Chapter Text
Today marks 10 years. Ten years since Ragatha first popped up on that stage, trying to pry her headset off, to no avail, and realizing her coworkers were gone. Ten years since she fell into Kinger’s arms, and found a father figure in him.
Ragatha kept count; of course she kept count, it was one of the few things that kept her sane in this digital hell. If she could at least remember the date, time didn’t seem all that long. She couldn’t be sure it was actually the 8th of October. She could’ve lost count, forgot to mark a day or two. But being close enough isn’t a crime!
All of Ragatha’s mornings started like this, crossing off the date, brushing her locks of yarn, and patching any holes in her dress from the previous day’s adventure. After her sewing work was finished, she’d head out into the Circus, looking for a friendly face to talk to before the festivities began. Normally, her and Kinger could meet for a cup of tea in the Café; She could chat to Gangle while she drew, and Pomni was sometimes up early too, having not slept, and they could talk about everything and anything. Pomni was really good like that; those were the mornings the doll looked forward to the most.
However, nobody was up today; the couches were barren besides a magazine Zooble left there. She took a seat, leaning on the armrest as she zoned out.
‘Just.. try not to think of it having been 10 years now. Don’t think about the time, don’t think about your friends, your horses, your family… don’t think don’t think don’t think don’t th—‘
Her thoughts were cut off by Caine, floating right up to her face. How he was quiet enough to get there is truly a mystery to her. She screamed, flailing her arms, and backed all the way into the couch. Caine pretended to pick one of his non-existent ears from her noise.
“Whoo!!!! Ragatha, save those pipes for the adventure today!!!”
Ragatha settled back in her seat, trying to slow her breathing. “Ah— sorry, Caine…. So, what adventure did you cook up for us today-?”
“Well, that’s the thing,” Caine began, “I’ve been picking my brain for ideas, but they’re all off in hoo-hah land-! I don’t know what to do for you humans today!!!”
Ragatha thought for a moment, putting a hand on her chin as she stared off into space. Her mind drifted to Pomni, as it often does.
“Maybe…. we could do more of a roleplay adventure! Like a kingdom! Kinger could be the king, Zooble and Daisy might make good knights, and the princess… she could be Pom…” She said the last part under her breath, blush creeping onto her cheeks.
“WOWIE WOW, What a great idea, Ragatha-! And I’ll make YOU the princess!!!”
“Wait.. wait- what? I- I’m not princess material!!!”
“Sure you are!!!! Plus, it is your 10 year anniversary of being here, so you deserve something special!” Caine exclaimed ecstatically.
Ragatha paused; Did Caine actually keep track of how long they were each in the Circus? She didn’t think he cared about that.
“Wait- how do you know—“
Caine suddenly snapped his fingers, dragging the rest of the circus crew from their rooms.
“HELLO, MY LITTLE JUMPING JUNEBUGS!!!!! I HAVE AN AMAZING ADVENTURE FOR YOU THAT WILL BLOW YOU ALL AWAY!!!”
“Oh god, it’s too early for this…” Zooble groaned, rubbing their eye.
“TODAY’S ADVENTURE WILL BE A MULTI-PARTER!!!!”
“What’s a multi-parter adventure?” Pomni asked, turning to the purple rabbit for the answer.
“Ugh.. it’s when Caine makes us go on one stupid adventure for multiple days. It better at least be entertaining…” She spat out, causing Caine to recoil, floating up to her with the biggest puppy dog eyes Ragatha has ever seen.
“Just give it a try, Jax!!! You’ll have a good time! I swear on it!!!!”
“Uhh… Caine-?”
“UHHHH YES POMNI?”
“Her name is Daisy now.” Pomni stated matter-a-factly.
“Ah, yes!!! I’ll have to update things in my memory data! Thank you, Pomni!”
Daisy scoffed, turning her heel, but you could see the faintest small smile on her face.
She had really come out of her shell since Pomni arrived. Nobody even knew Daisy was trans until Pomni was told about it, and she encouraged the rabbit to tell everyone else, too! All of the members had an easier time transitioning to the new name than Caine did, but he went through the trouble of updating Daisy’s model to have a more curvy figure, and put a permanent bow on her ear the same shade as her overalls.
Ragatha could see the changes in Daisy too, since she transitioned. She was still pretty mean to the circus members, but her bullying of everyone decreased in consistency. She seemed.. happier. It made the ragdoll happy too, in a way. They weren’t back to being friends again yet, but maybe they could get there again. This was a step in the right direction, anyhow!
“ANYWAY!!! This week, you guys will be going on a thrilling adventure in your own kingdom, with roles designed to fit your personality!!!” Caine explained, “Your kingdom, Achromia, is in political tensions with the neighboring Caineconia! Find a way to solve the tensions, and your adventure will be complete!!! GOOD LUCK!”
With that, Caine sent them off through a portal below their feet to the castle.
When Ragatha opened her eyes again, she was in a very comfortable bed. A large window to her right showed off a small, historic town, and she could just barely see another kingdom over the horizon. When she glanced over to the nightstand, she saw a small, silver tiara propped up on a stand.
Oh dear… oh no-! Caine had actually made her the princess!!!
This was a massive, abhorrent, and absolute royal fuck-up.