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hailtothemightystarwarrior · 4 months

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The Star Warrior Nutcracker Ch. 5: A Deal With Daroach

“So let me get this straight,” tiff said once the others had finished telling their story. “You,” she pointed at adeleine, “are from another world and daroach went after the brooch of yours, not knowing who has given you the captain turned nutcracker for christmas and he tried to kidnap you, but he couldn’t because your brooch has some freaky magic and now you are on a quest to defeat the squeak king for good, without an army backing you up?”

“The army’s coming tomorrow,” metaknight explained, “But yeah, that’s pretty much it”

The rebel nodded “Things in this land keeps getting stranger and stranger. I mean daroach gets that Freaky magic and turns the queen into a horrifying monster and now this!”

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” said Adeleine “What’s the deal with that brooch?”

“daroach didn’t have this much power,” metaknight replied grimly “after the fairy queen and I announced our engagement, daroach forced the witch sisters to tell him where to find the bell. The legend says that the owner will gain unlimited power, but it will also corrupt their souls. It was like everyone is an enemy, including oneself leading to mistrust. After the fairy queen was cursed, the sisters told me what Daroach made them do and the pieces came together”

He hung his head “Those Poor sisters. I knew studying divination would get them into trouble”

Adeleine puts her hand on his shoulder “They’re both strong girls. I just hope that whatever Daroach’s doing to them, they’re holding out”

In the highest tower of the dream palace, a lone fairy was staring out a barred window. Her violet eyes were beautiful, though reddened and shadowed from many sleepless nights. Her long black braids flowed gracefully down her back, but was tangled from distress. She wore a tattered dress that was once an elegant gown fit for a queen.

She sighed heavily as she looked out at the kingdom she was supposed to protect, but failed. She touched the red heart around her neck. It was the first gift her beloved had given to her

She recalled how he looked at her birthday celebration. At that time, he had been a young soldier in training, but still the handsomest young lad that had ever come to her castle. Ever since she had seen him with his shiny blue hair and kind smile, she wanted him. And when he had bowed to her and handed her that gift, color had to his cheeks. When she saw the red heart, it was her turn to blush. After she had received her gifts, he had requested a dance. She had smirked and said she was about to ask him the same.

That had been the most magical night of her life

She had promised to treasure the heart forever, and she did not think she could break it even if she wanted to. He had given more than just a gift that day, but his heart, and that something she could never give away. A tear fell at the thought of her lost love

“I wonder if the kingdom will be alright.” she whispered. “But what can i do, trapped in my room like this?”

“Oh, metaknight,” she whispered touching her heart “Please, please be alive,” she looked out at the horizon “And if you are, and you still love me, please come back to me”

“Oh your majesty, are you busy?” An all-too-familar voice sneered

“You Know Praying will get you nowhere, your majesty, there’s no one to hear you.”

The lady scowled, but she refused to face her captor “Too busy for you, Go away Daroachl! I’m not in the mood”

“Oh, Come now my dear” daroach said, holding a bouquet of white roses “don’t be so cruel, it isn’t becoming for someone as lovely as yourself” daroach puts his hand up to the queen’s chin

“Humph, perhaps when you let me see metaknight, I will be less cruel!”

“Oh, queenie, queenie, queenie,” daroach tsked “Feeling a little down, are we, my dear?”

“Very,” the fairy queen growled

“Well, then perhaps my news will cheer you up. Apparently, your boyfriend has returned to the land of dreams”

She turned to him with tears welling up in her eyes “metaknight’s alive?”

“Oh, yes but not for long, of course”

She narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth “Don’t you dare hurt him!”

“It all depends,” he said looking nonchalantly at his hand “After all, I can’t have him constantly trying to defeat me”

He smirked at her as he circled her. “Of course, if you reconsider my offer,” he laid his hands on her shoulders, “I just might change my mind”

The fairy queen hissed as she shook him off. “I’ll never be your queen!”

“Even if it’ll save your boyfriend’s life?”

“metaknight wouldn’t want to that for me! He’d rather die than see me married to you! I’d rather die!”

He rubbed his hands together “That can be easily arranged, but it would be a shame to destroy such a pretty face”

He touched her chin with his hand and she swatted it away

“Why do you still want me as your queen, anyway?” she demanded. “I thought I made it perfectly clear that I will never love you!”

