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He listened more intently than usual.
Today seemed different, much different.
"You never told me your coronation anniversary was tomorrow!"
The kingdom's walls were painfully bright, the sunlight spilling inside from the stained glass to eyeblind him more. It was hard to disguise his eyes around in a place like this. Where were the shadows?
Avoiding the hot light from the glass, his darkness slithered to the floor, tracing the design on the marble before retreating beneath the healer's robes.
He never flinched, so he probably never noticed.
"Well, it isn't too relevant nowadays ,," Pure Vanilla Cookie had murmured with a gentle nervous laugh, "I'm no longer King of the Vanilla Kingdom, so there wasn't much need to say anything."
She suddenly clasped his hands in hers, "Oh, brighten up!" Hollyberry Cookie had insisted, furrowing her brows as she examined her old friend, "We must celebrate! Especially with that flat stomach of yours! Whens the last time you let lose after your expedition to Beast-Yeast?"
The eyes from the shadows narrowed. A flat stomach.
It was true. Pure Vanilla Cookie's eating wasn't too ,, consistent. Everyone who had an eye for his schedule would pick up that feat.
The shadows only keened beneath his yellow robes, writhing with a strange lust of curiosity. A coronation. An anniversary.
How frustratingly cute.
"A celebration shall be held! Right in these very halls! Juice, jellies, raisins too, right?"
"That won't be needed I fear-"
"Enough of that nonsense, Pure Vanilla Cookie!" Hollyberry had exaggerated her arm, reaching for the sky to stretch out her point, "A grand cake should stand in the center of a pristine table, tall and proud! What flavor do you prefer, my friend? How many layers?"
Cake?
"I haven't had cake in quite a while," Pure Vanilla Cookie quipped, "but if my memory does not fail me, I remember having white cake long ago, coated in a creamed frosting."
Shadow Milk yawned. This was truly the most average boring conversation in the Vanilla Kingdom.
With a sudden motion he did not expect, Pure Vanilla Cookie took a slight step back, startling the shadow to slither back up the wall. The ancient fluttered his eyes open for a moment, having felt the sudden flap of his robes below.
He had turned instinctively with a soft gasp, but Shadow Milk Cookie had been long gone by now.
The eyes were gone now.
As soon as he stepped into the wicked hell of his realm, he had bursted out laughing, his lovely on-watchers giggling along in a twisted harmony.
A celebration! How could he crash it this time?
Or maybe ,, not.
"Parties, food! Such fun!" He danced around just on the heel of his foot, cape swishing with his lanky movements, "The sad part is that they just couldn't invite me!"
Hopping through a portal, Shadow Milk Cookie landed square onto the comfort of his bed.
He couldn't stay in his realm for long anymore.
After that bastard ruined it.
His face had darkened at the thought of it. Him, with that deceiving bright smile, and a laugh that rung the choirs of the angels.
Filthy little liar.
But with a swift motion, the beast propped himself up, flashing a usual grin to his imaginary audience of spectators.
"But none of that now!" Boomed his award-winning theatrical tone. Why should he waste thoughts on any cookie that wasn't himself? He was the main character!
An anniversary that he wasn't invited to, but who said the Beast of Deceit needed an invitation? Chaos and mischief was essential for something like this, but too much of it wouldn't be on today's script.
Food was something he could get behind, though, especially the sweet cuisine of fluffy cake.
"Not exactly white cake, though." He grumbled, toying with one of his nearby hand-stitched dolls. The strings connected to its stuffed arms were lazily tugged at, making the toy do boring dances.
"How bland! Should have picked something more flavourful! Grand! Like a nice blueberry chiffon cake! That silly little goose ,,"
He pondered for a few minutes, juggling stuffed toys and other strange objects around his chambers. How boring could Pure Vanilla Cookie and his friends be? Especially just coming back from Beast-Yeast.
Their time together wasn't too tiring, right?
"We are meant to be together."
In the blink of an eye, the many juggling toys fell to the ground, one crushed in the harsh deadly grip of his hands.
Frowning, the Beast's eyes narrowed as he stared the toy down.
Oh. It had ripped.
Fragile thing. Witches, he was no different.
Unamused, he threw the useless toy to the side, discarding it until further notice. He didn't care, the thing was ugly anyway.
The cake was ready the day of the celebration.
It was convenient, in a good way. The problem was he didn't exactly know when or how to give him his cake.
The grand sweet was set on a long dining table, some dining room located in the spiraling hell that was his spire. Seriously, it would take endless routes of stairs and doors just to get here if you didn't know the shortcuts.
