Krampus just couldn't wrap his mind around it no matter how hard he tried. Why was Simon really wounded? How many people were the snowmen forced to freeze? How did the king become so senile? So many questions were stirring in the cauldron of his thoughts that he feared they would sink to the abyss of ignorance.

Nevertheless, he couldn't back down until he knew the truth of what had happened during his absence. So he tightened his fists and walked forward with a huff, his white breath floating into the evening sky.

"What exactly does a 'guard' do? Just watch them and make sure they don't get into trouble?" He inquired, turning to the two snowmen. Seems a little too easy. Besides, I never got to ask why the King told them I was dead. A sigh rushed past his lips.

Today's going to be a long day.

Yet curiousity urged him to move forward and face whatever the selfish king had waiting for him. With Tim and Yuki rolling behind him with a nod, Krampus headed to the front door. His fist gripped the door handle tightly for one frozen moment before he pulled it open with all of his might.

To his surprise, the interior was completely different from the outside, with black and white stripes alligning the walls and floor. The small amount of furniture that stood underneath the scattered winter landscape paintings were a dark shade of crimson that somehow didn't suit the overall appearance of the modernized prison. Krampus briefly wondered if the chairs were meant for visitors.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as they walked in silence down the hall. Too many questions loomed in his mind to count, most of which concerned this rather extravagant prison. The furniture felt out of place for an area meant for punishment.

Before he could savor the rest of the sleek architecture, a hand on his back suddenly pushed him forward. "Don't get too comfy," Tim huffed out behind him, "you've gotta job to do, got it?"

Krampus was surprised by the sudden change in Tim's behaviour, but brushed it off as his way of doing his job. He swallowed down the laughter that tempted to break the stoic expression he had etched into his features and nodded with a smile creeping on his face.

He looked up to notice an open white elevator that awaited them at the end. It was elegantly decorated with black paint that outlined the sliding doors. As they grew closer, Krampus noticed that the bottom half of the inside was covered with a monochrome-esque diamond pattern while the top was a sleek white. He strided at a quicker pace, heading towards the elevator. Let's just get this over with,  he thought with a sigh. 

The snowmen looked to each other for a moment before rolling after him.

"'Yuki,' huh," Tim repeated with a smirk, "never thought you'd be the one to agree to such a thing."

"Well, it's better than constantly being bombarded with your unpleasant choice of nicknames. I'll have you know that Frosty is my Grandfather's-"

"Oh, cut me some slack, will ya? I'm just pulling your leg." 

Krampus heard snow crunching, and assumed Tim patted his partner once more.

Yuki deadpanned, "We don't have legs."

A puff of snow white air escaped from Tim's icicle-like teeth. "Figure of speech, Yuki."

Krampus chuckled silently ahead of them, amused by their conversation. Once the elevator was right in front of him, he looked back. "Am I going up or down?"

Yuki glanced at Tim before speaking up. "Start with the lowest floor then rise up."

Krampus was still confused as to why the king specifically choose him to do the elves' work. He couldn't help rubbing his beard while in thought until he jabbed the down button. The goat demon watched the elevator move at a snail's pace, then glanced to the duo behind him. They continued bickering in hushed voices, but not without taking peeks at the prince every chance they had.

The doors slid open. Krampus looked at the elevator with suspicion before stepping inside. His gaze landed on the white buttons that went up to six before he sighed in defeat.

"Is it because I have higher stamina than the elves?" he muttered along with other countless questions he knew wouldn't be answered anytime soon before hitting the 'G' button. As the doors were closing, he noticed the two guards weren't following him. "Hey," Krampus called while halting the doors with his arm, "you guys aren't coming?"

Yuki shook his head. "The temperature down there is too high for us."

A smirk tugged at Tim's features as his partner's words registered in his frost-bitten mind. "What use would we be to you if we melted when you were in danger?"

Krampus nodded slowly. "But how will I know when my shift's over?"

"There's a bell down there; we'll ring it when the King says you're done," Yuki informed the young goat demon, "it won't take long."

