Chapter Text
Golden Cheese Cookie was never one to be shy. Not about what she wanted, anyway.
Which is why figuring out how to win the heart of this new cookie was going to be quite possibly the hardest thing she’d ever done.
It was immediate, the way that woman had managed to make Golden Cheese fall so easily, those eyes, brighter than any Ruby she’d seen, her hair, positively shining more than the finest silk. Her dress was a sweet green, like an emerald in the forest’s dappled light.
To be completely honest, that’s why she let Hollyberry share their berry juice. If it meant she would appreciate it, how could she refuse?
Golden Cheese had all but become obsessed with this newfound treasure-to-be, but she had to be careful.
She knew it wouldn’t be easy, after all, this was a cookie being, not some gem in a temple, primed for the taking. Sensitivity would need to be applied, or this woman would slip through the cracks, never to be seen again.
Which is why she was currently sitting in her tent, Hollyberry fast asleep and, dreadfully, snoring beside her.
Golden Cheese rubbed at her temples, racking her brain for any leverage or romantic woes she could muster.
She was, as always, radiant, but that didn’t seem to be what impressed a woman as sophisticated as her, no Golden Cheese had to be more than her glorious self, however impossible it may be to become an even bigger shining light.
She could show off her fighting prowess, there were always girls back home who’d swoon whenever she dealt with a simple Jellyworm… But she’d already seen Golden Cheese fight when they were fighting the monsters earlier in the day.
There was also the issue of interest.
Golden Cheese was, as always, a greedy cookie, who wanted nothing but the best for what was hers, and this would be no different with her, Golden Cheese could already imagine spoiling her in riches, or ding her in gold and silk, only the finest for her finest treasure. But she seemed to be entirely selfless.
Just today she and her original companion had gotten into an argument over who should have the last of their rations. It wasn’t over who wanted it more, but over who wanted the other to have it more.
The concept of such selflessness perplexed Golden Cheese for a small moment, until she’d realized that she was doing the same thing Golden Cheese was; looking out for those dear to her, in an, albeit very roundabout way.
There had been two portions, why hadn’t they just split it?
Either way, White Lily Cookie was bound to become her most coveted treasure, Golden Cheese felt it in her heart for certain.
White Lily sat in her tent, shared with Pure Vanilla, re-braiding her hair for the night as she thought about those new cookies. Dark Cacao seemed stern yet reliable, like a mighty mountain, figuratively and literally, Hollyberry was boisterous and jolly, and White Lily could she would be fun to drink with, then there was her…
White Lily was… unsure of how she felt about her.
It felt normal enough, a want to get closer to the new golden cookie, but it didn’t feel the same with the other two new cookies.
There was something different about her kind turquoise eyes and soft golden hair. White Lily could’ve mistaken such a vibrant color for the petals of a sunflower, had it not been for that dashing smile to break the illusion.
She’d seemed a little adverse to sharing their berry juice when Hollyberry first suggested the idea, though White Lily could never blame someone for reserving resources. What truly confused her was that she had seemed to pour just a little extra in White Lily’s cup when they were dividing the juice. Surely, she wasn’t as greedy as she proclaimed herself to be If she’d give more to a stranger than herself?
That could mean nothing, of course, a simple mistake, likely nothing more…
But those eyes still seemed to linger on her, when they were sitting by the fire that evening, while Hollyberry was laughing and poking fun at Dark Cacao’s apparent inability to laugh, and Pure Vanilla regaling the others of their travels thus far, she would interject every now and then, only for that sweet honey to drift back over to White Lily, possibly in contemplation.
Or, more likely, she was simply staring off into space. Yes, much more realistic, afterall, White Lily often did the same, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to have a similar trait, only coincidence.
A simple coincidence.
She was also a princess, if calling herself “the desert sovereign” was any indication.
Actually, that sounds more like a queen’s title than a princess’s.
Maybe that was it, then. Yes, White Lily simply wanted to know about the difference in culture and customs from the queen of a desert kingdom. It had nothing at all to do with her honey-golden eyes, and the indication of muscle under a certain softness-
Focus! She’s a queen. Yes, she was beautiful, but so was Hollyberry, it was no big deal. Everyone is beautiful in their own way, obviously, it’s only…
Only Golden Cheese Cookie looked like that. Like a warm sun’s smiling embrace put into a single being.
