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“Our path exists and no matter how long it is, it is our decision to continue and reach our destiny.”
“Long ago when these lands were young and we cookies were just beginning to emerge, a terrible storm and darkness appeared, that despite being small began to spread and grow into a terrible tempest, bringing with it unmatched beasts that no kingdom had ever seen before. The origin of all this storm and fury was due to the anger and dispute of two dragons, the "black dragon of the north" and the "white dragon of the south" both together with their anger had brought ruin to the young nation, even spreading it in different artifacts that ended up being quite powerful; No one wanted to face the wrath of these beasts, it was until the arrival of a young warrior who sealed the power of these dragons in his powerful sword and his strength of resolution, the storm and its dragons dissipated and became a distant legend, while the peace of this brought with it the founding of a new and powerful kingdom, the "dark cacao kingdom" being that young warrior its founder and king, over the years the kingdom faced different battles and conflicts but its majestic wall protected them from the beasts and monsters, along with its noble king who still maintains his powerful sword and resolution its what keeps his kingdom strong and united..."
And now, my son, you will be the one who carries the legacy and the strength to continue with this kingdom, our kingdom, once the time comes.
The feared monarch of the dark cacao kingdom, Dark Cacao Cookie, said with a strong and serene voice to his little son, Dark Choco Cookie, who looked at him with great emotion and joy in his eyes; despite having heard that story a thousands of times, he was even more excited to know that his father was the one who founded the powerful kingdom in which he lived.
“-¿You understand this responsibility, son?" he asked calmly, to which his son said with emotion calmly: "Yes, father, I promise you that I will not disappoint you-.”
The king smiled slightly as he hugged his son from a distance - I know, I know you'll make me proud once the time comes.
Many years had passed since that conversation, his son was only a little child and after his betrayal it still hurt to think how vividly he felt that emotion and memory.
He looked again at that last frame that showed him next to his imposing sword in a calm position with his ceremonial suit and by his side with a determined smile his young son who wore a more lighter and formal clothing, this painting was done when his son was 18 years old; he sighed, many things had happened since their last reunion, such as fighting to keep his throne and his soul jam, facing different beasts such as a strange tower and the biggest challenge of all facing the beast of apathy and its horrendous plague that had gravely ill his kingdom. Thankfully, he had maintained the strength, supported by his majestic dragons and allies, to achieve the enlightenment of the power of resolution.
Many months had passed since then and the changes were present at every moment, although what he regretted the most was that despite keeping his crown and kingdom, in addition to having his loved ones by his side, he still had to face the cold truth that his son was not by his side and remained exiled on the outskirts of his kingdom in some unknown location, even despite his attempts he still could not find his location.
Immersed in his thoughts and also in the beauty of that portrait, he could barely hear what was happening outside his head; he faintly heard the repeated footsteps approaching him.
"Your Majesty we are expecting your presence in the royal foyer to clarify any questions regarding tonight's royal banquet," said Caramel Arrow Cookie, her first commanding watcher, in a hurried and firm voice, though despite hearing her voice, he remained distracted and focused on his thoughts. "Your Majesty? Are you all right?"
That was enough to wake Dark Cacao cookie from his thoughts, who turned around in surprise, seeing his first commanding guard and quickly responded - Caramel Arrow cookie, an apology, I was taking care of some matters but tell me. - Although he did not convince Caramel Arrow with his words, she was forced to repeat what she had said, doubting what her king was thinking.
They walked together through the halls, while Caramel Arrow discussed with him several important points of the great celebration that was going to be held to commemorate the defeat of the beast of apathy Mystic Flour Cookie and the resurgence of his “ancient hero” king Dark Cacao cookie.
The citadel was dressed in color while its inhabitants took charge of cleaning and covering different parts of the city with grandeur and decorations.
Despite always keeping a low profile and not having large celebrations like the other kingdoms, such as the opulent parties of the Hollyberry Kingdom, or the extravagant feasts of the Golden Cheese Kingdom and even the small celebrations of the Vanilla Kingdom and the now well-known Fairy Kingdom, he was convinced that this celebration would be good for his kingdom and his allies and would even lift the spirits of his soldiers.
Of course, this being the first of many, required a lot of planning and organization, both from the citadel and of course its king, he had to admit that the absence of any royal advisor made progress slow, but could not deny that considerable progress was being made and preferred to do that work without the help of that treacherous snake who abused his role as royal advisor, in addition the versatility of Caramel Arrow allowed for great progress.
