Azalea's Knight

Azalea didn’t think much about her childhood. It was something that was—something that defined her, yes, but nothing that would help her move forward in the ever changing landscape of Burrowgatory. Though, on occasion, Azalea would allow her mind to wander. To think of her youth. It was a waste of time—besides, it wasn’t like her to remember the past and cringe. She was too elegant to do so. She lived in the moment, carefully planning her moves to get exactly what she needed, or to stay in her place of power. Her head held high, always looking to the future.

As Azalea was searching her vast wardrobe to dress herself for an evening event, she found herself staring past her body in the mirror. Her eyes landed on her well-worn toy that sat neatly tucked into her bed. She refused to acknowledge it around others—if she knew she was going to bring someone home, she would put it in the closet. If someone arrived unexpectedly, she would lock the door to her bedroom.

She didn’t have the heart to get rid of it. Even if it was a tether to her past. She’d tried, once, after she’d grown and was able to live on her own. But she’d felt panic when she didn’t know exactly where it was, unable to focus on anything other than retrieving her stuffed toy. Azalea pressed her lips together in disgust at the memory. But her pride would prevent her from ever thinking of getting rid of the toy.

Azalea suffered from nightmares as a child. Horrible nightmares. They would wake her every night, with her either wetting the bed or running to Murmur for comfort. She hated how ashamed she was of the nightmares, but refused to talk about them outside the privacy nighttime brings. Murmur had been gentle—he always was. He would gently encourage her to share her feelings, to tell him what was wrong. But she never did. She would only shiver in fear in his arms when she’d fled her bed, sniffling and trying to stop the fat tears that rolled down her cheeks.

One day, Murmur surprised her. She had come running to him after another nightmare that she couldn't remember upon waking, diving into his waiting lap as he sat with a book. She buried her head into his chest, sniffling and crying as quietly as she could. Murmur gently patted her, stroking her hair as she cried quietly. He murmured gentle praise as she shuddered.

“It’s alright. I’m here.” He reassured her, “You’re safe now. It’s alright.”

Azalea would never say it, of course, but she appreciated it. She appreciated his comforting tone. She appreciated his hand gently stroking through her hair, soothing her after another nightmare.

“Azalea.” Murmur mumbled.

She buried herself deeper into Murmur. She didn’t want him looking at her with pity. But she didn’t want to move away from him, either. She hated hearing his deep and gentle chuckle.

“Azalea, I have something for you.” Murmur explained gently.

This got her attention. Slowly, Azalea lifted her head to stare at Murmur. The book he’d been reading was set aside, in favor of hiding something with his body. He had that same kind and gentle smile on his face that he always did, with a glimmer of something mischievous behind them. Azalea pressed her lips together, waiting for whatever-it-was to be presented.

“Are you ready?” He asked.

Azalea nodded. Murmur carefully moved whatever he was hiding into view. It was a stuffed animal of some kind, with pointed ears and a long snout. Black button eyes stared into Azalea, as he passed the toy to her. She carefully held it, silently relishing in the soft texture of the fabric. The creature had a long tail as well. Longer than anything Azalea had ever seen before.

“What is it?” Azalea asked.

“It’s based on an impup.” Murmur explained gently, “They’re an imp in Burrowgatory.”

“Burrowgatory…” Azalea mumbled, gently petting the animal, “What do they do?”

“They’re protectors.” Murmur answered.

Azalea scrunched her nose. She almost handed the toy back to Murmur.

“Keep him. He’ll protect you from nightmares. He’ll chase the bad thoughts away and eat them before they can hurt you.” Murmur told her.

Azalea had her doubts, but she nodded. She slipped from Murmur’s lap and trotted back to bed, the impup toy held in her arms. She tried to go back to sleep once more, fearing the worst. She hugged the toy tightly to her, and relaxed.

And sure enough, another nightmare began. She didn’t remember much of the dream at the time—she was running. Something was chasing her down, and she had to get away. Her little legs wouldn’t get her far, though, and whatever was chasing her was closing in on her. Azalea might have gotten away by hiding or crouching low, if she’d thought of it. But she’d run herself into a dead end. She was going to die. She didn’t want to turn and face the creature hunting her. She squeezed her eyes shut and prepared to go numb, like always.

