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Ralsei was in a strange place, one unlike which he had never seen before. He couldn’t make out the details of anything, though he knew at once neither Kris nor Susie were with him. He started to panic. “Kris! Susie! Where are you? I can’t see anything!”. He was sure they were with him before. Before… this. Why weren’t they here now? Why did they leave him so alone?
A loud, obnoxious ring filled the room. Ralsei sprang up, before noticing it was coming from his old alarm clock. His strength sapped instantly, he quietened it down just before dropping back onto his bed. There was an unusual quiet hanging over Castle Town. It was never lively in the mornings, but the past few days had changed that. Perhaps things were finally calming down, everyone having gotten bored of constant celebrations. Ralsei pondered these thoughts as he gave out a yawn and stretched his arms, now recovered after his rude awakening. He would very much like to relax on a day like this, but it was his duty as Prince of this town to make sure all was well among his subjects.
After a few minutes of trying to think of a way out of today’s duties, and against the advice of his criminally comfortable bed, he sighed, rolled out of bed, and got ready for the day ahead. He didn’t bother with a shower and put on the same clothes he had been wearing since the day after the festival. They were still spotless, despite the best efforts of the townsfolk, and besides, he didn’t expect many Darkners out today. Susie would have been proud of him for such a blatant disregard for personal hygiene. After a short smile, he sighed to himself, and left for the kitchen.
When he looked in the pantry, he groaned as he remembered that yesterday’s breakfast used up the last of his favourite Dark Candies. He told himself he would get some more from Seam’s later that day, but it slipped his mind, as most things seemed to nowadays. Eventually, he found an almost stale box of Kitty Kakes at the very back. Kris had offloaded most of them onto him a while ago, after realising they tasted nothing like the cat food they liked in the Light World. They weren’t bad at all, but his stomach made it clear they were not enough. At least now he had a good reason to leave his castle today, he thought as he began to descend.
As he got to the door of his castle, he couldn’t even muster up hope he would see his friends waiting for him. Upon opening the door, he was not surprised by what he saw, or rather, what he didn’t. It took him until yesterday to completely give up seeing them again for the foreseeable future. The day after the festival, Kris came to tell him they and Susie would be spending some time alone, in the Light World. Only a day or two, they said. Only a day or two…
By his count, it’s been more than a week, and neither of them had so much as shown their faces again. He was happy for his friends, of course he was. No one was gladder about them finally embracing their feelings for each other. He just hated how their feelings seemed to come at the cost of his own. Initially, he chastised himself for his “jealousy”. How could he be so selfish now? What was wrong with him? Though, it became harder and harder to judge himself with each passing day.
He had reached the field in the middle of the town. It was deserted, at last, as it had usually been before the festival. Ralsei thought back to that day constantly. What previously filled his heart with untold joy now simply made him miserable to recall, yet he was unable to move past it. The traces of the festival were still here, no one wanting to clean up until it was well and truly over. Sweet Cap’n Cakes had moved their booth back, leaving nothing but a few stale bagels and broken records, though the dance floor still remained. No one had dared move it while Clover was still asleep on it. Ralsei lingered on a hill close by. Though all traces of the performance were gone, he still remembered watching it, having a blast, while Kris and Susie were busy bonding by themselves. The real start of all his problems. Days ago, he would have rebelled against such a negative view of his friends. How could he say that about them? But after they way they had treated him? He didn’t feel quite so sympathetic anymore, the isolation slowly crushing his goodwill. He moved on swiftly, tears caught in his eyes as he did.
Arriving in the plaza, it was much the same sight, albeit with more signs of life. Most stalls here had been cleared out, and the buildings were back in their rightful places. One was still manned by Starwalker, oblivious to the end of the festival, and to the festival in general, while another housed a sleeping Rouxls. The Dark Candy fountain was still in place – it might be stuck in the ground at this point. He recalled the legendary argument Kris had with Swatch over what to put in it, eventually winning out due to Susie’s unexpected arrival. It has long since ran out of juice, which Ralsei’s stomach complained about loudly. “Alright, alright. To Seam’s, then.” Despite looking quite shabby and structurally unsound, his seap still seemed very inviting, the one place his presence was still appreciated.
As he opened the door, he was greeted by an odd yet pleasant aroma, coupled with a jolly voice. “Good morning, Prince Ralsei! How have you been?” Ralsei couldn’t help but smile. Ever since the day after their adventures in the Card Kingdom, Seam has acted as an unofficial royal advisor to him, especially now since he had few others to turn to. Most of his time outside of the castle had been spent sitting with him in his Seam, just talking.
“Same as usual, Seam.” Ralsei tried to hide his melancholy as best he could, but he had spent far too long around the shopkeep to fool him. “Still haven’t seen your friends, huh? Whatever they’re doing, they must be having the time of their lives right now. They wouldn’t have abandoned their friend for so long otherwise.” Despite hearing variations of this line every day for what felt like an eternity, it still managed to raise his spirits. Just a little bit.
“Thank you, Seam. Do you have any Dark Candies in stock?” Getting straight to business was all he had the strength for, and besides, he needed to quell his unruly stomach as soon as possible. “Luckily for you, the festival didn’t deplete all my reserves. I still have a few bags of them left - here.” Reaching under the counter, he pulled up a sack full of small star shaped fruits, making Ralsei drool at the very sight of them. He had a maddening urge to grab them and rush back home at once, but he resisted.
“Thanks a bunch! How do you get these so fresh?” “A trade secret, I’m afraid. Even to you, my Prince.” He said this with a look as natural as any other, a professional at hiding his feelings. Ralsei had realised long ago that trying to pry Seam’s secrets out of him would be a fruitless endeavour, and so relented. “Ha ha, alright then. I’m off to put these to good use. I’ll be back by evening for our usual game!” “I’m looking forward to it, heh heh heh.”
Ralsei felt a pang of guilt at leaving Seam so early. They almost always chatted for longer than this, two lonely souls with few others who they could truly talk to or with in all of Castle Town, but Ralsei’s mood and dissatisfied stomach wouldn’t let him stay for much longer. He pledged to make it up to him later today. He didn’t have anything better or more interesting to do, anyways. He grabbed hold of his treasures, and turned to the door.
As he was about to push open the door, Seam spoke up. “By the way, Prince Ralsei. What would you think of a visit from one of those other Lightners you know?” Ralsei spun around, caught off guard by his tone of voice. It seemed he was less asking, and more…suggesting? He shrugged it off as another one of his friend’s eccentricities. “Honestly, Seam, I would take a visit from Temmie at this point.” He felt guilty for that, but if what Kris and Susie told him were true, his statement carried a lot of weight behind it. “I’m sure you would. You don’t know any of them as well as Kris or Susie, but you can always change that. Well, maybe not, since neither of us can leave this place, heh heh heh!” “Sigh. Yeah. Goodbye, Seam.”
Frustrated, he began the short stroll home. As much as he liked Seam, he could really get on his nerves at times. Maybe it was the lingering effect his company with Jevil had on him, causing him to enjoy a laugh at other people’s expense. While this kind of behaviour wasn’t unprecedented, between the time the two have spent together, the tone was different. Not amused or indifferent, but questioning, caring. This odd change stayed in his mind until he collapsed onto his fluffy bed. He and Seam met, or at least were aware of, a multitude of Kris and Susie’s Lightner friends. While he wouldn’t mind a visit from any of them, just to have a break in the routine that was his life nowadays, he knew some of them better than others. He was thinking too deeply about this, thought the drowsy prince. Seam was just teasing him. Why did he do so, anyway? He could always ask him later today, he considered, just before completely falling asleep.