Chapter Text
Cherri left her and Apo’s house as the sun rose over the hills surrounding the Red Kingdom. She had told Apo about her plans to go mining the night before, and after plenty of begging, bribing, and reasoning, Apo had reluctantly agreed that they probably needed more resources.
And so, it was with empty pockets, and a skip in their step that Cherri left her and Apo’s house to the greeting of the rising sun.
She didn’t remain underground for particularly long that morning, although she did pocket fourteen diamonds, half a stack of gold, and one or two arrow wounds from one particularly persistent skeleton. Despite giving the lava a wide berth, she found several burns on the hem of her dress, and one on her wrist.
They left the mines to the sun high in the cloudless blue sky, and birds singing and trilling back and forth to one another. They walked with a slight limp, after their last altercation with a zombie, pockets weighed down with iron, cobble and gold, and a growling stomach.
When they finally took the final leap over the moat encircling the kingdom, they wore a scowl that only deepened at the sight of Apo, perched on one of the new windows she built up overnight. She was sitting down on the windowsill, and would lean back every so often to nail a new birch plank up, before analysing its placement. They were messing around with window sizes, and arches, and, to Cherri’s annoyance (and pink flushed cheeks, although they would never admit it), they had their sleeves rolled up, the navy fabrics pushed above their elbows.
She turned at the sound of Cherri’s tired footsteps with a grin.
“Your highness!” They called, genuine happiness in their voice. “Hang on, just one moment.”
They spun around where she sat, and dropped from the ledge, breaking their fall with a well timed water bucket clutch.
“Princess! Are you okay?”
Cherri sighed. “No.” They said mournfully.
“Can I take anything?”
“Please.” Cherri dropped her bag of loot at her feet and flopped down beside it, splaying her limbs across the green grass. Apo smiled down at her, the sun casting her face in golden light.
“So what have you been up to?” Cherri asked before Apo could open their mouth.
She straightened and turned to frown at the house she had been working on.
“I’ve been working on the house. I’m not sure what to do with the windows. They’re proving a lot of trouble…”
They continued to talk about windows, and the house, and the words washed over Cherri like waves on the beach. She stopped fully registering what Apo was saying, instead admiring the way the sunlight hit the knight's face, their crimson eyes, and pale, smooth skin. They had a sprinkling of freckles dusted across the height of their cheekbones, faded, and definitely new, as after weeks on a boat together Cherri hadn’t seen a single freckle. She knew the Knights trained indoors for the most part in Soluna, and perhaps the outdoor lifestyle of the Red Kingdom had garnered them those few freckles. Cherri had certainly gained more during the weeks spent with Apo and Katie and the rest of the Red citizens.
Her brows furrowed, leaving a small crease between them. The bridge of her nose was slightly raised, and she had a pronounced cupid's bow. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were bright, and her hair curled softly around her face, and she looked like she had stepped out of one of the paintings that decorated the walls of the Solunian castles.
Apo was still talking when Cherri finally blinked back into reality and realised they had been staring. They sighed and held out a hand.
Apo looked down with confusion and flushed cheeks. “My Lady?”
“C’mon. Help me up.” Cherri huffed with impatience.
“Oh! Of course, Princess. I’m so sorry.” Apo’s cheeks had flushed a deep red with embarrassment.
They took the princess’s hand, small, and dainty in comparison, although in the weeks the two had left Soluna, they had grown rougher. She sported a few blisters on the patch of skin where her palm met her fingers after her mining trip, something she felt slightly proud of.
“No, no, it’s alright.” Cherri said, dusting her dress down. “The house looks wonderful, by the way. And I’m sure the windows will look amazing too.” She threw a grin over her shoulder at Apo. “Come on! I want to put away the stuff I got.”
“Of course.” Apo jogged to walk beside Cherri, letting their arms brush briefly.
Inside their house, Cherri rambled about her mining trip as she smelted and sorted her goods. Apo sat at the table, elbows resting on the table, cupping their chin, and a slight smile on their face as they watched Cherri complain about zombies and creepers.
She had just finished with her scathing debrief of spiders, as she wrapped up smelting the last of the gold, when Katie the Brave knocked on their door and shouted something about Cam’s new spell he wanted to try.
“Katie!” Cherri cried.