“Love’s not important, darling,” daroach shrugged, putting his hands behind his back “All I want is power, and what better way to gain it by marrying the fairy queen?”

“You’ve already taken the land by force! You don’t need me to obtain power! You have so much power now that you can have any girl you want!”

daroach tapped his chin in thought

“I can have any girl that I want, can’t I?” he said, turning his back to the fairy queen ”Hmm…”

His thoughts were interrupted when the door swung open and spinni burst in

“Your majesty! The squeak…”

“MUST YOU ALWAYS INTERRUPT ME WHEN I’M IN A MEETING?!” the squeak king boomed

“S-sorry, sir, I…I just came to tell you how the resistance attacks turned out”

daroach’s expression changed. “Oh. did they get the girl?”

“Girl?” the fairy queen asked confusingly

“Oh, that’s right, i forgot to mention. Nut boy is traveling with a new female companion.I think he might be cheating on you.”

The queen crossed her arms “Nice try. metaknight would never betray me! And even if he did, marrying you wouldn’t be any better!”

daroach turned to spinni “Well, did they get her?”

“Um, not exactly…”

daroach’s eyes narrowed as he put his hands on his hips. “What happened?”

“Well, she and the nutcracker sort of escaped?”

“WHAT?!” he howled, grabbing the front of spinni’s cloak. “HOW COULD SHE HAVE ESCAPED?! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT I SENT A FULL ARMY AFTER ONE GIRL AND SHE ESCAPED?!”

“The nutcracker and the rebels helped!” spinni said “But the squeakers managed to nab most of the resistance!”

“Really?” daroach, his eyes gleaming with interest

“Yes sir. They’re all in the courtyard right now!”

daroach released spinni’s cloak

“You’ll have to excuse me, your majesty,” he sneered at the fairy queen. “I have unfinished business to attend to elsewhere”

“You won’t win!” the fairy queen declared as he and spinni exited the cell “metaknight will come for me and destroy you!”

The squeak king chuckled in response “At least there’s one perk about keeping you here, even if you won’t be my queen. You’re just bait to lure nut boy here. Once he comes for you, I will have the pleasure of destroying you both, like I should’ve in the first place!”

He slammed the door behind him and followed spinni to the palace courtyard. The squeakers had the resistance members bound by their wrists.

“We’ve caught the traitors, your majesty!” doc announced

“Yet you let the girl get away!” daroach growled “The nutcracker too!”

“It wasn’t our fault, your majesty! The girl…she used magic of some sort from the brooch!”

The squeak king groaned “Of course! That brooch is powerful! Of course it’ll protect its wearer!”

He took a deep breath and looked pleasingly at the prisoners. “Well, it seems the battle wasn’t a complete loss” he laughed at them “And you all thought you could defeat me? Me? The most powerful mind in the world?” he knelt down to a cappy girl “Defeated by a bunch of puny cappy folks like you?” he lifted the cappy girl’s chin with his hand “Sorry that you went through all that trouble for nothing. You will make excellent slaves”

“Hey!” the mayor hollered “Get your filthy hands off of her!”

Daroach stood up and smirked at the elderly cappy “Take the old one and the children to the kitchens and put the others to work in the mines” he spoke directly to the rebels. “You all belong to me now! And if you have a problem with that, i hope you don’t mind spending the rest of eternity in the gardens”

The resistance members all glared at him as the squeakers carried them off. draoach growled and started pacing. spinni watched him worriedly, as if he were going to explode at any second

“There’s got to be a clean way to separate the girl from the brooch,” he thought aloud, running his hand through his hair “Or at least bring her here without struggle so that we can make her take the brooch off eventually!”

“If you don’t mind me asking, your majesty,” said spinni “What’s so important about that brooch?”

“That brooch is powerful, which those witches foretold would be my demise! Unless I find a way to destroy it, I’m doomed! But every time i do so much as touch the girl wearing it, Boom! A magical surge knocking me backwards and giving me a splitting headache! How could I think sending the squeakers would be any different?”

Just then, his lips curled into a evil grin and touched his forehead

“Oh, of course… I’ve been going about this the wrong way!” he chuckled. “Brute force isn’t the answer! What we need here is a little…diplomacy”

spinni blinked “Uh, no offense, sir, but that doesn’t sound like you at all”

daroach draped his cape around his shoulders. He brought out a hand mirror in his hand and admired himself. He never once loses his dignity, and resourcefulness

“I can’t remove the brooch,” he mused, “But she can. She just needs a little persuasion. Besides, you know what they say, spinni. If you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself”

“I’m tired!” ribbon groaned

We’ve been walking for hours!”

