Queen Uni

CH7: We Need to Talk (part 2)

"What is this place?" Ashlie asked Tommy as she crawled out of the vents to the room where everyone was waiting.
"Oh, this?" Tommy replied. "Found this room a while back. I think it was going to be another room, but it was really inaccessible, so no one comes down here. I brought some stuff down to make it more comfy."
The room was dimly lit by a battery powered nightlight. Cory was lounging on a couch, drinking a soda. Dawn and Uni were sitting on another one parallel to it, chatting with each other. Jon was bouncing on a third couch that connected the other two, and Nick was sitting on the armrest of it, looking at Jon with a mixture of confusion and amusement. Across from that couch, Leo laid happily across a bed with tons of pillows and a fuzzy blanked across the top. A coffee table sat in the middle of the square, neglected by those around it.
"Yeah, T-Dog, I was gonna ask you about that," Cory said, looking up from his drink. "How did you get these in here? This must be one of the highest up rooms in the castle, and you have tons of random crap." He gestured towards the mini fridge full of drinks, the computer and printer on a desk, and the green... car? "We had to crawl up tons of ladders you put in the vents, and I'm not even gonna ask how those got in there. But seriously, what?"
"Dude, I have a green car!" Tommy whined in response.
"That's not what I meant!" Cory exclaimed, frustrated. "How did you get all this stuff up here?"
"Well, I carried it, obviously," Tommy responded.
"Well, yeah, but did someone help you?"
"No," Tommy said, rolling his eyes. "Why would I show anyone else my secret hideout?"
"You showed us, Tommy," Ashlie said, vaulting over the back of the couch Jon was on and settling in.
"Shuddup," he said after a moment's pause.
"I told you already," Ashlie, Nick, and Cory echoed back at him.
    "Yeah, uhhuh." Tommy echoed straight back, vaulting over the couch Cory was on and shoving his feet out of the way.
    "Ow!" Cory yelled, glaring at Tommy. "What the heck was that for?"
    "I needed a place to sit, and you were hogging a couch," Tommy said, smirking at Cory.
    "So go sit with Leo!"
    Leo, over on the bed, gave a little awkward wave. "Why am I here again?" He asked everyone, tilting his head a bit.
Ashlie and Jon let out a quick "Awwww..." before Leo looked over at them and sighed.
"Leo, I requested that you be here," Dawn said. "I felt like you deserve a say in this since," he rubbed his neck and smiled nervously, "You were kind of involuntarily dragged into all of this."
"Wait, what are we here for again?" Nick asked. "I think we got sidetracked."
"Oh yeah," Cory said, starting to take charge. "Tom said he wanted to keep talking about-" he choked on his words a bit, but continued, "Mom. Nick, Ash, you're right. We can't just let her death be worth nothing!"
"But we can't abandon the kingdom either," Dawn pointed out. "People already think we're nothing but a band of misfits, and if we all left that would just prove their point more."
"Well, the thing is," Ashlie said, rubbing the back of her neck a bit, "I have been starting to think they might be right."
Everyone stared at her, concern evident in their eyes.
"Why would you think that, Ashlie?" Nick asked, scooting off the armrest and closer to her.
"Nick, you should know!" Ashlie practically shouted. "You and Uni and Dawn remember bits and pieces of your past selves. You know what your lives used to be like. But me, Jon, Cory and Tommy all had to start from zero.
"I'm not the lady they want me to be. I'm a lady warrior. I never learned to be anything else."
"Tom and I also started our lives over," Cory added. "I was never meant for royalty or riches. I had to make my own money in a world that was constantly against me. And I had to rely on the help of creeps like him" Cory gestured to Tommy, and Tommy shoved him a bit, causing them to both laugh, "to keep myself from being robbed blind. The castle seemed like a dream, so of course I took the opportunity. But this isn't the same dream we used to be living."
"Don't think you're the only one who has it hard," Nick said, throwing in his own contribution. "I lost my parents when I was little, and had to keep myself alive with small jobs for the local armorers and blacksmiths. Just because it was necessary to be polite to get a bite of food, doesn't mean my life was so much easier."
"None of us had it easy before," Ashlie responded. "Eve took us in when everything was dark. She deserves whatever we can do for her!"
    "I agree." Uni said gently, walking over to Ashlie and putting a hand on her shoulder.
    "You... do?" Nick said, confused. "But you're queen now. You can't just leave everyone-"
    "And I won't." Uni replied, certainty in his voice. "But that doesn't mean all of you can't."
    "I'm not leaving you, Uni," Dawn told him. "I won't just leave my best friend behind."
    "Thanks Dawn, but you don't have to." Uni looked out at everyone around the table. "You all have been the best siblings I could ever have. You're all so strong, and smart, and brave." Uni paused and sniffled a little. "There could be no one better to find and kill that traitor." He looked up with strength in his eyes.
    "So, you want us to just all leave to try to find this person?" Nick asked. "We won't just leave you behind!"
    "Nick, Uni's right," Cory said, shooting him a sympathetic glance. "We're all a bunch of outcasts here, without a purpose. If we stay, we'll only be repressed. But if we leave..."
"We can fix everything." Jon said, curling up.
"So it's settled, then. You all will leave," Uni smiled slightly, "And I can take care of the kingdom."
"For the last time, Uni, I'm not leaving you," Dawn said, a gentle smile on his face as he held his friend's hand. "You chose me as your advisor. I'm not gonna just leave you behind."
    "Thanks, Dawn," Uni said, his eyes watering slightly.
"Guys?" Leo said, curling up into a little ball. "It's really late. Can we keep talking later?"
They reluctantly agreed, and Tommy took them, one by one, back to their quarters.

AN: Oh man I forgot to add an AN when I first posted this! I was in a place with wifi that's spotty at best, so I wanted to get it out as quick as possible and forgot to edit it after.
Anyways, this was one of the chapters I had planned at the beginning, but I had no idea how to execute it. The next chapter will introduce a new character!
Sorry if this is sad for some people, but it's necessary for what I have planned for the future.
Hope you enjoyed!
-Helena!!! ¢: