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Eternal Sugar was flying around her garden, a garden that had changed in the past few weeks due to her mental state. Her hair and wings were a mess, she was constantly exhausted because whenever she managed to get a wink of sleep, it always derailed into nightmares. The sweet dreams she wished for, those she wished to share and spread to other cookies, had become twisted into something gnarled ever since that fateful day.
Sugar felt panic cease her chest just at the thought of it, briefly losing altitude as she did. But no, no, she needed to focus. Or she would be next, she would be the one to crumble and she needed everything to be perfect so they would never even have the chance-.
The roads that had once been wide and inviting had narrowed, thick vines to trip and ensnare covering the path to limit where one could step their foot and not be swallowed by the greenery. The many flowers that released a sweet fragrance had increased, making it almost sickeningly sweet to hasten the calming effects they had on a normal cookie. Her sugar angels were on high alert, pruning trees that had grown wild with their branches and bore fruit not only for sweet delight, but also for a deeper, instant sleep.
Sugar refused to abandon her garden. But it was also an extension of her. The longer she stayed with these fears plaguing her mind, the more her garden would react to ward against those fears. To shape into what she wanted and needed it to be, for her selfish desires to live.
More eyes to survey every nook and cranny of her paradise. weapons that her sugar angels could grab if they needed. A new bow for Pavlova to ensure it would not break in a critical moment. Flowers designed to attack with thin darts of hallucinating nectar.
Sugar was not meant for war. She was not meant for fighting even if she knew how. She was meant to put cookies at ease, bring them into their sweetest and most comfortable dream. Have them stay, to be whole, to fall into bliss in her paradise because she knew what was best for their happiness. A life free of the pain and suffering that their actions would bring.
Despite not being baked to know violence, her Garden of Delights was turning into a fortress. To protect her and what she had built, to ward off the unwanted. But that also meant no cookies would enter… And oh, how painful it was. To prioritise her own safety over the safety and happiness of others. How her heart ached over it, that her garden was not fit for visitors. That it needed to be something less than perfect because-… Because…
The treaty… The want for peace. It had been a lie… It had all been a lie. Her precious Hollyberry, her other half, had encouraged Eternal sugar to agree. To be better, to be free of the risk of getting trapped under that tree. That there had been no wish for death or suffering, only a second chance-.
Sugar landed in front of a statue… The one she had crafted in the image of Hollyberry, the section of her Garden she had made specifically for her. So Hollyberry would wish to enter and never leave ever again. A place where gnarled vines full of thorns had taken root. Strangling the berry bushes Sugar had replanted form Hollyberry's home. Vines that grew over the pavilion she had set up and cast into too many shadows.
The thorn covered vines were starting to cover the statue as well… Slowly climbing up and reaching up for her other half, where Hollyberry stood so tall and proud with her shield and magnificent smile.
"My dearest…" Sugar spoke, her voice raspy from lack of proper rest as she fell to her knees in front of the statue. She couldn't look away from that confident smile she'd crafted into the image of true perfection… "My dearest, please… Please, say it was an honest wish… That it was not a ploy… That it was not a way for us to-… To turn our backs…"
The statue could not reply. For it had no voice to speak with. Eternal Sugar settled her hand against its base, her claws digging into the pristine stone to leave marks. But she did not notice, did not even care as her mind wandered. Back to three weeks ago… When she had last seen her other half.
How her entire being ached from longing… from betrayal…
It hadn't been long since the meeting between the ancients and the beasts. And despite that, they were called in for another meeting. Eternal Sugar let out a heavy sigh, resting her head against the cool table with her wings partially wrapping around her form in a blanket. If it had not been for the recent agreement of peace, she wouldn't be here… Her dearest other half had looked so shocked and horrified at the letter she received from Pure Vanilla, after Sugar had received hers asking for them all to meet. So Sugar simply had no choice but to agree to come, if only to settle her dearest worries.
They were all settled in the "Cookie Kingdom" once again, a neutral ground just when the treaty had been formed between them. When they were given freedom over their domains with the condition that they do not harm any other cookies.
But with the barrier up that would negate most of their magic, it was clear that trust was still hard earned by the heroes that they would all comply to that wish.
