knight. Both were very brave, though Greg was very smart for a dog, while Sir Knight was strong but pretty dumb.’ Harold chuckled at this.

“Got it!” George grinned as the cuff finally came off and he tossed it away. He proceeded to do it to the other cuff and soon that was tossed away too. He rubbed his newly bare wrists before turning around to see Harold. To his surprise, the boy’s hair was glowing and an illusion of a dog whose head was stitched onto the body of a knight stood proud and tall before him.

“Is... that...?” George instantly recognized the character and he looked at Harold to see that he was holding one of his journals while looking at the character with a smile. “You can make my characters real?!”

Harold was startled out of his thoughts and without warning, the illusion of the dog man began to melt and fade away as he turned to George. “I’m sorry, I was just curious!” He put the journal back down. “I know I was invading your privacy and all, but it was a really good story and–!”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down!” George protested as he picked the journal up and stared at it. “You... that was... that was incredible!” He grinned at the boy. “You can visualize things like how you draw them out! You got Dog Man exactly like how I wanted him to look like!” It was true–even the attire and stitches looked as they were supposed to, and George always had trouble drawing that out.

Harold let out a nervous laugh and scratched his arm. “It... it’s nothing, really.”

“Hey, you need to quit putting yourself down like that!” George sat beside Harold. “You have a gift for drawing and visualizing things! You’d make a great illustrator! I’d want you to be my illustrator out of all the kids I’ve known!”

“Yeah but... I’m not supposed to use my powers to make illusions.” Harold nervously grabbed his arm. “Ribble said–,” He sighed. “Ribble said it’s a waste of my powers.”

“Is that the person you’re running away from?” George asked. “The reason you wanted to leave that tower?”

Harold finally gave in as he grabbed his hair and looked at it. “She said that my parents gave me to her as an infant because they didn’t want someone like me. Someone who has these powers and this hair. She said people would think I was a freak if I ever left that tower and came across anyone. That I’d get laughed at.”

“Then why not just cut it off and dye it?” George asked. “I mean it’s cool and all but–”

“I can’t!” Harold protested. He then moved his hair away and grabbed a rather short strand hidden underneath–a curly blonde haired strand. “She said that if I cut it, it loses its powers for good.” He let George stare at it for a few seconds until he dropped his hair. “I’ve lived up in that tower with her and Edith my whole life. Until today, I’ve never even left it, but I hated it. I hated having to take a bath once or twice a week, I hate that Edith and I barely get enough food while Ribble hogs the best stuff to herself, I hate that she won’t let me draw or paint, or make illusions, I hate how mean she gets to me and Edith, but worst of all, I hate that she would never let us out for even one day.”

He sighed and hugged his legs to his chest. “That’s why going to those lights is important to me. That’s why I didn’t know much about what was going on.”

“I used to read a lot with Edith, and a part of me always hoped that maybe one of those heroes could come to life and set us free.” He confessed. “I wanted some sort of sign that the world wasn’t as horrible as Ribble made it out to be. That maybe anything could be possible. But when I think on it,” Harold thought back to that fateful moment at the tower window. “When I saw this strange guy flying in the distance in just a cape and underpants, not only was it one of the best things I ever saw, but I started to believe again that maybe I’d finally get to be free. That maybe miracles could happen, you know?” He chuckled. “So it meant a lot to me when you said that he was real. Maybe he was a sign that you’d be coming.”

George thought about this before sighing. “Well, I guess I disappointed you, since you found out the truth and everything about him. Then again, a lot of adults do that.” Harold frowned as he looked at George. “But not your parents, right? You still want to find them.” He pointed out.

George stared at the fire before he took out the pendant around his neck and looked at the message. ‘With all our love.’ He didn’t want to to think about the past and yet...

“My parents names are Moses and Barbara Beard.” He finally began to open up to another about this for the first time in what felt like a long time. “My dad liked working with machines and contraptions. My mom was a scholar–one of the few who are actually a woman.” He smiled with pride. “We moved into this kingdom to a town close to the one at the castle when I was about four. My mom and dad taught me how to read and write and we always read out loud together–King Arthur, Robin Hood, Gulliver’s Travels, Don Quixote, and all sorts of myths and fairy tales. Those were my best memories with them.” His smile became melancholic. “They always liked my stories and always encouraged me to make more–they didn’t like it when I played pranks, since I always got into trouble with them.” He shut his eyes and squeezed the pendant. “Then one day–the day I was given this–”

*****

“Oh George!”

The five year old George’s mouth opened in surprise as his father presented to him a journal. “I know your birthday’s already passed, but we know you’ll be starting school up very soon and we wanted to give you this.”

“Wow!” George took the journal and opened it up to reveal the pristine white paper and he could smell that wonderful new book sort of smell from it. “I could fit lots of stories in this!”

“Uh, as long as you don’t let the teacher catch you.” George’s father nervously laughed as his mother stood beside him. “We did warn her in advance that sometimes it’s not easy for you to listen and pay attention to someone for too long and that you’re already far ahead in reading and writing. But maybe your stories could be a great way to make friends.”

“I don’t know,” George was hesitant. “What if I don’t like anyone? What if they don’t like my stories? What if the teacher doesn’t like me? I’d want to stay with you.”

“You don’t have to worry.” George’s mother smiled as she took a pendant out of her pocket and handed it to George. “That’s why I knew you would want to take this with you for awhile.”

George looked at the moon etched upon the pendant before he flipped it over and read the message upon the back. “‘With all our love?’”

“Because no matter what happens, we’ll always give you our support and we’ll help you out however we can.” George’s mother smiled and kissed her son’s forehead as her husband knelt beside her. “And it’s ok if you get homesick once in awhile. Just always keep that with you and know you’ll be back soon.”

George smiled and hugged his mother before hugging his dad. “Thanks mommy! Thanks daddy!”

Without any warning, there was a scream from outside. “FIRE! FIRE! GET OUT OF HERE IF YOU CAN!”

Moses and Barbara looked up in alarm as George shot them worried looks. “Fire?” He asked as Moses got up and opened the front door to take a look outside.

“GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!” He yelled in panic at his wife and moved away from the door. Barbara didn’t need to be told twice and she scooped George up into her arms as the boy clung to his pendant and journal for dear life.

Everything happened too fast for George to process what was going on, but he could hear screams and he could see people running for their lives. He tried to look over his mother’s shoulder, but she kept him from looking back as she tightened her hold. She didn’t stop running as they practically flew to the edge of the town where many others were and she stopped beside a terrified young couple with two children of their own.

George looked back and to his horror, he saw that a good part of the town was being engulfed in flames and black and grey smoke was filling the evening sky. He almost wanted to scream at the sight of it.

“Please watch over my son for a moment!” Barbara told the couple before setting him beside the father.

“Mommy?” George asked in panic as he felt his mother’s hands move away from him.

“Mommy needs to go find daddy!” Barbara told George. “Stay here and be safe! Don’t follow me, I promise I’ll be back!” She ran back towards the burning town that was slowly being consumed by flames.

“MOMMY! MOMMY NO, DON’T LEAVE ME!” George screamed and tried to run after her, but the father of the family grabbed his shoulders and stopped him. “MOMMY!”

*****

George sniffed and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palm. Just reliving that awful memory almost made him cry and he could barely keep it in. Harold quietly waited, not bothering to press the boy for more information until he was ready to continue.

“That was the last time I ever saw my parents.” He confessed. “Nobody knew how the fire happened–some say a dragon did it, or that there was an accident. That family I was with tried to help me find my parents, but it was like they were never there to begin with. Everything we had–our house, the books–they all were lost to the fire. They think they died, but...” He took a moment to compose himself and to try to never imagine the worst case scenario. “But they told me they didn’t find anyone who... you know.”

“I’m sorry.” Harold could only say.

A quiet moment of silence fell upon them as George grabbed a stick off the ground and mindlessly examined it. “So did you stay with that family?” Harold finally asked.

George shook his head. “Didn’t want to. If I knew better I would of. See, my parents told me that if anything were to happen to them, I’d be sent to my grandma’s house back where we lived before coming to this kingdom–that she’d watch over me. There were a lot of people like me who were sent to the main town to try to figure things out and others moved elsewhere, including that family mom left me with.” A scowl began to form on his face. “But the person who was supposed to be helping and watching over the refugees didn’t even want to bother sending me–the one kid who was without any parents–all the way back to my grandma. He thought it was a waste of time and a person to just send one sad, lonely five year old kid all the way back to another kingdom, and he didn’t even think of asking anyone else if they’d take me in or take me back. I thought he was someone I could trust, but he forced me to go live in the orphanage instead.” His hands began to tighten on the stick in anger.

“Who was it?” Harold felt his own anger rise. “Who would do such a thing to you?”

“Take a wild guess.” George hissed as he tossed the stick as hard as he could.

“Who–oh,” Harold then understood.

****

“No stop!” George desperately pleaded to the large giant of an adult as he roughly pulled the small child by the wrist towards the three story building. “You can’t send me there, I still have family out there!” He tried to pull away. “You have to send me to my grandma!”

“I don’t have time for any of your whining!” Krupp snapped at the boy as he kept pulling him without stopping or looking back.

“Let me go!” George cried as he tried to pound his small fist into the man’s much larger hand so that he could get away, but all it did was increase Krupp’s annoyance. “You’re supposed to help people! Isn’t that your job?!”

“I’M NOT HAVING SOME UNGRATEFUL KID TELL ME HOW TO DO IT, SO QUIET DOWN IF YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU!” Krupp finally turned around and yelled at the child while nearly scaring him half to death with how horrible he looked when he was angry. The child was too stunned to say anything back when the adult finally pulled him away once more and before George realized it, a woman had opened up the door to the building and hurried towards them.

“He’s your problem now!” Krupp snapped at the woman who shot him an annoyed look as she took George’s hand. He started walking away with George staring at the large adult in stunned, angered silence, but when he felt himself get pulled into the building, he started to panic again.

“Wait no! No I’m not an orphan, I’m not supposed to be here, I–!”

The door was slammed shut and it trapped George inside the building.

*****

“So that’s the real reason why you have it out for Krupp?” Harold asked George.

“It’s because of him that I realized just how rotten the world can be.” George glared at the fire. “Not just him, but all the other adults who hate kids, and then we have a queen who doesn’t even realize what they all are doing behind her back. So many kids are miserable because of people like them–people who want to take away fun, make school boring, and worst of all not listen or be kind to us. So I told myself that I would do whatever it took to get back at them all, and that’s where all the pranks started and how I got a wanted poster with my face on it after four years of making their lives miserable.”

“But it got to a point where I had to leave the orphanage for good and go on the run.” George admitted. “I barely survived this year alone with luck and a few kids willing to let me hide at their homes for awhile. They all see me as this kid hero who gets away with everything, but they’d never understand why I’m doing it all to begin with.” He then smirked. “Luckily Krupp was on a wild goose chase going after a certain underwear wearing hero, and he got distracted from me for a bit.”

That reminded Harold of something. “Actually you owe an explanation about that.” His curiosity was now greatly increased as he recalled what happened earlier. “Why is Krupp Captain Underpants if he’s the complete opposite of him?”

George gave Harold a smirk. “Well, I have my personal reasons for getting back at Krupp, but he didn’t have a reason to make catching me his personal mission above everything else until he found out about the truth.”

Harold wondered what he meant until it hit him. “Wait a minute. Are you saying–?” He couldn’t believe it.

George shot Harold a mischievous grin. “Yup. I’m the reason Captain Underpants exists in the first place–I’m the one who made him the way he is thanks to the spell that he was put under.”

Chapter Text

For the first time in many years, Edith was completely alone and she did not like it. She didn’t like stumbling through the forest with only a sliver of the daylight left and the moon high in the sky–she was terrified of being in the dark. She had no idea what she could run into–wolves, robbers, or something far beyond her imagination. She was glad that it wasn’t cold out, but she had nothing to protect her feet and the rocks and sticks underneath were hurting them. She wished that she hadn’t thrown the make-shift parachute away earlier that day–it would have been nice to sleep in and make her less of an obvious target to whoever else could be out here.

“George?!” She called out for the umpteenth time in a row. “Harold?!” But there was no response. That alone would make this whole situation brighter and staying alert for any sign of them was the only thing keeping her sane at the moment.

There was a time when she didn’t mind being out in the woods. Her father liked to hike in the woods and go fishing at a nearby lake and she was the only one out of his daughters that wanted to go with him and she enjoyed those activities. She missed his conversations–both the regular and the silly nonsensical kind–and his laughter whenever she was able to crack a joke or catch a fish.

She missed gardening beside her mother at various times across the seasons. She missed her mother’s cooking, having picnics with her, and she missed learning all her recipes by heart.

What would they have said or done if they knew what would happen to their youngest child? What their older daughters would do to her? How their once lovely, inviting home became run down and many of the plants died from lack of proper care?

She had to fight the urge to cry as she rubbed her arms for additional warmth. She tried to focus on more positive memories–baking alongside her mother, her father’s conversations, helping Harold learn to read despite how many times he got distracted and how proud they were when he succeeded, him creating an illusion of a huge feast that they could pretend was all to themselves in the dark of the night, all those children in that old inn having fun...

She had to stop herself before she could relive the memories that came right after what happened at the inn. She didn’t want to recall hanging for dear life in that river until she could finally come to the nearest bank. It forced her to walk a path back into the woods once again, and she felt so lost.

She had to find a place to stop before her imagination would get the best of her... wait, what was that light in the dark?

Edith began to see campfire in the distance of the dark. The orange flames danced invitingly for her and she let out a sigh of relief before carefully making her way towards it. Gradually she began to see a large figure sitting on a fallen tree near the fire and she cautiously slowed down as she began to hear incoherent mumblings.

“Stupid... moron... couldn’t even have the decency to take me back!”

Her heart sank with dismay when she knew who that figure was the second she recognized that harsh voice.

Completely oblivious to who was near him, Krupp continued to grumble and vent out his frustrations as he glared at the fire that took him ages to set up. The light and shadows it created on his face made his displeased features more hostile than usual, but the effect was also ruined by the fact that he was trying to cover himself and what little he was wearing with the makeshift cape of his lesser intelligent counterpart as much as possible.

“I would have had the kid if it wasn’t for the other one!” He spat at the fire. “It was bad enough with just one, but now there’s two of them?!” He began to gesture at it. “And thanks to that idiot, I lost my chance to catch him! Again! Why does this have to keep happening to me?!”

A very uncomfortable Edith had no clue what to do. She didn’t want to be in this man’s company after what happened earlier that day, and she didn’t know if he could even be trustworthy at best (and she highly doubted it). On the other hand, she had nowhere else to go and she would feel less uneasy if someone was close by. With no other options to chose from, Edith decided to approach him.

“If he was in another body, I’d get to strange him and punch him in the face, but no! He’s got to be using mine!” Krupp ran a hand over his face as Edith stopped before him and seconds later he looked up and began to turn his head in her direction. “When I get back, I’m going to–AAAAAGGGGH!” Edith watched as his face comically stretched into a look of pure terror as he let out a high pitched scream at the sight of her. He was startled so badly that when he flinched, he fell over onto his back on the other side of the log.

“Oh I’m sorry!” Edith gasped as she moved over to look at him laying in a heap on the ground, with legs slightly propped up against the log. “Do you need help? I’m sorry, I have a habit of scaring people like that sometimes.” She grimaced as she momentarily forgot her discomfort towards this man.

“Wh-what the–?!” Krupp stammered as he looked at her. “How did you–?!” He then realized he was fully exposed to her and he let out an embarrassed high pitched sound as he scrambled to get back up and he grabbed the cape, but this time he also tried covering most of his bald head as he gripped the sides of the cloth as tightly as possible. “Wait a minute!” He then turned to take a look at her. “You’re that woman from earlier! The one that was helping the boys escape!”

“Yes?” Edith nervously responded. Despite the embarrassed blush in his face, he resumed that usual angry look. “Where are they?!” He demanded. “Where’s Beard and the other kid?!”

“I don’t know.” Edith’s face fell as she wrung her hands together. “We got separated at the dam.”

Krupp stared at her and had a hard time believing her words, but he shook his head and went around the log to sit down on it. He hated that he could feel her blue eye staring at him while he was in a state he didn’t want anyone to find him in–helpless, at rock bottom, and almost near–

Wait.... no... did he... did she–?!

“Wait,” He nervously turned around to face her as he slowly began to ask “You were at the dam with them. How... much did you see when–?” He was already regretting this. “Did you see me do... anything out of the ordinary? Something I wouldn’t normally do?”

“Well... uh, you started helping the boys escape and you helped me out... and you were a lot happier and more polite, I guess?” Edith confirmed as she recalled how the man underwent a transformation from being so rough and cruel to energetic and kind before her very eyes as if a completely different man who just happened to wear his face took his place. She could still recall what he did as well as the fact that he kissed her hand, which made her hold onto it with her other one in the present as she looked away with a slight blush. “And I... saw you take off all your... um...” She pointed her finger and waved it at him for emphasis.

Krupp went pale with dread. “Oh no,” He moaned and held his face in one hand. “No, no, no.” He sat down on the log and shook his head. “This can’t be happening... this can not be happening.”

“Uh, is everything ok?”

“No, everything is not ok, because now someone knows!” Krupp furiously snapped and looked up at her. “Come on, go ahead and laugh! I know you want to, so get it over with!”

“Get what over with?”

“That the Queen’s captain of the Royal Guard is also Captain Underpants!” He finally threw his hands out. “Yeah, I know it’s funny to you, so don’t hold back and make it quick! Just let it all out and laugh and get my misery over with!” He eyed her with a crazed look as if daring to do so. It made Edith uncomfortable again, especially considering how incredibly expressive the man could get with his face.

On one hand, it was pretty amusing to think that such a foul man could become the strange hero that all those kids looked up to–it sounded perfect for a strange fairy tale. Yet on the other hand, she wasn’t the kind to make fun of another.

“Why should I? I’ve never met or heard of you until today, and I don’t think you really want me to laugh.” She answered truthfully.

That was not the answer Krupp was expecting.

“What?! What do you–?!” Krupp stammered. “What do you mean you don’t know me?!”

“It’s–” Edith grew nervous. “Uh, it’s been awhile... I mean since I’ve been back in this kingdom... for many years. I suppose–yeah, I don’t know where I am right now.”

“You knew those kids!” He accused her. “You knew George–!”

“Only for today and honestly I have no clue where he and Harold went to!” She cried. “You think you have problems?! I lost two kids I was watching over and they could be dead for all I know!” She stopped as she recalled Ribble’s words.

“What makes you think you can look after one child out in the harsh world on your own?!”

Gosh that nasty witch was right. She messed up big time.

“I can’t do anything right, can I?” Edith sighed and sat down on the same log about a few feet away from Krupp. “You aren’t the only one having a bad day right now.” Her voice sounded a bit drained as she set her bag beside her and she stared at the fire.

Krupp honestly had no clue how to respond to any of that. The mere idea of reassuring or comforting someone was almost too foreign of a concept to him (or least it had been for a very long time).

Edith looked at the man from out of the corner of her eye. Without all of his power or status, and him trying to cover himself up and hide most of his head under that curtain, he was practically just an overgrown child with a mean streak–he was no better than any childhood bully. Harold had his moments, and George certainly had a few, but they seemed more mature in comparison to this grown man at the moment. In fact, they were more mature than his own counterpart.

... His own counterpart who just happened to be the first man she saw almost entirely without clothes as far as she could recall.

He was on the large side... but what he had underneath all those clothes actually looked pretty good–

She wanted to smack herself when she realized what she was thinking, though it didn’t stop the blush in her face. This was the same man who was threatening the kids and who shoved her into the ground... yet this was the same guy who rescued her... and told her that her eyes were beautiful...

Did this man even know that he acted with chivalry towards her?

“I don’t understand.” Edith was puzzled as she looked at Krupp. “If you don’t like kids so much, then why do you have a secret identity that would do anything for them? In fact, it was like your motives kept switching back and forth at the dam.”

Krupp shot her a highly offended look. “What–no, I wouldn’t do anything for them!” He scowled. “Especially not for Beard or that other kid!”

“Then why were you acting like that?” Edith asked. “Why did you fight against the other guards? Why did you bother saving me? How can you even–?”

“Because I was put under a spell, alright?!” He finally snapped.

Edith stared in amazed silence at him as he realized that not only was he admitting more to his unfortunate secret, but she was still staring at him in curiosity–no longer flinching or looking afraid, but just staring at him in curiosity.

“That must be quite a secret to keep from everyone.” Edith finally replied. “Is... is it ok to ask what happened? Er, I mean–” She huddled up in embarrassment. “If it’s private I can respect it... yeah...” She didn’t like how he was looking at her as if she made him clueless and had no clue what to do with her.

Before he knew what he was doing, Krupp began to recall exactly what had happened. “It was last summer.”

*****

Meanwhile, Harold was about to ask the same thing to George.

“What do you mean by a spell?” He asked. “Is that why he doesn’t remember and can fly and stuff?”

George smiled as he stared at the fire. “It was almost a whole year ago. Summer came and all the kids were freed from school–no more boring lessons, no stuffy cramped rooms, no keeping our passions a secret. We had a celebration in secret in the woods, near the part of the town that’s on the other side of the bridge that leads to the main part of town and the castle. I was on Krupp’s bad side to begin with, but he had yet to know for sure that I was the one pulling all the pranks on him. A lot of kids would be in for a scare that night, but fate decided to help me bestow the ultimate punishment upon his head.”

*****

It was early June in an early evening, on a small field near the woods and a good distance away from some houses. Many children and even a few kind hearted teens were celebrating the freedom they would have for nearly three whole months.

em>There were many happy and delighted smiles to be seen as the children danced, played games, or entertained each other.

“Twenty five, twenty six, twenty seven!” Keisha and Kira played jump rope with Rose, who did the jumping, and all three girls wore happy grins.

“RAWR!” Lloyd, Kai, Arwyn and Noréll ran around playing tag on the grassy field, with each one wearing homemade masks designed to look like dragon heads. Arywn was the leader as she chased them all down. “I’M GONNA GET YOU ALL!” She growled through her mask.

“Come on, let me get you once!” Jayde complained as she trained with Dev and Sasha and kept missing the former.

“You have much to learn.” Dev grinned before shooting Sasha a warning look. “Hey what did I say about bringing a dagger into training?!”

“Aw come on!” Sasha whined as she started to play with it.

Under one of the lone trees in the field, Linda drew a boat out on the water as Marco quietly watched her with a smile. She shot the boy a smile, which widened when he gave her a thumbs-up which she returned right back.

“I’m so glad school is over!” Ravi sighed dramatically to Luna before eating some blueberries. “I thought I’d die if I had to stay another day indoors!”

“Yeah, now I can stay up a lot later!” Luna agreed before looking at the moon. “My family thinks that they can find a spot where wolves like to explore outside the kingdom. I can’t wait to check it out!”

“Uh, you think any of this is a good idea?” Tommy nervously asked Sugar as she ate some candy that she shared with him. “We’re still pretty close to the town. They might hear us.”

“If they do, we’ll make a run for it.” Sugar smiled at Tommy. “Remember the secret passages close by?”

Finally, a group of children, including Iya, Meredith, and Samarra, were listening in awe to a teenaged violinist who neither they or any of the other children had ever seen before. The violinist–Daemyra–had an odd ethereal look about her with a translucent, iridescent crystal pendant around her neck, amber eyes, and black and white hair. Her appearance made many of them swore that she had to be a member of the magic folk. The children listened to her play a merry tune in awe, while those like Samarra’s brothers Jay and Owen only listened in while kicking a ball around with others.

The only one who was on his own was George, who rested against another one of the lone trees. Sure everything around him was fun, but for some reason he just didn’t feel a strong desire to partake in any of it. No matter how much some of these kids admired him, there just wasn’t any he felt comfortable and open around enough to completely be himself. Sure they liked their stories and his pranks–including the young orphans he spent nearly three years with under one roof–but none of them would have understood him.

His parents would have congratulated him on passing another school year if things hadn’t turn out the way they did. He grabbed his pendant and frowned as he stared at the message that gave him hope more than anything else.

Daemyra concluded her piece and curtseyed to her audience when they clapped for her. “Now then!” She smiled. “What shall it be? An impression? Reciting a story? Another ballad? A magic trick?!” She grinned and waved her violin in front of her head and, to the amazement of the children, her head became that of a cat’s. “There’s no telling when I’ll come back to Piqua, so choose wisely!” She grinned at them as she waved the violin again and her head turned back to normal.

“Are you part of the magic folk?” Meredith asked with a smile.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Daemyra shrugged. “Let’s go with that.”

Around this same time, Kira was about to take over and be at the center of the jump rope game, when she saw something that made her blood turn to ice and she let out a scream. “IT’S THE GUARDS!”

All the children looked and, sure enough, several adults on horseback were heading right towards them at a rapid pace.

Many of the kids screamed and ran for it. Linda grabbed Marco’s hand and pulled him away, Samarra and her brothers ran together as some children followed them towards the protection of the secret tunnels, Arwyn scooped up one of the smaller kids and made a mad dash towards the bushes and George himself dashed to a different part of the bushes and hid himself under the thickest of them.

George sighed in relief as he heard the others make a run for safety. As of late his pranks were getting more daring and risky, and it was only a matter of time until Krupp would learn who was responsible for them all.

“Don’t find me, don’t find me, don’t find me.” George was startled out of his thoughts as he turned to see that Tommy not only beat him to the hiding spot but was now huddled into a ball as far as he could in the bushes and was barely in sight while whispering that plea. A couple more children were hiding close by up in a tree, but only Daemyra was standing behind the same tree and out of the sight of the adults, but she still wore a guarded expression.

Then came the terrified screams that made George crawl out of the bushes. He took one peak over the hiding spot at the field and saw something that filled him with terror as well as anger–the guards had managed to capture a handful of children and they were being forced into what looked like a wagon with an iron cage, like they were criminals. When the door was shut and the lock was set, their fates seemed to be sealed.

“We were just having fun!” Noréll snapped as Kai, Dev, Sugar, Ravi, Keisha, Iya, Luna, and a few others were either frozen with fear or were glaring daggers at the captain of the Guard. “Come on, it’s the end of the school year, we deserve to enjoy it!”

“Oh, but that’s the thing,” Krupp sneered at the girl. “That’s when I have to expect more trouble out of you all. All it took you was one day to prove me right.”

“You can’t do this!” Dev snarled at Krupp as a terrified Keisha huddled close to the boy and he wrapped a protective arm around her. “Our parents won’t let you get away with it!”

“Unless he tells on us.” Kai nervously pointed out.

“Well I don’t think that’s going to be enough.” Krupp gave the boys a malicious smirk. “We couldn’t get every kid from this area, so I could make an example out of the ones we did get. Now I was considering making you all attend school over the summer–”

“NO!” Ravi panicked as the blood of all the children turned to ice.

“–But all your teachers wouldn’t like that, now would they? I could also lock you all up–”

“That’s criminal!” Luna hissed. “This doesn’t count as a public disturbance!”

“Yeah, we’re too young for jail!” Iya threw in.

“Everyone living near here would say otherwise!” Krupp snapped at the girls before grinning. “No, maybe I should have you all do a certain number of hours of community service for nearly every single day of this summer. None of you get paid, none of you get time off, and none of you get to do what you consider to to be fun!”

All the kids were horrified and disturbed. “No!” Keisha shook her head. “That’s insane! You can’t do that to us!”

“I can and I will as soon as you all return to the town!” Krupp snarled. This caused Keisha to whimper and hide her face in Dev’s chest as the boy shot Krupp a dark scowl and mouthed something he wouldn’t dare say in front of the younger children at Krupp.

“Actually, Krupp,” Fyde cut in with a nervous look as the other guards watched on with mixed emotions. “This does seem a bit too harsh on them. Couldn’t you just make it one week–?!”

“Hey, who said you were in charge?!” Krupp snapped at Fyde and jabbed a finger into his chest. “I know how they all start out and I’m going to stomp their behavior issues out before they get out of hand, and if it forces other kids to behave, then so be it!”

George felt his blood boiling at this awful sight. He tried to think of a way to get to the wagon and get the keys off Krupp, but it was futile–he’d see the boy coming no matter what. His only other option was to pick the lock, but they’d all see him coming for that one and he’d get caught too.

He then noticed Daemyra glancing around the tree with a dark look in her eyes (Was it his imagination, or did they look red now?). “Pst, hey!” He whispered to her, causing her to look back in confusion as he crawled towards her. He got up and began “I know you know some tricks, and not the fake magic kind! You have to help me get those kids free!”

The girl glanced at the wagon before turning to George. “If I do, I’m going to have to vanish for awhile–I can’t let them know who I am. And I’m going to need to make sure these kids get home safe too.”

“Ok just please!” George begged as the girl gave him a mischievous grin and nodded.

Meanwhile, as Krupp was yelling out commands, the children who were captured were dreading their fates.

“Ugh, our parents are going to kill us all.” Ravi shook his head as Sugar huddled into a ball and trembled. “Goodbye summer.”

A strange growling sound suddenly broke through Krupp’s yelling, causing all the children and adults to look up in confusion.

Seconds later, a huge black and white striped cat-like creature with a crystal at its neck leapt out and charged towards the guards.

Instantly all the guards screamed in terror at the sight and the horses unfortunate enough to see the cat beast immediately bolted for it and took their riders with them. The children who looked back in time were treated to a rare sight of Krupp screaming in terror for his life and he made to get to his own horse–except Adamant had already ditched him and she was already galloping along with those who were forced to make a run for it.

“GET BACK HERE!” Krupp shrieked and charged after them all as the huge cat skidded to a halt in front of the cage, while the horse tasked with pulling it around chewed on the grass before it in peaceful oblivion. The kids trapped in the cage were almost as scared as the adults until they saw that George had been hiding on the cat’s back and he tumbled off of her when she crouched low to the ground.

“How did you–?” Kai pointed at the cat as George took a thin metal rod out of his satchel and began to pick at the lock.

“Call it a deus ex machina that I lucked out on!” George cut the boy off as he worked as carefully as he could. It took almost a minute, but finally the boy got the lock to click open and the door swung free.

“Ok, go, go, go!” George backed away and let the children escape and run to the forests while the cat quickly dashed back into the woods ahead of them, fearful for those who were still hiding.

“Come on, hurry!” George started helping the last child out of the cage, but unfortunately that was also the exact same moment Krupp was heading right back towards the area.

Unlike the others who had gotten too far, the adult picked up George’s voice and a sudden suspicion made him stop and turn back. While he had no clue how it was done, all he needed was to see George helping the final child out of the cage some distance away to know that George had been the one behind whatever the heck that creature was.

Seeing that boy–the one who practically kicked and screamed on his way to being taken to the orphanage, and who he thought he’d never have to deal with ever again–confirmed many suspicions he had begun to develop over the years. Of all the children he encountered, that boy always had a strange look on his face as if he knew something he didn’t. Like he was mocking him while trying to suppress a laugh.

“YOU!” George looked back as the last child dashed out to join the others who were running away. To his horror, he saw Krupp looking at him with a look that was beyond angry and his face already set in a terrifying scowl.

With that, George knew he had to seal his inevitable fate and he made a run for it into a different part of the woods, away from the children, but to his shock Krupp was charging right after him.

“STOP RUNNING OR ELSE, BUB!” The adult screamed as George began to head into the woods. The boy leapt across a few rocks and a fallen tree, he crossed a bridge, he glanced back and took a sharp turn off the pathway, and yet he could still hear Krupp in all his fury some distance away.

“Whoah!” George looked ahead and was unable to stop himself as he tumbled through some bushes. With no other option, he was forced to finish running through them until he made it to the other side and he slid down a small dirt slope before darting towards a small grove of willow trees.

What he saw next a few seconds later made him come to a stop.

There was a wooden house resting perfectly in the branches of one particularly huge willow tree. A wooden staircase lead to a small balcony and wooden door to the inside, and while George had no clue why or how such a thing was here without him knowing about it, he decided to take his chances and he dashed up the staircase. He knocked on the door, but to his surprise, it slowly opened up the second he touched it.

George had no time to think about what he was doing, but he went inside where he could finally catch his breath before he was greeted with an impressive sight.

The inside of the treehouse was more like a small cottage, yet it also reminded him of his mother’s study. There were shelves of books and trinkets, but also treasures–the kind that someone with magic would possess, like a crystal ball, a skull of some sort of small animal, roots from plants, and what not. In fact there were some strange multi colored bubbles scattered around the room up in the air and each one held something, from a potion bottle with green liquid inside to gems of all sorts, and each bubble gave off a faint glow. There were even a few potted plants growing in one corner–some of which produced all different kinds of unusual flowers or herbs, and one had a strange fly trap.

He looked around and noticed more items upon a certain shelf. There was an oddly shaped white wand with what looked like blue marbles resting in red sockets, a bronze oil lamp, a bell jar with a red rose resting in a vase inside it, an egg shaped blue flute with a gold band around the mouth piece, and a couple of bracelets with green beads and only one white bead. Then there was a table with a set of books laying about that were propped open. One of the books opened up showed a picture of a terrifying and hideous looking merman with a mouth full of sharp teeth as he conjured up a storm on the ocean. Another showed a beautiful queen gazing upon a vast desert from beyond her palace window. A couple scrapes of paper had secret messages penned down that said ‘.teg ll’I ysub woh no sdnepeD. thnom rep retpahc a htiw remmus siht ebyaM. tniop emos ta esrevinu etanretla siht tisiver ot tnaw I’ and ‘esrevinu etanretla siht rof gniward a uoy ewo llits I’ but George didn’t want to bother deciphering it. Instead his eyes found a flyer for a bard with wild looking brown hair and a huge grin which made the boy smile.

He felt at peace in this place. It didn’t feel oppressive like the orphanage or the school, and it was like the secret hideout, but this place felt magical to him as if someone powerful lived here.

Something else caught his attention when he turned around and he looked up to see a dark purple curtain covering what looked like a passageway. He went over to lift it, only to find a huge mirror instead. He looked up at the writing in a foreign language on the wooden frame above the mirror for a second until he looked down to see himself–

–with his parents standing right behind him with their hands on his shoulders.

George gasped and turned around, but they weren’t there. He looked back at the mirror and the mirror image of his parents were still there beside his reflection smiling kindly right back at him.

“Mom?” George asked in confusion as he touched the glass and looked at his parents. “Dad?”

“It’s not working!”

George was startled and moved away from the mirror while dropping the curtain upon hearing a girl’s voice.

“We have to keep trying!” A boy’s voice urged her–both voices coming from behind a nearby door that was slightly opened. “The Madame thinks we might be able to bring the magic out since we’re kids!”

George slowly walked to the door and opened it up.

Two children about his age were standing at the sides of a small table where a small, tattered looking blanket that was red with black dots rested upon. Behind them was a huge pile of what looked like several curtains with the exact same pattern as the blanket.

“She said that the magic flower was used to heal Queen Grace.” The boy reminded the girl. “She thinks its powers of creation transferred to the prince and she said some of it got into this blanket. If we can activate it, she might be able to find the prince.” Then to George’s surprise the boy’s hands glowed blue and a small stream of blue light began to spiral out of his hand and encircled the blanket.

“Nothing’s working!” The girl sighed as she went to grab a small red bound book and set it on the table. “All we’ve been able to do is make more blankets, but they aren’t even blankets, Billy! They’re curtains–we can’t even make them be the same thing! What good will those do?! This point, we might have to use one of the forbidden spells!”

“Madame said that we can’t use those spells, Lisa! It’ll cause so much trouble for us if we do!”

“Nothing wrong with a little trouble to get something done.” George couldn’t help but comment with a smile. Both kids turned around in shock and Billy ceased casting the spell–making the magic fade away–and George’s smile turned into a frown when he realized what he’d done.

“Wh–?! How did you get in here?!” Billy let out a panicked stammer. “I thought we had this place disguised!”

“Please don’t tell anyone what you saw!” Lisa pleaded. “We know magic folk aren’t supposed to be here but–”

“You’re magic.” George breathlessly let out before smirking. “Hey, I don’t have a problem with you guys. I wish I was magical myself.”

“Maybe he’s one of those kids that were having that party.” Billy realized before frowning. “I wish we could of joined.”

“You would have been more than welcomed!” George reassured him. “But considering what almost happened back there, you dodged some serious trouble–!”

“YOU!”

George’s eyes bulged and he whipped around as Billy gasped and Lisa screamed in terror at the large, ominous figure behind the boy. “H–h-how did–?!” George was now the one to stammer as he stared up at the face of the very person he had been trying to run away from. The man was heavily panting from all the running, but he had enough energy to be angry.

“I had a feeling you were up to something every time I saw you.” Krupp glared down at George as he slowly backed into the table. “And you just proved me right! Do you know how much this could cost me?! Getting humiliated by a mere child and his stupid pranks?!”

“Th-this is breaking and entering!” Billy tried to protest. “You can’t stay here!” He tried to ready a spell, but it died in a flash within two seconds. It was enough to make Krupp flinch and almost yelp, but when he realized how weak the spell was, he was able to take another look at the two children behind George and grinned.

“So, you lead me to a couple of magic folk.”

“Oh no,” A dismayed George felt his heart pounding frantically inside him as both Lisa and Billy nervously backed away from Krupp. They both knew how much he was against magic users to the point that most of their kind had been driven out of the kingdom, and they were afraid of him.

“We–we c–can do something if you aren’t careful!” Lisa tried to warn the adult. “We know powerful spells!”

“Nice try bub, but I’m not buying it!” Krupp sneered at Lisa. “I know that the youngest of your kind are the least powerful and you can’t do much at this point can you? I could easily grab you and lock you both up like I was considering with those other children. Which in fact,” His awful grin widened and made the two young magic users shudder “Perhaps I should. It’d be a good way to make up for my loss tonight.”

“They haven’t done anything wrong!” George finally couldn’t take it and angrily yelled at him. “They’re just a couple of innocent kids!”

“Oh and you think you’re just as innocent after tonight?!” Krupp snapped at George. “I’m not letting these two get away! I’m going to stop them from using magic on everyone like I’ll stop you from being a nuisance to the school, the orphanage, and everyone in the whole kingdom once you’re behind bars!”

George gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists as Krupp continued. “Brats like you always gave me headaches years ago! It was nice when their numbers started to dwindle down when I finally had all those curfews and restrictions placed! I’m not going to let another whiny, disrespectful little–!”

“I HATE YOU!” George finally let all the rage that had been built up since he was five come out in full force at Krupp in one outburst. “WHY?! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO MEAN TO KIDS?! WHY CAN’T YOU EVER LISTEN TO US?! WHAT DID WE EVER DO TO YOU?! WHY CAN’T YOU BE A GOOD PERSON FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE?! WHY CAN’T YOU JUST BE NICE?!”

George panted as he glared at Krupp–for once the adult seemed a bit terrified of the boy and was unable to say a word.

The young magic users nervously stared at the two, but Lisa’s eyes drifted to the red spell book–George’s angry questions reminded her of something in it.

Krupp then shook himself out of the shock and glared back at George. “You have a lot of guts to say that.” He took a few more steps forward and George backed into the table–in the process, he grabbed the edge of the table as well as part of the blanket upon it. “That was the dumbest thing you ever–!” Krupp lunged a hand towards George at the same moment Lisa threw her hand out and yelled “FREEZE!” with all of her might.

Out of nowhere, magic similar in design to Billy’s but in the form of red sparkling bands tightened up upon the adult’s wrists and ankles and did exactly as the young girl commanded and made him come to a complete halt.

A stunned George eyed Krupp’s hand–just hovering without moving while inches away from grabbing his shirt–and looked up to see the adult’s bewildered face.

“Wh–what the–?!” Krupp tried to move away, but he could barely budge his arms and legs as he felt something tight and secure around where the magic had entrapped him. “What did you do?!” He demanded to Lisa with a warning growl in his voice.

“I froze you.” Lisa calmly told him before going back to the book.

“Hah!” Billy laughed and pointed at the adult who was trying to hide his increasing horror with his anger. “We’re way more powerful than you thought after all! You can’t do anything now, can you?!”

“You better undo this, right now!” Krupp snapped at Lisa as she reached the page in the book that she was looking for and tugged at George’s shirt. The boy turned around in confusion–taking the blanket in his hands without realizing it–and watched as Lisa pointed to the page. “Just say the word, and he can be nice like you wanted.” She whispered as George looked at the page. “We can bring out whatever good that’s buried deep within him.”

There was an illustration of a red heart being cracked in half and something like blue flames was seeping out of it into the air. Underneath it were the words ‘The change of heart’ along with some sort of incantation.

“I can’t hold the spell on him forever. You have to make a decision.”

George felt his heart race again. This was almost too good to be true and yet could it be possible? “Is this–?”

“What are you brats whispering about?!” Krupp demanded as he tried to pull his way at him, but once again he couldn’t move. Meanwhile, Billy was giving Lisa a worried look as he realized what she was doing and debated as to whether or not it would be a good idea. “I swear if you don’t stop whatever is going on, you’ll pay big time!”

George then looked at Krupp as he began to remember every awful thing this man had ever done. None of the children deserved such a cruel person in their life–they had no true hero to look up to. They needed someone much better than this monster.

“Do it.” George told Lisa with all the certainty he could summon before he backed away from her.

Lisa nodded and turned to Krupp who yelled “Is this funny to you?! LET ME GO, YOU–! Wait, what are you doing?” He lost his anger and watched in confusion as the girl pushed the table away and turned to face him.

Billy then understood that this spell had to be done no matter what (especially in order to keep him away from them) and he stood next to his friend.“You’re getting what you deserve.” Billy replied to Krupp and looked at the book so that he could read the same spell and raised his hand out.

“What hides within shall come to light.” Lisa began to recite as she held her hand out while holding the book in her other hand while Billy recited with her–both their hands began to glow together in blue and red magic. “Just as the day chases away the blackest night.”

“What are you two doing?!” Krupp was now panicking as a phantom breeze began to blow into the room, making everything rattle or tremble as the young magical children’s hair began to blow in the wind while George watched on in anticipation and awe.

“Be it bad or good, this path will start to reveal what is hidden within your heart.” The red and blue magic began to come out of the siblings and came together to form a spiral between them and the adult.

“Look, I’m not kidding, if you don’t stop this there’ll be serious consequences!” As the combined magic began to flash and sparkled and grow in size.

“Exposed shall be your opposite side, it will take over–that which you unknowingly hide.” Both Lisa and Billy gave Krupp one final, determined glare before Lisa snapped her fingers.

SNAP!

The spiral rammed itself into its target before he even had a chance to scream and there was a flash of bright white light that made all the children cover or shut their eyes.

There was a loud thud and then silence.

Then the light faded, allowing them all to finally open their eyes to see that everything was back to normal, except Krupp had collapsed into a heap upon the floor.

“D–did it work?” George nervously walked around to get a better look at Krupp. The man had a dazed, lifeless look in his eyes, his mouth slacked awkwardly open, and the now crooked black toupee was mostly on the right side of his head.

They all nervously waited as they stared at Krupp.

“Well if it doesn’t work, we could turn him into a cat or some ugly beast.” Lisa nervously joked.

