It towered impossibly high, a strange fusion of cathedral-like scale and fortress-like strength. Every spire stretched toward the dark heavens, their tips nearly swallowed by the thick clouds above. The sheer scale of it was almost incomprehensible— it begged the question; who could possibly need a castle this massive? The archways were wide enough to fit entire caravans side by side, and the doors stood taller than any building you’d ever entered. It felt less like a home and more like a monument to something far beyond human understanding, and the thought made your stomach churn uneasily.

You clutched your lyre tighter, the polished wood now slick under your damp palms. With the backdrop of the full moon, combined with the surrounding, never-ending forest… this place reeked of foreboding. And truthfully, you were never meant for such things. There was a reason you’d stayed behind while Ace and Deuce chased glory. Ah… even in childhood, it seemed, they were always two daring boys with swords (stolen from your father’s collection, mind you), and you, a shy little girl with her worn lyre.

Somewhere ahead, said duo stumbled through the shadows with all the grace of a pair of toddlers in a glass workshop. Some things truly never change. Count on Ace and Deuce to foolishly decide to explore a castle well after daybreak, with nothing but lanterns and weapons in hand. You huffed lightly, observing their clumsy demeanour with a nostalgic fondness before forcing yourself to catch up with them.

The inside of the castle was just as strange as the exterior. The moment you stepped inside, the lanterns’ glow spilled across the vast interior, casting flickering shadows on walls that stretched unnaturally high into the darkness above. The sheer size of the space felt overwhelming— too… massive for what it actually seemed to hold. Sparse clusters of comically normal sized furniture scattered across the floor, each piece dwarfed by its surroundings. The tables and chairs, though intricately carved, seemed misplaced, almost absurdly small against the towering columns and endless walls. It were as if the castle was designed for something far larger, and these furnishings were added later, an afterthought to make it appear more lived-in.

Candlesticks stood upright yet unlit on the tables, their golden polish dulled by time but not tarnished. Tapestries, faded yet untouched by the dampness that often claimed abandoned places, hung from the walls, depicting scenes you couldn’t make sense of. It was all just so... odd.

"Guys... check this out." Ace whispered in awe, his voice cutting through your thoughts. 

He stood crouched in front of a giant door, the iron bands reinforcing the wood looking thick enough to withstand a battering ram. He pushed it open with a groan, revealing a grand hall beyond. The room was cavernous, lit faintly by beams of pale moonlight filtering through the countless high windows lining the hall. Better lit than the rooms before, at least. You stepped inside hesitantly, the soft echo of your footsteps engulfed almost immediately by the sheer space. Despite its grandeur— or perhaps because of it— there was something unsettling about the hall.

“Doesn’t it feel...” Deuce trailed off, glancing around nervously.

“Empty?” You offered, to which your companion nodded in agreement.

“Yeah. That.”

Ace, of course, seemed entirely unfazed, already crossing to the center of the room where a massive stone table sat. He ran a hand along its surface, then rubbed his fingers together, inspecting the layer of dust. 

“Whoever left this place behind had some serious cash...” he muttered, “look at this stuff! That chandelier alone could probably buy us a small town.”

You glanced up. The chandelier was an intricate mass, all crystals and gold, hanging precariously from the ceiling like some kind of jewelled leviathan. It looked heavy enough to crush anyone unfortunate enough to stand beneath it if it fell. It was mesmerising indeed… but the unsettling feeling only grew stronger. It wasn’t particularly that the castle was too big (though that’s not to say it wasn’t ornate and strange), so much as it was the sense that it wasn’t as abandoned as it seemed— that somewhere, in the silence and stillness, something was watching.

"I’m telling you," Ace hissed, his voice a notch louder than a hush, "this place has to be loaded with treasure. No one would’ve guarded a dump like this unless there was something worth hiding."

Deuce shot him a glare. "Yeah, and what if the 'guardian' is still here? Just look at the size of this place! That’s nothing any ordinary human would live in. Did you forget what happened in Greystone Keep?!"

Your expression was utterly blank as you listened in the background, trailing a finger against the surface of the table in front of you. You… had no fucking idea what the hell these two were prattling on about. ‘Greystone Keep’ might ring a bell— you think you’d heard of it in the drunken gossip in an inn, once— but that was the extent of your knowledge.

"Relaaax," Ace drawled from somewhere in the background, snapping you out of it, "if anything’s still alive in this shithole, we’ll hear it before it hears us."

As if on cue, a deep, bone-rattling rumble echoed through the hall.

The three of you froze in your tracks.

"Uh…" Ace’s voice cracked. "That was the wind, right?"

Another rumble followed, this time accompanied by a tremor that shook dust from the ancient rafters above.

Your heart plummeted. "Ace. Deuce."

"Yeah?" Their voices came in unison.

“…I fucking hate you two.”

It all happened in a blur.

Ace shrieking, Deuce yanking him by the collar— you think the two of them blindly threw around some of their weapons all for three seconds, before they bolted back down the corridor. And you in all your inexperienced glory… made the terrible, terrible mistake of looking back— something Ace and Deuce hard learned the hard way to never do. Something you couldn’t have known not to do.

The creature that emerged from the shadows stole the breath from your lungs. Black scales gleamed like a finely polished obsidian, and its enormous wings stretched out, blotting out the light trickling through the panes of the windows. Eyes like shining pools of emerald— and though it had no pupils, or any slits you’d associate with all things reptilian, you knew that it must be glaring down at you.

Deuce was right. Of course such an impossibly large structure… would be made to house an impossibly large creature.

You tried to swallow, but your throat had turned to sandpaper.

The dragon moved so very slow, each step sending tremors through the floor that reverberated up your legs. Its wings curled inward— even folded they dwarfed your form— giving the illusion that it loomed even closer than it already did. If you had to guess, you’d say it was at least fifty feet long.

You stood immobile. Every gasp was painful to your lungs, heavy with the scent of ash and metal, and every shallow breath you managed only served to fill your insides with that suffocating presence. Your limbs betrayed you, rooted to the spot as if the sheer weight of your terror had anchored you to the floor— some poor joke played by your body, leaving you to face this monstrosity upright; a lamb awaiting slaughter.

Your breath hitched as it lowered its head, its sharp snout a mere few feet from you now. It sniffed its surroundings, a low growl rumbling deep within its chest. The sound so loud it vibrated down your spine to the rest of your body, and the pull of air so strong it almost brought you closer to the dragon.

…In being the local bookworm, you’d read about death a great many times. Reports, studies, stories— all speculations and beliefs of what it must feel like to be inches away from death— to know you're about to have your life taken from you. To have your life flash before your eyes was such a timeless concept… something you'd admittedly thought of in the past. You had always contemplated how you’d die— what it would be like at the end of your life. But never would you have thought it would be like this. So visceral, so immediate, so unrelentingly real.

And as you stood in the face of certain peril, head beginning to grow hazy in overwhelm, there was only one conclusion to be drawn, one conclusion to be written within those odd reports, studies, stories—

Life does not flash before the eyes. There are no poignant memories or final epiphanies to bring you solace. Instead, you are entirely in the moment, every fiber of your being hyper-aware of the being before you. 

Is this truly how you die? Will you stand in place like a fool— let yourself die before you can hardly experience life? This can’t be. 

All you’d hoped for was to become close to your only true friends once more— and look where that led you. Straight into the jaws of an inconsolable beast, ready to end your life for simply stepping past an entrance.

The realisation clawed its way through the reaches of your mind. 

What a cruel jest, this all was.

You’d read about moments like this— when sheer terror renders someone deathly still, when survival instincts fail, and they can only wait for death to claim them. You’d always assumed that, if ever faced with such a fate, you would at least scream and run. But no— here you stood, the perfectly pathetic portrait of fear, awaiting the inevitable.

You are nothing to this creature. 

Every emotion, thought, memory, and experience that has made you who you are— it might as well be dust on the wind. You are but another insect to be ground beneath its heel, another trespasser to be erased from existence.

And yet, a desperate, absurd thought flickered to life in the back of your mind. If this was truly the end, why not go out with words? You were, after all, a bard. Words were all you had— all you ever excelled at. Maybe, just maybe, they could save you now. Or, at the very least, delay what was coming to you.

"Y-You are…" you stammered, your voice barely more than a whisper, "you are magnificent. Truly. To stand in the presence of such power and beauty… I— I can hardly believe it."

The words tumbled out shaky but oddly eloquent, as if your fear had sharpened your tongue rather than silenced it.

"If this is how I die," you continued, your trembling hands clutching the lyre so tightly your fingers ached, "then I suppose… I can’t think of a more fitting end than being claimed by a creature as awe-inspiring as you.”

The words barely got to settle in before the dragon’s glare sharpened. Its wings stretched, the tips brushing the walls, making the vast hall feel small. …If anything, the flattery only seemed to agitate it further— and as it directed that nasty glare onto you, its expression was impossible to misread;

It wasn’t buying your bullshit.

You froze, feeling uncomfortable beads of perspiration form at your brow. This wasn’t working. Of course it wasn’t working! What kind of dumbass tries to butter up a dragon like this? You were seriously, seriously done for. Your shoulders slumped in defeat, the weight of its stare pressing you further down. The act, the excuses— they all melted away, leaving only the raw truth. 

In the face of death, is it really worth not being yourself?

“Alright, listen man, I’m sorry. I give up, damn…” you admitted, "I shouldn’t have come here. None of us should have. I didn’t mean to disturb you, or your home, or anything else. I didn’t even WANT to be here. I was just trying to get on my friends’ good sides, y’know? I mean, they’re all I have— otherwise I’d just be a sore loser stuck in my home with nobody to talk to but the pigeons in my ceiling."

Truly, is it worth wasting your last moments? 

…You know what? If this damned lizard was going to kill you, it might as well hear all of your life problems first. Let it be known that you are more than just vermin— that it is taking your life away before you can even make it all right.

“I mean, all I do is sit in my room all day reading books and strumming the lyre all night for what— less than minimum wage? I’m not interested in your ‘treasure’ don’t get me wrong, but I just wanted ONE thing to spice up my life, you know? It’s just so frustrating being… being…” You paused, stumbling over your words.

“Being so damn idle all the time.”

The dragon stilled. The growl in its throat subsided, replaced by an eerie silence that felt, strangely, even heavier than its anger. It tilted its head slightly, as if your new words had been entirely unexpected. The nasty glare had yet to fade, but upon further inspection of its face, there was something different in its gaze now. It wasn’t anger, but rather it was something else entirely— Curiosity, perhaps? …Nevertheless, encouraged by the lack of immediate incineration, you continued.

“Now I’m going to fucking die for just trying to look out for my friends. Do you know how pathetic that is? To go out for ONCE in your life only for it to end so abruptly. I’ve hardly seen twenty winters— I can’t even legally DRINK in any of the taverns I play in. Would a dragon like you know what that feels like—?” 

You paused, your own words cutting you deep. Are you really going to die with nobody to hear your last words but a merciless dragon? What a pathetic fucking death.

At your sudden silence, the creature’s massive eyes narrowed— fully studying you. Then, after what felt like an eternity, it huffed— a short, sharp sound that sent a gust of warm air ruffling your hair. Its posture eased just a little, and you almost dared to hope that you weren’t about to be a snack.

"…Ah,” you leaned your head back in defeat, examining the ornate decor of the ceiling above you, “you really are magnificent, you know." 

The words slipped out before you could think them over. As you looked back at him, into his eyes… this time there was no ulterior motive, no desperate attempt to placate. It was the simple truth, spoken without expectation.

“All my life, I’ve only read about things like you. Dragons. Faeries that watch over sleeping children. Talking gargoyles that come to life… They were all precious stories in picture-books of unknown authors that I clung to while the other children played outside. I could only dream of seeing things as marvelous as you. Everyone else, even those two jackasses…” 

Your took a peek to the nearest window, thinking about Ace and Deuce— you wondered how far they must have gotten, by now.

“They all fantasised about slaying great beasts like you while I only ever dreamed of getting to SEE one.”

“…And how I so feel like a fool, being the only child to be killed by one, now.”

You couldn’t place the feeling in your chest— nor could you place the look in the dragon’s eyes, anymore.

Now… one thing about you is that once you begin to talk, you never seem to be able to quiet yourself. Thoughts spill into voice— words that spill into a spiel— and soon, that stream becomes a river too swift to dam.

Perhaps, in this case, it was the fear wound tight within your chest. Perhaps it was despair— despair of the last rites belonging to a person who knows they are not long for this world. Or perhaps— and most shamefully perhaps— it was because some wretched part of you liked being listened to… even if your audience was a beast large enough to gobble an army whole.

“…It is wonderful. Your home, I mean. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. I never even knew such… grand structures could exist. I can’t even begin to think about how much effort must have gone into constructing something like this. This kind of architecture just isn't possible for humans, I’m sure of it.”

“Honestly, it’s not even fair.” You continued, shifting your grip on the lyre. “People like me… We’re not… afforded the luxury to see things like this. We read about them. Hell, maybe even dream about them when it’s raining too hard outside and we’ve got nothing better to do.”

You gesture vaguely at the spires, the windows, the endless dark beauty around you. “And now it’s all just… here. Right in front of me. It’s like falling into the pages of the oldest book on the highest shelf. You know, the ones you’re not supposed to touch because they’re so fragile and cursed and probably bound in someone’s skin.”

Your voice trembled on a laugh. Now you find yourself remembering the old, superstitious woman who ran the local bookshop. A little sweet and a little crude. Clearly lived to see many things. Sometimes, she reminded you of yourself— of who you would become. A lonely lady with nobody to talk to but those who would kindly spare a little time out of their day to lend an ear. That’s what you did for her. And oh, she filled your head with such magnificent stories… and warnings that were twice as so. You always found her endearing, but now you realise you should’ve invested a little more than just affection when listening to her— for she was completely right; ‘Never fuck around and find out’.

“And I’m not even going to get to tell anyone about it. That’s the worst part, really. All of this. Every column, every decor, every inch of this ridiculously excessive, ludicrous chandelier— what is WITH this, anyway? Did you bedazzle it with your entire hoard?” 

You pressed the heel of your palm into your forehead in an attempt to soothe the oncoming headache. “It’s not fair. It’s really not fair— YOU’RE not fair. Am I really going to get slimed by an overgrown lizard with six limbs? Why do you have four legs and two wings? Is that biologically feasible—?”

“Do you play…”

The voice that reached you did not reach like any other you’ve heard. 

Perhaps it would be wrong to even refer to it as something to be heard. The words arrived all at once, like cold iron plunged straight into your brain— inside you before you even registered they were said. A voice with no mouth. A breath without ever having been breathed. It clawed its way into your head, heavy and wrong, vibrating beneath your skin. You did not hear this dragon speak— rather you felt it. Something never meant for a human’s mind. 

“…As well as you prattle?”

Do you play… Do you play… Do you—

It looped ceaselessly within the confines of your mind, ricocheting against the walls of your skull until it bloomed into a headache. Yet, by sheer force of will, you bit the inside of your cheek, willing the voice into silence.

“Uh—” you managed, voice cracking in a sharp wince as the sound of your own vocals nailed the coffin on your internal agony, “…depends on what you want played…?”

“Anything that will convince me to spare your life.”

Fortunately for you, the second time he spoke settled in your mind with greater clarity than the first. Yet it was hardly a comfort, for the only thought that gripped you in that instant was that you would much prefer to die here and now. Were you… really understanding this correctly? Did this dragon honestly mean to… Must you really—

Play your stupid little lyre to a dragon to save your life?

“…Just kill me…” 

Only a fool would mistake the growl that followed as anything but a warning. Low and guttural, it rolled from deep within his chest and rattled the very air, vibrating through the floor and up your legs. He stepped forward, one singular footfall—

That was all it took to send a primal jolt of terror through your spine.

“NO— No no NO—!” You scrambled back, clutching your lyre tighter to your  chest. “That was just— a force of habit, okay?! Just sarcasm! I didn’t mean it, I swear—!”

You shut your mouth so fast your teeth ached within the muscles of your jaw.

Music. He wanted music… Okay. You could do music. You’ve done music for coin, for food, for polite applause and for drunken sobbing. You’ve done it at weddings, at funerals, in taverns so loud no one even noticed. Surely, this was no different… except for the whole ‘dragon threatening to end your miserable life’ part. You shifted your grip on the instrument, fingers twitching. Think… Your hands were trembling, so you should play something easy… Something that always works, that gets a reaction from the crowd just from a few plucks drawn from muscle memory…

And so— 

Greensleeves.

Reliable… check. Calming… double check. The song that makes even the angriest drunk at the far table soften his glare and listen if only for a moment and hopefully, in your case, enough to soothe the slightly sadistic— who the hell makes a poor bard play for their life?— dragon before you… hopefully check?

Still, there was something humourlessly funny about it all. A song written for a queen… by the man who would later send her to the executioner’s block. That’s how some rumours go. You glanced at the dragon— your possible executioner— and huffed a weak breath of laughter through your nose.

Fitting, you thought. How very fitting.

You don’t think he’d know the tune or its history. You doubt he cares… But you care. That’s the joke, isn’t it? Playing the supposed ballad of an ill-fated queen while trying to soothe the king of the castle who could very well kill you before the last note. The notion almost pulls a dry laugh from your lungs. Just why the hell have you of all people ended up in this situation? But if there had to be a light at the end of the tunnel, however… you would like to think that you're rather skilled with your fingers— adept enough, at least, to strum a lyre with confidence. So if this was the task required to preserve your miserable life, perhaps you haven’t drawn the worst hand imaginable… yet.

The melody that spilled forth was as lulling as it usually was— each note coaxed into existence by trembling fingers that, thankfully, needed not be steady to sound true. The lyre didn’t betray your panic, for its strings sang the same whether touched by grace or desperation. The sound drifted, delicate and sure, and were you not the one clinging to life with every pluck, you think you could almost fall asleep to it.

Truthfully, you dreaded the moment the final note would fall silent. So you slowed the tempo, drawing out each chord as long as your trembling fingers would allow, desperate to stretch the moment between life and whatever came after. If this was to be your death ballad, then better it last— a painful, aching farewell rather than a sharp, sudden cut. The thought gnawed at you, and a persistent ache twisted low in your belly; what fate awaited you once the music faded?

And when the dreaded moment finally arrived… silence was not what you were expecting. Your death, perhaps. A growl. Maybe even an ego-shattering belittlement for mediocre playing— anything but silence. And after enduring the excruciating discordance of experiencing the creature’s voice for the first time… you could say you were qualified to know that his silence was infinitely worse. You wiped your clammy palms against the folds of your skirt, fingers trembling despite yourself. Your eyes flicked upward, searching his immense face— almost pleading, though you’d never want to admit it aloud. 