Mystic Flour sat on her right. Burning Spice sat across from her. But no Silent Salt or Shadow Milk to be seen yet. Her dearest other half had gone somewhere else with Dark Cacao and Golden Cheese. They'd been away for an achingly long time… What was this meeting even about to be called in so quickly? She had so many plans on changes she wanted to make for her garden… And to spend time with her other half now when she was allowed to do so freely. She wanted to make sure her Garden was the best it could be so Hollyberry would visit and stay in her paradise. And stay willingly with no worries that could ever plague her.
Burning Spice was starting to get impatient, grumbling about wanting to destroy the table, when the door opened. The very man that had called this meeting, Pure Vanilla, stepped inside and Sugar raised her head to look properly. There were the Ancient heroes stepping through the door, 4 of them and not that Guardian of the Seal. Her other half looked stunning as always, but that expression of worry and tension didn't suit her. Especially not when it was aimed at Sugar, because she could not remember having done anything to warrant that expression-.
"About time! I was getting sick of waiting!" Burning Spice broke the silence, his body starting to tense up and his hand flexing in the air beside him. He had stood up the moment the others entered the room while Flour and Sugar remained seated. "What's this meeting about? Spit it out!"
Sugar let out a soft sigh at Burning Spice's impatience. She wanted to get this meeting over with as well, of course, but she would hardly call any time spent in the presence of her other half as time wasted. If anything, Burning Spice's outburst made the ancients falter rather than hurry like he wished.
"Come now, Burning Spice… If this was a calling for all to be here, there are still three missing. But perhaps, we can at least have a preview of what we were called for?" She directed this question to Hollyberry with a gentle smile.
Her other half twitched and looked to the side, her expression growing somewhat pinched as she did. Sugar blinked slowly with a slight tilt of her head. That reaction was… strange.
"Everyone who have been called are present." Dark Cacao spoke up as he placed himself beside the door, his sword firm in his grasp. "Silent Salt and White Lily will not be joining us."
That made Sugar blink once more and let out a soft hum. So that left Shadow Milk… Was this meeting about him, then? Had he already caused trouble? Sugar should have known, he always had the worst way of pushing someone else's buttons. But surely something Shadow Milk did wouldn't cause trouble for them as well.
"So, it's about Shadow Milk." Mystic Flour's voice cut through the atmosphere. Sharp and monotone as always. "Has he already violated the treaty?"
Pure Vanilla's head lowered, his hair obscuring most of his expression as he shifted to sit down at the head of the table. Furthest away from the other beasts, when he had previously been willing to sit right beside them.
Sugar shifted her wings slightly to sit more upright, noting how Golden cheese placed herself on the opposite side of Dark Cacao. While Hollyberry stood behind Pure Vanilla.
Why was the tension so high…? Had whatever Shadow Milk done been so gruesome that it would drag them down too? No… No, Hollyberry would have been against punishing her for something that jester did, surely-.
"It is about Shadow Milk, yes…" Pure Vanilla spoke up, his voice tight and expression still partially hidden by his hair. "But sadly… not in the way you believe. It's… not over something he has done. But for what has happened to him…"
Eternal Sugar was on high alert the moment she heard about it. Someone new had entered her garden, someone had entered her sanctuary. It wasn't Silent Salt, no she would have FELT him, but someone had entered her garden during one of the most stressful time of her life.
Perhaps it was Hollyberry… Perhaps it was her other half who came to reassure her, to apologise, to finally explain how and why. But then it wouldn't be presented to her as a stranger's presence. Why hadn't Hollyberry come to meet her? If not to reassure her worries but to at least show Sugar that she was alright. Or did Sugar even want to lay eyes on Hollyberry right now? Now when the truth had come out, now when their ploy had been discovered. Now when she knew it had been their fault that Shadow Milk had crumbled. That Silent Salt was still alive while Shadow Milk wasn't.
She didn't know… She didn't know, it was so hard to think when her whole body constantly ached with exhaustion, worry and fear. She wanted to rest in Hollyberry's safe and sturdy hold, she wanted to dig her claws into her other half, wanted to rip out her heart so she could keep it for herself. So that she'd have at least something of what she had desperately wished for-.
