Masked (A Hat In Time)

Story Time

*Thomas Sanders voice* Story time!

*Proceeds to trauma dump*

Anyway, I think we're approaching the end of the book in a few chapters? I don't know how, but it snuck up on me! I can't believe we've come so far, and we're so close to the end...

---

In their room, Bow Kid flopped down in the massive pile of pillows and adjusted them so she wouldn't sink. Hat Kid sat next to her, watching her expectantly, and the prince sat on the edge.

Bow Kid took a deep breath. She said she would tell Hattie what happened...but now she couldn't muster the confidence.

"Take your time," Hat Kid assured her. "It'll be alright." She reached out and squeezed her friend's hand.

Bow Kid smiled gratefully at her. That support was all it took for her to gain the confidence she needed. She started talking.

"You know those Hope flowers, right?" Bow asked Hattie.

Hat Kid nodded.

"And you know how I asked Jaide about black Hope flowers?"

Hat Kid thought back a bit, then nodded again. "They show you a warning, right?"

"Yeah. Well, a couple grew for me and warned me about something." Bow Kid shuddered. She hadn't made the connection before now, but now that she thought about it, she was terrified. How long was the prince's death foretold? She lowered her voice and leaned away from the prince, hoping he would be polite enough to not listen in on a more private part. "It showed me taking a timepiece from a vault. It was trying to tell me that the timepiece would prevent something horrible."

Hat Kid made a "hm" noise. "So...what does that have to do with what happened to you?"

"I'm getting there." Bow Kid kept talking, this time about more recent events. She found the prince at the destroyed manor among the flowers. She talked with him for a while and tried to comfort him. The Outlander showed up. She described their fight, using more details than necessary to stall. And then...

"...he caught us off guard. He did this weird scream thing to stun us, and then..." Bow Kid shuddered and fell silent.

"Then what?" Hattie asked softly.

Bow Kid couldn't answer, so she looked to the prince for help.

They met eyes, wearing matching sad expressions. The prince finished for her. "The Outlander killed me."

Shocked silence filled the room.

"What?" Hat Kid whispered.

The prince lowered his gaze. "I don't quite know what happened next," he admitted. "The memories are...strange. They overlap. My death is foggy and not quite clear, but I'm sure it happened."

Bow Kid glanced at Hat Kid. They stared at each other. "Now do you see what the timepiece has to do with this?" Bow Kid whispered.

Hat Kid's eyes widened. Slowly, she nodded. Bow Kid could see things were coming together for her. Her story started to make sense. Her story was almost complete now.

"Well, that caused an opening and lowered the Outlander's guard," Bow Kid continued. "I narrowly saved the prince, and the Outlander chased us to Snatcher's home. Then you, Jaide, and Moonjumper showed up."

Hattie nodded, remembering the fight. "Is that all?" she asked. "Am I all caught up?"

"Yup," Bow Kid said with a heavy sigh. She looked down at her hands. It felt good to get it off her chest, but she didn't like thinking about what happened at all. At least Hattie knew now. She didn't have to be alone with the knowledge.

The bloodied ground.

His dying smile.

"Thank you..."

Bow Kid squeezed her eyes shut. She would still be alone with the images, though.

The pillows tilted this way and that as Hat Kid shifted. The soft ruffling of fabric let Bow Kid know that Hat Kid was getting closer. Bow almost felt the comforting hand on her shoulder before it was there.

"I'm so sorry," Hat Kid murmured.

Bow Kid sighed again and opened her eyes. She opened her arms, too, silently asking for a hug. Hat Kid smiled softly and wrapped her arms around her friend.

Before she hugged her friend back, Bow Kid leaned over, grabbed the prince's shirt, and dragged him into it. "You too," she said. The prince's puzzled look was enough to make her giggle.

His expression went from confused to affectionate. "Thank you," he murmured, hugging both kids.

"You're thanking us for a hug?" Hat Kid asked. "How touch-starved are you?"

Bow Kid laughed more.

The prince tilted his head. "What does touch-starved mean?"

Hat Kid sighed dramatically. "That's right. You're a boomer in the body of a millennial."

Bow Kid snorted and suppressed giggles as the prince asked "What does that mean?"

"Don't worry about it," Bow Kid told him. "We mean it in the friendliest way possible."

The prince looked baffled. "Then...were those insults? Did you just insult me in the friendliest way possible?"

"They aren't insults since we meant it in the friendliest way possible!" Hat Kid told him with a huff.

The prince was still lost with her logic. "I don't understand," he muttered.

"We know," both kids said at the same time. They laughed.

He made a dissatisfied noise but still smiled at them. Bow Kid gratefully returned the grin.

"Weren't you planning to go to bed early?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, yeah, we were," Bow Kid said, her eyes growing wide. "We should probably do that, huh?"

No one moved.

"Yeah," Hat Kid agreed with a nod. "Bow and I have to get changed...and say good night to Rumbi...and turn off the lights..."

Still, no one moved.

"...and actually get into bed..." Bow Kid added. "So we can fall asleep comfortably."

They continued to sit there.

"Or," Hat Kid offered. "We could collapse just like this and not let go."

"Sounds good," Bow Kid said.

"I-I'd like that," the prince said quietly, a little sheepishly.

"Wonderful!" Bow Kid kicked off against the ground just enough to topple the three of them until they were on their backs. They sank into the pillows, laughing and hugging each other close.

Hattie coughed awkwardly. "I was serious about the lights, though. And Rumbi will be upset if we don't say good night."

"Oh, sorry," the prince said, lifting his arms and releasing them from the hug. Both kids picked themselves off the pillow pile and headed out to the hallway.

"Can you believe it?" Hattie asked as they walked. "Things finally calmed down for once! And it feels like it's for good this time!"

Bow Kid laughed. "I know, right? Since when in the past month or so has that happened?"

Hat Kid nodded and said, "We can finally go home."

Bow paused. Home. Now that was something she only thought about in bits and pieces over the last few months. Stranded on this distant planet, it seemed foreign and unreachable. But now they had all they needed to go back...to return home.

It was hard to believe.