Hope ya'll enjoy this! brought in a character you might be familiar with...

The sun had disappeared by the next day.Cold bit at Marisa and Fritz as they stomped through the snow, their lips freezing, and their body's shivering. Fritz trampled ahead, his face set in a determined expression. They had left earlier that morning and had been walking for hours now. It was hard to remember but he was almost sure they had been on their way for three days. They only had a little while until they made it to Wandalia. The snow was soft, and it billowed up behind them as they walked. He stole a glance at Marisa, she was staring ahead blankly. He focused his attention ahead once more.

***

Soon later they broke into a clearing, a village, not huge, but bigger than theirs, stood. The small houses and shops were lined neatly and it seemed almost deserted. They locked eyes, then glanced at the biggest building in the middle, clearly an inn. “Should we go in?” Marisa whispered, her face scrunched in the cold. “I think so.” Fritz responded, though he too was uneasy. They stomped ahead, wrapping themselves tighter in their jackets. As they neared they could see a lively fire blazed inside, sending strips of orange dancing on the windows. They walked onto the creaky porch and knocked. The door was flung open, and a stout buck clad in an apron stood before them. He was laughing heartily at a buck at the counter before turning to them. His eyes widened with shock, and he raced away as screams filled the room ahead. He returned with a broom, brandishing it like a sword. “Whoah!” Fritz exclaimed backing in front of Marisa. “What's this about!”

“Are ye an imposter!” The chef asked, his frenzied eyes scanning them. “What do you mean!” Marisa exclaimed from behind. “All the cididals are open to anyone!”

“No we isn’t.” The buck said, clearly confused. “We all been having orders to stay in ours own.”

“What! Why?” Fritz asked, moving away from Marisa to show he wasn’t hiding anything. “How long have ye been on the road?” the buck asked. “About six days sir.” Marisa responded. The chefs eyes went wider. “Come in quickly!” he said, shuffling into the inn. The tramped in. The air was warmer then Fritz was comfortable with. He glanced around. In the right side of the room a hearty fire blazed, four rabbits were sitting around it in large chairs. On the other side of the room was a large kitchen and bar, where only one buck sat. He was brown with dark eyes. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked ill. And in the very back of the room were two large doors which Fritz assumed led into the many rooms. “Come sit.” The chef said. “I will make tea.”

“Forgive us,” Marisa said, “We haven't introduced ourselves, I’m Marisa Potter, and this is Fritz Vlum.”

“Why hello! I’m Cottney, and this here is William, William Shanks.” The brown buck nodded solemnly. They waited silently for a minute while Cottney made their tea. When he was done he scooped four lumps of sugar into each, causing them to wince. He slid the glasses over to them. “So, Tell us,” Fritz said, taking a sip of his tea, trying not to spit it out. “Why are the ciditals staying in one palace?” Cottney grimaced at William and Fritz stole a peek at him. His face had gone expressionless and tears had filled his eyes. He Slammed his glass on the counter. “All be wive my son.” He said, his words were slurred, as Charlies had often been and as he tripped away Fritz could tell he was extremely drunk. He refocused his attention to Cottney. “Sorry,” Cottney said, “Shank’s wife was killed in the afterterrors, he only has his son, whom his is not fond of.”

“Oh.”

“What are the after terrors?” Marisa asked. Cottney’s eyes filled with tears. “Ya really don know?”

“No.”

Cottney looked away with a cough. “The world is falling apart! Bleston left, and the king…. The king was killed by Morbin Blackhawk.”

The king was dead…. How would they survive!

Fritz stood abruptly and dug in a small bag at his side. “Two rooms please.” He said, slapping some coins on the counter. The buck nodded and handed him two keys. Fritz through one lightly at Marisa before walking to the doors at the end. He shuffled through them and finding his room he shut the door in Marisa’s face. She looked hurt by this action but he didn’t really care.

The king is dead.

He flopped onto his bed, not bothering to change into fresh clothes by his bed. He let the tears fall. Nothing was going right. First his family, now this!

He let himself drift into oblivious sleep, dreaming of nothing but darkness.