Chapter Text
“Queen Mother, not to be negative, but are you certain that this is Beast-Yeast?” Wildberry glanced around, his deadpan eyes widening a bit, “It seems almost… peaceful here. Not at all like what other Ancient Heroes described it to be.”
Raspberry narrowed her eyes, her sword ready, “Now that you said something about it… it is strange.” She glanced at Hollyberry, who seemed distracted. Raspberry put her sword back in its scabbard, walking toward her, “Hollyberry? Is something the matter?”
Hollyberry let out a soft groan before leaning down, picking up a bright flower, “Is it just me or…” She looked around, “Flowers… they’re growing from nowhere!”
The two looked to the right, seeing water appear from bushes and spilling down the grass. Butter Tiger licked the water concoction and growled lowly.
Tiger Lily hissed as the grass turned into shiny blossoms. She stomped over the newly-grown flowers, growling, “Flowers! Bad!”
Raspberry scowled at Tiger Lily, pulling her sword from her scabbard. She poked the water, watching as it turned into blossoms in thin air. She flinched, “What is this? Why are flowers growing out of nowhere?”
Hollyberry turned to look at her. Her lips tilted upward, into a soft smirk, “We’re not alone I see! The Beast wants to get on the fun too!”
Wildberry looked at her, “Do we attack face first?”
“No, that would be like charging toward a fire blindfolded!” Raspberry countered.
Hollyberry meanwhile walked toward the bush where the grass-changing water came from. Through the tense silence, quiet sobs drifted through the air. Everyone’s eyes widened at the sudden noise. Wildberry gripped onto his gauntlet. Tiger Lily and the Butter Tiger growled.
Wildberry stiffened, “Is that… crying?”
Raspberry looked at him, “Seems like it,” she looked up at Hollyberry, “Your Majesty, are you going alone?”
Hollyberry nodded, “Yes, but I’ll make sure to call you if anything goes out of hand. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Queen Mother,” Raspberry and Wildberry said.
Hollyberry gave a small nod before separating the bushes with her shield.
Moments go by, the forest got darker with each passing step. She shivered, hearing echoed hisses and growls.
She muttered, “The sooner I get this over with, the better… D’oh, I hate the darkness.”
Hollyberry stopped as she nearly tripped over a rock. She steadied her balance, her back hunched slightly. She let out a soft sigh before looking down. A kid—a boy—looked back at her. He was no older than seven. Tears fell from his eyes like the smooth river currents nearby.
Her gaze softened. She said gently, “Sorry, I must’ve been in your way.”
The boy wore a red himation covering a white tunic. He had pale-pink skin. His hair was mixtures of white and red and he wore a laurel crown made of strawberries. He had large, white wings behind his back.
Hollyberry’s gaze moved toward the tears erupting from his eyes.
Hollyberry reached her hand out but hesitated, “Hey…” she spoke softly, gently touching the top of his head, “Are you lost? Where is your parents?—“
“Are you gonna hurt me?” The boy asked, flinching.
Her mouth was opened ajar before she continued softly, “Hurt you? I don’t attack strangers, especially those who seem to be in distress.” Hollyberry sat cross-legged, resting an arm on her knee, “I’m not going to hurt you, son.”
The boy’s lips quivered, “Are… Are you sure?”
“I’m certain.” She looked down at the river of where he sobbed into, “Why are you crying? Are you hurt? I can take you back to my kingdom and have you cared for.”
The boy looked up at her, dumbfounded, “…Cared?”
Hollyberry’s eyes softened, “You don’t know what being cared for means?”
“No,” He looked down, “can you tell me?”
“You’ve never had help from someone?” She asked, “No one’s kept you safe or gave to you when you needed it most?”
The boy’s mouth formed into a little “o” shape, putting a hand on his chin, “Oh… is that what that’s called?”
“Yep, that’s what being cared for means.”
“We’ve always called it ‘The Day of Giving,’” the boy said, “but every time I get something from it, I… I feel nothing. Is that the same as being cared for?”
“Hm…” Hollyberry put a hand on her chin before saying in a soft sigh, “That’s a good question… Can you tell me more about this… ‘Day of Giving?’”
The boy looked at the wavy currents, “The Day of Giving is a celebration held every four years. We play games, we drink, and O Holy Bringer of Happiness is…” he paused, “doing stuff”
Hollyberry tilted her head, “O Holy Bringer of Happiness?’ What do you mean by ‘doing stuff?’”
“O Holy Bringer of Happiness is the protector of the Garden of Delights. She’s our mother, and she does bad stuff. She says she helps us, but she also hurts us. A lot.”
Hollyberry’s expression softened, “Do you feel comfortable telling me more?”
The boy nodded, “She… yells loudly… It’s scary when she’s mad. A— And… she never lets us leave… Once you come, you never leave… She gets mad when someone tries to go away…”
“How is she when she’s mad?” She raised her hand, closing her eyes, “I know she’s scary but… can you… be more specific? What does she do?”
“I— One time, I saw her hurt my friend… She— She was punished unfairly so she tried to flee, but O Holy Bringer of Happiness, she…” he whimpered, “She ripped her wings off, and…”
Hollyberry gasped, covering her mouth, “Oh my Witches! Have you told no one else?”
“I have no one to talk to about it… It haunts me… I couldn’t defend my own friend from her…” He sniffled.
“I see…” She stood up, “You know, I understand how you feel. We’re looking for one of the many Beasts here. I’ve been put a lot of pressure to accomplish this because I’m the queen of a great kingdom. I can’t let my citizens, my family, my friends down. They’re all I have left after… her.”
