'My, my, what have we here?'
My head turned instantly without hesitation, almost spinning off from the base of my neck, so my eyes could register where that sound came from. It was... him, standing under the doorframe of the entrance. With help from the moon's glow beaming into the building, this man was highly identifiable; that striking purple tux could be recognised anywhere. But, what was he doing here? What could he possibly want to be doing here this late?
'King Dice?!' Cuphead angrily shouted out of surprise. Hastily, he broke away from me and turned to face the die-headed man. 'What in the Devil's name are you doing here?'
'I should be asking you the same thing.' He declared, closing the doors shut and flicking the light switch by his side. In an instant, the lights flickered on above us, lighting the room and everything in it. Even though it was now brighter than before, a discomforting feeling had begun to wash over me. 'Though if I have to be honest, this isn't the best joint in town to take your girlfriend on a first date.'
'WHAT?' Cuphead shouted, his eyes widening to the point where they covered most of his face. 'That's not... I don't... we aren't...' Getting lost in his own words, a bright but subtle blush had made its way across his face.
'There's no need to protest.' He proclaimed, slowly stepping further towards us. 'I mean, who could put the blame on ya? She's a beauty this one.'
Out of nowhere, Cuphead stepped out in front of me, seeming as if he were blocking King Dice from getting any closer to me.
'BACK OFF, WOULD YOU?' He snapped in a tone that was full of hatred, causing King Dice to stop in his tracks. Not knowing how to react to his sudden outburst, I backed up a little behind him, grabbing his hand lightly. Squeezing it a little to get his attention, his head turned to face me as his eyes darted in my direction. It was clear to see he was uncomfortable in this situation, and frankly so was I.
'Cuphead, maybe we should leave now.' I suggested softly, whispering to him while still holding his hand. Hesitantly, he turned back around to face King Dice who, for some unknown reason, gave off this sinister smirk that felt like it stared right through your eyes.
'... Fine.' He growled, pulling his hand away from mine. It shocked me to see Cuphead this angry, but it confused me even more as to why. Why was he being so irrational about all of this? 'C'mon doll, we're getting out of this dump.' As he walked past King Dice, their stares never strayed away from each other, sending eerie chills down my spine as I followed close behind Cuphead. Just as I was walking past King Dice, I could feel his stare move away from Cuphead and down to me, almost as if it were burning the back of my head. But as I continued walking, I refused to look up at him, staring directly at the door and focusing on getting out of this creepy, abandoned casino.
Suddenly, I was unable to walk any further. A firm hand grasped onto my right arm and held onto it with a steady grip. My heart froze, turning my head around immediately, only to find King Dice had his gloved hand clutched onto me, looking down into my eyes with a big, malevolent grin. He stared at me with a look in his eyes that can only be described as being fuelled with heinous thoughts.
'What's the matter, dear? Leaving so soon?' He purred while leaning into me. This terrifying situation I was in caused my mind to go blank, unprepared for what to do. Trying my hardest, I used every ounce of strength I had in me to pull away from his grip. But no matter how hard I try, I couldn't break free. This was where I began stressing.
'CUPHEAD!' I screamed, still struggling to free myself. Turning his body around to the attention of my cries, his face almost turned to stone at the sight in front of him. 'CUPHEAD! HELP!' To my unknown, my screams echoed through his ears like a nightmare on repeat and had his heart breaking.
'KING DICE, LET HER GO NOW!' He demanded, tightening the grip on his hands and staring at King Dice dead in the eyes with a look engulfed with rage. An overwhelming feeling of hatred surrounded this place, convulsing with negativity from corner to corner that took over this casino in a matter of seconds.
'Or what, Cupface?' King Dice challenged him; his voice towering over my head as he unexpectedly pulled me in towards him, wrapping his arm around my abdomen and keeping a tough grip on me. At this point, my arms were trapped by my side, struggling with all my might as I tried to release myself but failing to do so over his strength. 'What're you gonna do?'
Cuphead, fuelled with rage, took a step backwards and held his right arm up, pointing his index finger in our direction, with his left hand supporting it underneath. His stance was strong, filled with anger, as the very tip of his finger began to glow a light blue flame that grew heavier and heavier with colour every second that passed.
BOOM!