He continued walking, briefly watching through one of the palace windows as two or three adults began to put up purple, black, and white paper decorations and lanterns. Meanwhile, a few children happily ran around their parents with decorations that mimicked the movement and closely resembled the black and white dragons, which were now, in addition to being on his sword, allowed to roam freely around the palace with their master.
Their form was smaller, although still elongated and thin, with a large tail that had delicate fur. Their elegant and delicate forms gave them a certain air of mysticism and strength. Each one was quite flexible and had shiny scales, even dorsal scales on their backs. Each one had a shape that reflected their personality, although they had the characteristic of having a white diamond on their foreheads. They had large fangs, the white dragon having long upper fangs and the black dragon having dark lower fangs. Of course, their soldiers, as well as their acquaintances, were quite surprised by the appearance of these dragons, who still maintained a playful and somewhat mischievous attitude with strangers, although they always brought an air of seriousness and strength as well as wisdom when they were with their master; for some reason, his title of "Lord of Dragons" fit perfectly.
Although the event that allowed those dragons to come out, had also left a deep bond between them and their master; that with his enlightenment brought with it some physical changes such as now having features very similar to his dragons, such as the presence of fangs and claws more evident and stronger, his fangs being those that being elongated came to show on his lower lip, he also had elongated ears and with certain details of dark fur, both his face and body have scales of a purple and brown colour, even showing on his nose, his hands and feet looked quite a bit like those of his dragons, apparently more elongated by the talons as well as being somehow thick at the bottom.
Of course, his armor and ceremonial attire, like his casual clothes, allowed the king to keep a low profile and remain comfortable in his daily activities.
After the long walk to his throne, he sat down while still discussing with his advisors and Caramel Arrow. Choosing the tapestries, decorations, and also the dishes for the banquet had been the easiest thing to do, although his greatest concerns were the safety of his kingdom and the guests who had come from far away and were expected to arrive. An advisor began to read the list of possible guests:
-My lord, I am pleased to announce that the leaders of each village near the citadel will be able to come to tonight's festivities, as well as send you some gifts, we also expect the arrival of many of the ancient heroes from Golden Cheese cookie, Hollyberry cookie and from the vanilla kingdom Pure Vanilla cookie.-
"I see, and... Still no news from White Lily Cookie?" he asked his advisor calmly and curiously.
-Yes sir, she sent the following letter apologizing for her absence,- he said, handing the letter cautiously- it seems she has to attend to urgent matters as queen of the fairy kingdom, some of the ancient heroes will not be able to stay in the citadel after the festivities due to emergencies in their respective kingdom, with the exception of Queen Hollyberry Cookie-.
The king sighed and remained calm about those matters, and began to read the letter, although he was also happy for the upcoming presence of his closest friends, since before becoming kings and queens in addition to the powerful title of ancient heroes they had known each other and maintained their friendship until today, they had seen each other very few times since their enlightenment although he still treasured them, including White Lily cookie; although he remained firm in the idea of controlling security, preventing with such a great celebration, bandits, intruders and in the worst case, the evil minions of the dark Enchantress cookie forces could arrive.
Several hours had passed and the festivities were about to begin, yet the king remained on his throne reviewing the parameters again, and remained somehow tense within his firmness, after a few minutes he finished reviewing the details and allowed the advisors to leave, Caramel Arrow noticed how despite attending to each matter the king still seemed distracted and tense on some topic, she waited for the last advisor to leave, approached and asked cautiously:
-My king, excuse my curiosity, but what have you been thinking about since you saw that painting?-
The king hesitated for a moment before approaching to Caramel Arrow and gently grabbing her shoulder:
-Caramel Arrow cookie, despite noticing those details on me, you shouldn't worry, I've just had to think about several things lately, you should know that as king I must keep security and order first-.
To which she calmed down and gave him a subtle smile, to which he returned it and said while walking with her to the hall: - stay calm, after all we are going to have a great feast tonight-.
She smiled and thanked him happily as she retreated more calmly to her room, while he changed his smile to a serious face as he navigated through his thoughts again.
___________
The sunset was already visible, and music was beginning to play throughout the streets of the citadel; on the outskirts of the kingdom thousands of cookies were piled up and pushed each other to get a better place in line, it was true that most of them had never been able to enter the imposing center of the Dark Cacao kingdom, the only thing visible for a long time was the majestic and dark walls as well as several of its archers and guards, (who still remained in a firm position carefully observing each visitor who entered).
