Zacharie sat on Sugar’s bed, silently watching the girl dance around her room to her favorite song; Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland. “Look at you,” His thoughts started to stir, “Watching a pretty girl dancing around like a creep. You’re pathetic, you know that? You can’t even leave your best friend to her own fun. I can’t believe you’re this depressed now that you can’t even bare to be alone for-“ “Zacharie!” His thoughts were soon interrupted by her loud, enthusiastic voice. “Yeah, Sucre?” He snapped out of his daze, looking up at her “Do you want to learn to dance?” She asked in a persistent tone, kind of dragging out her sentence to make sure he understood. “I’ve never seen you dance before, so I’m just assuming you don’t know how.” She explained, placing her hands on her hips. “Oh, um, yeah, I don’t really know how to, uh..” before he could finish his sentence, she grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. “I’m gonna teach you then. Is a waltz okay for now? It’s better to learn more simple stuff before the harder things, just saying.” She clarified, taking his other hand. Zacharie, who was extremely glad he was wearing a mask, turned completely red in the face. He just nodded, stuck in a kind of stupor. “Good!” She smiled, letting go of his hands just long enough to rewind her music. She then pulled him close to her, placing her hands on his shoulders. “Now you just.. Well you actually have to put your hands in the right place, ya dumb.” She moved his hands onto her hips. His face only became a darker red, he nodded obediently. “Now just follow my actions.” She directed, starting to step into the rhythm of the music. He struggled to follow pretty much the entire time, but this could’ve been due to the way he was just enamored with her. He couldn’t stop himself as he watched every graceful and smooth movement she made, along with the glow of pure delight and bliss that eradiated from her. He barely fell back into reality when he song ended, and she came to a slow halt, pulling away from his loose hold. “Huh, you’re actually not that bad. That was fun!” She complemented, grinning. He rubbed the back of his head nervously, chuckling. “Yeah, it actually really was. We should dance more… later, I mean.” He corrected himself when he realized how strange the sentence sounded. “Anyways, I should probably get home before your dad gets back. He’ll flip if he just finds me hanging out with you without his knowledge, y’know?” He picked up his backpack, slipping it onto his shoulder. She sighed, “I guess you’re right, he’d probably eat you, or something crazy like that.” She giggled, hugging him tightly. “I’ll see you later. We’ll hang out again soon, right?” She asked, glancing up at him. He wrapped an arm around her, “Of course, Sucre.” She smiled and pulled away, “Good.” She replied simply, sitting on her bed. Zacharie then walked out to the rest of her house, using a special music box he had found to get back to Zone 2.

He had gotten a small apartment to live in, since he had recently started selling various wares as a job. He didn’t have much, just enough to live normally, but he was happy with it. He stepped into his room, slumping against the wall and pulling his mask off, his head stirring with confusing thoughts. “… Why was I so…” He searched for a word for a second, “Blushy. And why was Sucre all the sudden so.. pretty. And sweet. And seemingly perfect… wait.” It then dawned on him why he thought this, his face turning a dark shade of red. “I cannot- CAN. NOT- have a crush on Sucre. I am not going to let that happen. I will not let my dumb feelings ruin my friendship with her.” He told himself sternly, clenching a fistful of his shirt. He shook his head, trying to dismiss the infatuated thought. “I’m sure it’ll pass. It’s just a phase, after all. I’m sure plenty of guys get crushes on their female friends and they find someone else later.” He tried to convince himself, standing up. “I’ll just wait it out.” He decided, going over to his bed, putting his mask on the table, until he saw two white lumps of fur laying on his bed. He stared at them for a minute, trying his best to figure out what they were, to soon conclude that they were two fuzzy, white cats. He smiled a little bit, sitting on the bed and starting to pet the bigger cat. It then uncurled and stretched, opening its sharp-toothed grin to let out a yawn. “Ah, so there does happen to be a living being that takes care of this lieu, I thought it seemed quite tidy for no one taking up the space.” The feline inquired, “As I and my younger brother have already intruded into your small living establishment, I shall introduce myself. I am the Judge, or, skipping formalities, you can refer to me as Pablo. And this is my brother, Valerie.” Pablo explained, Zacharie just kind of stared in utter confusion. “I… Uh… I’m- I’m Zacharie. Nice to meet you and your brother…” He trailed off, still trying to make sense of the speaking cat, especially since it appeared to have a wider vocabulary than himself. He stood up, going to his closet, rustling around for a certain item. “I’m just gonna go on a walk for the moment, it’s been a bit of an eventful day.” He stated to the mischievous feline, pulling the large, shining sword out of the corner of the closet. “Going to go display that oh-so-enchanting weapon of yours to that lady I heard you blabbering so lovingly about not-so-long ago?” Pablo asked in an almost mocking tone, causing Zacharie’s face to turn pink. “Okay, Judge, first, I’m not going to go show my friend my sword, second, I don’t love her- well, I mean I kinda do, but in a platonic way. I’m her best friend. And third, I’m going to train with it.” He explained, his blush fading a bit. “So, you can be her prince charming, right? You obviously stated that you feel a strong romantic attachment to that female.” Deciding that he was outmatched by the cat’s argument right now, he let out a sigh. “Whatever. I’m going out, you two can stay here if you want, unless your brother is just a copy of you, ready to mock me.” He retorted, Pablo only retained the sharp, mocking grin. He shook his head, adjusting his mask, and with that he left the apartment.

