Chapter Text
I got to say, whatever that was and is currently racing out of the infirmary was not a variable I considered in my plan.
Hell, I even accounted for the possibility that Sugarfly managed to escape the Garden and went back to her old home, and even that impossibility was true.
I thought I accounted for everything, no matter how unlikely it would come to pass, but that?
By the grace of my lord, I was not aware that I had such an effect on Cookies, not to mention so quickly given a source so close to the heart of the Faeries to exploit if his alert position next to the next gnat Queen was any indication.
But not yet.
I will have to explore that little fact later. A fact that I carefully label Silverbell before filing it away because right now, things could go south fast if Sugarfly decides to be loyal to her new peers over the eons of late night talks we had in the roots of that silver tree, so many secrets and worries and thoughts shared that I hope if our friendship has deteriorated over the little time we have been freed from the Silver Tree, she stays silent knowing full well that while she may be able to share some of my secrets to a few Cookies that might believe her, I got the resources and talent to spread all of her secrets to the entire Cookieworld, and they would believe me.
I seriously hope I don’t have to though, because despite the Cookie I serve, the role I play in his plans, I really do, and still do value her friendship that we fostered in the Silver Tree, that as much as I tell myself otherwise, it would really hurt to be forced to betray her like that.
“Sugarfly, do you know him?” The gnat queen says softly, alerting me to snap out of my thoughts to stare at her yellow eyes widened in shock, silent messages passing between us in a language we have developed for eons, a silent standoff going through us, conflict going through her eyes, and shit, I can tell I’m losing.
She knows damn well who I am, who I serve, and why its dangerous that I have showed up here in the Silver Kingdom, knowing that my loyalty to my sire is strong, and if she gets a hint that I am here on his orders, she’s going to reveal me before I can even get a chance to root the plan she thinks I am planting for Master Shadow Milk Cookie, that she will choose the safety of her old home over the friendship we harbored.
And I can tell, she’s starting to lean more heavily towards stopping a plan she believes I was sent to carry out under my lords demands, her gaze getting more and more conflicted, and I know, I have to stop this by any means necessary.
“Sugarfly?” I whisper as I widen my eyes in shock, making myself look like I snapped out of my confusion. “Sugarfly? Is that really you?”
Your move, I silently convey to her as I lower my ears, relaxing my body as I push my hair out of my left eye, letting her see into the depths off my soul, even if my dough is starting to feel a little uncomfortable for my own body, forcing myself to not look away as I let her stare into both of my eyes, my mind screaming at me to halve the intensity, to make it just a bit more…bearable.
And it seems to be working, every second I don’t make a move to cover my eye another inch of ground I gain, before…
There we are.
“Blackberry!” She exclaims as her hands fly to my hand that is closest to her. “Oh, oh you escaped Eternal Sugar too?”
“You bet I did!” I laugh as I use my free hand to cover my eye again. “Eternal Sugar never told me what happened to you when Hollyberry left. I-I was wondering if something…happened to you.”
“I’m fine, I’m fine!” She exclaims as she hugs me tight, so tight as she quickly breathes in my ear; “Don’t make me regret this, Saph.” before letting go with a laugh.
“I see you know each other quite well.” The gnat queen laughs, before she sighs. “Would you mind if I put you in charge of Blackberry? I’m sure he has a lot of questions.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” She says with a bow as I make myself look confused as I look up at her crown, my mouth opening in shock as I stare at her Soul Jam.
“‘Your Majesty’?” I gasp as I look around as if deeply bewildered. “Where’s…where’s Elder Faerie? And…and why does she have the Soul Jam of Solidarity?”
“It’s been a long time, Blackberry.” Sugarfly says softly, my heart warming at the evidence of eons of small lessons of Deceit I taught her, glad to see that our friendship hasn’t fully degraded. “I have a lot to tell you. There is just so much to say.”
“I’m White Lily; the new Faerie Queen,” the gnat says softly as she floats closer. “Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. Elder Faerie crumbled so recently, I’m still learning the ropes of being a ruler of this Kingdom.”
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