Forum Thread

Merin headed towards where the Cake Monsters had been, but when he arrived, everything was just.. gone. Not a single cake monster in sight.

Houses and land were in crumbles, statues and pieces of art that showed Teahavens culture were either burned to the ground, or broken until they were unrecognizable. Pity once again swelled inside his hearts as he felt pain for those citizens who had to suffer through the cruelty of the Dark Enchantress Cookie and her minions.

But what else could he do now that he was too late to begin with? It wasn't like he could just turn back time. If he was this capable to begin with, Floraberry Kingdom wouldn't have fell a month ago.

Merin sighs. "Lord have mercy, it seems like the difficult times seems to have begun."

Without any further glance, he returned and decided to go to the mountain range to join the cookies who have managed to escape.

---

"Well, if the sun didn't love the darkness, I'm sure she wouldn't try to let the darkness see her every day, don't you think?" She smiled and looked through the window, noticing that clouds were rolling in- storm clouds. "Everyone should stay inside, you don't want to get soggy."

---

"...but they can never meet..."

His voice was quiet, as he stared down at the ground.

"...Dark and light are the antithesis of one another..."

---

"I'm sure they'll find a way. Haven't you heard the story?" She tilted her head, her eyes darting around the cottage, taking in everything on the tables and walls, then focusing her attention on Ruby again.

---

"...Story?"

Ruby tilted his head slightly, clearly confused.

He'd heard of no story. Most didn't talk to him, after all.

---

"Yes. There's a story about two cookies representing the light and the dark. It's a classic tale here in Teahaven."

---

"..the light... and the dark?"

Ruby tilted his head.

"...what is it...? Do you mind... telling it?"

---

Acaii listened intentlh on the conversations around her. No one had talked to her or mentioned her name, but she was used to that. The had lost the old life of where everyone greeted her, when everyone knew her name. She'd lived alone in the woods for nearly ten years. Such a degree of solitude had fortified her. By now, she was practically one with nature.

Lottie was surprised to see the black lily blooms on the battlefield. Now or never a voice rang in the back of her head. They were losing; all though they were cutting down hordes and hordes of enemies, it wasn't enough. They kept multiplying, destroying the village. Now or never the voice called again. Lottie couldn't lose another city; she couldn't fail more people. NOW OR NEVER! the voice commanded, louder than ever.

She elegantly waved her scepter around, leaving a trail of white in the air. Eventually, a lotus was drawn.

Her eyes turned blue as she ascended from the ground. Her head tilted upward, something was forming in the sky.

"CURE OF THE BLUE LOTUS!" She called out, and the formation in the sky was complete. The elusive Egyptian Blue Lotus appeared in the sky, huge*. "FALL!" She called out to it, as it began to disintegrate. Shiny blue dust ---Blue Lotus Cookie's main ingredient--- engulfed the city. The cake hounds were pit to sleep and the fires extinguished. Exhausted, Lottie simply fell from the height sh ascended to, unconscious.

*(bc cookie stuff is smaller than human stuff)

---

"Of course!" She cleared her throat, mentally preparing herself to tell the tale so she didn't forget any details.

"This tale is about two cookies. Sapphire Sun Cookie was a beautiful cookie created by the lovely rays of sunlight, and everything and everyone around her was bright and cheerful. Ruby Moon Cookie was created by the cool, mysterious rays of moonlight that peaked through the trees.

Everyone loved Sapphire, because she was warm and inviting, but everyone feared Ruby. They always said that nothing good ever came from the black sky, and that Ruby was much more like a hermit. He didn't try to come into contact with the cookies, but when he did, they would always run away from him out of fear that he would curse them.

Sapphire heard of Ruby, and Ruby heard of Sapphire. They longed to meet each other, due to their differences. With so much talk, they wanted to see what the other was like, but they could only be in their physical forms in their own times. So as it stood, the sun could never see the moon.

Until, one day, cookies of the traditional village they stayed in went missing. The cookies had a perfect scapegoat- that was Ruby. He was closed off and alienated enough to become an easy suspect. So when night fell, they concocted a plan to kill him while he was unaware.

Since he did his best to avoid everyone as to not scare them, he didn't see or hear of their plan, and so didn't know what was about to become of him. They injured him fatally, breaking his dough and spilling his strawberry jam on the stone road, leaving him to die.

Before he succumbed, he saw a very warm light. It was the first rays of sun coming up and shining down into the town. And with those rays of sun, came Sapphire. She saw Ruby for the first time, seeing what the cookies had done to him.

So in his last moments, they got to meet each other. She held him until he breathed his last, and carried him off to a vast field of flowers, where she held him until darkness came over the land, and she had sacrificed herself by succumbing to the cold, dim light of the moon. Even though it would up being her demise, she thought the soft moonlight was very beautiful.

She wanted to teach the cookies that if they couldn't handle the night, they didn't deserve the day. The moral of the story is to appreciate everything you have, not just one thing in particular, otherwise both may leave."

---

"how long has it been...?"

Ruby listened intently, quietly.

"That was... a time long before... any of these kingdoms... was it not...?"

---

Without wasting another second of time, it wasn't long that he arrived where the others were. But when he came to a stop, he sense that the aura wasn't quite right..?

"..Um?"

A questioning hum escaped from his lips, as he looked at every single individual cookie with a tilt of his head. He felt like this wasn't the time to intervene, so instead, he headed towards two familiar cookies he saw in the corner of his eyes and decided to stand with them in silence, no matter the many questions he has.

---

"Well, yes, that's what the story says. But that's all it is- a story." She pat his shoulder to cheer him up. "It's getting late, why don't we get some rest tonight? Tomorrow, we'll start off to Amaryllis City."

---

"...A story... most stories are rooted in reality, Mona."

His voice was as quiet as ever, solemn.

"...and..."

He trailed off.

---

"Let's just make room to sleep, okay?" She turned to the cottage's owner, watching their movements. "Excuse me, do you have any guest rooms in this house?"

---

"Oh...so that's the story." She said quietly. Elle had mentioned something like it. Elle...

the thought pained her. What if she was dead? What if that blast had taken too much out of her??? Or was she in hiding? Strategically planning her next move? Ace closed her eyes and prayed that she was ok.

---

Ruby fiddled with the ends of his new scarf smelled nice..., trying to figure out why that story had been so familiar.

Sapphire Sun Cookie...

Yeah.

He knew who that was.

The Sun.

---

"You've been quiet, Ruby. You must really like the story!" She laughed, adjusting her peach-colored cardigan. "Anything resonating?"

---

"...I don't... I don't think I'm supposed to... be here."

His voice was quiet. he glanced at Mona, tilting his head.

"...who are you? Who are you... really?"

---

"Huh...?" She responded by mirroring his gesture. "Who am I? I already told you, silly. My name is Monarda Cookie, and my home is... was in Lovage."

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"No. Who are you actually? You have the power of Light."

He pulled his scarf tighter around himself.

"I know who you re. I want to know how you really are."

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