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Ah yes, Christmas.
The most adored holiday in the Kingdom.
Well, the most adored by everyone except Espresso cookie.
The sleep-deprived cookie sighed deeply, his breath appearing as a puff of steam in the cold winter air, as he had to duck out of the way of another flying snowball. The weight of the heavy boxes he held was slowly getting to him, as was the freezing bite of the wind on his fingertips.
"Could you please remind me, why did I agree to this?"
He asked exasperated and proceeded to almost slip on ice hidden by a thick layer of snow. Thankfully his companion caught him in time and helped him find footing again.
"Weeell, first off all you lost that bet last month, remember?"
"I'm never betting with anyone again."
"Second of all! This is the first Christmas party that will be thrown in the castle! Every cookie will be there, so we need everyone's help with the preparations!"
"The worst reason I've heard in my whole life ..."
"AND third of all, you were kinda worried about Madeleine, weren't you?"
Espresso stopped in his tracks and looked at Latte. With the whole craze of preparing the castle for the guests and making everything perfect, he almost forgot.
"Madeleine ..."
He hasn't been acting like himself lately. Espresso was fully ready to have to deal with the excited knight only to be met with distant looks and uneasiness. Sometimes when he was lucky he would catch a glimpse of Madeleine shaking or talking to himself when he thought nobody was looking. Those moments only made Espressos anxiety grow.
Whenever someone tried to talk to Madeleine, he would quickly finish the conversation with a pathetic excuse and run away. Whenever someone wanted to ask him for help, they would be dismissed or ignored. Whenever someone tried to ask him if something was wrong, they would be met with a fake smile and an even faker answer.
That is if someone even managed to find him in the first place.
Madeleine would appear at random in the castle, look for a task that he can do away from everyone else, like chopping more wood or mining sugar cubes, and then disappear for the whole day. It was clear his absence was starting to be noticed by the others.
"Oi, Earthbread to Espresso! You there?!"
Espresso snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Lattes concerned expression. His gut twisted with worry.
"Brighten up a little! I'm sure whatever is bothering Madeleine can be fixed easily!"
"Yeah, right ..."
Espresso grumbled at his friends' ignorance and continued walking towards the snow-covered gates, the lightbulbs in the boxes clinging together with every step.
"Look how about that-" Latte quickly caught up to him "-I'm sure we'll see him back in the castle soon! Then you can ask him what's wrong!"
The two cookies entered the warm inside, greeted the guards and made their way towards the main ballroom.
"Didn't you notice that he's been ignoring me the most? Look Latte, I really don't think that I'll be of much help here, besides he'll bounce right back like he always does-" "Espresso! You can't just-"
"Espresso! Latte! I'm so glad that you guys are back!"
The two were interrupted when Gingerbrave ran up to them holding a clipboard filled with unfinished tasks.
"Ah, Gingerbrave! We brought you the lightbulbs you asked for!"
"That's good! For a second we were worried you guys got lost in the snow! We know that the blizzard is only expected to come in a few hours but still-"
"No no, it's our fault! Espresso just got lost in his thoughts for a second! Besides-"
At that point, the magic user droned out the cheerful conversation and decided to take in the surroundings.
The sun was beginning to set outside the windows, painting the sky in navy and ultramarine shades, that the stars stood out against. The clouds were illuminated with glowing reds and warm yellows. The first snowflakes of the night were also beginning to fall.
The grand ballroom itself was lit up with a soft golden light. Shining Christmas decor was hung from the walls and ornaments were set on the polished tables. Right next to that was placed food and drinks, from colourful deserts and rich main meals to soft and alcoholic drinks.
Espresso huffed and took off his scarf when he started getting too hot for comfort. The scents of freshly baked pastries, burning candles and everyone's perfumes were flowing in the air, giving him an almost nostalgic feeling of Christmas back in the Republic.
All the cookies were making last-minute touch-ups. The kids were either running around or complaining about the uncomfortable clothes, a few cake hounds tried to reach the food on the tables, the Ancients themselves were helping with placing all the gifts under the Massive Christmas tree where Madeleine was standing, even the guests from other Kingdoms that arrived earlier were- wait, Madeleine?