The dragon’s massive head tilted, his glowing eyes narrowing as he studied you. Then, with a deliberate slowness that made your heart skip, he lowered himself closer… and the faintest puff of air brushed against your face as he sniffed around.

“Uhm…” 

You breathed out, flinching backward as his massive snout brushed against you. The roughness of his scales was undeniable— each one like a hardened shield, easily the size of your hand, scraping softly against the tender skin of your chest. You squirmed, eyes fluttering closed as your lips parted just barely before pressing into a thin line of restrained breath. Times like these were when you cursed the low neckline of your kirtle— as turning your head away only bared more of your neck to him. The heat was so scorching you swore it would melt you down to the bone.

For a long, heavy pause, you stayed just like that; eyes wound shut in anticipation of something more. Every exhale from the dragon stirred the fabric of your clothes with a force more powerful than any storm’s gust, and you were almost convinced a spike of fire would follow.

“Play it again.”

It was a request no sane person would dare refuse. So there you stood, like some hapless jester, fumbling to recreate the melody you’d just played. This time, though, you let the notes unfurl as they were meant to, each one ringing truer than before. The dragon seemed to notice the difference in quality; his great head inched nearer, closing the space between you. You could only assume he was studying your hands, tracking the nimble dance of your fingers across the strings.

It was on his fourth time demanding the same song in a row that you paused. Your brows knitted together as you stared up at him, confused. “You want to hear the same song again? Would you not rather I play something else?”

"Do as I say. There will be time enough to wring every last melody from that clever little head of yours… but for now, I wish to hear that song.”

The words sank in slowly, much akin to spilled ink bleeding into paper— seeping deeper, staining more than they should. ‘Time enough’. Enough for what? Enough for him to hear every song you’d ever known, ever made… to keep you until there were none left?

You forced a laugh, though it came out thinner than you’d have liked. “Right… ‘time enough’. I’m guessing that means I’ll have to charge by the hour.”

The dragon stilled completely. For a moment you’d begun to wonder if you’d broken him— but eventually his nostrils flared, sending another puff of hot air over your face. “You will not be leaving until I say so.”

“Oh…!” Your fingers tightened around the strings. “So… I’m under your patronage, then?”

Slowly, he bowed his massive head until it pressed heavily against the floor, his eyes locking onto yours with a piercing, jagged sharpness that sent a cold shiver clawing beneath your skin.

“Label it as you might, but in the end, your freedom is no longer yours to barter.”

You forced another, even shakier laugh— clinging to the tattered edges of your playful facade. Some instinct within you whispered that if you kept playing dumb, you’d soon be playing dead— but nonetheless, you persisted. 

“B-Barter…? What, like a pig? Two pigs? For my lyre? I’ll take it—”

“Foolish mortal.” 

The dragon snapped at last, for it seemed even Lady Luck had become tired of your imbecilic ploys. 

"Must I spell it out for you? I intend to keep you for myself. You will speak. You will play. And it will be for me, and only for me— whenever I so desire. Now, the song?”

The harsh finality of his words stunned you into complete, feeble stillness. Whatever gambit you’d been trying to play was dismissed outright— This creature wanted no part of your tricks or pleas. And in that moment, it became painfully clear to you that your fate rested solely at the impulses of this beast. 

There was really no way out of this. 

Quietly, you accepted that you might very well end up as nothing more than dragon kibble, and let your fingers resume their candence— the melody of Greensleeves.

At the very least, for all that, you were able to console yourself with the notion that Ace and Deuce had gotten away unscathed. So perhaps, in the grand scheme of things… this wasn’t the worst possible outcome. And in any case—

When, in all the years of your life, had you not taken the suffering for your boys’ betterment, anyway?

𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 dragon seemed utterly enthralled by every minor thing you did. He was no stranger to commands, either, and you were not one to deny a monster within its own dominion. For a good hour, he was transfixed by the way your body moved— so he instructed you to walk, to run, to leap, to climb atop heaps of gold… and then delighted in the way you slipped halfway through that. But to be fair, you couldn’t exactly gain proper footing on a great stack of metal. 

Furthermore… he appeared to be fond of suspending you from various heights to assess the strength of your arms— a habit you most definitely did not share an affection for in return. In fact, he seemed drawn to the idea of arranging you in different corners of the chamber altogether… almost like finding the perfect place on a shelf to set down a flowerpot. So in a matter of that first day, you were intimately acquainted with the vast cavern he called his own.

But for all his partiality to seeing you in different corners of his hoard, the same could not be said for the rest of the castle. On the second day, you were near certain he would kill you when he cast that glare down upon you for setting a single foot past the entrance’s threshold. …After that, you did not try again. The subsequent nights were spent curled on an old carpet (this particular one reminded you of the one displayed in your own home) spread across a mound of gold, so high that every shift or stir set coins sliding. It was a trap disguised as bedding; if you moved, the sound would wake him.

Though you were no doubt used to a solitary life, this one was unbearably dull— the sort of dull that made hours drag like weighted chains. Day in and day out, you found yourself trapped in the same cycle of gilded idleness, with nothing to measure the passing time but the whims of your captor. And those whims, you soon learned, could be mercurial at best. Some days he would lounge nearby, trading quips with you as if the two of you were old companions; other days, he became so cold and severe you swore the very air in the cavern sharpened around you, and you found yourself imagining the pyre that would follow. 

Yet without fail, what always framed this idleness was the music you brought him. Other nights, when you weren’t lazing around (the dragon was quite the sleeper himself, you see, so  his routine quickly became yours), you would pluck the strings until dawn. You offered him every melody you knew, every melody you were refining, and every melody you could conjure on the spot. Above all, though, his most beloved remained the first you’d ever given to him— Greensleeves. 

You weren’t sure how many days had passed— only that it was several, and that some days you went without speaking to the creature at all. The silence should have been a relief… but instead it gnawed at you, until the only highlight of your day became those rare moments he deigned to speak. You told yourself it was only because it broke the monotony— because in this endless, stagnant gold-dusted prison, even a single new word was a change in the atmosphere. Yet somewhere between one meaningless exchange and the next, you began to notice how your ears pricked at the sound of his voice, how you found yourself measuring time not by the sun or moon, but by when he might next decide you were worth probing at.

You knew not if he had a name, or if he even knew yours— for you never told him, and he never asked for it.  But over the days that ignorance festered into an insatiable curiousity, and the longer you remained in his company, the more intolerable it became not to know. Every word he withheld felt deliberate, a game you hadn’t agreed to play but could not stop participating in. You caught yourself watching him when you thought he wouldn’t notice— straining to glean something, anything, from that tilt of his head or the pause between his sentences. Even the smallest slip, the briefest hint, felt like a stolen jewel in a hoard you had no right to.

In the end— and you had realised this suddenly, with much bitterness— he had essentially made you into his mirror; just as fixated, just as incapable of letting go. Your hunger for the workings of his mind was as ravenous as his hunger for yours.

Perhaps it was because of this that you never ran, even when the chance was laid bare before you. 

On occasion, the dragon would vanish into the wilderness, returning with some unfortunate creature— scorched beyond recognition, its flesh blackened and bitter, the sort of meal meant only to keep you alive rather than thriving. (It was such a pitiful sight that you felt cruel each time you sliced into it with the knife at your girdle— the knife Ace had pressed into your hand on the eve of your birthday.) And during these times, when the dragon was gone, the opportunity presented itself to you on a silver platter. The world beyond was there, waiting, the open mouth of freedom gaping wide before you. Yet… your feet remained rooted. So the only taste of freedom you permitted yourself came in those rare, fleeting moments when you leaned out of the gargantuan windows (and you mean this quite literally… they were large enough for the dragon to crawl out) of the chamber, flask in hand, to catch rainwater for drink.

Ah… You remembered the times you’d complained of thirst, buzzing in the dragon’s ear (the general direction of it, at least) like some persistent mosquito. He would only huff (just a singular huff, without fail) and turn his head away— yet, almost unfailingly, a storm would break minutes later. The coincidence occurred so often you began to wonder if the rain answered to him, bending itself to his whims as easily as the rest of your world seemed to.

Because of all this… at the very least, life here had been survivable. You had food, you had water— and little else, perhaps, but that was enough. Enough to keep breathing, enough to carry on, and in these idle days… you were able to get by on the fact that this small mercy had seemed sufficient. 

…However, as of today— as you lay atop your carpet staring up at the unnecessarily high ceiling— 

Sufficient… was not that sufficient.

There was a certain… ‘problem’ with your life here— one that you could no longer ignore. Every part of you strained toward confronting it, until it made your skin crawl, your garments clung damp and close, and you felt swallowed whole by your own body. 

With a weary sigh, you let yourself sink down, sliding along the mound of gold until the coins shifted and clattered beneath your weight. The sound stirred the resting dragon; But when he saw your path bent not toward escape, but toward him… he merely closed his eyes again— completely unbothered by your presence.

“Ahem… Oh, fair dragon… I DO believe I am wasting away inside this dreary place!” 

Your voice carried an annoyingly theatrical flourish as you beckoned. Had you been any more familiar with the beast, you might have clambered onto his immense frame and made your boredom his problem. But alas… intimacy had not yet reached such heights— so you were reduced to planting yourself before his head, hands holding tightly to your lyre lest he request music as some odd payment.

One great eyelid lifted, revealing a pool of green that regarded you with indifference. (For a brute lizard, he was disarmingly expressive— and that made the weight of his empty stares all the more cutting when he chose to use them.) But after a single second his eye shut again, head angling away with deliberate dismissal.

“I do not recall requesting the sound of your voice or music. Why do you disturb my rest?” 

Your jaw fell open at the sheer audacity. (Yet beneath the offense was a flicker of gratitude; as it meant your strange companionship had evolved far enough that you could be sassed rather than sizzled. It was a dangerous kind of luck, perhaps, but luck all the same.) Still, you were not so easily deterred— so you darted around his muzzle once more, determined to recapture his attention.

“Won’t you at least hear me out…? I have a request… and— it’s an important request, too! I’ve been putting off asking you for days… But now it’s very unavoidable…!” 

The dragon did not agree to hear you out… but he did not refuse, either.

“I… I need…” 

Now that you actually stood here, having to say what you needed out loud… it dawned on you how odd (i.e, embarrassingly human and therefore belittling in the face of a mighty dragon) your ‘problem’ was. Your shoulders slumped, and you fidgeted, glancing around as if the walls themselves might bear witness to your mortification. 

“…I need to bathe…!” You admitted in a rush, each word heavier with embarrassment than the last. “It’s… it’s been a few days, and I’ve been… coping, yes, but… it’s— well, it’s uncomfortable, and, frankly, humiliating!”

The dragon cracked his eye open again, narrowing. “Bathe?” His tone was flat— and dare you say amused. “Surely, you can survive without it. You have managed thus far.”

“Yes!” You said, waving your hands— taking your instrument with it. “I have MANAGED! But I’m a human, remember…? We clean ourselves regularly, and I… I insist upon it! It’s only natural!”

A low, almost imperceptible bellow sounded from his throat, the closest thing he had to a laugh. He stood from where he laid, peering down at your ant-like form. 

“You… insist upon it?”

You puffed your chest out despite the heat rising in your face. “Yes, yes that’s right. I insist upon it.”

The dragon lowered his head, eyes boring into yours with unflinching scrutiny. 

“…Do not say that phrase again. Such language ill suits your youth. You sound like a fool.”

Yikes. You were quiet for a long time after that. 

“…So do I get to bathe, or…?”

What the dragon did next… it would only be right to say that it scared the living shit out of you.

His colossal jaws began to part, until a cavernous darkness framed by jagged pearls yawned before you. Heat and a faint smoky scent rolled over you, making your stomach pitch. You stumbled backward, a comically high-pitched scream tearing out of your throat. 

“Wait! Please don’t eat me! I didn’t mean—!”

“Shut up. Why would I eat you for that?” He interrupted sharply, the word vibrating through your body. “Just be quiet.”

The sheer absurdity of it struck you like a slap— this massive, terrifying dragon, scolding you like a schoolchild. Your terror cracked, and you froze mid-apology, lips pressed together to stifle the snort threatening to escape. Oops…

“Climb inside.” He ordered bluntly. “I am taking you outside. You will bathe in the mountains’ stream, but it’s quite a while to get there on foot. I have seen you move about— you’re not good at it. I shall carry you.”

…Ouch. You flinched, but forced yourself to ignore the jab at your physical capabilities. “C-climb… inside? You mean… like an alligator?”

A low exhale of impatience rolled from him. 

“…Yes, like an alligator. Now move.”

He tilted his monstrous head and, with an almost unnerving delicacy, scooped you into his maw. The gesture was more reptilian than draconic— really like an alligator ferrying its hatchlings— jaw unhinged just enough to cradle you in the cavern of his mouth. You hardly dared to breathe, lest a twitch of his tongue press you against the serrated ivory surrounding you.

Then the ground lurched. Stone groaned beneath his weight as he coiled through the tower’s circular chamber— your gilded idleness, your prison. For all its grandeur, you were beginning to resent it; the massive doors that never once opened for you unless it was to relieve yourself in the nearby chamberpot (and even then the dragon followed closely behind); the jewelled relics heaped in careless mounds; the shafts of light that pierced the gloom only when the sun angled through the windows— On such days, the chamber glittered like a cathedral of glass, colours scattering across the ceiling in rainbows, and it truly was a beautiful sight. …But more often than not, it had been little more than a dark vault, its treasures piled high as though mocking your insignificance.

The scrape of his talons along the walls reverberated as he pressed forward, squeezing through the window large enough to fit lesser beasts whole. 

And then, suddenly— wind.

You felt the air through the cracks of his mouth. Gone were the shadowed piles of metal and velvet— before you stretched an endless canvas of green and blue, rolling hills veined with rivers that caught the shining sun like threads of silver. The horizon unfurled into forests bristling like emerald seas, into distant mountains hazed in storybook blue. And the sky felt impossibly vast, clouds rearing like little castles of their own, shifting all the while.

Despite yourself, you leaned forward, craning your neck past the bars of his teeth to drink it all in. The wind whipped at your hair, tugged at your sleeves. For one delirious moment you felt as though you might tumble into the wide, bright world below— free at last.

“Back inside.” His voice came, low and warning. “Do you have a death wish, Child of Man?”

…But you barely heard him. Your heart pounded against your ribs as though trying to answer the sky itself, every page of every story you had ever read suddenly made real before your eyes.

“You have these sights around you all day and you choose to stay in that tower—?” You shouted, your voice nearly put away by the rush of wind.

“I have watched these lands for centuries, long before your bloodline ever came to be.” He responded, and that was all he chose to say.

“Oh… I guess even beautiful sights can get boring, huh…? You know what, I actually understand that. When I was a kid the whole town was my playground and then it became…” 

The words died off on your tongue, your shoulders sagging with them. At the mere thought of your hometown, your mind began to unravel. First came the memory of your solitude there— quiet, unremarkable, utterly stifling. Cobblestone streets washed in grey, hemmed in by rows of timber houses so tightly packed they seemed to lean over the narrow lanes. Air that always felt heavy, steeped in the dark smoke that came from a hundred chimneys. Yet the longer you dwelled on it, the sharper the irony became to you; For all its monotony… you found yourself missing it, now.

“It became merely the place you lived?”

“Huh?” You snapped out of it, blinking a few times in surprise. Hearing his voice invade your mind after thinking to yourself was always a sort of whiplash. “Oh, yeah! Just… where I lived. When you’re young everything seems so magical and when you’re grown it just…” You paused. “…I told you how I always read storybooks as a kid, right? Well… This is a sight straight out of one, I swear. Your… ‘mundane’ really is amazing.” 

“I would say your mundane holds its own fascinations, as well. But what draws me most is your sharpness of opinion. Only twenty winters you’ve lived to see, was it? How swiftly your kind ripens.”

…It seemed, perhaps, that fortune had favored you today— for the dragon seemed to be in a talkative mood for once. Such moments were rare, and you’d be damned to let this chance slip from your grasp.

“I just like to talk, that’s all!” You blurted, your voice fraying as the wind tugged it thin. In hindsight… maybe sticking your head out of his mouth to get a good view wasn’t the smartest idea.

A low, rumbling sound rolled in his throat— shaking you with it. His great wings beat once, twice, and the whole world seemed to shudder with the force of them. “That much is evident.” He said at last, his tone even. “And I would call it one of your strengths, little one. You… amuse me. When I was younger, I was often told that I was a quiet one myself.”

You gawked up at him, squinting past the press of his jaw. “Really?” The mental image of a cute, quiet little baby dragon got a snort out of you. “Can’t imagine you being young…” You muttered, a laugh finally breaking loose. “What, were you also once a tiny thing, getting scooped up in a bigger dragon’s mouth? Ooh! Wait— do all dragons carry their kids like this?”

“Hm.” He only hummed, and nothing else after that… leaving you to wonder if you’d actually close to the truth or missed embarrassingly by a mile. You were still caught in that thought when his voice finally followed;

“You may want to hold onto something.”

“Wha—?” 

Suddenly, your stomach was lurching out of your mouth alongside a scream. The world tilted on its axis, and you found yourself clinging to one of the dragon’s teeth. Wind battered your face, sharp and unrelenting, tearing tears from the corners of your eyes as the once dazzling outside spun into an incomprehensible blur of green and blue.

The dragon had plunged downwards… and like a complete and utter jackass— hadn’t bothered to actually warn you. The sheer drop made your insides somersault, so you pressed yourself tighter against the tooth— arms scrambling for purchase on smooth enamel. Every bone in your body swore you were about to be flung free, hurled into the dizzying expanse of sky.

But suddenly, as if the whole ordeal had never happened— all was still. At some point, you'd shut your eyes, and now they refused to open. You didn’t know where you were just yet, but as you stayed there in silence, you let yourself listen to the world around you. The low roar of rushing water rolled steady in your ears, a constant thunder that seemed to seep into your bones. Beneath it came the lighter sounds— the trickle of smaller streams, the soft lapping of water against stone, the sigh of a breeze stirring through unseen leaves.

And then— without ceremony— you were dropped. One moment surrounded by warmth and shadow, the next colliding with damp grass and stone, a startled yelp breaking out of you before you could stop it.

