Changeling Witch

(S2) Buried Memories

"King?" Hunter called, pushing through the foliage. "King! Fuzzball! Please come back!"

"I can't fly," Lilith said, catching up to him. "The tree cover's too thick." She let out a heavy sigh. "Oh, I regret ever taking a part in this."

Hooty started to cry. "Is this what regret feels like? I hate it!" He flopped onto Lilith's shoulder, where she gave him a couple comforting pats.

"I... I lied to him," Hunter whispered. "He trusted me, and I lied to him. And now he's alone, and who knows what's out here—"

"Hey, hey, hey." Eda put a hand on his shoulder. "For now, we gotta focus on finding him, so let's split up. This island is small, and he's even smaller. He can't be hard to find."

The two Clawthorne sisters went off in different directions. Hunter willed back the tears that were beginning to come, then started to make his way through the forest.

Eventually, he came onto the beach—where King was sitting on a log, staring out into the sea.

Hunter walked over and sat down next to him.

"Eda was right, wasn't she?" King croaked. "I was never king of anything. I'm nobody."

"You are somebody," Hunter said gently. "And I love that somebody like my own annoying little brother." He bit his lip. "I'm really sorry that I lied about what I believed. I just... I just didn't want to hurt you."

"Everyone lied," King whispered. "And I was too caught up in the fantasy to realize it—" His voice broke as he started to cry again. "I don't know what to do anymore, Hunter! I—I can't tell what's real and what's fake!"

As King buried his head into his sleeve, Hunter looked back at the tower as something started to occur to him.

"Something's not adding up," he said aloud. "One of your memories is falling, right?"

"Probably just another stupid thing I made up," King sniffed, wiping his face.

"No, what if that's a real memory?" Hunter stood up. "You said you remember a roar from up in that shaft. Maybe that's where you fell from! Eda found you in those ruins—there's gotta be a clue in there about where you came from."

King hesitated. "I... I dunno, Hunter. What if the story gets worse?"

Hunter kneeled down and held out his hand. "Look, you might have been alone before, but you've got us now. And whatever we find up there won't change that."

After a minute of silence, King took it. "Okay. I'm ready."

Hunter led King back through the trees and to a clearing, where Eda, Lilith, and Hooty were waiting.

"King!" Eda rushed over, beaming. "Oh, thank goodness you're all right!"

She noticed his expression, then sighed, kneeling down. "You're mad at me. I would be, too. I'm so sorry—"

King reached out and poked her on the cheek. "Boop."

Eda looked surprised.

"No more secrets, okay?" he said. "You have to promise me."

She smiled. "Only truths. I promise."

"Great." Hunter pointed up to the tower. "Now, before we leave, we've got one more thing we gotta check out."

................

Back inside the tower, the creature was repairing the little statues when another fiery potion hit it in the face.