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There was a knock on his door.
Expresso groaned and lifted his head from the desk.
Ah, he must've passed out while doing research. He sits up, cracking his back and joints.
There it was again. A knock on his door.
"Expresso?" Ah, it was Gingerbrave.
He tosses on his coat and cape, inspecting his hair for just a moment before going to answer the door.
"Hello, is there something you need?"
"Well no," the other cookie chuckled sheepishly, "but there's a new cookie in the kingdom! You should come and greet him!"
"Who is this cookie?" Espresso asked, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed.
"I'm not sure. I haven't met him yet but from what I hear, he's a knight!"
He huffs out a laugh, to hide the joy that wells up in his chest, "might as well."
He thanks Gingerbrave who runs off to gather everyone else, before walking quickly to meet this newcomer. Soon he spots a crowd of cookies and knows that the newcomer was there.
If he was who Espresso thought he was...
When he came closer, he could not help but to slip a small smile.
It was.
Pale golden-brown dough, soft white hair of vanilla cream. He dons on the usual white chocolate and vanilla cake armor, wielding a brilliant white and golden sword and shield.
Madeleine Cookie in all his glory. He laughed joyfully with the other cookies, standing beside his sugar horse.
He was here.
Madeleine finally stopped laughing and turned.
Their eyes made contact.
"Espresso!" He exclaimed, and the cookies parted like waves, "My friend!"
He couldn't help but huff, "Madeleine Cookie. You just had to show up, huh?"
About time.
"Why of course!" He laughs, the type of laughter that was loud and clear and vibrated deep within one's chest.
"It is all thanks to the Divine that we meet again!" He declares, before wrapping his strong arms around Espresso's slender waist.
"Let go, you big oaf!" He demanded with no real bite to his words.
Thank the witches for his dark dough, or else everyone else might've seen his face grow red.
He's just glad that everything was alright, and that Madeleine wasn't-
He felt the cold blade sink into his torso.
Huh?
Madeleine pulled away just a bit to look at him, a casual smirk on his face.
But his eyes were as red as strawberry jam. No longer were they blue.
"M-Madeleine-!" Espresso coughed out jam, hand covering his mouth.
The sounds of cookies were gone. Replaced with eerie silence. When he looks around, he is horrified to see the bodies of crumbled cookies everywhere.
Madeleine, now donning armor of strawberry and dark chocolate, holds him close. The hug became suffocating, a trap meant to hold him as he died.
"I'd never think you'd be so, so foolish Espresso," the dark knight shook his head.
He pulls out his sword and Espresso falls to his knees, jam pouring into the ground.
"Madeleine," he whispered, tears in his eyes, "please don't do this. This isn't you!"
"Oh, but it is. A better me," Madeleine kneels down to grab the mage by the chin, "a liberated me, free from the light's grasp."
And he stands, lifting his sword up...
Before swinging it down at Espresso's head.
Espresso Cookie's eyes shot wide open and he quickly sat up, panting heavily. He looked around at his surroundings.
It was only his room.
He sighed in relief.
Though now that he looked at his room again, he noticed that the curtains were pulled back to let the sunlight in. Strange. He usually kept them closed.
"Espresso?"
The door of his room opened to show a concerned Madeleine, wearing nothing but a white ruffled blouse and some dark slacks. There was an expression of concern on his face, blue eyes that gleamed in worry.
"Are you okay?"
"Just a nightmare," Espresso groaned, "How did you get into my house?" He asked, going to reach for his...
Glasses...
Wait. He could see Madeleine perfectly fine.
Something wasn't right here.
"I went in after you didn't answer the door," he chirped in response, "you were passed out in the lab so I carried you to your room."
Madeleine went down next to the bed, on his knees. His arms are crossed on the blankets and he rests his head upon them.
"I tidied up your living room a bit, and made you breakfast if you want to eat," he told the mage, "Did you even eat yesterday?"
"Madeleine."
"Hm?" The knight perked up a bit.
"You didn't answer my question." He narrowed his eyes at the blond.
"What was it?"
"How did you get into my house?"
"Spare key," he hummed.
"Since when did I...?"
Madeleine frowned and he lifts his head up, "Are you sure you're okay, Ess?"
"I'm fine," he sighed, laying back down, "it's just a dream."
"But you were crying."
He looked at the cookie beside him and panicked when he swore those blue eyes flashed red.
"Espresso? Are you okay?"
Why was Madeleine smiling?
"You look...pale."
"You...you're not Madeleine."
He's dreaming.
Oh Witches, he's still dreaming.
"No. I am," Madeleine stood back up, though now that he wasn't bathing in the sunlight from the window—it seemed that his eyes were turning red.
"Just not the Madeleine you knew."
Expresso shot up from bed again, gasping and panting.
"There there," a gentle voice sounded, "you're okay, Expresso Cookie."
He was handed his glasses and when he put them on, he could see the faces of various cookies. Espresso sighed in relief.
"What...what happened?" He asked.
"Pastry Cookie dragged you back from the Cake Tower," Clover Cookie explained.
"Neither of you looked very pretty," Mala Sauce Cookie added, "Pastry Cookie was covered in dried up dough and you were unconscious."
"What happened back there?" Gingerbrave asked.
Espresso couldn't help but feel relieved.
He was finally awake.
"A rather unfortunate scene of events, I'm afraid."
He would never forget it.
Espresso Cookie had a feeling that it would not be the last he'll see Madeleine in his dreams.
So he'll do what he does best: stay awake.