When Eternal Sugar arrived at the garden entrance, Pavlova was already at the scene with a few other sugar angels following his command. He was aiming his strung up bow towards the intruder, one that Sugar could vaguely recall seeing before.
"-ack where you came from! The Garden of Delights is not welcoming those who bring war to our doorstep!" Pavlova's voice was firm and Sugar couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for him. How dutifully he was fulfilling her wish to not be disturbed…
The robe covered cookie had a small group of creatures surrounding them, holding a scythe close to their chest and sneering at Pavlova cookie in return.
"I'm only here to deliver a message! One I'm sure Eternal Sugar cookie would like to hear. Nothing more!"
Pavlova cookie let out a huff. "Her orders were clear, do not let anyone with vile intentions into the garden. No matter your message, I won't allow you to take a single step closer. We have no interest in dealing with Dark Enchantress cookie anymore."
The argument was getting tiring already… But Sugar could not simply rest when there was a stranger in her garden. And one of Dark Enchantress cookie even… She had almost forgotten what her minions looked like.
"Pavlova is right." Sugar spoke up before the argument could continue and flew closer, settling in the air next to Pavlova as she looked down at this brave but foolish minion of Dark Enchantress cookie. While her appearance was not the best, she did not have the time or energy to deal with it. "We have no interest in participating in any wars against cookie kind. I will offer you the generosity of leaving with your dough intact, if only because Dark Enchantress cookie assisted me in creating this dough I inhabit. I have no desire to give you any form of leeway in my garden."
"E-Eternal Sugar cookie." The robed minion bowed slightly to her with a nervous smile. "I've come to offer you asylum with Dark Enchantress cookie. She was gracious enough to offer you her protection after she heard what happened… She wanted to extend her wish to support you during this difficult time."
"Asylum…" Sugar repeated softly, her expression darkening with a frown. Her temper flared at the blatant disrespect, that they believed she was weak enough to need other cookies protection to protect herself. "I have no need for asylum. I have my garden and I have no intention of leaving it. Not when it's my sanctuary, my home and my fortress. Your offer is unwanted and unneeded. Do not test my patience, little cookie."
"Ah, yes, of course!" The robed cookie bowed slightly towards Sugar as he took a small step back. "I apologise for my rudeness. With Burning Spice and Mystic Flour having joined us, I'm sad to hear you won't do the same. But we will respect your decision."
The cookie then turned and started to walk away with his summoned minions following close behind. And what he said made Eternal Sugar pause, long enough to consider it.
Burning Spice and Mystic Flour… Last they'd seen each other was-… Her heart ached something fiercely. She knew it was what Dark Enchantress expected of her when her companions were mentioned, it's why they had mentioned her two fellow Beasts. And despite that being their plan, she just couldn't help it.
She was feeling desperate enough to call out.
"Wait." The cookie and its smaller minions stopped. "Burning Spice and Mystic Flour… Why have they joined Dark Enchantress cookie again?"
"Oh, we offered something similar to them what we offered to you." The cookie turned back around with a cheerful looking smile, hiding the schemes beneath. "A safe space away from the cookies who have betrayed you. A place none of them know about so you can recuperate and plan to your hearts content. And on top of that, reassurance that those same cookies will pay for what they did. Dark Enchantress cookie is benevolent and would not force you to join the war if you don't want to. The other two must have arrived at her abode as we speak!"
Eternal Sugar knew what they were doing… She knew that this was only a ploy to have her return into their fold. To play on her fears and insecurities, recruiting her allies before her to give her that sense of safety. Approaching her in her garden rather than simply sending a message…
She hadn't spoken to Spice or Flour since that meeting… She should at least go and see them, speak with them. Somewhere Silent Salt wouldn't reach… Somewhere he didn't know about, where he wouldn't expect her to be.
No matter how much she reinforced her gardens defences, it would never be enough to stop a cookie who had lived his whole immortal life refining the art of combat…
Her heart clenched painfully, the deep sense of betrayal still causing her entire dough to ache. Her wings failed her as she slowly drifted down and she clenched a hand over her aching chest. Pavlova called out to her in worry, but she dismissed it. There was something far more important she needed to do… because if this cookie spoke true…
"You will take me to Burning Spice and Mystic Flour." She told the robed minion as she summoned a cotton cloud to settle on, to mask her wings failing as exhaustion rather than anything else. "I will evaluate myself if you really speak true of your intentions."
