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In the comforting dark of the Castle Town, freshly speckled with Christmas lights, bows, and wreaths, Susie lies in Kris's room, recovering from the toils of the day. The breeze carried the aroma of freshly baked cake all throughout the quiet castle.
As she sleeps in Kris's bed, a figure carefully makes their way towards Susie.
Ralsei tries his hardest to avoid waking her as he creeps over, and places a plate of strawberry shortcake next to the bed. He scans Susie's face for any signs of lucidity, and smiles lovingly at her.
"She must be so tired." Ralsei thought as his gaze lingered on Susie's face for a brief moment. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pang of guilt, and forced himself to look away. Ralsei walked towards the door to Kris's room, and right before he could make a quiet departure, Susie caught his attention.
"Ralsei?"
He froze where he stood, caught like a deer in headlights, and slowly turned around.
"H-hey Susie, sorry if I woke you." Ralsei said in a hushed tone.
"Nah you're fine, but why are you in here? Did you need to talk to me?" Susie asked, slowly sitting up against Kris's headboard.
"No, not exactly." Ralsei responded bashfully. His eyes glanced over at the slice of cake he left for Susie, way to spoil the surprise. As Susie became more alert, her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room. She looked at Ralsei, and then at the plate on the floor.
"So you came in here while I was sleeping to leave me cake?"
"Yeah, basically. I wanted to surprise you, but I guess that ship has sunk." Ralsei explained, while standing there stupidly. After a moment of awkward silence, Ralsei started heading through the door.
"Well I'll leave you to get back to sle-"
"Wait dude, you don't have to go just yet." Susie said abruptly.
"Just, talk to me for a second. Y'know, if you wanna." Susie kicks her legs over the side of Kris's bed, and pats the empty space next to her.
"I mean, if you want me to then I can talk with you for a moment." Ralsei said, making his way to the bed once again. He picked up the plate from the floor, and placed it between him and Susie before taking a seat next to her.
"Here, I was leaving this for when you woke up, but you're awake now so might as well dig in."
"Wow, thanks dude! I don't think I've ever had someone surprise me with cake for breakfast." Susie said excitedly.
"It's no problem! You worked so hard to make this Castle Town feel like a home, for everybody here. It was the least I could do." Ralsei said while nervously tracing circles in the comforter.
After a moment of silence, and awkwardly staring at a slice of cake, Susie looked over to Ralsei.
"But actually, I was wondering if there was anything you needed to talk about." She asked, in her most earnest, sincere voice.
"What do you mean Susie?" Ralsei asked, nervously glancing at his surroundings.
"Just, everything that happened today. I feel like things went so fast, we didn't get any time to process. I guess I'm just wondering; are you okay Ralsei?" Susie asked, all but staring into Ralsei's eyes at this point.
"I don't think I quite follow?" Ralsei replied, feigning ignorance. He knew what she was getting at, but wasn't going to open that can of worms for himself.
"Like, with Flowery? What was his deal? I think what mostly confused me, was the argument you two had before we fought him," Susie admitted.
"How much of it did you hear?" Ralsei asked while burying his face in his sleeves, ashamed of how he handled himself.
"I dunno, I kinda ignored the first half, since I figured it'd be better for you to handle your issues with him on your own…"
"But something he said stuck with me, something that I wanted to ask you about," Susie started, before taking a deep breath to arrange her thoughts.
"You said that he was "Pretending to be something he's not", and he asked you "What's so wrong with that?" in response. What did he mean by that?" Susie asked, shuffling closer to Ralsei on the bed.
Ralsei froze when he heard the question. He was hoping that she hadn't heard that, but clearly she did. How would he even respond to her? It's not like he could just say everything at once. Ralsei pondered for a moment, silently assessing the best way to explain himself.
"It's cool if you don't want to tell me, I get it." Susie reassured Ralsei.
"N-no, Susie wait," Ralsei started, his mouth moving faster than his brain.
"I want to tell you, and I promised I'd be more honest with you,"
"I just, don't know how to go about saying this." Ralsei confessed while anxiously fidgeting with his hands.
"Look man, if this is about that stupid "purpose" crap then trust me, you don't have to take anything from him. If I learned one thing from our adventures, it's that we decide our own fate. Not some prophecy, not the Angel, but US."
Susie grabbed Ralsei's hands, and looked into his eyes.
"You've done so much for me and Kris, and if there's anything I can do to help you with whatever you're going through, I want to do it. You're my friend, and friends look out for each other."
"T-thanks Susie," Ralsei said, as tears welled up in his eyes.
"I guess, I just- I-," Ralsei stammered while stifling his sobs.
"Flowery was an asshole to me, but I still hate myself for not being able to help him. It seemed like he was trying to help me, but I didn't realize that until our adventure was coming to a close." Ralsei admitted, wiping his eyes with his sleeves.
"Woah, I didn't realize you swore now." Susie laughed, before going back to the matter at hand.
"But how was him antagonizing you supposed to help you? If it were me all that would do is piss me off."
"I think he just wanted me to live happily. But, to ignore the prophecy's will, that's the most selfish thing a Darkner could do." Ralsei elaborated, while gently tugging at the comforter.
"I'm pretty sure the most selfish thing a Darkner could do is try to stop us from sealing their fountain, even if it causes the Roaring. And what do you mean by "the prophecy's will"?"
"The role we play in this story is all but set in stone, and even if we're unsatisfied with it, we still have to heed to the prophecy." Ralsei explained, trying to dance around what he really meant.