“Or a horse.” Billy suggested, earning him a confused look from Lisa. “I’m just throwing it out. We could of done a lot worse than–”

Krupp suddenly sat upright with a sharp gasp that made the kids yelp and flinch back. He looked around the room in confusion and took in everything her could before his eyes landed on George.

“Oh hello there!” To George’s shock, the adult shot the boy a pleasant smile at the same time his voice took on a brighter, smoother tone that he was not used to hearing, and he actually gave him a wave. “Could you tell me where I am?”

Lisa’s jaw dropped as did Billy’s. “It... actually worked?” Lisa could hardly believe it.

“Oh hi!” Krupp grinned and cheerfully waved at the two in a way that both strange and yet pleasant at the same time. “I didn’t see you two there! Sorry about that!” The more the kids looked at the adult, the more that they could see changes, from his smile to an innocent light in his eyes that replaced the dull, cold glare that normally filled them. It was so unnatural and so sudden and yet it was so much welcomed.

“It did.” George grinned as he looked to the siblings while the adult looked at them in confusion. “You actually did it! You made him better!” He couldn’t believe it! They actually did the impossible and–!

“What are you talking about? And where am I?”

George frowned. “Uh, what?” He asked as he turned back to Krupp.

“I don’t know this place and I don’t think I know you.” Krupp frowned before he looked as if he realized something. “In fact, I don’t know who I am.” He scratched the back of his head in confusion. “I should know who I am, right?”

“Wait, you don’t know–it’s me, George!” George pointed to himself. “George Beard?! The kid you were chasing after earlier?! That you were trying to get?!”

“Your name is George?” He then smiled. “Well it’s nice to meet you, George! I’d give you my name too if I could remember it.”

“Is that supposed to happen?” George turned to the equally confused siblings and jabbed a thumb at the man who didn’t realize who he was as he ‘oohed’ and ‘awed’ at his surroundings.

“We don’t know, we’ve never done that spell before!” Lisa admitted. “It was forbidden for a reason! For all we know, we could have just wiped all of the captain’s memories!”

“Are you talking about me?” The adult, who still did not get his proper name, pointed to himself. “Am I the captain?”

“Yes, you–” George began, but then stopped himself as the reveal truly hit him–Krupp did not remember who he was in this state. He didn’t know his name, he didn’t know what he had been doing, what George had been up too, nor did he know his own job.

“Is that a good thing?” He asked the boy as he tightened his hold on the blanket in his hand. “That’s a good thing, right? It sounds heroic!” He grinned at George.

Suddenly a thought struck George when he heard those words.

“Sometimes the best heroes are the ones we least expect. True heroes will always put another’s needs above their own, and sometimes they won’t be wearing a suit of armor or carry a sword. And you know what? I think there’s a hero inside us all whose waiting to help those who are in need of one.” His mother’s words from long ago rang out in his head and George began to develop a series of creative ideas as if writing out one of his stories on a good day. He stared at the patient adult before him as he realized he had a way to get back at Krupp. His thoughts were clear and free of any distractions as he began to form a new identity for this man as easily as writing a story.

Had he looked down, he would have seen that a part of the blanket that his hand was touching was beginning to glow with a faint rainbow color.

George could create a real-life hero that the children deserved and a hilariously wonderful thought made him chuckle. This hero definitely wouldn’t have a suit of armor–or much else for that matter.

“Well of course!” George grinned at the unsuspecting, newly changed adult as he tried to suppress his laughter. “It’s part of the title you gave yourself when you swore to protect the children and the good people of this kingdom. You took a nasty fall earlier, but we helped fix you up.”

Lisa frowned and Billy raised an eyebrow. “Uh, what are you doing?” The former asked.

“I see.” The adult nodded in understanding and smiled. “Well I appreciate that very much!”

“You don’t have to wear that disguise anymore, so you can take everything off now.” George tried really hard to not laugh. “But not the underpants–those are part of your attire!”

“WHAT?!” Billy squeaked as Lisa gapped at George as he covered his mouth with a hand and snickered into it.

“Well these certainly feel very constricting!” The adult agreed and, before the kids were prepared for it, he began to tear everything off of his enormous body. Lisa yelped and covered her eyes while Billy could only stare in amazement. George’s mischievous grin widened and when he saw the many red and black polka dot curtains in the room, he had another idea and grabbed one. “Here, you need your cape!” He waved it at the adult who–once he got everything but the underpants off–happily took it.

“Is this right?” The adult gestured to himself when he was finished and stood before the boy in nothing but a curtain for a cape and underwear hiked so high up that it almost reached his chest, while everything else–from the socks to the black toupee–was carelessly laying about the floor.

George couldn’t take it and began to laugh and even Billy couldn’t help but laugh too. Lisa uncovered her eyes and they widened at the sight of the unusual attire as a blush crept into her face. “Yeah, that’s right C–!” Another hilarious thought made him laugh even harder as he decided to add one more final insult to injury upon Krupp–a name that would mock him while bringing much needed humor into the lives of the children who needed it. “C–Ca–!” He had a hard time letting it out, but then he finally exclaimed. “Yeah, that’s how you look, Captain Underpants!”

The young spell casters couldn’t take it anymore and collapsed onto the ground in a fit of laughter and George followed suit. The adult was oblivious as to why they were all laughing, nor did he realize it was all at him, but he liked seeing them be happy and he couldn’t help but confidently smile as he placed his hands on his hips.

“Of course! My name is Captain Underpants!”

*****

Harold was doubling over with laughter at this point as George grinned at him. “He actually bought it!”

“Yup!” George nodded.

“Well then wait a minute.” Harold realized something as he calmed down. “That spell was only to make him a better person right? What about those powers he has? How can he fly or lift heavy stuff?”

“Oh that was a little something Lisa and Billy added to the mix a few days later when he got himself in a bit of trouble. They thought it would come in handy.”

*****

“Madame calls this something with the word ‘juice’ in it, but it isn’t.” Lisa showed George a vial of glowing green liquid. She turned to Captain Underpants and chuckled. “Here’s something to... uh... restore your powers.” She gave the vial to the adult. “Drink it all down!” She practically sang as he accepted it.

“And I shall drink to my health.” The unsuspecting Captain Underpants raised the vial up in the air before gulping it down while all the kids were trying their hardest to hide their urges to laugh.

****

“Oh,” Harold understood. Then he frowned. “Wait, but why didn’t it work? He keeps turning back into Krupp.”

George sighed in disappointment. “About that... I don’t know for sure what went wrong, but the spell wasn’t powerful enough, so the change couldn’t be permanent. Trust me, I found that out really quickly, but I also figured out to to make him change back, just like that.” He snapped his fingers for emphasis.

George smiled. “But Captain Underpants not only managed to take some attention off of me, but he started undoing a lot of what Krupp wanted and worked for. None of those kids had to be punished over the summer, especially when he easily finished off what could have taken several days to do within five minutes. He gave the guards a hard time, he did the things they should have been doing, he kept them away from the other kids, and he did a few things here and there to win the respect of some of the adults around here. But then again, he’s pretty dumb so not everything went so easy.” He admitted. “I can’t count how many times he almost got himself killed.”

“Is he like a friend then?” Harold smirked at such an ironic thing but George frowned and shook his head.

“To be honest... not really. I do what I can when he’s around, and he always saw me whenever I needed to stop Krupp before he could catch me with a snap of the fingers. And yeah, despite how stupid he is, he’s one of the nicest adults I’ve ever met and he gets along really well with the other kids. I have to admit, I don’t want anything bad happen to him, especially since I created him in the first place. The thing is, I have to remember who he really is, and I have to get away from him, no matter how much he wants to stick around and talk with me when he’s not trying to look for a problem to fix.” He sighed. “I just wish I did it sooner, before I had to go on the run and hide everywhere.”

“You did the right thing.” Harold smiled. “I’d of done the same thing.”

“Yeah, it was one of the best days ever!” George agreed.

*****

“It was one of the worst days ever! If I knew what that kid was going to do, I would have sent him away like he wanted!” Krupp’s anger had built up over the course of his recollection of the events (or at least the ones he could remember) and it looked as if he were to pop a vein. “But no, he has to pull all these pranks and then put a stupid curse on me where I now have this idiot take over with a snap of the f–!” Krupp stopped when he realized he was about to do just that with his fingers automatically in the position, and he flinched with a yelp before he shook his hand and tightened his grip on the cape.

“Well...” Edith was honestly not surprised that such a fate befell Krupp and she had no clue how to respond. “Well... it could have been worse?” She tried to reassure him.

He gave her an incredulous look. “Worse?!”

“W–well,” She stammered. “Look on the bright side! You’re still human, and those kids could have done something much worse than what they did. And it’s not like you have to do anything in a limited timespan–”

Krupp was understandably horrified at those things and yet he couldn’t take it anymore. “I can’t control this!” He furiously threw a hand out. “One minute I’m minding my own business or else I’m in the middle of something important, and then the next I find myself soaking wet, without my clothes, with no idea of where I’ve gone or how much time has passed, or else I find myself facing someone who wants to beat me up for a reason I don’t know! Everyone thinks that the other guy is some stupid joke and I have a reward on his head that I can’t remove without explaining that it’s actually me! Heck, everyone who works for me and even my own nephew think’s I’m a joke and wants to pelt me with rocks!” He threw his hands out. “And yeah, I know he’s an absolute brat–I had years of being told that by a lot of people and children and he’s done a lot of stupid stuff to the point that even the Queen can’t stand him–but I can’t stand that he’s insulting me behind my back without realizing it and I actually want to teach him a lesson for once in my life!” He slammed the heels of his palms into his forehead before throwing his hands out. “And then all these kids like the idiot! No–they adore this buffoon who’d believe you if you said the sky would turn red at some point! Even the Queen’s daughter loves him and it’s because he’s all for them and because he never asks for anything back!”

“I tried getting those two magic brats to undo the spell when I finally did find out what was going on and it took me ages to find them! And you know what they did? They laughed and told me ‘oh no, we don’t know and we’d never tell you!’” His voice rose up in pitch in an imitation of Billy and Lisa before it dropped back. “So now thanks to them, I have to always be on alert, knowing that one moment is all it’ll take for everything to go wrong and lose control! And I can’t get the idiot to cooperate with me because he apparently can’t stand me either! And that’s why I–!”

His voice cracked and he came to a stop to catch his breath in a moment of utter weariness. Krupp had yelled and talked so much that day that it was hurting his throat and made his voice sound more harsh and rough than it usually did. He just couldn’t take it anymore as everything he had tried to keep within had finally come out without stopping.

He gripped the sides of the cape that still covered most of him as well as most of his head. “Look, I don’t want to hear you say I deserved it right now, ok?” His voice came out as more of a tired plea than he intended it to. “I just... I can’t deal with anything right now... I just want this day to end.”

Edith quietly observed Krupp. She had no clue how he became the way he was with all that anger and cruelty pent up inside him, and his reveal didn’t do a whole lot to change how she viewed him. She easily had power over him what what she learned–she could bring out his better half and make him do whatever she pleased, like finding the boys or finding a more comfortable place to rest.

And yet...

She was so tired of so much meanness and the unfair taking advantage of others in her life. After dealing with so much of it, what good would it do to be a part of it and be like those who were so horrible to others? She couldn’t make the man beside her feel better by fulfilling his need to take it out on others, yet she didn’t have the means to undo the spell.

In that moment, he looked less like the heartless monster that all those children feared and more like a broken human being. Despite everything, she did feel a little sorry for the man–to have little to no control over yourself and be aware of how much others didn’t like you or made fun of you did sound awful. As she looked at him, she realized that maybe there was one way to ease his suffering somewhat and she began to undo the knot to her apron.

Krupp continued to stare at the ground, wanting with every fiber of his being to just end the day and be in silent oblivion.

“Here.” Something white showed up in the corner of his eyes and when he looked down, he saw that it was the apron that Edith had been wearing. His eyes widened in confusion and he looked up to see her still offering it to him with both hands and a small but kind smile. “I know it’s not much... I don’t have anything better.” She began. “But if you want more to cover yourself up with, I have this. I don’t need it that much right now, to be honest.”

He was now just stunned and stared at her. Did he hear that correctly?

“It’s ok, you probably need it more.” She continued to gently offer with that smile.

Was someone offering something for him, without him demanding for it? Without doing it because they were scared or were sucking up to him? He wanted to demand why she was now doing this–accuse her of trying to win some sort of favor–and yet as his eyes drifted to that small half hidden smile and that blue eye that had a warmth about it, he was unable to do so.

Slowly his hands reached for the apron and when he had his hands on it, he could almost feel her own fingers so close to his. When he took it, he stared down at it–not paying attention to her or saying anything.

What just happened?

He was expecting her to say something else. Something he could expect after dealing with too many kinds of people across the years, and especially those who had a reason to hate him. Not whatever this was supposed to be–not this one small offering. Not this one gesture of kindness.

Somewhere deep down within him was a small, faint warmth from just thinking of that possibility. Something pleasant that confused him because he never felt that before as far as he could remember and if it had been, it would have been too long ago.

He stared at the apron for too long that when he finally snapped out of it, he saw that Edith had taken off the faded pink vest and folded it on the grassy ground, where she was now laying down. “I guess I’m going to sleep early, if that’s alright with you.” She continued on as if he were just anyone else. “I don’t think I’ve slept on the ground before.”

“Uh–” He finally managed to creak out, but it was too late as she laid her head on the vest and shut her visible eye.

“I–” He looked from her to the apron as the cape finally slid off his head. What she gave to him wasn’t going to be enough–he might as well use it as a makeshift pillow of his own. She could have easily used it to cover herself up for more warmth–this thing with all the colorful patterns that he silently observed.

“Thanks?” He finally, yet awkwardly let out–the word feeling so unfamiliar and wrong in his voice and on his tongue. The word that he couldn’t recall using all that much. If he was supposed to say it earlier like he should of, he blew his chance because she was already knocked out.

Now that he had a moment to think about it, he wondered why the heck he had been yelling at her when she did nothing to deliberately tick him off. Well sure, she was helping those boys, and there was the fact that she smacked him in the face with a pan. She didn’t understand what he was going through...

He looked up to see her again–peacefully on her back and breathing with her arms loosely crossed over her torso. Her eye closed as the light of the fire illuminated her face, or at least what could be seen that was not hidden by her hair. He was now curious as to what her face looked like if it wasn’t half covered; she was a lot prettier than he realized, now that he had a chance to properly observe her without anything else to focus on.

Surprised confusion gripped his heart as he felt his face heat up and he quickly looked away. What was happening to him? Why was he now suddenly interested this strange woman that he knew little about, and who was being kind to him all of a sudden? Who was an accomplice to the person who ruined his life? Who showed him the first act of genuine compassion that he could recall receiving in a long time?

He huffed at himself. It was just a passing observation that he didn’t need to get worked up about, just like how he was trying his hardest to ignore a very small pin prick of regret in the back of his mind.

****

“So look,” George admitted to Harold. “Please don’t tell anyone that Krupp and Captain Underpants are the same person. I know Krupp doesn’t want anyone to know, but you saw how much the other kids adore Captain Underpants. He means a lot to them, and if they found out the truth, it’d really crush their spirits. Plus I don’t want anyone taking advantage of him.”

“I won’t.” Harold nodded and held a hand up. “Promise.”

“Thanks.” George gave Harold an appreciative smile before noticing how small and dim the fire was getting. “Oh shoot, I better go look for some more wood.” He got up, lit a stick on fire, and walked off. “I’ll be back in a second!”

“Alright!” Harold smiled and watched George go away. But little did he know that once George was gone, someone from the shadows emerged from behind.

Chapter Text

“So you figured out a way to escape the tower.”

With those words said so icily in that all too familiar voice, all the warmth and happiness vanished for Harold. He slowly turned around and when he saw Ribble standing next to one of the many trees, he felt a strong terror clench his heart.

“What, are you finally speechless for once?” Ribble sneered with a cold glare in her eyes. “You didn’t think I’d find out eventually, did you?”

“You... can’t be real.” Harold finally stammered. “I’m just imagining–”

“Where is she?” Ribble demanded as she walked towards Harold. “Where’s that good for nothing servant girl?”

“I don’t know and even if I did I’d never tell you!” Harold finally spat as he tried to walk away from Ribble.

“Oh now you’re getting rebellious?” Harold could finally see the woman’s face properly and it looked a little more worn than usual. “Well too bad, because your little adventure is about to–!”

“NO!” Harold yelled as his hair lit up and once again he summoned up creatures in an attempt to scare her off. This time, the creatures he choose were now more life-like than they ever had been, and while Ribble was now prepared for the trick, it caught her off guard as to how well the illusions looked this time. However, none of them compared to the illusion that stood behind Harold and who had ‘his’ hands resting on the boy’s shoulders–the once childish looking illusion of the man in a cape and underwear now looked like a real flesh and blood person, but he still retained that determined glare at Ribble.

“I’m not going back!” Harold yelled at Ribble. “You lied! There’s kids who like my drawings! There’s even kids who have magic like me! They didn’t call me a freak and they thought my hair was awesome! I was even able to make friends with them! You lied to me about the outside world!”

Ribble looked from the illusion of Captain Underpants, to Harold, and back again. It seemed that along with the boy gaining his freedom, the powers of creation were getting stronger. In fact, it was more like those creation powers were getting stronger while the healing powers were weakening over time, which she could not afford to have–not when she had to frequently rely on them more than usual these days.

“You really think that?” She smirked as she planned to plant some seeds of doubt in him. “You think that little thief was impressed with you?”

“Yeah! I was able to help him out! I was able to use my powers to save our lives!”

“And you think that he’ll actually take you to those lights? You think he won’t take advantage of your powers and sell you out? Or even sell you to someone for money? You think he won’t pin the blame of the theft on you and make an escape?”

“No! George wouldn’t do that!”

“You’ve known the boy for, what, a whole day? You really think you know him?” She then gave him a cruel smile. “By the way... isn’t it because of him that you got in trouble with the guards?” She continued when he didn’t talk. “I know why he’s in trouble with them–he stole a crown. You helped him escape and now they’ll be after you too. You don’t think you’ll be able to see the lanterns if you have a wanted man helping you out, do you?”

“He promised he’d help me.” Harold tried to deny and shake his head.

“And what’s more, all those adults were against kids like you, weren’t they? You think I’m horrible, but they were much worse, weren’t they?”

The illusions began to waver and melt and to Harold’s horror they were starting to take on more human like shapes as he recalled those guards. “No we stopped them! We got away!” He protested as he tried to will the forms to retain their original shapes, causing them to tremble, but his fears were getting the best of him and only sped up the change.

“Well they’ll only keep coming back because there’s only more like them! They’ll keep being mean to kids and there’s nothing you can do! You’re better off in your tower where it’s safe!”

“Stop it!” Harold cried out as the shapes and tried to stop thinking back as the shapes moved closer towards him.

“You’ll have to keep running away from them when you are outside the tower! They’ll lock you up for something you have no control over! They’ll all see you as a freak no matter what you want to believe!”

“Stop it, stop it, stop–AH!” Harold had turned around in an attempt to look away, but to his horror the perfect illusion of Captain Underpants had been distorted and turned into a hideous version of Krupp with evil eyes, monstrous fangs, and who towered over the boy who fell over in fright. The moment the illusion reached down to grab him, Harold screamed and huddled into a ball. “This isn’t real, this isn’t real!” He protested as Ribble moved to grab him and finally throw him back into the tower.

“HAROLD?!”

Ribble froze and let out a curse before hurrying away into the darkness. Within seconds George had ran back to the campsite and he was shocked to see the distorted figures surrounding a terrified Harold who was now trembling as his hair glowed and he kept mumbling incoherent words.

“Harold!” George ran to Harold, ran through the illusions, and knelt beside the boy. “Harold snap out of it!” He shook his shoulders. “What’s going on?! Harold?!”

Harold looked up to see George’s worried face. “G... George?”

“Yeah it’s me! What are you doing?! Is this part of your powers?!” He looked up and flinched when he saw the hideous illusion of Krupp. “Oh wow–that’s gonna haunt me.” He grimaced.

Harold slowly looked up to see the distorted forms. “I can’t... I can’t alway control it... they won’t always stay the way I want them to. There’s too much going on in my head!”

“Then you need to stop thinking!” George turned back to Harold who shook his head. He tried to think. “Ok, new idea–I’m going to tell a story and you’ll make up some illustrations!”

“What?!”

“Just let me try this, ok?!” George began to think. “Uh... There... uh... once was a huge, abandoned pile of chamber pots! No one used them because they were used so many times and they smelled so bad you couldn’t wash them if you tried!”

This made Harold chuckle and George watched as the illusions slowly began to shrink and get smaller until they formed the exact chamber pots he was describing, complete with flies buzzing around them. This made him laugh before he continued. “Ok, so one day an evil magician wanted to get revenge on the kingdom so he enchanted the chamber pots into becoming alive.” Harold finally looked up as his mind began to form images in his head, which were becoming real before both his and George’s eyes. “Oh, and they wanted to eat people, and they’d always chant ‘Yum, yum, eat ‘em up!””

He placed an arm around Harold’s shoulder as he recounted the story for the boy to focus on, and all the while the illusions never wavered or became distorted–the grotesque chamber pots with huge eyes and teeth retained their shape for the entire thing. George watched as Harold’s terror melted away and turned to delighted joy at being able to see his illusions come to life with the aid of George’s words. They watched as the chamber pots consumed so many people until–

“Captain Underpants flew in to save the day with a ‘Tra-la-la!” George cried out. His and Harold’s smiles grew when the familiar hero came in to punch his way through the chamber pots and of all the other evil illusions in the story with a beaming smile on his face. They watched as the hero shattered the pots with his fists or tossed them into each other–freeing all the people trapped within their disgusting hold–and for all that time they were able to forget their worries.

When George concluded his story, the illusions vanished and Harold’s hair ceased glowing. A thought struck George and he asked. “Hey, you lived in that tower, right?”

“Uh, yeah?” Harold frowned as George giggled.

“So, if you got a chamber pot up there... does everything... you know... get tossed out the window and it drops all the way down with a splat?!” He laughed harder as Harold finally caught on and laughed too.

“Yeah! Yeah it does!”

“Where does it all go?! Do you have a huge pit under the window?! Or is there a huge pile of pee and–!” George had a hard time breathing and couldn’t take it anymore as he laughed to the point of tears and even Harold joined in. They fell over onto the ground and couldn’t stop laughing over the disgustingly hilarious mental image.

“Oh man, I don’t think I’ll be able to get any sleep just yet!” Harold admitted.

“Yeah, even if it’s been a long day!” George agreed. “Maybe a day that’s so long it would take eight chapters and four months to write out!”

“It probably was!”

“Yeah I’d hate to be the person who would of had to do it!”

*****

“Heh, heh–hey wait a minute!” The writer realized what just happened as she protested at the laptop. “I’m the one who’s doing the hard work–ugh.” She grumbled. “I’ll let it slide this time.”

*****

The boys continued to laugh on, unaware of the ominous forces conspiring against them.

Ribble had been around long enough to realize the boy Harold had made friends with had a powerful influence over him. Not only did they happen to share the same sense of disgusting humor, but he was encouraging the boy to use his powers of creation and to be more adventurous, which she did not want. The longer Harold was out of the tower and was with this annoying thief, the harder it would be for her to capture him again.

And the worst case scenario? That foolish Queen Grace would eventually find out about her son being out and about and once she reclaimed him, Ribble would never be able to have access to those healing powers and would be unable to stay young and immortal. And to make matters worse, that slave was still somewhere out there and she’d more than likely reveal Harold’s existence if she was able to put everything together and blab to the queen or whoever would listen to her.

She should have shoved that meek traitor out of the tower ages ago.

Ribble scowled as she pulled out a vial with a green liquid in it. She was so close to replicating the powers of the flower, but she still needed the boy until it was complete. She made too many trips to the darkest markets and too many experimentations with her plants for this to all fall apart.

She needed to separate that boy from Harold. He could possibly be the key to breaking Harold’s spirit once and for all.

*****

When Edith finally awoke, she had a hard time believing that she was seeing the tops of the trees piercing the sky instead of a familiar ceiling that never changed for almost a decade.

None of it was a dream. She realized with a small breathless laugh as she sat up and stretched her arms. It all actually– Her ears picked up a hint of snoring which made her froze. Oh... well, he hadn’t been a dream either.

It took her a few moments to recall everything that happened yesterday before she could try to look around for her unexpected ‘companion.’ Edith had to get up and look behind a log to see him sleeping on the ground–the knot on the ‘cape’ was undone to prevent him from choking in his sleep. He was snoring and each breath he took made his already enormous stomach expand before deflating.

Then she remembered just how little he had on and this time she was unable to tear her curious eyes away as they wandered on his features. As she looked, she saw that for some reason he was resting his head on her apron instead of covering himself with it, but then her eyes drifted to his face–even in sleep he seemed cross about something, but he didn’t look as worn out this time around.

Moments later, her eyes drifted elsewhere on other parts of him as she sat on the log. It wasn’t like he was going to wake up right that second, and she had been denied certain things for nearly a decade.

... It wouldn’t be weird if he didn’t wake up right that second... She wasn’t being weird, she was just curious, that was all... he had a very huggable looking frame...

Her face slowly heated up.

Five minutes later, Edith decided she was done and decided to make a very stupid decision–to try to wake him up. She couldn’t afford to run off on her own, but she was anxious to keep going. “Uh–morning?” He couldn’t hear her so she went over the log and knelt beside him. “Morning?” She repeated, but he still wouldn’t wake up. She let out a sigh of regret and shook the nearest upper arm close to her. “Hey can you hear me–?!”

Krupp let out an incredibly annoyed, annoyed yell as he sat up as Edith flinched away from him. “DON’T YOU KNOW NOT TO BOTHER ME WHEN I–!” He turned his head to look at Edith, let out a surprised scream, and shot away from Edith as she slapped her hands over her mouth. “What–what–who–where–?!” He stammered and pointed to her before realizing something was off. When he looked down at himself, he let out a surprised yelp and darted back towards the cape, which he hurriedly tied back around his neck while keeping his back to Edith. It all happened so fast that it was actually kind of funny to Edith, but she held in her laughter.

“Sorry!” Edith tried to apologize as Krupp grumbled to himself and looked back at her with that default scowl, only this time it was more out of annoyance than anger. She looked away and located her bag, where she went to to check the contents. Fortunately the crown was still hidden away, but most of the food had been ruined in the water and all she had left wasn’t going to be enough for both of them. Just as she closed the flap, she heard an awkward “Here,” and she turned around to see that Krupp was holding her apron out to her while trying to avoid eye contact. He also had an odd squirmish look on his face.

“Oh no, that’s alright–”

“Look I–” He hesitated and when he resumed talking, his voice lost a bit of its usual harshness. “–Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it and all. But let’s face it, this thing’s too small for me and I’d look stupid if I wore this around my neck.”

“But you already–oh!” She had to fight back a laugh when she realized what he meant wearing it on the front instead of the back, thus making him look like an overgrown infant. Unfortunately, he caught her reaction out of the corner of his eye and when the scowl deepened, she could only shake her head as her smile grew a little. “Sorry I couldn’t help–it was–” She gave up and accepted it. “Thanks. I’m glad it was of some use to you.”

As Edith tied the apron back on, Krupp groaned and hid his face in both hands to hide just how red with embarrassment it was getting.

*****

Most of the walk back towards the main town was filled with an awkward silence between the two who were forced to do it together. Neither knew what was going through the other’s mind.

While Krupp was trying (and failing horribly) to forget that the woman near him had seen him in just his underwear for a lot longer than he was comfortable with, in addition to trying to make sense as to what had happened the night before, and was also trying to figure out what to do know that she knew his secret, Edith had more serious concerns to think of. She had no clue where Harold or George was and she knew in her heart that the boys would more than likely head to the main town too, where the festival and the lanterns would be. Unfortunately she was with the very man who wanted to lock both of them up now, and she couldn’t ask for his help. There was also the fact that it would be a matter of time until he’d start asking questions and she was afraid to say anything that would spell doom for her and the boys–especially Harold, who had waited for this day for so long.

Although if she had to be honest, she wanted to complain over how badly her feet were killing her. There hadn’t been as many stops as there had been yesterday and, as she had feared, the ground had more rocks, sticks, and other things that jabbed and poked at her feet. She honestly had no clue why Krupp wasn’t complaining, given that he wasn’t wearing any footwear himself at the moment, but she tried to keep her discomfort to herself every time she winced upon stepping on something in particular.

Finally she stepped on a rather sharp rock and she was unable to contain her yelp as she nearly tumbled right into Krupp’s back and had to come to a stop. When he stopped and turned back, he could see her lifting her foot up with one hand to make sure she wasn’t bleeding.

Out of habit, Krupp was about ready to snap at her to keep moving, but that’s when he finally noticed that, for some reason, she wasn’t wearing shoes either. “Uh... how come you don’t have any shoes on?”

“I haven’t had any for the last ten years.” Edith let out in a sigh of frustration as she let go of her foot and regained her balance, only to realize too late what she said when Krupp gave her a perplexed look. “Uh, I mean it feels like I haven’t had any for the last ten years!” She let out a nervous laugh while feeling embarrassed about her appearance for the first time in a long time. “I mean, I guess I forgot to put some on–err, didn’t have the chance!” Sure, she was the only one between the two who was modestly covered, but she swore that she could feel a familiar judgmental look that made her want to go in a corner and hide, if it wasn’t for the fact that she had to keep going. She knew he was seeing just how faded in color and how threadbare her own outfit was getting the longer he was looking at her.

She should not be the one complaining about this–she knew it.

She let out a sigh, “Look, I’m sorry, but please just let me have a few minutes to rest. It’s been a long time since I’ve done a lot of walking and–” she cut herself off and stared at the ground.

As Krupp stared at Edith and tried to make sense of what she had been talking about and why she had been acting so odd, he began to feel something nagging at him in the back of his head. He knew what it was and he was quick to try to shut it down, but for some reason it was still bugging him and causing him intense discomfort until finally he couldn’t take it any more and he ran a hand over his frustrated face before asking “Do you need me to carry you?”

“Wh-what?” Edith looked up in confusion.

“Do you need me to–look, just–!” He stammered as he had no clue what he was doing or even saying. “Do you?!” It came out harsher than it should have been.

“Uh, no that’s ok!” Edith shook her head. “That would be too much and I don’t want to be a burden–”

“Just take it, ok?!”

Edith stared at him before reluctantly nodding.

Moments later, she was resting upon his back piggyback style, but to her complete surprise, he was able to easily lift her up like she was light as a feather to him before he continued on his way.

“Uh–” She looked behind her to make sure her bag was still hanging onto her before trying to process what just happened. She knew full well she wasn’t stick thin, nor was she a small child, yet he was carrying her and continuing to walk like she weighed nothing to him.

“Look, this is a one time thing, alright?!” Krupp stammered as he was trying to also process what he was doing. It was a nice distraction from the fact that he was stuck in his underwear around her, but it made him far more aware of her than before. This was not something he would just do for anyone and he had no clue why he was doing it, because he wasn’t a charitable person. Was it in return for her apron? Was that moron gradually influencing him when he was in control? Whatever the case, it was something he wasn’t used to, and just how almost easy it had been to give into it was really freaking him out right now. Not to mention how all too easy it was to feel her against him as well as her arms clinging around his neck and chest which happened to be quite bare at the moment. Also some small part of him was enjoying the feel of her arms around–

He was internally screaming at himself. He wanted more than anything to just toss her off and run for it, but his stubborn nature and something else was keeping him from doing it. “Don’t you dare say a word about this to anyone, alright?!” He finally demanded. He didn’t want people to think he was soft–it would give him so much trouble later on.

“Well, alright, I suppose.” Edith finally replied. “And I do appreciate this, but–uh, how exactly am I not causing you any strain?”

“What?”

“I mean, I’m not small or anything, but it’s like I weigh nothing to you.”

Krupp then realized what she meant. “Whatever that moron has that those kids gave him, I somehow got it too.” He snorted. “So much for trying to stop me.”

“Wait, you mean lifting heavier objects?” Edith recalled what happened back at the dam and how he had been able to lift that beam.

“Whatever it is–more endurance, increased stamina, increased strength–I ended up getting it. And I guess I don’t get cold or sick that easily anymore.” He was confused by that before continuing. “I should have been dead from half the things I went through since then, and yet I’m still alive.”

“That actually does sound nice.” Edith admitted. Then she frowned as she remembered something else that his counterpart was able to do. “Wait! Then does that mean you can also... uh...” She bit her lip as she couldn’t believe what she was about to shyly ask. “Can you... also... uh, fly? Like he did.”

This made Krupp pull a face before scoffing and shaking his head. “That I can’t.”

“But you should if he can!” Edith protested. “You could get us out of here and–”

“That’s the only thing I can’t do! I don’t know how and I’ve tried, but I’m sure those kids thought ahead if he can but I can’t. Sure as heck would have made my job a lot easier.” Krupp grumbled the last part under his breath.

“So you actually did try?”

This made him stop and hesitate. “Uh,”

***? months ago***

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Krupp shook his head near the stables while standing on a crate. He made sure that no one was around to see this, before he readied himself and leapt off the crate.

He landed on the ground without anything happening.

***Also ? months ago***

He groaned as he held his face in his hand with standing at a small cliffside, with the ground being about seven feet below the ledge. He took a deep breath and leapt–

–and ending up hitting himself against the side of a cow that stopped by at the bottom of the cliffside to stare off into the distance when he wasn’t looking.

***? weeks ago****

He felt sick to his stomach as he stared down at the ground from one of the many towers of the castle where everything below looked too small for his liking.

He made to move his foot.

“Nope!” He crossed his hands and shook his head as he walked away in anger and looked at the sky. “I’m not doing this anymore! It’s not worth it! I value my life, thank you!”

*****

“Look it doesn’t matter, it’s not going to happen!” Krupp scowled and kept walking as Edith tried to imagine the very thing he recalled in his head. “And if the idiot wants to humiliate himself by flying around near naked, it serves him right!”

“Why do you keep insulting yourself if he’s still you?” Edith was confused.

“What–no, there’s no way that’s still me!” Krupp protested. “I’m not the one in control when it happens, and I’m sure as heck not as stupid or gullible as that guy! I’m at least trying to keep my dignity and reputation intact and that guy threw his out the window ages ago! Come on, you saw it, right?!”

“You weren’t–I mean he wasn’t...well,” Edith recalled what happened back at the dam. “Maybe he could have done things a bit differently, but he actually got me out of a few tight spots and he was nothing but a gentleman to me.” Edith thought back on how Captain Underpants had been quick to help her out and how kind he had been. “He saved me from falling... he was actually quite sweet.” She smiled as she recalled that little kiss on the hand that he did and she blushed a little as she clasped her hands together. She couldn’t recall the last time a man acted that way towards her.

Unfortunately, this reveal caused a different reaction in Krupp. At first he could not believe what he just heard (seriously what would a woman see in someone like that idiot?), but then he felt a huge twinge of annoyed anger towards his counterpart. Oh of course–if all the kids liked him, then it’d figure he’d somehow charm this woman over too for similar reasons and something about that increased his dislike towards him.

And why the heck should it even bother him as to her of all people probably liking the moron? Because of that ‘need to do good even if it kills me’ nature or whatever the heck he had? Because he had been ‘sweet’ or some stupid mush like that? What difference did it make when so many others liked him?

Without warning, Edith felt Krupp’s body tense up and he was nearly squishing her legs against his side. “Uh, hey is everything alright?” She asked.

“Just... peachy.” Krupp hissed through his clenched teeth.

****

The boys had managed to get as far as to some houses that were near the bridge across the lake that would lead to the main part of town as well as the castle. With Harold’s help, George was able to sneak into someone’s garden to grab some much needed food to eat.

“I hope you don’t mind cabbage and radishes for breakfast.” George pulled out the vegetables in question from his bag and revealed them to Harold.

“Wouldn’t this be theft?” Harold asked as George handed the dirt covered radishes to him.

“Not if the people in question are known jerks like most people around here.” George shrugged. “Besides, what’s the worst they could do if they found out? Demand my firstborn child in exchange?”

He lead Harold to a small area a good distance away from the main road and the houses to a small part of the woods where there was a stream of water. It was here where they could wash the vegetables off and eat as much as they could, even if there wasn’t much flavor to the cabbage, and the radishes had a sharp heat about them.

“So here’s the thing.” George told Harold during mid-chew on a radish. “I don’t know how many guards are on duty today so I need to disguise myself first.”

“Alright,” Harold nodded his head as he stared at the leaves on the red radish in his hands. It made him think back to George’s story as it reminded him of something. “Hey George? Were those two kids able to get the magic out of the blanket like they were trying to do? You said something about a magical flower with the powers of creation and that they got into the blanket somehow.”

George thought for a second. “To be honest,” He gave the boy a sheepish smile. “I accidentally used it up... somehow... I don’t know how I did it. They told me the magic vanished out of it after that night, and considering I was the last person to use it... yeah I ruined things for them. They told me their teacher wasn’t happy about it.”

Harold frowned. He had no clue why, but something seemed odd about that part of the story. Didn’t his powers count as creating something out of thin air? He never heard of a flower that could grant creation powers before. Powers that sounded oddly like his. If there were others like him who had magic, why would his parents give him up to Ribble instead of someone nicer? If she didn’t like him, why did she take him in or didn’t even give him away to someone else later on? Especially if she didn’t care for his powers to create?

“George, how exactly would that flower work if it was used to create?” Harold asked. “You said it was easy to come up with Captain Underpants as if writing out a story.”

“I don’t know.” George shrugged. “I guess I was in a good thinking mood, but that was it. The only other thing I know was that it was used to heal the queen when she was sick during her pregnancy with the prince. But then again, that’s quite a risk isn’t it? What if it did something to him?”

Harold hummed in thought before glancing up at the sky.

*****

Some time had passed and yet Edith still found herself getting carried by Krupp. A tense silence had followed their last conversation, but she began to see a road though the trees on their left, which made her hopeful.

Even if she didn’t completely like this man (she could not forget how he acted yesterday when she first met him) she did appreciate this gesture. She’d never admit it out loud, but it was nice to be able to hold onto someone closer to her size or larger than her again–to feel a human warmth, to rest her head against someone’s back and just close her eyes–It was just such a shame he had to be a complete jerk, but she’d never say it.

“By the way, thanks again for doing this.” Edith finally let out. “To be honest, I don’t think anyone’s done it for me since I was a kid.” She chuckled a little. “My dad stopped doing it when I was seven–he’d joke that his back was getting too weak.”

Edith missed the small pull at one corner of Krupp’s mouth before he thought back to simpler times. “I guess it used to be fun doing it for my nephew when he was a lot younger.” He confessed without meaning to as his voice softened a little–a small part of him missed that (and missed being with his brother’s family) but things had happened since those days. He shook his head and then tried to look back at her. She was a complete mystery to him and he had no clue exactly what her deal was or where she came from, but he was having a hard time believing a few things. “Look–uh–what was your name again?”

“Edith... uh... just... Edith.”

“Edith,” He tested her name out before continuing. “You don’t actually live in that inn, do you?”

“No,” Edith then realized what was about to happen at the same moment a horse drawn wagon on the road was getting closer near them. “Well, y–yeah I was lying, but it was to protect the kids! Y–you don’t have to take me home or–”

“So where exactly do you live? Do you have a husband or–?”

“Oh no, I’m not married!” She nervously laughed. “Never been married, never had kids, but I–!”

“MOMMY, THERE’S A GUY IN HIS UNDERWEAR IN THE WOODS!” A boy riding in the wagon with his mother and a few others shrieked as he pointed at Krupp, who he could somehow see from a distance.

This made Krupp momentarily stop and give the boy a terrific death glare as the mother in the wagon laughed. “Oh you silly boy, you must be having quite an imagination right now.” She resumed reading a paper of events that had happened recently and on the cover were the words ’TALKING DOG IN GLASSES ASSISTS SCHOLAR WITH LECTURE AT UNIVERSITY (SCIENTISTS AND PHILOSOPHERS ARE BAFFLED).’

“Why does that sound familiar?” A man stared at the words on the back of the paper as the boy shrieked “I’M NOT MAKING IT UP, HE’S RIGHT THERE!”

“Uh, maybe we should just keep moving?” Edith asked and her alarm increased when she could hear Krupp growling at the boy and his grip on her began to tighten up. “Come on, it’s not worth it! I’m sure you don’t want them to see you like this, right?!”

Krupp let out an annoyed sound and kept walking. “Loud... little...” He grumbled as Edith sighed in relief.

“Oh now I remember!” The man exclaimed and snapped his fingers.

SNAP!

In that instant, Krupp’s annoyed scowl and narrow eyes shifted to the beaming smile and wide eyes of Captain Underpants as he straightened himself up and made to put one hand on his hip with the other made to shoot a finger into the air as he shot off the ground by a few feet while not realizing who he was letting go of.

“TRA-LA-LAGHCK!” In Edith’s panic at being dropped, her hold on him tightened up and the feeling of something heavy pulling him down–as well as nearly chocking his neck–almost made Captain Underpants fall over as his arms flailed out at his sides, but he managed to stop at a certain angle and tilt back upright.

“Who’s there?!” He demanded as he flew around in half circles to grab what he thought was an attacker while Edith let out cries of protests and tightened her hold. “Got me in a neck hold, do you, you evil doer?!”

“Wait, don’t attack me! It’s me, Edith!” Edith panicked when she felt him grab a fistful of her skirt. This made Captain Underpants stop in confusion and Edith finally had the chance to let go of him, only to nearly tumble into a heap upon the ground below. She regained her footing in time and steadied herself as Captain Underpants turned around and lowered down a few inches to get a better look at her. When he recognized who she was, he let out a gasp.

“It’s you again!” A happy smile grew on his face before he let out a nervous laugh. “Sorry about that! Of course you aren’t an evil doer–err, I mean I’m sorry I called you that!” He panicked as Edith watched him. “That was rude of me, but I didn’t realize it was you and–eh heh,” He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and pulled an embarrassed smile. “Sorry.”

“No it’s ok.” Edith had been taken by surprise by the sudden change as well as the change of behavior, even if she was aware of it this time. Yet she wasn’t near any water so it wasn’t like she could change him back. Well, it looked like she was with him now instead of Krupp and it was going to be that way until she was somewhere near water again.

“Well I’m glad to see that you are safe and–wait, this isn’t the dam!” Captain Underpants looked around in confusion. “What happened? Where did everyone go?”

“I got separated from Harold and George.” Edith confessed, while realizing that he missed nearly half a day while in this mind-set. “There was a flood and I don’t know where they went.” She frowned but then smiled with relief as she realized that maybe he could help her. “But I’m sure they’ll be heading towards the kingdom for the festival! I could use some help–I mean if that’s alright with you.”

“I–” Captain Underpants had no intention of saying no, though he was momentarily caught off guard by the sweet smile half hidden by Edith’s hair. She was already pretty, but she looked even prettier when she smiled. “I... uh... N–no I don’t mind it one bit!” He quickly recovered himself and grinned at her. “Helping others is what I do best!” He boasted.

