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The moon shone brightly through the treetops, filling the forest with soft silver light. The air was cold and fresh, no birdsongs nor frogcroaking to be heard. Dewdrops glistened on grass, unremarkable tiny white flowers and huge bright pink sour sugar raflensias.
Silverbell was on his patrol duty with four other silver knights. There was more work than usual with beasts roaming the Earthbread now, free of the sacred seal. Every shadow might have danger hidden deep within, ready to strike when you expect it the least.
A heavy feeling had settled in his chest for months. Silverbell was very aware of how jittery he was getting. Even his comrades noticed, little did they know it wasn't only because of the weakened Silver Tree.
“It’s because I fell in love with someone I should have shot the moment we met”
But instead of capturing the minion of deceit as soon as he exposed his real identity, he let him go. And there was more to it. He started to sneak off his duties and make up excuses to secretly meet up with him. He let Black Sapphire as close as he had never let anyone before.
Holy crumbs, they were supposed to be enemies. They were supposed to fight, to want each other dead. Yet all Silverbell wanted right now. was to hold him close, gently spread fingers into his hair and murmur sweet nothings, making his face all flustered with adorable purple blush. Black Sapphire was the only cookie that actually viewed him as a person. And he made sure he fully gave that attitude back.
Such a guilty pleasure, indeed. Both of them knew someday they were gonna pay for their traitorous love. Still, they chose it anyway.
Silverbell’s train of thought was interrupted by a sound, not loud, but definitely there.
Mercurial Knight stopped just before a large tree, making a wordless gesture for other silver knights to look.
Silverbell leaned forward to see and then his heart skipped a bit.
There, on an opening between the trees, Black Sapphire sat and violently tried to fix his microphone. It seemed to be broken, a part of it gone. His usually elegant clothes were torn and right leg was clearly hurt. He was cursing to himself.
“Crap. Was he attacked by monsters when I left him last night?” Silverbell had never felt so guilty and so afraid at the same time before. “They're gonna crumble him, aren't they? No way they'd spare him. He is well known as a minion of Shadow Milk” he tried very hard not to panic.
Mercurial Knight’s cold eyes followed every Black Sapphire’s movement with clear hatred. He made a gesture for the knights to surround him. “They're planning to trap him,” Silverbell realised.
Finally the guard's attention moved to Silverbell. He approached the nervous archer with an unreadable expression.
“Bell, you're gonna play the biggest part in our mission. Shoot the enemy before they even realize who ended them” Mercurial carefully studied the younger faerie's expression “Don’t worry” he added softly “You'll do just fine. All you need is a bit of confidence”
Silverbell tried to nod and quietly walked to the place he was just appointed to. Now he struggled very hard not to cry. How is he going to get out of this? So pathetic. Your boyfriend is going to die and it's none other fault than yours.
He wanted to hide away so badly, but it was his responsibility to follow commands, to protect his kingdom. Even if it cost him his very own heart.
“Is that the reason silver knights eventually lose their flavor?” Silverbell silently wondered “For their purpose is to serve, not to feel”
The patrol waited for him to attack. He looked over the bush and saw Black Sapphire, still on the grass in another attempt to fix the broken microphone.
“Please, be fast enough. I know you can make it” the only thing he was left with is hope. The reasonless kind, the one you're left with when you have nothing to hold on.
Silverbell made a noise on purpose, a rustle of branches loud enough to make Black Sapphire aware of it. The radio host anxiously turned his head in the direction of the noise and raised to his feet. With a sense of dread Silverbell noticed the condition of his bad leg. It looked like it fucking hurt, to say the least. The wound was messy and purple jam drained down from what probably was supposed to be a bandage made out of some random tissue.
And then he shot an arrow. A little left from where Black Sapphire was standing. He desperately hoped it would scare him away. Give him a chance to escape the ambush.
Black Sapphire turned and ran exactly to the left, slowed down by his injured leg.
The arrow didn't miss.
It found its target right between his collarbones. With a terrified expression Silverbell watched as he fell to the ground with a bloodfreezing wheezing sound. His wings spread wide and a cry of agony escaped him as he instinctively tried to curl up in a pointless attempt to protect himself from danger.