“It’s been a whole hour we left cappy town,” tiff said rolling her eyes

“Yeah, but before that was a big battle and before that we were walking and before that was another battle!” the small fairy collapsed to the ground “I’m bushed!”

“We could use some rest,” metaknight said, sitting on a large rock

“I agree,” tiff nodded, making herself comfortable on a log with kirby “While we’re on a tight schedule, we can’t be too exhausted when the time comes to battle daroach”

adeleine sighed as she sat down and leaned against a tree. She touched the brooch around her neck

“I still don’t understand what’s so special about the brooch,” she muttered “I mean…what is it? And why does the squeak king want it?”

Tiff shrugged “He likes power. I guess that bell wasn’t enough”

“What made him so evil anyway?”

metaknight shook his head “Who knows? Can’t be about his looks. The fairy queen never ostracized him for it. She made him Her advisor, after all. I guess daroach just wanted to be more than second-in-command”

“But why?”

“The monster is rotten to the core” tiff spat “What’s the use in questioning it if all he’s gonna do is let that rottenness show?”

ribbon yawned “All this philosophical thinking is making me tired”

kirby mimicked her gesture

tiff stretched as he also yawned “I guess whipping those squeakers really took it outta me”

metaknight didn’t say anything, but his eyes were closed

“Maybe some sleep would do us good,” tiff said wearily as she sprawled across the log.

The fairy yawned again as they nodded off. adeleine, not feeling the least bit tired, looked at them

“What’s wrong with everybody?”

“Adeleine…”

Adeleine heard the sound of the voice. It was soft and high, yet she could hear it loud and clear

“Adeleine…”

She stood up and tried to pinpoint the source of the voice

“Hello?” she called “Is somebody there?”

She gasped as a trail of small hearts and stars past her

“Adeleine…”

She blinked in alarm, for the voices seemed to be coming from the end of the trail. It seemed to be beckoning for her to follow. Her instincts told her to run, but her curiosity got the better of her. As the trail drifted away, she tripped over the snow trying to catch up with them

“Wait!” she shouted “Who are you? How do you know my name?”

The trail led her to a cave and even though she was afraid of the dark, she blindly went in. She looked around and her fear lessened once she realized the cave wasn’t that big. However, it returned when she saw that the trail had vanished

“Hello?” she called weakly

Adeleine squealed when the entrance was suddenly barricaded with rocks, sealing her in darkness.

“You know, My little prism, i don’t think you would be so gullible to track down a trail of hearts and stars”

She gasped in recognition of the voice.

Just then, sparks lights up the dark. One by one, the torch on each wall burst like fiery clovers. The candles reveal a sweet smelling odor. They’ve brought the cave to life to every corner. Instantly, walls of the cave erupted into life. The torches are lit so she could see the smirking face of the squeak king. Adeleine backed away but realized her action was futile when her back hits the wall

“I must say,” Daroach chuckled, advancing on her, “It is a real pleasure to see you again, Miss Adeleine”

She winced as he reached out his hand. She wasn’t sure what she had expected him to do, but it certainly wasn’t what he ended up doing. He was brushing his fingers against her short hair and pulling loose strands over her ear. He pulled out a single orange rose

She opened her eyes in confusion. Why did he keep touching her this way?

“No need to fear me, dear,” he whispered “I won’t hurt you”

It could’ve been her imagination, or a trick, but from the way he was looking at her, she almost believed he was serious. His tender touch both calmed and frightened her. Her fear took over as she slapped his hand away. He scowled but quickly relaxed

“Right then,” he said, rising to his full height “shall we get down to business” he frowned at her quivering. “Look, I’m not here to hurt you. I’m unarmed…”

Her jaw dropped as the squeak king reveals he had not bring triple star wand by his side

“I carry a white flag…:”

“I come in peace. I just came to negotiate, so you fear me trying to abduct you this time”

Adeleine still hadn’t moved from her spot against the wall and staring at him unsurely

“Well,” He huffed, crossing his arms. “Don’t you have anything to say?”

