Chapter Text
She’d lost. To Pure Vanilla, no less. To the half that was stolen from her. She’d been defeated by something that never should have existed, and now the little bit of her that remained was going to be taken away as well- the rest of her soul jam, her identity, ripped from her.
Instead, she felt two arms around her. It took a minute to process that the embrace that surrounded her was not hostile, but something else. She wasn’t trapped, Pure Vanilla wasn’t holding any weapons, and she still had her soul jam. She wasn’t being restrained- she was being.... hugged?
The anger fueling her was drowned in surprise, and as the sense of danger released her, everything else was brought into focus. In an instant she was overwhelmed with all that she’d been holding back for so, so long- the confusion, the resentment, the loneliness, the self-hate, the disillusion, the grief.
Before she knew it, tears were flowing freely from her eyes, and Pure Vanilla tightened the hug. She buried himself in her conqueror's embrace, desperately clinging to the first shred of affection she’d been shown in millennia. Sobs racked her body as every bit of fight in her faded, replaced by a deep sadness that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. The anger that had been keeping her together was gone, and she shattered under the weight of all she had been holding.
She wasn’t aware of how much time passed, all she knew was that Pure Vanilla held her until the tears stopped and an exhausted, shaking breath was all that remained. They stayed there for a while before Pure Vanilla seemed to make a decision, and softly asked her, “Can you do something for me?”
Shadow Milk murmured an only slightly coherent ‘sure’, and Pure Vanilla continued: “Can you open a portal to the Vanilla Kingdom’s castle?”
She opened her bleary eyes to focus on her hands, feeling the magic swirl, however weakly. In the back of her mind came the warning that she should be on her guard, to not do as Pure Vanilla asked without thought, but it was trumped by the exhaustion and welcome feeling of security. It took considerably more focus than usual, but she did as Pure Vanilla requested. She was picked up, and carried through, and a few moments later, set down onto a soft mattress.
“Try to get some rest, alright?” came Pure Vanilla’s voice from nearby. And with that permission, Shadow Milk sunk into the bed, pulling the blankets around her and slipping into sleep.
When she awoke, sunlight was streaming through the windows, illuminating the room around her and revealing that it must have been around noon. She was in a large bed, wrapped in a thick comforter that smelled softly of warm vanilla. She absorbed the scent for a few seconds before her consciousness caught up with her actions, and she quickly stopped, deciding to observe the room instead. Behind the headboard sat two bookshelves that took up the entirety of the wall they sat against, with more books scattered around the room on small tables and a desk. The wall left of the bed was entirely composed of clear glass windows framed in the same light gold that composed the bed frame. In the corner sat a large vase of white flowers.
She examined the volumes for a few moments before she heard the door opening, and whipped around to see Pure Vanilla peeking into the room. Seeing that Shadow Milk was awake, she entered cautiously.
“I see you’re finally awake. How are you feeling?” she asked. Shadow Milk decided not to answer, instead watching Pure Vanilla carefully for any motion of attack.
After a moment, Pure Vanilla continued, “If you want, I can have the kitchen prepare you breakfast-” she paused and looked outside- “or, lunch, I suppose.”
Shadow Milk stayed silent. Pure Vanilla sighed, then said, “There’s robes in the closet and a guard outside the door. Feel free to ask her if you need anything.” She then walked back out of the room, leaving Shadow Milk to sit and contemplate.
She pondered on what had got her here, and instantly felt the flush of shame creep to her cheeks at the memories that came to her. Why had it been so easy for Pure Vanilla to get her guard down? That should have been wholly impossible, and yet—
She decided that Pure Vanilla had just caught her by surprise, nothing that she couldn’t predict and avoid if Pure Vanilla ever tried it again.
But now, what to do with this current situation? She was in the Vanilla Castle, which was definitely a benefit to the whole thing, but how exactly to take advantage of it? Sure, Pure Vanilla had been kind once, but she could tell on this second meeting that the Ancient’s pity wouldn’t be lasting enough to really use. That was, unless... Shadow Milk amped it up. If she could really get in her good graces, paint herself as helpless, it would be a fantastic opportunity to steal Pure Vanilla’s soul jam. She was nothing if not a fantastic actor, and as for playing for pity- that was easy. If push came to shove, there was plenty of real things from her life to use as well.
This was going to be easy .
-----------
When Pure Vanilla had woken up that morning in one of the extra bedrooms in the castle, she was in a bit of a state of panic. What the hell was she thinking? Bringing the Beast of Deceit back to her castle with her? She was putting the whole kingdom in danger like this— what if Shadow Milk escaped and caused havoc? She had proven she wasn’t above killing innocents to get what she wanted, and that fact alone could very quickly become a disaster.
But, still. She couldn’t unsee Shadow Milk the way she had yesterday. A trembling, sobbing mess, struggling to breathe and utterly broken. From the moment she had touched her, she could tell that the woman before her had not felt comfort in Witches knew how long. And knowing that, she found herself hesitating to go through with finally taking her down for good. But she couldn’t sacrifice the safety of the world for just one woman, no matter how awful her story was.
Unless, somehow, she could be assured that Shadow Milk wouldn’t cause danger. If she could make a deal with her... it might work. Of course, if she planned to keep the Beast here she’d have to inform the rest of the Ancients, but that shouldn’t be too much of a problem. If they felt sure that it was under control, she doubted that any of them would come to check for themselves.
