#couldn't bring myself to kill a ts character

[broadwaytheanimatedseries]

Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Galon, the king was pacing the floor in the throne room, waiting for his son to come back from patrol. He kept telling him he isn't required to do that, but the prince insisted to join the guards to make sure the kingdom and its citizens were safe.

"you can't trust those meatheads to do their job, dad. I've seen how they treat those in lower positions than themselves, even within their own ranks." he recalled having this conversation with his angry son many times, one of which being earlier today before he went on patrol.

"I know, I'm trying to do something about that but there's not much to be done about an ego problem. It seems everyone who volunteers to protect the kingdom is only interested in the glory. If not at first then eventually."

"I could do a better job by myself if you only allowed me." he argued for what was possibly the hundredth time.

"you've grown up a lot since the first time you told me that, Virgil. And you are very strong and capable, a brilliant tactician and an excellent fighter, which is why I don't fear for you as much as I used to whenever you decided to fight whatever threat the kingdom was facing. But you are still just one man, and no man can defend an entire kingdom by himself. It's why I don't want to see you spend your whole life trying to do so alone."

"father, if this is about finding me a partner I swear-"

"I wouldn't do that without your permission or input, but it would be nice to see you get married."

"dad!"

"or even just make a friend, get a royal advisor, anything! Anyone who can help you shoulder the burdens of rulership when I am gone. You can't carry this weight all by yourself, son. When your mother was taken from us, I tried to do that. It nearly broke me. It was only with the help of my trusted advisor and dear friend that I ever recovered and started being a proper king again. I don't want to see you end up alone and struggling like I was."

"I'm sorry, dad. I don't mean to do everything alone, it's just... It's been so hard to reach out to people. No one in this kingdom sees me as an equal. They all either revere or pitty me. I'm either the valiant knight or the sullen prince to them. I've had friends and they all left as soon as I became too difficult to deal with."

"the right people will come along, Virgil. I promise, one day someone will see you for who you are and they'll stay because they'll want to spend their life with the person they see in you."

"yeah, maybe. I don't think so, but I do hope I'm wrong. But until then, father, please just let me protect us. It's all I have left."

His son left for his patrol after that, and the king was left to replay their conversation in his head over and over again. He'd known Virgil hadn't been happy since his mother died, Patton found it difficult to be happy himself. But he thought they were getting better. Weren't they? It had been 5 years. And it's been 3 since her death was avenged, he thought they could move on.

Who was he kidding? Of course they couldn't!

She brought joy and meaning to their lives every single day, when she was gone it was like a piece of their souls left with her. There was no moving on from that.

"what's wrong, Pattycake?" his dearest friend came up to ask him, overly affectionate as usual.

He and Violet used to tease him, tag teaming to flirt with him in turns and laughing when Patton's face got redder than a rose.

"nothing, Remy. I don't want to bother you with unimportant issues."

"Patton, hon, we've talked about this. Your feelings are important and you should be able to talk about them with other people. Especially if those other people are your best friend in the whole kingdom who's also a damn good advisor. Now, talk to me babes, what's the issue?"

Patton smiled in gratitude to his stubborn, wonderful friend.

"you're right." he took a deep breath.

"okay, so here's what happened-"

Just as he was about to explain the situation, the doors burst open and one of the guards came in.

"your majesty, sorry to barge in, but your son has returned and wishes to speak with you immediately."

"well, send him in!" Patton tried his best not to sound as panicked as he felt. Virgil never rushed straight to speak with him after a patrol unless there was something serious happening.

And indeed something serious was happening, as Virgil walked in sporting some fresh bruises and- were those scorch marks?

Patton was already seeing red at the thought of someone daring to hurt his kiddo in his kingdom, when Virgil uttered the last words Patton wanted to hear.

"The Dragon Witch is here. And he's not alone."

Patton took a second to collect himself, gathering every ounce of restraint in order to be a kind and diplomatic ruler.

"what business does he have here?" he asks, finally.

"I'm not sure, but the group he's traveling with seems to be lead by a unicorn." Virgil answered, seemingly going through the same emotional process as his father but with far worse results.

At that, however, Patton found himself much more intrigued and slightly amused rather than angry and concerned.

"now that's an image. I wasn't fully certain to what extent the unicorns are sentient."

"oh that one was sentient alright. I'm telling you, he could not stop talking. Pretty articulate as well, but seemed a bit of a know it all."

At that Patton cracked a small grin that Virgil returned. Just because there was danger didn't mean they couldn't make some jokes.

But of course, Patton immediately got back to the task at hand.

"so, did you bring them here?"

"yes, and I heard the unicorn argue with the fae-"

"there's a fae as well?" Patton couldn't believe all these magical beings were showing up at his kingdom all at once. For years they had kept their distance in the forest. He couldn't help but wonder and worry about what had changed to cause them all to come here.

"yes, and I heared him tell the unicorn that this was the desired outcome and there's no reason for him to be upset. The unicorn said this isn't how he wanted them to get an audience with the king, and the fae argued back that the unicorn's way would have taken much longer, and the unicorn said that at least his way wouldn't have made them look like a threat."

"very interesting. And I assume you didn't happen to hear anymore of what they were planning otherwise you would have told me."

Virgil nodded in agreement.

