orchid | red velvet x herb

[ EVANESCENT ]

The echo of crackling flames did immense damage to Red Velvet's psyche. For an hour and a half, his eyes had been dry of any life. He did not process the floor plans of the castle before him, his shoulders slumped over. Waves of fear kept washing over him, crashing about and destroying empty beaches. His pulse pounded so violently he almost felt as if he were going to double over and faint.

Every metronomic tick of a clock was spent doing nothing. He could not garner the energy, the courage, to so much as raise his hand. The flaxen quill that lay atop the map, undyed with ink, almost blended in with the parchment in such a blinding flurry. Somewhere, somehow, a blade was being sharpened. He could not hear or see it, but rather feel it with every beat of boiling blood.

"This castle has many exits to watch," a dull voice muttered without a single ounce of passion. "How can those be barricaded? How well can your hounds guard them?"

Across from him stood the shell of a man, one he once believed to be an ally. Dark Choco knew better than to look him in the face, hoping to get his task done as quickly as possible. His fingers traced elegant halls and breakable windows, but his hands did not hold on to his target. A lone crimson eye flicked upwards, met with nothing but a tilted head.

It was not his job to critique an ambush plan, even if that was asked of him. He knew without elaboration that his job was to ensure the threads of Her spiderweb did not come loose. Red Velvet was to remain in the Tower, his outburst instilling the fear of biased sabotage.

It was never any fun to play chess without your own pieces cooperating, after all.

His lone eye looked back down, choosing not to comment. "...These halls. They are clear-cut. Even a stranger to the entire kingdom could navigate them. It will not do us any good if we do nothing and allow resistance."

"How do you know?" Red Velvet finally spoke, voice dry as the barren ash surrounding them. His eyes were glassy and unfocused, his ears the only participating article.

"..Know what?"

"What they are like. You do not ever travel. You cannot discern what is easy from a map alone. You do not know what the walls look like nor how crowded the halls are with things. You do not know who is there."

"...These windows are made of stained glass, which makes them weaker.."

"At least answer me that."

Dark Choco let out a rather frustrated sigh, his hollow voice's blade cutting a man dry of blood.

"I need not explain to you. I shall plan this alone if I must, Red Velvet."

"What happened to it?" Red Velvet asked, his thumb tracing the outline of a wall. "Why did it change?"

"I was not assigned for small talk. We have a job to do," Dark Choco spoke, agitated. His fist tightened, hand shaking from the intensity. "Are you going to finish it? Fuck's sake."

"What happened to the Vanilla Kingdom, Dark Choco? Why does it no longer bear that name?"

As if they had been surrounded by sudden bursts of thunder and lightning, Dark Choco froze. His breath hitched, eyebrows furrowed. He did not anticipate such bitter, thorned conversation. If it kept him in one place, though...

..Before he knew it, he'd opened his mouth.

"The Vanilla Kingdom fell years ago. King Pure Vanilla fell with it. He is a dead man. The people rebuilt it regardless of the loss of their king."

"...How many years?"

"Thirty. It fell thirty years ago. I was surprised when I learned it came back to life, myself."