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After the war, the Dark Cacao Kingdom was quiet because its king had proclaimed a period of mourning for his friend, White Lily. The imposing king seemed calm; however, not a single time did he pass by the medical room without admiring the portrait he had made of her long ago, not forgetting that he still had the letter Pastry had delivered to him.
During some nights, he would light incense and pray for her, blaming himself for not being stronger and wishing her eternal rest; afterwards, he would return to his room and lie down. There were nights when he couldn't sleep, and every now and then, he would weep without realizing it.
It was hard, but as a warrior, he admired her sacrifice and would always remember her with a smile. As the days went by, he felt he was recovering little by little, wishing never to fall back into that loop of depression and despair from the first war; he watched his soldiers reuniting with their families and the cream wolves running through the snow, which gave him a sense of tranquility and relief.
But he wasn't expecting a visitor until his first watcher, Caramel Arrow, notified him that someone was at the citadel gates. He stepped out of his secret garden—where he had been reflecting once again—and arrived at the throne room, receiving a great surprise.
Pure Vanilla had come to visit, wearing a coat that Cacao had gifted him long ago. He noticed his hair was somewhat disheveled, with dark circles under his eyes, but the most notable thing was that he had a white lily on his head. But it wasn't just any lily; it was the flower White Lily had left behind upon her departure.
"Good afternoon, Dark Cacao. I apologize for my sudden visit and... especially because you are in a time of mourning," he greeted with his typical soft voice, though it sounded a bit melancholy.
"It’s alright, Pure Vanilla. You know you are welcome here whenever you wish," he replied with an understanding smile, and the other cookie returned the gesture. "And what brings you here?"
The blonde cookie lowered his gaze. Both Caramel Arrow and Dark Cacao looked at each other with concern, but he finally answered.
"I heard you wanted to engrave Lily’s name on the altar of the fallen and, well... I wanted to ask if... I could be the one to write it," he explained, moving his hands nervously. Cacao looked at him and let out a sigh.
"Well, I was planning to do it myself, but I think that is for the best. However, the ceremony will be held when the mourning period ends." Pure Vanilla smiled and gave a bow of gratitude.
From there, he ordered that his husband be settled into his room and that something be prepared for him to eat. Pure Vanilla tried to refuse, but the dark-complexioned king insisted.
However, during the meal, he noticed that Pure Vanilla wasn't eating anything. He asked if he felt unwell or if there was something he didn't like, but he only said he wasn't hungry and would eat later.
He also noticed that as they walked toward the room, his husband had a distant look and his smile faded; he called him twice, but only on the third time did he react, pretending nothing had happened.
Days passed and Pure’s behavior became more worrying. When he was changing clothes, Cacao noticed his body was thinner; he asked if he was eating well, and he insisted he was.
At no point did he see him go to the medical room—which wasn't necessary now—but even on other occasions when there were no sick cookies, he would still go to check the supplies or read some of the books there. Now, he stayed in his room or wandered through the palace.
Cacao was not naive; he obviously knew all of this was due to the loss of White Lily. It was logical, as they were very close, and it would be harder for Pure Vanilla to let her go. Though just remembering how he ran toward her and his voice breaking as he said his final goodbye tore his heart apart.
However, the man could barely handle his own grief and wasn't the best at consoling people; furthermore, he didn't want to pry or add more weight to hurt his husband, even though he desperately wished he could help.
The day arrived, and Pure Vanilla was given a heated knife to engrave her name. Despite the difference between the calligraphy of his home and his husband's, he successfully wrote the name. The black-haired king approached quickly and took the knife, congratulating him, but he noticed the blonde was lost in his own world again while staring at the name.
"Come, let's go eat something, alright?" The other turned and nodded.
This time he tried to get him to eat something light. One good thing was that he managed to get Pure to eat at least two meals during his stay; it wasn't much, but he wasn't going to let him starve.
They returned to their room, but Cacao detoured, indicating he had something to do. Pure nodded and returned to the room alone. It pained him to leave him alone, but he had accumulated some work and was at least finishing it bit by bit.
He spent an hour in his office, and when he finished, he left. He passed by the portrait again and lit an incense for her, kneeling to pray once more.
"Oh, White Lily, I’m sorry for this, but... I really need you to give me strength," he whispered while bowing his head and letting out a sigh. "Vanilla isn't well, and you know I’m not good at consoling people. I don't know what I can do. He tries to hide that he’s okay, but... the truth is, I’m lost." He sat down, but his gaze remained low and a tear escaped his cheek. "You know him better than anyone and... even though I am his husband, I can't find the courage to... help him."
His breath hitched slightly. He remembered Pure Vanilla's words on the battlefield again and grabbed a handkerchief that was nearby to wipe his face.
"Forgive me, surely you would know what to do," he smiled, looking at the painting with trembling eyes flooded with tears wanting to escape.
