-Chapter Thirteen: And yet somehow much more dearly ('cause I've spent my whole life searching desperately)-
Skeppy opened his eyes, warm wind blowing over his face. He sighed contently, putting his arms behind his head as he watched the clouds drift blissfully across the blue sky.
The slight scent of flowers filled his nose, and he turned his head to see a beautiful woman walking towards him. Her hands were wrinkled with age, and crow's feet blessed the corners of her eyes. They definitely became more prominent as she smiled, walking closer to him. She wore a simple yet elegant white gown, and her dark hair flowed over her shoulders like a waterfall.
Skeppy sat up in amazement, mouth gaping as she crouched down beside him. "Hello lovely." she rasped, even her voice flowing smoothly and confidently.
"Who are you?" Skeppy asked, hating to be impolite but still dumbfounded. The woman laughed, leaning backwards on the palms of her hands as she looked at the sky. The grass tickled their ankles, and flowers seemed to bloom right in front of their eyes.
"How could you not remember your dear old Mother Goose?" the woman asked, giggling a bit. "Do I look THAT decrepit?"
Skeppy shook his head fervently, making his hair slap his face and leave slight stings. "No that's not at all what I meant -"
"I know you didn't mean that dear." she laughed, placing a gentle hand on his thigh. "You never mean things like that."
"Where am I, mom?" Skeppy asked, somehow not unfazed by the fact she was dead. A tugging insistence was making his fingers twitch, but he ignored it. It was barely there anyway.
His mom just shrugged, looking over at him and brushing away the hair from his eyes. "Well, where were you before you came here?" she asked.
Skeppy froze, the wind warm and welcoming, making his thoughts muddled. "I… I don't know." he admitted, the sun making his eyes droop a bit. "Mom, where was I?"
The woman tilted her head slightly to the side, smiling softly. "Well dear, that's for you to remember. All I can tell you is that whoever you left behind cares a lot about you."
A purple flower popped up beside him, and he grabbed it gently by its stem, twirling it around. "Can you tell me about them?" he pleaded. His mom chuckled softly, taking the flower and putting it behind his ear. "Like I said, son, you need to figure that out for yourself."
Skeppy stood up, stretching his arms above his head. "Is there any food? I'm starving!" he asked, the matter beforehand forgotten temporarily.
"Always my boy." his mom laughed, standing up with him. "Come. We have some blueberries in the pastures over there."
Skeppy's heart twinged, but he followed happily, a skip in his step.
-
Bad screamed, rushing to his feet and knocking Dream away roughly, making him drop Skeppy and back away with a malicious grin. Skeppy groaned weakly, eyes unfocused and blood pouring from his abdomen. He keeled over, hair speckled with white snow as he struggled to breath.
Bad couldn't hold back the panicked breaths as he watched Skeppy shiver. Maybe it was just from the cold. Maybe this was a horrible illusion Dream had conjured. This wasn't real. Skeppy was okay. He had to believe that.
He crouched down beside him, gently turning him over so the smaller could look at him. "Skeppy! Skeppy, no, you're going to be okay, nothing is wrong, you're completely fine." he rambled desperately, bringing his hands to the wound to stop the flow.
Skeppy just stared blankly up at him, mouth opening and closing like a fish. Bad's clawed hands were dark and wet with blood, and the demon withdrew to wipe them on his cloak before moving them back.
"Look at me, look at me." Bad demanded, using his tail to nudge Skeppy's face up, which was starting to loll to the side. Skeppy coughed a bit, making Bad jump then hold him tighter.
Skeppy blinked, his eyes closing for a bit too long before opening again. "Bad? Bad, why is everything white?"
Dread pooled in Bad's gut as his own breath turned ragged. "It's okay, Skeppy. That's just snow." He tried to sound sure, but he was barely convincing his own mind.
Skeppy looked over to the horizon, where the village had turned dark and no more outlines walked around in the streets. It was a wonder that the villagers didn't care about the fire in the distance, nor the screaming and the horrible laughter.
"We made it, Bad." Skeppy said, turning back to the demon and shakily raising a hand to rest it on Bad's cheek. He giggled a bit. "Your fur is soft."
Tears began to run down Bad's face as he chokingly laughed once. "I would hope so." he replied, placing his own hand over the prince's.
"You're not a monster, Bad, and you never will be." Skeppy said, voice getting quieter by the second. Bad's tail began to wave in desperation, and he leaned over lower so his face was closer to Skeppy's. "Do you really believe that?"
Skeppy nodded, squinting his eyes from the warm breath. "Everybody should believe that."
"Skeppy, please don't leave." Bad pleaded, finally moving his other hand away from the wound in favour of running it through the other's hair. He hated how the red from his claws stained the snow, and made Skeppy's hair sticky, but he couldn't waste a moment.
"Thank Techno for me." Skeppy only replied, smiling softly. "And thank you."
"For what?" Bad asked, wanting to hear his voice as much as possible.
Skeppy laughed airily before closing his eyes.
"For everything, Bad."