Espressos head shot up so fast he was sure he'd get whiplash.
He stared wide-eyed at the blond, making sure he wasn't just a hallucination.
No matter how much he tried to deny it he cared for the divine knight. And no matter what he told Latte he wanted to make sure everything was okay.
And now was his only chance.
Espresso quickly and haphazardly placed the boxes on the nearest counter and started approaching Madeleine while thinking of what to ask him.
'Are you okay?' No, that's too simple.
'Where have you been running off too?' No, that's too direct.
'I was worried about you' No, Espresso makes it very clear he doesn't worry about anyone, especially not the annoying paladin.
'Why are your eyes red?' No, Madeleines eyes are light navy-
-or are they?
Espresso blinked twice in bafflement. As he got closer to the other cookie more details started getting noticeable about him.
Madeleine seemed to be staring off into the distance, his long hair was a tangled mess, his fists were closed tightly and his teeth were gritted together. His whole body was tense as he twitched from time to time. And his eyes ...
The usual navy only remained at the very edges of the iris meanwhile the rest of it was covered in purples and magentas swirling together into hypnotizing patterns. And from the very pupil itself, a red colour seeped out and like fire was slowly devouring the rest of the iris.
"M ... Madeleine ... ?" Espresso stuttered out, staring at his friend.
The knights' eyes widened, the red colour receding, as he abruptly turned to face the coffee magic user.
"Ah Espresso you're back! I hope the preparations are going well?"
The blond closed his eyes and smiled.
"I-Madeleine what happened to your eyes? Did you get cursed?"
The other cookie kept his eyes shut tightly and the fake smile plastered on his face.
"Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong Espresso, or you'll get hurt."
Espresso was taken aback by the harsh change in behaviour. He was about to try and knock some sense into the other cookie when he was stopped by a white staff.
"Espresso! Madeleine has just returned, I hope you two aren't already starting an argument! The party starts in barely an hour, we don't want you two to be beaten up now do we?"
Espresso stared at Milk cookie while still trying to process everything and maybe figure out what is happening to his friend.
"No need to worry! Espresso and I were just talking-" More like you kept dismissing me "-, and he was just worried for me for no reason!-" Your eyes turning red is very much a good fucking reason to worry "-besides I still think you guys need help with a few things right?-" Stop with the excuses "-won't it be easier if we split up?"
"Madeleine, just tell me what's wrong-" But when Espresso looked up the divine cookie was long gone. He snapped back into reality, shook off the apprehension after a few seconds and looked at Milk waiting for a task that he could help with.
With all the years of coffee magic and with all the knowledge he possesses, Espresso has never felt so powerless to help somebody.
---------------------------------------------
Espresso was sure he'd just forget about everything by the time the dinner arrived.
Oh ... how wrong he was.
"Espresso, where is Madeleine? He was just supposed to bring more doughnuts from the kitchen yet he's been gone for the past forty minutes!"
Alchemist cookie whisper yelled at him. The guests have just started eating when the paladins' absence was noted. Espresso looked around the room, anxiety levels spiking up, and when he didn't see the blond he sighed deeply.
"I'll go look for him"
He stood up and excused himself from the table. Going via one of the doors of the ballroom he quietly moved through the dim corridors and in the direction of the kitchen.
"Come on Madeleine, what did you do this time ... where are you ... ?" Espresso quietly muttered to himself and shivered as he got closer to the kitchen's entrance.
...
Wait, is it just him or is there cold wind coming from under the door?
...
Espresso quickly moved and opened said door only to get shoved back by a freezing current and snow hitting him in the face. His whole body shook trying to keep him warm as he opened his eyes wide and looked around the kitchen.
One of the windows was fully opened and the beginning of a blizzard was rushing inside of the room.
But why was the window opened with no Madeleine insight?
They were on the fifth floor.
