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Hollyberry blinks her eyes open. The room is dark, the castle quiet under the lull of the night. She stretches her limbs out under the covers, eyes squeezing back shut, as she turns over and reaches out for her other half.
Her hand meets empty bed and Hollyberry’s eyes open back up, struggling to adjust to the dark. Eternal Sugar usually sleeps soundly through the night, first to bed and last to wake. Not a thing can stir her awake once she’s fallen asleep for the night—not even falling off the bed.
Hollyberry had to pick up and tuck her back in that time.
There was no loud thump, and the sheets are only lightly disturbed where Eternal Sugar should have been, as if she had straightened them out after getting up. Light rusting by the wall catches her attention, and she notices a dark figure by the window.
Sitting up, she suppresses a yawn. “Sugar?” she calls out, voice still thick with sleep.
The figure turns partway to the side, showing a sliver of her face. “Sorry, did I wake you?” is the reply, softly spoken.
“No, not at all. Is everything alright?” Hollyberry asks. There is an ever so subtle lilt in the other’s voice, something that only she would have been able to pick up on.
Eternal Sugar’s wings ruffle slightly, tail flicking. “I had a bad dream, that’s all. Nothing to worry about, dearest.”
Without another word, the Ancient slips out of bed, feet hitting the cool hardwood flooring. She joins Eternal Sugar by the window, who turns to look up at her. The moonlight illuminates her face, blanketing her in soft shades.
What it also does is highlight her damp eyes. Hollyberry smiles and sighs softly, gazing outside. The palace spreads in front of her, still and serene. Outside of a handful of guards, they’re the only two awake. She takes one of the Beast’s hands, and, after a moment, gets a light squeeze in return.
Thumb running along her knuckles, Hollyberry can feel the other relax just the slightest bit. “Do you want something to drink?”
Eternal Sugar wordlessly nods, and allows Hollyberry to lead her out of the room. The door closes with a click, and they make their way down the empty halls.
The kitchen, usually bustling with Cookies, is empty. Hollyberry turns on a small lamp, granting enough light to be able to see without bumping into anything. She lets go of her hand, heading to the fridge as Eternal Sugar takes a seat on a nearby stool.
This by far isn’t the first time she’s been woken up in the middle of the night by nightmares. They’ve become less frequent as time has passed, thankfully, but they still come back every now and then.
Hollyberry pulls out a jug of milk from the fridge, pouring it into a glass. Warm milk used to help her fall back asleep as a kid, and it works just the same for the Beast as it did for her back then. Her body moves on autopilot, muscle memory taking over from following this routine Witches knows how many times. The cup is in and out of the microwave, sugar added only once warm enough.
That’s the only difference; Eternal Sugar likes things extra sweet.
The metal spoon lightly clacks against the glass as she stirs, slowly dissolving the granules of sugar.
The Beast takes the cup from her once it’s ready, fingers brushing together. She takes a sip, tension melting from her body as she swallows. Hollyberry pulls out the stool beside her, the legs scraping against the floor.
She waits patiently as Eternal Sugar continues drinking, watching as that look in her eye is slowly replaced with drowsiness. Her halo has brightened a little bit, and the tail that was curled around her own leg has loosened. The tip happily flicks in the air, like that of a cat.
“…I dreamt about the war again,” Eternal Sugar says. Her grip tightens around the cup, knuckles whitening, and Hollyberry leans forward to put a reassuring hand on her knee. She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath, and takes another sip.
The war was hard on everyone, but it was particularly hard on Eternal Sugar. Hollyberry always sees the effects lingering in the way she carries herself, the way she reacts to others, to the world around her. It’s very similar to how the Ancient remembers being after the first Dark Flour War. When she failed to protect everyone, despite being the shield, and almost lost everything. One friend presumed dead, one missing, the Soul Jams shattered. The other two locked themselves away in their kingdoms, and Hollyberry herself chose to run away.
She’d made the decision to push away any support she was given, a mistake she still regrets. A mistake she refuses to let anyone else make for themself, which is why she offered to let the Beast stay in her kingdom after all was said and done.
The Cookie needed support, and Hollyberry was the only one who could give it to her. If left alone, it was all but a guarantee that she’d end up destroying herself.
Most of the others were a little skeptical of her decision at first, even after witnessing the Beast reconnect with her Soul Jam. Even after witnessing her transform into a new version of herself, Soul Jam flipped back rightside up. Even after she’d switched sides, helping defeat Dark Enchantress once and for all, even after she’d helped reseal the other Beasts who had remained corrupted.
Pure Vanilla was the first one to voice his support. He seemed relieved that even just one of the Beasts was willing and able to redeem themself, and he’d always trusted Hollyberry’s judgement. He’d tried to get through to Shadow Milk, but he had become enraged when Eternal Sugar reverted his corruption, even more so when Mystic Flour was able to do the same. He was too far gone at that point, forcing the Ancient to make the decision to give up on him.
She could tell that cut deep, as her friend always tried to see the best in absolutely everyone and was usually able to draw it out. This was the one time he’d failed so miserably, but, ever the optimist, he’d decided to move on.
White Lily had been the second to welcome Eternal Sugar. Unsurprising, given her ordeal with Silent Salt. The other two Ancients had followed suit, seeing no reason to object.
Wildberry was the hardest of the rest to convince. It was only after Eternal Sugar had gotten down on her hands and knees and profusely apologized for the events that had taken place in her garden that he had begrudgingly accepted her.
