Chapter Text
Shadow Milk was on the far right as he stood with the other Beast Cookies; the thieves were in front of them, intent on banishing them all back to the tree. He couldn’t go back to that isolation, he just couldn’t. White Lily raised her staff, and Shadow Milk’s heterochromic eyes as well as the ones in his hair, flicked around in every direction to find some hidden crevice or path he could escape through while White Lily started reciting the spell. Blinding white lights came down instead of forks, and Shadow Milk distantly thought that it must have been because a cookie was doing it.
Pure Vanilla stumbled forward at Burning Spice’s enraged scream, knocking against White Lily as the blinding light came towards Shadow Milk. The beam hit most of his body, but instead of sealing him it felt as if his magic rapidly depleted. Shadow Milk took the same moment to use what little magic he had left and slipped out of the crowd and into the forest. He felt bad that he had left his friends to be sealed back in the tree, but he told himself that once his magic had replenished he’d help them leave. Shadow Milk was so distracted in his fleeing, fear, and sorrow, that he failed to notice the Vanilla Orchid Staff’s eye following him into the shadows and the small, imperceptible smile that formed on Pure Vanilla’s face.
🌻🎭
Shadow Milk—now Blueberry Cream— sat on a stump in the woods of the Vanilla Kingdom. He had been hiding out in the forest while he slowly restocked on his magic supply. The citizens never came into the woods, but their reappointed king would occasionally come. Blueberry Cream always made sure to slip into the shadows when he could; he didn’t need that goody-two-shoes sending him back to that witch-forsaken tree.
Today was—unfortunately—one of the days Pure Vanilla came to the forest. He had been coming more and more often. Blueberry Cream knew that the cookie sensed his presence around the forest, and he knew that he’d have to leave the safe haven soon and try his luck in the Hollyberry Kingdom. Pure Vanilla walked through the forest for a bit before pausing and looking at the shadow Blueberry Cream was hiding in. “The villagers were talking about seeing a child in the woods, that wouldn’t happen to be you, would it?” Pure Vanilla asked as he sat down in front of the shadow, his priestly white robes fanned out around him effortlessly.
“So what if it is?” Blueberry Cream’s child-like voice echoed slightly in the area, seeming to have no clear origin. Pure Vanilla’s smile didn’t even twitch.
“I’d ask if you wanted to come to the palace with me. You shouldn’t be isolated, especially if you’re hurt,” Pure Vanilla said in his sickly soft tone. Blueberry Cream’s eyebrows furrowed in his incorporeal form as he considered.
“You have to swear and not go back on your word no matter what,” Blueberry Cream said, his voice filling the silence that had stretched for several minutes.
“I swear,” Pure Vanilla said earnestly, “I won’t even consider it.” Blueberry Cream was silent for a while before he appeared in front of Pure Vanilla. Holding his orchid staff he could clearly see the slight tremors in Blueberry Cream’s legs as he stood on the ground. “Do you want me to carry you?”
“I don’t need you to carry me,” Blueberry Cream snapped as he crossed his arms.
“Well, it’d make me feel better if I could carry you to the palace. I have a hard time seeing everywhere with just my staff and I’d hate to not notice you trip or get hurt,” Pure Vanilla said softly, his heterochromic eyes looking into Blueberry Cream’s despite their lack of sight. Blueberry Cream pursed his lips before he deigned to respond.
“I suppose I’ll let you carry me so you’re not stumbling around with worry,” Blueberry Cream stated, making Pure Vanilla smile happily. He picked the other up in one arm, making sure he was comfortable, before he began to walk towards the palace. As they walked through the town, Blueberry Cream noticed some of the citizens were looking at him with contempt and glaring at him, Blueberry Cream glared back just as harshly if not harsher.
The orchid’s eye glanced at the citizens before looking back in front of the two cookies. “Don’t worry about them. You just remind them of Shadow Milk, so some of them are a bit uneasy,” Pure Vanilla said comfortingly as he shifted Blueberry Cream to face him instead of the crowd. Blueberry Cream looked up at his face, and he couldn’t see or hear any disdain at Pure Vanilla mentioning his other half. He wondered if the reason he didn’t care was because he thought Shadow Milk was sealed away… or if there was a different reason.
