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It was a quiet night in Castle Town. Well, as quiet as it ever gets in castle town. Even as the usual hustle and bustle of the town had died down , it was still never completely silent.
Faint music echoed out of the Tv Time building, the distinctive sound of electric guitars and drums muted down to a quiet hum by the insulated building.
The Café, although quieter was still running at most of its regular pace. Faint chatter could always be heard from the building, seeing as it was the prime hangout space in the ever-growing town.
Though most Recruited Darkners had found themselves homes and by now would be snoozing away, some remained awake as they struggled to get more adjusted to their new dwelling. Rouxls Kaard, was one of those darkeners.
On the first day he had arrived to the town, Rouxls was quick to claim himself a room in the castle so he could be able to watch over Lancer, and keep him out of trouble. Although "Room" was an overstatement to where he stayed. His space in the castle was nothing more than a glorified closet, barely big enough for one person.
He had crammed in a hammock that he layed in, a wooden desk, a few of his personal belongings from the card kingdom and that was it. His room was out of the way where nobody ever visited it, lightner or darkner, but frankly he didn't mind. It's not like there was much to see there anyways. And thats why on this particular night, Rouxls was shocked to hear a knock on the door, well past midnight.
He had been sitting at his desk, watching the jar of worms he keeps squirm around in a mezmerising pattern. He wasn't sure why, but he found it.. calming. Most nights since coming to Castle town, Rouxls didn't really sleep. He preferred staying up working on his calligraphy, solving puzzles or watching the worms. It's not like Darkners really need sleep anyway, so as he saw it there was no real point.
But regardless, he still took it upon himself to make sure Prince Lancer went to bed every night. A growing card needs his rest after all.
Wrapped up in his own thoughts, Rouxls jumped up in surprise upon hearing the knocking at the door. He felt confused as to why someone would be visiting him, and at this hour as well.
"Lesser Dad? A-are you in there?" The quite voice of Lancer piped through the door, just loud enough for Rouxls to barely hear him. He could tell something was wrong from how quiet the little voice sounded. Rouxls quickly regained his composure, fidgeting with a button on his coat and clearing his throat as he prepared to answer the door.
He opened the wooden door slowly, and looked down through the doorframe at Lancer, up way past his bedtime. He was holding a blanket tightly in his small hand and wiping at his face with the other. He sniffled a little bit when Rouxls opened the door, much to his concern.
"What seems to be-eth the problem Lancer?" Rouxls questioned, a perplexed look on his face. Tears filled up Lancers eyes at the question, and he rushed forward before he could give any sort of answer. In a flash, Rouxls found Lancer wrapped tightly around his leg in an attempt of a hug. He would've found it slightly humurous, if it wasn't also so depressing.
Rouxls was taken aback at seeing Lancer in such a state. The boy was hardly ever upset, and when he was Rouxls could not handle seeing him cry. It just hurt too much. But there he was, a crying mess.
"I-I had a ni- nightmare Rouxls!" Lancer choked out between tears and gasps for air. Rouxls sank to the floor down to Lancers level, feeling himself melt slightly from the weight of the situation. His brain raced as he attempted to formulate the best thing to say to Lancer to console him, but he came up blank under the pressure. He always does.
As he searched his brain, Lancer reached around trying to hug him with his plump arms, and Rouxls wrapped his arms around Lancer, in a returned, loose attempt at a hug. He'd never been the best at being a comforting presence, but he knew he needed to try.
"Do not-eth be afraid lancer. It waseth just a dreame, and can no longere harm thou."
It was a generic answer, but it was all Roulxs could think of in the moment. And besides, it seemed to work to some degree. Lancers cries quieted down to a silent sniffle, but he still held Rouxls closely to him.
He stayed still like that for several minutes, Rouxls trying his best to be there for him. His tears had shook Rouxls to his core, and he was trying his best to stay strong. He had just never see happy-go lucky Lancer in this kind of state before. After a few minutes passed without any sound besides castle towns quiet hum and Lancers sniffling, Rouxls finally spoke up.
"Now Lancer, don't thou thinkest it be time for you to go back to thine bed? I shalt accompanye you there."
