Chapter Text
"Your vanilla green tea, Your Highness," said the Swatchling. "I hope it is to your liking."
"Thank you!" Ralsei replied with a smile. "But... you don't have to call me 'Your Highness,'" he muttered, sinking into his chair.
"Whatever you perfer, sir." The Swatchling bowed and took its leave.
Ralsei grabbed the cup off of the table and brought it to his mouth, the steam fogging up his glasses. The tea was hot, and it tasted like leaves. But, it was sweet, and creamy. He liked it.
Placing the cup back onto the table, Ralsei looked around the cafe. Various Darkners lined the tables, chatting, enjoying their drinks. Among them were Ralsei's friends, Susie, and Kris.
... Kris.
For some reason he couldn't describe, ever since the heroes had arrived just a few days ago, Ralsei had been obsessed with Kris. They were all he could think about. What they were doing, how they were feeling, whether or not they'd brushed their teeth, and on and on. Right now, Kris was drinking a chocolate blueberry latte, as the host had recommended. Ralsei couldn't help but think that it was exactly the kind of thing they would order.
... Why was he thinking that?
Ralsei took another sip of his tea. Warm, sweet, and creamy... But bitter. He liked it, didn't he? He liked it just like he liked everything. Right?
... No. That was wrong.
He didn't like everything.
Somewhere, deep, deep down inside, there was a shard of... Something. It was cold. So very cold. It was like a stabbing pain at the very core of his being that never went away. He hated it. He HATED it. It terrified him. And yet, it felt familiar. He couldn't remember a time without it, but he could only remember becoming afraid of it recently...
A question popped into his mind. How long had he been alone in this empty town? His mind went blank. Where did this town even come from? No response. Ralsei looked down at his hands. Well, they were more paws than hands. Was that... normal?
He began to feel something sharp digging into his chest. Panic coursed throughout his body. It felt like he was dying.
The thin barrier between him and the void vanished, giving way to pure, never-ending darkness. Tumbling through the emptiness as his mind faded away into nothing.
He looked over at Kris. They had chocolate stains on their lip. Susie was playfully making fun of them for it. The stabbing pain in Ralsei's chest dampened. He wasn't dead. Everything was okay.
Susie glanced over at him from across the cafe.
Ralsei smiled brightly and waved at his friends.
Susie returned the wave with a toothy grin of her own. Kris simply put up a peace sign before going back to their latte.
... What was he thinking about? Oh, yes. Things he disliked.
He disliked violence, for one. But somehow, even that seemed okay if Kris told him to do it. Kris always made him feel safe. And so he had aimed to make Kris feel safe. He wanted to protect them. He had to protect them. If anything bad happened to Kris, he'd...
The stabbing pain was back. Quickly, Ralsei cut off his train of thought. "Let's not think about that too much," he told himself. "Let's just keep thinking about... Kris."
Ralsei stared wistfully at Kris. Whenever he was around them, he always felt... warm, and fuzzy. Nothing felt better than when Kris would hug him, or dress him up, or feed him...
That... was what he wanted to be like. Like a little teddy bear. Soft and fluffy and filled with cotton.
Then again, maybe that's just what he thought Kris wanted.
That was what scared him. The times when his free will came into question, neither confirmed nor denied. The times where the lines between the will of Lightner he worshipped and his own being started to blur, but never fully disappear. If he didn't have free will, would he even know?
... Why DIDN'T he know? HE was the one who knew the Prophecy like the back of his own hand. HE was the one who spent YEARS rehearsing it, WAITING for the heroes to finally arrive. Why couldn't HE of all people tell if he was just... a toy?
Well, then again, he had questioned his own hands just a few moments before. Maybe it shouldn't have come as a surprise to him that he didn't know the world as well as he thought he did.
"Pardon me, sir. I noticed that you weren't drinking your tea. Is something the matter?"
"Huh?" A Swatchling had snapped him out of his trance. "Um. No, everything's alright, thanks!" The Prince gave a chipper reply.
"Ah, forget I said anything then." The Swatchling peered over the rim of Ralsei's cup. "It seems like your tea has gotten cold, though. Would you like me to prepare you another?"
"No, that's quite alright. I'm... not very thirsty." Ralsei gave the Swatchling a sorry smile.
