They called him the protector
They called him the savior
They called him the guardian
The watchdog
The knight in shining armour
Bodyguard
Defender
The list goes on and on
And in him they placed their faith
They're wholehearted trust
But one evening
A child disappeared
And they trusted him to take care of it
As they always do
She was an average child he had said
Not particularly pretty
Not particularly plain

But that was just how it liked them.

But then
Each and every night
One by one
The children had gone
The villagers protested
So the protector got to work.
He set up dainty little pitchforks
And dug a moat shallow enough to climb in
And planted brambles and thorns that could not bring blood
No matter how new or old
But little did they know
It was already inside
And they had trapped themselves in.
Every day it attacked
And then children slowly ran out
Except for one

And the protector
The savior
The guardian
The watchdog
The knight in shining armour
Was the first one to run
So it started on others
Whoever is the only one left they said
Whoever is the last survivor
Would be the stealer of children
And the breaker of hearts
Until finally there was just a priest
A blacksmith
A craftsman
And that little girl

Then the craftsman went missing

And the blacksmith disappeared

And then there was just the priest
And the little girl.

And then there was just the little girl.
The only one left
The last survivor
The stealer of children
And the breaker of hearts.