"So you don't like being a hero?" Susie asked, confused as to what Ralsei's vague spiel meant.
"N-no that's not it! Don't get me wrong, I've loved being on this journey with you and Kris. Being one of the 3 heroes is my purpose after all, and it's given me fulfillment greater than I could ever even imagine." Ralsei said, desperate to ensure that his statements wouldn't be misinterpreted.
Susie took a moment to think back to their last adventure, the Sanctuary fountain made in the church. She tried to imagine the panels of the prophecy, and after a moment, she remembered Ralsei's.
"So, the part you don't like is being the "Lonely Prince of Darkness" or whatever? I can see why that isn't a very desirable title." Susie said, trying to coax Ralsei into saying more.
"But I'm not alone anymore. You and Kris have given me so much joy, and you've filled this Castle Town with so many recruits." Ralsei continued.
"It's just, I thought about what Flowery said for a little while after Kris sealed the Flower Shop fountain..." Ralsei started.
"And?"
"And I think, he was right. As much as I hate to admit it that smug little flower was right." Ralsei confided, tears running down their cheeks.
"Right about what though?"
"I have been pretending to be something I'm not. And sometimes it feels like I've been pretending my whole life." Ralsei admitted, each sob building into the next.
Susie gave them a silent glance, lost for words to say. All she could offer was a supportive hand, rubbing Ralsei's back, while they cried.
After a moment of silence, she pulled Ralsei in for a hug.
"Well whatever you are, you don't have to pretend, alright?" Susie said, briefly pulling away from the hug to look Ralsei in the eye.
"Especially if it's bringing you so much misery. Screw whatever the Prophecy "wants", the old man said the Prophecy is just a fairytale anyways."
"You are real, and your feelings are obviously real, so you shouldn't ignore them."
"Besides, even if you don't think you're 'real', I do. You're in front of me, I can hear you, and I can feel you when you hug me." Susie reassured Ralsei, with a smile so infectious it could blow away the rain cloud over their head.
"Thank you Susie, you don't know how much it means to hear that from you." Ralsei said, hugging her a little harder.
Just for now, Ralsei could accept whatever they were, even if they weren't supposed to be.
"Wait so if this isn't about you being a hero, and it isn't about you being a Darkner, then what is this about?" Susie asked, perplexed as to what could be troubling Ralsei.
Ralsei's hands shook as they steeled themself for what was to come next. Deep down, Ralsei always knew she was a girl, but was just too afraid to confront it. And saying it makes it feel so real. Like she's confronting the worst of her fears all at once. But she thought about what Susie told her, and she decided she had to be honest with herself.
"For as long as I could remember, I've had my entire existence predetermined for me. The Prophecy was the code I'd live and die by, so I never really questioned anything."
"At least, that's what I used to think."
"Before I met you and Kris, I didn't think I was worth having desires, possessions, fears. It just felt selfish." Ralsei explained, voice quivering, and on the brink of tears once again.
"The Prophecy dictated fate itself, and defiance just felt futile. The Prophecy dictated that I was a Prince, so I just accepted it. There wasn't any point in trying to change that, because in my mind it was just something I'd have to accept. Even if I liked girly things, or thought a little too hard about how much happier I'd be as a Princess, the Prophecy designated me as a Prince." Ralsei admitted, tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
"But meeting you and Kris, I regained some of the optimism that I once had. Optimism lost to years of solitude."
"Susie, you helped me believe things can change. And words can't describe my gratitude to you." Ralsei said, hugging Susie as tight as she could. Holding on for dear life, she hoped this moment was real. That Susie wouldn't turn to dust, and slip between her fingers.
"So, you're a girl?" Susie asked.
"Pretty much, yeah." Ralsei said, drying her eyes with her sleeve.
"Are you, okay with that?" She asked, looking Susie in the eye.
"Are you kidding? I don't care if you're a girl or a boy, a nerd is a nerd regardless." Susie chuckled, as she gave Ralsei a noogie.
"I don't think anything could make me stop being friends with you, and besides, you wouldn't be the only trans one in our group. Kris is Non-binary, they'd definitely be understanding!" Susie reassured Ralsei, and pulled away from the hug.
"You really mean it Susie? It's okay for me to not be a Prince?" Ralsei asked, yet again on the verge of tears.
"Of course it is! You're one of the nicest people I've met, and honestly it kinda checks out. I just thought you were into androgyny, but you being a girl definitely explains all of the dresses and ribbons and stuff." Susie said, playfully tugging at Ralsei's cheek fluff.
"You're already as pretty as a girl too, so it's not like it'll be much work for people to see you as one." Susie reassured Ralsei.
"Thank you so much Susie," Ralsei started. "It means the world to me to hear that from you." She said, looking down coyly, trying to focus on the slice of cake on the bed next to her.
"Okay, but I do have a slight favor to ask," Susie began.
"What is it?" Ralsei replied, glancing back up at Susie.
"Can you get out of my room please? I kinda want to sleep before tomorrow." Susie laughed, as she put the plate of cake on Kris's nightstand.
"Of course I can Susie." Ralsei smiled, as she stood up and went for the door once again.
"I'll be back for you in the morning." Susie said menacingly, as she eyed the cake. She then made herself comfortable on Kris's bed.
"Good night Susie. Sweet dreams." Ralsei said, as she opened the door to Kris's room and prepared to leave.
"Goodnight Strawberry Nerd." Susie chuckled, before laying down and falling asleep once more.