And Then There Was One

He had been a Prince. He was a Prince in the way that Aladdin was--in that he wasn’t born into it, but he made himself into one. But without the help of a magical genie. He’d been born on a farm as a hunter in a strange land they called Tennessee. Except the man who ran the farm was evil, and he tortured and starved the hunters to make them meaner so they would try to rip the beasts apart. But the soon-to-be-Prince didn’t want to kill, and he was tired of being hurt and hungry. So he fled, and there were so many hunters that the farm owner never even noticed he was missing. The woman who found him on her doorstep, looking up at her with his big, brown, broken eyes, had no choice but to take him in. And soon after that he was given to the Kingdom that made him into the Prince. 

And in that Kingdom he met, and fell in love with, Alpha. Alpha was short, blonde and perky, but powerful--which is where he received the title of Alpha. The Prince told him of his frightful misadventures. He only ever told Alpha--no one else. Alpha promised him a good life there in the Kingdom of Sparrow, as he had been so hurt and sick himself when he’d arrived he’d almost died. The people of the Kingdom had refused to let him go and worked so hard to save him. And it had worked, obviously. 

The Prince was so excited to be in that Kingdom that he ate all the food, the furniture and even the carpet. He’d run laps around the main room because he was finally free. And though the people there still sometimes frightened him, he was slowly realizing that they could never hurt him. 

Sooner or later Alpha and the Prince weren’t alone any longer. The people brought home the Knight. He was at first small and fragile. He had also been rescued by the Kingdom, though his tale was less grim than the Prince’s, or even Alpha’s. But the people couldn’t resist taking him in when they met him outside of a place called Wendy’s in an equally strange land known as Marion. He grew and developed the title of Knight because he very quickly learned to protect those around him. 

Except Alpha hated him. He hated the way he followed the Prince around, the way he tried to look after Alpha, who needed no one’s protection. And now the Prince was occupied showing this little Knight around. But he always loved Alpha the deepest. 

The Knight grew up to be strong and stubborn--stubborn to a fault. He looked after the people in the Kingdom with a fierceness that was even more outstanding than Alpha’s own fire. Anyone who dared come close to the Kingdom heard the Knight’s great roar. So much so that they had to lock him away when they had guests. Unable to see the people he loved most and terrified of these strangers, he roared and whined as loud as he could, not understanding that they were safe and would let him out if only he would be friendly to their guests. 

And then there was Artemus Gordon. Named after a beloved television character from the sixties, he was a wild, curious being who could never be properly tamed. He was without a doubt the obnoxious young one, and somehow Alpha loved him. But the Knight didn’t trust him--not right away. 

Artemus had been through horrible times too, but the Prince did not share his own experience, for what he thought would always haunt his dreams had begun to fade from existence and he did not feel the need to share it with anyone other than his beloved Alpha. 

They were all a little intrigued by Artemus. He was little but feisty. He’d jump at the Prince who was now old enough that he wasn’t interested in play. He’d run through Alpha’s territory, despite his screaming at him to get out. Even the Prince didn’t go into Alpha’s sacred spot, but Artemus would run through, Alpha would scream at him, he’d run back out, circle the area, then run right through again. 

Artemus didn’t really remember what his last people had done to him. Left him for dead, tied to a post by his neck outside where their Kingdom had been. But people found him, kept him safe, then brought him to this new Kingdom. He didn’t remember almost dying, but he did remember being left by one People, handed off by a second...he feared for so long that the people in this new Kingdom would leave him too. And sometimes they did--for hours nearly every day. And even though he had the company of Alpha, the Prince and the Knight, he longed for the others to return and continue to love him unconditionally. 

But this peace didn’t last forever. 

Alpha died the night of May third, 2015. 

The Prince was devastated. He cried for Alpha as the people of the Kingdom went to bury him up on the hill. His cries set off the cries of Artemus. The Knight didn’t know what to do. He was sad, but laid on a sofa and watched the others without a sob himself. 

The Prince was depressed for weeks. The people of the Kingdom did their best to comfort him, but it did little to help. They were terrified of his deeply depressed state. But ever so slowly he grew less sad. He looked back fondly on the memories, and still had the love of the Knight, Artemus and the people of the Kingdom. 

As time wore on the Knight’s legs grew tired. A strange pain ran through his hips, his joints. Sometimes he got his own little treats, and then began to feel better. He didn’t realize the special things he got were helping. But they could only last for so long...he grew so achy that even standing up hurt. He’d slip on the floors of the palace and the people of Sparrow would have to lift him up because he could no longer stand on his own. Sometimes Artemus would shout words of encouragement, or he’d run for help if no one was around when he fell. 

But it grew to be too much. 

He spent most days in his bed. He didn’t have the physical strength to protect, but he never lost his will. Every time the Prince or Artemus warned of something strange nearby, the Knight shouted threats too. Those strange things didn’t know he could barely stand--and they never would. 