Golden Cheese woke with a start, Hollyberry’s face so close to hers she could smell the other’s breath.
Hollyberry’s hands were clasped around her shoulders, shaking her up, leaving her head to dangle like a broken bobble.
“C’mon, it’s time to wake up!” Hollyberry sing-songed into Golden Cheese’s very soul with the volume of her voice.
Golden cheese groaned and grasped Hollyberry’s wrists, an indication that she was awake, which got Hollyberry to stop jerking her around like a ragdoll. “Please, Hollyberry, you nearly scared me.” The larger woman released Golden Cheese’s shoulders and she sat up, rubbing at her eyes slightly. “I thought we were under attack.”
Hollyberry let out a loud laugh, something she seemed to do quite often, as she rubbed the back of her neck. “My apologies, friend, I simply wanted you not to miss breakfast!”
“Breakfast? From who?” Golden Cheese blinked groggily as she crawled out of the blanket covering her and shivered at the cold morning air. Clearly, it was far too early for anything as jovial as Hollyberry, but it’s not like she cared.
Hollyberry grinned and pulled the tent aside, showing that the fire pit from last night had been rekindled. “That Dark Cacao is a surprisingly good chef!”
Said Dark Cacao sat at the fire, tending to a pot held up by a tripod of sticks, with a divine-smelling bubbling stew sitting inside. Pure Vanilla and White Lily had already come out, the three of them having a conversation about Dark Cacao’s homeland, it seemed.
“I didn’t even know there were cookies that far north!” Pure Vanilla admitted, though curiosity and excitement bled into his surprise as he continued. “We were under the impression it was a wasteland.”
Dark Cacao nodded, “My home isn’t without its hostilities, but we make do.” He gave the stew a final stir before taking a set of bowls from his pack and serving them.
Golden Cheese accepted the bowl and sat down. “What is there to eat up there? Farming must be a nightmare.”
“There are fish and root plants, and the occasional Cacao Eagle.” Dark Cacao placed the pot back in its place after everyone had been served.
“How do you farm in the desert?” White lily asked, her bright eyes curiously taking in Golden Cheese, at least she hoped they were.
“We live by a glorious river!” Golden Cheese declared, like it was a victory, “We grow grains and fruit along the shore.” And then- White Lily was taking notes. Complete with a notepad and pen, White Lily wrote down what Golden Cheese had told her, about the river and the plants grown there.
When White Lily looked up, it looked like she was engrossed in her own mind, something swimming behind her eyes, thoughts Golden Cheese could only hope to unravel. “And what methods do they use? How do you water the crops?” Her notepad was ready, held up with the tip of her pen hovering over the surface.
Golden Cheese paused at her eager questioning before she regained her composure, “I’d need to ask, but I believe they redirect water from the river to the crops.” Then Golden Cheese got the best idea she’d ever had- “Actually, would you like to ask them yourself?”
White Lily’s gaze snapped to focus purely on Golden Cheese. Those thoughts swirled behind her eyes, questions, brilliance, all of it, like her mind was so powerful it nearly spilled out of her at every moment. “You’d take me there?” An innocent question, hopeful, curious. “To your home?”
“Of course!” Golden Cheese grinned, a perfect excuse to get closer as well, “It only makes sense, given that you’re helping me! Such bravery should be rewarded!” Golden Cheese opened her arms, hopefully not seeming too foolish to anyone important, “I hereby invite you all to a banquet in my homeland once this monster business is dealt with!” She declared, though she wished that only one of them would accept the invitation.
Hollyberry laughed and hooked an arm around Golden Cheese’s neck, “I’m afraid you beat me to it!” She then stage-whispered into Golden Cheese’s ear, apparently wanting this to be an open secret, “I’ll bring the good stuff.” Golden Cheese was then released from Hollyberry’s arm, allowing Golden Cheese to take a breath.
“Thank you, Hollyberry..” Golden Cheese said, scooching away from her slightly as not to be snatched into another one-armed hug.
White Lily clasped her hands together, smiling warmly. “How wonderful! Pure Vanilla and I would love to!” Pure Vanilla nodded in agreement, smiling kindly.
Hollyberry turned her attention to Dark Cacao, a grin on her face. “Dark Cacao, you must come with us!”
