Chapter Text
“Where are you brat..”
I stop breathing as soon and close my eyes as I hear his voice. My back pressed against a stone cold pillar inside the walls of the Spire of Shadows, my house. Black Sapphire's pissed over me taking his stupid staff??! It's just a harmless prank..
I clutch the staff tightly as he slowly approaches my hiding spot. My heart is hammering in my chest. He turns the corner and spots me. “Found you..GIVE ME BACK MY STAFF!!” He tries to grab his staff out of my hands but I dodge, making him stumble.
I start picking up my feet and dash away. I enter the main foyer and take a quick glance behind me. “Are you still chasing me over this??” Before he could answer, I accidentally bumped into something. Or someone.
“Omf.. Oh heyy daddd….” I quickly hide the staff behind me and give him a smile. Pure Vanilla furrows his brows. “Berry, dear, what were you running from? What are you hidi-”
Black Sapphire suddenly rips his staff out of my hands while I had my guard down. “YOUR STUPID CHILD STOLE MY STAFF!”
I scoff and roll my eyes. “The word ‘Stole’ is a bit of a reach don't you think…” I smile nervously. I glance back at my dad who looks at me with a grim expression. I look away.
Pure Vanilla sighs. “Black Sapphire Cookie, I apologize.. Please leave me and my daughter.. I need to talk to her.” He glances back at me with disappointed eyes.
Black Sapphire smirks at me. “Why of course Pure Vanilla, do what you must~!” He mockingly waves bye to me. “Have fun kiddo~”
I hate him…
I grumble and roll my eyes at him. Pure Vanilla clears his throat. “Now…what was that about??” He asks. “Did he say something to you or did you just do it to be mean?” He puts a hand on my shoulder.
I keep my eyes on the floor. “No..I..I just did it as a harmless prank. I didn't think he would be so annoyed over some stupid joke.”
He looks at me sympathetically. “I understand you didn't mean it, but you need to think about how others may fee-”
“Tell that to everyone else on Earthbread..” I mumble.
When my parents got together, the cookie citizens were not happy. “Beast Cookies and Ancient Cookies shouldn't mix” was their reasoning. So they dethroned my dad, and he married Shadow Milk, my papa. Once I was born and other cookies found out, they were quick to show the fact they wanted me dead.
There's a beat of silence. My words hang in the air for another minute..
“..You know I wish things were different.. I am sorry with how things turned out..” Pure Vanilla finally replies. His words were filled with remorse and guilt.
A wave of guilt washes over me. “It's fine Dad.. I should be apologizing..”
“Hey hey..” He cups my face. “It's not your fault.. you don't need to apologize. It's understandable why you think that way..” I nod. “I'm going to go make dinner, how about you head on back to your room or go apologize to Black Sapphire?”
I hesitantly nod. “I will apologize…don’t worry..” He nods and walks away to the kitchen.
“I swear I hate that freaking kid..I mean, who just steals someone's staff!?!?” Black Sapphire flops onto the chair next to Candy Apple Cookie.
“I mean..I would.” Candy Apple giggles. “It's funny!” She places a card carefully, trying to make a castle. Once she places it down, it crumbles her whole castle of cards. “DAMMIT!”
I step into the room casually. “Hey guyss….”
Black Sapphire furrows his brows at me.. “What do you want??!” He crosses his arms and glares.
I put my hands up defensively. “Why are you still mad?? I just came to apologize..!”
“I’m mad because that staff is precious to me!” Black Sapphire shouted. “You know…you might be more annoying than Candy Apple. And that says something. For weeks you have been doing stupid pranks to get a laugh. It gets tiring after a while. You're just like Shadow Milk Cookie but way worse! I don't know why I'm surprised.”
That hit a nerve. “I am not like him…”
Black Sapphire scoffs. “Oh really? Then why do you act just like he does with all these annoying pranks and this stupid behavior?! I think it shows that you are just like him, but hey I may be wrong!” He smiles with a malice tone to his words.
I freeze. I hated it when cookies compared me to my dads…and he knows it. Asshole. “I think you are wrong.. Never mind. You don't deserve an apology..” I walk away.
Black Sapphire rolls his eyes and turns away. “Damn, that was interesting.” Candy Apple said. “Did you have to compare her though?? I thought it was a sensitive thing to her.”
Black Sapphire crosses his arms. “She started it. She shouldn't have stolen it. It's my most prized possession..!”
I close the door behind me and enter my room. I slump on my bed and groan. “I don't understand..! I have been doing fun pranks to try and get them to be my friend…Maybe I shouldn't bother…”
I never really understood how cookies interact with each other.. I never had friends.. But I thought friends play jokes on each other… isnt that normal?
Though I never truly knew what was exactly normal..
Whatever. It's stupid..
My eyelids feel heavy… And the sheets are so comfortable.. I close my eyes and I drift off into slumber.
“Have you heard? That girl in our class, the new one, she's the daughter of Pure Vanilla Cookie..”
“Woah..really? Isn't that a good thing?”
“Well her other dad is Shadow Milk Cookie.. He's a bad guy..!!”
“Why would Pure Vanilla love a bad guy? I thought he was a good guy..”
“Doesnt matter.. My mommy told me since she is related to a bad guy, she is evil too..”
“Let's not be her friend… She might be evil..!”
I'm sitting behind a tree at recess as they talk, and tears prick my eyes. I bring my knees to my chest and silently sob.
Why do they hate papa?
A ball rolls over near me and my gaze locks on it. I sit up and grab it. “Hey over here!” A boy calls out. I turn to him and toss the ball to him.
“Can.. Can I play?” I ask hopefully. The boy makes a face and shakes his head. “No… we uh…have enough players..!”
My heart sinks. Of course they said no..
For a while, I never understood why I was treated so harshly. Why i felt like an alien.. I felt isolated… After a while, I just stopped trying.. I pretended to be happy around my parents, and put up a distance between me and everyone. But even I couldn't resist the longing for at least…some company.
But that was just wishful thinking..
I open my eyes slowly and glance at the clock.