AN- This story was written a very long time ago. Nonetheless, please enjoy.
From the Darkness
A blizzard was coming; and when it finally came, it was brutal. It was not a gentle snow shower that floated down like something from fantasies. The snow did not come down in miniature crystals, unique in shape and size. It did not leave the ground covered with a delicate layering of white the following morning.
Instead, it was the tempest that rules nightmares. Shutters rattled against the houses, the wind forcing it into submission. The snow fell in clumps, crowding roads with heaps of ice covered flurries. Not only that, but the wind felt that it wanted to whip the clumps around, creating whirlwinds. It howled through the crannies, making a most unpleasant sighing.
This particular night, Yuuki gazed at the wall across from her. Shivering from the cold fear that possessed her, she pulled the blanket up to her chin. A chunk of ice settling in her core, causing her heart to throb in the oppressive murk. Her dark eyes fluttered about, nervously whipping back and forth. What's there to be afraid of? Exactly. There was something to be afraid of.
She glanced at the door: would he be angry, grateful? She sat on her knees, ready to pounce at the slightest encouragement from it. Itsat watching her, its lethal teeth set into a manic grin. She bore holes into the door, challenging it to make the decision. It did. It crept up through the blackness, breathing its icy breath on her neck.
Without another coherent thought, she scampered out of her bed, (dragging her bedspread with her), and dashed from the room as if a demon were at her heels. But to her, a demon really was at her heels.Her demon. Ithad been watching her from the shadows of her room, waiting for his chance with his gleaming red eyes. It had crept up, and had breathed on her pajama collar, clawed fingers ready to snatch her to the gloominess of those shadows where it resided.
Yuuki stopped, panting, her breath coming out in soft, light puffs of smoke.
She glanced about. The demon had left her. It had slunk discontentedly into the shadows, waiting. Oh yes, this demon was patient. It could wait and wait for it knew she would one day be alone.
"One day." She recalled from their first encounter. "And I live for that day. The day you will be forever alone. I will wait. Why, there is no hurry. All the better for you to live in this happy delusion. It will bring a most fascinating pleasure to me to see you suffer." The demon had accepted its loss courteously, leaving her to convince herself that it had never been there in the first place.
Yuuki felt its feral eyes leave her, and stifling gaze averting to the long corridor, the sashaying tail shhhhing against the carpet as it turned away. She took a deep breath, and faced her objective. The door to her companion's room. He would scold, (but not yell, never yell), at her for intruding, mock her and scoff her fear. But he had his own demon.
She was acquaintanced well with his, watching it from her peripheral vision as she soothed her companion's fears. It had little interest in her, its bushy tail swishing back and forth lazily. It was quite patient as well. Most of the demons that people had were. His wasn't quite as active as hers, waiting in the corner that it had been sentenced to in the daylight. It watched with vacant stare as it mercilessly tormented its owner. It cared very little, unlike hers, to heighten the drama at the perfect moment. It did what it wished, not dragging out the suspense.
Yuuki's hand shook as she opened the door, calling quietly, "Zero…?" At the curled mass under the blankets. The mass twitched, and sat up slowly. Fuzzed over, mauve eyes met hers, blinking twice and registering the situation. He sighed; his sleep-filled voice reached her.
"Yuuki, what are you doing? It's the middle of the night." He sounded irritated, as he tossed over in the bed, most likely facing away from her. Yuuki quietly entered the room, closing the door with a click and stood between the door and bed. She caught a glimpse of his demon's departure, fixing her with its claret-colored eyes. She didn't look away until it disappeared entirely; disappearing into the shadowy corners it had been born in.
"I…I couldn't sleep." She murmured, feeling guilty of awaking him. "It…it kept coming back." She saw his breathing freeze for a second, before turning over to face her and lifting the blankets. As she crawled under the warm covers, tuning out his "Just this once." And "I'm not doing this again." She knew that he had understood her. He understood what happened. On nights like this, dark and stormy, both their demons would ready their fangs and sharpen their claws. Prepare to haunt their deep sleep and turn it into a survival chase. May the best man win.
She shivered at the thought, and he detected her thinking. "What was it about?" He asked, hoping to relieve his partner's fears. "I'll tell you if you tell me." She responded locking her gaze with his. She had seen his demon. She knew what it had been doing before she opened the door.
He scowled, and then sighed. "It was the usual, Yuuki. It isn't very creative, is it?" He mumbled, referring to his demon in the last statement. She nodded, agreeing. But it didn't have to be creative. It knew what frightened him most, and never strayed from that course. Always showing the gruesome deaths of his family…
"Mine was also the same." She replied. Her's was a simple dream that to others may not have been frightening, but to made her want to run away as far as possible. The long-haired woman watching her with pained eyes. The white dress splattered with red, (hersormine, hersormine?). Yuuki glanced at him, dark circles ringing his eyes. Hers must have mirrored his. Both deprived of needed sleep, but as tired as they were, both were too afraid to fall asleep.
They lay in the companionable silence, listening to wind howl, and the snow hit the windows. If you listened very closely, you could hear the steady tick tock tick tock of the Grandfather clock down the hall. The gentle breathing of the boy beside lulled her into a calm state. She glanced at him, smiling at the sleeping face. She closed her eyes, her heart and his breathing becoming the lullaby that pacified her fears. As she her consciousness slipped away, she remembered a saying the Chairman once told her.
'Nightmares are mere embodiments of our fears. We choose to give them life, thus cursing ourselves. But remember Yuuki, whenever you are scared or feel alone, run to a place where you will always feel safe.'
She had found a place. Beside the boy who would silently comfort her, not with hugs or words, but with gestures and his rare soft glance.