Chapter Text
Hollyberry had expected more of a fight from her son about her decision.
She had hoped, against all odds, that the couple would argue back against her. That they would insist that a search party would be sent out at once to find their daughter, that she should be the one to go protect her.
But instead, the palpable relief emitting off the two of them only extinguished that last flickering light of hope. They had taken the news in surprising stride, agreeing with her that it was a wise course of action, and setting about enacting the new restrictions upon sea travel. Waiting to see if more of the ill-fated ships drift in from the maw of the morning fog.
But none did. No ships emerged from the soda waters, no cookies turned to stone, their decks speck free of dust. It seemed to be just an isolated incident- one that still required a level of caution, but one that didn’t seem to signal calamity as Hollyberry had assumed.
So instead, she was regulated to planning. The cyclical days fell into each other, one after another. Dry, aimless, boring meetings stretched on forever. All discussing different subject matter- the guest list, music, decorations, and seating arrangements, but all blurred together in Hollyberry’s mind. It was exhausting .
And the ancient wasn’t alone in that regard. Everyone at the palace had the same edge of tiredness, from the cohorts to the kitchen to the maids. The newly decorated halls were left silent, the staff too worn out to share mindless chats and gossip. No one was safe from participating in the preparations, including Eternal Sugar.
“My dearest, I cannot believe that you’ve decided to give me a job,” She whines petulantly. “How could you stand to do this to me? Do you not care for me in the slightest?”
When Hollyberry had first approached the beast, she was more than receptive to the idea of assisting the ancient, so zealous at the opportunity to spend time with her. Until, she had mistakenly mentioned that dreaded word and it was like a switch was flipped. As a last resort, Hollyberry decided to just scoop up and carry the beast there, which unfortunately left her to listen to the melody of her incessant complaints.
“Eternal Sugar…you already have been working for the past few months already.” Hollyberry says in exasperation. “What would you call your garden then?”
The beast wrinkles her nose in distaste. “That’s an entirely different matter! My garden serves as a personal artistic pursuit…this, however, is cruel and callous.”
She chuckles, at last arriving at their destination. “Well, I hope you find that this job is just as fun as tending to your garden. See, take a look!”
A wing comes up and smacks her straight in the face- her vision entirely cloaked in the downy white feathers.
With a sneeze, she tries to nudge it away, but it’s like pushing back against a wall. The beast pointedly crosses her arms and turns away into Hollyberry’s shoulder. The ancient closes her eyes, trying to find what’s left of her patience.
“Oh, come on, don’t be like this,” She scolds. “It’s going to be enjoyable for you, I promise you.”
“How is employment enjoyable?” Eternal Sugar bemoans, nuzzling into Hollyberry’s shoulder.
“Well, I tailored this job specifically to your tastes- there’s no manual labor of any sort involved. Besides, you don’t even know what it is yet!”
Eternal Sugar doesn’t dignify her offer with words, only letting out a low groan of protest. The ancient exhales deeply as she brushes aside the other’s fallen locks. At her touch, she peeks an eye open.
“Please, Eternal Sugar ...don’t turn up your nose at this before at least giving it a fair shot. Take a look.” She pleads soothingly, running a hand through the other’s hair to scratch softly at her scalp. The effect is instant-Eternal Sugar melts under her words and touch, satiated by her devotion.
Her soft lips part slightly to expose the top row of her teeth, the sun glinting off her pearly white canines. Eternal Sugar’s hands come up to loosely dangle around Hollyberry’s neck. “Oh my darling, how could I ever say no to your beautiful face?” She plants a teasing kiss on the tip of her nose. Giggling at how Hollyberry’s face flushes with pink, clearly pleased at her embarrassment.
Gingerly, Eternal Sugar peels herself off the ancients side- a clear plea to be lowered back to the ground. The ancient obediently obliges her request, and the wing parts at last.
Clasping her hands together in joy, a smile stretches across her face. “Oh, you didn’t mention it was bouquet making! You didn’t have to dress it up in all of this .”
The Royal Gardener, at her request, had set up a table, filled with various specimens of flowers, fauna, greenery, the vast spread covering all of Earthbread. They really had gone the extra mile on all of this.
