The smell of cinnamon filled the air as it wafted through the open doorway, a smile on my face as I passed samples out to the people passing by, trying to draw more business for the shop I worked at. As a recently opened bakery, we were hoping that we could attract some of the students from the local school, since they would be a good way to spread the word to their friends and family about us.
Especially the night class, since fewer bakeries in the area remained open during the night, but we had figured that perhaps remaining open late would attract customers who were up during the night. After all, even the night owls needed to eat, right?
Catching sight of a group of students about to enter the school nearby, I called out and hurried over with a box of samples, mostly cookies and bits of the different cakes we had to offer. I was slightly disheartened when most of them seemed to ignore me, but seeing the girl and the youngest looking boy in the group still waiting as he held his teddy bear, I walked up to them with a smile.
"Would you like to try a free sample from our bakery? We have a fair variety of goods to taste!" Seeing the dark circles under the purple-haired boy's eyes, I made sure he took extra samples. He looked like he could use all the sugar he could get his hands on.
Handing him and the girl each a small paper cup of treats, I turned around and walked back to the front of the bakery with a happy grin on my face. I had a feeling that maybe, just maybe, we would be having a new customer or two showing up soon.
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The next few days were quiet, not too many customers showing up beyond the couple of regulars we had managed to get. It was on the forth day that the purple haired boy came through the door with the same teddy in his arms, sniffing at the air and most likely taking in the scent of the sugar cookies I had just pulled out of the oven.
"Oh! You came! Can I help you find something? A specific type of cookie or cake? Or maybe you are looking for a tart or a slice of pie? I would highly recommend the chocolate cream pie or the apple tarts, but if you want the freshest item, I just finished baking the sugar cookies and they are cooling on the rack right now." Smiling at him, I pointed to each item in turn, watching as his eyes followed my motions before finally widening at the sight of the still warm cookies.
"Those, I'll take those!" He exclaimed, pointing at the tray of sugary sweetness.
"How many would you like?" I grinned happily, hand stretching towards the variety of bags and boxes we had.
"All of them!"
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It became a bit of a random occurrence to see the boy, whose name turned out to be Kanato, and his Teddy during the next few months. His visits would occur anywhere from once a week to almost every day, but usually I would see him three times a week on average. He always seemed to go for whatever was most freshly baked. I had to agree most stuff tasted best when it was just out of the oven.
I guess the strangest occurrence was when I was working a dual shift with one of the other girls and we had both been baking different treats. When Kanato saw her, he immediately asked what I had baked by myself and buying the whole batch on the spot. When I asked him why it mattered, he'd refused to tell me anything, turning away with his purchase and walking out the door with Teddy in hand.
Shrugging, I turned back to my work, looking forward to getting off tonight since I had the next two weeks off for the trip my family was going on. I was so excited at the thought of going overseas for the first time. Maybe I could even bring back some unusual sweet for Kanato, since he was such a good customer.
For a moment, I wondered if maybe I should have told him about the trip, until I was distracted by another customer coming in. By the time I went home, I had completely forgotten the whole thing.
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I curled into the corner, head covered by a cloth bag and my heart racing in fear, as I heard the kidnappers talking. Not that I could understand what they were saying, but that didn't mean I couldn't tell they were talking about me and the other girls they had stolen away from their families and homes.
When a hand came to rest on top of my head, I couldn't help cringing away in fear, quickly earning a casual smack to the side of my face. The pain radiated through my cheek and down into my jaw as I cried out in pain, even if it was muffled by the gag in my mouth.
When I could finally hear them walking out of the room, the door closing behind them, I was left somewhere between relieved, afraid and exhausted. I could only pray that we would all be rescued before something worse than a few smacks to the face happened.
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As the days passed, I found my hope dwindling as much as my ability to sleep. Every time I managed to fall asleep, I would wake up sobbing from the nightmares. I could feel the effects hitting me more each day, my mind as sluggish as my body by the time a week had passed. That would make just over two weeks since I had left for this trip and I was beyond regretting ever having left.
