In the End, It's All the Same

What if what Ms. Chinchilla said was true? Love Trauma.

To Precious, we're just friends. I've never actually showed Precious my seductive side. I never told her my feelings.

But if I did, would she be afraid of me?

Would she think of me differently?

Maybe I should just leave her alone-

"Ahaha!" A laugh breaks me from my thoughts. Nathaniel. "I'm getting pretty good at this."

Nathaniel has been challenging everyone a round of dominoes ever since Ms. Chinchilla taught it to him. And he's been using an unfair amount of beginner's luck.

"But you'll never beat Mr. Hyena!" Ms. Chinchilla decides to drag me into this.

"I don't play dominoes..."

"Sure, it's been a while, but you can't have Prince Newbie dominate everyone, you're the unbeaten king of dominoes."

I smirk. She knows how to flatter me.

"Fine, but I'll go easy on him. I won't be playing seriously." I sit across from Nathaniel, who seems to be enjoy his wins.

"Let's raise the stakes a little..." I place a few a few coins on the table. "500 Kledos."

"First you don't want to play seriously, then you want to go bankrupt." Nathaniel snickers while placing his share on the table. "Winner get 1,000."

"If I was playing seriously, I'd raise it higher, to 5,000 Kledos. 10,000 to the winner."

Ms. Chinchilla finishes shuffling the dominoes and deals it out. The game begins.

But I can't help but let my thoughts wander.

It's no denying, I'll have to talk to Nathaniel sooner or later. It's not part of my nature to leave someone trusting a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing.

I just have to find a way to get the queen off his tail.

"Wha-!" Nathaniel exclaims as I place my final domino. He only had a few left.

"Not bad." I slide the coins of to me, putting it in my wallet.

"Good game." Nathaniel holds out his hand toward me.

"Mm, same." I stand, shaking his hand. But in the handshake, I slip him a small paper. I discreetly bring my finger to my lips as he looks at my secret message, confused.

Ms. Chinchilla notices our exchange. "Think he'll come?" She whispers as I go by her.

"We'll see. And you'll distract the wolf?"

"I'll try my best."

At the rendeveaux location, aka, the woods, it's quiet and secluded with. It's a place I like to hang for this very reason. Even 

I'm surprised to see Nathaniel arrive.

And Ms. Chinchilla.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be a distraction."

"I got it all under control."

"What's going on?" Nathaniel asks.

"Basically, you're on a hit list," Chinchilla states.

"We're not sure of it yet, but Mrs. Lion's goal is to use you as a weapon against the Boutielettes," I clarify.

"A weapon?" Nathaniel is even more confused.

"Your murder will greatly impact the royal family."

"But we just agreed on a truce."

"The queen doesn't play by the rules. And you're lucky I threw her bounty hunter out of business, you would've been sniped by now."

"So, who are you?"

"Let's just say it's secret. But we're here to help you."

"Let me get this straight, I'm being hunted by a party I was sent to. I had to resolve conflicts, which we clearly agreed to handle. And some secretive people claim this story to be true, that I'm a walking target, destined to die to deliver some point to the Boutielettes. And now what?"

Ms. Chinchilla puts two thumbs up for an excelent explanation.

"We should be focusing on trying to devoid you of the queen's secret attacks." I cross my arms.

"And how are we going to do that?" Ms. Chinchilla asks. "Assume everything she does is an attack?"

"I'm going to stop this once and for all. This will be the last game she'll ever play."

"What are you gonna do?" She seems to know already.

"Mrs. Lion will no longer be in power if I become the next king."

"Like she said, you'll have to kill her."

"Because she's an existing queen, if I could bring her down, the place will be empty."

"Bold to think she'll step down..."

"She's going to have no choice."

"I don't want to interrupt, but does this have something to do with Precious? I'm aware that she passed by here." Nathaniel's goal remains the same.

I give Ms. Chinchilla a glance, which she returns. "You're smart, I'll tell you that."

"Why are you always avoiding my questions about Precious?"

"I'd like to have you know that she's smitten with me."

"Well, you should know that she's mine."

"Not as a boyfriend, I hope. She seems demotivated around you. And besides, you never got her parents' permission."

"They're dead."

"But their oath lives."

"We'll see her choice. Where she belongs."

"She never mentions you, it's that part of her like she suppresses. If I didn't know better, I'd think you're harassing her. That whole castle is no place for her."

"You're a thief, a manipulator to her feelings!" He starts accusing me of something I'm not. "How do I know you're being honest with me with this whole 'murder plot'?"

"I may hate you, but Mrs. Lion hates you more."

"Yeah, and I'll get poisoned tomorrow." He starts walking off.

"Just don't tell anyone about this."

"Maybe I should report you, you're the one going against your leader." He leaves out of sight, through the thick foliage.

"I told you I wouldn't get through to him..." I cross my arms.

"You're bad at this friends thing." Ms. Chinchilla shakes her head.

"Can't help it when the world's my enemy."

"That's the problem." She mutters.

"Why does love give me so much problems? Why does trouble follow Precious everywhere?"

"I should go talk to Nathan..."

"Always supporting him."

"No! It's just if he doesn't trust you, you won't be able to protect him."

"I understand, just don't get into trouble." 

"Of course." She runs off.

All alone, I slide onto the ground, back against a tree. I look up at the cloudy sky, as thunder starts to roll. Once again, the solitude of the woods served as comfort for me, the little bit of my life I can enjoy.

It starts to drizzle, but despite knowing I'll get wet, I sit there for a while.

Was I wrong earlier? Sometimes I doubt myself. What if I was wrong? The life Nathaniel gave Precious is all she knows, it could be the life she chooses out of habit. The life of royalty. 

Maybe I made her life harder by giving her choices. In the beginning, my role for her was to protect her from the zoo, I've fulfilled that. Maybe it's time to leave her life.

The life of love was never for me anyways...