It did sweeten the deal when she offhandedly mentioned the Eternal Sugar’s name to them, their petals unfurling with happiness knowing that she would be the one in charge of the bouquets. A strange, rather unlikely bond, but one that she accepts anyway.
“Well, I wanted it to be a surprise,” She mutters, rolling out her shoulder with a groan. “Thought you would have appreciated the gesture…until you put up a huge fuss about it. Didn’t realize you would take such offense to working.”
“The prospect of a job should never come as a surprise.” She mutters darkly, before beaming once again. “But this…this is fun!”
She glides over to the table, her eyes skimming over the bundles of blossoms. The beast is practically bouncing on her heels, and the ancient has to hold back her laughter as she joins her.
“Right now, we only need to worry about the initial vase arrangements. This pamphlet here-“ She taps a finger on the little booklet set out, the yellowed pages neatly stitched together, each page illustrating each minute detail that has been discussed to death. “Illustrates the specific color palette and themes that Jungleberry decided to go for. But the rest of it is really up to you!”
“Are there any limitations on which flowers to choose?” Eternal Sugar tucks her bangs behind her ears before gathering her thick tresses into her hands. “I imagine the symbolism of these flowers plays into the final arrangement.”
Hollyberry blinks. “Symbolism?”
“Each different flower in an arrangement means something special," She explains as she tosses her hair up into a ponytail. “Wouldn’t want to offend your guests with a brilliant bunch of tansies, as beautiful as they are.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Like…how roses mean romance?”
“Exactly! But the meaning behind flowers ranges far and wide beyond that. You can express how you truly feel about someone through a simple bunch of flowers- stringing together plants to form an unspoken conversation with another cookie.”
Hollyberry shrugs. “Ah, well, can’t say I’ll ever be able to participate in that. The art of subtlety is utterly lost on me, as Wildberry likes to put it.”
“Oh, it’s not entirely necessary.” Eternal Sugar reassures. “But other cookies, especially old-fashioned ones, take severe notice of the exact flowers they receive. It’s certainly good to be aware of that whilst making arrangements.”
Her eager hands hover over the table once again. “But to start with the after mentioned roses, why don’t we use these?” She collects the flowers in her hands, the rich colors blooming across the berry spectrum. A trademark flower of her kingdom.
“Maybe stick away from those.” Hollyberry says, and the beast shoots her a suspicious look.
“Why not? Your kingdom is known for romance, is it not? I’ve seen hundreds of these bouquets around- these would fit so very well.”
“Ah, well…. we’re aiming for a more unifying approach,” She awkwardly scratches her neck. “Something that represents all kingdoms beyond our own. A lot of these chosen flowers are native to the attending specific kingdoms’ lands-Supposed to be a sign of good faith.”
“I see no reason why we shouldn’t keep these in then.” Eternal Sugar firmly says. “They’re utterly gorgeous, why wouldn’t we? Despite how trite cookies believe they are, they are classic flowers for a reason- I can truly think of no better flower to represent your people.”
The beast toys with the stems, and her thumb catches on a stray thorn. A bead of jam swells from the puncture wound. Without second thought, she laps at her finger, a trail of vibrant red chasing artfully across her pink tongue.
Unwanted heat blossoms up the ancient’s neck, and she immediately averts her eyes from the beast to halt its spread. “Y-yeah, sure…. sounds great. Whatever works best.”
Oblivious to the other’s inner turmoil, Eternal Sugar places the bundle of roses back on the table with the utmost care.
“My darling, please remind me, what other kingdoms will be attending before we continue?”
“Well, the guest list has dramatically been shortened since we started planning this whole shebang.” Hollyberry grumbles. “With the reemergence of both Silent Salt and Burning Spice, White Lily and Golden Cheese are hesitant to forsake their own kingdoms. So, unless we receive any further notice, they won’t be present.”
The beast tilts her head as she mentally crosses them off the list. ”So, that leaves only the Creme Republic, Dark Cacao and Vanilla Kingdom?”
“Yup.” She sighs heavily. “Just those three.”
“…That certainly makes this easier.” Eternal Sugar frets as she holds her chin in her hand. The other taps rhythmically on the tabletop as if she’s playing the piano, the pleasant sound stroking a certain nerve in Hollyberry’s brain.
