My Dearest Lady Cotton

Fuzzy Shadow

   Rubbing her eyes off sleep, Cotton muffled a yawn as she turned in her bed. It was another empty night without him, and she felt cold. Dreadfully cold.

   Icetonia was known for their frigid weather and snowy days, those things were common in the land. And now that the season had changed to a warmer one, the nightly hours burned with heat thanks to the thick blankets. Despite the sweaty covers and sweltering weather, the young Wife felt chilly in her bed.

   Shuffling her feet under the thick quilt, Cotton peered towards the illuminated moon lit window. It was cloudless. A tree branch smacked into the glass. The silver stars in the sky were rather bright that night. And she still could not get used to being alone without him. 

   For them to call her exhausted man for help over a detained criminal was absurd. Wasn't the situation taken care of already? Are there any other reasons for them to request his presence? Or was it only for the sake of intimidation because of how tall he is? If that was the case, then why had they not called Sir Elsker? He and Louis rivaled in each other's height!

   Moodily smacking her dry lips together, Cotton removed the drenched blankets and shuffled to her feet. The candle she lit several hours before continued glowing strong, allowing her to not just feel, but see the emptiness further around the room.

   The young wife crept her way down the stairs with the candle lighting her way, eagerly waiting for the return of her man. Each creak upon the wooden ground awakened her further from dream land as she made her way to the kitchen floor. Rubbing her itching nose, the lavender haired maiden brushed down her bed ridden locks and proceeded to get herself a cup of water.

   The darkness of night had always petrified the lass since she was a child. The wild things one could see once the moon reigned the sky had brought shivers down her spine. The sudden shadows and random noises she couldn't hear or see made her jumpy. 'Tis why she preferred the warm guide of daylight. At least she'd be able to see into the murky corners.

   But these days, the moonlight brought a sense of security. She looked forward to when the sun would ease it's way down and make way for it's Lunar sibling. Perhaps it was because that would be the time when her Husband would return with his usual smiling face, or maybe because she would finally have time with him and him alone.

   Whatever it was, she didn't want that peace to end. Even though that strange creepy shadow in the corner of the room was blocking a good amount of glorious silver incandescent.

   Kneading her knuckle against her drowsy blue eyes, she grumbled while lifting the candle a bit higher. Her lithe heart dropped when the orange effulgent flickered upon a hunched thing. Gulping, she blinked rapidly and bit the bottom of her lip. No, no it couldn't be. Monster's didn't exist. They only formed under the imagination of a child's brain within the shadows of their bed. The boogie man is not real. Not at all.

   The loneliness of the home long forgotten, Cotton shakily made her way towards the grotesque, fuzzy, dark shape looming over the kitchen chair. With her conscious silent and her head in the daze of sleep, she ignored her common senses to run. Quickly, the lavender haired adult grabbed the creature and swung it across the room.

   The candle fulgurated against the sudden gust when the shadow fluttered and draped into view. Cotton shuddered a breath of relief as the once blocked moonlight glazed over a dark brown fur cloak, resting upon her potato stash. It was just her Husband's uniform. Why was she acting like such a little child? She should have known the boogie man was non-existent!

   Sighing with a giggle at her foolishness, the young Wife set the dying candle aside and scooped the item lovingly in her arms. As she cradled the military cloak and made her way up the uneven stairs, she paused.

   Wait. What was his cloak doing here?

   If she remembered correctly, it was a part of Louis's uniform. Had the daft man forgotten yet another important thing to his armor??

   First Rosa and now this?? What's next, his shoes?!

   With her conscious still dead of sleep, Cotton cursed to herself as she dragged her body towards their shared room. On the way, she hadn't realized a letter had fallen from the brown bundle in her arms, slipping under the little slit forming on the wooden staircase.

   Dropping into the old bed, she snuggled into the cloak as she lazily pulled up the quilt. Closing her dazed ocean hues, the lavender haired woman sniffed the fur.

    Smelled like blood and sweat. Why wasn't she surprised.

   'Tis the scent of a brave Knight. Her tired mind croaked, perplexed on why she would ever whiff something so dirty. She didn't bother to answer back, finally able to sleep thanks to the comforting scent of Husband. Tenderly clutching Louis' cloak close to her softly beating chest, her breathing eased to an even, calm pace.

   That is until the front door slammed opened and up ran her loud ass Husband, who had completely forgotten the time of night.

   "Cotton, I'm home! And have you seen my cloak anywhere??!"

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