Chapter Text
Golden Cheese sighed, tutting as she waited for Hollyberry at her castle. She had been told that Hollyberry and her ‘friend’ had ‘found something’ and believed that it might be of interest to her.
She hated how vague she could be sometimes, Hollyberry's ‘friend’ was also a dragon, one written in legend, older than Earthbread itself.
How that cookie had time to befriend a dragon while also ruling a kingdom escaped her.
Nonetheless, she was intrigued, leaving her Kingdom in the safe and capable hands of her army and guards for the meantime, although she loathed spending time away from her little treasure, she had been told it was urgent.
Soon, Hollyberry emerged from the stairs, covered in ash and bandages, before she eagerly pulled Golden Cheese into her famous crushing hugs, coating her clean linen shendyt in the black dust.
She didn’t even have a moment to voice her indignation before being practically dragged down the staircase to the depths of the castle.
“Pitaya believes you can help far more than I can here, they didn't explain why though, you know what they're like.”
No, she didn't, she rarely talked to the dragon on account of it being, well, a dragon.
They soon approached the dungeons. Had Hollyberry ever used them? The amount of dust suggested as much. “I didn't want him to be down here, but he ‘didn't want to be in the light’, plus he's…” She gestured to her bandages, “Well, he's still learning how to keep his powers in check.”
Did… did she find another dragon? She really hoped not. Although, to her knowledge, dragons were always androgynous, and Hollyberry had used ‘he’.
She just really hoped she hadn't found another dragon.
As Hollyberry opened the door, she immediately felt something almost pulling her closer to the end cell which appeared to glow. She walked towards it as Hollyberry laughed, before she heard the sound of chains rattling as a voice rang out, “Sugarberry?”
She froze. Was that… a child? It certainly sounded like one. A small head poked out of the cell, the glow of their hair illuminating them, their yellow eyes unable to leave her own.
Hollyberry walked past before kneeling in front of the child, breaking their focus momentarily, “It's Hollyberry.” She corrected, running her hand through the boy's hair, a bizarre fusion of lava and flames, small embers floating off him periodically, the colour a deep orange.
She sat next to Hollyberry, now able to get a better look at the child's face, as most of him was covered with a cloak, his dough was a charcoal grey, bright white eyelashes like hers, he had two black horns with a large cross-shaped scar that glowed like magma, unnerving her slightly, in between the horns on his forehead. He shuffled forward, his eyes completely transfixed on her souljam before reaching towards it. She held her hands out to stop him, the moment they touched, his eyes widened with recognition, his hair flaring up.
She felt a surge of energy flow through her, suddenly feeling the same way she felt towards her little Rich Cheese.
Protective.
Maternal, even.
She held his outstretched hand, feeling his little taloned fingertips, just like her own. Moving her hand to his wrist, she stopped, feeling metal.
She looked over, her jam running cold at the sight, “Why do you have…”
He pulled his hand away, “So I couldn't escape.”
As he spoke, she noticed little fangs, surrounded by sharp teeth.
A million questions ran through her mind, only opening her mouth before Hollyberry spoke, “Pitaya and I found him in a cave, surrounded by lava, chained to the wall. Pitaya used their sword to break the chains securing him.”
She couldn't even speak. Why was a child chained away? In a cave no less? Who would do such a thing?
Hollyberry continued, “He kept asking if I could take him to ‘Dad’, saying he lived in a hot, sandy desert, filled with spices. At least he thinks he did.” She sighed, “You aren't really sure, are you?”
The boy only shook his head in response, unable to take his eyes off her.
She'd never heard of such a place, the only place spice cookies really lived in was the Dragon's Valley, which she wouldn't consider a sandy desert. Too volcanic and rocky. The only desert was the one her kingdom resided in, and she would know if there was anyone else nearby.
“He seems to not remember much, only fragments.” She explained, “Although Pitaya believes there's a connection between you two, and going off that strange thing with the hair and your souljam, they were right.”