"Of course. I'll take your mug for you, then." The Swatchling grabbed the half-empty cup and walked off.
He looked across the room again. Susie was on her third blackberry tart. Her jacket was covered in stains. Not that anyone could tell, though.
Ralsei got up from his table and approached the Lightners. "Are you enjoying your latte, Kris?" Ralsei asked with a smile.
Kris simply nodded as they began taking a long sip of the drink.
"Yeah, it looks like they're enjoying it. 'cuz they won't even let me TRY it!" Susie shouted as she punched Kris on the shoulder, splashing the latte into their face. "Whoops." She recoiled a bit, but then, she smirked just a little. "Heh. Guess you really got 'chocolate fever' now, eh, Kris?" She let out a hearty laugh at the expense of her classmate.
"Susie!" Ralsei exclaimed. "You ought to be more careful! If that coffee was still hot, you could have hurt Kris very badly!" He frowned at her in disappointment.
Susie seemed annoyed. "Hey, get off my case, man! I didn't mean to do it, I was just tryin' to have a little fun..."
Kris, however, was actually smiling. Did they find Susie's quip funny? Ralsei didn't understand.
He approached Kris gently, pulling a napkin out of his lack of pockets. "I'll clean you up, Kris. We wouldn't want you to stain your hair, would we?" Ralsei smiled at Kris warmly, dabbing up the coffee off their face. "There, is that better?" He asked sweetly.
Kris had stopped smiling. They gave a thumbs up, and got out of their chair.
The stabbing pain was back. Ralsei winced and closed his eyes. Why did Kris always get annoyed with him like that? What was he doing wrong? Why couldn't he just...
"Hey, dude. You okay?" Susie asked him with a hint of concern. "You look kinda like you stubbed your toe or somethin'..."
Ralsei was startled by the question. "What?, Er, no, I'm okay! I just... bumped my elbow." A lie.
Susie glared at him. It looked like she didn't believe that. "Well, I won't hound you about it." Susie told him. "But if you gotta talk about somethin'... You can tell us, y'know."
The pain spread like fire. He shut his eyes again. He couldn't think. He didn't want Susie to be worried. If she was worried then... Then...
He didn't have it in him to lie to her again. "... Okay." Ralsei replied with a resigned sigh.
Susie was becoming worried. Her eyes widened and her stance became awkward. "Hey... there's gonna be a carnival in town soon. D'you think... maybe you'd want to try going to it with us?"
Ralsei opened his eyes to look at her. "Oh! Susie... T-that's a very kind offer for you to make, but... In order to go to a carnival in your world, I'd have to... be IN your world. Haha..." He tried to smile, but he still seemed sad.
Susie seemed disappointed. "Oh. Well, don't sweat it then... Heh. Maybe we could just bring the carival to THIS world." She smiled at her friend. Then, she glanced over at the clock on the wall, which conveniently displayed Light World Time, or LWT Time. "Aw, crap. It's getting late. Kris' Mom'll be pissed if I don't bring them back by dark." She went and got Kris from the broken jukebox. They started towards the door, but Susie stopped to go over to Ralsei. "Hey man, you wanna... Walk us to the closet doors?"
Ralsei perked up a little. "Of course I'll see you out!" He stepped in line behind Susie, and the three walked through the lively town towards the pillar of light at the end of the path. Kris and Susie stepped into it and flew off into the sky while Ralsei waved goodbye to them. As they left and the doors closed behind them, the pillar faded, leaving the Prince alone.
He stood there for a second. Then another. Then another. Waiting to see if they would come back again. Maybe now. Maybe in a minute. Or two. Or ten.
"Uh, hey. You good?" A Darkner.
Ralsei did not turn to look. "I'm fine. Please, don't worry about me."
The Rudinn stared awkwardly. "Alright then..."
Ralsei heard footsteps getting quieter as the Darkner walked away. He did not move for several hours before deciding the Lightners would not return that night. He felt numb. Something was not right. Something was very, very not right.
... The old shopkeeper. They knew things. He would know what was happening. Ralsei began walking slowly towards the patchwork seap, staring nowhere in particular as he let his feet carry him down the path.
As he pushed aside the cloth door, a deep, frail voice greeted him.