Before I could process what just happened, the whole room shook as a sudden blue burst fired in our direction, barely scrapping the side of King Dice. The atomic sound that carried out with it stopped my heart for a second, paralysing my body from head to toe. A loud scream had erupted from my mouth that seemed to echo through these walls as the building began to relax and stand still once again. As I just noticed what went on, my eyes instantly darted towards Cuphead, millions of questions racing through my mind. At this point, I was in a state of shock and couldn't believe my own eyes. Still, I knew I'd be safer over with him right now than be stuck in King Dice's tight embrace.
'Now what was that for?' The man behind me questioned with a perverse tone. 'Look what you've done, Cupboy. You scared you're precious little doll.' My head jerked up instantly to face him when he bellowed that comment with pride. Feeling my face heat up and my blood boil, I began to get very irritated with this man. But still, there was nothing I could do; I was still in his grasp and I couldn't free my hands so there was no way I was able to break out of this problem.
Unless... I could use my feet...
'Honestly, boy, you really need to think before you act. I mean, what's in that head of yours anyway? Definitely not a brain. Why, I bet you don't even know what a brain is, do you?' Hearing the judgemental insults malicious chuckles come from above me, I knew this was my chance to get him back. Lifting my left foot up as high as I could, I carried all my strength into that leg before pulling it down as fast as gravity would allow, slamming my heel as hard as I could on the end of King Dice's purple shoe. A painful grunt was then followed as he instantly removed his arms from my grasp to pick up his foot in agony. Without hesitation, I broke away from my position and began to sprint as fast as I could away from him and towards Cuphead. Feeling a short sense of relief, I continued running forward until I met up with Cuphead, where he quickly grabbed my arm and ran by my side, running through the casino's doors and sprinting as fast as we could until we were far away from the luminous building.
It felt like hours had passed since we had escaped from the Casino. We had run into a clearing in the forest of Isle I until we couldn't run anymore. Our legs had carried us for miles to where we are now and we both collapsed by the side of an old wooden tree stump, trying desperately to catch our breath. Leaning my back against the dead tree stump, I raised my head up and stared right into the night sky, trying to regain my energy that I had lost from running for so long. Looking over to my right, I noticed Cuphead trying to relax himself whilst puffing for air like a mad-man. Eventually, we both managed to catch our breath again and calm down a little. After a few silent seconds, Cuphead turned his head towards me, a worrisome expression resting on his face, as he grabbed my hand gently and held it down on the ground in his.
'Are you alright?' He asked, concern filling his tone.
'Yeah, I think so.' I replied, letting out a deep sigh from within my chest. Before I got the chance to rethink everything that just happened, I heard the ground shift by my side as Cuphead readjusted himself to sit right next to me, our bodies touching on either side. Still holding my hand in his, He raised it up and brought it in front of his face.
'Doll, I am so sorry for that. Are you sure you're alright.' He questioned, a hint of fear gleaming in his eyes.
'Yes, just a little shaken up by what just happened, but I'm fine.' I replied, giving him a friendly smile. 'What about you? Are you alright?'
'As long as you're here with me, I'll always be alright.' He purred before raising my hand in front of his face and planting a warm, gentle kiss on the back of my palm. The feeling spread through my body in a sudden heat rush and If I wasn't feeling so damn exhausted, I probably would have squealed a little. I could instantly feel my face heat up as quick as a hummingbird's wings, leaving me feel, once again, paralysed by Cuphead's loving aura. Letting out a little yawn, I rested my head back on the tree stump again and proceeded to close my eyes, slouching my body down a little. I could hear some rustling come from beside me as I felt Cuphead shift into a sleeping position as well. Once the sounds had stopped, I decided to rest my head on him body like a pillow and relax completely, letting my mind wander off into dreamland.
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Author's Note:
OVER 1k READS!!! YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT, THIS STORY HAS BEEN READ 1K TIMES BY YOU LOVELY FOLKS!
Honestly, I can't thank you all enough for that. That is blowing my mind! And with this story still to continue, hopefully the curiosity and satisfaction will come with every new chapter I publish.
Also, HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! Hope you all have a fantastic 2019 that's better than all the other years before!
Well, that's all for now, folks! Until next time...