chromatober

EYES (II)

TW // BODY HORROR

It was cold.

The king knew that well, judging from the ever-burning fire slowly growing in his fireplace.

It crackled and burned in the fireplace, the ashes from similar fires also burning away in such a blaze. The king only watched and pondered, slowly yanking off his cloak. It was getting late, far too late.

Almost everyone in the kingdom must be asleep by now. Yet, he remained awake, and it bothered him more than anything. He should be asleep, he should be ready for the next day.

Yet, here he was.

He groaned, laying back on the bed. No reason to think about it, it was better to sleep now than continue being awake, letting his thoughts roam freely.

Tap, tap, tap.

And now some bird was pecking his window. Great.

It itched at him, but not quite in an annoyed way. Something else. Fondness?

No. Of course not. Why'd he feel fond over an annoying bird?

"King! Hey!"

No, not him. This couldn't be about him. He hated him, he-

"King! Hey, look at him! He's a- parrot? He repeats what I say, c'mon-.."

Colle thought he knew better than him. He didn't. He never would.

Which was why he needed to leave. Such stubbornness, such egotism, it would lead to his death. Maybe an actual punishment would show him otherwise.

Colle.

That same kid he'd housed to himself for a few years.

In all honesty, he didn't know what happened to Colle's original caretakers. All he knew was one day, he'd been mourning his old friends only to hear a knock on his door.

That knock had been two guards, and a filthy, young child. Old enough to understand he was alone, but still young enough to be confused and terrified of everything else.

So, he ended up staying with him. Just for a bit. A few years, sure, just a bit.

Regardless, he saw the same determined in Colle then that he did now. Except, now, he was actually allowed to go out and see everything, get hurt, or even die.

He-

He shouldn't do that.

Tap, tap, tap

He was reckless. He could've died easily protecting the King. It's better like this.

If Colle wanted to come back, he would come to the King and give good reason why he should. King told Beef to tell him that.

He didn't mention that if Colle would come back, he'd stop being an elite, for good.

It was the safest option. He'd get himself killed if he didn't! He blindly leapt into danger if anyone he cares about would get hurt. It was idiotic, it was stupid, it was exactly how the King's old friends had died.

Yet-

He knew Colle would be unhappy. Everytime the King saw him before he left, he was anxious to leave, practically rocking on his feet and rushing out the door. He wanted to explore the world, he loved the idea of it.

If the King denied him of that, he'd hate him for sure, if he didn't already. It might not even stop him anyways; he'd sneak out, run off blindly, with no one to watch over him. All to see the world.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The King groaned, staring to the ceiling blindly.

He couldn't keep his eyes on Colle forever. He would run free, one way or the other. It scared the King, but he couldn't stop him.

Maybe tomorrow.

Tomorrow, he could talk to Colle. They could work something out- maybe he didn't have to stay banished!

Maybe.

Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!

The King groaned even louder, pushing himself up off the bed. This damn bird.

He stalked to his window, ready to scare it off. Maybe just tapping back would make it go away? Probably.

As he got louder, the sounds became more peculiar. It was like something was pressing against the window, ready to burst in. King made a fireball in one of his hands, then opened the curtain with another.

His thoughts stopped for a moment, and so did his heart.

Behind his window, a figure stood, it's face so close the window was fogging and it's hand pressed against the window. An eyeball was in it's palm, sobbing tears out from.. somewhere.

Eyes were engrained all over this thing. It looked like sheets of flesh were stitched around it too. It smiled, it's purple hair messy on it's face. It's grin was like no other the King had ever seen. It was gleeful, a type of glee that only seemed to stem from morbidity.

It hit the window, harshly, the glass breaking. The King was practically hypnotized by it's engrained eyes, all staring directly to the damned King.

His attempts to escape became futile quickly, and within short seconds, the King's head became practically empty.

Dread smiled, slowly hovering his fingers over the King's eyes.

Royal eyes. What a prize.