The wind refused to let down as the impending blizzard swirled violently around them.

Both Dark Cacao and (Y/N) were mounted atop the steed they had escaped the kingdom with, traveling at a speed that made the thin trees blur past. (Y/N), however, was too busy stuffing her face into the prince's shoulder to stop the stinging sensation of cold biting her eyes and cheeks.

"What the hell was that noise back there?!" (Y/N) screamed.

"The only explanation is a werehound got mad," Dark Cacao grunted as their horse vaulted over a fallen tree, steadily landing. "I've gotten in a couple of fights with those thing when I went hunting out here."

(Y/N) took a moment to calculate what he meant. If he knows that a rumble in the earth is werehound defense... does that mean-

"You're telling me that they're already this close to us?!" (Y/N) shrieked, looking up from his shoulder.

She yelped again as she felt the earth disappear beneath them for a split second, only to meet with the ground again. She hated the way how reckless he was controlling the horse around the wild terrain.

"I think they moved during the day, when we were hiding in the cave. They know the land better than I ever could out here," he sharply turned the horse left around a steep ledge. "I just didn't think that they would make it to our spot this fast."

"We're closing in on the mountain's border..." (Y/N) looked up through the thick foliage of branches, spotting the silhouette of the grand mountains signaling their end.

"I'm going to try and find us a new place to hide, okay? We need to get out of the open fast before we freeze to death."

She nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see her. Her head went down back into his shoulder and she closed her eyes, waiting for the journey to be over as the flurries relentlessly tried to knock them off their course.

But then she heard something she wasn't expecting to hear above the chaos.

Birds?

(Y/N) looked back up, her eyes squinting to see in the white dust that was thickening rapidly. As her eyes adjusted, she saw movements of shapes flittering around them like black spots.

She continued to watch as the swarm grew, sometimes swooping in right next to her face just centimeters away.

"What the-?" Dark Cacao exclaimed, taking quick notice of the animals going in a frenzy.

(Y/N) started to panic, swatting over of her arms to scare the birds away from swooping so close to them both, but to no avail. Dark Cacao ducked closer towards his horse as he tried desperately not to lose balance from being disoriented.

"These birds are gonna-!" (Y/N) trailed off, surprised as she felt the flock dissipate suddenly. Her eyes shifted, looking around the see the birds changing their formation from flying at them to flying with them.

They flew low and close, yet just enough to give them enough space to not feel crowded. The wind seemed to die down around them as the shell of birds protected them, buffering the violent winds from getting through. Dark Cacao and (Y/N) looked around, bewildered by why they were behaving like this. But the birds never reacted to their confusion with a look nor a blink.

"Just keep going..." (Y/N) muttered.

Now halfway protected from the weather, their horse calmed down, steadying its pace as it continued down their confused path.

Later down their journey, the birds started to swerve, pushing the horse to turn in a strange direction. Dark Cacao panicked, trying to get the horse back on track, but it whinnied in protest and obeyed the bird's pressure. As they continued on, the birds kept showing the horse to a set path, turning and twisting around rough areas in the land and ignoring the annoyed commands from the prince.

"They're taking us somewhere," (Y/N) commented, still eyeing the birds with a curious study.

"I don't want them to take us where they want us to go," Dark Cacao grumbled, "we have no clue where they're taking us."

(Y/N) felt a microscopic smile grow on her lips. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

After an hour of traveling with the flock, the wind thinned out around them, leading to a clearing that looked completely untouched by any sort of blizzard. The birds dispersed all around them, landing into trees behind the prince and (Y/N), looking down on them expectantly.

Dark Cacao dismounted the horse, helping (Y/N) off after. The two inspected the odd area, confused on how calm it looked compared to everything else.

Just then, one of the birds squawked and landed on (Y/N)'s shoulder, cocking it's head at her. She tilted her head back to it, intrigued by how friendly it was to her.

It chirped again, this time turning it's head towards the clearing in front. "I think it wants me to walk towards it," she said.

The prince looked apprehensively at the bird. "Be careful," he warned.

(Y/N) walked closer, the land warping around her peripheral vision to her surprise. She stopped, looking back at the bird, only to see it had it's eyes locked ahead of her. Seeing how it would react, she took a step back.

The bird chirped in protest and launched off of her shoulder towards the clearing. In a moment, the bird vanished, being swallowed by a clear barrier a meter in front of (Y/N). Dark Cacao and (Y/N) were dazed, and Dark Cacao stepped closer. He reached his hand out to where he saw the bird disappear, his hand flinching at the touch of a cool sensation.

"What is this..?" he whispered, reaching back out and allowing his hand to be consumed by the wall.

(Y/N) stepped forward, feeling the barrier with her own hands. It felt like water, but with the thickness of jelly, cold to the touch but didn't leave residue on her skin or clothes.

"I think it's-" she looked over, only to see a blip of Dark Cacao fully entering the secret area.

She took a deep breath, looking straight forward. With a great step, she allowed the wall to take her into the concealed area.

———

A heavy veil of tension befell the entire village that choked the remaining inhibitors to insanity. Nobody spoke, but their eyes told more than what they could ever say. A faint ticking noise of a pocket watch filled the suspenseful streets with a hollow echo.

The watch swung between a cookie's grip, dangling and never ceasing its rhythmic noise. It suddenly swung upwards, being caught between the palm of the bearer's hand. The cookie looked down at the time and sighed.

"I suppose they won't be returning for the night," Marble cookie murmured.

He stuffed the watch back in between the folds of his gown, approaching the grand doors of the Cacao church. He placed both his hands on each door, and with a firm push, they opened to a horrific scene.

The wails of worshippers, crying in utter agony and despair, screamed for the mercy of the kingdom's gods and goddesses on their souls. It was sickening, how the children to the elders all harmonized in their troubled piety to the gods who never responded to them. But despite this, Marble cookie held the role as the communicator between the mortals and the immortal.

"Oh, save us!"

"What have we done for this downfall?"

"I beg of you to protect the prince!"

His footsteps were soundless, disguised under the roar of the stressed believers. The foot of the altar was open, ready for him to kneel at the bottom for a vision. The crowd quickly noticed his presence, their eyes gleaming with the flame of hope. In a moment, their wails became praises.

"May the Kingdom be blessed!"

"See what is to come of us!"

"May the vision be rewarding!"

As he kneeled, his eyes closed, and his hands firmly planted together. He dipped his head as the room fell silent. All eyes were on him as he concentrated, his conscience reaching to hear the voice of angels that could not be heard otherwise.

A minute passed, his eyes opening with a flat expression on his face. Rising to his feet, he turned to the crowd who all looked up at him expectantly, tears in their eyes. He dipped his head once more before opening his mouth to speak.

His voice rang clearly.

"Tis a vision of destruction."

And as quickly as the room fell silent for him, it rose again to their lamentations.

Word count: 1465