In the immense line a small cookie made its way while running in search of her doll that was lost while walking; although no matter how much she searched and went deeper she found nothing, it was until she accidentally collided with a tall and slim figure with a young appearance, who kept his face hidden in his long, dark cloak, the girl began to cry although she was stopped by the mysterious figure who bent down and gently grabbed her hand and said to her in a low and calm voice:
"Are you lost, little one?" the girl nodded, sobbing, while saying with some hiccups, "I lost my doll and I, I don't know where Mom and Dad are."
-I see- the mysterious young man answered calmly, he put his other hand in his pocket while he spoke to the girl -it's dangerous for you to be here, it would be better to take you to someone suitable for this situation- when he finished he took out of his pocket a small wooden figure that looked a lot like the cream wolves she had glimpsed before reaching the entrance of the citadel -here, this won't replace your doll but it will keep you a noble company, even so we must take you to the guards- the little girl grabbed the figurine with curiosity and felt in her fingers how it had been carved by hand every detail like the eyes, the fur and the fangs it felt made with great care, she observed for the first time and detail the face of her mysterious hero;
He had dark, hard-looking skin, and had a wounded eye that was closed. He had a long scar, which the girl assumed was perhaps made by a sword. He had very little facial hair, and the little hair that could be seen was dark brown with a long, white lock.
After observing it, confidently grabbed his hand, which was larger than hers in comparison, and they both began to walk, moving faster through the long line, while the girl continued to sob until she was surprised by large, warm lights that showed the entrance to the mysterious kingdom.
Entering there was similar to entering a dream, everything looked enormous and also very detailed, the flares and lamps created a nice atmosphere, in addition to seeing people running excitedly in the streets and holding paper dragons, there were quite a few open stalls offering different delicacies, although all the excitement was dissipated with the sound of several trumpets.
To her surprise, his savior cautiously led her to a dark corner while the little girl curiously watched the appearance of different banners, each with a different shape, symbol and color that remained behind along with an ovation from the public, since the figures that were displayed were those in the center and in front of the banners, were different adults who had more striking and elegant outfits worthy of royalty;
the first to pass was named loudly by a guard who responded to the name of "Pure Vanilla cookie" who walked calmly and with a serene smile in addition to having a long cane that had a sunflower flower with an eye as a center, he wore a huge and ostentatious toga with details similar to those of an ice cream cone especially his cape, in addition to having a lighter and cinnamon-colored complexion he had the figure of a star on his forehead as well as long, well-groomed blond hair, the second was acclaimed with more emotion and flew into the kingdom with a smile and a confident look, "Golden Cheese cookie" several shouted, she had a pair of huge golden wings with majestic details in each one, she had short but a dazzling hair to the eye as it had a golden color, her face was made up in an extravagant way and she had a golden outfit and crown with Egyptian features and a certain aquamarine color; the last to pass with her own sound of trumpets and walked with more enthusiasm and joy was also acclaimed, with the name of "Hollyberry cookie" she had a more robust complexion but beautiful at the same time, with magenta hair that adorned her curious braids and buns, she hold a majestic shield and was wearing a huge and elaborate dress with intriguing embroidery in sight, unlike her companions she was wearing a short but warm cape for the cruel cold snow of that kingdom.
Each of them, besides being acclaimed, had an intriguing peculiarity, despite their different shape and color, each one had a large gem that adorned them as an accessory and complement, little did the girl know that those were the ancient heroes and that those gems were the souls jams that contained the virtue of each one from truth, abundance and passion.
The confident Golden Cheese greeted her audience while taking in the details of the venue. Seeing the decorations and the immense tapestry in the center depicting two dragons, she approached her friends, the ancient heroes, and said:
Not bad for the first celebration of the angry king, huh?
To which Pure Vanilla laughed lightly and said in a calm voice, "You always make us laugh, Golden Cheese, and you're right, this could be a very good celebration."
Hollyberry burst out laughing and hugged her two friends tightly - of course, my comrades, this will be an unforgettable night, I tell you.
Both heroes, despite their strength, seemed to remain trapped in the warm embrace of their dear friend. She only let them go at the call of a guard, who cleared his throat to attract the attention of the ancient heroes and said in a firm voice:
-Oh, great powerful heroes, we are pleased to have your presence tonight, please follow me to take you to your seats for the banquet- at this the heroes followed the guard away from the sight of the others.
