Demon's Hide

Farrow & Barbol: The Room Monsters

Female Reader x Male Monsters

Recently, your parents moved out of your childhood home. They packed up and sold a lot of things, but before they did they allowed you to take the things you wanted. You chose a lot of heirlooms and antiques. This included the furniture from your room when you were little. There was a vanity and chest of drawers as well as a massive wardrobe and a matching bed frame. They were white and had roses carved into them. You had always loved them as a little girl. They may have been a bit girly for someone your age, but you were just excited to have them again.

You used to play inside the wardrobe, making it your play fort. The bed had served as another hiding spot. It was so high off the ground that even as a child you needed a footstool to get on and off it.

Although, after a few days of having them, you started noticing strange things around the house. Your cat was suddenly fascinated by the bed and never left underneath it. Sometimes when you went into the wardrobe you found things you thought had gone missing in the house. This included food and hairbrushes alike. It was just strange enough for you to take notice, but not too weird that you wanted to do something about it.

You went about your business like usual. One night, though, as you laid down to go to bed you noticed the wardrobe door open. You grunt and get up to close it. The only thing is the door won't quite shut. You try to push it but it feels like someone is fighting it.

You hear your cat and while you think it is under the bed you watch it come out of the wardrobe. The door then shuts. It seems weird but you roll your eyes, believing it was your cat blocking the door somehow. You return to bed and as you climb up you feel something on your ankle. You just assume it is your cat and you crawl under the covers.

The next night you wake in the middle of the night. Half sleep and your vision foggy it looks like something is coming out of your wardrobe. It looks shadowy and big. It slips from the door and hits the floor becoming a mound then taking a shape that reminds you of a hammerhead shark.

You sit up and rub your eyes. "Barbol?" You grumble sleepily.

The strange shape turns towards you and gasps.

"Barbol?" You repeat. That was a name you hadn't used since childhood. Back then, you had two imaginary friends you played with constantly. Barbol was the creature who lived in the wardrobe and kept you safe. He liked snacks and giving you kisses for payment of using his home to hide.

He gasps again then tries to clamber back into the wardrobe. You stand up, slipping off the bed to chase after him. Hands grasp around your ankles and you scream, falling to the floor. Your cat darts out from under the bed, but as you peer beneath all you see is darkness and then thousands of glowing eyes.

"He's mad at you still," the bed growls.

"Farrow?" You rub your head. "Am I dreaming?"

"Hardly," Farrow hisses.

"Are you mad at me too?" You ask as Farrow's slender, long fingers crawl up your legs and grip on your thighs.

"Of course," he hisses. "But I know how children grow. Barbol won't forgive that."

You had forgotten like anyone would. You had just assumed the monsters in your wardrobe and under your bed were the imagination every child suffered. But when your parents announced they were selling the house, memories came back. Barbol's kisses, Farrow's fingers. They had been your friends and years away had made their memory fade.

Farrow had many eyes, all glowing and bright. He had several sets of hands. All of them long and narrow. Each finger looked like a spider's leg, but nowhere near as scary. His touch was always gentle and he always provided a kind ear. He listened to you even when you knew you sounded silly. When you hid under your bed Farrow felt warm and soft.