Chapter Text
The Faerie Kingdom.
A land deep in the Beast-Yeast continent, surrounded by a huge, dark forest.
The last person to visit it was White Lily Cookie - Savior of the Faeries they called her, one of the Ancient Heroes.
Headed to the Witches' Banquet, she vanished without a trace, alteast till a part of her got rebirth as Dark Enchantress Cookie.
The truth about White Lily Cookie's story lays within the Faerie Land, and there was where Licorice Cookie has just landed.
"Stupid Pomegranate" He mumbled angrily, nearly tripping over his robes for the third time today "Sends me on a mission to Witches-know-where, to find some lost kingdom. Idiot!"
• ~ Few days earlier ~ •
"Licorice Cookie" Pomegranate said, coming back from Dark Enchantress' room "Dark Enchantress has a mission for you"
"What is it?"
"Go to the Beast-Yeast continent to find out about White Lily Cookie and other ancient heroes' weaknesses"
"The fuck"
• ~ Present day ~ •
"She could've atleast given me a map or anything" He said as he stared at the forest.
Holy fuckin shit, it's huge. And dark. And there's trees everywhere. LITERALLY EVERYWHERE.
Licorice sighed and went into the dark, walking further and further, passing one tree, second tree, third, fifth, tenth... Until he was 40 meters into the forest. The task is simple: find the Faerie Kingdom, ask about White Lily Cookie, leave.
That's all he had to do. While it seemed easy, he needed to find that kingdom first. And he didn't know where the fuck is it. All he was told was that it's in the forest. But WHERE in the forest?
No one gave him a map, a compass, anything that could help him find the place. Guess he just has to find it on his own.
He groaned and continued walking, holding his scythe in front of himself for defense. Just in case there are enemies in the bushes. There was one question that was bothering him. Why is this forest called the Spore Forest?
With his mind focused on thinking about why did the explorers choose that name for the place, he tripped over a tree branch and fell on the ground.
"OUCH! MY NON-EXISTENT NOSE!" he yelled with frustration, slowly getting up from the grass. Suddenly, he heard a noise among the trees. He tensed at the sudden noise, standing up energetically and waving his weapon around.
"Who goes there?!" He shouted nervously, ready to defend himself, when something jumped out of the dark "EEEEKKKKK--UUUUuuuuuhhhh..????"
The thing was.... A spore. A small, green spore, jumping around happily.
"Ooohhhhh, yeahhhhh.... The Spore Forest... Now I get it"
He sighed with relief, lowering his scythe. So that's why they call it that.
Now all that's left is to locate that kingdom of faeries. All he has to do is to walk around until he eventually finds it. Shouldn't be that hard, right?
.......Right?
• ~ Meanwhile, in the Faerie Kingdom ~ •
In the outskirts of the Kingdom, there was a house different than the others. One, that, despite sharing the similar architecture as the other buildings, had less silver materials than the others. Its roof was made out of clover leafs, slightly more solid than normal clovers because of the use of steel.
There were plants all around the house, flowers - mostly lilies - decorating the windows. It was the home of a faerie, one who was also slightly different than the others. Both in behavioral and dressing style sense.
Clover Faerie - that was his name, known for his lute playing abilities and beautiful singing. It was obvious that he's a great singer, after all that's what faeries are commonly known for. They're good fighters too, determined to protect their home from any potential danger.
Clover wasn't the one to fight, he hated violence and preferred to solve conflicts through music. He loved nature and anything related to it, especially playing songs to the forest animals. That's something he did every day, there was no situation where he didn't appear at his usual playing spot.
He was there daily, at the same time, at the same place. Maybe sometimes he got late a few minutes, but that was rare.
Today, as usual, he flew out of his house, bringing his lute with himself. He headed to the front gate, meeting a friend on his way.
"Silverbell Cookie!" Clover Faerie called out, waving at the other cookie.
The faerie knight turned around, a gentle chime of bells accompanying his every move. He smiled happily and waved back, flying over to the bard.
"Clover Faerie, it's a pleasure to see you! Are you on your way to the Spore Forest again?"
Clover nodded, his wings fluttering excitedly.
"Why yes! There is no thing better than singing to the critters"
Silverbell giggled, dropping to the ground.
"I see. You really like the environment around there, don't you?"
"There is so much too see, I learn new things every day! It is so exciting!"
"I suppose it is! Alright then, I'll go now. I don't want you to get late because of talking with me"
"You're going to guard the Front Gate again?" Clover Faerie tilted his head curiously, dropping to the ground as well.
"Mhm. His Majesty gave us a command to get more guards for the Gate. There were some strange rumors going around lately, didn't you notice?"
