Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Eat your Matzah, Theodore.” Joseph Uris muttered, the family seated at the long and lavish table. The candlelight flickered across the myriad of plates, highlighting the small blue details in the porcelain glass. Teddy glanced up, taking in the lack of light in his father’s eyes. He temporarily stopped toying with his food.

“I’m not hungry…” He muttered, earning his father to readjust and sit up; he dropped his fork on the plate with a harsh drop.

“Of course.” Donald muttered, rolling his eyes. Teddy sighed softly, eyes narrowing as he stared at the untouched food on his plate. Part of him wanted to leave the table and go back to his room but he knew if he did, he’d get a stern talking to from his father.

His father stared for a moment, empty behind the eyes. His brows knitted slightly, and he sighed. He pressed his pointer and thumb to his nose bridge, lowering his head slightly.

“Theodore, lying is not very becoming of a prince.” The older Uris said. Teddy bit his lip, looking down at his plate to avoid his father’s stern look. Nothing was worse than the “Uris Stare” as Phil would put.

Still, the dinner was awkward. As usual, nobody said much unless it was to criticize Teddy or to talk about Donald’s duties and how he was heir to the throne. Teddy tried to ignore the conversation, but he was always brought into it. His family never praised him, only belittled him. Teddy felt like he was only an obstacle in the way sometimes.

Teddy kept his head down, slowly bringing the thin flatbread to his lips. He nibbled at it slightly, the bland taste leaving little to no impression on his tongue. He only took another bite before setting it down, watching the flakes fall onto the plate as he chewed. His eyes jumped up to Donald’s face, a raised brow and a smug grin etched on his face.

“How do you not know how to eat it, Theo?” He teased.

“Can I have some latkes?” Teddy asked, ignoring Donald. Donald kept the smug grin on his face, though his eyes showed a little annoyance. Teddy watched his mother, waiting for a response. Eventually, she nodded and more food was brought into the dining room.

Natalia Uris shooed off the serving girls, grinning at Teddy after. She put some latkes onto Teddy and Donald’s plates.

“That’s all you’re going to eat?” Donald asked, eyeing Teddy’s plate.

Teddy sighed and looked to his brother.

 

“As I said, I am not very hungry…” Teddy whispered. The big Don laughed under his breath.
“You eat like a toddler, Theodore.”

Teddy closed his eyes for a moment, collecting his emotions together, before opening them again. He dipped the latke into his applesauce, and took a bite.

Natalia smiled and went to speak before she was interrupted by Joseph.

“Donald, have you spoken to the head of the guard about sword lessons?”

Donald nodded, covering his mouth before speaking.

“Yes, of course, I spoke with him on changing the lesson area to the new arena. I’m a little more…responsible than some other people,” Donald replied.

Teddy glared at Donald in response.

“Theodore, wipe that look off your face. Keep it like that and it will stick.” Papa Uris said. Teddy opened his mouth to say something but ultimately decided to not say anything.

“Now, finish up your supper. Tomorrow we shall go down to the village. I’m sure the residents there would be so joyous to see us.” Joseph said, standing up. Teddy watched as his family left the table.

Teddy picked at his plate; he spread the applesauce slightly before taking a bite. He soon abandoned the plate as well, slipping away from the mahogany table. He tiptoed to the stairs, speedy as he ascended. He crossed the hall, the stone scratching lightly on his fine linen sleeves. He snuck around the corner, soon coming face to face with the evil snitching rat.

“Aren’t you supposed to be finishing your dinner?” Donald asked, raising a brow.

“I finished. I wasn’t very hungry.” Teddy muttered.

Donald rolled his eyes. His eyes hardened, and his jaw clenched to the maxilla.

“Well, I would run off before father sees you sneaking around.” Donald lectured. He crossed his arms and watched as Teddy walked past him, eyes locking to the back of his head like a bullseye.

Teddy continued walking through the dimly lit halls of the castle. His room was not far from the dining room, but the eerie noises of the night made the walk more nervewracking. Eventually, Teddy made it to his room, immediately closing the door behind him.