With a dramatic flourish, she picks up and flips through the pamphlet. Occasionally, her eyes dart up, her eyes lingering on certain sprays of flowers, before abruptly narrowing and turning back to flip through pages. Hollyberry lets her be, more so admiring the crease in her brow than anything else.
Eternal Sugar places it down, her lips curved in a perfect frown of concentration, “Well then…I suppose there’s no better place to start than the Vanilla Kingdom.”
“Oh, you just like the Vanilla Kingdom the most out of the batch.” She teases. “Only kingdom out of the batch that you’ve spoken with a citizen, not even mentioning the fact that it was the king himself. You gotta admit you have a bias.”
“That’s not entirely true!” The beast pouts. “I do enjoy Pure Vanilla’s company, however I do find the aesthetic of this kingdom utterly ethereal- and his flowers are no exception to that rule. I’ve learned a lot about them since his visit.”
With a flutter of her wings, she gathers up bunches of flowers in her arms. Hollyberry faintly recognizes a few of the perennials she’s chosen: primroses, orchids, and sundrops. But a few escape her, mainly the light lavender spray of four petal flowers.
Eternal Sugar taps a finger to her chin in thought. “We do need a few statement flowers, and I think one of these will do quite nicely. I think Pure Vanilla would appreciate orchids the most out of this batch. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be the specific species of orchids that he has in his own garden, but these white ones will do quite nicely. However, the primroses and sundrops could also work as well.”
A cruel smile teases the corners of her mouth. “Although, I do think dame’s rocket would be a rather…appropriate flower for him.” She laughs, the meaning of her joke falling on deaf ears.
“Right now, stick with the orchids,” Hollyberry offers. “His old seeing staff used to be one of those plants-gave me the heebie-jeebies each time that giant eye locked on me.” She shudders, silently thankful that his ascension had replaced it. Even with all its overwhelming radiance, she still preferred the star to that wandering eye.
The beast claps her hands together. “Sounds absolutely wonderful! However I will keep the primroses around- just in case. You never really know which flowers will truly work, after all.” Gathering up the orchids and primroses, she sets them safely to the side before her eyes once again narrow in thought.
She leans against the table. “If you had to ask me, I would advise moving onto the Creme Republic next- it’s kinda like an offshoot of the Vanilla Kingdom. And the Dark Cacao kingdom is certainly going to give you some trouble. Damn near nothing grows in that barren tundra.”
“The Creme Republic?” The beast cocks her head. “Which one of your friends rules over that specific speck of land?”
“None of us- a group of cookies who lead the charge on making all the decisions over there. We’re not particularly looked fondly upon there- the convocation isn’t the…biggest fans of our Soul Jams, to tell you the truth.”
Eternal Sugar’s eyes flash towards Hollyberry’s shield. “Ah, I see. I’m guessing they wanted to use your Soul Jam for their own nefarious purposes?”
“Well, not use , exactly. More like-“
The beast shakes her head as she ticks her tongue. “Little and their ideals of democracy…always to fall apart under corruption. Who are they to speak on and dictate the use of your Soul Jam? You are the one who knows best, after all."
Hollyberry snickers despite herself. “And I really thought you and Dark Cacao had nothing in common!”
The tips of her ears flood with pink. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.” She rubs a hand over her face to try to smother her growing laughter. “It’s a long story…I’ll tell you about it later. Just…carry on.”
Eternal Sugar fixes her with a searching stare, before deciding to give up. She flips through the pamphlet, before shutting it with a small huff. “What flowers are even native to this so-called Creme Republic anyway?”
“The Crème Republic is on an island, pretty much south of the Vanilla Kingdom, so I’m guessing there’s a ton tropical flowers. Not like our variety though, which tends to be a little more on the unruly side. I’ve seen flowers like those.” She jerks a thumb at a pink cluster of bound sepal flowers.
“Bougainvillea.” Eternal Sugar supplies as she picks the flowers up. She pokes at their blossoms, bemused. “They’re so very far from the Vanilla Kingdom’s own flowers though.”
Hollyberry throws her hands up and the beast inhales. “These will do for now. I’ll ask the Gardener on which flowers are native to that region later on.” She places the flowers to the side, and her gaze shifts.
