EmpireVerse

Chapter seven

"Nightmare?" Mari called out in confusion. A dark aura entered the room, and she heard whisperings... She couldn't understand them, but she knew she needed to follow Nightmare. The world around her began to go silent. She only heard strange noises that were indescribable.

She felt nothing but fear and panic. She chased and found Nightmare huddled in a ball under a large tree. She had never seen this tree before... She had been to this part of the gardens before, and that tree was never there.

She ran to his side but felt something tugging her away. She fell to her knees and felt her mouth being sealed shut. She couldn't scream. It was as if she was tied to the ground. Her eyes widened at the sight.

Nightmare cried as he held a black, rotten apple in his hand. He took a bite out of it and then choked. The choking turned into panting, then into wails of pain. He screamed as a black spike stabbed him right through his head, out of his mouth. Muffled words escaped his mouth before he went limp. "Remember... Who... I... Was."

Suddenly, he began to melt into a puddle of some strange black substance. Mari wanted to scream but felt a pain in her chest when she tried. The puddle slowly began to rise as a creature in the shape of Nightmare arose. He slouched.

As he began to straighten, he opened a single, teal eye that stared directly into Mari's. He was unforgiving. It didn't smile like an evil villain; it frowned- as if sorry. Then the frown became... Disappointed... It was disappointed in Mari... No... It was mad at her. 

"You did this." a distorted voice growled. The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. "Mari... Mari... Mari- Mari- MARI- MARI-" whispers of her name surrounded her and became more frantic every time.

Tears fell from her face as the thing walked towards her, a little tune played... Like a music box... Her music box... The one that Nightmare gave her... "Mari~" the creature smiled. This time, it spoke her name in a sadistic way. "Oh, Mari... Mari... Mari...~" 

She heard yells and screams from the ballroom as a woman noticed the creature who took Nightmare's form. The creature smiled wider, and a tentacle rushed toward the woman and killed her in seconds. It turned to face the ballroom and sent a flurry of tentacles, destroying everyone in the room.

Mari felt a tentacle wrap around her face and whispered directly behind her ear. "You should close your eyes... You might not want to see this..." It was the same sadistic voice... It almost sounded like Nightmare, but different in a way Mari couldn't place.

She shuddered at the touch and felt herself tremble with fear. She heard swords unsheathing, grunts of those who were killed... Dream... Yelling... Ink ordering commands to Blue... Blue's war cries... And cries of pain... Ink's and Blue's captain ordered them away...

Mari passed out at one point... Or maybe something put her to sleep... All she knew was that she did not dream that night.

~~~

Mari's eyes were shut, but she felt herself wake up. She heard someone baking... And the sounds of the day... A cold towel on her forehead sent shivers down her spine and made her sit up quickly. "DON'T TOUCH ME YOU-"

She realized it was Blue, holding a napkin in his hand, looking quite worried. "I-I'm sorry mistress." She put a hand to her chest and felt her head spin. "What... Where-" she was interrupted by another voice. "You're awake-!"