“Honestly!” You huffed, pushing yourself up, brushing at your clothes. “I could’ve climbed out on my own, you know—” You stopped, shaking your head with a mutter. “Whatever. Fine.”

“Oh? I believe what you mean to say is ‘thank you for bringing me here’.” His voice rolled over you, smooth as ever— if the dragon had eyebrows, you were certain one would be arched right now.

You froze. Then, with a reluctant sigh, you parroted back, “...Thank you for bringing me here.”

A soft puff of air came from his nostrils, and you could swear it was amusement.

At last, you dared to lift your eyes. The sight stole the rest of your irritation clean away. What you saw could only be compared to a scene being opened to you in a book— the kind that makes you wonder if such places could even exist outside of imagination. But the waterfall spilling into a clear, running stream cradled in by a meadow of bright, swaying green and scattered stone, with tall pines climbing skyward beyond was proof that they really, truly could. Your chest rose with a sigh you hadn’t meant to release. Almost without thinking, you stepped forward, drawn by the sheer beauty of it all.

The ground trembled with the weight of the dragon’s sudden growl. You froze mid-step, heart kicking against your ribs. The reminder was sudden and brutal; you weren’t here alone— nor were you even with a friend.

“Sorry—!” You blurted quickly, turning back toward him, hands raised in peace. “I’m not trying to run away. I just— this place is beautiful. I got a little carried away.”

“I brought you here to bathe. Do not run off, unless it is to the water.” 

To your relief, the dragon did not seem irritated. If anything, it felt more like a gentle correction. Swallowing, you turned toward a broad rock near the bank and moved to stand before it. Your hands found the ties of your bodice— but as you tugged them loose, unease prickled at the back of your neck. Slowly, you turned around to look at him once more.

“Uhm, can you… look away…?” 

He did not respond to that. So for a moment you hesitated, before continuing with what you were doing. With deliberate care, you pulled the lacing free, your kirtle slipping from your shoulders in one smooth motion to pool at your feet. One by one, you released the sleeves tacked over your shift, letting them join the rest of the fabric in a small heap. You were still clothed— your shift hung modestly over your form— but even so… you couldn’t help but feel a little more conscious of your body and your being under such an intense gaze.

“…I will do as I please.” He quipped suddenly, as if reminded abruptly that a response was still needed. “Now tell me, Child of Man… are such garments common where you come from?”

“Oh?” Your mouth parted in surprise. “You want to know about my clothes, is that it? Well… Yeah, it is common, I guess. Everyone wears uhm…” Your line of sight fell to the kirtle, now laid across a large rock. “Well, that right there is a kirtle. That’s the outer garment. If you’re not royalty, that is. Royalty will wear a gown over that, and—”

“I am aware of the garments of nobility. Tell me about you.”

You flinched at the interruption. There was no cruelty in his tone, and yet… he spoke with the kind of easeful command that left no room for disobedience. How could someone manage to speak like that in such a casual manner? 

“Me…?” You pointed to yourself, pursing your lips in thought. “…This is an old kirtle. I wear it when I’m running errands and don’t really care about what happens to it. Next to it is my girdle— that’s what I hold my flask and knife on, see?” You picked up the items, the ones you’d been sustaining yourself with for the past weeks. “I’ve never really understood the point in attaching a girdle book and well— pomanders would be nice but that’s much too expensive for me. And… this is my shift. And petticoat.” You ran your hands over the cloth on your body for emphasis. “There’s meant to be a bum pad too to support all the weight but I forgot it… Uhm, anyways, I… change and wash these often and that’s what helps keep the kirtle clean. That one is just a pain in the ass to wash…” 

You grumbled, reflecting back on all those dreadful wash days. It was times like those you truly did appreciate your mother, who used to take it upon herself to launder not only her family’s clothes but the neighbours’ as well. If she were still around, she would no doubt chide you for your disdain of washing.

“Oh! And these are my stockings. They’re tight on my skin so I never have to tie them in place like other people do.” 

You gathered the weight of your petticoat into your hands, lifting the firm fabric with care. Beneath it, your leg was sheathed in soft white— stockings pristine as porcelain. You’d long since outgrown them, but you took a satisfied sort of pride in how spotless you’d maintained them over the years. 

“I even say that they’re my lucky pair. That’s why I haven’t replaced them, you see…” A fond smile ghosted your lips. It was nice to talk about the niche things— things you’d kept to yourself with a quiet passion.

Then, as though doused with cold water, the warmth in your expression faltered.

Right. You were explaining stockings… to a dragon. You blinked hard, fighting the flush threatening to creep up your neck.

“So… yeah! That’s… what I wear.” You rushed, the words tumbling out in a panic. “And most people in my town wear it like that too. Uh, some people don’t bother to tack on extra sleeves because, well…” You gave a little gesture to the sleeves of your shift, flapping them for emphasis. “But I think extra sleeves are pretty, and they’re nice to perform in. The ones from the shifts are just so plain, you know? Actually, those ones over there were a gift from—”

Deuce. 

A gift from Deuce.

It had been raining that day, you remembered. Not hard— just the soft, steady kind that darkened cobblestones and made everything smell of petrichor thereafter. You’d been practicing an original composition beneath the awning of the smithy when he’d come bounding over, soaked to the bone, with a grin far too wide for someone dripping water onto your clothes.

The smithy was owned by a kindly widower with two children— a son and a daughter who reminded you far too much of yourself and Ace in your younger years. Perhaps that was why you so often chose to practice there, where you knew their curious ears would catch your music— especially the little boy, who thought you hadn’t been aware of his presence each time he hid behind the workbench. In time, it became your favoured haunt whenever you were not engaged in some performance— rivaled only by the old woman’s bookshop. More often than not, you could be found in one of those two places— so much so that your boys had long since learned to seek you there rather than at your own lonelier, emptier home.

Deuce hadn’t even waited for you to ask when he’d arrived in town or what he was doing there. He hadn’t said a word either— merely held out a strange parcel to you.

“I bartered for them in town!” He’d exclaimed, breathless and proud. “The man said he’d done work for nobles, even— and… well, you deserve nice things too.”

…You deserve nice things, too.

Your hand tightened around the folds of your petticoat, fingers curling into it until your own nails began to dig into your palm. For a moment, the forest around you seemed quieter, as though it, too, had been caught in the warmth of that memory. Every luxury you owned, from your beautiful sleeves to your beautiful knife— all of it was thanks to your boys. But then you shook your head— just enough to scatter the mist from your thoughts, just enough to return to the reality of where you were and who was watching you.

“They were a gift.” You said, voice quite soft now. “From a very good friend.” A pause. Then, with a sharper breath, you straightened your shoulders and cleared your throat. “Now… I have to bathe, so…” You met the dragon’s eyes, steady as you could manage. “Will you look away?”

The dragon did not speak for a long, long time.

“No. I do not think I will. I have not looked upon anyone in a very, very long time, you see… Allow me to indulge myself.” He said at last, and lowered his head so as to allow him a better view of you. 

Indulge…? Your shoulders tensed as you measured him in quiet disbelief. He truly meant to… watch you as you bathed? You swallowed thickly. …Well, you supposed there wasn’t any point in arguing. Not with something that could rend the forest apart with one lazy swipe of its claws. And certainly not with someone who thought your discomfort counted as indulgence. So you turned without a word, sliding your shoes off in the process, and you let the river greet you with its hush. Its waters trickled gently over stones worn smooth by centuries. Moss clung to the banks, soft and vibrant, and the air hung heavy with the scent of pine and something older still. 

Your hands trembled as you peeled your lucky little stockings from your legs. One, then the other— timid and slow, folded neatly away. You moved on to your shift without pause, lifting it over your head in a single breathless motion, folding it with a similar, rushed sort of precision.

The breezy air pressed in at once, cool against the places of your body it ought not touch. Places another person— let alone a dragon— ought not see. And only then, as you stood fully exposed, did you cover yourself— one arm curling instinctively across your chest, the other dipping low in a gesture both modest and childlike.

The dragon chortled. His head tilted, ever so slightly, as his eyes grazed slowly over you in a manner too measured to be anything but deliberate.

“You… You’re seriously laughing at me right now—?”

“Oh, why do you look at me so?” He asked, voice lilting with false innocence. “Your cheeks are flushed, and you seem even smaller than before. Surely you are not… embarrassed? Tell me— why is that, little one?” 

…What an unfair dragon. That stare of his couldn’t possibly warrant anything but embarrassment. Had it come from a person— you’re sure it would have sent ghost-hands trailing down the slopes of your hips, cupping your breasts without so much as a whisper of permission.

“Humans—” You winced at the crack in your voice. “We don’t… show ourselves bare to just anybody! You wouldn’t know because you’re… well, you’re…” You squeezed your legs together to conceal the meeting of your thighs, using your now free hand to gesture vaguely at the dragon’s entirety. “You’re a dragon! You’re covered in scales…! I don’t have scales.”

“You don’t have scales, no.” The dragon agreed, and you couldn’t tell if he was missing your point out of genuine ignorance or pure spite. “Quite the observant Child of Man, you are.” 

…So it was pure spite.

“Oh, haha.” You laughed dryly, completely unimpressed. “Yes, very funny. Quite the funny dragon, you are. Now SHUT UP.” You huffed, inching toward the river with the stiff caution of someone very much aware they were being watched.

It was harder than it should’ve been— because you refused to turn your bare back to the creature. Instead, you moved in clumsy reverse, each step accompanied by the rustle of grass and your own mounting dread. Then, your foot caught on a root— or a stone, or a curse sent by your worst enemies— and you very nearly wobbled straight into the water. A sharp yelp escaped you as your arms pinwheeled for balance. The cool splash that followed as you stumbled knee-deep was insult enough. 

But worse— so much worse— was the dragon’s laughter.

“Ugh…” You grimaced, kneeling on the riverbed with your hands curled into fists on your lap. You glared up at the dragon, a newfound sense of bravery now that you were covered by the water. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up!” 

The dragon only responded by inching his massive head closer— close enough that the weight of his breath stirred the water and sent your hair dancing behind you. You squinted against the gust and stiffened as the tip of his snout brushed against your shoulder— then he pressed.

“Hey—!”

With a gentle nudge, he tipped you clean off balance. You fell back with a splash, the cold closing over your chest before you managed to scramble upright again— sputtering, soaked, and thoroughly humiliated.

He chuffed at that. A pleased sound, low and rumbling, not unlike a purr.

“Go on.” He urged, eyes gleaming with that slow-burning curiosity of his. “Bathe. As you normally would.”

You froze.

He tilted his head— again. That strange little habit, as though mimicking the mannerisms of something more human than beast.

“I want to see.”

The river curled at your waist as you reached down, cupping water in your hands and dragging it up the length of your arms. There was no cloth, no soap, no oils to perfume the air— only the biting chill of the stream and the weight of his expectant gaze. It was either this dragon was a massive (and you mean that quite literally) pervert or…

“Oh. You want me to tell you, huh?” You murmured, voice barely louder than the sound of the current. “You want to hear how I do it, am I right?”

The dragon was silent for only a moment. 

“Tell me.”

“...Okay.”

You reached again, dragging water up over your chest this time. Your hands swept over your collarbones, then slowly circled— palms flat, pressure firm— just above the area of your breasts.

“I start here.” You said, as clinically as you could manage. “Over the chest and under the arms. It’s where I sweat the most.”

Your hands slipped lower, dipping beneath the surface, dragging slowly along the undercurve of your chest. The motion was smooth, habitual— but under his stare, it felt foreign. Lecherous. Was it wrong to feel violated? He’s just a dragon, after all. Though his gaze may have felt like that of a man… he still wasn’t.

But as you worked your way down your sides, your waist, your hips— you couldn’t convince yourself of that. You shifted, twisting lightly as your palms swept over the place where thigh met pelvis.

“…I wash here after.” You whispered. “And then here. Between the legs. It’s… delicate, so I go gently.”

Your fingers slowed at your inner thighs, a feigned act of precision masking your trembling. Then your hands slid back up, along the swell of your hips and the gentle dip of your lower belly.

“Then the arms. The legs. Behind the knees. The back of the neck.”

He’s just a dragon. You hated that your voice had gone breathless. He’s just a dragon.

“Every part.” You finished finally. “Until the skin is clean. Uhm…” You quickly submerged yourself beneath the surface of the water, relieved that you were done with it. “It’s normally easier at home because I have a brush to scrub myself with. And… soap. I mean, you can clean yourself with water and your hands just fine but… it’s just nicer with soap and…” 

You trailed off. You couldn’t hide your bashfulness behind rambling any longer. …Why was he staring at you so intently? Your skin prickled at the sight. He’s just a dragon. He’s just a dragon… You had to keep reminding yourself, over and over. He’s just a dragon… but why did his wandering eyes, wandering over every bare inch of you feel so human? 

He hadn’t moved since you’d begun, nor spoken. It was as if he were memorising the sight of you… and not with the hunger you’d expect from a predator of his kind— but with a strange, unnerving persistence that made you wish you could vanish beneath the riverbed entirely. Is this what blushing brides felt on their wedding nights—? You wondered. It was only when you were completely finished did his voice break the uncomfortable silence;

“Play for me, Child of Man, the song I like best. Let me hear it, just as you are. I want to remember you like this, for I find I much prefer you in this state.”

…Any discomfort you may have felt— clearly, it mattered not to him. So you did the only thing left to you; reached for your lyre, where it rested beside the folded remnants of your dignity, and kneeled once more in the water, body still bared to this creature of stories. And you knelt there in the river, and you played— fingers steady despite the heat of his looking. 

And you pretended for your own sake that the music— Greensleeves— was for your ears alone. That in this act of playing, you may reclaim something that no eyes, not even his, can take from you.

𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍 allowed you to explore the forests— as long as he was there to accompany you. He had taken to overseeing— like a parent supervising their giddy child running around the streets— never interacting or partaking in the fun, but never letting you out of his sight. But even if he were not there, you couldn’t say you would have been alone. As you soon realised… the woods were far from empty. 

One day you strayed from the path with a laugh, chasing after the scatter of wildflowers that grew in the shade of the towering pines. Sunlight spilled through the branches in broken shafts, catching on your hair as you darted from mossy rock to fern-covered hollow. It felt almost like play, (and it would have been exactly like when you were a child, had it not been for the absence of your boys) though you could sense the dragon’s gaze following your every step, heavy and unblinking. Still, you spun through the clearing as if the whole forest might belong to you, and for a fleeting moment you’d nearly forgotten the dragon’s presence. 

It was just then, you noticed, that there were tiny lights which blinked in the canopy. Darting quick and erratic, they couldn’t have possibly been beams of the sun. In a sense, they almost looked like fireflies… and upon further inspection you realised they were not fireflies or any insects to name— but rather little beings no larger than your hand. They came in twos and threes, flickering just past your vision— glimpses of wings, comforting laughter that sounded just as the windchimes of your town did. They circled you the way minnows dart about a dropped crumb, not quite daring to touch, not quite able to resist. 

It continued this way for a few days, until they realised that the dragon took you here quite frequently— and that you were a new addition to their world. So eventually, they learned to interact with you as a dynamic being, rather than something to be observed.

And today, it seemed, the silent little things had unanimously decided to confront you directly. 

One creature stood on your shoulder and pulled at a strand of your hair until you swatted it away by reflex. You felt terribly bad at first, but if anything, it only served as entertainment to them. Another hovered near your ear, whispering syllables like secrets in a language you thought you understood at first— only to listen closer and hear nothing but nonsense. When you tried to swat at that one, three more tugged at your boots until you stumbled. Their laughter rose, the sound of the wonderful windchimes, high and bright.

You were absolutely charmed. They plucked flowers and wove them into chains to drape around your wrists, your throat, your crown; they tugged your fingers toward them and danced along your palms as though the creases in your skin were paths to follow. You laughed and played along— because how could you not? Nothing in your books or stories could compare to the delight of having them here, weaving daisies into your hair and tugging at your nose.

A bold one fluttered before your face, balancing a ring of blooms precariously on your head. You clapped your hands at their craft, only to feel a sudden warmth stir the crown. The dragon had lowered his head to peer at you more closely, and with a faint, amused huff of breath, the crown tumbled from your hair into your lap.

Your laughter spilled out— but for once, the faeries did not share it. In the instant the dragon’s shadow fell over you, their tinkling mirth snapped silent. They darted for the safety of leaf and branch, vanishing so quickly the clearing seemed empty again. Only when he drew back did one or two daring stragglers peek out from the undergrowth, their glow faint and watchful.

“You’re scaring them!” You chided playfully, putting the crown back atop your head. “These are my only friends now, you know. Please don’t run them off like you did my other ones.” 

“Ha.” The dragon laughed dryly. “They merely observe the proper respect that I require. You alone are the exception, little one.”

You tilted the crown slightly, glancing toward the shrubbery where more faeries trickled out. Watching, but not quite approaching— like how they first treated you. 

“Huh. So I guess they’re respectful, huh? Can’t say the same about me. You’ve really got to stop sabotaging my friendships, though.” You murmured, still smiling, though your thoughts had begun to drift elsewhere. For a moment, you imagined Ace and Deuce running through these woods instead of you. How would they have reacted, seeing these creatures? How you wish they could be here to experience it with you.

“Hm? What is the matter? Your mind is suddenly elsewhere.” The dragon said quietly, almost as if to tease. “Do not tell me you are thinking of those two?”

“Who? Ace and Deuce?” You questioned, not quite present in the conversation. But as soon as you uttered their names… 

Everything in the forest stilled. 

The tinkling of the faeries vanished; their movements froze, suspended in midair. Every sound seemed to drain from the clearing. The dragon’s stare snapped to you, sudden and unwavering, his attention fixed with an intensity that made the air feel heavy.

“Those are their names, then?” He leaned in, so much so that his snout brushed against you.

…You hadn’t really thought about it. Hadn’t really dwelled on the old, cautionary tales— the warnings murmured about the nature of fae. You’d assumed the ones you were warned about would be different than the ones you interacted with here, considering that these ones didn’t seem malicious. And therefore… you hadn’t really thought about one of the biggest cautions;

Never give a fae your name. 

A cold shiver ran down your spine. Words caught in your throat, and for a heartbeat, you froze, unsure how to respond. Surely, if that superstition were true… it could not have applied to your boys, as well?

Then, forcing your voice steady, you shifted the topic. 

“Ah, those boys… always argued about the silliest things.” You began, describing the way Ace and Deuce bickered over trivial matters, laughing quietly at the memories. 

