Chapter Text
“Hasten your pace, you overgrown blob of hair! We must not keep the others waiting for the celebration that awaits us! We shall be warped precisely 5 minutes from now.” Golden Cheese spoke in a somewhat commanding tone, clapping her hands together in urgency, watching her four most favorite companions walk towards them.
“Hm,” Burning Spice hummed as he eyed the golden phoenix, who had been trying to avoid him subtly. Feeling the weight of his gaze on her, she slowly inched away, standing closer to Burnt Cheese.
At least they felt soft…
Her eyes caught the small mummy waddling towards her, making her frown slightly as she crouched down, with Burning Spice watching her every movement. He was still enraged with what she had done last night.
“Fettuccine? Ought you not be guarding the libraries?” she asked as Fettuccine only tilted her head in response.
“Good morning, Your Grace! Little Fettuccine over here just wanted to see you before we warp to Pure Vanilla’s kingdom.” Mozzarella approached them with a radiant smile, the very picture of beauty and warmth.
Yet, her beauty could not compare with Golden Cheese’s, a subconscious part of his mind whispered, making him grumble as he crossed his arms impatiently. There’s no point comparing their beauty. He only had eyes for his past arch-nemesis.
“How thoughtful of you, as always! In that case, I promise to bring you something from the Vanilla Kingdom upon my return.” Golden Cheese felt her heart melt with fondness for the little Fettuccine, patting her head softly.
A warp suddenly formed in front of them.
“Three minutes early…?” she muttered to herself before turning around to face everyone, still avoiding the taller man’s gaze. “Listen well, everyone! Gather ‘round now, for a celebration awaits in the Vanilla Kingdom!”
____
“S—Silent Salt, please, wait up!” the soft, breathy voice of White Lily emerged from the hallway as they approached the council hall, with the other ancients and beasts awaiting their arrival.
Silent Salt halted in their tracks as they looked behind them, waiting for White Lily and the others to catch up.
The knight had been persistent. Even inviting themselves into her kingdom, sending tremors of fear and panic through her people. Their very presence reminded them of the terror they had inflicted upon their new guardian, White Lily. It reached the point where Pure Vanilla had to step in, staying in her kingdom for an entire week as they let Silent Salt prove that his intentions held no malice.
The improvement of their relationship sure is slow, but they are both getting comfortable in each other’s presence.
The knight had been teaching her sign language, which would be helpful for smooth communication between them. However, White Lily never allowed herself to fully lower her guard. She still harbored lingering wariness, a fear of betrayal.
“Ah, White Lily and Silent Salt! It’s wonderful to see you both here. The other ancients and beasts are eagerly awaiting your arrival. Let us meet at your greenhouse later, as I hope to hear your updates on Silent Salt’s rehabilitation and insights you may have.” Pure Vanilla’s warm and hospitable tone reached their ears, making both of them smile.
"I'll be sure to give you my detailed reports, Pure Vanilla. And yes, I still do have some concerns regarding this."
___
“Well then, do you like the thought of Burning Spice wearing nothing but an apron?” suggested Mozzarella, voice tinged with a hint of sarcasm, as she listened to Her Grace’s complaints.
What the fawk?
“What the fuck?”
“Well, I must admit, the sight it inflicted in my mind isn’t as awful as you anticipated. One might even go so far as to say it has a certain charm to it. I’d say it’s lovely,” a rich, familiar, velvety voice responded.
Lovely?!
Smoked Cheese took a sharp breath. “Excuse me, Your Radiance, but ARE YOU SERIOUS?”
One is annoyed. One is horrified. One is definitely enjoying the thought.
“Oh, he can't be near the kitchens wearing only an apron with his balls and dicks out!”
“Dicks?” Mozzarella repeated. What? Where did that come from?
“Her Radiance told me—”
“I did not tell you such a thing—!”
“What the heck sparked this conversation?!” Shadow Milk suddenly stepped into the kitchen, or rather, gracefully floated into the kitchen, as three pairs of eyes looked at him. They all looked like deers caught in headlights.
The kitchen fell silent.