She opened her mouth, but not even a squeak came out

“Fine,don’t talk,” he said, crossing his arms “Anyway, here’s my proposition. You want to go home, right? You want to be in your right size again and return to your cruel matron, with my bell, I can grant your wish. All you have to do is give me that brooch, and you can go home”

Adeleine puts her hand to her brooch and gets up the courage to say “Wh…what…What do you want it for?”

“Surely by now you realize the power it holds. Why wouldn’t I want it?” He held out his hand “So hand it over”

“No”

He raised an eyebrow “No?”

She gulped but tried to stay firm. “You…you obviously want it for something evil. If I gave it to you, you might become more powerful and…you’ll hurt metaknight and my friends!”

He scoffed “Friends? You only just met them in one day! And why are you so attached to that nutcracker, anyway? You know he already has a girlfriend, right?”

Her mouth opened in astonishment “I…I…I know that! And I don’t care!”

“Oh, come now! A young, innocent girl like you, rescued by a tall, handsome, young man? Of course you would fall for him!” he chuckled as he turned his back to her “Even without the fairy queen, he’d never care for you, of course. You’re just a silly, gullible girl!”

She scowled “I’m not a girl! I’ve just become a mature lady Last Month!” true she did become mature in november. When she’s with the orphanage, she sees the stores packed with customers who want to do early shopping for christmas, however some shoppers included her matron became greedy and go berserk for cheap prices which includes human dogfights. Her wisdom knew better.

He turned back to her, his eyes glinting with interest. “Really?” he rubbed his chin as he studied her “Just old enough to be married, eh?”

Her eyes widened at the odd question “um..maybe?”

the gray squeaker noticed her coat wallet from her pocket and pulled It out to reveal the wallet's photo of Adeleine's parents on one side and their poem written in gold on the other.

“My, My, My, What Lovely Parents You Have, My Dear. Your Parents Must Be So Proud To Have Such A Beautiful, Adorable, Darling, Sweet, Precious, Little Girl”

“It’s a real surprise no man has claimed you yet” he reached out his hand again “Such a pretty thing…”

“Don’t you touch me” Adeleine commanded, doing the same place as before

“You’re right, I’m wasting time. So will you give me the brooch or not?”

“No!”

He Shrugged “Pity. I didn’t want to do this the hard way”

She raised an eyebrow as Daroach started to put on a pair of gloves

“You can’t take my brooch,” she declared “It’ll burn you!”

He smirked “that’s what the gloves are for, darling”

With the speed of a Fire Lion, he lunged towards her and grabbed her brooch before she could jump out of the way. The ribbon glowed and sparked as he pulled at it, but his gloves seemed to shield his hands from the pain. Seeing this, Adeleine attempted to push his hands off, but they were stronger than her hands. Smoke was coming from his gloves indicating that the power from the brooch would burn through to his hands any moment, so daroach had to act quickly

He reached behind Adeleine’s neck and fiddled with the snapped button. It was difficult with his gloves on, so he pulled at it some more, gritting his teeth. The witches hadn’t been kidding about the magical lock.

“Get off of me!” Adeleine grunted, pushing at his chest.

“Give me the brooch!” he growled

“I Said Get Off!”

daroach reeled back with a scream. Adeleine screamed too when she saw him burst into flames

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! I'M BUUURNIIIING!!!” he screeched

Adeleine watched in amazement as he twirls in his own flames around the cave, waving his hands wildly

She decided this was her chance to escape but remembered that daroach had sealed off the exit. She glanced around but saw no other way out of the small, confined space. She looked back at the freighted squeak king and felt a pang of pity. She really shouldn’t be feeling the need to help the monster who was trying to steal her brooch and or kidnap her, but that wasn’t what she saw when she looked at him.

She looked around for something useful and spotted a snowdrift which must’ve formed before the exit had been sealed. She approached daroach.

“Wait!” she cried “Calm down!”

He looked at her as if she were from another planet, which wasn’t far from the truth actually

“Over there, in the snow!”

daroach looked in the direction she was pointing and didn’t hesitate to rush over to the snowdrift and plunge right in. the snow sizzled and began to melt as it put out the fire. daroach let out a relieved sigh and cringed

“Let me see,” Adeleine said, holding out her hand

“Don’t touch me!” he snapped

“Please?”

