Chapter Text
He was in a cabin, at the end of a path in the woods.
In the basement of that cabin, once, there was a princess.
She is free, and the world is coming to an end.
The jovial contrarian wasn't quite sure what he was waiting for, at first. The last thing he remembered was the mirror, and then he was back in this damned cabin.
Voice of the Contrarian
“Hello? Hero? Choosey? Princess? Anybody home?”
Not a sound, and not a soul except him and that pristine dagger resting innocently on the nearby table. Not even the illusive mirror was there to keep him company. It was just him, the walls, and the dagger.
That lasted about five minutes, before the dagger was sent sailing out the window with an almost triumphant crash. As it had done before, it easily pierced through the window and embedded itself in the ground below.
He’d already missed the third beat, so no sense in wasting more time, right? On the off chance anyone else got back, he could play innocence, and they’d all have a good laugh about him throwing their only defense out the window.
His good mood lasted a little longer, until the boredom set back in. He was a social creature, for goodness’ sake! Maybe the frigid alternative or their decider could handle this oppressive silence, but he wasn’t meant for this.
If he didn’t know any better, he’d have called the whole thing an elaborate prank to shut him up.
He’d hoped something would change at first. A little bit of something to liven things up, you know? This cabin got really spooky with nobody around and it was only slightly less boring. Any mix-up in the passing… (Minutes? Years? Centuries?) would be a welcome one, as far as he was concerned.
Voice of the Contrarian
"Well if uh… Anything out there wants to happen, that would sure be nice!"
He really should’ve known better than that.
His wish was granted, and the eyes of the Contrarian snapped through the window and onto the horizon. His gaze followed it down the sky as it was dragged into the tree line, vanishing amongst the thickets and branches as the sky overhead was enveloped in an unyielding, starless black.
Voice of the Contrarian
"Oh... That's not good at all, is it?"
The sky wasn’t vacant long, before the trees began to go with it. They folded in on themselves, bent back as if they were being dragged down by the roots back into the earth from whence they came.
The grass and soil were soon to follow, rolling in on themselves as the world beneath them ceased to be.
Voice of the Contrarian
"This is all a bit bleak up close, isn't it? I always thought there would be more… I don’t know, fire and brimstone?"
The pathway held out the longest, before it was peeled away like a great strand of ribbon, folding up as the world around it trailed away into the distance.
The door was next.
Voice of the Contrarian
"I guess that means the jokes on me then, eh lads?"
Nobody else laughed, but he did. A hearty, joyous sound that echoed off the shallow cabin walls. Even as regret and loneliness threatened to creep into his voice, he would not let it. If this was the end, he wasn’t going to be a downer.
Even as the walls around him began to peel away into the nothing, it was the only thing he could think to do.
Everything goes dark, but he’s laughing, still.