Birth of a Nightmare Man

Chapter Twenty-One

The castle walls went up slowly. It was only four people working on it after all. Well, four and one more occasionally.

Helga was surprised that the Nightmare Lord kept coming back. He even brought his other servant, Lucian, with him. When asked about the others he said:

"What others?"

"You have more servants, right?" Rowena said.

"Oh, are you one of those?"

"One of what?"

"Who think I have a mountain of servants," the Lord said. "I only got two. These two. They'll do just fine."

They didn't know what to make of him. He was cruel at times, then seemed angry at himself for the same cruelty. They often noticed him holding jagged stones in his hands, but he seldom told them why. Godric said he found blood on the stones once. Helga decided to ask Elise instead of the Nightmare Lord.

"Master does what he wants," Elise said.

"Including hurting himself?" Rowena asked. "If he's that conflicted about himself, why doesn't he just stop being the Nightmare Lord?"

"He has no other identity. His name is the Nightmare Lord. Master has nothing to be if the title goes away."

"Everyone has real names," Rowena said.

"Not master. Master has no other name."

Rowena asked the Nightmare Lord later about that, and he said:

"Oh, she's right, I don't have a name."

"Everyone has names," Rowena told him just as she had told Elise.

"Well, I don't remember mine," he replied. "I tried once. I ended up in such pain I decided never to try again. I can fend off physical pain, but the one that is in my head? That one is excruciating."

He was in a better mood when they didn't ask questions. Helga wasn't scared to ask questions, but those about his past didn't lead anywhere so she stopped with those. She'd tell him what kindness entailed. It was surprising how much he listened to that, despite not quite believing it.

"Kindness is strange," he said. "You're not sure you gain anything from it?"

"What did you gain from being who you are?" Helga wondered.

"Fear, and people learning not to trick me," he replied.

He never stayed for any meals, not until a month in when Rowena caught him just before he managed to slip away.

"Why don't you stay for supper?" she asked.

He looked at her, then down at the table with food.

"Usually I'd get poisoned at this point," he said, "but you… you'd tell me."

"Of course I would," Rowena said. "It's just meat with herbs."

"Poisonous herbs by any chance?"

"No."

"Pity; would've made eating more interesting."