His expression softened when she looked up at him with those big brown eyes. What he saw in them surprised him. Usually when others looked at him, it was with fear or disdain. But the look this lady was giving him was sympathetic and pleading

He glanced at his wounds and reluctantly showed them to her. Much of his body had been burned, revealing the red, badly blistered skin beneath, all black and charred.

“Oh dear,” she whispered, taking off his gloves.

“Ouch!” daroach shouted, wrenching his hands away

Adeleine wished she had some aloe leaves with her, but there weren’t any plants arounds.

It wasn’t long that Adeleine perked up with an idea opening out into pulling out her paintbrush from her robe pocket

Daroach’s eyes widened as she brought out her brush

“What are you doing?”

Adeleine stepped and skipped so gracefully like a pretty little ballerina as she waved her brush like a wand, leaving a golden light trailing in mid-air. the golden line formed into a shape of a large cotton bandage roll.

She divided the large piece of bandage into and placed them in one hand, holding out the other towards daroach.

“Give me your arm,” she softly commanded

He was confused, but some unknown force made him comply with her command. She wrapped one piece of cloth around his arm while he winced in pain

“Careful!” he whined “It hurts”

She bit her lip as she giggled. It astonished him. For he had never heard her laugh before and it was like hearing a tinkling bell. It also enraged him when he realized she was laughing at him

“I’m thrilled that you find my pain amusing,” he said sarcastically

“Sorry,” Adeleine said, snickering. “I’m not laughing at your pain. It’s just that you’re whining like a child”

“Well, excuse me, young miss, but it’s hard to be calm when you have third-degree burns!”

“They’re only second-degree”

He huffed “As if that makes a difference”

Once she had finished bandaging his arms, she moved on to the wounds on his chest. daroach’s confusion rose as he watched her

“I don’t have the proper medicine,” she replied, her eyes not leaving her work, “But the bandages should help protect the burns from infection”

“No, I mean why are you so…nice to me? Or did you forget that I just tried to steal your brooch?”

She shrugged. “Well, I couldn’t just let you burn now, Could, I?

“Yeah, but you could’ve…okay, so there’s nowhere for you to escape, but still, why bother helping me?”

She sighed “I did this to you, so it’s my responsibility to make it right”

“Your brooch did this, not you” he said “your silly old brooch, indeed! What does setting someone on fire have to do with you?”

Adeleine raised an eyebrow at the name he gave her brooch, but decided not to question as she had finished bandaging

“There we go,” she said, lightly kissing his chest and paws “Feel any better?”

He was stunned to silence at her sudden gesture. Helping with his wounds was one thing, but kissing them? He had just tried to rip her brooch off her neck and she was kissing him? Even if it was just his chest and his paws, no one had ever dared to kiss him! Sure, some of them had kissed his feet, but only out of fear. She had kissed his chest and paws willingly, without needing to be threatened or commanded.

The girl was becoming more and more of a puzzle to him by the minute

He only now just realized that she was looking up at him, awaiting his answer. His lips quivered as he struggled to speak

“M-m-much,” he stammered

They stared at each other in silence, his bandaged hands in her’s. As he gazed into those gorgeous hazelnut-colored eyes, he tried to comprehend how this girl could be looking at him so calmly, holding his hands as if it were nothing, allowing any part of him to even touch her.

Adeleine looked down and gasped. He followed her gaze and saw that the bandages had fallen from him, which had miraculously healed completely. Had he healed himself without even trying?

But that wasn’t the only strange thing. Adeleine's brooch was glowing and slowly lifting. Feeling something strange around his neck, daroach looked down and saw his bell doing the same. They watched as the two trinkets rose and moved towards each other. Eventually, the pendants met and entwined. Their wearers looked up and froze at how close they were.

daroach glanced down at their glowing, entwined necklaces and back to her

“You,” he whispered

Adeleine blinked “What?”

She was merely a breath away. It would take just one swift motion for their lips to meet. He found himself focusing on her mouth, considering that possibly.

Without thinking of the consequences, he closed his eyes and started leaning forward. Adeleine’s eyes widened when she realized what he was about to do. Panicking, she brought her hands to his face and pushed him away

A loud boom erupted from both their necklaces, sending to shockwaves knocking them backwards. The small explosion was enough to clear the cave exit Adeleine didn’t pay much attention to this as she was too busy staring in astonishment at the large rodent lying limp across from her

“What was that?!” she screamed

He wasn’t sure if she was talking about the magical phenomenon or his attempt to kiss her

“What was that?!” she shouted again, pointing to her lips

So it was the latter. He groaned as he struggled to rise

“I…I was…”

“Adeleine!”