The robed cookie's grin grew even wider as they were eager to show her the way to where the other two resided.
With only two Beasts left that Eternal Sugar could depend on… Only two people she truly could trust had no malicious intension with her. She needed to cherish it… She needed to grip them tightly within her hands, claws digging in and refusing to let go.
If only she had done it sooner… If only she knew how precious that simple reassurance was, to be around others with no interest in crumbling or sealing her. If she had, she would have done things differently… She had trusted Hollyberry so blindly, had let them all go their separate ways, had let Shadow Milk go off on his own. Angry and disappointed but also deeply hurt when they had all felt forced to sign the treaty.
She had believed they were all safe… She would have never thought that Shadow Milk would be…
"H-He's… dead…?" Sugar couldn't help but gasp in horror, her wings fluffing up with the emotion as her hands and claws dug into the table in front of her.
"Liar!" Burning Spice summoned his axe to his hand and swung it through the air, glowering at Pure Vanilla with the Hero cookies raising their respective weapons. Except the Healer himself… "Shadow Milk is not that easy to crumble! No mere cookie would be able to overpower him! His magic is unlike any other, I can acknowledge that much! Spouting lies is his speciality!"
Pure Vanilla's gaze was downcast while the other Hero cookies stood at the ready. The tension was steadily rising and Sugar looked wide eyed between Spice and the other cookies. Shadow Milk was-…? No, he couldn't be-…
"I wish it was… But I cannot hide this information from you, as his dear companions…" Pure Vanilla's hand settled against his Soul Jam, shoulders hunched as if in pain. In true pain, his expression twisted and Sugar's other half looked at him with deep sympathy-… "I-… was too late to save him… He had already passed when he reached my care… I-I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I tried everything I could…"
Burning Spice's rage dulled slightly, as if coming to the realisation that he was, indeed speaking the truth. Sugar couldn't help but let out a soft 'no…' with the heavy silence, her hands trembling where they were embedded within the table.
Because that-… that couldn't be right. Shadow Milk… they were all baked together, were supposed to exist together, but now Shadow Milk has died and Pure Vanilla was genuinely heartbroken. There was no way to fake that emotion, no way to mask that deep of a pain.
Sugar was scared. She was terrified when she felt a deep pain inside her own chest that made it difficult to breathe. Loss… oh, she was feeling… Loss… An emotion she felt so often so long ago, something she believed herself had become numb to within her space of sweet dreams. But this reality, it was digging up old wounds that she thought had been long buried.
Shadow Milk was dead… She would never be able to see him again… How had… their last interaction been? She couldn't remember… oh, she couldn't remember what her last words to him had been, too wrapped up in admiring her other half to interact with someone she thought would always be there-.
"Who?" Mystic Flour spoke up. Her voice piercing through the room in a cold monotone as her eyes opened to stare at the Heroes. "Who crumbled him?"
"Was it one of you!?" Burning Spice's rage returned at full force when Mystic Flours words cut through him, fire licking off his shoulders in his rage as he aimed his axe towards the gathered cookies.
"Of course not! We all agreed to give you a second chance! Crumbling would be the last thing any of us would want to happen to you." Hollyberry, wonderful Hollyberry, spoke up as she settled a hand on Pure Vanilla's shoulder. Her other arm held her shield as she looked over Sugar, Spice and Flour. "I'm sorry… I truly am sorry that Shadow Milk is lost. It did not sit right with us to keep his crumbling hidden. But we hope that you understand, we have no intentions of going back on our agreement-."
"Forget the agreement!!" Burning Spice's temper rose, just as flames rose from his shoulders. Both Sugar and Flour stood up from their seats, watching the other Soul Jam barers shift into a defensive position. "A crumbling for a crumbling!! Tell me who it was so I can tear them to pieces! Fill their jam with burning spice to make them scream in agony!! Make them watch their precious ones BURN to ashes!! Or I will be starting with all of YOU!"
