It Really Feels Like Reading Through The Pages Of A Book! - Tumblr Posts

A/N: This is my contribution to the Ikemen Flash Exchange (@flash-exchange) for @karakeci

I was given the prompt "Fairy Tale AU" and knew I would be using Faust. This is what I came up with!

Word Count: 700 (that word limit was such a challenge 😆)

Branches reach out trembling fingers to catch your cloak as you run through the dark woods, but you’re faster. You breeze over gnarled roots, following only the pale circle of light from your swinging lantern.

You fly as fast as your boots can carry you because you are on a mission. You cannot fail. If you do, even more people will die.

It started during your childhood. People began disappearing in the dead of night, only torn bits of skin like bread crumbs left behind them. Dogs would dig up bones and whine, the smell frightening them. Patrols were useless. Half of them were slaughtered. The other half could never describe what they saw: A flash of dark fur. Silver claws gleaming in the moonlight. Black lips curled back from long , sharp, white teeth.

You lost your adoptive parents one winter night. Then and there, on your knees, as snow bit the skin between your fingers, you vowed you would be the one to end it all. So you trained, with sword and knife and bow. And when you found yourself kneeling by a pile of blood-stained bones that were far too small,, you knew it was time to seek The Dark One.

There are no instructions. People only whispered one could find him somewhere in the heart of the cursed forest. And so, armed with your sword and iron determination, you run through the dark to find him.

The black mouth of the cave rises out from the fog. Enter, child. Enter. The chill inside the cavern stabs at your skin but you follow the sconces of pale green fire, walking into the belly of the earth on a stone path that spirals ever downward.

It ends at the threshold of a room where shadows flicker on smooth stone walls and a man stands before a large wooden table covered in books and strange tubes and wiring. He looks up when you enter, hand on your sword.

“Dark One,” you call out loudly, sounding a lot bolder than you feel. 

Calm as a windless night, he sets down the vial he was inspecting, gaze now on you. He wears a simple black cloak, but his eyes glow green with bright flecks of gold, unearthly in their beauty.

“You come concerning the beast.” His voice is deeper than you expected. A shiver plunges down your spine. You nod slowly. How did he know?

“Your problem is already solved.”

You stare at him, fingers slackening on your sword pommel. “It..it is?” 

He nods as he walks toward you, his face half painted in flickering shadow. He reaches out a hand and it feels as natural as breathing to take it.

He leads you across the room to a smaller doorway and then down a stone corridor. The space is narrow and you cling to his hand tightly. 

The room you enter is empty aside from a tall silver mirror. He guides you to it, hand warm even through your cloak. 

You stare at yourself in the mirror, the Dark One a phantom behind you with hands upon your shoulders. His foxfire eyes capture yours in the mirror as he leans down, his voice the susurrus of sand through an hourglass.

“Look closely, Liebling.”

At first all you see is yourself and those spectral poison-colored eyes. Then you blink as your reflection begins to shimmer, as if submerged under dark waters. Your breath is held prisoner in your chest as you watch your reflected hands lengthen, fingers elongating and turning sharp and deadly. Your legs stretch, your shoulders widen. Your hair grows longer, not just the hair on your head but your arms and legs and suddenly your whole body is black fur, silver claws that gleam in the moonlight, and black lips curled back from long, sharp, white teeth.

No…..no…..it can’t be….you can’t be….

His grip on your shoulders tightens.

“Ah, my beautiful experiment. You ran. Eluded me for so long.” He turns his head, pressing a kiss to your temple as tears stream down your face. “But now you are home, my pet.” His fingers curl around your chin, eyes still burning into yours. “And you will never escape me again.”

Tagging: @aquagirl1978 @atelieredux @alixennial @alexxavicry @queengiuliettafirstlady @rhodolitesrose @somekidnamedkai @ikemen-prince-writers-posts @bellerose-arcana @thewitchofbooks @ikehoe @redheadkittys @themysticalbeing @dear-mrs-otome @firestar-otomeobsessed @curious-skybunny @leotoru @ariamichel @kpop-and-otome