I remain silent, hardly concentrating on anything.

As I do, every so often I glance toward the bed, eyeing the pitiful little lump in the covers for any movement. Of course, there is none, save the shallow movement of his chest... I sigh, then stand up and sit beside the bed. It's hardly worthy to be called a bed; simply a mattress on the ground with only a thin, moth-eaten blanket for warmth. Speaking of the temperature... I shiver, drawing closer to the bed. My outer shirt is wrapped around his tiny, pale frame. Taking a glance at his face, I feel my spirits lift. In his sleep he looks so calm, as if this nightmare had never happened. For a moment I forget about my shyness and put a hand on his, flinching from his frigid skin. He looks so sick and weak...

How could this have happened? The boy was already skinny, but combined with thousands of years of getting his energy leeched away, he's nothing but skin and bone. To think that this creature is the one who created me. Who gave me, who gave the entire island life. Right now, he looks like he's about to die. But he can't. Core can only suffer, never to be given the release of death...

My attention is drawn to a tiny movement. He's shivering.

I don't let myself think, I simply act. Slipping off my shoes, I climb into bed beside him, wrapping my arms around his. My cheeks flush at this unfamiliar gesture, but I continue to share my warmth with him. His skin's like ice, nearly burning mine, but I don't mind. I actually... like this. I like being with him.

When I was under the spell's effect, I'd been trapped in an unfamiliar form, unable to speak and being forced to destroy every living thing in sight. But I still had a logical mind. And in the growing years between victims, I would think. I could only think of how the others were doing, if they were still alive and what forms of torture they were enduring as well. Months, years, decades, centuries... Time passed, and soon I found my thoughts centering on one person...

Core. How kind and forgiving he could be, and if he was still the same boy as he was before the spell. What terrifying shape had they forced him into? Could I even recognize his human form?

Only yesterday, when the island's curse was finally lifted, I was finally able to leave my isolated portion of the Sand Zone. I kept wanting to do things that would make myself happy, but all I could think about was him... So to him I went.

I found him in the dark room above the King's Table and had thought he was dead. Of course, he wasn't, and I carried him to a more comfortable spot to regain his strength. Leading to now.

Core's shivering subsides and muscles loosen. I tighten my grip around his frail frame, letting out a sigh. I don't know why, but at this moment my vision grows blurry. Tears flow down my dusty cheeks, confusing me. Why am I crying?

Because... Maybe...

This is the happiest day of my life.

-Dimmy

3.20.12

11:49 PM.