Despite having such a large room, his room felt very boring and plain. His kingsized bed was neatly made with a pair of pajamas laid out on his mattress. He had a large table by his window with a trainset and a miniature model of the castle. Other than that, there was little to nothing that Teddy could do. The plain furs laid flat and tight on the bed. The banisters of the bed stood high, and the drapes fell down to the floor.

Teddy began to dress for bed, slinking off his normal attire and getting in his night clothes. He crawled into his bed, dragging his furs up to under his chin. The cold air skimmed across his soft, round cheeks, and he sat up. He called for a serving girl to make a fire.

She came in, building it quickly and returning back to her normal duties after he had thanked her.

He laid back down, pulled the covers once more, and closed his eyes. He avoided thinking of his family, instead he thought of his friend. Of the Malkins. Soon the thoughts faded, and he lulled himself gently to sleep.

And then he was awake again.

And was being pushed around.

“Ted. Ted. Ted. Ted. Teddy. Teddy. Teddy. Teds. Teds. TED.” Phil repeated, shaking him awake.

“What are you doing in my room...?” Teddy mumbled. He blinked a few times as if taking in his surroundings (His room).

Phil beamed at him, his smile blinding him like it was the sun.

“Seriously, why are you here?” Teddy repeated, sitting himself up in his head, rubbing his eyes. He sleepily looked out the window, realizing it was still dark outside. Then Teddy let out a huff, disappointed and annoyed. He should expect this, given Phil is his best friend (and only friend) in the castle. But still, it gets annoying when said best friend breaks into your room at midnight and wakes you up.

“So, you know how I’ve been learning magic and stuff?” Phil asked. Teddy nodded, opening his mouth to reply but he was interrupted by Phil.

“Anyways, I learned some cool new spells! Transfiguration, Levitation, Wall painting, Transformation, a few curses, some charms..” Phil trailed off.

“Wall painting?” Teddy repeated, looking at Phil like he was insane.

Phil nodded.

“Very important stuff, anyways, get up. I have a surprise for you!” Phil rambled.

Teddy sat up, watching as Phil backed away from the bed. He rolled his long sleeves, occasionally falling back down, then forcing his sleeve back up. He finally folded them to his elbows, and readied his hands to the table.

“How bad do you want a cat?” He asked.

Teddy sat up more.

“I would love a cat, what are you even doing?” Teddy muttered.

Phil smiled, turning to face the door of Teddy’s room.

“SUSIE. GET IN HERE.” Phil shouted. Teddy nearly fell out of bed, grabbing at Phil’s shoulder as if trying to shut him up. Phil somehow caught the memo and held a finger to his mouth. Teddy glared at the taller boy but took his arm off Phil’s shoulder and straightened himself.

The door opened and Susie immediately entered Teddy's room carrying a large bag. She put the bag down by Phil before looking at Teddy.

“What is happening?” Teddy asked. He looked insanely confused. He was about to get off his bed to shut the door of his room but Phil beat him to it.

Phil rummaged through the bag, throwing random wands across the room before landing on a twisted and gnarly one.

“I’ve been practicing this trick for about 6 or 7 hours…there's a lot of cats in the tower, so don’t mind that, but I’ve finally perfected it!” Phil exclaimed.

He stood up, wand in his left hand as he reddied himself. Teddy stared in awe at the soft purple glow that surrounded the tip of the wand. Soon, it grew brighter and brighter, and Teddy scrambled out of the way as a flash, sparkling purple beams in the area. Then it disappears, and Teddy stares at the table for a moment, waiting for something to happen.

After a few seconds of nothing, Teddy looked back at Phil, but Phil’s face said something otherwise. Suddenly, there was a puff of smoke, purple glittery sparkles surrounding Teddy before they disappeared. Teddy stared up, way more than he would have liked at Phil and Susie. Both kids stared, Phil’s mouth open slightly. Susie rubbed her eyes, tilting her head slightly as if thinking before a wide, childish smile spread on her face.

“Kitty!”

Chapter Text

Those words alone made Teddy freeze. He didn’t see any cats or animals around him but the answer to his questions quickly shoved their way into Teddy’s face. The multiple smells that plagued his room, the fact that he had to look up at both Phil and Susie which was a normal thing usually with Phil but Susie was supposed to be at least a head shorter than him.. And the main difference that freaked Teddy out was the furry paws he noticed when he looked down at himself.

