The Beautiful, Grotesque You chapter 1
Summary: The war has ended. Peace falls over the world of the Gray Garden. Everyone is happy. The war is over. But what happened to the Devil, Kcalb? Where has he gone? And what darkness lies behind that sweet smile of God's?
Pairing: Eticalb (Etihw/Kcalb)
Rating: T (rating may change further chapters)
Warning: Yandere Etihw. I believe that's sufficient.
Welcome to part one of my collab fic with shintarwoah! Otherwise known as "I Blame Kiri."
no seriously this is all her fault go blame her not me
Basically, she and I are taking turns in writing these chapters so next installment is coming from her. We'll be adding the tag #tbgy to make it easier for you guys to find instead of just scrolling through our blogs XD
Anyway, without further ado, enjoy!
Don't go, don't leave me here
Don't leave me all alone
Tell me it's all just a dream
And I'll never say goodbye
He had struggled, at first.
For days on end massive earthquakes shook the land, threatening to tear it apart. Etihw had to regularly go out and make public announcements, assuring the citizens that she was working on solving the problem. And of course, they believed her. How could they not? Their lovely, smiling God. Perfect, invincible, loving; she would never lie to them. She always kept her word, didn't she? And so the people went back to their homes with their hearts filled with peace, their God's words ringing through their heads. Soon, they said to each other, soon. It'll be over soon. That's what Lady Etihw said. It must be true. And so they slept, ignorant to the ugly truth behind it all.
The earthquakes stopped.
The people chattered to each other. See? they said. Lady Etihw kept her promise. The earthquakes are over; we can live our days in peace.
And what an artificial peace it was.
Say, several of the children would whisper to each other, have you heard? Of the tale of the Devil Kcalb, and the War? They would ask their teachers. Teacher, they would ask, what happened to the Devil Kcalb? Did he die alongside everyone else? Why is his story cut off in the history pages? Where did he go? And the teachers answered:
We don't know.
No one knows.
Yes
No one.
And it's best that way.
Don't ask, don't look.
He's gone.
----
"Wodahs."
Etihw's loyal Head Angel lifted his head up from the paperwork stacked on his desk at the sound of his God. Her usual gentle smile was on her beautiful face. "Yes, Lady Etihw?"
"Just Etihw is fine, now. The war is over," she laughed. He nodded curtly.
"Very well, then. Now, did you have a request for me?" he inquired.
"I'm going out for a bit. If anyone asks for me, please tend to them," she requested. Wodahs was silent for a few moments, before opening his mouth:
"Understood."
What a good, loyal servant he was.
Etihw's smile widened. "Thank you," she replied. Turning to leave, Wodahs suddenly called out to her:
"You've cut your hair."
She turned back to face him and brought a hand to her ebony locks, brushing the strands through her hair. "Yes," she chuckled. "I figured it would be a nice change. Does it look odd on me?" And as she smiled at him, Wodahs merely shook his head slowly.
"...No, it suits you well."
"Really? That's good to hear. I was a bit worried of what the people would think...."
But he'll love me either way, won't he?
"Well, I should be going now. I'll leave the hard work to you," she laughed, leaving.
"Take care," he said, and as the door closed behind her, he closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.
How long is this going to continue...?
"Head Angel? Ahoy-hoy? Earth to Head Angel?" He jerked back in his chair, greeted by the frowning face of his subordinate.
"...What is it?" he asked, picking up his pen and resuming his work. She shrugged her shoulder towards the door.
"Was that God I just passed by on my way here? Where's she going off to?" His hand stiffened.
"Weren't you supposed to clean out the library?" he mentioned in an effort to change the subject. She glowered at him.
"Whaaaat?! I don't remember that! You just made that up, didn't you?!" she accused. He refused to meet her eyes, lest his countenance betray what he was hiding inside.
"Even if I did, you seem to have a lot of free time on your hands. So why don't you make yourself useful and head there right now?" He could hear the sound of her teeth grating against each other.
"Huh! Whatever! I just came here to tell you I'm done watering the stupid flowers!" she scoffed, stomping away from his desk. Just before she could slam the door, however, the sound of his voice stopped her.
"Grora." She whipped her head back to face him and stuck her tongue out. "...Don't go sneaking your nose around where it isn't required," he ordered, his expression suddenly dark and his tone ominous. The anger left her face and she stared at him, puzzled.
"Wha? What the heck do you mean by that?"
But he said nothing.
----
Etihw walked down the broken, war-torn path. A mess of broken stones colored black and white lay strewn all across the lonely gray landscape, painting a melancholy picture. Yes, so many lives had been lost here. So many tears had been shed. How often those blood-curdling screams had run through her ears, oozing into her dreams until she woke up drenched in icy-cold sweat, her palms shaking and her breaths coming out much too fast. At first she used to weep until her eyes were red but now she had no more tears. At first she used to grit her teeth in agony but now she never felt that anymore.
No, she never felt anything anymore
Except when she was with him.
Just the thought of him filled her with a sense of happiness. That at least he was still there. A feeling of peace would wash over her as she touched him. That's what he did to her.
He sat there; calmly, patiently, like a porcelain doll. Her beautiful doll. His eyes were void of any emotion, staring off into the distance. She had cut his hair to match hers. He said nothing as she quietly approached him, only twitching slightly at the barest sound of her footsteps hitting the ground. Cupping his face into her hands, she lifted it up so that their eyes locked.
He was hers; all hers alone.
Her eyes were gentle and her smile even more so. "Kcalb," she murmured, stroking his hair lovingly. "Kcalb..."
"................"
"I'm so glad you're safe. I'm so glad you're alive, at least. You have to stay here, Kcalb. I can't bear the thought of you disappearing. I've lost too much already..." her voice trailed off. She hugged him tightly, her head resting on his chest. "You can't leave. I won't let you. You can't. You'll go. You'll leave me. Don't leave me. I'll be alone. I don't want to be alone. I'm scared, Kcalb. I'm scared. That's why....that's why...." Her grip tightened painfully.
"I W O N T L E T Y O U G O"
".............................................................."
"....................................................................................I"
".............."
"I.....won't......go....any........where....."
She closed her eyes and loosened her grip slightly, pressing her body close against him.
".....Promise?"
"......................."
"...............Yes."
You liar.
The first taste, sweet.
The second, bitter.
The third time, forever sweet.
The taste of sadness
Is only bitter
Until
You
Break