Edith couldn’t help but widen her smile at Captain Underpants. She was aware that he was still Krupp, but just currently under the belief that he was someone else. And yet this version of him was so joyous, so sweet... and those beautiful, life-filled dark eyes that shone with light, and that huge smile made his face a look more pleasant and appealing to look at... It was such a shame that this was not his true personality, because he looked a lot better when he was so happy. “I’d appreciate that very much.” She blushed as she tucked her hair behind her ear to reveal her entire face once more. Captain Underpants felt his heart thumping faster inside his chest than usual and his stomach felt weird (but in a strangely good way) the longer he looked at her face and listened closely to the sound of her voice. “Uh, well,” He smiled and tried to laugh it off “What are we waiting for?!”

Then to Edith’s alarm, he scooped her up off the ground and held her in his arms in a bridal style before she realized what was happening. “Don’t worry Miss–uh, what was your name again?” Captain Underpants frowned as she wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself.

“It’s Edith.” She began to worry as she saw that the ground was slowly moving away from her. “Wait, you’re not actually–?!” She yelped when he shot right up into the sky and she panicked and buried her head into his neck and against his chest when she realize she was being taken into the air.

“Don’t worry Edith, I will help you find those boys!” Captain Underpants cheerfully declared before reaching a spot high above the trees. With a grin he flew off while keeping a secure hold on the woman in his arms.

Edith was trembling in fear until she finally dared to open her eyes and look ahead to see that she was flying above the many trees below her. She could see the beautiful blue sky, the dark blue mountains in the distance, and so many other things she had not seen for a long time. She was used to being so high above the world and the ground, but not like this–not as if she were like a bird flying through the sky.

She glanced at the smiling face of Captain Underpants and laughed with joy before tightening her hold on him and looked forward. She was so sure that she had felt free when she left the tower and back on the ground and yet it finally felt as if she were truly free–no longer chained to her past or a prison, but she felt truly, wonderfully free.

Had she looked back, she would have seen her companion staring in awe at her joyful happiness while taking in the sound of her unique, yet honest laughter. She had no idea that she was doing an impossible thing–she was leaving him wordless with wonder as he was able calm down and to just slowly, carefully take in what was before him.

Edith had no clue that she was slowly capturing the heart of Captain Underpants without intending to.

*****

“Check it out!” George grinned to Harold as he moved a branch away. They had reached a part of the forest where they could move around the houses and be closer to the bridge that lead right towards the main town and the castle across the lake. Already they could see people crossing the bridge and some seemed ready for the festivities. More importantly there were more children out and about and they were the excitedly chatting about things while eagerly pulling parents, guardians, and older siblings towards the main town. Kingdom banners depicting the kingdom symbol lined the bridge, but the rainbow flames of the sun on them were gone to be replaced with regular flames.

“Whoa!” Harold’s eyes widened at the many buildings and the castle in the distance–something he had only seen in illustrations up to this point. He could hardly believe that the day he had long awaited for finally came. “I can’t believe it!” He was breathless as he turned to face George with a huge smile. “This is amazing! I never imagined that this place could be so incredible!”

“I guess it can be on its better days.” George admitted before turning his head to look at the castle. “But until I can get my hands on a mask, I can’t be seen out and about.”

“Are you sure that would work?” Harold raised an eyebrow.

“You’d be surprised just how dumb most adults here can be.” George smirked. A depressed sigh made him look to see that Harold was a bit upset by something. “What?”

“It’s just... I was so sure Edith would be with me if this ever happened.” Harold confessed. “But I still don’t know where she went. I want to believe that she went ahead of us but,” He paused. “I just hope she’s ok. I can’t blame her if she ditched me and went off on her own.”

“Yeah same here.” George admitted. “But hey, maybe she was able to find some good company to hang with. I’m sure she’s just fine.”

Now, the thing about where the boys currently were was that not only was there a stream a few feet away and that the trees still hid them from the road, but there was an opening amongst the trees that was large enough that you could easily peer down and see them if you happened to be a bird flying by. Or someone who was daring enough to climb to the very top of one of those trees.

Or you just happened to be the person who was being held by a guy in just a cape and underwear, like Edith was the second she recognized the two small familiar figures on the ground ahead of her.

“WAIT STOP THAT’S THEM!” Edith cried out and pointed George an Harold out to Captain Underpants, who had been pleasantly distracted with looking at her. He had one second to look down to see the boys turn around with surprised looks on their faces before crying out in alarm and trying to get himself to pull to a stop by literally kicking out against the air. Unfortunately, he also made the mistake of tilting down diagonally, right in the path of an oncoming tree. He let out another panicked cry and quickly turned himself around while tightening his protective hold on an equally panicked Edith so that she wouldn’t be the one to get the full impact from the collision.

Harold yelped and covered his eyes with his hands as George could only watch on and wince when he heard the crash and pained cry, followed by many branches shaking downward–while something that looked like a bag landed in the bushes nearby–until the now quite bruised up large man crashed to the ground on his back while the woman he was trying to protect was on top of him and clinging at the front of his cape with trembling hands.

“Oh,” George grimaced as Harold lowered his hands. “I think I felt all of those.”

While rather shaken by what just happened (and her heart racing faster than she would have liked), Edith was able to slip her hands onto the ground and pull herself up off Captain Underpants a bit. “Are you alright?!” She looked at his slightly pained face.

“Oh I’ve had worse than that!” Captain Underpants tried to reassure the woman with a smile. “As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters!” He saluted to her, despite that the action hurt him and made him wince.

“Edith?!” Edith looked up to see the boys staring at her in amazement before Harold gave her a huge smile and hurried towards her. She quickly got off her unusual savior and also hurried towards Harold before hugging him as tightly as she could.

“Oh thank the stars you’re alright!” She laughed with relief as the boy tightened her hug on her. “I was worried right out of my mind!” She looked at George and smiled at him. “I was worried for you too!” She held an arm out for him. “I’m glad you both are safe!”

“Uh,” George was hesitant as he stared at the offer for a hug and nervously scratched his arm. He deeply appreciated that this woman he only knew for a day cared for him, but years of experience with unkind adults still gave him the habit of trying to avoid getting too close to them.

Edith didn’t mind, but it reminded her of something. “I still have the crown.” She whispered into Harold’s ear. “Just let me go find the bag.” She got up and went towards the bushes.

It was at that moment that George looked to see and remember just who brought Edith over to them. “Oh no,” He went pale with dread. Harold noticed this and turned around to see Captain Underpants getting up (rather gingerly, despite the pain from the collision with the tree) before hurrying towards them.

“It’s you guys again!” He beamed as Harold took a few steps back to be near George and the adult stopped in front of them. “I see that you were able to escape those fiends thanks to my help!”

“Er, yeah.” George snickered as he looked at Harold. “Totally not anyone you’d want to get us!”

“Definitely!” Harold agreed as he remembered the little ‘secret’ about Captain Underpants’ identity and he also laughed.

“But I saw a lot of what you were doing and I was quite impressed!” Captain Underpants grinned. “You two seemed to make a good team! I wouldn’t mind working with you again!”

“Ah, sure, ok.” George chuckled, although he was trying to hide his frustrations over a new problem he didn’t anticipate for today. Or at least one that he had forgotten, given how a lot of things were happening at once.

“So is he one of your friends, George?” Captain Underpants turned his attention to Harold. “What was your name again?”

“Harold.” The boy replied.

“Harold!” Captain Underpants repeated with a grin. “That’s a–wait a minute.” He then frowned and rested his chin in his hand. “Why’s that name familiar again?” He screwed his face up in concentration. “Argh come on, think!” He commanded to himself and hit a fist against one of his temples. “It was very important! You promised to remember a name–” He then finally realized something about the boy. “Hey, is your hair really that long?!” He asked in amazement.

“Uh, yes?” Harold had been interested in the man’s reaction before he got distracted.

Captain Underpants ‘ooed’ and went towards the other end of the boy’s hair–only for both George and Harold to realize almost a few seconds too late that the boy’s hair was partly in the stream of water nearby.

“Wait, no!” George yelped and raced towards Captain Underpants and even Harold freaked out and tried to pull the hair back towards him–only to accidentally make Captain Underpants trip on it when he stepped on one section and the poor unsuspecting man yelped as he fell forward with most of his arms and his face crashing into the water.

“AGH!” The boys watched with dread as the impact made the man scramble to get back up into a sitting position on the bank before crawling backwards as his voice went from smooth and lighter in pitch to shrill and gravelly. “Wh–what the–?!”

“Oh no,” George slowly backed away until he was next to Harold, who hurried to get his hair away from the living representation of one of the worst case scenarios for this day.

“Where am I–?!–Where did she–?!” Krupp finally turned his head around. To his shock, he saw both George and Harold standing together and staring right back at him. The shock then turned into realization, which turned to anger that was quick to rise up as the all too familiar scowl marred his face and he growled “You two,” He barred his teeth at them like an animal.

“Oh crud, not again!” George yelled as he grabbed Harold’s hand and made run for it.

“OH I DON’T THINK SO!” Krupp yelled as he scrambled to get up and chased after them. “GET BACK HERE, BUBS!” He ordered as Edith (whose hair got in her face again) paused mid attempt to pull her bag out of the bushes and turned around to see the more hilarious than scary sight of a grown man in his underwear chasing after two boys.

“He’s going to kill us!” Harold panicked as he turned his head back to look at Krupp, who had his teeth barred as he charged towards them after than either boy was prepared for.

George skidded to a stop on the wet grass and muddy earth and stopped Harold. Just as the angry adult had his hands out and ready to grab them, he turned around and loudly snapped his fingers.

SNAP!

“Hi guys!” Captain Underpants waved his hands with a smile and made to stop himself, but the grass was too wet and he ended up falling over once more and slammed face first onto the ground before sliding a few inches and stopping at the boys’ feet.

With the droplets of water on the grass triggering the transformation, Krupp pushed himself off the ground and shot the boys a dirty look, both figurative and a bit literal since there was now dirt on his angry red face. He let out an animalistic, frustrated yell–

SNAP!

“Hey is it me or do I seem to keep falling today?” Captain Underpants asked as Harold lowered his hand down.

“Hey, you want to have some fun?” George had a wicked idea and grinned at Harold.

“I think I know what you have in mind.” Harold agreed before turning to Captain Underpants. “Hey, you got dirty. You want us to help with that?”

“Oh?” The adult sat up and looked to see that most of his frontside was coated with dirt as George took a canteen of water out. “Well, I’d appreciate that very–!”

George threw water out of the canteen and it splashed upward onto the man’s chest and face.

“AHCK!” Krupp repeatedly smacked his face with his hands and glared at the boys. “What are you–?!”

SNAP!

“Hmm, looks like I need more water.” Captain Underpants frowned at himself.

“On it!” Harold grinned as he held some water in his hands from the stream and tossed it at his face.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Krupp yelled at the boy.

SNAP!

“Ah that’s better, but I think I’m still–” Captain Underpants grabbed Harold’s hair and to the amusement of both boys he ended up soaking it in the stream to wash the rest of the dirt off his chest. “Now thats–!” George tossed the water in the canteen at him again.

“AGH!”

SNAP!

“Wait, is this really hair?” Captain Underpants grabbed a dry part of Harold’s long hair. Both Harold and George laughed as the adult literally placed it over his head and tried to look in the stream to take a better look at himself. “Oh my, there’s just too many colors to choose from! I can’t tell which one would look good on–” Harold grabbed the wet side of the hair and smacked him across the face with it.

“What the–WHAT THE–?!” Krupp realized what he was holding onto and threw it away as fast as he could before looking at Harold. “DID YOU JUST–?!”

SNAP!

“Say what are you boys up to–?” George now squeezed some water from his hands and a small arc hit Captain Underpants across the face.

“WILL YOU STOP IT ALREADY?!”

SNAP!

“Hey maybe we should head back!” Captain Underpants started to head back but before he got far enough, Harold smacked him with the wet hair again.

“I’M WARNING YOU!” Krupp roared as he turned around but then found himself about ready to run into a tree and yelped before he could put his hands out and stop himself from crashing.

SNAP!

“Whoa, I did not see that tree!” Captain Underpants flew up a few feet and away from the tree before heading back to the boys. “I think running into one is enough for–” Harold tossed more from the canteen water at him and one of the droplets managed to smack him in the face.

Krupp screamed as he fell and hit the ground, making the boys wince. “ARGH!” Krupp sat up and growled. “What is wrong with you–?!”

SNAP!

“TRA-LA-LA!” Captain Underpants leapt up, but because the grass was wet, he slipped and crashed with the back of his head hitting the ground.

“This isn’t funny, stop it!” Krupp cried out as he scrambled to get back up, but the constant changing was disorienting him and made him slip and fall back onto the ground again.

SNAP!

“I’m alright!”

Harold squeezed the last of the water out of his hair and right into his head.

Krupp let out a frustrated yell as he batted the hair away and nearly knocked Harold over. “Stop doing this!”

SNAP!

“Hey how do you guys know the lady with the blue eyes who goes by the name of–?!” Captain Underpants was splashed once more with water from the canteen.

“Please just stop!” Krupp was now terrified and no longer above begging as the rage was completely gone out of him and was now gripping his head as he shot a pleading look at the two boys.

SNAP!

“And I’m back!” Captain Underpants shot up into the sky–only for George to toss the water at him one more time.

Once again Krupp let out a terrified scream as he crashed into the ground once more. The boys laughed as George readied himself to snap his fingers once again.

“STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!”

Both George and Harold were startled out of the next finger snap and they turned around to see Edith a few feet near them and she was giving them an incredibly displeased frown and had a rare glint of anger in her visible eye.

“Oh come on!” George protested as Harold grimaced (for it was very rare to get Edith angry like that). “It’s funny and he deserved it!”

“Really?!” Edith raised her visible eyebrow and gestured to Krupp. “Is that funny to you?!”

The boys turned back to see that Krupp was nearly huddled up on his side in a ball with an incredibly distressed look on his pale, wide eyed face and arms tightly crossed against his chest. His was also visibly shaking and loudly gasping for air. While the boys were having their fun, Edith had remembered what she had been told about the experience for the man and she was quick to pick up on the sheer terror he was quickly developing over the rapid changing. She understood why the boys did what they did but that was just taking it too far and it was downright mean-spirited.

“Wait, what are you doing?!” Harold and George gapped as the woman went over and knelt beside Krupp.

“Hey it’s ok, I got them to stop.” Edith quietly reassured Krupp as she gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “Do you need anything?”

“I hate those two!” He whimpered–only barely aware of her being beside him.

“Why are you helping him?!” George demanded. “You know how much of a jerk he is! That won’t do anything!”

“Well maybe it would help if you first apologized to him.” Edith pointed out, which made the blood drain from both boys’ faces and they instantly let out a sharp “NO!” It was enough to make Krupp snap out of his terror and sit up front before twisting around to face them and resume his anger as if the constant switching hadn’t just happened to him.

“You two owe me way more than an apology!” He snarled. “Especially you!” He jabbed a finger at George. “It’s your fault I’m like this to begin with! When I get you locked up–!”

“WAIT, YOU CAN’T LOCK HIM UP!” Harold panicked and stood in front of George. “AND YOU CAN’T LOCK ME UP EITHER! ESPECIALLY NOT FOR TODAY!”

“AND GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON FOR THAT!” Krupp snapped back at Harold.

Harold instantly knew that this was not going to work, but it was worth a shot. “Because I’m turning ten and I wanted to go see the lights today!”

“Yeah, that’s right!” George was quick to add. “He got caught up with me on accident, so at least one of us should go free!”

Krupp stared at the two in disbelief before letting out an unkindly laugh. “Really?!” He asked. “You actually expect me to believe that pack of–?!”

“Actually it really is Harold’s birthday.” He stopped and turned his head to face Edith who had a pleading look in her eye. “That’s why I was with both of them to begin with. I wanted to take him to the lights for a really long time.”

Krupp gapped at her before shaking his head and standing up. “Nope, I’m not falling for this!” He growled at George and Harold. “Why the heck would I let you two go off scott free after all the shenanigans you pulled on me?!”

“Oh gee, I wonder why we did them to begin with.” George sarcastically asked. “You know none of this would have happened if you had just let me take the crown back!”

“WHICH WOULDN’T OF HAPPENED IF YOU HADN’T HAD THAT SPELL PUT ON ME!”

“Take a wild guess on why I did that in the first place, old guy!”

“YOU LOUSY LITTLE–!”

“Come on, can’t you just let us go for one day?!” Harold pleaded. “Just one whole day and one evening, and then you can chase us as long as you want.”

“KID, YOU’D BE THE QUEEN’S MISSING SON FOR ALL I CARE AND I’D STILL SAY NO!”

George growled as Harold tried to think and then he had a delightfully wicked idea when looked at the state Krupp was in. “Ok fine, go ahead and lock us up.” He nonchalantly shrugged. “But I’m sure your pals would love to hear about your little secret.”

“What?” The adult’s anger turned to confusion.

What I’m saying is that if you try to lock us up, we’ll run right into town and tell everyone you’re Captain Underpants.”

George quickly picked up what Harold was doing and shot him a pleased grin as Krupp went pale with horror. “You wouldn’t dare,” He growled at the boy.

“Let us have one day of fun, without George getting locked up, and your secret stays safe with us.”

“OH LIKE HECK I’LL–!”

“HEY GUESS WHAT?!” George yelled as he grabbed Harold by the hand and ran back towards the bridge. “WE GOT A SECRET TO SHARE THAT I’M SURE ALL OF PIQUA WOULD LOVE TO HEAR REGARDING–!”

“STOP!” Krupp roared as he ran and managed to catch up to them before he grabbed them by the backs of their clothes once more. “Do it and I swear I’ll make your lives miserable beyond anything you could think of!”

“Then lighten up for once and let us go free!” George smiled and crossed his arms together. “Oh, also you can’t break your promise if you see us or hear us doing something you hate, like having fun! And you can’t let your pals get us either–we’ll know if you took a loophole! The moment you do it, we’ll both yell it out!”

“Or even better!” Harold added with a smile. “We’ll turn you back into Captain Underpants and have him do whatever we say!”

“Oh yeah, especially if they all think he’s you!”

“And you don’t want that, do you?”

Krupp was getting increasingly frustrated as well as angry at the equally annoying brats. Just when he had them, they plotted to blackmail him to their will! To be driven to this was an even bigger potential blow to what little dignity he still retained! In a very desperate act for aid, he turned to Edith. “You aren’t actually going to let them do this, are you?!” He half demanded, half pleaded.

Edith hesitated and stared at the ground.

“Are you?!”

She still didn’t answer.

“Y...you... you’re actually going to let them get away with it?”

“I’m sorry, I know it’s not fair, but this means a lot to Harold.” She finally shook her head and gave him an apologetic look. “And if it means I have to keep an eye on you to make sure you stick to the deal, then I guess that’s that. So... please?”

A shocked Krupp stared at the one person he thought would back him up. He let out a stammer of incoherent words before letting go of the boys and let out a frustrated, angry yell and threw his hands up in the air.

George and Harold grinned at each other as they sat at Krupp’s feet and gave each other a high five.

*****

“Are you sure you want to waste your time keeping an eye on him?” Harold asked Edith and gave Krupp a worried look–the man was sulking in misery under a tree and glaring at an innocent rock. “It’s bad enough you had to be stuck with him earlier.”

“I’m sure you’d rather spend time with someone besides me after so many years.” Edith admitted as she finished braiding up the boy’s long hair and hid it into the now mostly empty bag (with the crown still hidden inside), which she gave to Harold. “Besides–once the lanterns are done, you should help George give the crown back to the queen. That way he won’t have a reason to put you in jail.” She grimaced at this.

“We’ll do it as fast as possible and meet up with you.” Harold promised as George came up to Krupp with a huge, worn out, brown cloak-like item that he ‘borrowed’ from the nearest house. He threw it over the unsuspecting adult, who tried to tear it off of himself and started to yell at George, but the boy only laughed as he went over to Harold, grabbed his arm and pulled him away from Edith. “See you later!” Harold promised Edith and waved to her.

They continued to run out of the woods and stopped at the edge of the town where they could see the bridge. “Ok, ready for this?” George asked as he pulled out a mask shaped like a sun with a quarter of it missing before he put it over his face. Only his mouth, chin, and eyes could be seen.

“I’ve been ready for years!” Harold laughed as he grabbed the strap of the bag and began to race across the bridge–unaware that it was the first time he was setting foot in his place of birth for the first time in many years. Unaware that his birth family was close by, and unaware that the festival was in his honor.

Chapter Text

“Whoa!” Harold was almost overwhelmed by everything he saw. There were so many buildings! So many colors! So many people of various sizes, ages, and ethnicities! The Crusty Sandbox was one thing, but this was so much to take in, and he didn’t know where to start looking! “So many people!” He beamed as he saw a set of parents with their children passing by, with the youngest son riding on his dad’s shoulders.

“Take it all in because everyone here is a lot less nicer after today.” George informed Harold as he walked up to him and adjusted his mask. “This is one of the few times kids can have fun around town without getting yelled at.”

“I don’t even know where to start!” Harold admitted. “Can you show me some places?”

George hummed. “Well, I know one place to start with.” He grabbed Harold’s sleeve and pulled him along. “Hang on and don’t let go!” He hurried to the destination in mind. Meanwhile, Harold looked at everything that passed them by–there was a store for shoes, a fabric store, a bakery he emitted pleasant smells, a store that only sold socks, a store that only sold chamber pots, a store that only sold tissues, and that was all on one street! More banners with the kingdom’s symbol were strung high above their heads, and there were animals happily running around while people went about their way and were doing one thing or another. Many of the people seemed happy–especially the children–but there were those who had unpleasant looks on their faces and were scowling at the more happier individuals, but especially at the children.

George took Harold through the town plaza where many vendors were out and were selling banners, flowers, hats, and other souvenirs or goods. “Where are we going?” Harold asked.

“The one place that’s the safest for children all year round!” George replied as he kept pulling at Harold and didn’t stop until he came upon the building he was looking for. “We have time to kill before the main fun begins.”

George pulled Harold into the library and he watched as the boy’s eyes widened upon seeing so many books–more than any he had seen in his whole life. “Wow!”

“Yeah, this was my only real escape from reality for awhile–that didn’t involve the writing or pranks of course.” George told Harold as he admired the cozy and inviting building where there were plenty of tables and chairs for reading or to quietly work. “The orphanage let us come here once a week, and I always looked forward to it.”

“Oh wow!” Harold hurried to the nearest bookshelf and took in all the titles. “This is incredible!” He exclaimed without realizing he was breaking the ‘whisper volume only’ rule. He grinned when he saw a map of the kingdom and other lands on the wall and he hurried to examine it.

“You like it?” George asked as he walked to Harold, while the librarian and his grandson peered over from behind the counter as they read from one of the many books together.

“I’ve heard about a place like this, but I never imagined how many stories there’d actually be!” Harold saw a picture book and grabbed it to look through. “No wonder you took me here!”

“Ok, ok, just keep it down!” George waved his hands and shot a nervous look at the librarian and his grandson, but the old man merely smiled at the two boys and gave him a friendly wave–not minding that the rule was broken. Besides he was going to return his grandson to his family and they would all have fun today, so he would be closing down for the day in an hour. “You know, I saved this place from getting shut down by Krupp yesterday.”

“Wait, that actually almost happened?” Harold looked up from the book.

“Yeah, he’s against this place–wants to ban some books for some stupid reason–but I put a stop to it... for now.” George sighed and looked around. “I wish there was a way this place could stay around forever, or at least be able to save the books. I can’t stop him or the others for good.”

“Hey maybe it’ll stay open.” Harold smiled. “Besides, aren’t the best books the ones that adults try to keep from you?”

“That’s true.” George chuckled as he went over to look at the book with Harold. “Oh hey, I’ve checked this one out several times!” He grinned as he looked at the illustrations with Harold.

*****

It wouldn’t have been the first time Krupp would try to hide himself under something while trying to stay out of sight as much as possible on the way back to his house. It was already bad enough he always had to walk all the way through town barefoot and worry about getting caught when his counterpart was finally knocked out whenever this happened. This time however, there was a woman with him, which was gaining attention from those who were passing them by and who were now a lot faster to notice him than usual. It made him seethe under the ratty thing that George had thrown at him in an attempt for a disguise (a disguise that made him look like the Grim Reaper’s fatter, yet dirt poor cousin) and he was too angry to even think of an ounce of appreciation towards the child.

Though on occasion, he’d peak back to look at the woman who insisted on keeping an eye on him like he was a child (though it was something he was too used to doing himself). He watched her look around the kingdom in open mouthed awe as if she had never seen it before in her entire life. That small jaw drop would turn into a huge, yet half hidden, open mouthed smile of disbelief and she’d light up with joy... he really wanted to know what that whole smile was supposed to look like–

What was he thinking?! There was a reason he hadn’t been able to lock those boys up and she was keeping him from doing it as soon as possible so that he could get on with his life!

He finally lead her to his home. It was in a neighboring area that was almost literally shoved against the castle’s outermost walls, near the entrance that lead to the castle barracks. It wasn’t ideal for most people to live in, what with not having much of a backyard space, being so close to the barracks where the guards would be, and only a few houses were allowed to have a scenic view of the lake.

Edith herself quickly didn’t like this part of the town that much. It seemed so barren and ill cared for compared to the rest of the town, and she didn’t like the ominous, huge gated iron doors that lead to some part of the castle that she wasn’t aware of. She could hardly believe it when Krupp finally lead her to the house closest to those doors–unlike the rest of the town houses and buildings, this one was a stone cold gray and the roofing was a near pitch black. There was even a few signs that hung from the windows and they ranged from ‘Private property!,’ ‘Keep away!,’ ‘No sales!,’ to (and for some odd reason made no exact sense whatsoever), ‘Do not read this sign!’ To her dismay, she only had to notice Krupp pulling out a secret key hidden under a rock under the last sign to realize that this was indeed his house, and it never dawned on him that she saw where he hid the key, even when he unlocked the door and went inside.

“Hey what are you doing?!” He demanded when he noticed her following him in and flipped the hood off the cloak.

“I’m still keeping my word, and I can’t trust you to be alone for too long.” She gave him a pointed look. “Unless you need to go use the bathroom.”

“I need to get–!” It then hit him.

It had been the first time a woman followed him home. The first time a woman willingly entered his home.

He was so not ready for any of this! He didn’t ask for–! “Look, I just need to get changed–I mean–!” He stammered and sputtered as he started to blush. “That moron threw away my clothes again and I need to–I–ARGH!” He threw his hands up and stormed up the stairs. “Don’t touch anything!” He warned her as he headed up the creaky staircase.

“You could have worded that a bit nicer,” Edith couldn’t help but mutter under her breath before sighing and decided to take a look at the inside–only to be in for a surprise.

The first thing she realized was that everything was neatly organized for an owner so rough and impatient. The walls were painted varying shades of blue and there was a window that granted a lovely sight of the lake in the distance, and it all looked comfortable enough. Then she realized that the glass in the windows were tinted with a slightly dark color to keep people from peering into the house, but it also casted the main living room in a sort of shadow, like being in the room furthest from a setting sun.

Something caught her eye and she turned her head to see a small, battered table with one lone chair through an entryway. Really? Just one chair? What if he had company over? He said he had a nephew, didn’t he?

Edith moved closer into the living room and looked around. There was a potted plant in a reddish clay pot, but the pot was rather plain and the poor plant had already dried up into a yellowish brown husk. There were no images, pictures, or adornments to brighten up the room–the brown sofa was plain and the grayish white rug upon the wooden flooring looked worn out. Yet there was a wooden mantle upon the wall and upon it was a small display placed between two candles. On the display was a stone pendant and she took a close look at it and realized that it was a blue six pointed star–or it least it was until two points (the topmost and upper left ones) had broken off at some point. Whatever it was, Krupp valued it a lot.

Then there was a book case that only had a few books. She took a look and found only a dictionary, a medical journal, a few maps, and some other tomes that looked pretty boring for her taste. She did notice something that looked abandoned from the rest that appeared to be a book of stories hidden on the lowest shelf and she opened it up.

To the best big brother in the world, love J. was written on the inside in black ink. She flipped a few pages, but to her horror, many pages had been ripped out, had words crossed out, or spiteful things had been written about the stories and the characters–some of whom she recognized and had adored as a child. She hurriedly put it back on the shelf as if it were a snake and took a few steps back from it, until she felt her foot step on something like paper.

Edith looked down to see a scrap of paper half hidden under the brown sofa. She frowned as she saw another one barely hidden under it near her foot and there seemed to be one hiding under the rug too. She grabbed it and quietly read ‘STOP PLAYING WITH THE PRINCESS!’ in angry writing. She frowned and when she realized there was something behind it, she flipped it over to read ’No she’s lonely!’ in childish handwriting and a small doodle of a face with a frown accompanied it.

“What the–?” Edith let go of the paper to grab the next one. ‘You can’t play with those brats! They’ll end up just like the rest of them!’

‘You’re a big meanie! You should be the one who get’s locked up!’ It said on the back.

‘You’re giving the guards as well as myself a bad name! Your name is childish too! Stop calling yourself by that name!’ Another one read.

‘The other guards are mean and like trying to hurt people! And my name isn’t childish, it makes everyone laugh!’ The back said.

‘THAT’S MY POINT, STUPID!’ Was written under it.

’Why do you hate me? I’m trying to help people and stop the bad guys! You aren’t fair!’ Another one from under the sofa read.

‘YOU GET PEOPLE IN TROUBLE! YOU’LL GET BOTH OF US IN TROUBLE BECAUSE OF HOW DUMB YOU REALLY ARE! HOW IS IT YOU HAVEN’T KILLED ME YET?!’ The back said.

‘I’m not dumb, you are for being mean!’

‘BETTER THAN BEING A DOORMAT, BUT YOU WOULDN’T KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT, DO YOU?!’

‘Well now you’re being a big jerk!’

‘WELL I HATE YOU!’

Edith then understood what the notes were–Krupp had tried to communicate with Captain Underpants the only way that was possible for him. They were aware of each other, and yet they did not get along due to being so completely different, as if both sides of the same person truly were separate individuals.

Edith hid the notes under the sofa and sat down upon it to think. She understood that Krupp didn’t want anyone to know about Captain Underpants as it was too embarrassing and too easy to be taken control of that way–and every transformation terrified him. The constant possibility of changing terrified him to the point he kept it so tight a secret.

And yet...

Edith looked around the room. It was a decent place on the inside, but when when you looked closely, you would know that it was devoid of light, or care... or even love. The tower was often like a prison, but at least with Harold she was able to find ways to enjoy her time in it. It had been brightened up with laughter, stories, and all those drawings and paintings. It was well lived in and light was able to enter into it to brighten it up with more color.

This place? It was so barren, so empty... so sad and so dark and almost lifeless. It would drive one to madness or...

Or loneliness.

She could not understand how Krupp became the way he was, but his behavior drove people away from him in addition to making them fear and hate him. Not only that, but the spell drove him to being more closed off to everyone–even loved ones–out of a fear of great embarrassment or worse. It made him aware as to how much he was despised while another version of himself was either mocked or far more loved by everyone else. Was it possible, she wondered as she looked at the ceiling, that under all that anger and spitefulness, and everything else that wanted to build up and explode like fire, there was just a lonely, broken soul this whole time?

Upstairs, Krupp muttered numerous curses at his counterpart as he tried to put himself back together again. Thanks to the frequent switches, he had no spare uniforms left and to make a trip back to the castle to see if he had any hidden away meant running into those under him who would question why he lost them to begin with. He had regular clothes, but no one would take him seriously if he went out and about in them. He wasn’t trying to impress anyone, and not that woman downstairs–

He paused in trying to put on a pair of dark green trousers when he was reminded yet again that he had a woman in his house, somewhere right under his feet. Never in a million years would he have expected this to happen. It had been a long time since he experienced any romantic thoughts, but most women he had encountered were either turned off by him or were too unbearable for his liking.

A few moments later, he finished putting on a white shirt and was about to put on one of his many spare black toupees (one of the few things he was able to have an excess of) back on his head when he caught his reflection in the mirror above the washbowl. He could see much of his massive stomach hanging over the belt line, and his face barely had any shape beyond a piggish nose and a near-permanent scowl. The utter lack of any real hair on his head made it more obvious how bizarrely shaped it was, and even when he tried putting the black toupee on, it barely changed this since it didn’t completely cover his head (and it did look like a dead spider was resting on top of him). Maybe he could have gotten something better than a toupee that had more hair instead, but wigs itched like crazy and turned his scalp red and raw.

The point was that he didn’t have an appearance that would make women line up for him–he wasn’t handsome in any sense of the word–so why get worked up over what one woman would think about him, especially if she already saw more than he was ok with sharing to the world?

Which he did not want to be reminded of.

He made a face at himself before heading downstairs.

When Krupp walked down the steps, Edith had still been lost in thought on the sofa. She looked up with an “Oh!” and then paused to take in the change in appearance. She almost forgot that he had been wearing fake hair when she first met him, so he almost looked like someone else for a moment until she saw his face. He didn’t look as intimidating when she first saw him–he looked normal now, like he could be any random person from town.

“Uh,” Krupp realized Edith was staring at him and he nervously looked away as his irritation began to fade. “I didn’t have any more uniforms.” He began to scratch the back of his head out of habit.

“You look fine.” Edith smiled before getting up and began to fidget with her hands. “So... I’ve never actually been to one of these festivals. Could you... uh... show me around? Might as well do something fun instead of having me hovering over you like a shadow, right?”

Krupp pulled a face at this. “I don’t want to. It’s some stupid festival where not much happens or changes.”

“It looks like fun though. How could you not like it?”

“Because everything’s so loud and there’s always so many kids running around!” He protested as he whipped around to face her. “There’s too many annoying people to deal with!”

Edith wasn’t ready to give up. “But it’s better than being stuck in a house all day and believe me I’ve had too much of that for nearly a decade. Besides,” She had a determined look in her eye. “I’ll stay by you and if someone snaps their fingers, I promise I’ll bring you back. I won’t run away or do anything to sabotage the deal.”

Krupp stared in disbelief at her before shaking his head. “If you’re looking for fun, you won’t get it from me.”

“Well, maybe it won’t be so bad.” Edith shrugged before walking up to him. “Besides, it’s just for one day, right?”

*****

“Oh wow,” There was a small toy store that George took Harold to and the latter was in awe at how many toys there were inside–more than he had ever seen in his life and more than the very few that he owned over the years. There was so many to choose from, but not only did he not have any money, but some of them were unfortunately roped off with a sign that said ‘not for sale–please look elsewhere.’

“That’s another way of saying ‘they were considered unfairly illegal.’” George sighed as he explained it to Harold, who frowned. “Then again, I might have accidentally helped out with that, what with how good they are for pranking.”

There was a small gasp and the boys turned around to see none other than Keisha and Kira exploring the store together–both were amazed to see them safe and unharmed. Keisha looked between the boys before miming shutting her mouth closed with her hand and tossing the key away before giving them a small smile. She tugged at Kira’s hand and they both left the store together.

George let out a sigh of relief. “I guess the other kids recognize you.” Harold commented.

Moments later they left to explore more of the town.

“Ugh, so... tempting.” George whined at the object of his desire–a sign that said ‘Free ribbons with purchase of one large item.’ There had to be a message he could make from that. Unfortunately, that was a sure way to get caught... but it was so tempting!

“Are you ok?” Harold asked as he looked at George after observing a fountain.

“Trying... to... resist urge to... change sign.” George pointed at the sign. “Make it say... something else.”

Harold stared at the sign and noticed something. “How about–” He whispered something to George, causing the boy to laugh. “Oh man! Yes! That’s what I would have gone with too!”

The boys laughed and then Harold saw something. “Oh what’s that?!” It was a town gallery and some of the paintings, drawings, water colors, and prints were out for sale. “I want to see!” He pulled George along and hurried inside.

So many paintings! So many various art styles! Some were perfect, life-like replicas of things he was familiar with, while others depicted towns, oceans, or mountains that he had never seen before! Some were not as realistic, but the brush strokes or charcoal markings were done in ways that made them stand out. He moved up to them until he was inches away from the paper or canvas to take them all in.

“Well, I see we have a boy of taste!” An elderly woman chuckled at Harold as he and George took all the artwork in. “It’s nice to see the young ones enjoying the arts!” George gave the woman a smile as Harold turned his head and noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He moved away from George until he came to stand a few feet in front of a painting upon a wall.

The painting depicted a young woman dressed in a fancy cornflower blue and sunshine yellow dress, and there was an emerald bracelet on her wrist as she rested her arms on a podium–she was certainly of high blood and she stood straight and proud against a background of an emerald green curtain on her right and a bright blue sky on her left. Yet she had a pleasant, happy smile and her eyes had a mischievous sparkle to them, like she was planning something that was bound to be funny. Her curly, wild looking blonde hair–as yellow as the petals of a sunflower–added to her beauty and charm.

Something about her drew Harold to the woman. She seemed like someone he’d want to get to know–an adult who’d be friendly to children, like Edith or a certain underwear-wearing hero. There was something about her eyes and her smile that he liked.

“She’s pretty.” Harold smiled at the woman who smiled back at him. What was going through her mind at the time?

“Oh that’s one I painted myself!” The woman smiled at the painting with pride. “That’s Queen Grace right before she was engaged to marry–shoot, how old was she again at the time?” She struggled to recall. “She let me paint her, and when I was done she loved it so much that she wanted me to make a duplicate so that the people could have one to look at that wasn’t hidden away in the castle. It’s one of my best and it was the most money I ever made!”

This woman in the painting was the queen?! Harold was speechless, but it made sense when he thought of it. Yet the more he stared at Queen Grace, the more he couldn’t help but feel like he saw that face somewhere before... he felt that he knew that smile somehow.

George stared at the painting himself for a few moments before he tugged at Harold’s sleeve again. “Come on, there should be some games in the park in a minute.”

*****

As Krupp anticipated, everything was loud and there were too many people out and about for his liking. This time Edith had a hand tightly around his wrist (her way of making sure his counterpart wouldn’t run away from her) as she pulled him along in excitement while looking around at everything. People were staring at him and while he was used to the distrustful, spiteful, or uneasy looks, many of them were doing a double take at seeing Edith with him.

“Is that a woman with the captain of the Guard?” One woman asked her friend. “Did he have a girlfriend this whole time?”

“No way, she’s got to be a relative!” The friend said back. “Whoever would want to date him would be insane!”

Krupp shot them both the dirtiest look he could as Edith pulled him towards a wagon that doubled as a flower vendor. “Oh how pretty!” She cooed as she looked at the rainbows of carnations, roses, daffodils, and many other flowers. She pulled her reluctant companion along to get a better look and to smell them all. “I didn’t think I’d ever smell these ones again!” She admired the daisies.

Wait, what? Krupp looked at Edith in confusion as she said these over one of the more common flowers and gently caressed their petals. That was a really weird thing to say.

Come to think of it, she had been saying some odd things earlier that day.

“Would you like some?” A teenaged girl who was helping to tend the flowers asked Edith.

“Oh, I’m afraid I don’t have any money, but I’m happy to just see them!” Edith beamed at the girl who gave her a thoughtful look before looking at some lilies.

“Well, we have too many and they’ll go to waste in a few days... wait a minute!” The girl pulled out a blue and white lily and snipped off a certain amount of the stem before walking towards Edith. “May I?” She gestured to Edith’s hair.

“Oh! That’s fine!” Edith let go of Krupp’s hand and the man watched as Edith tucked her hair behind her hair and the girl helped tuck the flower in her hair and behind her ear. She moved away and smiled at her handiwork. “Yup, I picked the right one! And hey, it’s on the house this time, so don’t worry!”

“Aw thanks!” Edith blushed a little before turning around to face Krupp, who finally had his chance to see her face in all of its entirety... and forgot to breathe in that instant.

She seemed pretty enough at first, but now that he could truly see her face? She was... he couldn’t think of a word, until he realized how the sun made her dark hair shine, and made her skin brighter and made her freckles pop out more. He was able to see that full smile–not a huge one, but a sweet, small smile–and see both blue eyes brighten and stand out thanks to the lily in her hair, which added to her appearance.

She was beautifully radiant.

Her appearance perfectly matched that unusual balance about her–that gentle sweetness, yet excitable joy that was put together to make her.

“Sorry about pulling you along like that!” She chuckled. “Got a bit excited!”

“Uh...” Krupp then realized he was gapping like an idiot and snapped out of it. “It’s... fine.” He slowly replied.

“What else is there?!” Edith grabbed his wrist and pulled him along again.

How in the heck did he end up with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his whole life for this day?!

*****

Somewhere across town in a small grassy area, many children were competing in games, from sack races to three legged races, which both George and Harold eagerly joined in. Despite that Harold had never played such a game before, they were able to get pretty far until they lost their footing and tumbled onto the ground in a heap, but they were laughing their heads off with delight.

“That was incredible!” Harold giggled. “It’s so much better with more space to do it!”

“Yeah!” George agreed as he struggled to get up. “Oh man, I guess we could have tightened the rope up more!” He undid the loose rope and hurled it away.

“Oh what’s that?!” Harold saw several children drawing upon a nearby stone street with colored chalk, while onlookers rested on benches with pretty colorful mosaic patterns made of class and ceramic upon them. Moments later, he pulled George along to get a better look and he saw many drawings of various styles, from squiggly figures, to perfect geometric patterns on the ground below. “I want to join in!” Harold grabbed some chalk and began to draw something as George sat down beside the young artist to watch him work. Occasionally he shot nervous glances around him in case he saw any guards. So far none of the meaner adults had come to this area.

During his drawing, Harold momentarily looked up to see something that was quite out of place–two children sitting on a bench were not participating on the activities. One of them was a boy with round glasses and short red hair and he was talking about something while showing something written in a notebook to a much smaller girl who didn’t seem to care. The girl had poofy looking blonde hair with a pink ribbon tied in it as she wore a fancy, yet comfortable pink dress with flower embroidery around the neck and on the bottom of the skirt. She seemed bored out of her mind listening to the boy with the glasses and she had an annoyed, yet cute pout on her face as she gazed longingly at the fun activities–she was the only kid so far who didn’t seem to be having any fun today. It was strange, but Harold shrugged and continued with his drawing.

Heidi sighed as she looked at the games on the grass. Why did her mother always have to give her boring adults who were against fun or exploring, or someone like Melvin who only cared about what he wanted to do, whenever she did get the chance to go out of the castle? Why not someone fun for a change like Captain Underpants?

She missed Captain Underpants more than ever now. He would let her do all those fun games and he’d probably even try to join in on the fun too. She wouldn’t have cared if he was in his underwear the whole time–he was one of the few adults who understood her and one of the few people who would have treated her like a regular child.

Something caught her eye as she looked at the children drawing–two boys were sitting together and one looked oddly familiar despite wearing a mask. The other one had several colors in his wild, long looking hair, and he was in the middle of drawing something. Heidi took one look at Melvin, who was rambling about something in his notebook, before getting off the bench and she took up her small basket with her.

Moments later, George and Harold realized that there was someone behind them and they turned around to see Heidi watching Harold draw a circle of seven dolphins with each one a different color.

