Masked (A Hat In Time)

An Unfinished Lesson (Reprise)

Oh man oh wow I actually needed my notes to write this chapter. I've had this planned for so long... Arc 3 was actually the arc that helped me decide that this should be a fic, actually!

Anyway everybody gangsta 'til I bust out the reprises.

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Bow Kid chased after Jaide, her heart pounding. Jaide stopped behind the corner of the mansion, watching the remainder of the fight there. Bow Kid stopped too and gasped.

The battlefield was littered with bodies. There were frozen minions in individual statues and twisted structures of ice. Bow Kid scanned over it, trying to determine who was winning. Where was Snatcher? Wasn't he supposed to be fighting Vanessa? He wasn't dead, was he?

She relaxed when she spotted him, standing in the middle of an almost perfect circle of shattered ice. His fluff was ruffled, and there were splotches of blue all over his body. Snatcher's glowing face was twisted into a scowl.

And Vanessa was right in front of him, also stained with blue. Bow Kid couldn't see her face at the angle she was at. They were at a standstill. No fighting, just glaring. For the moment.

Finally, Vanessa spread her hands in a gesture that might've been welcoming if she wasn't so terrifying. "My love," she began.

Immediately Snatcher cut her off by throwing a blue potion at her. "Shut it!" he snapped. Vanessa screamed as she was engulfed in blue smoke. "Don't even try to say you love me! You're an idiot to believe I still love you."

She loomed out of the blue smoke, her previously spread hands clenched. "I was merely going to open more negotiations," she snarled, enraged. "You didn't have to be so rude!"

Snatcher folded his arms, giving her a sarcastic look. "So, me throwing a vial at you is rude, but you locking me in a dungeon is perfectly reasonable? Wow, that's some twisted logic right there."

The blue smoke had cleared by now, and for a moment, Bow thought bits of the smoke were clinging to the tips of Vanessa's claws. Then she realized Vanessa's hands were blue from frost that slowly marched up to her entire hand in her fury. "I was saying," she continued. Her voice was a hiss. "Maybe we can bargain. And, this time, get something a little more official, so little incidents like these never happen again." A deranged giggle bubbled from her, making Bow Kid cringe. "After all, a little birdie told me contracts are your specialty~"

Snatcher seemed disturbed too. "So what if they are?" he retorted. "I'm sure you don't remember, moron, the last time you tried to negotiate with me, you basically took the prince hostage!"

Vanessa's hands slowly unclenched. "Ah, so that's what you're after."

He stiffened, immediately sensing he messed up.

"I'd like to remind you that I did not take the prince hostage." She spat the words out like they were poison. "He willingly came with me. My love chose to crawl back to me and respectfully atone for his wrongdoings, and now my handsome little treat is hanging quietly in the dungeons, where he belongs." Bow Kid struggled to keep herself from barfing at how disgusting that sounded. "And guess what? He's in my manor, so he belongs to me!"

Bow couldn't help but hear the echo of Snatcher's words- "They fell in my forest, they belong to me!"

Unfortunately, Queen Vanessa just kept talking, now mocking Snatcher in a singsong voice. "And you know what's the best part?" she cooed. "You can't have him! Because he's mine, all MINE!" Her voice rose in an insane cackle. "He is mine, mine, mine, MINE, MINE, MINE-"

Apparently, Jaide decided she had enough. She floated out from behind the manor wall, lifting a hand. The ground beneath Vanessa suddenly burst into a yellow-green inferno, catching the mad queen by surprise. The flames were so thick that Bow Kid couldn't see her anymore, not even her shadow. But she could still hear her scream.

Jaide floated to Snatcher's side and turned to face Vanessa. The flames fizzled out, and Vanessa collapsed to the ground. "Where's the prince?" Snatcher asked. "Is he safe?"

If Jaide answered, it was too quiet for Bow Kid to hear.

Snatcher looked up and caught eyes with Bow. He gestured quickly, and Bow Kid ran to his side. She was safer behind him. A couple minions gathered around her, too. Either to protect her or to get a better spot to see what was going on. Bow agreed with the latter. She wanted to know what the peck was going on.

"Who are you?!" Vanessa snapped at Jaide. "How dare you interrupt me and my love!"

Snatcher made a disgusted face. Jaide cocked her head. "Huh," she said. Her voice was flat and emotionless. "So you do care about who I am. Funny, it seems I overestimated you."

Vanessa hissed and shot a wickedly sharp spear of ice right at Jaide's chest. Snatcher quickly spread his hands, ready to defend anyone. Jaide, however, didn't flinch. She calmly caught the icicle with one hand. Her hand curled into a fist, crushing the ice, then letting it slide to the ground. "Is that all you have?" she asked. Despite her menacing words, her voice carried no hint of a challenge nor a threat. It was simple curiosity. And that scared Bow Kid even more, for some reason.

"I see now," Vanessa started again, slowly climbing to her feet. "Smart mouth, big-headed, overprotective. Clingy, too." Her red eyes narrowed. "You're that disgusting tutor that my prince always saw instead of me."

Bow Kid saw out of the corner of her eye that Jaide was crying. When Bow looked over, though, she realized they weren't tears. Black liquid had pooled in her eyes and now was slowly dripping down her mask.

"Perfect, just what I need!" Vanessa continued, monologuing without caring or noticing what was happening. "What are you going to do- lecture me on what's right and wrong? Ooh, no, you're going to quiz me on morality!" She cackled long and loud before her voice dropped back to a hateful rasp. "Give me a break, you heart-breaking, thick-headed slimeball!"

Even with Vanessa's taunts and the liquid that kept dripping out of her eyes, Jaide didn't seem bothered. Her blank expression was unchanged. "I gave up my role as a tutor five centuries ago," she replied softly. "But, I suppose, if you're that desperate for one, I could still teach you a lesson."

Jaide lifted both her hands, her palms glowing with harsh green-yellow light. Snatcher sucked in a breath. Claws grabbed Bow Kid's shirt, and she gasped as she was suddenly lifted up by Snatcher and moved back. The minions scrambled back with them. Why-

Jaide spread her arms, an explosion of power ringing out around her in a perfect circle. Ice shards blew back, and the ice statues within ten meters of her shattered. Thankfully, Snatcher had pulled them out of the blast range. Oh, Bow Kid thought weakly. That's why.

"Don't hold back," Jaide told Vanessa. "I want you to show me why everyone's so afraid of you."