Art: "Ballroom Antics" by JoyeEverett715

I used to think this mindset silly. Dark magic had long since vanished from Etheria as a real threat, solely because I myself was not a wicked person for all my years alive.

❂❂❂

Micah and Talyn arrived in Niesna, and he took a deep breath. It was time to talk to King Xenio about joining the Rebellion. As they approached the door to the Crypto Castle, Talyn pulled out a holo-pad and typed on it.

Suddenly, a higher-pitched voice with a thicker Rjali accent spoke from the other end. "Oh, Talyn! Great – so glad you called. The bots are reacting strongly to the iridulium S-RAMs you had me store in their mainframe. They're all a teensy-bit deadly right now – but only if you make them mad. If you just clap like this, they'll sing to you! Here, I'll show you!"

A few claps sounded from offscreen. Micah found himself grinning ear-to-ear as the bots began to sing a famous Drylian song known as "Ye Olde Qızıl Mədəni".

Talyn, however, did not smile. "Entrapta...that's nice. But weren't you supposed to meet us at the door?"

A pause. "Oh, right. Sorry, I guess I got...a little carried away." A moment passed. "Which door did you say, again?"

"The main entrance. The one we always go through – the others are emergency exits Mumma installed." Talyn sounded tired. "Now, come on! My contact has a meeting with Ata!"

"Alright! I'm going, I'm going."

A few more moments passed, and the front door opened. Micah found himself staring at a petite young woman who rode in the arms of a massive robot. Giggling, Entrapta touched her mouth with one of her prehensile, lavender-colored pigtails. "You're always bringing home the coolest friends I've ever seen. Who is he? How does he work? Can I touch him?"

Micah backed up; Entrapta seemed a tad-bit loopy at the moment. "My name is Micah. I'll be the king of Bright Moon in a few months. Are you Princess Entrapta?"

"Yep!" the younger princess chirped. "You'll need me to lead you through the castle. My best friend Ayzel will help us! Follow me!"

She snapped, and a doormat made of spikes shot up from the ground. Micah reflexively leaped back, but Talyn caught his arm. "She's got us covered. Trust her."

Micah frowned, nodding as the spikes receded. He followed the women into the castle as they began their journey to the throne room.

✧✧✧

After about three hours, they finally found the king's pavilion. "It's not usually this hard to navigate," Entrapta said, scratching her temple with a pigtail. "Normally my holo-pad works fine, but today something seems to be interfering with it."

"Could it be the iridulium in the bots?" Talyn sighed.

"That, or..." the princess' eyes widened. "Oh no." A loud noise banged through the room, and she looked nervously toward one of the labs. Chuckling sheepishly, she checked her device. "I must have left something burning for too long. Now the circuitry for that cell is fried. Well, gotta go fix that! Bye!" She waved enthusiastically as Ayzel carried her away from Micah and Talyn.

The older princess sighed. "Sorry about her. She's a little...childish."

"I think she's just fine. I loved hearing her talk about her bots."

"Really?" They kept walking toward the king's inner room. "You don't even know how they work."

Micah shrugged. "I like talking to people about their interests. I thought you liked inventions, too."

Talyn gave him a peculiar look. "I do, but she talks incessantly about them."

"My dearest Entrapta..." a voice said from the inner room. "What a precious genius."

"Ata," Talyn said. "Here is the king, as I promised. He wants us to join the Rebellion."

King Xenio, who appeared to be in his early sixties, sighed. "Another negotiation. When will this effort end, King Micah?"

"When Etheria is united against the Horde," Micah said. "We need your help, Your Majesty. The Horde –"

"Has access to some technology, or whatever," Xenio said. "We cannot risk our lives for –"

"Ata," Talyn said, "please. Plumeria refuses to fight."

"Unsurprising. That is why we protect them."

"But if the Horde uses the technology to invade and they go to Plumeria, they will break our truce," the princess retorted. "We'll be out of food quickly, and vulnerable to attack."

Micah's eyes widened. "You want to join us?"

"Your persistence is honorable," Talyn said. "And you were able to make it through despite my sister's shortcomings."

Xenio regarded them with a sad expression. "Dear one," he said to Talyn, "you would have us join these rebels?"

"Yes. If you will, Father. This might even bring us closer to discovering how to replicate the First-Ones' weapons! Imagine what it could do for Entrapta if the Horde surrendered. If we gained access to the Fright Zone and its secrets."

A long pause. "This is intriguing," the king admitted. "And even Queen Regina has decided to take your side – something I thought I'd never see." He sighed. "I will think about what to do. But know, King Micah, that I do this for the sake of my children. Not for you."

"This is not for my sake," Micah agreed. "It's for Etheria, Your Majesty. I hope you will consider my request."

"I will send word to your wife if that is the case," Xenio said. "You are a man of honor. But you make me nervous, young one. It is possible that you could be our greatest victory – or our most severe downfall."

"I'm tired of hearing this," Micah groaned. "Your Majesty, I made mistakes. Massive ones that ended in the Head Sorcerer's death. I'm not asking you to trust me – I'm asking you to trust us. If we unite, I can prove myself to you. But it wouldn't be wise to make you trust me now."

"It is a battle of natures," Xenio replied. "You can either choose to emulate hers, or your own. The choice will determine the fate of the world." He rose. "Nevertheless...your plea humbles me. I will join your alliance, young man. And perhaps then, you can atone for your mistakes."

Micah smiled. "Thank you. I promise, King Xenio – I won't let you down."

"Let us hope such a claim is true," Talyn said.

❂❂❂

Did you know...

- I decided to give Entrapta a sister because she seems to spend so much time on her experiments instead of governing her kingdom. It seemed "right" to give her a sister who was the princess heir so she could focus more on her tinkering.

- I tried my very best to give each minor character at least a little bit of depth in the story. In my mind, Talyn struggles with feeling inadequate next to Entrapta. I hope that comes across clearly.

- I believe Micah's neurodivergent (ADHD, most likely), so he would probably identify more with Entrapta than one might think.

Tell me what you think...

- How might Micah deal with all this pressure to "be better" than Light Spinner? How might these efforts affect him in the future?