𝖎𝖒𝖕𝖚𝖗𝖎𝖙𝖎𝖊𝖘 ● 𝗟𝘂𝗶𝗴𝗶 𝘅 𝗕𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗲𝗿

| 𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 |

"So you're lonely then?" I asked.

"Well, yeah. No one here really listens to what I have to say. I'm just seen as the 5 year old who doesn't know how to behave."

I patted the frowning kid on his back.

"So, how long are you staying here?" Junior asked me.

"Maybe about 8 weeks. It depends when my brother comes back for me."

"Your brother's not here?"

"No, we got separated."

"Oh."

"Yeah... So, what do you know about the other prisoners?" I asked.

"Not much since most of them don't talk to me. But from what the guards say, they're thieves who got caught trying to steal from Dads throne room."

"I see."

"So, why does my dad have your friend locked up here?"

"She's a princess. From what I hear, he plans on marrying her."

"Wow... that sounds..."

"Crazy, I know. Uh, no offense."

"None taken. Besides, my dad's a massive jerk." He crossed his arms.

My eyes traced back to the pair of keys he had.

"I wonder how many parts of the castle could be unlocked with those keys." I said, which brought a mischievous smirk on Junior's face.

"Only one way to find out." He smirked, dangling them around his finger. "Say, you seem pretty tall. I don't suppose you mind helping me with something?"

"Uh, it depends. What did you need me for?"

"Now that I have this huge set of keys, I have access to many different parts of the castle. There's only one small problem. Most keyholes are placed too high up for me to reach. Heck I was hardly able to reach your room's keyhole."

"What are you trying to get at?" I asked.

"Well.... I was wondering if you wanted to explore the castle with me?"

"That sounds like a bad idea. You're already grounded and your dad already seems furious enough with me."

"Oh, forget about that. We'll just have to try not to get caught."

"You know your way around the castle?"

"For the most part, yeah. The only places that'll be new to me are the areas I haven't gotten the chance to explore because the guards always made sure I never got my hands on a set of keys."

"Hm... I don't know. I'm still not convinced I should be doing this."

"Please?" He pleaded placing his hands together. "Come on, aren't you a little curious about the mysteries of Bowser's castle? Besides, if we do get caught I'll take the blame for everything. Pinkie swear." He vowed, placing a hand on his chest.

I mean, my stay here couldn't get any worse. Besides, I would probably end up spending tonight just thinking about my brother. It couldn't hurt to do something to get my mind off the situation.

"Alright, let's do it." I smiled.

"YES!" He cheered before hugging me.

I smiled, patting him on the head. I practically felt like I had to hang out with him since no one else in the castle gives him the time of day. I felt bad that his own dad was neglecting his kid.

"So what's the plan?" I asked.

"You stay in here. I need you to be up by 12 am."

"Why 12?"

"Security's tight around 9. The guards ease up a bit around midnight. And usually the general is asleep around that time......Usually."

"Do you need me to do anything in particular?"

"Just get some rest. You can leave the rest to me." He smirked, leaving out the room.

Still wasn't sure if this was a good idea. But I couldn't help but feel bad for the kid. It must be hard growing up his age with no friends, let alone a neglectful parent.

I spent the afternoon lying down, trying to get as much sleep as I could. I managed to get a couple of hours in. I Found myself watching the clock tick, drinking the water Bowser brought up for me earlier. I watched as the clock struck twelve.

A few minutes passed, and the kid still wasn't back yet. I suddenly heard a loud clank noise from outside my room. I then saw the door knob begin to twist.

I watched Junior walk in with a frying pan. I could see a knocked out koopa in the doorway.

"Don't worry. He'll be up in a few hours." He said, shutting the door behind him.

"Wow. So what now?"

"We can't take the staircase down. It's one of the most guarded areas. Which means we'll have to compromise." He said, looking at the window.

"Uh, that's a hundred foot drop down, Junior."

"I know." He said, unzipping his backpack."Which is why I brought this."

He pulled a long rope out of his backpack. He proceeded to tie a part of it to my bed leg, then threw the rest of it out the window.

"Now we can climb out." He said.

"Impressive, but what if we get caught?"

"It's too late to think about that now. Come on." He said, ushering me toward the rope.

I pushed my bed closer to the window and placed my stool on my bed. I gave Junior a boost, since his arms were too short to reach the ledge of the window on his own. I balanced on the stool and jumped onto the window ledge.

"I'll climb down first to make sure it's safe." I told him.

He gave me a thumbs up as I took hold of the rope. I did my best to ignore my fear of heights and began climbing down as quickly as I could. The rope didn't fully extend to the ground.

Thankfully, it wasn't too far out of my range and I landed on the ground.

"Uh, I'm a little stuck. The rope's burning my hands." Junior whined.

I held my arms out and caught the little guy to make sure he didn't hurt his legs.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"Come on, before one of the guards come." He said, his stubby hand tugging on my arm.

I followed him, looking back up at the rope hanging from the room we just climbed out of. Well there was no turning back now.