#bouncestine

How had he arrived in this dungeon? Why was he here? How was he to get out? Who was he? The poor troll didn’t know. Pulling out his pocket watch once more, the troll squinted to try and make out his reflection. A flash of white eyes and youthful features was all he could see. He’d already searched through his belongings and examined his clothing for some sign of who he was. He’d found a crab pendant, his watch, and a smeared note in his pocket. The writing was too faded to make out. Absolutely useless to his cause. With a small sigh, the troll continued walking before finding a small room with a few cells. Now where was he? Looking around, the troll could see no obvious exit, so he started to walk down to the farthest cell. Then a voice called out to him. Freezing up, the troll called out, “Hello?” No response. Shrugging it off uneasily as a delusion of some sort, the troll noticed the cell next to him was smeared with blood. Well, that wasn’t too common for dungeons, he supposed. But wait. Was that a note on the table within? Curious. Well, perhaps he should check it out. The cell was already open, so the troll stepped inside and looked over the note. “Bouncestine, mon amour, I know I am not as skilled as Venlo, nor as strong as Basalli, but I am certain that my love is truer. Do not my scars tell you so? I will continue to cut myself so long as it pleases you. I would even kill Basalli if you asked me to. I know you say you are okay, but he is hurting you. I will trick him into consuming the bromide. My darling Bouncestine. I will help, just ask me to help.” At the bottom of the bloody note, the writer had signed their name. Treelois, huh? And there, next to the name. There was a tiny heart. Probably for Bouncestine, he supposed. The way this note sounded was a little disturbing. Cut himself? Why would someone cut themselves to prove their love? That didn’t seem healthy at all. Poor Treelois. He didn’t seem to understand love at all. Or maybe he was too much in love. Shaking his head, the troll pulled himself from his pity. This prisoner was probably long gone, and dwelling over a story that had long since been finished was ridiculous. He had to focus on escaping this wretched dungeon. “..Bouncestine?” The male troll went stiff, looking out behind himself. Someone was there. Someone was there and addressing the person Treelois had written to. Ghosts weren’t real, were they? Of course not. This was absolutely ridiculous. Feeling a shiver run through him, the boy started to exit the cell before a figure entered the dungeon chamber with him. “Bouncestine? Is that you, my love?” Oh god.

There, partially cloaked in the shadows that stretched far from the torchlight’s reach, was a man. And that man was completely naked. This naked man was calling out to Bouncestine…? Had Treelois lived after all? It would make sense… Prisoners didn’t always get to keep their clothes, did they?

..But… What was wrong with his eyes? The prisoner was a little too far away to see in full detail, but his eyes… They almost looked like they weren’t there at all.

“Bouncestine, please, are… Are you there?”

The troll felt a wave of fear wash over him. He felt bad for this man, of course, but this was a prisoner. He had to be in here for some sort of crime. And that meant he was unsafe. So the troll started to sneak out of the cell, ready to make a break for it.

The prisoner went rigid before taking a few steps forward, a wide grin filling his bloodied face. “You came for me!” Oh. Wait, what? He wasn’t Bouncestine, was he? There was no way. As the prisoner drew closer, the troll started to grow more afraid. The prisoner was bloody all over. The marks on his skin were deep… Much too deep… And his eyes really were gone. They were just black voids. What had happened to this man? And why… Why on Alternia was there a wheel built around his neck?

The sound of a rattling chain filled his ears as the prisoner came closer, still smiling. “I knew you’d come for me!”

All at once, the troll followed his instincts and began to run for the door behind him. There was a wheezing sound before the rattling began to grow quicker. “No! No, stay! Don’t leave…” The troll yanked on the door handle, only to find it locked. Looking behind himself, he could see Treelois was even closer. In a surge of desperation, he shouted out, “I’m not Bouncestine!”

Treelois turned, empty voids now staring right at him as if he could see. “Why did this happen?” The misery in his voice was almost saddening. “Bouncestine… You won’t leave me alone. You won’t… I won’t let you.” Smiling lightly, Treelois released another wheeze as he took more steps forward.

Bad. This was bad. The troll inhaled sharply and darted forward, running right past Treelois and moving for the other door. All at once, an ear splitting screech emitted behind him, so inhuman and so furious. “YOU AREN’T LEAVING ANYMORE!”

Breath quick and heart racing, the troll ran across the stone floor, not even bothering to look back as he heard Treelois racing after him with animalistic growls and screeches. There was no time to pity the man now. Not when he was being chased like this. And who knows what a criminal would do to him? Treelois hardly even looked normal anymore. He looked like a monster.

A pang of recognition stirred inside of the troll.

An arm just barely missed his own, grabbing to try and snatch the male before he could get away. “You’ll stay with me forever! Bouncestine! I love you!” The voice was cracking and wheezing, but there was a hint of instability. Insanity from years and years of awaiting a lover’s return. A desperate plea for a lover’s affection.

But he wasn’t Bouncestine. Treelois was a monster. Monsters had to be imprisoned and killed.

Hope leapt in the boy’s heart as he spotted another door. Making a rush for the handle, he readied himself for another wreckless dash into the darkness until…

The handle wouldn’t budge.

Treelois’s screaming went silent.

Bouncestine slowly turned around, back pressing to the door and eyes wide in terror as Treelois ambled nearer, bent over awkwardly and breathing heavily. “Bouncestine… You aren’t leaving me…” The prisoner slowly stretched to his full height, bearing down on the boy with a serene smile that didn’t at all match his overall appearance.

An echoing scream broke the silence of the dungeons as Treelois tore into the little troll’s chest.

As Bouncestine dropped to the ground, head lolling to the side, he could feel cold arms wrapping around him, pulling him into Treelois’s bare chest. A buzz began to fill his ears, and he almost couldn’t make out Treelois’s gentle shushing with the throbbing of the blood that poured from his wound.

“Hush now… It’s alright.”