The large axe swung through the air as Spice gestured with it and Golden Cheese was quick to rise above the other cookies with her spear pointed towards him.
"Burning Spice, that's enough! Do not make this more difficult than it already is! Nothing you say or do can change what has already happened!"
"It was Silent Salt…"
Pure Vanilla's careful admission to the truth made Sugar freeze. Her jam felt cold as the sounds in the room grew more distant, her wings trembled and lowered further to the ground.
Silent Salt… The one who sealed them in the Silver Tree… The one who was made with them, the one who was supposed to be on their side, the one who had betrayed them so long ago.
Silent Salt… killed… Shadow Milk…?
Eternal Sugar and Pavlova were led to an underground facility, not the main base but one that was in use to grant the Beasts the comfort and safety they wanted. According to this robed minion.
Sugar doubted she would get any sleep even here… Even if she became one of Dark Enchantress allies or stayed as a guest, she could never trust that cookie. She wished to harness the power of Soul Jam, and the Beasts had agreed that their own Soul Jams were not exempt from it.
The robed minion led Sugar and Pavlova to their room, where they could stay 'as long as they wished' and be provided with food every day. But Sugar was more interested in finding her fellow beasts. So a few minutes later, after wandering around the base, she found Mystic Flour sitting in a common area in meditation. Settled onto a plush couch that looked deceivingly inviting to Sugar…
"Mystic Flour…" Sugar called out softly as she sailed over to her, landing gently to not disturb her too much.
The pale woman let out a slow sigh before she opened her eyes to give Sugar a blank stare. As usual…
"Eternal Sugar… So you came. I cannot say I'm surprised."
Sugar gestured for Pavlova to observe the parameter, to make sure they were alone. And when her faithful cookie went off to follow her orders, Sugar went over to sit next to Flour on the couch.
"I had to come to hear it from you… Have you joined her again, Mystic Flour?"
There was a long moment of silence as Mystic Flour shifted out of her meditative stance, to sit more comfortably on the sofa. Sugar could hear Cloud Haetae and Pavlova speak with each other, but her attention was entirely focused on the other Beast.
"That will be the end result. There are few other options to choose from."
Sugar swallowed as she looked down at her lap, then focused on her wings as she carefully let her hands brush through them. They needed a good pruning with how long she has neglected them. She focused on her wing for a few moments, uncertain what to say next.
"That's why you're here as well, are you not?" Flour spoke, always to the point as she watched Sugar fiddle with her wing. "The treaty had been a farce. They will not punish his executioner. So the only other option is to be executioners ourselves. To make them return to flour before we do…"
"I had hoped… wished… desperately…" Sugar confessed quietly as her limbs started to shake. She shifted to hug herself, allowing herself a rare moment to… feel. And it was awful… It was heavy and it was disgusting, gnarled, there was a sensation of something wanting to crawl up from her throat and she choked on a sob.
"I wanted to believe… there was a future where I could exist with my other half… Where I could forget the threat of the cage closing in, and be-… be happy…" Sugar couldn't hold back the sob this time and she curled up into a ball to try and hide her expression-. "How could they-… How could they just do nothing…? Had the agreement of peace been a lie this entire time…? Had I wished so desperately for it to be real that it had all just been another dream…?"
There was a short moment of silence. Then, Sugar felt gentle fingers card through her wings as Mystic Flower started to brush through them. Helping them align properly and removing those that had fallen off in Sugar's long bout of stress…
"There is reason to believe it had been their intention from the very start. To take us out, one by one."
Her breath got stuck in her throat when Flour said that. But she stayed quiet, her heart beating loudly in her chest as Flour continued to brush her fingers through her feathers.
"After you left, things escalated quickly. And certain things started to fall into place. They had never trusted us to keep the peace between us. Their goal had always been to subdue us one after the other. Why else have they not dealt Silent Salt the same punishment they would have dealt to us? Shadow Milk had simply been the first target because he Knew too much… And would be harder to catch unaware."