Dark Cacao seemed to be ready to decline but Hollyberry had hooked an arm around him and started jostling him around. “This isn’t an option! You’ll have fun, come on!” Hollyberry laughed as she released him.
Dark Cacao rolled his eyes, but nodded. “Very well. It would be a lie if I said I was not curious about other lands.”
Hollyberry grinned at the group as a whole before moving towards their shared tent. “Well, then, let’s get moving! Those monsters won’t fight themselves!”
Golden Cheese followed after Hollyberry to clean up their tent, while the others went to take down their own.
“So, White Lily, hm?” Hollyberry chuckled, rolling up her bedding.
Golden Cheese tensed. “What are you implying?” If you’d asked Golden Cheese, she’d have told you her voice was even and calm, but anyone else listening would say that was a lie. “She’s quite an interesting cookie.”
“So is Cacao but you’re not inviting him into your home for dinner.” She gave Golden Cheese a knowing smirk, a snicker barely restrained by a hand over her mouth. “Matter of fact, I’m interesting, too!”
Golden Cheese rolled up her bedding “Hmpf, you were there, I invited everyone!”
Hollyberry waved a finger in front of Golden Cheese’s face. “Nuh-uh, you asked her to come first, then announced the banquet.” A mischievous grin crossed her face, she knew exactly what was happening. “Were you trying to save face or just didn’t want it to be obvious?”
Golden Cheese crossed her arms. “I simply wanted to foster her curiosity.”
Hollyberry raised a brow. “You sure that’s the only thing you’re trying to foster?”
Golden Cheese squawked at Hollyberry’s highly accurate accusation, placing a dramatic hand on her chest. “I haven’t the faintest idea you could be implying, I’m simply caring for those dear to me.” She made sure to finish the sentence with a slight smirk and a flourish, a small hint that, yes you’re right Hollyberry, now shut up.
Hollyberry seemed to understand as she snickered and finished packing, now moving outside the tent, waiting for Golden Cheese to finish so they could disassemble the tent.
Golden Cheese finished shortly after, hoisting her pack on and taking the tent down with Hollyberry. Once that was done, Hollyberry buried what was left of the fire, and they waited for the others to finish.
Their camp was packed up, and soon they were headed down the road.
Moving as a group larger than two was somewhat new to White Lily. She’d almost always been with Pure Vanilla, ever since the academy, but having this many cookies in one spot seemed to attract more monsters. Which wasn’t a problem on its own, of course not, they came here to defeat them, after all, but that didn’t stop the small spike of anxiety whenever a beast popped out of the woods.
As if hearing her thoughts, a massive Cake Boar roared down the path, brandishing sharp tusks aimed straight for Hollyberry and Dark Cacao in the front.
White Lily’s vines burst out of the ground, the plants making an attempt to grab at its legs. Golden Cheese had drawn her bow and shot an arrow square above the beast’s eye. Hollyberry surged her shield forward and handled its tusks while Dark Cacao moved in with his sword.
A vine grasped one of the Boar’s front tusks, helping Hollyberry in holding the boar in place. Dark Cacao’s sword came down, making a sizable gash in its side, but not doing enough. Golden Cheese moved forward, past Pure Vanilla, and shot straight into the creature’s eye, making it squeal angrily.
Hollyberry’s shield lost purchase on the boar’s tusk and she was flung back, caught by Golden Cheese. White Lily summoned more vines, trying to keep the boar from moving forward and crushing her companions.
Pure Vanilla sent out a healing light, a warmth on White Lily’s heart she never took for granted. She used the extra energy Pure Vanilla provided to summon more vines that wrapped around the boar’s legs more and more, until lilies bloomed on them, close to the boar’s head.
“Hold your breath!” She called, before allowing the lilies to release their pollen, being inhaled by the boar.
The boar sneezed, but it was too late. The beast started to falter, violently shaking its head as its eyelids fluttered. It wobbled uneasily, before it toppled over, its wound spewing strawberry jam as the beast died.
Pure Vanilla and White Lily ran forward, Dark Cacao joining them.
“What was that?” Hollyberry asked, gazing bewildered at the cake boar’s corpse as Pure Vanilla healed her wounds.
White Lily fiddled with her staff. She always hated having to do that, “An airborne poison. The boar inhaled it and.. Well.” She motioned to the boar, judging it didn’t need explanation.