-
Skeppy laughed happily as he rolled down the hill, flowers sprinkling the air as he barreled through them like a tumbling log. His mother followed close behind, running lightly after him as she giggled.
"Skeppy, slow up!" she laughed, almost tripping over her feet. "I can't!" Skeppy answered, interrupted by a panicked scream as he could feel his body tumble into the air then back down again. "Ahhhhh! Mom!"
Eventually he splashed deep into water, the breath knocked out of him as he struggled to realise which way was up. His hand brushed sand, and he guided his feet so he could push up to air, where he was able to see the sun again.
"Skeppy? Are you okay?" his mom asked, sliding down the hill and leaving green stains on her gown. She couldn't hold back a burst of laughter though as she finally made it to Skeppy, who was grinning widely. "That was great! We need to do that again."
She held out a hand for him to take, and he grabbed it gratefully, feeling heavy from his waterlogged clothes. She reached up to pick a piece of kelp off of his head. "Are you trying to give me panic attacks?" she joked in reply.
"Yes, that is totally my main goal in life. How did you know?" Skeppy asked, batting her hand away playfully.
Her eyes suddenly saddened at that comment, and he backed away a bit to look her in the eye. "Hey, is something wrong, Mom?"
"Don't worry about it, dear. Just thinking." she answered, running a hand through his hair and fluffing it up, shaking the droplets out. Skeppy felt a shiver run down his spine a bit at the feeling, so familiar to a memory Skeppy had long since given up on finding.
Why did it hurt him so much?
"Did that remind you of him?" his mom asked, withdrawing her hand to cup his face. Again, another shiver, yet not quite as violent as the last. The only reason he knew it was a guy was because his mom had accidentally let her tongue slip, letting the gender be known.
Using that information, did that mean she knew more about this male but chose not to share it?
He nodded, looking over his shoulder as if the embodiment of this mysterious person would show up like fog. But a pulling sensation in his gut reminded him that he will most likely never find him here.
His mother just watched silently, still supposedly "thinking" before holding out a hand. "Follow me, hon. There is something I think you are finally ready to see."
She grabbed his hand and started to pull him away from the water, back up the hill and over the crest. Skeppy tilted his head to the side in confusion, having trouble keeping up as he tripped over his own feet. "Can you slow down?"
But his mom never answered, just ran faster and faster until finally slowing down, making Skeppy almost fall into her. "Mom, what's going on?" he demanded, pulling his hand away.
She turned around fully to look at him, sadness lighting her gaze. "I finally understand now."
"Understand what?"
"Look below you, Skeppy. What do you see?"
Skeppy looked down at his feet, then gasped. What he always thought was green grass and flowers was actually a mirror, making him look up at the sky and himself. When he leaned down closer to it, the scene shifted, all of a sudden white yet shaded, particles like snow sitting on itself. "What…?"
All of a sudden his head burst into pain, like it was splitting open to reveal hidden things. And reveal it did.
White eyes.
Dark wings.
Red.
Pain?
Skeppy screamed, and was suddenly brought back into his body, his mother's hands on his shoulders. "Did you see?"
Skeppy grabbed his head and sat down, the grass at his feet tickling his heels and throwing him off. "What…"
Suddenly a bright light appeared in front of him, and he drew back, blinking away the pain. "What's going on?"
His mother stepped next to him, arms behind her back as she stared at the light, which was slowly starting to die down a bit. "He's ready."
"Ready for what?" Skeppy asked, pressing closer to her so their shoulders touched. "He's ready for you to come back." she answered, smiling softly yet sadly.
"You mean.. How is that possible?"
"He's kept you all these years, Skeppy."
"Years? It's only been a couple of days!" Skeppy yelled, definitely feeling like the world was falling all around him. But his mom continued on, ignoring him. It was almost like she couldn't see him at all.
"He had you preserved, still had your life, but he was too scared to let you free."
"If he cared about me that much, why was he scared to see me again?" Skeppy demanded, confused and angered all at the same time. The light seemed to mirror his emotion, growing brighter with his frustration.
"He didn't want to lose you."
Skeppy looked back to the light, now a bearable brightness. "Will he…?"
"You are not allowed to remember this place. So yes." his mom said, her tone sombre. "You will start a new life with him all over again, with new memories but the same body."
"I don't want to leave you though."
"You will never lose me. I'll still be here. You just won't remember me.
"No matter what, I'll always be your mom."
Skeppy shoved her into a hug, burying his face into her neck. "You say that like you're saying goodbye." he choked out.
"I'm not saying goodbye, dear. You are." she answered, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace. "You know it's time as well."
And that was true. As much as life has been confusing, as much as his little mental commentary has been devoid of emotion and recognition, he knew that he needed to go. The pull was so strong here, the shivers running through his fingers out of control. The memories filled his brain, as if showing themself now didn't matter anymore.
He wouldn't remember.
"Are you ready?" she asked, pulling back to cup his face in her hands. He nodded, and received a kiss on his forehead.
"Then go, my little diamond."
He stepped back, leaving one last smile, before walking into the light, engulfed by white once more.