“Lastly, the Dark Cacao kingdom.” Eternal Sugar bites at her lip. “Darling…do any flowers even grow in this kingdom? You said it was a tundra .”
“A few actually do; such as Star Jelly flowers!”
“Star Jelly flowers?” She echoes, and Hollyberry stabs a finger at them. Eternal Sugar wraps a hand around them, touching a fingertip to their spiky petals. In the beast’s shadow, it’s abundantly clear how they gained their name.
She tilts them around in her hand, studying the way the low light dances off her own dough, the dappled pattern as if sunlight was streaming though rippling water. Her eyes dilute, the sea of white swallowing the pink. “These are beautiful! My darling, how have I not come across these before?”
“Pretty sure they’re one of the trickier flowers to keep alive. Witches only know how many times that gardener has talked my ear off about them.” She rolls her eyes.
“These will be perfect!” Eternal Sugar gushes. “I didn’t expect something so gorgeous to come from someplace so dreary. Truly, what a marvel.”
“Well…” Hollyberry makes a face. “The bad news is this is all we got. Dark Cacao’s dignitaries had a hard enough time lugging these here, so this is the only native flower we have.”
Eternal Sugar’s expression falls flat at her words. “…My darling, is it required to use native flowers or fauna from their kingdoms? These, as exquisite as they are, simply won’t cut it.”
“Nah, you don’t need to. Besides, that giant grump wouldn’t care in the slightest about some little flowers. Doesn’t see the damn point in having ‘frivolous fun’ that will ‘inspire weakness among his soldiers’ or whatever else he likes to say.” She scoffs.
“Then I suppose we can do some extra flowers or plants to fill up the space.” Her eyes land on the unused samples of greenery piled up on the table. Within mere moments, she abruptly snatches up samples of violet ferns and eucalyptus, her mind already made up.
Without preamble, she plucks and cuts the stems of the chosen flowers, building the bouquet in her hands. With an expert level of dexterity, her hands tie and twist a flawless bow around the stems. She settles it into the vase before taking a few steps back to examine. To Hollyberry’s untrained eye, the bouquet was indeed beautiful, tying in perfectly to the chosen palettes. But the beast isn’t as pleased.
“A suitable enough mock up for now.” Eternal Sugar decides with a small frown. “I do certainly think that prim rose flowers would fit better. Perhaps the eucalyptus could be changed out for the baby's breath. Or maybe-“
“I’ll let you play around with it for the rest of the week.” Hollyberry says, amused. “Doesn’t have to be finished right at this moment.”
In response, Eternal Sugar pokes and prods at the arrangement, folding in a spray leaf while fluffing out the roses’ petals. A rare thing, for the beast to be so engrossed on a single task.
“What is your favorite flower?” She suddenly says, and the other cookie looks up. “We’ve gone through this whole exercise, and you’ve never mentioned a single word about your own favorite.”
Eternal Sugar eyes circle the table as she ponders her answer. “…. I’ve always been fond of roses, my dearest. But beyond that, I suppose myrtles have always had a special place in my heart.”
She scoops up a spray of neighboring flowers- the sprightly star shaped florets a sharp contrast to her own pale dough. The beast holds them up for Hollyberry to admire, and she lets out a low whistle of appreciation.
The blossoms did remind her of the beast- spun from sugar, delicate in their sharpness, almost as if they were molded from Eternal Sugar’s own life powder.
Eternal Sugar tucks them away into the front of her chiton, the flowers poking out brightly against her clavicle. “My darling, then I must ask you in return: what are your favorites?”
Hollyberry squints, thinking over it long and hard, before shrugging. “I dunno. Never really given it much thought before.”
She recoils, her expression so full of vitriolic shock, the reaction far more fitting if the ancient had spat on her. “Oh, my dearest, you’ve got to have one! It’s impossible.”
She shakes her head. “Trust me, I’m not lying! Never had a preference for any of them.”
“I’ll find you one.” Eternal Sugar proclaims, unyielding in her determination. “You’ll have a favorite by the end of this day, I can promise you that, my darling.”
She whips around, her ponytail flying out behind her- nearly smacking Hollyberry in the face once again before she steps back just in time. “I’m going to make you a flower crown with some of these, my dearest!” She calls out. “Any preferences on the specific flowers?”