The window opened on the fifth floor and Madeleine gone ... no no no NO-
Espresso almost tripped over his own legs as he ran up to the window sill and looked towards the ground. He let out a shaky exhale of momentary relief when he didn't see a body splattered on the snow-covered concrete below. That relief quickly turned into dread when he noticed footprints leading into the forest.
"What in the name of the witches are you doing Madeleine?! Jumping from the fifth story and running into a forest right before the blizzard-?!"
Something had to be wrong.
Espresso quickly turned around and ran back to the ballroom not wanting to waste any more time.
He didn't tell the other cookies, that stared at him in worry, more than "Madeleine went into the forest, I'm going to find him" before he was rushing out of the castle and down the slippery, barely visible pathway.
From the castle's garden, through a few bushes and right into the trees. Espresso ran as fast as he could while shouting for Madeleine.
"Madeleine!"
His heart was hammering in his chest and his throat burned from the freezing wind. The snowflakes felt razor-sharp against his face.
"Madeleine!"
The snowstorm only intensified reducing his visibility. His glasses fogging up weren't helping either.
"Where ARE you?!"
He was getting desperate. He had to find him.
"MADELEINE!"
The forest was pitch black, only illuminated by the moonlight that seeped out from in between the clouds and twisted tree branches.
Suddenly something slammed against his side at full speed, sending him to the forest floor, and pinned him to the ground by his arms.
Espresso wheezed, as all the air got knocked out of his lungs, and started charging up one of his attacks ready to counter his opponent when he opened his eyes.
His bleached golden irises locked with the now-familiar swirling magenta and red ones, the navy and purple colour long gone.
"M-Madeleine? Is that you?" His breath turned into a puff of steam.
"I told you Espresso-" the other cookie growled out, the hold on his arms tightening.
"Stay out of this, or you'll get hurt."
The paladin groggily moved away. He stood up, swaying from side to side, and moved back to a sword that was impaled in the middle of the clearing they both have found themselves in. And that's when Espresso noticed them.
"You- Are those- W-Wings ... ?"
Espresso stared wide-eyed at his friends back. There, from in between a ripped dress shirt and from his back, were sprouting two gigantic inky-black wings. They curled high above his head and back down towards the ground. They seemed to be made of hardened feathers, that were shaped into sharp scales and frozen in place like daggers. Just like Devils wings, but much, MUCH larger.
Madeleine sat back onto the ground in front of his sword. The wings heavily dropping on his sides.
"Madeleine-" Espresso wasn't sure where to start, he still wasn't even sure what was happening, his confusion and disbelief could be clearly heard "- if you got cursed why didn't you tell me? I could have helpe-"
"I didn't want to hurt you ..."
The other cookie growled out and Espresso had to hold in a strangled cry when the blond grabbed onto the sharp end of the sword, and held it tightly, creating deep cuts in the palms of his hands. The strawberry blood ran down the sword's blade and bled into the pure white snow, tainting it crimson.
For a second they were silent like that. The rest of the world not existing. That was changed when Madeleine exhaled shakily, allowing Espresso to see his fangs, and turned to face him.
"Do you remember the night my family died? Back in the Republic when we were just kids?"
Through bewilderment Espressos heart squeezed with sadness as he noded. He remembered all too well, yet he wasn't sure why it was brought up now.
"I recall waking up in the morning, and ... somebody told me that your family has been murdered. Their throats slashed open and chunks of cookie meat ripped out- I- They said that they didn't find your body but that there was so much of your blood that you surely had to be dead too ..."
That was a very painful memory, Espresso could feel tears gather in the corners of his eyes as he continued.
"And- and then three years later you returned."
He looked at Madeleines glowing eyes, they were predatory and made all his senses scream at him, but somehow they still held a spark of comfort.
"You seemingly had no memory of those three years or of the incident. And we- It just-"
Espresso patted the quickly freezing tears from his flushed cheeks and sat up a little straighter.
"We were so excited to have you back we never questioned what you told us- Madeleine-" Said cookie only slightly cocked his head to the side, showcasing that he was listening "- were you cursed back then?"
The paladins' eyelids dropped slightly.
