Work Text:
The Spire of Deceit was no comforting place. The cold halls were always lighted up by the eerie blue candles, and whenever Black Sapphire touched the walls, they were always chilly to the touch. He never said he did not like it here, it was just sometimes lonely and melancholic up in the towers, sometimes darkness loomed behind him when he stalled the stairs up to his room.
It was almost like a permanent grey shadow was cast right behind him, following him around, never leaving him. He always thought it was Shadow Milk, but when he turned back, there was no one there. Perhaps it was just an illusion… The flash of dark blue would somehow just appear by the corner of his eye, and disappear whenever he turned around.
Sometimes, Shadow Milk was not even in the spire, Black Sapphire could still feel that chill on his back. Yet, he felt like he was being spied on, being monitored. Maybe it was just one of Shadow Milk’s eyes, always knowing, always alert of his every action and move. He knew that his master always had eyes everywhere, just to see how great his henchmen had spread great big lies, sweet rumours just enough to interest their audience—
It wasn’t a long time ago that Shadow Milk had gotten over the incident with Pure Vanilla’s awakening after his corruption. Technically speaking, maybe he was still seething in his heart deep down, Black Sapphire could always sense when Shadow Milk was seething, annoyed, lonely or simply needing to be entertained by his usual tactics. It was all in his eyes.
Maybe his jokes were getting too boring, or his broadcasting channels were always just the same— Years of the same kind of ‘fun’, it seemed like Shadow Milk would get tired of them. It was time to put a little spice into his lies and rumours, placing a little twist into their usual conversations.
He knew that Candy Apple’s overly obsessed self would not gain any affection from her master, once it goes too overboard, it would be time for Shadow Milk to snap back, maybe turn her into a tarot card so that she could not be distracting his scheming hours by jumping and squealing around. He was right when he thought Shadow Milk was lying when being questioned who was his master’s favourite. It was only about the matter of trust.
Trust. Truth. Truth and lies always come hand in hand when it comes to the Master of Deceit. The ‘boring, dull vanilla cookie’ as Candy Apple had phrased it, has gotten the most of Shadow Milk’s attention over all these years he had known his master. Just the first few days they spent together, Shadow Milk had been head over heels for his counterpart, and Black Sapphire would be lying if he said that did not bother him at all.
Many years of loyal serving his master, many years of spending by his side and acting as his supportive minion, just to be neglected and ignored in the presence of the repressed blonde. How his master was overjoyed when he saw Pure Vanilla Cookie subsurfaced from the yoghurt river, embracing deceit.
That tightness against his chest when he saw Shadow Milk twirled and spinned in the air trying to get Truthless Recluse’s attention as his robes drawled behind his body, his staff clicking on the floor with each step he took. As always, the deceitful recluse paid him no attention, not even flashing him a glance when Shadow Milk let out joyous laughs by his side. Black Sapphire knew better than to interrupt his master at his… ‘moments’ with the recluse, so he just stood by the side, in the shadows, staring at Shadow Milk’s desperate yet pathetic attempts to get Truthless to talk to him. Was this jealousy he was feeling?
Now that Truthless Recluse was gone, and what stood there was the stupid, compassionate golden cookie, Black Sapphire would finally have Shadow Milk to himself. Candy Apple was jumping in bliss when Shadow Milk finally learnt to take a step back from his unhealthy obsession, while his master sobbed silently to himself late in night. She was too oblivious to notice this, all she desired was her master’s undivided attention on her—in which she would be impossible to obtain.
Some nights, the radio host saw him staring into the night sky to the mesmerising moon and the shining stars, probably yearning for the blonde cookie. Not wanting to disturb the peace, he silently watched his distant gaze lingered in the dark blanket of blue. Shadow Milk had always acted like nothing had happened between him and Pure Vanilla, pretending that he had not been affected by the disastrous events. Black Sapphire had attempted to reach out, persuading Candy Apple to do the same, yet Shadow Milk still forbade them from mentioning the sole name of Pure Vanilla, telling that it was none of their business.
And thus he did, he did his best to tell rumours by the time of Shadow Milk’s healing. Shadow Milk sometimes just zoned out when they were at the dinner table, his fork fiddling with the rolling blueberries and jelly burgers, and he pretended not to notice that, waiting for Shadow Milk to come back to reality while he rambled on about his deceitful words, spinning them into sweet stories to make his master feel better.
Black Sapphire did not know how exactly he could help Shadow Milk cope, but he knew that his master had gotten better over time.
By the harmless teases and jokes, and the little touches that his master had been initiating to both his henchmen, that made him smile a little bit more.
At this moment, Black Sapphire did not mind how cold his home was at all. The creepy atmosphere, the presence of the shadows and eyes everywhere, they were not too bad as long as Shadow Milk was there. He could not say that it was love between the three of them, but at least the company, the shared meals, the conversations and jokes—
It was like a sweet solace to Black Sapphire in these difficult times.