“Eh, do whatever you want! You know better than me on this.” The beast busies herself at the table, and Hollyberry settles herself on the ground to wait.
And immediately- she jolts, letting out a sharp hiss.
Hot. The dirt was scorching hot.
She had heard complaints from Eternal Sugar, about how her plants needed more water than usual, but it did nothing to prepare her for how hot the ground was. More like concrete than earth. What doesn’t help is that the metal armor absorbs the heat, only compounding the issue further.
Hollyberry takes a bit between her pointer finger and thumb. The dirt crumbles like flour under her touch, all moisture and life drained out of it. She shrugs, deciding to chalk it up to the unusual weather, and moves to sit underneath a jacaranda tree. Fully expecting that Eternal Sugar will sit across from or next to her.
Instead, when the beast strides over, her hands full of peonies, baby’s breaths, and ranunculi, she doesn’t move to sit down. She simply stands over Hollyberry…menacingly.
“Open.” Eternal Sugar instructs, and the ancient just blinks up at her, unmoving- she doesn’t have the foggiest idea what she wants. Before she has the chance to ask, however, the beast has already taken matters into her own hands.
Eternal Sugar nudges at her legs with her foot to force them apart, creating an empty cavity which she promptly fills. The beast nestles into her chest, humming a lazy tune, as she begins the process of braiding the flowers together. Shocked into silence, Hollyberry just simply lets it happen, her eyes locked onto the back of the beast’s head. Finally, she lets out a breathless chuckle, allowing her hands to settle on her knees.
“…Any word on your granddaughter, my dearest?” The beast asks, the crown starting to take shape in her hands.
“Uh…not a single word from her so far.” She exhales. “Did receive claims that she was sailing along the coastline, but we really don’t know until she arrives.”
“I don’t know why your son lets her sail out into that Tropical Archipelago. It’s so…dangerous out there, with the monsters and pirates lurking out in those open waters.”
“She can more than handle those puny threats!” She laughs. “Pirates are no match for my granddaughter. Besides, it’s formative- a few character-building months out at sea is perfect for a future ruler of the Hollyberry Kingdom! Besides, she’ll probably be back out exploring soon enough.”
Eternal Sugar jerks her head up. “You’re…letting her sail back out there?” Her low voice practically jumps an entire octave, squeaking at the tail end of her sentence.
“Oh, Witches no! At least, not right now.” Hollyberry clarifies with a laugh. “Until we figure out what’s the cause of that cursed ship, we gotta take some precautions. But if she wants to go out and explore the rest of Earthbread, we won’t stop her.”
“You are still concerned about her safety though.” She notes, snatching up a shoot of the baby's breath.
“Yup.” She leans back against the tree’s trunk. “I gotta say, I did get a little…carried away back then. Was a bit consumed by my emotions there.” Hollyberry forces another hollow laugh, the sound hanging awkwardly in the air.
The beast’s hands pause. Even through her chest plate, Hollyberry can feel the other’s deep breaths that batter against her ribcage.
“May I ask, my dearest…you have a second granddaughter, correct?”
Foolishly, Hollyberry had once thought that the wounds of the mind would eventually heal as easily as her physical ones. Time heals all pains, after all, a mantra she had tried to grip onto with all her might. But in reality, the pain had only scabbed over-reopening again and again with a fresh rawness at even a mere mention of the incident.
“…I did.” She sighs. “She got abducted in the middle of night. Damn lizards did it during the heaviest storm of monsoon season, so it was impossible for either Jungleberry to track her down. Disappeared into the Cranberry forest…and I wasn’t there to-“ The ancient takes a shaky breath, and Eternal Sugar at once reaches over to hold her hand.
“What did she look like?” A question meant to distract, and she gratefully accepts the lifeline.
“Oh, the twins made for the cutest pair of babies!” She boasts. “Jungleberry personally stitched together matching sets of everything for them- pajamas, gowns, and anything else under the sun. Princess Cookie took after her dad, while she took over her mom. Had a huge sprig of real colored hair, even when she was freshly baked.”
“Would she also share her eye color?” The beast suggests. “A dull amber, perhaps?”
Hollyberry blinks at the question. “Probably, why?”