Shadow Milk stared back at them, horrified by what he just heard. “I’m telling him!” he shouted, much to Golden Cheese’s horror.
“Absolutely not!” She lunged forward and grabbed the jester, who let out a scream as she tangled her fingers into his hair and pulled him back inside the kitchen, sitting him down beside her. “Here, sit with me and help yourself with these mooncakes I have prepared and partake in their sweetness instead.”
“My scalp! And my eyes…” Shadow Milk cried as the multiple eyes on his hair let out tears. The golden lady only stared at him, waiting for him to try the mooncakes she made.
Avoiding the radiating queen’s eyes, he cleared his throat, bowing at the Cheese family. “Well, since we have quite an audience here, would you like me to liven up the conversation? After all, I know everything about the anatomy of each beast! Ehem, did you know that Burning Spice—”
Smoked Cheese could not take the embarrassment any longer.
“Your Radiance! Didn't you say you've been trying to learn belly dancing?! Why not at least show us?!” Smoked Cheese suddenly blurted out, rudely interrupting Shadow Milk.
“What?” was the only thing that left her lips before she could process what Smoked Cheese said. “Seriously, Smoked Cheese, what nonsense have you been spou—”
“You've been trying to learn belly dancing?” The sound of his heavy footsteps approaching the kitchen, burning aflame with intensity, were already fixed on her panicked, golden ones. Mozzarella only stared dumbly at them.
I swear I just saw him outside the window… Her keen eyes suddenly noticed a subtle twitch of Burning Spice’s antennae—his personal radar when it came to locating the whereabouts of Golden Cheese in the kingdom.
Smoked Cheese only groaned into his hands in horror as Shadow Milk shot him a smug grin.
“Ah, Burning Spice! What perfect timing! Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear!” He teased as he noticed his antennas twitching, earning a low growl from Burning Spice, a warning for the fellow Beast. And of course, it only flew over the jester’s head.
Burnt Cheese only stood in the corner as he watched the scene unfold, squeezing a cheezbird plushie version of the Golden Cheese
Smoked Cheese slowly detached himself from the situation, joining Burnt Cheese in the corner.
“I heard them talking about you earlier,” he said in a sing-song tone, giving a sly glance in Golden Cheese’s direction. The interaction ticked Burning Spice off. Oh fuck.
“They were having a fun conversation about you! And, out of the goodness of my heart—”
“You don’t have that,” someone commented.
“—I will spoil you! Three words! You, apron, and nake—”
He, once again, was rudely interrupted by the cheeselings—with Golden Cheese, who snatched one of the bells connected to Mozzarella’s hair to divert everyone’s attention from him—and Mozzarella, who grabbed the back of Shadow Milk’s head and smacked his face into the plate of mooncakes out of panic. Chunks of mooncakes splattered everywhere on the kitchen aisle from the impact. “Mfph?!”
I’m so sorry, Pure Vanilla! Mozzarella thought, sweating.
“T—That’s enough! I believe it’s time for my Cheeselings and me to leave!” Golden Cheese’s attempt at trying to maintain composure and confidence was betrayed by the stammer in her voice, despite her efforts to hide her growing nervousness. The Cheese family scattered everywhere, actively and frantically avoiding the burning gaze of the red beast.
They do realize that they're still not safe while Shadow Milk is still with the raging Beast, no?
That's why the Cheese family took off in a hurry.
But she never let the conversation end as they walked down the hallway, though.
“... I still think he’d look—”
“Your Grace, please shut up.” Mozzarella interrupted, feeling stressed and annoyed.
“I think we just escaped death,” Smoked Cheese said faintly, his voice cracking as he hugged his staff close to him.
____
Back in the kitchen…
“Oh, I heard their full conversation, alright,” Shadow Milk spoke with his mouth full of unchewed chunks of mooncakes, spitting a few small pieces everywhere on the kitchen counter. Burning Spice scowled in disgust.
His eyes fell upon the destroyed mooncakes. It had faint, golden glitters in them, like a signature in every dish and pastries she’d make. She must have made those, then.
