Chapter Text
The wizard stepped out into the garden of the castle, charred leaves from the mysterious fire still decorating the ground. The fence was still burnt at the tips of their spikes, and the cobblestone path was painted in murals of ash. Phil walked along with his gang, bag still to the side of him. The early autumn air nipped at his nose and ears, turning them slightly red and his nose runny.
“Fucking cold out here…” Phil whispered, keeping the bag to him closely.
He could feel the bag shaking, shivering, and so he opened the top.
“You alright?” Phil asked.
“Close it, close the fucking flap, its cold!” Teddy yapped.
Phil closed it back up, looking to the side. He looked to Susie, who immediately glared. She kept her shawl closer to her, and snapped.
“Don’t even dare. I missed tea time for this.”
He looked off for a moment, only to meet eyes with the knight.
“What the hell is in the bag?” Rich asked, gesturing to it vaguely.
“What? Nothing” Phil replied, shaking his head.
“It’s Prince Teddy.” Susie said, shrugging. Phil gave the smaller girl a death glare. He then looked at Rich, whose helmet was in his hand and his jaw was dropped.
“THE prince Theodore? The one who lives in the castle?” He gasped, his voice raising. “No, I don’t think I wanna be here!” Rich turned, but Will grabbed his shoulder, turning the smaller kid around.
“Phil will turn you into a cat too if you leave. That’s what he said to me.” Will said.
Rich’s eyes darted to Phil immediately, his mouth slightly dropped. The look that Phil gave him was enough for him to give a weak nod.
“Off to the village we go then!” Rich quickly exclaimed, walking ahead, pointing his sword forward and wobbling in the process.
As they walked along, Susie pulled Phil down so she could whisper to him.
“You can’t recreate that again, can you?” She muttered. He looked back to her.
“Absolutely fucking not.”
Teddy immediately pops out of the bag, looking up with the cat eyes.
“I’m sorry, what? You can’t do it again?” Teddy asks, but Phil pushes him back in the bag.
“Shhhh kitty go night-night…” Phil whispered before turning back to walk.
For a few moments, they all walked in silence. But Rich couldn’t stand the silence.
“So…do you think we’ll see any maidens?” He asked.
Will looked at him in judgement for a moment, and Phil half cringed.
“Maybe, but it's not as if you’d get any maidens,” Phil joked.
Rich scoffed.
“More maidens than you, you probably scare them off.” He shot back. They locked eyes for a moment, then quickly laughed.
“Wow Teds, I didn’t know you had goated people in your castle!” Phil said, opening the bag and letting the cat’s head poke out.
“You see us everyday..” Will mumbled.
Phil ignored Will and continued to walk. The kids continued to walk for a good hour, the dark sky making it harder to find their way. The trees all looked the same and the coldness was hard to walk in. Eventually Phil stopped, causing the other kids behind him to fall down.
“Maybe we should make a camp and call it a night?” Phil asked, looking at the others who were on the ground.
“I guess?” Will muttered, rubbing his eyes.
“Teds, you’re staying with me, your fur will keep me warm” Phil said.
Teddy sighed before Susie whined loudly.
“Hey! That's not fair, Phil! I want to have the kitty too! I work too hard to not have a turn with the kitty cat!”
Phil rolled his eyes.
“He can sleep between us, stop whining…” Phil scolded.
“Do I get any choice in this?” Teddy asked.
Phil pushed him down again.
“Yap yap yap, you never stop talking…”
Soon, the gang settled in for the night, cuddled in sleeping bags and blankets. They slept in a line, Rich and Phil on the ends, Teddy between Susie and the stupid wizard, and Will in the middle. He had a rock as a pillow, and the book as his covers.
They slept soundly through the night, and awoke the next morning.
Phil pushed and shoved someone next to him.
“Susie, move over, you’re probably crushing Teddy!”
But soon, Susie was standing next to his head, and the form was still there. He looked over to see normal Teddy, but a fluffy tail moving across the open space, and kitty ears on his head.
