Oh, How I've Fallen Because of You

Dream-Like State

It was only so long one can stay up without sleep before they crash.

Espresso is one such case.

There was only so much coffee he could consume before his need for sleep caught up to him.

The last thing he heard was the sound of books falling, papers flying, and glass objects tipping over before he crashed into the floor and blacked out.

...

When he awoke, it was someone shaking his shoulders.

His vision is blurry but he can see the familiar shape of...

"Madeleine?"

"Oh thank the Divine!" The blond smiles brightly, "You're alive! I thought you'd drop dead from overworking!"

"Wha..." he reaches out to grab his glasses, which laid on the floor, "What are you doing in the kingdom? When did you get here?"

Where the fuck is his armor?

"I arrived yesterday," Madeleine frowned, "no wonder why I didn't see you! You need sleep."

Espresso scoffed, "I'm fine." He puts on his glasses and gets up.

It is then he realized that Madeleine's eyes were blue.

He couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"How long have you been working, my friend?" Madeleine asked in concern, offering a hand

"Days...Nights..." Espresso took his hand, "I don't know."

His eyes land on the door of his lab. Ah, it was nearly broken down again.

"Did you break down my door?" He huffed.

"I heard you were here," the blond frowned.

"A locked door means I don't want visitors," the coffee mage retorts.

"Well, it was a good thing I found you!" The knight argued, "You were passed out on the floor and everything's a mess!"

Madeleine then sighed, "I worry about you, my friend...is it really necessary to work until dawn?"

"Yes," Espresso grumbled under his breath.

He wanted to avoid these things. He wanted to avoid Madeleine and his...

...corruption...

Something isn't right.

"You're...you're not real," Espresso states bluntly, looking at dream Madeleine, "this...this is a dream."

Not this shit again.

The knight frowned, "Are...you alright, my friend? Did you hit your head when you collapsed?"

The blond tried to reach out, probably to lift him up, only for Espresso to smack his hand away.

"Cut the bullshit," he spat, "this isn't real. You aren't real."

Why the hell was his mind messing with him?

The Madeleine he knew was gone somewhere deep within the mind of a corrupted cookie. He wasn't in his dreams. He wasn't in this kingdom, annoying the hell out of the coffee mage with his arrogance. He was serving Dark Enchantress Cookie, probably (hopefully) against his will.

Madeleine was stubborn like that. He knew. There was no way for the knight to succumb and change sides so easily...right?

"Espresso-"