~Once Upon a Skephalo~

~Chapter 5~

"A-anyways..." Skeppy changed the topic, not sure how to respond to Bad's kindness. "You didn't go to the south wing did you?"

"No, I don't think so... Why? Was I supposed to?"

"No! No, no, no, no," Skeppy said quickly. "Do not go to the south wing!"

"Why? Is it dangerous?" Bad asked curiously.

"Just stay out of the south wing, okay? You can go anywhere else in the mansion, but not there. I don't care where else you go or what you do; there's one rule: do not go to the south wing. Okay?" Skeppy watched Bad with a new intensity. It was clear that he was very serious about this rule.

"Okay, okay, I won't go to the south wing," Bad said.

"Good." Skeppy relaxed, sitting back in his chair.

A few moments of silence passed, and Bad finished eating.

"Wow, Skeppy, you're a really good cook. That meal was delicious," Bad said.

"I didn't cook that. I can't cook," Skeppy laughed.

"Oh. Well, Spifey's a good cook, then." Bad corrected himself.

"No, Spifey didn't cook it either." Skeppy giggled at Bad's confusion.

"If you and Spifey are the only ones that live here, and neither of you cooked it, then who did?"

"Uh, magic. Kind of," Skeppy explained. "When Spifey moved here, he enchanted the kitchen to magically prepare three meals every day at breakfast, lunch, and dinner time, enough to feed anyone in the manor at the designated time."

"Oh. But what did you eat before the kitchen was enchanted? You said you can't cook, and Spifey moved here, so what did you eat before then?" Bad inquired.

"I used to have a cook that cooked for me."

"What happened to the cook? They don't live here anymore, do they?"

"No," Skeppy answered, sounding a bit annoyed at the interrogation. He pushed away from the table and stood up. "It's a long story." He started to walk away, leaving Bad behind.

Bad stood up to follow him. "Are you gonna tell me?"

"No. It's... not important." Skeppy left the dining hall and led Bad down several corridors, bringing him back to the top floor.

"I still can't believe you don't know how to cook," Bad said. "Do you know how to make anything?"

Skeppy stopped in front of a grand pair of doors and leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Not really, no."

"Oh my goodness, really? You literally can't cook a single thing?!" Bad asked incredulously.

"I've just never had to cook for myself!" Skeppy said in his defense.

"Yeah, but I would've thought you'd at least learn how to make something just in case you ever have to cook for yourself. What if you're out one day and you find yourself needing to make something to eat?"

"First of all, I'd probably just buy something. Second of all, that's very unlikely; I never leave the mansion anyway."

"Well maybe you should go out more," Bad said. "Then you wouldn't be so lonely."

"Bad, I'm not-" Skeppy growled with frustration. "That's not exactly an easy thing for me to do, you know!" He threw his hands out to the sides. "Look at me, I'm literally made of diamond! Do you think people are just gonna let me walk by and not care about that? Most people treat me like an object, or try to take me and kidnap me and use me to get money. They act like I'm some piece of jewelry or something; they don't want to be 'friends'."

"O-oh... I'm sorry, Skeppy, I didn't-"

"It's fine," the diamond man said bitterly, turning away and opening one of the doors. He started walking into the room but paused, speaking over his shoulder. "You didn't know. Just forget about it, okay?" He continued to walk away, closing the door behind him and leaving Bad in the hall.

Bad found himself regretting what he said. He wanted to apologize, to make up for it somehow, but Skeppy didn't seem like he was willing to talk anymore. Suddenly, Bad got an idea. He could make Skeppy a gift!

With a newfound motivation, Bad quickly hurried back to the kitchen, putting his plan into action.

After about an hour, everything was ready. Bad pushed a small serving cart to Skeppy's room. He rolled it in front of the doors and knocked.

An annoyed-looking Skeppy opened the door.

"What do you-" He stopped. In front of him stood Bad, next to a serving cart piled with freshly baked muffins. A small, folded card was propped up on the cart in front of the muffins. Skeppy picked the card up.

Near handwriting spelled out a message inside:

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Please accept my apology muffins.   ~Bad

Skeppy smiled, his eyes softening at the note. He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to force the smile back into a straight face. But it was too late; Bad had seen the smile, and knew he had won Skeppy's forgiveness.

"I accept your apology muffins," Skeppy said.

"Really?" Bad asked hopefully.

"Yes. Thank you, Bad."

"Aw, you're welcome!"

The two of them ended up both being very happy, spending the rest of the day eating muffins.

[Beauty and the Beast arc continues]

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[A/N]

Hey everyone, sorry if there are mistakes in this chapter; I wrote half of this when I was very sleepy lol

Anyways, thank you all for reading, you are all appreciated :)