No longer bearing the face of an evil specter, Maddie slowly opened her heavily rouged eyes while Cyrus, Antonio and Van stood tentatively away from her. Archibald stepped forward and offered her a hand up. “Good morning, sleeping beauty,” he said with a gallant expression. “You’ve just been cleansed of an abomination from the shadows.”

Archibald pulled her to her feet and lightly patted her on the back. “It was a bad dream, dear.”

Maddie shook her head, further ruffling her already frayed hair. “No it wasn’t. I knew full well what I was doing when I stole from you. I needed the money.”

“To eat it?” Vanessa said, an eyebrow raised.

“No,” Maddie said, looking down in shame. “I needed money to survive and I did anything I could for it. I could feel that thing creeping into my body but I didn’t care because I was so consumed with greed.”

“That’s what it does,” Archibald responded pointing his good hand at Cyrus. “But fortunately for you, this young lad vanquished it.”

“Thank you,” Maddie said looking up for a brief moment. “I just don’t know what I’m going to do now though.”

Archibald gripped his wallet tightly and gazed at Maddie. She no longer had that come hither look in her eyes, it had been replaced with a look of remorse. He reached into his leather wallet and removed an ancient looking golden token. “Extend your hand,” he said to her.

She did and he placed the coin in her hand. “What is this” she asked, the curiosity brightening her downcast eyes.

“A token from the golden age of the Coates lineage. King Richard’s great, great, great grand pappy used to have these puppies as currency before the Battle of Devil Skull plunged our kingdom into battle with the underworld. It’s worthless as currency but its worth thousands to collectors.”

Tears formed in the center of Maddie’s eyes and she embraced him. It was a hug quite unlike the touching she had done before; the hug was gentle and happy. Cyrus watched as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Thank you,” she said, her voice wavering.

As Van, Antonio and Cyrus watched, Antonio put his hands around Cyrus and Van. “And that, amigos, is how it’s done. I had no idea I was in the presence of such a magician with ladies. You boys could learn a thing or two from him…or me.”

Cyrus felt a bit of anger surge within him when he heard that. Antonio was making light of a woman who had gone through a lot of pain all for the sake of his crude humor. Cyrus brushed Antonio’s hand off him. “We’ll take our lessons from Archibald, not you. Right Sir Henry?”

Van’s mouth hung open as Antonio’s hand still hung around her. “Hehe, suuuuure, Cyrus. Whatever you say.”

Antonio eyed Van and lifted his hand off her with a confused look on his face. Maddie and Archibald walked by them, past the knocked out thugs, prompting the trio of teens to follow them.

Outside the tavern, Maddie bowed her head. “Thank you so much. You truly are heroes.”

“We’re not heroes,” Archibald smiled. “Just people who happened to do the right thing at the right time.”

“Well whatever you are, I’ll never forget you.” Maddie walked off, and the four could tell she would be a lot better off from now on.

“Just one question?” Van asked, no longer in her stupor. “How exactly did you get that token you gave her. I hope it wasn’t one of your bouts of kleptomania.”

“Well…er…” Archibald stuttered.

“I ought to bring a knave like you to justice,” Van said, her left hand on her hip and her sword pointed at his head.

Archibald snickered. “Sorry knighty, I’m out of your jurisdiction.”

“Well, I can’t do anything but Cyrus can.”

Archibald quickly dashed behind Cyrus. “And my prince promised he would never execute me or throw me in the dungeon again!”

Van frowned, looking like she had been beaten and Archibald, sensing that fact, boldly proclaimed, “Laws of the land #345: No one fools the royal fool!”

“Except for pretty girls who want your money!” Van shouted.

Archibald gritted his teeth before a smile quickly diverted his grimace. “Hey, uh, well I got my ID let’s go see the Don now!”

***

Twilight fell upon Thieves’ Town darkening the already seedy underworld village, and the sun dipped down to shed its own molten gold on the twenty four karat dome. Sinister shadows stretched further on the ground waiting for darkness to engulf them entirely. The four heroes made their way down the central road to the dome and as they walked, Antonio brushed his luxurious hair and spoke with a relaxed and cool demeanor. “I see you’ve gotten a taste of the local flavor; it is truly one that sets the senses reeling. If the three of you weren’t a band of ragtag heroes bent on helping people, I’d suggest you head right to those hills from where you came.”

“Of course,” Cyrus said, “Whatever befalls this town, Prince Cyrus the magnificent, Sir Henry the Powerful and Archibald the Strange will help!”

“Do you know what’s going on with this town?” Vanessa quietly asked Antonio but averted his gaze when he turned towards her.

“This town, my dainty young knight friend was once a town of brotherhood but once those horrible tyrants with their spoiled brat son enforced a bunch of unjust laws in this town. We had to do something.”

Swallow hard, Cyrus watched as Antonio expounded with passion in his eyes as he slammed his fist into his hand. “I was proud of our underdog town for swinging back and overthrowing the laws of uncaring kings and queens. It was a triumph for us banditos, but afterward things changed.”