You told of their little quirks, the clever tricks they played on one another… things you knew the faeries would find appealing. But you never, ever repeated their names. You just spoke about them, letting the warmth of the recollection fill your words, attempting to draw attention away from what you’d just revealed. At some point, you weren’t even sure of what you were saying— only that, at the very least, you weren’t confirming or denying the dragon’s question.

By the time you had stopped— and this was only because you’d become overwhelmed by the dragon’s undivided attention to every last word— the forest seemed a little more normal now.

The dragon was silent, looking down at you rather blankly.

“…You speak of these… cowardly fools rather fondly.”

Your chest tightened at the words, but you didn’t respond immediately. You shifted the crown slightly, your fingers lingering over the delicate petals as if they could anchor your thoughts. …Cowardly fools? Fools, for sure. But… cowardly?

“My friends…” You corrected carefully, almost to yourself at first. “They’re… wonderful. Clever, brave, and kind in ways you couldn’t understand unless you were there with them.” 

You glanced at him, and though you tried to keep your voice light, a subtle edge crept in— a rising passion within you. 

“When I was a child I had nobody else but them— they were the only people who didn’t ridicule me for being such a recluse. You like me, don’t you? They were the ones who taught me how to be like this in the first place… How could you be so quick to insult them like that?”

The dragon’s lips curled upwards in a snide manner. You didn’t know he could smile— let alone look so deliberately… cruel. 

“Friends? Is that truly what you insist on calling those who dragged you here? Who left you trembling at my mercy while they fled with their tails between their legs? So you have fond memories of them. What good does that do now, now that they have abandoned—”

“Oh, come on, you’re talking nonsense— that’s not fair!” You interrupted sharper than you initially intended— but you did not regret it.“They didn’t abandon me on purpose… it was you that was the problem—! They wouldn’t have left me otherwise…”

But the rest withered on your tongue. You knew the truth of your friends. You knew them better than anyone. Yet when you tried to pull the memories forward, tried to shape them into something solid to hold against the dragon’s claims, they slipped like water through your grasp. The more you reached, the less you caught.

Your thoughts tripped over each other, a dozen reasons surging to the surface only to tangle in your throat. It was a horrible, nasty feeling— one that brought tears to your eyes. You were certain, weren’t you? You were certain they would never leave you on purpose. So then why couldn’t you say it? Why couldn’t you answer him civilly, simply, the very way he spoke to you right now?

The heat rising in your chest wasn’t anger alone— it was panic, it was humiliation. He was speaking to you as though this were nothing more than a fair discussion, and you were the one floundering, flustered and foolish. But how could you argue against him, when your own thoughts betrayed you?

“Do not cut me off.” What scorned you most was that he did not even seem offended by your attitude. “It is the truth and you know it, don’t you? I did not think you to be blindly unreasonable. Tell me, am I wrong?”

His composure stung worse than any raised voice. Among all of the questions he presented to you, there was only one on your mind; How could you lash out at him so, when he is only trying to talk to you—?

“You stand here because they abandoned you. If they still valued you as you claim they did, they would not have let you fall into my claws. Yes, I intimidated them. Yes, I intended to kill you all. But circumstances do not matter when, in the end, your loved ones chose their own lives above yours. Selfishness is the nature of men— but nature can be changed, if one loves another enough to do so. But did they change that innate, selfish part of themselves for you? Did they strain every fiber of their being to shield you from me? I think not. I think they fled at the first hint of danger, and now you are here with me. Is that not exactly what happened, in truth?”

Too many questions. Too many questions. 

An unrelenting torrent of information coursed directly into your mind, each fragment pushing insistently for attention. You had grown accustomed to his voice— had come to accept its intrusion without the need for spoken words. Yet, just as it did in your first meeting, it began to reverberate within you, echoing with an almost unbearable insistence, and in an instant, all of your composure shattered.

A tear slid down your cheek before you even knew it. 

You jerked at a soft brush against your skin— tiny hands, delicate wings. A faerie hovered near, carefully wiping the tear away. The gesture, meant as comfort, only burned deeper. They were watching. All of them. Your humiliation laid bare before a court of silent eyes.

You stiffened, curling your fingers so the little creature had no choice but to rest on your palm. You forced yourself to meet the dragon’s eyes again, calmer this time, though the tear track on your face betrayed you. 

“…We will agree to disagree.” You said, and your voice almost held.

He regarded you for a long, unreadable moment before inclining his head. 

“As you wish.”

Your attention was already turned back to the faerie in your palm, who had now taken to toying with your fingers. It tugged gently at your fingertip, tiny hands pulling your attention down to where it played. You let it, stroking its gossamer wings with a trembling thumb… though your thoughts were far from present. 

Every word you’d thrown in anger replayed in your head, harsher with each remembrance, until you almost wished you could snatch them back. It was… incredibly embarrassing knowing that this faerie, along with all its companions, had to witness you in such a state. So letting the little one inspect your finger, tolerating the surprising and odd strength of its vigour, was your way of apologising to it— for making it get caught in your outburst.

“You will not speak of them again.”

Your head jerked up, startled. “What?”

“I do not want to hear their mention on your tongue. Not once more.”

The words landed like an unavoidable command— the ones that are final and absolute. You stared, mouth parting, some protest fumbling to rise— Why? Why can’t you? He can’t tell you to do that— But nothing left your lips.

“But… why?” Your voice cracked.“Why can’t I—”

“Because you must not.” His interruption was firm, and he offered no explanation beyond that— only expectation.

And suddenly, you felt it again— that cornered, breathless shame, as though your refusal alone made you childish, and as he’d said; unreasonable. You shook your head, cradling the faerie closer as if it may bring you comfort.

“…I hope you’re not trying to make me forget them. You can’t expect me to.”

“That is not what I ask of you. I merely ask for your obedience in what I command. Hm… How should I explain this?” 

The dragon mused to himself. It only served to make you feel even more of a dimwit— something you knew he must have intended.

“Look around you, Child of Man—” His words eventually fell with an even tone. “The trees that crown this valley, the skies stretched above them, the very grass beneath your feet. The faerie that perches in your palm, and the ones who hide among the leaves. Do you not see how they bend to my will?”

He looked to the river— and though he did not tell you to go… that is what you did. So you stood there, where the current caught the light in a resplendent show of glittered little dottings.

“Look there. Look at your reflection. I wonder, do you see it? That, too, is mine. The face you wear is not your own. The hand that holds the faerie is not your own. You breathe because I allow it. You live because I keep you. Every part of you has been claimed. Now do you see why you must listen to me?”

(And just like that, any affection you’d gained for him throughout the weeks seemed to vanish in all but an instant.)

As if you had fallen into an enchantment to forget the chains beneath the flowers, it was clear that you’d forgotten your place— grown much too comfortable, much too bold. But the dragon did not need to reprimand you for that. You did that just fine on your own. For you understood, then, the purpose of his words; not to reason with you, but to leave you cornered with nothing to stand on. To remind you that you were in no position to deny him, that disobedience itself was made absurd when the very earth bent to his command. 

His stare honed to a point, striking through you as clean and cold as steel. It was clear, now. Unlike the faeries, who accepted you as a guest in their realm— the dragon did not see you as so. It was all so, very clear. So clear, in fact, that you found yourself finishing his words in your mind before he put them there.

“You are mine to keep. Body, voice, and mind. And I shall eliminate anything to preserve what belongs to me. So, I will say it again; I do not want to hear of these boys— not even once."

𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 wonder about your captor, you’d have to wonder if he knew exactly what he was doing. Too quickly, too cruelly, he had reminded you of your reality— while robbing you of the one thing that could have kept you sane; the freedom to speak. Now, what had once consoled your captivity was the belief that you could tell the dragon anything. A foolish hope, perhaps, but it softened the edges— that if all else was lost, at least you had someone to confide in. Someone to keep your memories alive, to let your thoughts spill into air instead of festering and wasting away inside you. But what you had failed to truly digest then… was that this ‘someone’ was the very being who had caged you here in the first place.

You never felt the need to go outside after that— and so, you never did. You never felt the need to talk to your captor, either— and so, you never did. (Unless he demanded it— which was something you used to find almost endearing… However, now it only makes you feel sick.) There was a fleeting thought that he would become irritated at your silence— but surprisingly (and if you cared to wonder, you’d wonder if you should be offended) he didn’t seem to notice. Or if he did notice, he didn’t mind it.

Yet even above the grief of settling into this quick, cruel reality… something else ran deeper still; offense on behalf of your friends— Ace and Deuce. To be trapped with a creature who, magnificent in his malignity, mocked to death the two boys you loved most in the world made a black, sticky hatred curdle inside your heart. So you sank into the carpet most days, refusing even to glance at him— because to look at him meant remembering, and remembering meant rage.

But for all your hatred, you were obedient. And so your captor, with a twisted tenderness, gave you one small allowance; to walk the corridors alone. It was meant as mercy, you supposed— though the stone passages did not feel merciful. And you could not enjoy the secrets within the walls either… for what purpose would it have served, if it was not in the company of the boys who were the ones truly interested in the first place? Still, you wandered those corridors, if only to keep your flesh from melting into the carpet.

It was during one of these meanderings that you saw them.

At first, you thought the castle was playing tricks on you, as everything else in this strange, new world did. Too many days in silence, too many nights curled in on yourself, and now your mind conjured what your heart ached for most. Two figures stood at the far end of the hall, blurred and trembling in the torchlight, as though stitched from memory itself. You rubbed at your eyes and blinked hard, then you looked again— expecting the mirage to vanish. It couldn't have been them. You had thought you heard their laughter before too, had felt their hands brush yours in dreams. You had woken to the echo of voices that weren’t there. This was no different. It had to be no different.

…But this time— not like the other times— they didn’t vanish.

Instead, they moved. And not like tricks of the eye, either. One careless and quick, the other desperate and wild. Ace’s sprint, Deuce’s charge— exactly as you remembered. And when they shouted your name, the sound split the silence so violently that your heart nearly stopped. No dream could shout like that. No vision could breathe your name so raggedly— breathe life into you.

“What are you doing here—?” 

But before you could finish your own sentence, you were already rushing to meet them. For a moment you were terrified your arms would pass through empty air— until they didn’t. You were able to take both boys into your arms. And you kissed them— right at the corner of their mouths as you always used to do. Right as you’d always dreamt of doing. And soon that kiss turned into multiple, and you weren’t sure where you were peppering them anymore— only that it was all over both of their faces as you squished their cheeks together.

“We came back for you, of course. Fuck… I didn’t think you’d be alive…” Ace breathed in between your flurry of affections, wrapping a single arm around your waist. The intimate gesture confirmed to you that this couldn't have been anything but real— and that was enough for you. 

So for the first time in months, your soul crawled out of its hiding place. 

“You could say it less like an ass…!” Deuce choked, glaring at his companion as he, too, cradled his arm across your back. “We’re so sorry, (Y/N), we thought bringing you here wouldn’t have been a big deal— we just wanted to let you go out and experience something with us for once… If we’d known that thing was here we’d never even have thought of letting you come— let alone have left you by yourself. I could’ve sworn I was holding your hand as we ran but…” His words came forward all at once and you could tell they must have been waiting to be let free for a long, long while. His shoulders slumped, and he looked nothing short of dejected. Then his hands moved to cup both sides of your face, pressing his forehead to yours. “I’m sorry. That was my fault.”

But you didn’t care for any of their apologies. All you were glad for was that they were here— that they were really here… and more importantly, that they were here for you. Every mean-spirited word from your captor, every implication of doubt he tried to force onto you— it all abated. Now, you were reminded just how much you loved these two— and how much they loved you in return. 

He was wrong— your captor; he was wrong. They love you. You love them. Nothing could change that.

You shook your head in dismissal, an overjoyed smile plastered on your face. Soon you were nuzzling your face into their necks, pushing yourself into them with such force they nearly lost their footing. Deuce was stroking the back of your head— you knew his hand by heart, so even though you couldn’t see, you knew it was him. And you knew it was Ace’s hand trailing from your waist to the small of your back— then down to your hips in a comforting gesture.

But the reality you had been forced to swallow… came rushing back as quickly as it fell away.

“I love you. And there’s so many things I wish I could tell you but you need to go… now! Before he finds you—!” You ushered, face contorted with worry. You pressed your hands against their chests, urging them back.

Ace didn’t seem deterred by your warnings. In fact, it only seemed to strengthen his resolve. He caught your arm and held it firmly. “Yeah, I don’t doubt you on that.” He said quickly. “All the more reason we have to move. Let’s go, before it DOES find us!”

“We won’t leave until we’re sure you’re with us.” Deuce assured, taking your other arm into his. “You have to trust us, okay? Just listen to what we say and we’ll explain everything after.”

Your feet dragged a little, the way a child drags when they don’t want to go— but your boys were strong and it did not slow them. They carried you along those long corridors you had never walked alone, past doors you had not dared to open, under arches where the lamps burned low. And then you looked at them proper and saw how their faces had gone solemn. You had never seen them like that before.

Outside waited for you like a basin of cold water. The air hit your chest and the night was wide. And with the night came the sound. Steel on steel like many bells. Men shouting and calling to one another. And above all of it a great roaring, the kind that shakes a rib. You knew that sound without seeing it. Your captor, the dragon.

Your head went light, full of the noise. “What’s going on?” You asked. “What’s going on? What’s going on—?” You asked again, because the answers did not come.

Now your boys looked troubled. They did not answer, only tightened their hold and pulled you from the noise. The clash of men and the roar of your captor slipped further, further, muffled as if under water. Your heart beat wild against their silence. Still they would not explain. Still they drew you on— and the forest opened to swallow you whole.

The trees grew thick and dark about you, branches low, shrubs scratching at your shift, and you had to keep close to them or else be lost. This wasn’t like the clearings your captor had carried you to, no meadows, no open sky. Only dark, and the hush of leaves, and the three of you moving quick through a new side of the world you were forced to accept— the one you were finally being taken away from.

Ace’s mouth was tense, set like stone. Deuce kept looking back, eyes shining too much, like he might cry if you asked him. And you did ask. Whispered, quick, before your courage left you— “Tell me what’s going on.”

Neither answered at first. They pulled you on, gaining quite a bit of distance until the noise was all gone. At last Deuce spoke, voice low, heavy;

“We sent those men to die.”

It caught you off guard entirely. You didn’t understand it much at all— but you did see the sorrow in him. You did see the guilt under Ace’s scowl. And in that moment you knew; Whatever fight had been raised behind you— for you… it wasn’t one to win— wasn’t one that could ever be won.

An execution.

Your eyes blurred. The steps went on, but you couldn’t stop the tears, sliding hot down your face. “I’m sorry.” You sobbed. “Fuck… I’m so sorry—”

Ace’s grip softened then, his fingers threading through yours, squeezing warm and steady. “Don’t. None of this is on you. If you were a burden, we wouldn’t have even come. All of this is worth it. Don’t cry now.”

Deuce leaned in close on your other side, pressing a kiss to your temple without the slightest bit of hesitation. “You hear him? Nothing’s your fault. Just keep walking. We’re never letting you leave us again.”

And so you cried between them, their hands sure, their words a shield, their closeness like shelter in the dark. And to be in their presence again was of the utmost reassurance. So for a little while, you let yourself believe what they were telling you; None of this was your fault. You’ll be with your boys forevermore, and that is all that could ever be.

Your boys, forevermore.

𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 to an end. That was what the old woman of the bookshop told you once, her voice quiet as she stacked the shelves, her back bent, her eyes lost far past what she was looking at. You had respected her words, for she carried a wisdom you never doubted, but you did not know what to make of them. At the time you thought— perhaps one day their meaning would come clear, and perhaps then you would understand. And so you put them away with the rest of the things that elder folk often said, the riddles and warnings, laid deep in the mind and left to rest. And that is where they stayed.

But you knew now. The time had come, it seemed, to understand what she meant. You understood because the sky parted with a roar, and the forest shuddered and bowed to him— as all the other things in this world did. Wings beat overhead, blacking the stars, and the air rushed cold against your face, past the shrubbery which was meant to be your cover— and down onto you. Your captor had come. Your captor had come for you. So now, you understood. 

As abruptly as it started, the good times… had now come to an end. 

The time of execution had come. Now, it was only a matter of who would be the executed. But you weren’t afforded the luxury of grief. Ace caught your wrist, Deuce pressed a hand to your back; both urging you down into the cover of particularly dense bushes. 

“Stay low.” Ace hissed. “Keep to the trees. He can’t fit in here.”

“Run.” Deuce urged, eyes too bright in the dark. “Don’t look back. No matter what you hear.”

And in that moment you understood what they meant to do for you. The memory of that first day returned— their flight, their fear— but tonight they did not run. So you kissed them, and they kissed back. Quick, desperate, a blessing and a promise all at once. Your lips to Ace’s, your lips to Deuce’s. It was something you wished you could take your time with, but no such thing was given. Tonight, you were the one running. 

You ran with the thicket tearing holes into your shift and wounds into your skin. Sharp branches and brambles opened streaks of blood across your arms and legs. Each inhale burned in your lungs; each heartbeat pounded like a drum in your temples. Behind you came the sound of battle— the crash of trees, the shatter of branches, the cry of your captor, the cries of your boys. Your strength wavered, hot pain and fatigue coiling through your limbs, yet still you ran, and you never looked back.

…But under all the weight— your fragile soul, which had only now gained freedom, finally split apart. 

So, though you had fought it, darkness had taken you for a while. Blood and screaming and execution put you under, and it laid heavy on you till it let you go. You did not know how long you were out, but you knew it couldn’t have been for much time— for the forest looked no different than when you left it momentarily. But when you regained all senses, it wasn’t to your boys calling you, nor to safety waiting— 

It was to arms pulling you up into a chest. 

A body was there to hold you up. But when you turned— no face was given to you. Your eyes went searching, but nothing would settle there. The shape of a man was made, yet the head was not made for seeing. Something blurred, something refused. Mind reaching, mind slipping. Your breath quickened, your chest rose hard. …Who was this? Why couldn’t you see his face? It was as if everything in the world came together to stop you from seeing the man in front of your eyes.

“Had I known what a sight you make from this close, I would have taken this form sooner and never let my eyes off you.”

The voice that reached you now was nothing like before. No iron in the brain, no thought forced beneath your skin. This one came pressed from lungs, shaped by a throat. A sound in the air, a sound the world could hear. That was what made it worse. For all its human weight, for all its mortal sound, you knew it was the same. The words came walking to you dressed in flesh. Your ears took them in, but your mind rejected them, staggering back from what it knew and what it could not bear to know. It was a voice with breath now— real breath, living breath— when it should never have been so.

