Cherish || A Chase x Sweetie Fanfiction ||

(S3-C8) • Recover from Trauma •

This current night blew colder than the arctic, winds nearly visible to the naked eye as they feebly blasted past everything, sending little force to oppose. Lanterns were hung and more than the usual set of guards patrolled the castle, some even crossed the streets of their city to keep an eye on any suspicious individuals.

In her bedroom lay Sweetie, her eyes shut tight and her forepaws folded on her slow breathing chest. The white sheets covered the lower half of her body and a violet pillow was behind her head. She was clean of all filth, done by the doctors and her personal dressers. Rolls of bandages were wrapped around her body, slightly peeking from under her blanket.

Beside her was the only living being in the room, sitting on a stool with all four paws on the wood. His blackish outfit followed the wind as it brushed past from the open window. The same breeze rustled the calendar on the wall, two red cross marks indicating the days that passed since the appalling incident that left many waking up like they haven't slept at all, looking frantic with black under their eyes.

One small creak from the only door and the awake pup's ears itched to listen, sets of steps coming into his mind yet he remained unmoving.

"It took you two days to come check on your pup?" Chase struck shame in the human princess, who was carrying a watery gaze. Her throat felt dry, and she appeared to be unwilling to move from the doorway. It was a painful expression, but if it was enough to cause her to almost break down, imagine Chase himself.

"Who did this to you?" The princess ran up to her pup, placing her gloved hands on Sweetie's forehead to caress, whispering her self-loathing. She neglected her responsibility as the owner she should've been. Because of it, her poor pup was a bulb without light, her switch broken for quite a while, with a needle stuck on her left forearm connected to a transparent bag where white liquid existed, hanging on a metal stand.

As small sobs began to come out from the female, another set of footsteps entered. Two female pups had their mouths parted from the scene.

"Sweetie," the smaller spoke softly, immediately hopping up the bed after a few running steps, her caring whimpers coming out on their own, laying her head down below her friend.

It's been a while since Chase had last seen the two princess pups.

Seeing Beatrice's actions, finally awake and healthy enough after the potion incident, it relaxed Maria's contour, her eyes shaping down in melancholy as she stepped forward. Last time Beatrice saw Sweetie was when they were on bad terms. It wasn't Maria's fault but her blame was led to no one but herself.

Taking small steps to enter, Maria turned her head to observe the unnamed pup, who watched over her friend. She planned to give him her gratitude in finding Sweetie and for having the patience to stay with her every single second she was brought back to the castle. It was the least she could do, knowing how sad it must be to see the wounds inflicted on the Terrier, or so that's what the letter she received happened to contain. What exact wounds inflicted were left unwritten. Not like she wanted to know.

However, setting her sights on the single visible eye due to the Renaissance-like mask the guardian wore, what Maria saw was a creature manifesting as one of the deadly sins, which was plastered all over his covered yet contorted face. His hostile glare wasn't towards the sleeping pup despite facing her direction, but rather to the invisible image in his mind that bubbled his blood. His front paws were balled and faintly shaking in his kept fury, and his caged wrath was hungry for one thing: vengeance.

Maria approached him but with every step, it felt like she was approaching a ticking time bomb. She clenched her arms closer to herself as she walked, trying to be as small and as unnoticeable as she could.