“How so?” Archibald asked, his head cocked to the side.

“The Don, a great leader in his own right decided to claim all the gold and pixie dust for himself. And almost as if by magic, that giant dome was erected in town over night.”

“So the dome was potentially created by magic?” Archibald ruminated to himself. “I figured as such.”

“And like some great madman, the Don has shut himself away in the dome. Many, including myself, think he’s gone loco.”

The four arrived on the steps at the foot of the dome, when Archibald boldly removed a piece of cardboard from his wallet. He held it in front of the three teens. It was a moving profile of the Majester himself drawn in magic ink. There was script below it indicating Archibald’s name and title.

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“Majester Archibald…the…Wise…guy?” Van said making out the letters, the last word was added on by the Majester’s own blocky handwriting.

“Yep, my wizard title wasn’t accurate enough, so I took some creative liberties with it. This will still let us in. After all, how can the ol’ Don refuse a meeting with his old pal?”

Archibald strolled up to the door and gently knocked. The same slit opened with the same beady eyes. The same gruff voice reverberated as well. “Yes?”

“This is the Majester and more importantly, the Don’s drinking and poker buddy. I have my card now so you can let us in now.”

A second slot on the golden door opened and a large hairy arm grabbed his card. “I’ll take that and check with the er…Don,” the guard said.

Archibald put his hands behind his head. “Law of Adventuring #747: Only take the road less traveled if you’re a bloody poet, take shortcuts and obvious roads whenever you can.”

The guard’s eyes appeared through the slot again and he cleared his throat. “Yeah, the Don says he ain’t accepting anyone right now. Not even you, bub.”

Archibald’s smug smile practically fell off his face. “Wha-why?”

“There’s a lot of chaos in the streets now, and he can’t afford having any of those mindless folk in here. For all we know, you might be one in disguise.”

Archibald let out a comical high pitched growl and began to slam the metal. “I’ll have you know that someone as amazing as me would never need a disguise. Let me in!”

“Sorry bub, no can do. And as of now, you are barred forever from entering.”

The Majester’s fingers slid across the glossy metal as he sunk down. He wordlessly got up, collected his card got up and walked away from the door. “Well, that’s that. I guess,” he said. “Guess we’re not getting in.”

“Oh,” the gruff voice said, making everyone turn around. “Just one moment, Majester. The Don did mention one thing. He said this ‘if the Majester knows the whereabouts of the wandering Prince Coates, let him in. Do you know where Prince Coates is?”

Archibald was silent and Cyrus watched the contemplation on his brow as he thought. The Majester pondered the guard’s words for a second before he spoke again. “Why, what for?”

“The Don did not say. But if you know where the boy is, bring him here and you can have that reunion.”

Cyrus gritted his teeth. This didn’t sound right to him. He prayed Archibald wouldn’t give him away as he stood frozen in place.

“Ah, yes,” Archibald said, his face unflinching and calm. “I’ll keep my eyes peeled for him and let the Don know.”

“Until then,” the voice responded. “You ain’t getting in.”

The Majester nodded his head and put his good arm around Cyrus as they walked back into the now darkening town.

Cyrus let out the breaths he concealed in fear. He did not dare thank the Majester because Antonio was still there and not only did he distrust the young swordsman, he could feel the hate in Antonio’s voice when he spoke about the young prince. The prince began to shiver as he felt the dark specters of greed creeping around them with their singular eyes leering in the shadows. “What are we going to do?” Cyrus asked. “We have no place to stay now that we’re not allowed in the palace. I don’t want the ghosts to get us.”

“Relax my flabby friend,” Antonio said, his face sporting a winsome grin. “You guys can stay in my house. I’ve got some vacancy.”

Cyrus glared at Antonio. “And why should we trust you?”

Van’s brown eyes shuffled between a serious glance at Cyrus to a sweeter look at Antonio. “Cyrus, he saved our lives. I don’t think a swordsman who lives by an honor code would try anything. I would know.”

“Your sword swinging buddy is right,” Antonio said. “I’m much too giving to allow a specter of greed to possess me and besides, you’ve come to town to make things right aren’t you?”

“Sadly we cannot stay much longer,” Archibald responded with a serious look for once. “We have a deadline to catch. I thank you for the hospitality but after we do some further investigating we’ll have to head out.”

“Si,” Antonio nodded with a sad look in his smooth chocolate eyes. “I understand. But I appreciate you ridding one soul of those vile monsters. Tonight I’ll treat you folks to some good food, courtesy of Antonio Corazon.”

“Did you say food?” Cyrus and Archibald both said with looks of hunger in their eyes. One of their stomachs seemed to growl on command too.

Antonio brushed his hair and lifted his hand, pointing it down a street corner. “This way chicos!”