He moved closer towards her, “You feel like Dad, but you don't look right…” He stared at her, both confused and intrigued.
“That's because I'm not a dad, I'm a mother.” She answered, she wondered who his father was, deeply hoping the chains had not been their doing.
He furrowed his brow, processing for a moment, “Oh… Okay.”
He shuffled forward again before she helped him to his feet, eager to get these binds off.
“Do you have a name?” She asked, surprised Hollyberry hadn't already introduced him.
“Capsaicin. I know that one.”
“That's a lovely name. I'm Golden Cheese.”
He tilted his head, “I… Is it?” He slumped back down before pulling his knees close, hugging them, “How did everything change so much?...”
“What do you mean?”
“You were… Red… I think. At least Bluebell called you that sometimes. But others called you Harold… Gerald, maybe?” He mumbled, scratching at his arms, “And Hollyberry was Peony- No. Bringer of?…” He grew more frustrated and stressed with every word, “I don't-! Why is it so hard to remember?!”
She could see what Hollyberry was talking about now with the memory issue.
He started tugging on his hair, managing to pull out a clump that quickly turned grey before she grabbed his hands, “It's okay, we'll figure this out later. Don't worry.”
He stopped, as she let his hands go, he went to hug his knees again. She gasped slightly upon seeing a little tail poke out from under the cloak, curling around his legs. A tuft adorning the end, the same deep orange of his hair.
“Oh! That's precious!” She cooed, Capsaicin's face flushed as it began to wag. The sound of chains rattling took her attention from his cuteness, making her stomach churn. Leaning over to Hollyberry, “Do you have someone who can remove these?” Gesturing at the chains and shackles, “A metalworker, perhaps?”
“I can, I have some tools ready. I just thought he might be more comfortable with you nearby.”
He nodded, affirming the assumption as she helped him to his feet again, “Hollyberry, could you go get everything ready? I'll be behind you with Capsaicin.”
Hollyberry chuckled and nodded, heading up the spiral stairs. Golden Cheese moved to follow her, but Capsaicin pulled away, “Can we stay here? It's too bright up there…”
“I'll cover you with my wings if it gets too much.” She extended her wings, the look of sheer amazement on his face made her heart melt, she moved her wings to form a canopy over him, “Like this, what do you think?”
He nodded, clearly only half paying attention, her golden feathers far more interesting.
As she helped him up the stairs, she picked up the trailing chains, now noticing that there were three. He also had a cuff around his neck, she hadn't seen it prior due to the cloak. She gathered the excess chain in one arm, so it wouldn't drag, now even more set on getting these awful things off, holding the boy's hand in the other as they neared the exit. Pre-emptively covering him with her wings as the light started pouring in, now in the halls of the castle. Hollyberry waiting for them at the top. She followed the fellow queen to a side room, where a few servants were shuffling around before briskly leaving as they entered.
As she withdrew her wings, he squinted a bit, blinking a few times before adjusting. It was as dark as it could be, the curtains had been drawn to avoid too much outside light.
“We're going to get these awful things off, okay?” She moved to hold his wrist, but he pulled away, holding it against himself before tugging at the chain slightly, narrowing her eyes at the tiny flinch the action caused.
“What if we do the neck first?” She offered, seeing how he seemed resistant regarding the wrist cuffs for whatever reason.
He nodded, “Can you stay?” He looked at her, pleading, even though he didn't need to.
“I wasn't planning on leaving.”
She held his hair out of the way as he pressed his face against her. She could feel his strangely warm tears soaking into her clothes as Hollyberry slowly sawed at the metal from behind.
Eventually getting through before pulling the metal open with her hands, wide enough to fit his neck through.
He immediately brought a hand to the newly exposed dough, likely due to the unfamiliar sensations he now felt. Now removed, the full extent of the scarring beneath could be seen, metal rubbing away for who knows how long. Distinct scars that looked like scratches were also present, and based on the shape, it had been a desperate attempt to claw through.
