(Returning home)

Something changed.

Everyone could feel it when they were around Jimmy. Nobody had a clue what had happened though. They went through the day, avoiding whatever the problem was.

It was especially hard for Jimmy.

He kept his mouth clamped shut and barely talked to the group. He only answered Doc and Stress when they asked him medical questions.

"Almost there, alright?" Scott said, a reassuring smile on his face as he squeezed Jimmy's scarred hand.

Jimmy just nodded his head in agreement.

---

Being back home was a big relief.

It wasn't the palace he had grown up in, it was the small cottage in a life he had always wanted to live in. He missed the animals and the fish in the pond. Seeing the flowers made him smile.

With hesitance, everyone left him alone to linger outside, around the area. The group wanted to talk a bit, Jimmy didn't want to eavesdrop again. Nothing good had ever came from it.

"Grian is such a disappointment! A commoner! He is no longer the son I raised!"

He let in a few deep breaths, closing his eyes tight and squeezing his own arms around himself in the form of a hug. He needed to calm down before anyone saw him freaking out. They would ask what was wrong and he had no clue if he would be able to lie.

Eventually, he let out deep breaths, opening his eyes and gazing down at the fish pond in front of him.

Fish hybrid.

Nope, he couldn't do this today.

He walked to his favorite part of their little area, a little nook under the shade of a rock structure, green grass covered the area and all the flowers they had grown carefully were blooming. His eyes noticed the white roses had died at the edge of the nook. They were wilted, most likely from lack of care.

There were two new flowers that Jimmy had never seen before. It was a pink and red color with a few petals that Jimmy could count. It had yellow stamen in the center of it, bees were landing on them gently.

The other flower was a dark purple color. It was entrancing to Jimmy, there were multiple different petals on the stems, like a strand of flowers connected together. It reminded him of the person that he had made that promise with.

Jimmy grabbed one of the books that lay in a simple bookshelf they had made in the nook, he loved reading in the shade with Scott.

All the letters were a mess.

He couldn't make out a single letter, it was all blurry and swimming around in his vision. Why didn't it connect?

He felt tears gather in his eyes as he threw his book across the grass. He didn't care if the bookmark came out, he could no longer read it anyways.

Jimmy sat there, by himself and cried. He was so frustrated with himself, he wanted to be useful and be like the person he was pretending to be. His knees were pulled up to his chest as he sobbed into his arms.

"Jim?" He jumped slightly, looking up to see Scott looking at him with concern. "Are you alright?" He asked softly.

Jimmy shook his head. "I want to read..." he sniffled, wiping a hand under his nose.

Scott noticed the book lying on the ground. "Would you like me to read to you?"

Jimmy shook his head. He enjoyed reading to himself. It was one of the reasons he took up the hobby in the first place. It was a calm activity to do by himself and he could pretend to be in another world.

Now what, he was stuck in the body he hated with no chance at freedom.

Scott sighed and his eyes flashed sympathy. He sat next to Jimmy in the grass, his own knees pulled up to his chest. "If you want to talk, I'll be here with you."

Jimmy eventually stopped crying after awhile. His sniffles and hiccups would linger still. He didn't want to talk, he wanted to pretend nothing ever happened.

"Scott?" He whispered quietly.

Scott looked over from where he was twisting grass strands together.

"What are those flowers?" He pointed at the two different flowers.

"Oh, I think the pink ones are begonias, and the purple are aconites." Scott explained with a shrug.

He didn't learn flower meanings like Jimmy had.

In the palace, the three siblings would learn the meanings of flowers as a way to share the language with other. Jimmy was taught to delicately pick out flowers for certain events. He had read books and books about different flowers even if he didn't know what they had looked like. He recognized all the names and meanings.

The two in front of him?

Danger. Beware, something is coming. Stay alert and aware.

"That's right, little boy, we are coming."

Jimmy swallowed the lump in his throat. He knew Scott hadn't heard the voice, the elf- no, human didn't even look up. It must have been in his head.

It was the person he had made his deal with. He remembered the palace being sent the flowers one time many years ago. The castle was put on lockdown immediately. It ended up being a hoax but Jimmy remembers feeling that fear. At that point, it was just him and his father in the palace. He wasn't introduced to the bunker that time but he was locked into the dining room, the same one that was stripped of all its decoration and beauty. The one that the marvelous chandelier was taken from.

He gripped his arms at the thought.

If the flowers really were begonias and aconites, he had to watch out. He knew that Scott didn't know what they meant. But Jimmy knew.

Jimmy knew he was in danger.

Maybe that deal hadn't been worth it.

(White roses: new beginnings, innocence and purity

Aconite: hatred, be cautious, deadly foe is near

Begonia: warning, danger ahead)

(Sorry for short chapter, next one is gonna be fluffy and adorable yay)