Your captor, the dragon, the executioner; had taken the form of a man. 

And this man touched you in ways you never thought you would be touched. His hands gathered your shift as if he meant to wring it dry, bunching it slow, slow, hiking it higher up your thighs till the night air kissed what should have stayed covered. His palm slid over the dip of your waist, the soft hollow under your ribs, the valley of your chest, pressing as if to mold the shape into his own keeping. There was no shame in him— only the same hunger you had felt in his eyes when he watched you before, when his stare alone had set ghost-hands on your hips. Now those hands were real, and they traveled bold as any thief, claiming, groping, learning you as though proving you were his to unmake.

You looked down and saw the truth of his hands at last; claws dragging blood across you, smearing red into the white of your clothes. Not your blood. Not his.

Your boys. Your boys, your boys, your boys—

That thought alone was enough to bring the world rushing back. You shoved at him, desperate, and slipped free of his arms— and of his lips against your nape. You fell hard onto your stomach, then hastily flipped yourself over, scrambling backwards on hands and heels, dragging your body away from the monster who looked like a man without a face.

Roots clutched at your clothes, stones pressed themselves into your palms, until your hand slid across something sharper still. You hissed, pulling back instinctively— only to see blood beading on your fingertips. And there, half-buried in the dirt, was the knife. Your knife. Torn loose from your girdle at some point in time, now waiting as though it had been set there for you to find.

The opportunity was not lost to you. So with a shuddering breath, your fingers closed around the knife. And before you could think, you moved— heaving yourself up from the ground in a wild lunge. You drove it into him with all the strength you had, the blade sinking through his flesh with a sickening resistance before it slid deeper. And you twisted— savagely— dragging the steel down. 

You felt it tear a jagged path through muscle, felt the tremor of his ribs beneath the force of your strike, hot gushes of blood spurting over your hand, your wrist, your sleeve. For one frantic heartbeat, hope flared— surely, this was not a wound any living human should bear… But he only looked down at the ruin of his own chest with something almost like mirth, lips curving into a weary smile; a smile without a face.

Leisurely, he wrapped his hand around the knife’s hilt and pulled it free, the steel singing as it grated against torn bone, opening the wound wider so that blood spilled in torrents. He held the blade up between you, crimson dripping steadily. (It was a horrifying sight; the flesh of his chest flayed open, and yet he smiled at you.)

“Little one,” he murmured, “did you think iron could part me from you? An army? Come, now. I expected better from you.”

His hand caught your chin, forcing your lips apart. Then the knife— your knife, your wonderful knife given to you by your beloved Ace— was pressed into your mouth. 

Its edge carved messily against your tongue as he shoved it deeper, slicing its way past soft flesh, filling your throat with fire and iron. The taste was unbearable, metallic, salt-thick, a mingling of his blood and yours. You gagged, choking on the bubbling liquid as the blade cut its way down your gullet, warm rivulets running back up and over your lips, staining you in a mixture that was both him and you.

“Good.” He breathed, eyes without a face fixed on the convulsions of your body. “Even your rebellion leaves you stretched open, swallowing me whole. You’ll never be empty of me again.” 

Inch by inch, he dragged the blade back out, its edge rasping cruelly against torn muscle, leaving your mouth spilling blood instead of sound— your scream mangled, trapped forever in the ruins of your throat. You clutched at your neck with shaking hands, nails raking desperate fissures into your own skin as if you could claw the agony free, but it only spread like fire through every nerve, leaving your limbs trembling, your body buckling beneath the weight of it.

Your vision swam red, not just from the blood in your eyes but from the sheer, consuming hatred that clawed at your chest. You did not know if he was still smiling, for whatever sense you had was lost in the haze of your fury. Fury to him. Fury for your boys. Fury for everything he had taken from you and everything he was still tearing apart. You wanted to fight, to sink your nails into his skin, to scream until your throat shredded further— but the pain pinned you down, a white-hot spike through every vein. 

(It hurts—it hurts—it HURTS—) 

Instinct drove you to move, to escape. You clawed at the ground, dragged yourself forward, every twitch of muscle sparking agony through your ruined body. (You had to get away. You had to—) But before you could even crawl more than an inch, his hand clamped around your ankle. The strength in it was effortless, dragging you back into the shadow you hated more than death itself.

Crouching low, his shadow blocked out what little light you had left. Your legs kicked weakly, uselessly, until his hand caught at your thigh and tore downward. The delicate stockings you had cherished— once white, once untouched, once yours— ripped apart in his fist. The once pristine white, now soaked through with blood, clung wetly before peeling away— the ruin of it a mockery of everything that had been clean, everything that had been yours alone. A desecration of all things innocent.

“Where are you going?” He asked softly, as if you were a child caught in some silly mischief. The faceless smile reappeared to you as he leaned closer, voice curling into your ear. “I intend to fill you with much more than just blood, you see… So don’t go anywhere.”

“No—!” 

The word should not have existed. The very utterance of it should have been impossible— for just a moment ago, you know he pushed the knife into your mouth. Had your tongue shredded against steel— and you know the taste of nothing but iron and fire. You should not have been able to speak, and yet here you were— screaming, protesting… as though you had never been torn apart at all.

Your mind reeled, grasping for what was real— What was real—? You swore the memory was clear; of him split open from collarbone to navel, of the blood pouring in the torrents, of the sight of his chest flayed raw— …Was that real? What was real—? Here he crouched, looming over you— whole, unbroken, skin unmarked save for the grin that stretched widely across his lips. Nothing made sense. Nothing held. Pain drifted, sharp and sure, yet the evidence of it dissolved in front of your eyes.

Now he was crawling over you. The ground took your spine, and his limbs closed in, claws biting earth on either side of your head till you lay inside the prison of him. Now you could see that he was bare of any clothes— his body sculpted and naked like the statues meant to represent gods. But there was no beauty in this bareness, in the art of the pure human body; because this man could hardly be considered a man at all.

His mouth came onto yours, but this was no kiss. This was not a kiss at all. Kisses were supposed to be sweet, or passionate, or tender. A kiss was supposed to carry laughter and sorrow and every vulnerability hanging upon the lips, love spilling easy and steady out into your beloved. That was a kiss— you already knew about kisses. Your boys had taught you that much— shown you it, let you experience it. But this? What was being done to you? This was no kiss.

This was a brand, hot and heavy, but not in the way that made the world seem brighter and made life feel good. You wonder, was the world always so dull? Was it only your boys that filled your life with light, or did this monster just sap everything out naturally? Now everything seemed lifeless to you. Were the trees always dead? 

…And were these thorns always here? 

Now there were thorns wrapping around you. Barbed vines crawling, twisting, finding every soft place to bite. Thorns in your arms, in your legs, in the thin skin over your ribs. His claws too, cutting and wandering, so that you couldn’t tell where the plant ended and the man began. The air stung, the earth swayed. Breathing hurt. Thinking hurt. The thorns kissed and tore. He kissed and tore. His claws pressed and opened. Everything was red and black and moving. You felt his eyes on you as much as you could see them, and you felt them deeper than the wounds on your body. You wanted to close your own, but you couldn’t. You wanted to run, but there was nowhere left to run.

And through all of it, the questions fell away, one by one, until only one remained. 

What have you done to deserve this?

A gasp tore free at last from you, sharp on the lungs and wet upon your lips, for it came blood. It bubbled up your throat and spilled from your mouth in a thin red stream, slipping past and staining your chin. You choked on the taste of iron, gagging, coughing, spattering yourself.

And he— he bent to it as though you were a chalice poured for him alone. His mouth found the spill, tongue dragging up the line of your jaw, greedy as a beast lapping from the ground. He licked you clean as though none of it belonged to you at all. Then his lips pressed hard to yours once more. But this time the action managed to be even worse, and you hoped you would die before he did what he wanted to do; His tongue forcing its way past your teeth, sweeping the blood from the inside of your mouth, your cheeks, savouring it with a deep groan. 

But no matter how erotic and obscene he sounded, it would never make it a lover’s touch. He drank your pain but it was for himself— not in the selfless way a lover would.

“Ah…” His head lolled backward, and he licked his lips clean of any remaining fluid. “When I realised you were gone, I was going to find you and kill you. I would have kept your corpse around… but I think I’ve found a much better purpose for you. You shall be my mate. Would you like that?” 

Anything but that. Anything but this. 

Your head jerked side to side before the thought could stick, before the sentence could even take shape in your conscious thoughts. 

Not that. Not this. Not him. Not ever. 

The thorns knew what you wanted before you did, and they didn’t like it. They tightened at your throat, coiling and biting deeper, drawing a wet heat up into your collar, pressing, constricting, silencing. More gagging, more choking, more sobbing. Spit and blood and the hurt of it. Tears spilling hot. All you knew was that you were shaking your head no, and that you couldn’t muster a single word.

‘Please, just let me die’.

The thorns were angry at you for that. They hated you. They hurt you because they hated you. But he didn’t hate you. The sick glint in his eye said so. He smiled at you— right at you, only at you— and that made your wish all the more apparent. You wanted to die. His finger pressed to your lips, shushing you so sweetly, so softly, consoling you as one would with a child. You wanted to die then, too. Then the finger left your mouth, a claw snagging at your lower lip and leaving blood behind. He hurt you because he wanted you. That made you yearn for death. And then there was the way he held your head and kissed your temple in kindness— but it was no favour. 

“You don’t want to be my mate?” He frowned, and tilted his head in that familiar way. Now he was back to your cheek, holding your face gently. “Why?”

…Why? Why? Your mind grew all fuzzy with anger and confusion. Why? Finally, your voice returned. A strangled cry left you, ragged and raw, spilling out in a sound that was no longer despair— rather the unbridled rage that had simmered just beneath the hopelessness. Why? The vines constricted your arm, but you didn’t care anymore— you didn’t care for pain, or even in this moment; death. You jerked your limb upward with all the force you could muster. The thorns ripped through your flesh, tearing open your skin in long, jagged strips. Muscle knotted and pulsed beneath the exposed wounds, sinew stretched and glimmered wet with blood. 

Every nerve sang agony, every heartbeat roared, but still you tore free— and your hand struck for all your anger. Why? Your nail plunged into his eye, and it gave way beneath the pressure with a wet squelch— a horrible sound that made your stomach twist in disgust. You gripped, twisted, yanked at him with a feral desperation, and threw him off— and every muscle trembled but you ran.

…But why? Why were you still on the ground? Why was he here? Didn’t you just throw him off? Didn’t you just—? Why? Why? Why? Your arms strained, your legs kicked, but nothing moved. The weight— his weight pressed you flat. His hands— his impossibly heavy, unyielding hands, a constant to your body— pinned you to the earth. Why? Why? Why? Didn’t you hurt him? Didn’t you—? And yet, he was whole, above you, pressing you into the soil, bending everything you knew into something you could not understand. Why? Why? Why?

Now his fist was in your hair, yanking your head back harshly until his lips grazed your ear. Then his voice was back to how you always knew it to be— felt, not heard. And it felt horrible.

“I was going to make our first time sweet, but I think you need some discipline.”

(All you remember was the feeling of cool air against your bare skin. The feeling of being split apart, of blood running down your thighs, of other fluids filling up your insides. Of bites to your nape, your back, your shoulders. Of begging, pleading the word no— over and over. Yet through it all, only one thing stands out to you, now—)

“Look at me in my face, (Y/N), tell me… do you still think I am magnificent?”

(…That was the first time you heard him say your name. You couldn’t recall ever giving it to him— but you couldn’t think of that, then. You couldn’t even think of looking at him. No matter how hard he clawed at your neck, twisting it to force your eyes upon him— you couldn’t. No matter how roughly he made ‘love’ to you— you couldn’t. Instead, you closed yourself shut and let yourself drift off to what you could only hope was a land of no return. But even as you had shunned all the sights of the cruel world you would never escape… all you would see were the lifeless eyes of your boys forevermore; And that was all you could think of—)

(Your boys, nevermore.)

𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏, 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 you was a constant nightmare. Normally, rest was solace; a moment of respite from the every day— but what happened to you was far from what was normal. What happened to you was so traumatic that your mind was unable to do anything but relive it— even in sleep, which so often provided you peace. Ironically, when you opened your eyes and sank yourself back into the living nightmare, it was all much calmer than what you saw behind closed eyelids— and what you’d experienced before that.

You shot up from your position, atop your ragged carpet strewn. (The uneven surface is just as uncomfortable as it has been all these days, but at the very least it is something that is yours. The same could not be said for your body.) The first thing you noticed about yourself was how ordinary you felt. Your body was… fine. Unexplainably so. It was strange. How present the sensation of thorns did feel upon your skin— just as they did before, but there were no marks to show for it. You traced your clavicle lightly with the tips of your fingers to confirm, and indeed all that was met was smooth, untouched skin. You are fine. Your skin was unblemished, free from the physical scars you were so sure he would leave. 

A soft exhale escaped you, and your eyes drifted around the room. It looked the same, just as it always did. All towering arches and gilded patterns carved into dark stone, the faint flicker of candles casting shadows onto everything but what you actually wanted to see. You didn’t dwell on the sight— what would be the point in that? You already knew this place by heart.

And then your gaze found him.

Malleus. 

For whatever the reason, the name appeared to you, and it felt wrong to think of it— so you knew it must have belonged to him. So this was the dragon. And this was what he truly looked like.  

He sat atop a pile of gold, still as a statue, and like a living portrait; something too perfectly framed to be real. Regal, and utterly otherworldly. Dragon horns curled back from his head, wicked in their shape but elegant in design. His green eyes gleamed, brilliant and luminous in the dim, and there was an old cruelty hidden behind them. His face was as pale as it was beautiful— feminine in its elegance, masculine in its structure. He’d be perfectly handsome by any society’s standards.

What was most curious was the garments he adorned. Faintly, at the back of your mind, you recalled him assuring you that he was well aware of royalty’s embellishments. Now, you understood why— for the clothes he wore currently would be fit only upon the body of a king. They were not clothes typical of any fashion you’d associate with modern times, but that didn’t negate the fact it was gorgeous. Midnight velvet clung to him in sweeping folds, parted at the chest to reveal the pale expanse beneath. Silver wrapped around the base of his horns, casting a faint gleam over their black surfaces— framing a single emerald set into the metal like a crown jewel. But nothing commanded your attention so wholly as the shoulder guards— carved from gleaming metal, curved like the wings of the beast he once was.

You wouldn’t be surprised if he were a king, himself. 

You, by contrast, wore only a shift. Even your lucky stockings were gone. But like the body it clung to, this shift did not belong to you— for it was much too clean to be so. You were sure your old one, the one that was yours, had been ruined— stained with blood and whatever fluid that had passed between you and the man before you. (You think the same could be said for your own being, as well).

Your hand slipped from your neck and came to rest in your lap. You found yourself unable to look away from him, and in the silence of his gaze, fixed so intently upon you… all you could see were the things he had done. Yet for all the terror, disgust, resentment and humiliation— your expression remained empty. As long as you held his wordless stare, those ugly emotions became muted— just as the cusp of bubbling over, but ultimately unable to as you wish they could.

“You asked… if I still thought you were magnificent.” You began, and if you weren’t feeling the way you felt, you would have been surprised at the flatness in your voice. You looked him over once more, taking in the sight of him in full. You didn’t see him properly while he…

“I didn’t answer you then. But I have my answer now.” 

Malleus’ eyes narrowed, a sight you’ve long since been acquainted with— if only in the form of a great dragon. But no longer did you feel anything by it, not even with his new appearance. What should have made you sink back into the carpet instead made you rise. And you approached him— not with the caution you should have exercised, but with a sense of tranquility that could only come from one who’d already accepted their fate. 

For a moment, you remembered the song that forced your involvement with this man. And suddenly, the irony of it all became much more apparent. You approached him… as a queen approaches the executioner’s block.  

It was a cruel joke just waiting to deliver its even crueler punchline.

“I think you are horrible. The very sight of you makes me sick to my stomach.”

Malleus rose slowly. You had braced yourself for a snarl, perhaps even a threat— but none came. Instead, his ashen lips curved into something resembling a smile, and he drew himself closer to you. In moments, he stood mere inches away.

“You are rather cruel in your words.” He muttered. In this form, and in the still silence, his voice was no longer one that resounded within your head. It was grounded and real and it came from his throat— and it was right in front of you, just as he was. “I cannot imagine what I’ve done to deserve such disdain from you.”

“What you have done to me goes beyond cruelty! You are a vile, perverse creature.” 

His hand lifted to your face, a caress too soft for the malice you knew he carried— yet still, you did not falter.

“Hm? I have no recollection of doing such things to you. I merely presented you the most intimate parts of myself, and loved you to my fullest.” He responded quite calmly for an accusation that should have enraged the average person. Instead of that, he sounded almost amused.

“Stop that. Don’t say that. You always do this, you’re always getting in my head…! Telling me half-truths and giving me an illusion of choice— I know what you do to me! I should… I should strike you for what you’ve done. I should be terrified. My insides should be shredded. My body should be cut. I’m sure I should be dead…! And I should lash out at you for that— But when I look at you, when I look into those eyes…”

Cool palms, careful and deliberate, cradled you now— one on either cheek, as though you were something delicate and precious. It was obscene, and surely was audacious on all accounts, but you couldn’t pull away; neither physically nor mentally.

His face was inches from yours now, eyes fixed and unblinking. Everything else seemed to fall away, swallowed whole by the green glow of his gaze. It was all you could see— two glaring, unnatural lights, boring into your own.

“What is it that you feel?” His voice was impossibly soft. “Look into my eyes— do not look away. Tell me, how do you feel?”

“What do I feel…?” You echoed, as soft as him. “I hate you. That… That is what I feel.”

Now his nose brushed against yours, and you could feel his breath brush against your lips. His eyes eclipsed the world. He eclipsed your world. Everything you were, are, and would be. And without realising it, your body leaned in— drawn forward, head angled just slightly, as if pulled by the magnetic gravity of his mouth. His gaze flickered to your lips. Yours to his.

“Is that so?” He smiled, the words nearly a kiss themselves. “Do you truly hate me?”

Your lips trembled against the air that separated them. “Yes.” You whispered— if it could even be called that; for your voice had all but died in your throat. “I hate you…”

“Mmh… Do you know what I think?” Malleus asked, studying your face in between his grip. “I think you’re hiding something from me. You’re not telling me how you truly feel. How I make you feel. What were you going to say earlier, hm? Tell me, (Y/N), what do you feel when you look into my eyes? You know I do so adore when you start with your spiels. I have missed them, you know.” There was a pleading look in his eyes, one that was more mocking than genuine.

