.+. [ᴏʟᴅ] || ᴜɴᴛɪʟ ᴡᴇ ᴍᴇᴇᴛ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ .+.

.+. ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 8 .+.

.+. ESPRESSO'S POV .+.

I stepped backwards and took out the candy, popping it into my mouth. Everyone stared at me, confused. "What are you doing?" Latte whispered to me, as she helped Raspberry and the others up. I gave her a sly smile.

"Eating candy, what does it look like?" I darted my head back to Licorice and Red Velvet, sending flaming coffee beans towards them, some burning them. Licorice yelped at the burn and summoned his henchmen. Red Velvet called his uninjured cake hounds to charge at me.

I blasted flames towards them, occasionally with coffee beans. We fought for about 10 minutes, still, nobody had backed down. We were all had bruises and wounds in some way.

"You guys! This is too much! You need to stop!" I heard someone yell. I panted out of exhaustion. I closed my eyes and relaxed, beginning to hover off the ground. "Let's just hope this works.." I whispered to myself.

...

.+. LATTE'S POV .+.

...

I watched as Espresso flew off the ground, floating in the air as he closed his eyes. His cloak fluttered in the gentle breeze. Everyone around him stared at him in shock. What is he doing? Is he aware that he can get himself hurt like this? He mumbled something, which I couldn't hear. He then opened his eyes widely.

His eyes glowed brightly in the shade of the forest. I looked over at Licorice and Red Velvet. Licorice widened his eyes at the sight of the coffee mage floating in the air.

"Escape this!" Espresso shouted as a smile appeared across his face. A void made from coffee magic that Espresso had learned from a long time ago appeared and dragged the two cookies toward it, along with their minions and cake hounds. Licorice, at this point, was panicking, meanwhile Red Velvet tried to escape from it's power.

Suddenly, the void exploded and a burst of coffee magic shot the both of them up into the air. Red Velvet and Licorice tumbled to the ground near the thorn bushes. Red Velvet groaned and Licorice quickly stood up, trying to help the other cookie up.

"Fine! We give up for now. We'll be back!" Licorice said, mockingly. "RETREAT!" Red Velvet called. His bunch of cake hounds ran back to him and followed them as they went back deeper into the forest.

Espresso blinked and his eyes stopped glowing. All of a sudden, he closed his eyes again and immediately dropped from the air. I dashed out from the bushes and caught him just before he had hit the ground. "Put me down, Latte. I'm fine." He groaned. I put him back on his feet and then grabbed his shoulders.

"Espresso, ARE YOU CRAZY?! YOU COULD'VE-" I shook him back and forth but then he interrupted me. "Latte, please shut up. I would like to see Madeleine. Where is he?" He calmly said. I knew he was worried on the inside, he wouldn't have came here if he wasn't. He could've let Madeleine and the rest of the team die here, but he rushed here. He came here as soon as I mentioned Madeleine.

I pointed over to Herb Cookie, who was tightening a bandage on Madeleine's stomach to stop it from bleeding as much. Espresso quickly pulled out of my grip and ran over to him.

...

.+. ESPRESSO'S POV .+.

...

I quickly dashed to Herb, who was trying to heal Madeleine by a tree. "Herb! What happened? Is Madeleine okay?" Herb sighed and looked at me. "When we were battling the group of cake hounds and Licorice's servants, Madeleine got stabbed through his stomach by one of the monsters... or Licorice Cookie himself. I wasn't able to get a clear vision of what happened but it was one of those."

I widen my eyes and turned to look at Madeleine. He laid unconscious by the tree, he looked paler and his breathing was slower than usual. "I tried my best to heal him, but it isn't enough. I suggest you take him to Pure Vanilla and ask him to heal him fully." Herb said, in a quiet soft tone. I nodded and picked up Madeleine, carrying him on my back.

I made my way out of the forest, trying my best not to collapse. I felt exhausted from using most of my power on the attack and needed rest, but I needed to get Madeleine to Pure Vanilla, if it's the last thing I do.

While walking there, I spotted Latte flying on her spoon with Raspberry above the trees. Maybe I could get a ride over there.. I'm too tired to walk all the way. I sighed. "LATTE!" I shouted from below.

She stopped and came down to where I was. "Yeah? Do you need something?" I nodded and heavily sighed. "Can you fly me to Pure Vanilla's castle by any chance?" "Of course! Hop on, I'll get you there in a blink of an eye!" I sat on her staff and put Madeleine next to me, hugging him tightly with one arm so he wouldn't fall off.

Latte started letting the spoon fly upwards and then she steered the spoon to the Pure Vanilla's place. The entire time, I couldn't stop thinking if Madeleine would be alright or not. What if he doesn't wake up? What if I lose him again..? No, Espresso, stop thinking like this, he'll be fine. Right..? I hope. I let out a shaky sigh.

"Hey, Espresso, are you alright?" I turned to Raspberry, who looked at me concerned. I slowly shook my head. I noticed Raspberry had a few bandages wrapped around her arms. I was glad she was alright, but I was worried about Madeleine. "You're worried about Madeleine, aren't you?"

I nodded. "What if he.. what if he doesn't make it?" My voice was shaky. I felt tears filling up my eyes, my vision getting blurry. Raspberry gently placed a hand on my shoulder. "Ess, I assure you, he'll be fine. Plus, Pure Vanilla is the best healer in this kingdom! I'm sure Madeleine will be back up again after we visit him." I gave her a small smile and wiped my eyes.

Sometimes I wonder why I care so much about Madeleine.. "We're here!" Latte said, landing her spoon. Everyone got off of her spoon and I carried Madeleine on my back again. Walking towards the door, Knight Cookie stopped us from entering.

"Who are you guys? Why are you here?" He questioned us. Raspberry stepped out from behind. "It's alright, Knight, they're with me. We just need to see Pure Vanilla Cookie. Madeleine needs his injuries to be healed." She pointed to the unconscious Madeleine on my back.

Knight looked over at me and Madeleine and then nodded. He stepped aside for us to enter. "Pure Vanilla is in his office, go straight down, take a left and his office should be the 3rd door to your right." Raspberry thanked Knight and then we headed inside.

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1163 Words.