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Crying.
That's all Shadow Milk Cookie could hear.
Crying.
The cries of a baby wrapped in a torn part of Shadow Milk’s old robe.
He was used to these cries once upon a time. Where it was a sound he responded to diligently, soothing his children in the middle of the night.
And sometimes his husband-
…
Sometimes Elder Faerie would get up instead. The cries, while annoying at times, did give him an immense amount of joy whenever he heard them. It was like a reminder that he had created something so special.
But now he would do anything to make them stop.
The mistake lay on the floor of his prison, crying out its lungs, begging for its mother to comfort it. He contemplated strangling it, tear out its vocal cords, anything to make it stop.
But every time he laid a hand on it, he would feel a wave of guilt wash over him. He thought about his children, specifically the barely one year old cookie taken away by the witches when he was imprisoned. If it were any of them, the thought of hurting them would never cross his mind. He was a good mother after all.
But he was a horrible father . He felt awful, wishing death on something so small, so insignificant.
The big question however was, why did he feel bad? He was a “beast” now wasn’t? A beast who didn’t care if all of Crispia lived or died. He was the one who started all this mess, he should act the part. He was the one that started the downwards spiral of the Five Virtues wasn’t he? Why should he be concerned with morality now?
Yet he let it live.
He didn’t touch it, he was sure if he did he might kill it. He let it cry while he tried his best to stay far away from it, as much as he could in a prison…
He hoped that the creature inherited the ability to starve from its other father, but unfortunately it seemed to be able to live without food like Shadow Milk. He didn’t know whether to be happy or to be mad about that. He wondered if it could die for any of the multiple reasons normal babies could die. It still lived despite all the conditions saying it couldn’t.
After a while the crying finally stopped.
Maybe it finally realized he wasn’t going to help. Yet the baby still at times made incoherent noises, as if trying to ask for attention or some semblance of love. He ignores it each time.
He didn’t know how long it was since his imprisonment. Days? Months? Years? Centuries ? Time seemed to not pass normally in the Silver Tree.
He was getting bored. He wished he could do at least something. Trick cookies into going into a blazing hot oven. Spread rumors to ruin a cookie’s reputation. Maybe even create a small little lie that would spiral to cause cookies to want to tear each other apart.
That would be entertaining~
But instead he was stuck in his prison, with it .
He tried to ignore his boredom, but eventually he just couldn’t handle it anymore and decided to approach the baby for a while to cure his boredom. It let out a happy gargle, reaching out its tiny and pathetic hands out as if it wanted to be held. He didn’t grant its wish. Who did he look like, Mystic Flour?
Instead he looked at it.
Its dough was a shade of periwinkle, had small glistening faerie wings, and had light purple hair. He poked it, it giggled in response and immediately latched onto his finger and didn’t let go. He cringed in response and tried to pull back but it was surprisingly strong. He sat there with his finger locked into place until the baby whined and finally let go.
The baby sneezed. It was probably cold.
He wondered if…
He concentrated, then a small sewing kit popped into his hands. It seems he still create things out of nothing…maybe not anything useful in escaping but this will do. He took the piece of cloth that wrapped up the baby and started to create a simple outfit. When finished, he placed it on the baby which made it babble in supposed happiness.
“What is there to be so happy about?” He hummed and picked it up cautiously, it giggled and crashed into Shadow Milk, clutching onto him for dear life while drooling. Gross.
He spent his time in his prison, making new outfits for the child out of materials he had and could create. It started growing after who knows how long, it started crawling (barely), it also started to start saying a few words after listening to Shadow Milk talk to himself for so long.
“M-ma-mama!” The child stumbled around, taking its first steps, its little faerie wings flapping around helplessly, still too small to work.
“I am not your mother.” He had responded, not even glancing back, and continued sewing.
He had started to make puppets, most of his fellow beasts, one of his children but he tossed it to the side and never looked at it again. He also made one of the gnat who betrayed him.
He tore it to shreds with his new claws and sharp teeth shortly after.
He never thought he would like crafts so much, it was just like controlling the naive little cookies of the world. The baby seemed to like them too, squealing with joy whenever it watched Shadow Milk make the puppets. He put on puppet shows for the child reluctantly, as it would constantly demand a show.
It was so dramatic, ugh .
