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Katie was sick of being compared. She was tired of it. She needed to prove herself. Everytime someone called her Noms sister she got a little bit more heartbroken, more annoyed and more worried that that's all she’ll ever be recognised as. She is so much more. She wasn't the knight who defected - she was Lady Katie the Brave!
She had never truly brought it up with anyone. Nom would ignore her, think it was a joke or go on blaming himself like he always did. She was close with Mae, but she didn't want to worry the rogue. They always seemed to be so worried all the time. And 4C.. he was like a brother to her, and she didn't want to make him feel bad. She knows he’d blame himself, possibly more than Nom would.
Katie had brought it up with Kitty once though. It was a late night, and she was sleep deprived and not thinking straight. The rogue had noticed she was acting weirdly, and had asked what was wrong. And she told him everything. The stress, the comparisons, the worry, the pain. Instead of ridiculing her, telling her it was all in her head like she had expected them to, they comforted her.
They told her how great of a knight she was. How brave and strong and brilliant she was. It told her how Nom was silly, how he wasn't important in her life because it was hers. That, if she did not believe Kitty of how great of a knight she was, the similarities between Katie and its knight it had noticed.
That night was admittedly one spent crying in the rogues arms. She was comforted, and was feeling better, but it still didn't shake this nagging feeling that she would never be enough for her kingdom.
The next day, she was flicking through her diary. Her little notes and songs and stories, the little jokes and jabs Mae and 4C had written in it when she had passed out and they stole her items. Katie paused as someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she saw her monarch.
Apparen, he had noticed that she was worried, and apparently he was worried she wasn't good enough. He had already practically ruined her relationship with Apo and Cherri, so she wasn't exactly thrilled to hear his idea. Especially when she actually heard it.
She couldn't do that. No way. Surely not. Surely it could be anyone else, surely she could spare his life. Surely she could just say no. But according to her king, she had to, at risk of exile. Katie sighed and grabbed her sword, heading off towards the Blue Kingdom. This was one way to make a name for herself…
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4C was admittedly pretty tired. He had had such a busy day to be fair! First he and Nom had gone exploring, then they played farkle with a couple of other blue members and a few red members. After that, Nom forced him to eat something, because apparently not eating for 7 hours wasn't a normal thing. He ran just fine, but ate some food anyway. Or at least pretended to. And then after that, he and Mae had been building the castle for ages.
Now he finally had some down time. Which was rare for him, actually. Mae had forbade him from building because he was allegedly overworking himself. Theoretically, the best thing to do here was to go to bed. But in practice, what he really wanted to do was go to the beach and watch the sunset. Of course, he chose the second option.
4C bounced down one of the many roads he had made, humming a song while making his way to where the beach was. The past few days had been surprisingly peaceful and nice, if he ignored the looming threat of the farkle games hanging over his head.
He froze in his step as he heard a twig snap behind him. He turned to the tree line, trying to make out anything in the darkness. Nothing happened for a few seconds, his world feeling like it was on a tightrope. He eventually let out a breath he didn't realise he had been holding and walked away, chalking up the noise to sleep deprivation.
4C finally made his way to the mountain range that bordered the beach. Leaping on the cliff, he bounced down the side before his shoes eventually met sandy ground. He had always liked the beach. Compared to the marshy, constantly wet grounds of the Moonlit Swamps, it was really nice.
Walking towards the shore, he paused as he heard sounds of struggling behind him. Turning around, he saw Katie struggling her way down the mountain. He raised an eyebrow as she cursed colorfully before landing face first into the sand. He snorted slightly, covering it with his hand. The knight looked up at him and glared, which only made him laugh more.
“Hey Katie!”
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Katie silently walked in the shadows of the forest, watching 4C walk down along the path. How he was still awake, she didn't know. She remembered him mentioning to Nom he had been up for nearly 13 hours by the time it was noon, and now it was around 6pm. He had been up for NINETEEN HOURS? His sleep schedule was more of a sleep suggestion at this point.
The slime didn't pay a lot of attention to his surroundings, heading towards the mountain range that led towards the beach. Beach episode, huh? She watched him walk, following him alongside in the safety of the shadows.
She was so focused on staying in the shadows and out of sight that she did not watch her step. A twig broke beneath her foot, snapping loudly and causing 4C to pause and turn. The slime squinted at the tree line for a few moments, even looking at her at one point. She held her breath as he gazed at the forest for a few more seconds before turning around and carrying down the road. Well, wasnt really a road anymore. She let out a sigh and carefully followed him.
Katie had to hold back a gasp as he leapt of the cliff without a chair before reminding herself that he couldnt take fall damage. She let out a shaky breath of relief. No matter how many times he did it, it still freaked her out. She watched him go down and hop towards the shore, and decided to try and make her way down.
