A Huckleberry Valentine

Chapter 12: A Change of Heart

And so, everyone took Larissa back to town square to announce the good news to everyone. Huck had de-transformed, and was back in his normal outfit by the time they arrived. They brought her to the center of the square where a crowd of citizens had gathered, surprised to see that the witch was no longer in power.

"My citizens," King Jolly said, raising his voice loud enough for all to hear. "This is a glorious day for the Land of Sugary Sweets. The wicked witch, the lady of licorice Larissa is no longer going to be a threat to our fair kingdom. She has finally lost her powers for good!"

Everyone cheered once more, but Huck found himself feeling a little sorry for Larissa. He really wanted to know why she wanted to take revenge on King Jolly and why she wanted to steal his crown. Surely there was some reason why she had acted so mean to everyone. Had the world wronged her? Was it an unfortunate circumstance? He had to know.

"Larissa," Huck said. "Why did you want to steal the king's crown anyway?"

"Well, it all started when I was a little girl. I've always dreamed about being a queen," she explained. "I was jealous of King Jolly. He got all the attention and everyone loved him more than they ever loved me. Then one day I found a rare licorice flower...the only one left in the world. I smelled it, and it gave me my powers. But now, they're gone. It's all over."

Huck, Snag and Hokey all frowned. Now they were all starting to understand.

"I got stuck with licorice when King Jolly put all of us in charge of different sweets throughout the land," Larissa continued. "Why? Nobody likes licorice! It's the most hated candy in the world!" She started to cry. "It just wasn't fair..."

Huck sniffled. "Gosh, I had no idea. Hearing' a story like that makes a fella feel kinda choked up," he said in a shaky voice.

Coco walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Huckleberry, I think now is the perfect time to open your knapsack," she said. "There's something in there that should help."

Huck stopped crying and looked up. "My knapsack? Well plumb golly, I almost forgot about that!"

Huck opened his knapsack and reached inside. "What's this?" he wondered as he pulled out a large pink object. It looked like a compact mirror on a chain.

"What is this?" he wondered again.

The compact opened to reveal a large mirror inside that glittered with silvery sparkles!

"Heavens to Murgatroyd," Snag said. "It appears to be some sort of magic mirror!"

"It's beautiful!" Huck beamed. "But then, what do I have to do with it?"

Cinnamon looked up at him. "Maybe you should try following your heart again," he said. "Maybe it will tell you what you have to do."

"Okay," Huck said. Then he closed his eyes and thought about Clementine once more. But this time, he also thought about all of his friends, and how much he loved them. He thought about how he felt sorry for Larissa, and then like a flash of lightning, he knew what he had to do!

He went up to Larissa, and spoke up. "Larissa, you know, you say that nobody likes licorice, but I wanna show you something."

"What is it?" Larissa asked.

Huck held up the mirror and it began to ripple and glow as it showed different images of people all over the world who were buying licorice at their local candy stores, eating it happily, even giving it to each other as gifts!

"You see? People DO like licorice! Lots of people do! You're not alone, Larissa. People do appreciate your sweet!"

"Really?" Larissa asked. "I had no idea."