Eternal Sugar Cookie gives a noncommittal hum as she returns back to her braiding. “I’m simply curious, that’s all. I could have sworn that-“ Her voice peters off into nothing as she stares off into the far distance, towards the dark forest barely visible. She ducks her head down, her motivation renewed as she weaves faster than before.
The ancient doesn’t press her, but merely lets out another sigh. “Please…do me a favor, don’t ask either my son or Jungleberry about this. It’s…a rocky subject, to say the least.”
The heavy trickle of ardent shame down her spine feels like ice water- petrifying and harrowing, the force of it just as intense as when she first heard the news. It had only grown upon her return, when Jungleberry couldn’t look her in the eye for weeks, and after hearing from her son the details of the kidnapping. She couldn’t blame either of them, as after all, she would have been the one person who could have saved her. And she wasn’t there.
“Of course, my dearest!” She chirps, patting her on the knee. “I won’t ask them anything about it.”
“Thank you.” Hollyberry replies, staring up at the canopy of bourghs that block out the sky. The leaves and buds extend downwards, reaching towards the two of them, trying and failing to embrace them in their arms.
Suddenly, Eternal Sugar turns around to face her. She recognizes the look of grim set determination in her eyes, a scarcity for the beast to be so worked up about something.
“…Your granddaughter is young, correct?” Eternal Sugar says as she toys with the hem of her sleeve. Hollyberry perks an eyebrow, unable to follow her train of thought.
“Do you…have any advice on how to handle that particular age range?” She tacks on nervously, and it all clicks into place.
Oh.
“Is this about Pavlova Cookie?”
Eternal Sugar brings her legs up to hook her chin into her knees. Her bangs sweep in front of her face. “I never paid such close attention to him before. I never had to-as my aide, he was simply an extension of me , and thus I could sense his every emotion. But now…it’s all blocked off. I can’t feel anything from him. It’s simply uncanny.”
“Seems like he’s ready to leave the roost, so to speak.” She shrugs. “Royal Berry was never interested in that sort of thing, but Princess Cookie certainly. So they let her go, and look at her now! Flourished into a cookie I’m proud to call my granddaughter.”
Eternal Sugar’s eyes flash- and the flowers drop from her hands.
A type of dark, possessive fury seizes control of the beast- she frantically shakes her head, her claws digging into the fabric of her dress. “Pavlova can’t leave…that’s simply not an option for him. He can’t .”
Hollyberry couldn’t help but flinch at the mercurial change in mood. The beast’s chest heaves with emotion from the sudden outburst. She herself looks surprised at her own words, the unwanted truth tearing free from her tongue.
Hesitantly, the ancient reaches out a hand, settling it onto the beast’s shoulder. She blinks, the physical touch of the other’s hand shaking off the last dregs of panic.
“Okay…how about we scratch that idea. How about any clues?”
“Clues?” Eternal Sugar repeats dubiously. “What do you mean by that, my dearest?”
A fond smile tugs at her mouth. “Well, back when Royal Berry was freshly past his veraison season, he turned into a bit of a recluse. Kept hiding himself away on the balcony that overlooked the training grounds, all accompanied with various excuses-even started to skip his studies!”
“So, what did you do?”
“Well, I figured it out on my own during one royal hunting excursion, where Jungleberry had assigned to lead. The smitten look on his face when she brought it back a Cake Hound the size of a Butter Tiger…didn’t take a genius to put the pieces together. Arranged a little rendezvous for them…and they were together in no time flat!” She snorts at the memory of them returning from the gazebo, their hands messily intertwined, Jungleberry’s ringlets tousled while Royal Berry’s face was as red as his mustache. “My son has always had a keen eye for cookies- a quality I’m rather proud of in him.”
The beast’s brow creases once again as she mulls over her words. “…Maybe you’re right.” Eternal Sugar concedes, tucking herself back into her chest. “Maybe I do need to reach outwards inside on inwards on him.
“He is quite an angsty cookie, isn’t he?” Hollyberry jokes. “Don’t know where he got that from.”
She picks up the half assembled flower crown, her fingers starting to weave once again. “My dearest, I truly didn’t inculcate any of this strange behavior- it’s unfathomable where he learned it from.”
“It’s all part of growing up, I assure you!” She yawns. “He’s a little bit thornier than most, that’s for sure…but he’ll grow into it.”