They turned to see ribbon appear at the cave mouth

“We’ve been looking every…”

The fairy squealed when she saw daroach, who cursed silently to himself for only using a temporary sleep spell. He looked at Adeleine and decided he should take her before the others arrived. To save the effort, he held his bell to teleport her into his arms

He waited.

And waited.

Nothing happened

He stared at his bell in confusion and tried again, but Adeleine remained on the other side of the cave

“What?” he uttered

“daroach!”

Just as he had predicted. The nutcracker and the other two appeared and stood defensively in front of Adeleine. metaknight drew his sword, tiff made her whip ready and ribbon waved her shoe.

daroach grunted in annoyance. He could kill them all right now, but that wouldn’t help him get the brooch. Even without her bodyguards, he still couldn’t touch the girl. Also if her companions were, there would be no one to protect her from the dangers of the forest. Even with her brooch, she could still get lost and for some reason, he didn’t want anything unfortunate happening to her.

Besides, what was the point in destroying them right now when they were already heading to his castle?

daroach smirked as he rose to his full height. “You’ve won this round, my little beauty, But I will get that brooch! And when I do, You’ll spend the rest of your life as my slave!”

Adeleine gasped and ribbon puts her arm in front of her

“You should’ve taken my offer, Sweetheart,” the squeak king sneered. “Oh, and thanks for the burns” he pulled out his cane erupted into flames. “Why don’t I repay the favor?”

At first, Adeleine thought he was going to throw at her when it caught metaknight’s hand. He dropped his sword and started waving his burning hand wildly. Daroach laughed and blew a kiss at adeleine

“Till next time, Darling!” he mocked before wrapping his cape and vanished

After getting over the shock, Adeleine directed the nutcracker’s hand to the same snowdrift and put off the fire

“Oh, thank goodness!” tiff heaved, placing her hand over her heart

“Is it bad?” ribbon asked worriedly

metaknight retracted his hand. The wooden surface was now blackened

“Not much,” he sighed “I’ll still be able to use it”

“Adeleine, what happened?” tiff inquired

Adeleine was breathing heavily, afraid to answer the questions

“Give her some air,” metaknight said waving them off “she’s been through a lot” he spoke softly “now Adeleine, very slowly, Tell Us what happened”

She glanced at all of them and took a deep breath “I…I heard somebody call my name and… this trail… it led me to this cave and… daroach, He…he said he’d send me home if i give him my brooch”

“Seriously, what’s all this fuss about jewelry?” tiff demanded

“Are you alright, Adeleine? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“No,” Adeleine replied. She suddenly snickered. “Actually, I think I hurt him a lot more than he hurt me”

Everybody stared at her, confused to what was humorous about the sentence

“Come on,” tiff, standing up. “ I left my traveling gear back at cappy town, but luckily I know a place where we might get some supplies. It’s not from here. We should get goin’.”

The others nodded and followed the resistance leader. When Adeleine didn’t move, metaknight turned back

“Are you okay?”

She looked and nodded without saying a word

The recent events were still playing through her head. For one moment, she didn’t have any fear or resentment towards the squeak king. Seeing him hurt and vulnerable made him seem less menacing, and in that moment where their necklaces joined and they gazed into each other’s eyes…

She wasn’t sure what exactly had passed between them, but it was almost as if they had some sort of… connection

He had put on the evil villain facade in the end, but after seeing that mask fall for a moment, adeleine was beginning to wonder if he really was evil as he appeared.

“Ha! Read ‘em and weep, snail!” spinni laughed showing his cards to escargoon and elline

“What?!” the servant looked a them in astonishment “Hey, wait a minute! How’d you get five aces?! You cheated, you sneaky rat!”

He looked at him jadely, “oh come on, goonie, we’re working for an evil overlord here So We gotta adapt to our circumstances.”

The three jumped back as the aforementioned evil overlord appeared on the top of their card game

“Gods, I wish he’d stop doing that,” escargoon whispered

“Back already, your majesty?” spinni said, smiled up to him “How’d it go?”

