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Meritia hugs her little sock stuffie tight. Toya said to keep Sockie safe, just like Toya tried to keep Meri safe. But Meri isn’t safe now. Meri is with the demon. She runs behind him as fast as she can, trying to keep up with his giant legs.
“Hurry up,” he says, annoyed.
She tries to go faster. Once she’s close, he grabs her, holding her around the neck and torso, and lifts her up to eye level.
“You’re old enough to talk now.”
He’s right. Meri can talk now. Meri talks to Toya and Mama all the time. Toya said she shouldn’t talk when the demon is there, just like how it’s bad to cry in front of him.
“You will answer when I speak to you.”
She nods.
“With words, you imbecile!”
“O-otay.”
The demon smiles, teeth and arrogance. “You’ll listen to your father, won’t you?” the demon says, voice oily. “Always do what he tells you to? You’ll love your father more than anything, won’t you child?”
“Y-yep,” Meri says. It’s not true. She doesn’t want to do what the demon says. She doesn’t love him. She’ll never love him. The demon makes Mama cry.
“Good,” the demon grins, opening his hand. Meri falls down to the ground. When she sits up again, there’s another demon standing over her. Twice as tall and so much scarier. His face is pink, cracked with cyan and anger. Tia is bigger now, but still tiny before the demon.
“And to think I once thought you were a good kid.” If Xlanrod’s voice was oil, then Cyan’s is venom. “I should have known sooner,” he circles her as he speaks. “You never loved me. You’ve just been too weak to ever have a thought of your own.”
“She never loved you,” Xlanrod circles her too now. “She killed you.”
“She killed you too,” Cyan hisses.
“We’re the same to her,” Xlanrod smirks.
“No-!” Tia shouts, “that’s not tru-”
“Silence, girl,” both demons snap in unison.
She loses her voice, immediately and entirely. She looks to Cyan, eyes pleading. It’s not true, please, it’s not true. I love you. I want to love you. Please-
“Isn’t it true, Tia?” Cyan scoffs, glaring down at her. “Tell me, what happened when he-” ey tilt eir head at Xlanrod, “-first showed his face again?”
“I didn’t- I couldn’t-” tears stream down her face. Why can’t she speak? Why did they tell her not to speak, then ask her a question? Why-
“You couldn’t help it?” He taunts, crouching so his face nears hers. “Of course you couldn’t. You never actually cared. You just did what you were supposed to.” He stands straight again, looking away from her. “I always knew taking you in was a mistake. Don’t ever expect mercy like that from me again, little liar.”
Tia bolts awake. She clutches her sheets, she’s in her bed, it was just a nightmare, a memory and a nightmare. The darkness is familiar, and so is the cold. She’s cold. She’ll probably grow feathers soon, she knows. She’s brought the sobs with her, from the dream into reality.
It was just a nightmare, she thinks, taking a breath. I am past it and I am safe here. She rubs her arms, trying to calm herself, how she always does. The memory wasn’t true. She’s lying to herself. She can’t- She needs- “Master Cyan-” she whispers almost involuntarily, then slaps a hand over mouth. She shouldn’t have called- They won’t come, they shouldn’t come.
But they do. Barely a second later she can see their glowing pink ley lines. She lets out another sob, all the feathers popping in at once.
“Tia?” He asks, once he confirms there’s no other threat. “Was it another nightmare, sweetie?”
She nods. She feels him sit next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers frantically, “I’m sorry, I love you, I promise I love you-”
He takes her hands, rubbing them. “I know sweetie, I love you too, you don’t need to be sorry, okay?”
“I’m not lying, I swear I’m not lying, I don’t want it to be a lie, I love you, I promise it isn’t a lie-”
“I believe you, honey,” she wipes away the tears on Tia’s face, smoothing out the little feathers there. “I’ll believe what you say, okay? What are you worried you’re lying about?”
“L-loving you- I promise I love you,” Tia sobs, “it’s not a lie, please don’t think it’s a lie, please, I don’t want it to be a lie!”
“Why would it be a lie, sweetie?” Cyan asks gently.
“He made me promise-” she says shakily, “I didn’t want to but he made me promise, that- that I’d always- always l-love my father- that’s why when he came I- I lo- listened to him- but that’s not- I do love you-”
She stops talking and he’s quiet. He still holds her but he’s still. She knows he’s thinking about it, about the implications of it, about everything she’s ever done and how this knowledge poisons it. That’s what she’s thinking. Why can’t she be her own person, why, why, why, why did he get to take her. Why is she her father’s puppet, why does he own her more than she owns herself, why-
“That’s not what happened,” Cyan says finally, voice low with anger and care. “What you saw was a nightmare, not a memory.”
“I know, later, but the first part-” She’s not going to tell them what they said in the dream. She’s never going to tell them that, but-
“I know what he said. I’ve seen what happened that day. He didn’t make you swear to obey your father, he made you obey him. Just him. Not me, not anyone else. He’s not the reason you chose me. You made your choice yourself.”
“You- you’ve seen it..?”
Cyan nods.
“Then you know everything-”
They nod again, hugging her tightly. “I know what he did.” Her voice sounds like the demon lord, like rage and fire and brimstone. “And I will never let anyone hurt you like that again.”