1:17pm

Remus is a cool character
—

For as long as he could remember Prince had a corner of his room he never looked at. It was dark, no matter how much light illuminated everywhere else, if he caught glimpses of it from the corner of his eye it seemed to stare back at him, stretching from the floor to the ceiling, not taking up too much space, but enough for it to be a bother.

It scared Prince sometimes but he didn't want to admit that to anyone - to Logic and Morality he was, well, a Prince! He couldn't be cowardly or scared, he was strong and brave! If he told them a dark corner scared him what would they see him as? A weakling, a baby, pathetic, that's what.

He especially didn't want the dark sides finding out of his fears. He wants them to think of him as the bold Prince and nothing less, with all the arguing going on with Anxiety and Deceit's worn out tactics to make Thomas lie Prince needed to be strong, needed to be seen as the protector. Thomas was young, they all were, and he had a reputation to hold - Thomas saw him as a courageous Prince and he will never admit his fears or insecurities because of it.

Maybe that will ruin him one day - at such a young age he had no idea.

While scribbling down ideas Thomas had thought of throughout the day his hand halted when he read over the certain one he just wrote. When his brain registered it something in him made him grab it, crumple it into a ball and throw it into the dark corner behind him. He watched as it flew through the air, landing on the ground before the shadow.

And, like always, it was dragged inside, never to be seen again.

Prince diverted his gaze back to his desk, a shiver ran down his spine but he pushed forward. He wasn't afraid.

Later on he was called out by Morality for dinner, the side usually made them snacks as he hadn't a clue how to cook food yet but either way it filled the three of them up. As he left his room he glanced at the corner like he usually did, and every time he would look away, satisfied with the fact it hadn't changed.

"Do you want me to cut up the sandwiches, Morality? Last time you cut your finger" Prince heard the distant sound of Logic's voice. It made him pick up his pace, after spending so much time in his room with the corner watching him being in the presence of his friends always calmed him down and distracted him.

"Yeah! Thanks, Lo!" Morality responded in his usual bubbly voice.

Entering the kitchen, Prince grinned at Morality who spotted him instantly, the small boy waved and rushed up to him, giving him a tight hug.

"Hi, Prince!" He greeted with a light giggle wearing his usual baby blue t-shirt and white dungarees. "Hello, Morality! What's for dinner?" He asked while rushing up to the counter, hauling himself up onto the chair so he could see all the food Logic was currently cutting up.

"Logic suggested we have sandwiches with lettuce and tomatoes and stuff!" Morality explained while climbing up onto a chair too, beside Prince who was pulling a face at the idea.

"Why? Ham and cheese is so much better!" He complained with a pout. Logic sighed.

"Thomas' parents want him to eat healthier, so we should too" he explained while putting the sandwiches onto paper plates, handing them over to the two sides who stared down at the sandwiches with frowns.

"I don't like tomato" Prince tried weakly but after Logic gave him a look one would expect a father to give to their naughty child, he sighed in an exaggerated manner, only taking a bite after Morality did and even then it was tiny.

"It's..." Morality shrugged, "it's okay!" He tried but they all knew it was a lie. After Logan bit into his own the two sides noticed his disgruntled face but he swallowed the bite anyway, slowly putting the sandwich down afterwards.

"...there's always chicken wraps in the kitchen?" He suggested after everyone stood at the counter on their chairs in silence for a moment.

Morality grinned and grabbed them while Logic and Prince dumbed the evil sandwiches into the bin that got rid of the instantly. They all sat at the table and ate their food while talking with each other happily, reminiscing about the day and wondering what they'd get up to tomorrow.

"Hey, Prince?" Morality piped up after a moment of silence.

The side looked over to him, mouth full of chicken and tortilla.

"Could you..." he glanced at Logic for a moment who was staring at him in the same curious manner Prince was. "Could you not talk about that again?" He asked for quietly and Prince tensed, slowly putting down his wrap onto his plate.

He knew what he meant, earlier today Thomas blurted out something that stopped conversation with his friends. They all stared at him weirdly and ignored what he said, creating embarrassment that flooded through him and didn't leave him until he returned home and distracted himself with video games.

"Wouldn't it be better to talk about this with his parents-?" Logic tried but Morality cut him off.

"You saw his friends' reaction, Lo, imagine what his parents might say" and he sounded stern, he only used this voice when he was serious and the matter brooked no arguments. Logic looked between him and Prince who avoided eye contact, cheeks red with shame.

"...well, fine, but if it continues-"

"We'll ignore it" Morality finished for him. Logic didn't agree but he couldn't exactly go against him so with a sigh he quietly agreed.

The rest of dinner was awkwardly silent, none of the sides tried to change that. Prince went back to his room first as soon as he finished, leaving the paper plate on the table for some else to deal with, he was embarrassed and the last thing he wanted to do was stay in their presence anymore.

Closing his door hastily, his head turned in the direction of the corner but his eyes didn't focus on it. He didn't want to pay attention to that right now. Instead he sat back down at his desk, played music in the background and carried on with his creative ideas, writing them down hurriedly while doodling small images at the top of the page to help brainstorm.