He gripped his neck angrily. “Well let’s see here… I don’t have the brooch or the girl. How do you think it went?!”

He tossed him to the ground, but spinni didn’t cry out. He was used to this by now. The three minions watched as their king began pacing the throne room

“How to get it off her neck?” he muttered repeatedly “How to get it off her neck?”

“If you don’t mind me asking, sir,” spinni said carefully, “why go through all this trouble? I mean the girl and the nutcracker are already on their way here. Why not just back ’em when they get here?”

“Because,” daroach growled, "by the time they get here, the girl will have figured out how to use that brooch against me and my reign will be over! I need to separate her from the brooch before she learns its full potential! But I can’t even touch her without blowing up into flames. I can’t use my magic to bring her here, and she wouldn’t take my deal! She’s too smart for that!”

“Well,” escargoon shrugged, ”maybe because the brooch knew you were trying to harm her, it fought back. Maybe if you were nice to her, it…wouldn’t…fire?”

Daroach, spinni and elline gave him odd looks. The servant grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck

“Of course, I could be wrong”

“Now hold on,” daroach said “I can’t believe i’m saying this, escargoon, but you may be onto something”

escargoon blinked “really? Uh oh”

The squeak king headed toward the window. “I can’t touch her because i’m her enemy, but if an allie touched her…”

“I just gave him an idea, didn’t I?” the servant whispered to the yellow rat and paintbrush fairy

“Yeah, you did” elline replied bluntly

escargoon stood up “if you need me, i’ll be scrubbing floors”

“And she would trust someone with her brooch,” daroach mused, paying no heed to escargoon's departure. “Or at least somebody she thinks is her friend…”

He turns to his three minions as his thoughts come together. The look he was giving him made spinni and elline uncomfortable. they knew that look all too well. The king was planning something dastardly.

His suspicions were confirmed when he puts his arm around them

“Spinni, elline, my friends,” he said sweetly, though the sweetness was clearly faked. “You know I consider you my most trustworthy servants? In all the time you have served me, you have obeyed me without question and have shown great loyalty to me!”

The two furrowed their eyebrows “you know very well that we don’t do these things out of loyalty to you”

“Nevertheless, you’ve carried out every task i’ve given you swiftly and effectively. You’ve served well as my eyes and ears, spotting every single rebel and confounding every plot against me. So let me ask you…”

He turned to face them, laying his hands on their shoulders

“How good are you at making friends?”

spinni blinked in confusion “Huh? Come again?”

He returned to his previous position and whispered lowly. “Here’s what i want you to do. I want you two along with dark metaknight to join the nutcracker’s little party, gain their trust, especially adeleine’, and when the time is right, take the brooch from her”

“B-but…”

“Ah, ah, ah!” daroach wagged his finger “don’t make me take back what I said about your loyalty”

“It’s not that. we’ll do it, of course, but… how are we supposed to take the brooch from her? You said that yourself she’s the only one who can remove it, and if I even try to take it…well, you never really made it clear, but i know it’s bad”

“Find some way to persuade her to take it off. Ask to see it or wear it. Use your imagination

“And if she doesn’t trust us enough?”

daroach pulled out a whistle. “Use this to call the squeakers. Only they can hear it, so don’t worry about alerting those people. Our pretty friend will be easier to capture when she’s asleep or off-guard. If persuasion fails, the squeakers will take care of things. Think you can handle it?”

spinni gulped as he stared at the whistle “What will become of the girl once you have the brooch?”

He shrugged “oh you know, enslave her, find some use for her? The nutcracker will be toast, of course. That resistance leader would be an excellent addition to the mines. I might even appoint her to my guard, If I can sway her right. As for the fairy and the little pink ball…well, they can be cleaning maids”

He frowned when he noticed elline was stunned in silence. She said nothing, only stared at the whistle with uneasiness. daroach could see he was having seconds thoughts, so he played a new card

“Elline, Why not make this plan beneficial for the both of us?” he grinned “If you do this for me, I will give you the one thing you’ve always desired from me”

Elline looked at him with wide eyes. “You mean…?”

Daroach nodded “once I’ve destroyed all the things standing in my way of ultimate power, I’ll have no more need for your services”

“And…?”

“You’ll have your little family reunion at last”

elline gazed back at the whistle dangling in front of her. After much thought, she swiped it from daroach’s hand.

#adeleine #kirby #daroach

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