"That… traitor…!" If there was one thing that was more worrying than Burning Spice in a loud rage, it was when it became quiet. The Heroes had quickly folded after they demanded an explanation and told them how Silent Salt had targeted Shadow Milk immediately after the Peace Meeting. Despite him signing the agreement, the former Knight had took it upon himself to kill Shadow Milk and his minions.
Minions who had disappeared soon after they had told Pure Vanilla the story behind Shadow Milks mortal wound and subsequent crumbling…
Sugar wasn't sure how to-… Shadow Milk was dead… Someone who should have always been around her, within reach, had been lost. By Silent Salt's hand… The one who had chained them, the one who could chain them again, the one who knew their strengths and weaknesses better than any other cookie.
Silent Salt wanted to kill them… Not just seal them, kill them…
"Burning Spice, where do you think you're going?"
Sugar flinched when someone called out to her fellow Beast and she looked up to see Golden Cheese hover in front of Burning Spice, her spear aimed at his chest while she placed herself in the way towards the doorway.
"To crumble a cookie." The quiet anger of Burning Spice made Sugar shiver and quickly draw her limbs closer to herself.
But then, she started to think on it a little further. Silent Salt had killed Shadow Milk. Silent Salt had killed Shadow Milk in cold blood despite their agreement. So while the Heroes argued with Burning Spice to stay put, that they had still more things to say-.
What else could they possibly have to say…? Sugar almost choked on the emotion of grief and rage that engulfed her. Why did those heroes insist they stay here when Shadow Milk had been killed. Killed over a week ago. And they hadn't even known about it until now-…!
"SHADOW MILK DIED!!" Sugar picked up a chair and threw it to the side, an action that already made her feel exhausted but she had to do something. All eyes now turned to her as tears were starting to cloud her vision. "He's dead! And you want us to just stay and do nothing!? When his killer is RIGHT THERE!"
"Killing Silent Salt won't change anything, it would only cause more destruction!" Hollyberry, her kind and wonderful Hollyberry said with a firm shake of her head. "White Lily has given him his rightful punishment, but crumbling him in return isn't the answer!"
"No punishment is enough for what he did!! NOT TO US!!" Eternal Sugars voice was growing hoarse with how loudly she was screaming. Her chest was in so much pain, the tears wouldn't stop running, but she didn't care about any of that she just wanted the pain to stop and go back to her garden. "Seal him in the tree and I might be satisfied!! Let him rot another thousands of years in that silence he loves so much! For betraying us, his bakemates, for killing him! He was never supposed to die, he was always supposed to be here!! He was irritating beyond belief but Shadow Milk was never supposed to die!!"
"Eternal Sugar-."
"None of you even understand!!!" Sugar's surroundings exploded in a wave of feathers and sleep inducing mist, causing Pure Vanilla to put up a barrier to ward against it. "You were all mortals!! Everyone you've met were supposed to die because you were mortal!! He was never supposed to die!! We were made together, sealed together, we were going to die together-!"
Sugar's breath ceased in her throat. They… were going to die together.
Shadow Milk was dead. By Silent Salt's hand. Silent Salt knew… Silent Salt knew of Sugar's wish. To always be together even when they went their separate ways.
A new rush of fear made her stumble back, flinch away from Hollyberry's outstretched hand. Her other half's sympathy, the way she was calling for Sugar to calm down, it felt like a trap that wanted to ensnare her and make her believe in-.
They, the beasts, were supposed to crumble together… They weren't supposed to exist in a world where the other four didn't exist. That meant… they were going to be crumbled too. Mystic Flour. Burning Spice. Eternal Sugar. They were all going to be crumbled, maybe by Silent Salt, maybe by the heroes, because they were never supposed to not exist.
It felt like a trap, the walls were closing in. She was going to die by someone's hand, she didn't feel safe, the heroes were blocking the only door, they were going to die, they were going to be killed.
Sugar didn't even register when someone touched her shoulder. She only registered that her claws dug deep into another cookie's shoulder, digging deeper and pulling down to draw even more jam from the body. She registered the colour pink, the deep pink of her love, but she was already turning towards the closest window and spread out her wings to fly. She didn't think to use her powers, only the overwhelming urge to flee as she crashed through the window and sailed out into the open sky.
Jam dripped from her fingers as Eternal Sugar fled, flying faster than she had in a long while, desperate to get away from what she perceived as a threat.