The child started to talk more, but it was usually only one letter words which annoyed Shadow Milk to no end. If he was forced to cohabitate with this thing during his imprisonment it might as well know how to speak properly. So he started to teach the child.
It wasn’t like this was new to him, he used to be a teacher and a mother for witches sake. Fortunately, the child picked up on things fast. Unfortunately, it kept on wanting more, but Shadow Milk was getting sick and tired of teaching. So he started to make versions of the many books he had memorized during his time of freedom to quench the child’s curiosity.
Maybe teaching it was a bad idea because now it wouldn’t stop asking questions.
“What do apples and bananas look like?”
“Why can’t we go outside?”
“Why do you have a name and not me?”
It was incredibly annoying, he didn’t bother answering most of them, but he gave an answer to one.
“You can choose your own name, like how I did with mine.” Shadow Milk answered and left the child alone after seeing the gears turn in its head hoping for a moment of peace. Later, the child came to him and chose the name Black Sapphire Cookie.
He was confused on why the child chose that name out of all things, considering nothing even remotely similar to a sapphire was in his ingredients. He thought it was stupid, but he didn’t care enough to express that opinion so he just shrugged it off.
It was both entertaining and torturous to have Black Sapphire around. It was attached to his hip, insisting on asking all sorts of questions of life outside the tree. Shadow Milk had once made the mistake of mentioning his children and Black Sapphire hadn’t stopped asking about them, referring to them as his siblings.
Since when was that thing ever one of his children?
That was the first time he ever found himself lashing out at the child, and at the end of his outburst Black Sapphire sat in a far corner, crying for the first time since it was a baby.
Shadow Milk almost felt bad for not caring.
One day as Black Sapphire slept peacefully not too far from him, Shadow Milk had felt something. It was like a sharp pain, he could feel himself weaken.
It couldn’t be…could it? No.
He concentrated deeply, taking advantage of his power of being able to see everything even while inside the tree. There, he saw the missing fragments of his Soul Jam, being formed into a new Soul Jam and given to a PUNY MORTAL COOKIE! He screamed and clawed at the floor, awaking Black Sapphire with a start.
“P-papa, what's wrong?” The child tugged at his hair, gripping onto it out of fear, before it was pushed off.
“SHUT UP!! ” He yelled at the child who immediately scooted back in fear. This couldn’t be happening, HE WAS BEING REPLACED!? BY JUST SOME NORMAL COOKIE!? He wasn’t mad, he was BOILING . He felt the Silver Tree shake, the others must have felt the same weakness, maybe they couldn’t see their Soul Jams being stolen but the feeling was still there. They all knew what needed to be done. The seal needed to be destroyed.
They might never have the chance to escape again. If they couldn’t escape now he would be stuck with that PARASITE FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY! He was sure he would go insane if that situation ever came to fruition. It seems his friends had the same idea as the seal started to crack, first it was just a sliver, then it was a gap . Shadow Milk smiled in triumph and he immediately started to claw at the gap, as if trying to force it open. He wanted to tear apart EVERY SINGLE LITTLE COOKIE IN HIS NEAREST VICINITY.
He would lay waste to the Faerie Kingdom first, save their King for last so the old fool could only beg for death when he got to him. Then he would find the PEST that stole his Soul Jam and then-!
Vines.
Thick, green, vines wrapped itself around the tree, closing off the seal for good.
What.
“WHAT!?!?” Shadow Milk yelled out and started to throw anything he had laying around, but it wasn’t that satisfying as most of the stuff in the tree was just cloth and soft puppets. So he settled on banging his head against the floor while screaming. Black Sapphire could only watch, terrified at Shadow Milk’s tantrum.
But he has every right to be upset! He was so close. He could have been free. WHO EVEN SEALED HIM OFF ANYWAY!? That magic, it wasn’t any faerie magic…he should know, he was their beloved queen for a period of time. Whatever, that was in the past, right now he needed to know who he would have to kill in the most painful way when he finally escaped.
He closed his eyes and saw the faeries of the faerie kingdom, cheering for joy.
Ugh.
He scanned the crowd of faeries for any new faces, or a face that stood out, and that's when he saw her . Long white hair tied in a braid, a beautiful sleek green dress and cape, a staff wrapped in vines with a blooming lily on top, and a white lily in her hair. She wasn’t a faerie…yet the kingdom surrounded her as they cheered her name. White Lily Cookie.
