Birds twitter and chatter faintly. The beams of the house creak like the sigh of an old man. The call of a woman selling her hot bread on the streets rings dimly beyond the window. Slowly, blearily, Joy wakes up. She finds herself in the room of the inn where she and Luke had stayed. She is lying on her bed. Morning sunlight filters in from the single window, casting one shaft of warmth upon her face. Her muscles feel stiff and sore. She tries to remember what happened. Luke and I were watching the fireworks in the plaza. . . he was holding my hand, and. . . did we go back to the inn together--? Oh! No, there someone was giving out freshly baked cookies. Yes, that tasted good. And then. . . that's when it started getting fuzzy. She frowns, trying to remember. I feel like I was sick. . . something hurt inside, like I had eaten sandpaper that was rubbing at me from the inside. Then. . . Luke was saying something to me. I felt warm. . . She sits up, and realizes that she's still wearing her normal clothes (though that's not to say she had many extra articles for sleeping). She also realizes that a cloaked man is sitting in a chair across the room, whittling at a block of wood with a knife -- and judging by the dark beard protruding from the man's chin beneath the cowl, it wasn't Luke (unless Luke had magic hair-growing powers). "Who are you? What are you doing here?" She challenges. She feels for the short sword hanging from her belt. The man grunts. He doesn't bother to look up at her. "Doesn't matter who I am. I'm just here to make sure you're all right. The anti-dote did its work, 'seems." Joy stares at him. "'Anti-dote'? What are you talking about?" She scans the room. "And where's Luke?" The man's knife stops peeling at the wood. "Luke?" "My friend. The boy I was with." The man barks a coarse laugh. "Is that what he told you to call him, eh?" Before she can respond, he adds. "Ironic; spirit of temptation being tempted away," He smirks. "Though one can easily see why, being a pretty lass that you are." Joy casts him a chilly scowl. "Where is he?"
Yeah, well, CON I have them all together now? Yes, it does. We sell amazing donuts.
I suppose. It's twice the size of NZ. MMM and Boomer appear to live the same place. It's fairly close to your state. Those were the dead giveaway ones. And ends in ks, if so I found it. XD I'll have to try some then.
Oh, I think I gotchya. I thought you were in Tennessee or something. Yep, got it. They're 50 cents after 7pm.
I suppose. It's twice the size of NZ. MMM and Boomer appear to live the same place. It's fairly close to your state. Those were the dead giveaway ones. And ends in ks, if so I found it. XD I'll have to try some then.
Oh, I think I gotchya. I thought you were in Tennessee or something. Yep, got it. They're 50 cents after 7pm.
Roit. I had another but you don't need it. I would like to try Tennessee one day. Awesome. It'll be easier at a store than a college in all reality. Really??? O.O
-last edited on Sept 19, 2018 6:22:17 GMT by Gnuehchcaz
Post by Gnuehchcaz on Sept 19, 2018 6:21:45 GMT
"He's right where he needs to be... away from you." The bearded man in the cowl replied.
Joy's heart sank a little bit, but she became angry, got out of the bed, drew her sword, and slashed at the beard of the man, trimming it an inch shorter. The trimmings fall onto the man's block of wood, which was shaped like a triangular wedge with some rough edges. Joy points her sword at the man's chin.
"Tell me where he is, or else..." She says fiercely.
"Fine, I'll talk." He says, not even surprised by the sword pointed at his chin. "He's just back at home, probably baking more chocolate chip cookies."
"Wait a minute, chocolate chip cookies, spirit of temptation, are you saying that...." Joy asks curiously.
"What? Now you finally get it? The guy you called 'Luke' is Temptation. It was his cookies that made the man in the village turn gray and thrash around, and it's what also happened to you."
"No, it can't be." Joy says in disbelief. "Luke can't be Temptation. He would never want to hurt anyone."
"Oh Joy, you have a lot to learn." He says as he gets up and heads toward the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and make sure Temptation, or 'Luke', as you know him, is doing his job. Goodbye."
"Not if I stop you first!" Joy says as she jumps toward the bearded man, only to be stopped by a chain from her right ankle to the leg of the bed. "No! What?" Joy says with a confused look.
"Now that I know you're alive, my job is done. I already spared your life once when I took your parents, so consider this your last chance. Bye." The bearded man said as he closed the door and shoved his triangular wedge into the bottom edge of the door, locking it in place.
Joy climbed back onto the bed as the chain rattled from her ankle. Her heart sank even more as the words about her parents echoed in her head. All she could do was put her hands to her eyes and weep.