“Oh hi there!” Harold smiled as George nervously gulped upon recognizing the girl. “Do you like dolphins too?”

“They’re cute.” Heidi admitted with a shy smile. “Uh, you’re really good at making them.”

“If you want to draw, there should be some space right there.” Harold pointed to a blank spot next to the dolphins with chalk covered fingers. “I don’t mind sharing and you seemed like you were bored out of your mind earlier.”

Heidi gazed longingly at the chalks on the ground and at the drawings and the blank space begging to have a picture placed upon its surface. “I really want to but...” She sighed. “I can’t. No one let’s me do anything fun and mama would know if I did something she doesn’t want me to do. I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

“Aw, that’s too bad.” Harold frowned as George nervously glanced back at Melvin who still seemed caught up in his own world.

“But I would like it if you drew something for me!” Heidi smiled and took some paper out of her basket. “I’ll even pay you!”

“Ok,” Harold smiled and took the paper. “What should I draw for you?”

It was about one minute later that Edith had finally pulled Krupp near this exact spot. She smiled upon seeing all the children at play–some of which she could recognize from the old inn–and she beamed upon noticing the boys with the others who were drawing on the ground while one of them (a small child whose face she could not see from where she stood) watched Harold draw something.

On the other hand, this was an area Krupp had wanted to avoid during the festival each year due to how many children there were, and he didn’t understand the point in the chalk drawings when they’d get washed away from water or rain. However, he took one look at the boys and almost had a heart attack when he saw that the princess was with them and there were no guards in sight.

“Hey, are you alright?” Edith saw the panic on his face before he began to scowl and storm towards the boys. “Wait, what are you doing?!” Edith grabbed his wrist and gave him a tug hard enough to send him stumbling back. “Remember the deal?!”

“Those two are with the–!” Krupp furiously began but then stopped and gave up. The second they noticed him, they were bound to trigger the spell and he dreaded to think of what would happen the next time he ‘woke up.’

“Come on, let’s go somewhere else.” Edith pulled him away–neither of them realizing that if they were closer to the children, they would have seen a noticeable resemblance in face between Harold and Heidi, as if the two could be closely related to one another.

Five minutes later, Harold finished the drawing of chalk and pencil to reveal a drawing of Captain Underpants. George could hardly believe his eyes and had to fight the urge to laugh over the princess’ unexpected request as Harold handing the drawing to Heidi, whose eyes lit up. “He’s perfect!” She studied the drawing and the familiar smile of the hero before carefully tucking the paper in her basket and she gave a few coins to Harold. “Thank you–uh, what was your name?”

“It’s H–”

“HEY!” The boys and Heidi turned around to see that Melvin finally realized that he had been ditched and he stormed up to them. “You aren’t supposed to wander off!” He scolded Heidi.

“I was in your sight!” Heidi protested. “It’s not like I ran out of town!”

“Your mother won’t like this when she hears that you–!”

“Hey, she was right in front of you the whole time, you dolt!” Harold pocketed the coins as he scowled at Melvin who flinched.

“How do I know someone like you wouldn’t kidnap her?!” He demanded.

“She wasn’t having any fun! I was just drawing for her!”

“You want me to tell on the guards?!”

George let out a regretful sigh and began to pull Harold away from Heidi and Melvin. “Hey what are you doing?!” Harold protested. “We need to help that girl out! We could even prank that boy–!”

“If we do, we’ll get caught for sure.” George informed him. “Trust me, Melvin is a huge tattle tale and that girl is actually Princess Heidi. You know–the queen’s daughter?” He reminded Harold.

“That was the princess?!” Harold’s voice squeaked as he looked back, but she was out of sight. No wonder she was acting so miserable compared to the other kids!

“Yeah, and she really did help me escape the castle.” George grinned before snickering. “Didn’t think she’d be a fan of Captain Underpants.”

“Yeah, that was actually pretty amazing!” Harold smiled.

*****

“Oh?!” Edith pulled Krupp towards bakery of all places. “When did this open up? I thought this was supposed to be a house!” She grinned at all the breads and pastries that were on display in the window.

By this point, Krupp had dropped all frustration on being pulled around by the woman, though he wished he could have been given fair warning each time it happened. However, they were in a place where there were so many people out and about once more and he could feel their eyes on him and Edith.

It was true that the citizens were a bit surprised upon seeing Krupp out of uniform but they were more surprised over seeing him with a woman who was pulling him around and who seemed so easily excited and so pretty. Many figured that Krupp would either stay single or would prefer a woman closer to his temperament–this woman who was either crazy or a saint was too impossible to ignore.

“She’s kind of pretty.”

“Where the heck did she come from?”

“I don’t know, but she seems too good for him.”

“If it’s a date, it probably won’t end well.”

Krupp could almost hear them behind his back and it was making him uncomfortable. This had been a bad idea–he shouldn’t have agreed to this. He didn’t want to be a source of gossip... he didn’t think he’d find himself in this situation and feel strange and unfamiliar feelings...

He had no intention on doing anything more with this woman after today. One whole day with her was already too much.

But how was someone like her not already taken, and especially at her age? Why would she be ok with being in his company when there were other men she could easily spend her time with today and not waste it on being stuck with him? Other men who had a gentler temperament with a softer voice, who were slim and fit, who had real hair and perfectly shaped faces? Who weren’t in their early to mid-forties like him, and were still in their prime?

Why was he even caring about those things now?! He was perfectly fine shoving stuff like this in the back of his head and going about his way while being able to vent and yell and let everything out when nothing went his way. She was beautiful–almost unfairly beautiful–but she liked children and she was trying to protect the one he was determined to lock up!

“Oh it would be fun to try to bake something like that.” Edith pointed to a pastry with blueberries and pink frosting. “I wonder how the frosting turned pink. Well maybe it was dyed with fruit juice!” She let out an adorable chuckle at this.

No maybe there really was someone in her life... he could just run back to the house–call the deal off, let both boys go off scott free, and never have to deal with whatever this confusing thing was that was happening. He couldn’t–this wasn’t–he was about to scream in frustration–

SNAP!

The man flinched so hard that his toupee literally lifted an inch off his head before it landed back on and slid a little to the right of his head when his counterpart took over.

“Oh, are we in town now?!” Captain Underpants grinned as he excitedly looked around. “What’s going on?!” He hurried off and accidentally pulled Edith away from the bakery as she let out a surprised yelp. “Huh?” He stopped and looked back just as Edith crashed into him and he quickly put his arms around her. “Whoa, hey there–oh!” His eyes widened when he realized who he was holding onto and Edith looked up as she clung to the shirt he was wearing.

Time seemed to stop for a moment as he realized he was holding onto her... how close she was to him... how pretty she was with the flower in her hair as she gave him a confused, yet patient look.

“Uh... y... you... that flower matches your eyes!” He gave her a big smile after he struggled to come up with something to say. Yeah, that was perfect!

“Oh, uh, thanks.” Edith blushed, despite that she realized within two seconds that Captain Underpants came out again.

“Hey, is this that festival all the kids were talking about?!” Captain Underpants gleefully looked around once more before taking Edith by the hand and began to pull her along with him, though she struggled to keep up due to how surprisingly fast he was. “I think it is!”

Oh shoot, what would she do if he’d start undressing himself? Where could she find water?! She struggled to recall until it hit her. “Uh, hey!” She tried to get his attention. “There’s a fountain I’d like to check out! Care to join me Ca–uh–would you?” She added before she could blurt out his name.

“Why of course!” Captain Underpants smiled at Edith. “Lead the way and I shall follow!” He saluted, making her smile back before she took his hand and began to head to the fountain in question while others around them were now getting increasingly confused by the sudden change in the man’s behavior.

The reversal of roles had not gone lost on Edith. She glanced back to see Captain Underpants take everything in like he was a child–apparently he either had never been to this festival or he never had been able to go into town. She had to remind herself once more that the man who was currently in control was not the same one from mere minutes ago... and he was so excited about everything, unlike Krupp, who didn’t want to be a part of the festival and was probably miserable the whole time... maybe Captain Underpants would have been better company. Provided she’d convince him to not shed everything but his underwear again, of course.

She really felt bad about what she had to do, but she had a promise to keep.

Finally she found the fountain and let out a sigh of relief as she pulled her companion towards it. “Oh that!” Captain Underpants grinned at the sun symbol at the center of it. “That is quite impressive!” He stared in awe at it, even as Edith stopped in front of the fountain and dipped her hand in the water. She had no intention of making him soaking wet like the boys did–she wanted to make the change smooth and gentle for him.

“Hey, what else is there to do?” Captain Underpants asked as Edith turned to face him. She sighed as she grabbed the edge of his sleeve and he looked at the gesture in confusion.

“I’m sorry, but maybe we could do this next time.” She reached her wet hand out and managed to touch his forehead.

“Ah!” Krupp flinched and grabbed the hand that covered his face before he stopped. Why was someone touching his face? Why did it get dark all of the–wait.

He hesitated before he slowly lowered the hand off his face to see that he was now in front of the fountain instead of the bakery. He then realized the hand was wet and he looked down to see Edith smiling up at him.

“See? I told you I’d bring you back.”

He stared at her in wide-eyed disbelief as everything came together.

She kept her word like she said. She actually changed him back and he wasn’t soaking wet or stripped of his clothes or dignity this time.

“Uh... thanks,” Was all he could say as he let go of her hand.

“You’re welcome.”

*****

A few guards who were trying to keep order passed by one building, but they didn’t realize that George and Harold were hiding on the roof, out of their sight.

“Hey, thanks again for getting these.” George lifted one of two cupcakes that Harold bought with his newly earned money. He tore the mask off to eat the treat as he laid against the roof with Harold as they faced the huge castle together.

“You’re welcome!” Harold grinned after taking a bite of his cupcake.

“So is everything turning out good so far?”

“It’s been the best birthday ever!” Harold exclaimed. “I finally got to leave the tower and I’m getting to do so many fun things! Now all that’s left is to wait for those lights!” He sighed as he stared at the castle. “So that’s the castle? It looks nice.”

“Yeah, it actually does seem like a nice place to live in.” George admitted. “At least if it wasn’t for half the adults living there. It would be nice to go back someday, but only if it’s to return the crown. Once I do that, I’m a free man and... I guess life goes back to the way it did.” George sighed as Harold stared at the bag containing the key to George’s freedom. “What about you?” George asked. “You aren’t seriously going back to that tower, are you?”

Harold froze up. “To be honest... I don’t know.” He admitted. “It’s the only home I’ve known. If I were to leave, I’d probably be in the same situation as you.”

“Yeah, but it’d be fun to have a partner in crime.” George snickered. “You’re on Krupp’s bad side now, and there’s no point in fixing that–he won’t give up and it’d be a miracle if he changed his mind. It’s a lot more fun to have someone to help me out with pranking and making sure things are fair for the other kids and good folk–there’s more to come up with and more to enjoy.”

“It is pretty fun.” Harold agreed. “But there’s a lot to think about, you know?”

“I suppose.” George noticed how the sun had long moved from the highest point in the sky it could reach. He finished his cupcake up and put the mask back on. “Come on, let’s see what else there is to do.”

Moments later, George climbed down Harold’s braid to get down to the ground–which was wrapped around a chimney. Harold also climbed down the braid and once his feet hit the ground, he stuffed the braid back in the bag. “I have to admit, your hair must be really convenient.” George praised. “Not just the healing and illusion stuff, but getting around and what not. I bet there’s ways you could prank people with it. Hey if you needed to make money, you could have people pay you to be healed up.”

Harold shot George an uncomfortable look as his words reminded him of something he didn’t want to remember at the moment. “I... guess.” He shook his head. “Ok, what else is next?”

*****

A band began to play music and people were already dancing to it. Many of them were couples who danced around in circles, while others were families or friends.

Edith could not get enough of it–she missed music and she missed dancing to it. Yesterday had not been enough and she began to bounce on her heels and clap to the music as a huge smile grew on her face. Her companion watched her when she wasn’t looking–watching her joy at everything as her eyes shone with glee–and for the second time that day, the corner of his mouth slightly turned upward, but it didn’t go too far.

The urge to get into the music and dance effected Edith so much that, against her better judgement, she gave Krupp a determined look. “Come on!” She grinned as she pulled him by the hands towards the open area where the dancers were.

“Wh–what–wait!” Krupp protested in a panic as he realized what was about to happen and tried to pull back. “I can’t–I’m not any good at that!”

“Well I’m not perfect myself, but I pick up real fast!” Edith replied and continued to pull him until she stopped somewhere near the middle. “Come on, I’ll lead!” She remembered enough from books and from dances in her teen years to know what to do–she guided Krupp’s hand to her waist and rested one hand on his shoulder before grabbing his free hand with her other hand. “Just one dance, alright?!”

“Wait, are you sure this–?!” He protested one more time, but it was too late and he was pulled once more into something he never enjoyed (at least as far as he could recall) and he was forced to keep up as she lead him around and followed the other’s examples. The music was fast paced, which was nerve racking enough, and he looked down–afraid that he’d crush her bare feet–but somehow she was able to nimbly move around them.

“It’s ok, just relax!” Edith reassured him. “Focus on me!” She looked again to make sure they wouldn’t bump into anyone. He was unable to back out now, but he was willing to humor her a little before he could made a run for it when the whole thing was over.

It only took two circles around the area with the others before he could finally relax and be comfortable. The moment he could calm down was when it was easier to forget and give in.

It took Edith awhile before she then noticed something. His body which had always seemed so tense or hunched up or stuck in a slouch was now more loose and free and he seemed to be much more taller than her than she realized when he was at his full height. Even his usually tensed up face seemed to be more relaxed after getting over the anxiety.

The music was getting faster. Some people were changing up the way they dance and Edith was quick to pick up this as she guided her companion on what to do. She hadn’t felt her heart race like this in awhile–to move around so much like this.

Krupp then recalled why this was considered fun when you stopped caring–to just forget everything and to move... to feel alive with movement as your heart raced... to not care how other people thought if you looked like an idiot doing it... to let your own body take over for you... He couldn’t remember the last time he did this without feeling like all judgmental eyes were on him... it felt... good.

For the first time in a long time, he felt light hearted, without a care in the world or something to be annoyed or angry about. He could just let go of everything.

The music finally ended and everything came to a stop, even for those who were dancing.

The giggle and then the laugh Krupp let out made Edith look at him in surprise.

She had heard him laugh before, but not like this–not when it was so honest and light hearted or genuine, like a huge weight had been lifted off of him. She had seen him smile before, but it was both relaxed and more natural than it had ever been. He was not his counterpart this time–the music had been too loud to be able to hear the faintest sound of finger snapping–this reaction was truly his own.

When his dark eyes fully opened as he bent over with trying to catch his breath and squeezing her hand at the same time, there was a humble shine to them–a shine that must have gone out many years ago, but they returned as if to fully reveal the exact depths of their owner’s soul. All the bottled up stress and rage that marked and lined his face had completely vanished to be smoothed over and replaced with something more natural, yet more happier. For the first time since she saw him, he looked... she wanted to say handsome, but there was something more. It had to do with how he was behaving now–how his light heartedness and happiness was the most genuine she had ever seen it.

“Heh,” Krupp still tried to catch his breath and stood up again while resting a hand on his chest (his heart pounding in a way that felt good for a change). He looked at Edith and noticed the awed look she was giving him. “Wh–what?” He asked.

She was seeing his soul for what it truly was when all those rough, jagged layers of anger and loneliness were lifted away. That happiness that must have been absent from his soul had come and made it beautiful, and it was on full display for her to see.

For the first time in so long, her heart was beating in a way she didn’t think it would ever beat. It made her unable to think of anything other than that face with that wonderful smile and those beautiful, soulful eyes.

“Oh!” Edith shyly looked to the side. “N–nothing, I was just... having a lot of fun.” She smiled with a blush.

Krupp stared at her and was about to ask her if she needed a break before he noticed that several eyes were on him. Several viewers and dancers had overheard and seen his reaction and they were more than bewildered to see that he–the most easily angered, no nonsense and no fun, sour individual around–had been happy and was having genuine fun for a change.

Among those individuals were none other than George and Harold–both of whom had come into the area to listen to the music, but had been watching the whole dance as well as him and Edith. He couldn’t see the look on their faces, and he didn’t want to see them or anyone else’s for that matter when he realized what was happening.

“I–uh–come on.” A very flustered Krupp automatically and unknowingly took Edith’s hand and lead her away. “I want to catch my breath elsewhere.” He tried to make an excuse.

“That’s fine.” Edith was fine with this, yet her eyes drifted towards his hand holding hers–not painfully grabbing her wrist like yesterday, but holding her hand without possibly realizing it. “You can take your time.”

Meanwhile, George and Harold continued staring after the two adults.

“What... just happened?” George asked. “Was Krupp... happy for a change? Like actually happy in a good way? That wasn’t you-know-who taking over, was it?”

“I think it was him.” Harold replied. “I guess he was happy.”

“I got to be dreaming this whole thing up.”

“Well if you are, then I must be dreaming the same dream too.”

“Slap my arm just to make sure.”

Harold did as he was told, causing George to let out an “OW!” and winced before he rubbed his arm.

“Man, this day is really challenging my expectations.” George looked at the sky–the sun was already due to set at any second. “It looks like we only have a few hours left until the lanterns.”

Harold looked at the sky and felt his heart racing. “It’s almost time.” He whispered to himself in amazement. The event he had waited for was almost at hand.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11: Seeing light

The sun was in the middle of setting when the boys found themselves at the harbor. Some citizens and visitors had already taken boats and ships out to various parts of the lake, and the boys waited until a specific moment to snag a boat of their own.

“Oh my gosh.” George was breathless when he saw the sign at the bottom of the steps that lead into the harbor, along with Harold. It held much promise and see could see the potential!

BEAUTIES ON THE LAKE (MUST PAY TO USE BOATS)

Even better–it was the kind where he could literally move the letters around!

“Harold I can’t take it anymore.” George whined as he turned to Harold. “I know what to do. Can you see it?” Harold squinted at the sign for a few moments before he snickered. “I think so.”

“Let’s do it.” George grinned at Harold before they began their joke.

About half an hour later, the boys were laughing as George took off the mask and threw it behind his seat before he picked up his set of oars and started to row.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Harold asked as he also rowed.

“Well for one thing, it’s the best seat in town.” George admitted. “For another, it gives us distance away from...” George looked back at the harbor and sure enough, he saw a familiar egg shaped figure heading down the steps. “Wait for it, wait for it.”

Thanks to Edith insisting on trying to keep track of the boys, Krupp tried to take her to one of the few places left where she thought that they likely could have gone. As he kept walking, he saw what was on the sign and came to a crashing halt.

BUTT BOAT ON THE LAKE (OWIES)

Automatically his mind snapped–of course they had been here! His blood began to boil as his fists began to shake and his yell rose in pitch within two seconds.

“WHERE ARE YOU?!” He yelled as he looked around. He heard a burst of laughter in the distance and when he looked, he saw the boys mockingly wave at him.

“See you later!” George taunted.

“Remember our deal!” Harold nearly sang.

“Have fun!”

“We’ll probably be back, but we can’t guarantee it’ll be where you are!”

“ARGH!” Krupp was ready to do something out of frustration (like pounding a fist into something) since he couldn’t get to the boys with that mush water between them.

He turned around and was about to let out a curse–only to be reminded that Edith had been right behind him the whole time and was giving him a very patient look without flinching or moving away. The curse stopped right before it could come out and the longer he looked at her, the faster his anger began to fade as he realized he was going to look really stupid.

“Come on, let’s go elsewhere.” Edith smiled before heading back up the steps. “It’s not that much longer, right?”

Krupp shot the boat a dirty look before following after the woman–or to be more specific following with tensed up shoulders, shaking fists at his side, and gritted teeth. The sooner the night was over with, the sooner he could finally get Beard and his little accomplice!

What would you do with Edith? A voice in the back of his head asked, which made him freeze up. He honestly didn’t think too much about what would happen or what he would do to Edith if he was able to get those two. It was actually making him uncomfortable as he began to really think about that.

He shook his head and continued on his way–he’d figure things out. He still had time.

Elsewhere, the boys were happily enjoying their freedom as they made their way to a spot out on the lake.

“Uh oh,” Harold realized something as he and George rowed.

“What?” Asked George.

“What if I need to pee or something? I haven’t gone in awhile.”

“Uh,” George looked around the huge lake. “You know, I don’t think that’ll be as big of a problem as you’d think.”

*****

Sometime later, when the sky had darkened, Harold nervously stared at the castle and the town he and George left behind. He had never been on a boat before, and it was fun, but the rocking wasn’t helping his nerves.

“So, you’re turning ten?” George asked, causing Harold to snap out of it. “What’s it like having two numbers for your age instead of just one?”

“It’s alright I guess.” Harold shrugged. “I don’t feel different. I still feel nine.”

“You’re older than me though!” George was impressed. “I hope my tenth birthday is as good as yours has been–minus the guards and being on the run.” He added before noticing Harold’s distant look. “Hey are you ok? You look like you’ll throw up at any second.”

“No, I’m fine!” Harold quickly shot. “It’s just...” He took a deep breath and calmed down. “I’ve wanted to know that this would be like my whole life. I’ve been stuck in that tower, wondering what would it be like to finally see those lights up close. I didn’t think I’d be scared that... What if it’s not as good as I thought it would be?” He looked at George. “What happens after?”

“Trust me, you’ll love them.” George smiled before thinking. “After that, who knows? Maybe I’m just a kid who doesn’t know a whole lot, but maybe there’s another dream to follow out there. One that doesn’t involve being trapped in a tower, or running away.”

*****

Edith felt that it was a shame that she couldn’t be right with Harold for this one moment that he looked forward to for so long. She never imagined it would ever be like this–they were always together when she dared to dream for her freedom. Still, the alternative of being with someone his age and far away from this particular bridge was far better. It was close to the town, but it granted a beautiful view on both sides–particularly the huge lake where she could see other boats resting upon the waters. A part of her wished she could be on them but... well the person she was with was strongly against it, just because it was ‘crowded without any privacy and it rocked too much.’

She looked to her right to see that Krupp had his back against the stone parapet and he was still grumpy over what happened earlier with the sign. He had his arms crossed over his chest as that unpleasant scowl returned to his face once more. “I thought the sign gag was funny.” She finally said. “I mean, I see why you didn’t like it, but it was just a harmless joke. It’s not like they wanted to set something on fire and accidentally burn a house down.”

He grumbled something under his breath.

“They aren’t horrible,” Edith tried to continue. “All those kids really aren’t doing anything wrong. They just want to be able to have fun and enjoy life.”

“That’s how they all start out.” He finally spoke up. “Every troublemaker always starts out as kids. No matter what you do, they never change–it’s better to just stomp it all out and let them know what’s what before they get too old to learn anything.”

Edith winced at this. “Well... then isn’t it better to have someone there whose supportive and guiding you on the right track?”

He only let out an annoyed huff.

“Why exactly do you have your job?” Edith tried to figure out just what the deal was with this stubborn man. “What was this what you wanted to do as a kid?”

This finally caused a reaction that made him flinch and drop the scowl as he appeared stunned by the question. He slowly looked at her and he seemed to be trying to remember something he’d forgotten for a long time.

“I guess I was naive enough to think that I could make some kind of a difference in the world.” He finally began as he tried to think back. “That I could help others out and be like a hero in those stupid books where everything turned out alright in the end.”

“That doesn’t sound naive. I think–”

“So I thought, ‘oh hey, maybe I could help protect everyone and do good things with my life’. Maybe show everyone that the fat kid with the short temper who read too much could actually prove them wrong. Sure, working towards being part of the guard was an absolute nightmare because they thought I couldn’t make it, but I did and man did it feel good to rub it in their faces later on. So yeah, I guess it felt nice at first, but then you start seeing some seriously messed up things you didn’t think was possible or could ever happen–things that give you nightmares and make you lose sleep–things that can’t make you look at other things the same way ever again. And then I realized no matter what happens, it never ends–you can’t please or help everyone, especially if they’re too ungrateful for it or don’t realize just how lucky they are, you can’t stop all the bad in the world, and no matter what you do, you just can’t leave an impact–you’re a person who’ll just be forgotten with time along with everyone else, and everything starts all over again and keeps going after you’re gone. So I learned that it was better to not let anything get to you or be some doormat for someone else to walk all over on–just be angry and follow through on whatever you do without stopping for anything.” He held his face in his hand for a moment.

“I mean what’s the point in all of this?!” He gestured to the castle. “I was there the day they first started doing this stupid festival and it was pointless–all this over the birth of one entitled kid who’d just be another spoiled little brat?! Just because of his family?! Sure, the queen and her kid both survived thanks to some magic flower that she completely used up on herself instead of saving it for others, but you don’t have to rub it in over everyone! And sure, that’s too bad that he was abducted, but all these festivities over it and thinking that this’ll bring him right to the castle door is so stupid for so many reasons they don’t even think to consider! The world doesn’t work that way and you’d have to be an idiot to think otherwise!”

Krupp turned around to rest his arms on the parapet and just shook his head as he tried to catch his breath after that long rant as Edith thought over his words and thought back.

“No I guess it doesn’t.” Edith admitted as she held her hands together over the parapet. “I learned it the hard way myself a long time ago... after my parents died.” She sighed as she recalled the living nightmare that occurred. “I tried to make sense of it, but in the end it didn’t and things only ended up getting worse.”

“But you know,” She smiled a little. “It doesn’t always have to be that way. There’s things that just keep us going because it doesn’t always have to be about ourselves. Others who truly need to be happy–brightening their days and making them feel safe when they need it most makes me happy and it makes the world a bit better, no matter how small that thing we do is. Sometimes just listening to them can go a long way.”

“I didn’t even think I’d make it this far.” Edith stared at the lake as Krupp slowly began to look at her. “For the longest time when I was trapped, I felt that there was nothing left to hang on to. But the thing is that I had Harold and having someone who was like a little brother to me was there to help out, and keep me on my toes and make life more interesting. He always wanted to see the lanterns and even though I felt like it was so impossible, I would see him light up whenever he looked out the window and it gave me something to believe in. Every time I saw that and I saw how badly he wanted to go, a part of me swore I’d take him here and that was what kept me going and kept me from doing things I’d know I’d regret forever.”

She stared at the water, realizing she was saying too much... and yet it was nice to let some things out. “So this day actually means a lot to me too.”

She looked out of the corner of her eye to see Krupp staring at her with an unreadable expression. She had no clue that he was trying to figure out some of the things she said–like just what exactly happened to her–while at the same time wondering how the heck someone could still manage to stay positive like she did, especially at her age.

It really was a shame that the small moment of him having a genuinely good time had to be a rarity for him, especially when he couldn’t remember other recent moments of being like that.

“Uh, by the way,” Edith felt her face heat up a little. “Earlier... when you were having... well–” She just gave in as she quickly let out “You have wonderful smile.”

This definitely caught Krupp off guard. He never heard that one before–it had to be a joke, right? He snorted and shook his head. “You got to be joking.” He told her, knowing full well that every time he made that expression in question, it always unnerved or creeped out anyone who saw it. “You mean the other guy don’t you?”

“No,” Edith shook her head before insisting “I mean when it’s you that’s smiling. When you’re actually happy and having fun with dancing–that sort of smile.” She nervously smiled herself.

He wanted to believe she was joking and despite how much he wanted to think otherwise he could tell that she was being completely serious. He could not remember getting any sort of genuine compliment–especially one like that–for the longest time. He always caught word of someone praising or saying nice things about the other guy, but never for him, and he always hated that nearly everyone preferred a version of him that he couldn’t possibly be, even if he wanted to.

“I–” He hesitated. “Uh... thanks... I guess.” He turned back to face the water and tried once more to ignore that strange, unfamiliar, yet pleasantly warm feeling within himself.

*****

Heidi hummed a small song while carrying her pink lantern as one of the maids followed behind her. She knew that what would happen next wasn’t supposed to be a happy moment, but she always looked forward to it–she always enjoyed seeing the pretty lights in the sky.

Heidi hoped Captain Underpants would get to see them–he would have loved them. In fact she could picture him flying amongst the lanterns and being curious about them while trying to touch them or something like that. Heidi hoped he’d keep his promise and find her brother soon–would her brother have liked the lanterns as much as she did?

Would Harold have liked her? Would he want her as a sister?

What if he never wanted to come home... like her father... like what some of the staff members said? What if he wasn’t still...

Heidi bit her lip and tried not to be upset as she came up to her mother, who waited by the doors.

Grace’s mind was everywhere and nowhere all at once as she hung her head and clasped her hands together. For nearly a whole decade, on this very night, she’d always do this. Each time it gave her hope her son would one day be standing outside, ready to come home to her, and she’d scoop him in a huge hug and never let go again. Every year that it didn’t work pained her heart worse than any wound she had experienced–even her husband leaving her would always pale in comparison to this loss.

“Mama?” Grace was startled out of her thoughts and looked down to see the only child she could still protect and keep. Heidi gave her mother a concerned look as she held her lantern in her tiny hands. “I think this year will be different.” Heidi tried to reassure her and smiled. “I know there’s someone still out there who wants to help and he’s still looking for him. He’ll bring Harold back somehow–I know it.”

Grace was stunned by the child’s optimism, despite her being surrounded by so much cynicalness and melancholy in the castle. She gave Heidi a weak smile and bent down to kiss her daughter’s forehead and gently caressed her cheek. She then took her daughter by the hand and lead her outside as two guards opened the doors for them.

There was the ever familiar huge balcony, and beyond that balcony Grace and Heidi could see many people with lanterns of various colors. Had they looked closer, they would have seen that many of these people were among those still sympathetic to her as they clung to their own children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or siblings. Grace envied them for having whole families that were still together, and yet she could never wish for them to know the pain of the tragedy she experienced.

She turned to the lantern that waited for her on the balcony as someone stood by to light the princess’ own lantern. Usually the lantern was green–the same green as that first lantern and the green she was sure Harold would have liked. To her surprise, this lantern was a bright red, which glowed with a warm light in the dark. She recalled that red was regarded as the color of luck in a far off land, but then she shook her head–what did one color change matter? She waited as her daughter’s lantern was lit up before taking the red one and stared at it in her hands as they all waited for her.

Grace let out a sigh and wished the same wish upon the lantern that she wished for the last ten years on this day before gently lifting it up into the air. She watched it go as it rose into the dark sky.

Heidi watched too and looked at her pink lantern before gently sending it up into the sky to join the red one.

Gradually everyone down below began to release the lanterns after the Royal Family. As the lanterns slowly rose into the dark sky, more lanterns of several colors were sent upward from many parts around town. There wasn’t as many as there used to be, but it was enough to start filling the sky up with a spectacular rainbow of floating constellations.

*****

“Harold, look!” George saw the lanterns and nudged Harold as he played with the water. “Look up!” The boy obeyed and his eyes widened when he saw what he had always seen on this very night–the once colorful dots were now emerging out and filling the sky above him. He glanced around to see that ships and boats who found places to rest were also releasing several lanterns into the air. The still water reflected the many lights that were so high in the air and provided more illumination all around them.

“Whoa,” Was all Harold could say as he became transfixed.

“Yeah... whoa.” George agreed as he watched alongside Harold.

For the longest time, both boys stared out in silence at the beautiful sight. They watched as the lanterns replaced all the stars in the sky as they soared ever so higher and floated out towards them. They watched as the once blue night sky became purple as the warm colored lanterns filled the air while the cool colored lanterns also shined with a unique glow of their own.

There was no chaos, no jokes, no bizarre or random events to mar the moment–it was just a moment of awe inspiring peace.

*****

Elsewhere on the bridge, Edith smiled in content as she finally got to see the lanterns up close. She always wondered about them herself and there were days were she didn’t think she’d ever see them like this, but here she was watching them drift and twirl about in the night sky. She had been so used to strangeness and magic, and yet this was far more impressive and wondrous than most of those combined.

She was so mesmerized by the quiet splendor of it all that she didn’t realize her companion was watching her reaction. He watched as the light of the lanterns gave her a faint glow, but they paled in comparison to the light in her blue eyes–how they lit up with a warm, gentle serenity and childlike wonder at the lights before them as a small smile graced her face.

How was it possible that someone like her could exist? Where on earth did she come from? How was it that she never appeared much earlier in his life, when things were a lot more fair and less cynical or chaotic or routine?

He looked at the lights to try to see what she was seeing–what it was that he was missing that everyone but him seemed to get even after years of seeing it and not feeling much from them. The more he looked and the more he began to breath in the night air, he began to calm down and relax. Then he realized why–there was a calmness to all those lights drifting across the dark sky. The more you looked, the more you could just forget everything and take in the present and just let everything wash away. You could stop everything and just... be there.

Maybe from a greater distance, you’d easily mistake them for stars or something more extravagant. Yet this was all made by human hands to make something both impressive and humble all at once.

Some small part of him that he tried to constantly bury deep down wondered what would happen if he were to just be closer and be surrounded by so many different lights.

“So beautiful,” Edith sighed as she rested her chin in one hand while the other was resting on top of the parapet on his side.

“I guess they are.” He finally admitted in a quiet voice that was the calmest and content it had ever been in so long. Yet as he turned to look at her, he thought that there was something else that was beautiful that night.

*****

“Hmm?” Harold noticed two of the lanterns coming towards the boat–a red one and a pink one with flowers painted upon it–before they gently bumped against the boat. “Oh, whoops.” He chuckled as he carefully took the red one and raised it up back into the air before giving it a gentle push to move it forward. “There you go.” He told it with a smile. He took the pink one and took a moment to admire the flowers painted on them–a child clearly made them–and turned to George. “You want to–?”

“Sure.” George moved forward and together the boys sent the lantern up into the air where it joined the red one. The two lanterns twirled together in a spiral and the boys watched them go up towards the other lanterns for a few moments.

“I could be here forever.” Harold sighed in content. He wished there was a way to capture this all for forever instead of one night, and yet he wanted to savor this as long as he could.

“Same here.” George admitted. “It just... I should probably leave if I know what’s good for me.” He stared longingly at the lanterns as Harold realized what he had to do. “I could get everyone else in trouble at this rate.”

“Actually, George,” Harold took out the crown from the satchel. The light of the lanterns gave it a pleasant glow as he held it out and waited until George turned around. The boy’s eyes bulged when he saw the crown and he jumped in his seat. “That’s the–!” He gapped at the crown that gave him so much trouble before looking at Harold.

“There would have been no way of going back up the tower, so it was with us this whole time.” Harold explained with an apologetic frown. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I wanted to experience this so badly–I didn’t know how much trouble it could bring you. But once we give this to the queen, she’ll forgive you and the others will leave you alone. Maybe you can be able to go out and find your parents if she rewards you or something.”

“Why...” George looked up in confusion. “Why didn’t you do it yourself or...why did you stick around after finding out about me? I wasn’t worth all that trouble–”

“I guess you’ve been the first friend I’ve had.” Harold admitted. “At least one around my age. And you deserve to be happy and free after all you’ve been through and everything you’ve done for me. I don’t know what I’d do without a friend like you.”

George himself had friends, but not a friend he could truly connect with and completely trust. Not a friend he’d be open to talking about personal things, who would have his back, who had the same sense of humor and who considered his feelings. Not someone who he felt he could be a pair with, like the sun and the moon, or black and white, or someone he’d be in harmony with.

He let out a breathless laugh and held his face in his hand. Was it possible he finally found the rarest friend of all that he had yet to have? A best friend?

“George?”

Instead of answering, George threw himself at Harold and hugged him as tightly as possible. Harold smiled and hugged George back.

“Hey, Harold?”

“Hmm?”

“Uh...” George wanted to say what he really wanted to say right then, but it was stuck in his throat and he just couldn’t let it out. Instead he let out a breathless laugh as he moved away from Harold and grabbed his hand. “Thanks... and happy birthday.”

“You’re welcome and thanks!” Harold beamed as he squeezed George’s hand back. “It’s been the best birthday ever!”

*****

As Edith kept staring at the lanterns, Krupp’s eyes drifted down to see her hand resting on the parapet. He recalled what it was like to hold one of her hands–how it felt small, but not too small in his much larger hand. He recalled what it was like to just be happy over having fun, no matter how short it was.

There was a small part of him that wanted to reach out and do it again. It was dying and pleading to do it again, despite how much he was screaming at that part of him to just give it a rest while he still could enjoy himself.

Slowly his hand inched towards hers... but then it stopped before it could even get close enough.

Why was he doing this?

He was rushing into this way too fast–he hadn’t been like this for the longest time and he wanted too much all at once. He barely knew this woman and there was no way he’d have a chance with her, given his track record for a lot of things. This was all too unrealistic for someone like him for one reason too many.

Especially considering that the first time he touched her, he...

He...

...Oh.

He looked at his hand before regretfully pulling it away–now he remembered how he acted the day before, with all the yelling in her face and pulling at her wrist to the point she whacked him in the head with a pan and ran off... as well as him shoving her into the ground and–

He really was acting too fast.

“I’m sorry I dragged you all around town, but it’s been years since I’ve been there and I do appreciate you putting up with me getting all excited about everything.” Edith said as she turned to face Krupp. “It’s been so long since I’ve had that kind of fun, and I promise I’ll never tell anyone about you-know-who being you. So thank you, Krupp.”

He didn’t immediately respond as he gave her a thoughtful, yet awkward look as if something she said made him uncomfortable.

“Kr–?”

“Benjamin.”

“Huh?” Edith was confused.

“It’s just–you can just call me Benjamin.” He told her as he completely gave in. “It’s my actual name–I mean my first name, so–yeah.” He nervously stammered. “I’m ok with that.”

Edith took this reveal in for a moment. “Benjamin’s a nice name.” She smiled. All this time and his first name turned out to be such a humble, yet somehow very fitting name.

For him, just hearing his actual name said after not hearing it from another for so long or even often enough... hearing her say it in her voice and making it sound so much better to hear it instead of his last name–

“So, uh, Edith?” He finally spoke up as he tried to get to the point of things. “Listen, about yesterday–the way I was treating you–look, I’m sorry, ok?” He finally let out.

Edith was genuinely surprised by this apology. She wasn’t expecting it and she didn’t ask for it. She did appreciate it and was about to say something, but then it lead her to remembering what else he had done at his absolute worst. She almost forgot about what happened to all those children and how he treated them and she almost forgot it yet again. She had been so caught up in having fun and trying to help him be able to enjoy the day that she almost forgot about what lead to him being with her.

“I accept your apology.” She began as a part of her knew it would make him mad, but she’d rather just be honest. “But... I don’t think I’m the only one who needs it.”

Just like that, Krupp had no clue how exactly to react to that. Especially when a part of him knew what she was talking about and one side of him began to let out screams of protests as the other was starting to rise out–he was feeling another, more comfortable side ready to snap and yell at her like he was so used too.

He didn’t owe anyone else an apology! Especially not–!

“I–! You–! I–!” God, he was doing everything to keep himself at bay and he wanted to tear at his head to fight off two completely different urges at once as his voice was rapidly regaining its usual harshness and his body was regaining that all too familiar tension. There was a side to him that was trying to suppress the outburst as hard as it could and it was making him uncomfortable and he had to get away for just one moment before he did something stupid!

“I need to go for a second!” Krupp finally blurted out and turned around to make a run for it near town.

“Wait!” Edith protested with a hand out, but it was both pointless and too late as he already too far ahead.

She gave up and turned back to look at the lights. She had no idea if she said the right thing or the wrong thing and that reaction was not the one she expected out of him. Then again, she only knew him for two days and in some ways they were still both strangers to each other. Now she had no clue what to expect if he came back to her.

She knew that she shouldn’t even like him and yet some part of her did enjoy some of the time that was spent with him today. She liked the good side of him that was able to come out through his own free will and that was what made this whole thing so hard and so confusing. If he was a horrible, short tempered, and mean spirited monster, then why did she also see a determined, focused, yet joyful and fun loving man with a beautiful soul?

Unfortunately as Edith pondered these things, she had no clue that she made a huge mistake in letting Krupp leave on his own, for things were doomed to go downhill in ways she would have never seen coming for nearly everyone involved.

Had George and Harold been given the slightest hint of what was soon to come, they would have stayed on the water for much longer instead of starting to row back towards the bridge as they did at that moment.

Every story is doomed to hint a low point–they all were about ready to reach it.

Chapter Text

None of this was what Krupp wanted as he finally came to a stop near the end to the bridge and tried to figure out what was happening to him.

Why?

Just... why?!

Why would he start caring so much about how one person would think of him or how they would judge him, and especially when it was someone who was keeping him from a goal he sought to accomplish for so long?! Why didn’t he just trick Edith and take her straight to the prison while he had the chance?! Why did he suddenly try to keep himself from yelling at her like he was used to doing with others, when she made it clear that she was still covering for those little–

Because it’s nice to finally have someone treat you with kindness and not be in it for themselves for a change. That optimistic voice in his head told him. It’s nice to not have someone be afraid or hate you or just kiss up to you.

He growled as he grabbed his head. No, he had to throw those boys into prison–especially Beard! It wasn’t only his job, but that brat made his life miserable and cursed him with a second personality that he couldn’t remember and who was successfully ruining his life! He wanted to be able to have control again and the longer he was like this, the quicker he would completely lose it, and none of them were helping!

Is it worth it? What if she gets off free and they don’t? What if she doesn’t?

Why did he care?! He was better off not caring about anyone else besides himself! He didn’t need anyone!

That’s a lie and you know it. You aren’t happy being alone.

What was happening to him?! He wasn’t supposed to be nice or fair! It was against who he was! God, this had to be the spell, right?! That other personality was seeping into him and clouding his judgement! It had to be! She charmed the other one and it was effecting him somehow, right?!

She probably wanted to be with the other guy instead of him and that only added to the anger that was burning him inside and out. He couldn’t forget how she described him earlier, like he was her hero while he had to be stuck in the role of the bad guy.

Why was he jumping for a chance to hold her hand again back there?! It was too fast and unrealistic even for someone like him! He was supposed to be the villain in whatever story she and those boys were having, much like with everyone else who hated his guts! At this point it was like a princess or an angel had been running around with a monster–as if some insane maiden were happy pulling the monster Grendel into the crowd of merriment and music when he hated it with a passion. And even if things had been all sunshine and rainbows between him and her, he still had that spell that was ruining his life! He had no chance with so much as being her friend let alone–!

A wooden beam was crashed against the side of his head and ending up snapping in half from the force. He didn’t see it coming, but he felt it–just not to the extent it should have been, where it should have knocked him out.

“What the–?!” Krupp turned around in confusion in time to see a cloaked figure focus on him as they dropped their part of the beam in bewilderment. WIth little trouble, his temper began to flare back up. “Hey!” He snapped as the person scrambled for something in their cloak. “What are you–?!”

The person took out whatever they were looking for and blew white dust into the man’s face. It temporarily blinded him as he immediately pulled back, but in the process he accidentally inhaled the dust.

Krupp had only two seconds to process what was happening before he began to lose his balance and the second he crashed into a heap upon the stone ground, he was knocked dead asleep.

