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Another morning waking up cold.
Dark Choco Cookie opened his eye, sighing at this recurring lack of warmth. For a while now, Dark Choco had been feeling…under the weather. He’s felt this perpetual cold, even when he’s near the flames of the dark castle. He’s been feeling weaker, making his tasks more difficult to carry out. It seemed as if he had fallen victim to some disease, perhaps one that freezes its victims to death.
But strangest of all, he keeps having these dreams of…snow. But not as if he was traversing through it, as he does in dreams of his homeland, but rather as if he was a snowflake in the blizzard, dancing in the wind. And yet despite the oddity of the dreams, they felt almost pleasant; it was nice to be free in the wind. Though in the end, it would end in darkness, just as all his dreams do.
The crimson gem of his sword glowed, interrupting his musings, demanding to be picked up. He got up from his cot, though he fumbled, it becoming harder to stand. He leaned against the wall, reaching for the blade. Since this affliction started, he’s been keeping the blade closer.
He grabbed the hilt, and felt his body be overflowed with its dark power. He straightened himself up, took a breath to steady himself, and walked to put on his armor with little struggle. It seems the cursed blade had the power to keep it at bay. If not for his sword, he feels as if he would have succumbed to the cold long ago.
He wondered once again what caused this to happen. Was it a disease he had picked up in his travels? A curse meant to bring him to his end? He didn’t suspect it from being from his comrades. A slow freeze didn’t seem in keeping with their preferred methods of cursing. Besides, they seemed as irritated by this affliction as him.
He thought about their current plans of conquest. Soon, they were to march to the Dark Cacao Kingdom, claim the king’s Soul Jam, and watch it fall to ruins. And Dark Choco was to be the one to lead them there, to once more betray his homeland.
Hmm…perhaps…his thoughts of the kingdom were the cause of his affliction. His homeland was a blizzard ridden land, one of sheer and unyielding cold. Was this his hesitation and guilt manifesting itself as a bitter cold in his heart, as if trying to stop himself from going through with this? Was this a sense of homesickness, for the home he could never return to? Was this a form of self imposed karma, him feeling the frozen waste he had let his land become? If so, was this simply all in his head? A plea from some long abandoned part of his soul to stop this madness before he could deal it out?
Then, perhaps he should simply give in to the dark to make it stop. He knew he would never be welcomed back to his homeland, could never go back to the ones he once loved, could never go back to the life he lived. His only path now was darkness, and this would be where he remained until he met his end. He could not let these thoughts hinder him now, they were nothing but feeble attempts to hold on to the past, a past he could never return to. He allowed himself to succumb more to his sword’s power, to drive out these intrusive thoughts, so that he can be fully prepared for what he must do.
Though at the same time, another thought cropped up. In his homeland, there was a legend of a curse, put on Cookies by the Frost Witch, that not only froze their bodies, but their hearts as well, and when the time came, the Frost Witch would come to steal them away, turning them into snow. He couldn’t help but draw parallels to his own situation. Could this be…?
No, he shook his head, that’s preposterous. The Frost Witch was merely a children’s fable, meant to keep children from staying out in the cold too long. It must simply be his subconscious.
He’s spent too long in his thoughts. He must go and do his work. Dark Choco shook his head a final time, ridding himself of these intrusive thoughts, and left his room.
And yet all the same, he couldn’t quite shake the tale of the Frost Witch from his mind.
It was nighttime. They had finally made it to the Dark Cacao Kingdom, and as the night fell, their group had seen it fit to rest, seeing as how most were not accustomed to this harsh weather, and they were getting settled in the rooms they had “acquired”.
As for Dark Choco, he was being hit with an overload of emotions. Nostalgia, homesickness, guilt, disgust, and he tried desperately to keep it all in his head, though it soured his mood. The cold in his heart had now become a freeze, feeling more like a living icicle. He was relying solely on the Strawberry Jam Sword for his strength now, though he tried not to let it show. Earlier, when they ate, he had noticed that the plate he ate from seemed to develop a frost on it, becoming cold to the touch.