Despite how young he looked, unable to be older than nine at the most, the scarring was definitely far older, some so faded they appeared decades old, bizarrely older than him. “Capsaicin, how long were you down there?”
“I'm not sure, it felt like a while, but I didn't grow at all. Maybe it was only a few years.”
The scarring caused by the shackles was undeniably far, far older than that, but he had been in a cave, so for him, being able to tell how much time has passed would've been difficult, if not impossible. How did he survive? He didn't look starved at all. Had someone been bringing him food?
“When was the last time you saw someone before Hollyberry?”
“I'm not sure but these strange grey cookies visited me occasionally.” He shuffled uncomfortably, clearly not keen on elaborating.
“Did these cookies bring food?” Hollyberry asked, missing his reluctance, but her question gave him pause.
“Food?” He looked at them both, confused.
“Yes, like what you eat when you're hungry.” Hollyberry clarified, shooting a nervous look her way.
“I don't… What's ‘hungry’?” He tilted his head, “Is that what it's called when you want to do something?”
The two queens now looked at one another, sharing an ever-growing concern, “One moment.” Hollyberry stood up, calling for a servant, muttering a few things as Capsaicin looked at her.
“Did I say something wrong?” He looked so worried, it broke her heart.
“No, you didn't.” Golden Cheese held his cheek, he leaned into the touch, bringing his hands to hold hers.
Hollyberry returned, “I've called for some food to be made, and requested it to be spicy.”
“I like spice!” He smiled brightly, the sight making her swoon before he looked away, unsure, “Do I? I can't remember.”
“Something tells me you do.” Hollyberry chuckled, sitting opposite them as she brushed his hair with her hands, his eyes drifting closed, “While that's being prepared. I say we start on these.” She gently tapped the shackles around his wrists.
His eyes darted open, pulling away from them both, holding his arms close to his chest, “No! It's not-” Eyes moving from her to Hollyberry, full of distress and fear, “I need them.”
“Capsaicin…” She stood to comfort him, “Why-?”
He bolted past her, Hollyberry reactively grabbing one of the excess chains to stop him. She expected a yelp or a cry, but certainly not a scream, especially not one so filled with agony. Hollyberry couldn't drop the chain fast enough as he fell to the floor, clutching the hand the chain had been attached to.
Golden Cheese swooped to him, Hollyberry being too paralysed by the guilt of seemingly hurting him to move. A slight glow bloomed from under his hand as small orange tears trailed down his face. She pulled his trembling form into her lap, wiping away the tears.
“I'm sorry…” He whimpered as she soothed him, “I shouldn't have tried to run…”
“You're scared, it's okay. Can you show me what hurts?” He hesitantly released his hand, now covered in a glowing orange substance, much thicker in consistency than his tears, that also seemed to harden into a black glass around the edges.
Reaching for his injured wrist, she heard him quietly warn her, “It's lava, don't touch it-”
Her fingers barely touched the jam before she hissed in pain, pulling her hand back.
Lava?!
She knew spice cookies tended to run on the hotter side but that was another level!
Trying her best to hide her pain before Hollyberry yelled out, “I need some cold water!” Glancing at Capsaicin, who snapped to face her with a look of fear.
Hurried footsteps of someone fulfilling her request before Capsaicin's eyes welled up with more tears.
“I hurt you!” He reached towards her before backing off, burying his head in his hands, “That's all I do! That's all I'm good for! I need to go back! I-!”
Hollyberry pulled him into a hug, as Golden Cheese rubbed his upper arm with her unburned hand, “It's okay, it was just the shock.” Trying not to show how much it actually hurt, opting to change the subject slightly, “Your jam is lava?”
He nodded, that was certainly something she'd never heard of before, picking a shard up, now recognising it as obsidian.