The mysterious young man came out with the girl from the darkness and approached to the first guard he saw near the entrance (now that he thought about it, getting in was easy), the girl watched as the young man spoke with a firm and serious voice as he explained the girl's situation, finally the guard knelt down and approached the little girl saying with a hoarse voice "come little one, soon your parents will come for you", to which the little girl hugged the legs of the one she considered her hero and said loudly:
-I don't want to! I just trust him- to which the young man said calmly touching her little shoulder -it's okay little one, you'll be safe here and now you have this little one, and believe me this would be a loyal friend- he said pointing to the timber wolf- who will always be with you and take care of you-. To his surprise the girl hugged him tightly saying goodbye until she took the hand of that guard, who watched with a sad face the situation, but suddenly the resemblance of the young man remembered him as the one of his king .
Before the guard could leave, he asked out of curiosity:
-Excuse my curiosity, young man, but are you related to the king?-
At this the young man became frightened and at the first opportunity he disappeared from the sight of both the guard and the girl.
They both looked on in surprise as the guard returned to his post with the girl, while she observed in detail that figure that might be the only trace of her savior.
_____________
The festivities could already be heard outside the palace, the sound of lively music along with the screams and laughter of children as well as adults were a clear warning that it was time for the king, host of this party to make his entrance; Dark Cacao cookie was making the final adjustments for his long-awaited entrance, while carefully placing some ornaments that resembled his lighting suit, his dragons (which had been allowed to leave the sword) played in the room chasing each other, being able to have the ability to fly they did not break or harm anyone in doing so, he supposed that it was one of the benefits of being a dragon, flexible forms and small bodies, of course at some point they were going to cause some disaster.
As he was arranging his headdress with his long hair, that night would need a better presentation, he heard a fragile object fall, knowing that this time his dragons were the cause, he turned around with an annoyed expression only to be surprised to see how both dragons floated and stared hypnotized at an object on the ground. Curiosity called him almost immediately and he approached the front of them only to put on a grim expression to pick up what had fallen, a delicate and small cream wolf plush lay thrown, with a broken eye and with a finished and worn fabric still maintaining the firm embroidery he remembered how his son once treasured the small piece of fabric. He opened the small drawer of his dressing table and sadly closed it, while he looked at himself in the mirror again to continue.
The dragons who had observed that scene followed their master, until the northern dragon, which was more direct, asked with his deep, serpentine voice:
My master, I must say that we have never seen you so melancholy over a piece of worn cloth-.
At these words the white dragon hit him on the head with its tail while looking annoyed at him, Dark Cacao growled and limited his words excusing himself that what happened was none of his business when saying this he went to the other side to grab his long and majestic cape, which had small engravings that recounted the history of the citadel in simple but striking drawings.
The white dragon, faced with this reaction, walked up to the king's shoulder and said calmly:
My master, even though you are undoubtedly a powerful and capable king, distancing yourself from your problems and keeping everything as a secret, cold and distant, like that worn-out cloth, will only end up exhausting you and your resolution.
At this the king sighed again turning doubtfully before that box saying with a calm and tired voice, grabbing the stuffed animal again: - Despite your wisdom I do not know if my resolution and power are capable of undoing all the damage that I have caused to... - stopping to change to another word - that stuffed animal that I wish I would have never hurt, although as you say, I cannot allow this to stop my path and if this is my next battle I will fight without fear since this is my resolution! - When he finished he finally placed his heavy and firm crown on his head holding finally the powerful sword that had accompanied him in all his fights.
The reflection in the mirror showed the firmness and greatness of the king with both dragons standing by each shoulder, he carefully placed the stuffed animal in front of his mirror with more confidence, although that beautiful moment was interrupted by the voice of the northern dragon:
Wait, were you still talking about the piece of cloth or was that a metaphor?
The celebration stopped and all the citizens and guards stood firm and in position at the loud sound of the trumpets and drums of the place, at this a loud voice proudly announced the following words: “Attention please, ladies and gentlemen, allow a loud applause for the great sovereign and ancestral hero of the resolution, his majesty Dark Cacao cookie!”