Nothing freaked Teddy out more than seeing ginger paws. It was worse by the fact that Teddy was self proclaimed ‘strawberry blonde’ and also certainly NOT small and furry.

He immediately sprang up, paws spread out. He landed on all fours, feeling the tufts on his back stand up.

His eyes wandered from his little paws up more and more to the tall wizard before him. Phil’s eyes were wide, huge and blue. His hands were up to his mouth, covering his teeth in horror. Susie next to him had a huge grin smeared across her face, the corners of her mouth going ear to ear.

“Phillip. Lucius. Malkin.” Teddy hissed.

Phil’s face became ghostly.

Teddy tried to stand up, but instantly fell to all fours.

“What did you do to me!? Reverse this, now! By the order of the crown, I say reverse this!” Teddy screamed, stomping his cute little cat paws. Phil nodded slowly, hiding the small grin.
“Right…so um…about that…” Phil muttered, giving a small shrug.

Susie instantly dug through Phil’s bag, grabbing a small but overly decorated spell book. She flipped through the book before handing it to Phil upon realising she had no clue what page Phil found the spell on.

“Well?” Teddy asked, his whiskers twitched.

“Okay, okay I found the page. It says- yep, it’s temporary. Says it should wear off in around 5 minutes!” Phil said, breathing out a sigh of relief. Teddy gave Phil a suspicious look, but gave a small and grateful nod.

“We can wait 5 minutes!” Susie chimed in, eyes lighting up as she eyed Teddy.

 

And they did.

They waited for a very long and slow 5 minutes. Possibly more. The time felt slower to Teddy as he stared up at the Malkin siblings. He specifically watched Phil with a murderous glare that would get him nowhere considering he was smaller than their shoes.

Finally, Susie said something.

“We’ve waited more than 5 minutes! It’s probably been like 6 or 7 minutes! Why isn’t he changing back?” Susie asked, looking up at her brother who was about to have a crisis.

Phil stared, eyes betraying his acting job of being calm. He was shaking, eye twitching, and small, almost silent words left his mouth.

“They’re gonna have my head on a spike…”

Susie looked to him, but he finally moved, grabbing Teddy and picking him up.

“Okay…um…so…I have a friend in town, an alcoholist- I mean an alchemist, she could help with this…hopefully…” Phil said softly. He set Teddy into the bag, an attempt to hide him. As he began to situate him in the sack, the door creaked open.

As the handle slanted, and the wood and metal scraped against the floors, the curly black hair became visible. The Snitch.

Donald’s eyes expanded. His jaw went slack, pupils lasered in on the small cat. He then looked to the older Malkin sibling, ready to yell and scream before a loud thud echoed, and the heir dropped to the ground. Susie stands over him, the leg of a chair in hand.

She looks between the small ginger kitten and the lousy wizard before speaking.

“How do I hide a body?”

Phil stares then shakes his head.

“Susan! What the fuck!? Did you kill him?”

He walked over, checking the pulse before exhaling softly.

“She didn’t kill him…” Phil whispered.

Teddy’s mouth dropped and he scrambled in the bag, trying to get a better look at his brother’s unconscious body on the ground. He then turned to look at Phil, eyes wide.

“She just knocked out my brother!” He yelled. Phil put a finger over Teddy’s furry mouth, shushing him.

“It’s not her fault you guys are weak and frail. Anyways,” Phil turned to do a quick head count before turning back to Donald’s body.

“Let’s tie him up.” Phil said bluntly, kneeling at his bag and pulling out a long rope and a large chair that somehow was able to fit in the smaller bag. Teddy watched, shaking his head in pure disbelief.

“Phil.. You’re gonna get you and your family kicked out. First, you turn me into a cat, and then-” Phil shoved a hand over Teddy’s mouth.

Phil shook his head softly.

“No, Teddy, I would not get kicked out…I would be publicly executed. So, if you could, can you be a little less whiny about this? I’m trying to figure this out here, thanks.”

He stood back up, taking the rope and poorly tying the heir. He was able to set him upright against the wall, hands and ankles loosely bound.