The two actually got along swimmingly once her adopted son had properly warmed up to her. Hollyberry knows he would never admit it, but it’s obvious he’s begun to see her as a second mother figure.
“I know the right thing to do was to lock them back in the tree, but it still hurts. Even though they’re still alive, even though I know they’re safe in there, it hurts. Even if we hadn’t really gotten along in the end, they were still my family.”
She takes a shuddering breath. “They were like siblings to me. We were brought into this world together, and it feels wrong that we don’t all get to experience it by each other's side.” Tears pooling in her eyes, she looks up at her other half. “They were awful, but I still really, really miss them, Hollyberry. More than I can put into words.”
The chair scrapes against the floor again as Hollyberry moves closer, pulling Eternal Sugar into her arms. She instinctively buries her face in her shoulder, hands desperately grabbing onto the fabric of her pajamas.
Her crying is quiet, soft sobs muffled by clothing and hair. Hollyberry lets her cry, slowly rubbing circles into her back. Somehow the hands grip even tighter, tail curling around her right ankle. Her halo flickers, pulsating.
“Don’t leave. Please don’t leave me,” Eternal Sugar whispers, hoarsely, pleading.
One of Hollyberry’s hands shifts upward, stroking the back of her head. She plants a kiss on the top, resting her cheek there after. “I’m not going anywhere, Sugar, I promise.”
There’s a beat of silence before she nuzzles the cookie in closer. “I promise,” she repeats.
It hurts to hear Eternal Sugar be in so much pain, but Hollyberry knows it’s best to get it out. She held it in in the past, which resulted in far too many nights lost to berry juice. That was the only way she could get herself to cry. Her family had tried to help, but she was too stubborn and too afraid to admit that she did need help. That she felt like a failure and was struggling to process her emotions.
From the stories she’s been told, the Beasts—the Virtues, as they'd been called back then—had been wonderful people before they corrupted. Eternal Sugar always says she wishes that Hollyberry could have met them as they once were, not as the broken versions they had to battle against.
She’s not sure how much time passes, but eventually the tail and hands slacken and the Beast’s breathing evens out. “Thank you,” she murmurs, “for everything. I don’t really feel like I deserved such a generous second chance, but I thank you for granting it to me.”
“Nonsense. Don’t you remember when I said if you ever came to realize that happiness could not exist without pain as its shadow, then perhaps then we could be two halves of a soul, destined to complete one another? I meant it,” she breathes out. “You came to realize you were wrong, and you wanted to make things right.”
“I just wish I had realized sooner, before I had hurt so many others due to wholeheartedly believing in my own delusions of what happiness was. Or that I had never corrupted myself to begin with.”
Hollyberry is quiet for a moment, choosing her words. “To be honest with you, if I’d been in the same situation the Witches had put you in, I can’t say for sure that I would not have ended up corrupted as well. That was a lot of pressure, without even the experience of living as a child and growing up. You didn’t get to learn about life before being declared a goddess.”
“And then they cursed me with the ability to feel the pain of others.” she laughs bitterly. “I just couldn’t take it anymore. I just…couldn’t.”
Eternal Sugar pulls away, covering her mouth as she yawns. Hollyberry takes the opportunity to cup her cheek, using a thumb to wipe away the tears that are still at the corner of her eye.
She innocently blinks up at the cookie, eyes lightly clouded over with sleep and a sweeter emotion. Smiling softly, she leans into the touch, adding her smaller, daintier hand on top of Hollyberry’s. “But if I hadn’t corrupted, I never would have gotten to meet you, my love. And I would do it all over again, if I had to.”
“How romantic,” she chuckles. “You’re such a sap, Sugar.”
“You like it though, do you not? Miss founder of the Kingdom of Passion and Romance.”
“Okay, okay, you got me there!” Hollyberry takes advantage of the moment to plant a kiss in the middle of the other’s forehead, right where her Soul Jam usually resides. Eternal Sugar trills happily, tail thumping against the stool. The trills turn into giggling as a second one is placed on the tip of her nose.
Hollyberry smiles, glad to see the nightmare is fading into just a foggy memory. “Are you feeling better?”
The Beast nods, yawning again. “Thank you for everything, my love. She stretches, bringing her arms in front of her, and slyly loops them over her girlfriend’s shoulders. “It means a lot that you didn’t give up on me,” she murmurs.
And then she leans in to place a featherlight kiss on the other’s mouth. Hollyberry immediately reciprocates, hands finding her waist to draw her in closer. The kiss isn’t heated, slow and sleepy and warm, like curling up under a fuzzy blanket on a cold day. More kisses follow, turning her into putty.
They make her feel whole, like a missing piece has been slotted into place, something that’s been missing her whole life. She knows the Beast feels it too, by the upturned corners of her lips and the deep, rumbling purr emanating from her chest. Their Soul Jam connected, Light of Passion and Light of Happiness working together as one, two halves of a soul that have found one another.
Eventually Eternal Sugar pulls back, eyelids heavy with sleep. Her head falls against Hollyberry’s shoulder as she mumbles something. The Ancient finds herself yawning this time, her bed calling for them to return.
She scoops the smaller Cookie up in her arms, wings lazily readjusting to make space. Eternal Sugar nuzzles into her, already only half conscious, as she cleans up the kitchen and makes her way back to the room.
As she tucks her other half back under the covers, she places one final kiss upon her head. “I love you, Sugar,” Hollyberry whispers, and the halo softly glows in response.