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There was a thump at the gate’s entrance.
A cookie suffering from the new Pale Aliment had stumbled to the Cacao Kingdom, shockingly in hold of the one treatment for the sickness in mass. It could have been the entirety of the choco bamboo species, for all the people knew.
The cookies that found the savior made sure to bring them into the warmth of the kingdom, settling initially in the main room where everyone with this sickness was quarantined. It took until a doctor moved the hair out of their face before this cookie was transported to a new room; the prince’s old bedroom.
The news spread through the kingdom even faster than the sickness.
The Prince?
The Banished Prince?
…it was him…
Even if there was meant to be fear in their hearts, there just… wasn’t.
The sword Dark Choco used to hold was gone, the remnants of what it hurt being the only thing that was left. The Doctors noticed red scars that spread like roots in his hands, it stayed even through the flour. But he was clearly not under the influence of it anymore, he wouldn’t be here at all if he was.
An agreement was settled through the citizens, even if no one directly said it.
But they wanted the prince to stay; to stay home.
Everyone did their best to make him feel comfortable here, especially since it was his first time back in such a long time. They offered sweets instead of the usual chocolates, except for the bitter medication; he was given soft blankets and pillows in his bed; get-well-soon cards filled the table next to his bed.
He didn’t say anything once he had arrived.
He seemed indifferent to it all.
The people of the kingdom wanted to keep him safe; so once the king and his warriors came back from Beast Yeast, everyone was quiet. They only shared the news that the ailment was starting to leave the sick cookies.
But they had to tell him eventually.
A nurse walked up to the king, tugging his sleeve for his attention. He was intimidating, it made it so much harder to share such news. They knelt down, keeping their head down as they spoke.
“Your majesty… W-we ask that you take the time to s-see the last patient recovering from the ailment. It’s s-someone important…”
He walked up to them, his silhouette imposing over them; “if you insist. Are they being held in the medical bay?”
“...no, h-he was moved to… well…”
“...”
The king rushed off past the nurse, not letting them get the chance to continue.
He didn’t need any more info to know who they talked about.
The nurse chased after him as fast as they could, fear in every drop of jam they had. They got in front of him and stretched their arms out to stop him, and he did.
Their eyes went to the sword on the king’s back, “pl-please don’t hurt him…”
A silence came over the hallway, the couple cookies already there holding their breath in the quiet as he grabbed the sword by the handle behind him.
Then metal clattering on the floor echoed in the chamber.
Dark Cacao walked around the nurse, his sword left behind.
The few cookies who saw him walking down to the bedroom followed quietly, one even grabbed a shield from a nearby armor stand. Even if they followed, they all kept a large amount of distance, the fear of the king’s strength overtook them. The king stopped in front of the door; his hand gripped the doorknob, his own fear holding him back in the moment. He took a breath before he slowly opened the door, letting it gently hit the wall.
…there he was…
Dark Choco seemed he was on the verge of sleeping, his eye opened and exposing a sliver of purple with little red marks in it. He tilted his flour-ridden head towards the door after hearing the other enter. He was recovering well, but it clearly exhausted him still; even emotionally.
But a tear started to form once recognition hit him.
“...f-father..?”
The king’s stoic nature crumbled away as he stumbled and fell forward onto the bed, the sound of the bed creaking from his weight filling the room for a moment; before crying followed. Dark Cacao cried on top of his son as he held him in his arms, who wrapped his flour-tipped arms around his neck in a hug. The younger one’s tears dried into his pale cheeks and the fabric of the other’s robes, the path of his tears becoming visible to everyone. Relief washed over the other cookies, before they teared up at the sight as well.
The next few days; between all the preparations for the upcoming battle with the Enchantress; the king would visit his son to offer him his daily medicine as the last crumbles of flour finally faded away in full.
It was gonna be a rough battle before any moment of relaxation could be spent between them, but they were gonna appreciate it thoroughly.