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Chapter Text

Lotus Dragon Cookie sat cross-legged on their white throne, curling their floating ribbon around their finger in thought.

Within their castle pools, lotus blossoms and round leaves slowly drifted across the teal water, mostly undisturbed aside from the occasional flower-koi threading through the stems and pillars.

One of them nibbed the seeds off a withered pod, and the thick, soft stem curved gently over the oblivious koi’s body in a brief embrace before it swam away languidly, leaving enough energy to sprout anew.

A symbiotic, balanced bond, functioning as it should.

A waft of vitality, bright and fragrant, approached the throne room, snapping them out of their thoughts.

Lotus Dragon smiled and licked their lips.

“Bring them in,” They commanded, curling a finger toward their palm. A pair of lotus-capped guards escorted the cookie up the stairs.

Lotus Dragon vaguely recognized her as Hydrangea Cookie, one of the latest attendants of their palace, having taken up the task of folding wish flowers at the Festival a week back.

‘How can a simple attendant have such bright vitality within her?’ Lotus though, before dismissing it. It must simply be a mirage of sheer bravado.

“Thank you for allowing me an audience with you, O Wise One. ” Hydrangea got down on one knee, bowing her head. “It is a tremendous honor.”

“Rise, little flower. Did your sisters send you?”

“No, Great Dragon. I have journeyed here on my own accord.” Hydrangea gently stood but kept her head dipped in respect.

Lotus hummed, tilting their head in interest. “Oh? And why is that?”

“To inquire on my recent observations, if you would allow it.”

“Elaborate.”

And elaborate Hydrangea did. How the cookies of Hortensia Town seemed to all wander around in a haze after the annual Wish Festivals, some even lost in some kind of imagined bliss until others snapped them out of it, and how even if Cookies- mostly visitors to the Paradise started going missing, no one seemed to care.

Lotus Dragon smirked. Within the tiny, weak, amusing yet annoying mess that was cookiekind, it seems there would always be specks of brilliance among them. Hydrangea was so full of potential, that Lotus almost reconsidered sealing her fate.

“And would you tell me, young servant,” They leaned forward, their slit pupils gleaming through the translucent blue and pink curtain. “What do you make of it all?”

Hydrangea’s purple gaze darted briefly to the side as the guards blocked the door to the throne room- no doubt she had noticed it.

Yet it did nothing to deter the look of calm conviction in her eyes.

“You have blessed cookies with their wishes, Wise One, as you always have….you simply did what you could.”

Lotus Dragon’s eyes widened, leaning back and tilting their head. Hydrangea smiled, taking the silent gesture as an invitation to elaborate.

“ I grew up on cookies singing the praises of the Blue Dragon, stories of how they could grant wishes beyond their wildest dreams. As a child, it all amazed me as it had countless others. But as I grew older- Let it be known I mean no disrespect- I began to question what I believed.”

Somehow, she found the nerve to step forward, to inch closer to them.

“I wanted to understand who you truly were, beyond the tales of an entity the cookies could project their wants onto. That was why I chose to become a priestess and attendant, to serve, to be by your side. And when I watched the Wish Festival, I came to understand the truth…and I embraced it.”

Lotus raised a hand, hushing Hydrangea. They watched her lavender gaze, curious yet knowing and softly feverish, framed by their insignia behind the translucent blinds.

“So you believe you can understand all there is to my nature?”

“No, Wise One.” Hydrangea dipped her head respectfully, yet she stood her ground, as calm as still water. “I was only sharing what I believed based on observation.”

A smile tugged at their lips. “And you believe yourself above the arrogance of your fellow cookies, and thus worthy of my company?”

Hydrangea looked up again, her lavender gaze surging with brilliant determination. “If you wish, Great Dragon, you may put that to the test.”

Lotus lifted the blinds between them with a deft move and placed a hand on her head.

“Then go.” A single command.

Hydrangea’s eyes grew dim, flashing green and pink briefly, then closed, trapping her in a wishful reverie.

Lotus’s sharp gaze softened, her hand moving down to gently stroke the sleeping Hydrangea’s hair, which bloomed as beautifully as the bushes scattered throughout Hortensia town.

Yet she was no delicate flower, unlike the other attendants, unlike any other cookie Lotus had seen before.

After a moment’s hesitation, they pulled her into their lap.

Watching, waiting for her to wake.

Chapter Text

Due to some new understandings I've made on Lotus Dragon, Ive changed some parts of the story!