A new noise erupted from above. It sounded like a howl. The monster chasing her froze in fear, undefined face shooting up to the sky. Azalea opened her eyes with a gasp and looked.

Standing on a cliff was a massive impup. It stood tall and proud, baring sharp teeth. The impup leapt down and stood in front of Azalea, snarling. It was her toy. She knew it was. He’d come to save her, just like Murmur told her he would. The impup’s howl scared the monster away.

Azalea woke that morning with more sleep than she’d ever had before. And it was all thanks to her impup. She hugged the toy close and smiled, pecking it’s head as she snuggled with it. The impup had chased off every other nightmare since she’d gotten it, faithfully protecting her dreams.

Until one night, as Azalea was getting ready for bed, her toy was gone. She always made sure to put him in the same spot every night, so that she could always find him. But he wasn’t there. Panic shot through her little body as she searched the bedroom again, to no avail. Her little knight was gone, and the nightmares would come back. Tears welled in her eyes as she tried searching again, and again, and again. But no matter how many times she tore her room apart, she couldn’t find her toy. 

“Murmur!” Azalea called, barreling out of her room.

Murmur was carefully attending to one of the other buns. But she didn’t care. Her knight was gone, and she’d be hunted again! She couldn’t sleep without him! She slammed her little body into Murmur, as he gasped in surprise. He shot a glance at her, ready to scold her. But Azalea didn’t care. She hugged his leg and sobbed, hiccuping and shivering as she tried to blurt out the story.

“Azalea, please. Calm down.” Murmur soothed her, picking her up gently, “I can’t understand you when you talk while you cry.”

Azalea sniffled and shook her head, her lower lip quivering.

“Bibi is gone!” She sobbed, throwing her arms around Murmur’s neck.

Murmur sighed softly, rubbing her back. He carried Azalea back into her room, almost shocked by the state of it. Normally, Azalea kept it pristine. Now, her covers were thrown everywhere alongside her clothes. Her other toys were scattered across the floor from her attempt to find Bibi. Murmur let out a gentle breath and carried Azalea to her bed, gently setting her down.

“Where did you see Bibi last?” He asked her.

“On my bed.” Azalea whimpered, doing little to wipe away her tears.

Murmur nodded. He carefully sifted through the covers that were thrown from her bed, the toy still missing. Azalea started to sob louder when Murmur didn’t find Bibi. Murmur shushed her gently, carefully placing the covers back on the bed.

“Bibi is here, I’m sure of it. He’s just looking for the monsters that torment you.” Murmur told her, “But we’ll bring him back.”

Azalea quieted herself slightly, nodding. She couldn’t stop herself from fully crying, but she could at least keep herself quiet. Murmur carefully picked up Azalea’s clothes, putting them where they belonged as he continued to search the room. He picked up her toys and put them away, but there was still no sign of Bibi. Azalea’s lower lip was quivering badly, a loud whimper threatening to escape her. Murmur offered a gentle smile, ducking down to look under her bed.

“Aha!” Murmur announced.

He pulled Bibi out from under the bed. Azalea gasped in awe, diving into Murmur’s arms. She held Bibi close, pecking his head repeatedly.

“Bibi was just fighting the monster under your bed.” Murmur told her, “I knew we’d find him.”

Azalea took a bit longer to get to sleep that night, but at least she had her little knight to protect her dreams.

Azalea found herself smiling at Bibi, as he rested comfortably in her bed. She hated the memory of her losing him—as an adult, she knew now that the toy didn’t just run away. She’d likely moved him when she made her bed, and forgot to put him back on the bed. And in her panic, she probably knocked him to the floor and kicked him under her bed. She’d cried over nothing, and could have found him if she’d calmed herself and looked with a rational mind. Today, though, the memory made her heart swell. She paused her search to move to the toy, giving him a gentle peck on the forehead.

“Thank you, my little knight.” She whispered to the toy.

She knew it would never really respond, as it was an object, but for a moment she pretended. She pretended he watched her with his black button eyes, as if to say “it was an honor to serve, my lady.”