At these words two palace doors opened to show the imposing figure of the king, who looked magnificent, he walked firmly while his long cape and dragons rose at his side, the king had his classic crown although with a somewhat collected hairstyle being a ponytail although the rest of the hair remained loose and long, he wore a new ceremonial attire with a cape that the upper part looked like the fur of some beast because of its whiteness and grayish appearance although the rest that fell from it was a long piece of fine dark purple cloth similar to the colour of a grape, this had incredible patterns of bright blue and purple colors that contrasted with the base color showing in this different drawings of the dragons that accompanied him, the giant sword of the king and finally the fall of the kingdom of apathy; The suit was traditional of the Dark Cacao kingdom of a black color with certain purple details in addition to having in the center a white pattern of the symbol of the kingdom.
At his waist he wore a purple ribbon with a purple good luck charm and white threads; the sword that was the most famous thing in the kingdom had changed to look larger and divided into two colors, white and black while the dragons on the sides of his shoulders looked seriously and intimidatingly at the guests, after that the Dark Cacao took a few steps and found himself in the center he began his speech with a powerful voice:
"Citizens of the Kingdom of the Dark Cacao kingdom! As well as my dear guests from distant lands, today we joyfully commemorate that apathy has been defeated and resolution has saved our kingdom!"
At this a burst of applause and shouts of joy was heard, the ancient heroes clapped with more grace and emotion, after a short period of time the king knelt and stood pointing his sword to the sky and with this a giant purple lightning bolt came out of it and exploded similar to a firework, with the dragons dancing next to the lightning, the guards and soldiers in position raised their weapons with the king towards the sky, officially beginning the festivities.
Joyful music erupted, with drums, flutes, and the curious twelve-string guitar filling the air with joy, along with a group of dancers, who danced delicately to the rhythm of the music, food was being offered to each table with its guests, while the king walked to his seat at the banquet.
He saw at the nearby table Ginger Brave, Wizard Cookie and Strawberry trying to reach the candies in the center of the table while in the background he saw smiling and excited Crunchy chip cookie talking with that guard from the Hollyberry kingdom who called himself Wildberry cookie and still side with some smoke coming from his scepter that cookie Smoked Cheese cookie who had never brought him confidence less because it reminded him of the treacherous snake of his royal advisor.
In the end he sat properly in his seat which was at the beginning of the rectangular table symbolizing his place as host of that banquet, the ancient heroes who were already seated on both sides of the table, greeted their old friend with enthusiasm, Golden cheese was the first to speak saying in a warm manner:
-Not bad for your first banquet, bitter king- To which he laughed lightly, taking his comment well and saying:
- I have to admit that you make the preparation of your festivities look easy, of course these are not as big as Hollyberry's- saying this jokingly, of course the queen of the golden empire was offended by what Hollyberry said with a laugh: - Ah, my dear friend do not underestimate me, I was also impressed by the greatness of your banquet- to which Pure Vanilla said with his serene voice although now with more volume and confidence: - I have to say that I am very happy that you have encouraged the idea of holding some new festivity and that you have put your effort to make it shine-. To which the king with a smile thanked the comment, being interrupted by large quantities of typical dishes of the kingdom placed in each place, to which everyone enthusiastically prepared to begin to devour the feast.
The ancient heroes happily enjoyed the food and drink, especially Hollyberry who was happy with the presence of the berry juice, enthusiastically taking each sip with her friends. While they were having dinner, they caught up on what had happened since their last meeting, from difficulties with their homes to the brutal fight with each of the beasts. The king was impressed by the story of the cruelty of each beast, from emotional manipulation to violence in battle. He saw Mystic Flour as someone fearsome but at least not as cruel in comparison, still that wasn't going to change his mind about his evil.