“Really?” Golden Cheese asked, an amazed expression taking in the boar, then the vines White Lily had summoned, though without her maintaining them they’d begun to wilt. “Incredible.” She turned back to White Lily, a look of excited wonder plastered on her features. “Truly incredible! I had no idea you were so skilled in sorcery!”
“Oh, it’s only-” White Lily was going to show her, it wasn’t that big of a deal, really, it wasn’t, but Golden Cheese interrupted.
“It’s only brilliant!” Golden Cheese parroted her first words then added her own. Golden Cheese’s hands were clasped over White Lily’s, slightly holding her in place. “That was more than just simple sorcery! I’ve never seen anything like it!”
White Lily felt her face heat up slightly. Only because she was embarrassed, of course, but that didn’t stop the soft dusting of pink on her cheeks. “Um, thank you…” White Lily avoided Golden Cheese’s gaze, unsure if she could keep her composure if she saw those excited turquoise eyes straight-on
Golden Cheese chuckled, triumphant, “Of course! You should take more pride in your work!” She playfully pushed White Lily’s shoulder, then walked to stand to White Lily’s left, waiting for Pure Vanilla to finish healing Hollyberry and Dark Cacao, who’d taken the brunt of the cake boar’s attacks.
White Lily smiled fondly as she heard Pure Vanilla’s quiet scolding of the two of them, warning them to be more careful, and not to charge ahead, even if they were in the front of the group. It was a familiar sight, she’d just never seen it as a bystander, and not the one being scolded.
“I never noticed he was so quiet…” White Lily observed, though she hadn’t meant to start a conversation.
“Really?” Golden Cheese questioned, quirking a brow. “Perhaps I’m simply loud then, because I noticed both of you were quite soft spoken.”
“Am I that quiet?” White Lily asked, suddenly worried that some wouldn’t be able to hear her.
Golden Cheese shook her head, that ever-present smile widening, “No, I believe I could just be loud.” She shrugged. “Luckily for me, I’m associated with Hollyberry, and I don’t think anyone could be louder than her, save for a dragon’s roar.” Golden Cheese hummed, considering something, “Actually, I think a drunken Hollyberry would be louder than any dragon, too.”
White Lily laughed, imagining a dragon cowering at a stumbling, screaming Hollyberry, “Do you think she’d be proud of that or embarrassed?”
“That woman? Please.” Golden Cheese scoffed and crossed her arms. “The only thing she’s embarrassed about is her winning streak.”
“Winning streak?” White Lily parroted, a curious look on her face. “For what?”
Golden Cheese chuckled quietly, “She’s apparently won every drinking competition, except for one, in which she came in second.” A bemused expression formed Golden Cheese’s face. “She won’t tell me who she lost to, but said ‘that cookie has an alcohol tolerance that would scare the witches themselves’ ” Golden Cheese mimicked Hollyberry’s bravado in a hushed voice, like she was trying to recapture how Hollyberry had told her about it. “I think the witches would be horrified if they saw how much Hollyberry could take, though.”
White Lily chuckled quietly before she thought about the witches, and all of her research on them came flooding back. She asked the question before she remembered this was supposed to be a light-hearted conversation.
“What do you think the witches made us for?”
The group had started moving now, Hollyberry and Dark Cacao were talking, while Pure Vanilla had cast a wary glance toward White Lily.
Golden Cheese hummed. “I’m not quite sure. Though I think I was made to obtain riches beyond their dreams, if I’m to be bold.” She chuckled, an easy smile on her face as she leaned back on her arms. “Why do you ask?”
“…You don’t think we may have been built for something more?” White Lily asked, fiddling with the handle of her staff.
Golden Cheese shrugged easily, “It’s a possibility, but if we were built for more, wouldn’t the witches have told us?”
White Lily paused. It was an interesting thought, perhaps cookies were just made for the sake of it, maybe they were some kind of experiment, but that couldn’t be it, right? Suely, cookies were made to do something important? Beings as powerful as the witches wouldn’t just create living beings for no good reason, would they?
“I think,” Golden Cheese started, interrupting White Lily’s thoughts, “that we were made to live and learn and love. What greater purpose is there?” Golden Cheese turned her head to look at White Lily fully, grinning wide.