“Hey, Earthbread to Dark Choco!” A shrill, high pitched voice cuts through his thoughts. He turns to look at Licorice Cookie, standing alongside Pomegranate and Poison Mushroom Cookie, whom it seems were discussing something, likely their move for tomorrow. It seems Licorice had been trying to get his attention, and was quite irritated by how long it took. He gave a short grunt in response, not wanting to talk but indicating he heard him.
“My, my, Dark Choco Cookie. It seems you’re being even less attentive than usual. I wonder, is it because you’re back in your homeland? Are memories of the past coming back to you?” Asked Pomegranate Cookie, in that scathingly mocking tone. Dark Choco just glared at her. “Well, let’s make sure that those memories don’t get in the way of our plans. You’ve been causing enough trouble with this supposed sickness of yours, we don’t need to add wavering thoughts to that list. Remember why we are here.” She stated, narrowing her eyes at Dark Choco, with an underlying hint of a reminder of what will happen should he be uncooperative
“…I know why we are here.” He replied coldly, not wanting to be part of any conversation with Pomegranate, especially not about this. “…Good.” She seemed at least somewhat satisfied with his answer.
“Heh, maybe all this cold will make you feel better. After all, this winter’ll freeze you both inside and out, you won’t be able to tell the difference!” Said Licorice. Dark Choco doubted he was being sincere. “But seriously, the sooner we’re out of this place, the better. I can barely feel my own feet! You know, there was a reason I chose to leave this place.” He complained yet again.
“…Maybe you should have thought to wear warmer clothes.” Retorted Dark Choco. He didn’t understand why the necromancer chose to bring only his robes, he had to have known what the weather would be like, by his own admission he’s native to this region as well. “Well we can’t all be like you, resistant to any temperature we find ourselves in!” Shot back Licorice, as he climbed into his bed. Dark Choco huffed in annoyance and turned to look out the window.
It seemed everyone was getting ready for sleep. Dark Choco elected to merely sit by the window sill. He didn’t feel like sleeping in a bed. As everyone drifted to sleep, Dark Choco watched the snow fall outside, and couldn’t help a sense of longing.
He woke up again that night, while everyone was still asleep. In his dreams, he once again dreamt of the snow, but this time there was a voice, calling to him, before everything was swallowed in the darkness once more.
He felt…compelled by a force not entirely himself to go and seek out that voice. He could feel it was nearby.
Subconsciously, he took his sword, and found himself walking out of the room, out of the house and into the snowstorm that seemed to have so recently appeared. Yet despite the blistering cold, he couldn’t feel it at all.
It felt almost similar to how the Strawberry Jam Sword once took control of his body, but this time it didn’t feel so bad. He felt not as if he was being taken somewhere against his will, but more like he wanted this. We wanted to seek out this voice, and something in his soul told him that doing so was the right thing to do.
Yet it seemed the Strawberry Jam Sword did not feel the same. It glowed, wanting him to go back inside, and to not follow this voice. Yet his curiosity was stronger, and he marched on to find the voice.
He strayed farther from the cottage, into the snowy wastes where the freezing weather matched the cold in his heart. But as he kept on, the sword in his hand grew stronger in its influence, trying to sap away his strength so that he would not continue this path. And yet, he pulled himself further, weaker and weaker with each step, but not faltering.
He found himself heading towards the mountains, though where exactly to he did not know, only that he would find what he was searching for there. By this point, he was struggling to keep himself up. The sword was draining of him of his energy, and the darkness trying to take him under its control, him having to rely on the sword to even stand. He started to wonder if he would never make it, fated to die here without reaching his destination.
But just then, he could see a tall figure in the snow. Was this who he was looking for? The figure seemed to notice him, and moved towards him, becoming more visible. They had a long robe, draping on to the snow. They carried a large scepter, and wore a crown seemingly made of ice.