"Hmmm... Rumors?"
"I see you haven't heard them then, alright" the faerie knight sighed.
"Okay, I gotta go now. You have a job to do, I won't distract you anymore" Clover bowed down slightly as a goodbye and flew away, towards the gates.
He passed through the Front Gate and wandered off into the forest, looking for his usual playing spot. Not so much time later, he arrived at his destination and dropped down to the floor, letting his wings rest. After all, it is important to use your legs from time to time too.
He sat down on a tree stump, slightly overgrown with moss and some mushrooms. The faerie grabbed his lute and started playing, the wind carrying the melody to the depths of the forest.
Not so long after, animals started gathering around the playing cookie, who smiled upon seeing his little guests come over.
He was happy that the critters liked his tunes, it made his heart become filled with joy, but he couldn't help but be a little... Disappointed. Clover Faerie wasn't someone who has high expectations towards everything. He takes what is given to him by life, and doesn't complain about it. But if there was one thing he'd wish for, it'd be real audience.
Audience of cookies, not much, really. Even one person would be enough, as long as they'd really listen to the song. Just a smile from them, a smile of joy coming from one listener who liked the melody. Something as simple as that. It's not asking for too much.
But Clover Faerie was happy with how things were now. He had animals listen to his ballads after all. He appreciated it from the bottom of his heart, even though he really wished that one day someone will come and listen to his songs. Just one person.
• ~ ★ ~ •
Trees, trees and more TREES. Someone's gonna hate trees after this adventure. Licorice Cookie walked around for what felt like HOURS, and still hasn't found that stupid kingdom in this STUPID FOREST AND---
"Stupid redhead... FUCK YOU, POMEGRANATE COOKIE!! YOU STUPID BITCHY----"
Suddenly, he heard a faint melody coming from somewhere. He looked around, thinking of who could possibly be playing a guitar in the middle of a forest on a different continent. Finally, he located the direction where the song was coming from.
"What the hell.....?" He mumbled and started walking towards the tune, very confused as to why the fuck is someone else even here. Are they lost too? Or maybe... OR MAYBE THEY'RE A FAERIE?!
Licorice started walking faster, to find the source of that melody. The closer he got to it, the better he could hear it. It turns out the person wasn't only playing. They were singing too! He stopped for a second to listen to their voice. After a while, he could tell that this cookie is a boy, and oh god.
His VOICE.
It was so smooth and went along with the song SO WELL.
Now, Licorice Cookie had another reason to walk up to the stranger. He just HAD to see this cookie. Maybe he's a faerie! That would make sense. And if he IS, instead of going to that stupid Faerie Kingdom, Licorice could just ask HIM about White Lily Cookie.
Easy mission. Walk up to him, ask, leave. Done, mission complete.
Licorice walked closer to the mysterious stranger and hid behind a tree. He peeked his head out from his hiding spot to see how does this person look like, and holy shit.
What a shame that he approached the faerie from behind, because he'd bet that his face was as gorgeous as his hair.
The cookie had white hair, tinted light green at the bottom, and had flowers in his hair too. He had wings, so he was definitely a faerie. He wore a cape shaped like a clover, hence Licorice couldn't see how is he dressed like. Maybe this faerie has something to do with clovers?
Okay, remember the task: Walk up to him, ask about White Lily and leave.
Remember when Licorice thought this is going to be an easy mission?
Well, this supposedly easy task turned out to be very hard, because Licorice couldn't bring himself to walk up to the playing cookie. Which was unusual of him, because he's not a polite kind of person. He didn't want to interrupt the faerie, despite the need.
Maybe he'll just stand there and listen, and THEN he'll ask. Yes, that sounds like a good plan now, doesn't it? He'll just wait until the bard is done singing his ballad.
Thinking about it now, Licorice Cookie has never seen a faerie in his life. He always wondered how do fairies look like. Now he got an answer to his question.
He decided to maybe step a little closer. Just a bit. To have a better look. FOR SCIENCE! Yes, for science. Not because he wanted to admire the stranger's beauty or anything. No, why'd you think that? That would be stupid, and Licorice Cookie isn't stupid.
He took a slow, careful step forward, and then another and then...
*CRACK*
Oh fuck.
He stepped on a tree branch and it cracked in half.
He's SO done for
• ~ ★ ~ •
Clover Faerie was in the middle of a ballad, when suddenly, he heard a crack of a tree branch.
He stopped playing and turned around to see who's there. It could've probably been an animal, after all who would've come to the forest at this hour? Other faeries are busy, so who could this possibly... Be...?
And in that moment, he saw a cookie standing behind the trees behind him. Was that person watching him from afar? For how long?