“Finally,” Ribble grumbled as she kicked the unconscious body of the captain of the Guard in his stomach as hard as she could. “I forgot how loud this idiot could get.” She had no way of foreseeing that her slave had been with this fool the whole time and it took her awhile to try to figure out exactly how to peel her off him–if she told him anything, she was going to pay the price.

Oh she had been keeping an eye on things in the shadows for most of the day while bidding her time. One of the things she did not expect and which made her blood boil was seeing how happy her slave was, thinking she had escaped for good, while charming the notorious child hating man with her beauty and airs. She was going to ruin everything because of that–she was going to undo the misery in this kingdom that gave Ribble peace and made it easier to hide the boy, but worst of all it was one step closer to losing the boy forever. One word to this man was all it would have taken for everything to go horribly wrong and impossible to undo.

She couldn’t stand seeing that stupid smile on her slave’s perfect face–it made her sick.

Whatever, there were just few things left before she could get the traitors and punish them. She looked at Krupp laying in a disgraceful leap one last time before scoffing and walked off–of all the men Edith could have chosen this whole time, it had to be the shortest tempered, dumbest, fattest, ugliest man in the entire kingdom.

*****

Unaware of the danger waiting ahead, the boys rowed back towards the docks. As they did, something caught George’s eye and he glanced over to see an oddly familiar figure on one of the roads, resting beside a tree.

Kipper... George frowned before a thought struck him and he glanced to Harold. “What?” Harold asked.

“I uh,” George hesitated. “I need to go do something when we reach the docks. I promise it’ll be quick.”

“Ok.” Harold couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at this.

The moment the two reached the docks, George got out of the boat and ran towards the road as Harold watched on in confusion. He got out of the boat and when he noticed Edith on the bridge in the distance, he began to make his way towards her.

*****

“Kipper!” George stood a good distance away from the teen, who was wearing a cloak that covered most of his body. When the teen looked up, George took the crown out of his satchel. “Look, you and your uncle don’t want me around, so take this and you get what you want. You’ll never have to hear or see me again–no more pranks and no more jokes.” He promised.

George couldn’t fool himself anymore, no matter how badly he wanted to. The moment this day was done, Krupp would never cease chasing him down. Nothing could ever change that man’s mind, and at least Captain Underpants was still around to keep him at bay. Plus if Heidi didn’t like Krupp, the kingdom would eventually be in good hands. He could take Harold far from here and he’d be willing to take Edith too, away from the person who imprisoned them (whoever they were). He could finally find his parents again. It would come at a great cost–he could no longer help the other children and make them happy–but he had no choice.

“Just take the stupid thing, ok?!” George demanded when Kipper didn’t budge. When the teen looked up, he gave the boy a smug grin that looked too eerily like the kind his uncle pulled when he cornered some young unfortunate soul.

“You didn’t tell us your new friend was one of the magic folk.”

George felt his blood freeze up. “How did you–?!” At that moment, a cloth was tied around his mouth as a pair of hands grabbed his wrists, causing him to drop the crown.

“MMPHM?!” George screamed through the cloth as Kipper’s pals began to tie him up. He was in such a struggle, he didn’t realize that they all wore the same uniform as the guards and when Kipper took the cloak off, it was revealed that he also wore one.

“You’ve insulted my family for the last time, Beard.” Kipper cracked his knuckles as he went up to the boy. “How does it feel to get pranked for once?”

*****

“Edith!” Harold called out to Edith as he ran towards her. The woman was startled to see him, but she calmed down and smiled. “Harold!” She waved. “How was it?! Was it all that you hoped for?!”

Harold quickly realized something was wrong. “Where did Krupp go?” He asked. “Isn’t he supposed to be with you?”

“He said he had to–” Edith then wondered just how much time had passed since she last saw him and frowned “–go for a second.”

Harold frowned before shrugging. “Eh, it’s probably hard to find a bathroom around here.”

“Where’s George?” Edith decided to ask when she saw that someone else was missing. “He was with you, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah, but he’ll be back.”

Edith frowned even more as she grabbed Harold by the shoulder. “Hang on,” She lead him to the end of the bridge that was nearest to the town and looked around. It had been so long, but she knew that it wasn’t a good idea to be alone in town at night. Where the heck was her companion?

“Edith?” Harold asked. “Is everything–?”

“THERE HE IS!”

The two turned around to see four of the castle guards running towards them. They all wore helmets that covered their faces, but all they needed to know was that they were coming after them and fast.

“GET THE LITTLE RAINBOW HAIRED FREAK!” One of them yelled and pointed at Harold. Edith immediately grabbed Harold’s hand and ran down the other side of the street as fast as possible.

“Wait, what about George?!” Harold protested, but Edith was forced to continue on.

Faster and faster they ran, not knowing where they were going as the guards chased after them in a maze of buildings and streets.

Unfortunately, the guards knew the town much better than these two and before either of them knew it, two of the guards came out from the other end and blocked their pathway. Edith yelped and tried to pull Harold down another pathway, but the others cut them off and trapped them in a narrow street.

“Oh no,” Harold gulped as he tightened his grip on Edith’s skirt. The woman herself lost her flower at some point during the chase, causing her hair to fall into her face but the terror was still visible.

“We didn’t know Beard had a member of the magic folk as an accomplice!” The biggest of the guards spoke, though his voice was muffled thanks to the helmet. “Especially one so powerful and dangerous as you!” He pointed at the rainbow haired child.

“Yeah, that little punk thought if he ratted you out, he could go off scott free and get some money out of it for turning you in.” Another one of the guards laughed.

“You’re lying!” Harold snapped. “George would never do that!”

“Then explain how I got this from him.” The first guard smugly held up something all too familiar–the crown.

Harold felt his heart stop.

No...

“No... no he wouldn’t.”

“Oh he did!” The guard taunted as one of them started to yawn and held a hand to his helmet. “That kid would do anything to get out of trouble and keep doing what he loves best. But honestly, someone like you is a lot more dangerous than him, especially considering what sort of powers I hear you possess–something about creating illusions?”

The world then came to an end for Harold–George was the only person who he revealed his powers to.

“And lady, don’t you dare think about doing anything stupid!” The guard pointed a finger at Edith. “I know who you really are! I know you’re this kid’s accomplice and that you’ve been helping him by seducing my–I mean the–hey, why are you all yawning?!” The guard demanded at the other guards as another one began to yawn.

“I can’t... too tired.” One of them yawned.

“Well stop it or else I–I... ugh.” The first guard yawned and to the shock of Edith and Harold, they all began to drop one by one, like flies. Even when they all dropped and didn’t get up, the two didn’t move as they were either confused or too full of hurt to register what was happening.

“What just happened?” Harold was incredibly confused at this change of events.

“Finally–I thought they’d never drop.”

The two turned around to see a familiar figure throw the hood off her cloak to reveal an unpleasantly familiar face. “I told you that you couldn’t trust that boy.” Ribble glared at Harold. “I told you that he’d pin the blame on you so that he could escape! But you didn’t listen to me, did you?!”

“HELP!” Edith yelled as she squeezed Harold’s shoulders as the older woman began to approach them. “SOMEONE HELP!” She grabbed Harold’s hand and tried to make a run for it once again.

Ribble let out an annoyed sigh and hurried after them.

“Why can’t anyone hear us?!” Edith freaked out as she ran with Harold down the streets while the boy was too lost in dismay to join in. “BENJAMIN?!” She screamed. “WHERE ARE YOU?!”

Without any warning, Ribble turned a corner and appeared before their eyes. “Don’t make this harder than it already is!” She snapped at them as Edith panicked and found herself cornered near a wall.

“BENJAMIN, PLEASE!” Edith begged as Harold began to wonder who on earth she was calling for. It only occurred to him as to who ‘Benjamin’ was when Edith desperately yelled “BENJAMIN?!” again and, in a moment of panic, readied her fingers as her final resort.

“If you mean the captain of the Guard, don’t even bother.” Ribble coldly told her. “How do you think those guards found the little thief in the first place?”

Edith stopped herself before she could perform the finger snap and looked at Ribble in horror as Harold went from surprised to furious in two seconds.

Of course Krupp would have done that. Of course he would have broken the deal off the moment he had his chance and had others deal with them to avoid triggering a switch. Suddenly he found himself more mad at the adult than upset at George, because that he could be willing to believe even more than a betrayal.

“He was only using you to get to the boys this whole time.” Ribble told Edith.

“WHERE IS–?!” Harold began to yell, but it was too late as a cloud of smoke engulfed them both and when it vanished, they were gone as if they were never there to begin with.

“I’ll deal with both of you later.” Ribble growled before turning around. She was thankful that the sleeping powder worked on everyone else in the nick of time, but there was one loose end left. “And now for the other boy.”

*****

“What the heck?” A couple of guards saw a nearby wiggling sack by some crates as they made their rounds. One of them hurried towards it and undid the ropes and pulled the sack open to reveal a boy struggling to wake up. He had a gag around his mouth, and a rope that was tied around his wrists also had a familiar crown tied to them.

“What the–?!” The female guard gasped before making to untie the gag. “Oh sweetie, are you alright–?!”

“DON’T MOVE!” Both the female guard and the other guard turned around to see Meaner giving the boy a delighted grin–but not the friendly kind–before rushing up and grabbed George by the back of his shirt collar. “WE GOT HIM!” He yelled in triumph as George finally woke up. “WE FINALLY GOT THE LITTLE PUNK!”

“MMPH?!” George’s eyes bulged before looking down to see the crown tied to his already tied wrists.

“Well I’ll you what, Krupp’ll be happy when he comes back and hears the news!” Meaner laughed at the boy before glancing to the other guards. “You two carry him to the cell! I’ll go tell Her Majesty the good news!”

“MMMPHHHMMM!” George screamed through the gag as one of the guards reluctantly made George get up on his feet and took him away. “MMPHMM!” He tried to run away, but the adult’s grip was too strong and it only worsened when the other guard joined in. “MMMMPPPHH!” He frantically looked around for Harold, but there was no sign of him.

*****

When Krupp finally woke up, he groaned as he struggled to get up and held his head in one hand for a moment. He opened his eyes to recognize a part of the town near the lake by one of the bridges, but the second his fingers felt his exposed bald head, he began to panic.

“Oh no, not a–!” He looked down and saw that he was miraculously still clothed and his black toupee was laying on the ground beside him. He quickly grabbed it and put it back on his head before sighing in relief. He was still the same and he didn’t switch with the other one last night.

Last night... then he remembered. Someone knocked him out and Edith–

“Edith?!” He scrambled to get up and hurried back to the bridge. As he did, he realized that the sky was rather cloudy to the point that there was barely much of a blue morning sky, which meant that it was due to rain at some point that day. However it was also blissfully, but unusually quiet and there weren’t many people out and about.

Krupp finally made it to the bridge where he last saw Edith, but she was no longer there. However something did catch his eye and he hurried towards it–laying on the stone ground was the white and blue lily that had once been in her hair.

He carefully picked it up to examine it. There was no mistaking it, it was the exact same flower, but now it was slightly wilted. He stared at it for a few more seconds before looking up to where he last saw her–where he left her.

Edith was gone–where did she go?! Automatically he headed towards the castle–maybe if he started asking around he’d–he didn’t get very far when it hit him and he came to a stop.

She was only supposed to be with him until the day was over. She must have ran off at the moment she realized he was gone for too long and ran off with both boys as far from the town as possible. She must have left him as soon as she could, just like with all the others.

Normally he didn’t care about things like that–he was used to people trying to get away from him for several reasons. The fact that she may have ran off without a word and did everything he was trying to prevent should have made him angry.

And yet for the first time in a long time... as he stared at the flower, he felt empty. Empty and hurt.

He didn’t have to be forced into making a choice–fate decided to choose for him and it pained him in a way he did not expect.

*****

In a small cell with only one barred window to the outside world, George held his head in his hands as he tried to figure out what went wrong.

He shouldn’t have left Harold behind; how could he have been so stupid?! Harold and Edith could also be locked up somewhere in this place for all he knew! There was no way Kipper could have done this all on his own–the timing of it all was too perfect for it to be a coincidence. Someone knew and had to have helped him out, but who?

How did Kipper even know about Harold’s powers? George struggled to think–the only other person he could think of who was close to Harold and probably knew about it was Edith, but she didn’t seem like the type to blab on someone out for her own sake. So who else could have organized–?

Wait.

No.

No it couldn’t have been–there was someone who was with Edith the entire time yesterday, and George did not recall seeing him after he and Harold saw the lights. In fact, he had been in such a hurry, he didn’t check to see if Edith or Krupp was around, which meant–

Did Krupp... did he go back on his word and force the information out of the woman before he set his nephew on George and then Harold next? Did Krupp get Edith locked up and then set his sights on his main targets?!

That... made.... way too much sense.

George felt his anger rise.

“AGH!” George yelled as he grabbed the metal plate off the floor and threw it at the wall. “He tricked us!” He slammed a fist into the stone wall. “We shouldn’t have left her with him!” He felt his hatred towards Krupp grow even more. Why couldn’t that man just ever let up?! He deserved to suffer at this point!

George growled and kicked the bench that served as his bed before crashing onto it. The next time he saw Krupp, he was not going to hold back from finger snapping–he was going to make sure that man got the full humiliation he deserved. No more holding back this time.

George let out a deep sigh as he tried to calm down and looked at his hands. He hoped that Harold and Edith were ok–especially Harold. He wondered if they had been caught too, but their freedom was a far better thought... but not knowing what happened to him was agonizing.

George looked at the window. He hoped he could at least get a chance to explain his story, no matter how hard to believe it would be. If Krupp was going to be there to try to stop him, he would not hesitate to keep his promise and expose his secret without hesitation–there was nothing else he could think of to make the man suffer even more. He was not going to spend the rest of his years in a jail cell.

*****

Back at his house, Krupp sat down on the sofa and continued to stare at the flower that had once been a part of Edith in his hands. He recalled how it brought out the blue of her eyes and how he finally saw her entire smile. How eventually she started to act around him as if he wasn’t the person everyone hated and was someone else for a change. How her presence was actually calming when he thought about it.

He didn’t know her long enough, and yet some part of him felt that something was wrong–but no, it made sense. She was acting like a saint and was putting up with him the whole time.

He couldn’t get himself angry for some reason. He wanted to crush the flower and throw it away, but he couldn’t muster up the will to do it. He wanted to feel anything but whatever this was, and the familiar rage would have been a welcome, but this wasn’t it–it was rejection, but it felt like something more at the same time. Something like loss, but a little less than that.

A huge part of him wished he had never met Edith–never let her in, never seen her entire face, and just let her go off–and gave him a new reason to hate the spell for causing it to happen. Another part of him wanted to know why and where she went without a word, even if he was so sure that he knew the truth.

He was so lost in thought that when he heard the door knocking, he didn’t bother with yelling in anger at whoever it was to buzz off and let him be in peace. It wasn’t until he heard the yell of “Uncle Benny!” that he let out a sigh and placed the flower on the shelf before walking to the door and opened it to find his nephew.

Krupp ran a hand over his face before looking at the teen. “Look, I’m not up for a visit right now.” What should have came out as a harsh demand was instead a tired sounding plea. “I’ve had two long days and a lot more to deal with at the moment.”

Kipper was about to speak when it struck him that his uncle was not acting like his usual self. He was not used to him sounding so defeated, nor was he familiar with that strange look in his eyes as if he was sapped of all emotion–especially not in recent years. He wasn’t supposed to look depressed–he had never been depressed as far as the teen knew.

“Uh,” Kipper nervously began. “So... we–I mean, George Beard is in prison right now. He was caught last night.”

Krupp immediately snapped awake and became alert when he heard the very last thing he expected to hear. “What did you say?”

“Yeah, he’s in prison right now, just like you wanted.” Kipper nervously rubbed his arm.

Krupp could not believe what he was hearing–George Beard, the kid who gave him so much trouble, put a spell on him, and who got him roped into this mess that left him emotionally out of it, was finally in jail?!

“How did–?!” Then Krupp realized something, right before he could even get excited over the news. “Wait, just Beard? No one caught the other boy or the woman that was with them?”

“No,” The teen’s voiced wavered and almost immediately Krupp detected the boy was hiding something. This finally caused the familiar (almost welcoming) anger to emerge. “Where’s the boy with the rainbow hair and the blue eyed woman that was with them, Kipper?”

“I guess they got away?” Kipper nervously lied when he realized his uncle was catching on.

Unfortunately for him, Krupp began to put his hands on his hips and lean over to stare him down. “I don’t have time for games–where did the other two go?”

“I don’t know, some weird lady wanted us to keep them away from George!” Kipper panicked. “She said she was going to help me and the others out with catching George, but then things happened and I don’t know what happened to them after that!”

Krupp felt as if the ground slipped under him and yet he managed to stay upright–his first instinct had been right the whole time and he stupidly ignored it. Then a horrible thought struck him–what if the person who knocked him out last night was tied to this?

Disguising his panic with an annoyed growl and a deep scowl, Krupp shoved the teen out of his way and stormed towards the castle with full intent to get information out of George and start searching for the other two. “Uncle?!” Kipper asked.

“You better hope I’m in a good mood when this is all over!” Krupp snapped without looking back. “I got things I need to take care of!”

“Wait a minute, what are you doing?! What about George?!” Kipper ran after his uncle. Kipper panicked before he took a deep breathe and yelled “Did you know that he was going to be executed?!”

This made Krupp stop. “What?!” He was horribly confused as he turned around to face Kipper.

“The queen wanted to execute George Beard for stealing the crown! That’s why she wanted him alive!” There was no denying the teen’s horror or regret. “Did you know that this whole time?!”

Krupp could not believe what he was hearing. That had to be another joke right? Why would the queen suddenly want to execute a child for something like–what was going on?!

“Uncle Benny?!” Kipper pleaded, hoping that he did not help commit something horrible–he didn’t like George, but an execution as punishment?! “Did you know?!” Instead he watched as Krupp turned pale before turning back towards the castle as fast as he could while trying to make sense of what was going on around him.

*****

Harold sat on his bed and stared off into nothingness as he rested his head in his hands while his eyes were red from crying.

He and Edith had been forcefully taken back to the tower and when Ribble returned, she separated the two and locked their doors to keep them from escaping or interacting with each other, but not before forcing Harold to sing and use his hair’s powers on herself.. He had no clue what her intended punishment for him was going to be, or what she was intending to do with Edith until he heard Ribble’s muffled yelling directed at Edith in the early hours of morning.

He should have convinced her to leave him when she had the chance.

He should have seen this coming.

He knew Ribble was going to rub it in his face later and say that she told him so once again. He didn’t need it, he saw more than enough. He hated to say it, but she was right.

There were adults who were mean to children–almost needlessly mean when they did nothing wrong. But he was too powerless to put a complete stop to it.

Those like him were hated for no real reason. Apparently even more so if the guards wanted to lock him up for that reason alone.

Those he thought he could trust like George... in the end he was no better. He thought he could understand George–did he really not care about him? Why would he rat him out like that? Then again, Harold knew it was his own fault that he got George into more trouble, forced him to go back to the kingdom, and almost got him killed, so maybe it was out of revenge. Maybe everything had been a lie.

Maybe he was too much trouble for everyone else.

Nothing made sense...

Even if he were able to leave the tower again, did he really want to go back out? After seeing how miserable those kids were and how mean the adults were? It just wasn’t a world of freedom or where good could always triumph over evil like in the books, or where you could turn someone evil into someone good and have it stay that way–it was just a pack of bitter lies. Yet none of those disappointments compared to knowing what it was like to be betrayed by someone who you thought you could trust or who could be your friend.

Harold turned his head to see the painting of Captain Underpants on his wall. To know that he was real all this time–

But he wasn’t real. Captain Underpants was a made up person composed of magic, lies, and one very angry, very bitter man who ended up betraying them all. That friendliness and kindness had been nothing but fake when it was all just nastiness and spite. He was now a reminder of George and that adventure Harold had; he was just another example of something uncontrollable or unchangeable, no matter how much you wanted it to be. What was even the point of having him on that wall anymore? He’d never come for Harold to free him like the boy once wanted–he had to free himself in the end and that didn’t last very long. The man was also so stupid it was a miracle that he didn’t kill himself, so why would he be able to remember Harold and find him?

“I wish I never saw you.” Harold bitterly told the painting of the hero before he sniffed and wiped his eyes. “I wish I never met George. I wish he never made you, so that he didn’t have to come to the tower.”

He was never going to be free like he had hoped for.

Harold sighed as he got up and went to grab some paints. He was ready to completely erase that time and that was starting with the painting of the hero. As he did, he found himself kneeling beside the painting and his eyes became drawn to the red of the cape that was actually a curtain, thanks to...

Wait, that reminded him of something that bothered him yesterday when he was talking to George.

What did George say according to the story? Those two kids said that they found a blanket belonging to the lost prince and they tried to use it to find him because it still had the powers of–

Wait.

Wait a minute.

Harold struggled to think. Where did this all begin again? He found some white chalk that he sometimes used in a nearby box and he took it out. He turned to his wall and began to draw out what George said. There was once a flower with the powers of creation and Billy and Lisa’s teacher said that those powers somehow got into the blanket–Harold then finished a seven petaled flower and then drew a blanket with dots before making a line that connected the two together.

What happened next? The two kids tried to get the magic out... all they could do was create curtains... and George said that he somehow used those powers... Harold found himself drawing George with the blanket even if he didn’t want to at the moment. George used those powers to create Captain Underpants ... Harold connected a line from George to the hero who was already on the wall. George said it came easy for him when it happened.

How did the powers transfer to George from all the way to the flower then? Especially since.... Harold felt so much running through his head. Focus, Harold! Think back! Something happened to the flower! Remember?!

“I guess I was in a good thinking mood, but that was it. The only other thing I know was that it was used to heal the queen when she was sick during her pregnancy with the prince. But then again, that’s quite a risk isn’t it? What if it did something to him?”

Harold found himself drawing the queen as best as he could remember her face from her painting. A new line that he drew connected her to the flower.

How could a flower that was supposed to have the powers of creation also heal someone?! That must have been a super flower! It–

Wait.

That... sounded like his powers. Almost too much like his powers.

He could heal–he could create whatever he desired as illusions.

Harold then drew himself and made a dotted line between him and the flower before drawing back for a moment to see how everything was connecting together. There was something missing, but what?

The flower was used to heal the queen when she was sick during her pregnancy. She had a son and he went missing for a really long time–

A thought struck Harold–the queen had a son who went missing and–why did the queen look familiar again?! She almost reminded him of... himself. Something about her reminded him of himself.

Harold scrambled to take a handheld mirror out from under his bed and looked at his reflection. He searched desperately for something that he recalled from that painting, but his mind was racing too fast and when he tried to smile the same smile she had, it didn’t feel right. He wasn’t seeing a direct match between him and the queen, and not even his hair–

Wait.

Harold grabbed his hair and looked at it. If it was cut, it would lose it’s powers, but it’d also change color. What would happen if–?

Just one section. Just one carefully hidden section that could go unnoticed. Harold went in and grabbed a section at the bottom near his neck and pulled it out–a bright blue strand of hair. He didn’t have access to a pair of scissors or a blade and he couldn’t risk going out to get one. Then he had an idea and took a smaller section of hair before putting it between his teeth and tore through it as hard as he could.

RIP!

The small strands broke in two and Harold watched as the blue was sucked out of both ends before revealing a familiar shade of yellow–the exact same yellow as Queen Grace’s hair in the painting.

Harold stared in shock at the messy strands and their yellow color–it wasn’t the same yellow as the other kind of yellow in his hair, but something more natural looking, like those who were blonde–like the little girl from yesterday, who was also the princess–

When it hit him, it felt like something punched him hard in the stomach. He grabbed the mirror to look again and observed how messy and curly his hair looked–it was almost like the hair of the princess but much messier.

This could not have been a coincidence. If it was, it was too good to be true. But wait, if he had this all right, then that meant–

Harold took a red chalk and quickly connected the flower to Queen Grace before connecting it to himself. The powers of creation would have transferred from the flower to him... which somehow transferred to... the red chalk made a line to the blanket... which George accidentally used to create... The line went to George before Harold connected it to Captain Underpants when it struck him.

If that blanket held the same powers of creation... if George used it to inspire Captain Underpants’ design... Harold took out a yellow chalk and circled himself, made a line to the blanket, connected it to George... then he connected it to Captain Underpants. He stood back and dropped the chalk as he took it all in.

“I... I helped create Captain Underpants.” Harold gapped as he stared at the drawing of the hero. “I’m the reason George was able to come up with him because...” He ran a hand through his hair as his eyes widened. “I have the powers of the flower... I’m the lost prince... am I?” He frowned with uncertainty as his excitement quickly died down.

He needed to know. Like, absolutely for sure that he had this all correct. He had his hopes up too many times these past few days, and he could not afford to get his hopes up over this one thing. He needed to know what the name of the prince was–that was the only thing now that could confirm it all. His own name might not even be his actual name, but if he shared a name with the prince–

He wanted so much to believe that this was all correct–he needed to find just one person who knew the name of the prince if he couldn’t just walk up to the queen’s door and have her take a look at him. Edith never caught the name of the prince from what he recalled of her stories from the outside world, he didn’t hear it from anyone else–not even George–and Ribble certainly wouldn’t have–

Wait.

Troubling thoughts began to come to him and he didn’t like any of them.

*****

As punishment for helping Harold out of the tower, Ribble forced Edith to get up in the early hours of the morning and forced her to clean all the floors and dust everything without stopping, and Ribble promised that she’d force Edith to burn every single story book that was in the tower by nightfall, along with Harold’s drawings, though that dreaded time had yet to pass. The poor younger woman had been utterly driven to exhaustion and was forced to sit in a corner by the huge window which was now closed shut.

She wasn’t given any time to change out of her chemise, but only enough to throw her apron on. Yet as she looked down, a part of her was dismayed at the sight of her attire–the white elbow length chemise was the only one of two that she owned, and it had been worn to the point that the thing was even more threadbare than her other clothes and she needed several layers of blankets just to stay warm in the winter with it on. At times like this she just felt lower than poverty and she couldn’t help but recall how the women in the town dressed–how new and sturdy their clothing looked. How happy they all were, not knowing how worse their lives could have been, or that they were at least being treated like human beings.

Her eyes then drifted to the apron and the familiar bright patterns she sewed upon it. Her fingers gently brushed against the pattern as she began to recall the night before yesterday, when she offered it to B–

No. She shut her eyes and clenched her hands. She was such a fool–there was nothing beyond that man’s cruelty. Any genuine compassion that he could have possessed was only through his other half and even then it was just out of a delusion that he was someone entirely different. It pained her to think that the only time that man could truly be capable of any positive, redeeming qualities had to be when he wasn’t entirely himself–there was something so messed up and tragic about the whole thing.

“WHO SAID YOU COULD STOP AND REST?!” Edith flinched when she heard Ribble yell at her, but she couldn’t bother to get up or look up at her. She felt the woman’s glare and only let out a tired sigh.

“You’re not seriously thinking about that man, are you?” By the time Edith looked up, she realized it was too late as the older woman gave her a sickening grin. “Did you honestly think he liked you? A dirty, homely thing like yourself? You were nothing more than a pleasant distraction–something he could humor himself with. He could of had far prettier women than you–someone with better fashion sense, who doesn’t have freckles or doesn’t look as if her clothes are about ready to burst.” Edith drew back–almost huddling into a ball as she grabbed her arms–as the woman continued with a little more venom. “But honestly, you must have been so desperate for male companionship that you were naive enough to think you could woo the harshest man in the kingdom, who also happens to be the ugliest and has the most ridiculous nose. Honestly, a boar would look a lot more attractive–”

“STOP IT!” Edith finally snapped, unable to take it any more. “You don’t know him and he not ugly–!” She stopped as she realized that she was defending him. Why? Why would she do that?

Ribble stared at her and just shook her head until a thought struck her. “You used Harold’s powers on yourself, didn’t you?”

“What?”

“You used them on yourself to look younger and prettier, didn’t you?!” Ribble accused the younger woman as she walked up to her. “Who said you could use them?!”

“No, I would never take advantage of Harold like you do!” Edith balled her hands into fists as she stood up. “You’re abusing those powers instead of letting him use it for others!”

“I’m not letting him waste it away on amusing other little brats or for himself!” Ribble snarled as Harold slowly walked in and stood at the bottom of the staircase as he tucked a hairpin that he used to unlock his door onto his shirt collar. “Especially not on someone like you! I told you no one wanted you, and look what good your little escapade did!”

“That’s not true! I like having her around!”

Ribble turned and was shocked to see that Harold had somehow escaped his room and was glaring at her. “How did–?!” She scowled. “Don’t think you can do the same stunt twice! Whatever you did to get out, it won’t work again!”

Harold thought carefully, even though he wanted to demand for answers. He couldn’t make Ribble suspect anything, but if he played at being stupid a little bit... “What were the names of my parents?” He asked.

“What kind of stupid question is that?!”

“At least tell me my mom’s name. Was it Natalie? Carmen?”

“Oh my gosh, I don’t have time for this!” Ribble slapped her face and made to move towards Harold.

“Was it Rebecca? Margot? Chelsea?”

“Kid, I swear if you don’t–!”

“Was it Grace?”

Ribble stopped for a moment.

“It was Grace, wasn’t it?!” Harold demanded as his suspicions grew.

“I don’t know!” Ribble snapped and threw her hands up in the air. “I’m sure it was a dumb name like Blanche, but I never got it!”

“Then answer me this–you said my parents didn’t want me and you clearly don’t want me. Why did you bother taking me in if you don’t like me? Why didn’t you get rid of me or Edith if you don’t like us? Was it because of this?” Harold demanded as he grabbed his hair and held it out. “I’ve met others who are magical like me and not everyone hated them! George said that they helped him out once–!”

“People hate what they don’t understand, you dolt! And so much for that thief helping you out–he deserves what’s coming to him! I dread to think of what could of happened to the sanity of this kingdom if you stayed with him after that night!”

Then it hit Harold. He didn’t have the whole story just yet, but he was able to figure something out–especially thanks to what he overheard between the two women.

“George didn’t sell me out.” He whispered before glaring at Ribble again. “You made me think he sold me out so that you could lock me up again! So that you could have my powers!”

“What, you expect a gold star for that?!” The woman demanded. “Using up those powers on stupid illusions for those brats is a waste–especially for that good for nothing prankster!”

“George was the first person from outside who liked me for who I was!” Harold angrily yelled. “He didn’t see me as a freak! He liked my drawings and illusions and he helped make me feel wanted and appreciated! And when I find him again, I’m going to owe him the biggest apology for letting myself believe you! Edith is right–you only want me to use those powers on yourself, but I’m never going to let you use my powers ever again! Not when there’s others who need it more than you! I’m going to bring happiness back to the kids and I’m going to stop adults like you however I can, starting with a butt-load of pranks that I’m dying to pull off!”

He glared at Ribble until he realized too late that he said more than he should of. “Oh no.” He moaned and hung his head, but to his surprise, Ribble let out a laugh.

“Even if you could leave this tower again, it’ll be too late! Once the clock strikes three in the afternoon, he’ll be executed for the theft of the crown by the order of the queen.”

Harold felt his heart sink as his blood froze in horror. No. “No you’re lying again!” He protested.

“Oh I’m not lying about this one.” Ribble smugly told him. “The queen was mad enough to make him pay big time for the theft of that crown. You didn’t think she’d let him go, just because he’s a kid do you?” She laughed. “I told you! There’s no adult in this world who’d ever be willing to be kind or to help out a child, and especially one so–!”

WHACK!

Ribble promptly collapsed into a heap on the floor–behind her stood Edith with a huge metal frying pan in her hands and a determined look on her face.

Harold gapped at the woman who looked at the collapsed Ribble before looking at the frying pan. “Heh, I actually–!” Edith laughed before she realized in horror what she did. “Oh no, what did I do?”

“You did something awesome!” Harold reassured her with a huge grin before running back to his room. “Hurry! Let’s try the parachute trick again before she wakes up!”

Edith clutched the frying pan to her chest as she stared at the collapsed woman. In a way, it felt very good to finally fight back against her. On the other hand, she knew they had to hurry before she woke up.

“Got it!” Harold took the blanket along with him and hurried to the window to open the shutters. “Now we–!” The moment he touched the shutters, there was a blast of purple light that knocked him onto his back upon the floor.

“Harold!” Edith hurried to help the boy up, but he already pushed himself up and looked at the window.

“She knew!” He panicked as he grabbed his face. “She knew what we did! How are we going to get out of here this time?!”

Edith struggled to think–across the near ten years, she tried everything she could think of. There had to be something–anything, she thought as she stared at the blanket. Her eyes began to drift to the fireplace and as she stared and recalled the campfire from a few days ago, she began to get an idea.

“Actually, I have one idea.”

*****

Edith pulled a half filled bottle out of Ribble’s secret cabinet from the kitchens as Harold waited. She took the top off and took an old rag and carefully stuffed part of the rag through the small neck and near the liquid within.

“Hey isn’t that the stuff Ribble doesn’t want us to get into that she always keeps for herself?” He asked. He was never told what any of it was and he always assumed that it was some kind of potion or other magical liquid.

“Yes, now hang on!” Edith took the bottle to Ribble’s luxurious room and set the bottle in front of the door that the woman used to go in and out of the tower. The door just so happened to be made of wood, but if Edith’s guess was correct, then there would be an explosion big enough to destroy it as well as the seal.

“Edith?!”

“Stay back!” Edith took out some flint and steel that was kept to start fires in the chimney while thanking the stars for everything her father taught her during camping, as well as sharing a story from when he was a stupid teenager that involved what she was about to do (and swore never to tell Harold because she knew he’d probably try this on his own, despite all the possible consequences). “Please let this work, dad.” She pleaded before using the flint and steel to create a spark on the cloth that was partly in the bottle.

The moment the spark started the flame she wanted, Edith raced out of the room and pulled Harold away as fast as she could.

Seconds later, a terrible roar erupted as the bedroom became consumed with flames from an explosive, forceful burst of fire.

“Hurry!” Edith raced back to the kitchen and grabbed a pitcher of water to toss into the bedroom. Harold followed her lead and he watched as she tossed water into the room in an attempt to kill some of the fire that filled the room as smoke came out. “Wait!” Edith grabbed the pitcher of water from Harold and tossed it into the room to clear out more of the fire.

Edith glanced out to see that the door was being consumed by the flames but enough of the stone work around it had been destroyed to the point that she could either make a second explosion or unlock the door from the other side. The moment the door was completely gone or opened, she and Harold would be free to make a run for it. With a delighted grin, she turned to Harold. “The door is burning up–we can leave!”

Harold’s eyes widened. “We can get out of here in time to save George?!”

Unfortunately for both of them, it was at this point that Ribble was waking up and began to be aware of what was happening. “Yes! Just keep that hair from the fire and let me do the rest!” With renewed hope, Edith hurried inside the bedroom to pull a blanket upon the debris and glass covered floor before she raced out to get more blankets to protect themselves with from the flames as Harold quickly wrapped his hair around him again.

The old woman felt her blood boil–so that slave and that brat thought they could get away and take those powers with them?! She reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a vial of green liquid–the closest thing she had to replicating the powers of the flower. She bit the cork off and drank the contents right as Harold finished wrapping himself up with the hair around his waist.

“Ok, we’re all set!” Edith came down with the blankets and quickly covered Harold up in one. “When I say go, we make a run for it, ok?!”

“Got it!” Harold agreed as he was quick to pick up what Edith was planning as she began to pull her own blanket over her head.

Then without warning, something grabbed Edith by the ankle and wrist and she found herself getting thrown right at Harold. The boy had no time to react as the woman fell out of her blanket with a startled yell and crashed into him, forcing them both to slide across the floor and hit a wall.

“Edith?!” Harold panicked as he scrambled to get out from under the woman. “Edith, what–?!” He looked up and saw something he was not expecting.

“Harold?” Edith moaned as she struggled to get up, but then froze when she saw what–or who –had tossed her into the boy. She gasped and pulled the boy towards her as the monstrosity came towards them with hands wide open to grab them–

*****

Whoa, whoa, whoa! STOP!

Yeah, I just interrupted the story at the worst possible moment. But the thing is that we’re getting way too far ahead with the story right now. Because there was actually a lot more going on with my side of things at that exact moment. Things that were a lot more unexpected and about as intense as what was happening with Harold.

But hey, you’ll find out when you read the next chapter! Uh... assuming that the writer finished it in which case–

*****

“No I didn’t.” The writer looked at George with her hands on her hips. “I just finished this one. You know these things take time.”

“Oh,” George felt sheepish. “Uh... sorry?”

“Ok, look, it’ll take me awhile–maybe even longer than I want it to.” The writer grabbed her laptop and waved. “If the reader is at the point where I already posted the next chapter, I guess they can jump ahead to it.” She walked away, but not before muttering “But I’m probably going to watch the cartoon series first.”

“Well now what?” George turned to the only person left in the room–the co-creator.

“Uh,” He began to think. “Do you want to go play video games and watch anime until she’s done?” He jabbed a thumb at the TV. “We got some good two player games.”

“Do I?!” George grinned. “Heck yes!”

Chapter Text

Ok, so if you’re reading this, that means the writer finally finished the chapter. So where were we again? Oh yeah, I stopped the story when something was about to happen to Harold and Edith because something else was happening during that time that was also pretty important... seeing I was going to get executed by Harold’s mom for something that was a complete accident... but this part actually happened a bit earlier than what happened back at the tower and also at about the exact same time. Sort of. I don’t know the exact timeline of this whole thing, ok?

Anyway, to barrow and change up some words from a great man... before we continue with that part of the story, I need to tell you this part of the story...

*****

Grace stared at the newly returned crown in her hands with empty eyes as she sat on her throne while a female guard waited beside her. She could feel the cool metal in her hands, but she could not feel any joy from holding it–it was worthless to her. It was worthless because it wasn’t what she wanted returned back to her. She’d gladly toss it away in a heartbeat if she had to choose between this and Harold.

She heard a loud ‘BANG!’ followed by the sound of heavy footsteps running towards her as she kept staring at the crown in her hands without flinching. Finally Grace looked up to see her captain of the Guard looking as if he ran a marathon to get all the way to her while strangely out of uniform and he was panting for air. She expected him to take at least five or ten minutes to recover like usual, but lately that time had been cut to almost under a minute–it was almost inhuman for someone like him.

“So!” Krupp finally straightened up after half a minute and gave her a very forced smile as he awkwardly began “Uh... I see you finally got your crown back!” He let out nervous laugh. “I heard a rumor that you were going to execute the person who took it and I’m sure it was a joke, right?! Considering that it’s the same kid I’ve been after for a really long time and all!”

There was a long, uncomfortable pause as Krupp felt the queen’s eyes upon him. The way she didn’t seem to have any visible emotion as if she had become a lifeless doll was making him increasingly uncomfortable. “You heard that correctly.” She finally told him and he felt a phantom sickness overcome him.

She was going to have George get killed. He unknowingly went all the way around the kingdom to send a child to his death and it was making him feel gross in ways he never thought could be possible.

“Wh–wha–what?!” He gapped. “Wait, no! You told me to bring him alive! You didn’t say anything about executing him!” He accused her. “That wasn’t why I had to endure two days of getting lost and humiliated!”

“So I take it that you were only in it to have your own brand of punishment on him?” Grace stared long and hard at Krupp as her eyes narrowed at him. “I made that order for a reason. You all wanted to see me be more strict and hard–I’m giving you exactly who you all wanted me to be, so everyone above the age of eighteen will be allowed to bear witness to the execution at exactly three today. I want them to know that I am growing tired of waiting and I will not hesitate to do the same punishment to the one who stole my child if he isn’t returned to me.”

“You want to just kill someone over a stupid crown getting stolen?! What good is that going to do for you?! It’s not going to magically bring your kid back!”

Grace’s grip tightened on the crown. She got up and set the crown on one of the arm rests of her throne before walking towards Krupp. “You dare think you can get away with insulting me behind my back?” She coldly asked him.

“Wha–?” This caught him off guard as he felt that rare fear of the queen grow inside him.

“I’ve done my best to manage this kingdom in the last decade–I’ve done my hardest to dedicate myself to everyone. But I’m still a mother and I can’t stand you all turning my suffering into a complete joke!” She stopped in front of him and gave him a terrifying glare as she grabbed his neck collar and pulled it so hard that he was forced to bend over just enough to be at level with her eyes. “My son’s kidnapping, denying and mocking my only way left of finding him, stealing one of the very few things I have left of him–do you find it funny?! Do you have any idea what it’s like to lose someone important to you?! To always wonder where they are or why they haven’t been able to return to you after all these years?! You of all people are the worst–I know you’ve done things behind my back without my permission and you constantly try to stop me from the only way I can honor him!”

“Because it’s been ten years and everyone tried and now they’ve moved on, ok?! And at least some of us are trying to maintain order around here!”

“Then answer me this–what’s his name?”

Krupp was about to retort until he realized he had no clue what that name was. Heck, he couldn’t even recall the last time it was ever mentioned. “Uh...” He had a strange feeling that he should know this answer, and the fact that he couldn’t was overwhelming him with guilt for some reason.

That moment of hesitation and the struggle in Krupp’s eyes was all Grace needed. “I don’t want you anywhere near the prisoner.” She began. “In fact, I want you to stay away from the barracks and the prison for the entire day–you are not going to deny me this. Also,” She stared him in the eye again “The next time you try to throw out a law that I didn’t approve of will end up being the final mistake you’ll make in my home. If you ever want the final say in something, then I expect you to earn it. If you even truly care about me or my family, then do what you think is impossible and bring my son back.”

Grace let go of Krupp before she turned around and headed back to the throne. “I don’t want Heidi to find out about the execution.” She told the female guard. “I want someone in her room with her and I want the Sneedly family to put up an anti-magic barrier on the windows. Someone or something keeps getting in and it has to stop.”

Grace didn’t see the look of discomfort of her captain of the Guard’s face before he began to force himself out of the throne room. No one paid any mind to how he tensed up or the conflict in his eyes as he tried to fight something within himself.

It was true that Krupp never had the best sense of right or wrong, but something had been building up during that conversation with the queen and it was now screaming inside him. He had enough sense to know what the queen was going to do was wrong, but that thing inside him was urging him to act on something that he never imagined would ever happen.

“No, no, no.” He shook his head as he quietly moaned in protest, but that thing inside him wouldn’t leave him be. You know this is wrong and you have to stop this! It protested right back.

“No I can’t.” He growled. “Why should I help that kid out, after all that–?!”

Is letting him get killed the right answer? He tightened his fists up in frustration. He could lose his job and he didn’t want to over a child he especially hated! Yet this only made the thing inside him rage in anger and it ate at him until he could almost feel ill. It’s your fault you let this happen.

He finally couldn’t take it anymore and with a snarl of great displeasure, he made his way to the castle prison.

*****

George sighed as he laid down on the floor with his legs up against the wall. Being locked up was so boring! If he had to be locked away for his entire life, he’d go insane!

He heard a knock on the metal bars and he looked to see one of the guards slide a new tray of bread and something brown colored that looked highly questionable in a bowl into his cell through a flap down below. “Hey!” He asked as he scrambled to get upright. “Is there another boy locked in here? About my age, but with a lot of colors in his really long hair? Or is there a woman with blue eyes and freckles?” He quickly added.

