Clockwork Castle

"They don't look cold to me," I said. I didn't even glance at them. Those uniforms seemed perfect for the weather outside - I knew that was just an excuse.

And I honestly wasn't prepared to let her in just yet.

"But I guess I can let them in," I added, scooting to the side a little.

Kirux reached back to grab onto the queen's wrist and bring her inside - a big grin on his face - but then I moved to block the door.

"Just them," I clarified, giving a blank, robotic look in lieu of the cool smile I was trying to actually give.

Kirux frowned and let go of the queen's hand.

"The queen is nice," he repeated. If I didn't know any better, the look on his face seemed to be a little bitter as he signed.

"That doesn't mean anything," I pointed out. "Jacob thought she-"

I gestured back at Megara.

"-was all butterflies and rainbows, and we both know how that turned out."

Megara shrugged, "We needed him to stop having a breakdown. Not that it helped..." She grumbled that last part. It was incredibly frustrating to put on an act for no real reason.

The queen nodded again, "You buch aren't from this world, are you." It was a statement, not a question. She was simply stating facts.

I raised a metaphorical eyebrow.

"That's an oddly specific thing to guess," I said.

"It isn't a guess, dear," she said simply, "It would be much safer to discuss this inside. There are likely to be guards about to enforce the curfew, and we wouldn't all want to get caught now would we?"

Megara had to give it to her, that was a pretty smart move. The guards wouldn't arrest the queen, but she could turn them in.

"I got out before," I confidently said. "I can get out again if I have to - especially seeing that none of the people who caught me the last time know how I got out."

I really wished I could give a smile then, but the best I could do was keep looking right into her face as I leaned up against the doorway.

Kirux, meanwhile, crossed his arms and attempted to glare at me. At least, I think that was what he was trying to do. All it ended up looking like was a very childish pout, but I doubted he'd be doing that.

...Then again...

Megara sighed, "Just let her in. You know as well as any of us that we won't be able to pull that off again so smoothly." It was a lie, and one she hoped Skull would run with. The queen was best believing that her dungeons were capable of holding them, just in case.

Queen Isadora nodded along to Megara's statement, "Thank you, dear." She returned her attention to Skull, "I am well aware of how you got here and why, if you will allow me out of the cold, I will explain."

I shot Megara a look, but reluctantly did as asked when I saw Kirux's lips beginning to shake. While I didn't mind Megara's rage, I did mind seeing Kirux upset.

I stepped to the side and gestured into the shop.

Kirux, his happy look returning, grabbed onto the queen's wrist and eagerly brought her inside.

The queen chuckled at Kirux's antics and gently pulled her hand away from him once they were inside.

"First," she said to no one in particular, "where is my son?"

"Upstairs," Megara answered, "Now, how and why are we here?" There was a threat in her voice, and she was tempted to take out her knife to punctuate it.

Queen Isadora looked entirely unconcerned, "I'd like to know that my son is safe first," she insisted.

"He's as safe as he can be when aiding a bunch of criminals," I said. I looked over at Kirux - he was looking a little frustrated with the conflict, but he wasn't trying to sign anything to me. "Besides, he's busy talking with Jacob. Seeing what your kingdom did to him, I think the two can use a chance to catch up."

I crossed my arms.

"Now, like Megara was saying, how and why are we here?"

The queen got a solemn look and nodded, "Alright, I'll explain."

She took a moment to take a seat on one of the stools that had been shoved beneath a table and took a deep breath, "You're all here because you've been summoned. The spell to summon you called for the greatest heroes across the dimensions to aid the prince in forcefully gaining his throne from the king-"

She was cut off by Megara's laughter.

For once, the queen looked offended, or at least stunned, as she stared at the laughing assassin.

"What on earth are you laughing about?" the queen asked, taken aback.

Once Megara caught her breath, she answered, "I think whoever cast that spell got it pretty damn wrong."

Kirux looked hurt at Megara's comment, but I was more inclined to agree with her.

"I'll have to agree with that," I said. "Fidel and Kirux are definitely hero material - maybe not the greatest - but Megara's definitely not."

I didn't say if I was. I wasn't really sure myself, either. Maybe I was a hero in the making - I had felt pretty heroic when I protected Lucy. But it wasn't really the kind of heroism I did on a daily basis, and something told me I didn't fit the "greatest" part of the queen's speech.

Kirux's lips quivered.

"I'm a hero," he signed, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. "Winnie says so."

I raised a metaphorical eyebrow again - Kirux didn't exactly strike me as the heroic type. "But are you the greatest hero?"

He faltered.

"...She says that too," he hesitantly signed. "And she's always right."

Megara gave Kirux a pitying look, but she didn't say anything to him.

Instead, she addressed the queen.

"Do you happen to know who cast said-spell?" she asked with a sickly sweetness usually reserved for people about to endure as much pain as she was capable of giving them.

The queen's face went kind again, "Well, I did. I need my husband off the throne."

Megara raised an eyebrow and looked at Skull, "Any suggestings, oh moral judge."

I crossed my arms and studied her.

"Well," I said, "I am a little upset about her bringing us here from our own lives, but I'd be impressed with the scheme if I wasn't its victim - that's a nice coup in the making there, as well as a great middle finger to authority."

Kirux, meanwhile, was eagerly signing that he wanted to help her.

Megara rolled her eyes and switched to sign language, "K-I-R-U-X you nieve little thing. Did you not consider that this could be a trick? That she's just using us to get what she wants just to toss us away when she's done? Help her if you want, but I'm leaving."

The queen watched the exchange, seemingly engaged in the conversation. That is, until she said, "Would you mind translating that to a spoken language?"

"It's not important," I said, my gaze focused more on Kirux's face than on the queen's. He looked like he was about to cry again-

No, wait, he was actually crying. I really should have expected it, seeing how quickly he was prone to tears earlier. "I know she's good!" he protested. "I want to help her because she's nice and wants Adrian to marry Jacob!"

"Those are pretty low standards," I pointed out.

More tears slid down his cheeks.

"The king wants him to marry a girl," he added.

I blinked and stared.

"He what?" I repeated.