The night passed and most had already finished their dishes and were still enjoying the entertainment that the kingdom offered, both Golden Cheese and Hollyberry danced quite enthusiastically, while Dark Cacao and Pure Vanilla chatted quietly, after a few minutes the queens returned enthusiastically to their seats, watching with curiosity at the other tables he saw Gingerbrave who was amazed by the dragons that floated near those tables, being close to petting the white dragon, of course he was interrupted by Wizard cookie before any accident happened, laughing at this to which Golden Cheese said curiously -Hmm... Are you really the Dark Cacao Cookie I used to know?- To which he replied -What do you mean...? - and the golden queen did not hesitate to answer: - What happened to "I'm sorry... I do not know how to laugh?" - with Dark Cacao saying calmly: -Hmm... I guess I've gotten softer with age. - to which his friends laughed at the comment, although upon observing this he was gently touched by one of the guards warning him that the preparations were ready, to which the king responded courteously and stood up, and grabbing his cup he walked forcefully to the center:
-My cookies join me in commemorating this day, a year ago we faced a cruel event with the appearance of the pale sickness caused by the very beast of apathy “Mystic Flour cookie” I had to face one of my biggest challenges by entering to the territory of Beast Yeast along with several of my loyal and strong soldiers, and face the cruelty of apathy and its beast even losing my allies, but the strength of resolution appears and together with the strength and the dragons we were able to prevail, and that is what this great kingdom has together with my loyal citizens, they have incredible strength to fearlessly face adversity and move forward; thanks to my dear friends- turning to see the ancient heroes who watched him with a big smile- as well as my loyal allies- watching from Crunchy Chip, Caramel Arrow, his dragons and other guards who accompanied him on that journey - to the incredible kingdom of Dark Cacao! - maintaining a brief silence he said forcefully - raise your glasses and let's rejoice together for our strength, resolution and for the prosperous future of the kingdom that with each one of us citizens of the dark cacao kingdom... awaits us- saying the last thing harshly and at the same time confused, looking at the audience he saw a mysterious figure in front, a young man hidden behind a cape, tall, slender and with a proportion similar to his missing son who seemed to look attentively at the king, he hesitated about what to do but after blinking the boy had disappeared, knowing that his next words were expected he ended up saying: - For the future of the dark cacao kingdom! -.
The crowd erupted again in cheers of joy, while several toasted with their acquaintances and continued the festivities with laughter, Caramel Arrow and Crunchy Chip admired the greatness and speech of their king while Crunchy Chip lightly wiped away the tear that ran down his cheek, of course Caramel Arrow laughed at this and they began to discuss the subject, although at that moment they stopped arguing when they saw thousands of fireworks in the sky that adorned the skies with purple, blue, white and black, to which Crunchy Chip shouted with joy:
For our majesty, Dark Cacao cookie! -
His scream was accompanied by Caramel Arrow and several guards and citizens, to which the king smiled and bowed in gratitude, although still unsure whether the young man he had seen was his son.
The last of the feast was offered and with the passing of each hour, the crowded streets cleared, the music softened and each of the ancient heroes said goodbye to the king, the already tired dragons went to rest inside the sword, despite Dark Cacao trying to persuade his friends to stay and rest in one of the best inns in the citadel, Pure Vanilla had to politely decline the offer, telling him how the advanced technology of the Creme Republic made it possible to travel to each of the kingdoms more easily and quickly.
Finally, King and Queen Hollyberry stood before the celebration that was ending. At this, the king sat on the cocoa paving stone, silently observing the calmer and quieter atmosphere. To this, his good friend, with a huge jar of Hollyberry juice, approached him with her classic booming laugh, saying with joy:
What are you doing there, so thoughtful, old friend? You know the night is young, you and I can still celebrate-, who remained sitting next to the king.
Noticing that his friend was maintaining a fake smile and not really getting excited, she put her jar aside and with a more serious but at the same time understanding voice said:
Dark Cacao cookie, I've known you for millennia and I know when something worries you - placing his hand on his friend's - you know that I of all people would recommend you calm your sorrows with a good jar -
looking sideways at Wildberry who seemed annoyed at that statement, preventing him from approaching to the queen mother by having Crunchy Chip asleep on his shoulder
But after the enlightenment of my Soul Jam I know that sometimes you need to say it in order to confront it, I do it with my strong passion and you with your quiet but also powerful resolution.
The king hesitated to say it but he knew that among all his allies and friends, the one he trusted the most was her, she had a peculiar way of making him truthfully express his concerns, of course with Pure Vanilla he could have deep conversations, but he preferred to tell her.