"Not quite, it was before the incident. Do you remember how we always went on adventures together to be safe? Guess what happened the one time I decided to go alone ..."
Even though they sat on two opposite sides of the clearing the blond outstretched his hands towards the other cookie. Even through the intensifying snowfall, Espresso saw the change.
"... You also have claws ... that's quit-" Espresso abruptly stopped in his tracks when the realisation dawned upon him. Putting two and two together into a complete puzzle piece. His eyes widened with mortification as he looked up at his friend who instead was looking into the distance, gaze unfocused.
"Madeleine?"
A gust of wind swept the blond hair over the knight's face, covering it in shadows.
"Were you the one that killed your family ... ?"
Madeleine chuckled sadly. His shoulders shook and his wings twitched.
"Yeah ... isn't it pathetic of me? The cookie that follows the great divine is a murderer! I was supposed to protect others yet I killed them instead! ... look Espresso, I don't think I'm ready to tell you OR anyone what happened the night of the accident. But the long story short is that after all that mess I ran away from the Republic, without telling you more details I basically got found by someone who helped me nullify the curse for all eleven and a half months of the year ... "
"And, a-and the other two weeks ... ?"
"The other two weeks is when I turn back into- into this-"
And Espresso could only stare at his friend. He has never seen or heard of a curse so powerful and so horrifying, his friends' appearance was truly demonic. With sharp, void-black wings, matching claws, sharpened teeth and fangs and fiery eyes. Eyes that held so much repressed hunger and anger.
"And after the two weeks? Does the curse get negated again?"
"If only it would have been so easy ..."
Suddenly Madeleine ripped the sword from the ground and threw it at Espressos feet. It embedded itself right in front of the coffee-scented cookie, gleaming ominously in the barely visible moonlight. Espresso shakily took the sword and stood up looking up at Madeleine.
"The only way to get rid of the curse again is to get rid of those."
The black wings moved up and down in a waving motion.
"You're insane ... I'm not cutting them off! You'll bleed out before we get you to safety- I- I can't just do that! We should just go back to the castle, someones bound to be able to help y-"
Madeleine scoffed in response and approached the trembling cookie, the snow crunching under his boots and he reached out grasping the smaller males wrist and bringing the two closer together.
"If you won't do it I'll do it myself ... just like I've been for all those past years ..."
Espressos vision blurred with tears, for once in his life he just wanted to see Madeleines usually annoying and cheerful face, not this terrifying, cold one.
"I don't want to hurt you!" He cried out
"Espresso look at me-" He did "- out of the both of us you're the one who has more knowledge about cookies. You know how to cut the wings off more safely than I do-"
"- but I-"
"Espresso, I trust you."
Bloody, cut-up hands clasped the mages cheeks as Madeleine joined both of their foreheads.
"Can you help me Espresso?"
...
...
...
The other cookie exhaled, unwillingly nodded and took a second to collect himself.
When he finally didn't feel like his heart was about to jump out of his chest he instructed Madeleine to sit on the ground and gave him a piece of a branch to bite into. No more words were shared between the two friends. No words seemed appropriate enough in this situation.
He searched for the correct way, of unprofessionally removing a limb, in his head. Any mistakes could be fatal so he had to be sure of what he's supposed to be doing. He mentally thanked his younger self for the questionable late-night studies in the Republic.
First: Break the bone.
Espresso reluctantly held onto the base of the wing and used a supercharged coffee bean to precisely shoot at it. He had to swallow down bile when he heard the sickening crack followed by a muffled scream and trashing. He quickly repeated the action with the other wing and moved on to the next step with a heavy heart.
Second: Cut off the blood flow.
He couldn't do that, seeing as he had to cut the wings out of Madeleines back instead of just snapping them short. He had to cut directly in the place where the wing melted into his friends back so the best he could do is lessen the flow by cooling the area. The snow did come in handy for once.
Third: Cut the skin and meat with a clean sharp tool.
Espresso used the fire from his coffee magic to sterilise the blade.
