CANDYLAND - 1. Quest

Chapter 3 - Party crasher!

 When the grand day of Marshmallow Cookie's birthday ball arrived, it was a speed-run at the Light Kingdom palace. Everybody was rushing, running around the halls! No time to take five, the ball was in the evening, at 8 PM! No time, zero!

The cooks were trying to finish the cakes and pastries in a specific amount of time, the maids were cleaning the castle from down to the top (even the basement!), and Pancake Cookie's royal advisor was ordering the decorations and organizing the ball.

— Oof! I never would've thought that organizing a ball would be so much work! said Marshmallow Cookie, the second she had time to relax.

Her older friend giggled.

Pancake Cookie, being a few years older (being twenty-five years old) than Skittles Cookie and Marshmallow Cookie, she was queen of the Shadow Kingdom for quite a while now. All of that empress business isn't new to her, like, at all! She grew out of the « I'm so stressed, how am I meant to protect an entire kingdom?! » phase. After all, isn't that what her training in King Sugar's castle was for?

But what Queen Marshmallow really desired was to see her big brother tonight, at her party. Like mentioned before, it's been seventeen years! She's twenty-three years old now. Her brother, twenty-seven. Wow, so much time has passed! Her training in King Sugar's castle made time fly by so quickly.

She just hopes that Espresso Cookie comes tonight... After all, why would he deny his little sister's invitation?

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Once the guests started arriving, Maple Syrup Cookie and Ice Cream Cookie did finally arrive.

— Dumbie! yelled Pancake Cookie while seeing her brother, running to give him a hug..

— Nerd! he yelled, also running for a hug.

Their nicknames were weird... Welp, that's how siblings are! They annoy each other, but love each other either way. As long as they loved one another, their relationship as siblings was one of the strongest bonds. They would always protect each other, even during their training at King Sugar's palace.

Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours. Marshmallow Cookie's brother still hadn't arrived at the grand ball... But... Why?

— Don't worry, girl! He's just late. Trust me! said Skittles Cookie, trying to cheer up her friend.

The term « just late » didn't appeal to her.

It was at that moment exactly that she realized.

Her brother, Espresso Cookie, wasn't going to arrive... Just because he was jealous of her. Because King Sugar chose her to be queen of the Light Kingdom, and not her. He grew jealous because she barely texted him after her coronation...

Tears were running down her face. No, she can't cry... She won't cry! Tonight was her birthday. She was now twenty-four years old. Why should she spend her party crying and sobbing? When she should be owning it! Y'know what they say, #ownit! and #girlpower.

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— Happy birthday, dear Marshmallow! Happy birthday to you! started singing everyone while she was cutting the cake.

So far, the party was amazing. Sure, Espresso Cookie didn't attend the ball. But that's his fault for being a complete jerk and being jealous of his own sister. After all, aren't siblings meant to look after one another?

She looked at her friend, Queen Pancake, with this last one's brother, King Maple Syrup, she felt sad. Why couldn't her and her brother be like that? Stay in touch even after her coronation to become ruler of the Light Kingdom. Why couldn't Espresso Cookie still love his younger sister, Marshmallow Cookie? Why? Just, why?

When she was about to blow the candles, everyone in the hall gasped in shock. The queen didn't get it at first, but once she turned her head around, she also gasped. A cookie with white-light brown hair, a witch hat and a long dark brown dress. Not only did she look wicked, but her style was wicked. Was she trying to go for the wicked witch look? Or was she just trying to crash the party?

— Hello, fellow cookies! she said, doing a curtsy. You all may be wondering: what is a gorgeous young girl like me doing with a magic wand?

It was true: the cookie did in fact have a wand.

— Before I start my lecture, dear cookies, I'll have to present myself. How rude of me to not do it sooner! Anyways, I'm S'mores Cookie. And I am here to... Um... Maybe crash this party and, um, summon monsters from the Dark Age? Oh, yes! That's what's on my schedule! I guess you all had fun before it lasted... Oh, who am I kidding? I don't care! HAHA! she laughed.

Queen Pancake, Queen Marshmallow, and Queen Skittles were in shock. Who was this S'mores Cookie anyways? And why was she going to summon monsters, crash this party, and bring back the Dark Age? The Dark Age is from over a thousand years ago, before the Dynasty of the Six Heroes, before King Sugar even was ruler of Candyland! The Dark Age is the age where Empress Cookie ruled over Candyland with darkness and corruption, and most importantly, spreading fear and evil across our joyful world. Why was S'mores Cookie willing to bring that age back?

Suddenly, the light turned off.

The last thing that Marshmallow Cookie could hear was her friend, Queen Skittles, scream the word « HELP! ».

Once the lights turned back on, the notorious S'mores Cookie had vanished from sight. And so did Skittles Cookie! The queen of the Love Kingdom had vanished!

— Skittles Cookie! yelled Marshmallow Cookie. She's... she's... she's gone!

Everybody started to look around the castle of the Light Kingdom. Yet, they still didn't find Queen Skittles. Where had she gone to? And most importantly... Was S'mores Cookie actually going to summon monsters?