After Tuff was caught caring for an ant baby, Reo had soon taken her to court and informed all nobles about the situation. Many had frown upon Tuff Jawbreaker as she carries the pride and honor of Sweet Kingdom.
They had her locked up in the royal dungeons while the baby ant was under custody of the King.
While Tuff spent her time in the dungeon resenting Reo, she also can't stop worrying about the baby ant. "Oh please sweet lord, have mercy on that innocent child..." she muttered.
"You've got a nerve praying for that ant's safety within the palace grounds."
Tuff was distracted from her prayers as Princess Crystal Sugar Cube of the Royal Sugar Family appeared before her. For a moment, she was stunned by the Princess's beautiful pure white appearance. She tried getting herself together before addressing the Princess, "P-Princess! I haven't seen you at the grand celebration. What brought you here!?"
"I'm here to interrogate a certain nitwit that got recently sent by her own lover in this dungeon." The Princess scoffed.
The mention of Reo had Tuff making a sour face, "Please quit labeling Reo as my lover, I'm done and over that jerk."
"Good, I never liked that guy for you anyway—" then it surprised Tuff as the Princess aggressively grabbed onto the rails keeping them apart, "—but what the f*ck were you thinking!?" She pulled Tuff on the collar, her face painted with pain and disbelief.
"W-Woah, calm down Princess!" Tuff tried to pull her hands off, but the Princess didn't let go of her easily, "A few days ago, you were known as the greatest warrior of this kingdom! You were going to be a hero whose name will be carved into this kingdom's history! Why did you waste all of that for puny ant!?"
Despite what the Princess said, Tuff stood her ground. "Do you really think that puny ant can do us wrong!? She's just like any other kid out there, a pure innocent child, she can't even take care of herself because she's an actual f*cking baby!"
"For goodness sake, your kindness is admirable but there are limits you must consider!" The Princess pressed, "An ant will remain an ant, Tuff. The kindness you spare for that creature won't stop it from biting your hand someday, literally and metaphorically."
Tuff refuse to believe her words, "No, not my Antabitha... that child... she's the sweetest little thing, I can't—"
"Sweet lord, you even named it!" The Princess groaned.
Then a knight intruded their conversation, "Your highness, the King asks for your appearance at the council!" He announced.
Since the Princess's time was running short, she decided to get things over with. She pulled out a purple orb hidden underneath her gown and handed it over to Tuff, "I'm out of time so I'll get to the point, this very thing has the power to guide you to your deepest desire. Tuff, I'm letting you have this as good luck to whatever trial my father will bestow upon you."
When Tuff held the orb, it glowed brightly, a sign that it recognizes its new owner. Tuff couldn't believe the Princess is giving such an important thing to her, "Why?!—Won't it be better to keep this for yourself!? I mean, if it can grant your deepest desire then can't you use it to claim the throne!?"
The Princess held Tuff's hands and gave her a smile, "You're a good friend, Tuff. You're way more important to me than a lousy throne."
"Crystal..." Tuff began to tear up, touched by the words of a true friend. They start to recall all the times they spent when they used to hang out together as Princess and escort, but it was devastating to have them lead into this situation.
"Tuff, before I go, I want to—" The Princess was cut off when the knight called for her again, ruining their moment.
"Princess! Come on, we don't got all day."
The Princess sighed and bid Tuff a few words before leaving Tuff. "I'll see you during the trial, I'll do the best I can to stop them from killing you so I hope you make the right decision by then."
"Princess... Crystal, wait!" Tuff extends her arms through the rails, reaching for the Princess. She wanted to talk a little longer but she pulled back her hand and stared at the orb that the Princess gave her. "This can guide me to my deepest desire, huh?" She sighed and pocketed the orb.
She then spends a few more days in the dungeon until the day of her judgement arrived. Royal knights marched into the dungeon and escorted her all the way to the courtroom.
Tuff was now in the intimidating presence of the many nobles of Sweet Kingdom. And before her was a cage where Antabitha stays well-behaved while nibbling on the pacifier shoved in her mouth.
"Oh, Antabitha, you're alright..." it was a huge relief for Tuff to see her doing just fine.
"Mm! Mmm!" Antabitha strongly reacted to Tuff's presence, making the nobles dismayed by this display of affection they portray as ant and sweetizen.
"Ugh! How dare she act like a mother to an ant!"
"That warrior has clearly betrayed our kind by caring for that ant child! Off with their heads!"
"I demand we punish this warrior by death!"
All the harsh and loud demands of the nobles in the court startled poor little Antabitha, causing her to cry out loud. "UWAAAHH!"
"Antabitha, sweetie, no!" Tuff wanted to calm her down, but she was restrained by a knight, preventing her from doing anything.
The nobles began to make a fuss over the crying child. "Argh, make it stop! Cut its throat so it would stop making those horrible sounds!" Reo made the loudest complaint, driving Tuff furious.
