Chapter Text
Yakko would never forget the night he had everything taken away from him.
He used to be a prince, son of King William and Queen Angelina The Second, older brother of Prince Wakko and Princess Angelina The Third- or just Dot (call her Dottie and you die). They were all one happy family.
That would all change in the most tragic way possible.
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Yakko lay in his bed, having been tucked in. From the other room, he could hear his mother singing a lullaby to his one year old sister, Dot.
“Little baby, hear my voice
I'm beside you, O maiden fair
Our young Lady, grow and see
Your land, your own faithful land
Sun and moon, guide us
To the hour of our glory and honor
Little baby, our young Lady
Noble maiden fair.”
Just as Yakko was about ready to fall asleep, he heard crashing and jolted awake. He had a bad feeling in his gut.
Jumping out of bed, he opened his door and ran out to the source of the noise as fast as he could, his heart beating rapidly and his stomach twisting.
He could hear the voices of multiple men storming inside the castle and screams from the servants as gunshots went off. Just as he turned the hallway, he bumped into his mother, who looked terrified.
“Mom? What’s going on?” Yakko asked, his voice strained from fear.
Angelina knelt down to his level, hands on his shoulders, and a grim, serious look on her face.
“Yakko, I need you to find your siblings and run out of the castle as fast as you can without being seen.”
Yakko didn’t like this. He was only six, why was he suddenly being bombarded with the responsibility that no child should have to endure?
“Where’s dad?”
Angelina sighed and looked down to avoid eye contact.
“I don’t know, darling. That’s why I need you to get you and your siblings out of here immediately.”
Before Yakko could ask anything else, they heard the sounds of running footsteps and voices approaching further down the hallway. Angelina looked behind her, where she could see the shadows of figures on the walls before turning her attention back to Yakko.
“Yakko, go.”
“But mom-“
“Now!”
At his mother’s desperate tone, Yakko turned the other direction and ran further down to Wakko’s room, which was closer to his. He hoped his little brother was okay.
Without bothering to knock, Yakko burst open the door and all but sprinted to Wakko’s bed, who woke up looking startled and confused.
“Wakko, get up! We have to find Dot and run!”
“Wha-?” Wakko began, but Yakko grabbed his hand and ran them out, stopping when he heard someone say his mother’s name.
“Where are they, Angelina?”
It was a man’s voice, but it wasn’t his dad. It made Yakko’s blood run cold over how sinister it sounded.
“Like hell I’d tell you, Salazar!” Angelina responded, her voice defiant, “When William gets here, you’ll be-“
“Oh, I don’t need to worry about him, he was already taken care of.” Salazar gloated with an evil chuckle.
Both Yakko and Angelina’s eyes widened.
“Salazar, you didn’t...”
“His last words were, ‘please spare my wife and children’.”
Angelina gasped in horror and Yakko felt his eyes begin to water with tears from the dreaded realization: his father was dead.
“Salazar you monster!” Angelina yelled, her own tears streaming down her face.
“You can join him if you’d like, and so will your brats once I find them too.” Salazar snarled.
“You can burn in hell before I’d ever tell you where my children are, you bastard.” Angelina hissed.
There was a finger snap, then a gunshot, and then a thud to the floor.
Time seemed to stop for Yakko, the only sounds he could hear were his heart beating and the ringing in his ears, before he heard Wakko’s voice.
“Mummy?!”
Yakko quickly slapped his hand over Wakko’s mouth, but it was too late. He had been heard.
“That must be one of the kids, kill it and then find the other two!” Salazar ordered.
Without wasting another second, Yakko picked up his three year old brother and ran as fast his little legs could carry him, the heavy footsteps of knights following behind.
He turned a corner and hid behind a potted plant as the soldiers ran past them, uncovering Wakko’s mouth once they were gone.
“Yakko, where’s mummy and daddy?” Wakko asked, tears in his eyes.
Yakko swallowed the painful lump in his throat before answering, “There’s no time, Wakko, we have to get out of here quickly and quietly,”
Still carrying Wakko, Yakko ran again and was about to turn another hallway when he heard a baby cry.
Dot.
Yakko swiftly turned around and ran back to where Dot’s nursery was, praying he got to her before Salazar and his men did.
The door was already open when Yakko had finally reached her room, and he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach when he couldn’t hear anymore crying. They had already found her.
Running inside, he set Wakko down and looked inside Dot’s crib, only to see it was empty. He began looking under the crib, behind her pile of toys, hoping she had somehow crawled out and hid before the guards came in.
She was nowhere to be found.
Choking back a sob, Yakko got up and grabbed Wakko’s hand, checking the hallways to make sure they were alone, then ran again. All he had left was his younger brother, and he’d be damned if he lost him too.
Wakko had not said anything just as Yakko instructed, too scared and confused. He covered his mouth with his hand to stifle his cries. What happened to his parents? Where was his baby sister? Who were those men? Why was their castle being raided?
The brothers found their way into the living room that had luckily been untouched. Yakko opened the window and looked down. The ground wasn’t too far, but he still needed something to scale so he wouldn’t fall.
He looked around until he saw the green blanket on the couch, deciding it would have to do. Grabbing it, he could smell his parents’ scents on the fabric and felt his heart break. He then tied one end of the blanket to a wooden stand, tugging it to make sure it wouldn’t come undone, then ordered Wakko to climb onto his back.
Opening the window, he held on to the blanket and carefully climbed down. Just as he made it to the ground, a piece of the blanket tore off. Yakko was about ready to discard it, until he remembered it was the last reminder of his parents, and instead tied it around his neck like a scarf.
With Wakko still clinging on his back, Yakko ran into the woods and didn’t slow down, even when he could no longer see the castle.
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The brothers ended up in a town called Acme Falls and Yakko decided it would be safe to stay here for a while until they were no longer in danger.
Yakko looked around when he spotted an orphanage and walked forward, knocking on the door. He heard the door being unlocked from inside and then a nun peeked her head out.
“I’m sorry, but we’re closed for tonight. You’ll have to come back to-“ she stopped when she looked down and saw a young toon boy, no older than six, carrying a younger toon on his back.
“Oh, you poor dears! Come in, come, come.” she gently ushered them inside and locked the door behind her. Wordlessly, she took Yakko’s free hand and led him to one of the bedrooms. The questions would have to wait till morning.
Once settled down, she kindly asked if they were hungry or thirsty. When they silently shook their heads no, she tucked them in and bid goodnight.
Yakko couldn’t sleep though, the events still playing in his head. It had all happened so quickly that he didn’t have time to process until now.
And Wakko seemed to catch on as well.
“Yakko?”
“Yes, Wakko?”
“We’re never gonna see mummy and daddy again, are we?” Wakko asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.
Unable to hold back his tears any longer, Yakko shook his head and began crying, Wakko joining along with him. They held each other and cried themselves to sleep.
In one night, the two brothers had lost everything: Their home, their parents, and their baby sister.