"And from him." & "I did as you asked!"

day one: "And from him."

prompt: A funeral scene, but from the deceased’s point of view.

I’m rather cold.

But, I’m quite comfortable.

The velvet surrounding me was soft against my wrinkled skin. I mentally sighed as Valencia lay a rose on me, fake tears soaking her smooth face.

Witch. I hiss at her, but alas, she hears not. Within moments, she’s moved on. Barbara and Charles take her place. Barbara is holding it together, but Charles is not. He reaches out and squeezes my hand and how I long to squeeze back.

You were such a dear friend. I say as he chokes on another sob. Oh, how I wish I said that sooner.

Faces then begin to blur together. Yet the one I was waiting for never arrives. Flowers accumulate and I roll my eyes—Reginald always forgot that I’m allergic to peonies.

I feel so stiff. Not unlike my waking days. I chuckle. Then sun then moves, its rays shining over my skin.

Kind words are spoken and they tug at my heart. So many lovely people.

“She is...was...a wonder.” He begins and I start. “I never once thought she wouldn’t outlive me, and now....”

He did come.

“I tried to remind her each day how much I loved her,” his voice cracks and I wish I could see him. “I hope wherever she is now, she knows that.”

I do. I yell. I love you too.

“While we didn’t meet until later in life, she made every day brighter. The whole world seemed to smile when she laughed,” he chuckles. “She used to smack me for saying such ridiculous things.”

You always were ridiculous.

“I wish...I wish...I wish she hadn’t left so soon. We always planned on living to a hundred together. Ornery and old, well, older than we are now,” he receives a small round of laughter as I internally shake my head at his childish behavior.

One of the reasons I fell in love with him in the first place.

“But I stand here, and she lays there,” and for the first time, his face appears above me. He grew older in the short time I have been gone, I note. “And what I wouldn’t give for another minute with her.” He caresses my face and I long to grasp his hand. He fixes my hair and the cuff of my dress before sliding from my view. “But I must bid her farewell...for now.”

And nothing but darkness clouds my view and am I sealed from the outside world.

And from him.

day two: "I did as you asked!"

prompt: She added a charm to her bracelet for every like that she took.

Cowering beneath a cloth-covered table, he shivered as the jingling grew louder with each heavy footstep.

“Come out, come out,” her voice sung and he shivered at the delight in her tone. “You know I always get my prize.” Suddenly, the tablecloth was ripped from the table, revealing the man underneath. “Found you.”

“Please,” he backed out from under the table. “I’ll do anything.”

~

Minutes later, the man stood on the roof, the cold biting at his skin as she sat on the chimney, swinging her legs.

“Maurice, you said you’d to anything,” she pouted as he stood incredibly still. See, the roof was covered in ice from the snow melt earlier in the day.

And he was only wearing house slippers.

“Dance for me,” her eyes flashed as she snapped at him. He gulped and began to sway from side to side, his feet planted firmly in place. She raised her hand, palm facing him. Despite the cold, sweat dripped from his brow as he picked up his feet and started to dance a small jig. When he didn’t immediately fall, he smiled and picked up the beat as she clapped along with him.

“Lovely!” she laughed. “Now, come forth and shake my hand. You will never see me again.”

He grinned, for he had been the first to defeat her. As he stepped forward towards her outstretched hand, he imagined the stories he would tell to the townsfolk about how he heroically slayed the dreaded Black Scorpion.

He was one step away when she withdrew her hand, the charms clinking together. His eyebrows scrunched together as his feet slipped out from under him. He slid down the side of the roof, clinging to the drain as she floated down to him.

“Help me!” he cried, his fingers slipping from the ice. “I did as you asked!”

“Would’ve been nice if you let those people do the same, hm?” She said, hovering beside the man. Tears froze on his face as she laughed. His fingers released the drain without his consent and he tumbled toward the ground, skewering himself on the very spikes he used to keep people out.

She twirled her hand as his body disappeared into black smoke, which then hardened into charm in the shape of a crown. She sneered at it in disgust as it clamped itself to the bracelet she wore.

“Guess it’s time for a new bracelet,” she murmured, raising her hands to the sky. Lightening streaked around her, lighting up the hundreds of charms decorating her arms.

Frightened townspeople could see the storm brewing above the darkened palace, yet they were in awe.

“Let it be known that Black Scorpion has killed your King!” she screamed, her voice carrying across the land. “You have been freed!”

The storm swallowed her whole as the cheers of the people rang in her ears.