"YOU CUT YOUR THROAT YOU F*CKING BASTARD! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR DAMN SH*T—Ow!" Tuff yelled, but the knight held her back.
"What an ear sore. Remind me to ban swearing in this kingdom, I'm getting tired of hearing people curse each other in the courtroom all the time." A voice interrupted the whole place, the courtroom settled down when the King appeared along with his son and daughter, and as well as a few prime ministers.
"King Sugar Cube..." Tuff muttered, and her eyes met with Princess Crystal.
Even Antabitha fell silent as she saw the majestic image of the Royal Sugar Family, she continued nibbling on her pacifier as she stares at them.
And to officially start Tuff's judgement, the Prime Ministers made a few statements, proceeding with introductions, having Reo as the witness, Tuff as the criminal, and Antabitha as the evidence. Both Reo and Tuff took turns explaining themselves, and the King was mostly disappointed in Tuff.
"Tuff Jawbreaker, I can't stomach the fact that you're providing care and support to the child of the enemy. Are you trying to raise another wave of ants to bring chaos and destruction upon this kingdom?" The King asked.
"N-No, your majesty. That is not my intention!"
"Then why do you, this Kingdom's greatest warrior, take pity on this ant!? Must I remind you that its kind is the very reason we all suffered devastation for years."
"This ant is just a child, your highness! It's just helpless child that can't do anything on its own."
The king frowned, clearly unsatisfied with her answer. He badly wanted to punish Tuff for this crime, but Princess Crystal held him by the arm. Reminding him of their agreement, "Father." The Princess uttered.
"You stubborn child..." he said, squinting his eyes at his daughter. "...alright, since you're technically the saviour of this kingdom, I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself." The King gestured at the knight holding Tuff and dragged her close to Antabitha.
"Slay the ant and your life shall be spared."
Given a difficult choice, Tuff received a dagger to use on Antabitha, making her further disturbed by the situation. Her eyes shifts from the dagger to Antabitha, unsure what to do. "I-I... I..."
Princess Crystal can see Tuff struggling to make the right choice, and so she was left with no choice. She requested a milktea to a servant, then snuck a pill in her mouth before she took a sip.
When the King was growing impatient with Tuff's hesitance, Princess Crystal diverted all of the people's attention to her. "Haaa!..." she dropped her cup of milktea and fell on the floor.
"My princess!" The King panicked, and he grew even more worried when she vomitted what seemed to be blood. "THE PRINCESS HAS BEEN POISONED!" Announced one of the Prime Minister.
All the knights rushed to the Princess's side, and Tuff took this chance to take Antabitha out her cage and escape the courtroom. Everyone panicked even more when the criminal escaped.
"YOU IDIOTS, SEIZE THAT CRIMINAL!" Yelled the King, then half the knights rushed to chase after Tuff.
Princess Crystal smiled knowing that her plan succeeded, now that Tuff escape, she can finally rest easy. When they brought her to a room with doctors to check her state, they found nothing unusual which gravely upset the King.
"What you've done will cost your right to the throne." He stated, disappointed in his one and only daughter.
Princess Crystal didn't falter, "Hah! In this patriarchal society, I doubt I ever had the chance."
"You better not regret this." Those were the King's last words to the Princess as he shunned her for good.
Meanwhile, Tuff was doing the best she can to escape from the Kingdom with Antabitha. People who encounter her presence would endlessly shame her for her actions and chase her away from their villages. She also managed to surpass many knights that relentlessly trying to capture her.
Eventually she made it pass the borders of Cotton Candy Woods, entering into the Rainbow Taffy Grounds where she finally had the time to take a breathe from all the sleepless nights of running away.
Although she was the strongest person alive, she was still pained by all the hate and discrimination of the people in the Kingdom. She drops to the ground and broke down, "Those ungrateful people... I RISKED my life and KILLED ants, I ENDED war, I SAVED them and yet they all see me as a TRAITOR!?" She yelled.
Antabitha got a bit terrified of Tuff's break down and started crying, this got her even more frustrated. "And YOU! Can you please STOP!?... I swear, if it weren't for you..." Tuff can't bring herself to continue her words as she looked into Antabitha's eyes.
Her heart broke as she realized that she's trying to blame an innocent child. She snapped out of it and wiped her face with her arm.
Tuff picked her off the ground and calmed her down, "Antabitha, I'm sorry for scaring you... I'm sorry..." she said and kissed her forehead.
"Hngg..."
"There, there." She continues to rock her in her arms while she further goes deep into the Rainbow Taffy Grounds.
Soon she met with the Arachnotoffee, the guardian candy beast of that land, but she was no longer startled by beasts nor any kind of enemies. "What the heck!"
"HIIISSS!!!"
She threw the purple orb at the giant spider with great force, causing it to step back and felt lightheaded from the impact. "Welp, at least it had some actual use." She shrugged.
Then Tuff continues to make her way towards Peppermint Hills where she settled down and raised Antabitha.