Oh Child

There’s a long silence in the room.

SSSsssss. They clip their weapon to their side, it’s once again just a bone. They look at Bell’s face, still shrouded in her helm.

Floosh- The fire from one of the fallen chandeliers, small and dim.

SSsssss the knight pours a bottle of wine on the nub of their hand, soaking in alcohol. The knight walks over to the chandelier, barely burning with a tiny fading flame. They press their arm to the fire.

Wooosh- SSSSS! Their wrist is enveloped in flames as the smell of cooked flesh fills the air.

Gnnnngg mmmhhpf! They roll and writhe on the ground, putting out the fire as the wound seals shut.

Huff huff huff. They lay there on their back looking up.

Is it worth it?

The knight stands to their feet, hobbling over to the man patiently by a pillar.

Thud. They collapse, passing out on his lap.

shhhhhhh….. Rain poured over the deep green field, as those foggy Off white clouds blot out the sun. The man and the knight stood facing each other.

“Once we’re there, we’ll find her and reach the chapel…” Said the man in a low tone, smiling at the knight. The knight lowers their head, clutching the bone tightly in their hands.

The man steps forward, hugging them, wrapping one arm around their waist, as he tilts their chin up with the other. The little knight looks at them, still clutching the bone in his embrace.

“Runi, look at me, you can do this, we can do this. We won’t let our light go.” he said in a gentle, warm voice.

The rain pours over their faces as the man steps back, he’s first.

Glup. he grabs a vial from his waist, drinking its contents.

Thap. He falls to the ground.

Pahf…. pahf. Runi removes their cuirass, placing the pieces in the grass as they

They draw their sword.

pop-Squlech!. The man’s stomach bursts open, as Runi plunges the blade into their own. They drop to the grass, they lay their bleeding out in the grass, they reach out to the man’s hand.

Crumble… Runi wakes from the man's lap, the pillars still crumbling around them. They struggle as they collect their things, fiddling with the rope over and over, hoisting the man onto their shoulders once more.

Just at the end of the maze of pillars. There’s a dark hall of stone now visible through the ruins. Runi reaches the hall, looking back over their shoulder at Rihya’s corpse.

Pap, pap, Crumble. Runi continues as the ruins crumble behind them.

They travel up the keep’s stairs, the halls growing more and more elaborate with orange carpet, dark golden brown wooden floors, and the halls were decorated with furniture, paintings began to appear on the walls, and bright brass colored chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Soon, Runi began to pass by balconies, pantries, and small kitchens

and small dining rooms.

Pap... pap... pap. Runi’s steps echoed as they traveled down the warm halls. Soon they reached a grand staircase leading to a large set of dark wooden doors beyond which, to the left and right of the hall, continued.

They stop just before the doors.

Sniff sniff. The smell of Heliotropes with the strong undertone of lilies, and wood fills the air from the undercut of the doors.

Crik-Chik, Creeeeeeeeeegk… Runi unlocks the doors, stepping inside.

A somewhat large room lay out before them, both the room of a throne and the room of a bed. The room was adorned with violet and delicate heliotrope hues, from its fluffy carpets, to its deep apricot orange curtains and tapestries, from its bed sheets to its canopy drapes.

Sniff sniff. The prominent scent of roasted cashews fills the air.

“Hey…..” A soft, airy voice interrupts Runi's gaze.

They’re slender and small, even smaller than Runi. Their skin was a dark Almond brown, and copper hair with a golden hue flowed from their head to their shoulders in waves. They had docile, peart, dull bronze eyes, long, sharp eyelashes. A face covered in freckles, with a single tiny whitehead on their forehead, their lips were thin and crisped into a smile.

Swoosh. Wings, wooded like oak branches, raised out from their back with flowers in full bloom. The child was covered in thin, light golden brown fur starting at the nape and was absent from the chest and most of the belly, returning bushier in their lower belly before covering their legs and ankles. They were warm like the sun. Nestled softly in the young child’s arms. A sleeping baby with brown skin and red hair.

“Shhhh, he’s sleeping.” whispered the child in a high-pitched voice as they walked to a cradle. Each step was nearly silent, though there was no fur on their feet. The child approaches Runi with a light and slow prance, still with a smile and they're arms out to their sides, their eyes held a vibrant wonder growing as they got closer.

“So you’re a human?” The child whispered. Runi remained silent, unable to speak.

“Rihya and Bell, never let me see humans… They say that they're always after the chapel and that they must stop them.” The child continued in character as they walked around Runi, who looked down at them following their moves.

Hmpf. The child huffed audibly, turning their head as they crossed their arms.

“There's no reason to stop souls seeking the chapel. I've guided a few there myself in secret, I-If Rihya wasn’t such a big meany, they wouldn’t fight.”

Runi shifts back. No reason to fight?

“Wait, are you the first one they’ve allowed here?” said the child, raising their whisper slightly, their voice growing warmer. They bow their head down, looking up at Runi with their eyes as they fiddle with their fingers.

“Please don’t tell them my secret, t-they'll get mad at me.” They pouted in a whisper.

Runi shakes their head in disbelief, taking a step back, then another.

Thud. They drop to their knees.

“Ah?!- what’s wrong, mister, are you ok?” Said the child, rushing to Runi.

Runi raises both arms, clutching their head with their hand as they shake their head. They begin to quiver.

There is no need for that. The man’s words from the grotto echo in Runi’s mind

“Oh no, your arm, can I see?” Whispers the child with a quake in their light tone.

Runi raised their head to look at them.

Their lips quivered with fear. Those dull bronze eyes, they were warm, that child was every bit serious.

Runi spoke, mumbling from their lips, as they reached slowly for the bone.

sssssssss….

“I’m sorry.”

Squelch.. Drip Drip Drip.

Auggh Auuch, Rills of fluid with cream hue seep from their lips.

“Huh? T-this hurts…Why?” The child stammered as Runi drove the weapon through their body and out their back. They embrace them, holding them close in their final moments.

The sounds of breaking glass crackle through the air as it falls to pieces around them. The keep… Shattered.

Breaking apart into iridescent fragments like glass.

The wind blows as Runi clutches the child tightly with their arm, bowing forward and gently guiding them to the grass below. Above them, a greyish blue sky, covered in dark white clouds.

Tip Tap. The child's eyes drift to their face as Runi unfastened their helm, pulling it over their head.

They had Deep chestnut brown skin, and long braided black hair ran down their back. Her baby blue eyes welled up with tears. The child's vision begins to fade, their eyes grow dull as they get their glimpses of her.

With a soft quiver, she spoke, nearly indiscernible.

“Oh, child, I’m so very sorry.” The words shook loose from her lips. She takes off her mittens, guiding the child’s eyelids shut, she looks to the man next to her as tears run down her cheek.

There she sat alone in a field with the corpses of children and her beloved.

Before her radiant white pillars towering to the sky, centered around a set of large Ivory doors. It had no bell.

“The chapel of revival.”

Postword

Thank you for reading the short story, keep knight.