"Madeleine ..." despite not speaking at all his voice was weak
"Is there truly no other way ... couldn't we have just asked the medics back in the Kingdom for help ... ?"
Not really expecting an answer Espresso swiftly went back to work. He first cut shallow, going in circles around the wings and trying to avoid major arteries. Then he made a second and third pass, every time going deeper and deeper. Severing skin, fat, muscles and nerves.
Somewhere halfway through the process, he had to summon a few coffee beans to hold up Madeleine because he passed out.
Passed out, that's not good. No good at all.
And there's so much hot blood everywhere.
Or is it just hot because his fingers are so cold from the freezing temperature?
Is the blizzard coming closer?
Will they even make it back to the Kingdom?
"Es ... so ... Esp ... reso"
The sticky red is coating his hands like gloves.
The perfect gloves for a cold winter.
So warm, it's everywhere, red, red, red, red ...
"Espresso"
The smell is so strong, sweet, sweet blood.
He can see the exposed muscles twitch whenever a snowflake lands on them.
So much red everywhere, it's so, so warm.
"Espresso!"
Is Madeleine even still breathing?
Did he kill his friend?
Red, red, red, red all around-
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"ESPRESSO!"
The magic users eyes widened as he shot up from the bed and accidentally banged foreheads with another cookie.
"Ow- what the-" Espresso stopped in his tracks when memories of the previous night flooded into his head "Shit, Madeleine-"
"Yeah, I'm here dummy!"
Espresso looked up surprised at the paladin sitting on his bed.
"I was worried for you! You were tossing and turning a whole lot in your sleep ... I thought you were having nightmares about ... you know ..." The knight continued.
Espresso blinked the rest of his tiredness away.
"So, it wasn't just a bad dream? You actually w-were cursed? And I-" He looked down at his hands, the phantom feeling of warm blood still lingering. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be feeling.
A warm hand on his cheek brought him back to reality. He looked up at his friends smiling face and light navy eyes.
"Espresso, I hope that what took place yesterday doesn't ruin our friendship. I'm sorry for dropping that revelation on you so suddenly but when the curse comes back every year it's like I'm being possessed. I can only watch what happens around me and I wouldn't forgive myself if I ever hurt somebody again." Madeleine averted his eyes sadly "And I apologise for forcing you to cut my wings ... "
"I-It's alright Madeleine, I would rather burn in the oven than see you be consumed by that curse, but that reminds me ..." Espresso looked around the room that was very much not his own bedroom "Where even are we? Did I pass out yesterday? What even happened?"
Madeleine laughed and shook his head "Don't worry! Apparently, after you ran out of the ballroom a few cookies decided to follow you! Thankfully they didn't see my wings, they only found us after you have already passed out and the wings disappeared, then took us to the castles infantry to get us both healed!" Madeleine put one finger to his mouth in a shushing motion and lowered his voice to a whisper "I made up a cover story that a big wild jelly worm attacked me and slashed my back and hands, and that you tried to help me. So if anyone asks you what happened just tell them that!"
Espressos heart skipped a beat at his friends giggles. His childish behaviour was back full force as Madeleine started retelling what he heard happened at the Christmas Eve ball, that they both missed, with the excitement of a puppy. The paladins happiness was contagious and Espresso could feel the corners of his mouth turn upwards.
"-and then Hollyberry and Vampire had a drinking contest! Apparently, he came pretty close to bea- Oh? Is everything alright Espresso?"
The coffee magic user only hugged the knight closer, burying his face in his chest.
"I'm just glad that you're back ... "
Finally the cold expressions and harsh tone of voice were completely gone, replaced by pure happiness and devotion.
Madeleine was back.
His Madeleine was back.
"Aww, Espresso! I'm glad too! But could you not squeeze me so hard? I still need to breathe silly!"
The mage quickly pulled away embarrassed as hearty laughter filled the infantrys room.
Ah yes, Christmas.
The most adored holiday in the Kingdom.
Well, the most adored by everyone except Espresso cookie.
Yet at least having Madeleine by his side makes this hellish day of the year a little brighter.