“…I feel… like a shell. But I also feel… like a pot that is about to boil over. When… the bubbles are just at the edge of spilling— then you take it off the heat, and they simmer down. Only to put it back on, and repeat the proccess… Everytime I think about what you did, how you killed them, how you raped me, violated me in front of them… I want to lash out at you but I just…” 

Now, your head was starting to feel hazy. You couldn’t say you were entirely aware of what you spoke— only that, somehow, you meant every word and that Malleus hummed thoughtfully at them. A simple conversation, he made it seem like.

“I want… I want to hate you. I know I should hate you. I… I do hate you. I shouldn’t be talking to you like this. But I… just—”

“But you just can’t bring yourself to act on your hatred, is that right? Clever girl. Then let me be honest with you, as you’ve been with me. All of this, everything you feel, and everything you cannot feel… is because of me. And it will always be so, and never has been anything else.” His lips, still curved in a small grin, brushed against your eyelid. It was a soft kiss. You’d shut your eyes to block him out, but even that small refusal was trespassed— just as he’d trespassed into your conscience. 

“Because of you…” 

The voice that came out of you was not a voice that you recognised. Soon, you were leaning into his touch, into his kisses— peppered all throughout your face. (You swore you didn’t want it. You’ll always swear that. By God, you didn’t want it.) Even more did that confirm your suspicions— he was doing something to you. You didn’t know what— only that it was something that subdued you. Something that rendered you immobile, standing in the worship of a man made of everything unholy in the world. The man you hated most.

You had so many questions. So, so many. (Why bother with all this? Why was he kissing you so tenderly? Why was he revering you? Why was his touch so loving? Why did it feel worse than any act of hate he could’ve given to you? Did he always intend to do this to you? Just what about you could have been so possibly alluring— Why you? Why your Ace and Deuce? Your boys?) But every one seemed to die on your tongue before you could get it out. You stood there in silence, letting him practically drape himself onto you.

“Your friends are dead.” 

He’d said it after a moment of silence. So plainly, so without warning… that for a moment you thought you’d misheard him. 

“I devoured that foolish army in its entirety.” He went on, almost idly in thought as he continued with his affections. “But those boys… I reserved them. I placed them at the fore, impaled them upon stakes myself. A fitting display.”

…Something within you surged— the pot just about to boil over. For a single second, the heat stayed on. And in that second, you shoved him away, staggering back so hard you nearly lost your footing.

“What are you talking about? What are you talking about—? Tell me this is your poor attempt at a joke—!”

But there was no reply. No correction. No cruel smile to betray a lie. If anything, the man only seemed confused at your sudden parting from him. You staggered back another step as if it would distance you from the images forming in your mind—

Ace, mouth open in a scream that never finished, lips split down the center by a sharpened stake. Deuce, crumpled around the spike like a rag doll, impaled clean through the gut. Their skin waxen and bloodless, eyes wide and dry in the sun. Or worse— already picked out by birds, the sockets hollow and oozing, tongues black with rot, flies and maggots and every parasite of the world nesting, wriggling in their throats.

You stared down at your hands.

Would you even recognise them, if you touched their faces now? Would you be able to kiss them tenderly as you always did— or would their jaws fall slack at your contact, flesh sloughing off like overripe fruit, teeth slick with decay clattering to the mud?

A sharp breath hitched in your throat. The pot boiled over— only to be yanked from the fire again. And in that space, something else returned. Your pain.

You remembered the feeling of thorns burrowing into your body— how easily they’d split your skin, tracing lines down your arms, your thighs, your ribs. Slicing through muscle, tearing through cloth, and everything else that belonged to you. But when you looked now, there was no mark. No sign that you’d ever bled. He had done that— the destruction and the mending. With a flick of his wrist, no less, or perhaps not even that.

“Surely, if you healed me completely when I was in such a state… You could bring them back? And let them go far from here, never to bother you—” You paused as you rethought your phrasing. Every word was a dance upon jagged glass. “…Never to bother— us… again.”

Malleus’ face contorted into an expression of what you could only describe to be pure, unfiltered disgust. As if the very proposal of showing your loved ones mercy were an insult to his very being. It was apparent, he wasn’t going to entertain the idea— not in the slightest.

Terror, disgust, resentment and humiliation. Of all those emotions within you— desperation was what surged through. You stumbled forward, right into the arms of the man you hated most, bunching the fabric of his clothing in your trembling fists. And you looked up at him with shaky eyes so pleading, with tears gracing just at the cusp of your lashline— if you could feel anything other than mania, you would feel ashamed of yourself.

“We have spent so much time together. You have listened to everything I have said about them— you know how much I care for them, how much I cherish them… and you take them away from me? Was taking me away from them not enough? Why must they suffer for—”

One moment, the words were still scattering from your lips. The next, they were strangled mid-sentence, caught in your throat as sobs often are. 

His fingers wrapped tight around your jaw— his palm flat across your windpipe, not quite crushing, not quite letting you breathe. You were silenced. He was silencing you. And soon after your silence did his grip on your throat loosen— though not in mercy, but in transition. Fingers that had crushed the words from your windpipe slid higher, curling beneath your jaw, then sweeping up the sides of your face. His palm held your cheek while his thumb and forefinger pressed in— firm and deliberate— squishing your cheeks until your lips jutted out in a helpless, involuntary pout.

"I recall telling you that I would kill for anything that belonged to me. I also recall saying that I never wanted to hear of them again. I do not understand why you are so confused… Was their deaths not the only plausible outcome from your foolishness?” His brows furrowed. “You know I am positively enraptured by your way of thinking, but I must caution you… this subject wearies me, (Y/N). For now, I merely wish to dote on my mate. Is that so horrible?”

You couldn’t believe what he was telling you. You wish you were too rattled to understand what he was saying— for that would have been a much more merciful fate. But you were painfully aware of the point he made— and of the blatant, twisted barbarity of it.

Malleus tilted his head in the way he frequently did as a beast. His eyes were half-lidded, almost curious as he stared down at the shape he'd made of your mouth. Then, with a ghost of a smile, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to the center of your puckered lips— so soft, so chaste it may have very well been mistaken for tenderness, had it not been him.

The kiss broke, but he didn’t move far. Instead, his fingers uncurled from your face only to slip around the back of your neck— and in the same breath, he pulled you back in. His mouth found yours again, no longer light nor gentle. His right arm remained firm around your back, caging you against his chest as his left hand held your nape fast, keeping you exactly where he wanted.

“Mmfh—!” 

Your mind only caught up to your body once the bastard’s mouth was already on yours again— hot and consuming and relentless. You gasped into that kiss, and that alone seemed to urge him on, as though the sound was something he’d been starving to hear. But then your hands, shaking but certain, found his chest. You pushed.

At first, he didn’t budge. Then, slowly, the pressure of your palms seemed to guide his mouth lower, until open-mouthed kisses scattered down your cheek, your jaw— no less fervent, but less precise. 

You thought that might buy you a moment, but it didn't. His right arm crushed tighter around you, locking your spine to his chest with such force it emptied the air from your lungs. His left hand at your neck kept you fast in place. Your head tipped backwards— and in that second, your fingers shot up.

You found them; the smooth curve of his horns.

You grabbed hold and tugged it as tightly as you could. He hissed— and it was a rather inhuman sound. Sharp and serpentine-like, and forced through bared teeth. Such a noise paired with the utter rage painted across his features took you back to the moment you’d first met him— a jolt of primal fear passed through you. This was the first time you’d ever seen him like this.

And in that singular moment as you found yourself paralysed in fear— in that singular moment… that was when he struck.

In one swift, brutal motion, his grip vanished from your neck— only to reappear elsewhere. Your body was yanked from the cradle of his chest and thrown down hard. The air punched from your lungs when you landed on your stomach. Your arms had scrambled to brace the fall, but they barely slowed it, and now your palms stung harshly.

“…You beg for your idiot friends, yet you’ve not once mentioned the countless lives they threw away in the process of ‘saving you’.” 

He spat the last phrase as if it were poison to his very tongue. 

“Are you so selfish a person? Do you not cherish the other men of the army who came to save you? I see… So, you only cherish those boys? Then, listen to me well.”

You were on the ground. You didn’t want to get up from there and you didn’t want to look at him. But you felt his footsteps stop right near your legs, and even without looking… you knew he must be looming over you right now. Your tears had begun to fall.

(And when he spoke, he killed you with words—)

“You would do me wrong, my love, to cast me off so discourteously— for now, I am all that you have. Those boys are dead, and I will never bring them back no matter how much of your pleas I must endure. Do you understand me? They will rot upon those stakes as long as I live to see it through. Therefore…”

(—your execution, your death.)

“You will either cherish me, or cherish nothing at all.”

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐍’𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐌 and it’s a lazy sort of day. The sort of day which slows time to a crawl. Still, the street is far from empty. Carriages rattle by, and the scent of bread and ash drifts from a nearby baker’s stall. The tavern behind them groans under its usual weight— creaking doors, clinking tankards, the low roar of patrons arguing over dice games and spilled drinks. Its crooked sign swings above the entrance, the painted name faded, almost illegible, from too many summers. 

A brother and sister have gathered just outside, sitting on the step where a young bard once perched with a serene smile and a lyre in her lap, weaving melodies so lovely they made even the loudest drunk hush to listen.

“She’s not coming back.” The brother says, arms folded tightly across his chest. “Told you. She’s gone.”

“You don’t know that!” The sister pouts, sticking her tongue out with a childish stubbornness. “But… Papa did say she might have run away…” She deflates at that, puffing her cheeks in thought. Then, just as quickly, her eyes light up again. “Ooh! Maybe she ran away with a prince!”

The boy groans, tossing his head back with exasperation. “She didn’t run off with a prince. That’s dumb.”

“You’re dumb!”

“Maybe she got married?” A smaller voice pipes up from behind a stack of crates. One of the siblings’ friends peeks his head out shyly, cheeks round and flushed with the heat of the day. “When you get married, you have babies. That’s what happens. She’s probably really busy…”

“Hmm? How many babies?” The sister asks, already invested.

The two children fall into thoughtful silence, squinting up at the sky as if the answer might be written among the fluffy clouds. The brother rolls his eyes and mutters under his breath, but he doesn’t walk away.

“Maybe three!” The friend chirps at last, grinning. “Like… One for each wish, you know?”

“Two boys and one girl.” The sister adds, beaming. “Just like us! And like the bard and her two friends… Ooh, do you think I could be a bard one day? I’ll play the lyre just like her!” 

The girl’s eyes sparkle and her friend nods along fondly to her words. He’s clearly engrossed in her ramblings— but the same could not be said for the brother.

“She left us behind for some other kids? That sucks.” He mutters, scowling now as he kicks at a loose stone by his feet. “I bet you she only plays for them, now.”

His words carry a bitter edge, but they don’t fool anyone. Any adult watching would see it for what it was— a boy sulking not out of anger, but because he misses the songs of the pretty bard under the awning. The pretty bard whose name could never be remembered, no matter how beloved she was by all. The pretty bard who was only truly understood by the old woman of the bookshop.

Alas; no more bookshops, no more laughter in the smithy or melodies floating out into the street. Just rumours now, of over the hills and far, far away.

Somewhere no man shall ever reach.

𝐈𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘, 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐃𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐍 to the lyre. The memory eludes you; the last time you’ve played it. But for whatever neglect that has been shown to it on behalf of yourself over the past few years, your daughter certainly makes up for it. She seems positively obsessed with the old thing, grabbing at it with chubby hands that look too much like yours, pestering you to no end to teach her to play. And unfortunately for you, her father is just as fond of pestering you over it as she is. So you sit for hours at a time, with four pairs of the same, carbon copied green eyes (your sons love to do whatever their father and sister are doing) watching you strum strings with a rusted muscle memory.

A faraway part of you— a fond part that you suppressed a long time gone— reignites with an assured affection when you see your children stumbling around together. Two daring boys with swords (stolen from their father’s hoard, of course) and a shy little girl with her worn lyre. It’s all too familiar a sight, and really, it’s a miracle that your husband let you name them what you did—

Ace, Deuce, and (Y/N). 

Oh, your precious babies… They’re all you have, so you try to make it count. You wonder, is it wrong to project your childhood onto your little ones? To give your daughter your own name, and your sons the name of the boys you yearn for? Ah… maybe it is wrong. (Your husband, for one, never seems to try to hide his discontent for your frequent reminiscing of the life you’ll never get back.) But you can’t help it; pestering your boys to treat their sister just a little bit nicer— because they’ll never know when they may interact for the last time. You’ve yet to tell them the last part, though— they’re much too young to have their head filled with old musings like that. Such musings belong in bookshops, spoken to young bards by older, lonely women.

Buried deep within the confines of your subconscious, you have a hope that someday you will regain some sense of normalcy. That some day, your husband will bring back what was lost to you. But the present part of you that has long since wilted with an idle content reminds you that the only life he would allow is the life that you both have created. And that is all that will ever be.

Ace, Deuce, and (Y/N). 

As far as the rest of the world is concerned,  the three of them are dead. But you know. You know it is not entirely so. The rotting bodies of your boys rejuvenate in the little ones you and your husband call your own. You, as well, live on through the little girl who sits atop her mother’s carpet and her father’s gold. You may not rot with your boys upon stakes, but your spirit has long since rotted with them. 

There are always two deaths— the real one, and the one people know about. That is how the saying goes, and you couldn’t agree more. Death has rocked you asleep; brought you to quiet rest. So for your first death, you’ll give yourself to your husband— to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, till the second do you part. You’ll let your boys prance around the castle grounds, a little too close to the bodies from which they received their namesakes. And you’ll let your daughter live where you couldn’t, and carry on the refrain of your death’s ballad—

Greensleeves.

❝ Farewell … my pleasures past,

Welcome, my present pain!

I feel my torments so increase

That life cannot remain. ❞

— O Death, Rock Me Asleep

Jade sets the glass in its rightful place and reaches for another, all while keeping his mismatched stare on you. He wonders how much pressure it would take for you to finally snap. Would you still be able to smile then? Could you even manage to stay afloat in pessimistic waters with that blithe façade of yours? If he were to cut into you with knife and fork—with dreadfully sharp words and even sharper actions—would you allow yourself to bleed out? Or would you accept your fate and smile up at him from your porcelain plate, promising him you’ll patch yourself up because it isn’t a big deal?

When you act so cheerful, so blissfully ignorant to the beast who lurks behind, it sets a potent yearning aflame. A yearning to break you well beyond repair. A yearning to take that smile, chew it up, and spit it out until it’s the most devastated frown he’s ever seen.

“Good work today, Jade!” With a breathless huff—he wants to bottle that breath and each one that will follow—you set the bucket down and roll your shoulders. Exhaustion shadows your face, adding deceptive age to your youthful appearance. “Do you need any help?”

“I’m quite all right. Thank you, though.” He returns your smile with one of his own, the usual placid, tight-lipped thing that both eases and unsettles depending on the situation. His default expression, forever the same unless circumstances call for the other faces he’s stowed in his vast repertoire. “You’re more than welcome to head back if you’ve finished for the evening. I can handle the rest.”

“You sure?” The bucket is in your hands again, and you carry it over to the sink to empty the murky water into the basin. He notes the way your arms shake ever so slightly as you struggle to balance the heavy thing against the counter. “I don’t mind waiting here until you’re done.”

“Very well. In that case, I won’t take too long.”

He finishes drying the remaining lineup, arranging each on its respective shelf before wiping the counter for extra measure. He doesn’t have to do it, but he does. It never hurts to be clinically clean.

Floyd should be done with the stock count by now, he thinks, gazing at the door leading to the kitchen. I should check it just in case.

After folding his rag into a neat square and tucking it away, he strides over to the door, opens it a crack, and pokes his head inside. The kitchen space is devoid of life. With furrowed brows, Jade opens the door wider just as Floyd jumps out from his spot behind the racks. He’s holding the clipboard in one hand and flailing with the other. His attempt at a fright does nothing to startle Jade, but it does cause you to flinch back. You do that a lot. Jade’s noticed that you scare easily, often falling victim to Floyd’s pranks during your shifts. It’s all harmless fun, but sometimes Jade catches himself wishing for Floyd to push you just a little harder. A little rougher. Maybe one day he will and Jade will finally witness tears lining your lashes.

“F-Floyd!” you snap, humiliated. 

“Gotcha, Shrimpy. You always fall for it, y’know? Like a silly, stupid Shrimpy.” He passes the clipboard to Jade on his way out and adds, “Pretty sure everything’s correct.”

“Is it?” Jade peers at his brother’s handwriting. “If you don’t mind, I’ll review it once more.”

“Be my guest. Wasn’t really havin’ a ball fillin’ it out anyway.” He shrugs and then beelines for you, lifting you into the air with ease. He spins you despite your protests. Nasally laughter soon overtakes silence. Floyd has always been fond of your reactions; he eats them up as if it’s a special treat. “I wonder if you’ll get sick. You get motion sickness, Shrimpy? Tell me! Tell me!”

A covert smile stretches onto Jade’s mouth as he disappears into the kitchen, the door swinging shut behind him. While he goes over the numbers and corrects the errors Floyd’s made, he listens to you pleading with his brother to release you. Most of the numbers align with the remaining supplies and ingredients, and he adds his own notes in the margins so that Azul will know which are especially low and in need of replenishment. Checking his brother’s work isn’t a favorite pastime of Jade’s, but when it comes to the lounge and its success he’d rather look over a few numbers than watch sales plummet and listen to Azul’s endless slew of woeful complaints.

Once he’s made the necessary changes, he slips the sheet from the clipboard and heads back out. You’re in the process of chasing after Floyd, who’s holding your timecard above his head and dangling it like it’s a piece of bait. Part of Jade wants to enjoy the spectacle, but the other part is ready for the sweetness of sleep. For once he sides with the latter and clears his throat to get Floyd’s attention. 

“Ah, you’re already done?” Having lost interest in the game, he drops your card at once. It flutters to the floor, and he watches with wide, gleeful eyes as you swoop down to catch it. “That all we gotta do?”

“I believe so. Azul’s staying late, so he will lock up.”

Jade sets the inventory sheet on the nearest table for Azul to find before retrieving and filling out his timecard. Floyd hasn’t even marked his hours yet, and Jade exhales an empty sigh and takes the initiative to write it in for him. It’s always been like this. Jade looks out for Floyd, not only because they’re family and have always done so, but because there are some instances where he’s much too careless.

