Nameless Ghoul

Shadows

It was late morning when they woke up. Itzal gave a lazy stretch as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. His night had been free from dreams, and he was eternally grateful for the peace it had brought him. He felt Sunshine stir beside him and flinched as her icy hand came to rest on his chest. She quickly drew it away again, eyes wide.

“Sorry! I didn’t think,” she said.

He reached over and pulled her closer to him so that their bodies were touching all the way along.

“It’s ok, your hand was cold. It made be jump,” he replied.

“Oh," she said with a giggle. “So you won’t want me to do this then...” she said with a devious smirk as she grabbed his bare back with both of her freezing cold hands.

He bucked away from them, and she snorted with laughter. Sunshine rolled onto her back and squealed as he skimmed his fingers over her belly, digging in and tickling her gently. She laughed as he moved himself to rest gently over her, propping himself up on his elbows and resting in the cradle of her body. She squirmed underneath him, still laughing, and he looked down into her beaming face.

She was perfect to him and he couldn’t help but smile as she lifted her face to his and kissed him.

He felt a wave of affection wash over him and he pulled back in surprise at the foreign sensation. She looked questioningly at him.

“Are you okay? Do you need a break?” she asked.

“No. I mean yes, I’m ok. No, I don’t need a break. But what was that?”

She smiled as she must have realised what he hadn’t.

“I think it’s a bond. Our bond. I can feel you every now and again, just little snippets. I noticed it last night, but I wasn’t sure. I’m pretty sure now, though.” She grinned.

He rolled off her and lay on his back and she snuggled into his side, laying her hand across his chest. Thankfully, it had warmed up now.

“This is all new to me. I feel like I’ll wake up and this is all just a fantasy. That I’ll wake up from a fever dream at the church again and Santos will appear at any moment.”

She smiled sadly and kissed his cheek.

“It will take some getting used to. But you don’t have to worry about him now. He’s gone and he has no hold over you anymore.”

He huffed at that. Even though he knew the bond with Santos had broken, he could feel the scars that the preacher had left on his soul just as clearly as he could feel the ones left on his body. Even though Santos was surely dead, he felt his presence once again as the mood changed.

Sunshine must have known where his mind had gone as she stroked his face and then got out of bed.

“Come on, we’re going to have a nice day today. I don’t want him to ruin it, so we need to leave him here."

She went into the bathroom to get ready as he lay back and tried to shake off the sombre mood that threatened to overtake him.

Papa had given Sunshine some time off from her duties. The gruelling ritual had taken its toll on Papa and all of his ghouls and ghoulettes. It was almost Yule, so he had given everyone at the Abbey some extra time to enjoy the festivities and recharge. Itzal was glad that he could spend some time with her - with them all - before he started the training for his post as one of Secondo’s ghouls. He’d never had a holiday before, so he had a word with himself to make sure he made the most of it.

Sunshine finished up in the bathroom and he followed suit, going back to his room for a shower and to get dressed. He knocked and let himself back into Sunshine’s room when he was done. She smiled when she saw him.