He then saw Elder Faerie stand next to her and take her hand in both of his and bowed his head in gratitude. “Thank you White Lily Cookie, you have saved us all.” When the king lifted his head and looked her in the eyes, he saw him give her a look Shadow Milk thought he would only give to him…
Love… he looked at her with so much love. As if she hung the stars in the night sky herself. A heavy pit formed in his stomach, yet he couldn’t look away. He didn’t know how he felt about it…angry? Sad? Amused? It's not like he still loved Elder Faerie anymore, if given the opportunity he would kill him right here and now! Yet when he sees him… with her. He couldn’t help but wonder… was he so replaceable?
Before he knew it, he felt something wet roll down his cheek, he opened his eyes and brushed his face.
He was crying.
He hasn’t cried in so long.
“Papa…” He heard a meek voice call out, small footsteps approaching him, his face soured instantly.
“How many times do I have to tell you…I’m not your father.” He hissed, yet he couldn’t bring himself to be too agitated. However the child kept on walking towards him, snaking itself into his lap and curled into a ball while hesitantly. He didn’t push it away, or yell, or even say anything. Instead he hugged the child close to his chest, he didn’t care if it wasn’t his, he just needed to feel warmth.
The two continued to co-habitate together, after a long time the damn parasite finally stopped calling Shadow Milk “mother” or “father”, but it still was entirely enamoured with him. He was sure it would realize how horrible Shadow Milk really was and hate him by now, yet it was always in arms reach, watching Shadow Milk with curiosity. It most likely just latched onto him as there was literally no other cookie around, he was it’s only option unfortunately.
Its appearance started to change, its hair grew darker, almost black, their faerie wings were now shaped like bat wings. Its wings were still pathetically small however, perhaps from malnutrition. It also started to pick up on some of his personality traits, his large ego, his need to perform, his downright psychotic nature. It even started to put on puppet shows of its own, forcing Shadow Milk to watch. Yet even Shadow Milk couldn’t deny that Black Sapphire had a talent for hosting and telling stories. He had told the cookie that and it immediately lit up with happiness.
Over time he had gotten more comfortable with Black Sapphire’s presence. Maybe comfortable was the wrong word…perhaps accepting or tolerating was more appropriate.
He kept on making the books for Black Sapphire, and it treasured each one as if it were holy text even if the subject was just different types of flowers. He even taught it some magic, like basic matter creation and shapeshifting. He couldn’t teach it much thanks to this damn prison but he was able to do something at least. Shadow Milk had created an apple as a demonstration, then tossed it to Black Sapphire to practice as he went back to working on his crafts.
After a bit he heard a piercing cry, he turned back to see what had gone wrong and saw that Black Sapphire had managed to turn the apple into a cookie.
A living, breathing, cookie .
It cried on the floor, apples attached to its head that were too heavy for its body. Black Sapphire looked at Shadow Milk with terror, backing itself up as if to try and escape Shadow Milk’s gaze. However, Shadow Milk looked at the new baby with curiosity.
He himself had never done this before…well, he had created a cookie before, multiple cookies. However most were created alongside the help of Elder Faerie, then there was his youngest child who he created with the witches’ materials, the way he had been brought into this world.
But he had never taken something as trivial as an apple…and turned it into a cookie. That truly was a feat. He looked at Black Sapphire, the thing that he used to only think of as a burden turned into something else…something useful.
However the new crying baby was a problem, and Shadow Milk didn’t have the energy to even look in its direction. He praised Black Sapphire for its work, then instructed it to take care of the new cookie.
Black Sapphire did exactly as he was told, it was always good at doing that, and took care of the new third cookie. It seemed to be more excitable than Black Sapphire ever was, which was majorly unfortunate, but it wasn’t his problem so he hardly cared. Black Sapphire had told him that it named the cookie, Candy Apple Cookie, very creative…
Candy Apple was extremely obsessed with Shadow Milk, perhaps because Black Sapphire sang nothing but praises about him to her during her infancy.
“Master Shadow Milk Cookie, did I do good!?”
“Master Shadow Milk Cookie don’t I look cute with the new outfit Black Sapphire Cookie made for me!”
