Chapter Text
“God, I have to kill him,” Froggy whispered to himself.
He was stuck in Grox civilization, always being forced to go down into the mines so he could pay up the taxes. He knew exactly what would happen if someone didn’t pay them. He had seen it plenty of times before. Either Grox himself would come to collect everything they had, leaving them with almost no way of surviving afterward, or the guards would show up and drag the poor soul away to Grox’s “kingdom.” Froggy had tried to take a stand against him before. He had tried starting a rebellion, hoping that at least some of the villagers would finally realize how terrible Grox’s leadership actually was. But they were all too brainwashed to even consider killing their so-called “lord.” Froggy rolled his eyes at the thought as he continued mining. His pickaxe struck the stone again, breaking another block apart and sending the pieces tumbling onto the floor.
Clink Clink Clink
He swung again and again.
Clink Clink Clink
The repetitive sound continued throughout the mine as the villagers around him did the exact same thing. Nobody talked much. Everyone was too focused on gathering enough emeralds before the tax collectors arrived. Froggy could see the nervous looks on their faces as they occasionally checked how much they had gathered, knowing that falling short could have serious consequences. Of course, Froggy had made some friends along the way. There was Baby Villigar and a few others who were also against Grox’s leadership. They had talked about taking him down multiple times, but there were simply too few of them. There were only a handful of rebels against an entire civilization that practically worshipped Grox.
Froggy couldn’t wait forever, though.
In about 4 weekw, there was going to be a hearing. Grox would be there, along with the guards and plenty of villagers. Froggy had already made up his mind about what he was going to do. That was when he planned to attack him. For now, though, all he had to do was survive and make sure he didn’t act too suspicious. Grox always made deadly events where there was a good chance someone could get killed, but nah. Froggy was better than that. He had survived plenty of them already, and he wasn’t about to let Grox take him out before he even got the chance to finish his plan. Eventually, however, Froggy became too deep in his thoughts and completely forgot to mine. His pickaxe was just sitting in his hand while he stared blankly at the wall in front of him, his mind somewhere else entirely.
He suddenly snapped back to reality.
“.. Oh shoot.”
Froggy quickly looked down at the amount of emeralds he had collected.
It wasn’t enough.
Not even close.
He glanced around the mine, noticing that the other villagers were already starting to gather together as they prepared to pay their taxes. Some were nervously counting their emeralds while others were already handing them over to the collectors. Froggy’s eyes moved around the mine as he tried to think of something. There wasn’t much time left. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something.
A chest.
It was sitting nearby, completely unguarded.
Froggy stared at it for a few seconds before slowly looking around.
Nobody was watching
He waited another moment just to make sure, then slowly walked over to it, trying to make his movements look as casual as possible. Once he reached the chest, he crouched down and opened it.
His eyes widened
Inside were emeralds
A lot of them
Around six stacks
Froggy stared at them for a moment before looking around one more time. His eyes shifted from the chest to the villagers and then back again. “Yeah, no, I’m taking that.” He quickly grabbed the emeralds and shoved them into his inventory before anyone could notice. He closed the chest just as quickly and walked back to his original spot, picking up his pickaxe and pretending like nothing had happened. He started mining again.
Clink Clink
A few minutes passed by.
Then suddenly, loud music started playing throughout the mine.
Trumpets.
Froggy froze up.
He immediately knew what that meant. His mood dropped as he slowly turned toward the entrance. The villagers stopped mining one by one and looked in the same direction. The music continued getting louder as footsteps could be heard approaching from above. Froggy sighed at that.
“Of course..”
A moment later, Grox came walking down into the mine with around six bodyguards following closely behind him. He looked around proudly as he walked between the villagers, clearly enjoying the attention that came with his arrival.
Then he spotted Froggy.
Grox immediately grinned.
“AYOOOOO!”
Froggy stared at him for a few seconds before slowly lifting his hand and face-planting into it.
“...Seriously?”
Grox ignored his reaction and looked toward the guards before speaking up loudly. “ANNYYYYWAY! Guards, take FroggyDude, and you two take the taxes from the others. Shoot those who don’t have it.” Froggy looked confused for a moment before two of the bodyguards immediately grabbed him by the arms.
“Yo, I can walk by myself.” He squirmed around in their grip, making a few harsh movements as he tried to get them to let go. The guards struggled to keep hold of him as Froggy continued resisting until eventually they loosened their grip. Froggy immediately pulled his arms free and straightened himself out.
“Aighttt, come.”
Grox started walking forward, and the guards followed behind him with Froggy in between them. Froggy looked around as they left the mine, still confused about why Grox had suddenly decided to bring him along. He had expected to be thrown into some punishment or another deadly event, but being escorted somewhere by Grox was something he hadn’t anticipated. The group continued through the civilization, passing through large corridors and several different areas of Grox’s kingdom. The further they went, the more impressive the buildings became. Eventually, after around thirty minutes of walking, they finally reached Grox’s main castle. The massive doors opened, and Froggy was led inside.
The interior was enormous. Tall pillars stretched toward the ceiling, and massive windows lined the walls, allowing light to shine into the otherwise intimidating hall. At the far end stood Grox’s throne, positioned much higher than the rest of the room. Froggy looked up at it.
It was really high.
