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Pitaya was lonely.
Well, defining lonely, they were seething in loneliness, practically bathing in it, they honestly didn’t know what to do. They had lost their mind many moons ago, now ruling over everything that was left of the Hollyberry Kingdom. Oh, how a bittersweet name that was. Their wife’s legacy and yet they hated it, they destroyed it, told people to get rid of anything that would remind them of her after the incident. The war…
One minute she was in their arms, determined and happy and the next she was limping home defeated and that fateful night she just… Disappeared. They still remembered the balcony doors swaying open with the wind, waking up from the clatter they were making and the sound of the curtains being wafted through the previously locked balcony. They knew that Holly liked sneaking out for a late-night adventure and they were fine with that… But she hadn’t taken her shield, she hadn’t taken her soul jam which was still leaned up against the vanity table within the room.
They had ordered every guard, civilian and mercenary to find her and yet there was nothing. No trace of a broken entry, no trace of footprints or any clues and that meant there was no trace of their wife… Of Hollyberry…
Of course, they tried their best to look after their son but without her? It was so incredibly hard. They had lost a mate, their pride and joy and the only person who could comfort them. The first incident happened just a few months after she went missing, they had lost control and had destroyed the nursery, everything that belonged to her they ripped and torn apart, the cradle had been smashed to pieces and all of the things they had painted on the walls were ruined by their claws in a fit of mourning rage. It was ruined, it was all gone and in the middle of the destroyed room sat the dragon, the smallest they had ever felt as hot tears fell down their cheeks, loud, painful roars coming from them as they held a small teddy bear close to them, one of the only things that survived the attack. A bear that meant so much to them as it was gifted by Holly herself on their anniversary. A hand-sewn, green and red dragon, so worn it was easy to mistake it for something else but it was theirs.
It reminded them that she was theirs…
It became their place of mourning, they couldn’t force themselves to sleep in their bedroom any longer, they couldn’t settle in the mattress they once shared, not when the imprint of her had already left… It had already faded to where the bed was uncomfortable without her. It was too cold, the sheets were not as comfortable and warm anymore and most importantly, their best friend wasn’t beside them.
Hollyberry was the only one to make them truly soft, to comfort them and love them like there was no one else in the world. When she was taken away there was only room for anger and sadness… People tried to help but nothing worked, not even Cacao and Cheese could stop them from their tyrannical terror.
That was, until the princess contest. A contest to bring the strongest fighter to them, one that was brave, courageous, and one that could give them a fair fight. They didn’t care what happened to their family, to their home, anything. All they cared about was getting a well-earned fight; they knew that the women flooding for the test wouldn’t look past its disguise, an innocent contest to pick the Hollyberry Kingdom’s next heir to the throne. No… When they were going to be done with it, there would be no more Hollyberry Kingdom, it would be reduced to rubble and ash… No, it would be nothing but unlivable, a wasteland and then they would spread his chaos. They would destroy the world that destroyed them. That destroyed her…
The one kink in their plan, Princess Cookie. They thought they had rid of that pest of a girl when she ran off to the Soda Islands and to explore the world, however, it seemed they were incorrect in that aspect. Of course, at one point, they would have loved their granddaughter dearly; she was the spitting image of her grandmother, their wife. She was strong, confident, boisterous, fearless… However, when she grew they couldn’t bring themselves to look her in the eye, she was too much like her. Yet, now it seemed like the challenge they were seeking was growing nearer with the young woman’s approach, her lackeys running behind. That pest of a knight that severed their tail, and a new band of cookies they had never met before. How odd…
They were so distracted by the group that they didn’t even notice the cloaked woman behind them, sneaking around the palace as they reigned their special hell on the ballroom guests. They had waited too long! They had lost everything! They knew this competition was useless! No one would ever replace her.
No one would ever come near to replacing her.
She was too unique, they loved her too much.
They should have held on longer! They should have held on and never let go; they should have reassured her how much they loved her, how much they cared, how they loved every single detail about her, how she was beautiful and they wished they could marry her all over again…
How they wished fate hadn’t been as cruel…
How they wanted to hold her again, feel her skin brush against theirs, their lips touch hers and feel the sparks ignite… They wanted to see their soulmate intertwine with them once more, look after them, call for them, anything! They were desperate, their soul yearned for her touch, they needed her so desperately, and yet it felt she was so far away and so close at the same time. As they looked at Princess Cookie they saw her, in her brave friends, they saw her. In the palace they built together, the land they called their own, the bed they laid in every night of their fresh new lives, the halls and paintings full of memories.
FUCK! THEY SAW HER EVERYWHERE!
They needed to purge it all, they needed to go back to being emotionless, a fearless dragon that hadn’t been tamed by that wild woman. They needed to lie down, they needed to sleep, they needed to see her again, they were so tired… They were so tired…
They were so tired…
Just as they were about to obliterate the small princess and her friends they noticed a cloaked woman join them, proclaiming that she could handle them as they escaped; they didn’t believe it. But that voice… That voice was so familiar and yet they couldn’t put their claw on it, like they had heard it so many times and yet never before… However, they continued to fight the foolish huntress as she held them off almost seamlessly, though they could see her begin to tire.
Finally… Finally, they could rid themselves of these people, of the memories that killed them from the inside and crippled them. They were so lost in their thoughts they hadn’t even noticed the shield… Her shield. They had kept it, they wouldn’t dare part with it, maybe that was their downfall… As the huntress grabbed it, something seemed to resonate with her, like she was meant for it, but that couldn’t be possible. It almost fueled them with more anger than before, but before they could even think to attack again, they were frozen in time.
It was her…
That dark bronzed skin, that pink hair woven into her signature buns, that unwavering smile on her face that told people they were safe from harm… At first, they believed they had been finished off, that this was the afterlife and they were facing their fears, their wants, that they were looking at their wife and they were finally reunited. But as the fog cleared from their mind they noticed the small heroes, the caved-in ceiling from where they had broken it, the shield that was protected moments earlier.
Before they knew it, everything they planned was falling apart around them; everything they said they would do was in shambles and they were crippled under the weight, their soul thawed, their shaking body relaxed until it could not stand anymore and they were forced to stand down. They settled their aching body while everyone celebrated and yet all they could do was fall to their knees and hide their face in shame; salty tears falling rapidly as they were left alone where they sat as everyone was thanked for saving the day. Well, they thought they were alone…
They soon felt a body loom over them and they accepted their fate, they were going to be killed for all they had done…
But what came next was unexpected…
They felt the strong arms wrap around them, giving them a sense of overwhelming comfort, and once they were pulled close they never wanted to leave. They raised their head slightly from their hands to come eye to eye with her, someone they never thought they would see again. The woman who started and ended it all, their motivation, their muse…
“H-Holly… I’m sssso sssssorry…” They managed out, their voice wavering as they looked at Hollyberry’s soft, loving expression, piercing straight into their heart as they moved to grip onto her, refusing to leave. They continued to sob and apologise, shaking like a leaf within the woman’s arms, settled against her chest.
“It’s alright, Pitaya… I’m here… I’m not leaving again…”