The two eventually arrived at the palace, and Pure Vanilla carried Blueberry Cream up the stairs. “Do you think you’d be alright in your own room, or would you like me to bring a bed into mine?” He asked gently as he walked up the steps.
“I’m fine on my own,” Blueberry Cream snapped immediately as Pure Vanilla took a turn down the hallway.
“Of course,” Pure Vanilla said gently as he set his staff against the wall before turning a handle and pushing the door open. “Well my room is close by if you need help or anything, alright?” Pure Vanilla grasped his staff before he walked in and set Blueberry Cream down on a chair. “Don’t hesitate to come to me if you need anything. I won’t be upset, I swear,” Pure Vanilla promised before he smiled and left the room, hoping the boy wouldn’t leave soon. Pure Vanilla hoped he’d be alright living in the Vanilla Kingdom even if it was just while he recovered.
Stupid Nilly, thinking I’d need help. What do I need his help for? Blueberry Cream thought as he rolled his eyes and looked around the room after Pure Vanilla had left. I’ll have to wait a while to redecorate this horrible room. He considered as he used a faint wisp of his magic to float over to the bed before laying down, facing the ceiling.
🌻🎭
Blueberry Cream sat in the library, he had used the shadows from his room to travel in the early hours of the morning. The doors of the library muffled the footsteps of cookies that worked in the castle, the only reason they would have entered the library is to dust the shelves and books. Blueberry Cream’s eyes snapped up to the doors when he heard them open and he watched Pure Vanilla step through the doors. Blueberry Cream watched as Pure Vanilla’s open, frantic, eyes closed and saw the heaves of breaths he was taking slowly calm down to a normal rhythm as his staff’s eye noticed Blueberry Cream sitting peacefully.
“What are you doing here, Bluebird?” Pure Vanilla asked gently as he sat beside Blueberry Cream.
“Reading,” Blueberry Cream answered bluntly, ignoring the nickname as he looked back down at his book. “Why were you looking for me? Aren’t you busy as a king?”
“I took today to make sure that you were settling in well here, I didn’t want to leave you alone in such an unfamiliar place,” Pure Vanilla answered gently.
“Whatever will your citizens think, taking a day off of…what do you even do?” Blueberry Cream asked, taking his azure eyes off the book he had been reading and turning his attention to the Ancient cookie.
“Usually I have court to discuss things concerning the kingdom, buildings, laws, complaints. During the war I was away for some time, and when I returned after the war’s end, that was the main focus of the courts,” Pure Vanilla answered easily as he smiled. “Everything has settled now, of course, and since there haven’t been as many issues lately I thought it would be alright to stay by your side today as you settle in.”
“That sounds stupid,” Blueberry Cream said, grinning, before he turned his attention back to the history book he had been reading. The silence between the two stretched, it wasn’t tense but it wasn’t necessarily comfortable either. At some point Pure Vanilla had chosen a book to read as well while he sat beside the other cookie.
The silence was only broken hours later, as Blueberry Cream’s thoughts slipped out of his mouth when he read the next several passages of his book in shock. “They tore it down?” The words were merely a whisper, more an unbelievable discovery than an outright question. Of course, the cookie beside him had heard what he’d said and Pure Vanilla turned to him.
“What did they tear down?” He asked, his voice a strange mixture of curiosity and concern.
“Nothing,” Blueberry Cream deflected, “Go to your court, I’m sure they’re missing you.”
“Bluebird,” Pure Vanilla began, reaching a tanned hand out to comfort Blueberry Cream before it was pushed away.
“Just go,” Blueberry Cream said harshly as he glared at Pure Vanilla.
The blonde stopped, staying next to Blueberry Cream for several beats before standing. “Alright, but if you need me, then you know where to look,” Pure Vanilla spoke gently before he left the library quietly. As soon as the door had closed behind the blonde, Blueberry Cream doubled over, his breaths uneven and harsh.
It was just some building, he told himself as tears threatened to spill over. Get over it. Tiny drops fell onto the floorboards and in between the cracks sprouted tiny milkcrown flowers that Blueberry Cream would no doubt have to remove before he left.