The boy looked up at her, tilting his head.
Hollyberry smiled at his innocent reaction.
She continued, “Me and my comrades fought a former ally, Dark Enchantress. She was White Lily’s counterpart, a creation made because she was corrupted. We nearly lost everything the day we fought her, but Pure Vanilla sacrificed himself to save everything and everyone.”
“Did… when you say ‘sacrificed,’ did you mean Pure Vanilla…?”
“Yes, he died in the process. Cracked his Soul Jam and dissolved into dust. That’s why that in his honor, we’ll never give up on fighting, even when it gets tough.” She crouched down, resting a hand in his shoulder, “and you shouldn’t either, boy. I see you have a strong heart. Don’t let fear control you like we did.”
The boy looked down before breaking into tears. He hugged her tightly. Hollyberry hugged him back. She whispered soft words to him, rubbing his back gently.
Meanwhile, Tiger Lily sniffed the grass. Wildberry walked around the forest. He suddenly put his hands into fists, causing Raspberry to pull out her sword.
She walked closer to him, hearing the noises of rustling. She snapped her gaze to Wildberry, “Did you hear that?”
He nodded, steadily moving toward the bush where the rustling came most from. Tiger Lily raised her spear while Butter Tiger growled with her, baring their teeth.
The three waited for something until Hollyberry came from the bush.
She held the boy in her arms like a sack of potatoes.
He complained with a smile on his face, “I have wings, miss! I can fly!”
“Too bad!” Hollyberry teased, “I’m keeping you forever!”
“No!” The boy giggled.
Hollyberry smiled at the boy before turning back to her comrades, who were staring at her blankly—minus Tiger Lily, who was staring at the boy with a confused face.
She pointed at the boy with her spear, “Who that?”
Hollyberry looked down at the boy, who waved innocently, “This is Pavlova. He tells us he knows a place where we could help find the Beast.”
Wildberry narrowed his eyes as he looked at Raspberry. She looked back at him, flicking her magenta hair before glancing at Hollyberry.
“How could you be so sure?” Raspberry asked.
Wildberry nodded, “We’re in Beast-Yeast now, Queen Mother. The Beasts are known to fight dirty. He could be lying for all we know.”
Raspberry looked at Hollyberry, “Don’t trust him so easily, Your Majesty. Just saying.”
Hollyberry scowled and looked down at the boy—Pavlova.
He fidgeted with his thumbs, glancing at Wildberry’s gauntlet. He gasped, dashing over to the weapon and moving his hands over it.
He said, “Is that a real gauntlet? I thought these were fake!”
“Yes.” Wildberry tightened his grip subconsciously, “It’s a real gauntlet.”
Pavlova smiled and jumped around, giggling cheekily. Wildberry turned as he watched the boy prance around eagerly. He couldn’t help but curl his lips upward wistfully at the pure sight.
Raspberry chuckled, “He seems very interested in you, Wildberry.”
The Butter Tiger suddenly growled, roaring as he took a whiff of the air. Tiger Lily rose her spear, hissing.
She spoke in a loud voice, “Smell… weird! Stay back!” Tiger Lily hissed again.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Hollyberry asked, turning around. She let out a sharp gasp as she saw a large fog of pink clouds emerging from the other side. It seemed to be… approaching them.
Raspberry turned her gaze, also noticing how the pink clouds slowly made their way to their direction. She staggered back, looking at Pavlova.
She asked in a shaky tone, “Hey… Pavlova, right?”
The boy looked back at her and tilted his head. He flew toward Raspberry, “You called for me?”
She pointed at the pink clouds moving toward them, “What is that? Why does it smell…” Raspberry yawned, “sweet…?”
Pavlova followed her gaze, noticing her expression growing tired. Raspberry dropped her sword and got on her knees. She groaned before sagging on the ground.
His eyes widened as he trembled, “Oh no… she’s here…”
Wildberry rushed over to Raspberry’s sleeping body, cradling her, “Raspberry! Wake up, Raspberry!” He struggled to keep his eyes opened as well before collapsing on the grassy surface.
Hollyberry watched as each of her friends gave into the slumber. She sniffed the air, staggering backward as she held her head.
Hollyberry muttered, “It smells… sweet. Like… sugar?”
Pavlova pulled the bow from his back and tried his hardest to shoot the fog away, at least enough so he could see.
Hollyberry looked up at him, “What are you doing?”
Pavlova whimpered before waving his hands around urgently. He flew up, trying to separate the fog.
“Don’t breathe it! It’s a drug!” He panted before falling to the grass. He curled up in a fetal position, breathing out heavily.
“How are you so sure?”
”I’ve been in this situation before! Don’t breathe it, she’ll know you’re here if you do!”
Hollyberry lifted him up, “Don’t worry, boy. I don’t give in that…” Her eyes grew weary and she staggered down.
He gasped, tears falling from his eyes, “No! No! She’ll kill you if you fall asleep! Wake up! You have to save us! Please!”
He tried to lift himself from her chest but to no avail. The sleep-causing fog soon disappeared, revealing the unconscious bodies of the Hollyberry and her comrades.
He put a finger in his mouth, biting his nails and glancing around rapidly as his body trembled like a leaf.
Pavlova managed out a soft whisper, “Please don’t let her kill you…”
He slowly lowered his head back onto Hollyberry’s chest. Pavlova hugged her, moving her shield over his body as if it were a warm blanket.