The heroes, Silent Salt, they were going to crumble her too, they wouldn't just stop with Shadow Milk, they were going to kill Eternal Sugar too.
She didn't want to die, she didn't want to die…!
"Isolation…? That's all they did to him?" Eternal Sugar couldn't help but hiss when Mystic Flour told her about it, sitting carefully still as her fellow beast continued to align her feathers. "How is that a rightful punishment?"
"Yes. It was meant to protect him from us, once the news came to light." Flour lightly nudged against Sugar's wing. And she followed the motion to turn onto her other side, to let Flour help with that wing as well. The motion was familiar and soothing… "None of them trusted us to have a rational reaction to the news. Their aim was to keep us in the room until emotions had calmed down. They even had the nerve to suggest we stay in their kingdoms. Another ploy to take us out, no doubt. So we left through the window like you did."
"They are protecting Shadow Milks killer… Protecting him…?" Sugars claws dug into the fabric of the sofa, her body starting to tremble once more as those horrible heavy emotions returned. "Their talk of peace… had always been a lie, hadn't it…? He is being kept alive so he can kill us too…"
"It was a useless proposition from the very start." Flour noted as she stroked over Sugar's wing in a calming motion. "We have all come to the same conclusion."
"It was just a way to make sure we would crumble together…" Sugar shifted to curl up on the couch, letting her wings wrap around her. "To fulfil our wishes… to lower our guard so we'd be next…"
"Yes."
That single word seemed to echo inside the room, inside her head. Confirmation of what she had feared, confirmation that it had all been a lie. Confirmation that the peace and happiness Sugar had wished for had never once been in her grasp, that she was still trapped in that cage. In that darkness where she couldn't reach the light no matter how far her arm stretched.
Everything in her body ached. Her heart broke, again. Even her realm of dreams were betraying her by sending her nightmares of crumbling. Imagining the different scenarios how Salt could have killed Shadow Milk. Never able to save him, always too far away. Seeing visions on how she would be crumbled. Either by Hollyberry or by Silent Salt. Simply for being alive when Shadow Milk wasn't. Because they were all supposed to go together.
Burning Spice joined them later, his gaze hard and his eyes burning in a way that felt unfamiliar to her. Sugar had always seen Spice burning with passion, determination, rage and chaotic glee.
This was the first time they were burning with righteous justice…
"I'm joining the battle. We'll be attacking the Faerie Kingdom in eight days."
Justice that Sugar could agree with.
"You… You are Shadow Milks…" Sugar had spent days trying to escape reality through dreams. Only to wake up again and again because her dreams felt so much worse than reality.
It all felt so heavy. Eternal Sugar's chest was hurting and she didn't know how to stop it. She hadn't dealt with grief in so long, never had the need to face it in her paradise, that she didn't know how to navigate herself now when Shadow Milk was… gone.
And there was the proof right in front of her… Black Sapphire and Candy Apple. The two minions Shadow Milk had given his life to save stood in front of her. Both of them battered, dirty, broken and lost…
Oh how she wished to wrap them both in her arms. Soothe their aches and wounds, give them a place to feel safe, to recuperate, to have the space to breathe in this cruel world that wanted to kill them-.
But she wasn't sure she could… Not when her garden didn't feel safe enough. Not when Sugar had difficulty sleeping and staying awake. Not when she could barely handle being alive when he was dead, when she so desperately wished to live.
"I apologise for the intrusion, Eternal Sugar…" The older of the two spoke as he bowed towards her. "We wanted to know if you have any plans of going against Silent Salt. The killer of our Master."
Sugar couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath at the reminder, her wings fluttering behind her. Her chest still ached and she couldn't make it stop. The thought of going against Silent Salt, however, made her feel a deep fear she was unfamiliar with. But also a deep grief she was equally unfamiliar with…
"I want to…" She confessed, her voice soft and trembling as her clawed hands dug into her arms. Hard enough to draw forth jam-. "I want to see him crumble… Want him to suffer… But my garden need to be my priority… I can't let it be destroyed because I'm not here…"
There was a long moment of silence. One where Sugar couldn't meet the eyes of Shadow Milks minions. She couldn't give them the promise of revenge… Because she didn't believe herself strong enough to achieve it.
