The Prince of the Republic

Chapter Seventeen

The night was absolute bliss, the pair entangled as they enjoyed a night alone, desperate to never let each other go.

"I'll dissolve the marriage contract the moment we touch the shore," Clotted Cream Cookie promised, his hand absently petting the head of Royal Milk Tea Cookie, who lay on his chest, exhausted.

"I think I had a dream about this."

"About..." Clotted Cream Cookie gestured to the pair in bed, "This?" The corners of his mouth twitched up in a teasing smile.

"No!" Royal Milk Tea Cookie swatted the blond. "Well, yes, but I meant the marriage contact!" He thought back to the dream he'd had in the Hollyberry Kingdom. "I think I'm scared this isn't real."

"Teacup," Clotted Cream Cookie's tone took a serious note. "I promise this is all real. Everything I feel about you, everything I say to you. It's all real."

Royal Milk Tea Cookie smiled, "I know. I'm just still paranoid. It hasn't been long since the dragon nearly killed me." The ignorance the pair were enjoying had evaporated, leaving them to face reality once more. "I felt my Soul Stones leaving my body, Clotted Cream Cookie."
"It wasn't a pretty sight. Financier Cookie had to avert her eyes. The dragon was about to close down on you when Tea Knight Cookie finally spoke up."

"You didn't look away?" Royal Milk Tea Cookie grimaced.

"I didn't know what else to do. You'd said goodbye yet I wanted to believe that you'd turn around and run into my arms. I was hoping we could wake up from the whole nightmare," Clotted Cream Cookie shifted in the bed, moving to have Royal Milk Tea Cookie's head lay in the crook of his neck rather than on his chest.

"I feel guilty that I'm not grieving for Tea Knight Cookie," Royal Milk Tea Cookie confessed.

"Grief strikes us all at different times. You hardly knew the Cookie, darling. He was your father, sure, but Oyster Cookie was the one who raised you."

"We'll have to let Tea Knight Cookie's close friends know about his passing," Royal Milk Tea Cookie gasped. "We'll have to tell Eclair Cookie..."

"Hey," Clotted Cream Cookie caught the blue-eyed Cookie's attention. "Don't stress, please. I promise I can take care of the hard things. You nearly gave your life for all of Earthbread."

Royal Milk Tea Cookie pressed himself closer to Clotted Cream Cookie, breathing in the vanilla scent. "You're right. We can deal with it all in the morning."

There was no dragon this time. Royal Milk Tea Cookie woke up with no sudden shake or shout. Breathing in deep, he simply stretched himself out on top of his favorite blond, kissing his way up the Consul's neck before placing a kiss right on his lips.

"Well good morning to you, too," Clotted Cream Cookie grinned, "I imagine the others will be expecting to greet you this morning. I stole you away last night without informing anyone of your whereabouts."

"I'm sure they can infer where I might be," Royal Milk Tea Cookie smiled, sitting up and dressing himself for the day.

The pair managed to keep their hands to themselves once they descended the stairs, finding the Republicans sitting around the table in the dining hall, enjoying breakfast with Pure Vanilla Cookie.

"Royal Milk Tea Cookie!" Captain Caviar Cookie cried, leaping out of his seat to hug the younger Cookie. "By the Divines, I really thought you were going to be taken by the dragon!"

"Tea Knight Cookie made a valiant sacrifice," Financier Cookie spoke up as well. "Your selflessness is not going to go unrecognized, Royal Milk Tea Cookie. I will ensure that those in the Convocation understand how deeply you care about Earthbread that you were willing to give yourself over to the beast to make sure the rest of us were safe."