Chapter Text
The calamity of battle was something Silent Salt was used to, as a seasoned knight he had had his share. He had once managed to take down an entire army all by himself during his fall… something he still felt great remorse for. Remember the tormented. Nothing had truly shaken him in battle in years, he no longer felt sick at the sight of crumbs or jam, nor did the screams and cries of battle pierce his helmet.
All of this disappeared watching that body collapse. Suddenly he was a freshly baked cookie on the battlefield, watching his comrade fall. Fear pierced his armor and shot through his dough. No! No, no, no, no, NO! NOT HIM!
Silent Salt watched from the shadows as the faerie king collapsed on his side. He watched as the king reached out to a pale cookie with white frosting, White Lily Cookie, the cookie chosen to hold what had once been his virtue.
The dark knight felt paralyzed, he watched White Lily cookie run to the faerie’s side. His grip tightened on his sword and his heart beat sped. He couldn’t lose him. He deserved to be the one crumbling, he had slaughtered thousands, thousands whose tormented souls still haunted the salty wasteland he once guarded. Elder Faerie was a kind and just cookie, who didn’t deserve this. Silent Salt couldn’t lose him again, he didn’t deserve him, but the king didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve him. He didn’t deserve this.
He ran to him, the wedding band weighing heavy on the knight’s finger. Bursting from the bushes in a flurry of leaves, sprinting to his husband’s side, calling out a name he hadn’t uttered in hundreds of years.
“MY KING!”
The commotion made White Lily cookie look up. The knight watched as fear shot through her. She stiffened and put up a hostile front as he came to a stop. She was defenseless, the only thing in her hands a crumbling cookie, no weapon, no staff.
“Stay back! Don’t come any closer to him or I’ll-“
“White Lily… no…” Elder Faerie rasped, he was much weaker than Silent Salt expected, “Salt… you… came back.”
“Yes, yes, I’m here- ju-just hold on a moment and we’ll get you a medic.” Silent Salt dropped to his knees and took his weak lover’s hand, his fingers brushed over the other cookie’s wedding band. All these years and he still wears it. An odd mix of guilt and pride swelled in the knight’s chest at the realization.
“No…” the faerie’s body wracked with coughs, “there is no time.” He turned to look back at White Lily cookie. Her face was stained with tears, and at that moment Silent Salt realized his were too, he could feel his cheeks damp within his helmet, “White Lily Cookie, the guardian’s power… it must not… be lost… from this world…” he wheezed, “the seal… would come… undone. I am not… sure… how much… power I have left…”
“No, no! Your majesty, don't say that!” White Lily begged him.
“Please, receive… the remainder of the… guardian’s power…”
“Your majesty, you must keep it, you must recover! Be-besides, I am only half a cookie.”
“NO!” Silent Salt yelled, “You old fool, that power is the only thing keeping you from crumbling. You mustn’t give it up, you can’t!”
“It is… the only way. We… are out of time… I was unable… to keep my… promise to you…” the king winced, “…old friend, the beasts… escaped.”
“Yet you do not deserve to crumble!” Silent Salt frantically searched for an answer, some way to save his king and the tree. First he had lost his knights, then his virtue, then his king, all because of that pathetic excuse of blue dough and his so-called ‘friends’. He couldn’t lose him, not again. All those years locked away, the only thing that would convince him to keep going was whenever Elder Faerie touched the tree. The tree would resonate with the king’s dough, and Silent Salt would be able to feel it too.
The thought of his husband still alive and well in a hopefully better world would often bring him peace, even when the other beasts would start tormenting him for fun. Shadow milk would often put on a puppet show of a noble going mad and slaughtering his people, it wasn’t true, not one bit. But the jester was the one putting on the show, he was the one who wrote the script. And it was an obvious jab at the dark knight.
The tree resonates with my dough, I must still have some of the guardian magic left in me!
“White Lily cookie,” she looked up and met the knight’s eyes, “Please, receive what remains of my guardian power instead.”
He could see the shock on Elder Faerie’s face and chose to ignore it. This is for your own good, I have done horrible things in my life and now is a chance to at least pay for it.
He could tell White Lily was conflicted, follow the orders of her king and crumble him in the process, or trust a beast and save him.
“I…” Silent Salt held his breath, praying for the first time in years to the gods that had abandoned them, “I accept your offer… Silent Salt Cookie.”
The effect was immediate. Silent Salt relinquished his powers, he could feel them slip away, his armor felt slightly heavier and his vision swam for a moment, but nothing as detrimental as crumbling. The world would benefit if the villain was weaker, compared to perishing if a hero crumbled. White Lily on the other hand glowed. Perhaps it was just his vision or maybe it really was the guardian’s magic, but it was gone before he could question it.
“White Lily Cookie, I will fight by your side –just this once– to vanquish that heinous clown and I promise you, I will use all of my strength to take revenge.”
She nodded, locking eyes with him. Despite being opposites, they both cared for the king and this kingdom, and they both shared a mutual hatred for the beast of deceit.
“You three,” the new guardian called to nearby knights, “get his majesty away from here. Get him to safety and a medic. He is on the verge of crumbling for witches’ sake!”
The knights rushed over, they pulled the king up, slinging one arm over each of the knight’s shoulders while the third cleared a path.
“Salt…” Elder Faerie said, refusing to let go of his hand, “please, do not… leave me… not again…” his voice was barely above a whisper, it was clear the king was losing strength.
The dark knight squeezed his hand, “I promise, I will come find you once this is over.”
This seemed to subdue the king, finally letting go of his lover’s hand and letting his knights drag him away. Silent Salt turned his attention back to the antagonist at hand. Just one look at his hideous makeup made the knight’s jam boil.
