Not So Sweet Candyland

XVI: Let's Start Again

"GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE!" Berry was on top of Chase's bed, waking him up.

Chase woke up and got a little bit flustered.

"Woah, woah woah woah, what is going on?"

"Do you even know what day it is? It's July 1st, our curse is over! We can finally leave!"

Chase got out of bed.

"Ok, suitcase, check, extra gear, check. Flask? Check. The mental and physical capacity to be able to embark on this journey? I'll be nice and say check." Berry was wrapping all of Chase's things while she was carrying all of hers.

Chase noticed and tried to help Berry.

"I got all of this stuff, heck, I normally carry more things than just this. I feel confident and I get more comfortable too. It's a learning process, you know?"

Chase nodded and soon, they left the house and they set off.

"I hope that we don't have to find another tree of doom." Chase said.

"You probably see it one day and that's it." Berry was being extra nice.

They went to the edges of town and then went into Licorice Fields. Licorice Fields was where they got a few extra things and there was a little stall where Berry had bought a few little things at the edge of Licorice Fields.

"Stalls like these are for travelers, they have good water, some food, and anything quick that you might need. Better sage then sorry. We're on an adventure, what more can you expect?"

"Speaking of travelers, will we see any? And, how do the people of Candyland go places? Do they travel on foot or are there cars or carriages?"

"Everybody travels on foot. What my family has believed was that roads were the first place where pollution would start, they would have cars and then trees would get cut down. If there was anywhere that anybody had to go, then they would walk. What's the most that you would have to walk? 12 miles?" Berry explained.

"So, they will keep the environment green but leave people homeless?"

"That's my dad, alright. A fucking idiot of a man. And I will vocally express that opinion, because if somebody tries to kill me, they don't know what training I have, you know, you only had about 2 weeks of it."

"It was killer." Chase sighed.

"Imagine doing it for 5 years and being a girl."

"Ok, ok, you win."

Berry chucked mischievously and she licked her teeth with her tongue.

While they were there, they noticed a traveler with a broken leg.

"Oh my goodness!" Berry saw the travelled and ran to help them.

Chase followed and he saw how bad the damage was.

He was an older man, and looked to be in very bad condition.

"CHASE! HELP ME!"

Chase ran over and Berry examined it.

"What happened?" She asked gently to the man, it caught Chase off guard for a second.

"Do.... you.... speak.... killigon?" The man said with a thick accent.

Berry nodded.

She kneeled down to him and had her backpack close.

"ghopDaq toraQ nISwI' 'uchtaH choraQ."

"loQ jIH neH jIH. ben, DaHjaj je, 'ej, jIQubtaHvIS, mu'mey vIlo'taHvIS, 'ej jIQubchoH. 'ej mIchmeyDaq jIcheghta', 'ej jIcheghtaHvIS, QongDaqlu'meH jImejtaHvIS, mInDaj vIchenmoHmeH jIghoSchoH."

"nuqjatlh?"

"LEFT! Ow!" He finally said in English.

Chase had no idea what was going on, but Berry called him over.

"You never taught me how to do any of these things."

"It's called learning, babe. If you learn with hands on action, you can get anywhere and everywhere. That's how I learned, I put things in action."

"Do you have some sort of magical cream or something that can cure all of his problems?"

"That's about 5 steps in."

"If you have magic, why can't you use it?"

"You can't just use magic whenever you want. Using just magic means that you are weak. I want to prove that I can do this and that and this and that. I can do everything with and without magic, and sure, it's considered easier and stuff. But where's the fun in challenges and stuff like that. Even if Candyland is this weird ass lucid dream or parallel universe, it's not a place where you can't make yourself famous by doing nothing. Come on, Chase. Chase your dreams or something like that."

"What is magic used for Anyways?"

"Danger purposes, if you are in extreme danger, then use it."

"Who taught you that?"

"My mom and one of the harem ladies that was close with mom. She told me that there was another lady that uses magic for everything, and ever since her magic became wonky, she got kicked out of the harem."

"What happens to women in the harem if they get kicked out?"

"Cheating unless it's true love will result in an execution for not being faithful to the king, not being "desirable" for the king anymore means you will be sent back to your old life, if you are homeless, you are still homeless."

"Have there ever been any rich nobles in the harem?"

"They are the ones that are normally in the harem for the shortest time. It's just like, the more money that you have, the less good looking that you are, in the most part. They could be in the harem for a year or for 1 kid."

"Didn't you say something about a candy soup that makes them have more babies?"

"Only for full blooded royal family members only. That's why there are so many harem children from different mothers going around, and oh, of you are curious, the kids that are part of the harem actually are considered royalty and normally get married off by the time they are 19. Some of them have left for different lands. And for the ones that don't want to get married, they can go wherever they want and do whatever they want to do. The way that my father treats his kids from different moms and the way that he treats me really does say a lot about his personality."

"What do you mean?"

"If he was in your world, he'd be the playboy."