***

Antonio opened a creaky wooden door built into a double-decker shanty town house. “After you, of course,” he said with a gallant look. The three travelers stepped inside and observed Antonio’s humble abode. It wasn’t much. A small wooden table covered with a patchy quilted blanket made up the whole dining room and the kitchen was nothing more than a cobalt pot under an oil stove. There were some drawers and bags of grain piled next to them, but otherwise, the kitchen was bare. A dim candle on the table was the only source of light in the darkened house.

“This is where you’re going to make food?” Cyrus said, his princely attitude overcoming his manners.

“Sometimes the greatest chefs come from the humblest backgrounds,” Archibald said, patting him on the back.

“I’m glad a fellow ladies man understands the struggle,” Antonio responded with his head and expression downcast. “It’s been rough ever since mother left me.”

“You live here alone?” Van asked, her eyes shimmering over Antonio’s pain.

“Si and I’ve had to grow up so fast since mother passed from a horrible disease.”

Cyrus watched Van’s expression. She looked like she was recalling some memories of her own. Her eyes watered and she brushed them. She glared at Cyrus who observed her pained expression and her face grew tough. “Tell me about it,” she said, with her voice deepened to disguise her emotion.

“Anyway, you fellows can wait upstairs as I prepare the dish,” Antonio said. “I prefer my culinary arts to be a secret, that belongs to me…and mama.”

Van looked like she was going to cry again but quickly brushed past him. “Do what you must do,” she said. “You knaves coming with me?”

“Yep,” Archibald said, and followed her along with Cyrus.

Antonio’s bedroom was nothing but two beds and a nightstand. One of them disheveled and one perfectly made. A single window overlooked the narrow street. Only the silver moon light shone on it. The floorboards groaned under the weight of the heroes as they walked upon them.

Archibald leaned across the disheveled bed with an exasperated look. “So it seems we can’t see my old friend after all. But honestly, that’s not the problem that perturbs me. Why does he want our princey poo so badly?”

“I don’t know,” Cyrus responded shaking his head. “Are they really that angry at me?”

“At this moment, I can’t be certain,” Archibald responded. “But as much as I hate to say it, we may need to see the Don.”

“Why? What for?” Van asked, brushing her short bushy hair back.

“There’s something not right in this town, and I have a strong hunch that the Everbloods are behind it. A golden dome doesn’t come out of thin air and if we find them, we may get a lead on where Trinity is.”

“Then how will we get in?” Cyrus asked. “I’m not exactly willing to offer up my hide for this.”

“I’ll have to think that one out,” Archibald responded. “I’m a master tactician but I can’t work on an empty stomach. But here’s a question for you, Cyrus.”

“What is it?”

“Should we tell Mr. Heartbreaker downstairs who you really are? I really think it’s up to you, princey poo. After all, we have no idea how he will react.”

Cyrus thought for a second. He didn’t like Antonio much at all, mostly because he was a lot more handsome and charismatic, but he wasn’t exactly sure how Antonio would react to him. After all, a chivalrous swordsman, no matter how vain, probably wouldn’t up and stab him. The anxiety within Cyrus prevented him from making a clear answer so Van answered instead.

“I say we tell him.”

“What?!” Cyrus exclaimed. “Why?!”

“I know this type of person,” Van said softly. “A person who puts on a mask because they’re afraid of showing their true vulnerabilities. This mask allows them to be strong and accomplish great things and sometimes just function like a regular human being.”

“So you’re saying,” Archibald responded. “This Antonio acts like a fop because he’s really hurting from his mothers death. It does make sense.”

“Yes,” Van said with the dim candle light reflecting in her eyes. “We can trust him.”

“I don’t know,” Cyrus mumbled.

“Take it from me,” Van quickly said, speaking over him. “I know him.”

Footsteps resounded from the bottom of the stairs. Archibald quickly sat up from the bed.“Let’s think more about this after we eat.”

Antonio’s voice echoed from behind the door. “Will a fine muchacho be so kind and open the door. I got my hands full of something extra delicious.”

Van quickly jumped to her feet and ran to the door, leaving Cyrus and Archibald to shrug their shoulders. She opened it excitedly. Standing before her, Antonio held a large platter with four bowls of soup. “Red bean and rice soup, my mama’s favorite recipe.”

Antonio attempted to walk up the final step, but as he did, his foot caught on the stair and his momentum shifted forward. All four bowls and the platter went flying towards Van, along with Antonio’s body. Cyrus hid his face as hot soup splashed all over Van’s face causing her to scream loudly. “Aiiiiieeeee! Hot, hot HOTTTTT!!!!”

Van flailed around wiping the soup from her face and with it her beard came too, causing Antonio’s eyes to grow very wide as he lay on top of her. “My my,” he said, staring at the newly de-bearded Van. “I knew there was a reason I grabbed your hand.”

Antonio Corazon took a bewildered and dazed Van’s hand and kissed it gently. “The pleasure is all mine, my beautiful rose.”