"well, this isn't gonna get cleared up until we clear it up with them, so send them in!" Patton exclaimed, turning to face the doors as they opened, revealing a group of four.

A unicorn, a fae, and two identical, cloaked figures who were seemingly human.

But King Patton and Prince Virgil knew better.

To Be Continued...

Erasing The Empire AU:

In a far away kingdom from a time long forgotten, there is a magical forest who's inhabitants were starting to worry that the kingdom their home resides in is going to destroy their forest, should they continue with their harmful ways of war and violence.

And so, the magical communities of the forest came together to decide what to do, and the idea of negotiating with the humans came up. Most of them thought it was ridiculous, but one of the unicorns spoke.

"I believe if you were to allow me to put together a team, we could act as an emissary of the forest and have an agreement settled with the kingdom, in no more than three moon cycles, maybe less."

Everyone was shocked at the unicorn's bold claims, and the queen of the fae raised her brows, skeptical. "that is a very big promise, Unicorn. Are you wasting our precious time with boastful, empty words, or are you willing to let yourself be held accountable to this promise?"

"I am. I know what my capabilities are and the only thing I need is a team. How much time I can save us under three cycles is entirely dependent on the team I can assemble."

"very well, Unicorn. I shall allow you to meet with my court, so that you may decide which of them you wish to take with you on this quest. Just one last question, what is your name?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, the same as she had at him, and cracks the smallest smirk. "you may call me Logan, if you wish to refer to me by something other than Unicorn."

Once he had chosen the smartest fae in the queen's court, the two had gone back to the rest of the forest to recruit their last member. They knew it was a very narrow representation of the creatures of the forest, but they were trying to save their home quickly and efficiently, not fill the king's palace with magical beings.

However, they soon found that not many people wanted to be on a team with a fae and a unicorn. "well this is tragically amusing." the fae chimed unhelpfully.

"I really don't see what's amusing about this, Deceit." Logan responded to the fae, his yellow wings flapping with no regard for how they were repeatedly hitting Logan's side.

"you don't? Oh but it's so obvious. You spent hours in the court, picking and choosing until you found the right fae for the job, and now it looks like you're gonna have to settle for whatever miserable sap of a creature comes your way, otherwise I don't see how you're getting an emissary together anytime soon!"

Just as Logan was about to argue back, a cloaked figure with gleaming red eyes and sharp teeth, that seemed to be illuminated by some dim light, approached them in a hurry.

As the figure came closer, Logan realized to his dismay that he recognized who it was.

"are you by chance the unicorn and faerie leaving the forest on a mission to talk to the king?"

Logan and Deceit glanced at each other, before Deceit smirked, causing Logan to roll his eyes and choke back an annoyed sigh.

"yes, we are. Why do you ask?"

"because I want to join you! Please?"

"Roman, while I appreciate your enthusiasm, this is a diplomatic mission. It's not going to be an epic battle adventure where you go out into the world and defeat the villain and save some damsel in distress, or whatever it is that you do on your escapades out of the forest. This is a serious task that must be handled with caution and precision."

"wow, Logan. Good to know you think so lowly of me. You think I don't know how to act in a socially tense situation? My brother creates those twice a day for me to deal with! You think you know anything about how the humans act or think? You never leave the forest! I might not have the best reputation in the kingdom, but at least they know who I am. Face it, Specs. You need me."

Logan was absolutely shook. He did not expect Roman to bring up so many valid points that he was now ashamed to realize he hadn't even considered. He knew nothing of the humans! What was he thinking, going into this mission so unprepared?

He knew what he was thinking. He wanted to be heared, to finally be listened to for once, and to have his words be taken seriously.

And because of that, he put the fate of the entire forest on the line.

As Logan breathed deeply, he decided to push down those thoughts. They could be dealt with later, Roman could not.

"you're right. I'm sorry to have offended you, you're welcome to join if you still wish it."

Roman was confused for a second, not used to having things go his way when arguing with Logan. The two weren't friends by any means but they both lived in the forest and so their paths had crossed on several occasions. But this was the first time Logan was willing to concede to him so easily.

He soon got over his confusion, however, as the realization that he would be spending the next three months at the kingdom set in, replacing his confusion with joy.

"oh thank you, thank you, thank you! This is gonna be the most epic adventure! But serious and precise, of course. But still, EPIC!"

Logan did sigh heavily that time, as Deceit just chuckled in amusement.

As they were about to head out that night, they were stopped by a giant dragon, his green scales shimmering in the moonlight and his green eyes dark and menacing.

"and where do you think you're going, little creatures?"

It growled in a deep, unsettling voice.

"oh cut it out, Remus! I'm going to talk to the king and there's nothing you can do to stop me!" Roman yelled at the terrifying beast like a bratty child.

Remus transformed into his humanoid form and scowled at his twin brother

"fine, then I'm coming with you. And there's nothing you can do to stop me." he replies, voice snarky and much higher pitched, almost the complete opposite of his voice in dragon form.

Seeing as all three of them saw exactly what Remus's true form looks like, no one could really argue against that.

And so, the four set off on a journey to the kingdom, knowing they would arrive at the castle within three days.

But even making it to the castle was going to be an adventure all on its own, otherwise what kind of fairytale story would this be?

Stay Tuned...