Sweet doesn't mean Good

He had forgotten about Nemu’s gift until he went to get the pretty stone for mother. The thick brown glaze had melted onto the rough turquoise stone. Nuallan wrinkled his nose, much too sticky and definitely not ready for gift giving. He quickly licked the stone clean and gobbled up the source of the mess, no more would it dirty his gifts! Satisfied with the state of the pale greenish blue stone, he picked it up carefully between his lips and turned to exit his own little thicket. He couldn’t help pausing to marvel over it. Even though it was securely within his father's glade, it gave him a sense of space, made him feel older and more sure of himself!

Grinning widely he trotted back to where Matilda lay watching Zaedyn and his other siblings romp playfully. Setting his present down gently by her knees, he watched her reaction, the dark lady smiled and thanked him. Nuallan practically glowed, heat rising to his cheeks. Feeling a tug on his silvery tail, Nuallan forgot all about his shyness. Turning a quizzical coffee colored gaze to his tail, he found his younger brother grinning with silver hairs between his lip. Snorting the dark Lordling tugged his tail free, and after giving his mother a quick nuzzle, darted away to chase after Zaedyn.

He didn't know when it started or even when he first noticed it. The moment his body stopped being his. His legs didn't feel like his legs, tail belonged to someone else, ears flopped wherever they pleased and a strange noise akin to a giggle came from his mouth. Yet, he felt it wasn't him doing any of it, that he was just along for the ride. He couldn't stop himself from nipping one of his siblings, nor the kick he threw at another. It reminded him of one of the stories the nannies had told, of Blackwood’s and their cursed abilities. How they could take the mind of another, and force them to do evil things. Had one managed to come so close?! The faint voices of the Ladies in the glade floated right past his head, until one yelled at him, with it the tranquility of the glade ended. The voice become a roar, the once beautiful form distorting horribly into some kind of monster. One monster, than many. Large ones, small ones. Sharp teeth and drool, wide yellow and red eyes peering at him menacingly. He bleated in terror and lashed out at the closest one, he wasn't sure if it connected but it backed away. Hissing and snarling at the motion, sharp teeth clacked in its twisted jaws. Nuallan flailed and struck out again as others came close, they were crowding him! Yet there was nowhere for him to run! Wild eyes looked for an escape, a path to lead him away. He spotted the doorway of the glade. The lordling darted for it, an opening to safety and freedom! He leave and look for wherever his family had gone, wherever the monsters had seen fit to put them. He was almost free or so he thought, as two more monsters barred his path, their horrid voices whispering he stay forever.

Nuallan skidded to a halt, more cries came from behind him. Large shapes circled, trying to corral as he thrashed to get away from them. Where did all these terrible things come from?! Why were they after him? He hadn't done anything to deserve this! “Nooooo! Away! Go away monsters!” He shrieked as he felt a tug on his scruffy mane, he jerked himself free, blindly sinking teeth into the offending touch. Amid angry snarls he found room to move. But where to run?! Where should he hide?! Terrified eyes alighted upon the nearly hidden entrance for the servants. Of course! So many glades they wouldn’t find him! And with luck his guard would be there!

Cesare would protect him! He had too! Nuallan ran for the servants quarters, ducking past the things reaching for him. Searching for the pale form lying in the most secluded of rooms, pitch black eyes rose to meet those of the poor frightened colt. His eyes rolled, heart pounding erratically. The figure didn't say a word as he rushed in and buried his head in its side. Soft sounds seemed to wash over him, when he did peek the hedge had closed behind them. Those voices still came through but they couldn't get to him! He had won! He found a safe place!

But… Was it truly safe? His heart raced at every noise, from the sounds beside him. The steady wheezing breaths his ears found, occasionally his name would whisper on those same breaths. Nuallan found comfort and terror in those words, comfort in that the black eyed thing wouldn't let the others have him, but terror in that he might never escape from it. He tensed as the form closed around him, the whispers coming to rest on his shoulder. He dared to sneak a look, the striped colt was rewarded with dark, dead green eyes. Shadows seemed to pour from the edges, cracks closed and reformed around lifeless eyes. The pounding of his heart ticked upwards again, the throbbing sensation threatening to climb up his throat and out of his body. Without warning his body moved against his will, legs stiffening and thrashing without cause. The creature protecting him slid out of sight, coffee eyes rolling back into his head. He couldn’t breath, it felt like his heart would really beat right out of his chest! The agony as his body fought against this perceived outcome. As suddenly as the terror had begun, it stopped. The world turned dark, all lights gone out, and sounds muffled as under the heavy blanket of winter’s cold snow. Were this world not as terrifying as the last, he might have welcomed it, embraced the eery quiet. Instead the young royal struggled, fought against the encroaching blackness, as it readily consumed his mind and body.

This couldn't be real, and yet it was…