Wow, I am great at naming my chapters.
Anyway, what about that twist, huh?
I'm sorry. I can't write an AHiT fic without the prince being there. But at least now you know why I was so vague about that "servant" character- and I can stop being vague!
Happy days.
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"You." Bow Kid jabbed the tip of her umbrella in the prince's face. "How are you alive?"
He winced, looking anxious to be confronted. "Please don't point that at me."
After a moment, Bow lowered the umbrella. She may want answers, but she didn't want them badly enough to have to threaten the prince. He already looked nervous enough.
Now that the fight was over, Snatcher had picked up the half-conscious body of the prince and teleported the kids back to his home, leaving Moonjumper behind. "It's not like he can leave, though," Snatcher had explained with a scoff. "Moonboy's trapped in the Horizon."
When the girls had asked why Snatcher had shrugged. Then he went to his chair and opened his book, ignoring everyone else. Hattie and Bow waited for the prince to wake up, and now here they were, demanding answers from him.
"Yeah, how are you alive?" Hat Kid repeated. She looked wary, and Bow Kid knew she was thinking the same thing. Was the prince created from a time rift somehow? Was he a time anomaly? Would they have to fight him again to get their lost timepiece back?
Hattie pointed at Snatcher. "Weren't him and Moon formed from- y'know, you? So...how?"
From his chair, Snatcher laughed humorlessly. "I hate to quote Moon, kiddo, but he said we were halves of the deceased prince. And does he-" he flicked his tail at the prince- "look deceased to you?"
Bow Kid frowned. Okay, the snoodle had a point.
The prince smiled, tapping his lips meaningfully. "I'll be perfectly honest with you. I'm not sure if I can entirely describe this as living," he began. After another moment of consideration, he sighed. "I'm a doll."
Hat Kid and Bow Kid stared at him. "A what now?" Hattie asked.
"A doll," the prince repeated. Despite his smile, the look in the prince's bright yellow eyes was of exhaustion and anxiety.
"How?" Both kids asked at the same time.
He thought some more, looking troubled. "I-I don't know," he said solemnly. "All I know is that Moonjumper created me."
"He did what?" Snatcher asked suddenly, looking up from his book. Before the prince could answer, however, Snatcher scowled and looked away. "Ugh, he and I need to have a talk."
The prince's eyes widened. "Please, don't hurt Moonjumper!" he blurted. Snatcher gave him a look, and he scrambled to explain. "I-I mean...when Ma- sorry, Moonjumper- was controlling me, I was somehow able to feel what he felt."
Snatcher looked skeptical. The prince continued, a faraway look in his eye. "There was a lot of anger and hatred, but deep beneath that, there was a lot of sadness. Regret. I believe his intentions were only misplaced, not that he truly meant harm."
They all thought about that for a moment. Bow Kid could tell that everyone was doubtful. From what she'd seen of Moonjumper, he'd seemed like a pretty big jerk. Snatcher believed that too, and he knew Moon better than the kids. But if Moonjumper was the prince, it was understandable that the actual prince believed in him. After all, the prince seemed like a pretty nice guy. What if Moonjumper was also a nice guy, deep beneath all the jerkiness?
Wait, but Moon was only half of the prince. What if he inherited the prince's bad side when the prince died or something? No, that didn't make sense because Snatcher was a jerk too. Did they both inherit good and bad traits from the prince? Did the prince even have any bad traits? Agh, why was this so unnecessarily confusing? Why couldn't the prince just have died and turned into one ghost, like Jaide?
"Anyway, back to our previously scheduled conversation," Hattie said suddenly, breaking the silence. She poked the prince with her umbrella. "You're a doll, and Moonjumper created you. How?"
He looked like he was having trouble thinking about it. "I only have a vague idea of it. Just...distant memories." The prince closed his eyes, concentrating. "Moonjumper created me out of his strings somehow," he murmured. "And somehow, he brought me to life, transferring all his suppressed memories of his previous life to me. Then...he took control of me and tried to use me to take over Subcon." He opened his eyes again, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry if that's not a suitable answer."
Hat Kid and Bow Kid shared a glance. Well, at least he wasn't a time anomaly. But this was a strange type of magic that they'd never even heard before. How could you just create a doll and bring it to life? Not to mention give it your own suppressed memories?
"You're a doll," Hattie repeated. Bow could tell she was trying to make sense of it.
The prince nodded. "Yes."
"Created by Moonjumper. Who then brought you to life."
"Correct."
"And he gave you his suppressed memories- what's the deal with that? Why were his memories suppressed?"
"Moonjumper has amnesia," the prince explained patiently. "It seems that he never fully lost his memories in the beginning since he passed them on to me. Though...I don't remember much." He paused. "My guess is that since I have those memories now, he doesn't remember any of that anymore."
"Riiiight." Hattie nodded, still looking confused. "That's weird."
"It is weird," Snatcher and the prince said at the same time. Snatcher gave the prince a look.
It was hard to comprehend that someone as nice as the prince could die and create two evil ghosts. Ooh, what if the prince had this secret evil dark side that nobody knew about? That'd be kinda funny, but it didn't seem like it. And the prince seemed pretty sure that Moonjumper wasn't actually evil.
Hm. That was a lot to think about. Hattie and Bow would have to figure out what Moon's deal was when they tried to be friends with him. If they could befriend Snatcher, they could hopefully befriend Moon!
Bow Kid studied the prince curiously. He looked just like the pictures drawn of him on the storybook pages- fluffy chestnut hair, fancy red and purple clothes, golden crown. Wow, she couldn't believe how much of an idiot she was for not recognizing him earlier.
After a moment, she said, "Let's move on." She didn't want to think about Moonjumper and death and dolls and memories right now- now was a time to try and befriend the prince and get to know him! "What's your name?"
The prince looked grateful for the change of topic. He started to answer, then paused. He blinked, looking confused, then lowered his gaze. "I...I don't remember."
"What?" Hattie asked, sounding incredulous. "You don't remember your own name?"
He nodded sadly. Hat Kid looked to Snatcher. "What about you?" she asked. "Don't you remember your old name?"
Snatcher had gone back to reading, and he didn't even look up as he answered the question. "Don't remember, don't care. I abandoned that name a long time ago, kid."
Hat Kid frowned, turning back to the prince. "That's sad."
The prince nodded in agreement. Bow Kid wondered if anyone remembered the prince's name. Maybe Jaide, since she was his old tutor?
"Well, in the meantime, can we just refer to you as prince?" Bow Kid asked.
He nodded, managing a small smile. "I'm fine with that."
"Aaaaaand they all lived happily after, the end," Snatcher suddenly interrupted. He closed his book and stood from his chair, moving over to the prince. "I have one problem with you, other than the obvious wrongdoing of your existence."
The prince looked guilty. "O-okay, what is it?"
"I don't want you lurking around my home," Snatcher answered. "You may be a doll, but I have a feeling you still need to sleep." He narrowed his eyes at the prince. "There aren't any houses in Subcon. And I'm not letting you sleep in my chair. I gave it up once for you and only once."
"I understand," the prince replied.
"Good." Snatcher floated back to his chair. "Now go and figure that out."
Hat Kid's face lit up. "Oh, I know!" she exclaimed. Bow Kid looked at her, suddenly growing excited. They were having the same thought, weren't they?
The prince looked curiously at Hat Kid as she took his hand. "You can come to stay in our spaceship with us!" she exclaimed.
He looked hopelessly lost. "Space...what now?"