Not So Sweet Candyland

LXXXV: Foot of the Cave

"You fucking idiot." Berry picked herself up as Chase caught up to her.

"I didn't know that the recoil would be that bad. Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

"The pain is tolerable, after all, my pain tolerance is sky high, it's higher than some crackheads that you may or may not know."

"Well damn."

"Hey, the fog is gone now. Look at that." Berry looked around. "And hey! Look!" Berry pointed as she got up to a structure of rock with hints of blue and pink gems. "It's cotton candy cave!"

"Cotton Candy Cave?"

"It's our final destination, and possibly the most challenging part. I know that I could go through it but the real question is, do you think you can?"

"I don't know."

"Th truth is, I trained you so that you could be in top physical and mental shape to go through this cave, it's no cakewalk, and while it might seem pretty on the outside, it's far from pretty on the inside, the colors will blind you, causing you to see things with disillusions of the mind."

"is it that bad?"

"When he died, my heart broke, it shattered because I could have saved him, but he pushed me away. I am not letting you die! Because I made a mistake, and I listened to him, if he didn't get killed, I would have been in your world."

"So that's why you don't listen to others."

"Because obviously I am the right one in this situation, I try to be right at least. because honestly, people die because of their own stupidity."

"Well, you're awfully direct about that."

"Baby, you know I don't beat around the bush. I beat the living shit out of the bush, that's what I do. But you know what, no stalling! We have to get through this cave! It will be the longest, most endearing, most dangerous, most risky, and the deadliest part. If you die, I'll die too."

"Talk about being dramatic."

"hey!" Berry slapped him and he fell to the ground. "You think I'm the dramatic one?"

"I just can't take hits as well as you can, no need to end your life over me. If I die, it's ok."

"Now, you're just being pessimistic. We are going to get through this and together. I don't care what they say, we might have weaknesses, but we are going through this together."

"But, Berry I have a question for you: If you know that you can do this all by yourself, why do you need somebody to be with you?"

"So I don't get lonely."

"Is that really it? I thought you would say that you need an extra hand for some things or somebody to give you a boost."

"I'm not that weak to rely on others for things that I can clearly do on my own, it's just that these adventures can get lonely, and I need somebody to help me get adjusted to the real world, because the real world is a place that I don't know much about."

They started walking towards the cave.

"I mean, that is understandable, I'm sorry if i sounded rude to you, I just didn't know at all."

"No, it's fine. You just thought some reason like that. I mean, I might seem like I get along with nobody and i might seem cold, but I do have a soft spot. It's just I can't open up as easily to others. When i came to Licorice, i was first a naive girl that never stepped outside of the castle gates and seeing a completely different world compared to the castle life shocked me. But, I was 12, and i only saw glimpses of the outside world at times, for parades and other fancy stuff like that."

"So, you never fully saw the world?"

'Mother escaped and I ran everywhere to find her. I checked everywhere, every nook and cranny in existence, but she was gone. I cried and cut myself, and became numb and suicidal. I thought that I was the problem, the reason that she wasn't coming home was because of me, and I fell more and more into a spiral that caused me to rebel and my feelings were taking over me. I acted out, showing the emotions that i was hiding for years under a small smile. But the stupidest thing was that my father just let everybody forget about her! When she disappeared, rumors spread around, not like anybody cared about her when she was even there, but people became suspicious, my father instantly said nothing and would brush the topic away, with that some rumors were spread such as my father cheated or he forced her to leave, but most were about my mother, however all talk on that was silenced. He said that he loved her, but why would he let all of the talk about her happen? And that's why I have a fucked up perception of love, because i saw what my mother was a victim of, and I'm scared that it would happen to me."

Chase sighed.

"It's not your fault that these things happen to you. You saw a lot and you lost somebody that you treasured. And you couldn't control yourself when all of those things happened."

"I wonder, what could I do to stop what was happening? I knew it was not normal, but I was so young, seeing them fight broke my heart. My mother screaming while my father pulled her down, in public, they were the perfect couple, everybody wanted to be them, it was like Cinderella, a normal girl with the king."

They approached the entrance of the cave and Berry looked up.

"My whole life, I lived in a fucked up fairy tale. And now, I'm going to try and move on to a new world, one that actually will let me be me. And, I'm going with somebody, somebody that I can trust." She squeezed Chase's hand.

"For now, it's now or never. I know we can do this."

Chase squeezed her hand back.

"And even if I don't make it, I want you to make it, and when I go, please remember me, remember me as the girl that saved your life and saved you from this Not So Sweet Candyland."