“Master Shadow Milk Cookie, don't you like the puppets I made!?”
It was annoying for sure, but he was sure he would find some use for her, maybe if he needed a cookie that was highly expendable…
Then, the day he had been waiting for finally came.
A cookie called Dark Enchantress planned to raise the beasts from their prisons, and boy did he love this idea~
He couldn’t wait to plunge the world of Earthbread into chaos and deceit! He especially couldn’t wait to put an end to all the puny faerie cookies~
Especially that pest.
Black Sapphire and Candy Apple were fully grown now, maybe fully grown was overstatement, they were perhaps in their late teens and early adulthood. Nevertheless both were sick and tired of tree like Shadow Milk. The two couldn’t wait to raise chaos in their great master’s name as they waited impatiently for the day of reckoning.
“OOOOH I CAN’T WAIT!! Those dumb little cookies won’t see it coming~” Candy Apple squealed in an extremely high pitch, Shadow Milk fought the urge to claw at his ears every time she spoke.
Recently he had often seen Black Sapphire look through the cracks of the Silver Tree, desperate to even get a glimpse of the outside world. The child had wanted to know about it all its life and soon it would be getting the chance to have all its questions answered. He often saw hope, glimmering in the cookie’s eyes when it thought its master wasn’t looking.
But Shadow Milk was always looking.
The day of reckoning arrived, and there was a gash in the silver tree just big enough to allow Shadow Milk to escape. Oh it was wonderful, a millenia trapped with annoying children and he could finally breathe his own air. And it looks like there are some new faces in the lowly kingdom!
Mercurial Knight Cookie, but he knew that it was just his son Gladiolus Faerie Cookie who decided to take the cowardly way out and abandon who he was. Honestly, he thought he raised him braver than that! But oh well, he was always more like his father~
Three little cookies who looked unbelievingly boring. Yet one of them caught his eye, briefly but he caught it nonetheless, it was the one with the wizard hat and hair that looked like melted ice cream. He wondered if…no, he had other matters to pay attention to, he’ll explore that possibility later.
Pure Vanilla Cookie, he wanted to kill him the first time he set his eyes on him. So kind…so forgiving…so naive. The holder of the other half of HIS Soul Jam. He was just an ignorant thief who liked playing the hero. Boy, who did he remind Shadow Milk of!
Then there was the oh so LOVELY White Lily Cookie! The one who stopped his previous attempt at escape. The new holder of the Soul Jam of Solidarity! He now could observe her more clearly and isn’t she a sight for sore eyes! So kind, so smart, so curious, so pathetic!
S̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶m̶i̶n̶d̶e̶d̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶ ̶a̶ ̶l̶o̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶s̶e̶l̶f̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶n̶g̶e̶r̶.
Elder Faerie sure knew how to pick them huh? The fool still needed a doe eyed curious little wife didn’t he! It seemed like Elder Faerie had a type, no wonder he threw Shadow Milk under the bus once he changed despite promising to love him forever…
Where was that vow now?
He didn’t exactly know how to feel about White Lily. On one hand, she had the undivided attention and love of Elder Faerie, and as much as Shadow Milk would like to lie, it made him jealous .
Yet on the other hand, it was her who freed him~
As he laid chaos onto the feeble Faerie Kingdom, he managed to create the crack in the silver tree bigger, allowing Candy Apple and Black Sapphire to make their escape. Beforehand he had instructed them to go far into beast yeast to find his old spire and start spreading deceit around Crispia immediately. He had trusted that they could do that on their own, after all the were taught by the best, HIM ~
Unfortunately, he didn’t win right then and there. White Lily had managed to defeat him, how annoying, but she wasn’t able to prevent him and the other beasts from escaping fully~ And now they were on the loose and free to cause carnage! And something more important also happened!
That damn idiot sacrificed his life to attempt to defeat him.
Elder Faerie is dead.
…
He should be happy. Ecstatic even. And trust, his words and expressions definitely got that point across to anyone observing him. Yet he truly felt empty, no matter how much he tried to lie to himself, he felt…unfullfilled. Maybe because he wasn’t the one to kill him, instead he had sacrificed himself, a lot more noble than the pathetic death he wanted him to suffer.
