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Description
"Mama!" He called, "Mama!"

There was laughter which may or may not have come from nearby. The trees had a way of catching sounds and throwing them here and there.

"Mama!" The boy stopped short, shaking more than a little, and mumbled, "I'm lost."

"Oh, you are, little boy?!" A deep, booming voice rumbled around him as if he rested in a great bear's belly, and suddenly the ground flew away.

He searched his lungs for air to pulse out, but found none. Instead, he locked his limbs, eyes wide as dinner plates, and felt the shiver swell in his throat.

"Oh," the swinging stopped, "…little boy…?"

The bear's burr cracked, fizzling into something softer, higher, and more familiar.

"Bor-deaux!" Honey sweet and whip sharp, Mama slipped into his china-shaped gaze, "What are you doing to that boy?"

The child blinked once, twice as his father pulled him to his chest, tight and anchored…and then the tears came.

His little face crumpled almost as fast as his father's did, and he let loose a wail, "A monster! A monster! Papa was a monster!"

Over his soft mass of curls, his parent's eyes met. His mother's hand joined his father's, holding him aloft.

"Nadia," Claret hushed, "My Nadia, Papa is our monster. He would never eat you."

The little Knave hiccupped, the light of new knowledge blooming in his eyes, "Yes?"

He studied his father's smile, and the Queen's lips curled up softly, teeth hidden behind an even layer of rouge.

She knew, even better than her husband, the sharpness of her own bite.

Description
"Mama!" He called, "Mama!"

There was laughter which may or may not have come from nearby. The trees had a way of catching sounds and throwing them here and there.

"Mama!" The boy stopped short, shaking more than a little, and mumbled, "I'm lost."

"Oh, you are, little boy?!" A deep, booming voice rumbled around him as if he rested in a great bear's belly, and suddenly the ground flew away.

He searched his lungs for air to pulse out, but found none. Instead, he locked his limbs, eyes wide as dinner plates, and felt the shiver swell in his throat.

"Oh," the swinging stopped, "…little boy…?"

The bear's burr cracked, fizzling into something softer, higher, and more familiar.

"Bor-deaux!" Honey sweet and whip sharp, Mama slipped into his china-shaped gaze, "What are you doing to that boy?"

The child blinked once, twice as his father pulled him to his chest, tight and anchored…and then the tears came.

His little face crumpled almost as fast as his father's did, and he let loose a wail, "A monster! A monster! Papa was a monster!"

Over his soft mass of curls, his parent's eyes met. His mother's hand joined his father's, holding him aloft.

"Nadia," Claret hushed, "My Nadia, Papa is our monster. He would never eat you."

The little Knave hiccupped, the light of new knowledge blooming in his eyes, "Yes?"

He studied his father's smile, and the Queen's lips curled up softly, teeth hidden behind an even layer of rouge.

She knew, even better than her husband, the sharpness of her own bite.