Monster Stories (Melancholic Euphoria's Tumblr Stories)

Male Giant Bat: Dmitri

A/N: This was the monster that was voted for and this is what I wrote! Yes, I was inspired by Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Relationship: Male monster x female reader

The Painter and Her Muse

To think, you didn't believe you would take another foot in this forsaken city again.

That had felt like a cruel lie: one twisted into manipulating you to agree to, bound by this harsh fate for good.

The last time you stepped into the city, you had found it hard to leave, especially with a relative, breathing down your neck and pressuring you to find the right match and be bound to them in marriage.

You couldn't leave any quicker.

That had been five years before being there, and you had imagined you were more mature and less naïve than your sixteen self.

The city as soon as you had entered by train had been everything you remembered it being. The city grew in size and population, life had sprouted from genius rich men deciding to pay to factories and the age of industries, resulting in a bustling boon in everything technological.

It had been a real surprise, having stepped off the platform and swarmed with the smell of soot and coal filling your lungs. There was no way you could stay here for life: not with the harsh smells that would drown your lungs slowly.

It had been a mixture of old and new in the city: old architecture clashed with new and more prominent buildings, and there was a clear example in the cathedral you found yourself stepping in.

The halls were long and hallow, the large hall was dimly-lit, disguising its art with the promise of wax-dripping candles and soft organ music, droning the room as people came in and out. A mass seemed to of just ended, and when you walked to the front, you spotted the reverend speaking quietly with an elderly woman, speaking in kindness as she gave her thanks and shuffled away.

"Peace be with you." The reverend gave the sign of the cross in a wispy, calm voice, and you followed.

"And also with you, uncle."

All formalities dropped in the second as the ageing man embraced you gently, a smell of burning wax embedded on his cassock, old and fading. "It had been a long time since I saw you here."

"I know," you answered gravelly, pulling away from him. He had either shrunk with age or you had grown taller, for you don't remember ever having to bend your knees slightly to hug him, "it took a lot of willpower to return."

"Your faith is strong." He smiled, wrinkles and lines on his face were harsh and more prominent. "The Lord watches over you."

You didn't reply to him as he resumed his chatter. "How long are you staying here for?"

"A few months. My studies have asked me to find inspiration for an art project." Your jaw clenched in moments of thought. "Which is, to some regard, why I stand here. Is there any possibility of staying here with you?"

You pretended to not spot the way your uncle shifted from one foot to the other, a questioning look in his eyes. "You know, I would always give sanctuary to you, but I cannot this time around?"

You scoffed indecently. "This is all because I didn't say yes to that baker's son's hand in marriage all those years ago, isn't it?"

The reverend gave no expression for you to read, but his face remained its same level of calmness. "It has nothing to do with that. You know I didn't force you into that."

It sure felt like you did. You thought. "Is there any reason as to why I cannot stay here?"

His chin jutted out as if to speak, shutting as he replied, "The room is being refurbished. To make room for improving the bells."