Lancer quietly nodded, and Rouxls wrapped his arms around the boy to pick him up and carry him to his bed. It was more difficult than he first anticipated due to his weak arms, but nevertheless he started walking down the cold hallway towards Lancers room, Lancer in his arms still sniffling but seemingly calmed by Rouxls' presence. His heels click-clacked along the cobblestone floor as they walked through the corridor, illuminated by the small gas lamps present next to each doors entrance.
First they walked past Kris' room, silent and almost entirely unused, save for a few quick stops in between adventures.
Then past Susie's room, where she could be heard loudly snoring even through the closed door.
And finally, they arrived at Lancers room, walking though the spade shaped door where Rouxls ducked as to not his head on the doorframe. As he entered, Rouxls noticed a.. Peculiar sight before him.
"Lancer, why-eth is thine bike in bed rather than you..?"
Rouxls asked, staring at the bicycle laying upon what was intended to be Lancers bed. Lancer giggled a little before he could anwser the question, serving as a relief to Rouxls who could not stand hearing the boy cry and cry any longer. Laughing was a welcome change of pace, although he still needed to know why there was a bicycle in Lancers bed.
"Well it needs it's beauty sleep too." Lancer responded, holding back giggles as a wide grin crept across his face. Rouxls rolled his eyes dramatically at this ridiculous scenario, but was glad to see the young prince smiling again. It brought a smile to his face as well.
He reached over and grabbed the bike to put it on the floor, attempting to not drop it as he held onto Lancer in one arm and the bike in the other. Or drop Lancer. Rouxls flinched at the thought.
But he tried his best to move on, gently lowering the boy into bed. Sleepily, Lancer asked Rouxls "Lesser Dad, can you stay until I fall asleep? Maybe you sing me a lullaby?"
"Of course. I would-eth be happy to oblige."
Rouxls replied as he pulled blankets over Lancer and tucked them into the edge of the bed, wrapping the boy in a gentle cocoon of his dark colored covers. Lancer pulled the blankets up towards his chin, comfy and content. Rouxls reached out to turn off the lamp next to Lancers bedside, but stopped, and decided he needed to quell his curiosities first.
"if thou do not mind-eth me asking.." Rouxls hesitated, "What exactly was thine nightmaere about?"
Lancer frowned at the question, and looked away towards the ground. Rouxls worried that perhaps that was a mistake.
Maybe he should've left good enough alone and let Lancer fall asleep happy. He shouldn't have to think of his nightmares anymore than he already had.
He started to regret asking this at all, but before he could dismiss the question from the conversation Lancer opened up his mouth to answer.
"It..was about Dad." Rouxls flinched at the mention of Lancer's father. After all, that day on the rooftop was still fresh in everbodys minds, including Rouxls. He had never felt more fear in his entire life than when King had threatened to throw Lancer off the rooftop. He claims that Lancer wouldn't have been harmed, but Rouxls knew better.
Even if he had been bluffing, Lancer's betrayal of his father would have still gotten him
...
Hurt later on. By the Kings hand.
Rouxls felt a deep rage and fear thinking of how King had harmed Lancer in the past, but he was sure that was nothing compared to what Lancer would be feeling after all that had unraveled.
And that's when something dawned upon Rouxls. Despite it all happening just mere days ago, Rouxls had completely forgotten to ask Lancer at all how he was feeling after the fight the lightners had against his.. 'father.' In fact, he hadn't asked Lancer how he was feeling at all! Rouxls suddenly was overcome with guilt, feeling that he had been a terrible parental figure. And he felt he needed to correct that. Even if it could hurt.
"Lancer.."
"I dreamt," Lancer interuppted " That me and him were on top of the castle. We weren't doing anything just.. sitting there. Staring out at the dark world. Then the world started tilting and revolving, all dizzy and I-I started falling. So I reached up to him, to grab his hand and.. He just stood there. Stood there and watched. He watched me fall."
Lancer began crying again, a loud ugly sound. And Rouxls couldn't bear it any longer. He could tell his face had started to melt by now, he was having trouble keeping his composure much longer. A single tear running down his chin, he reached up to his face wiping it away as to not upset the prince anymore by seeing his tears. He wasn't sure of what to say, but he knew he couldn't just leave Lancer to cry.