White Lily smiled at the sentiment, “That is nice, I think.” She smiled more, but her mind still ran with other solutions to her impossible problem.
Safe to say, Golden Cheese was nailing it.
Ok, maybe not entirely, but she was at least hitting the nail. White Lilly had become a sort of puzzle to her, beautiful on the outside, but several layers within, a brilliant woman under it all.
She knew she probably hadn’t answered ‘correctly’ when White Lily had asked that question about what their ‘true’ purpose was, but she wasn’t going to sit there and pretend she’d spent a lot of time thinking about something so complex because she hadn’t. Golden Cheese was many wonderful things but she hoped she’d never become a liar.
Besides, Golden Cheese had still answered with her genuine thought of “what we’re all here for”, anyway. The question still intrigued her when she was asked, however. It had somewhat come out of nowhere, but it stalled her thoughts for a good moment.
The elusive witches, their “godly makers”, if the stories were anything to go off of. One would be foolish if they hadn’t questioned them for at least a minute, but it never truly caught Golden Cheese’s eye.
Stories of the witches were normally all the same, and those who actually remember being in the oven or even seeing the witches rarely talked about it.
Golden Cheese would be lying if she didn’t say it intrigued her, but leads were few and far between, and often came from less than reliable sources.
She’d mostly just left the topic alone, electing to continue hunting for tangible items like gold and jewels, rather than the secret purpose for their existence, as if she hadn’t already been told by her heart.
They were supposed to live.
And that was it.
White Lily kept glancing around nervously, her fingers fiddling with a particular leaf on her staff, a nervous tick, if Golden Cheese guessed right.
She’d gone quiet after Golden Cheese gave her answer. Either she realized that it would be incredibly awkward to have a normal conversation after such a philosophical query, or she was contemplating what Golden Cheese had said.
Golden Cheese hoped it was the first one, because the second could spell doom for Golden Cheese’s chances, but she left it alone, opting to take in the forest as they went.
Pure Vanilla started to speak, addressing the whole group, “Alright, it’ll be dark soon so let’s set up camp.”
Hollyberry sighed loudly, “Ahh, thank the witches!” She laughed happily and sauntered over to Golden Cheese, deciding where to pitch their tent.
“By the way, Golden Cheese,” Hollyberry said, a hint mischief in her voice as she set out her bed mat, “I have a plan.”
Golden Cheese raised a brow. “For what?” Golden Cheese silently hoped it wasn’t a battle plan. Hollyberry could hit hard, sure, but she wasn’t strategically inclined, like Dark Cacao or herself.
“You and White Lily, of course!” She exclaimed.
Golden Cheese’s hands were covering Hollyberry’s mouth in an instant. “Shhhh! Be subtle, Holly- are you licking my hand?!” Golden Cheese retracted, finding a gross wetness on her hand. Golden Cheese looked down, cringing at the disgusting feeling in her dough.
Hollyberry laughed proudly, until she realized Golden Cheese was wiping her hand off on her shoulder. Hollyberry tried to swat Golden Cheese’s hand away, “Hey! This is a new shirt!”
Golden Cheese scoffed. “If you cared about it staying nice, you would’ve tried harder to keep it clean.” Golden Cheese finished wiping her hand off and sighed, “Now, what was this brilliant plan? It better not be like that time you tried throwing me at a cakehound pack.”
Hollyberry sputtered exasperated, “That was a while ago-”
“It was only two weeks-”
“-And I thought it would work!” Hollyberry closed her defense by putting her hand on her hips and grinning. “Anyway, I have an idea, trust me!” She turned to the entrance of the tent, beckoning Golden Cheese to come with her.
Golden Cheese rolled her eyes and followed, watching, with mild horror, as Hollyberry gathered up Dark Cacao, Pure Vanilla, and White Lily.
“What is it?” Dark Cacao questioned, his voice that weird unreadable tone he always did when he was trying to hide discomfort or annoyance.
“I’ve been thinking, what if we swap tent-mates?” Hollyberry happily suggested, which made Golden Cheese nearly show her mild horror. “It’ll help us get closer to one another!”
Hollyberry when I get my hands on you-
“No”. Dark Cacao said, his tone as flat as he was.
“Fine, then, you don’t need to, grumpypants,” Hollyberry took a breath and directed her attention to White Lily, “White Lily! Switch with me!”