The guard hesitated as they made to push a mug of water through the flap and gave George a confused look. “No, there’s only you.”

“Could you let me know if anyone saw them?” George asked. “Maybe Kipper Krupp or his uncle?”

“I suppose.” The guard was uneasy and George didn’t like that for some reason. Then he quickly left without saying a word.

“Huh,” Was all George could comment as he reached for the bread and braced his jaws for the stale chewiness of it as the clock tower in the distance rang out twelve times. Maybe Harold escaped after all, but he had some questions that needed answering.

*****

Unknown to George, Krupp was trying to argue with one of the guards outside the prison to let him in. “Look, you give me just two minutes and I’ll make sure you get paid more, ok?!” He snapped as he could hardly believe what he was doing.

“Uh, look I’m sorry, ok?” The guard held a hand up. “But I’d rather follow the Queen’s orders. You’d lose your job and I could probably lose my job, and I don’t want to risk it just so you can gloat at the kid.”

“I WASN’T GOING TO–!” Krupp stopped himself and ran a hand over his face. “You know what?!” He huffed. “Fine, but I’ll make it so that you’ll regret this later!”

He stormed off as he tried to think. There was no way in heck he’d be able to get any of the guards on his side since they either cared more about their own skin or they hated his guts, plus they hated the kid almost as much as he did. If his guess was correct, anyone who wanted to come watch the messed up excuse for entertainment were either going to be messed up in the head or wanted to see the boy suffer for his tricks and pranks. He highly doubted anyone else would want to stick around or would be able to stop the queen, especially if they cared about not getting arrested too. So who else would be a troublemaker and be reckless enough to break in to free George, and–

He groaned as he realized that he knew where to look. He had to go to that infernal hideout where all the kids probably were right now.

Around this time, a stablehand was helping a familiar black and white draft horse get into her stall. “Jeez, how many times have you had to come here without your owner?” He chuckled as he petted Adamant’s nose. “It’s almost like he’d become a completely different person and forget that he even has a horse if I didn’t know any better!”

If Adamant could talk, she would have told the stablehand just how right that guess was, and though she was indeed a loyal horse, she much preferred the strange moments when her owner was suddenly more cheerful and more open to petting her.

The stablehand laughed. “Well, a few more weeks of this and then I can say ‘hello’ to a new job and ‘good riddance’ to shoveling out horse–”

“Out of the way!” Krupp shoved the stagehand as hard as he could away from the horse before he grabbed the reins and he pulled her back towards the exit while the stagehand feel into some hay that he sank into.

The stablehand struggled to get up and spat strands of hay out of his mouth before glaring at the captain as he got onto the horse and made her go off to who-knew-where. “Oh yeah thanks for the appreciation!” The stablehand spat. “Yeah, almost getting shoved into the horse dung all around us is a swell way of thanking me!”

*****

Elsewhere in the castle, the queen’s youngest child was frustrated and angry as not only did her mother insist on keeping her locked up in her room with a female guard who didn’t seem to want to play with her, but there were strange black locks placed upon all of her bedroom windows.

Heidi didn’t know what was going on, but she knew what those locks meant. She stared at them as she sat by her pile of toys while hugging her Captain Underpants doll as tightly as she could. She didn’t want her mama to keep Captain Underpants out–she didn’t want to be alone again and she didn’t want to lose the strange, yet funny and kind friend of hers. She fought the urge to cry as she buried her head into the doll’s head while wishing she could have one more chance to see the real version of the hero and give him one more hug, but she didn’t want to be the reason he’d get captured!

She wished her mama could understand that she didn’t want to spend her days like this anymore. She wanted to be free to play with others and play with whomever she liked. She wanted to be free to go out with someone who cared about what she wanted for a change. She wished her mama could understand for once.

*****

Things were not faring so well in The Crusty Sandbox.

“So that’s what’s been happening while I was gone.” Daemyra was stunned as Iya and Jayde finished recounting the events to her after her recent arrival back into Piqua.

“And things just got worse.” Jayde sighed as she turned to Greg and petted him. The poor dog whined as he wished that there was something he could do to help all the children.

“This is so wrong.” Arwen frowned as Lil’ Petey curled around her legs. “The queen doesn’t do this. She never executed people and she’d never let this happen to one of us!” She picked up the kitten and set him on the table behind her. “So much for being a fair ruler.”

“Why didn’t we see this coming?!” Sasha growled as she threw a dagger into a wall in frustration while Meredith played a somber song on the piano. “We could have helped George more, like getting him out of the kingdom, and now he’s going to get a one way ticket to the afterlife!”

“There’s got to be a way to save him, right?” Rose asked Dev as he frowned and sat on a crate. “We can go tell the queen that she’s got it all wrong!”

“We can’t, she won’t let anyone under eighteen come to the castle.” Dev shook his head. “It won’t stop us from knowing, but it’ll stop us from protesting.”

“Argh!” Linda threw her hands up in the air after failing to focus on a drawing in her booklet of drawing paper due to all the stress of the situation. “There’s got to be something that can be done! We can’t trust the adults to help him!”

“Yeah, we owe George for always cheering us up with his stories and pranks.” Noréll agreed. “Sure, he’s done some crazy stuff for a good laugh or two, but he doesn’t deserve death.”

“Maybe we can ambush the castle and free George!” Lloyd’s eyes began to shine. “I mean, you helped us with your magic once!” He turned to Daemyra, who gave him a smug grin as she petted Lil’ Petey, who affectionately nuzzled her hand.

“That won’t work.” Arwen frowned and shook her head. “They had an anti-magic barrier on the prison back when they were still catching magic folk–no offense Dae.” She quickly apologized as the older girl sighed and stuck her tongue out. “I don’t know how far it extends.”

“Actually, now that you mentioned it, where’s Billy and Lisa?” Ravi asked as he and Marco looked around.

“They had to leave because of you-know-who.” Keisha informed him as her sister clung to her. “I hope they come back some day.” Kira added with a frown.

“Ugh, can you stop playing that sad music?” Iya moaned at Meredith. “It’s not helping! Play something cheerful!”

“I’m in no mood for cheerfulness.” Meredith kept playing the piano. “I’m expressing my frustration at society and its unfair cruelty through sad music.”

“There’s a moat near the castle.” Ravi translated Marco’s sign language to the others as the latter gave him a hopeful look. “Maybe we could use it somehow?”

“No, it’s too risky.” Dev sighed.

“Wait, isn’t there a hidden passageway into the castle?!” Sugar grew excited as she turned to Samarra and her brothers. “I thought you said you found one.”

“Oh yeah, we did!” Owen grinned. “It takes thirty minutes, but it’ll lead you right into a secret area in the castle near the barracks!”

“It’s a lot shorter than the usual way between here and there.” Samarra agreed.

“No one would see us coming!” Jay smirked.

“Uh, one question.” Tommy peaked out from under a table. “How would we get George out of the cell without the guards noticing us? In fact, how could we get him out of there without them following us back into the secret passage?”

There was an awkward silence and even Meredith ceased her playing the piano as they realized that the boy had a point.

“Oh... fudge.” Sasha cursed.

“Yeah, they’d easily out number us if we ever messed up.” Keisha pulled a face.

“Well let’s think this over a bit more.” Luna tried to reassure them. “We might figure out a way if we use our talents together.”

“Yeah, except how can we get George out of there if we get surrounded by guards or even get lost in that place?!” Linda threw her hands out. “And if we can’t use magic, we’d need someone who can overpower the guards without it!”

“Hey, maybe we could find Captain Underpants!” Kai grinned. “He’d help us out with this one!”

“Yeah he would!” Jayde’s eyes shone as the hope of the youngsters began to raise that the mention of the strange hero. If anyone could help them out, it would be him!

“But we don’t even know where he is!” Sasha grumbled. “We never learned where he came from or if he’s even magic himself!”

“Even if we did find him it’d probably be too late.” Tommy moaned as Greg caught a scent from behind the door and he began to growl at it. Greg knew that scent–it was the confusing scent that kept changing from bad to good and it only belonged to one particular human.

“Yeah, it’s too bad you can’t just snap your fingers and he’ll just appear right outside our door.” Rose readied her fingers to do exactly that when–

BANG!

All the young children and teens were terribly startled at hearing the front door slam open without warning. When they saw that it was none other than Krupp standing at their door for the second time in a row, pandemonium ensued.

“NOT AGAIN!” Sasha shrieked as she and many of the other younger children cried out in alarm and many of them began to hurry to the nearest hiding spot they could find or else hurried away as far as they could from the much hated adult. On the other hand, the older residents stood up and some of them stepped right in front of the younger children, while others stayed put. “OH CRUMBS, WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ON LOOKOUT?!” Iya freaked out as she went pale white with terror. Lil’ Petey scampered away from a surprised Daemyra and made a run for it to hide under the same table as Tommy, while Greg stood his ground and kept growling at the adult who had been mean to the kids.

It was only while watching all this that Krupp realized that he didn’t exactly prepare how to speak to any of these kids. As the younger ones finished hiding away, the older ones kept staring and waiting in anticipation for him to do something.

“Look, if you’re here to gloat about getting George arrested, just get it over with, alright?!” Dev demanded and tightened his grip on his sword as Lloyd nervously peered from behind him.

“Yeah, why bother with us when we know who you really want to torment?” Meredith stood her ground as Iya peered out from behind the piano near the pianist. “Are you happy now?!”

Krupp never thought that he’d ever need to demand help from these kids of all people and his internal struggle to get over his dislike of them was so obvious that he was pulling an incredibly hilarious face of discomfort. He couldn’t remember the last time he ever asked for help from a child and he had no clue what to even say as they all kept staring at him. Heck he still couldn’t bring himself to flat out say that he needed his help, but he could tell that they had been planning something and he had a good idea what it was.

“Why does it look like he really needs to go to the bathroom?” Rose whispered to Noréll, who fought the urge to laugh as they observed his discomfort.

“Argh, ok fine!” Krupp finally let out. “I wasn’t intending on getting George Beard executed when I was out to get him, I just wanted to make him suffer for all he did to me! So if all of you are wanting to help him escape then fine I’ll help you, but only this once!”

The tension remained, but now there was a confused silence amongst the young ones.

“What?” Dev tilted his head in confusion.

“Uh... what are you saying?” Arwen raised an eyebrow, causing Krupp to get more frustrated. “Did I just here you say that–?”

“I can’t get him out myself, so if you want to, fine!” He snapped.

Now the young ones were really confused, but then Samarra scowled at the adult while she had an arm around each of her brothers. “I’m sorry, but are you really expecting we’d believe what you’re saying right now?”

“Hey, I don’t have time for–!”

“No, you do.” Samarra let go of her brothers and stepped forward. “You come barging in here on the day George gets locked up–something you’ve wanted for a really long time–and is due to be executed. Now suddenly you change your mind and come on down here without any of your lackeys in sight and think that we’d believe we’d ever want help from you, when you were the very reason he got into this mess in the first place?!”

“That was his–!” Krupp made to step forward, but then Greg began to furiously bark at him as he darted forward and stopped a good few feet away from the children and it made Krupp stop and back away in alarm. The dog had not forgotten what happened the last time he saw this particular human and he was ready to lunge at the huge adult as he readied himself while baring his teeth when he resumed growling.

“No, it was your fault and we know what your game is!” Noréll stepped forward with a scowl of her own, while Daemyra stood beside her with her eyes slowly glowing red. “You want us to get locked up too! You want a reason to take it out on us again! You can’t trick us!”

“Why should we ever listen to you?!” Dev snapped. “For years you’ve been harsh on us, you wanted to make it so that we couldn’t have any fun, and you never listened when we needed help! Not even once!”

“Our families also suffered thanks to you!” Arwen threw out.

“We still remember what happened last time you were here!” Linda snarled as she jabbed a pencil towards Krupp. “You insulted us, and you even hurt some of us!”

“THAT’S NOT–!” Krupp began to roar out until Linda finally had it. “YES YOU DID!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. “YOU HURT SASHA, YOU HURT GREG, AND YOU HURT THAT NICE LADY!” That was enough to silence Krupp and make him remember once again what happened the last time he was here, but he didn’t have enough time to dwell on it as Linda grabbed the nearest chair and ran at Krupp. “GET OUT!” She screamed, causing the adult to panic and make a run for it before the chair finally crashed into the spot where he just was.

“GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!” Linda screamed as she threw her pencil at Krupp as well as her booklet of paper when he ran outside. “NO ONE WANTS YOU! YOU SHOULD BE THE ONE DYING TODAY, NOT GEORGE!”

“YEAH, SCRAM!” Noréll screamed as she also threw a chair out, which made Krupp yelp and dart away from it.

“YOU KIDS WILL PAY FOR THIS!” Krupp yelled as he made to run back towards the door, only to find that a barrel of all things was tossed out the door and he had to make a run for it before he could get hit. Which one of those kids had the strength to pull that off?!

Sasha screamed as she made to run out with her dagger, but there was a loud curse and Meredith had to hurry out and lift the girl up into her arms before getting her away from their tormentor. “COME ON, HE DESERVES IT!” The other girl tried to wiggle free.

“THAT DOESN’T MAKE YOU BETTER THAN HIM!” Meredith yelled as she hurried back into the Crusty Sandbox. Krupp had yet to give up though and was about to charge his way through the open door if he had to. He only made it halfway through when Daemyra stepped out from the door frame and he was forced to come to a complete stop when he saw the warning signs–unusual hair blowing in an unseen wind and eyes glowing red with fury. Her eyes pierced through him with a cold sort of anger that sent a chill down his spine as the teen’s magic made itself known. He had no desire to get mixed with the magic folk while alone after what happened the last time he made that mistake, yet he still had enough persistence (or recklessness) to growl “I swear, if you don’t let me in–!”

“I know you aren’t trying to offer your help, captain–you want our help to fix your mistakes.” Daemyra growled back. “I know you’re trying to repent, but you can’t keep lying to even yourself.”

“Wha–?” Krupp was completely caught off guard as to how fast the teenager could see through him. “You don’t know me!” He spat. “What makes you think that I–?”

“I’ve been around long enough to know your kind and I can spot a pathetic excuse for a human when I see one–especially one who’s still stuck in a constant childish temper tantrum to the point that he’s blinded himself with his own thorns.” Daemyra snapped as the red in her eyes kept glowing. “If so much as one more child dies because from your pathetic hatred and you ever so much as come around here again with full intent to make these kids suffer, you’ll have to answer to those you’ve driven from this kingdom, including myself.” She walked back into the building and slammed the door shut with the anger that had been burning up under the surface.

Krupp stared at the shut door for a few seconds more as he felt his own anger rise. Why wouldn’t the brats help him when he was offering to help them get their friend out?! What made them think that they could yell at him and–

And–

And...

...And...

....They were right.

Any anger he had left just died as he realized that this really was all of his fault. George was going to get executed, and something happened to Edith and Harold, and if he had done things differently, he could have gotten help and fixed everything, but he didn’t and he had no control over this.

He never did listen to those kids when they had needed help–he never believed them or else he knowingly ignored them. He did hurt people in his fit of anger and he would have brought a child to his death if he had managed to succeed in capturing George a lot sooner. He never did anything that could have even earned an ounce of anyone’s trust–not just the children, but many others. He really didn’t have anyone to help him this time. Heck, he had no one to truly call a friend and even his own family wouldn’t buy any sudden change of heart.

Wordlessly he walked in an aimless direction and was unable to think as he felt something overwhelming and heavy inside him–something he could barely remember feeling much of, but it ate at him and made him feel awful. It’d figure that the moment he’d try to fix his mistake and do something right for a change–something he couldn’t ignore–all the things everyone deemed bad would come back to haunt him, as if he was always going to be the bad guy instead of the hero for–

At the moment a thought struck him, something red caught his eye and he looked up to see a pile of curtains by the side of the old inn. Not just any kind, but the exact shade of red with the black dots that he always found himself wearing after all the times he’d wake up from blacking out while his counterpart was doing god-knows-what.

The kids would never listen to someone they hated, but to be able to help out someone they idolized would be like a dream come true for them.

He hated that it always had to be him that everyone would love and adore–someone he could realistically never become, even if he wanted to. He hated that nearly everyone preferred a version of him he just could not be, no matter how hard he would of tried. If he was able to put together exactly who the other one was, then he just could not be him because no part of whatever that identity was resembled any part of who he really was. It was so much easier to get angry than to be kind.

He really had no choice–he had to let it happen. It was his only option left. If he did this, he would have no control and have no idea what would happen when he ‘woke up.’ Unless...

He quickly remembered something and headed back near the front door to find the pencil and booklet that had been thrown at him. He grabbed both and quickly wrote a message inside the booklet before tearing out the paper that it was upon. He read the message once more and he stood by the curtains before letting out a sigh. He tightened his hold on the message and made sure that it was easily in view.

“Please work, please work.” He pleaded as a part of him regretted what had to be done as he readied his fingers.

*****

George looked at the message on his pendant and tried to come up with what had to be the sixty seventh escape plan for him that day when something from beyond the bars caught his eye. He let go of the pendant and scowled as he whipped around and yelled “YOU!” at a startled Kipper, who backed right into the wall behind him.

“Look, I’ll just cut to the chase and say that I’m sorry, ok?!” Kipper frantically apologized and held his hands out. “I didn’t know that–!”

“What did you do with Harold?!” George roared as he moved to the bars and grabbed them as he tried to poke his face out at the teen. “How did you know about his powers?! Did your uncle tell you–?!”

“No, some creepy lady told us! She said she’d help us get you if we gave that kid and that blue eyed woman to her!”

“Creepy lady?” George repeated to himself. “What kind of–wait.” He then remembered that Harold said that he was trying to get away from someone who was against him using his powers like he wanted and they wouldn’t let him go. “Oh no.” His voice wavered in dread. Whoever had been after Harold probably caught him and locked him back up in the tower. How could he have been so stupid?! He needed to find Harold and fast!

“I’m sorry.” George looked up in time to see Kipper hurrying away from him. “I didn’t mean for this to happen!”

“Wait, stop!” George reached a hand out. “I need to speak to your–!” but it was too late and the teen hurried down the corridor and closed the door behind him. It made George further confused–why was Kipper acting so strange?

It didn’t matter. He needed to get out of here and fast!

Some time later, George heard someone approach his cell and he looked up in time to see Rected opening it up, with Fyde standing by him with a pained look as he tried to avoid looking at the boy. “Look, we’re really sorry it came to this.” Rected began with much regret to the point that it confused George. Even the guards were acting strange–what was going on? “But it’s almost time to go.”

“Go? Go where?” George asked as he stood up. “I’m I going to be put on trial?” Both adults grew in discomfort at this question. “Am I going to be punished?”

“I’m really sorry, but it’s the queen’s orders.” Rected stepped in and took out a pair of handcuffs.

“She’s not going to execute me, is she?” George let out a nervous laugh. “That only happens when... adults do bad... things...” His voice trailed off as he realized what was happening. “Wait, no!” He protested as he backed into a corner. “You guys are just joking! You all are trying to prank me back, right?!” He let out a frantic laugh. “Hah, hah, very funny! Wait no–!” He protested as the adult reached him and forced the handcuffs onto him. “NO!”

“Sorry, but that’s the way it is.”

“NO!” George yelled as he tried to pull away with all his might as he was dragged away.

Meanwhile one set of guards who patrolled a corridor in the prison were making their rounds when they came across a young boy who stood at the front door. “Hey, you shouldn’t be here kid!” One guard snapped at the boy, who happened to be none other than Marco.

“Yeah kid, scram!” The second guard snapped, but the boy only shot them a confused look and made a series of signs with his hands which translated into ‘I’m sorry but I can’t hear you. But on the bright side, I don’t have to hear you guys say mean things to my face.’

“What are you doing?!” The first guard snapped. “What are all those gestures for?!”

“Yeah, are you insulting us?!” The second guard snapped as Marco let out a mock sigh and took out some paper to write out a quick message before handing it to the guards.

“It says ‘I’m sorry but I can’t hear you, please write down what you want to tell me.’’” The first guard read before looking at the deaf child with a scowl. “You think I’m an idiot, you–?!”

SMACK!

WHACK!

Both guards had been struck on the head with frying pans and they promptly collapsed into a heap onto the ground. Marco looked up and grinned at Meredith, who had Kira sitting on her shoulders, and Dev, who had Keisha on his shoulders. Both sisters had a frying pan in each hand while the older kids snuck around the guards to help them with their attacks.

‘AWESOME! THANK YOU!’ Dev signed to Marco, who grinned and signed ‘You’re welcome’ right back.

Meanwhile in the break room near the other entrance to the prison, some guards were munching on some cupcakes that had been brought in recently. All of a sudden, one of them pulled a face and grabbed their stomach. “Oh no!” They moaned and dashed off to the confusion of the others.

“What got into them?” One of the remaining guards laughed before also pulling a face as his intestines suddenly felt an uncomfortable pain. “I got to go!” He hurried off.

“Wha’ ‘appen ‘ta ‘im?!” Another guard asked as they chewed on a cupcake.

Moments later, they too were hit with a strange illness and were forced to make a run for the nearest chamber pot.

Meanwhile, two children were hidden by a crate and they chuckled to themselves at the hilarious sight. “They really had to go!” Rose giggled.

“Yup!” Sugar looked at one of the cupcakes and all the purple berries that were stuck in the frosting. “There’s a reason my auntie calls them ‘poo berries!’” She grinned. “I finally found a way to use them!”

Unaware that he was about to get some help, a terrified George desperately tried to pull away from the guards as they lead him towards a fate too harsh for one of his age.

“NO!” He cried out as he desperately tried to pull away. I can’t get executed! He felt himself ready to cry. If I do, I’ll lose Harold! I’ll never see my parents again! He recalled the young artist who was so much like him–the one who he opened his heart to and could call a best friend without hesitation. He struggled to recall his mom and dad and how they all read together at night and what it was like to hear their comforting words and feel his dad’s hugs or his mother’s kisses. “With all our love.” He could see the message on the pendant over and over again in his head as if it were the only thing in the world that he could believe in that could also give him hope for something. He wanted his parents back! He wanted them to come in and save him in the nick of time like in the books! Mom! Dad! HELP ME!

He still had so much to do! He had to find and save Harold! He had to find his parents and let them know that he had been here all this time! He couldn’t do that if he was dead! He wasn’t ready to die!

This wasn’t fair! Why did the world have to be so mean?!

“What the–?!” Rected tried to open the door ahead of them, but it wouldn’t budge. “Hey open up!” He banged on the door.

“What’s the password?” A girl’s voice asked as a small door in the much larger door opened up to let the owner see the guards.

“What password? There’s no password!” Rected snapped.

“Nope that’s not it.” The voice denied as George’s panic turned into confusion. Had he heard that voice before?

“This is stupid, open up!”

“Still not it!” The voice sang.

“Last time, I mean it–!”

“D’oh sorry! The correct answer was ‘Ogre butts!’” The door swung open to reveal none other than Noréll, who put her hands on her hips.

George could hardly believe his eyes as the adults gapped at Noréll. “You!” Rected jabbed a finger at her. “You’re one of the kids from that–!”

WHACK!

The adult collapsed to the ground as he was struck by a frying pan from Dev, who stepped out from a side corridor along with many other children. “You want to go next?” He asked Fyde.

Fyde yelped and ran away down the other direction. “Eh, he’ll get taken care of.” Dev shrugged before looking behind his shoulder. “Ok, who’s got the key?”

“I do!” Kai stepped forward with a smile.

George could hardly believe his eyes. “What are you guys doing here?!”

“We’re saving you, goofball!” Sasha peered from behind Noréll with a grin as Kai undid the first part of the cuffs. “That’s what friends do for each other!”

“But don’t thank us yet, we got company!” Lloyd pointed and sure enough, more guards began to emerge from the other side of the hallway.

“GET THE BRATS!” Anthrope yelled as she lead the charge.

“GO!” Kai had finished undoing one cuff and the key was stuck in the hole when he shoved George to Noréll, who took the boy by the hand and ran off.

“We’ll take it from here!” Dev grinned as he took his sword out and those who also had weapons stepped forward. “CHARGE!” He roared and ran ahead. Anthrope took her sword out and made to swing, but Dev blocked her attack in the nick of time as the others hurried forward.

“AGH!” Kai screamed as he forced his staff into another adult’s chest armor as hard as he could.

“You snot nosed brats will be punished for this!” Meaner snarled at Jayde as she readied her staff, but the girl gave him a cheeky grin. “Hey is that Chupacabra?!” She mock gasped and pointed behind Meaner, causing him to panic. “Chupacabra?! Where?!” He looked behind him and Jayde leaped up and smacked her staff into the adult’s face as hard as she could.

“This is awesome!” Dev was excited as he exchanged blows with Anthrope. “You little punk!” Anthrope snarled as she made to swing her weapon at her young opponent, but Dev dodged it.

Meanwhile, the other half of the group were rejoined by many of the other kids, but seconds later there were more guards who came forward.

“Stand aside!” Sasha grinned as she readied her daggers. “It’s butt kicking time!”

“Aw yeah!” Lloyd readied himself into a fighting stance and held his hands out.

“Give Beard up, or you’ll pay!” One of the guards snarled. Meredith frowned before letting out a loud whistle and moments later, a familiar brown dog charged ahead and bit the guard right on the ankle.

“GAYH!” The guard screamed as he tried shaking Greg off while the other two kids ran ahead to face the guards, along with Meredith who pulled out a spear that she had found. “LET ME GO! LET ME GO!”

“We’ll let you go when we feel like it.” Meredith gave the adult a wicked smile as Sasha and Lloyd charged at another oncoming guard and together they tackled him to the ground. Another one also came up, but Meredith was quick and charged at him with her spear ready.

“More will come from outside!” George panicked as he glanced at the others. “Ah don’t worry, we’ll stop most of them!” Linda waved it off. “We got some backup!”

Outside, many guards raced across the courtyard and towards the prison, but then a great black wolf dropped from the sky and onto the ground before letting out a mighty howl that froze half of them in fear and made a few others scream and run off, but a few brave others kept going. The wolf–actually a transformed Daemyra–smirked and smacked some of the guards away with one paw while two others on her back held onto her for dear life.

“THIS IS AWESOME!” Luna shrieked with joy with Arwen tightened her grip on both Luna and the wolf. “Please don’t fall and hit your head!” Arwen begged.

“AH!” A guard screamed as Lloyd and Sasha tossed him out of a window together. Luckily for him, there just so happened to be a well placed wagon filled with hay that he landed in as Daemyra continued to wreck havoc. The two kids looked at each other with wicked grins before doing a fist bump.

Inside the prison, two guards stared in confusion at a small kitten that just sat on the floor and stared inquisitively up at them. “Mew?” He asked before licking his paw.

“Oh no,” The first guard panicked.

“What?” The second guard asked. “It’s just a cat.”

“I know where this is going! It’s going to deceive us with it’s cuteness before attacking us! I’ve heard this happened before!”

The second guard snorted. “You know that’s just a stupid fairy tale, right? What’s it going to do, scratch your legs?”

“I’m not taking my chances!” The first guard readied his sword to attack when all of a sudden a loud and terrible high pitched sound erupted from a flute that was aimed right at his ear. He cried out and moved aside, but Iya stepped in and smashed the heel of her foot into his foot while Linda stepped in and used an old easel that was folded up to attack the other guard. “This is for calling creativity bad!” Linda growled as she whacked the guard in the side.

Just after the first guard fell to the ground, Lil’ Petey walked up to him and promptly coughed up a hair ball that he had been saving up and spat it into the adult’s face. He felt proud of himself as the guard cried out in disgust–he could be a very naughty kitty if he wanted to, but he knew that he was also a good kitty through and through.

Outside near a secret entrance to the underground tunnels, Samarra let out a bored sigh as her brothers had a serious argument while all three held onto shovels as makeshift weapons. The sky was gradually being filled with clouds and it was doing little to help the mood of things.

“We totally could dig a tunnel to China!” Owen argued. “I heard there’s a secret place where animals can talk!”

“But if we go north where the vikings came from, we could see dragons!” Jay whined before turning to a mysterious fourth member of their party. “Hey what do you think–?”

“Hey, we’re waiting for the signal!” Samarra warned. “And if anyone finds us, whack them over the head with a shovel!”

Meanwhile, Noréll lead George to one of the towers and was about to lead him out one doorway when one of the guards bursted forth from the same doorway. Noréll screamed when the guard grabbed her and she had to let go of George. “GO UP!” Noréll commanded as the guard tried to pull her away. The only two left from the rescue group were Ravi and Tommy and the former grabbed George and hurried up the stone stair case to the top of the tower.

“Wait, where are we doing?!” George panicked as he looked down to see that Noréll had taken her sword out to try to attack her captor but she couldn’t stop the other guards from breaking in to follow after the other three.

Outside, Daemyra had finished destroying a certain wooden structure that was used to send those unfortunate enough to come upon it to their deaths. Arwen then stood up and took out her horn when she saw a regal looking figure watching in confusion from a nearby balcony.

Grace had no clue what was going on. She was told that there was an attempted prison break, but she thought it was a joke when she was told that they were all children when she hurried out to see what the commotion was. And yet here they all were and were humiliating her guards at that!

“Queen Grace!” Arwen began in as serious of a voice that she could muster as she stared the confused queen and yelled into the horn. “For too long you have ignored us and allowed your captain and his guards to impose unfair laws and cruelty upon us kids and innocent folk, both magical and regular! We asked for your help and you turned a deaf ear to our suffering! You stooped at an all time low by unfairly condemning one of our own to an execution without giving him a chance and now we have no choice but to finally take action!”

“This isn’t going to do anything!” George had no idea what was going on, even if he was glad to hear that speech from beyond the walls. “You can’t stop her!”

“I know, but we got to say our mind while we’re at it, right?!” Ravi asked as they finally came to the top of the tower where he resumed removing the cuffs off of George.

“We promise we will never let you punish a child like this ever again!” Arwen continued her speech to the queen, while not realizing that more guards had managed to reach the top of the tower. “George Beard goes free whether you like it or not!”

“Hey you!” The three boys looked up to see that the guards who caught up had their swords out and ready. “Give us Beard and we’ll soften your punishment!” The leader demanded to Ravi and Tommy. Ravi held an arm out in front of George as Tommy panicked. “Has that kid ever been worth all the trouble?! What good did he ever do for you?!”

It was in that moment that Tommy decided he had enough with being scared as he glared at the guards. “He actually fights for truth and justice, unlike you guys!” Tommy took out a red flag from his pocket and began to wave it as hard as he could.

“Ok, that’s your signal!” Samarra turned to the person who was with her and her brothers and she gave him a huge grin. “Get ready!”

“George, get up on the parapet!” Ravi commanded to George, who shot him a confused look. “Why?!” He asked. “Just do it!” Ravi snapped and the writer had no choice but to obey, though his fears only increased–one wrong move and he could end up falling to his death.

“Don’t do anything stupid, kid!” The guard took another step forward as Tommy quickly looked down over the parapet and smiled. “Hey George?” Tommy looked up at George. “I hope you write this all as a story someday, ok?”

Before George could respond, Tommy pushed his hands into George’s legs as hard as he could and the young writer found himself falling off the tower.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHH!” George screamed at a pitch so high that it almost could have shattered glass. He was unable to do anything but shut his eyes in fear and brace himself for the impact as his stomach rolled around inside of him, but instead of hitting the hard ground within a matter of seconds, he found himself crashing into two thick, squishy things and he ended up rolling against something soft and warm half a second later.

George was stunned as his heart beat wildly inside him–what just happened?! He slowly relaxed his body and slowly opened his eyes. He gasped when he saw the very last face he had been expecting to see in all the chaos as its owner’s dark eyes shone with relief.

“Good to see you again, George!” Captain Underpants beamed at the boy as he began to fly upward.

“Captain Underpants?!” George’s fears momentarily melted away as a huge smile began to form on his face.

“It’s that flying idiot!” One of the guards yelled as they and the others in the courtyard finally saw Captain Underpants come into view. The only ones who were happy to see the hero were the children and teens who smiled or cheered with joy at the sight of him holding George.

“What?” Grace was completely caught off guard by what she saw. She had never seen Captain Underpants in person, and while the stories were actually pretty funny, they were proven to be true before her very eyes and she could not believe that she was seeing a grown man in nothing but a cape and underwear flying above her castle some distance away from where she was.

“He’s making fools out of us again!” One of the guards yelled as he took out a crossbow. “Get him!”

“NO, DON’T!” Noréll’s happiness turned to panic and she tried to struggle out of her captor’s grasp, but it was hopeless and the guard shot the arrow at the hero.

Fortunately, Captain Underpants became aware of what was happening and he yelped before protectively drawing George close against him and dodged the arrow, but it was only the start of the rain of arrows sent at him, much to the horror of all his young admirers.

“DON’T HURT THEM!” Kai pleaded from a window.

“NO!” Tommy screamed from the top of the tower.

“STOP IT, YOU MEANIES!” Rose screamed from one of the windows as she and the other kids protested against the guards harming Captain Underpants and George as loudly as they could, but the guards would not listen and they all began shooting at the hero, who was forced to dodge, dip, duck, and nearly dance his way in the air to avoid the arrows while protecting the child in his grasp. The whole time he had both arms around the boy with one hand carefully clutching the back of his head as he made sure that none of the arrows would hit George, who quickly regained his fear of dying all too soon–if he had to take the blow in George’s place, he certainly would without hesitation.

“YOU CAN’T FLY FROM US FOREVER!”

“STAY STILL!”

“GIVE UP THE KID, FATSO!”

“Hey that’s mean, you jerk-face!” Luna yelled into Arwen’s horn at the last guard.

“If you don’t stop, I’ll pee near you foolish mortals!” Daemyra barked as she lifted her leg up in warning at the nearest batch of guards. To her twisted delight, many of them screamed and ran away in fear of the awful fate. “I mean it, I’ll do it!” She could barely keep in her laughter as many other guards tried to run away from wherever she turned, but she could not stop the rest from shooting at Captain Underpants.

In his panic in trying to do several things at once, Captain Underpants began to head towards the balcony where the queen was. “Wait, stop!” George panicked and tugged at the part of the cape that was around Captain Underpants’ neck. “You’re heading towards the queen!”

Many obsessed guards kept shooting and were forgetting who was also in the same direction as their target. Grace yelped and ducked for her life along with the other terrified guards beside her as Captain Underpants flew over them, followed by a series of arrows that fortunately avoided hitting everyone at the balcony.

“Stop it you morons!” One of the balcony guards got up and yelled at the others. “You almost hit the queen!” The others quickly realized what was happening and put their weapons away in alarm.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!” Another guard screamed at Captain Underpants as he looked down in confusion at her.

“Surrender the little thief if you know what’s good for you!” Another guard demanded.

In George’s terror, he buried himself into Captain Underpants and tightened his hold on him. “Don’t let them take me!” He half whimpered, half pleaded. “Please don’t let them take me!” Captain Underpants looked down in concerned alarm to see the small boy trembling in his arms.

While all this was happening, Grace took a good long look at Captain Underpants. Something about his face seemed so oddly familiar, but then her eyes drifted towards a certain part of his attire–a bright red cape with black dots.

She knew that design all too well–it was exact same pattern of the blanket her son was sleeping in when he was captured. It was the same blanket given to him by a fortune teller who claimed that he would like that specific design for a reason she never elaborated upon other than that it would bring him both joy and luck at a time he would need it the most. That same exact pattern was being worn by this strange, almost inhuman being who was causing grief to her guards while bringing joy to the children of her kingdom.

“Harold?” Grace whispered as she stared at the cape, while its owner gave the guards a hardened glare and his eyebrows narrowed at them. Captain Underpants tightened his hold on George once more as Grace’s eyes then drifted towards the small child he was trying to shield. “That brat has been nothing but trouble for everyone, so don’t even bother trying to save him!” One of Grace’s guards snapped at the hero.

“LAST WARNING!” Another guard snarled as he aimed his crossbow. “IF YOU DON’T–!”

“I’M NOT GIVING HIM UP TO JERKS LIKE YOU!” Captain Underpants snapped right back with all his might with a determination and a burst of anger buried deep within himself that he couldn’t keep down any longer. “I’LL NEVER STOP FIGHTING FOR HIM AND THE OTHER CHILDREN AND CITIZENS YOU’VE LET DOWN! YOU ALL WILL JUST HAVE TO DEAL WITH ME WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!”

With that, he began to fly off with George safely in his grasp to the extreme anger of the guards and the relieved joy of the kids.

“HE DID IT!” Tommy cried out as he threw his arms up in the air while Ravi cheered.

“THANKS CAPTAIN!” Sugar waved as she and the others smiled.

“YOU’LL REGRET THIS!” One of the guards yelled and pointed at Captain Underpants. “I MEAN IT! WHAT YOU’RE DOING IS A HUGE CRIME! WE’LL BE AFTER YOU!”

Grace was unable to do anything as she watched the hero fly off. She tried to make sense as to why his cape was the same pattern as one of her son’s possessions, which she had not seen along with Harold for nearly ten years. Why of all people did it have to be with this strange man?

The it hit her as to who it was that he was flying off with–it was the thief who stole her son’s crown. He was just a child–almost old enough to be the age Harold would have been by this point, yet scared for his life. Grace went pale as she clasped a hand over her mouth. What did she almost do? She was going to condemn a child to death!

Meanwhile, Daemyra sighed in relief. “Whelp, rescuing George is over and done with. Now it’s time to help the others!” She gave the guards an evil grin and transformed into a black dragon before everyone’s eyes. The anger of the guards changed to outright terror as the delight of the children only increased. “Now I’m going to barf up fire on you all!”

*****

“There, it’s alright!” Captain Underpants smiled at George as he loosened his hold on the boy just enough to allow him some movement, yet he kept George secure as they were still several feet high up in the air after he moved as far from the castle as he could.

George was still shaken over what had almost happened to him, though he was able to recover as he looked at Captain Underpants. He could not believe his luck that the hero was there, but something was bothering him. “How exactly did you know what was going on?” He asked.

“Oh all the other kids told me everything!” Captain Underpants happily responded before frowning. “But there was also this...” He ducked a hand somewhere behind him before pulling out a folded up and very wrinkled up piece of paper from out of his underwear, which George was quick to realize and he was almost reluctant to take the paper from the adult. He forced his disgust aside and opened up the paper to read the message upon it:

GEORGE IS IN DANGER. GET THE KIDS IN THE BUILDING BEHIND YOU TO TELL YOU EVERYTHING AND GET THEM TO HELP YOU.

George read the message more than once as he tried to make sense of what it meant. Then it hit him as he realized who could of written it.

He slowly glanced to Captain Underpants, who was still smiling as he patiently waited to hear what the boy had to say.

What he didn’t expect was for George to suddenly throw his arms around his neck and hug him as tightly as possible.

“Oh!” Captain Underpants was startled by the hug as George buried his head into his shoulder, but he let out a small laugh and returned the hug as carefully as he could. “Well if this is a thank you hug, then you’re welcome!”

George couldn’t say anything–he knew whatever he said would be lost on the adult at this moment–as he tightened the hug. He wanted to cry after all that he had been through, and he still had a hard time believing that the very last person he’d ever expect to help him out would indeed help him, and for once he just wanted to feel safe and secure in an adult’s embrace for the first time in so many years. He couldn’t believe how badly he missed this, but it felt as if he were five again and he was in the embrace of one of his parents. He wished this hug could last for as long as possible as a huge weight was finally lifted off of his chest and he no longer felt scared for his life.

“Hey it’s ok,” Captain Underpants smiled as carefully rubbed the boy’s back. “You’re safe now. Nothing’s going to happen to you while I’m around.” He then recalled something. “Hey, where’s that friend of yours? The one with the impressively long hair with all the wonderful colors?”

“OH SHOOT!” George let go of the adult’s neck as he shot up and Captain Underpants had to quickly adjust his hold before the boy could fall out of his grasp. “I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT HAROLD!” George turned to Captain Underpants with a frantic look. “Someone took Harold! I need to find him! I know where he is, you have to help me!” George grabbed the adult’s shoulders as he looked him in the eyes. “Please take me to him!”

Captain Underpants recovered from the surprise and gave George a determined smile. “You got it!”

George smiled in relief until something caught his eye that made him panic again–there were more clouds coming in towards the kingdom, but these ones were gray, which could only mean that there would be rain coming soon. It would be possibly within half an hour, which was not enough time for George to be able to take advantage of Captain Underpants’ flying abilities. He had to find Harold as fast as he could before it was too late!

“Go to the forest as fast as you can!” George commanded and pointed the way. “I’ll tell you where to go!” Captain Underpants obeyed with an understanding nod and quickly shot through the sky.

Don’t worry Harold! I’m coming! George promised as he clung to the hero and kept his eyes on the lookout for the tower where everything began. Just hang on a little longer!

Chapter Text

Edith struggled to wake up as she realized that she was laying on something familiar and not quite at the same time. When she opened her eyes, the first thing that greeted her was brown dirt and several stones. She shot up in confusion until she felt something sharp jab at her scalp. She yelped and tried to scramble away, only to feel something tear through her elbow length sleeve. “What the–?!” She turned her head to see that a huge thorn from some plant had torn through the sleeve. “What?!”

Then she began to take in her surrounds and she began to realize with increasing horror that she was surrounded by bluish gray thorns with small white flowers. The bushes were so thick that there were only small gaps through which you could see the slowly graying sky and in other places it was so thick that you couldn’t see anything. Her own spot was only big enough for her to sit up or lay down, but that was it. There was so little room to move around that it felt like any sudden movement would earn her another jab or cut from a thorn.

“Is the sleeping beauty finally awake?” Ribble’s voice taunted Edith, who barely saw the woman through several feet of thorns when she turned her head towards her. She could make out something blue writhing above the woman’s head.

“Wh-where am I?!” Edith panicked as she saw that some of the vines were so thick that they were as big as the width of her forearm.

“You don’t recognize my precious thorn bushes?” Ribbe asked in a mock-hurt voice. “In all those ten years, you missed seeing them outside the window?”

Edith then realized where she was, but more importantly she realized that Harold was missing. “Where’s Harold?!” She demanded, even as her fright was obvious in her own voice.

“That won’t be important for you anymore.” Ribble coldly informed her. “In fact, I should have gotten rid of you the moment he stopped potty training. I only needed you to take care of his basic needs so that I wouldn’t have to and I only kept you so that he wouldn’t bother me and that I could have someone else do the chores. Now I’m about to fix my mistake of letting you live.”

“What are you going to do with him?! You can’t keep him locked away!” Edith tried to grab one of the vines, but hissed and drew back the moment she felt a thorn poke into her finger, causing it to draw blood.

“It’s none of your business, but if you want to know, I’m taking him far away where he can’t escape! And if you think you can escape, you can forget it! You’ll remain here and if the blood loss from trying to break the vines won’t get you, then starvation will, and your bones will mingle with the earth and thorns for all of eternity!”

“You won’t get away with this!” Edith felt her anger rise inside her as she pounded a fist into the dirt. “You horrible witch! You can’t keep Harold locked up and you won’t get away with condemning George to death!”