It was something he adored about the beauty of his home. Chaos, day in and day out. Stairs that seem to extend til the end of time, and life-like paintings that watch your every move.
He shamelessly plopped a seat on the table, eyeing the three-layered white cake he had somehow managed to acquire. The sides and top surface of the cake were piped and whipped with a milky frosting, glittering nicely below the chandelier.
The flavor was your average vanilla exquisite taste, but the second layer held a surprise of cranberry and blueberry that filled the sponge in the middle.
It was Shadow Milk Cookie's twisted way of adding his own take to such a bland concept. If he were to cut the cake open, the crushed fruit would spill from the sides, creating a sweet, jammy mess.
It wasn't like it was hurting anybody. The Beast was sure his other half would appreciate the pinch of creativity he put effort into!
As for how he got the cake: well, a jester never reveals their secrets!
He was practically kicking his feet at the thought of his reaction. But again, how should he give it to him?
Surprise him with it in his chambers? Smash the useless thing in his face!? The possibilities were endless!
Maybe if he was as nice enough, he'd cut the best single slice just for the pure-minded fool.
Oh, he'd figure it out. The day had just started after all, and he still had other things to do than plan cute anniversaries.
Shadow Milk Cookie was a rather busy cookie, but maybe the slightest check-up wouldn't hurt.
Pure Vanilla Cookie wanted his reluctant celebration to be quite small.
If anything, he had been avoiding too much excitement for a while after the Beast-Yeast expedition with the kids. He forgot how many hours he spent in his bed after he finally made it home, nearly collapsing into the softness of the blankets.
Usually, he'd feel incredibly guilty if he ever spent the majority of his day in his chambers, and he did! He missed the peaceful strolls throughout the kingdom the most, but couldn't muster the physical strength to get out of his bed.
But he was a little bit more lenient on himself this time around, constantly reminding himself how exhausting the entire trip, and how badly his body needed the rest.
He still tried to clean up his chambers every day though, and of course, feed the bluebirds.
Not to say Pure Vanilla Cookie wasn't pleased with the party, he just didn't want as many guests. For the most part, Hollyberry Cookie, the organizer of the entire thing, was here, as well as the kids and a few raisin villagers, including Black Raisin Cookie.
Pure Vanilla Cookie loved the celebration.
He still didn't see much use in celebrating an event so expired, but a gathering of all the people he loved and cherished definitely gave him the sweet smile he needed oh so much. His face wrinkled lightly to show how many times he had smiled throughout his long life, while also showing his still evident exhaustion from the past weeks.
Sitting at one of the many tables filled with food, he felt his robe be gently tugged at from his leg, earning his curious gaze.
It was Gingerbrave, holding a small glass plate with a slice from the four-layer white cake Hollyberry had provided for the event. He was especially careful not to drop it, tongue sticking out in focus to place it on the table, before flashing his usual grin.
"Pure Vanilla Cookie!" He beamed, realizing the volume of his voice and tuning it down, "Pure Vanilla Cookie, I got you a slice of cake! Here!"
The healer fluttered his lashes open for a moment. The slice was colored a light yellow vanilla inside, sweet milk frosting covering the outside and the middle. It was a little big for Pure Vanilla Cookie's liking, but he could always just not eat it all.
Regardless, a warm smile once again filled his face as he drifted his eyes shut, turning back to the child to give him an affectionate pat on his head, "Thank you very much, Gingerbrave! I will enjoy this piece of cake to the fullest."
He could hear Wizard Cookie and Strawberry Cookie's chatter from afar. From the vision of his staff, they were near the exit of the main hall, calling out for Gingerbrave to join them.
"Gingerbrave," Pure Vanilla Cookie spoke gently before he left, "Thank you for everything you did at Beast-Yeast. You and your friends were very brave back there to get me back. You all have my deepest gratitude."
"We do!?" He chirped with starry eyes, not expecting the sudden praise. His cane was held tightly in his left hand, right hand on his chin with curiosity.
"Yes." Replied the wise Ancient, "Now go play with the others. You deserve it."
With a wide fulfilling grin, Gingerbrave ran off with a laugh, trailing behind Wizard Cookie and Strawberry Cookie, who were already out the wide door. Pure Vanilla Cookie turned back to the cake in front of him, picking up the utensil laid out on the napkin.
Within the first bite, the sweet enchanting taste of vanilla exploded in his mouth, only enticing him for another delightful bite. He wondered who exactly made such a delicious cake. The Hollyberrians really did know their craft back at the Hollyberry Kingdom.