So he extented out his arms, and pulled the boy into a loose hug, his long arms reaching around the crying child. Lancer's tears wiped onto Rouxls' shirt, and Rouxls had to stop himself from instinctively jumping away to try and wipe them off as he would usually do. Lancer grabbed onto Rouxls' shirt and clinged to the fabric with his paws. As he held onto the young prince, Rouxls brain wandered, thinking more and more about the impact the King had left on Lancer's life.
He realized he would never fully understand the extent of King's abuse. Sure, he had been there for much of Lancer's life working for his father, but he was never completely aware of all that what was happening. All he knew then was that he needed to keep Lancer out of trouble, or else he would get hurt. And despite this, the boy still somehow managed to be so positive and happy all the time. Rouxls felt a pang of pain in his heart when he thought about this. And seeing Lancer like this, only amplified that for him.
...
The two sat there for a long moment. Rouxls could see Lancer calming down slowly, as his breathing became more steady and he trembled much less in Rouxls' arms. Rouxls gently patted his hand on Lancer's back, trying to soothe the sadness the boy felt in that moment. Rouxls felt it too, a strange deep feeling without a name. Fear, sorrow, grief, anger and.. loss. After sitting there for what could've been several minutes but that felt like hours, Rouxls finally decided to break the cold silence.
"Woulds't thou liketh me to get thou something from the café?" Rouxls hesitantly asked as he looked down to the sniffling child in his arms. Lancer looked back up at him, perplexed.
"W-what? Why?"
Rouxls explained further, fidgeting with a button on his jacket as he did. "I shall go to thine café, and bringeth back thou something to eat. For thoust emotional wellbeing. I remembereth that Swatch fellow said.. something about.. food, umm.. I don't quiteth remember.." He found himself mumbling as he tried recall what Swatch had told him, to no avail.
Rouxls tilted his head looking for an answer on Lancers face, although he didn't find one. Amusingly, Lancer mirrored his motion, tilting his head opposite of Rouxls'. Rouxls smiled at this, and to his surprise, Lancer did too. Atleast a little bit. Not close to his usual wide mouthed toothy grin, but a smile nonetheless.
"Alrighteth then! I shalt go to the café and get some snacks." Rouxls exclaimed as he jumped up to his feet, trying to not be too loud as to wake the other castle inhabitants. Lancers smile dampened at this, and Rouxls flinched seeing the boy fall right back into sadness. "Or I could not-eth! Its not requiered." he quickly corrected, trying to not upset the prince once again. He stumbled over the word required, making it sound very strange in his faux old-english accent that he put on. He knew he didn't need to use that voice, but it was important to him.
...
"I just don't want to be left alone." Lancer responded, his voice a quiet mumble, still drowned out slightly by the sound of cries caught in his throat. Rouxls looked over at the boy, trying to think what to do. He felt his hand instinctively go to his jacket, pulling on the velvet fabric to help clear and consolidate his thoughts. Through this method, he came up with a... good-enough response.
"It's awfully lateth in the night for me to take thou with me to the café. But I promise thee, I shalt return as soon as I can. I promise." Rouxls looked at the boy as he said this, directly into his eyes, albeit ones covered by the shade of his hood. Rouxls never was a fan of direct eye-contact, but he could tolerate it, especially if it helped assure Lancer he was truly coming back. Lancer held the back of his gloved hand up to his face, wiping off the tears still clinging to his cheeks.
...
"Okay." The prince responded after a few seconds, nodding. Rouxls patted the boy on the head, squishing down his hood in the process.
"Alrighteth, I shalt return posthaste! As soon as i pick up our treatse from thine café." Rouxls exclaimed as he got up and walked towards the door. With a nervous goodbye wave from Lancer and courteous bow from Rouxls, the door closed and he was off towards the café.
