(Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) Tulgey Wood Written by Will Sproul Copyright (c) 2026 Draft information Contact information (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) INT. DEFUNCT CASTLE/CHAPEL - DAY A vast empty hall-- it is unclear what the building's original purpose might have been, but it is obvious that whatever it was those days are long past. Bright, verdant ivy crawls up the wall, and mounds of miscellaneous filth litter the floor, scattered in a sea of mud, moss, and murky puddles. PLIP. PLOP PLOP. PLOP. PLIP. Water drips from an unseen ceiling, echoing in the oppressive silence. A stream of cold daylight shoots through high, glassless windows, dappling the scene with unsteady ribbons. In the middle of it all is an island of glittering trash, scrap metal, and stacks of books. The island slopes upward towards a sort of dais, on top of which rests a makeshift throne constructed from plywood scraps and traffic cones. Sitting on the throne is our KING, an ancient, cross-eyed, toothless puppet (PUPPET) that is mostly eyebrow. Flies BUZZ around his head. The king is humming a tune quietly, and as we draw closer he begins to murmur the lyrics: KING: off-tune ( ) 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves... and the slivy toves... did gyre and gimble- The King breaks off into a sudden and insane CACKLE, which which resolves into a soft WHEEZE, before continuing: KING: (cont'd) Yes yes....the silthy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe, and all mimsy...yes... all mimsy were the borogoves and the mome raths, the mome raths outgrabe! The King cackles again, but this time it ends in a cough. It is clear he is a few stitches short of an Elmo. Off-screen there is the echo of creaking hinges and a series of approaching footsteps. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) The King takes some time to notice, staring off into the distance. He snaps alert. KING: (cont'd) loud and regal ( ) MY SON! We see the PRINCE kneeling before him-- a dark-haired, frazzled man (human) shirtless except for a loud, multi- colored blazer and an equally obnoxious tie-- a look complemented by a pair of tattered khaki shorts better left without description. Makeshift armor which appears to be fashioned out of tin trash-can lids and various cookware is strapped across his body, complete with roller-skating shin guards. He is thin but a little pudgy around the center, an even poorer man's Don Quixote. The King stands and raises his hands. KING: (cont'd) Beware the Jabberwock! The King shuffles over to one side of his junk pile, and begins rummaging. KING: (cont'd) The jaws that bite! The king stops rummaging to throw his hands up. KING: (cont'd) The claws that catch! He turns and reaches out to the Prince, miming claws with a shaky dramatic flair. He walks to the other side and begins to rummage again. KING: (cont'd) Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious- EEGH! He is cut off as he falls forward, sucked into the trash in his overeager search. 2. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) He emerges ruffled but victorious a moment later, holding aloft a gold painted baseball bat with a large dent in the middle. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) KING: (cont'd) The FRUMIOUS Bandersnatch! The King cackles and makes his way shakily back to stand in front of his throne. A huge fly lands on his eyelid and makes its way over his face, rubbing its legs together fiendishly. The King doesn't seem to mind. KING: (cont'd) Come hither, come hither, and recieve this fine vorpally sword, which your most frillious Great Aunt Bulby did wield gainst' the Billybag Hamster, may she rest long hereafter. Yes, most frillious was she. The Prince stands solemnly and takes a step forward, but not nearly close enough for the King to reach. KING: (cont'd) More hither. The Prince steps closer, but it is still not enough. The king grumbles and shuffles forward, having to stretch up awkwardly to reach the Prince's shoulders with the bat. He shakily manages to knight the Prince with the 'vorpal sword'. The Prince nods and squeezes his eyes as if nothing has ever been more important to him. The King holds out the bat and the Prince solemnly takes it. KING: (cont'd) Now you are the most bocky and strong knight in all the lands. The door hinge squeaks loudly into the empty space again and a series of pattering footsteps approach. SQUIRE ONE (PUPPET) comes up to the king, bowing a long mangy-white head of hair repeatedly. It is dressed in a dirtied, frilly wedding dress. It bears a platter holding a large stiff rodent (PUPPET) topped with what looks to be neat parsley garnish. Large fleas jump around on the plate. 3. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) SQUIRE ONE: (squeaky, rat-like voice) My liege, you jingled the bell. Here is thine suppers. I prepareds it myself. KING: No such bell was jingled you SWINE, you borgling MAGGOT. Back, back with you to the cellar! The king swats his hand vaguely in the squire's direction, and picks up a piece of junk to throw at it. SQUIRE ONE: squealing as he runs ( ) Yes, yes, my liege, at once, of course. His Majestys is the fairest of them all. The king's projectiles follow the squire as it scurries from the hall. The king resumes his throne. KING: Go, my Prince. All the peoples in my lands have gathered at the door in farewell. Take thy noble steed and golywop through the tolgey wood. The King claps slowly and arrhythmical. The lone sound rings awkwardly through the hall as the Prince turns proudly towards the door and makes his exit. EXT. CASTLE GATE - DAY We see the Prince's head and shoulders bob up and down as he rides nobly through the gate in a paper princely crown, looking for all the world like a brave Arthurian knight. Triumphant MUSIC plays, there is YELLING and CHEERING- our brave hero is setting off on his journey. Reality hits as we widen our view to see the full picture: the Prince's 'noble steed' is an old rusted bicycle. All of the Kingdom's subjects are indeed here: but it is only SQUIRE ONE and SQUIRE TWO. Squire Two is identical to Squire One in every way except its hair goes up. The Prince wobbles along unsteadily as his two subjects yell maniacally. 4. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) Squire One holds a sign with a crossed out crown in red; Squire Two holds one with a crown in green. Squire One jeers while Squire Two cheers. Clearly this is a kingdom deeply divided. SQUIRE ONE: BOOO! BOOOSS! Homerule, homerule! Down with the stinky king! Down with the glibby Princy! The Prince wobbles toward Squire One while raising his bat. SQUIRE ONE: (cont'd) Power to the Squireses! Power to the tules and mimces and- THWACK. The Prince bonks the Squire solidly on the head. SQUIRE ONE: (cont'd) ABUSE! ABUSE! The Prince awkwardly dismounts his steed and WHACKS the Squire on the ground with a sickening crunch, then once more for good measure. The Squire is silent. Squire Two CHEERS even louder out of fear for its life. The Prince hobbles back onto the bike and pedals slowly down the path to the entrance to the forest, order reinstated. EXT. FOREST - DAY The forest is dense and impossibly verdant, with huge, almost prehistoric undergrowth. Flowers bloom from large stalks above like prismatic neon signs. Old, mossy stone walls line the edges of the path. The forest is littered with the rusted husks of cars bicycles. Piles of tires and miscellaneous junk peek out from under the growth. This is an Earth that has become unrecognizable. The Prince pedals slowly forward, holding his bat over his shoulder like a lance. As he progresses the forest deepens- the trees grow larger and higher, the light darker and colder. 5. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) A road crossing warning sign is ahead- its been scribbled over with a marker depiction of a creature somewhere between a boar and an elephant, with six legs and a trunk. RATHS CROSSING: BEWARE. The Prince stares at the sign for several moments. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) A strange RUMBLING noise comes from the brush to the right. BUH. BUH. BUH BUH. BUH BUH BUH. A whole herd of RATHS (PUPPET) stampede out of the brush. The Prince manages to leap off the bike and out of the way just in time, but his 'loyal steed' is swept off in the stampede. He winces and clutches at his arm, clearly injured in his escape. The Prince stands and begins to wander forward. He becomes increasingly paranoid; his eyes dart around him; strange noises come from above and around; he sees quick flashes of movement in the corner of his eyes. EXT. FOREST - SOMETIME LATER The Prince is limping slowly along the path, his eyes sunken and his movements slow. He has clearly been walking for some time. The forest has grown even more menacing, the trees black, the stone walls higher and more claustrophobic. He comes to a fork; both paths are so dense that he can't see more than a few feet down either one. He sits down, defeated, and his stomach grumbles dramatically. VOICE (O.S.): Oy! Oy! You down there! 6. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) The Prince looks up in surprise. VOICE (O.S.): (cont'd) Yes! You! Whats got you so gloomy and sunky! The source of the voice flutters down from above. It is a strange BIRD CREATURE, with a wrinkled, almost human face. The Prince scrambles backwards in fear, raising his bat. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) BIRD CREATURE: No need for that, none at all. I only want to know what your trouble is. The Prince's stomach growls in answer. BIRD CREATURE: (cont'd) Ah, ah, you need the grubs. Its the Tumtum tree you'll be wanting. The creature nods knowingly. BIRD CREATURE: (cont'd) Yes, yes, the Tumtum tree will give you the grubs and all the rest of it too. Never anything more good for a sulking than the Tumtum tree. The Prince stands cautiously, bat at the ready. BIRD CREATURE: (cont'd) Come, come, I'll show you the way. Its down this path. Its very dark. Won't make it without me. The creature starts hopping down the path on the right. The Prince follows reluctantly. BIRD CREATURE: (cont'd) You are very very lucky man. Lucky I found you. None knows these paths better than I. Lots of hungry borogoves and scallytwicks around this way; but they won't bother us none, not at all. Know better than to bother me. The path grows almost pitch black; bio luminescent plants are the only source of light, gleaming from the shadows in blue and green. 7. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) BIRD CREATURE: (cont'd) Ah, here we are. The Tumtum. Yes yes, very goodly grubs here. Nothing better for the sulky man. Trust me. The Tumtum tree stands ahead; from its boughs hang glowing, spectacular blue fruits. Its trunk is covered in soft moss - perfect for a nap. The Prince picks a fruit and examines it hungrily. He turns around and looks for the Bird Creature, but it is nowhere to be found. Confused, but overwhelmed by hunger and exhaustion, the Prince digs into the fruit. Its juices cover his face and hands, and the surrounding trees begin to waver softly in his vision. He sinks to the ground and rests against the tree. The Prince falls asleep. EXT. NEXT TO THE TUMTUM TREE - DAY The Prince awakes to a crowd of CREATURES, cute but strange and almost mutated animals. Confused and still under the influence of the fruit he lifts his head. CREATURE ONE: whispering ( ) Oh, quickly now, he's waking up! CREATURE TWO: Distract him, distract him! The creatures begin to dance around and sing in a chorus. CREATURES (TOGETHER): SINGING ( ) We are the Borogoves! We dance and bungle and fry! We are the Borogoves! We steep and stumble around the Tumtum treee! The creatures perform an entire musical number, with solos and disembodied drums. The Prince smiles happily, completely stoned and entranced. He even begins to nod along to the beat He feels something tug at his hand and looks down. 8. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) The Bird Creature is holding his bloody severed finger in its beak. It CACKLES in horrifying glee in time to the music. The Prince blinks rapidly. PRINCE: JUBJUB. He grabs the baseball bat. BIRD CREATURE: AHH! AHH! MONTAGE: The Prince bashes each the cute, happy, singing animals to death, starting with the JubJub bird, as he is progressively covered in gore, stuffing, and feathers. He finishes out of breath and looking completely deranged. END MONTAGE. The Prince HUFFS and PUFFS. He glances around at the carnage before coming to an awareness of his missing digit. He looks at it with wide-eyed horror and disbelief. A minute fountain of blood squirts out of it. Coming to his senses (relatively speaking), with his un- injured hand he rips off his horrid necktie and with his teeth tears it in half. One half he wraps around the stump to staunch the bleeding. The immediate concern dealt with, he drops to his knees and begins scrounging around in the mud for his finger. After a few seconds of scraping at the dirt, he checks near the JubJub's corpse. The finger is sticking out of the JubJub's beak, and like King Arthur of old he grasps the finger firmly with both hands and with great effort wrenches it from the death-grip. Triumphant, he wraps the finger in the other half of his garish, terrible necktie, and limps off. EXT. FURTHER DOWN THE PATH - DAY The Prince stumbles along, clutching his injured hand to his chest. He is still covered in gore, detritus, and dirt. His Vorpal blade is slung over his shoulder. 9. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) The forest around him is no longer dark, rays of sunshine shooting through the trees at a slant. It is nearing evening. The walls on the sides of the road have been replaced by a thick, verdant hedge. The Prince COUGHS, and SMACKS his gray, dry lips together loudly. He is thirsty. The path narrows, the hedges pushing in on all sides. It isn't long before the Prince has to turn sideways in order to traverse the path. The path widens, then drops down into a thick murky bog. At the opposite end of the bog is a strange sight: blocking the path is a KNIGHT (puppet) whose body seems to consist of two conjoined torsos, arms and a head on each end. The lower arms are acting as legs, holding the creature upright, while the upper arms hold a flail and buckler shield. UPPER MOUTH: (loudly) A new CHALLENGER to my grotto of eternal punishment! Mind your step, there's BONES about -- The bones of the DEAD ! LOWER MOUTH: (sulking) Our grotto. Several large, inhuman skulls and bones bubble ominously to the surface of the bog. UPPER MOUTH: Step forth, if you dare sir, and receive your DOOM! He flails his flail menacingly. The Prince eyes the knight warily and draws the Vorpal blade from his back, but hesitates to step into the disgusting, bubbling cesspool before him. LOWER MOUTH: I'm quite sure it was my turn to be the arms... UPPER MOUTH: Come now, step forth, and let me taste the mettle of thy steel. A bubble bursts beneath the knight, filling the lower mouth with mud. 10. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) LOWER MOUTH: Pfght! Plucch! Utter hogwash. No wonder he doesn't wish to come forth into this ballygreen bog! Disgusting. UPPER MOUTH: Silence, nethermouth! He strikes him across the face with his shield arm. LOWER MOUTH: Nethermouth! I will not stand for this! The knight begins to sway and wobble, the lower mouth's arms trying to pitch the knight forwards in such a way as to plunge the upper mouth into the mud first. The upper mouth wildly wheels its arms to maintain balance. UPPER MOUTH: To your duty, or we'll both be in the mud! Between the mouths' bickering, a faint tinkle can be heard, like the course of a stream. The Prince tilts his head and begins to investigate the hedge to his right. The lower mouth stabilizes the situation. LOWER MOUTH: Fine! But don't blame me if you find yourself headfirst in the bog tonight! UPPER MOUTH: NOW challenger, I am prepared! Be not a coward and face the bockiest knight these lands have ever beheld! He flails his flail. The Prince, unbothered, begins to slash through the hedge with his golden bat towards the sound of the stream. UPPER MOUTH: (cont'd) Nay! Nay! don't go that way! The Prince is now halfway into the hedge. 11. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) UPPER MOUTH: (cont'd) You have no idea what's out there! (To the lower mouth) QUICK! After him, my steed! The knight does not budge. LOWER MOUTH: Not on my life! Not until you apologize! The upper mouth begins slapping and hitting at his lower half. UPPER MOUTH: MOVE! You dog, you cur! He hits him square in his section of belly with the flail. LOWER MOUTH: OOFH! Now you've done it. The knight goes down in the bog, kicking and hitting itself. UPPER MOUTH: Incorrigible lower head! OOF! Lower mouth lands a right hook. LOWER MOUTH: Cheat! Devil! Usurp- The Prince ventures fully into the hedge, the sounds of the battle receding behind him. INT. HEDGE - DAY The hedge is impossibly large, thick leaves and vines blocking the way like a jungle. The Prince uses the golden bat to hack his way through like a machete. He feels a tap on his shoulder. Behind him is a small, green, incredibly simple hand- puppet -- a TULE, dweller of the hedge. TULE ONE: Oi. Oi. Oi, mate, what're you doing? 12. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) The Prince ignores him and keeps cutting through. TULE ONE: (cont'd) Going right through my living room mate, can't be doing that now, can you? The Prince swings with renewed vigor. A SECOND TULE pops out of the brush behind the first. SECOND TULE: Henry, Henry what's going on? Whats all that noise? She sees the Prince and darts behind the first Tule. SECOND TULE: (cont'd) Oh! Henry, do something! He's destroying our living room! HENRY (TULE ONE): Don't worry about it darling, I've got it under control. Be a doll and go on and wake the boys, will you? SECOND TULE: But Henry- HENRY: Just go, alright? The second Tule nods mutely, then dashes off. HENRY: (cont'd) Now mate, I'm sure you don't mean any harm, but you're scaring the missus, and making a real muck of my house. Why don't you go on and go back out the way you came, nice and easy? The wild, injured, tired Prince shoots him a look dark with murderous rage, then sullenly plows on, the growing sound of the stream pulling him forward. Henry grasps the Prince by the shoulder. HENRY: (cont'd) Now look, I think I've been quite reasonable- The Prince turns and swings wildly with the bat after being touched. 13. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) Henry gets the full of it in his stomach and falls to the ground, twitching. SECOND TULE: (O.S.) HENRY! She rushes towards Henry's prone, twitching form. SECOND TULE: Henry, my love... (turning to the Prince) You, you monster... how could you?! My poor, sweet Henry... The Prince backs away with small, halting steps. Henry lets out a series of tortured gasps and wheezes, before going limp. The second Tule lets out a cry of rage and grief. SECOND TULE: (cont'd) BOYS, BOYS, HES KILLED YOUR FATHER! She sobs into Henry's corpse. A series of voices resound from the bush. TULE BOY ONE: He what?! Dad's dead!? TULE BOY TWO: You hear that?! It can't be true! TULE BOY THREE: Who'd wanna kill da'? The Prince turns and sprints away into the bush, doing his best to push through the branches with his hands. TULE BOY ONE: Oi! Don't let him get away! Numerous Tules descend on the Prince, grasping, strangling, yanking and pulling. The Prince fights and shakes them off, swinging his hands and bat wildly, the sound of the Tule mother's sobs following after him. TULE BOYS (TOGETHER): GET HIM! PUT OUT HIS BLOODY EYES! HE KILLED DAD! 14. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) One of the Tules gets a good grip on his head, and it seems as though he might be done for, the fingers of the Tule reaching down into his eyes, applying greater and greater pressure. PRINCE: HUHG! At the last second he manages to pry the Tule off him and stumbles forward, but they've still got hold of his jacket. He slips out of it and rushes forward through the leaves. EXT. RIVERSIDE - DAY The Prince crashes out of the hedge and tumbles down a small hill. He is covered in scratches and bruises, and now bare- chested. He lays for a moment, out of breath, defeated. A noise interrupts his rest; the lush song of water. A mid-sized stream winds through the landscape, a sparse forest of dead trees and minimal undergrowth. Across the water floats a glimmering sheen of rainbow pollutant. The Prince lifts his head and crawls towards it on his elbows, using every bit of his remaining strength to reach it. He gets his head above the water and dunks the whole thing in, breaking the veneer of rainbows, drinking greedily. He comes up for air and makes a piteous sound not quite human and not quite animal, but somewhere in between. PRINCE: (Sobbing with relief) Aluwhh, aluhh... He goes back down to drink, then rolls onto his back, panting. He sits there for a long while. EXT. RIVERSIDE - LATER The Prince has stripped and is bathing luxuriously in the stream, splashing the cold water all over his body. We get a glance of his injured hand, which seems to have become infected. 15. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) We get a close up and its very bad; maggots (puppet) crawl in and around it; the flesh is black and swollen. He washes it in the stream to little avail. EXT. RIVERSIDE - TWILIGHT The sun is at the horizon; rays of pink-tinged light stripe the woods. The ground is black, barren, and there is some distance between the trees, as if a fire or some other disaster had scarred the land. The Prince dresses next to the river. He shivers, still shirtless. Carrying the necktie with his missing digit tucked inside and the bat with his good hand, he starts walking, apprehensive, into the ominous silence of the woods. EXT. WOODS - CONTINUOUS Our Prince stumbles along, injured, but refreshed. He re purposes the Vorpal sword into a Vorpal walking-stick. The walk is almost peaceful compared to the trials of the day. CRUNCH. The Prince turns around. Nothing to be seen. He shakes his head and continues on, dismissive. The night is closing quickly in, and there is no end in sight to the woods. A gust of wind shakes the treetops, the branches murmuring quietly. CRUNCH. Footstep again, and nothing there again. The Prince stops again, listening intently. Nothing further disturbs the cavernous woods. He presses on uneasily. Ahead looms a huge tree, with tangles of roots perfect for providing shelter for the night. We see a flash of black move behind one of the trees to the right. Our Prince plunges on unawares. 16. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) INT. TREE ROOTS - CONTINUOUS Reaching the roots, he sets about collecting rocks, leaves, grass, and moss for a bed. He lays his head down on a rock and immediately falls into a deep sleep. INT. TREE ROOTS - NIGHT PRINCE: HRAA! HRAA! The Prince is awakened by the sound of his own wet, wheezing cough. He covers his mouth with his hands as he is wracked by another fit. When he draws his hands away, they are covered in a thick, black mucous. He gazes in horror at what he has excreted. He wipes his hands unsuccessfully on his pants and turns on his back, falling back into a tumultuous, tortured sleep. INT. TREE ROOTS - LATER THAT NIGHT He awakes again, this time to firelight. Before him, squatting and stirring a pot over the flame is a leathery, rat-faced bipedal puppet, cloaked in a dark brown garment. The Prince GASPS and shuffles quickly away on his behind, his hand grasping in vain for the Vorpal bat. He falls into a fit of COUGHING. The creature glances up at him, a monocle glinting beneath a hairy-brow, and points to the Vorpal sword, which is leaning against a root behind the CLOAKED CREATURE. CLOAKED CREATURE: Do not fret. Our trade is medicine. We cannot do you harm. The creature pulls a vial from a vest outfitted with numerous pockets and adds it to the pot. The Prince regards him suspiciously, still keeping a safe distance. CLOAKED CREATURE: (cont'd) (croaking) Mm, Mm. You, delicious friend, are very sick. The Prince glances instinctively at his infected stump. 17. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) The creature beckons towards himself with one leathery paw. CLOAKED CREATURE: (cont'd) Give it here. The Prince approaches, wary, ready for anything. As quick as lightning the creatures hand flashes out and seizes him by the wrist, forcing the injured stump down into the liquid in the pot. PRINCE: AAAHH! The Prince struggles, but the creature possesses an uncanny strength. After a few seconds of torture, the creature releases him. The Prince darts away clutching his hand like a wounded animal, but upon examining it, the stump has remarkably completely healed over, leaving fresh, clean skin. He eyes the creature and then scoots closer to the flame, warming himself. CLOAKED CREATURE: Mm, mm. Such dramatics. He stirs the pot pensively. Another loud, racking cough takes over the Prince. He squirms and then looks again in horror at the black, sticky substance covering his hands. He looks up beseechingly at the creature. CLOAKED CREATURE: (cont'd) (looking up) That, we cannot cure. He moves over to the Prince and places his leathery, three toed paw over his chest. The Prince flinches, but does not back away. CLOAKED CREATURE: (cont'd) There are impurities. Here. He moves his hand to the Prince's head. CLOAKED CREATURE: (cont'd) And here. (cackles) You are meant to rule, yes? The Prince nods. 18. (Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In) CLOAKED CREATURE: (cont'd) Mm, mm. A long way to go. The creature moves back to his squatting position, and resumes stirring the pot. The Prince cleans his hands on the moss and broodingly warms them by the flame. A thin layer of black grease still clings to them. CLOAKED CREATURE: (cont'd) Now, time for payment. He holds out his paw expectantly. The Prince looks aghast at the waiting palm. CLOAKED CREATURE: (cont'd) You didn't think service for free, did you? (cackles) The Prince shakes his head and searches his pockets. He retrieves a leaf, a handkerchief, and a marble. He presents them questioningly to the creature. CLOAKED CREATURE: (cont'd) Now, now, don't try to trick old medicine. We know you've got it on you. We can smell it. The Prince inches away, eyeing the Vorpal blade. CLOAKED CREATURE: (cont'd) (with unmasked hunger) The finger. How fresh is it? It must be only a few hours old. (In a sinister tone) Why must you hide it from us? Hesitating, the Prince lifts the tie with his severed finger in it. The finger still looks quite good, considering. The creature moves towards him, hand out raised. CLOAKED CREATURE: (cont'd) Dead flesh for the living. Pretty fair trade, no? The creatures eyes flash in the firelight. The Prince hesitates a moment longer, before un-spooling the finger from the tie into the creatures paw. 19.