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White Pearl cried as she swam deep into the ocean. She ignored Lord Oyster, that stupid land cookie’s pleas to stay, to let him explain. To let him twist this into something that made him a hero.
She knew she couldn’t see him anymore.
He was horrible.
Despite how much she loved him.
That’s the key word. Loved. Past tense. She couldn’t love him anymore. Not after what he did.
He sold what was precious to her.
He had his friends destroy her home.
He killed her best friend.
Tears streamed down her face, blending with the surrounding water. Maybe if she focused on her grief, she could be strong. Powerful. Monstrous.
She wanted to make him hurt. Like he hurt her.
White Pearl Cookie wanted vengeance.
And she remembered something that could give her that. Something that could do that for her.
She swam past the rubble. A good motivator.
Through the trashed castle, through the old rooms once filled with life. Were her sisters even alive? She had no idea.
More fuel for her fire.
She sped into the library, past her normal nook and straight to the restricted section.
In the center stood a podium. A glass case surrounding a scroll of seaweed. Somehow, it wasn’t destroyed.
Her sister, Mystic Opal, warned her never to touch it. Yet she still told her how to open the case. Like she knew she would need to one day.
She lifted the delicate scroll and carefully opened it.
Summoning a demon. The scroll said this- was it even a cookie? This thing was more powerful than the strongest mortal. Or immortal. A creature born from darkness.
White Pearl quickly found a rock and drew the required runes in the sand. She could feel the waves above her shifting unnaturally.
No time to hesitate.
No time to turn back.
“Fount of Knowledge, Beast of Deceit, I beg for your help and-“ She stumbled over her words. “And your mercy.”
The runes began to glow a bright blue. The water swirled around her, a whirlpool drawing light and darkness in.
The scroll drifted out of her hands. It folded in on itself, smaller and smaller before disappearing completely.
Something laughed in her ear. She trembled at the noise.
The water moved faster and faster, then froze.
White Pearl Cookie blinked. She looked around; everything had stopped. Time had frozen.
She looked back to the runes before jolting.
A multitude of shifting eyes moved, before settling onto her as their focus.
The demon was here.
A blue sludge rose from the sand, growing into a cookie’s form. Ruffled clothing formed on his body, with a blue crystal on his chest. Blue hair grew into a specific shape: a jester’s cap. His facial structure shifted until it settled into something recognizable. With his face intact, he revealed a fang toothed grin.
He was handsome. In an eldritch-horror way.
“A mermaid!” He jeered, a sickening voice matching his cheery demeanor. “I’ve never had to help one of you before! Your kind is always so stuffy about ‘demon magic.’ What, did one of your sisters steal your prince at a ball or something?”
White Pearl shook her head. Her mind was racing, but she needed to do this.
“I’m White Pearl Cookie.” She started. “I need your help.”
“Obviously, gorgeous. Be specific! Make it fun!” He mocked.
She took a quick, shaky breath. “A land cookie hurt me. He killed my best friend. I need you to hurt him back.”
That got him to pause, before laughing. “Oh, I knew you would be fun!”
She twisted her head. “You did? Were you sentient in that scroll?”
“Oh, no. I just love to torment cookies.” He assured.
Not really reassuring.
“We are going to have so much fun!” He chuckled.
“WE?!” She gasped. “I thought you were supposed to do it for me!”
He sighed. “No one reads the scroll. You don’t even know my name, do you? You just skipped right to the summoning bit! Honestly, I can’t blame you.”
“Well, what is your name then? The scroll disappeared.” She huffed.
“I’m Shadow Milk.” He grinned. “And you missed a LOT of the exposition on what I do.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. This was a mistake. Shadow Milk was not going to help her, and Lord Oyster- that cookie is going to win. He’s going to hunt her down. Tears started to fall again.
He looked to her and immediately backpedaled.
“Woah, hey, hey, it’s fine! You didn’t miss too much. It’s mainly boring stories of cookies who regretted making a deal with me, I promise!” He attempted to reassure her. He floated down, a claw awkwardly patting her shoulder as she cried.
“How about this.” He began. “I’ll help you out for free. I don’t say this a lot, but-“ He gagged. “…you’ve suffered enough.”
She wiped her eyes. “Really?”
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” He teased, eyes looking less intense and more… understanding. “Do you want my help or not?”
She didn’t need to think about it. She nodded.
He cracked his knuckles. “First things first, you need to know about how I do things. I don’t have a physical body.”
That confused her. “Then how do you help me?”
His grin returned. “Possession.”
White Pearl flinched. “Possession?! But I’m not powerful enough to do anything-“
“Shush!” He put a finger to her lips. “I give you the power by possessing you. Besides, even if I wasn’t powerful…” His finger glided to her chin, his hand resting against her face.
”You most certainly are. In another world, you could’ve destroyed those cookies above us in a single instance.” He smiled.
She stayed still, an unwanted blush forming at his touch.
“I must warn you, White Pearl Cookie. Possession is quite an intimate process, and you’ll be…different, afterwards.” He spoke softly, twirling her hair with his sharp fingers. “I need you to agree that this is what you want.”
Her belief wavered. Is this what she wanted?
She thought about Lord Oyster. How charming he was. What horrors he brought her.
She thought about this demon. Shadow Milk. How he’s known her for a couple of minutes, but still comforted her. Even if this demon was…well, a demon, he still wanted to help her.
She knew of her sisters’ warnings of messing with the dark arts. She knew they would be distraught at the idea of their precious sister getting caught up with a demon. But they all might be dead.
And if Shadow Milk Cookie is what happens when she messes with the dark arts, she should’ve messed with them a while ago.
“Yes. This is what I want.”
He smiled, his forked tongue licking his teeth. She couldn’t help but think of what that tongue might feel like.
“Alright.” He whispered. “Let’s give them hell.”
He leaned in quickly, pressing his lips into hers.
Question answered.
It was swift, yet melodic. Practiced. She hadn’t kissed anyone before. Not like this. Not this passionate.
Maybe it wasn’t passion she felt.
Maybe it was power.
He pulled her in closer, hand gently in her hair. She felt his body move closer, inward, until she couldn’t see him anymore.
But she did feel him.
She felt him well.
She felt his weight under her skin. His magic coursing through her veins. His mind taking space in her own.
She’d never been this strong before.
She liked it.
The water returned to its normal motion. She felt the ships above her. Those heartless ships.
She licked her lips with a forked tongue.
Time to make them pay.