It took just about everything in Golden Cheese not to scream. At what in particular, she wasn’t sure, but she thought it may be a mixture of embarrassment for being the closest to Hollyberry and for knowing what Hollyberry’s idiodic plan was.
“Me?” White Lily questioned, seemingly surprised. “Are you sure?” She leaned close to Hollyberry and whispered “Pure Vanilla snores. It’s quite loud.”
“Ah, so that’s what I’ve been hearing every night.” Golden Cheese teased, noticing that everyone else had heard White Lily despite her efforts. “I thought that was just Hollyberry.”
Hollyberry burst into a loud laugh as her hand found its way to Golden Cheese’s back and hit it a bit too hard to be a playful slap. Her laugh seemed a bit forced, too.
“Ah, then I suppose we’ll be best suited together, hm?” Hollyberry looked at Pure Vanilla. “Are you alright with this arrangement?”
Pure Vanilla, still a little embarrassed by the snoring allegations, nodded calmly. “I think it’s a lovely idea, Hollyberry.” He smiled kindly.
“Then… I’ll move my things.” White Lily said, though it was difficult to tell if she was enthusiastic about it or dreading every second.
White Lily began packing her things, careful to keep them as easy to carry as possible, even if it was such a short distance.
Golden Cheese had offered to help, carrying White Lily’s single bag to their newly shared tent.
“Here,” Golden Cheese said, pulling the flap back and allowing White Lily to step into the pink-colored tent. It was likely Hollyberry’s.
Golden Cheese’s bedmat sat in the left corner, her bag at the foot of it. It seemed high-quality, the blanket on top a vibrant yellow with turquoise embroidery on the edges.
“You can set up on the other side,” Golden Cheese motioned to the empty side of the tent, where Hollyberry used to sleep.
White Lily nodded and placed her sleeping mat and made the blankets neat as Golden Cheese set her bag at the end of the mat.
White Lily sat down on her mat, looking up at Golden Cheese.
“So, what kind of exports does your kingdom produce?” White Lily asked, desperate to fill the silence.
Golden Cheese hummed and sat, “We have gold, mostly, as well as some fruits.”
“I see, who do you trade with?” She asked, intent on learning more about this desert kingdom.
“Mostly oasis villages, cookies with less resources, few other desert countries.” Golden Cheese Listed as she smoothed out her own blankets. “What about you? Do your cookies trade with anyone?”
White Lily shook her head, “Oh, yes, but it was mostly crops, nothing as valuable as gold!” Truly, it wasn’t anything spectacular.
“Nonsense!” Golden Cheese insisted, “You likely have a trade route by water! We have a few, but most things are transported via date camels.” Golden Cheese flitters her hand to the side, like that wasn’t nearly as impressive as water-aided travel.
White Lily hummed. “I suppose… It’s possible.” They did live near a river. “I may’ve just never seen them before, what with the academy and my own studies..”
Golden Cheese nodded matter-of-faclty, like someone had finally given in. “See? Anything’s possible, so long as you will it to be so!”
White Lilly nodded, taking Golden Cheese’s appearance once more.
The light leaking in through the thin fabric of the tent made her appear more humble. Her sharp, even bird-like features didn’t cast large shadows like they did when the sun directly shone on her face, rather it seemed the perfect lighting to take in such a cookie. Her golden eyes seemed malleable, shifting and even shimmering in the light. Her turquoise makeup, though eccentric, only served to enunciate this feature.
White Lily noticed she’d been staring and averted her gaze, then decided on something, something that may or may not ruin every good thing she could have with Golden Cheese.
“Um, about that, the willing things to be so…” White Lily took a deep breath and looked Golden Cheese in the eye. “Would you like to dance with me, if there is dancing at this banquet you’re throwing?”
White Lily noticed Golden Cheese light up at the offer. She seemed downright giddy, tapping her feet on the floor excitedly as she flung herself into a hug around White Lily. Squealing, she said, “I’d love to!” Golden Cheese pulled back and looked only slightly serious as she promised, “I will make sure there is dancing for us!” Golden Cheese gave her a huge grin as she left the tent, boasting to Hollyberry about the addition of dance to the banquet.
White Lily smiled softly.
She was happy her friend was this excited.
“Hollyberry, Hollyberry!” Golden Cheese ran up to the larger cookie, jitters having not left her just yet. “Hollyberry!”