“Well too bad, I’m going to do all of that by sundown!” Ribble snapped.

“Not unless I get out of here first! I’m going to get out of here and make you pay for all you’ve done!”

“Heh, I wish I could stick around to see you try, but I got more important things to do!” Ribble laughed before she added. “You know, considering how bad the world has been for someone as pathetic as you, I can’t tell which was your biggest flaw that got you into this mess in the first place–that you were too kind to children for your own good, or you were just too pretty for your own good.” With that, she began to head back to the tower.

“No, don’t you walk away from me!” Edith yelled. “I’m going to–!” She tried once again to grab the vine, but there were too many thorns and they poked into the palms of her hands and fingers. With a determined scowl, Edith pulled her apron off and covered her hands with it before she grabbed onto the vine. This time there was enough cloth to protect her hands and she was able to snap the vine in half after some effort. “I’m going to get out of here!” She swore.

She wasn’t going to let herself get stuck–she had to get out!

*****

Harold moaned as he tried to wake up. His blurred vision soon cleared to reveal that he was still up in the tower and once more the inside was cast in a slight darkness after the fire from the previous explosion had gone out. “Mmm, Ed-?” He asked as he tried to sit up, but was unable to do so as something kept his body tightly bounded. In fact, he could barely move his hands.

He looked down and became wide awake when he saw that his own hair had been used to bind his hands together. It was wrapped around him and pinned his arms to his sides and it was partly wrapped around his legs.

“Oh no!” He panicked as he realized what was happening and tried to pull free, but it was no use–his hair had been tightly wrapped around him to the point that he couldn’t break free. “Wait!” He gasped and looked around as he tried to struggle to sit up. “Edith?!”

“She’s in a bit of a thorny situation right now.”

Harold felt a chill down his spine and he slowly turned his head to see his captor standing triumphantly near him. Writhing and twisting above her was tendrils of her own hair which was even bluer than it usually had been. She almost looked like a terrifying gorgon, except far more scarier (and maybe more grotesque).

“It’s because of you two that I had to use my test potion on myself, but it came in handy!” She gave him a twisted grin as some of the ‘tentacles’ formed hands that mockingly waved at him while what little light remained in the room was reflected sinisterly off her glasses. “She won’t be joining us where we’re going, but she’ll keep your little friend company once she’s dead!”

Harold felt his terror increase. “What did you do to her?!” He demanded.

“Nothing that’ll concern you.” Ribble sneered as one of the ‘tentacles’ reached out to grab the boy by the ankles. “Especially since I’ve now taken care of all the loose ends!”

Harold yelped as one of the ‘tentacles’ grabbed his ankle and to his horror, it was pulling him towards her as she turned around and began to walk away. “NO!” He cried out and tried to wiggle and crawl away. It was barely any use though as he was too tightly wrapped in his own hair.

“Don’t fight it Harold, you’re coming with me whether you like it or not! You’ve been a very naughty boy who needs to be locked away somewhere where you can’t easily escape!”

“NO!” Harold screamed once more as his hair began to glow in a desperate attempt to have the illusions come to his aid. Unfortunately his terror was so great that all that was formed around him were misshapen masses of black nothingness. It only made Ribble laugh. “Not even your precious illusions can help you!” She pulled harder at him and Harold was further dragged across the room.

He didn’t want to be locked away alone with this terrible woman! He didn’t want to be all alone, stuck with doing her bidding until death could set him free! But worst of all–

No I can’t let this happen! Harold panicked. I can’t–George is still in–I–

“SOMEONE HELP!” Harold screamed as loudly as he could as he began to feel close to tears. “SOMEONE PLEASE, HELP ME!” He desperately cried out, even if he knew that no one could hear him. “HELP!”

“SHUT UP!” Ribble snapped and pulled Harold so hard that it almost hurt him. “NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU! THERE’S NO ONE LEFT WHO KNOWS WHO OR WHERE YOU ARE! YOU MIGHT AS WELL BE NOTHING TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD, SO JUST GIVE UP!”

Harold opened his mouth–ready to scream, curse, or do anything he could, like bite though his own hair–when he heard the sound.

It was faint, but he could hear it as it quickly grew in volume.

He heard it once before in this tower.

In that moment he could hardly believe that he heard it and yet it was the most wonderful sound in existence as he heard the familiar, increasingly loud cry of–

“Tra-la-LAAAAAAAAAAA–!”

Some distance outside the tower, a grown man flying in his underwear wore a huge smile as he let out this cry. One of his hands made a fist that was pointed straight at the outer wall of the tower while the other was holding a very panicky boy securely against him.

“–AAAAAAAAAA–!” Captain Underpants continued to happily yell out.

“NO WAIT STOP!” George panicked and screamed as he saw that the hero was not aiming for the window like he should have. “GO FOR THE WINDOW! GO FOR THE WINDOW! GO FOR THE–!”

Inside the tower, Ribble paused as she herself heard the commotion from outside and glanced to the closed window. “What... the heck–?”

“–AAAAAAAAAA–!” Captain Underpants (with George in his hold) crashed through one of the walls, spending debris flying everywhere, smacked into Ribble whose hair dragged Harold aways away before she was forced to lose his hold on him, and was sent crashing into the bookshelf which promptly collapsed onto her and broke into pieces, in addition to the section of the wall behind said bookshelf which also broke.

In the process, lots of screaming had ensued and Harold had been forced to shut his eyes.

Moments later, Harold opened his eyes and stared in disbelief as the rubble finished settling over Ribble while Captain Underpants somehow barely managed to avoid getting seriously hurt (or trapped under the rubble too) as he stumbled away before collapsing to the ground in a dazed heap.

“Heh heh–I just crashed into a wall!” He laughed almost deliriously as he finally let go of George, who had been clinging to him in terror the whole time, but was otherwise unharmed thanks to Captain Underpants taking the whole force.

“Never again,” George’s voice shook as he rolled off the adult’s huge body. “Never again!” He swore as he struggled to get up with a traumatized look on his face.

“George?” George looked up to see Harold staring wide eyed at him as if he could hardly believe that he was real. “Is... is that you?”

“Harold!” George’s terror melted away as he scrambled to get up and raced over to help Harold sit upright. Once he did, he tried to give Harold the hugest hug he possibly could before he felt something jab at his stomach. “What the–oh!” George realized.

“You’re alive!” Harold could hardly believe it. “Ribble told me they were going to kill you!”

“Hang on a sec!” George looked over Harold. “Get up, I’ll get you out of this!” The boy obeyed and when George saw the end of Harold’s long hair, he grabbed it. “Now spin around!” He grabbed the boys shoulder and forced him to spin out of his binds as fast as possible.

“Oh pretty rainbows!” Captain Underpants cooed in his dazed state as he watched the colors fly around Harold as the boy slowly but finally came free.

“Thanks!” Harold was a little dizzy when he finally came to a stop but he shook his hands as well as his arms and legs to regain the ability to move again. Moments later, he was forced to move his arms out as George quickly resumed his hug and almost squeezed him to death as well as nearly lift him off the floor.

“I’m so sorry!” George cried. “I shouldn’t have left you! I thought nothing would change if I tried to give the crown back! I shouldn’t have left the one person I could finally trust! I don’t want to lose another person in my life ever again!” He tightened his hug as he buried his head into Harold’s shoulder. “Please forgive me!”

Harold let out a relieved laugh before fully returning the hug. “It’s ok, you’re forgiven!” Harold reassured him.

“I promise I’ll never abandon you again!”

“It’s ok, George, what matters is that you’re alive and safe!”

“I know, but I feel so guilty!” George was close to tears. “You have no idea how scared I was today!”

“I was scared too!”

As the boys kept hugging, Captain Underpants slowly regained enough awareness to smile and let out a small “Aw, so cute!” at the boys’ reunion.

“So you did get caught?” Harold asked as he let go of George.

“Yeah, and I was put in prison and it was awful!” George groaned. “The food was bad and looked like barf, I was bored, and of course they were going to kill me, but then the kids from The Crusty Sandbox came and they even brought Captain Underpants with them!” He gestured to the adult for emphasis. “You should have been there, it was nuts! It was scary, but it was nuts!”

“It does sound nuts!” Harold agreed before frowning in confusion. “But uh... wow, talk about lucky. I almost want to thank whoever snapped their fingers around Krupp.” George gave Harold a thoughtful look. “Actually, about that–” He reached into his vest and pulled out the message. “It might be the last person you’d expect.” Harold took it and read it with a confused look. It took a second reading until his eyes lit up with understanding.

“No way.” Harold looked up and gapped at George. “He did it to himself on purpose?!” He looked at Captain Underpants who was now struggling to get up.

“He had to, who else would have given him that?!” George replied. “Who knows, maybe deep down he’s a decent person after all! That could be why the spell didn’t completely work on him in the first place!”

At this, Harold remembered something very important. “Oh my gosh, that’s right! George you won’t believe this!” He turned to George and grabbed his shoulders. “I figured it out! I’m the lost prince!”

George’s smile dropped and he gave Harold a confused tilt of the head. “Uh... what?”

“I’m the lost prince! At least I think I am, but it all made sense when I put it together!” Harold shook George’s shoulders before he let go and began to move his hands around in an animated manner. “The magic flower that was used to heal the queen was said to heal people and inspire creative people, right?! My hair does the same! And I’m the same age the lost prince was and we share the exact same birthday! But it doesn’t stop there!” Harold gave George a huge grin. “That blanket that you said had the same magic–the one that helped you create Captain Underpants–that means it was mine all along! My magic–the flower’s magic–it came to you! Don’t you get it, George?!” Harold laughed. “You created Captain Underpants because of me! My magic came to you in order to create him and you brought me hope through him, and it’s because of him that you found me! He was meant to bring us together this whole time!”

By this point, George’s eyes were huge with amazement as he tried to take everything in while Captain Underpants was now sitting up and he held his head in his hands. “How can you be sure?” He cautiously asked. “I want to believe you, but–”

“That’s why I need to find someone who knows what the prince’s name is! Once we get out of here–!”

“Harold, it would have to be a huge miracle if that kid’s name was also–!”

“THAT’S IT!” Both boys nearly jumped out of their skins and turned to face Captain Underpants, who was now on his feet and had the hugest smile of triumph on his face after clapping his hands together. “Now I remember why that name was important! That’s the name of the lost prince Heidi wanted me to find! He’s her older brother!”

Both boys’ jaws dropped in shock.

“I promised the princess that I’d help her find Harold and bring him home so that she and her mother could be happy again!” Captain Underpants was delighted to remember this. “Thanks for reminding me about that!”

“Does she look like me?” Harold asked as he stepped towards the adult. He could hardly believe that it was Captain Underpants of all people to finally help him solve this matter. “Like, if the princess also had rainbow hair, would she look like me?”

The adult stared long and hard at Harold as he tried to imagine this. Come to think of it, this child looked an awful lot like a boy version of the little princess... “I... well I guess you look a bit alike if I try to think really hard.” He squinted his eyes. “It hurts my head to think about it too hard, but I think you look a bit like her–”

“I KNEW IT!” Harold joyfully exclaimed, nearly scaring the adult out of his thoughts. “Captain Underpants, I’m the lost prince! I’m Princess Heidi’s brother! I–” He stopped as the full realization hit him as he recalled that little girl from yesterday–that little girl who was supposed to be the princess and who loved his drawing... that little girl was–

“I have a sister... I’ve had a mom and a sister this whole time. My parents never abandoned me–my mom was looking for me all this time...” Harold realized as he recalled the festival and all those lights that happened every night on his birthday. “She wanted me.” After all the lies he was feed, he had a family out there who had loved him from the start, no matter how odd he was.

Harold let out a smile and turned to George. “George, we have to go back to the castle!”

“What?!” George squeaked as he was snapped out of his stunned silence.

“We have to go back!” Harold told him again. “If I show myself to the queen and she recognizes who I am, she’ll forgive you! She might even reward you! I can help you find your parents so that you can see them again!” Harold’s smile grew along with his optimism. “Then everything will be alright–!”

A ‘tentacle’ of blue hair shot out of the rubble and Harold suddenly found himself dangling up in the air by his ankle while the other two were nearly scared half to death by the unexpected turn of events. “YOU AREN’T GOING ANYWHERE!” Ribble shrieked as she bursted from the destruction with more help from her ‘tentacles’ as Harold let out a scream.

“NO, HAROLD!” George screamed as he ran towards Ribble. The woman let out a scowl at the sight of the little thief and before George knew it, another ‘tentacle’ reached out to grab him by the wrist, but this time she flung him halfway across the room and he crashed into a small table near one of the sofas.

“GEORGE!” Harold screamed in panic as the small table toppled upon George.

“YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE COME HERE, YOU BRAT!” Ribble snarled as she began to storm her way towards George with Harold still in her grasp.

Now unfortunately for Ribble, she made a very huge mistake–she forgot about Captain Underpants. She also made another very huge mistake–the man may not have been been the smartest person alive, but he was smart enough to pick up on when a child was in serious danger. The third and arguably worst mistake she could of made? It was harming a child in front of another who was naturally protective and compassionate towards children.

For the second time in a row that day, an anger almost as strong as that of Captain Underpants’ true self was starting to burn inside of him and he gave the evil woman a determined scowl.

“HEY YOU!” Ribble turned around to come face to face with what she assumed was another one of Harold’s attempts to use an illusion against her, with this one being the most realistic of them all as he quickly stormed towards her. She merely laughed as she looked at Harold. “You think you can trick me with another stupid illusion again–?”

She was not expecting the incredibly hard and huge fist that collided into her shoulder and sent her almost spiraling away across the floor.

“Leave them alone!” Captain Underpants had now taken to the air and grabbed onto Harold as he tried to pull the boy away from his captor. He finally succeeded at the same moment Ribble recovered and she stared in disbelief.

The stupid looking man who was flying in the air and holding Harold in his arms was not an illusion or just a dumb made up thing from a child. He was of flesh and blood and, as the pain in her shoulder told her, very much real.

“Oh thank goodness!” George had finally managed to get up and though his arm was hurting from taking the blunt of the throw, he was happy to see Captain Underpants flying towards him with Harold safely in his hold as the boy quickly tried to wrap most of his hair around part of himself once more.

“THAT BRAT IS MINE!” Ribble roared and this time it was Captain Underpants that her hair grabbed onto before George could scream out a warning. This time her hair pulled the adult back as he yelped while trying to keep Harold tightly protected before she threw him right onto the floor in front of her. “GIVE HIM TO ME!” She screamed as she sent more ‘tentacles’ at the adult and the second boy that he knew he had to try his hardest to protect that day as he tried to push himself off the floor and and hurry away. He only took a few steps and managed to get two feet off the ground before the ‘tentacles’ found their target and latched onto his wrists.

“No, don’t let her take me!” Harold screamed as Captain Underpants’ arms were being forcibly pulled away from off of the boy by the ‘tentacles’ while another one reached out to wrap around his waist.

“It’s ok, I’m not going to let her get you!” Captain Underpants promised the boy as he tried to fight against the restraints and keep a hold on Harold as hard as he could. Yet the moment Captain Underpants’ arm was pulled too far away, Harold acted quickly and tried to desperately cling his arms around the adult’s thick arm as the ‘tentacle’ kept trying to tug him away.

George scowled before he grabbed the nearest fallen book that he could find and threw it at Ribble. The woman had caught it in the nick of time and one of the ‘tentacles’ was used to try to smack it away, but the small boy kept grabbing whatever he could and flung it at the witch.

“HELP!” Harold pleaded as he tried to reach for Captain Underpants as he was finally pulled away from him. The hero panicked with a “NO!”, but he quickly shot forward to grab Harold before flying them into the air once more, but this time he took Ribble along for the ride and grabbed a handful of her own enchanted hair. The woman yelped when she lost her footing as Captain Underpants tried to swing her into a wall. This time it worked and the moment her ‘tentacles’ lost their hold on him and the boy, he flew away as fast as he could to grab Harold and pull him away before he could head towards George. However, Ribble was able to catch herself and stop the impact when her hair grabbed onto the nearest thing it could find and halted her path towards the wall.

“Hurry, hurry!” George pleaded as Captain Underpants flew over to scoop him up too at the moment Ribble decided to do something rather dirty against her unusual opponent. One of the ‘tentacles’ reached out, but this time it was to grab the large man’s undergarment.

Right at the exact moment he was about to grab George, Captain Underpants suddenly felt an intense and extremely uncomfortable pain in places that the writer could not mention or write down (especially in order to keep the story friendly for children). It was to the point that he was forced to let go of Harold when he cried out in pain, before he was flung across the room thanks to a tentacle having a tight hold on his underwear before it let go of him and he was sent crashing to the floor.

“Ow,” George winced in sympathy and covered his behind as he almost felt the pain Captain Underpants just went through while Harold grimaced. “Yeah I felt it too.” Harold admitted.

“Get over here!” Ribble snarled as one of her ‘tentacles’ grabbed Captain Underpants by the wrist and forced him back into the air.

*****

There was just too many vines for Edith. With every inch closer to her freedom, she encountered yet another thorny vine. With every thorny vine she encountered, it tore through her apron, and her chemise was not only covered with dirt on the lower half, but the thorns cut through the easily tearable threadbare fabric and into her exposed skin where the blood that oozed out from the injuries stained whatever part of the chemise it could touch. Already she had many scratches and cuts on her arms and on her legs and they stung, but as time went on and they were exposed to the wind, it was slowly getting agonizing.

“AGH!” Edith sucked in some air and tried to fight crying out even more as she felt the thorns dig through the fabric of the apron and into her palms. She looked down to see that the apron was now shredded beyond being of use to her and there was blood splatters all over it from her hands.

“No!” She panicked and looked up to see her progress. There was still several feet of thorns between her and her freedom, and there were still vines that were so thick that there was no way she could snap them in half–she wouldn’t be strong enough for them. She would have to take a different route out at this rate.

She wanted to scream in frustration–she was trapped in this nightmare and she wanted out! She didn’t know if her mind was playing tricks on her, but she swore that she could hear familiar voices screaming for help!

Edith strengthened her resolve, and began to use the bottom of her chemise to try to get at a few more vines. Unfortunately and almost instantly, the night gown ripped along with the next vine.

She had no choice. She had to do this with her bare hands.

She turned to the next vine and winced before she grabbed onto it with both hands. She fought the urge to cry as more pain shot into her palms.

*****

Captain Underpants had been repeatedly flung onto the ground and had been spun around and around several times above Ribble until she finally had enough and threw him towards where the small green house in the tower was. He let out a cry as he crashed through the door and stone around it before tumbling onto the dirt and into the plants.

“Ow,” He moaned as he grabbed his head. Already a dark bruise was forming at the left side and there was blood seeping out of it, though it was nothing compared to the other faint bruises he was developing across his body from this fight. That ‘ow’ soon turned into an “ACK!” moments later when Ribble’s ‘tentacles’ grabbed him by the wrists and ankles and forced him to be completely spread wide out on his back.

“Oh great, another loose end to take care of.” Ribble snarled as one ‘tentacle’ grabbed the nearest axe it could find and she had it held up above the hero who tried to grab at the ‘tentacles’ but was unable to do so. Ribble made to bring the weapon down when–

“HEY!” She turned around to see Harold, who held his hair in one hand and a huge kitchen blade in the other. “You cut him with that and I’ll cut my hair with this!” He began to move the knife towards his hair.

“NO DON’T!” The woman screamed and flung the axe away while letting go of Captain Underpants. She raced towards the boy, who made a run for it, and only kept her eyes on him.

She failed to notice the long glowing hair at the bottom of the destroyed door that both the boys were holding tightly together.

“AGH!” She screamed as she tripped over the glowing hair and laded on her face at the same moment the fake version of Harold vanished into thin air.

“NOW!” George pulled out one of the kitchen knives, as did Harold, and they bent down at the woman. Before the woman could get up, each boy grabbed as much of her blue hair as they could and sliced it off, which was what she saw when she finally moved up off the floor.

“NO, NOT THE HAIR!” She howled as used what was left of her ‘tentacles’ to try to smack both boys away while the rest of her hair twitched and writhed on the ground. Before the boys could to anything, the old woman proceeded to use the ‘tentacles’ to then grab both boys by their underwear and proceeded to hoist them up into the air hard enough that it was an agonizing experience for both boys.

“OH GOSH, THE PAIN!” George howled.

“I DIDN’T THINK IT WOULD HURT THIS BAD!” Harold cried out.

“STOP YOU’RE WHINING!” Ribble snarled. “I’M GOING TO MAKE BOTH OF YOU–What the–?!” She felt a hand grab her ankle and she looked down to see that Captain Underpants had crawled behind her and was about to try to pull her down. “OH GET OFF!” She snarled and proceeded to kick the man hard in the face. The poor hero cried out in pain, but he also instinctively pulled his hand away, causing the woman to collapse to the ground with a yell and she was forced to let go of both boys, who crashed to the floor.

“Hurry!” Harold moaned (still hurting from the wedgie given to him) as he scrambled to get up. George did the same and hurried after him as Ribble began to get back up. “YOU LITTLE NITWITS BETTER GET BACK HERE!” She snarled and stumbled after them.

Both George and Harold made a quick scramble back into the main room. “Please tell me you have something else, like a magic potion that makes her hair fall out!” George pleaded.

“As convenient and oddly fitting as that sounds, I don’t!” Harold confessed.

“DON’T MAKE THIS ANY HARDER ON YOURSELF, HAROLD!” Ribble screamed. “YOU WANT MORE BAD THINGS TO HAPPEN TO YOUR SO CALLED ‘FRIENDS?’”

All of the sudden, Harold felt something pull at his hair and he yelled as he was pulled to the floor. George stopped and looked back to see Ribble grabbing the end of the long rainbow hair and she began to pull Harold towards him.

“LET HIM GO!” George screamed as he rushed over to grab onto Harold’s hands and began to try to pull him away. In response, the woman tugged at the older boys’ hair and he let out a cry of pain.

“If you don’t let go, this hurt him even more!” Ribble yelled, not realizing who was stumbling behind her.

While Captain Underpants now had a new injury to his face, he still wasn’t about to give up. He would not let this awful woman cause any more harm to these two boys if he still had a say in it!

“You should let go, you evil-doer!” Captain Underpants angrily grabbed Ribble and pulled her up off the ground before shaking her so hard that she was forced to let go of Harold’s hair as she let out a surprised yell. The hero then proceeded to hurl her at the only mirror in the room on a wall where she crashed right into it, shattering it into many pieces, before she fell to the ground, but the impact caused the mirror’s frame to fall off and when it landed on the ground, it crashed on top of the witch, who immediately went quiet within seconds.

A long silence fell across the room.

“Did... did he get her?” George wondered. “Is she knocked out for real?”

“I hope so. I don’t want her to wake up a third time.” Harold confessed.

George snorted. “There’s no way she could of survived that! With that many mirror shards?!” He then realized what he said and began to feel ill. “Actually never mind, I don’t want to think about that.”

“Oh man, that was still terrifying.” Harold let out an exhausted sigh before turning to Captain Underpants. The man looked a bit beaten up and already had many bruises across his body, but otherwise he seemed fine. “Thank you!” Harold smiled and ran over before hugging the man as much as his arms could allow him to.

“You’re welcome.” Captain Underpants was able to smile despite having been through a bit over the last several minutes, and he lightly returned the hug. “As long as I’m here, nothing bad will ever happen to either of you.” He promised in a voice that, for once, was the calmest and most reassuring that it could have been in his current state.

“Yeah, thanks!” George went over to hug the man. Captain Underpants’ smile widened as he moved an arm to hug the other boy. He let out a weak chuckle as he affectionately tousled both boys’ hair. “Well I guess I saved everyone I could today. Unless I missed anyone else.”

George then realized something was wrong. “Hey wait a minute.” He let go of Captain Underpants and looked at Harold. “Where’s Edith?”

Harold then remembered. “Oh no,” He felt himself grow pale as he also let go of Captain Underpants. “That’s right, Ribble got rid of her!”

“She’s dead?!” George squeaked while Captain Underpants felt a deep dread at the boy’s words.

“No!” Harold panicked. “I don’t think so, but she made it sound like she was still alive–something about a ‘thorny situation’ but I think she meant that figuratively!” He grabbed his head and struggled to think as George also thought about those words before he looked at the huge hole in the tower from when Captain Underpants first crashed into it. “I mean she could still be somewhere close by or she could be far away! She could be, like, trapped in a mirror, wandering a desert, she could be forced to hear a really annoying song over and over, she could have been turned into a chameleon, she could have been erased from existence in our world order to maintain a stupid status quo and I have no clue why I just said that last one, but–”

“She didn’t mean those thorn bushes outside, did she?!” Harold snapped his head up to see George frowning at something outside the wall. Harold dashed over to take a look–first catching a glimpse of the stormy gray clouds that were starting to cover the small hidden location of the tower–before looking down to see the ugly thorn bushes that were close by.

“Oh no,” Harold began to put everything together and felt his terror increase. “No, she wouldn’t–EDITH?!” He yelled at the bush.

No response.

“EDITH ARE YOU DOWN THERE?! I’M HERE, I’M OK!”

“YEAH, I’M HERE TOO!” George called out. “I’M STILL ALIVE! THEY DIDN’T EXECUTE ME! YOU WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT?! IT’S PRETTY AWESOME!”

No response.

“I’M ASSUMING THAT YOU’RE EXACTLY WHERE THE BOYS ARE YELLING AT, SO I’M GOING TO YELL FOR YOU TOO!” Captain Underpants yelled over boys after sneaking up behind them to try to help them out, even if it startled the boys when they saw the adult leaning over them and they were forced to back away. “ARE YOU OR ARE YOU NOT DOWN THERE?!”

No response.

An ominous silence fell amongst them.

“We got to go down and check to make sure!” Harold started wringing his hands as he looked at George.

“Yeah, but–” George winced as he thought of the thorns. “Maybe we should get a huge knife before we–”

“Don’t worry, I’ll go on ahead to find her!” Captain Underpants saluted the boys before he started moving towards the hole to fly out.

“WAIT A MINUTE, NO STOP!” Harold cried out.

“THAT’S A THORN BUSH!” George yelped. “YOU’RE GONNA GET–”

Taken by surprise by the boys’ protests, Captain Underpants turned his head in confusion and accidentally took one more step, causing him to trip over the jagged bricks and fall right out the hole.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHH!” He cried in surprise as he fell down the tower.

“OH GOSH, NO!” George hid his eyes as Harold grabbed his hair and used it to cover his eyes.

Seconds later there was a thud.

More long, tense seconds followed.

“I’M OK!” Captain Underpants’ voice cheerfully yelled out.

The boys looked down and sure enough, Captain Underpants was on his back and completely unharmed as he waved to them, although there was now a good sized crater where he fell. “I’ll go on ahead!” He proceed to struggle to get up, waving his arms and legs in the process, before he finally rolled over and pushed himself off the ground to reveal that the crater was shaped almost exactly like him.

“He’s going to hurt himself trying to find her, isn’t he?” Harold asked.

“Yup.” George bluntly replied as his eyes nervously glanced to the sky with all the gray clouds that were quickly approaching the tower. “And it’s going to rain like, really soon.”

“What’s so bad about the rain–oh,” Harold then realized what George meant and winced. “Well he’d better hurry before that happens, or we’ll both be dead.”

Unfortunately, neither boy saw the dagger that was slowly inching its way out from under the mirror. Its aim was at one boy in particular.

Chapter Text

By this point Edith was giving up.

It was all for nothing. There was so much that her body could handle.

Her hands were so badly cut and bloodied that they would slip off whatever they touched and it hurt too much to grab onto anything. There were still thorn vines so thick that they were as wide as her forearms, and she was too exhausted to attempt another route.

She had collapsed onto the ground in a heap and shut her eyes as she felt a slight chill in the air that made every single cut on her body sting. She wondered if the commotion and the yelling she heard outside were all just in her head–hallucinations from the gradual loss of blood. She didn’t know if it was her mind playing a trick or granting her something of a comfort in this situation.

She was tired and she just wanted her suffering to end. She no longer cared about the world outside her prison anymore. She wasn’t even able to get out in time to save–

“Edith?!”

She wanted to see her parents again–if she died today, at least she could rejoin her parents in heaven.

“Edith, is that you?! Can you hear me?!”

Everything would probably be fine without her–wait.

She slowly moved her head and looked up with tired eyes and, on the other side of so many vines, she saw a pleasantly familiar face she didn’t think she’d ever see again.

The ever joyful smile vanished and for one moment it was replaced with something more human-like–something like terror as the owner began to process what kind of state she was in. “Oh, that–” Captain Underpants gulped “–that doesn’t look good.”

“Is it really you?” She struggled to ask as she began to try to turn her body around to face him. What remained of her awareness was putting together that she was seeing the last person she thought she’d ever see again and she wondered how on earth he found her so quickly.

“Uh,” Captain Underpants nervously looked at all the vines and the thorns upon it before looking at Edith, who slowly picked up on just how battered and bruised he was at the moment. He then forced a smile as his eyes shone with determination. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here before you know it!” He promised.

Realization as to what he was going to do fully hit Edith. Unlike her, he was almost completely exposed and had little to nothing to protect his body from the thorns.

“Wait, no don’t!” Edith panicked as she reached a protesting hand out as Captain Underpants braced himself before grabbing the nearest vine between him and her.

“See?” He laughed, even though he was already wincing and trying not to cry out as one of the thorns cut into his palm, before he began to pull. “No big deal!”

“No stop!” Edith protested as he pulled at the vine, which easily snapped in half–though the force was enough to send his arms flying back and into the bushes.

She flinched and shut her eyes before she heard him cry out in pain.

“Ha, ha, it’s nothing!” She could hear him force a laugh a second later. “A few scratches won’t stop me!”

*****

Meanwhile up in the tower, both George and Harold–while not able to properly see what exactly was happening–heard everything. They were so focused on what was happening outside, that they failed to see the dagger that was aimed at one of them.

“Ugh, I can’t watch this!” Harold looked off to the side and had his hands over his eyes as George winced and looked the other way. “I don’t want to see him getting all hurt like that!”

“Yeah, there’s already so much that I can take.” George agreed as he shuddered and grabbed his arms. “The quicker this gets over with, the–”

At that instant, George felt an unexpected, agonizing pain in his side at the exact moment the sound of thunder could be heard outside in the distance.

Harold heard George let out a sharp gasp and he turned in the nick of time to see George’s eyes bulge before he collapsed to the ground as an all too familiar blue ‘tentacle’ moved away from him while holding onto something that was too fast for Harold to make out.

“George?!” Harold panicked, but in that instant, he felt something wrap around his mouth before his hair was pulled back hard enough to make him fall to the floor.

Across the room, the body of the ruined mirror was hurled to the side as Ribble began to crawl back up. She was horribly battered from her fight with the boys and their underwear wearing protector, and now she was glaring at Harold as he looked at her in horror.

How is she still moving?! Harold panicked before glancing at George. “MPH!” He screamed and tried to crawl towards the boy who was laying on the ground and was clutching his side while gritting his teeth in pain. Before he got even close enough, one of Ribble’s ‘tentacles’ grabbed his hair again and he found himself getting pulled away from George.

“You... little...!” Ribble snarled and wheezed as enough of the rainbow hair came towards her for her to grab and add more force to pull the owner towards her. “You’re... not... getting away!”

“MPH!” Harold screamed as he grabbed his own hair and tried to pull away from Ribble and he even kicked at the floor to try to stop himself from getting too close. Meanwhile, George opened his eyes and watched as Harold was being dragged towards the nasty witch.

“No,” George moaned as he forced himself up with one hand–his side only hurting even more from the action. The hand that clutched his side was beginning to feel wet from a dampness that was steadily forming under his shirt and vest. “Harold, no!” He allowed himself one burst of energy to lunge himself at Harold and grab the boy’s arm at the moment he hit the ground.

“MPH!” Harold screamed through the ‘gag’ as George tried to pull him away from Ribble. The darker skinned child looked as if it was taking his all to just try to hold onto Harold while also looking as if he was trying to fight the urge to scream.

Ribble cursed when she saw the hinderance in her way before glancing at the hair. “Flower gleam and glow...”

Both boys turned their heads in alarm to see the woman singing. Harold began to feel his hair start glowing at its roots and he panicked–if Ribble was healed, she’d easily overpower the boys and separate them for good. He immediately tried with all his might to pull away as hard as he could with more effort than he had before.

George himself was struggling to think of what to do until he saw them–shards of the damaged mirror scattered close by, thanks to Captain Underpants throwing Ribble at it. He looked at Harold as he knew without hesitation what had to be done. “Harold, make an illusion.” He wheezed. “You have to use your powers before she does.”

“MPH?!”

“Trust me, ok?”

Harold looked behind him to see Ribble still singing the song, with the glow of the hair only moments away from reaching and rejuvenating her. He had no clue what George was up to, but he had a feeling that it was going to be a prank, which was enough to calm him down and focus. Whatever he had in mind, it had to work.

“Heal, what has been hurt, change the fate’s des–”

“Now that’s enough out of you!” A perfect illusion of Captain Underpants–complete with a proper voice and all the injuries the original version had sustained–walked into Ribble’s eye sight and blocked her from seeing the boys as he knelt down over the glowing hair. “You’ve abused those powers for far too long!”

“Wha–?!” Ribble ceased singing and stared in shock at the hero. How did he get back so fast?!

In the moment the witch was distracted, George took his chance. Summoning up all the strength he had left, he grabbed the nearest, biggest mirror shard he could find, before moving up to Harold as the boy sat up and glared at Ribble while maintaining his illusion.

George threw his arms around Harold in a near embrace. As Harold turned his head in confusion at George, George grabbed as much of Harold’s rainbow hair near his neck as he could, and with all the diminishing strength he had left, sliced through all the strands of hair.

The moment Harold felt the pull at his hair stop and a weight drop from his head, he could hardly believe what just happened and looked back in time to see the long rainbow hair that had once been apart of him fall to the floor.

Harold had two seconds to stare in surprise before turning back to look at George–the glow vanishing and all seven colors of his now completely shortened hair were fading away to reveal its true blonde color that he inherited from his mother–as the boy collapsed to the ground, with the mirror shard falling out of his hands.

The rest of what had once been a part of Harold’s hair lost its glow and the seven colors of the rainbow hair also vanished. As if sensing what had happened, the illusion of Captain Underpants gave one, final triumphant smirk at Ribble, before he faded away to reveal to her what had just happened.

“No,” She gasped as she saw that her only remaining means of staying young was now gone, and in her shock, the ‘tentacle’ that was around Harold’s mouth finally let go of him. “NO!” She howled as she reached out to grab all the hair she could, but it was useless as by that point the rest of the wild mess of hair had regained its true blonde coloring. To her further horror, her already battered hands were beginning to rapidly gain wrinkles and age spots, as if severing the last of the flower’s powers also severed her ties to it.

“NO, WHAT HAVE YOU BRATS DONE?!” She howled as she stumbled up on her feet and went to the mirror shards to take one look at herself–instead, it only revealed that the ugliness within that she had held for so many generations was coming out for her to see. She turned to the boys and growled at them. “LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE!”

Harold looked up in time to see his captor rapidly aging before his eyes–she was getting many wrinkles, age spots, and her hair was graying and falling out!

The old witch screamed as she charged at Harold and George, yet Harold acted fast. He grabbed George and dragged him across the ground as he hurried to the huge open hole in the tower. Right as Ribble made to grab him, Harold let himself and George fall over to the side while the old woman ended up tripping over both of them and right through the huge hole where there was nothing but a huge drop left to greet her.

The old woman’s dying, nightmarish screams could be heard as she fell to the ground. Yet the screams eventually ceased and at the moment her body hit the huge human sized crater in the ground, all that was left of her were her clothes and a pile of dust.

“Hmm?” Captain Underpants temporarily looked up from trying to tear apart the thorn bushes. “Ah, it’s probably not important!” He shrugged and continued onward as the sound of thunder rumbled off in the distance once more.

*****

Up in the tower, Harold took several deep breaths to calm his steady heart. There was too much that he had to take in at once, including that his captor officially kicked the bucket. His hands went to his now shortened hair–for the first time in his life, he no longer had to carry it around or let it drag behind him. Now it barely reached the top of his neck and it was all thanks to–

“George!” Harold gasped and turned around, only to find the boy laying down with a hand on his side and teeth still clenched in pain while looking rather pale. What Harold was not expecting was the huge red coloring that was seeping out from under George’s hand and staining his clothes as a faint metallic scent filled the room.

“George?!” Harold scrambled to the boy’s side and lifted his hand to see his worst fear–blood was seeping out of his side. He felt his heart freeze up at the realization.

Ribble had... Ribble had–!

“Oh no–George!” Harold grabbed the boy’s other hand. “Why would you–?! Flower gleam and glow, make your power shine!” He desperately sang, praying that he still had some of his power’s left. “Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was–!”

“It’s ok,” George wheezed as he opened his eyes. “Harold it’s–”

“No it’s not ok!” Harold cried out in frustration. “Why didn’t you take the powers before she could?! You’re hurt George! You’re really, really hurt, and I could have used my powers to heal you! Why did you do it?!”

“Because,” George sighed as he fought the urge to fall asleep. “I’d regret it if something bad happened to my best friend.”

“And you’re my best friend too!” Harold admitted as he fought the urge to cry as his eyes began to well up. “But what about you? Don’t you want to see your parents again? Don’t you want your freedom and to be a writer when you–?”

“It’s ok, Harold.” George tried to reassure him as he felt the need to shut his eyes come upon him while everything he could see was starting to blur and fade away. He was terrified... and yet at least he was able to save Harold in the end...

“You know what?” George smiled as he felt tears in his eyes as he realized that the fate he had been dreading for most of this day was finally upon him. “You were right... I wouldn’t have found you without Captain Underpants.” He weakly chortled at the irony of it all as the tears fell. “He did bring us together... and I’m glad that happened...”

“Oh no, what do I do?” Harold panicked as he grabbed his hair and let his own tears fall. “What do I do, do I go get help?!” He made to move when George grabbed his sleeve, which made Harold stop.

“No,” George moaned out a plea. “Stay with me.... please don’t... I don’t want to be alone again...”

“Ok, I’ll stay, but you got to stay with me!” Harold pleaded. “You can’t leave me George! George?!”

“It’s... to be...” George’s voice slowed down as he began to shut his eyes. “It’ll be... ok... you’re free... I’m glad I... met...”

“George?!” Harold reached for George’s hand and held onto it for as long as he could.

Seconds later, George’s hand slipped out of Harold’s grasp and fell to the floor by his side.

“George?” Harold pleaded as he made to shake the boy’s shoulders, but George’s eyes remained shut. “No,” Harold panicked as he touched the boy’s face, but it was already cold–its small owner now at an all too premature, peacefully eternal slumber.

“No,” Harold’s voice whimpered as the tears began to finally fall. “NO!” He wailed as he grabbed George’s body and hugged it. “You can’t do this to me! You can’t–no!” He sobbed. “Please come back! Please come back, George!”

*****

“No, no, you have to stop this!” Edith pleaded as she was forced to watch Captain Underpants get hurt with each vine that was snapped in half and thrown to the side. Already there were too many cuts on his hands, arms, legs, on his chest and stomach, and one was dangerously close to his right eye.

“No can do! I’m going to be done any second, and then I can get you and George and Harold out of here!” Captain Underpants firmly told her as he tried to stay positive and keep going–even though he was experiencing a pain that was more terrible than hitting a tree or hitting the ground from several feet high up in the air, he knew he had to keep going. “And then maybe I’ll take you back into that town from before!” He grabbed a particularly thick vine and started to pull at it. It hurt and all he could do was try to laugh over how badly his hands were screaming in protest.

“Get the boys out of here before it’s too late!” Edith protested and shook her head. Neither of them realized that the iron gray clouds were now completely covering the area and the rain was slowly heading towards their way.

“Was there any place you wanted to go?!” Captain Underpants asked after he finished and was about to grab another vine. “That fountain was very–ouch!” He accidentally poked his hand and shook it, sending droplets of blood flying everywhere. “These are getting too slippery!” He grumbled and wiped his hands on his cape before continuing with his cheerfulness as well as with the task at hand. “Where was I? Oh yeah, there was a library, and there was a lake!” He then grabbed another thick vine and, even though there was a smaller series of thorns around this one, they still poked into his already heavily cut hands and he started to pull at it as another burst of thunder could be heard in the distance. “Hey, I heard there was some kind of light thing that happens around this time! Is it too late for–?!”

At that exact moment, the rain was starting to fall in small drops in their area–one of which hit Captain Underpants right on the head.

At the exact second the switch was triggered, Krupp was able to feel the intense pain in his hands before being aware of anything else, and it was so agonizing that he could do nothing but let out a loud anguished cry before letting go of the vine.

“STOP!” Edith cried out, unable to take him suffering anymore. “PLEASE STOP!” She begged as she found herself near tears.

An incredibly confused Krupp had only one moment to moan though the pain as he slowly sat up to look at his hands. A combination of confused terror and nausea hit him as he gazed at the deep cuts–many of which crossed over each other–and how smeared with blood they were. He could feel many several stinging sensations across his body, in addition to certain pains that were completely new to him, but none of them were as bad as the pain in his hands. Of all the things he was anticipating when he could finally return, it was not this. This never happened to this extent. What the heck was his counterpart doing?!

“Please, no more!” He snapped his head up and was startled to see Edith laying on the ground with several thorny vines between her and him. To his horror, she was in a similar state as he was.

“Just stop, ok?” Edith pleaded as she shut her eyes and clutched her sides. She was now finally in tears as she realized what her new way to escape was going to cost, and even then it might as well have been in done in vain. “Please just take the boys and never come back. Just leave me here, I’m not worth getting hurt over.” She tried to take a deep breath and accept her fate. “I don’t want you to be in pain any more. I keep making so many stupid mistakes–I trusted my sisters and they sold me off to a witch like I was nothing to them!” She bitterly sobbed. “I could of freed Harold and I so many years ago, I could of kept the boys together before Ribble took us away–I could have prevented so much from happening, but I keep messing up, even if I try! I already tried to escape, but I just can’t! I can only take so much of these thorns! And now you’re hurting yourself over me and I can’t–look, I’ll accept whatever happens, so just go, ok?!” She sobbed. “Please?!”

Edith laid there and avoided looking at the man beyond her prison–unaware that it was his true self that she had just broken down in front of, who was stunned as he began to put together what was happening, where he was, and what his other self had been trying to do–why he was so willing to get himself heavily injured.

As the rain gradually fell down, he knew what he wanted to do (needed to do) and this time there was no hesitation. He could not leave her be like this–she didn’t deserve this awful fate.

Edith continued to shut her eyes and accept her fate until she heard something that she was dreading and looked up to see that her hopeful hero was trying to once again rip apart the vine he had been working on, even though he was making no attempt to mask the agony with humor or light heartedness this time. She could see him gritting his teeth and throwing his head back as he pulled as hard as he could and he was practically growling through his teeth.