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Rouxls found himself walking towards the Castle town Café in the middle of the night. He strolled down the cobblestone street of the Castle town plaza, taking in the sounds of the night and planning out what he was going to do in his head. Go to the cafe, talk to Swatch, buy a treat Lancer would like, return to the Castle. Simple! Mumbling this plan to himself, he walked past a group of Pippins huddled around a table. They appeared to be playing some poker-adjacent game. Glancing over at them, he noticed some of them were playing with rigged weighted dice. "That's definetely against the rules." he murmured to himself.
Stopping in front of the Café, Rouxls admired the faint warmth the building gave off as the warm lighting washed over him through the window. Rouxls opened the door, a small bell ringing above his head as he did. From across the counter, Swatch looked over to him. He appeared a bit wary, but regardless started to greet the new customer.
"Ah... Rouxls Kaard. How can I help you tonight? And please, if this is about wanting to become 'butler supremeth' then i ask that you come back tomorrow. It is too late in the night for me to care, and most of my Swatchlings have gone home. So I ask that you remain civil." Swatch's words had a slight bite to them as he seemed to be mentally preparing himself for whatever Rouxls might be putting him through today.
"No no, I hath no schemes todayeth, I just art wishing to purchase some food from thine establishmente. Is that a problemeth?" Rouxls smiled mischeviously and leaned forward on the counter while finishing his sentence as he watched surprise creep across Swatchs usually calm face. Swatch quickly recovered though, instantly regaining his collected composure as he realized Rouxls would not be causing him any trouble this night.
"Okay then, what would you like to order? Perhaps you could try one of our new... cat-themed items, it help to grow our shop. I'm always happy to give recomendations."
"I think I'm quite-eth qualified to choose for mineself!" Rouxls huffed dramatically as Swatch rolled his eyes at the over the top display before him. Rouxls grabbed a neatly folded menu from the counter and started to peruse it. Humming his theme quietly to himself, he leaned his back to the wall and searched the menu for the best thing to bring back to Lancer. There was so many items, and he began to sweat just looking at all of the different options. There was just so many things to choose between.
...
"But, um.. If thoust were to give a reccomendation for what-eth Lancer likes from here, what exactlye would that be-eth?" Rouxls asked, looking over his shoulder as Swatch smiled smugly seeing him give in.
"I believe the prince enjoys the Mochi paw pastries last I checked."
Rouxls' eyes scanned the menu until they landed on a picture of the sweet looking pastries. He thought to himself about what drink might go well with the desserts, until he remembered the princes favourite drink for cold, windy days at the card castle.
"I shall have two of thine best cups of Hot cocoa, and one boxe of Mochi Pastries. To go." Swatch nodded and got right to work on the order, calmly taking out mugs and treat boxes to put the order in. Still glancing over his shoulder to make sure that Rouxls didn't pull any funny business, Swatch began pouring
warm milk from a kettle into two travel mugs. He took out some melted chocolate and began spooning it into the mugs and stirring, meticulously making sure the ratio and flavor would be absolutely perfect. Rouxls tapped his foot against the floor, anxiously waiting for the order to be finished.
"Art thou almost finishede?" He asked impatiently, dragging out his words in frustration. He glanced down towards his wrist before realizing he did not, in fact own a watch. He looked up again, eyebrows furrowing as he became more and more impatient. Swatch didn't respond, ignoring the disturbance as he carefully moved soft mochis from the display case into the multicolored cardboard box on the counter. Rouxls sighed, clearly this butler did not understand that he was on a time limit. Before he could complain any further, Swatch pushed the box of pastries and mugs of cocoa towards him.
"That will be 50 dark dollars." Swatch sighed. Rouxls reached out to take the box from the counter, but Swatch snatched it away before he could get a grip on the cardboard. "Payment first. " Swatch sneered, and Rouxls took a nervous breath as he removed the money out of his inventory and handed it over to the bird-like darkener before him. With that Swatch seemed satisfied, carefully dropping the box of paw-shaped mochi treats into Rouxls' arms. Rouxls grabbed the mugs of cocoa, and ever so carefully placed them on the box's surface, as he attempted to keep the box upright at the same time.