Susie took a step forward, looking at Phil.
“I think we can go back now, since Teddy’s normal again.” Susie said with a smile.
Phil peered over at the other boy, sleeping soundly next to him.
“Oh shit, he’s back! ..A few new features but hey, he’s human again.” Phil exclaimed, rolling over and sitting up.
“His family will still kill us though, but it’s not gonna be as bad now at least?” Phil said, still looking at Teddy. Then, he turned to see Will and Rich sitting by a fire with multiple berries lying in a small handkerchief.
“Oh, berries? And a fire? Didn’t even need to cast a spell.” Phil said, standing up and walking to the two boys.
“Maybe you shouldn’t touch magic for a while…” Will said, motioning towards Teddy.
“Look, he’s fine now, see?” Phil smiled, ignoring the cat features the other kid now had.
Susie shook her head.
“I don’t think he’d be happy…” she mumbled.
It wasn’t long before Teddy squirmed, and shot up, looking around and down at his hands.
“I’m human! I’m me! Oh, it was a bad dream…oh.” He began, and soon saw the vision of his tail whipping back and forth. He threw his fist down, standing up and striding over to Phil.
“Are you serious? Why am I half cat!?” He yelled, holding the tail in his hand. Phil cringed.
“Listen, Teds, I don’t know, alright? It's my first time living too…” Phil smiled sheepishly, and Teddy rolled his eyes.
“This isn’t your first time with this spell! You did it a million other times!” Teddy shouted.
Rich came over, gently pulling Teddy away.
Phil ran fingers through his own hair and took a deep breath.
“Listen, I’m trying the best I can, we’re going to the village and my friend will help you, she can make crazy potions!” Phil exclaimed.
Rich raised a brow.
“She?”
Phil looked at him.
“Not now, knight.”
“Okay, okay fine. I’m just glad to be out of that bag.” Teddy muttered, staring at the bag that Susie was now carrying. The others then gathered their stuff, ready to once again walk the long few miles to the village.
“Okay, let's keep going, gang!” Rich exclaimed, rushing forward in front of the others while dragging his giant sword behind him.
“Right, joy..” Teddy sighed, trudging behind the others as he adjusted to the new features that sported on his body. As a prince of high social status, he never had to journey to the village by foot. Until now, the journey felt like an easy carriage ride.
“You miss the bag, don’t you?” Phil asked with a smirk, looking at Teddy. Teddy chose to ignore him, much like how Phil had ignored him during the night. He shoved a hand in Phil’s face, pushing the taller boy back before catching up to Rich and Will.
Susie laughed at him and pointed.
“The village should be right up ahead.” Rich announced, standing high and mighty.
The group looked at a small wooden sign on the path, the words more blurred.
“It says it’s at least 5 miles..” Teddy groaned.
Rich paused, looking at the sign. “Close enough?” He asked, looking at the prince. Teddy dipped his head down in annoyance.
Will sat quiet for a moment, then spoke.
“Phil, I thought you said it was a three days walk…” Will asked.
Phil cringed and faced him.
“Well it usually takes me three days…I mean they're like the same thing so…”
Ted’s eye twitched.
“You’re telling me, if we would have walked another hour, we would have been there last night!?” Teddy screeched.
Phil smiled awkwardly.
“Um…I guess so?”
Will chimed in.
“Well, we can finish it up today!”
They walked in silence for a while longer before a rustle came from around them. It was heavier than the wind, and it didn’t stop in the trees, but on the ground, in the bushes. The rustling was everywhere.
As they walked more, a hand reached out, grabbing Will by the sleeve and pulling him back. The group looked back in panic before a few more people jumped out, each taking a kid besides Rich and Susie.
Rich drew his sword, the blade awkward and long, the handle heavy made of pure silver. His arm shook as he tried to swing, missing completely and falling face first, leaving only Susie.