The faerie knights stepped out of their hiding places. Merculiar Knight walked over to Black Sapphire and roughly inspected him. He seemed satisfied with the results.
“It’s done” he said “We need to report back to the Queen. One of you has to throw the body out of the Kingdom, for the sacred land cannot be stained with some cursed jam”
“I-Ill volunteer” muttered Silverbell “I'll get the job done”
Mercurial Knight placed his gaze upon the archer. A flick of emotion touched his eyes for a second as he tried to support the younger knight, though unaware of the true origins of his condition.
“Alright” he said “I see, you need some time alone. Crumbling someone for the first time is always difficult” Silverbell didn't register his words, he simply wanted everybody to leave him alone “Just remember that's no innocent cookie. They have ruined lives of the thousands and would've destroyed more if you didn't put them out of their misery”
The only thing Silverbell was able to do in response was to nod. With a blank mind he watched as the rest of his patrol flew away and disappeared, leaving him with the corpse of the very cookie he loved.
He sobbed and finally let tears leak down his face. The stupid, useless, good-for-nothing tears. “I failed him”
He turned to Black Sapphire. Spread on the ground, unmoving. The faerie moved next to him and placed his motionless body on his lap with shaky hands.
His face was pale, stained with his own jam, no usual charming smile to be seen. Slowly, his eyes fluttered open and stopped right on Silverbell. The radio host opened his mouth in an attempt to say something, but he couldn't because of his vocal cords being torn by the arrow. He seemed to eventually accept it and instead just moved closer.
Silverbell gently took his hand in his and brought it to his chest. His stupid voice won't obey him. The knight’s eyes were all red and watery from crying. Black Sapphire clinged to him, his foggy gaze desperately focused on the faerie's face.
“I’m so sorry… I-I can only wish for you to ever forgive me. I… -It’s okay if you can’t, I will always love you no matter what” a pathetic sob escaped him as he held his dying lover’s trembling palm.
…
“Oh, c'mon! What's even taking him so long?” angrily chirped Candy Apple as she walked down a corridor of the Spire. She just came back from her mission in Crispia to find out her stupid brother still hadn't returned. She would've done the job so much quicker! Like, of course she's Master Shadow Milk’s favorite for a reason, but is it truly so hard to spread a few rumors in the Faerie Kingdom? CONSIDERING she had to walk ALL way along that dumb Dark Cacao Kingdom which is ridiculously big and cold. Yeah, no shit she's going back there. At least the following decade.
He didn't answer her calls either. Apart from it being damn RUDE, it kinda worried her. So the best decision she came up with was to find her Master and ask him to contact Black Sapphire.
“Shadow Milk Cookie! I’m back!” called out Candy Apple and grinned widely as she spotted air next to her twisting and changing, a giant blue eye popping out of nowhere “Ah, there you are! I have successfully finished my task in the grumpy king’s kingdom!”
“Well, well, well! Very well!” exclaimed the jester's voice “Now we just have to take our seats and wait for our little performance to unfold! Hehehe!”
“You can always count on me, Master!” she giggled, happily kicking her feet in the air “Um, actually! I wanted to ask you to check on Sapphy! He hadn't answered my calls for a while” she couldn't help it but sound a little concerned.
“Oh, he didn't?” repeated Shadow Milk, a laugh escaping him “Just gimme a second! I'll bring him here and we'll all witness what was taking him so long”
The air near Candy Apple began to shift again, the magic of deceit changing the space itself. Something bumped to the ground from a portal, something of torn black clothes and the smell of rotting dough.
“Ew, what’s with the smell… Wait, is that Sapphy!?” Candy Apple had frozen, her cheerful smile and attitude dropping at once as she properly saw what was in front of her. She went uncharacteristicly quiet, her wings down and wide-opened eyes focused on the corpse. With a short flash her master appeared alongside her, looking almost as shocked as she was. His gaze was dark, uncertain, but beneath the mask another part of his soul had broken. The uncorrupted one that still cared for his two most loyal minions. When Shadow Milk found the siblings, they were slowly crumbling away, cookies with no home and no purpose. He granted them both and they gladly accepted the gift. As time passed, he couldn't help it, but drew closer to them. At this point Black Sapphire and Candy Apple were almost like his kids. And now? One of them was dead. He felt overwhelming rage blooming in his chest. Black Sapphire didn’t deserve to die.