Someone soon arrived with the water, Hollyberry thanking them for her, as she put her hand in the water to soothe the burn, enough to take the edge off at least. A servant came by with a towel and some bandages, using it to dry her hand before waving the need for bandages. Her souljam was already working on the healing aspect, no need to waste them when it would be fine in a moment.
While she did, she noticed Hollyberry soothing Capsaicin as he stared at the bowl with fear.
“You're okay, don't worry.” Running her hands through his hair, “We'll keep it away from you.”
He glanced at his still sluggishly leaking hand before clenching his eyes shut as he plunged his hand in, Hollyberry quickly yelling out to stop him to no avail.
The water evaporated with a loud hiss, instantly boiling as his glowing jam solidified into the black glass. But more concerningly, a solid layer of rock formed over his hand before he quickly pulled it out and shook the water off with a mildly pained expression.
“Why did you do that?!” Hollyberry pulled him into her lap before looking at his hand, “...Water stops you leaking jam?”
“Yeah, I don't like using water though.” He winced slightly looking at his encased hand, “It hurts the most. I remember something called ‘lassi’ that worked too, and didn't hurt.”
Golden Cheese mentally noted that she'd have to find whatever this ‘lassi’ was, “So water hurts you?”
“Yeah, I don't like it.” He mumbled, avoiding Hollyberry's guilty but sympathetic look, “It makes me unable to move for a bit.” Lifting up his still solid rock hand, “I think it's called basalt, but I can break it, especially if it's just a hand.” Cracks began forming in the rock before eventually breaking away.
Most cookies weren't exactly able to swim or be submerged for any extended period of time, but it just made their dough soggy, not hurting or solidifying them! Making another mental note to avoid having him near water.
“How do you know this?” Hollyberry seemed utterly fascinated, albeit slightly concerned.
His face dropped, retreating back to his more shy self, “I… don't want to talk about it..”
Before Hollyberry could ask anything else, his eyes landed on her hand before he curled in on himself, refusing to look at her as she shuffled closer, before she extended a wing and hugged him, making him lean on her.
“I'm sorry.”
“Can we try getting these off again?” She gently put her hand on his wrists, making him shuffle nervously.
“They aren't like the neck one…”
She tilted her head, “How so?”
“I… I tried to escape and…” He struggled over his words, “They got mad and wanted to make sure I didn’t try again…”
“May I look?”
He looked away, giving a tiny nod, “Please be careful, it hurts if you move them.”
Golden Cheese knelt in front of him, so she wouldn't have to lift his hand as high and risk moving the cuffs.
Through the thin gap between his dough and the metal, she saw a bar that looked...
Like it was…
She gently placed his hand back down, trying to keep herself together. The idea of how such a thing would be done horrified her, but also made her deeply enraged.
“Goldie? You look pale, are you okay?” Hollyberry reached over to her.
“Who did this to you?” She asked, trying her best not to let her anger show through, in case he thought it was directed at him. “Was it those grey cookies you mentioned-?”
“No. It wasn't them.” His tone was oddly firm before going back to being unsure, “I think… they had horns?.. They had four legs… Green dough…” He mumbled, avoiding her gaze, “No, it was like a purple-red? Fangs?...” Quickly growing more distressed and frustrated, his hands clenching into fists before he began hitting his shackled wrists against his horns, “I don't know!”
“It's okay, did you know any of them?” She held his hands, stopping him, “Names? Flavours?”
“Spice cookies, I think.”
While she hadn’t exactly met a lot of spice cookies to compare, but as far as she knew, none walked on four legs, or had green or even purple-red dough.
“We did find him in Pitaya's Valley.” Hollyberry added, “I took him to Scovillia and some surrounding tribes but he didn't recognise anyone, nor did anyone recognise him.”
“But there aren’t any other spice settlements in Crispia?” She hummed, the only other place habitable for such cookies would be her desert, and she knew there weren't any.