Hollyberry was right in front of her. In fact, she hadn’t even gone that far from her own tent, now in front of Pure Vanilla and Hollyberry’s.
Hollyberry chuckled, though to anyone else it would sound like a full-on laugh. ‘“Yes, yes, yes! What is it, friend?”
Golden Cheese gasped and took hollyberry by the shoulders, grinning widely. “White Lily just asked to dance with me at the banquet!”
Hollyberry hummed, “She asked you, huh? A shame that it’s a banquet and not a ball then-”
“NO!” Golden Cheese exclaimed, a little louder than intentional. “No, no. I’m going to include dancing.” Golden Cheese grinned slyly. “How could I turn down such a dashing young woman?”
Their shared journey was slowly yet surely coming to an end. Fewer and fewer monsters were found, Golden Cheese’s treasures had been recovered, all that was left to do was place wards around the forest, to keep the monsters out.
White Lily always liked making wards. They were simple, and repetitive, but effective. Her village stopped being attacked the moment she’d put them up.
The repetition allowed her mind to be elsewhere while still doing something important.
A slight shimmer on her wrist distracted her slightly. She had silver on her wrist, given to her by Golden Cheese from the treasure the monsters had stolen from her. Golden Cheese had been particular when she chose it. “No, no, gold is simply not your color, you would look even more exquisite in silver.” and bestowed a silver bangle adorned with emeralds, and then doing the same with Hollyberry, Dark Cacao, and Pure Vanilla. She’d put care into choosing specific pieces for each cookie. Hollyberry received a goblet encrusted with ruby, Dark Cacao tried to refuse an amethyst pendant with a silver chain, and Pure Vanilla was gifted a golden brooch, and though it had no gems, it was beautifully ornate.
White Lily appreciated the gesture, though she noticed that more care seemed to be put into finding White Lily that bangle. The words “Even more exquisite” Had begun to take up more space in her mind, echoing on and on, the more she looked at the bangle l̶o̶v̶i̶n̶g̶l̶y̶ kindly bestowed upon her.
Then there was Golden Cheese’s reaction to her asking for a dance… it was sweet, of course, who wouldn’t be happy to dance with a friend? However, the squealing with Hollyberry afterwards… did not imply friendship.
White Lily shook her head, overthinking, again. It was a friendly gesture, that’s all.
But she did say she would ensure that there was dancing… for them.
For them.
Such an odd way to phrase it…
No. She was being delusional, Golden Cheese is a sovereign, she surely would express interest in a girl from a small village without any trade relations at all-
“White Lily!” Golden Cheese burst into their tent, her face slightly flustered as a cheesebird fluttered behind her. She was carrying a wad of maps and books in her hand.
“Golden Cheese?” White Lily watched as Golden Cheese spread one of the maps out, using rocks to keep the corners down. “What is this?” White Lily’s eyes lit up, “What is that map made of?” The map itself seemed rougher than normal, not like the paper made by her cookies.
Golden Cheese huffed,ensuring the map was completely flat, before she spoke again, her tone antsy and excited. “Papyrus plant- but that’s not important, where is your village?” Golden Cheese motioned broadly to the map, which White Lily had belatedly realized was a map. The cheesebird looked at White Lily, expectant.
“Um,” White Lily looked at the map again, looking for the recognizable features of her home’s geography. She pointed at a lake to the south of The Blueberry Academy. “There. Waterlily Village.”
Golden Cheese grinned wide, circling the area she’d pointed out with a charcoal nib. “Thank you, White Lily!” She presented the map to the cheesebird, who nodded, to White Lily’s surprise. “Now that we know where, we can begin trade relations with your village!” Golden Cheese announced it like it was a victory. “Now we just need to get Pure Vanilla’s and… ugh, Dark Cacao’s.”
White Lily chuckled slightly as Golden Cheese grumbled about the bitter cookie, then steeled her expression. “Thank you, Golden Cheese.” She smiled. Truly, a kind action.
Golden Cheese scoffed, though it was too showy to be upset at anything. “But of course! We are allies, are we not?” Golden Cheese rolled the map up, “I can’t have my allies not absolutely shine like my own home!”
White Lily watched as Golden Cheese marched out, immediately going to harass Dark Cacao with the same question.
Such a kind cookie.