Shadow Milk stepped closer to what was left of Black Sapphire, unable to run face away from the body spread on the floor. He couldn't let himself express these soggy pathetic feelings. But as he finally spoke, his voice lacked its usual theatrical manner.
“Candy, go to your room. I have to check the library. Whoever dared do this to my minion… Trust me, oh, they're going to pay”
…
Silverbell laid down on his bed and stared into a wall, wings curled up tightly beneath him. He hadn't left his room in… what was it? Five days? When you spend all your time alone, days start to blend in so it’s really hard to tell how many have passed. The faerie was struck with grief very badly. He barely ate and he couldn't sleep without nightmares. Even if he was awake, he couldn't get rid of him. And it was getting worse.
One time he catches a faint smell of grapes in the air. There were no grapes in his area. Then he saw a blurred figure in the corner of his room, but when he turned in its direction it wasn't there. Silverbell felt like he was going insane. Welp, he was definitely going insane.
All he could think about was Black Sapphire. He thought about their meetings, how they stuck together even after Silverbell figured him out. He wasn't all evil and deceitful. Not completely. They both were minions, tools in some greater game. But they desperately wanted to be more. And together? They were. With Silverbell Black Sapphire wasn't a minion. Wasn't a monster and a spawn of darkness. Wasn't an actor and a host.
He wished it was him instead of Black Sapphire. He didn't know how he was going to live with it. Silverbell was never going to see him again. Even if he did, the cookie would probably hate him. Yes, he fulfilled the duty to his kingdom. The faerie stayed loyal, but all he felt afterwards was regret. Pathetic. There's probably something wrong with the way he was baked.
Right now, something was definitely wrong outside.
Screams of pain pulled Silverbell out of his thoughts. He leaned to the window to see what's happening and immediately gasped, horrified. Everything around was coated in fire and thick smoke, flames greedily burning down delicate plants, crispy houses and living dough. The faerie found himself unable to move as he felt intermittent breathing right on his neck.
“Looks like our show is about to start” a mocking voice giggled in his ear.
…
All Black Sapphire felt since his death was despair from his own helplessness.
First of all, it was incredibly stupid. Why did he thought that going alone to the wild part of the enemy kingdom to find some fuckass flowers from the book was a fucking good idea? Perfectly unaware of the local wildlife that just happened to find lone cookies a yummy meal. Yeah, very smart. An incredibly intellectual decision. He should get an award for the top 100 dumbest ways to die or something.
Slowly bleeding out to death while being conscious is quite an experience. At least Black Sapphire lived till he was left alone with Silverbell. He didn't want those arrogant gnats to watch him die. Losing your dough in your lover's arms certainly isn't the worst way to die. Sounds almost like some bad-written romance - too bad he didn't get to say his final words because of the torn throat. Kinda ruined the moment!
Poor Silverbell. Watching the griefing faerie was heartbreaking (he didn't have a heart anymore, it’s just a phrase, who cares). He wanted to comfort him so bad. To tell him it wasn’t his fault and that he had to move on. Black Sapphire didn't hate him. If anything, he loved him even more. He wanted to stay with him in the afterlife, to watch his life unfold and go on, even if it meant he wasn't a part of it. He didn't have to run away, to choose who he was loyal to anymore. There are no masters and no responsibilities for the dead.
He never thought he was this important for Shadow Milk. True to his deceitful nature, it turned out the beast perfectly hid his attachment. His master was almost on the edge of tears in sight of Sapphire’s crumbled body. He did the only thing he could to express his mourning. He grew furious.
Yeah, he kidnapped Silverbell and burned the whole place down.