Around this time he'd usually gather Logic and Morality to watch movies or play games but tonight he wasn't really feeling it and he was sure the other two wouldn't be up for it either.

Finally, it was late and he knew he should probably get some rest. Thomas was tired and going to sleep soon anyway. Snapping his fingers he was suddenly in his pyjamas covered with small crowns coloured red and gold. He felt a little better wearing them, it reminded himself of who he was - a Prince. A brave Prince. He wasn't afraid...

Brushing his teeth and washing his face, he left the bathroom and scuttled back to his own bedroom, calling out a loud goodnight before closing his bedroom door to prevent Morality from entering to make sure he was going to bed.

He turned off the light and sprinted to his bed, jumping on top and instantly drawing the covers over his body. The only light came from the lamp on his bedside table which he knew he would have to turn off. He didn't want any side to walk in, light or dark, to see he needed a night light. The others didn't so neither did he.

He took in a deep, steady breath, slowly letting it out after a few moments.

He would be okay. He wasn't afraid.

Sitting up, he turned off the lamp, the room encasing in darkness that made Prince shrink to the corner of his bed and hug his teddy close to his chest. As every night went he would gaze around his room until his vision because used to the dark, then he'd focus on the corner for awhile, wondering if it would change, if something would crawl out and get to him, but as per usual nothing happened, nothing was wrong and it was just a dark corner.

With that thought lodged in his mind he tucked his legs up to his chest, pressed his face against the soft teddy and finally closed his eyes, only taking a few minutes before he was dozing off to sleep.

However, the night didn't go as planned.

He awoke around one am, four hours later since he fell asleep. His vision was hazy, blinking repeatedly to try and see if any side was standing in the doorway. Morality had woken him up in the past during thunderstorms when he was scared of the loud noises - Prince would agree to sleeping in his room (anything to get away from that corner) with him, cuddling him close and allowing him to relax.

Another reason why he needed to be seen as the brave Prince.

Right now though? No one was in the doorway, he couldn't see the outline of a side, but he could hear something. Like...soft crying. Sitting up he turned on his light quick, eyes zooming across the room to try and see if anyone was there but it was empty. For a moment he debated checking under his bed but after hearing the crying again he realised it wasn't coming from under him, instead it was across the room, close to his wardrobe.

Grabbing the sword he kept under his mattress he slowly stood up, teddy tucked under his arm to make him feel safer as he neared the wardrobe, the crying becoming louder and louder until finally...!

He took a step back. No one was in the wardrobe.

Then, his head slowly turned to face the corner right beside the wardrobe and his stomach dropped when he realised that was where the crying was coming from.

He liked to see himself as a brave, courageous Prince but deep down he knew he wasn't. He knew he could get scared, he knew the corner terrified him and he knew he was petrified of the dark...it was just really, really hard to swallow sometimes.

Still, he could be the most scared he's ever been in his life but if someone needs his help he'd push it aside like it was nothing and help them. Right now someone was upset, possibly in trouble and Prince was the closest person that could save them, so without a second thought he stepped inside the shadow, the darkness encasing him much like it did with the crumpled paper.  

Somehow he knew it wasn't just a corner - he didn't bump into the wall of his room, instead he walked for awhile, for a few minutes but the more he walked the closer the crying got and he needed to save whoever it was. Maybe it was Logic, he would become curious at most things and possibly wanted to explore the dark corner but he got trapped. The idea of it being a friend made Prince speed up, holding his sword higher, grasping the handle tighter.

And finally he saw light, like light at the end of a tunnel.

Rushing forward he stopped when he entered a room. It was small, smaller than his own, smaller than any room he had been in in the mind. The walls were barren, made of a light grey stone. There wasn't a definitive place the light came from, it just seemed to...exist.

Each corner stood a high pile of crumpled paper and Prince knew they were the same papers he had been throwing into the corner for years. The sight of them made his stomach twist and clutch his teddy tighter to his chest.

However what caught his eye the most was the small body in the middle of the room, curled up into a tight ball, shaking as he quietly cried.

"Hello?" Prince called quietly, pointing his sword down to the ground. The crying stopped and the boy slowly lifted his head, eyes glossed over with tears that rolled down his pink cheeks. His hair was a mess across his forehead and nose a deep red from how much he wiped at it.

Prince knelt down before the boy who stared at him apprehensively. Prince had never seen him before so he was a little cautious too but as well as that he saw was a boy in need of help and would drop his worries in favour of helping him escape his dark corner.

Placing down his sword, he grabbed his teddy and slowly handed it over to the boy who didn't move to reach for it for a few minutes, instead opting for gazing at it, analysing it almost. His eyes moved from the teddy up to Prince who smiled and nodded his head.

Ever so delicately the boy plucked it from his grasp, cuddling it to his chest, burying his face in it's soft fur.

"I'm Prince" he introduced quietly, not wanting to scare the boy who lifted his eyes to gaze at him again, his tears coming to a stop which made Prince feel better.

"Who're you?"

"I'm..." he hesitated, voice horse and croaky.

"I'm The Duke..."

—
Part two coming soon bitches

3:11pm