Masked (A Hat In Time)

Dealing With a Devil

I'm gonna absolutely ruin you at the end of the chapter. Not with the ending of it, but because I'm going to show you my cursed art.

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Hat Kid woke up the next morning lying on the pillow pile and trapped in a hug with the prince and Bow Kid. She tried to pull away and get ready for the morning, but the prince reached out in his sleep and dragged her back in.

Hat Kid sighed and reluctantly stayed in the hug for a bit longer. "It's irritating, but it's cute, so I'm not mad at you," she whispered to the prince. He just sighed happily and hugged her tighter.

It didn't take long for Bow Kid to wake up next. She also tried to escape the snuggles but couldn't.

"What if," Bow whispered to Hattie after a few attempts, "we both try and leave together? The prince won't be able to hold on to both of us, will he?"

Hat Kid nodded. "Yeah, let's try that."

They both got ready. "On three," Bow Kid whispered, holding up three fingers to count down. "One..."

"Three?" the prince asked, suddenly sitting up. Both girls yelled in surprise and fell back out of the prince's arms.

At least we managed to escape, Hat Kid thought, pushing herself back to her feet.

The prince rubbed his eyes sleepily. "What were we talking about? I just woke up..." He blinked and lowered his hand as if he only now realized how he scared them. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" He stood and helped Bow Kid to her feet.

"Yeah, I'm good," Bow Kid said with a small smile. The prince looked at Hat Kid with the same question in his eyes.

"I'm fine," she answered.

He relaxed. "Oh, good. Again, I'm sorry."

"For what?" Both girls asked.

The prince started to answer. "Well-" he stopped and looked away. After a moment, he sighed. "I don't know," he admitted.

"Brilliant," Bow Kid said with a thumbs-up.

Hattie and Bow took a few minutes getting ready, then took the prince's hand and looked through the telescope to Subcon.

They landed in the forest and dropped the prince's hand. "We have a few things to talk about, so we're not gonna be in the forest with you," Hat Kid said. Bow Kid gave her a questioning look, but Hattie kept talking. "But tomorrow- okay?"

He nodded with a sad smile. They gave him one last hug and turned away.

Before they could teleport to the ship, a voice stopped them. "Hold on!"

The girls looked over their shoulder to find Ichor floating toward them with wings flared out. "You said that you'd take me on a tour of your ship!" Ichor said accusingly. They crossed their arms.

Hat Kid smiled nervously. She didn't want to anger a devil, but what she needed to discuss with Bow was important. "Sorry, Ichor. Another day, okay?"

They teleported back to the ship before they could hear Ichor's protests.

Bow Kid let out a sigh of relief. "Ichor's great, but they can be kinda scary," she laughed.

Hat Kid nodded and laughed too. "Yeah! I'm not really sure I want them on our ship."

"I heard that."

Both kids yelled in surprise and whirled around to find Ichor standing behind them, arms still crossed. "HOW DID YOU GET HERE?!" Bow Kid gasped, raising her umbrella defensively.