“This should keep him from messing stuff up…should…” Phil announced.

Donald’s head began lulling back and forth, going in and out of reality. Phil panicked, waving his hands at him.

“Ooooh, this is a dreaaaam, you are dreaming ooooh…” He (attempted) to persuade.

Teddy rolled his eyes, watching the ridiculous scene. Phil stood normally for a moment, watching. Then spoke.

“Susie…hit him again…”

Without hesitation, she whacked him across the head again, securing his sleep.

Phil shrugged.

“Good enough.”

Then, Phil turned his attention back to Teddy before looking at the door.

“All we gotta do is get to my secret awesome exit and take a 3 day walk to the village and talk with my friend! She’ll know how to change you back, trust me on this.” Phil said, giving a thumbs up and a smile.
“You have friends?” Susie asked.

Phil rolled his eyes. He then opened the door cautiously, making sure no other Uris family members were spying on them before leaving the room. The 3 kids walked down the halls, looking carefully around just in case.

“Okay good! All we gotta do is get through the room the knights sleep in to access my secret exit!” Phil exclaimed.

“Are you serious?” Teddy asked, making an annoyed face.

“Wait.. Why do you even have a secret exit? And why don't I know about it?” Teddy asked. Phil shoved his face back into the bag.

“Trust me on this, it’s super easy!” Phil said with a smile.

“What’s easy?” The group quickly turned around in surprise. Standing behind them was Will Hanlon, who held a confused look on his face. He eyed Phil and looked at the bag he held.

Phil kept the bag close to his hip, trying to still Teddy’s moving with a soft hit.

“Oh…hey…um…” Phil began.

“Will. It's been Will for 13 years now. We have literally lived here all our lives. I do not understand how you don’t know my name.” Will interrupted.

Phil nodded and stood in awkwardness for a moment, before gesturing behind him.

“Well…we gotta go-”

“Whats in the bag?”

Phil went silent, holding it close.

“None of your business. Don’t you have stars to be looking at?” He shot.

“Don’t you have spells to mess up?” Will raised a brow, and questioned again, “Where are you going? Can I come? I never left…” Will asked.

Phil cringed, but Susie smiled.

“Yeah! Of course!” Susie and her loud mouth blurted out, earning a shocked stare from Phil.

Will smiled, and nodded slightly.

“I’ll pack my things.” He stated before walking off.

Phil looked to Susie, ready to scold her before Will came back. His hand held a single book.

“Thats it?” Teddy started before Phil once again shoved him back into the bag.

“Uh,” Will looked from his book to Phil. “Did I just hear Prince Theodore?” He asked, furrowing a brow.

Phil just stared wide-eyed forward, almost choking on his own spit. He let out multiple coughs, swinging his body (and the bag) down slightly before readjusting himself. He cleared his throat and gave a smile at Will. The smile was very fake.

“No? That was uh… Susie! She’s got a really good Teddy impression!” Phil quickly said.

Will just watched, more confused if anything. Then, his eyes looked at the bag that Phil was holding. His lips pursed together, his expression more questioning.

“I’m not crazy, I swear I heard him! Plus, you’re lying. You have that expression on your face whenever you lie.” Will noted.

Phil’s face paled.

“How’d you know about that..?” Phil asked.

“I see you every day. I saw you lie about not setting the garden on fire a few days ago and you had that exact expression. Also the time when you licked-” Will was cut off by Phil.

“Okay, okay I got it! But this time, I’m not lying!” Phil exclaimed.

Will looked at them for a moment, eyes shifting between the bag and Phil. He nodded, beginning to walk beside them. He waited as they awkwardly made their way down the long, stone halls. Then he attacks, grabbing at the bag, pulling away. Phil pulled at his end before losing the tug-o-war.

Will flips the bag open and finds the kitty-cat.

“Holy shit…” Will mutters, and Phil snatches it back.

Will’s eyes locked onto him as the gears turned.

“No…No you didn’t…oh my maturin…” Will whispered.

Phil held the bag close, ignoring the soft meows from within the leather.

“I didn’t do anything…” Phil defended.

Will smiled.