“There are old maps of Beast-Yeast that mention a Land of Spice.” Hollyberry mentioned. Ever the adventurous type, of course, she'd looked into going to that Witch-forsaken place, “I can't find any further details, the place seems quite inhospitable.”
“But if he was from there, how and why would anyone bring him here?” Traversing the Licorice Sea was hardly something to be undertaken lightly, especially with the intent to seemingly abandon a child.
“Let me go find the map, he might recognise one of the places.” Hollyberry headed off as a servant came in, bowl in hand.
“Her Majesty suggested something on the spicier side.” They explained, putting the bowl down, “Unfortunately, we didn't have too much in the way of that, so I hope this will suffice.”
Golden Cheese thanked them regardless, offering the meal to Capsaicin, who just stared at her, confused, before she showed him what to do, with him copying.
The moment the food touched his tongue, his eyes widened, immediately forgoing the spoon entirely and drinking from the bowl.
“Wait! Not so fast, you'll make yourself sick-!” Unable to stop him before the bowl was empty. She blinked in shock as he silently pleaded for more.
She burst into laughter, “Such greed for such a little body!” Quickly stopping when she sensed his discomfort.
“Sorry. I didn't mean to.” He shuffled nervously. Now trying to avoid looking at the bowl before she gently tapped his nose.
“It was a compliment!” She beamed, “Greed is encouraged! For what is the purpose of abundance otherwise?”
“But… Greed is what makes cookies do bad things.” He mumbled, “They'll always want more. And will start being mean if they don't get it.” He spoke with a tone as if he were quoting someone. “Kingdoms will always fall if there is excessive greed.”
“You can have a greedy and prosperous kingdom.” She assured him, her own being a perfect example, “You just have to keep them in line.” She began to run her fingers through his hair, comforting him, “If they don't respect your generosity and authority, then they get nothing. Simple as that.”
He picked at the tuft on his tail, “But what if they don't take no for an answer?”
“There will always be cookies who are ungrateful, rude and ignorant.” She tutted, having experienced her fair share over the years, “You just simply remind them why you're in charge.”
“Got it!” Hollyberry walked in, interrupting her lesson, before she glanced at the empty bowl, “Seems you've had something to eat.” She sat down next to them, “How was it?”
“It was really nice. Thank you.” He spoke so softly compared to Hollyberry, her voice loud and boisterous as always.
“I think he'd like some more.” Making the request for him, feeling him heating up beside her as his cheeks glowed orange, before trying to cover his face with his hands.
Hollyberry laughed, “Is that so?”
He mumbled something before she rubbed his back, reassuring him, “It's okay to be greedy.”
He moved his hands down, tucking them into his lap, “If it's not too much trouble.” He avoided Hollyberry's eyes, she couldn't help but wonder what made him so nervous to make such requests.
“I'm sure it'll be no trouble at all.” She stood up, calling someone over, handing them the empty bowl and thanking them. Sitting back down beside them, she unfurled one of the old maps she'd found.
“Do you recognise any of these places?” Gesturing for him to look over. As he scanned over the map, his eyes landed on a specific spot before placing his hand on the location.
The Great Destroyer's Tomb.
Golden Cheese couldn't help but feel unease at his strange fascination with such a place, glancing at Hollyberry, who wore a similar uncomfortable look.
“Do you recognise that place?” Hollyberry sounded weary, it was on the far east of the landmass, and travelling there would be unimaginably treacherous. The few expeditions she'd heard of barely went deeper than the Ravenous Forest before being turned back by unknown forces.
“No. I don't know anyone called the ‘Great Destroyer’.” His eyes still not leaving it, a look of annoyance now growing on his face, “Why do I feel like I've seen this map before?”
“I'm not sure, it could be just a misremembering?” Hollyberry offered, “Beast-Yeast is on every map, but it's rarely labelled, you may have just-”
“No, it had different labels, I think.” He looked over the map at the other locations, before another bowl was brought in and handed to her, instantly taking his attention away.