“You” He jabbed his sword in the direction of Shadow Milk Cookie. Just one simple word, laced with all the hatred and fury Silent Salt had been harboring for years. In the tree he hadn’t been able to get his revenge, but now, out in the open, especially when the jester had made the first strike, anything was fair play.
“Oh ho ho! Looks like Salty’s switched sides! WHAT A PLOT TWIST~, one even I didn’t see coming.” The clown’s shrill voice pierced the air. Witches that voice had always gotten on his nerves, the way he would alway up play certain words instead of just speaking normally and making his point. He never shut up!
“I will make you pay in Jam for all of the torment and anguish you have caused.”
“How tragic~ The once great knight is now trying to play the heroine again. He just can’t get through his thick helmet that his glory days are OVER! I bet we all remember how it ended the last time he tried to play the hero. HA HA!” Shadow milk smiled in twisted glee.
Silent salt did not reply, instead summoning all his rage. It was because of his lies all those cookies turned against his knights, it was because of him that all his knights crumbled, it was because of him his king nearly met the same fate. So much pain and anguish caused by one cookie.
A horse’s whiny echoed around the clearing, coming from no clear source. Shadows leapt from their seats charging toward the dark knight. Gradually they gained speed and took the shape of his faithful steed. Even after all these years she stayed loyal to him, and now she answered his call.
Salt stuck out his hand and grabbed onto Nox’s saddle as she charged past him. Flawlessly he mounted her— like he had hundreds of times before— and held out his sword. Preparing to strike the jester floating above his makeshift stage.
Out of the corner of his helmet, silent salt could see vines growing alongside him before they split into shimmering, white butterflies, rushing past him and charging the tree. They twisted and danced in the air. Splitting into smaller tendrils and narrowly avoiding the blue clown. She’s leaving him for me. The tendrils reached the tree and sprouted new vines. They climbed the tree whilst the rest of the butterflies circled the branches. It was beautiful, the tree shown brighter than Silent Salt had even seen. It was safe to say the seal had been protected, White Lily had finally done something worthwhile in her pathetic life.
And now it was time for his turn. He braced his arm, preparing for the familiar resistance and eventual give that came with slicing dough, except this time he would ravish the feeling. If he wasn’t so caught up in battle the thought of crumbling anyone and enjoying it would horrify him.
Nox charged, he swung, but nothing met his sword. So much power with nowhere to go caused the knight to go off balance. Lurching forward in the saddle and sliding to the side. Nox, realizing something was wrong, skidded to a stop and turned to face their opponent. Salt took the opportunity to regain his balance and save his dignity.
Where Shadow Milk had hovered moments before now sat a rift, similar to the one that had split open the tree. His other realm! That bastard is escaping!
The devil himself stuck his head out of the rift and cackled, “My MY, WHAT an EXCITING turn of events~ what do you say we leave this story on a little cliffhanger salty, hmmmmm? Keep the audience in suspense!”
“Coward!” Silent Salt yelled
Shadow milk rolled his eyes and used his hand to mimic the knight’s talking, “Always so dark and broody with you, bleck! Anyways~ THAT’S ALL FOLKS! THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT!” He waved to his audience below before disappearing back into the void, the rift sealing behind him.
Salt sighed, one threat neutralized. Now for the other. I promised him I would find him… I can’t break that promise. Even if I don’t deserve him, if we only get to pretend for a while, at least until he recovers, I can allow myself to indulge, just this once, for his sake.
With one swift tug on the reins he redirected his horse. It would make the most sense for the soldiers to take him to the hospital. It is away from the fighting not to mention it will have more resources than any medical tents they may have set up near the tree.
The horse quickly picked up speed, the surrounding faces becoming silver blurs, when a knight stepped out in front of him. Nox reacted quicker than Salt could, rearing on her hind legs and letting out a distressed whiny. Having successfully stopped the dark knight the faerie stepped to the side allowing for the steed to lower her front legs to the ground.
“Are you insane?! I could have trampled you! You’re lucky she spotted you otherwise you would be in crumbles right now!” Salt yelled, reprimanding the cookie who dared to stop him.
“A worthy sacrifice to defend the kingdom. And on that note, where do you think you’re going, beast? As far as I’m concerned you’re a fugitive and a threat to cookie kind.” The knight held up his spear, pointing it rather rudely in Salt’s face before lowering it in front of his horse, preventing escape.
“I am going to see Elder Faerie. I want to make sure your knights were able to get him to safety and that he did not crumble in the process. You seem close to competent, you should know how integral his role is in this world.”
“And for what reason— when your kind almost crumbled him in the first place— should we let you anywhere near the king?”
‘Your kind’ Silent Salt didn’t know whether to be insulted or ashamed. Just like his so-called companions, he had abandoned his virtue and let silence consume him. But the way the knight said it, he didn’t know any of the sacrifices made, the cookies lost. His poor Kala Namak knights who were slaughtered by the followers of those monsters. And yet he had slaughtered the followers in cold jam. For fucks sake there’s no time for this! I have to fulfill my promise, I have to see if he’s ok!
Silent Salt pulled off his wedding band before throwing it to the silver knight, watching in amused satisfaction the faerie scrambled to catch it, “Is that reason enough?”
Salt did not wait for an answer, quickly redirecting Nox and riding off, leaving the silver knight gawking at the piece of silver in his hand. As he crossed the bridge off of the mini island surrounding the tree he could hear the faeries calling out to their comrade,
"Mercurial Knight, what did he hand you?”
“What is it, Mercurial Knight?”