Loyalty's Lullaby (A Crossmare Fanfiction)

Squirrel

On time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The birds were not singing to their offspring. The flowers were not giving off tunes. The wind was not anywhere close to a light, warm, gentle spring breeze. The sunlight only shone through the crooked bare branches in little messy patches, making the dirt ground look like it was actually lava.

This was not the outside world Cross had imagined. When the gate opened and he saw the bright sun rising, his soul had seemed to flutter, glowing with joy that he'd finally be able to be under it again. But something had happened. The sun stopped moving as soon as the top half was visible over the dying horizon, as if cut off of its track by an invisible force. The world was paused forever in twilight, until the night would come back and devour the light again. When he had first realized the usual bright rays weren't blinding him, he panicked. Frantic and scared that this was a dream. His non-existent brain even wandered off to the end of the world. Of course his companion hadn't helped calm him down. 

The only time Nightmare even attempted to comfort him had been when he muttered a simple, "That's normal. Now catch up," to get the nearly collapsing smol moving.

The bean was still terrified out of his mind, but those tentacles had pointed so threateningly at him when he'd only whimpered in response that the fear of getting stabbed through his chest yanked him along. The blood on the tentacles had been completely covered in goop, not a trace is was there in the first place. There would be no proof of the people the octopus had brutally murdered's existence; the corpses underground and the gore washed away. They would be forgotten forever. 

A shudder trickled its way down the smaller's spine. That was his worst fear. To be completely absent from anyone's memory? It was the same as never having been there at all. Everything you've ever done meaning nothing.

A crack sounded in the higher ones of the lifeless, twisting branches of the gnarled trees surrounding them.

Cross jolted, shrieking from the little noise interrupting the previous silence. If this were a school in the modern times, the crack would have been the start to a a sea of meaningless conversation, so loud the poor teachers would never be able to settle it down unless they had a mic. The smol's screech was close enough. 

He desperately clung to Nightmare, who looked down at him in mild irritation and a hint of amusement. Weirdly, he didn't seem startled at all.

"What was that?!" The bean whisper-screeched, trembling as he tried to press himself into the other's arm, as if he was straining to hide from the world, similar to what he had done with the wall in the cell.

The taller stared down at him, the corner of his lips twitching upwards as he tried to suppress the grin eating away at his face. Before he could stop himself, he unwillingly let out a snort of mirth, before breaking into a fit of disbelieving snickers. He nonchalantly raised a bony hand to point at something Cross couldn't quite make out perched on the end of one of the lower branches, other boughs blocking it from his view. He stood on his tip toes, the cringy ballerina slippers crushing his feet. The smaller tried to jump, which didn't work, and only resulted in him losing balance as he came back down, crashing to the ground with a yelp. He lay there on the floor, groaning at the pain of his surely twisted ankle. 

Cross rolled onto his back, facing up at the dim sky. He attempted to get back up, before collapsing again and letting out a little scream, his injured ankle having jerked to the side as soon as he put weight on it.

This time he didn't even bid to stand up, just laying there starfished on the barely existent dirt road. He sighed, closing his eyes and trying to even his breathing. In, out, in, out, and so on. One deep breath, two deep breath....six...thirteen...

When he felt satisfied, his eyelids fluttered open, about to give another strained effort to stand up. The smol had just lifted his head the tiniest bit when he stopped curtly, a gasp mixed with a screech of fear and shock escaping his mouth. There, way too close to his own, was Nightmare's smirking, stupid face looking down at him in amusement. The oreo didn't recognize him for a nanosecond, momentarily freaked out by the one frigid and intent cyan eye staring at him and all the black goop practically shoved on top of him. The taller snorted at the other's reaction, his signature shiz eating grin only growing wider.

"It seemed like you forgot I was here. That hurt my feelings, you know," the octopus whispered, his breath hitting the smaller's face and tickling it.

It smelled of peppermint and fresh blood.

"Well I'm sorry Mr.Notice-me-or-I-get-hurt, I didn't know you had any," he grumbled, looking down and not meeting the hentai goop boi's gaze.

"Confident, are we~?" Nightmare yanked Cross up harshly, a tentacle holding and supporting his waist to make sure he didn't fall down again. "The next thing I show you is sure to scrub that sparkling clean, don't worry!"

"Yeah, sure," the bean remarked, putting in all the sarcasm he could muster, which sadly, wasn't a lot.

His face had flushed a light violet from the other's tone, but he still managed to put together a decent glare. The octopi once again pointed at something, most likely the thing or person that had caused the crack. This time, it was at the base of the tree, and the smol could see it as clear as day-...err...how daytime used to be.

There, clinging to the rough bark of the plant, staring at them with intensity that rivaled Nightmare's in their beady black eyes, was a squirrel.

—————

Chrystal  chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, the pieces of diamonds embedded into them gleaming in the bright light of the giant candles. Intricate gold swirls and patterns lined the walls and the ceiling, every door made out of pure emerald. Sat on a deep velvet throne-like chair in front of a long, polished table, a tablecloth made out of softened silver covering the mirroring surface, was a prince—soon to be emperor—known for jubilation.

You'd think he would be happy, with piles of delicacies perched neatly in front of him. You'd think he would have started digging in already. But no. The prince of positivity was nearly as solemn as his dreaded twin brother, having absolutely no interest in the delectables.

Three years, two months, sixteen days, and nine hours.

Three years, two months, sixteen days and nine hours since the person he cared for most had been kidnapped. 

Now, he had to count for another someone. The other person he cared about most was now also in constant danger, having been away for one month, seven days, and three hours. Who knows how long he'd be able to stand this. His positive aura had already just about diminished, leaving the world with only his brother's side of the twenty four hours in a day. He knew he was breaking. It was all too clear. The purest of souls are often the most fragile.

"Please, you need to eat," One of the others at the table could be heard saying over the constant buzz in his head.

He tried with all his might to listen. He didn't want to be rude. But a second after he heard it, he had already forgotten someone had talked to him in the first place.

The boy blinked, shaking his head furiously, as if trying to shake the imaginary cobwebs away.

He knew he was very much alive, and as healthy as always. But he didn't feel alive. In fact, the previous ball of sunshine could feel his own consciousness starting to dust. 

Dream existed. He did not.