He wiped his tears and stood up, giving another bow before leaving. It had been days since he felt so defeated; it made him feel a bit ashamed, but he took it with a bit of humor, trying to calm his state of mind.
He was reaching his room when a sound left him worried.
"White Lily..."
Dark Cacao grew alarmed and opened the door. There he could see his husband curled up like a ball while holding the lily from his hair in his hands. He approached at a slow pace; it wasn't the first time he had seen him like this. In fact, there were cases where he used to hear him sobbing in his sleep, or when he returned from doing something, he would find him with dark circles and red eyes.
He sat on the bed and stroked his back, causing a small shiver in the more fragile cookie.
"Pure Vanilla?" The latter sat up alarmed and tried to wipe away his tears.
"Ah... Dark Cacao, I..." Suddenly, the sturdier cookie hugged him, stroking his back and resting his head in the crook of his neck.
"You don't have to hide anything from me," he whispered softly, moving his face back to look at him. "I know how you feel. It is harder for you, but I don't want you to crawl through this alone. You were always there for others, so now allow me to be here for you, my beautiful dove."
Pure’s eyes shed tears again. He hid in Cacao's chest while letting out everything he had built up. The dark king hated seeing him like this, but the best he could do was be his support while he vented.
A while later, he felt Pure’s body grow lighter. He looked at him, noticing he was exhausted, so he pulled away to go change.
"Cacao?" He sat up, looking at him pleadingly, fearing he was being abandoned again.
"Calm down, I’m only going to change," he smiled at him and grabbed his pajamas, heading to the bathroom.
It didn't take long for him to return with some tissue to clean his partner's face; he offered him some water, and they both lay down. Cacao began to stroke his back, watching over him until he fell asleep. It wasn't long until he finally drifted off, and Cacao kissed his star mark, wishing him goodnight.
Though he didn't realize it, his Soul Jam began to glow a green color.
In the king's dream, he lived the memory of when he was painting White Lily's portrait. He was kneeling on the floor with the canvas on the ground and dark ink by his side.
His hand moved with delicacy and mastery, concentrated on his work, but a voice pulled him out of the zone.
"Take care of him for me."
He lifted his head, confused. In front of him was the inspiration for that work of art: White Lily herself, with her green dress, her cape, the bandages on her arms, and her typical shy smile.
"Excuse me?" The lily-white cookie turned her head to look at a bouquet of Vanilla Orchids, which were moving with the wind.
"Pure Vanilla is a kind, compassionate cookie, very sweet and full of love. Isn't that right?"
Out of nowhere, the wind grew stronger, and white lily petals began to swirl around the area.
"But even though he is sweet and strong, he is also of a fragile heart and very emotional. I know he will need someone to help him not to fall, that’s why..." From there, she turned to look at him and smiled, closing her eyes. "Please, take care of him for me."
Suddenly, another wind passed and more petals appeared, covering the dark-haired king's field of vision, and suddenly, he woke up.
He looked around, noticing the sun was just beginning to rise. He remembered the voice from his dream and fixed his gaze on the bed, noticing the blonde wasn't there. He grew worried and stood up quickly, thinking of the places where he might be until he noticed the balcony doors were open.
He moved, noticing that Pure Vanilla was there. He sighed with relief and approached in silence. He expected to hear him sobbing, but instead, he spoke.
"You saw her, didn't you?" He stopped, surprised to hear Pure’s voice sounding calmer, though he asked what he meant. "White Lily. You saw her in your dreams. What did she tell you?"
He turned around; his eyes were still puffy, but he didn't seem to have been crying. Dark Cacao approached the balcony and hugged him by the waist. He noticed he had the flower between his hands and answered.
"She asked me to take care of you," he said calmly, and at that, he heard Pure let out a little giggle.
He looked at him surprised, as since the war, none of their friends had heard him laugh again—not even Black Raisin or Strawberry Crepe, who spent more time in the Vanilla Kingdom castle.
The heterochromatic cookie returned the look and smiled.
"How curious. She told me to take care of you. You, the girls, and the faeries," he smiled genuinely as he used to do before. "And... to be happy, for her."
Cacao returned the smile and rested his head on the other’s shoulder.
"Forgive me. I haven't been a good husband. I don't know how to console you." Pure looked at him and blinked slowly; then, he brought one of his hands to Cacao's face, making him look at him.
"Don't blame yourself, love. You have done so much for me. I must confess the real reason for my visit was because I didn't want to see my Lily garden, but you were right yesterday—I am not alone."
The dark king smiled and straightened up to take the cinnamon-skinned cookie's chin and give him a small kiss on the lips. Pure Vanilla was surprised but accepted it; he missed his kisses.
They pulled apart and appreciated the sunrise together, waiting for a new day where the flowers would open again and the two of them could welcome the spring.
The End~