“I have my doubts about that.” The beast says with a forlorn sigh. “I find myself not just worried about him…but you as well.”
“Worried?” Hollyberry chuckles, resting her head on top of the beast’s head. The soft locks of hair tickle her chin, the overwhelming smell of saccharinity lulling her to sleep. “Why would you be worried?”
She snuggles deeper into her chest. The motion is tinged with desperation, as if the beast wishes to climb inside her own dough, to become closer as one than they could ever be separate.
“Looking past the heavy weight resting upon your shoulders…I can see that something is duly amiss, and I cannot bear for you carrying on suffering like this.” Eternal Sugar peers up at Hollyberry, the crest of her bangs unable to disguise the pleading in her eyes. “So please, would you let me help alleviate it?”
The ancient’s breath catches in her throat before she looks away. “As tantalizing as that sounds, I don’t think giving up all of my burdens would be the best course of action.”
The beast bats her eyelashes coyly. “My darling, not all of them…maybe just the ball preparations.”
Hollyberry blinks down at her for a second. She erupts into thunderous laughter, the force of it shaking Eternal Sugar’s body. “You got me there! How’d you figure that one out?”
“As you said before, you’re not exactly subtle about your own feelings.” She hums, unbothered. “Besides, you don’t seem like you enjoy the meticulous act of planning.”
“Eh, I don’t.” The ancient admits. “I really don’t. But sometimes in life, you just gotta do things you don’t particularly want to do.”
“It shouldn’t bring you this much discomfort though. You went to great lengths to give me a task I will enjoy, there’s no reason you cannot do the same for yourself.” Eternal Sugar murmurs, the chaplet nearing completion. “There must be a better solution for all of this. You don’t need to continue being a martyr, my dearest.”
The ancient shifts, uncomfortable with the tender truth of her words. “Listen, I only need to stick it out until this whole event is over with it. Then, I won’t have to do something like this again, believe me on that.”
“It’s a noble goal.” Eternal Sugar only murmurs back, neatly looping the last ends of the stems away. “I fear however, you will not last as long as you hope for.”
The words hit a chord in Hollyberry’s heart, despite the caring tone they’re delivered in. She winces, knowing without a doubt, that the beast is right. But also understanding at the same time, she doesn’t have much of a choice.
“All done!”
Eternal Sugar pushes herself up. Frowning, she fiddles with a troublesome bud before presenting the crown to the ancient.
The lush crown is gorgeous- the flowers twisting around each other, a perfect blend of textures and colors to highlight the centerpiece of peonies that jut out from the sides. A true work of art, and Hollyberry shouldn’t have expected anything else from her.
“Well, color me impressed!” She admits. “You’ve certainly outdone yourself here.”
“Cloudberry taught me some tips and tricks,” Eternal Sugar laughs, before tugging Hollyberry down to her level. “Now hold still my dearest; I want this to be perfect.”
Her eyes squint as she delicately crowns the ancient, making sure the stems don’t catch on her locks. After a few seconds of last adjustments, she sits back on her haunches. The beast looks her over, her gaze appraising, before giving an approving nod.
“You look absolutely ravishing , my darling!” Eternal Sugar cocks her head, the angle almost birdlike. “Just one moment.”
She reaches up to pick out a peony from the chaplet. Twisting the stem around her finger, she smiles softly to herself. “Now, it’s all set.”
Without thinking, Hollyberry plucks the flower from her hand. Ripping off part of the stem with her hands, she tucks it behind Eternal Sugar’s ear- appreciating the way the soft hues so effortlessly compliment her icing.
The beast’s mouth drops open, too stunned to speak, her cheeks bright with pink. Hollyberry’s chest swells with satisfaction at how the tables so easily have turned.
“Now we match!” The ancient laughs heartedly, and Eternal Sugar can only blink back. Her eyes have gone wide, sparkling like the grains of stars trapped within her dough.
A wave of affection hits her all at once, all consuming, threatening to drag her down beneath its current. Instead of fighting, she willingly embraces it- scooping the beast up into a bone-crushing hug. Desperately needing to lessen, to displace some of that passion somewhere else besides her heart.
The beast doesn’t complain. She only squeezes back, just as eagerly and just as passionate as the other, content to be held as long as the other wants.