“No, I said stop!” Edith cried, but he refused to listen. Even when the huge vine finally yielded and snapped, he didn’t stop and shoved both ends away before continuing on. “Why are you doing this?!” She was now getting frustrated and angry. “You’re going to bleed to–!”

“I’m going to get you out of there, and if you think I’m ever going to quit, then you’re going to be really disappointed!” He finally snapped at her.

Edith immediately recognized that voice and ceased her protests. She had been expecting to hear the confident, bright, smooth tones of Captain Underpants, but this was the harsh, sharp, deeper tones of–

“Benjamin?” She asked in amazement. When did–? It then literally hit her the moment she felt something wet hit her on the forehead and she looked up to see that it had started to rain outside the bush, and only now did some of it begin to break through her prison to touch her. It was raining, and if rain was water, then that meant–

Benjamin had been brought back by the rain.

As long as he was out here and suffering in order to get her out, he was completely immune to the spell.

*****

Harold sobbed as he continued to hug George’s now lifeless body.

There was no point in finally getting his freedom–finally meeting his real family–if George wasn’t there with him. He didn’t want to lose his friend–his best friend. How could he repay him for all he went through for his sake? He always heard about how death was awful when someone lost a loved one, but now that he knew it personally, it was too much to bear. If he had to do things over again, he’d save George in a heartbeat, but he couldn’t–he had no magic left–

In one last, desperate attempt to have something to believe in again–in a world of magic and enchanted heroes–Harold sang one last time in a small, shaky voice.

“Heal what has been hurt,” He sniffed as tears ran down his eyes. “Change the fate’s design... save what has been lost... bring back what once was mine... what once was mine.” He pleaded as he hugged George tightly and pressed the side of his face against his. Tears from eyes that were closed shut began to seep out and fall down, and ended up touching George’s lifeless cheek. For a long moment there was nothing but the sound of his own crying.

He couldn’t feel or sense the familiar glow that would have reassured him.

He also didn’t see that his tears let out a faint glow made of seven colors as if they were opals before they seeped into George’s cheek.

Moments later, Harold’s eyes detected a light under his eyelids. In his confusion, he opened them and almost dropped George’s body out of shock when he saw that beautiful trails of light–each one being one part of seven different colors–were flowing out of the wound on his body. They filled the room with a warm, soothing glow as Harold stared in disbelief at them–it was like being amongst the lanterns again, but there was something more...

Finally the lights ceased coming out of the wound and they began to fade away until there was nothing left.

Seconds later, George gasped for air as he shot upright and right out of Harold’s grasp, nearly causing the older boy to almost have a heart attack.

“George?!” Harold gasped as the boy tried to catch his breath. A few moments later, the boy turned his head to face Harold and stared at him in amazement while looking as if he regained his natural coloring once more.

“Oh man, heaven was not what I was expecting!” George shook his head. “So many weird people kept saying I’m an alternate version of myself and I had no clue what that meant, but at least they were all nice and–”

“George!” Harold cried out in joy as he lunged himself at George and hugged him as hard as he could. The other boy was momentarily startled, but he laughed and hugged Harold back. “You came back to life!”

“I guess I did!” George laughed, but then frowned. “But didn’t I just lose a lot of blood? Shouldn’t I be–?”

“Who cares about the logic, what matters is the results!” Harold dismissed, but then he grabbed George by the shoulders and looked him in the eye. “Don’t ever do that again!” He angrily demanded. “You could have cut Ribble’s hair and then grabbed my hair and got the healing powers! Instead you gave me a haircut!”

“Uh, whoops?” George nervously laughed and scratched the back of his head. As he did, he eyed Harold’s newly cut hair–he finally noticed that it was blonde and that Harold actually did look a lot more like Princess Heidi–but he also noticed that the curly mess was so poorly cut that it looked very uneven as some of it looked longer on one side compared to the other.

“Ok, first off,” George began. “Tell me where there’s a pair of scissors, because I really need to fix what I did to your hair.”

*****

By this point he could barely register the pain in his hands anymore. It could have been a combination of adrenaline and the anger that he was all too well known for.

Never once did he stop or question what he was doing–all he could think of was getting Edith out of her awful prison alive.

At first Edith had a hard time believing what she was seeing and at first she didn’t want to see it until it dawned on her–he was actually trying to save her. Not as his other counterpart, or out of a selfish reason, but he was trying to set her free despite the consequences as himself. She wasn’t even entirely sure why he was doing it.

She knew one thing–she had to finish what she started.

The moment he was finally close to her and there were not many vines left between them, Edith lunged forward and over the last of the vines–they tore though the skirt of her too damaged to be beyond repairable chemise and scratched her legs, but she was too desperate to care anymore. She almost collapsed in an awkward heap upon the ground on the other side, had she not felt a pair of hands quickly reach out under her arms and carefully grabbed onto her.

She felt herself be quickly, yet carefully moved away from the vines before being held against something warm. A huge pair of arms were carefully wrapped around her as if one squeeze could brake her, yet they still held onto her as if to keep her secure as they gradually helped adjust her to a comfortable sitting position. She could feel herself slowly getting drenched from the downpour of the increasingly large drops of rain, and she felt a less pleasant wetness soaking into her clothes from the blood of the one who was holding her as he heavily panted from the exhaustion of his efforts. When she was able to move back a bit from the hold, she had one moment to see a pair of dark eyes filled with worry and concern.

Without even hesitating, Edith hugged Benjamin as tightly as she could as it all became too much to handle and the action startled him enough to let go and move his hands out. Her damaged hands tightened on the makeshift cape as the blood soaked into its fabric as she could do nothing but sob her eyes out once again as her cold body desperately tried to absorb the body warmth from him. She buried her head into his shoulder as she let all her terror over her possible death and her exhaustion over trying to escape from it flow out of her.

As for the one who saved her, he was too stunned to know what to do. He couldn’t believe what had just happened–what he had done just moments before, that he was feeling the first positive physical contact with another for the first time in so long and was being hugged–but more importantly–

She’s safe now.

Benjamin let out a deep sigh of relief as he moved his hands back and carefully held onto Edith and gave her the only reassurance he could think of in that moment, and she only tightened her hold on him as a result. He shut his eyes and gave himself a moment to try to process everything and let her be before he knew he had to get her out of there and never let her have to deal with something like this ever again.

*****

“So, I tried my best, but I don’t really cut people’s hair.” George sheepishly apologized as he and Harold were heading down the steps of the tower. He had tried his best to fix the boy’s hair, but in the end it was still a curly mess and not even a brush could fix it.

“To be honest, I always wanted to get it cut, so I’m not complaining.” Harold admitted. “At least I don’t feel like I’m carrying a lot of weight around.”

“Yeah, that didn’t seem physically possible.”

“Neither would be someone climbing up it.”

“But then again, we live in a world where apparently logic doesn’t really work like that.”

Both George and Harold laughed and boy did it feel good to laugh after all the trauma and scares they went through that day.

“Harold?” A familiar, tired yet hopeful voice called out. “Harold are you ok?”

The boys were surprised to hear the voice of Edith–they almost forgot about what was happening outside the tower–and Harold’s eyes lit up with relief. “Edith?!” He called out before hurrying down the steps, with George following suit. “It’s ok, we’re fine!” He reassured her. “Ribble’s dead, so she won’t bother us agaaaaahhhhh!” Harold stopped dead in his tracks when a rather unpleasant sight met his eyes and his excitement turned to shock.

George being injured and bleeding now seemed tame when Harold remembered where they suspected Edith was trapped. The sight before him now was that of Edith’s chemise being horribly shredded up and covered with blood as gashes covered parts of her body, while she looked as if she badly needed some sleep. Then there was what would have been a hilarious, yet sweet sight of a certain adult man in nothing but a cape and underwear keeping a protective arm around her while holding her close as if to provide her warmth, except he was even more torn up and bloody compared to her. In the eyes of a child, the sight might as well have been from right out of a ghost story.

“Uh,” Harold felt sick to his stomach, but the moment George saw the sight before him, it was too overwhelming and his body couldn’t handle it.

“No,” George whimpered and began to grow pale. “No, not–” He pulled a face and began to retch.

“George?!” Harold turned around in concern.

“Why blood?! Why did it have to be–?!” And with that, George couldn’t hold it anymore. He promptly turned to the side over the stairs and proceeded to vomit out the remains of what had once been his prison meal from earlier that day to the surprise of everyone else.

“GEORGE?!” Harold quickly grabbed onto George’s vest so that he wouldn’t fall over the stairs as he finished his business. The younger boy was nearly in tears as everything came out and when it did, he tried to spit... only to vomit up once more for two seconds. Finally he was able to spit the last of it out.

“Oh man, I don’t feel good.” George moaned as he gave in and collapsed into Harold, who was quick to catch him in time.

“George?!” Harold panicked and tried to get the boy to stand. “Dang it George, you can’t be dying on me again!” He pleaded. “This isn’t funny, quit doing this!”

“I told you I can’t stand the sight of–!” George pulled a face and grabbed his mouth. “Never mind, get me back up, get me back up! Don’t let me see anything red!”

“Ok, ok!” Harold promised and helped George hurry back up to the top of the tower while leaving behind the adults.

While Edith was concerned–too concerned to dwell on the fact that Harold had undergone a certain noticeable change in appearance–Krupp could hardly believe what he had just seen.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He began. “Of all the things that I could have used to stop him this whole time, it was the sight of blood?!”

*****

Things were surprisingly calm in the tower after everything that had happened.

Edith found herself staring at her newly bandaged hands–with Harold’s healing powers gone, they had to resort to the slower, traditional method of medicine and bandages, which she had to guide him and George on using since she couldn’t do it herself at the moment. It took her awhile to get out of her ruined chemise and into another second-hand dress that was close to getting too worn out to wear, but now here she was, back in a heavily damaged tower that was in need of a desperate sweep.

The boys had moved away from the main room when they could as fast as possible. Judging by how they reacted to the blood on the floor, all the mirror shards, and the severed strands of hair, something had happened in here that they didn’t want to relive and she had the sense to not ask until they were ready to talk.

However, this left her with Benjamin who was sitting on a chair that had been turned back onto its feet. Like Edith, he too had needed to get bandaged up and was just now huddled on the chair with one of her blankets wrapped around him to allow him some decency. He had an incredibly lost look on his face–he didn’t say one word since coming into the top part of the tower.

Well, except there was that moment when he had to get the medicine on his wounds and he let out in impressive series of pained yelps and shrieks, in addition to unintentionally teaching the boys a few new curse words the whole time. Now there was not a sound to be heard except that of the failing rain outside the tower. Edith couldn’t tell what he was thinking of at that moment.

The truth was that there was too much going through his head while trying to absorb his surroundings at the same time. In one day, he ended up doing so many things that went against who he thought he was–he ended up choosing to save someone he hated, made choices he wouldn’t have normally made, and ended up putting someone’s safety completely before his own.

He was also being forced to see what else his actions before this day had caused and it was giving him new reasons to hate himself. He couldn’t even find the will to try to think about what choices he had after today.

Edith looked from the silent man to the broom in the kitchen. She wasn’t sure what to say to him, so she went to grab it, though the action caused her immense discomfort to her bandaged hands. She went over to the closest spot that had shattered mirror fragments and attempted to sweep it for about ten seconds until–

“What are you doing?” She looked up to see Benjamin staring at her in surprise.

“I was just–I needed something to do?” She lamely tried. “Not all of us have shoes and–” He got up and took the broom from her hands and carelessly let it drop to the floor.

“Look, you don’t need to do that to yourself.” He told her. “Not after... you know.” He winced. “Just don’t.” He sighed before asking “How long?”

“How long what?”

“How long were you living like this?” He asked. “I picked up enough from those two as well as all those hints from you that something was up.”

Edith nervously stared at the floor, almost unwilling to tell him the truth, but there was no point in hiding it anymore. “Almost ten years. Almost as long as Harold as been alive.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Ribble wanted Harold for his powers. She wanted someone to watch over him for her–didn’t want the patience to raise a kid–so she bought me off from my sisters to do it for her. Considering how they treated me after my parents died, it was only a slight improvement.” She let out a bitter laugh and held her face in her hand.

He stared at her in stunned silence as he recalled that similar confession from earlier.

She and that kid had been imprisoned up here for almost a whole decade. She had been a slave who was on the run this whole time. If he had been more aware of her all those years ago, or if they had ever crossed paths before that had to happen to her–

Edith sighed and gazed at the man before her. The first time they met, he was nothing but cruel and mean spirited with nothing redeemable about him. Now? He had just saved her without hesitation not that long ago, and he seemed even more human and capable of compassion than she realized.

“Um, never mind about that.” She shook her head. “It’s not something I like remembering. Anyway... uh, about what you did earlier for me.... getting me out of that bush, even though I was telling you no–” she carefully grabbed his hand–even more heavily bandaged and much large than her own–and though she couldn’t directly feel it with all the bandages in the way, it kind of felt nice to hold it. She gave him a small, shy smile “Thank you, Benjamin. Thank you–that really means a lot to me.”

Her words nearly surprised Benjamin, but as he stared at her thankful eyes and that small smile, he felt a heat flare up in his face. “Uh... sure, you’re welcome.” He replied. “But I didn’t exactly start it. It was the other guy.”

“Doesn’t matter, you still saved me.” Edith reassured him before frowning as a thought struck her. “Though I do need to bring him out again before I forget.”

At that, he almost panicked. “What a sec, what?!”

“I just need to reassure him that I’m ok!” She quickly explained. “He’s aware if something changes whenever he wakes up, and I don’t want him to panic if he comes out and sees that I’m not there. He’d probably go off to find me or–you know. Look, I promise I’ll bring you back like I did last time.” She carefully squeezed his hand. “After that, I’ll never do it again unless you’re ok with it.”

He stared at her for a few moments, but finally gave in with much reluctance. “Just don’t let him go out any of the windows.” He pleaded. “I don’t want find myself falling several feet down in mid-air again.”

Edith nodded and quickly moved her hand back before she tried to carefully move the bandages down from the tips of her thumb and middle finger, not realizing that George and Harold had came out and saw the end part of their conversation from the steps leading up to the bedrooms. She gritted her teeth as she made to try to snap her fingers, but the medicine that had been applied on the bandages made them too slippery. She tried once more and then when she tried a third time, Harold decided to snap for her.

SNAP!

“Whoa, wait a minute where am I?!” Captain Underpants jolted, causing the blanket to fall off of him as he looked around the room. “Why am I back in the tower?!” He panicked. “I was just trying to–!” He finally noticed Edith, who smiled and gave him a small wave.

He stared at her for two seconds before he broke out into a huge smile and, before Edith knew it, she found herself almost getting crushed to death by the man in a huge hug.

“You’re ok!” Captain Underpants joyfully exclaimed. “Thank heavens!” He laughed as he hugged Edith closer to him. “I know I was trying to stay positive for you, but I was also scared the whole time!”

“It’s alright!” Edith was startled from the unexpected hug, but it felt nice at the same time, even if she was close to struggling to breathe. Meanwhile, George and Harold quietly snuck down to grab some water. “I wanted to let you know that I was ok–Benjamin finished the job for you!”

“Who?” Captain Underpants went from nearly crying with relief to confused. “Oh wait!” He realized as he let go of her. “You mean Benny, right?”

At this, George snorted and laughed as Harold hesitated from grabbing a bucket of water and snickered. This caused the hero to turn around and when he saw the boys, it took about two seconds for him to rush over and gather them up in a tight hug like he did with Edith. “You guys are ok too!” He cheered. “I’m glad to see everything worked out fine.”

George and Harold shot each other very uncomfortable looks. “Uh... yeah... everything did work out fine.” Harold nervously replied with a forced smile while Edith went over to the bucket the boys were originally going to use.

“Maybe there was one issue or two, but it was fixed.” George tried to shift himself in the adult’s embrace so that he couldn’t see a certain hole and stain in his vest.

“Hey wait a minute!” Captain Underpants frowned as he stared at Harold. “Why is your hair all short and yellow?”

“Oh I guess it was time for a change.” Harold sighed in relief at the change of topic.

Unaware that Edith was reaching her hand towards his head, Captain Underpants beamed at Harold. “Well it looks just as good! It suits you just–!”

And with one tap of the head from Edith’s water covered fingertips, Captain Underpants was changed back into Benjamin Krupp, who flinched in surprise. He then looked down to see that he was hugging George and Harold, who were staring up at him.

“Nope!” Krupp was quick to let go of the boys and forced himself away from them as fast as he could. “Never in a thousand years am I ever going to–!”

“Yeah, good to see you back.” George rolled his eyes.

“At least you’re talking again.” Harold added.

This was able to make Krupp scowl at the two boys as they shot each other a knowing look. There was something that they had discussed back in Harold’s room and they both dreaded and looked forward to it. “Anyway,” George began. “Thanks for not letting me get killed at the castle... but the thing is... we actually need to go back as soon as it stops raining.”

Krupp stopped scowling and was now confused. “What?”

“Well, you’re going to have a hard time believing this, but–”

“No, wait a second!” Krupp held his hands out as he regained his scowl. “You mean to say, that after you finally got thrown in jail, causing me to have serious guilt issues that I’m starting to regret over you almost getting executed, then forced me to seek help and then let the idiot take over so that you could live–you say that you want to go back?! You should be thankful I’m letting you get off easy for once–!”

“I’m Queen Grace’s son.” Harold cut him off. “That’s why we need to go to her.”

That managed to shut Krupp up as he stared at the boy in disbelief before he let out a snort of laughter. “You’re her missing kid?! Yeah, and I’m a fictional character from a book–!”

“No, he’s more than sure that he’s the prince!” George pointed at Harold. “He had his hair cut and now he’s a blonde! Doesn’t he look like the queen? Or even the princess?” He added with a smile. “Take a close look, you’ve known them longer than me.”

Krupp stared at the two and let out a scoff before he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine, I’ll take a look and humor you.” He finally looked at Harold and stared long and hard at the boy, without dropping the signature frown. The longer he stared, the more his face contorted into an amusing display of narrowed eyebrows and a twisted mouth, causing Harold to try his hardest to not laugh and ended up smirking instead.

That’s when he saw it–he knew that smirk. The queen and her daughter had that smirk. In fact, this boy–the one who gave him so much trouble and black mailed him into letting him have his way–looked almost exactly like a male version of both Queen Grace and Princess Heidi. It made his eyes widen and his mouth drop in realization.

“Excuse me for one second.” Krupp pulled away from the boy and quickly headed off into one of the side hallways to everyone’s confusion.

“So wait.” Harold was confused. “What was that about? Does he see it?” He asked George. “Because–”

A terrifically impressive yell of frustrated rage broke through, nearly startling them all to death as it seemed to shake the entire foundation.

“Yup, he sees it.” George grinned at Harold. “Now we got a new reason for him to suffer, and I’d take full advantage of it if I were you.”

Chapter Text

One day later, the rain had finally stopped and light shone upon Piqua once more.

Heidi was once again in her bedroom, playing with her Captain Underpants doll, though her heart wasn’t into it. She heard about what almost happened to him when he tried to save George and she was worried. Maybe he’d never come back to her if her mama had–

“Hey!” Heidi was startled out of her thoughts and looked out to the nearest window to see that the man himself was grinning with excitement as he waved at her while flying in mid-air. She almost didn’t see the bandages on his hands, but when she did, she felt a bit of fear for him.

“I have something you might like!” He told her through the window, but Heidi barely heard it at first.

“What?!” Heidi got up and hurried to the window.

“I have something that’ll make you happy!” He repeated again. “Go to that balcony that’s over there!” He pointed to his right. “I’ll be there waiting!”

Unsure as to what he had in mind, a little cautious, but very curious to know what he wanted her to see, Heidi let go of the doll and hurried out of her bedroom as fast as she could. She grabbed the skirts of her dress and ran as fast as her tiny feet could let her without stopping. She knew which balcony he was talking about–it was connected to the small sitting room on this level of the castle.

Moments later, she reached the door, threw it open, and hurried to the heavy green curtains, where she quickly threw one back to open the glass door and dashed outside to the small balcony where the hero was waiting, but he wasn’t alone.

“See?!” Captain Underpants gave Heidi an excited grin and gestured to one of the two boys that were in front of him. “I was able to keep my promise! I brought him back home to you!”

Heidi was momentarily confused by what he meant as she looked at the two boys. One of them she immediately recognized as George, who gave her an awkward wave as he took a few steps away from the other boy who stared at her in wonder. It took her a moment, but Heidi was quick to recognize him–it was the boy from the festival who made that drawing of Captain Underpants for her. His hair was different now, but she recognized him.

Then it hit her as to what Captain Underpants said.

She stared in shock at the boy that the hero was gesturing to. She walked forward, all the while completely missing that there was a woman watching from the side, who was giving the princess a small smile as her blue eyes reflected an instant adoration towards the child.

Was this boy really–?

“You really found him?” Heidi asked as she stared at Harold, who stared at her in amazement. Even if he knew the truth he still could hardly believe that this child was supposed to be his sister.

“Well George found him first, but I still kept my word.” Captain Underpants admitted.

“Uh,” Harold nervously began as he addressed the princess. “It’s true. I guess we’re siblings.”

“Yeah, you both look alike, now that I’m seeing it!” George helped out.

Heidi continued to stare in amazement at Harold. The two didn’t do anything as they tried to see themselves in each other’s faces.

“Heidi?!” All heads turned to see Queen Grace had rushed out of the door in a panic. “Heidi, don’t get near that man just yet, he–!”

“Mama wait, don’t do anything!” Heidi quickly protested as she turned to stop her mother. Meanwhile, George winced and tried to hide behind Harold, out of fear for what the queen would do if she saw him. “It’s ok, Captain Underpants is a good person! He found Harold like he promised me!”

Grace stopped and gave her daughter a confused look. “What?”

“I told you someone still cared! I told you someone was still looking for Harold!” Heidi grinned as she gestured to the trio behind her. “He promised me that he’d bring Harold back to us and he did!”

Grace’s eyes went from her daughter to the odd trio before her. She could see that oddly familiar looking, minimally clothed man give her a wave as the two boys in front of him stared up at her with mixed expressions. She was quick to recognize the young thief that she was meant to execute (this caused a pang of guilt in her heart at remembering it), but when she saw the other boy, the world came to a complete stop.

It was a boy who had her hair and hints of her face. It was a boy who almost perfectly resembled her daughter when they were placed side by side together, yet his hair was much messier looking.

No... it couldn’t be... could it–?

“Your Majesty?!” She heard one of the guards yell as they headed into the room behind her. “Is everything–?!” Grace grabbed the handle of the door and slammed it shut without taking her eyes off the boy.

Slowly Grace walked up to Harold as the other two he had been with respectfully backed away. He grew nervous as she looked at him, not knowing what she was thinking of–what if she didn’t think he was her son? What would he do?

Grace knelt before Harold to look at him carefully. It had been so long since she had seen her son, and he had rainbow colored hair the last time she saw him. This boy was much older and he had a wild curly blonde mess, but she knew that exact sort of hair... she knew those eyes...

Slowly Grace reached a hand out and carefully cupped Harold’s face to look closely at him. She felt the boy take a deep breath when she touched him as she looked closer...

Somewhere within the next few moments, she saw it. She felt it in her heart almost instantly.

She let out a gasp before smiling. She let go of Harold’s face, only to collapse to her knees and draw him into a tight embrace. The boy was startled by the action as the woman tightened her hold.

“It’s you...” She could barely contain it as her eyes began to water. “After all this time... I knew you were out there... I hoped you’d come back to me if I couldn’t–!” She let out a gasp and bowed her head as the tears began to fall. “I’m sorry it took so long!”

“Hey, it’s alright.” Harold tried to reassure Grace as he felt in his heart that this was right–this woman was indeed his mother. “I–” He hugged her back and squeezed as tightly as he could.

Grace could barely contain herself as she rocked on her knees while hugging her son–this was him without any doubt. Almost one whole decade and now she was finally embracing him once more.

“Mama?” Heidi shyly asked. Grace sniffed as she looked up and drew her daughter into the hug–this time she was able to hug both her children in one embrace.

Heidi shut her eyes and placed one arm around her mother before placing the other around her brother. For the first time in what felt like so long everything was right again and her mother was happy.

Grace struggled to take deep breaths. This was what she wanted more than anything in the world–to have her family whole and intact with her son in their lives once more. Finally her wishes and prayers had been answered.

After several long moments she began to raise her head up. “Thank you–” but she stopped. The strange man was gone, and only George remained.

George looked behind him was was surprised to see that Captain Underpants was gone as if he had never been there to begin with. When he looked ahead, he saw that Edith was gone too. He then looked at the queen and nervously grabbed his arm as Harold looked up at him and shot him a confused look before he remembered something important.

“Wait, please don’t execute George!” Harold plead to Grace. “He was the one who found me in the first place! He’s my best friend!”

“I’m not going to!” Grace stared at Harold in alarm. “Trust me, I’ve already regretted–!” She sighed as she looked at George and gave him an apologetic smile and held her hand out towards him.

“Uh, that’s ok.” George waved his hand. “You’re already reuniting with–whoa!” Grace pulled the boy by the hand and all of a sudden he was locked in an embrace with the Royal Family.

George was amazed to feel that familial love being extended to him. Yet he couldn’t help but give in and hug his best friend back, in addition to Harold’s family.

*****

Edith stared in wonder at the wilted blue flower that she found in Benjamin’s house. She couldn’t believe it–it was the exact same flower she wore a few days ago and somehow he found it and had it this whole time.

She sat on the sofa as she carefully examined each petal and gently traced a finger over them. To think that there had been a flower that had caused so much trouble for everyone, and yet here was one that was able to make her remember something positive for a change. What could of happened to her if that other flower didn’t exist? Why on earth did he keep hers after all the trouble she put him through?

Still, it was an unexpectedly sweet thing that he did, and she felt herself blush a little at the thought.

“What the–?!” Edith snapped her head up to see Benjamin put back together again–clothes, fake hair, and all–and he was startled to see her in his house after descending the staircase. “When did–? Wait a minute, why aren’t you with them?” He realized what was off about all of this.

Edith hesitated before slowly putting the flower to the side. “I... well... the thing is that my part’s over, isn’t it?” She asked. “I was only kept in that tower because Ribble wanted me to take care of Harold instead of doing it herself. He’s the only reason I would have met–” She hesitated once more. “I mean, he was never mine to begin with. He needs his real family now and I don’t think the queen would take to kindly to me if she–I don’t know.” She sighed as she clasped her hands together. “I just don’t want to intrude.”

“Though I guess that means I’m finally free to do whatever I want.” She weakly smiled. “But the thing is, I don’t have a clue where I want to go or where to start. I never thought too much about what I wanted if I ever left the tower, and I don’t have any money to my name, so...” She let out a nervous laugh and avoided his gaze. “I mean, if you want me to leave now, I understand. You already went through a lot because of me.” She eyed his still bandaged hands.

Benjamin had no clue what to do or even say at first. He couldn’t even imagine what she was currently facing–he himself had never wanted to end up in such a position. Yet he didn’t want to imagine her being on her own while struggling to survive. She seemed capable of taking care of herself (as he learned not that long ago) but he didn’t exactly want her to leave either.

And that was a thought that freaked him out more than anything–suddenly not wanting to have someone leave him after being so used to not needing anyone. He had always been so used to caring only about himself that actually putting another before him was still unfamiliar to him. Again, it was too fast for him to know what he was getting into with such thoughts, but... it felt like a nice change.

“I guess if you want,” He began “I could help you get work somewhere. Though everyone hates me so it’d be hard to put in a good word.” He apologized and rubbed the back of his head. “I doubt I’d be that much help to you.”

Edith gave him a shy smile as she stood up and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’d appreciate that very much.” She walked up to Benjamin until she was before him and looked at his face. Right now, she almost had trouble seeing how he could have either been that terrible monster she first met or that excitable hero who had been sweet to her–it was now like seeing someone who was somewhere comfortably in-between both sides. “I wish I could repay you some day.” She nervously began. “If there was some way–like maybe I could help you find a way to break that spell so that you don’t have to feel afraid of being around others or feel alone–” She sighed. “I wish I could do something in return for everything you’ve already done.”

Benjamin nervously stared at her as he felt his heart rate increase. “I–” He began “The thing is–”

There was a knock at the door that ruined everything, much to his great annoyance. His face quickly resumed it’s familiar scowl as he stormed to the door and swung it open before he snapped at the unfortunate visitor with “Look, I’m kind of busy right now, so save it for–!”

“The Queen wants to see someone named Edith!” The luckless guard held her hands up in protest. “She said that she was told that she’d be with you, and that you’d want to come with her.”

“Who told you about–?!” He felt himself get protective until he realized what she said. “Oh right, those two.” He shook his head at his own stupidity.

*****

Edith found herself staring nervously at Grace in the throne room, with Benjamin beside her.

“So you’re Edith.” Grace began with wonder.

“Y-yes, Your Majesty?” Edith stammered as she found herself huddling into herself under the older woman’s gaze.

Grace let out a relieved smile as she walked up to Edith and before the woman knew it, the queen hugged her. “Thank you so much,” She began. “Thank you for being with Harold and showing him love and kindness when he needed it. He told me everything about you and all that you’ve done for him. It’s because of you that he was able to have a childhood and you gave him everything that he needed the most when I could not be there for him.”

Edith was hesitant to huge the queen back, but she gave in and returned it. “You’re welcome.” She replied.

Grace sighed and let go of Edith. “I envy you, but I deeply appreciate all that you’ve done. You had to pay a huge price and you too had to suffer across the years. You deserve so much in return–”

“Oh no, I don’t want anything!” Edith quickly protested and held her hands up. “Honestly, that would be wrong of me to expect a reward! Knowing Harold is happy and reunited with his family and George is enough!”

“But I want you to become a part of my family.”

Edith could hardly believe what she just heard and even Benjamin was taken by surprise by this. “Wh–what?”

“Please, stay in the castle and be a part of my family.” Grace pleaded as she took one of Edith’s hands. “Harold was wondering where you went, but he knew who you would be with, and he wanted to see you again–he wanted you to be happy. I want you to have a chance to have a new start in my castle and honestly, if what he’s said is true, then I’d rather have you watch over my children, especially given how my daughter rarely enjoys the company of most of the adults here. Also,” Grace smirked as her eyes momentarily drifted to her captain of the Guard “I have a feeling Harold would not like most of the adults here either and I’m predicting that very few of them will have a moment’s peace for a very long time.”

Edith let out a breathless laugh. “I don’t know what to say, Your Majes–”

“Oh just call me Grace and say yes.” Grace laughed.

“Yes!” Edith happily replied. “Yes I would like that very much!”

“Oh he’ll love to hear that!” Grace was relieved.

Grace let out a sigh before she was reminded of something else. She let go of Edith’s hand and looked at the man near her. “Now as for you, Krupp–”

Right on cue, the man stiffened up and pulled a face of dread, not knowing what was to come, yet anticipating the worst. Grace quietly studied him, making him more uncomfortable and ready to leave with each passing moment. She looked over his casual appearance before staring at him long and hard in the face, as if trying to see something that was hiding in it that she missed. Finally she took a deep breath and clasped her hands together. “I can see why it would be a bad idea to fire you, so I’ll keep you around for a bit longer and give you another chance, but,” She shot him a pointed look “I’m undoing everything you did behind my back. All those rules and laws you set up were done without my knowledge and I will not have that happen again unless I agree to it. You understand?”

“I–” Benjamin was about to say but then shook his head. “Yeah, sure.” He sheepishly admitted.

“You know,” Grace added “It was actually Harold and that boy George who convinced me to keep you around, so maybe you should thank them for that.”

At that, the man shot her a look of incredible disbelief as the queen took Edith by the hand and began to lead her to where the children were. Though as she did, she turned her head and added “By the way, would I be right in saying that trying to capture and lock up Captain Underpants wouldn’t do any of us any good, especially for yourself? I’d hate to have someone as helpful as him locked up or worse.”

This made Benjamin flinch and Edith shot Grace a nervous look as the blonde looked like she was fighting the urge to laugh.

When Edith had been returned to Harold–he was quickly getting acquainted with Heidi as she recounted her friendship with a certain hero to him and George–Grace watched as the boy’s face lit up and he hurried over to hug Edith. He of course had been thrilled to hear the good news and before Grace let them all be, she watched as he pulled Edith over to Heidi, who stared at her in curious wonder. Yet it was only when Grace was finally alone in a room a few minutes later that she let out the laughter that she had tried so hard to keep in–the laughter that she had been unable to have in what felt like a long time.

Both Harold and George gave her some very exact reasons as to why she couldn’t fire Krupp and the irony of it was too hilarious! To think that her strict, easily angered captain of the Guard was indeed the very same underwear wearing hero who nearly humiliated her guards this whole time!

*****

And with that, my best friend was able to reunite with his family, who no longer had to suffer anymore. When the word got out that the lost prince had returned, many were delighted and happy for the Royal Family. Others... well, I would have loved to have seen the reactions from all of the people who didn’t think he’d come back or were poking fun at the queen. It would have been hilarious!

Queen Grace pardoned me for what happened and even let me stay in the castle so that I could be with Harold for awhile. She insisted on giving me a reward and I wasn’t sure about it, but after Harold’s encouragement, I told her there was one thing that I wanted, if it were possible...

Anyway, I’m about to get too ahead of myself. First off, the children of Piqua were free to have fun once more, without any stupid rules. Sure, a lot of adults were unhappy, but we were overjoyed! Still, many of us still enjoyed going to the old hangout.

*****

Laughter and merriment filled The Crusty Sandbox as its visitors (plus a few more young children) had fun, played games, and did whatever their heart’s desired.

“Hey everybody!” George called out as he swung open the door to reveal himself and Harold–both of whom were wearing matching grins. “Guess who wants to join us!”

All heads turned and the boys were greeted with “George!” or “Harold!” or “Hey what’s up?!”

“Hey, you decided to come join the fun?!” Dev asked with a grin as he and Sasha paused in their fighting.

“The castle probably isn’t as fun!” Iya joked from the stage.

“Yeah, it does it a little stuffy at times!” Harold admitted with an awkward laugh. “Also there’s way too many adults there!”

The kids and teens laughed.

“Actually,” Harold glanced behind him. “That’s not the only reason why we’re here today.” He and George moved away to reveal a small blonde haired child, whose eyes widened at the sight of so many children.

“Is... is that–?” Rose gasped.

“Princess Heidi?!” Tommy gapped.

Harold took Heidi by the hand as he and George lead her into the building. “Yeah, this is my sister.” Harold told them with pride as he looked at Heidi. “She’s never been around here before, so can you guys be nice?”

“Uh, hi?” Heidi nervously waved.

“Oh my gosh, you’re so adorable!” Daemyra hurried over to get a better look at Heidi and waved at her with one hand while the other carefully held an equally curious Lil’ Petey. “Hi there, cutie!”

“Hi princess!” Ravi and Marco waved.

“Hello!” Sugar grinned and waved.

There was a barking sound and Greg hurried over to the princess to bark out a friendly hello. Heidi smiled in delight and petted the dog, who happily licked her hand, causing her to giggle before the other children went over to get to know her.

After awhile, George found Daemyra again and pulled her to a small spot away from the others so that he could talk to her with Harold. “Uh, I heard that you know about Lisa and Billy, right?” He asked her.

“Oh yeah, those two.” Daemyra smiled fondly at the mention of them. “I’ve taught them a few things awhile back. Why do you ask?”

“Because you’re the only one who might know where they are since you’re also one of the magic folk.” Harold admitted.

“See, I let them do a spell on someone and I need to try to get it undone for him.” George confessed. “And I need to do it soon if I want to live to see next spring.” He grimaced. “Trust me.”

“It’s not a bad spell–I mean, we’ve had fun with it, but we can’t let it last for too long.”

Daemyra thought for a moment and sighed. “Well, you’ll have to wait until June, because they’re with their teacher and I know they won’t come back to Piqua until then.”

The boys turned pale and gave each other uncomfortable looks. “Oh man, he’s going to kill us.” George mumbled to Harold.

“Well if it helps, I’ll keep my eyes and ears open and let them know that you wanted to see them.” Daemyra grinned. “Now why don’t you two show us all what you got. I hear you have a special storybook you wrote together?”

At this the boys’ faces lit up. “Oh boy do we!” Harold grinned as he pulled small homemade book that he and George made together.

“Oh what’s that?” Kai bolted over to give the book a look. “‘The epic tales of Captain Underpants?’” He gave the boys a huge grin. “Oh, I want to see!”

With a delighted laugh, the boys hurried over to the stage to show off their work to the children.

*****

In case you are wondering, yes we told Krupp about how long he’d have to wait in order to figure out how to undo that spell. We ran for our lives as soon as we saw the look on his face and it took all day before we finally left our hiding spot and he was still mad when he found us. Well, he still is in a way.

Speaking of Krupp, he didn’t change too much. I mean, he was still strict and got angry easily, but he acted less of a jerk after those fateful few days. The other guards thought it was weird that his attitude suddenly changed and that he was ok with letting the kids have fun, but they still didn’t realize that he and the guy that utterly humiliated them when I almost got executed were one and the same.

Everything seemed fine in my life. I was a free man, I got to have the best friend in the world, and I got to live in the castle as if I were a member of the family.... but one day... when I least expected it...

*****

It was in a small study that Edith was helping the boys with some school related work. The queen appreciated that Edith had kept Harold educated, but she wanted him to have a chance to attend a school, along with his sister in the following August. That meant that there was some serious catching up that had to be done, but George needed it more than Harold.

“Ugh, this is boring!” George groaned as he and Harold struggled to stay awake during a math lesson. “I almost wish I was on the run again! At least I didn’t have to deal with this.”

“Hey, don’t be that way.” Edith smiled as she looked at George’s paper. “See?” She pointed to a problem. “You’ve done all the steps. You just need help with a few more.”

For the first time in so many years, Edith was finally wearing new clothing. Her short sleeved dress of dark pink jewel tones, light pink, and blue lace was not as fancy as the queen’s dresses, but it suited her new role amongst the Royal Family. A pretty gold pin with small blue flower details kept her hair out of her face to reveal a content smile and blue eyes that no longer had to be filled with despair.

Of course, being part of the Royal Family, plus having her natural beauty on display, was an invitation for potential unwanted suitors, but luckily for her, the boys were well prepared to unleash their pranks if it were ever to happen.

“Alright, try it this way.” Edith wrote something down. “Just do this... subtract from that... and–”

The door opened to reveal Heidi. “Uh, hi?” She waved, causing them all to look up. “Mama wants you to see something, George.”

“Huh?” George was confused.

“You’ll see!” Heidi smiled as she hurried into the room. “Come on! You too!” SHe grabbed Edith by the hand and began to pull her away from the desk. “You’ll want to come see too!” The princess had quickly liked Edith from the start and she was comfortable being around the woman when she was allowed to leave the castle with an adult, to the point that she wanted her to join her above all the other adults from the castle.

The boys followed Heidi as she lead Edith towards the throne room, still not sure as to what was going on and what Queen Grace had. As they made their way, they passed a few banners bearing the kingdom crest–the original multicolored flames of the sun had been restored to them upon the return of the lost prince.

Inside the throne room Grace was happily talking to two people while Benjamin quietly stood off to the side. It was here that Heidi finally topped pulling Edith’s hand as the boys came out from behind.

“So, what is it that mom want’s us to see?” Harold asked as he glanced to Heidi. “Hey, what do you think George?” He began to ask, but then noticed how still George had become. “George?” He asked as he saw the boy stare at the couple as if he were seeing ghosts from the past.

George wasn’t sure if what he was seeing was true. It had been so many years that it could have been just a dream, and yet–

Without saying a word, George took a few steps forward, and it was when Harold looked at the couple and back to George that he realized the exact reason behind the boy’s reaction.

George pulled out the pendant he always wore, with the message that gave him hope for so many years, and clutched it as he moved closer to the couple and the queen.

Grace noticed the boy out of the corner of her eye and ceased talking as she gave him a hopeful smile and a small wave. It was the woman who was the first to notice her reaction and turned around. When she saw George, she gasped and clasped a hand to her mouth. Her husband heard this and he also turned around before he noticed the boy, and he startled when he saw him.

George let go of the pendant and let the two see it, to fully confirm that he was indeed their son.

“George?” Barbara asked, before she broke out into a smile.

“Mom? Dad?” George asked.

“Yes!” Barbara knelt before her son and held her arms open. “Yes, it’s really us!”

“Mom!” George rushed towards her and hugged her tightly. He cried with joy as Moses also hurried down to hug his son. “Dad!” George moved his arms so that he could hug his dad too.

“Oh god!” Barbara held her son’s head and kissed his forehead. “All this time! You were here this whole time!”

“I knew you were out there!” George told her. “I knew, but I couldn’t just leave! I just didn’t know–!”

“It’s alright, George.” Moses reassured him. “As long as you were safe all these years, that’s all it matters.”

“You’d be surprised!” George let out a laugh as he tightened his hug.

Nearby, Harold watched and smiled a huge smile. Finally his best friend had his greatest wish come true–to reunite with his family once more.

Off to the side near the queen, Benjamin was also watching the reunion. He tried his hardest to ignore the slight guilt inside him over not believing in the boy’s words so many years ago. He tried to look elsewhere and that guilt quickly vanished when he caught sight of Edith. She was smiling at the sight of the reunited family and it was such a lovely smile, and the the way her eyes lit up with that happy warmth–she caught sight of him looking at her and gave him a small wave. Benjamin felt a warmth in his face and turned his head, but his eyes were still looking at her as he felt a pleasant feeling in his chest.

“Oh yeah,” George let go of his parents and grinned at Harold. “I’d like you to meet my best friend, Harold.”

“Uh, hi!” Harold shyly waved at Moses and Barbara.

Now I guess this is the part where I should say ‘and we all lived happily ever after,’ but the truth is that–

“Oh, that reminds me!” Grace remembered something and snapped her fingers out of habit.

SNAP!

–There was still that one thing we kept forgetting about.

Both George and Harold’s smiles quickly dropped at the sound of the finger snapping and they shot each other knowing looks of dread.

“Oh no,” George turned his head, as did Harold, but the man everyone assumed was the queen’s captain was already making a run for the nearest exit.

“Hi, you look pretty today!” Edith (who was also quick to pick up on what was about to happen) stopped in her tracks the moment those words and an energetic, yet sincere smile was given to her before she could go after him and she felt her cheeks grow warm.

“Oh come on, why now?!” George cried out in frustration as he ran out of his parents’ grasp and he and Harold made a mad dash after the man.

“George?!” Barbara was confused by her son’s sudden change in behavior.

Moments later, Edith hurried outside to the nearest balcony to look around. Grace carried Heidi out in a hurry, and Moses and Barbra followed suit.

“Uh, what exactly is going on?” Moses asked Edith as she looked around.

“Tra-la-laa!” A voice loudly cried out to confirm their answers, causing Edith to let out a small smile. All eyes turned towards the sky to see a strange figure flying across it with two very familiar children in his hold.

“Oh no!” George moaned as Captain Underpants gleefully flew him and Harold over the heads of many surprised townsfolk, from confused adults to delighted children.

“Here we go again!” Harold clung onto Captain Underpants for dear life as he and George were taken off to another unexpected adventure.