Am I entirely sure how this happened? No, not really. Do I care enough to question the green creature in front of me? Also no.

"Anyway, Jess, you already know about us falling down here."

I lean back against the wall- but quickly stand back up after feeling cold, wet moss. After putting some thought into it, I really think that Jess would be a great addition to our team!

"Wanna help us overthrow the king?"

After making my request, Jess just stares at me.

Is he okay?

"Jess?"

After a few seconds Jess shakes his head, his oversized ears flopping about as he does. Once he gathers his thoughts, he puts both hands on my shoulders and opens his mouth.

"YOU WHAT!?"

To be honest, I'm not even mad that he yelled at me, just that he made me smell his horrendous breath. Yuck.

"Ew, you mind stepping back? Your breath really stinks-

I turn my face away from him and slowly shove him away.

"My breath has nothing to do with this! You're the ones talking about overthrowing the king! The hell is wrong with you two?"

"So? I've already made up my mind."

"Yeah, but-"

I can tell Jess is having a hard time processing my nonsense, but that's nothing new to me.

"Are you serious? You barely escaped his forces last time, and now you want to run right back to him? Do you know how insane that sounds?!"

Is he angry? Why?

"There's a little bit more to it than that, but yeah!"

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"You're out of your damn mind!"

Such a wonderful compliment.

"Well, whether you help us or not, I've made up my mind."

I turn to Chris and help him out of bed. After getting back on his feet, he cleans off his glasses before turning to Jess.

"She's right, I don't think you'll be able to change her mind."

Jess opens his mouth to protest, but gives up before trying to fight her ambition. He puts his face in his palms and scrunches his forehead with his fingers.

"Y-you- You-"

He groans softly as he looks down at the ground.

"You're just like her..."

Just like who? I considered asking, but from the look on his face I don't feel like opening that can of worms.

"So are you in or not? We've got places to be."

I glance at Chris while I wait for Jess' answer, and quickly snap my gaze back once I hear his voice.

"I- I can't let you leave."

"What do you mean by that?"

He's looking us dead in the eyes.

"I can't let you go back up there. I can't let the same thing that happened to her happen to you two. Look...your good kids; I can't let you go on some suicide mission. I can't in the right mind let you two so that- stay down here, with me."

I pause, I want to ask questions, but it seems like I shouldn't press any further...

No, I can't stop now, there's no way we can stay down here forever, not while countless people are dying!

"Then come with us. You don't have to stay here anymore, surely you want to get out of here, to see the world outside of this dingy cave?"

He goes quiet. I give him a moment to think about his answer, but I wish he'd be quicker about it...

"Well?"

"Alright, I'll come with you."

When he looks back up at me something has changed. The goofy warm glow in his eyes is gone, replaced with malice.

"You two aren't the only ones who have lost everything. A long, long time ago I considered the king a friend. But he's changed, he took the only thing I truly loved away from me."

Jess' eye closes. When it opens again, tears start to flow down his cheeks.

"So many years we spent together, and yet it meant nothing to that bastard."

He clenches his fist.

"I'll join you two on one condition."

He locked eyes with us, his brows furrowed in anger.

"I want to kill him myself."

Suddenly his fist is engulfed in a green flame, Chris shields his eyes. What's with the flames? Is it some kind of energy?

"Ah! H-How is he-"

He squints his eyes and looks at Jess' fists. He turns to my ear and whispers faintly.

"That's not normal, is it? That's definitely not normal..."

His breathing gets heavy, so I put a hand on his shoulder and smile at him.

"Nah, but it's cool!"

I can feel his gaze growing heavier, but I don't pay it any mind. I turn back to Jess with a wide grin.

"Alright, you get the king, I get Napoleon."

Jess takes a deep breath, and the flames dissipate.

"Alright, deal."

I extend my hand out to him, making it official. Jess grasps my hand and tightly shakes it.

"You do realize how stupid this is though, right? One wrong move, it's curtains for all of us."

"Yeah, but the truth is I don't have anything left to lose..."

I look up at Jess with narrowed eyes, matching his determination.

"But a lot to give."