Krampus shuffled his feet. He was still doubtful of the idea, but would accept it anyways. "All right," he said with a nod after removing his arm from the door, "I'll do it. Until the stars let us meet again, then."

The snowmen kept their heads bowed until the doors closed.

Once he briefly heard Yuki and Tim bickered over their names, Krampus skyrocketting down to the depths of the elevator. With no windows, he had no idea what the prison would look like until he reached the bottom. His foot tapped with unabashed impatience. The prince released a sigh, then pinched his forehead. Were the snowmen forced to eat others?

Even if that were the case, he had no way of standing up to the immoral tyrant. Krampus clicked his tongue in frustration and held his hand as it shivered with anger. Without uttering a word, he tried to distract himself from how slow the elevator went by brushing his tail against the floor. 

Just as he was about to break through the floor and fall down, a gentle ring penetrated his rumbling thoughts. The doors slid apart to reveal a dark, musky hallway. He covered his eyes instinctively, not acquainted with the sudden rise in temperature. Damn, he thought as a grimace stretched across his face, it really is hot down here.

With that, he stepped forward, only to stop at the sound of the heart-twisting cries piercing his ears. The screams shook through his core and made him visibly flinch. As he focused, he caught wind of a familiar voice, one he couldn't put his tongue on yet.

"Why are they so damn loud?" he hissed while hearing people banging on the rusty bars trapping them from society. Krampus decided to check the first floor as it had the least amount of barred areas.

He strided forward with his head held high, ready to face whatever job the king had assigned to him with an iron grip. Yet as his eyes cast over the first prisoner who watched him with guarded eyes, his pace faltered. 

"Vanilla!" he exclaimed, completely baffled as to why she would be there. She of all elves was a stickler for the rules. Clean and efficient. Loyal and dedicated. What did she do to become a prisoner?

A startled gasp bubbled from her lips as she stared at the goat demon. "Kr-Kra... Prince Krampus?!" She rubbed her eyes, then blinked in rapid beats. Vanilla crawled to the bars, looking at the prince with her mouth hanging agape. "B-But the king... he told us you were dead." 

The prince kneeled down on one leg and cursed under his breath. His childhood friend hadn't changed physically; she still had the same scarlet swirls of hair that coiled down her back and the stubborn glower of peridot-dyed eyes that now glistened with tears. Yet her once confidence glow faded, replaced by the tremble of fear. "Well, he was misinformed. I'm all right, just caught a little cold."

"Th-that's wonderful." She rubbed her face another time. "I always knew that you would hang in there, but when he announced you were dead I just-"

Krampus pulled her into an embrace. The cold bars stood between them, but he could still feel her warmth. "It's okay, I'm here now."

"I'm glad you're alright, Prince Krampus." She clutched his fur between her fingers. After spending a moment in each others' arms, Vanilla released him.

Adorn in ragged clothes resembling her once clean uniform, she stood. "I-I can't believe it. It's been a century and yet you survived!" She looked down with a smile of awe for a moment before it vanished. Vanilla tightened her fists on the bars. "If I was as strong as you, then I could've..." She bit her lip as she stared at the goat demon, "I could've saved them! But now they're... gone."

Krampus placed his hands over hers and furrowed his eyebrows. "Vanilla, I don't understand. What happened?"

When he asked that, her eyes widened. "Wh-what? No one's told you anything?"

He shook his head. "I just got back from the South Pole. Simon pulled me here because the King ordered it." There was a hint of distaste as his once good friend's title rolled off of his tongue. "Everything seems so different, but no one tells me when I ask. What happened? What has King Santa done?"

Vanilla's hands dropped from the bars. She furrowed her eyebrows in visible confusion.

He always rubbed his beard when he lied; it was a habit that she never bothered to bring up as it was a convenient one for her to catch him in his mishchief when he was a kid.

This time however, he wasn't. He genuinely wanted to know of the North Pole's current state, expressed by the glare in his coal-like eyes. 

"Alright, I'll tell you." She caved. "The bastard probably planned for this to happen anyways."

Krampus leaned on the wall and sighed. "I'm listening." He wasn't sure if he was going to regret what he was about to learn, but he didn't care. He had to know.