The two shared an awkward glance at each other in incredibly awkward silence. That was until Clover stood up and turned around to see the stranger better.
"Um... Hello" He said calmly, despite the rush of thoughts happening in his head "For how long have you been standing there...?"
He received no response, just a quiet nervous mumble from the other person.
"Hey... You can come out of the bushes, I can see you anyway"
He hear a rustle from between the trees. The hiding cookie slowly walked out of the dark, hands holding a scythe, probably in defense.
"Could you lower your weapon...? I don't mean any harm, you don't need to hold this scythe up"
The cookie lowered the weapon slightly, still hesitant to come closer.
"What's your name?" Clover Faerie asked, taking a step forward.
"T-That's none of your business!"
Clover frowned.
"Gee, harsh..." He sighed "My name is Clover Faerie. It's a pleasure to meet you... Whoever you are"
The other cookie groaned.
"My name is Licorice. Licorice Cookie"
"Licorice Cookie... That's a pretty nice name!" Clover smiled happily, his wings fluttering slightly.
"W-Whatever... Okay, listen, I'm here for a mission"
The faerie's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"A mission? What mission?"
"I need to gather some information about White Lily Cookie. Do you know anything about her?"
"Why do you need to know that?"
"Eh?"
"Why do you need to get information about our Savior?" Clover repeated in a slightly more serious tone.
"That doesn't matter! Now, tell me if you know anything about her"
The bard shook his head.
"I cannot tell you anything about White Lily Cookie if I don't know your intentions" he deadpanned, hugging his lute tightly.
Licorice rolled his eyes and sighed with frustration.
"Oh GREAT! First I have to go to this whole Beast-Yeast continent, then I get lost in those stupid woods, and THEN I can't even get to know a single thing about White Lily Cookie and finish my mission FOR FUCK'S SAKE"
"So you're not from around here... Could've guessed by your lack of wings. Where do you come from then?"
"What is it, an interview?!"
"I won't tell a complete stranger anything about White Lily Cookie. Maybe if I get to know you, I could share some information with you. But just maybe"
"*Sigh* FINE. I come from another continent, it's called Crispia."
"Crispia... The legendary continent where the 4 Ancient Heroes have their kingdoms?!" Clover's eyes lit up with excitement and his wings started to flutter.
"Uh.... Yeahhh, I guess"
"I've sung a dozen of ballads about them! Their story is so interesting! Oh, and since we're on the topic... Have you been listening to my singing? Like, before I saw you"
Licorice's eyes widened slightly. He started to nervously fidget with the ends of his long sleeves.
"I-I...- OKAY, YES I DID, AND WHAT???" He exclaimed nervously, almost offensively even.
"Did you enjoy the concert?"
....
Silence.
"Because, you know... I don't usually have... audience around there. Only animals come to listen to my performance, but I know they can't quite understand what I'm singing about..." Clover lowered his head slightly, his smile fading slowly.
"I... Uh..." Licorice stuttered, trying to find the right words.
"I understand if you didn't like it, I-I don't know why I even asked this question, let's just forget about th--"
"IT WAS OKAY"
Clover Faerie rose his head up instantly, a spark of hope in his eyes.
"Really?"
"I-It wasn't bad, I suppose... To be honest, I've never heard something as good as this in my entire life. Probably because I don't really listen to music"
"You mean it? You really enjoyed it?"
"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO REPEAT THAT I DID?!"
The bard giggled happily, wings fluttering excitedly again.
"Finally! My dream came true! A cookie enjoyed my songs! Oh gosh!!" He flew up, making circles in the air excitedly.
After a few seconds, he dropped to the ground, holding his lute in his hands.
"Then can I play some more songs for you?" He asked with hope "It's my first time having actual audience, so..."
"Sure" Licorice agreed and walked up to the faerie, who, right after receiving permission to sing something again, sat down on the tree stump and started playing.
Licorice walked over to the stump and sat on the ground, putting his scythe on the grass next to himself. A second later, Clover Faerie started playing music, and Licorice listened.
He started to think of his journey back home. How is he supposed to get out of here? Getting information that he needs is one thing, but he has to return back to Crispia if he wants to make use of it. And he was lost here, in the middle of the woods, far away from the Cookies of Darkness' base.
How will he survive the night? He doesn't have a shelter or food, any resources needed to live through the night. Besides, he doesn't know what awaits him after the sunset. Maybe there are monsters in the forest?
Licorice could ask the stranger for help of course, but he'd rather not do it. He doesn't know the guy, and his ego would never stand asking someone for help anyway. He's not a wimp or anything, he can survive on his own. He has a scythe and can summon his licorice servants in a dangerous situation.
