Tomorrow Crowns the Monster

3

It was serene. There were no gusts of wind or frosty temperatures in this territory, unlike that in Friisaint, where more than half the year it was always touching chilled weather. There was nothing but beautiful curved trees Faddei had never seen in his life yet they were briefly familiar when he read a certain book a year or so ago - these trees had unique bark that twisted as it went up, but the branches would tilt out to one side with their puffy pines, almost like they were made to sit under and relax from the rays of the sun. Fortunately for Faddei, though the place was sunny, more sunny than he'd ever seen Friisaint, he had already figured out that the rays didn't affect him like it should. So, he would sit anywhere he wanted. Be it below the trees, out in the open, or near the vastly large lake that stretched so far the boy didn't think it could ever end, and watch the beautiful colours mix in its reflection, creating shades of blue, yellow, pink, purple, and red and orange, all at the same time. It was as if this was a place of magic where anything could happen. Faddei sketched in his journal what he'd seen since he arrived, though admittedly, the colourless charcoal of his pencil really didn't do it justice. No matter, for when he returned to the castle, he would have everyone come so they could see it with their own eyes. "Well, I think it's about time." His voice was gentle as he stood up.

His book was put in his coat pocket and he started walking along a lovely little pebble path leading up a small hill in a lush and open wooded area. At first he was amazed with how tame the animals were here, now he relished in it, and often set out bird seed and nuts and berries for the wildlife. Without fear, the animals would walk up to him and even let him pet them! It was honestly great and he was sure that Gustave would love it here. Faddei giggled as birds whisked around him and playfully nipped at his hair, singing so sweetly and even placing flowers in his head as if he were a beautiful princess. It was all very pleasant. If that was all that happened in this beautiful area then life would be wonderfully blissful, but something was always array when he was halfway through the path. Every time, he would need to pass by a smaller trail of a blue wooden gate, articulately crafted with two archways and a familiar crest carved deep in its center; it was none other than the wolfish creature that the Vojtovych family bore. Ever since he arrived here, Faddei would stare at its presence and hear the faintest of whispers coming from it every time he'd pass, and every time, he would get cold feet and continue ignoring it.

As per usual, the animals would freeze and glue their eyes at the gate as well, as if somehow telling him to walk in it, too. He wasn't sure why but he just never wanted to. Just looking at it made his neck get goosebumps and a twist in his gut. At the end of the day, he always moved on, except, this time, the whispers were different enough to keep him stuck longer than normal. There was an added layer to the sound, something that felt off, like it wasn't meant to be there. It was almost chirpy and a tad annoying, but Faddei's brain itched with its familiarity.

For the first time since he came here, Faddei was compelled to follow.

He couldn't quite catch on who or what that noise was, but he knew it for certain - it was from someone in the castle. The knife in his stomach continued to churn however, despite yearning to see them. No, he thought, maybe it was just a trick of the ear. Faddei took some steps again before the sound came back, this time much louder and clearer. His head could not have flipped harder as he gasped out his best-friend's name.

Gustave!

How could he have forgotten his friend's calls? Everything screamed at him to go. Faddei wanted to see Gustave so badly that he was willing to ignore even the horrible nausea from the gate, so he tensed up and pressed forward until he just breached the gate's air. Perhaps... It was okay to go? After taking a look back, the wildlife he had spent time befriending had stayed behind, as stiff as wood, eerily just like dolls... or even ghosts. Not even the birds were sounding anymore. Normally he would have questioned this further - or so he liked to think, but there was just that air of mystery to this place and it had managed to make its way as logical in his brain. Best not question it. The sound of Gustave beckoned him again, so, with sickness still in his stomach, Faddei pressed on.

The trail up was a little more of a hike than he would've liked; there were small slides he had to climb and large rocks that he needed to hop over to keep ascending. Unbeknownst to Faddei at this time, he hadn't wondered why his stamina was acting entirely fine when he was so weak. There were brief moments he thought he'd lost his way, but the sound of his best-friend would always call him in the right direction at perfect timing. The trees were slowly shifting into that of white, with red and yellow maple leaves littering every inch of its terrain. It reminded him heavily of Friisaint, especially when seasons came fall to winter. He would spend a few minutes following a stoned path until it led to a decent sized pond with not a single leaf tainting its blue hue.

Not a single gobby-penguin in sight either, though.

"Young Vojtovych, you have finally come." A deep voice rumbled through the air.

His breath hitched and for a moment he hesitated to reply at all. This was definitely not Gustave. Its voice almost sounded slurred, or at least hard to comprehend through the sheer amount of bass it produced. He instead looked around and landed on quite a surprising sight up above the trees. Just to his left, closer to the pond, was an absurdly thick and large white tree with plenty of stumps and curves, crooked and not at all straight like the hundreds that filled this area. After noticing such a remarkable tree, the creature that laid on it was no less than extraordinary. It was more stunning than any other animal Faddei had ever seen.

It bore a strong resemblance to the wolfish creature their crest owned except for certain technical features; its short and lean fur was a beautiful sheen of gold and had the smallest of brown antler stubs, strongly resembling a fawn's horns still growing into adulthood, and most noticeably, its eyes were a deep hue of burgundy red. Its build definitely resembled that of a wolf - the head, the body shape, and the tail were all in the description of one - but there was just something uniquely off. It had a longer torso and almost... appendable claws. It was able to grip and tug at the golden cloth that wrapped around its neck, similar to a human that needed to shift a shirt collar. Also, its size was much bigger than any normal wolf; he'd never seen an elephant before, but he was certain it had to be close to that. Faddei thought the creature's physical existence reminded him much of a giant golden statue.

There, watching as this creature was living and breathing, Faddei realized that the monster on their crest was more than just a symbol. It was right here in the flesh, talking to him. Why, though?

Its eyes briefed the sky with an exhale and looked back at Faddei, its nostrils flaring softly. Then a deep and guttural couple of huffs came from the wolf; Faddei thought it sounded like chuckling. His gaze met the forest with a furrow in his brows, seeing nothing but trees like before. Just as quickly, there were movements coming from in front of piles of leaves or trees. Nothing came out directly so their appearances were still a little fuzzy, but he was convinced there were creatures unlike any animals he'd seen before; what he could glimpse from them were their varied sizes and distinctive qualities that didn't follow the ones of normal wildlife. The wolf lifted its head seeing Faddei grow increasingly uneasy. Something inside Faddei understood that none of them were really... alive.

Even though they were dead, Faddei tried not to listen to his body screaming at him to run.

The wolf's tail flicked a few times and let out a soft chuff. Just as the noise released, there was a familiar bleak emitting from the shining light. "Someone is trying to reach you."

The boy silently gasped. "Gustave...!" Everything felt so surreal and the sharp feeling he kept ignoring in his stomach was jabbing harder and harder until he could no longer bear it; Faddei hunched over and held his stomach with a shudder as his mind started tugging away, almost like he was being forced to sleep.

The boy stared at the creature, who looked tranquil and continued to yield the light, the bleaking coming through even louder. "But..." Faddei grit through his teeth, a roll of sweat falling off his forehead. "I have... questions! What is this-this place? What... is..." He couldn't manage to keep his eyes open any longer and fell to the ground.

notes: 

 hello everyone!

this is a shorter chapter than usual, mostly just has to do with pacing and chapter purposes hehe!
anyway what a funky little place faddei's in huh??

and everyone, thank you for reading!!