Work Text:
On the outskirts of the palace grounds, there is a pond filled with blood. I have made a habit of feeding the ducks in it, whenever I pass by on my midnight walks. On days where the ducks have human teeth, I make sure to dive into the pool, to see how far away the bottom is. Tonight, it took 3 days to reach it. Overall, not bad - it once took over a year.
Once I reach the bottom, I begin to drink. It takes a while, but my thirst is endless, so it’s never a chore. When my stomach and lungs are full, I sleep, so that I can digest the memories within. My dreams are full of flesh and love, just how I like them.
Every so often, I meet a traveler, and we set aside a few hours to kill each other. After I win, the fish ask me if I really needed to do that, but it’s a rhetorical question; they know why just as well as I do. They take their pound of flesh, and leave me to my work.
After I wake up, I realize that I’ve dissolved again. Inconvenient as always, but I manage. I usually manage to gather up all my giblets, but I can never seem to find both of my eyes. With that out of the way, I continue drowning, waiting to fall in love so that I can move on.
It takes a while, but I remember that I’ve been in love for hundreds of years, so that was an embarrassing waste of time. I finish my drink, and continue my walk, killing anything out of the ordinary that I notice. Sadly, I’m not very observant, so everything I know is gone.
As I return to my bed, I ponder the tomb of my greatest enemies, but the throne is empty, and I am late for dinner. I grab my gifts, and fall asleep once more. Within my dreams, everything is identical, but my wings almost feel real, so that’s a plus.
Nobody recognizes me, which is pretty annoying, because I’ve been seeing them every week for as long as they remember, so they should really be used to this by now. Then again, it’s rude to wear the same face twice in a row, so I’m probably not that predictable. Oh wait, is it my turn already? I should probably wake u-