Or maybe…it was the Fount mourning the death of her husband. Mourning their family . Mourning him not being able to meet the child he had sealed along with her.
…
She should just suck it up. It's not like he truly loved her anyways.
And that thing wasn’t his child.
It was a parasite.
He fled from the kingdom and to his spire, where he immediately got to work on spreading deceit. He missed how fun it was, and now his minions got to see the joy of spreading lies. They both thoroughly enjoyed themselves, finally getting to spread their wings, figuratively and literally.
Black Sapphire especially enjoyed itself; it had taken an interest in radio, managing to hijack an airwave to put on a daily show with all the latest gossip. Even when something was so blatantly fabricated the dumb cookies would believe it nonetheless due to Black Sapphire’s charming and captivating personality.
Shadow Milk couldn’t deny that Black Sapphire was powerful, he couldn’t help but praise himself for keeping that baby alive! He even gave it a gift as a way to show he was satisfied with Black Sapphire’s work, a shiny microphone which Black Sapphire eagerly took and put its own “touch” so to say. Candy Apple had thoroughly complained about how Black Sapphire got a gift and she didn’t but Shadow Milk just patted her on the head and she shut up shortly after.
Shadow Milk finally felt happy after all the time he had spent in that prison, with the world in the palm of his hand. Soon he would seize back his Soul Jam and claim back all of his power! Then he would destroy every single cookie who dared to stand in his way and take back all he had lost!
“Master Shadow Milk Cookie, if I could so humbly ask…what is your opinion on me?” Black Sapphire had asked one day, stopping Shadow Milk in his thoughts and his brain stopped working temporarily.
“Why do you need to know?” He asked the other cookie with an annoyed tone, its confident persona was replaced by one more timid.
“I just…I’m just curious. Honestly I don’t know what I was thinking asking this question...” Black Sapphire chuckled, gripping onto his Microphone tightly. “I guess I just want a solid answer, I never could understand how you truly felt about me.”
Shadow Milk contemplated on whether or not to actually answer his minion’s question.
“Eh, couldn’t care less honestly. You're useful, but I have virtually no attachment to you. To me you were just some “thing” that annoyed me nonstop.” He spoke the truth, at least he thinks it was the truth. He shrugged and continued on his way till Black Sapphire spoke again.
“Master…do you even see me as an actual cookie? Do you even know my gender?” Shadow Milk looked at Black Sapphire with confusion.
“I’m male…” Black Sapphire said, staring at Shadow Milk with pleading eyes as if wanting something.
“Well good for you. Why should I have cared about that when I had more important things to worry about?” He hummed as he left the cookie by itself. He then realized he never even bothered to check its gender…huh.
– – –
Black Sapphire stared at his master as he left.
“Of course…more important things.” He let out a half hearted laugh and he decided to retire for the night. It has been a long day of spreading lies. He made sure to check on Candy Apple first, who was fast asleep in her room. Shadow Milk knew her gender, and treated her more like a cookie even though she was brought to life from a goddamn apple . He shut the door to her room and started to make his way to his.
He opened the door to his room, and once he closed it behind him he slid down to the floor and tried his best to muffle the sobs he let out. He hadn’t cried in so long, which was evident of the never ending wave of tears flowing down his face.
He didn’t know why he had asked that question, he already knew the answer. Did he just want to make himself more miserable?
He had always noticed how Shadow Milk treated him. He would treat him as just another insect one minute, and then would be holding him close as if he really was his child…It always felt wrong, but it's not like he could ever say anything as he had nothing else to reference Shadow Milk to.
He had even noticed how Shadow Milk couldn’t even look at him properly when he was a child, it was only till his physical appearance started to change due to corruption when his master could finally look him in the eye.
He had wished he was born under better circumstances, or better yet, that he wasn’t born at all . He was a burden, not even given the privilege of being recognised as one of Shadow Milk’s children, he just happened to be sentient and technically created by the beast.
He missed a mother he never knew.
He mourned a father that he was supposed to hate.
He grew jealous of siblings that he couldn’t even call his siblings less he would get yelled at.
He was nothing.
His life meant nothing. He was just a thing, an “it”. He still loved his master, he was the one to give him life after all. Yet he knew the thought of whether he lived or died would be lucky to even make it into Shadow Milk’s passive thoughts.
He wasn’t born. He was created.