The key word there was try, as she did not have the mobility of a rogue or a slime. She struggled her way down the mountain, not trying to hide herself now. Katie nearly fell down multiple times, but she managed to get herself down onto the ground. Unfortuately, she did not take into account the speed she was jumping at nor her immpecable balance, and ended up falling face first into the sand. She heard 4C snort above her and she glared at him, which only made him laugh harder.
“Hi Katie!”
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The knight got herself up and made her way beside him, matching his pace when he started walking.
“What brings you down to the beach at this fine hour?” 4C asked. Katie shrugged, avoiding his gaze slightly.
“Not much. I saw you walking and decided to follow you.”
Now, he wouldnt say he was the best as social cues, but he could defidently tell something was up. Compared to how Katie nornally spoke, stuttering and nervous and full of happiness, the sentence sounded rehersed. He narrowed his eyes at her.
“Whats wrong?”
“What-? Oh! Uhm! Nothings wrong everythings perfect and fine and good!!”
“..well now I defidently think something is up..”
“No!” Katie squeaked, voice many octaves highter.
“Do you wanna talk about it..?”
“No. No. Absolutely not.”
4C winced slightly at her harsh tone of voice, but didnt push. The two of them walked silently along the shore, until Katie spoke up.
“..im sorry.” She mummered. 4C stopped walking and turned to her, confused and concerned.
“Sorry? Sorry for what?”
She didnt reply.
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Katies hands were shaking on the hilt of her sword. 4C was watching her with a confused expression. She could see a hint of fear in his eyes as well. Fear of her..
“Katie?” He asked again.
“I..”
“Are you ok? What happened?”
What happened? Its whats going to happen thats bad.. she thought miserably .
She gripped the hilt of her sword and swung. 4C made a sound that was somewhere between a gasp and a cry and stumbled back slightly. His eyes widened at her in fear as he realised what she was doing, and his hand went to his dagger, shaking.
“What..?” He asked, eyes unfocused. She didn't reply, instead swinging her sword again at the slime. This time he managed to deflect it with his dagger, but she immediately struck again and stabbed him in the gut. He let out another whine of pain and shifted his feet, clearly intending to sprint away.
Instead of letting him run like she should have she kicked his legs. 4C fell to the floor, hand pressed over his injuries and looking at Katie with horror. He was already bleeding heavily. If he managed to get to someone, he would probably be alright..
“Katie…?” He asked, voice cracking. She looked at him.
“..Im sor-“
“Dont even think about saying you're ‘sorry’.” He forced out through gritted teeth. “If you were sorry you would let me run.”
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“If you were sorry you would let me run.”
4C wasn't even sure if he was able to run right now. The injury he was pressing down on was burning, and he could tell without looking at it he wouldn't get very far before losing too much blood. Even his enhanced regeneration skills probably wouldn't help him..
“I can't let you run.” His sister Katie replied, looking at him. Despite the scorn in her eyes, he could tell she didn't want to do this, that the emotion was a mask. Then why? Why was she doing this?
Instead of replying, he dug his fingers into the sand, trying to muster enough energy to push himself up and sprint. His vision was starting to blur. That probably wasn't a good sign, was it? Despite it, he stared at Katie for a few more second before bolting upwards and-
4C didn't even get a step before his sister the knight swung at him aggressively again, right below his chin. He immediately crashed back down to the shore and his hand immediately went to his throat, which was now bleeding. He was choking now. He couldnt breathe because there was blood- his blood- in his mouth.
Katie was speaking to him but he couldnt hear it over the ringing in his ears. He was dying. He was going to die and that was a fact. Something shoved him in the chest and he fell onto his back, stars spinning around his vision. He was in so much pain. His throat was burning, his ribs were burning, his ears were ringing. His vision was blurred, full of stars nd spots and jumbles of colours and shapes.
He managed to grab his dagger and swung widly in the general direction of the push. He faintly heard a cry of pain. 4C managed to pull himself over onto his side and cough up whatever blood was left in his mouth. He heard footsteps running away. Coward. He did stab her though… He eventually fell limp on his side, staring numbly at the jumble of colours he assumed was a sunset. He could hardly think straight. Was that the bloodloss or the pain…
The stars eventually completely covered his vision in black and he closed his eyes, trying not to choke.
At least it didnt hurt anymore.
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4C didnt die a hero. He didnt die bravely in battle, protecting his friends like he always did. He didnt die a villain either, someone ridiculed and wrong. He died alone, scared, betrayed and confused. He died at the hands of his own sister - died for a quarrel he wasnt involved in. From his point of view, it looked like 4C died for nothing.