Besides, she knew the pain of losing her loved ones thanks to the Dark Flour War, as well as a relative, him with the betrayal of his son and with her one of her granddaughters who was believed to have been killed by a dragon, after sighing he gathered courage and said with the weight and coldness of what he was hiding:
You're right, my dear friend, despite maintaining order and balance in my kingdom I can't deny that I've been worried about Dark Choco cookie, I even thought I had seen him during my speech at the banquet-
Hollyberry, who was calmly taking a sip, was surprised and ended up spitting out the concoction, coughing and saying quickly:
Are you sure of what you're saying? I remember you saying he be gone far away from here and that you weren't going to look for him until he would dignify to come back-
To which Dark Cacao, despite being aware of his words, looked around doubtfully, knowing the truth of the lies in those words, to which the queen, knowing that he was hiding something, said his name with a doubtful tone, to which the king sighed and confessed:
-Okay, after the plague, and the strange vision of the beast, I worried about the whereabouts of my son despite being open to the idea that he returned of his own free will, I began to carry out search patrols to find his whereabouts, although I still fear that maybe even if he returns I will never be able to redeem my mistakes with him and that maybe the destiny of him and I is made to never unite our ties again-.
Understanding the deep suffering of his son, she ended up hugging him and keeping her head on his shoulder, with a calmer voice she said:
Believe me, I understand your deep sorrow, although I firmly know that if there is one thing you and your son have in common, it is that you are both very strong and that any moment both you and he will be able to overcome your differences.
The king thanked her by lovingly taking her hand and offering a delicate kiss to it, to which she looked tenderly into his eyes, remaining together again in silence with a quiet voice from the king saying:
- I just wish he and I had the chance to see each other once again.
A few minutes passed and the queen observed that there was still enough room for a dance and that there were even a few musicians still resting, to which the queen smiled slightly and stood up enthusiastically:
Come, old king! Grant me the honor of a dance at this beautiful night.
The king did not hesitate and stood carefully, while Hollyberry signaled to the musicians, who with surprise rushed to grab their instruments and began to delicately play a beautiful piece, happy and serene, although somewhat slow to suit the moment.
The queen grabbed the king's hand and led him to the improvised dance floor, beginning a slow dance, which the king hesitated to follow, knowing his lack of experience in the art of dance. Of course, the queen smiled and guided him every step of the way.
In a moment the music took them to a different place and they let themselves be carried away by the emotion of the moment, the king no longer cared how many steps he took wrong and she dazzled with each step to the rhythm of the music and her dress following the fluidity of the queen, they continued dancing, astonishing the few who still remained there, and with a smile the king showed his fang both laughed, enjoying the beautiful moment;
The music began to reduce its volume and both looked at each other with tenderness and love, at one point his dear friend hugged him gently and the king returned the hug, that was the most beautiful moment he had ever felt in his life, the beautiful moment stopped before the surprise of the king when he felt something furry that surrounded his legs, when he remembered that his dragons rested on the sword, he looked down and observed the delicate lion's tail that his friend possessed surrounding him carefully, after the surprise he was forced to interrupt the hug:
Uh Holly?-
While she was still enjoying the moment, she realized what had happened, embarrassed by the incident she moved away from the king and said hurriedly:
Ha ha!! Sorry about that, old friend.
After separating, they realized that they were among the few left, both watching their friends already asleep, waiting for their kings.
Both sighed with excitement at the dance, the queen arranged a lock of hair and said goodbye to her friend, apologizing for the time, to which he accepted, looking at her tenderly and saying goodbye, both had to help their friends get up and walk away to their rooms, although the queen exclaimed his name and said with emotion:
Dark Cacao Cookie! How about we meet together for breakfast tomorrow?
The king smiled and said calmly: - It would be a pleasure Hollyberry cookie.-
They smiled with the promise of seeing each other again someday.
As he entered his room he perceived a strange presence and quickly threatened to draw his sword at the ends. When he noticed that no one was there, he entered his room hesitantly, not knowing that someone was still watching him.
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Morning had arrived and the king woke up tired with the first rays of the sun, despite wanting to continue resting, he decided to stand up, so he could meet his date early, he put on his robe and carefully opened the windows and looked out at the peaceful panorama, he smiled and enjoyed the morning dew, until he noticed a detestable aroma of espresso coffee and another nauseating aroma, out of nowhere his head felt heavy and he suddenly felt weak and dizzy, thinking it was coming from outside he closed the window, but it only made it worse he hurriedly grabbed his sword which felt heavier and pointed it straight ahead.
In the darkness of the room, rhythmic applause was heard and with delicate and synchronized heel steps, he glimpsed that treacherous snake figure that he detested, with his usual formal suit came out of the darkness, his ex former royal advisor, Affogato cookie who with a detestable smile and with his laughing and cunning voice said showing his scepter charged with dark magic:
Greetings your majesty! This time no one is safe from this curse.