Third Person POV

The castle's dining hall was decorated with wine red ribbon decorations that were fastened to the wall accordingly, highlighting the sage green hue of the walls. The room itself was occupied with the castle's butler, his eyes fixated on the table as he organized spotless glasses, porcelain plates, and silverware that were on the table. 

The Princess of Barkingburg will be hosting a grand dinner soon, just for the PAW Patrol. Ever since the day started, the castle has been busy in preparation for the feast. The food was ready and hot, and the table was set up. All that is needed to do is to wait for the special guests to arrive.

"I can't wait for the PAW Patrol to get here," the Princess gleamed, "Dinner with them will be lovely."

"It indeed will be lovely, Princess," the Earl boasted. "They should arrive here in a minute. Would you like to come outside with me to wait for them?"

"Yes, of course," the Princess strutted across the castle to the entrance of the castle, her heels gliding against the marble floor. 

Sweetie groaned as she trailed meters behind them. She wasn't looking forward to dinner, all because of the elite team. She knew that when they'd come over, they'd get all the attention. But it wouldn't make much of a difference from how Sweetie was noticed when the PAW Patrol wasn't there. 

Clouds blanketed the sunset sky as the orange, pink, and dark blue hue faded into one. The blare of an engine sounded, escalating deafening louder as time progressed. The bright lights of a vehicle appeared, causing the three to shield their eyes with their bare hands, or in Sweetie's case, paws. The headlights of the vehicle powered off, as well the engine. The PAW Patrol's mission cruiser was parked on the pavement. The Earl and Princess walked over to the mission cruiser with excitement and welcoming smiles on their faces. Ryder and the pups exited the cruiser, their smiles matching theirs. 

"Ryder! Pups! It's a pleasure to have you here," the Princess gleamed, bowing her head as her knees bent. 

"It's nice to be here, Princess. Thank you for inviting us," Ryder acknowledged before the pups started to howl. 

"No need to thank me," she reached down to pet each of the pups' heads. "I wish I had pup treats right now. The pups deserve them."

"What about me?" Sweetie protested, jealously emerging in her voice. 

"Yes, you too. Don't worry, Sweetie," the Princess mused. 

"Why don't we all head inside to the dining hall. The food will get cold," the Earl changed the subject, signaling to the wooden castle doors. 

"That's a great idea. Let's go everyone," Ryder proclaimed.

Nearly everyone made their departure from outside, chatting with each other. The only one who was left behind was Sweetie. No one in particular left her alone. She chose to stay herself. She trailed behind everyone. Once she reached the dining room, everyone got situated and seated, chuckles and cheers escaping their mouths. The Princess sat at the head of the table, while Ryder sat at the other end. Rubble, Chase, Skye, and Tracker sat on the left side of the table, while Everest, Marshall, Rocky, and Zuma were on the right. 

The only empty seat to sit on was the seat to the left of Ryder. Without hesitation, she hopped on the chair, directly facing her plate. Every plate had fish and chips, along with two miniature hamburgers. The Terrier's expression lit up as she leaned her head in to take a bite out of the burger, savoring every bit of it. 

The Princess chuckled when she glanced to Sweetie, a chip in hand. After she finished devouring her hamburger, she started to ingest her fish in chips, pleased that she didn't have to eat pup food for supper. Like always, the idea of cramming down pup food disgusted her. She believed that it was basic and tasted disgusting, which to her, it did. She preferred hamburgers over everything. 

"May I have another hamburger?" Sweetie questioned eagerly the castle's waiter, who was strolling around the room with a cart filled with food and beverages. 

The waiter examined the cart to see if there were burgers before he shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, Sweetie, there are none left."

The Terrier frowned with disappointment while pushing her plate away from her. It would probably be a while until she would devour her favorite meal... or would it? 

If I take my plan into action tonight, I can eat all the burgers I want for tomorrow, she pondered to herself, her frown forming into a smirk. She chuckled to herself before she pulled her plate back to her, reaching her paw to grab a leftover chip. 

Meanwhile at the opposite side of the table, everyone was eating happily and chatting among themselves, especially Rubble, who was already on his second dish. His plate contained roasted chicken and chopped vegetables, fresh from the castle's garden before being cooked. Everyone seemed to be cheerful, smiles plastered across their faces and howls escaping their mouths before taking another bite into their meal. 

Marshall, however, was fiddling with the silky, porcelain white table sheet plastered on the table. For the entire dinner, he was silent as if he were a mouse. He didn't say a word to anyone, not even Everest. Not because he didn't want to speak with her. He did, but not at dinner, where everyone would butt into their business if they heard certain phrases. 

"Pardon me, Marshall," the Princess cleared her throat, her grin fading into a neutral expression. "Are you alright? You've been quiet the entire time."

"I'm fine, Princess," the Dalmatian plastered a smile across his face in an instant. 

The Princess nodded before turning back to her food, gently grasping her cup of water. Marshall, on the other hand gulped, reaching his paw towards a bowl of miniature bread loaves located towards the middle of the table. Only one loaf of bread remained. Before he could grab it, another paw landed on the bread. A fuzzy, cinnamon brown paw. 

Marshall's head shot up from the bowl, his eyebrows furrowed. Chase, who sat across from him, had a similar expression on his face. The Dalmatian placed a paw on the bread, pulling it towards himself, while Chase did the same. The loaf started to tear apart, and when it did, the German Shepherd ended up getting the larger piece. The Dally squinted his frosty, baby blue eyes, a broad frown across his lips. His piercing glare was enough to freeze a lake. 