But the lovely taste was interrupted by a giant pit in his stomach.
It was enough to fly his eyelids open, a dark, toxic feeling swallowing his chest. He didn't know what it exactly was, but he could sense a nearby rage coursing around him.
Bitterness.
It vibrated with only the feeling of anger and spite, like a beast crying out its blood-curling roar of jealousy. Was it jealousy? Or something completely different?
The robes of his cape suddenly flew up with a strong brush, and from the corner of his wide eyes, he caught the glimpse of a dark shadow slithering away, its aura wreathing a sickening feeling all around.
He didn't turn around quick enough before it vanished, the sick and nasty feeling disappearing altogether.
Everything was back to how it should be.
Too peaceful. No one around him had felt it, he presumed, not even seeing his sudden confused distress.
Pure Vanilla Cookie sat there for another moment, breath labored before easing back to a normal pace. Dumbfounded.
And when he tried to speak, nothing ever came from his throat.
"They've crumbled to dust! Nothing more than helpless souls that'll roam my Spire for eons!"
"Pure Vanilla Cookie!!"
His nails scraped the table, knuckles white as he gripped the jam-covered knife in his hand.
Another ruthless stab through the filling.
"My friends!"
Friend.
Red filling covered the marble surface, pieces of sweet cake forcefully being ripped out by the knife's blade, falling to the floor to forever be discarded.
What a useless concept. Useless, useless.
"Let me be your —"
His voice screeched against the spire's walls.
"Only LIARS use such a fake word!"
The poor cake was flipped to its side, tumbled off the edge and onto the floor with a gruesome splat. The cranberry filling spilled from the middle, layers unorganized and crushed together to create a sweet, tooth-rotting bitter mess.
"Filthy liar!" Shadow Milk Cookie screamed again, knife falling out of his hand and clattering to the ground. If he really didn't care about his heels, he would have crushed the entire thing with his foot.
Liar, liar.
He gets to leave with a happy resolution, after fooling him so unfairly.
It really, really wasn't fair.
He stood staring at the ruined masterpiece that was once something so beautiful. A masterpiece, filled with his precious, gorgeous lies.
But that lie, Pure Vanilla Cookie's lie, was the ugliest of them all.
So much food, so much talking, it all had tired him out once more.
In a pleasant way this time.
Pure Vanilla Cookie carefully opened the blinds wide, the morning birds already outside the window, waiting for the treats he had always fed them around this time. He didn't get to play with them yesterday because of the commotion, so he had to make it up to them.
"Good morning." He smiled gently as he pulled open the window, laughing softly as the birds raced to land on his shoulders and head, searching for the seed balls he usually gave them all. They sang and chirped, like noisy cats waiting for their early breakfast.
Pure Vanilla Cookie hummed, laughing again when one landed in the crook of his neck, nuzzling there before quickly flying away to maintain space, "As talkative as ever, I see!"
Pulling out a small bag, he placed the first seedball on the surface of his desk, watching as three or more birds rushed to pick at it. He placed another, giving one exclusively to a bird on his shoulder, who caught it in it's talons before taking off.
One had managed to grab a few single seeds, flying onto a blue box on the edge of the desk before chowing down.
Pure Vanilla Cookie had to double-take for a moment. A blue box.
,, He never remembered owning something like that.
With a raised eyebrow, the Ancients beckoned the bird to land on his arm, which it complied with a content tweet. He pulled the mysterious box closer.
There was no nametag, nor any tape to keep it shut.
Gently, he lifted the lid.
The fragrance of vanilla mixed with strong fruit filled his nostrils, also catching the attention of the bluebirds. What lay inside was a cake, white cream coating the outside and jam coddled in the middle.
He could only catch the specific smell of cranberries, but he swore there were blueberries in there too.
Was this from the feast? No, it couldn't have been. There was only one cake, and the cake was pure vanilla, no jam evident.
"No, this isn't for you." Pure Vanilla Cookie spoke, slight caution in his voice as he gently swatted some curious birds away with a soft hand.
He picked up the fork that was also left in the box, carefully using it to pop a piece into his mouth. The flavor was indeed indifferent from yesterday's cake, the mix of vanilla and blueberry swirling in a particular way.
It was pleasant. He liked it.
He dare say, better than his last slice.
He sat there with content closed eyes, before turning his head to glance behind him. Only his bed and nightstand were in view.
But this time, he knew who the uninvited guest was.