It was a little bit later now, though he didn’t tire himself out at all since the start of his training. He lifted his sword, admiring the sharp blade that glistened in the light. He would’ve just started to walk back home if he hadn’t heard a familiar, female voice. But what caught his attention was that she sounded incredibly distressed. He somewhat sprinted to where he voice came from, only to come to a halt and hide himself.

“Let go of me, you idiot frogs!” Sugar snapped at the two guards that held her so tightly, “Sorry, but your little insults won’t do anything. Our king needs a nice little servant, and I’m sure you’ll make a perfect one~” She growled and tried to kick the guard in the gut, only making her stumble and lose her balance. Zacharie let out a deep growl, his grip tightening on the handle of his weapon. “Now, now. He doesn’t need a servant, he needs an heir. You’re high-strong and quick, and I’m sure the king will apricate that.” He needed an heir. Of course, he did. Zacharie felt a burning hatred in his chest and head, nothing like he had felt before. The guards drug Sugar into the small kingdom, Zacharie followed silently until he had reached the king’s throne room. He took a deep breath stepped out to the aisle, his sword brandished boldly. He stood in front of the king, he felt a certain nervousness in himself, but it was easily washed over by hate. “Greetings, wretched monarch,” He boomed, denying fear to enter his voice, “leave this land at once or perish at the tip of my blade.” He threatened, earning a loud boom of laughter from the toad. “I am your king and you are my subjects, you are not to go against my will.” He snarled, raising his large hand to hit Zacharie. He flinched, but forced himself to move before he was hit. He dug the sword into the toad’s arm, his yell of pain seemed to shake the walls. Before he could move one again he was slammed against the wall with a swift slap, he groaned in pain but picked up his sword once more, he drove the blade into the king’s chest, where his heart presumably was. He roared, grabbing Zacharie, gripping him in pure fury. “You’ve lost, Toad King. Give up.” He spat bitterly, starting to get a bit light-headed from his tight hold. “You idiot… you think you’re so brave, but what will happen without a king to rule?” He coughed, his grip loosening. “We’ll be better off.” He stated brashly, squirming out of the amphibian’s grasp. He yanked his sword out, watching him fall. He knelt, removing his mask so only the king could see his face, the creature gave him a malicious smile. “…So, you weren’t so weak after all.” Zacharie growled, spitting in the toad’s face before striking his blade into his large head, killing him in an instant. He pulled his mask back down, and walked back down the aisle, he felt the eyes of the many inhabitants staring in shock at him, but he didn’t care. All he cared about now was finding Sugar. It didn’t take long for him to scare away any guards that were in his path, so eventually he was directed from a terrified, young guard to a room where they had kept prisoners. He waltzed in, only to be tackled in a tight hug. He looked down at Sugar, she already had buried her face into his shoulder, she was practically trembling. He dropped his sword and hugged her tightly, “Are you okay? Did they hurt you in anyway?” He asked in worriedly, she simply shook her head, looking up at him. “What about you? I heard what happened with the king.. are you okay?” She questioned him, “I’m fine, Sucre-“She cut him off as she pulled down the collar of his shirt, revealing a wound that appeared to be deep. She gasped and let go of his shirt. “I’ll be fine. I promise.” He stated reassuringly, a bit taken back by the wound. “… Fine. But promise me you’ll never do something like that again.” She demanded sharply, resting her head against his unwounded shoulder. “You make me so worried sometimes, Zach. Sometimes you’re rational for a minute, the next you’re killing a king.” She mumbled, sighing. “I promise I’ll be more careful, if it really matters that much to you.” He promised, gently petting her head. They stayed in the hug for a minute, just enjoying each other’s comfort. Sugar eventually pulled back, grabbing his hand. “Let’s get that wound of yours fixed up.” She gave a sincere smile, “Sure thing, Sugar cube.” He felt his face heat up at what he had realized he’d said. Her cheeks turned pink, but she giggled sweetly. “Ooh, nicknames, huh? Alright then, Sweet-Meat~” She grinned, causing him to blush harder. He gently punched her shoulder, “S-Shut up.” He flustered, grabbing her arm softly, starting to drag her off away from the kingdom. She quietly giggled to herself, simply taking his hand in hers softly.

“…. You forgot your sword.”