It has been noted that the two of them are a package deal. A duo. A pair. Inseparable twins who balance each other with varying levels of insanity. Their bond is unbreakable, having been built from blood and the will to survive ever since they were vulnerable elvers. Floyd is a reflection of Jade, and Jade is a reflection of Floyd; that’s how they have lived. Like day and night, sugar and salt, and light and dark, they operate like clockwork, expertly in time with one another.

The center of their relationship has always remained the same, and Jade suspects it will never change, even after they’ve acclimated to human society. They are predators with finely honed instincts, masquerading above the water as humans. With razored rows of teeth and an insatiable hunger for unpredictability, the two of them function in a domesticated world. In order to survive in such a foreign environment, Jade has learned that they need each other, which is why it’s so salient that they get along most days.

And much like night and day, like a person with a shadow, one cannot exist without the other.

“See ya tomorrow, Shrimpy!” Floyd flashes you a jovial grin as you take your leave, but there’s a mischievous glimmer in his eyes. “I’ll be waiting…”

“Um, yeah… H-Have a good night.”

With your timecard now in Jade’s capable hands, he’s free to observe your handwriting. There’s nothing special about the way you write, but it still manages to mesmerize him. Every loop of each letter, messily intertwining like frayed strings of fate, adds charm to the script. It’s obvious you tried and failed to sign your name in cursive, but the fact that you even bothered to do so is cute.

It’s truly not that important, he reminds himself as he places the cards back where they belong.

“Shall we head back now?”

Floyd nods, stifling a yawn. As they walk through peaceful halls, he adds in a conversational tone, “Awfully boring when Shrimpy’s not around.”

Jade weighs that declaration and finds himself nodding in agreement. “Yes, I suppose it is.”

i. on a moonlit night, under an eave of twinkling stars, monops waltzes gracefully with the ghost of his other half. the shards of a shattered mirror reflect two sides of the same coin, of human and monster. when the clouds part and an ethereal beam encases the solitary monops, the illusion melts away into a fleeting dream.

Floyd is everything Jade is not: energetic, extroverted, and brash. Such adjectives can’t possibly describe Jade’s outward demeanor—the one he carefully orchestrates for public consumption. He’s polite and kind, soft-spoken and always wearing a smile despite the situation. He cloaks himself in a many-layered mask—a perfect predator with multiple disguises at his disposal. If he must shed a dozen skins to uphold his gentlemanly disposition, then he will gladly peel them away one at a time until he’s found one that fits flawlessly over bone. Jade could never hope to become what Floyd is, but what Floyd is not Jade is. And he is composed of qualities that reflect Floyd’s own behaviors. 

He’s not ashamed to admit what he lacks. This is just a facet of life. You can never truly have everything you want. If the world was fair, everyone would achieve their goals without adversity. Any aspiration, no matter how small and insignificant, requires an adequate fight to be worthy of achievement. Survival is not much of a dream, but it’s the only thing Jade’s ever known as he floats through the world alongside his brother. His dreams are Floyd’s, or so that’s what he’s always told those who enquire. He shares these things with him because he does not have any to call his own.

Not yet, at least.

And sharing—it’s a word he knows well. Everything that Jade owns, Floyd owns as well. They share the same face, the same room, the same clothes. They might even come to share the same lover one day, should they both find their hearts pierced by Cupid’s miserable arrows. Jade has never been against the concept of sharing. It’s an acceptable way of life for him. He grew up practicing the concept, and it has taught him how to coexist with others. Sharing is an extension of the bonds he’s formed.

Still, he’s avaricious in some aspects. Hopelessly so.

There’s no denying the difficulty that arises when one wishes to share in the turbulent waters of the Coral Sea, where the natural order caters to the strong and crushes the weak, but splitting the essentials is what guarantees survival. And if it’s worked so well in the past, why should he stop now? Therefore, sharing will always be a priority, even if their desires are fraught with selfish envy.

Jade is watching you again.

You’re sitting in the courtyard with Azul, gesturing wildly as you recount a story he can’t hear from where he stands behind a stone pillar. Azul’s expression is soft with amusement; his lips quirk up in laughter, and his eyes never leave yours. Your cursive may be a mess and you might be feeble in the face of danger, but you certainly know how to enthrall others. If Jade didn’t know any better, he’d suspect you to be a siren. Night Raven College would be the perfect hunting ground for a predator of that nature. Perhaps once you’ve charmed Azul you’ll devour his heart and leave a streak of gore in your wake.

That’s impossible. 

Jade is certain of this fact because he knows you’re not a predator. You are very much the harmless prey who has wandered into a den of ravenous beasts. He wonders if the thought that Azul may be dangerous ever crosses that empty, pea-sized brain of yours. He’s as much of a hunter as the rest of the students here, and with those eight tentacles of his he could easily send you to a watery grave. You wouldn’t have much of a chance to struggle, not unless Azul’s own benevolence grants you that futile hope. Thinking about it—about the thrill of a one-sided scuffle—has his heart racing, his palms wetting with sweat.

Oh, but you’re not meant to be Azul’s prey.

So get out of his eyes. Step off of the stage that entertains. Untangle yourself from unseen tentacles.

You are Jade’s.

From the moment the two of you crossed paths—from the moment you took up a job at the lounge and relied on him during your training—you belonged to him. 

And he’s not quite sure he wants to share you with anyone.

Perhaps that dumb smile of yours hides something far darker. Perhaps your blood wouldn’t taste as delectable as he once hoped if it’s already been tainted by Azul’s silver tongue. In his own paradise, an ideal world constructed within the confines of his mind, you wouldn’t look at another man, another woman, another person. Not another living thing. You wouldn’t speak to another man, another woman, another person. Not another living thing. You wouldn’t know the tastes of sweet poison or bitter love unless Jade chooses to bestow these flavors unto you. You would only see him, only taste him, only adore him with those wondrous eyes—eyes that are so impossibly strong even when the harshest of insults are thrown your way.

So get the fuck out of Azul’s eyes. Step off of the damned stage that entertains. Untangle yourself from unseen tentacles before Jade slices all of them off at the root.

These feelings ignite a perilous, potent spark deep within his chest. Seeing you smile at Azul in such a casual setting—it’s not right. This terrarium display is wrong. So wrong. 

The internal fuse has been lit and it’s nearing its inevitable implosion. Stop looking at him with those eyes. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.

If Jade could, he would slice your smile off and keep it for himself. Pin it to the wall like it’s a rare species of butterfly, your wings having been severed from the sky.

You’re unbearable.

He fears you wouldn’t belong anywhere in his ideal world, for if you found yourself in the depths of the Coral Sea he wouldn’t allow you to surface.

The most confounding specimen I’ve ever encountered.

Azul is an only child. His mother and step-father would miss him terribly.

— — — 

Jade spies the delightful pep in your step as you skip past the bar later that same day. You’re balancing drinks and desserts on a tray as you make your way to a nearby table, and he’s immediately reminded of why he’s so drawn to you. You’re a puzzle he has yet to solve—an experiment he has yet to collect enough data from. If he could, he’d shrink you down to the size of his index finger and place you in one of his terrariums so that you could live out your tiny life amongst an array of plants. And Jade would be content to observe from above like a godly sovereign with the power to change your fate in a single snap.

Perhaps it’s not right to view you as a specimen or prey. Perhaps it would be better to regard you as a slab of meat, raw and uncooked, just waiting to be snatched up in his maw.

“Please enjoy!”

Your voice pulls him from his reveries. It’s a melody he’s come to savor in solitude. Naturally lilting, it’s the type of voice even the most jealous of souls would covet. He wants to reach deep inside your throat, grasp it for himself, and cradle it to his ear as if it’s a secret-spilling conch.

But claiming ownership of your sound isn’t enough. He wants to—needs to—devour your everything. Your body and soul, marking you as his, ensuring you’re kept under his thumb forever, seared into his own existence like a brand. Then your every breath will be his, and the blood that courses through your veins shall also become his. The darkest of reds might just suit you more than the aquatic hues of Mostro Lounge’s uniform.

Oh, what he’d give to paint you in vinous vermillion.

“Jade, could you cover for me? I’m going to take my break now if that’s okay with you.” Jade must have scanned your hopeful expression for longer than normal because you begin to fidget in front of him, toying with the hem of your apron. “Uh, that’s fine, right?”

“Yes, of course. Go right ahead.” He sends you off with his trademark smile, dusting his destructive thoughts away.

After you’ve retreated to the kitchen, he turns his gaze on the patrons, listening to the noisy din of laughter and chatter. He overhears a group discussing peculiar textbook titles and how most of them are unnecessarily convoluted and complicated. One of the students brings up a title that didn’t make any sense to him and he describes his surprise when he learned it was a book full of love spells and potion recipes. His friends, as all close friends often do, crack jokes at his expense, prodding for more information on who he intends to enchant. The conversation is bland and juvenile, but it does manage to strike a chord of curiosity in Jade.

Love.

Jade has never known the true meaning of romance. Such a thing does not exist in his perfect world. In some lonesome corners of the ocean, merfolk reproduce because they must. Because it’s the only way to survive. It will be like that for him and Floyd in the future, lest they find themselves ensnared in true love’s deadly trap and choose to reproduce for the sole purpose of fickle feelings. To mate out of love rather than obligation—it’s not unheard of and he isn’t opposed to it. Many humans adopt this way of life.

Jade would like to try it for himself, but he doesn’t know how. He’s never known the answer to this question—the one equation he could never work out. Is his heart too small, or is he incapable of comprehending the complexities of romance? Perhaps neither is true. When he considers the requirements that must be met to qualify love as love, he realizes the adoration he feels for you is not fluffy or innocent. Can such a grand obsession be classified as love if it’s dark and spiraling, condemning him to horrific visions? 

Jade does not gaze upon you with fondness. He looks at you as if you’re to be his next meal.

Even when he feels like breaking you would quell some monstrous urge within him, there’s another side that wishes to simply lock you away and protect you from the world and its inhabitants. Because it’s the world that will save you from him, but if you were imprisoned in his world, where it would be just you and him, no one could ever hope to reach you.

Jade isn’t entirely cruel. He would like to share his hobbies with you. He would like to live alongside you in the Coral Sea, tying his life to yours. It’s not an impossible desire, but he knows you wouldn’t be content with this arrangement. Not because it would be unwilling. Not because it would be Jade who has fallen for you and dragged you beneath the waves. It’s precisely because it’s the sea that you might object. You would have to adapt to life in a new, underwater environment. You would have to relinquish certain pleasures unique to the surface, abandoning your bipedal friends and family to live in isolation with him.

But isolation is better than the other terrariums that wait for you. He’ll smash all of them so that you’ll only know this one—the one with him.

Jade has been moving on autopilot for so long now that it finally occurs to him that you’re nowhere to be found. The longer he spends counting the lounge’s staff, the more his observations are proven true. You haven’t returned from your break, which is very unusual considering you’ve always been so diligent about time management. Responsible, that’s what you are. It’s one of the qualities that’s won Azul over. 

He surmises it has also shocked his heart with bolts of not-so-lovely lightning.

Despite the bustling, crowded lounge, he slips inside the kitchen to search for you. Usually Floyd’s crowding around you whenever you have a moment to spare, but he isn’t anywhere in sight either. Jade knows his brother and his mood swings well. When he isn’t feeling the lounge, he’ll escape elsewhere until his mood has been restored. He can understand and overlook Floyd’s absence, but yours is inexcusable.

The chefs are hard at work cooking up delicious meals, and all kinds of savory scents blanket the air. Jade glances at the knife block tucked away in a corner, filled with blades of varying sizes, as he passes. After watching you for so long, he’s learned that you often spend your breaks in the storage room, away from the eyes of customers and Azul. Perhaps the space has become something of a comfort for you, or maybe you just like taking shelter in the kitchen.

A sharp gasp joins the chefs’ clattering.

Jade’s stare snaps towards the storage room door. He frowns when he notices it’s been left ajar.

As he approaches, he can make out the sounds of rustling fabric and salacious gasps. He peers through the sliver into the dimly lit space, a single yellow eye spying a terrible scene. It takes a lot to stun Jade Leech, but the view before him is stunning in a very crooked way. It sends a shockwave rumbling through his body, temporarily freezing him to his spot. Unable to look away, to preserve his eyes and mind, he watches. Every inch of him itches.

Bile claws up his throat with acidic fingers.

You’re pressed against the shelves, skirt hiked high and panties pushed haphazardly to the side. Towering over you, anatomy pinned to yours in a sinful connection, is Floyd. His hands are gripping your wrists as he rocks forward to slot himself deeper inside. You search for a solid hold to steady yourself, burying your head in your arm to muffle your keening cries. 

“Please… It’s… S’too much. Hold on,” you babble, clinging like a koala.

Floyd leans in to nip at the shell of your ear, eliciting a shudder and a squeal from you. “Not happening, Shrimpy…” His lips travel along the length of your neck, pressing playful kisses into your skin. “You’re really so cute, you know that? So cute and soft… I can’t keep my hands off of ya.”

“We really—oh—really shouldn’t do—hah—this!”

Floyd hums, nonchalant, and slowly slides out of your tight, gummy walls. The tip of his cock prods at your pussy once more, glistening with the dew of your essence.

“Why not?”

“Seriously… What if someone sees us? What if—”

Your retort is cut short when he snaps his hips against yours, filling you in a single thrust. You crumple in his arms, tears gathering in your eyes.

Tears. Because of Floyd. Tears.

“So what if they do? I’ll get ’em good if they peep on my Shrimpy.” He licks a stripe up your neck and then sinks his pointed teeth into the area, hard enough to draw blood. You flinch against him, your pretty face contorting with a mixture of pleasure and discomfort while he laps up your blood. Floyd hums merrily, the sound coming deep from within his chest. “Shrimpy always tastes so yummy. I wanna do this aaall the time!”

“Wait, don’t leave any marks!”

“Oops. Too late.” Grinning boyishly, he grabs your chin and tilts your head up to meet his greedy lips. “Lemme kiss it better for ya.”

Jade watches you melt into the kiss, watches you become putty in his twin brother’s hands. Your eyes flutter shut for the briefest moment, only to flash open when Floyd begins to thrust into you. He sets a hasty, sporadic pace as he pursues an orgasmic high. Your sobs are swallowed in sloppy, open-mouthed kisses that leave you breathless and reaching. You claw at anything stable enough to support you, your fingers curling into Floyd.

A perfect fit.

While he stands there and takes in the sight of his brother claiming the angel he had hoped to someday make his, it dawns on him that the entire storage room is stained with the memory of you. Your smell, your existence, your everything—it lingers even when you aren’t here. It is imprinted on the walls and shelves; it is on Floyd. Your entire soul has been his long before Jade even laid eyes on you.

Now he knows why you frequent the storage room. Now he knows your secret.

He’ll open your torso and pry it out of you, crush it underfoot, and insert a new secret. A better secret. His secret.

Floyd finishes inside of you with a husky, satisfied groan, his arms wrapped possessively around your trembling frame while you bite back bawdy moans. Jade is overcome with a loathsome chill. You have never belonged to him. Not ever. Certainly not now.

“We should get back out there.” Your mumbling reaches his ears, subdued in the cramped storage room. “Before someone comes looking.”

“Don’t wanna. S’warm and cozy inside.”

“Floyd…” Greedy hands are roaming beneath your shirt. You squirm, attempting to pull yourself off of his softening cock, but he yanks you against his chest and holds firm. “We can do this again later. But right now I need to clean up and you have to work. If we take too long, someone will definitely come looking.”

Floyd rolls his eyes, unwilling to acquiesce until yellow crosses yellow. For a strained moment Jade holds his brother’s inquisitive stare, investigating his blank expression for an iota of emotion. The air stales between the both of them, unspoken accusations festering. And then Floyd’s dull hues brighten and a wide smirk blossoms on his lips.

“Fine, fine. We’ll get back to work now.”

An apocalypse rages within Jade’s terrarium heart.

ii. when he turns to the shards for a solution, the image that is offered is weak and hazy. if he is to live without his other half, he must find ways to fill in the blanks. and so it is said that the lonesome monops clutched the largest shard in a resolute fist and cut away the impression of his other half.

In some cases, Jade is Floyd’s shadow, a reasonable body double who is admired for his patience and persistence. Sometimes he’s the collar and the leash; other times he is meticulously unrestrained. Everything is an act, carefully curated for unsuspecting audiences. Floyd is all physical destruction. He is swift like a clean cut, devastating like a tsunami.

For the first time in a while, Jade cannot bear the face he sees in the mirror. It doesn’t feel like it belongs to him, for it is a reflection of Floyd. It’s a permanent reminder that the two of them are linked whether or not he fancies that. But Jade does not want to be the collar and the lash, nor does he wish to recall the day Floyd took yet another precious thing from him. This face is proof that even he cannot have anything for himself. It is evidence that he is bound to share and share and share until death. He will remain as the shadow, the dark, the salt, and the night for all of eternity, a two-faced creature lacking a true identity.

Neither of them addresses the elephant in the room. If Floyd shows any indication that he wants to bring it up, Jade sweeps the topic away before it can poison his mood. He knows as well as Jade does that it’s not worth bickering over, even if their hackles raise whenever they look at each other.

So Floyd’s been fucking you in the storage room. What’s so traumatic about that? Really, it shouldn’t come as a surprise, but the image still persists in his head like a ruthless phantom. He’s left lying awake at night, sifting through that memory and the ones that came before it for any inkling of what went wrong. Was it his own patience that cost him? Was it the fact that Floyd could charm you in ways Jade just couldn’t?

They have the same face. So why did you choose to love his other half?

Without Floyd, Jade feels incomplete. That’s his family—his only brother. He shouldn’t hate his kin, but he can’t just sit with envy and frustration and pretend as if it’s okay.

The mirror reflects his grim countenance, sneering at him with troubling familiarity. Cracks spiderweb along the length of the glass, extending outwards from where his fist landed. Pain sparks beneath bruising knuckles, masterfully hidden under the pristine fabric of a pure-white glove.

The terrarium is filling with foul things, and Jade doesn’t have enough control to stop the invasion.

— — —

“It’s been really slow today, hasn’t it?” you ask, looking to Jade for his input.

“I’ll admit it’s unusually quiet.” He glances at you, a gentle smile tugging at his lips. He’s tired, but it hardly shows. “Is that a bad thing?”