"Well, well, well! Look who came here so late in the night." The old shopkeeper gave a wide smile as they welcomed in the Prince. "You seemed catatonic out there. How long did you spend waiting for the Lightners to return? An hour? Maybe three?"
"Hello, Seam." Ralsei said, ignoring the question. The walls of the shop were lined with shelves, on each one an assortment of oddities. He took a seat on one of the cushions near the walls. It felt soft.
"I'll prepare some tea for the two of us. Then, you can tell me what's on your mind." Seam said politely.
Ralsei looked puzzled at the wisened Darkner. "How did you know why I came?"
Seam laughed at the question. "Ha ha! No one comes to someone of my age unless they have business to be done or questions to be asked. And judging by your episode earlier, I don't think you'd DARE to conduct trade with the belongings of your precious friends, would you?" They placed a cup of tea on the ground in front of their guest.
Ralsei frowned. "I suppose you're right, aren't you?" He picked up the tea and took a sip. Blegh. It was terribly bitter. But it was somehow... Comforting? His face scrunched up reflexively.
"Not a fan of the tea?" Seam asked with a chuckle.
Ralsei jumped at the question. "No, no! It's fine. Thank you." A lie.
Seam ignored his response. "This tea IS a tad bitter for some tastes... But a cup of it every day will keep you healthy. Sugar may be sweet, but too much of it will kill you." The shopkeeper downed some of their brew. "Now then," they began slowly, placing their cup onto the counter. "Tell me what's bothering you."
Ralsei stared into his tea. His reflection stared back at him with a worried expression the same as his own. "I... H-haven't felt well recently. There's something like... Stabbing, into my chest." Ralsei did not look at the shopkeeper.
Seam waited patiently for their fellow Darkner to continue, a focused expression on their tattered face.
Ralsei continued slowly. "A-and... I tend to think... strange things, about my friends. About K-Kris..."
Seam raised an eyebrow. "What kind of strange things?" They probed, intrigued by the words he heard.
Ralsei sat up on his cushion and placed his tea on the ground. "Well... I always think about them, for one. I can't stop worrying if they're going to be okay without me. And, I always try to make them feel comfortable here. But no matter what I do... They never seem to be content." He closed his eyes sadly.
Seam thought for a second before asking their guest a question. "Tell me more about this... 'Stabbing pain.'" They said, resting their arms on their knees.
Ralsei felt numb again. "It's... Cold. It's like it's cutting through me, and piercing through my heart. But, it's... Not unfamiliar."
The shopkeeper said nothing.
Ralsei's breath began to waver. "Aa-and, it makes me worry that... This, isn't really what I am. I don't know if... I'm even a PERSON, or if I'm really free, or anything! What if I'm just... What if this is all just... Fake?" The Prince's voice was shaky as he continued. "What if... This emptiness... Is what I really am? And all this," Ralsei gestured at his body. "Is just... Kris' will." He sniffed as he reached for the tea on the ground. He didn't notice the bitter taste as it glided down his throat. As he pulled the cup away from his mouth, he stared blankly into the reflection on the surface of the liquid.
Seam sat for a second, choosing their next words carefully, so as not to set off the boy. "Aren't you... Some kind of prophet?"
Ralsei sat up. "Huh? What do you mean?"
Seam smiled as they elaborated. "The heroes, there no way they could have heard of the prophecy where THEY'RE from. You told them about it, didn't you?"
Ralsei continued looking down into his tea. "Oh, right. I did..."
"And yet, you claim to never have spoken to anyone before." Seam continued, ignoring their guest once more. "Other than yourself, of course!" The old cat laughed.
Ralsei didn't see where this was going. He couldn't tell if he was being made fun of, or if he was being doubted.
"So you have knowledge that you shouldn't, given your circumstances." Seam concluded. "If that's not the mark of a prophet, then I don't know what is." They said dryly. "And so, that's why you're afraid, isn't it?"
Ralsei stared at the old Darkner in bewilderment. "What do you mean? I-I'm not following what you're saying..."
"You're supposed to be the knowledgeable one, and yet you feel lost on something as simple as your own identity." said Seam. "You can't come to terms with something you don't understand."
Ralsei's gaze fell down from the shopkeeper to the floor, and there it stayed as the former mage continued his lecture.