He tilted his head back even further, almost feeling like he was going to break his neck just trying to see Grox properly. The guards pushed Froggy forward and started forcing him to kneel before their lord. Froggy resisted, refusing to lower himself completely, while the guards continued harassing him and trying to force him down.
Grox eventually raised his hand.
“Nah, let them be, guys. I need to talk to him alone. leave.”
The guards immediately stopped.
“Y-yes, Lord Grox. we will my lord..” They quickly turned around and ran toward the massive doors, leaving the room and closing them behind them. The sound of the doors shutting echoed through the enormous throne room.
Froggy turned back toward Grox.
“What do you want, "lord" Grox?” He looked annoyed, his arms hanging loosely at his sides as he waited for whatever ridiculous reason Grox had dragged him all the way here. Grox leaned back into his throne. He rested one arm on the armrest and placed his hand against the side of his head, letting his head lean against it as he looked down at Froggy.
“just call me grox, also I have been thinking.. I know we have been fighting and all. I forced you to do all this to you, so I thought, why not put this behind us? I really could use your brain around here. They are all too stupid.”
He paused for a moment before continuing, a grin slowly forming on his face.
“For that, I will take off the burden of paying taxes, and you will have a place at my castle. How does that sound?”
Froggy stared at him, confused. There had to be a catch. There was absolutely no way Grox was just going to offer him a place in his castle and remove his taxes for nothing. Froggy didn’t want to be anywhere near Grox, let alone live beside him. But at the same time, the thought of being inside the castle made something click in his mind. If he accepted the offer, he would be closer to Grox than he had ever been before.
He would have access to the castle, he would know where Grox was, he might even get the chance to catch him alone, to end all this madness. Froggy thought about it for several minutes, weighing the risks in his head. It was dangerous, and he knew Grox was probably planning something. But if this was what it took to get close enough to kill him, then he would take the chance. Eventually, Froggy agreed.
Grox’s grin widened. “IGHT, GUARDS! Take him to his room in this place.”
One of the guards entered the room and took Froggy with him, leading him away to show him around the castle. Once Froggy had left, another guard remained behind with Grox. The villager slowly approached his lord before kneeling down in front of the throne.
“B-but my lord… isn’t that risky? If I have to remind you, he tried to kill you and put villagers against you..- ”
Grox immediately spoke up, silencing him.
“Oh, I know about his plan. I am not stupid.” The guard looked up at him. Grox leaned back in his throne again, completely calm. “But I know Froggy very well, and if I get close enough to him in the time being, he won’t have the strength for it. He would never hurt someone close to him.” he paused, his grin returning.
“So I have to be ‘kinder’ to him. I thought about this plan for a longer time. Also, it would be a shame just to end that frog. What would be the fun in that?”
The guard looked impressed. “That’s an amazing plan, Lord Grox!”
“I know. Now you also go. Take the taxes or whatever.”
The guard quickly bowed his head and left the room.
Grox was finally alone.
He slowly stood up from his throne and began walking down the stairs. His footsteps echoed through the enormous chamber as he made his way toward the massive windows overlooking the civilization below. He stopped in front of the glass and looked out at everything beneath him. Grox stared out through the window for a moment before quietly speaking to himself.
“I’m not as stupid as you think I am, Froggy.”
In the meantime, one of the guards led Froggy through the castle until they eventually stopped in front of a massive door. The guard reached for the handle and slowly opened it, revealing a large, beautifully decorated chamber on the other side. The guard stepped aside and gestured for Froggy to enter.
“Lord Grox said that this will be your stay for now. Enjoy. Your actual clothes should be on the bed, so you can take those villager clothes off.”
Froggy stepped inside, his eyes immediately wandering around the room in amazement. The chamber was far more luxurious than anything he had expected. Everything was carefully decorated, from the walls and furniture to the small details around the room. It looked nothing like the rough, miserable places the villagers were forced to live in. The guard closed the massive door behind him, leaving Froggy alone. For a few seconds, Froggy simply stood there and took everything in.
Then his eyes landed on the bed.
He walked over and practically threw himself onto it, sinking into the soft mattress.
It was unbelievably comfortable.
Froggy shifted around slightly, feeling the blankets beneath him before pulling some of them closer. It had been a long time since he had been treated this well, and despite everything that had happened, he had to admit that he was already enjoying his stay.
For now, at least. He hugged the soft blankets and sank deeper into them, letting himself relax for the first time in what felt like forever.
“God, it’s so… holy.”
His eyes slowly began to close as his mind started drifting off. For a brief moment, everything felt peaceful.
Then his eyes suddenly opened again.
“Wait…”
Froggy lifted his head slightly from the pillow as another thought entered his mind.
What about his friends?
Baby Villigar.
The others who had been fighting against Grox.
He couldn’t just leave them behind like this!
A feeling of guilt slowly settled over him as he thought about what might have happened after Grox had taken him away. Were they still in the mines? Had the guards found out about them? Were they alright? Froggy stared toward the ceiling, knowing there was nothing he could do about it right now. He could only hope they were safe. Eventually, the exhaustion caught up with him again. His thoughts became slower and more scattered as he pulled the blankets closer around himself, his body sinking further into the soft mattress.
His mind drifted away once more.
And before long, Froggy was completely lost in a deep, deep slumber.