Chapter Text
The contrast between the tranquility and haven of Pure Vanilla’s room and the bustling city below comforted the ancient. He had always sought the comfort of his room. Especially when he was dragged into the political debates.
He shut the heavy door behind him and sighed heavily. The weight of the day lay strongly in his mind. He was excited for the opportunity to be alone for once.
Pure Vanilla despised and detested being dragged and pulled in the bustling markets. Even the mere thought of the phantom touch made his spine crawl.
Forcibly, he managed to drag himself to his bed, allowing the drowsiness in his mind to drift him off to a land without responsibility.
. . .
A heavy thud on the door awoke the sleeping king. Pure Vanilla was not expecting visitors nor was he pleased to hear that someone was awaiting him. Yet, despite his better judgement he slugged himself out of bed and opened the large, sturdy door.
Imagine his shock, and to his terror, his friend Hollyberry Cookie awaiting him. The female ancient squealed in delight to see her friend and instinctively pulled him into one of her famous bear hugs.
Pure Vanilla tensed up at the action, the weight of her arms around him sent waves of panic through his system - yet he pushed it down and greeted her warmly.
“Hello Nilla!” Hollyberry proudly exclaimed, clearly wanting to lighten the dull mood of the other cookie.
“Hello Holly, I’m glad you could make it here safely.” Pure Vanilla replied, trying to reciprocate her tone of voice as
steadily as he could. “Although, I’m struggling to understand why you have come here, is something troubling you?” he blurted out, clearly wanting to solve her problems (if she had any).
“Nilla, are you a goldfish? It’s the ancients quarterly meeting and this time it’s your turn to host!” Hollyberry stated, dumbfounded at the memory of her friend.
Pure Vanilla’s eyes widened, more than he would like to admit. The world closed in around him as his breath became ragged and his head pounded. How could he forget? Why is he so incompetent and emotionally unstable to come to the conclusion he had forgotten? Forgotten something extremely significant.
Hollyberry chuckled and patted her friends back, “No need to worry though, I can help you set up.” She smiled, full of genuine affection.
At the scene of his friend calming him, Pure vanilla focused on his breath. “Thank you Holly, I’m still quite perplexed as to how I forgot. This seriously isn’t like me.” His voice turned out more shaky than he would have liked but he continued, with a steadying cough, “When do you estimate the others will arrive?”
. . .
The preparations for the meeting were complete, and the others were due to arrive soon. Pure Vanilla hadn’t been feeling the best recently and the additional stress of the meeting was clouding his head and affecting his appetite. The small appetite he had anyways.
Pure Vanilla just wanted to lay down, the stressful atmosphere was sending waves of apprehension throughout his body and yet all he could do was allow it.
The ancient knew how he was weak, and the lack of food he consumed was not helping fighting the war currently in his body. Luckily, Hollyberry had not yet noticed and smothered him like last time.
Vanilla cherished the moments he spent asleep, considering it was his only escape from the burden he carried day in and day out.
Changing out of his robes, he began to search for his nightgown. Whilst scanning the drawers for it, he was unsure why the maids always stuffed them extravagantly, as if Vanilla had the time to find the gowns.
In the midst of the search, he eyed his wrist. He lifted his spare hand to the marks, running his index finger down it, wincing at the partially less healed ones. He was glad he began to heal and feel slightly better.
At last, he located the night gown and immediately put it on. The gown wasn’t as large as his normal robes but they still strangely felt safe to him. Safe because they were familiar to him.
He lifted the quilt of his bed and smothered himself with blankets, despite being a walking radiator - his favourite thing to do was to be completely covered by blankets. He yawned, beginning to count the cream sheep in his head. He was unsure why he decided to change his sleeping agenda.
The sudden change, however, did not bother him. Most likely because it was on his own accord. Pure Vanilla was too drowsy to continue the train of thoughts suddenly clouding his head however, one thought kept reoccurring. What if the ancients are tense and despise the get-together? Especially after the tension with Golden Cheese and White Lily was not yet resolved. Whatever it was, Pure Vanilla made the estimated assumption that it will remain the same as always.
Pure Vanilla was never one for change, sudden or long term. Unfortunately, the world works by moving, which means change.