Rouxls nodded goodbye to Swatch, and walked out the door back into the cold night. As he struggled to hold onto the treat box, he contemplated just teleporting back to the castle and avoiding the hastle altogether. But if he did he might acidentally drop the items he was holding, and then what would've been the point in going to the cafe in the first place? No, he was just going to have to walk back.
As he walked down the quiet streets, Rouxls thought about what he should say to Lancer that would make him feel better. As Rouxls saw it, this was a puzzle that he needed to solve.
How could he comfort Lancer in his time of need?
His mind wandered and he felt his pace slow to a stagger. Although he didn't sleep much, he knew that he would need to soon from the long night he had been having. He made his way back to the Castle, trying to go fast but ultimately failing as he needed to keep the drinks balanced and was also lagging behind much of his usual speed from fatigue. Tired, he began walking through the castle back to Lancer.
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Once again, Rouxls found himself standing in front of the odd-shaped door to Lancers room. With the box full of treats in one hand, Rouxls grabbed the silver door knob and gingerly opened the door. Upon entering, Lancer's eyes darted across the room, before lighting up with happiness to see his 'Lesser father' had returned. Rouxls smiled and greeted him back.
"I hath returned, just as promissed..eth. And, I brought pastries for thou!" He smiled and held out the intricately patterned box towards Lancer. The boy tilted his head, wondering what Rouxls had bought. Rouxls walked across the room confidently, holding the box outwards for Lancer to grab his cup of Cocoa before he could reveal the mochi pastries. Placing his own cup of cocoa on the bedside table gently, Rouxls opened the treat box with a dramatic flourish.
"Oooh! It's those mochi paws!" Lancer exclaimed, quickly reaching in the box to grab a pastry in his gloved paws. He excitedly took a bite, grinning at the sweet treat.
"Heh!" Rouxls laughed slightly "Yes-eth, Sir Swatch informed me you enjoy these treatse. I suppose-eth he was correct then?"
"Mhh-hmm!" Lancer nodded, mouth still full of his previous bite of the snack. Rouxls sat down next to the prince, took a mochi from the box, and began nibbling away at it. It was sweet, and tasted of vanilla. The texture was soft, and there was some sort of sweet red filling inside of it. He picked up his cup of Cocoa from the table and took a small sip from it.
Fidgeting with the drink in his hand, Rouxls considered the best way to address the elephant in the room. His foot tapped against the floor, and he felt the gears in his mind turning as he searched for a way to bring it up. But lost for better words, he just determined it would be easiest to rip-off the bandaid and ask. Taking a sip of his drink slowly, Rouxls cleared his throat and spoke up.
"Lancer, I've been forgettinge to ask-eth..." He trailed off slightly as Lancer looked over to him "How.. Have-eth thoust been feeling? Since..umm, The battle on the roof?" He flinched finishing his sentence, and looked over to see Lancers reaction. To his dismay, he saw tears began forming in the corners of the princes eyes once again. But asides from that, Lancer didn't respond at all, which Rouxls found almost worse. He frowned at this, wishing he could know what the boy was thinking so he could comfort him.
"Oh, umm no need to cry! There's nothing-eth to be afraid of. I'm here-eth." swallowing the lump in his throat, Rouxls continued as he began fidgeting with jacket buttons once again " Young sire, there's no reason for thou to be-eth crying. The.. King is no longer here-eth. He cannot harm thou any longere.. And I, am here. I can-est take care of thou. You haveth me, and the Queen, and the Lightners. You should-est not be worrying yourself about him any longere." Rouxls stumbled and stuttered all through his speech, but he just hoped it would be enough to work.
Rouxls outstretched his arm and put it around the prince to comfort him. Sitting in silence, Rouxls watched Lancer's brow furrow as he thought about what his lesser dad had said. Taking another sip from his Cocoa, Lancer finally opened up his mouth to respond. His voice was quiet, barely a whisper, but bursting with emotion and unspoken fears
"But.. how am I supposed to be a fearsome strong king like dad.. If he's not around to teach me?" Desite having been patiently waiting, Rouxls was distraught finally hearing Lancer's response.
Surely he doesn't think that, right?
Why would he think he needs to be like his Father?
He's scared of him, why would he want to be like him?