“You did! Oh my, no wonder you didn’t want me along! Now I have to be there, I need to see how you fix this!”

Phil’s brows knit and his face hardened.

“Fine. But if you tell a soul, you’re next!” Phil threatened, knowing damn well he couldn’t recreate the trick again.

Will held his hands up and did a zip motion over his lips.

“Won’t tell a soul…”

With that, the trio…and animal human thing in the bag…began to walk down the iced halls, ignoring the soft dripping from the morning rain.

“So, how do we get out without alerting the guards?” Will asked.

He walked with Phil, who was walking very fast. He wondered if Phil was secretly trying to lose him by walking fast, or if Phil naturally did that. Who knows.

“It’s just up ahead.” Phil said.

They passed the dining hall and immediately took a sharp right to a bigger room. The darkness made it harder to see the small details engrained in the walls. There were framed paintings of the Uris family all around, but the thing that stood out was the large wooden door that stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.

“There it is,” Phil said with a smirk.

The group stared, Will’s face showing more disappointed than excited. The door looked out of place, which made it harder to believe that nobody questioned it until now.

“So.. Uh, that's it?” Susie asked. Phil gasped, taking offense to the rude and unjust comment his sister spouted.

Upon getting closer to it, the words ‘Fill Malcen pripirty no tuch’ was carved on the side.
Phil looked at his carving, a smug smile appearing on his face and nodded slowly, proud of his handiwork set there last week.

“Yeah, I found this little spot about a week ago, completely free from guards.” Phil announced, getting an eyebrow raise from the guard standing outside it.

Phil reached for the door before a metal hand grabbed his wrist. The knight was short, and had the aura of a chad.

“Wait! Where are you going? It’s the middle of the knight!” The metal boy shouted in a pre-pubescent voice.

Phil looked at him.

“Who are you? Let me go!” Phil wriggled his hand free.

The knight took of his helmet.

“Ser Rich Santos..well, not Ser yet, but soon!” He exclaimed as he let go.

Phil looked back at him, silent for a moment, a rare thing for Phil.

Then he smiled.

“We could use a knight on our mission…” he noted, earning a shocked face from Will.

“Really? Are you being for real?” Will asked, immediately shushed by the foolish Wizard.

Rich smiled brightly. A chance to prove himself a real knight, not just a boy with dreams.

Rich nodded, and pushed open the door for them, letting the warm light from the candles melt out of the doorframe.

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.

Chapter Text

“Okay, Susie.. Uh, give me your shawl so we can cover Teddy’s ears” Phil muttered, looking from the town to the smaller girl. Susie made a face in return but gave her shawl anyways.

“I’m not wearing that.” Teddy replied. Phil ignored Teddy and put it on the other boy. Teddy groaned, shifting the shawl on his head so it feels more comfortable over the new ears. Phil’s eyes then went to the tail that poked out on Teddy.

“Hide this too, Teds” Phil said.

Teddy moved his attention to his tail, his face slightly red. He stuffed it in his pants, embarrassed from the 4 other eyes on him.

“Okay, then let’s get going. The village is up ahead anyways.” Rich said, eyes sparkling as he took in the scenery. Somehow, walking hours made the prize more seeable. Being able to have a proper house to sleep in, or food to eat was amazing. It was nothing compared to the castle but one night of them sleeping in the forest was enough to make the village more exciting.

The group walked towards the village, Rich in the front with the rest following behind him. Multiple people walked past and they greeted the newcomers with smiles. Some smiles were more fake than others, but the idea was there. The sun shined bright and it illuminated the lake surrounding the village.

Phil peered at Rich, and spoke softly to him.

“Do you know where we’re going?” He asked.

“No. No clue.” Rich replied.

Phil rolled his eyes and took the lead soon, walking along the path. The flowing of the river was loud and crashing over the small village. The water wheel spoon, lifting the blue water into the air and back down. The grass that grew along the path was a forest green, tiny yellow dotted flowers peppered along the path. The houses were quaint, all straw and wood.

Teddy had never stopped and looked around the village, never taking in the steady beauty of everyday peasant life. He didn’t ever need to, he slept in a bedframe of gold, he had little thought of the peasants in his life. He never concerned himself with them, who would? They were always told they were riddled with disease and grossness. Unclean. He hated the unclean things.