“Idiot.” The only child in the group smirked. Phil immediately recognised her as Patricia Stanton.
“Let them go!” Susie said, crossing her arms. She immediately goes to Rich, trying to help the older boy lift his sword. After a few seconds of struggling, she shrugged and ran at the man holding her brother and with a quick swing, she socked the man in the jaw.
The older man stumbled back, falling over with Phil. Phil took that moment to yank himself away.
“The fuck are you doing Patty?” Phil asked, turning dramatically to the girl in all pink. She crossed her arms with a scowl on her face. She then looked at Teddy, the gears turning in her head.
“Don’t call me Patty. Anyways, Prince Theodore? Out here in this weather? Going on a stroll are we?” She sneered, a small smirk appearing on her face. She looked back at Phil, then to Teddy again.
“Oh, I get it. The wizard supreme over here gave you cat ears. They fit your useless face, Theodore. I hear your name come up in every conversation. Seeing you in person really solidifies how worthless you must be. You get kicked out of the castle?” Patricia laughed.
“No, I didn’t get kicked. Now let us go, I order you!” Teddy yelled. The man who held him didn’t obey.
Phil threw his hand up, a purple glow illuminating and a beam hitting the man holding Teddy. The man began to melt, his fingers turning into wax and melting like a candle. The prince scooted away from the man, and the kidnapper turned into a puddle of water.
Patty’s eyes grew wide.
“Holy shit, Phil…” Patty muttered.
“Oh…uncle Jack…” Phil whispered.
Patty looked at him.
“Good job, you just killed Uncle Jack. Congratulations.” Patty shot, before attempting to throw a knife at Phil. He dodged it quickly, surprised at his own coordination. She growled under her breath, and glanced at Susie, who was beating the shit out of some grown man.
Patty moved swiftly, throwing herself at the wizard, knife in hand. She held the knife to him, the tip almost reaching the middle of his forehead. Had it not been for Phil barely fighting back, he would have been cooked.
“This is why grandma doesn’t love you…” She whispered, almost letting the tip pierce through his skull before a shoe hit her head lightly.
She looked to her left, focused on Teddy. He was missing a shoe.
Before she could say anything, Phil took the opportunity to push her off, stealing the blade himself and stabbing her in her arm.
The blood quickly turned the pink into maroon, and she yelped in pain. Phil scrambled up, putting distance between them.
Patty looked at him, then to the rest, and without a word, booked it into the woods again.
“Oh shit” Will said, bending down and grabbing his book. He then looked at Phil before looking at the pile of water on the ground.
“Did you… want that to happen?” Will asked softly, pausing after. He studied Phil’s expression, not sure what to expect. The taller boy pulled his gaze to the direction of the knocked out men and the pile of water.
“Duh, I’m pretty badass aren’t I” Phil smirked.
“Sure.” Teddy muttered. His eyes flashed to the water before looking at Phil again. He bit his lip, fidgeting with his hands as he looked up at Phil. That could have been him.
“Okay, so I guess we should continue walking?” Rich asked, dragging his giant sword behind him. His face had a smile, but it was obvious that something else was lingering in his mind.
The group awkwardly gathered up their stuff, some stuff they dropped after getting almost-kidnapped by a bunch of randoms. Then, the group started out their long hour of walking.
Phil looked back, viewing the scene behind him. Three grown ups, and a puddle behind him. He didn’t mean to do that. He didn’t know he could do that. It left a sick taste in his mouth at the thought, but he moved forward.
They walked for another hour, taking in the quiet, the chirping birds, the steady water of the stream.
Teddy noted that it was like a scene out of the fairytales his mother used to read him, before his father put an end to it.
They walked more, inching farther and farther from the scene of the crime. Soon, the trees opened to the beauty of the village of Derry.
Small cabins, bustling streets, even a wheel in the water. It was like something out of a story book.
Phil stared off, one thing on his mind.
He was going to be charged with a LOT of crimes when they returned.