Curtsy - SkepHalo

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I trailed behind the man that introduced himself as 'Darryl'. I kept my distance, as I didn't know much about the man.

We approached a small house near the edge of the kingdom. Trees surrounded it, making it look like a house wrapped in a warm blanket of leaves and branches.

Darryl put a hand in one of his pockets, and pulled out a key. He put it in the lock, and a satisfying click rang in my ears.

He pushed the door, and the door obeyed, opening with a quiet creak.

I peaked inside. It was pitch black. Darryl entered, and I followed cautiously.

I held his shoulder thightly, which he returned with a giggle. I felt him move forward, but was to late to react. I let go of shoulder which made me panic.

The door closed which made me shriek. I was left in the dark. I was shaking, looking around but only saw black. I closed my eyes, hoping it would make it better.

I let out a whimper and fell to the ground. I rolled up in a ball, and just waited for the light to reappear. Then, I heard a click, and a gasp. I heard footsteps approach me, and a shaky voice after.

"Zak! A-are yo-you o-k?"

I opened my eyes, and looked up. I saw Darryl. Worry was evident on his face. His glasses were falling slowly off of his face.

I let out another whimper and just buried my head in my hands. I heard Darryl let out a sigh, and I felt him put his arms around me.

I only met him today, and yet I feel so safe. Why?

I thought as I dug my head deeper in his chest, balling my eyes out.

"Wanna tell me why you suddenly collapsed?"

His question brought more tears to fall down, but I was willing to answer his question.

I stayed silent for a few minutes, and I started to speak.

"It-it was so long ago. I wa-was still a child whe-when it happened."

I started. The memory flashed in my mind, making me whimper.

It happened so long ago. Why am I still bothered by it? That memory..."

Darryl let out a quiet 'take your time'. And so I did. My mom's voice then echoed in my mind.

Remember Mom's words sweetie. When your crying, calm yourself. Breathe in, then out, and repeat. Think of happy thoughts. Breathe in, then out, and repeat.

The voice faded, but her instructions lingered in my mind. I followed it carefully, and eventually calmed down.

"I had a friend-"

I looked up to see Darryl. His face was soft. He held a smile full of sadness. He stayed silent, as if he was encouraging me to go on, which I did.

"He was the son of my father's advisor, so he let us get close to each other. His name was Jude (aka. F1NNSTER). We were playing outside. Two guards were watching us. But then, one of them was summoned inside by my father-"

I stopped to calm myself before I start to shed tears again. I bit my lip, and regained my composure.

"Me and my friend were so caught up in looking for bugs, we didn't see the looming figure over the body of the unconscious guard. I looked back to grab the box we were gonna put the bugs in, and then I was-"

My sentence was cut off by a sob that escaped my mouth. Tears pricked my eyes, and I let them fall freely.

Darryl tightened his embrace and I continued to let the tears flow.

"You know, you don't need to finish your story. If it hurts you to even think about it, I wont force you. Besides, we only met, I don't think you even wanted to tell me in the first place."

Darryl said in a comforting voice, but I just shook my head no.

I already started. Might as well get on with it. Besides, I'm gonna be staying at his place. This is a good way to start the 'getting to know each other' process.

I sucked in a breathe and shakily spoke.

"I was taken. I struggled to get out of my kidnappers grasp, but some sort of cloth was place on my nose. I passed out. Last thing I saw before everything went black was another person picking up my friend. I woke up in a dark room. I heard loud thuds, and laughing, then a painful scream filled my ears. Then I heard a door creak open, the lights turned on and I saw two men in black step in the room. I-I began to shout for them to release me, but of course, they didn't. Instead they walked towards me, and went behind me. I tried looking at where they went, but I was chained to a chair. I heard chains hit against something, and soon, the two men came back. They let out a sickening laugh, and one of them tugged on the chains he was holding. The other end of the chains was my friend. He had a long piece of cloth over his eyes and mouth. The two men said something, but I don't remember what they said specifically. But I do remember them mentioning something about cash. Then, the lights went out. I heard footsteps, then something getting hit by a really hard object. All I heard was muffled screams of agony, and I knew they were hurting my friend. After what seemed like hours, the noise stopped. The lights flicked open, and I was greeted by the dead, bloody body of my friend. I didn't even recognize him at first. His face was covered in blood, and parts of his body were full of bruises. One of the men went behind me and untied me. I rushed to my dead friend and just sat there, crying. Then the two men left, laughing like the bastards they were, they closed the doors but not before turning off the lights. Then I was left in the dark. Crying my eyes out over my friend. After a few days of no food, no water, no sounds, no vision, the door burst open. Guards swarmed me, and tried getting close to me. I ended up burying my face in the clothes of my dead friend. I remembered feeling how stiff his clothes were because of the dried blood. How cold his body was when I went close to it. And how it didn't even flinch when the guards poked it. Then, out of hunger and exhaustion, I blacked out, and I woke up in my room in the castle. My mom told me about my friend a few days later. And ever since then, I was never fond of the darkness. It reminds me of my past trauma..."

I finished my story, and just stared at the ceiling. My face was blank, my eyes were clouded with grief and sadness.

Darryl then sniffed, snapping my attention to him. Evidence of tears were seen. His face showed sorrow and sympathy. His eyes were filled with sadness and concern.

He then let go of me, and got up. He held out a hand for me to take. I took it and he helped me get up. He hugged me again, and he whispered something in my ear.

"Dont worry Zak. Your friend is in a better place now. And I promise, you wont need to fear about the dark anymore. Ill help you! Dont worry. Please dont cry. It hurts me to see other people suffer."

I was shocked to say the least, but I didn't hesitate to hug him back. I smiled at what he said.

Darryl was willing to help me with my problems even tho I only just met him.

Wow! He's more helpful than my father ever was. I guess I should do something in return. After all, he hasn't done anything other than help me.

I thought to myself. I closed my eyes and let myself sink into the warm embrace of Darryl.

I never thought I would be hugging someone after escaping the castle. I'm not complaining tho. Its nice to finally talk about my problems with someone other than my mom.