“Just a moment, Katie!” Apo called at the same time.
Cherri grabbed the still warm gold from the furnace, hissing as their skin reddened at the touch of the burning gold.
“Can you grab the iron?” They asked Apo, who was already in motion, reaching for the much cooler iron in the second furnace. “Thank you!”
Cherri put the gold in one of their chests, and taking the iron from Apo placed them alongside each other.
“Coming, Katie!” They yelled, sprinting up the stairs, looking back to ensure Apo followed.
— — — — — —
“So, Katie, what did you say about Cam’s spells?” Cherri asked, carefree. She and Katie were walking the short distance to the castle arm in arm, as Apo lingered slightly behind.
“Oh, yes! Sorry; Cam mentioned he had a new spell he wanted to try out! I’m not sure which one, but he said it would be fun. I thought you might want to watch, you might pick up something new!”
Katie was bright and eager, her joy bleeding out in her eyes and grin. She too was beautiful, but a in different way to Apo. Whereas Apo held a sort of regal, aloof beauty, broken by her soft smiles and gentle curls, Katie was alive, and she burned brightly, so brightly. She had a fierce joy that showed in everything she did. Her hair was wild, her eys were bright, and her smile persistant. She rivaled the sun with her round, open face, and beaming lips, and expressive brows.
Cherri grinned. “Aw, Katie! That’s so sweet of you!”
Cherri glanced back at Apo, who was looking down at the path with furrowed brows. Now that simply wouldn’t do.
“Isn’t it, Apo?” Cherri said lightly, reaching back to loop their other arm with Apo’s, who stumbled slightly as she was tugged into line with the other two.
“Huh—? Oh! Yes, very kind indeed.” Despite being caught off guard, she spoke with absolute sincerity.
“Aw, thank you!” Katie blushed happily.
They reached the castle, and entered the throne room with relatively little talk after that, and were greeted by an excited Cam.
“Oh, Cherri and Apo!” Cam crowed. “Did you want to see my new spell?”
“Yes, yes, yes! Of course!” Cherri cried rushing forward, and dragging the other two with her. “What is it?”
“So it’s a shrink spell, and I’ve been practising on sticks, and rocks, and stuff, but I want to see if I can shrink people too!”
Cherri exclaimed with glee, crossing the throne room to clutch Cam’s sleeve. “Oh, Cam, Cam please! Pretty, pretty please?”
“Hang on, Princess, are we sure this is safe?” Apo said, stepping between the two mages.
“No, Apo, please, it’ll be fine, and hey! It might help me with my own magic, too!”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure, Apo. Come on, it’ll be fun!”
“Alright. But, Cam? If you hurt her.” They threatened, turned to Cam, who had his hands raised, and a placating expression on his face.
“Of course, of course.” He said, nodding. “Now, Cherri! Come here, please.”
Cherri broke away from Apo and Katie and stood in front of Cam, who was flicking through his spellbook. As he was doing so, he absentmindedly began to trace the air, leaving behind a galactic word that, even though none but Sausage could properly read the language, was familiar.
The cleansing aura spread through them all, and even though Cherri had absolutely no idea what it actually did, it was comforting, and rested a warmth deep in her bones.
Cam paused his incessant flipping through the book, and grinned.
“I’ve gotten far better at the cleansing aura, see? I hardly need to think about it anymore!”
“Yes, yes, it’s excellent,” Apo sighed. “Now can you hurry on with the spell, please?”
“Aha!” He cried. “I’ve found it! Now, Cherri. You will feel very tingly, like pins and needles, and it might drift into itching territory. Apparently. If this, uh, works.”
Cherri nodded along, bouncing on their toes, eager to begin.
“Ready?” Cam asked, already beginning to trace the galactic letters in the air around him.
Cherri nodded with excitement, and watched Cam's movements intently.
He pushed the galactic letters towards Cherri, and she felt exactly how he described, shooting pins and needles running through her arms and legs, and the tips of her fingers began to itch madly. She screwed her eyes shut, resisting the urge to scratch her skin with chewed down nails, until the sensation disappeared. The pins and needles finally passed, and when she opened her eyes again, everything felt the same.
They looked down at their hands in confusion. It was only when they looked at Cam to ask if the spell had worked when they realised they were staring at his ankles.