“No, not at all! I welcome the break. Still… It’s weird. Mostro Lounge almost always has lots of customers.”

“I suppose it’s less work for us.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Heaving a relieved sigh, you rest your elbows on the counter, content to watch the few patrons lingering in the lounge. Jade’s eyes travel along the length of your back, over the the dip and swoop of your spine when you bend forward, and he’s immediately brought back to the day he discovered you and Floyd in the storage room.

“I’ve got it!” you announce moments later, lighting up like a bulb. “The reason it’s so quiet.”

“Oh?” He raises a brow, feigning ignorance.

“It’s because Floyd’s not here. Everything’s super lively when he’s around.”

“Is that so?”

“Mhm. It’s a shame he’s not scheduled today. Oh, but it’s not so bad when it’s just the two of us. We’re a good team!”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

“I’m happy we can talk like this. It feels like we never have the chance to speak during work and I’m always worried I’ll bother you if I try to start a conversation.”

“You couldn’t possibly bother me.” Jade pauses to ruminate on his thoughts before adding, “Well, you were awfully troublesome in the beginning. Ah, don’t look so upset. I’m only admitting my feelings.”

“Am I still troublesome?” You cross your arms over your chest, pouting.

You are. Very much so, I’m afraid.

“I tolerate you now.”

“That doesn’t sound any better!”

Jade chuckles. “It’s merely constructive criticism. Take it in stride.”

“Ugh. You’re the worst.” Despite that, a smile creeps onto your face.

It’s the same smile you show Floyd, so therefore it has no meaning. It’s not special.

Jade abhors it. He should be the one in that storage room with you. It should be Jade who touches and lavishes you with filthy praise before inevitable destruction. Consolation before bruises and bite marks. Sugar before salt. Love before lust.

You can’t possibly fit in his make-believe terrarium now—not when your heart lies with Floyd. Just what is his brother to you? What do you possibly see in him that you fail to see in Jade? They are the same. They are mirror images of one another. There is no difference.

So why won’t you look at him with admiration in your eyes? Eyes he’ll gouge out for beholding another man. Why won’t you kiss him in secret? Lips he’ll sew shut for touching a mouth that isn’t his. Why won’t you beckon him into that cursed storage room and pull him flush against you, joining together in bodily matrimony? A body he’ll cage to prevent it from fleeing. Why can’t you love him until the very feeling is leaking from your pores? Leaking like the blood that will run far and red when he transplants his love into your chest. Why must you associate yourself with the other half—the better half? 

The half that’s won.

It doesn’t matter if Floyd’s willing to share. Jade isn’t feeling charitable. He doesn’t want to cut you up into tiny shreds and share. You’re for his enjoyment. This is a non-negotiable fact.

Perhaps he’s the worst just as you claimed. Because if he was the best he’d have you. Because if he was the best he wouldn’t feel the need to mourn a gutting loss. Because if he was the best he wouldn’t feel the need to fall back on a nasty trump card. But when fair play fails, one must resort to sordid schemes in order to secure victory. You can’t expect to climb the corporate ladder without stepping on a few rotted rungs in the ascent, courtesy of those who came before.

It’s fine if he plays dirty. After all, his feelings have never been defined by purity.

“You seem tired. Would you like me to fetch you something to drink?”

“Mm, yeah. Could you? I’d hate to trouble you.”

“It’s not a problem. Will tea be suitable?”

“Sure. I could go for chamomile. I heard you’re great at making tea, so I know it’ll be good.”

“I still have much to learn, but I’m flattered you hold me in such pleasant regard.”

“I doubt you could ever fail. You’re always succeeding. I’m actually kinda jealous. How are you so good at—oh! Someone needs me at table three. Be right back.”

Jade nods, replaying your words in a loop. I doubt you could ever fail. You’re always succeeding. But he has failed. He’s failed and it’s eating him alive because you’re so close and yet out of his reach.

You spread your wings like a good social butterfly and abandon your place at the counter. Jade’s left to prepare your tea in peace. He chooses from the vast selection lining the wall—chamomile just as you suggested—and goes through the motions of filling the kettle with fresh water. He’s working on a time limit here, so he withdraws his magic pen, mutters the proper incantation, and waits for the telltale hiss. Even though he would like to prepare it with the utmost care, he must be hasty and stealthy if he wants to slip the special ingredient in without garnering unwanted attention.

Luckily, you’re trapped in a conversation with a friend and won’t be returning to his side anytime soon. That’s another trait he’s learned about you. Just like Floyd, you adore chatting. It’s not difficult to hold a conversation with you, especially when you’re the one leading it. You shine when you speak. He needs to snuff you before anyone else comes to seek your light.

Perhaps it’s this intoxicating quality of yours that caught Floyd’s heart. Jade can’t quite ascertain when he started looking at you from less-than-friendly angles or what the exact catalyst for your relationship with his twin was. It must have begun as a wicked fascination. An innate curiosity with the surface and its humans. How else could Floyd have fallen for you if he rarely spoke with you? Was it your strengths that earned his approval? Was it your humanity that left him impressed?

It’s not fair, but Jade won’t whine about it. He’s not a child. Whining won’t solve anything.

He must love you until you shatter.

The kettle whistles, thus yanking him from his innermost contemplations. He lifts it, minding the burning surface, and pours the water into a porcelain cup. Steam rises and furls like wispy, ghostly fingers. He could keep the vial hidden in his pocket and serve you a normal cup of chamomile. But the situation isn’t normal and he can’t just charm you as he normally would.

That didn’t work, so he must cross that method off his list and resort to what’s next. It’s only natural to fight for the thing you cherish most, so he shall do just that.

If Floyd hasn’t broken you yet, he certainly will.

You’re back at the counter just as he finishes stirring it in with the now darkening, tea-tainted water. Jade hands it to you, reminding you that it’s still hot. It’s an empty warning. He couldn’t care less if the liquid scorches your tongue. Let it burn, he thinks, his eyes narrowed as he watches you blow on it so it’ll cool faster. Perhaps then you’ll stop tangling your tongue with him.

Sometimes love is as unforgiving as the deep sea, turbulent and harrowing. Sometimes you must kill the one you love to truly understand the feeling—to dissect it down to the biological, scientific level.

Like always, he observes you while you drink the tea throughout the remainder of your shift. You look so sleepy, your eyelids fluttering and snapping open. You’re slipping; he can see it. Jade wonders what face you might show him later—what emotion will reflect in fragile eyes.

He knows it won’t be love, but that doesn’t stop him from hoping.

iii. separated from his other half, monops is unrecognizable—a hollow monster who has lost fractions of his humanity in a selfish effort to dispose of unnatural characteristics. he cannot hope to find his own personality amidst the mess in his tower, so he sits before the broken, bloodied shards once again. his other half meets him there, shattered and in pieces as he stares.

You shift in your sleep, just barely breaching the surface of consciousness. Jade placed you on his bed after carrying you from the lounge to his and Floyd’s room, where he proceeded to bind your arms and gag you. You look mostly peaceful tangled in his sheets, an oblivious thing who knows nothing of the mountains he’s had to scale in order to arrive at this point—at the glorious top.

Floyd’s not here, but Jade suspects he might have already known what was coming. They’ve always known how to read the other. Maybe it’s telepathy.

Or maybe not. They’re just aware of the other’s monstrosities. That’s all there is to it.

It’s then when your eyes snap open. Jade doesn’t bother to hide the smile crawling onto his face as he watches you come to, slowly assessing your surroundings. It doesn’t take long for you to start struggling once you’ve registered the tie binding your wrists together and the gag shoved into your mouth. Your voice comes out muffled, but your nostrils are flaring. Your eyes are widening. He can smell your fear—taste it on the tip of his tongue.

It prickles his skin, sets it on fire.

Jade sits primly at the edge of Floyd’s bed, content to study you from a distance. You’re writhing desperately in an attempt to loosen the restraints. He’s tied them well. It’s a technique mastered and put into practice. You’re not getting out of this.

“You fainted.”

You startle, turning your head to look at him. The fear seems to diminish for a moment before it returns in full force. Your glassy eyes are pleading: Why?

“It’s not wise to overwork yourself. You should prioritize your health more.”

Oh, is this it? Are those tears? Already? When he hasn’t even done anything to you yet? Have you really been this weak all along?

You try to talk despite the gag, and the attempt is so pitiful that Jade crosses over to tug it down from your mouth. Saliva strings from the gag. Messy.

“Jade! What the hell?! Why am I tied up? Why am I in your room?”

He frowns. “I’ll admit I’m rather…displeased.” He could unleash the torrent right now, but he won’t. Not yet. “Perhaps you might know why my mood has soured?”

“I… What? Is this because I fainted? Look, I’m sorry. I’ll take better care of myself. Please don’t make this a big deal.”

He tilts his head, confused. “I don’t quite care that you fainted.” He seizes your chin and forces you to meet his mismatched hues. “I care about the company you keep.”

“The company I keep? I don’t understand. What are you—”

“Give it some thought.” His fingers dig into your cheeks. Hard.

You yelp, attempting to pull away. He doesn’t release you. “I don’t know what you mean! Seriously, what’s all of this about? Did I do something wrong? Please… Please let me go.”

“You’re getting there.” He lessens the pressure on your jaw. “Come now. You’re so close.”

“Jade, please—”

“This is regarding your involvement with my brother,” he begins, and horror settles on your face. “Ah, so you are following. Wonderful.”

“Did you… Did you see us?”

“More than I ever wanted to see, yes.” He smiles thinly and releases you. “I thought it was such a dreadful, ugly thing to behold. My own kin lusting after the only thing I’ve ever loved to such a degree.” He swipes a faux tear from his eye. His voice drops to a threateningly low decibel next, and darkness passes over his features. He looks scarily grotesque. “It made me so ill. Seeing you in that closet with Floyd… Watching you talk to Azul—to everyone else—makes me so ill. I fondly contemplated the most troubling things.”

“W-What?”

“It truly is a conundrum.” He sighs as if unloading a heavy burden. “To feel so strongly for something that even love and hate become one and the same… I want nothing more than to strangle you whenever I see you with Floyd, with Azul, with anyone who isn’t me. I want to cut into your torso and make you suffer tenfold for what I’ve had to endure.” His fingers curl around your ankles, sliding down to reach your shoes. He unties the laces, sliding both from your feet. And then he’s grasping them, rubbing circles into your soles. “I want you to look at me no matter what, even when you’re a shredded, bloodied mess.”

“You… You’re joking, r-right?”

“Am I?” He smiles again, but it’s wider this time. Exhilarated. Excited. “Should we see who’s laughing when I sever your feet at the ankles? He peels your socks off next, tossing them over his shoulder. “Do you think that’s a fitting punishment?”

“Fuck no! You’re insane!”

He hums his acknowledgement and reaches for your skirt. Your heart drops into your stomach, every muscle tightening with raw terror. Instinctively, you kick out at him. Your foot slams into his chest. If it hurts, he doesn’t let it show.

“Don’t you dare touch me, you creep! Stay the fuck away!” By the third kick, he catches your foot. And he stares at it. Quietly. Expressionlessly. There is nothing in his face. That horrifies you. “Jade… Jade, I’m sorry. Can we please… Can you please stop this?”

“Am I truly that undesirable? You would rather have Floyd than me?”

“Yes, of course! Floyd’s not a fucking pervert like you!”

Jade’s laughter is sudden and short. It trembles through him like an earthquake. “Forgive me. It was so funny I just had to chuckle.” A smug smile takes up residence on his face. “Do you really think Floyd is so pure? That he’s the perfect partner all humans dream of?”

“He didn’t outright admit to wanting to murder me so, uh, yeah, he’s much better than your crazy ass!”

Jade squeezes your foot once before setting it down on the bed. He crawls over you, his hands snaking up your thighs. “That’s a shame. You’ll think differently soon enough. He just hasn’t given you reason to fear him yet.”

“I highly doubt—hey! Don’t touch there!” You struggle again, your breath coming in short, helpless huffs. “Let go of me. Please. Jade, let go…” Your voice trails off, spotted with distress.

His hand settles over your clothed pussy next. Two fingers press up against that sacred spot, tracing the area experimentally. “This is that warm and cozy place, yes?” You shake your head at him, lips trembling. He smirks, vicious and mean, and strokes slow, soothing lines up and down the outline. “Is it your safe day? Ah, but perhaps love is stronger than medicine. Stronger than all of the filth Floyd’s emptied in you. What do you think?”

“No… No, stop!”

“It really did sicken me—the thought of you and Floyd. Together. Forever. If you were to fall pregnant, I’d have to take a textbook to your stomach. The alchemy textbook. That one would inflict the most damage, you see,” he admits with a pleasant hum. He watches the spreading wet patch with predatory glee before gazing back at you. “But you’re not pregnant, right?”

“I’m not! I’m not!” You gasp when his fingers dip into the waistband of your panties, harshly tugging them from your skin. And then his fingers are inching towards your pussy. “What are you—stop! No, no, no! Floyd! Floyd, help!” You squirm beneath him, kicking and screaming. “Floyd! Floyd, help me! Please! Anyone—someone—please help!”

A shadow passes over your face for a second before his hand comes down upon your mouth to silence your incessant shrieks. Your sobs are softer now, each plea spoken into his palm. Jade exhales slowly, composing himself.

“You’ve said his name more than enough. Say it any more and I’m afraid I’ll have to remedy this bad habit. Just how much do you value your tongue, I wonder?”

Before you can even think of struggling further, he’s switching the positions. Sitting back against the headboard, he tugs you onto his lap. You try to get away from him, but he holds you steady. The gag is fastened around your mouth once more, tighter this time.

“Now, now. You’re not going to escape, so there’s no point in exhausting your energy. Pointless pursuits are never rewarded,” he chides, tutting. He pulls his magic pen from his pocket and flicks it in the air once. A mirror materializes, displaying your disturbed expression in the glass.

Your mind blanks out then, logic overridden with the intrinsic desperation to survive. Is that really you looking back? It can’t be. The (Name) you know has never looked this fearful. Her face has never been this warped with panic.

But then you feel something stiff prodding you from behind, and the horror triples. You squirm again, much more forceful, sobbing into the gag and shaking your head as if that will earn you a sliver of sympathy from him. He continues to hold you against him with one arm while the other reaches to pull himself free from the confines of his pants and boxers.

“We have the same face, so there’s no need to cry. If it really helps, just think of me as Floyd,” he teases, and it sickens you. Makes you feel so gross and filthy. You want to step out of your skin, travel to a place that isn’t here, disappear into the tile and never return. Tears trace down your cheeks in salty rivulets. You can only produce blubbery whimpers now. His erect cock curves up towards your stomach. Jade lifts your skirt to get a better view. The mirror reflects it all in crisp detail. “What do you think? Is it bigger than his?”

His knuckles trace your cheek, uncharacteristically tender.

“It will seem that way when it’s inside, won’t it?”

In response you shift in his lap, tugging at the tie tightly secured around your wrists, and he merely chuckles. It’s delightful, really, the way you move like captured prey. Your chest heaves when the fleshy head of his cock presses shallowly inside your pussy, sampling wet warmth. You pray it’ll end fast. You pray he’ll be gentle. You pray he’ll skin you alive so you’ll never have to spend another second in this body. Anything but this.

Jade doesn’t grant either of those prayers, for he lifts you up slightly, aims for home, and slams you down in one brutal thrust that punches the air from your lungs. You choke on your tongue, biting down so hard that your teeth split the skin on the inside of your cheek. Blood pools into your mouth. It stings, but nothing hurts more than the unwanted intrusion. Shamelessly, much to your horror, your walls affix to him in an attempt to accommodate his girth. Without intending to, you catch yourself in the mirror. The stretch is sinful, your pussy wrapped snugly around him, and he’s slotted all the way to the hilt.

It’s torture for you.

It’s a twisted relief for Jade. A triumphant euphoria.

He exhales a shaky breath, his lips peeling apart to reveal a row of sharp teeth. In the mirror he looks every bit the predator he’s meant to be: cruel and cutthroat, staking claim on a stolen prize. His fingers dig into the meat of your hips as he rocks you up and down, occasionally bucking his hips to meet your soft, plush ass.

“It’s strange,” he manages through his grunts and groans, his breath hot on your nape, “I imagined this would feel more gratifying than any other gruesome thrill. Mm, but it’s not—” he slams you down again, reveling in your muffled wailing, “not nearly enough.”

Your eyes, wet with tears, question his reflection. You watch with bated breath as he slides your collar away, leaning in to press his lips to your neck. Your pulse stutters in his mouth, a jittery, fearful thing.

He inhales the pungent scent of sweat and sex, the scent of your fear, the scent of himself on you. From head to toe, externally and internally, you are covered in him, wrapped around him, molded to his very shape. You’ve gone stiff in his arms, too frightened to move a single muscle, but it only serves to excite him more. He needs to bear witness to all of it—to every inch of you, stripped bare and wired with anxiety.

Needle-thin teeth prick your skin. You wince and squeeze your eyes shut.

“Does it hurt?”

Despairing and hopeless, you deflate against him. Your body shakes with every sob.

It hurts. It hurts so much. More than anything has ever hurt before. And Jade knows this because he isn’t gentle. He has no interest in being sweet. He bites to harm. To kill. To destroy.

Jade sinks in deep: his teeth in your throat and his cock in your guts. And it hurts.

“I’m glad,” he murmurs, his lips slick and spattered with crimson when he pulls away, breathing heavily. “I’m so pleased…”

The blood just won’t stop. It’s flowing in rivers, cascading down the juncture between neck and shoulder and staining your clothes. Did he bite something major? Oh God—are you going to bleed out? Are you going to die? Did he get that one artery—the throat artery—the whatever-the-fuck-it’s-called artery? Is that even possible? Why won’t the blood stop? Why do you feel so fuzzy—so faint? It really won’t stop. It’s an ocean.

It’s everywhere.

Jade pinches you to bring you back to yourself; his nails prick your thigh, imprinting crescent moons in skin, and it works. You surface, taking in big gulps of oxygen while your heart skips over itself. You can’t drift off even if you wanted to; your reflection is much too haunting, destroyed and debased in every possible way. It grounds you in reality, digs deeply.

“Pain is the most thrilling form of love. You’ve taught me something new. Thank you.”

From behind, peering over your shoulder, his reflection grins at you. Wildly untamed and blood-stained, he’s manic. Unhinged. Uncaged. His pupils are so large they nearly eclipse his heterochromatic irises, rendering both eyes beady and black. Two pits of a molten void—a starless outer space.