Osric's day in the cell 𝒫𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝟣
Context: few weeks before MC!
Mention of flirting (maybe even slightly intimate) :)
-------------------------------------------
Beyond the grand halls, beneath the endless corridors, past ancient stairways swallowed by darkness...
Lay the kingdom's dungeons.
Continue Reading
Cold stone walls stretched endlessly through the underground prison. Iron bars separated narrow cells.
Most of the cells stood empty.
Only one remained occupied.
Inside sat a puppet once known as Chevalier.
That name belonged to another life.
Morning, or what Osric guessed was morning, always began the same way.
He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the cracked ceiling above him.
"I've definitely counted over three thousand days now..."
He had long since stopped trusting the numbers.
With an exaggerated groan, he threw himself upright and stretched, his joints clicking loudly.
His plum-red hair stuck out wildly in every direction.
"What difference does it make?"
Nobody down here cared what he looked like.
Suddenly his expression changed.
His voice echoed throughout the dungeon.
"Why didn't you wake me earlier?"
Osric hurried toward the iron bars and wrapped both clawed hands around them.
His black claws scraped lightly against the metal.
"...Where'd that oversized cat disappear to?"
Osric sighed dramatically before letting go of the bars.
"My favorite blind executioner abandons me."
He chuckled quietly to himself.
There wasn't much else to laugh about.
The cell was painfully boring.
He stretched lazily, rolling his shoulders.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor.
A familiar voice followed.
"What're you shouting my name for, Mousie?"
Osric immediately grinned.
Standing outside the cell was the kingdom's Executioner.
He carried his enormous executioner's axe slung casually across one shoulder as though it weighed nothing.
Dark stains covered portions of his clothing and hands, remnants of countless executions that no amount of scrubbing ever seemed to remove.
His appearance unsettled nearly everyone.
His personality, however...
Entirely impossible to predict.
"You took your sweet time," Osric complained dramatically.
He leaned against the bars.
"You know I like being awake all day."
"How am I supposed to keep track of time if you let me oversleep?"
His bloodstained claws lazily reached through the bars, gently catching a loose strand of Osric's unruly hair.
He let out an exaggerated sigh.
"Do I get any visitors today?"
His blind gaze turned slightly toward the prisoner.
Before he could ask another question, Axe simply turned around.
"I'll let them surprise you."
With that, the executioner disappeared down the corridor.
Leaving Osric completely bewildered.
Osric had almost drifted back to sleep sitting against the stone bed when familiar footsteps echoed toward his cell.
Unlike Osric, Intar's hair was far different colored, though both brothers shared the same striking hot-pink eyes.
Only Osric possessed the peculiar spiral pattern within one of his. Well.. Because of the time in prison.
Intar approached carrying a tray.
Osric's entire face brightened.
"You finally decided to visit."
"What kept you so long~?"
He picked up one cupcake.
And took a bite directly in front of Osric.
Osric looked utterly heartbroken.
Intar deliberately finished another bite before sighing.
"You really are hopeless."
After pretending to consider the matter far longer than necessary...
He finally broke one cupcake in half.
He passed it through the bars.
Osric practically snatched it from his hands.
His eyes practically sparkled.
The two stood quietly for a moment.
His expression became serious.
"...How are you holding up?"
Osric leaned casually against the bars.
"Not exactly much excitement happens inside a prison cell."
His spiral eye shifted toward his brother.
The answer was too short.
"...Why are you like this?"
Silence settled between them.
Osric had no clever answer.
He couldn't bear hearing them.
He quietly turned and walked away.
Osric watched him disappear.
His brother had already lost their parents in a terrible fire.
The only family he had left remained trapped behind iron bars.
Every visit hurt them both.
The afternoon passed painfully slowly.
Osric eventually surrendered to boredom.
He lay flat upon the cold stone floor, staring upward.
A single broken light bulb hung from the ceiling.
It hadn't worked in years.
"...One day somebody should fix that."
"Doesn't your back hurt lying on stone all day?"
He lifted his head upside down to peer through the bars.
Standing outside the cell was a puppet unlike any other.
Soft shades of pink colored his porcelain shell.
Delicate cracks spread across his face and body, revealing beautiful rose-colored stone beneath.
Even his eyes appeared hidden beneath shimmering pink stone.
His strawberry-pink hair, streaked with lines of creamy vanilla, framed a warm smile that always seemed effortlessly charming.
Osric quickly hid his surprise.
"The kingdom's giant piece of candy finally remembered I exist?"
"I came to visit my friend."
Osric pushed himself upright and marched toward the bars.
His claws struck the iron loudly.
"When exactly was your last visit?"
Balevier's smile faltered.
Balevier looked genuinely regretful.
The serious mood disappeared as though it had never existed.
"I'd rather tease you than stay grumpy."
He leaned forward between the bars.
Close enough that only inches remained between them.
One clawed hand reached through the iron.
His fingertips caught the front of Balevier's shirt, gently drawing him closer.
"You smell rather nice today."
His voice dropped playfully.
A faint blush colored his cheeks.
His smile became delightfully mischievous.
He gently wrapped one hand around Osric's wrist.
Then slowly guided the clawed hand upward until it rested against his own cheek.
"Does it make you feel any better?"
Watching others become embarrassed had always been one of his favorite amusements.
But whenever someone flirted back...
His confidence evaporated.
A deep blush spread across his face.
"Why do you always flirt back?"
"Your reactions are adorable."
Osric went silent... everything went so quiet.
Their faces were so close that he could feel Balevier’s breath against him...
He could not take another second.
Before he could think better of it...
He suddenly pulled Balevier forward.
Before either of them could react further, Osric playfully nipped Balevier's lower lip.
Then immediately pushed him backward.
One finger touched the tiny bead of black blood left upon his lip.
"That was rather daring."
His smile became teasing once more.
"I wouldn't have minded if you'd stayed a little longer."
Osric covered his mouth with one hand.
His blush somehow deepened.
Instead of answering, he reached into his pocket.
He withdrew a neatly wrapped chocolate bar.
He slipped it carefully through the bars.
Before Osric could find another sarcastic remark...
Balevier turned and quietly disappeared into the darkness of the dungeon.
Osric remained standing beside the bars.
Chocolate resting quietly in his hands.
The dungeon felt just a little less empty.
And despite every effort to hide it...
A small smile lingered on his face long after Balevier had gone.
----------------------------------------------
Executioner by @the-dumb-bun <3
Intar by @quetzalpotato <3
