Bitter Memories: a Fading Letters Story
This short story takes place a few days after White Lily finds Red Velvet Cookie in the woods.
A small breeze ran through an open field, carrying the faint smell of cooked jelly meat across a field of wild grass and bluebells. In the distance, a fire slowly crackled. An exhausted Red Velvet Cookie slept parallel to the flames, resting from a day's worth of hunting. At his side was his guardian, an equally exhausted White Lily Cookie.
She clutched onto her staff, her crimson eyes glazing over the campsite as she sat down. A flood of thoughts began to race her mind, each moment colliding and crashing, dancing and moving, all at different tempos, patterns, and moments. Buried emotions began to resurface in her heart. Grief. Guilt. Agony. She could see glimpses of his face. His kind eyes, his warm smile... Yet none of it stirred the ancient from her concentration. She didn't have the privilege to despair, not like she ever had the right to. Not after what she did to him.
Her train of thought was soon broken, regardless. White Lily could hear whimpering.
"P-please... no, don't-don't come any closer..!"
She turned her head to see the young Red Velvet clutch his body as he slept, rocking back and forth in an effort to escape some awful creature. Before anything could be done, the rocking became more violent as he jolted awake. Heaving and shaking, he began to cry as sweat rolled down his very dough and his eyes became gummy with tears.
As if on instinct, she took the boy into her arms, holding him close to her. Shielding him as she tried to comfort him. "It's okay", she crooned, "It's going to be okay... It was a nightmare, it wasn't real. Nothing is going to hurt you, you're going to be okay..."
Red Velvet felt himself pull away from her, his eyes shifting rapidly, as if to try and confirm this for himself. He... He wasn't trapped under a glass. He wasn't running away from the banquet again, either. He was in a forest, a beautiful forest with green grass and flowers and a blue sky. So why did he feel so trapped? Red Velvet felt himself slump to the ground, shaken and in disbelief.
"...I..."
White Lily moved closer to him, watching with a somber expression. She didn't want to startle him more.
"...Miss White Lily Cookie?" He spoke, his voice trembling in his throat. "Why did that happen?"
She turned to face him. "Well... You were having a nightmare."
His face slightly soured. "I know that, I mean... Why did I have to go through that..?"
She wasn't quite sure what he meant when he said that. Did he mean what happened before she found him? "I'm not sure I understand, Red Velvet..."
His face became hot. She didn't get it. Of course she wouldn't, she wasn't there. More tears ran down his soggy face, his body tensing. White Lily tried to reach towards him, but was swatted away. He wanted to scream.
"Why-?! Why did that have to happen?!"
"Red Velvet, you must calm down-"
"Why did the Witches try to EAT MY FRIENDS?!"
Silence.
...He shouldn't have yelled. But it felt so good to get it off of his chest. It felt right. He looked back, only to see a horrified White Lily staring at him. Deep down, he knew he went too far.
"...Oh. I... I didn't mean to... I'm sorry-"
He was suddenly cut off as the ancient took him back into her arms, embracing him tightly. It was as if she was shielding him from some unseen threat the way she held him.
"Don't. Please, don't apologize. I... I had no idea."
Her voice was firm and yet unsure. Red Velvet could tell that much. White Lily herself was still in disbelief. The very notion that their creators would even do such a thing was strange and cruel to her. But she would be a fool to ignore his pain. "Red Velvet, I-"
She never got to finish. He held her even tighter, a soft sniffle escaping from his throat. It didn't matter that she didn't know everything. She was there, and that was more than enough for him. Red Velvet held on before his grip loosened. A soft snore cued White Lily to place him back on the forest floor, draping her cape over his frail body to keep him warm throughout the night. His arms gripped it, his expression somber, but calm. His soul was at peace once again.
White Lily sighed, her expression mixed with relief and concern. Relief that Red Velvet would be alright, and yet concerned about what she had learned. The thought mulled over as she felt her own body grow tired. "It could've been a misunderstanding", she thought. Perhaps it wasn't. Unfortunately, she wasn't there, and she might never know. White Lily could only speculate the events of that fateful night. Her mind couldn't help but wonder if his death had anything to do with it. But she couldn't speculate any further. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep as well, the watchful moon looking after them both.
-End.