He shook his head to get back to reality, his gaze landing on Clover Faerie. Now that he sits next to him, he can finally see how he looks like. And oh gosh.
He was gorgeous, like a some kinda mythological god or something.
His hair, looking very fluffy, covered one of his teal colored eyes. His voice was smooth and went along with the melody perfectly, almost as if he was made for singing. His wings shone in the sunlight, same about his hair too. Licorice didn't even notice that he's more focused on staring at the faerie than listening to the ballad.
He realized that when Clover Faerie stopped singing and tilted his head curiously with a confused expression.
"Um... Licorice Cookie?"
Licorice tensed instantly, almost jumping in place.
"Y-Yeah? What is it?"
"Were listening to my songs? Because you looked like you weren't focused on them at all..."
"I was focused, but on something else" Licorice thought to himself and cleared his throat.
"You must be imagining things. I was listening!"
Clover narrowed his eyes with disbelief.
"Oh really? Then what was this ballad I've just sung about?" He asked, crossing his arms.
"It was about... Erm... Uh, it... It was...."
"Just admit you haven't been listening"
"Okay, fine, you got me" Licorice admitted "Sorry, but your singing is soft like a lullaby, it's perfect for dozing off and thinking about things"
Clover's cheeks reddened slightly, his wings fluttering gently.
"Oh? It really is...? I... No one has ever told me that before"
"I mean- it wasn't an insult or anything!"
The faerie chuckled, bringing his hands to his mouth to cover it.
"That's the nicest thing anyone has ever told me about my music!" He said happily, wings fluttering more noticably "Thank you so much for this compliment!"
Now it was Licorice whose cheeks reddened. He turned his head to the side with embarrassment and brought his hand to his face to cover the blush.
"W-Whatever"
• ~ ★ ~ •
"Soooo.... You're telling me you don't have any shelter for the night?" Clover Faerie asked, putting his lute aside and placing it against the tree stump.
"Yeah... This kinda sucks to be honest. There aren't any monsters in this forest, are there?" The other cookie asked nervously "Not that I'm scared or anything, but just to be sure my life wouldn't be in danger if I stayed here for the--"
"What?! You want to stay in the woods for the night? Are you out of your mind?"
"Huh?"
Clover slowly shook his head, crossed his arms and sighed, imitating disappointment.
"You can't stay outside. Tonight's going to be rainy and the morning will be cold. It would be better for you to spend this night in our Kingdom"
"Wait a second... WHAT?"
"I'm sure His Majesty will let you stay, after all you mean no harm and we should offer help to people in need. That includes you" The bard explained
Licorice Cookie nodded, processing the information. He gets an OFFER of staying in the Faerie Kingdom for the night, and it's coming from a faerie that know about White Lily Cookie. There's literally no occasion more perfect than that.
But the question is... Where exactly will he stay?
"Alright, I suppose I could agree on your offer. But WHERE exactly am I going to stay?"
"Hmm... I don't think any other faerie would trust you enough to let you sleep at their homes and we don't really have hotels and other stuff like that..."
Licorice's eyes widened.
"Are you suggesting that I...-?"
"Could stay at my house, yes. That's what I'm suggesting"
Now that's unexpected. He had to stay at some stranger's house. For the night. That's completely normal, right? Not like he has any other option to choose. He can either go this way or freeze to death. Out of the two, he'd rather pick sleeping at Clover's house. Anything better than death.
".... I mean... I don't really have any other option to choose, so..."
"It's decided then!" Clover Faerie stood up energetically, picking his lute up. His hair shone brightly in the light of the setting sun. "It's getting late, I think we should go before it starts to rain"
He offered a hand to Licorice to help him stand up, which he didn't take and said:
"I can stand up on my own, damnit"
The two walked (Clover flew in the air and Licorice had to go by feet LMFAO) to the Faerie Kingdom, eventually getting to the Front Gate guarded by multiple faerie knights.
At the sight of incoming cookies, they raised their weapons instinctively, to which Clover responded with:
"Lower your weapons my fellow faeries! It is just me and a traveler who needs a place to stay overnight"
They let them in, giving Licorice a soul-piercing, cold glare. It made him shiver, but he tried to not think about it.
After a while of wandering around, they arrived in front of Clover's home, the faerie smiling warmly at the sight.
He unlocked the door and waited for the other cookie to come in before he closed it and dropped to the ground with a soft "*thud*" on the floor.
Now all that's left to do is to somehow live until next day, ask Clover Faerie about White Lily and leave. Nothing hard, is it?
Well, turns out if won't be as easy as it seemed at first.