Could this be…the Frost Witch?
“Child…you have done well to make it this far, after so long from leaving your home.” That voice…! It was the same one from his dreams. Was this who he was seeking out?
He was starting to black out, his sword shone brighter and refused to let him go further.
“It’s…it’s so cold…and so dark…” he said to the figure, feeling weaker than he ever had before. Could she help him?
She walked up to him, and took his hands in hers; they were so cold, yet at the same time, so comforting. Gently, she pried the sword out of his hands, and stuck it into the ground. He no longer felt the grip of darkness on his soul, finally free after all these years, only feeling the cold in his heart.
“The time has come for you to let go of the darkness, and return to what you are.” She said to him, in such a soothing voice.
He looked up at her, hesitant, but also, somewhere in the depths of his soul, hopeful. He could hear truth in her words, even if he didn’t entirely understand them yet. Perhaps this was how he finds the peace he so desperately desires.
She beckons him to follow, and he does, wandering into the depths of the snow.
“Dark Choco Cookie! Where did you go this time?” Licorice Cookie called out for probably the millionth time today.
“Dark Choco Cookie! Dark Choco Cookie! Where are you?” Called Poison Mushroom Cookie, though it sounded more as if Poison Mushroom thought they were playing a game of hide and seek.
“Seriously, of all the times to wander off, why now?” Licorice complained. This morning, the group had woken up, only to find Dark Choco mysteriously missing, with seemingly all traces of him disappeared, no one seeing him since last night. As he was their guide into the Citadel, they had to go and find him, but you could believe him he was getting a talking to once they did. They’ve spent nearly half the day already looking for him; by this point they were getting close to the mountains.
“Hmm, perhaps Dark Choco has gotten cold feet. Or maybe he even believes that he can go back to his loved ones and warn them of us.“ Pomegranate mused. She knew the fallen prince was never fully committed to the cause, and given the circumstances of this mission, she had taken into account the possibility of a feeble rebellion by him. But she knew that those attempts would be futile, as she could incapacitate him with her magic, and even if he did go to warn the soldiers of Dark Cacao, he was still their traitor prince, banished forever from these lands. He would be hard pressed getting them to listen to him, especially the king. But rest assured, once they found him, she would be swift in assuring this would not happen again, by whatever means she had to.
“Hey, guys…! Look what I found…!” called Poison Mushroom Cookie, who was tending atop a snowy hill, waving down at the other two. “I swear, this better not be another mushroom.” Said Licorice, as they went to meet them up top.
On the hill, they found Dark Choco’s sword, lodged in the snow. Only Dark Choco was nowhere to be seen.
“Oh no, don’t tell me he deserted!” exclaimed Licorice, seeing the abandoned sword. This would only complicate things if he did, and now they had to find a way in the Citadel themselves.
“…” Pomegranate narrowed her eyes, it seems her predictions were correct. “He has become frail recently. Without the sword, he could not have gotten far. If he left within the night’s blizzard, I doubt he could have survived.”
“Dark Choco Cookie! Where did you go…? You left your sword…!”
This morning in the Dark Cacao Kingdom brought a new snow, after the previous night’s blizzard. But to those of the kingdom, something felt different. From Crunchy Chip Cookie and the Cream Wolves in the mountains, to Caramel Arrow Cookie in her exile, to the Watchers along the Great Wall. It seemed the only ones unaffected were Affogato and his disciples, uncaring and confused as to this trance this snow seemed to put everyone in.
Even Dark Cacao Cookie, looking out from his window, found himself entranced by this snowfall, though he could not quite place why. But he felt almost this remembrance of memories long past, and something lost long ago.
He reached out to try and touch the falling snow, as if doing so would hold the answers he sought, only for the wind to gently blow it away. Among the wind, he caught a familiar aroma. Was that a hint of…dark chocolate?
He looked out, confused, until he realized what this meant, his eyes widening at the realization. And he silently wept while the snow gently fell on to the Citadel.