"I see… If you were to change your mind, please contact us at our Masters Spire. Or what remains of it. We want revenge against our Master's killer."
"And that stupid Vanilla… It is all his fault. Him and his stupid peace that was always a lie-." Candy Apple added with a scathing hiss, one that made Black Sapphire cut her off with a harsh glare. And soon after that exchange, they had left…
But that small interaction, it made something darker worm its way into Eternal Sugar's heart. Or what remained of it… It had been Pure Vanilla's fault. The peace had been a lie. Shadow Milks crumbling had been Pure Vanilla's fault.
He had been the one to most loudly agree to give them a chance… Had the agreement to peace been a farce? Had it all been made with a goal to-… To make them vulnerable… To have them turn their backs. To be caught unaware and be killed.
Sugar needed to do something… She needed to make her garden safer. She needed to make sure no one could enter her garden without her knowing, she couldn't-. But what if Hollyberry-?
No… No, the only reason she would return now was to slay her. Crumble her. Or try and make her lower her guard so someone else would kill her. It had all been a lie.
It had all been a farce, a ploy, the heroes had never believed in their redemption. In their own wish for peace. They had seen the truce as a means to an end, to get rid of them all just like Silent Salt wanted.
War had started again. Instigated by the Beasts allied with Dark Enchantress against the Faerie Kingdom. To crumble Silent Salt. To destroy the Tree. To destroy the Heroes who stood in their path while doing so, to destroy them before they got destroyed.
They had been divided into groups. And with Sugar reaching out to Black Sapphire about their attack, the two minions of Shadow Milk had joined her. Not Dark Enchantress cookie. Eternal Sugar.
Before they reached the battlefield, Sugar turned to Black Sapphire and Candy apple. Just like her, they were tired… Exhausted from lack of sleep. But there was a fire burning within them all. To get revenge for the one they had lost. The fire burning within those two minions burned stronger than Sugar's. It was admirable. But also worrying…
"Children." Sugar called to them, making Black Sapphire and Candy Apple look over at her. "I want to make one thing clear. You are not to crumble during this war."
"If crumbling is what's needed to take down Silent Salt, I will do so." Black Sapphire countered with a glare, his hold on his staff tightening slightly.
"Shadow Milk died to protect you." Both of them flinched when Sugar said this and she reached out to cup both of their cheeks. "You are what he stood up against Silent Salt for. Not his freedom. Not his life. You. I won't allow you to spit on his last action by crumbling trying to take revenge for his sake. You are to live. By any means necessary. And I will do my best to protect you. For his sake…"
"For his sake… You were hardly close." Black Sapphire politely stepped out of her hold and wiped at his cheek as if trying to wipe away her touch.
He was right. They hadn't been close. Because Sugar could have never fathomed that there would ever come a day when Shadow Milk was dead. When there would ever be a day when Sugar could not speak to him. Could not reach him. Could not settle in his presence without his tricks and need to create toys for himself. She believed they had eternity… She believed they would always have the time to return to how their interactions had once been like.
"I never thought I could ever be too late to mend it." The confession was soft, almost broken. "Candy Apple, dear. If Pure Vanilla is present… Would you be so sweet to assist me in digging out his jam from his body?"
Candy Apple's smile was wide and filled with malicious intent. A smile Sugar was all too eager to return. Jam would colour the roots of the Faerie forest. Because thanks to these little decietlings and their subterfuge, they had the location of the Faerie Kingdom.
If the Ancient Heroes wished to hide Silent Salt in isolation for crumbling Shadow Milk... It was clear that they had never been allies in the first place.
The thorn covered vines in Eternal Sugars garden had wrapped around Hollyberry's depicted form. Up her legs, over her torso, covering her arms. The shield that Hollyberry's statue had once held up so proudly had fallen off, a mass of thorn covered vines in its place. Multiple vines had wrapped around the hero's neck to squeeze. And squeeze. And squeeze.
Until the head snapped off and fell to the ground. With no one around to witness the destruction of the thing Eternal Sugar had once cherished the most.