The faint scent of autumn leaves gently swept through the large assortment of flowers situated upon soft earth. A light breeze gently tousled their hair as Noël continued to follow Annabelle along the ashen gray path. The two truly were a bizarre pair—while Noël could easily meld into the hazy, lonesome woods surrounding his home, Annabelle was a picturesque form of life…almost eerily so……

Lost in his own cacophonic thoughts, Noël paid no heed as the taller of the two regarded an imposing iron gate with vague interest. Nearly tripping as Annabelle’s steps came to a screeching halt, the ruby-eyed boy looked up in irritation, only to realize where their feet had taken them. “Why have we stopped here?”

“I dunno…it just feels…empty……”

“That is to be expected. I rarely ever travel here, Miss. I never found the need to roam so far away from my house,” Noël lightly stated as he gazed at the gate separating him from the outside world. “It’s quite an aberration if I’m being honest.”

And yet, why was he so drawn to it? Nothing good must come from leaving his safe little hovel, but it felt as if someone or something was beckoning to the lonely iron gates the more he gazed up at them. Peering through the gates, he…could almost imagine the sight of ghastly figures roaming the woods, the glint of a silver knife, and then…nothing……

Delicately grabbing his hand, Annabelle slowly led them closer to the gate—startling Noël’s increasingly erratic sentiments with a soft smile in the process…no, it certainly was not kind. There was hidden malice or iciness in her words as she gently beckoned him towards the simple yet sturdy lock ensnared around the gate. “There’s nothing to stop you from leaving this gaudy old place.”

Stumbling back, dead eyes stared at Annabelle in agitation. “No, no…I cannot abandon my Aunt.”

“But…why? She’s already kicked the bucket!” Annabelle sang as she twirled around. “Are you just going to stay in a kingdom of decay like a damsel until someone else stumbles upon your coffin and saves you?”

“I…no, but…what more is there for me to do? If I were to leave, I’d……”

“Finally get a chance at dying?” Annabelle hummed, eyes narrowed and…glowing an ominous shade of pink. “You can stay here until judgment day arrives, or you can leave this dream and have a shot at death!”

Silently, slowly, solemnly, Noël turned back to gaze at the blurry visage of what was once his home. “I…do wonder, Miss. What will we do with Mister Magpie? If this is a dream as you say, we cannot leave him.”

“Don’t mind him! Mister Magpie will be talking in no time. One death out of a million dreams is nothing to worry about.”

Thinking back to the injured magpie buried within a small patch of hydrangeas as blue as the ocean, an inexplicable wave of sadness washed over him. If he were to die, who would grant him a lovely burial? Though, surely having a chance at receiving a grave is better than going through the motions of life like a clockwork doll.

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“Alright…Miss. I’ll leave,” Noël stated sharply, voice unwavering. “It is as you say. If I were to stay…I’d be unable to die.”

“About time! What’re you going to do now that you’ll be rid of this place?”

Smile never quite reaching his eyes, Noël gazed unseeingly at Annabelle. “It’s like I said, Miss. I will die. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“I could kill you if you want!” Annabelle exclaimed, a cold grin plastered over her face. “You’re not the type of person I’m supposed to kill, but I’m sure they’ll make an exception.”

“Thank you, Miss, but it doesn’t work that way,” the emotionless boy muttered. “Nor do I want to be set on fire…”

“I wasn’t going to do that, silly,” she chuckled as Noël glared at her in suspicion.

“I wish to die, but neither by your hands nor mine,” Noël stated dully. Flatly. “What I need is a hero. It’ll almost be poetic in a way…a valiant knight slaying a bloodthirsty monster……”

With this, his words dissipated and melted into the open air.

A shrill heaviness like tar permeated the crisp, autumn cold as the gloomy boy reached towards the obstructive gate. Sharp metallic rings interrupted the silent scene as metal chains clacked against iron. Offering one last blank, resolute stare at his cottage, he gripped the iron locks and snapped them. Metallic pieces of shrapnel fell to the ground like crumpled paper as he wordlessly pushed the iron gates aside. With a sharp intake of breath, Noël expectantly snapped his eyes back towards Annabelle, as if waiting for her cue to leave. Or, rather, if she too, would collapse into dust onto the earth at the slightest provocation.

“Neat, vampires really are as strong as they say!” Annabelle laughed as she picked up a particularly sharp piece of metal and drew incomprehensible patterns onto the ground. “Oh boy, what if you snapped someone’s spine as easily as that lock?”

Exhaling deeply, Noël considered her words as he observed the peculiar drawings etched into dirt. “What makes you say that, Miss?”

“Nothing…it’s just that since you killed poor Mister Magpie with no hesitation, who’s to say you haven’t done something similar in the past?”, she cheerfully replied. “If that were the case, I’m sure I’d be able to kill you…once we find something that will do ya’ in for good!”

Almost like an arrow, the words burrowed themselves into his consciousness as he and Annabelle walked through the gates. Step by tentative step, the view of his home gradually faded from sight. As if passing through a veiled threshold, his memories of the house became blurry…almost as if they belonged to a different person in a different time……

Pale leaves of various shades and hues gently fluttered to the ground as they silently trekked through the woods. Only the occasional shrill laughter of Annabelle as she recalled a joke and the snapping of leaves broke the silence. “When will we get there, Miss?”

Humming, Annabelle regarded his question with a wave of her hand. “That is for you to decide!”

“I’m getting awfully tired,” Noël lightly retorted…though, he was not feeling the least bit tired at all.

“Then…why don’t you wake up?” Annabelle stated, skipping away every time an interesting tree or rock caught her fancy. “Everything that has happened here is all due to you Noël!”

An unreadable emotion flittered through Noël’s mind as he blinked motionlessly at Annabelle. “I have not heard my name spoken by another being in so long……”

“How sad,” the rosy eyed girl sang, footsteps coming to a halt as they walked into a small clearing. Further ahead, a small, mossy cobblestone bridge could be seen surrounded by an inky substance. Murky, black water captured the essence of the ever abundant collection of trees within the dark woods. “But don’t you worry, Noël! I’ll never forget you!”

“Really? You truly mean that, Miss?” Hesitantly, Noël took a step into the clearing…noting the all too familiar signs of life, or the lack, thereof.

“Of course,” Annabelle affirmed jubilantly. “I’d never forget someone as interesting as you! Your eyes really are pretty, Noël! I love how red they are!”

“….Thank you……?” he falteringly responded.

“They’re so pretty. I like your eyes so much I could even pluck them out!” Annabelle happily chirped. “But, don’t you worry, I won’t! You have my word, Noël.”

Somewhat apprehensive, Noël briskly walked towards the cobblestone bridge, Annabelle following in suit. “How…reassuring.”

“It’s true, I won’t! No one will kill you if you already look like a corpse, Noël!”

Leaves continued to fall from the heavens in an unrelenting barrage as the two continued to march through the seemingly unending woods. Noël walked with no destination in sight, even as the dark, spindly trees began to fill his vision with a relentless darkness.

Searching, he turned his eyes left and right, but could find nothing. Neither Annabelle nor the ever present sight of foliage and stone. His vision fading, even words had soon left his tongue.

Everything became dark, and then......

He woke up.