And now he looked at the faerie, tied up and chained to a wall. Black Sapphire had no idea how much time had passed. A week? Two weeks? A month? There were no light sources in the dull dungeon to know if it’s day or night. Shadow Milk and Candy Apple didn't take Silverbell just to crumble him. They were playing with him, breaking him apart slowly, part after part until all that was left was a mere shell of a cookie.
Candy Apple tugged on his wings until they broke. Then she reattached them, broke them again and left him bleeding there all alone. Behind her eyes was a spark of twisted joy. Malice. She enjoyed torturing the murderer of her brother. That was her way to cope with his death
Black Sapphire couldn't stand seeing it. Two most close cookies in his life torturing the one he had never intended to hurt. It was a never ending nightmare. He hoped Silverbell would live a long and happy life after his death. But instead he had to slowly die here all alone in the dark and live his last days in constant agony. It wasn't fair.
A movement catched his eye as he noticed Silverbell shifting from his place. A slight cough escaped him, his constantly worn off body violently shivering. He glanced at the starved face of the former silver knight. The cookie’s eyes were unfocused, simply staring into nothing. Black Sapphire silently knelt down and placed a sorrowful kiss on his forehead. He knew Silverbell probably wouldn't feel it.
“I wish I could at least let you know that you're not alone”
…
It hurt, hurt, hurt. Silverbell blinked from the unconscious and immediately regretted it. Everything was hurting. He had lost hope that anyone would come for him a long time ago. He wanted to fade into nothing. Anything, something not to feel agony in his bones. Silverbell desired to see the sun one more time. To hear the rustle of Silver Tree branches, a bluebird song. To see his lover again, safe and sound. But it hurt too much.
He was so tired.
Tired of hurting.
Tired of everything.
His dough was rotting away.
In the end, maybe he deserved the fate he got. Maybe Shadow Milk and Candy Apple were right. He couldn't protect Black Sapphire and this is what he got for it.
An overwhelming force reached for him and he gladly let it take his pain and worries away.
…
When he came to his senses next time, his mind was clear. The pain had gone, and it felt weird because he managed to forget what it’s like to live without it. His chains were gone as well. Wings fluttered on his back, healthy, not torn apart and reattached with his own jam. Silverbell looked around only to find what remained of him on the ground, tied to a wall. He stared at it with horror. His own body, mangled and twisted in too many ways. He looked unrecognizable.
“Did I just… die?” muttered Silverbell as he stared on his palms in disbelief. He knew he was going to crumble here. Who's he kidding? But it was still a harsh thing to accept.
“Hey” a familiar voice called out behind him, uncertain
Silverbell flinched and turned around just to find Black Sapphire staring at him with a guilty expression. The faerie's wings gave an unintentional flutter, but his face kept still and nervous.
“Why are you here? Don't you hate me after what I've done to you? You should” he tried to hold back tears, memories coming back to him.
“... Oh, you could never make me hate you” replied the radio host, swiftly cutting the space between them and gently hugging him.
“I killed you and you're not mad?”
“It’s not that. I acted like an idiot and got myself killed, simple as that” he muttered “I’m sorry I couldn't protect you. What they did to you…I know my words wouldn't make it up to you, but I’d die all over again to prevent it”
“I’m not mad” whispered Silverbell, burying himself into his chest “I’m just… happy you're with me. Wait, were you here the whole time?”
Black Sapphire slightly nodded “Yeah, since… you know. I tried to tell Shadow Milk about you, but it didn't work. Guess he isn't very skilled in talking to… ghosts. I’m sorry” he sounded defeated.
“Don’t worry” Silverbell forced a smile “It’s not your fault. But what now?”
Black Sapphire went silent for a little while.
“Remember how you've always been so curious about lands outside the Faerie Kingdom?”
“Yeah, but they wouldn't give me vacations long enough to travel to Crispia. Why do you ask?”
“Well” Black Sapphire awkwardly grinned “We might just go there now, not like someone's stopping us anymore. I'll show you all the kingdoms and stuff. How does that sound?”
“Sounds good” a genuine smile found its way on Silverbell’s lips despite the situation he was in.
He’d follow him anywhere, really. Even in death.