April is the Cruelest Month

1. The dead tree gives no shelter - Environmental whump | Abandoned

For the prompt list made by the ever wonderful @whumpthisway I had an idea to create a serial project of small pieces to carry across the month of prompts, so this is the first instalment, we’ll see how many of the rest I manage to keep up with…

Warnings: Environmental whump, left out in the rain, restraints, creepy whumper, lady whumper, defiant whumpee, human sacrifice, magic(??), slight horror vibes

The night felt far longer than any night they’d experienced before. The minutes passed like tar, each howl of the wind through the tree branches cut cold right to their core.

The chain around their ankle was such a heavy weight where it kept them tethered to the thick tree trunk. Not even able to wrap their arms around themself, the rope kept them stretched high above to some point up in the branches.

Shivering became a way of life. Hope of reprieve dwindled, all their shouting had gone unheard, lost in the gale.

They didn’t even know how they’d gotten here. There was just the woman who’d tenderly touched their face as they awoke before hauling down on the other end of the rope and forcing them to their feet.

Everything ached. Everything was cold. Terror crested and crashed down again in waves. The sky never broke into a true thunderstorm, it just rumbled forebodingly above them in the black night sky as rain lashed their skin.

Dawn’s watery light had never been so wanted, but when it finally appeared on the horizon it came with a sense of new dread. What now? What next? For what purpose were they here?

A figure in a silvery nightgown and a deep emerald satin robe walked toward them in the early mist, as the sun began to break through the clouds and burn the dew off the long meadow grass. Behind the woman was a large manor house that they hadn’t been able to see in the dark; sandstone coloured brick and high class windows, larger than any house they’d ever been this close to.

Everything else around was empty fields, eerily silent forests. Like the whole world held it’s breath.

The woman, the same one from the night before, they thought, reached them and stared them down.

“Hmm, not as pretty as I thought but you’ll do.”

They scowled but the point was diminished by a furious round of cramping shivers.

“Poor dear, you must be cold.” She stroked their face again and they jerked away.

“Obviously.”

“Would you like to come indoors?”

“What?! No! No I don’t want to come indoors to your creepy mansion, I want you to untie me and point me in the direction of the nearest town!” They yelled, through chattering teeth.

“Never turn down generosity, my child.”

“What does that mean? Please, let me go!”

“It means that you are a gift, a sacrifice left here for me, and I cannot let you go. And it means that you should not turn down an offer that you will not get so nicely a second time.”

Their breath came short. “Please, I just want to go home. Just let me go.”

“I’ll make you a deal, you will spend one month with me, after that, if you still want to leave you can.”

They considered the offer, contemplating being left outside, tied to this tree. It seemed better to at least be untied. They nodded.

The rope was cut swiftly and they fell to their knees. The woman pulled them to their feet after a brief moment to get their bearings, and took their bound hand in hers, and they shook on it.

“So, I’ll ask again, would you like to come inside?”

“Yes,” they answered shortly.

Halfway across the field they realised the cuff on their ankle had snapped open without the use of a key.

(If anyone has any names they vibe with for these two, please do let me know! Or if there’s anything you’d particularly like to see from the prompt list, send an ask or a DM. Open to all new ideas)

whumpthisway

AHHHHH!! ahhhhhhhh!! you doing a fic for the prompts is so damn cool and i cannot WAIT to see where you take this!! I love how you tied them to a dead tree and your descriptions are as gorgeous as always buddy :') <3 <3

(I'm sensing a theme with magical lady whumpers making deals with unfortunate humans hehe I love it xD on brand and epic 👌)