In Contact
700 Word Drabble
-Checkerboxed
She turned at the sound, her eyelids lifting higher in hopes that- no; it was just another part of her dream, another part of the nightmare that gripped her. She had no control, and she hated it. She was here, in this castle that had been, if not her home, her most constant surroundings for the past few years- with exceptions. There, she had been happy for a little while, and, as much as she hated to admit it, had become used to and comforted by the constant companionship that she found there. Here, she was alone, and the sun, shining alone in its orbit as well, held no light for her.
She wandered the empty halls alone at night- at least, she assumed it was night; the sun was gone, but the light never changed. She trailed her fingers over the banisters that separated her from the outside world, for what it was. She heard nothing; the trees in the garden that she supposed must still be out there were devoid of birds. The silk of the dress that she lived in that never wrinkled, never soiled, made no noise as it slid across the floor that she traveled. Her sighs were made to pass the time, and the slight rustling sound that came when she ran her hand tiredly across her eyes became a small comfort, and she made it sparingly, realizing that it would lose its comfort if she used it often, as a child might lose its interest in ice cream if it ate it everyday.
When she passed a mirror, she barely recognized herself. Her hair had grown long in the torture that was time, and it fell to beneath her waist, a far cry to the short cropped hair she had worn when she first found herself trapped here. Her eyes had lost their life, and her eyelids hung over them tiredly. There were dark circles from lack of sleep- she was restless and her body would not cooperate with her tired mind. When she saw herself like this, she stared and then let her droop down again, passing by the mirror and moving on in her endless rounds of the castle.
When she found that she was hungry, she quickened her pace and headed toward the central hub of the castle, where the kitchens were. Somehow, when she needed food, the next door that faced the kitchens opened into them, no matter where she was in the castle. At first, she had tried to puzzle it out- after awhile, she let it go. Entering the kitchens, she pulled two pieces of bread from the shelves, lathered it in peanut butter, and began to eat it.
The door to the kitchen opened.
She dropped her sandwich, and stood up quickly. She had been alone for so long that the sight of another human being made her burst into tears. Her brain dimly registered that she knew him, that she hated him... but her body, in need of contact, rushed towards him. She threw her arms around his waist, burying her face in the crook of his neck, sobbing.
Krayon, one of the five eldest demons in existence, found himself holding a girl whom he had thought had disappeared, whom he had long given up for dead. Instead, she was here and real in his arms, and he could feel her tears moistening the cloth of his jacket at the crook of his neck. He lifted her off her feet, carrying her bride style over to the table. Sitting down in one of the chairs, he rested the girl on his lap and wrapped his arms tighter around her.
For several long moments, he simply held her. Then, as her tears began to subside, he pulled back, staring earnestly into her eyes. They held no hate or anger- none of the emotions that they had held before, when she looked at him. He grinned down at her and wiped her tears dry with the back of his hand.
"I'm here, darling," he told her. She nodded wetly and burrowed her head in his shoulder. And he hugged her, hard, resolving to never let her go.
4.10.06