As he practically tried to snatch the bowl from her hands, she lightly scolded him, lifting the bowl out of reach, “Being greedy does not mean being impolite.” He quickly flushed and tucked his hands in his lap, “Little Treasure, I know you're hungry, but this is still quite hot. What if I had accidentally spilled it on you?”
“I can't get burnt. I've been in real lava before.” He mumbled, seemingly frustrated at her concern, “All the time.”
She paused, “And why would you do that?” Unable to hide the parental tone in her voice.
He shrunk slightly at the change, “It's nice, and it makes me clean.” He answered, fiddling with his fingers.
She sighed, “Please use the spoon this time.”
“Yes Mama!” He nodded, reaching for the bowl, oblivious to what he had called her. She froze as her heart practically burst from her chest before Hollyberry snorted, alerting Capsaicin to his slip.
He immediately pulled his arms back, “I'm sorry! I didn't mean-!” Stumbling over his words as he flushed a deep orange, “I meant Red- No! Goldie- Golden Change- Cheese-!”
She placed the bowl to the side before gently shushing him as she held his face, pulling him from his spiral, “It's okay sweetheart, you can call me ‘Mama’ if you like.”
He stopped, looking at her with hesitant yet hopeful eyes. She smiled, handing him the bowl, she already viewed him as her son anyways, “Now eat up and then we'll see what can be done about those cuffs.”
Before she had even finished, he was already well underway.
The two queens talked while he ate, with him adding something in every so often before he was done, she could've sworn his hair was brighter now. He definitely seemed brighter. Even though he was leaning against her, appearing to be falling asleep.
That is, until hurried footsteps across marble caught their attention, Hollyberry groaning quietly, “Here we go.”
“Your Royal Highness?” A rather haggard-looking cookie poked his head in, “My apologies, but the Prince… requires your attention.”
Hollyberry burst into laughter, “Being a little troublemaker, is he?” Getting to her feet, “I'll be back in a second, Royalberry's having a tantrum. He's got the spirit of a dragon in him, that one.” Winking at her before heading off.
She froze for a moment.
Was Hollyberry insinuating that Royalberry was…?
That was impossible, right? Sure, Hollyberry and the Red Dragon, Pitaya, she thinks they're called, were very close. But that close? From what she knew, dragons weren't even made of dough! How would they even contribute? She shook the thought away. Hollyberry was probably just joking, she was always the one to jest.
Although Golden Cheese was hardly one to talk about using unconventional ingredients. Rich Cheese had been partially made from artificial dough, as she couldn't contribute enough by herself.
No one could.
She heard the rattling of chains, the sound sending shivers down her spine, watching as Capsaicin fiddled with the pile of chains in his lap.
She took his hands in hers, letting him fiddle with her hands instead, “Look, we both have talons!” Anything to get his attention off those vile cuffs. Now getting a better look at his talons, she could see how damaged they were, chipped and jagged.
“Of course we do!” He laughed, “But they're actually claws! Just like the…” He paused, grumbling a little, “What were they again? I used to play with them all the time, why can't I remember anything?”
While she was glad he was seemingly getting more comfortable in her presence, she couldn't help but feel guilty at not being able to answer his questions. She couldn't imagine how frustrating such a situation would be, “It's okay, don't worry about it anymore.”
“Did you mean what you said before?” He glanced up at her with a look of uncertainty, “That I can call you ‘Mama’?”
“Of course, I will gladly be your mother, I will treat you as my own. You will never know hardship again.” She laced her fingers in between his, “You will be a treasure like no other, more precious than all the gold and gems in the world.” Gently kissing his forehead before finishing, “You will be my son.”
He burst into tears, streaming in torrents down his cheeks as he clung to her, soon devolving into small hiccups and sobs.
Well, it appeared Rich Cheese was getting a brother.