Temptation returns to the dark, lonely woods he knows so well that day. Unlike the constant hustle and bustle of the village, the quiet hush of the woods, accompanied by the call of a robin, the breeze shifting through the leaves of trees, and the feeling of serenity that the presence of the forest brings is a welcome contrast to the young man. He knows these woods like the back of his hand, and follows the invisible trails in the leafy and mossy ground silent as a shadow, as was his natural habit. This place is familiar and good to be in. Yet his heart feels heavy. No matter how hard he tries, he simply can not shake off the images of Joy's paling and cracking face appearing before him, the screams of the man who'd taken one of the cookies, the story of Joy's family, and especially the feeling of being the one who had caused all this. Guilt churns in his stomach like a painful storm, or like sharp claws tearing at him from inside. It's my fault this happened to her. He knows she will be all right -- at least, he knows the man would keep his promise and extract the poison from her veins before it was too late. He doesn't want to think of what Joy would feel when she woke up the next morning to find he'd abandoned her. How could she ever know that he was only doing it to protect her? -- to protect the only friend he'd ever had. He comes to the small log cabin he resides in, set in a small hollow by a gurgling creek. One room with little furniture, it was simple and cozy. He enters quietly and sweeps his gaze across the room. Nothing changed. All the same. Just like this cabin, he could simply go back to the duty he'd been assigned and just pretend that nothing had ever happened. --But. . . he can't. Even as he wonders if he could just pretend to forget it all, he knows that nothing would ever be the same again. He remembers his vow. I'm not doing this anymore. He sets his jaw, glaring into the room as he thinks desperately. Even if Joy thinks I abandoned her, I can't go on hurting people like this. I can't be Temptation. Not anymore.
-last edited on Sept 20, 2018 7:28:39 GMT by Gnuehchcaz
Post by Gnuehchcaz on Sept 20, 2018 7:28:19 GMT
Temptation had decided what to do. He wanted to stop being Temptation.
He went to his bed and pulled out a large chest. The top of the chest was extremely dusty, and contained everything he once was before he joined the organization. Most members of the organization destroy their personal items and try to forget their previous life, but not Temptation. He opened the chest and found all of the old things he did. There were some paints and some paint brushes, a violin and a bow, notebooks and paper, and some other random objects. Memories started coming back to him.
"Those were the good old days, back when I was just an artist or a musician in the peaceful forest.
He looks through the old notebook, and he realizes it was his old journal. He scrolls through some of the older entries when he was a younger boy. His life was coming back to him, but he got a flashback of the part of his childhood that wasn't so positive.
He remembered the days when he was a poor boy from a poor family and he had to beg in the streets for food. Then suddenly, a kind family came to him, and not only did they bring his family out of poverty, but they also gave him the violin and the paints and paintbrushes and to him, it was the greatest gift ever, and he was a natural at it. Instead of begging for food, he played the violin and his audience gave him money out of appreciation. He sold his artworks to people, and they bought it. Temptation remembered the simple and wondrous life he once lived, and realizing in regret why he thought joining the organization would help him more.
Temptation took the violin and blew on it to get rid of the dust. He turned it around and saw some text etched into its back. Donated as a gift to you, from the kind family of Mr. Peace, Ms. Love, and their daughter Joy.
Upon reading it, Temptation's eyes suddenly widened in shock. It all made sense now. Temptation realized, he wanted to love Joy, because she showed love to him first.
Temptation shed a tear in his eye, and he wanted to wipe it, but his cowl was in the way.
"It's been a while since I did this." He said to himself. He reached for the edges of his cowl and pulled it back, exposing his face to fresh air. He hadn't felt this sensation ever since he was part of the organization. He looked in the mirror on the wall and thought, "I remember this face."
"Hey Temptation! How are the next batch of cookies coming along?" A man outside his cabin yells. Temptation quickly puts his hood back on, trying to think of how to respond.
Who's that? No one ever comes around here, especially co-workers. Temptation had never seen many of the other people in the underground organization, and he knew that it was strictly forbidden for anyone to disturb him in the forest; Temptation was meant to live alone and to do his duty alone, which was to tempt away and poison as many people as possible. He knew not what happened to them; he had only ever seen them transforming into their hideous zombie-like states, staggering away from him, and disappearing westwards. Temptation -- making sure his hood is secure -- opens the door and walks outside to greet the stranger. A man stands upon the short dirt path, wearing a long cloak just as dark as Temptation's, although there no extra robes, but rather the clothes of a nobleman. The man throws back his hood, exposing his bearded face to the sunlight. Temptation freezes in place, stunned. "Uncle!" When the man arches one dark eyebrow, the youth stammers. "Uh, I mean-- Lord Fear." He bows his head. Fear snorts. "That's more like it. I don't like this rebellious streak I'm seeing in you, boy. I've come over to see if you haven't gone gallivanting off with another maid again. You have a task to fulfill, remember." "She-- she was just lost, we weren't--" At the dangerous gleam in the older man's eyes, Temptation gulps and bows his head again. "I'm sorry, Un-- my lord." He knows better to argue. Attempting to debate with Lord Fear was pure folly, unless you were trying to get yourself smashed. He would do better to accept everything he said and pretend to submit. Still, he couldn't resist a glance at Fear's face. "What happened to your beard?" "What?" "It's cut off at the end. Like someone chopped it off with a knife." He couldn't help asking. "Is this a new style--?" "Silence." Fear snaps. "I'm sorry, my lord." Temptation bows his head once more. Any more head-bowing, and he's going to get dizzy. "Forgive me, my lord." "Forgive me, my lord'," Lord Fear mimics scathingly, twisting his face in a dark scowl. "Temptation, you lost your rights as an individual years ago by your own fault. I am your kin and your master. Remember that."
There is but a small hope to cling to now… :'3
Yes, it does. 
And ends in ks, if so I found it. XD I'll have to try some then. 
![[derp]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/YqNTPqyQUocVMYXZgUAI.png)
*freedom but greatly appreciates the hug*