Mind racing with questions, Rouxls went silent. Lancer looked back up at him, still sniffling and wiping the tears off of his face. Rouxls' hand went to his own head, and he pulled at a strand of his hair as he thought over what the boy had said. What he believed.
"Lancer.. you doth realize that.. you do not haveth to be like thine father?" Rouxls had never known before that Lancer thought this, but now that he knew he needed to change it. "He was.. fearsome yes, but also quite cruel. Ask, any of the subjects, and they'll tell-eth you he was... Perhaps, you could learn-eth, from his mistakese as a ruler, rathereth than his cruelness."
...
"But.. then what am I supposed to do? If I'm not big and scary like he was?"
...
"You could just.. be-eth Lancer? The Prince of Spades, whom rules kindly over the people aroundest him. It, couldn't hurt to try, would-eth it?" Rouxls looked down at the boy before him, who was taking a bite of the Mochi pastry in his hands. As he chewed, you could see the gears in his brain turning as he contemplated the proposition just given to him by his lesser dad.
Lancer looked up at Rouxls, struck by the realization of what he had been told. He could be a better king! A grin spread across his sleepy face, as he looked back towards Rouxls.
"Yeah. That sounds pretty cool." He smiled wide, and Rouxls' smiled back. Before he could say anything else, Lancer had jumped up and wrapped his arms around Rouxls. Rouxls laughed a bit, and wrapped his arms around Lancer returning the hug. Nestled perfectly between his arms, Lancer seemed content like this was exactly where he belonged. Rouxls was just glad to see him happy once again, not a worry in the world. As it should be. Rouxls knew the boy had been through a lot with the king, but now he knew that he was free, and would never have to go through that again. Now the only father figure he was going to have, was Rouxls. The "Lesser" father, for the young prince of spades. He would take care of Lancer.
"I'm glad that is resolved..eth." Rouxls looked back down to Lancer, who was now yawning. He silently took that as a sign and, as gently as he could, picked up the tired prince and placed him down upon the spade-shaped bed he had been sitting on. As he tucked the boy into bed once again, he remembered his promise from earlier in the night.
"Wouldst thou, still like-eth me to sing thou a Lullaby?" Lancer spread a wide grin across his whole face, and nodded his head up and down in excitment. Rouxls sighed a bit at this. He had finished tucking in Lancer, and he smiled looking down at the tired boy, as he reached out to the lamp next to him, casting the room into near darkness. The only light in the room shone out from Rouxls himself, his hair ever so slightly luminescent in the increased darkness. Like a living night-light. Flopping down onto the floor beside the bed, Rouxls racked his brain attempting to think of something to sing. He may have been a dramatic person, but he had never had much experience as any sort of performer. Despite that fact, he took a deep breath and prepared to sing a lullaby, fidgeting with his shirt buttons as he did.
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The song Rouxls sang was short. A little melody that he remembered hearing once or twice before. He was certain he had screwed up the lyrics at some points, but he knew Lancer didn't really care. He was just glad to be under the cover of shadows, where he couldn't feel embaressed by his mistakes. The song slowly came to a close, as Rouxls fidgeted with a piece of his hair mindlessly. Even after finishing the songs final lyrics, he continued to hum the melody to the dark room. He didn't know if Lancer was still listening, but he kept humming regardless.
As his voice tired out from humming the songs quiet tune, Rouxls fell silent, glancing over his shoulder towards the prince he had been singing for. In the dim light of his glowing hair he saw that indeed, the boy had already fallen into slumber, breath rising and falling peacefully. Tucked under warm blankets and covers, he appeared completely content, no doubt about it. Feeling quite exhausted himself, Rouxls felt a heaviness in his eyes, and they slowly started drooping as he struggled to keep them open. With a yawn, he leaned against the nightstand just behind him and pulled his knees up towards his chest. Giving into the weight behind them, his eyes fell closed, casting the world into nothingness. And slowly, in the calm of the night, Rouxls began silently drifting off as well. And for one quiet moment, all the world seemed to rest as well. Rouxls Kaard was always going to be there for Lancer, prince of spades. And that was never going to change.