I sat there in the quiet room, the other girls already asleep as far as I could tell, thinking about my parents and hoping they were okay, that they hadn't been hurt when I was taken from them. I wondered if I would ever see them again, if I would see my friends and coworkers or even the regular customers. Just the idea seeing a familiar face again felt like I was making wishes on stars that I couldn't even see.
Slumping down against the wall behind me, I felt myself slowly doze off, hoping I could get more than an hour or two of sleep for once.
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I woke to the sound of screaming, far worse than anything I'd dreamed about, worse than the screams I heard when watching horror flicks with my friends. They were filled with terror and pain, loud enough to be heard through the walls of the building and growing closer with each one. I could hear the girls around me begin sobbing, screams of fear filling the room as the sound of the door breaking as it was slammed open echoed through our ears.
I curled into a ball, whimpering as I waited for the end to come, wishing my hands were free just so I could cover my ears and not hear the screams around me grow louder before coming to abrupt halts. I knew what it meant. When their screams ended, so did their lives, just like mine would soon enough.
I cringed when I felt a warm, wet hand grip my shoulder before the sack was pulled from my head. I looked up into crazed purple eyes set in a familiar face. One that would have been heartwarming to see, if not for the dripping red blood that covered so much of it.
"(y/n), you shouldn't have left me like that, especially without saying anything. Look at what happened to you! But don't worry, I'll forgive you this time. However, I don't think I'll be able to let you out of my sight again since it's obvious that if I do, you will likely just get into trouble again and then you wouldn't be able to bake me all those sweets anymore." The smile on his face seemed anything but friendly and happy as he looked down at me.
The muffled sob that tried to escape me was stopped easily by the gag he had yet to remove from my dry mouth. Feeling one of his bloody hands caress my hair like I was some kind of doll sent shivers down my spine.
"Hmmm... I wonder if you taste as sweet as your cookies always do... Oh, but let's get you home and cleaned up first. Then you can bake some cookies for me and Teddy and I can compare the flavors! I'm getting excited just thinking about it, (y/n). Aren't you?" I cried silently as he lifted me up, feeling like I had just been rescued from one dreadful situation, just to end up in one that was far worse.
"Hmm... Maybe just a small taste right now wouldn't hurt. You don't mind, do you (y/n)? Of course you don't mind!" The insane laughter came and went quickly, feeling his lips brush against my skin before his lips parted with a grin.
I quickly realized how much worse things were when I felt his teeth, his fangs, graze across my skin. Any hope I had, quickly turned to ash in my heart as he began draining my blood from me. The only think I was thankful for, was how quickly I fainted away from the reality I had found myself in.
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"(y/n), I'm hungry. What are you baking me today?" His cheerful voice washed over me as I stood in front of the oven, my eyes dull as I stared at the timer.
"Ah! Never mind (y/n), I'll let it be a surprise! After all, I like everything you make me! It's all so sweet!" Hearing the timer start ringing, I turned it off and opened the oven, pulling out the tray.
"Ahh! Gingersnaps! I love your gingersnaps! Although... I'm kind of in the mood for something sweeter. You don't mind, right? Just a small taste this time, I promise!" Feeling his teeth pierce the skin of my wrist, I stood there quietly.
Deep in my mind, I howled in despair as I felt myself crumble a bit more, fall a little further into insanity. Sometimes I wondered if I would be better off as one of his wax dolls he had shown me once, not that he would let me join them. After all, he'd gone through so much trouble to get me back ever so many months ago.
"(y/n), you're so sweet. So perfect. If I didn't know any better, I would almost think I loved you! Isn't that silly, Teddy?" I couldn't stop the whimper that came from his words, knowing that it meant he would keep me even closer if he thought he might feel something like affection for me, just like his does with his 'beloved' Teddy.