"My paw touched the bread first," he groaned. 

"Well I wanted bread too, and I was thinking about getting a loaf before you even touched it," Chase replied, his nostrils flared. 

"So? Is that supposed to mean anything?" Marshall stated, his eyes darting lasers. "I touched the bread first, the entire loaf was supposed to be mine."

"Well at least you got most of the bread. Look at what I've got?" the German Shepherd growled, gesturing to his tiny piece of bread.

At this point, everyone in the dining room was gawking at the two pups, including the waiter, who was in the middle of pouring water into Ryder's cup. His mouth was dropped open as his cheeks flushed bright, coral red in embarrassment. Skye, in comparison, looked just as embarrassed as the head of the PAW Patrol did. She placed a paw on her cheek as her mouth shot open. 

The Cockapoo still felt conflicted from her and Chase's debate earlier. Nothing changed how she felt about the situation between her significant other and friend. In fact, her and Chase hardly spoken since. The only words they exchanged with each other was a greeting, nothing drastic. Neither of them had a clue what to do about the conflict between them. She slouched back in her chair, glancing at the Shepherd hesitantly. 

"Chase and Marshall, stop," Ryder insisted, projecting his voice. 

"Okay, but I need to make this clear," Marshall protested before taking a deep breath. "Chase, that isn't my point. My point is that I touched the bread first, so the whole loaf should've been mine. Don't make a problem out of everything."

"It's just a loaf of bread. Even I wouldn't overreact if someone took it and I wanted it..." Rubble interfered with a murmur. 

"Rubble, don't get involved in this," Chase stated. "Marshall, I'm not making a problem out of it. You're the one who's overreacting, as always."

"What's the reasoning behind that?" the Dalmatian snarled, his cheeks flushed into a red hue. 

"You made all of this escalate. It's not surprising one bit—" the Shepherd proclaimed in an instant. 

"Chase, will you just shut the fuck up?!" Marshall cut him off, his cheeks heated. "You don't need to rub anything in!"

His head rose down to the floor, avoiding eye contact with anyone. The Princess gasped as everyone else grimaced. Dinner was ruined, and everyone felt bad for it. Marshall stormed out of the room, disappearing into the foyer. Ryder attempted to call him back, but it was too late. The clatter of silverware and everyone muttering to each other stopped at an instant. The room was dead quiet to the point where anyone could hear a pin drop. 

Everyone was shocked how the two pups would have a heated argument, but even more shocked that Marshall swore. No one expected him to swear, not even Chase. Even Marshall didn't expect to hear himself say such a word. It made his heart drop.

"Is there something going on between those two?" The Princess broke the silence, rising up from her chair, her fingers planted to the rim of the wooden table. 

"Unfortunately, yes," Ryder stated briefly, pushing his plate away from him. "It's been going on for a few weeks now. I'm sorry about what just happened."

"It's alright. I just hope that they get along once again," she sighed, placing her plate on a cart filled with dirty dishes. 

Everest leaped out of her seat, heading towards the arched doorway that led to a corridor of the immense castle. 

"Where are you going, Everest?" Ryder questioned.

"I'm going to find Marshall," she responded vaguely before disappearing into the corridor. 

The Siberian-Husky sauntered down the broad corridor, pondering to herself on where the Dalmatian could've possibly went. The possibilities were endless, considering that the castle was immense. Her paws glided against the porcelain, marble throne as she strolled through the foyer area. The tall, wooden doors of the palace were creaked open. Everest lifted her paw to push the door open, hesitantly trudging out the doors. 

Other than the exterior castle lights and the lampposts that led the path to the establishment, outside was pitch black. The sound of crickets chirping and sobbing prickled the Husky's ears, directing her to the left where the castle's flower garden was located. The soft bristles of the grass brushed against her paws as she trudged through. She was determined to find Marshall. She was close, after all. 

The sobs grew louder as she got closer to side of the palace. She peeked her head at the corner, her eyes solemn as soon as she saw the Dalmatian laying on the grass, his eyes swollen from crying. 

"Marshall, are you okay?" Everest whispered, putting one of her paws over his. 

"Leave me alone," he snapped instantly. 

"I'm just trying to help you," she muttered, lifting her paw from his with caution. "We can talk about it if you want."

"I don't want to. Just leave me alone," Marshall insisted, his voice shaky. 

Everest nodded before sauntering away, her legs shaky. Her head was fixated on the ground as she walked, her eyes welled up with tears. 

I failed myself, but I failed him even more. I'm a horrible friend, she pondered to herself, tears rolling down her cheek. 

♔♔♔

"Well, well, well," Sweetie mused as she leapt onto the throne, satisfaction in her eyes. "Looks like certain pups of the PAW Patrol aren't getting along well. How unfortunate." She cackled, slouching down into the throne comfortably. "This is the perfect distraction. Everyone will focus on Chase and Marshall while I settle for Adventure Bay tonight!"

She shook her collar with her paw to command Busby to approach her as her minion did what she wished. Her paw brushed against the smooth, glided wood of the edge of throne. She smirked at what she imagined what would happen several hours ahead of time. Escaping the castle and getting proper attention was all she ever wanted, aside from not being fed pup food. 

I can finally get what I want. It's about time, the Terrier mused to herself.