Crystalline Heart

Chapter Three: Haunted Past, Unknown Future, Hollow Names

It had been two agonizing weeks since the skel had been staying with Blue, Ink and Dream. Two weeks filled with nightmares, flashbacks, floods of hidden tears. Nightmare and Error had been nowhere to be seen. Where they avoiding her? What for? And why were these three being so NICE? This wasn't right.

    Once or twice, Dream asked why she wouldn't eat. All she did was turn away and shudder. Ink was the only one who acted remotely close to Error and Nightmare. He was definitely entertained by her shortcomings half the time, falling on the floor laughing at some of the stupidest things. He got jabbed in the ribs a lot for it though. Obviously, he didn't care. That, or he didn't remember or think before he acted. It didn't matter.

    "Hey, Miss, are you ok?" A golden-gloved hand waved in front of her eyes, making her blink and shake her head. All three skeletons were sitting around her on the bed. Dream smiled kindly at her. "If... If you don't mind, we want to ask you something."

    "We want to know what your name is!" Blue blurted, as if he couldn't wait another minute for Dream to ask.

    She immediately glanced away. There was a lot she'd been called, but she couldn't really remember her name from before Error had stolen her from the endless white expanse she'd been informed was the Anti-Void.

    Either way, she tried opening her mouth and speaking, but nothing came out. She tried again. And again. Frustration bit at her and tears welled in her eyes.

    "What's the matter?" Dream's voice was soft, concerned, as it had been for every day of the last two weeks.

    She simply closed her eyes and shook her head.

    "Why don't you just talk," Ink huffed.

    "Shut up," Blue hissed back. "Give her space! If she's not ready, don't push her!"

    "Fine, whatever..." Ink folded his arms and slumped down.

     Blue turned back to the quivering girl. "You're mute, aren't you," he asked innocently. "You haven't really said anything in the last two weeks... so...  what if you just wrote it out instead? That way, you won't have to talk!"

    Smiling, Dream answered, "That's a wonderful idea, Blue!"

    "Here, use these," Ink simply stated, offering a pad of paper and a pen.

    She held them, her hands trembling ridiculously. "HOLD STILL!" Of course, her silent mental scolding didn't reward her anything except frustration. Taking a deep breath, she began to scrawl out all the names in black ink. "Sweetling. Prisoner. Broken. Useless. Naïve." Some of these names were ones she had begun to call herself, and the tears welled in her eyes as she continued. "Worthless. Disappointment. Weakling. Gullible One-"

    "Stop," ordered Dream softly, touching her wrist with gentle fingertips. His bright gold eyes carried sorrow, an emotion she'd rarely seen in them, if at all. "You really believe all of this? Were you really called all these things?"

    Fighting tears, she nodded.

    Blue's quiet voice reached her, whispering, "Oh, my stars..." Those energetic, baby blue eyes carried the same sad look as Dream's. Even Ink seemed shocked.

    "I'm sorry," she scrawled before dropping the pen and covering her eyes.

    "No, no, Miss, don't be sorry. We... we just have to come up with a name better suited for you. Don't you have an idea?"

    After a minute of a blank mind, she simply shook her head.

    "What about Crystal, for the crystals around her eye," Blue suggested eagerly. "They're very pretty!"

    "They really are," Ink added.

    She flushed a shade of indigo and shook her head. She wasn't THAT pretty.

    After a moment of silence, Dream's eyes brightened as an idea struck him. "I've got one, Miss. What about Hope? To remind you to always hope for the future and to let go of the past. Do you like it?"

    Well, she couldn't reject any other ideas, for fear of angering them. She nodded. It didn't really suit her, but she'll go with it. No reason to make them mad. It was only a name, after all.

    "Great! Now I know what to call you," Blue exclaimed excitedly. "It was getting kinda hard to figure out how to talk to you without a name."

    She clenched her jaw. Of course she was so stupid! She'd made it awkward all this time! She didn't even give them a pseudonym!

    A stinging in her shoulders and arms snapped her out of her thoughts. They were tense. She was tense, everywhere... someone was gripping her arms. However, when she looked down, she found her own fingers digging into the bone, into the still-healing wounds. Instantly, she let go, hands shaking. The tips of her phalanges were now spotted with her own blood.

    "Hey, let's just take it easy." Someone took her hands in theirs, pressing their thumbs into her palms, the grip remaining firm so she couldn't jerk away. It was Dream, of course, who was holding her. "You don't have to be upset over something so small. Besides, it wasn't ever a big issue. It's okay. Relax, though, or you're going to really hurt yourself."

    How had he guessed...?

    All the three did was smile at her as she stared at every single one in turn, completely confused.

    "What's... wrong," Blue finally asked. "Did we say something?"

    She shook her head, swallowing back a whispered apology.

    "Look... you made them confused and upset," whispered a familiar voice in her head. Dark. Deep. Echoing. Malicious. "You're bothering them, you know. You're a pain to them. They're just tolerating you."

    An electric jolt of pain shocked Hope's chest. Something inside it twisted and cracked.

    "Don't be too upset, my dear; you can't help it. That pretty voice of yours just won't come out, will it? You can't tell them the truth. But when you do, they will leave."

    "...No... They can't..."

    "Oh, but it's true. Don't worry, though. I will find you again; I'll bring you home."

    "Hope!"

    Hope's mind began to race, struggling in the margins of her head and reality. "Too many voices.... Too many thoughts... I-It's too much!"

    "Don't forget," the voice called again, drowning everything else out, "You can never hide from your fate..."

    I kinda lost motivation and ideas for this chapter, so it's short. Also, the usual school and lack of sleep and stress. By the way, there may not be a regular update schedule just because I write as ideas hit me, not in a forced margin of time. Thank you for your patience!

~Nykka

Edit: I made the ending a little less cringy... aside from the name changes. (March 23, 2022)