Shadow Milk audibly swallowed down the mooncakes he was chewing before he began to speak again, his anticipation growing. He could not wait to see his reaction as he started to tell him about the vile conversation they had about him.
Burning Spice’s expression immediately turned intense upon hearing Shadow Milk’s detailed gossip (which he may or may not have included some false information), eyes narrow and sharp as his brows drew closer to each other.
“... And who started that conversation…?”
The jester only cackled as his excitement grew.
“Golden Cheese, duh. Who else?”
A huge, devilish grin stretched across his face.
Oh, he’ll get to her once they get back to her kingdom…
___
“Also, Smoked Cheese, what did you mean by that?” Golden Cheese asked as the rest of her cheeselings walked before her, still stressed about what had back in the kitchen.
“By what? The dicks and balls?” Smoked Cheese replied as Golden Cheese gawked, earning Mozzarella’s side-eye. She wasn’t used to Her Grace not acting so elegant as she used to act. Yet, she still looked graceful in the eyes of the others. A true queen right there.
"I honestly just made that up."
“No! The belly dancing! I wasn't referring to such nonsense!”
“Oh,” he hummed as he recalled the conversation. “That I suddenly said you've been trying to learn how to belly dance?”
Golden Cheese nodded and huffed as she crossed her arms, eyes wandering over the architecture of Pure Vanilla's hallway. “I do know how to belly dance.”
“You do?” Both Smoked Cheese and Mozzarella asked, suddenly interested. Even Burnt Cheese turned his head towards Her Majesty.
“I also made that up,” confessed Smoked Cheese as the four of them continued to walk their way back to the Golden Sun's designated room. "But I had a feeling."
She shrugged. “Well, I must admit it has been some time since I gave the Ancients a belly dance performance.”
But before she could catch up to her cheeselings, her gaze fell upon a familiar figure. Standing behind the counter as she made herself some tea, enveloped in a long, white veil that resembled the shade of flour. The lady seemed to be more approachable compared to the last time she had seen her. She was glowing.
Seizing the opportunity to satisfy her own curiosity, she took a step into the room and made her presence known. Yet it seemed like Mystic Flour had been awaiting her arrival.
“... Would you like to join me for some tea?”
___
Mystic Flour envies Golden Cheese.
She was like a mirror.
Golden Cheese was the reflection of what she could have been.
The ghost of who she could have been.
If only she knew how to handle her situation better, maybe things would have been different from now.
But would the situation change if she did know? Or would the outcome stay the same?
That, she doesn’t want to find out. It was too late.
It happened eons ago, yet not once did it ever leave her mind, as if haunting her with every step she took.
The kingdom that she once loved, she once looked after, and she once guided. But every single one of them held greed in their hearts, and minds.
A greed that swallowed her people’s minds, as they slowly swallowed her.
She gave them what they wished for. Everything they asked for, without any regards for herself.
Yet, nothing ever satisfied each one of them. Every one of those ungrateful little wretches.
Consumed by her people’s greed, realization dawned upon her as she grew heartless.
A heart that was once full of empathy, now lies in apathy.
Her gaze felt like a blanket of coldness as she witnessed her own kingdom crumble from within. Bodies splayed and piled on the streets, as the kingdom that was once white, is now bathed with crimson blood.
And yet, they still found a way to place all the blame on her. Her eyes fluttered shut without an ounce of guilt flowing through her veins, only fury that strengthened her resolve. For everything, all at once, to return to flour.
Until there was nothing left.
It was futile, anyway.
They had taken her for granted. Treated her with malice—like she was below them.
But the Radiant Queen’s people? They were different from her people. They, too, held greed within their hearts. But they were disciplined. They were grateful. They were all generous. Just like their radiant ruler, gleaming in gold and glitters.
She, who never gave up on her treasures, as the others left her kingdom dissolved into ashes in her wake.
She could never be like Golden Cheese.
She will never be like Golden Cheese.
… Yet, underneath that very envy, lies admiration.
“... Would you like to join me for some tea?”
Her resilience made her earn her utmost respect and admiration.
“I’d be delighted to join.”
Mystic Flour could never be more proud of Golden Cheese.