Darkness into Light - Espresseleine

Chapter Thirty Three ~ An Old Friend of Mine

Tw: Depictions of uh, throat slitting.... kind of..

look, someone gets an ouchie boo boo and it bleeds

~

The sun had long since grazed past the horizon, leaving behind it the shadow of a once-blue sky, dotted with flickering silver stars. By now it was particularly late, a few hours to midnight to be exact. And the two had not yet returned to the Vanilla Kingdom.

Pure Vanilla stood at the window of his room, a beautiful arched window with intricate detailing, including a scattering of bright blue gems that followed the arch of the glass. The ends were made of frosted glass, but the middle was as clear as the crystal lakes that surrounded the Kingdom. But the view it granted was ethereal, not nearly comparing to the beauty of the carefully crafted window panel. From up here he could see the main town, the plaza, villages and small cookie houses that stretched for miles, all glowing with a golden luminescence born from the streetlamps that lines the streets below.

He sighed. He truly was grateful, and proud of how far his Kingdom has come. And he couldn't have done it without the help of Gingerbrave and the others. Pure Vanilla smiled, a hint of sadness flickering in the eye of his staff as he brushed his fingers along the cold surface of the glass.

It had been a lot longer than the time frame in which Pure Vanilla had expected Espresso and Madeleine to complete their first official out-of-kingdom quest with each other. The two left with an uncomfortable awkwardness and a bitter taste in their mouths, but he knew they would resolve this confining tension that left the entire group feeling uneasy over a good long walk through the mesmerizing scenery of the forest.

Surprisingly, Pure Vanilla was all too familiar with a situation like this. All they needed was a chance to talk. So he gladly gave them that chance!

Afterall, he felt as if their was something more to Espresso and Madeleine than he'd once thought. For an old blind cookie, he sure could see a lot. And sense a lot too. He could sense the emotions they both had bundled up inside of them like a stirring jar of fireflies. They were yearning for each other.

He could see it in the way they act, the smallest of movements whether it be a hand that slightly twitched over the other's, silently wishing he could gently hold the other's hand without the fear of being harshly rejected. Or the way they'd take any chance to steal a glance at the other just to admire their presence, thinking no one would notice. Every little thing. They weren't being as subtle as they thought they were.

Pure Vanilla's lips faded into a small frown fuelled by a deep concern on the fact that they were yet to return. Upon hearing no word from them since they had departed, he was starting to grow more and more worried, a dark sludge-like feeling bubbling up in his gut. And it seemed as if he wasn't alone in his worries, as his eyelashes fluttered in surprise to hear a polite series of knocks at his door.

"Come in," he called.

Whoever it was, carefully pushed the large wooden door open with a low creak, peeking around the corner. Familiar white and brown hair flowed over the shoulders of a familiar cookie, light auburn eyes blinking around the room until they landed on Pure Vanilla who stood in front of the window, moonlight casting down on them and reflecting rays of white all around his figure. Latte clearly had to question whether or not she had entered the presence of an angel.

Pure Vanilla smiled warmly, stepping towards her and out of the moon's glare to meet the girl at the door.

"Ah, greetings Latte. What brings you to my quarters so late in the evening?"

Latte shuffled inside, carefully shutting the door behind her. She appeared to still be fully dressed in her usual brown slitted dress with her usual white stockings and heels, along with matching white gloves. She was even still wearing her wide-brimmed 'witch's hat!' But she looked rather skittish, distressed even as she picked at the ends of her gloves nervously and avoided eye contact.