Masked (A Hat In Time)

On Top of the World

I'm sorry if these current chapters seem bland or boring to anyone.

I'll be perfectly honest- these chapters are kinda "filler" chapters. I'm using them to establish the relationships of the characters that have been introduced, and foreshadow things to come in the next two arcs.

I'm also using these as pacing practice. Most of the time I write angsty or high-energy stories, so slower moments are hard for me to write. Pushing through a chapter that I might lose motivation writing every week helps me become a better writer.

That being said...arc 2 is going to be done in less than five chapters. I know it was much, MUCH shorter than the first arc, but I hope that arc 3 is going to be pretty long. I'm not entirely sure of its length or where the chapters will be divided, but we'll see.

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Bow Kid moved away from Snatcher's house with a frown. Where had the prince gone? She didn't know how well he knew Subcon. Yes, he had spread string through an unfamiliar part of the forest, but she didn't know if he'd get lost at all.

She decided to use her hat's ability to check to see where he was.

The hat focused her attention up. And up. And up...

Bow squinted at the giant mushroom top of Snatcher's tree home. Was he up there? How did he even get up there? No wonder the minions lost him.

She went back to the tree and scrambled up the giant purple thorny branch curling around it. It took several minutes of bouncing from mushroom to mushroom and precariously landing on shaky branches for her to get to the top. Every time Bow Kid found a minion waiting on a branch to give her affirmation, she asked them if she'd seen the prince come up there. They each nodded, giving her the confidence to continue.

The view was incredible, as it was the last time Hattie and Bow had been up here. It just had a different ambiance from anything else they'd seen, with all the wind, the sky, and the distant structures in the background. You could look down over Subcon, down over the tops of those tall, tall trees, and feel like a giant.

Bow Kid's eyes landed on the prince. She relaxed a little, despite all the assurances she'd gotten that he was up here.

His back was to her, and he was sitting with his knees hugged to his chest. Bow Kid moved toward him. He must've heard her, for he looked over his shoulder, and his yellow eyes lit up. The prince smiled softly at her. "Oh, hello!" he greeted. "What are you doing up here?"

She sat down next to him, letting her legs dangle off the side of the mushroom. "I was looking for you, actually," she told him. "According to Snatcher's minions, you kinda just disappeared."

The prince looked somewhat troubled. "I...wasn't aware they were concerned about me," he admitted. He looked away. "To be honest, I thought they'd be better off without my presence, so I left them."

Bow Kid frowned. Why wouldn't the minions be concerned about him? Why wouldn't anyone be concerned? Even Snatcher was concerned though he was doing his darn best to cover it up. He was the kindest person that they had met so far. And also the person with the lowest self-esteem, she was starting to realize.

She decided to change the subject. "Speaking of which, how did you get up here?" Bow Kid asked.

"Oh." The prince thought about it for a moment, then just looked puzzled. "I don't know."