Darkness into Light - Espresseleine

Chapter Fifteen ~ The Aftermath of a Change of Heart

"It's okay he has a pulse."

"He's still bleeding! Heal his wound Herb, quick!"

Who...? What happened..?

"Please be okay, please be okay.. Divine, please.."

Madeleine?

I hate him... and his stupid Divine...

.

..

...

No.

Who am I kidding. I can't keep lying to myself like this. Pathetic. Why can't I just admit it?

I risked myself and my magic so he could continue living, yet I only feel hatred for him. This hatred.. it's not of the knight.

My hatred is of the fact that he hasn't given up on me like everyone else. He hasn't hurt me, or betrayed my trust. He was even offering me a place in this Kingdom where I can start anew. A fresh new life for myself and pursue my real passion. My coffee magic.

I hate it.

I hate it because I know when Dark Enchantress finally overthrows the Kingdom with my help after being her loyal little spy, Madeleine will hate me. He'll become like everyone else.

Why wouldn't he? My only goal here is to gain their trust only to eventually stab them in their backs and retreat to my normal life with the cookies of darkness. That's the plan, nothing is going to change that. But it still hurt so bad.

So I'll continue to hate him. I'll do everything in my power to keep hating that foolish kind-hearted light magic knight.

Because if I never cared at all, it'll hurt a little less when I have to let go.

~

His eyes slowly blinked open as all his senses came flooding back to him all at once.

Several faces were peering over him painted with concern and a small amount of shock and awe. He could see their mouths moving yet no sound was escaping, only a dull ringing. His entire body felt numb with pain and his head felt a little fuzzy as he tried to remember what the hell was going on.

Oh. That's right. The Dark Totem.

Espresso jolted upwards, head spinning, but was immediately pushed back down to lay on his back. Two pairs of arms held him down gently as he felt something cold and tingly invade the blood in his veins. Magic, that of course was not his own. It felt kind of like..

...Plant magic.
The type of magic that specialised in healing.

He was being healed.

"Woah, woah Espresso, it's okay. Please stay calm, I'm only healing your open wounds."

An unfamiliar voice murmured. But his hair wasn't unfamiliar, or his face. This was obviously Herb cookie, with the bright green leaves for hair and a worn out apron.

Espresso groaned in reply, reaching up to rub his temple and blinking slowly to regain a clear vision.

"What happened..?" he croaked, lifting his head to gaze around the field.

Gingerbrave and Chili Pepper exchanged glances, turning back to Espresso with looks of unearned admiration.

"You did a really cool spell and saved Madeleine!" Gingerbrave clapped his hands excitedly, if you looked hard enough you could see his eyes sparkling.

Rye nudged the spicy haired cookie after she had boldly rolled her eyes in annoyance. She shot a look at Rye, rubbing her arm but eventually sighing in defeat. Chili Pepper crossed her arms, an eyebrow raised. "Gotta admit, that was pretty impressive."

Espresso frowned, sitting up fully to take in his surroundings.

"Where's..?"

"Oh.. he's over there.." Herb pointed across the field to a distant blond cookie who was sitting with his knees curled to his chest and peering into a small lake.

The mage's face fell.

Ah.. he's probably upset with me.

He did tell me to stay out of the way and I didn't listen.

Espresso tried to get up, stumbling on his feet and hissing through his teeth as his body let out an alarming surge of pain. Herb quickly steadied him as the mage looked like he was about to pass out at any given moment.

"Careful, your body is still weak."

He nodded, struggling out of the healer cookie's grip and limping in the direction of the knight, an arm held tightly against his abdomen. Espresso winced and darted his eyes away from the foul corpse of the Dark Totem he'd just recently impaled with his magic. It was a horrific scene straight out of a horror film, and the stench was atrocious that he had to hold his breath while walking past it.

Why is this idiot sulking like a teenager?

The brunette gritted his teeth as his leg radiated a dull ache, making him falter for a moment before trudging onwards.
Espresso let out a series of curses under his breath, supposedly aimed at the knight and his habit to constantly inconvenience him wherever possible.

~

Madeleine picked up a stone and sent it flying into the pond in front of him, eyes downcast in deep thought.
His mind drifted to the earlier events.
To him being at the brink of death.. accepting his fate that was tossed from the blessed hands of the Divine, expecting to be stolen by the Dark Totem that was supposed to kill him in cold blood.

But then.. Espresso was there. In front of him. He strained himself, using all the magic in his body to shield him from the blast that should have ended him where he stood. The look in his eyes, he'd seen it although it was concealed behind the frames of his glasses. It was fear. He was afraid.

Why?

And then with a coordinated flick of his wrist, the Totem was dead. He defeated it. The delicate-framed coffee mage did what had been expected from Madeleine as soon as he stepped foot on the battlefield. He should've been the one who defeated the enemy in the name of defending the cookies in need as well as the Divine of course. Such an accomplishment would've done wonders on his already tremendous reputation! He would've been a hero, his name sung within high praises and glory. With this mindset, he couldn't resist...

But boosting his reputation was the last thing he'd thought about while battling the enormous monster. His mind was not filled with the daydream of shaking the hands of the hundreds of his fans and signing a dozen autographs, no, it was in fact filled to the brim with thoughts about a particular cookie who was standing on the sidelines.

The thoughts, they were a haze. But he remembers one detail about them, he was sure that at some point he'd silently intended to try to impress the mage.

But then he was critically hit. His good friends yelling and screaming at him to surrender.
Madeleine cookie? The almighty knight commander born by the radiant light of the Divine itself? Surrender?
He'd heard of no such thing.

All he remembers was the pure look of anguish painted upon the dull eyes of Espresso cookie as his eyes fluttered shut and dropped to the ground in a pile of black fabric that was his cloak and cape. He'd dropped like a stone, identical to how the stone he'd previously discarded into the fizzling soda water sank to the very bottom as his eyes followed it solemnly.

Madeleine hugged his knees tighter, mind whirring with the thoughts of the conversation he'd had with Espresso moments before the battle.
He'd told him he was foolish for effortlessly throwing his life away to protect those he cares about.

The knight clenched his fists, glaring at the tufts of grass the stuck out from the dirt.

Hypocrite.

You.. Damn Hypocrite, Espresso.

Anger, shock, fear, dread. All emotions bubbled deep inside of him.
And perhaps his blood boiled so loudly that he didn't notice the sound of struggling footsteps approaching him from behind.

~

1295 words

Sorry this is really short compared to the other chapters 💔