"Not that I blame you, of course. You most of all should understand how it feels to be left to your own devices." Seam said as they began dusting off his trinkets. "Time passing, the same thing, day after day... You either find something to keep your mind off it, or you let yourself succumb to insanity."
Ralsei could feel himself twitching. His hands trembled as he held the cup of tea.
"For you," Seam continued with certainty, "It must've been your legend." It was not a question. "So! There's your problem. You've lived your entire life inside a bubble, and now that you've stepped out of it, you can't come to grips with life in the real world." Seam gave a soft chuckle.
Ralsei sat still for a second. He couldn't bear to stare into his own eyes any longer. He closed his eyes and slammed back the entire cup of tea, letting it make his mouth go numb. He was quiet for a moment, thinking about what he was going to say to the Darkner in front of him. "You're wrong." He said in a monotone voice, still with his head down.
"Hm?" Seam cocked their head to the side. "Would you care to elaborate?"
The Prince looked up at the Darkner. "I've seen everything, Seam. You were right, I am a prophet. What scares me isn't what I don't know. It's what I do know." The lenses of his glasses were foggy as he spoke. The tone of his voice grew bitter. "Darkners exist for one purpose, you know. That purpose? To be used. We're PLAYTHINGS. Lightners... they control everything. They're our Gods. Our will bends to their own. And do you know the funny part?" Ralsei began to chuckle as his speech grew louder. "It's all just a game to them. They don't even see us as alive! These feelings, these thoughts... None of them are our own! And yet... " The fog in the Prince's glasses faded. "And yet... I can't ignore them. I can't... I can't do it! I-I just want Kris to be happy..." Tears welled up in Ralsei's eyes as he hid his face in his scarf. "I just want to be there for them, always..."
Ralsei began to sob violently, his wailing muffled by his soft pinkish fabric. "Why... WHY DID THEY MAKE ME LIKE THIS?!" He shouted at Seam, baring his teeth at the startled old cat. He got up and started pacing around the room. "They don't even like me! T-they never... they don't ever look at me the way they look at SUSIE! Why her?! Why not me?!?! I gave them everything! My town, my love, everything!" Ralsei fell to his knees and let his arms fall to his side. "Why did they make me care so much about them... if they didn't want it? I just can't understand..." He mumbled as tears dribbled out of his eyes.
Seam stared at Ralsei with their lack of a jaw dropped. "You've surprised me... I really didn't think you had THAT much going on inside your head."
Ralsei stayed silent. The old shopkeeper walked over to the kneeling Prince and placed a sewn hand onto his shoulder.
"You know, Lightners worship their creators the same as we worship ours. I'm certain that everyone questions their free will at some point." Seam said in a low voice.
"What matters now," they asserted, "is what you do with these thoughts."
Ralsei looked up at the sunken face of the wise old plush. "I... I just want Kris to be happy. That's all. It's... My purpose."
Seam stared at him with doubt in their lack of eyes. "Your purpose is whatever you decide it is. Just be careful..." They uttered ominously. "... Not to lose yourself."
Ralsei could tell that Seam had said all they had to say. He stood up, taking off his glasses to wipe the tears out of his eyes. "Thank you for the tea..."
Seam waved their hand frivolously. "Oh, it was nothing... Here, take this." Ralsei looked down at the shopkeeper's hands to see a small jar filled with tiny white crystals.
"There's no problem with a little sugar here and there."
Ralsei smiled a little, Seam returned the gesture. They said their goodbyes, and the Prince stepped out of the cloth seap, gripping the jar of sugar tightly.
He looked behind him to see the geyser of darkness spewing outwards from the centre of his castle. It was truly mesmerizing. The longer he stared into it, the more his mind went blank. But then, he stopped, and walked up to the living quarters of his friends. He opened the door to Kris' room. Everything was exactly as it was in the Light World. Kris didn't seem to like it though. If Ralsei had had the common sense that a normal person has, he would have realized how shallow his attempts to please Kris truly were. But, he lacked that knowledge, so he didn't see.
Ralsei laid on Kris' bed, letting himself melt away into the covers. He placed his glasses on the nightstand to his right and shut his eyes. When they opened next, a new adventure would await him and his friends.
Until then, though, he would lay here, letting the thought of Kris sleeping peacefully carry him through the night.