And with that, she had made her way to her bedroom, praying under her breath that Shadow Milk hadn’t already escaped to wreak havoc. When she opened the door, however, she found her counterpart still curled up in bed. Upon confirming that she was, in fact, still asleep, she left, and on her way out, ordered the guard stationed outside the room to inform her if Shadow Milk awoke.
It took several more hours to get any news, but when she did, she rushed over. She found a grumpy, but seemingly much more emotionally recovered Shadow Milk upon entry. After a very one-sided conversation and a meal offer, she left, hoping that she would take her up on the offer.
She now sat in the meal hall, taking her own lunch, when the very person on her mind arrived. She was dressed in one of the casual robes from Pure Vanilla’s closet, and looking a little skittish between the guards on either side of her.
“Ah, Shadow Milk, you decided to join me after all,” she announced.
“Yeah, yeah...” she said, trailing off when her eyes drifted to the food laid out.
“Hungry?” Pure Vanilla asked, a tone of amusement in her voice.
Shadow Milk looked back up at her and replied, "Well, it’s only been millennia since I last ate.”
A shock of pity struck Pure Vanilla. “Oh, in that case, eat all you like.”
Shadow Milk grinned and sat down, immediately piling her plate with about two-thirds of what had been laid out on the table. By the time the woman before her had gotten about halfway through her pile of food, Pure Vanilla had started to run out of patience for her to finish before they talked and decided to start the conversation.
“I’ve been wondering about your banishment,” she stated.
“Oh, it was just awful, Vanilly... Nothing to do, trapped in that tree with four of the most annoying cookies on Earthbread....”
“I see—”
Shadow Milk cut her off. “And then! I get out and everyone is trying to hunt me down! Not a kind soul in sight,” she lamented with a sigh. “Oh and of course, I’ll just have to go back to it soon... you’ll kick me out after letting me taste your wonderful life...”
“...Ah,” Pure Vanilla said. “I suppose I should have been more clear. I was referring to the splitting of your Soul Jam,” she clarified.
Shadow Milk tensed, then regained her previous composure. “It sucked major dick,” she stated.
“How so?” Pure Vanilla questioned, deciding to ignore the word choice.
Shadow Milk seemed to falter slightly again. “I- well, having half of your power taken from you is no fun at all. Zero stars, definitely would not recommend it to a friend, y’know?”
Decidedly not showing any outward amusement at the joke, she pressed, “Then, before that. As you know, I’ve never had the full power of the Soul Jam. What is that like?”
“Oooh, hungry for power, are we?”
“Just curious.”
“Alright then. Well, you get the power of a God, beyond what you can even imagine. Immortality, sure, and the ability to do things no one else can, but you already have that. Being the Fount of Knowledge was more than being a total nerd like you’re making it. It was embodying everything objective. It wasn’t like the Ancients are now. We were purely what we represented. You, you’re a Sage of Truth, or whatever, but you still have feelings. I didn’t. I knew I didn’t, but knowing you don’t feel emotions doesn’t make you emotional. I knew everything and I felt nothing .”
“Up until...” Pure Vanilla lead.
“Until those damn Witches decided that us doing exactly what they made us to do wasn’t what they wanted anymore,” she finished, bitterly.
“And they entrapped you.”
“If you know all of this, what are you asking me for?”
“I wanted to see if what I had read held up from your side.”
Shadow Milk leaned her chair back and kicked her feet up on the table next to her plate, moodily grabbing a small sandwich and taking a bite as she did so.
“So what?” she asked, mouth still full, “You satisfied now?”
“Not quite. Tell me about the banishment, in actual detail this time.”
“Oh? And what do I get for this great and heavy task?”
“Well, I don’t take your Soul Jam, for one.”
“Not good enough,” she said, finishing the rest of the sandwich in one bite. “What else?”
“I let you continue to live here.”
Shadow Milk rolled her eyes. “What makes you think that I want that so bad that I’d tell you about the worst few millennia of my life in intimate detail? I already have my own place, y’know."
“Well, you already complained that you thought I was going to kick you out of my ‘wonderful life’, and by the way you’re scarfing that food down, I’d say you’re enjoying it. I can continue to provide that for you.”
“Ooh, you strike a hard bargain.” She thought for a second, then asked, “Do I get to fuck with your servants?”
“Not in a way that physically, mentally, or otherwise harms them.”
She clicked her tongue. “Suppose I can work with that. Do I get to keep that room I got? It’s niceeee.”
“That’s because it’s my room, and no, you would be sleeping in one of the extra rooms.”
“Nope, I want your room.”
“You are not getting my bedroom. Room and board, food, and free reign within reason. That’s my final offer.”
“Within reason isn’t really free reign, is it?” she mumbled under her breath, then said, “Suppose I can always just leave if I want. Alright, you’ve got a deal.”
“Wonderful! Now tell me the details.”
“Nope!” Shadow Milk said with an enthusiastic grin.
“Wha- but that’s your end of the deal!”
“Yeah, that I gotta tell you eventually . Ya didn’t say anything about it being today.” Pure Vanilla watched, dumbfounded, as she promptly stood up, shoved what was left on her plate into her pockets, and walked out of the dining hall.
This might be harder than she thought.