“Malfus?”

"Master?" the creature Malfus inquired, stepping forward. His voice carried with it a mix of reverence and caution, a familiar tone that Khalazar had grown used to over the years. "Are you... troubled?”

He was an imposing thing, easily seven feet tall, his long, spindly hands extending downward, almost unnervingly reaching his toenails. His neck was impossibly elongated, giving him an unsettling and unnatural posture.

His face was devoid of eyes, with only the hollow sockets of his skull where they should have been, replaced instead by two beady dots. His mouth was wide, grotesque, and almost too large for his face, while his nose was little more than a sharp, featureless ridge. Despite his slender, almost gaunt appearance, there was no sign of hesitation or weakness in his stance.

"I'm... fine," Khalazar said slowly, a forced smile creeping across his face, if it could even be called that, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm just happy to see you, old friend," he continued, his voice low.

Malfus tilted his head, his elongated neck twisting unnaturally as he studied Khalazar. Despite his grotesque appearance, there was a peculiar gentleness in his movements, a quality that often unnerved those who first encountered him.

"Master," Malfus began cautiously, his voice a low, gravelly tone that resonated in the chamber. "Forgive me, but you rarely smile. Did something good happen that I was not made aware of?”

Khalazar turned away from Malfus, his skeletal frame stiffening slightly as he paced toward the edge of the chamber. The faint blue light from the statue cast his elongated shadow across the walls as he paused, his back still turned to his construct, and let out a breath that was more a hollow rasp than anything resembling life.

“No, Malfus,” he finally said, his voice carrying a weary edge. “Nothing good has happened. I was simply… thinking”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Is there—”

“No!”

“Just leave”

"Do not mistake my silence for weakness," Khalazar said, his voice sharp, though it lacked its usual venom. "I have no need for your pity, Malfus. I created you to serve, and kill, NOT to question.”

Malfus bowed his head, his spindly hands clasping together in a gesture of submission. "Of course, Master. Forgive my insolence." And turned around ready to leave when he was stopped.

“Wait,” Khalazar’s voice rang out.

“Master?”

………

============

(⁠＾⁠∇⁠＾⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠♪

"Miss Amélie De La Fontaine, come back here at once! Your father and mother are calling for you and await your presence in the throne room. Please don't run off on your own, I beg you!"

Amélie’s footsteps echoed in the vast corridor as she stormed away from the throne room, her silken gown trailing behind her like a shadow.

The words rang in her mind like a constant, bitter refrain, each one more cutting than the last. "Bastard." It was a label that had followed her since her birth, a stain on her name and face that no amount of fine clothes or polished manners could fix.

It wasn't enough that her whore of a mother decided to kill herself so as not to face the shame of what she had done but had also left her in the hands of a man who barely had a heart for his family. Amélie had grown used to the whispers behind her back, the disapproving glances, and the way people treated her like she was something less than human.

It wasn't fair.

She didn't ask for this.

If she could have chosen her fate, she would have much rather been in the hands of a loving family that would have been happy to take her in, despite their poverty or whatever circumstances they were in.

It would have been much more preferable than being here.

“Amélie De La Fontaine get back here this instant!”

But Amélie’s steps only quickened down the winding corridor. The sound of her name being called echoed from behind her, but she refused to turn around. She couldn’t bear the thought of returning to that suffocating throne room and couldn't bear to even look at her 'father.’

“Lady—”

"Tell father and mother, I will carve my own path. I will not be bound by their schemes, nor will I be sent to a foreign house to be married off like a mere pawn to further their ambitions. If they crave more power, let them find their own way. They are mistaken if they think I will play their game.”

“But-’

"Go! That's an order.” Amélie snapped. The servant hesitated for a moment, but quickly bowed his head and backed away, before leaving.

“I hate this place”

===========

(⁠ ͡⁠°⁠ᴥ⁠ ͡⁠°⁠ ⁠ʋ⁠)

“How long have I been absent for?”

“About 4,000 years, master.”

“its been much longer than I thought"