But his suffering was too much for the people of Sparrow to watch. And he was ordered to sleep. It was peaceful though. He laid on a blanket in an only mildly strange place (he’d been here before, but never for long). He fell asleep as he received all the love in the world--all the attention solely on him. His pain began to fade away into the afternoon. Despite Alpha’s previous hatred for him, he greeted him at the doors of the Kingdom, where he could still watch over them all, even if they didn’t know it. 

The Prince noticed the emptiness of the Knight’s bed, but didn’t believe he was gone. Sometimes he even thought he saw him. But the obvious sadness of the people made him worry. But he knew it would be alright. Artemus, however, couldn’t stand the fact that the Knight was suddenly gone. He looked all over the Kingdom for him, crying out as he did. The people would touch him and reassure him, but they were crying again and Artemus knew it wasn’t alright. 

He slept beside the Knight’s old bed. It still smelled of him. He’d leave a paw up on it and cry himself to sleep. He knew the others watched him do this, but they let him be. The Prince laid by the fans, as the coolness of March was turning into summer, and he soon started to sleep on the Knight’s old bed, as no one else was there to occupy it. And he didn’t think the Knight would mind.

It was a bittersweet summer. For some reason the people of the Kingdom were no longer leaving. They stayed there all the time. They worked in their rooms and on the couch or on the porch in the sun. Artemus enjoyed following each of them around, never able to decide who he wanted to be with the most. The Mom went into her room or on the porch--sometimes letting him follow. The Son left his door closed, but sometimes Artemus would stay in there just a little while--he’d normally get kicked out after he investigated what was in the trash. He enjoyed the lower levels because they were cooler, and the Daughter who stayed down there was home too. She’d begun leaving for months on end but was back and didn’t seem to be leaving anytime soon. She let him into her room alongside the Prince, whom she obviously cared for most. She’d been the main caretaker for Alpha, so the Prince was particularly fond of her himself. Not to mention they’d grieved together and had become even closer. He took her seemingly random leaving rather hard--going into his deep depressive and confused state again, often staring at walls and standing in front of her door waiting for her to open it--but was always ecstatic when she returned, as she had now. 

But they all missed the Knight. 

Soon enough the Prince and Artemus were not afraid to sleep in the Knight’s bed. It was big and comfortable. It was a therapeutic bed, meant to have helped keep the Knight comfortable. And what was best, a member of the Kingdom gifted to them his softest blanket. 

The Prince was practically in love with this blanket. 

He spent his last few days on it. 

***

Artemus stood in the main room of the Kingdom. Mom sat on the corner of the couch to his right, staring at something bright. The Daughter to his left, a comic book in her hands, but the sad look on her face told him she’d be retreating to her chambers soon. She hated seeing the Prince’s bed empty. And Dad sat in his swaying, soft chair, a book with a light in his own hands. Artemus did what he always did. He nudged Mom, then nudged the Daughter--walking onwards before she could look up and smile at him. Then he nudged Dad, who briefly looked over his book. The last thing he had to touch before he could sleep was the trash can. It was big and wooden and heavy and made a loud clonking noise when he closed it. He didn’t clonk it too loudly this time--since everyone was sad and lethargic. 

Artemus walked around the back of the couch before retreating to the smallest bed in front of the fireplace. This bed had been gifted by the people for the Prince. He’d slept on it once or twice while he was sick, but he liked the big bed better. He could stretch out on it as far as he could go, plus his soft blanket was usually there too. But now the Prince was gone. He’d left the way his manner in the world was--gently. 

He and Alpha were together. 

Artemus couldn’t sleep on the bed. It now smelled of the Prince, who he also could not find. When he went outside he turned to look for the Prince, to urge him forward as he had for seven years. But he wasn’t there. 

Remembering there were baskets of clean laundry behind the couch, Artemus got up, touched everyone again. He began to pull the laundry out of the baskets, knocking one clean over. He heard someone fussing at him, but he knew that was all they’d do. They didn’t even seem to have the energy to sound annoyed with him. 

He relished in the wonderful scent of the clean laundry. He stretched out over it, rolled around in it. He had always been the biggest of the four, and could stretch out the furthest. 

He began to doze off, though he was aware of the daughter walking by him towards the stairs. She chuckled at him, patted his head, then retreated. 

Artemus didn’t know what would happen next. He desperately missed Alpha, the Knight and now the Prince. The coolness of fall was coming in, and soon the fireplace would be on. He loved the fireplace…but he had no idea what was to come, if he’d ever see the others again. He didn’t know that in a month’s time the people of the Kingdom would bring home another little prince--this one a boxer named Apollo who would look up to Artemus in a way that the others hadn’t. He’d have someone to look for when he went outside, he’d have someone to play with every night and to snuggle with in the sun during the day...

But for the moment, for the first time in his life it was just him. 

There was only one.