Soon, Phil dragged them to a cottage with a water wheel, and he jiggled the door frantically.

“Marge. Marge. Marge. MARGE.” He shouted, and a voice was heard beyond the door.

“Oh my god- Phil I’ll be there in a moment! I have guests, why didn’t you tell me you were coming- oh…”

A young lady opened the door,eyes immediately dropping to the whole group.

“More guests…” she whispered, and shot Phil a glare.

“I promise, if we knew this would happen, I would have said something in advance.” Phil said, grabbing Teddy and dragging him to face Marge.

“Right.. What happened? You don’t usually come around this time! Did something go wrong again?” Marge asked, looking at the taller boy. Her gaze then went to Teddy, eyeing him. Her face then paled, noticing what the boy was wearing.

“Wait, is this… Prince Theodore?” Marge asked, surprised. “Why is- Why’d you bring him here without any warning?! If I knew, I could have at least changed into something more suitable!” Marge fumbled her words, rushing into the house. She hadn’t shut the door however, so the group let themselves in.

The inside was far more fancy than anticipated. The walls were painted in a peach, with flower decorations all around. Tons of potions were all around in different colors. There were two other girls in the room, roughly around Marge’s age. Phil had never seen them, but with the way the girl in the ponytail looked, he didn’t trust her.

“Right, right so uh, why are you all here?” Marge asked, appearing back in the room with a nicer outfit on. Her hair was brushed through and she had on a different pair of glasses.

Rich gasped, taking in the majestic being who just entered the room.

Rich stands in awe, immediately dropping his sword, letting only the clanking of metal on wood be what pulls him from the trance that is Marge Truman.

Marge looks at Teddy, realizing her lack of manners.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, your grace, I didn’t mean to be so rude- huh.”

She bows down, but her eyes caught on the whipping, fur covered thing point out from the prince’s pant leg.

She jumped back for a moment, and lunged forward, pulling the shawl off the prince’s head without thinking. The cat ears shot up, and the whiskers out. She gasped, and eyed Phil.

“What. Did. You. Do?” She asked.

Phil smiled, obvious in his guilt.

“Not what I did…what Susie did…” He began, but quickly silenced by his sister’s glare, “I accidentally turned him into a cat…”

Marge looked at him as if he was an alien.

“Obviously.”

The two ladies behind her gasped as they turned to see what the commotion was about, and the shorter one began.

“What the hell happened here? Is that Prince Theodore?”

Teddy groaned.

“Why is it today when everyone and their mothers recognize me today?”

“It is!” The taller one exclaimed. She had her hair in a ponytail, the bow hanging loosely.

“So, can you do something or not?” Phil asked, putting his hands on his hip.

Marge took a second to look Teddy up and down, muttering to herself. She then rushed to her cabinet, digging through various potions and ingredients. The group stood awkwardly, Rich still having his full attention on Marge. Will also had his eyes on one of the other girls in the room, but he took subtle glances with a small smile.

“Okay, I think I have a solution.” Marge finally said, pulling out a small bottle. The bottle was blue with a brown cork on top. She popped the cork off, looking at the contents inside with an uncertain look.

“This should work, I mean it has reversed similar..” Marge explains, walking back to Teddy.

She poured the potion into a pot, adding a few more herbs into it and whispering to herself, adding a rainbow drop of a mysterious liquid.

Teddy looked to her, then Phil and he leaned in to whisper.

“What is that?” He asked.

“Gay potion.” Phil replied, smiling.

Teddy’s eyes went wide.

“What?”

Phil immediately lost it, laughing.

“I’m joking, I have no clue what she’s doing.”

Marge kept adding what seemed to be random shit, whispering words as she did.

“Fac eum non felem, et fortasse non osculatorem puerorum si fieri potest,” she whispered.

Soon, she took a drop of the potion out, dropping it directly on his forehead.

Teddy waited, and waited. Nothing.

“Nothing’s happening.” Teddy grumbled. He was already annoyed from waiting at least 6 to 7 minutes the day before and having nothing happen.

