Monstrum

3

Eversio never slept.

That wasn't an exaggeration either, it was true. In all the years that Louis had Eversio, he did not once find him sleeping.

When Louis fell asleep, he was awake. When Louis woke up in the middle of the night, he was awake.

His dog was always sitting facing away from him, guarding his owner from anything that dared to approach them.

It was as if the dog was waiting for something.

Louis was sure there was something wrong with his pet, but whenever he prompted an appointment with the vet, they would disagree.

The dog was never known to be physically aggressive, until the day of Louis' sixteenth birthday.

Every year, Louis' mother somehow made his birthday party better than the last, so when it was time for Louis' sixteenth birthday, it was no surprise that Queen Catherine went all out as per usual.

The whole party was decorated beautifully, and organized with many events for the guests. Everyone always had a good time at Louis' birthday parties, that is, everyone except for Louis.

Louis was sitting on a custom made throne with Eversio at his side. The party was going well, although Louis never had much fun in them. It was true that Louis was the main attraction, but he didn't do much at his parties other than sit at his throne and receive presents.

Everyone was always so hesitant to approach the Prince, so the solitude was normal for him yet unwanted.

Louis was petting Eversio's fur when he was approached.

"Prince Louis?"

He looked up. "Yes?"

"I have got you a present," the stranger explained, "but you'll have to promise me something before I can give it to you."

A smile played on Louis' lips as he sat up straight, he hadn't had anyone try to speak to him all day. Everyone was just coming up to him and nervously avoiding conversation in the fear of saying something embarrassing.

"What do I have to promise?" The joy of entertainment pulled Louis' frown up into a grin, he didn't even notice Eversio's growling.

"You will have to promise to say hello to my Mother."

Louis glanced around the man's surroundings, looking for the stranger's Mother. "Well... where is she?"

"She's in heaven, and your Father's soldiers were the ones that killed her."

And just as the man took out a dagger from his coat, Eversio lunged forward to take a bite out of the man's neck, successfully knocking the attacker over and taking a chunk of flesh from the man's throat. The blood sprayed everywhere, including on Louis' clothing.

The ballroom turned into a panic as everyone rushed to get out of the same room as the ravenous creature.

All Louis could do was watch in shock as his sweet puppy tore the stranger into an unrecognizable mix of blood and open flesh. No matter how bad Louis wanted to look away, some part of him kept him from doing so. So he just watched, paralyzed with horror as his dog dig his teeth deep into the man's face before pulling away, ripping and tearing his facial features to look like anything other than a face.

By the time Eversio was done with the stranger, -as no one was foolish enough to even try and remove the dog from the man- the man was dead.

"That's enough, Eversio," an unfamiliar voice said.

Eversio walked back to sit next to Louis. The dog did not care for his fur being wet with the blood of the man he had just killed. Eversio tucked his head under Louis' hand expectantly; he was waiting to be pet and praised for his actions.

Louis' head finally snapped away from the gruesome scene and towards the voice that his dog listened to.

A man stood ten feet away from Louis, at the bottom of the staircase that kept them apart. He wore a cloak that covered his face and body completely.

Louis would have screamed for help, but something told him it would not be wise to do so, after all, the ballroom was completely empty of any other people.

"W-Who are you?" Louis asked, his voice shaking with shock and fright.

The cloaked stranger ascended the stairs, stepping over the maimed body to stand in front of the boy. He ignored Louis' question. "I have something for you, Little Prince."

"I-I don't think I want anymore presents." Louis shrank back into his throne, a trembling hand petting Eversio when the dog's nudging became incessant.

He ignored Louis once again and held out a small, black velvet box, not speaking until one of Louis' shaking hands took the box from the man's unexpectedly normal looking one.

"You will wear this everyday."

Louis set the box onto his lap and looked back up at the cloaked figure with tears in his eyes. "I-I-"

"Open it."

Louis let out a shaky breath before he opened the box slowly, expecting something to crawl out and kill him.

"Do you like it?"

It was a gold ring with a thin line of crimson wrapping around the center. Upon further inspection, Louis came to realize that the velvet red band shone like diamond. "Y-Yes. Thank you, Sir."

"Put it on."

Louis sniffled and wiped away the tears in his eyes, before looking down at his hand and sliding the small golden loop through his left ring finger.

"I-Is this the finger I'm supposed to put it on?" Louis looked up and gasped when he was met with nobody, he looked around the room to find it empty.

Louis stood up from the throne, holding onto it when he felt his legs begin to shake. Eversio stood along with him.

Louis looked down at the dog. His black fur hid the blood well, but when he brushed along Louis' pant leg and painted the material red, Louis was reminded of the dog's potential.

Eversio looked up at Louis, his eyes the same glowing red as when Louis first looked at them.

"Eversio, what just happened?"