Chapter 1 - The Yule's Tithe
It was the Eve of Christmas and all slept with anticipation for the coming day. Not a child crept from their bed to see Santa. Each and every Parent set up the gifts and quietly returned to their beds. Everything was perfect, although little Cindy was impatient. She wanted her gifts now, but she knew her Parents would be angry to find her awake. So she laid in bed till midnight, when the ancient grandfather clock downstairs chimed twelve times. Little Cindy got on her slippers and snuck through the house, stepping exactly where the boards didn't creak. She made it to the top of the stairs when an odd noise broke the silence. Someone was eating cookies. Little Cindy lowered herself slowly down the stairs to peek into the living room below. Yet all that greeted her was a placid room, not a soul in sight. Everything was undisturbed. All except the plate of cookies. There Little Cindy spied was each and every gingerbreadmen lacking their heads. Little Cindy felt curiosity at this, and so she crawled down the remainder of the stairs over to the plate. This close now she noticed that the glass of milk beside it was half full. She felt her curiosity grow further, until a soft meow came from behind her. She turned to see her tabby cat Pumpkin walking down the hall.
"Pumpkin, you know better than to eat the cookies and drink the milk." Her scolding words were whispered, and it seemed Pumpkin had not heard her as she steadily trotted further and further down the hall. Little Cindy began to walk after Pumpkin. Suddenly Pumpkin turned into the bathroom, disappearing from sight. Little Cindy raced after her, though as she turned the corner her heart froze. Pumpkin wasn't there. Little Cindy looked high and low, yet Pumpkin was nowhere to be found. Little Cindy turned around to look into the hall to see if Pumpkin had possibly evaded her, though a looming figure silenced that notion. It was tall. Far too tall to be considered a man. Its dull velvet coat was trimmed with dirty white fur and in some places chains were fastened tight. In its large hands with thin fingers and claw-like nails it held a meat hook. Its cloven hoofs had nicks and cracks though they seemed to not affect it. Finally looking up into its deep cowl she saw two horns curling outwards similar to that of a rams. Crimson orbs burned into her, searching for something. Little Cindy prepared to scream at the monster before her, but a bony finger made a silencing motion against its lips.
"Hush now Little Cindy. We wouldn't want your Ma and Pa to get involved, now would we?" It twirled the meat hook in the light, revealing the blood that stained its edge. "Now why would a child like you be up and about at this hour, hmm. Perhaps you wanted to see Santa, or maybe your greed clouded your better judgement?" It stared at her, noticing her wince at the mention of greed. A tsk tsk came from the beast, its eyes full of both contempt and pity. "Little Cindy, why couldn't you wait? Did you not think of the possibility of your Parents catching you? Of me catching you?" Little Cindy felt nought but terror at the dangerous gleam in Its eyes.
"I-i-i-i'm s-s-sorry." Her sobbing stutter was quiet, barely noticeable among all of the noises a house makes. Yet It heard her. It reached forward, Its massive hand covering the top of her head. A small shushing noise came from It.
"Do not cry Little Cindy. I will not punish you severely. It is natural for one your age to be impatient. But we must make this a lesson." It then held out its hand, making a gesture to come forward. "Now place your hand on mine and make not a sound." Little Cindy did so, her palm face upwards as she swallowed a glob of saliva that had been building up in her throat. It raised the meathook, delicately bringing it down onto Little Cindy's palm. She felt an explosion of pain as the old blade cut deep into her palm, yet she bit her lip and refused to make a sound. She knew if she did It wouldn't be happy. It felt like an eternity as It carved a symbol into her hand, the crude lines forming a basic K. "Do well to remember the name Krampus, Little Cindy, for I have etched the first letter into your hand. Never forget what transpired this night, but do not tell a soul either. If you do, I might just visit again and neither of us want that." It then stepped backwards into the hall before reaching to the side, pulling Its arm back to reveal Pumpkin. It handed Pumpkin to her, who softly purred into Little Cindy's shoulder. "Goodnight Little Cindy." And with that It walked away, moving out of sight but not out of mind. Little Cindy held back all of her sobs and tears until now, and in a flood it came bursting forth. She fell to her knees whilst clutching Pumpkin to her bosom. Tears of both sadness and joy sprung forth. She was alive as was Pumpkin! After quite some time Little Cindy stood up, her legs shaking as she slowly made her way to her room. Once she climbed into bed she felt something bump against her legs. She pulled off the sheets to find a thin box wrapped in shoddy paper. A small tag was labeled to her, from Krampus. She peeled back the paper to find a book. It was the book she had been asking for ever since she first saw it. Little Cindy felt a swirl of emotions then, but one overtook the rest. Exhaustion. She laid down and curled herself into a tight little ball, holding the book against herself. She would never forget this night, the wound on her hand and memories made sure of that.
Author's Note: Hey everyone I'm back. I know I've been gone for way too long but life has kept me busy. I'm dropping this new story which I hope to make more than a few chapters. And yes it will eventually get into MHA stuff I just wanted to start off with a kind've scary moment. Please let me know if you liked it or if it felt bad. Any constructive criticism is welcomed.