The Cursed Princess Club fanfic: The Secret of The Plaid Family

Ch. 15

In a small clearing dotted with purple cloves, a young man with long dark green hair and a peculiar arm was picking and snipping their stalks. Saffron had been meaning to cultivate this plant for a while now since its numbing properties would be handy for minor injuries. The task also gave him the opportunity to process some difficult events. On top of the temporary suspension of outside club activities and the rising CC propaganda, tensions reached their peak with Nell's latest prediction.

MANY EYES WILL REST UPON THE CLUB'S DOOR AND

A MONSTER OF GRAY WILL REVEAL IN THE GORE.

The effect was instant.

What started as a nagging anxiety grew into a storm of paranoia. Members began to stay home more often and when they did show up, they would leave after an hour or so; Monika even began to arrive to meetings in bird form and, when conversations would turn to the CC and growing inspections, stayed in it. Calpernia promised that the estate and land couldn't be searched without her family's permission, but even that fact didn't brush the dread away. To escape the club's heavy atmosphere, Saffron began to seek out comfort in his garden and the woods. During his time in the forest, Saffron also began collecting herbs to use for a spa day to ease everyone's nerves. As he began to ponder where to go next, his cursed goblin arm was tossing out the clove in his basket. It took a few minutes before he noticed.

"What!? Hey, stop it! It took me an hour to find these!" he cried out struggling to keep the cursed appendage from scattering more herbs and crushing them.

The young Foliage Prince was completely unaware of the presence lurking in the green. He stops struggling when the sound of harsh breathing travels to his ears. His eyes scan the clearing trying to find its source; Eventually coming to rest on a spindly birch tree. Peering deeper into the thick leaves he spies a pair of glimmering jade orbs surrounded by a sea of black.

"Hello? What are you doing up there? Who are you?"

No reply.

"Hey, can you hear me? Answer me." Saffron asks as he approaches the tree. He comes under the tree head turned up to look into the branches.

And feels the breath leave his body.

Saffron's brain struggles to comprehend and process the figure nestled in the bows.

Bare darkish red muscles glistening with unknown moisture.

Snow white bone claws stained with a dry dark substance.

Long hair flecked with dirt and woven around leaves and sticks.

It's too much. Too impossible. It shouldn't be possible. This.... creature can't exist....The thing's eyes are staring straight ahead; Its gaze seems dull and unfocused like it was in a trance. Saffron begins to silently back away; His gaze doesn't leave the creatures, who continues to be as still as a statue. Suddenly, he feels the back of his foot hit something and the abrupt force causes him to loose his balance. He falls on his backside and winces when he feels his palms scrape against a tree's rough roots; Blood began to bubble to the surface as soon as the skin broke.

A few seconds. He took his eyes off it for only a few seconds when he fell. Because when he tried to get back up, something pushed him back to the ground.

Saffron stared into the eyes of the creature, who had him pinned to the ground with its razor like claws The eyes once soaked in dreamy inattention were now aflame with hunger. The monster closed it's hands around Saffron's injured hand and squeezed; More blood began to ooze from the scrape and the creature gazed hypnotically at it. The creature clenched tighter and tighter; Saffron felt the bones in his wrist start to creak and the pain brought the man back to his senses,