~..So warm..~ (Fools gold x Reader)

Chapter 20 *The Fool*

He chuckled softly before he patted your head once with his gloved hand.

"Be sure to get ready in about an hour, we have another match soon."

And with that, he entered his room and closed the door behind him, leaving you confused in the hallway.

You sighed sharply, your hands dropping to your sides in defeat as you walked towards your door, opening it once your reached it. Your eyebrows furrowed, the confusion setting it once you sat down in your chair to write.
You haven't written in quite some time..

A lot has happened these past days, my mind slowly unraveling the longer i stay. I cant bring myself to leave though..causing my spiral into insanity only faster. I was forced into a match or cat and mouse, playing the mouse in a forest. There was a tall man, partially made of stone who had approached me at one point, cutting my face with a large pickaxe. Luckily the scar has faded, leaving no trace behind for anyone to see. I was lucky with that. In this game Im playing, I have to decode machines, clicking buttons at a small keyboard. There is also a hunter, assuming it changes everytime as i didn't see the tall man who attacked me before. I also rekindled a relationship with Norton Campbell, an old friend of mine.

This manor really does strange things to ones mind..

You sighed once again, your head thumping down on the table as you dropped your pen. Your head turned to the side, looking towards the door before turning forward, back towards the window. It had just begun getting dark..

You watched as the sun began setting, leaving a beautiful red-purple hue in the sky.
Your eyelids slowly grew heavy, weighing on your sight as you sighed softly. Dozing off to sleep, you began seeing figures in your mind, each one resembling someone you had met whilst in this cursed manor. Frederick, Orpheus, Melly, Norton, and then..Him..
You racked your brain, trying to think of a name to call him instead of just monster.
You hummed in wonder, your eyes fully closed by now as you lost yourself in thoughts.

The fool.

You shook your head awake, squeezing your eyes shut for a moment before sitting up quickly.
What was that.
You looked around, turning your back and looking around the room carefully. The voice had sounded as if it were right by your ear..You yawned and stretched, leaning back in your chair ever so slightly. Though once you looked towards the window once more,

you didn't see the sunset..

You saw the forest. Your head perked up, your will to sleep completely vanished as you looked forward a bit. There was something, no, someone there..You squinted, pushing yourself forward to see whatever, or whoever, was there surrounded by the dark trees.

It was him.

Your eyes widened as you gasped, leaning back in your chair once again.

"The fool.."

You repeated the words from earlier, bringing a hand to your lip as you gulped. You shook your head once again before you blinked, and it was gone. The falling sun shone on your face, the moon starting to take over as the sky got darker. Your eyebrows furrowed as you stood up, holding your head gently and deciding to get ready for the next match Norton said you had. You sighed sharply, making your way over to your wardrobe.

You slowly made your way down the hall, your heels (or boots) clicking down the hall as you exhaled once more, still holding your head from earlier.
You groaned softly as you passed Norton's room, assuming he was already in the waiting area. You blinked a couple times, making sure your vision was straight as you walked down the quartz steps carefully.

You continued holding your head softly as you made your way into the front area, which had turned into more of a waiting area for these cursed matches.

You shook your hand, letting your hand fall back down to your side as you watched Orpheus make his way towards you once again. You sighed softly; you did not want to deal with him right now. You supposed you could last a conversation without your headache getting worse, but you felt like he was to do a little more then talk by the look in his eyes. You looked down at the ground, awaiting his approach as you pressed your lips together.

He got closer, you could see the usual smirk on his face before someone had stepped between you two. Your head lifted, just enough to see your savior. It was Norton. He looked irritated, not by the current situation, but something else had happened, or was about to happen. His eyes darted to yours, which immediately snapped from his body to his gaze. You nodded softly, hearing Orpheus walk back to his previous spot. You exhaled softly, making sure it wasn't to loud to avoid annoying Norton further. He grunted softly as everyone's vision faded.

You spawned into the forest once again, looking around immediately to confirm it. The trees and darkness enveloped your sight. You sighed sharply, letting your shoulders drop slightly in defeat. So is this the only place these matches start? You didn't like these woods to much, and you'd like to see a change in scenery.

On the plus side though, after looking around some more you realized you were placed near a cipher machine.
Your face lit up slightly, running towards it quickly as you had at least a bit of hope of getting out of here quickly. You swiftly made your way towards the machine, reaching it with no problem.

Your hands traced up the metal until you reached the keyboard, immediately typing away at the code on the small screen.

(The cipher machine:😻)

Your eyes narrowed slightly as the code on the screen became more and more difficult, sinking your hope deeper into the ground as you soon began questioning your ability to do these. Pouting slightly, you continued on, clicking and clacking at the keys quickly..Until..

*Rustling*

You turned behind you immediately, your eyes scanning for the source of movement. You moved your hands away from the keyboard, moving your whole body towards the source of the noise. Your heart began pounding in your chest, but unlike any other time, this was different. You have felt this before. But not in real time.

Your dreams..Your thoughts..Your mind..

"The fool.."

Your lips involuntarily moved, speaking their own truth as he emerged from the trees, repeating your words back to you.

"The fool.."