“..What kind of spell did you even do?!” Marge asked, looking at Phil. Phil curled into himself, shaking his head.

“Just a small, simple spell! I practiced on like so many objects, and they turned back after 5 minutes!” Phil exclaimed.

“Keyword: OBJECTS” Marge said back, rolling her eyes.

“Okay, same thing.” Phil rolled his eyes. He looked at Marge and then to Teddy, thinking for a minute.

“Then what should we do?” He muttered.

Marge looked to them and shifted over to her rack of potions and liquids, rummaging through them all.

She kept trying potion after potion, testing them all on the prince, but none came back successfully.

She rushed over to the bookshelf at the other end of cottage. She grabbed a giant book, bringing it to the table and flipping it open, showering the pages in her gaze.

She stopped on a page, showing a man in a bordered photo.

“I can’t do it, but if the legend is true…he can. The grand wizard. He can help anything…”

Phil nodded and Teddy looked at her in panic.

“You can’t fix this? Where even is this grand wizard guy? That’s a gay ass name!” He shouted, frantic and out of breath in his worry.

“He should be close, possibly.” Marge said. Teddy shook his head in disbelief.

“You don’t know where he is? Well, you should come and guide us. I refuse to have Phil be the one to take us to this so-called ‘grand wizard’..” Teddy trailed off. Phil gave a gasp as if offended, putting a hand on his chest dramatically.

“I know you didn’t just say that..” He sighs, looking at Teddy with big blue eyes, enough to blind an innocent man.

“You did this!” Teddy fired back, rolling his eyes.

“Nuh uh” Phil said, pointing at Susie.

Marge sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and the girls giggled in the back.

“If I don’t know where it is, how could I guide you?” She asked.

Teddy thought for a long moment.

Marge spoke once more.

“But I know someone who does…”

She looked to Lilly, and Lilly looked back, smiling softly. She knew him better than Marge did, and he would be more likely to take them if Lilly asked. He would on the account that he had a crush on her.

Marge smiled, the silent conversation between them ending.

“We should ask Matty,” she stated.

Phil raised a brow.

“The peasant? The poor guy?” Phil asked.

Teddy sighed, hitting him lightly on the shoulder to shut him up. Susie noted the exchange, and wanted to join in. She decked Phil in the stomach, watching as he folded over in pain. She laughed, hard. The rest watched for a moment, but Teddy looked away and moved on, in fear he may be next.

“Yes, he’s a peasant, but he knows where the tower is at!” Lilly commented.

Phil rolled his eyes, putting both hands on his hips. “I hate that guy!” He complained then, gritting his teeth from the pain from Susie’s swing.

“You’ve never met the guy, he’s nice.” Lilly replied, glaring.

“Girl, who is you??” Phil glared back, hands flying forward at Lilly. She looked at Marge, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, I forgot to introduce my friends.” Marge said, a soft smile forming.

“This is Lilly Bainbridge, and the other girl is Ronnie Grogan.” Marge said, introducing the two other girls. The shorter one, Ronnie, rolled her eyes. “It’s Veronica.” She said, but her face said that she wasn’t mad.

“I don’t care. Doesn’t change my mind about Matty!” Phil muttered. Teddy once again punched him lightly in the shoulder, glaring at Phil. Then his eyes slipped to Susie, giving a sigh of relief when she wasn’t looking at them.

Phil whined and complained for a few minutes, the group just waiting in silence for him to quit his bitching. Finally he stopped, and Marge continued on.

“Do you girls want to come with us?” Marge asked, and the girls simply nodded. They needed to get out of the village, to see a new view for once. The ladies gathered their things, and soon were out the door to go hunt down Matty.

They all stumbled out the door, moving from the cottage to the path. Marge led the group, ignoring the knight who was completely in awe at the alchemist in lead. She walked through the path, coming to the side of a building. There sat a kid around their age, in the most heinous fit and messy hair.

Lilly came to the front, smiling softly.

“Matty?” She asked, and he turned his attention to her, his eyes softening and a smile to his face.

“Can you take us to the tower?” She asked.

He thought for a moment, a long minute or two, then spoke.

“Yeah, sure.”